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[Screenboy]

X won't come out in 2014, it ain't even got a bloody title.

 

[m0t0k1]

Nintendo won't do it. They know it's a bad idea. Relax

Yeah i am not that worried about that. But just the idea of killing your own console and the effect it has on your brand and userbase and just release a super powerful console is baffeling me. People make it sound like it is just a button press away.

 

[Shiggy]

I think Animal Crossing will be their big Christmas title. Won't the AC app on Wii U end later this year? Though I expect them to do more or a less an HD port of the 3DS version to reduce costs.

 

[POWERSPHERE]

When WiiU is on firesale, I'm sure a lot of us will get to play the 'best games' without much of financial sacrifice.

and I have this funny feeling that fire sale is definitely coming, sooner rather than later.

I got mine in the Dick Smith Firesale in Australia, half price.

 

[Albo]

I highly doubt nintendo are going to can zelda u or any other planned 2015 software just to move them to their next console. For the big titles, they might be cross gen at least but they have enough to focus on trying to support the wii u as iwata said in the invester meeting while working on QOL at the same time before release a new console. They can't afford to rush it and make mistakes. It might be far off than most people think.

Ditching wii u support that early would likely put off many owners who'll be hesitant to support their next console. For many games like zelda u that have already been in development for several years from the ground up specifically for the wii u, they'd find more success being released on a 5-10m install base of the wii u as opposed to only their next console which would have an install base of 0.

 

[Kid Ying]

You're talking about Japan in regards to being scheduled for Summer?

It's pointless to ask what they should do at this point to turn things around. The system has a strong negative force against it, that they'd need a miracle if they want to turn things around. They'd need constant marketing campaigns, lots of game releases, good price drops and bundles, good online and account integration, maybe drop the gamepad. Yeah...it's not gonna happen. This costs money and lots of effort. Even Iwata said having a price drop is not going to solve things all of a sudden.

The best thing Nintendo can do is what they're doing right now. Release the stuff they're working on, put minimal effort and hope that random games/services might change some fortunes. There isn't an easy fix that will make the system popular or a healthy enough eco-system right now.

I don't know where you're basing the claim that Nintendo is releasing something every month unless you're counting VC, eshop games and new hardware sku. Maybe we're talking from different perspectives if you mean that they're doing a good enough job to please the fans, while I'm talking about the system having any chance of getting out of the situation it got pushed in.

like i said, they already released dkc, they will release a new sku next month, just dance wiiu and famiremix in the next followed by Mario kart on may. Im talking strictly on Japan though. I dont know their releases on US, but in Japan, ever since pikmin, last january was the only month they released nothing on retail.

 

[KaneU]

I think Animal Crossing will be their big Christmas title. Won't the AC app on Wii U end later this year? Though I expect them to do more or a less an HD port of the 3DS version to reduce costs.

Their big Christmas title will obviously be SSB4.

 

[Version 3.0]

Nintendo has been expanding, they're not contracting. Yes, they are projecting a financial loss for this year and the Wii U isn't doing well, but the company is not collapsing. They are nowhere near the need to sell off assets.

If anything, they'll be spending money to get more developers to help turn things around. They're not going to downsize

Has Nintendo been expanding? I'm not aware of it. Details, please. Iwata did say they would "consider mergers and acquisitions", but at this point, when Iwata says he will "consider" doing something or "ensure" this or that, it's a virtual guarantee that Nintendo will do nothing.

 

[JrBaconCheeseburger]

As a wii u owner i can say i am more than likely done with the wii u and i am just waiting for dkc, but even that i am not that excited about.


Drought again and again. Bullshit

 

[Neoxon]

Nintendo won't do it. They know it's a bad idea. Relax

At the investors' meeting, I believe it was said that they're gonna ride the Wii U out for a normal life cycle, which is probably the best plan to maintain consumer goodwill for the next console.

 

[Neff]

As a wii u owner i can say i am more than likely done with the wii u and i am just waiting for dkc, but even that i am not that excited about.

Drought again and again. Bullshit

Lesson to learn for this gen: There will be droughts. Re-play your old games.

And it's a lesson best learnt sooner than later.

 

[Sandfox]

Has Nintendo been expanding? I'm not aware of it. Details, please. Iwata did say they would "consider mergers and acquisitions", but at this point, when Iwata says he will "consider" doing something or "ensure" this or that, it's a virtual guarantee that Nintendo will do nothing.

They've been expanding for quite a while.

 

[KtSlime]

As someone who bought a Wii in its first year thinking this would be Nintendo's big chance to turn around the software problem, I remember having to reluctantly redefine my expectations.


This is true and shouldn't be forgotten. Nintendo handhelds are consistently God Tier when it comes to depth, breadth and longevity.

I find the situation a bit comical, this disparity in health between their home and handheld platforms has existed for so long, a cynical person could suggest they use their consoles as "practice runs" for the eventual handheld with similar features which inevitably comes out five years down the line

It's probably just a reflection of the tastes of their home country. Portable is king.

 

[Version 3.0]

They've been expanding for quite a while.

It's not showing in their output.

 

[Ansatz]

It's not showing in their output.

The majority of their handheld games are now full 3D, polygonal.

HD obviously demands more manpower, so they need more people just to maintain their past gen output.

Nintendo's future is simple, QoL will be the natural continuation of touch generations and the Wii ___ games, while the traditional space will converge into a single platform. Basically their next handheld and home console will share the same retail library.

 

[udivision]

X won't come out in 2014, it ain't even got a bloody title.

Seriously.

 

[Neiteio]

TW101 came out in September 2013 in the U.S. When did it receive its official title?

 

[Toparaman]

Just watched this finally.

Gotta say, the 3DS is absolutely killing it. Excellent library already, with a great mix of unique and traditional games. That anime soccer game looks pretty damn cool, and I don't even like sports games.

How weird was that "good feeling" baseball game? Gotta love it.

Smash is looking kinda meh to me. Looks like HD Brawl essentially. Mario Kart looks great, and might be the first one since DS that I actually buy.

Donkey Kong had great music. X looked great, but a bit repetitive. Bayonetta looked bat-shit insane; I really need to play a Platinum game already.

All in all, a good and entertaining Direct.

 

[Sandfox]

X won't come out in 2014, it ain't even got a bloody title.

I would honestly wait until E3 before writing it off as a 2014 title.

 

[donny2112]

Basically their next handheld and home console will share the same retail library.

Never. Nintendo knows that there's a difference between how console and handheld games are played. They may have essentially the same graphics between them, but the games themselves will not be carbon copies of each other.

 

[Freezie KO]

Never. Nintendo knows that there's a difference between how console and handheld games are played. They may have essentially the same graphics between them, but the games themselves will not be carbon copies of each other.

Completely wrong.

DKC, 3D Land/World, Mario Kart, and Smash are as carbon copy as you can get on both platforms. Wii U is littered with minigames, which play fine on handheld.

What can't be played on Wii U but can on 3DS, or vice versa? Fire Emblem? Nope. Luigi's Mansion? Nope. Animal Crossing? Nope.

 

[AniHawk]

Completely wrong.

DKC, 3D Land/World, Mario Kart, and Smash are as carbon copy as you can get on both platforms. Wii U is littered with minigames, which play fine on handheld.

What can't be played on Wii U but can on 3DS, or vice versa? Fire Emblem? Nope. Luigi's Mansion? Nope. Animal Crossing? Nope.

my longrunning theory is the problem behind the 3ds is that it's too much like a console. its games are generally very complex for pick up and play opportunities. the ds was a far different beast from the 3ds (and the wii).

 

[donny2112]

DKC, 3D Land/World, Mario Kart, and Smash are as carbon copy as you can get on both platforms.

Except, they're not. I literally meant carbon copies, as that what the poster was saying. Not that there were similar games on both, but that the library of games would literally be the same thing on console and handheld. That's never going to happen.

 

[TheFLYINGManga_Ka]

Completely wrong.

DKC, 3D Land/World, Mario Kart, and Smash are as carbon copy as you can get on both platforms. Wii U is littered with minigames, which play fine on handheld.

DKC returns on the 3DS is a port, but those others you mentioned are definitely not carbon copies!

Tropical Freeze is also not a copy.

 

[Freezie KO]

my longrunning theory is the problem behind the 3ds is that it's too much like a console. its games are generally very complex for pick up and play opportunities. the ds was a far different beast from the 3ds (and the wii).

The problem with 3DS is that smartphones exist. It's really hard to draw a comparison between 3DS and DS without addressing the elephant in the room.

Brain Age and Nintendogs cratered on 3DS. Other big selling DS games like NSMB, Mario Kart, and Animal Crossing have sequels on 3DS.

I don't think you can blame complexity when the 3DS has no way of competing with simple $1 games on the App Store. Even if Nintendo devalued their software to that level, they're still at a disadvantage because those simple games are precisely the types of pick-up-and-play disposable experiences that work best for a device you already have on you.

I know you're an advocate of lower budget games, and if Nintendo wants to keep selling $40 games on their new consolidated platform, I agree that they should push smaller and cheaper experiences on the eShop. But if we're making a straight comparison between DS and 3DS, we must acknowledge smartphones.

--

Except, they're not. I literally meant carbon copies, as that what the poster was saying. Not that there were similar games on both, but that the library of games would literally be the same thing on console and handheld. That's never going to happen.

You wrote this:

Nintendo knows that there's a difference between how console and handheld games are played.

3D Land is played in the same bite-sized chunks as 3D World. Mario Kart 7 plays like Mario Kart 8. Smash Bros is exactly what you're saying won't happen: a game released across platforms. And Nintendo has no problems releasing ports of experiences that work equally as well on console or handheld as with DKCR3D or Mario 64 or others.

Fire Emblem plays the same across platforms. So does Animal Crossing. If there's a "difference between how console and handheld games are played" it's not evident in the software that Nintendo is releasing.

 

[Muzy72]

Completely wrong.

DKC, 3D Land/World, Mario Kart, and Smash are as carbon copy as you can get on both platforms.

Aren't you oversimplifying things? If those are carbon copies then 99% of sequels must be carbon copies.

 

[Freezie KO]

Aren't you oversimplifying things? If those are carbon copies then 99% of sequels must be carbon copies.

The point is that they play identically. Forget about if those titles are ports (DKCR3D), weird semi-ports (Smash Bros.), or just expansion packs (3D World). The point is that there's no difference between the experiences Nintendo releases on handheld and console, so pretending Nintendo would or should never consolidate across hardware is silly.

 

[JoeM86]

The majority of their handheld games are now full 3D, polygonal.

HD obviously demands more manpower, so they need more people just to maintain their past gen output.

Nintendo's future is simple, QoL will be the natural continuation of touch generations and the Wii ___ games, while the traditional space will converge into a single platform. Basically their next handheld and home console will share the same retail library.

Not quite. They won't converge into a single platform and have confirmed that

Their handheld and consoles are still going to be two separate platforms with separate games. However, both devices will have similar architecture, albeit with different specs, and they will run the same operating system.

This allows for third party developers to much more easily port games, or release them on both, or have them compatible with eachother. In addition to that, it also allows for easier sharing of assets and/or engines.

Take 3D Mario. Let's assume one was at the launch of the home console, but not at the launch of the handheld, so it's time for them to work on the new one. Rather than build it up from scratch, or port the engine across, they can just shift the engine & assets over, make the tweaks to adapt for the smaller power, and build from there up.

It will save a lot of time, effort and money. Though as I said, there will still be two separate devices.

 

[efyu_lemonardo]

It's probably just a reflection of the tastes of their home country. Portable is king.

true

 

[Gambit]

my longrunning theory is the problem behind the 3ds is that it's too much like a console. its games are generally very complex for pick up and play opportunities. the ds was a far different beast from the 3ds (and the wii).

I share your theory. The 3DS games feel more like a continuation of PSP games than DS games. Irrespective of casual fare like Brain Age, I think the average play sessions for 3DS games are often longer than DS ones.
A convenient feature for checking this theory is the 3DS activity log. The games I think work best for the device are things like Super Mario 3D land, which on my device has an average playtime of 7 mins. Compare that with Kid Icarus Uprising (23) or Fire Emblem Awakening (34). These games might as well be console games, because to do anything worthwhile in them, you need to invest a larger amount of time. Like you did with Chains of Olympus or Crisis Core.

That's why I think Zelda ALBW works so well, even in a very short amount of time you feel like you've accomplished something.

I don't think you can blame complexity when the 3DS has no way of competing with simple $1 games on the App Store. Even if Nintendo devalued their software to that level, they're still at a disadvantage because those simple games are precisely the types of pick-up-and-play disposable experiences that work best for a device you already have on you.

This does not contradict the theory really. Yes, the app store stole the casual audience, but the games on 3DS feel more console-like than the DS ones did.

 

[SuomiDude]

The point is that they play identically. Forget about if those titles are ports (DKCR3D), weird semi-ports (Smash Bros.), or just expansion packs (3D World). The point is that there's no difference between the experiences Nintendo releases on handheld and console, so pretending Nintendo would or should never consolidate across hardware is silly.

When you guys are trying to explain your point, why are you so ignorant about facts? Smash Bros isn't a semiport or whatever you're saying, it's built from the ground to both platforms. Mario 3D World is as much an expansion pack as Grand Theft Auto 5 is to GTA4 for example (meaning they are not just expansion packs, but full sequels in the franchise).

 

[Psycho_Mantis]

As a wii u owner i can say i am more than likely done with the wii u and i am just waiting for dkc, but even that i am not that excited about.


Drought again and again. Bullshit

Do you not have any other consoles (PS4/XB1/PS360/Wii) or a PC? WiiU is a poor choice as a primary console.

 

[JoeM86]

Do you not have any other consoles (PS4/XB1/PS360/Wii) or a PC? WiiU is a poor choice as a primary console.

I have it as my primary at the moment, and am overly happy. There's just very little interesting me on the PS4/Xbox One at the moment. There are a couple of games I'd like to play on them (such as Infamous), but not enough to warrant the expense at this time.

 

[Ansatz]

Not quite. They won't converge into a single platform and have confirmed that

Their handheld and consoles are still going to be two separate platforms with separate games. However, both devices will have similar architecture, albeit with different specs, and they will run the same operating system.

This allows for third party developers to much more easily port games, or release them on both, or have them compatible with eachother. In addition to that, it also allows for easier sharing of assets and/or engines.

Take 3D Mario. Let's assume one was at the launch of the home console, but not at the launch of the handheld, so it's time for them to work on the new one. Rather than build it up from scratch, or port the engine across, they can just shift the engine & assets over, make the tweaks to adapt for the smaller power, and build from there up.

It will save a lot of time, effort and money. Though as I said, there will still be two separate devices.

I get what you're saying but can Nintendo sustain two traditional systems in addition to QoL with only 1st party, collaboration titles, a couple of Japanese handheld games per year and indie games on the digital shop?

The explosion of Wii and DS happend due to titles that will now fall under the quality of life category, that's where Nintendo will target the soccer moms.

How will they achieve growth in the core gaming sector? I know Iwata said they are thinking about abandoning the decades old business model and create a new structure. I also remember he said they need surprising new software and that they need to look into western trends. I guess we'll see.

 

[JoeM86]

I get what you're saying but can Nintendo sustain two traditional systems in addition to QoL with only 1st party, collaboration titles, a couple of Japanese handheld games per year and indie games on the digital shop?

The explosion of Wii and DS happend due to titles that will now fall under the quality of life category, that's where Nintendo will target the soccer moms.

How will they achieve growth in the core gaming sector? I know Iwata said they are thinking about abandoning the decades old business model and create a new structure. I also remember he said they need surprising new software and that they need to look into western trends. I guess we'll see.

Easy. They're expanding. That's how they can

 

[JrBaconCheeseburger]

Do you not have any other consoles (PS4/XB1/PS360/Wii) or a PC? WiiU is a poor choice as a primary console.

Yeah i own PS4/XB1/PS3.

I keep going back to SF4AE on PS3.


I just really thought it would be much much better.

 

[Muzy72]

The point is that they play identically. Forget about if those titles are ports (DKCR3D), weird semi-ports (Smash Bros.), or just expansion packs (3D World). The point is that there's no difference between the experiences Nintendo releases on handheld and console, so pretending Nintendo would or should never consolidate across hardware is silly.

Freezie, I respect most of your opinions, but when you say shit like 3D World is an expansion pack it really grinds my gears.

 

[Xun]

The point is that they play identically. Forget about if those titles are ports (DKCR3D), weird semi-ports (Smash Bros.), or just expansion packs (3D World). The point is that there's no difference between the experiences Nintendo releases on handheld and console, so pretending Nintendo would or should never consolidate across hardware is silly.

How cute.

You're trying too hard.

 

[Aostia]

After some days, I'm rady to share my feedbacks.
Torned.

I found the Direct really disappointing: it was supposed to be focused on Spring games, and at the end they presented games for Spring only for 3DS. Wii U only Spring releaseis an already known May for Mario Kart. And the next DK releasing in few days. No retail game for March neither April. Just one eshop game with NES Remix. Still few games for the VC, despite the confirmation of the GBA (absurd to have it on Wii U and not 3DS, whti still no news for N64 games, and where are those DS games confirmed during the meeting last week?). More than 1 year ago they announced Yoshi (disappeared), FE x SMT (desappeared), Project X (still unknown if it will be released in 14 in the West), Smash and Bayo2(that will arrive at the end of 2014...). Only Zelda WW HD really came out, from that January 13 Direct. So, we still don't know if Zelda U, Yoshi and FE x SMT will be really released, and if they'll be, it will be 2015. That means that for 2014 they will release just 3 retail internal developed games, with the publishing for Bayo2 and Hyrule Warriors (why not show it in the direct?!). Maybe we can hope to see also Project X. And we still have no clue at all on possible new games, in addition to those. So not only Zelda, FExSMT and Yoshi have desappeared, but we don't know if they are working on Animal Crossing, Mario Strikers, Luigis Mansion, Metroid, Star fox, Battalion Wars, new HD enanchement from the GC era or whatever. Up to now Wii U owners know that they really risk to own a Nintendo console for which Nintendo will have developed only 15 games (publishing a few others).

On the bright side, I'm really really interested in almost all of those games. DK seems great, colorful and hard. I love the camera movements and the variety of the stages. MK8 seems the best of the series since the DS episode. Smash totally conquer me with Little Mac; Bayo2 trailer was stunning and X seems to bring all the Xeno awesomeness to a new "hd" level.

So, I'll probably end both loving and hating the Wii U, to summarize my feelings

 

[TreasureHunterG]

"AAA" content with big budgets and large teams for the Wii U is going to be minimal going forward unless there is a dramatic reversal after Mario Kart and Smash (I think Iwata is finally pulling the plug after many people at Nintendo warned him not to get stuck in the HD development arms race).

Yeah, avoiding the HD development in Wii days and starting it's development so late is exactly the reason why Nintendo struggled to develop and furthermore delayed it's games causing the huge droughs in release schedule hurting it's sales. These people advicing Iwata to drop HD development are out of touch and should be fired from Nintendo, you can't ignore this in 2014 anymore, Nintendo made a mistake by doing this in 2006, it's inadmissable now.

It's funny how some people try to defend the option to quit completely instead of recognize the mistakes made in the past and try again.

 

[zoukka]

my longrunning theory is the problem behind the 3ds is that it's too much like a console. its games are generally very complex for pick up and play opportunities. the ds was a far different beast from the 3ds (and the wii).

The 3DS still has the best variety of deep, yet pick up & play friendly games of any platform.