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[Thoraxes]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IA1zra7w8Bc&feature=player_detailpage#t=58s

What the hell happened?

I have no idea how Nintendo can turn this around, they have completely lost mindshare with the majority of gamers. Nintendo isn't big enough to support the console with a consistent stream of games, and it looks like the best third parties will do is an inconsistent stream of 360/PS3/Vita ports. It'll get Madden and CoD but that's about it.

Can't lose what you don't have.

 

[Sandfox]

Wow, that's awesome. See, I love this. Ubisoft delay Rayman for six months and cop a ton of shit from the Nintendo faithful for screwing the console, screwing Nintendo, screwing Wii U owners, etc, but when Nintendo delay Pikmin 3 past the launch window with no sign of a date it's all "don't worry, the games are coming! Just wait for E3!" It's ridiculous that third parties are being held to a higher standard than the platform holder.

People were mad about Rayman because the game was complete and delayed two weeks before its release.

 

[Unknown One]

Perhaps in the long run, but the launch numbers are going to look pitiful side by side with the PS3/360 sales. Everyone and their friends are already in on the current gen, and that's what they'll buy a new game for. If they do decide to upgrade, it'll be for exclusives, not beefed up ports of current gen games.

It's definitely going to be over 200k for both system. It's the other way around. BF4 is a next gen that's downported to current console with a gimped experience.

 

[Criminal Upper]

People were mad about Rayman because the game was complete and delayed two weeks before its release.

Get your facts out of here.

 

[ExigentContact]

This doesnt explain why Crysis 3 wasnt released on the system.

I already explained this. Crysis 3 hasn't sold very well on the platforms with the massive install bases, and EA probably knew that it wouldn't, considering the tepid reception of Crysis 2 and where we are in the generation. The Wii U has performed quite horribly and even big name shooters like Call of Duty struggled to attain player bases of more than 6000 in the peak hours or decent sales.

Releasing Crysis 3 on the Wii U would not have been a profitable venture. Plain and simple.

 

[duckroll]

What the hell happened?

We need game journalism to find out.

 

[LOCK]

And so another game I'm not buying. I've grown tired of shooters but the game pad use in CoD BOps 2 made it interesting.

Your loss EA.

 

[Baconsammy]

We need game journalism to find out.

While they're at it, please also ask why Amazon and Nintendo can't kiss and make up. Why can I not buy a Pikachu XL directly from Amazon?! I want it.

And so another game I'm not buying. I've grown tired of shooters but the game pad use in CoD BOps 2 made it interesting.

Your loss EA.

No, this is definitely Nintendo's loss. Every time they lose a game that's multiplatform, it is their loss.

 

[Imm0rt4l]

Damn.. so Wii U really is going to become the gamecube of this generation.

Wii u will be lucky to get the support that gc had.

 

[runnin_blue]

I'm usually a Nintendo defender (but I own all the consoles & handhelds so don't put me in the fanboy category plz ).

But enough's enough. The saying "the only one who can fix your problem is you" applies here.

How are Nintendo not throwing buckets of money at EA to prevent shit like this? Or better yet, think ahead and release a console that is at least comparable with the other new ones.

Wii's success was a flash in the pan. Surely they could not have expected it to happen again.

I'm old enough to remember the fucking awesomeness of the NES/SNES era. Get Yamauchi out of his old folks home, prop him up & let him cut sick.

Is what I say.

 

[PdotMichael]

I really don't think as many people were "burned" by the Wii as people online like to think.

Though the success of the Wii U doesn't prove your point.

 

[jmizzal]

I really don't think as many people were "burned" by the Wii as people online like to think.

Yea why didnt all those burned people buy the great gamecube before the Wii? People keep saying stuff like the Wii burned them they are done with Nintendo, but yet GC only sold lil over 20 mil and Wii sold near 100 mil.

 

[Thoraxes]

We need game journalism to find out.

 

[KillerTravis]

Too bad, but what I want are some damn japanese games annoucements. Oh and maybe Bethesda.

 

[daxgame]

Shocked. No fucks given personally though, I hate this series (and am multiplatform anyway).

 

[Captainsweatpants]

What the hell. To me it seems like all the 3rd Parties got paid by Sony and Microsoft to skip the Wii U. They want to destroooooy it.

 

[specialguy]

It likely isn't due to the Wii-U not being powerful enough, as it's stronger than both the PS3 and 360. It's more to do with the reason he suggested, which is not wanting to stretch the team too thin, and also the fact that Nintendo's positioning and apparent mindshare for games like this just won't be seen as in nearly the same favorable place as the xbox and playstation brands.

It isn't because the Wii-U is too weak. Nintendo's position just isn't as strong as they need it to be, and so that automatically makes the Wii-U a lesser priority.

hard to say. the theory would be, you're already making a ps360 version, slapping it over to wii u, even with expected low sales, should be a doddle.

that's why i wonder if there's some hardware reason that makes it not a doddle.

it could also be that ea simply thinks wii u bf4 sales would be so low it doesn't justify even a small headcount being thrown at the project.

 

[Phonomezer]

It sure seems that way to me from casual observation. The entire WiiU reveal at E3 was so strange. They were talking about the online infrastructure, and how they were getting external help to make it really good, and then at the end they had EA come on stage for what seemed like a major announcement.... but it was basically nothing. There wasn't even an actual announcement other than "Hi I'm glad to be here, bye."

So it seems like there could have been an arrangement which fell apart at the very last moment?

I believe so, at least, the grandeur surrounding the EA appearance at Nintendo's conference was an indication that EA providing the online infrastructure for the Wii U at some point was a definite possibility - relations seem to have degraded too quickly between then and the Wii U's launch for it to be amicable. It will be a while until someone spills the beans.

Perhaps Nintendo wanted a large cut of the profits and EA said no, or perhaps EA wanted some Nintendo games on Origin PC and Nintendo said no... who knows. I'd imagine the meetings between the two were like rams butting their heads together.

 

[kinggroin]

How many of the games that have been announced to not be coming to the Wii U are shooters? Is Tiger Woods Golf a shooter now? Blaming the third parties isn't very bright. At some point you need to actually examine that real problem.

You mean that Nintendo has developed a platform (and all that it encompasses) that isn't condusive to most 3rd parties modus operandi? I think, anyone with an inkling of critical thinking skills can see that was the case just a few days after launch.


I don't know Sammy. I'm kind of like, "It is what it is", and there is literally nothing Nintendo can do to turn the 3rd party boat around.

I also feel, this could potentially be their opening to completely turn the fortunes of the Wii U around, since its completely obvious their fate rests on their ability to adequately support and push the system. Let go of that third party multiplatform dream and begin to expand the company to cover weaknesses and holes in genres left open.

Maybe I'm being overly optimistic, but I honestly feel core gamers will buy the platform if their is great exclusive content for it. They also have to know that content exists (advertising is another area that needs major fixing).

We'll see in the upcoming months how bad Nintendo wants this platform to succeed.

 

[Madao]

Yea why didnt all those burned people buy the great gamecube before the Wii? People keep saying stuff like the Wii burned them they are done with Nintendo, but yet GC only sold lil over 20 mil and Wii sold near 100 mil.

most of nintendo's hardcore audience was in the 20 million chunk.

the extra 80 million that the Wii got are already lost since those are the casuals that already got tablets and smartphones now.

if they can't even get the people who stuck with them in both past gens, they're pretty fucked.

 

[Log4Girlz]

We need game journalism to find out.

So you're saying we'll never know?

 

[Sandfox]

I'm usually a Nintendo defender (but I own all the consoles & handhelds so don't put me in the fanboy category plz ).

But enough's enough. The saying "the only one who can fix your problem is you" applies here.

How are Nintendo not throwing buckets of money at EA to prevent shit like this? Or better yet, think ahead and release a console that is at least comparable with the other new ones.

Wii's success was a flash in the pan. Surely they could not have expected it to happen again.

I'm old enough to remember the fucking awesomeness of the NES/SNES era. Get Yamauchi out of his old folks home, prop him up & let him cut sick.

Is what I say.

Paying off EA would be a waste of money better used for other things and Yamauchi isn't in charge for a reason.

Though the success of the Wii U doesn't prove your point.

People enjoying one device doesn't really mean they are just going to jump over(especially as early adopters).

 

[XANDER CAGE]

EA gets a lot of flak on the internet, and quite frankly I believe they deserve it. They were acting super chummy with Nintendo, until the rumored Origin deal dissolved. Now they are trying everything in their power to cut Nintendo where and when it hurts.

That's kinda scumbag imo. Especially because Origin sucks and its absurd to imagine Nintendo, or any console, would outsource their online to such a skeevy company as EA.

But I bought the Wii U for Nintendo exclusives anyways. I just didn't think they would be literally the only things worth playing.

You know that publishing games isn't a service for first parties, right? There's definitely an interesting story behind whatever is going on between Nintendo and EA, but EA has no obligation to put games on the Wii U. To be honest, right now I can't really blame them.

I do hope that someone figures out what is going on/what went on between the two companies though, I'd love to know what discussions were had and what gentlemans' agreements were cut.

 

[D.Lo]

So what you're saying is that skipping Wii U will have little negative effect on EA's bottom line?

In the short term. But when Sony or Microsoft finally give up buying marketshare and shareholders demand better margins (or even just an actual overall profit) from the game divisions and the console market as EA needs it to exist collapses without being massively subsidised on the hardware and support front, and has to succeed on its own merits again like in the 80s/90s...

Well then EA might have preferred to have cultivated other markets.

Microsoft and Sony have basically paid out of their own back pockets for the market in its current form to exist. Which I guess means they have subsidised the business of EA and Activision for around 10 years.

 

[hydragonwarrior]

So the 3rd party AAA ship has indeed sailed for Wii U. Now it's just about how many smaller devs they can draw in to support the platform in its retirement home.

They're at least guaranteed more Lego games though.

 

[Glass Rebel]

In about a month the next Call of Duty will be released. If that one is skipping Wii U as well... Time to pour all resources into the 3DS!

 

[duckroll]

I believe so, at least, the grandeur surrounding the EA appearance at Nintendo's conference was an indication that EA providing the online infrastructure for the Wii U at some point was a definite possibility - relations seem to have degraded too quickly between then and the Wii U's launch for it to be amicable. It will be a while until someone spills the beans.

Perhaps Nintendo wanted a large cut of the profits and EA said no, or perhaps EA wanted some Nintendo games on Origin PC and Nintendo said no... who knows. I'd imagine the meetings between the two were like rams butting their heads together.

It's highly unlikely that Nintendo has any interest on putting their games on PC. I'll say if the deal fell through badly, it was probably more likely down to a disagreement on fees for the platform. EA definitely would have wanted a cut, but Nintendo might not have wanted a third party to benefit that greatly from their platform.

 

[iMerc]

I'm currently considering selling my WiiU. Damn. That's hard, and I've had it just for two months.

lol. do you even own a wii u? honestly?

because anyone with half a brain knows the primary reason to buy one is for nintendo software.
if those come out and they aren't that great, the sell your wiiu's "it's all over" "nintendo am doomed" etc etc.

but trading it in because a 3rd party title that has never even shown up on a nintendo system ever is going to continue not showing up sounds a bit 'message-board' opportunistic.

Also, apologies for singling you out. didn't mean to. just find it amusing that there are people investing in a platform and expecting a level of support it has NOT had for 4 generations now.

 

[runnin_blue]

Paying off EA would be a waste of money better used for other things and Yamauchi isn't in charge for a reason.

Better used for other things like what? What is Nintendo doing to buck this trend?

1 gig of ram, didn't spend it there.

Online infrastructure, nope.

You got any ideas?

 

[Xbudz]

"Imagine a shooter, like Battlefield, with jaw-dropping graphics and smooth character animations of the Frostbite engine, brought to you on a Nintendo system with that breakthrough controller."

Ouch!

 

[Kiryu]

EA is going to dig their grave after so many bad moves they made recently...

 

[Mihael Mello Keehl]

I'm usually a Nintendo defender (but I own all the consoles & handhelds so don't put me in the fanboy category plz ).

But enough's enough. The saying "the only one who can fix your problem is you" applies here.

How are Nintendo not throwing buckets of money at EA to prevent shit like this? Or better yet, think ahead and release a console that is at least comparable with the other new ones.

Wii's success was a flash in the pan. Surely they could not have expected it to happen again.

I'm old enough to remember the fucking awesomeness of the NES/SNES era. Get Yamauchi out of his old folks home, prop him up & let him cut sick.

Is what I say.

Nintendo is not throwing money at third parties because...

Multiple choice. Choose your answer by circling the letter accordingly.

A.) They cant afford to

B.) They dont find the 3rd party worth it

C.) They do not care

D.) Third party wont let them.

Now A is obviously wrong everybody always talking about dat war chest, B is not true because if so Nintendo would not have already publish a few 3rd party games already, C.????????, D.) Could be right if this unprecedented partnership thing did fail and is now EA is working against Nintendo but I cant find that plausible if EA down the line still releases games like madden and fifa on the console not to note just recently Most wanted U was released.

 

[Sandfox]

Better used for other things like what? What is Nintendo doing to buck this trend?

1 gig of ram, didn't spend it there.

Online infrastructure, nope.

You got any ideas?

Rather than moneyhat EA for what everyone knows would be a limited return for them, Nintendo could spend their money on their SW.

 

[runnin_blue]

EA is going to dig their grave after so many bad moves they made recently...

I do believe if Ubisoft had the sport franchises they could possibly overtake them.

 

[shinra-bansho]

I remember a lot of angry nerd comments from the BF developers on Wii U. What a professional business. For EA it would make sense to just port this game to all platforms.

How does it make sense to release games on platforms where they won't sell enough to make a good return?

 

[Rich!]

EA is going to dig their grave after so many bad moves they made recently...

A grave filled with billions of dollars. Which they will just keep there, as a reserve incase they run out of their other billions.

 

[Piggus]

EA is going to dig their grave after so many bad moves they made recently...

The game will sell millions of copies regardless. Nintendo is the one who needs to make better decisions and improve their relationships with third party devs.

 

[Roo]

lol. do you even own a wii u? honestly?

because anyone with half a brain knows the primary reason to buy one is for nintendo software.

And where is it exactly?
and I'm not even talking about exclusive/funded/published by Nintendo.
I mean real Nintendo software. You can't really blame people if the software is still months away.

I own a Wii U too but this is getting out of hand and Nintendo is doing next to nothing to fix it.

 

[Phonomezer]

It's highly unlikely that Nintendo has any interest on putting their games on PC. I'll say if the deal fell through badly, it was probably more likely down to a disagreement on fees for the platform. EA definitely would have wanted a cut, but Nintendo might not have wanted a third party to benefit that greatly from their platform.

I certainly wouldn't put it past EA trying though

And yep, most likely down to a dispute over profit distribution.

 

[Mikey Jr.]

I just read that article about EA and Nintendo. Man, what a past they have had.

Yeah, something happened between EA and Nintendo. This is beyond business. This has to be like a personal vendetta or something.

BF4 is more than capable of coming to the WiiU. Not the next gen version obviously, but the PS3/360 versions. WiiU should easily match those. And Dice should have been able to have more than enough time to develop on the WiiU. I understand not BF3. But BF4? Especially when Treyarch could do it on the WiiU with Blops 2?

 

[runnin_blue]

Rather than moneyhat EA for what everyone knows would be a limited return for them, Nintendo could spend their money on their SW.

You have to put in the hard yards in order to achieve success. Just like any business.

Take the financial hit short term to ensure they get most multi-platform releases and achieve long term success. But oh, I am not ceo of anything, just a humble business manager.

 

[Etnos]

I thought EA and Nintendo were playing nice with each other.

seems like EA is putting a Dreamcast on Nintendo this time around.. Cant blame them Wii-U isn't doing too hot.

 

[maverick40]

Wow the Wii U is so shit right now. Not a single game out for it I would want to play.

 

[baphomet]

It's starting to look really grim for Nintendo. They couldn't have botched the year head start they had any worse than already they have.

 

[Game-Biz]

The Wii U at the very best can only hope to reach the status of GameCube at this point. And GameCube, at this time of its life, had an incredibly superior software library - which I think speaks volumes for why very few are interested in the Wii U as of now. There is really no upside for a developer to create a game for the Wii U. Horrible specs to contended with; no install base; the typical Nintendo system demographic that doesn't buy 3rd games (unless you're Ubisoft and you make a hit dancing game). I don't think Iwata should be fired, but I really hope he's starting to realize why the Wii was so successful (new tech the public was surprised by; nice simple software utilizing the new tech; Zelda didn't hurt) and why the Wii U is not (touch pads turns no one's head;software is decent, but not interesting;no solid catch your eye launch title).

 

[Vexxan]

I doubt BF4 would have been a big seller on Wii U anyway. Sure, Wii U needs more games but I wouldn't buy one to play Battlefield.

 

[cyberheater]

The coffin is running out of space for nails.

Lol. To true.

 

[Captainsweatpants]

Come on Nintendo, now or never.
This Game doesn't even need to be in development yet. Just announce it with a Logo and the sales will skyrocket.

 

[ymmv]

Surely no one is surprised by this, particularly Nintendo fans. Anyone with half a brain knew this was going to happen.

Blame those Nintendo fans who publicly say that they'd be perfectly happy if the Wii U ended up as a sales failure with no third party support since they intend to play only Nintendo first party exclusives anyway.

 

[duckroll]

It's starting to look really grim for Nintendo. They couldn't have botched the year head start they had any worse than already they have.

It's not much of a head start when the system is more comparable to PS3/360 than what's coming out next from MS and Sony though.