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[BlackJace]

I really wish third parties would just come out and say that they don't make enough money on Nintendo hardware to warrant the effort.

It's not hardware specs, it's not exactly image, they are in it for the money -- which they don't see as readily available with Ninty consoles.
No third parties are out to get them, the very notion is silly.

 

[Ninja Scooter]

What's Nintendo doing now? Third Party's got mad that Nintendo sticked to cartridges instead of go to CD's with N64, GameCube was in the right direction but it had a low userbase and the small disks didn't help the GameCube, the Wii was too weak for most of the games last gen.

With the Wii U, it is weaker than PS4/720 but it's not 20x weaker like the Wii was, the Wii U disk capacity (if that's the correct word) is 25GB, doubled is 50GB like what the PS4/720 will have, I guess the adventage the PS4/720 will have over Wii U by a lot is the 8GB ram vs the 2GB, but the PS4/720 won't use all 8GB for games and the only company's I see using a huge amount of ram for games is the company's making the exclusives.

It's what Nintendo ISN'T doing now. They aren't cultivating any sort of atmosphere for third parties to succeed on Wii U. Hell they can't even get a game out themselves. What faith are they showing? Coming off the last 2 years of Wii and the launch of Wii U, why would a third party feel comfortable making a game for the system? The system had a lot of negative pub and perception going into launch. Market confusion, aimless attempts to get back the "casual" audience that fell completely flat. The system had no direction. Nintendo is their own worst enemy when it comes to third parties every step of the way. They are out for number 1. Everything they do when regards to design and implementation of their hardware is to try and create the most amount of revenue for themselves. Which is fine. It's worked for the most part. But lets not kid ourselves into lame conspiracy plots to figure out why third parties haven't given a fuck about Nintendo for the better part of the last 15 years (and why the feeling has seemingly been mutual).

 

[PetrCobra]

Which games? Think about it. If zombi U, the game that had so much going for it only had a 10% attach rate...and everything else was less....just think about that for a moment. Everything not named mario is doing abysmal. That's my list. Everything but nsmbu.

Well, if you read my post you know that I've actually thought about it. And I can't see why anyone would expect a better situation. As I said, expecting Zombi U to sell a lot could only be a bet on a launch title surprise hit. With lots of disappointed owners, because to say that the game is not for everyone would be a huge understatement. If there actually were some notable exclusive third party games, we could have some relevant data, but there are none.

 

[TreasureHunterG]

Why would third party western publishers care if Nintendo shut down Left Field or cut off Silicon Knights? Why would this breed some sort of animosity? How does this make ANY sense? Can you honestly give a rational explanation?

And as for "japanese centric", Yamauichi makes Iwata look like Captain America.

Nintendo did had very strong support western support berfore Iwata came out. In the N64 days, Howard Lincoln did manage to bring major western support. Nintendo of America did had a big development team before Iwata's restructure of the company in 2002.

Read this if you mind: http://www.notenoughshaders.com/2013/03/14/howard-lincoln-kicking-ass-before-reggie-came-along/

It's no surprise western support fade out after these changes were made.

Iwata is very Japanese centric but why would third party's hold a grudge because Nintendo closed some NoA development teams?

It's not third party's problem.

If you take a look, before Iwata, situation was the opposite. Nintendo was struggling to get japanese support, while western supported it. When he came out, Nintendo manage to recover japanese support, but in exchange, they lost western. It have been like this ever since Iwata is in his position.

 

[nopenopenope]

.

 

[Ninja Scooter]

Nintendo did had very strong support western support berfore Iwata came out. In the N64 days, Howard Lincoln did manage to bring major western support. Nintendo of America did had a big development team before Iwata's restructure of the company in 2002.

Read this if you mind: http://www.notenoughshaders.com/2013/03/14/howard-lincoln-kicking-ass-before-reggie-came-along/

That's all fine and dandy. I'm aware of Nintendo's stronger internal presence in North America, the Dream Team thing, starting up Retro as (initially) an American answer to Rare...but explain why Third Parties, in 2013, would somehow be salty about Iwata's restructuring and use that as a reason to diss Nintendo? That makes no sense. These companies exist to make money and please shareholders, not carry out bitter fanboy wars.

 

[AZ Greg]

I don't think so.

It already has more 3rd party support and as its sales rebound during the rest of the year, it will pick up the smaller companies like Deep Silver who have no confidence right now to take the risk.

 

[Huff]

some of the logic and twisting being done in here is boggling

 

[Bsigg12]

I don't think people recognize the problem in stating that they bought a Wii U solely for first party titles. If Nintendo is to sell enough Wii Us to make it a somewhat OK endeavor, they have to attract the people that don't have access to a good gaming PC or 360 or PS3. By not getting multiplatform titles, they have no other card besides "Hey, we have our first party games, eventually!" That's simply not enough.

 

[BlackJace]

Compelling rebuttal

 

[Meelow]

It's what Nintendo ISN'T doing now. They aren't cultivating any sort of atmosphere for third parties to succeed on Wii U. Hell they can't even get a game out themselves. What faith are they showing? Coming off the last 2 years of Wii and the launch of Wii U, why would a third party feel comfortable making a game for the system? The system had a lot of negative pub and perception going into launch. Market confusion, aimless attempts to get back the "casual" audience that fell completely flat. The system had no direction. Nintendo is their own worst enemy when it comes to third parties every step of the way. They are out for number 1. Everything they do when regards to design and implementation of their hardware is to try and create the most amount of revenue for themselves. Which is fine. It's worked for the most part. But lets not kid ourselves into lame conspiracy plots to figure out why third parties haven't given a fuck about Nintendo for the better part of the last 15 years (and why the feeling has seemingly been mutual).

The Xbox 720 seems to have the worst negative perception I've ever seen and that's even before it's announced, if all the rumors are true will pubs just say "There's a lot of negative perception about the Xbox 720...Lets stop support for it" Nope, they will support it.

What's Nintendo got to do? stop production for every Nintendo IP other than Mario and let third party's only carry the Wii U like seen with Xbox right now? (other than Halo and maybe Gears).

If Nintendo is truly trying to fix their relationships with third party's and the Wii U userbase grows than there will be no reason to ignore the Wii U if they make profit.

What happens if the PS4/720 don't sell well? Will pubs just focus on PS3/360 until the 9th gen systems release? There's got to be a way for Nintendo to be that third piller for third party's and not that kid that gets picked last.

If you take a look, before Iwata, situation was the opposite. Nintendo was struggling to get japanese support, while western supported it. When he came out, Nintendo manage to recover japanese support, but in exchange, they lost western. It have been like this ever since Iwata is in his position.

I guess either Iwata has to be put in his place and recover the Western support or he will have to be replaced which I hope not, and will have to get someone liked Howard but still keep the Japanese support.

 

[Ninja Scooter]

Compelling rebuttal

That's as much of a rebuttal as that deserves.

 

[Mihael Mello Keehl]

Compelling rebuttal

Lol, idk about the rebounding but the Wii U already has 3rd party support the Wii would had no chance in hell of getting.

 

[TreasureHunterG]

That's all fine and dandy. I'm aware of Nintendo's stronger internal presence in North America, the Dream Team thing, starting up Retro as (initially) an American answer to Rare...but explain why Third Parties, in 2013, would somehow be salty about Iwata's restructuring and use that as a reason to diss Nintendo? That makes no sense. These companies exist to make money and please shareholders, not carry out bitter fanboy wars.

Like I said, because ever since Iwata took his office, western support for Nintendo got lower and lower. Very likely the japanese centric direction from Iwata is repelling them from supporting Nintendo and because of this direction they don't feel confortable to bring their games for it.

 

[BlazinAm]

Nintendo did had very strong support western support berfore Iwata came out. In the N64 days, Howard Lincoln did manage to bring major western support. Nintendo of America did had a big development team before Iwata's restructure of the company in 2002.

Read this if you mind: http://www.notenoughshaders.com/2013/03/14/howard-lincoln-kicking-ass-before-reggie-came-along/

It's no surprise western support fade out after these changes were made.

That is not reflective of Nintendo's current third party issues. Nintendo during the GameCube era were able to get odd exclusives during that time period but the retail market isn't built for those type of releases anymore. Not to mention that the audience that Nintendo is appealing to right now are more interested in first party software than third party software.

On a another note what is with a sample of Wii U owners here who have the dual argument of I bought this hardware for Nintendo game only and then bemoan the lack of third party support; honestly comes of as buyer's remorse.

Like I said, because ever since Iwata took his office, western support for Nintendo got lower and lower. Very likely the japanese centric direction from Iwata is repelling them from supporting Nintendo and because of this direction they don't feel confortable to bring their games for it.

The market changed and games got more expensive had more to do with that. Nintendo did have a ton of western support on the Wii it is just games that you are choosing to gloss over.
There are less publishers in the console space than there was when the Wii came out and there are more risks involved in releasing games to retail.
Also you have to look at the WiiU like this; it is priced too high to be a budget console against the Xbox 360 and Ps3 and it lacks the next generation selling point and the interest that the Ps4 and Xbox 720 have.

 

[TunaLover]

So yeah, Nintendo has made little to no effort to get those 3rd parties on board.

 

[Ninja Scooter]

The Xbox 720 seems to have the worst negative perception I've ever seen and that's even before it's announced, if all the rumors are true will pubs just say "There's a lot of negative perception about the Xbox 720...Lets stop support for it" Nope, they will support it.

What's Nintendo got to do? stop production for every Nintendo IP other than Mario and let third party's only carry the Wii U like seen with Xbox right now? (other than Halo and maybe Gears).

If Nintendo is truly trying to fix their relationships with third party's and the Wii U userbase grows than there will be no reason to ignore the Wii U if they make profit.

What happens if the PS4/720 don't sell well? Will pubs just focus on PS3/360 until the 9th gen systems release? There's got to be a way for Nintendo to be that third piller for third party's and not that kid that gets picked last.

The 720 hasn't been announced yet. The Wii U was riddled with confusion and indifference from its actual unveiling. CNN ran stories about it being a Wii addon the day it was officially revealed at Nintendo's presser. Lets wait until the Xbox is actually revealed before we can actually conclude that MS is just as out of touch with the market and their audience as Nintendo was leading up to the Wii u launch.

 

[EagleBurnn]

Guys, I'm running out of nails for this coffin!

 

[BlackJace]

That's as much of a rebuttal as that deserves.

You believe the sales will never get to a respectable level?

 

[Bsigg12]

The Xbox 720 seems to have the worst negative perception I've ever seen and that's even before it's announced, if all the rumors are true will pubs just say "There's a lot of negative perception about the Xbox 720...Lets stop support for it" Nope, they will support it.

What's Nintendo got to do? stop production for every Nintendo IP other than Mario and let third party's only carry the Wii U like seen with Xbox right now? (other than Halo and maybe Gears).

If Nintendo is truly trying to fix their relationships with third party's and the Wii U userbase grows than there will be no reason to ignore the Wii U if they make profit.

What happens if the PS4/720 don't sell well? Will pubs just focus on PS3/360 until the 9th gen systems release? There's got to be a way for Nintendo to be that third piller for third party's and not that kid that gets picked last.

Meh, the 720 is like the 360 was. Forums go to town picking apart what it doesn't have or how it has something that seems so stupid that there is no way it can compete with the Sony product. If this gen showed anything, it's that Microsoft does not give a fuck what forums and gaming sites think and will push their product to the the top of charts.

Nintendo sits in a really bad spot right now. With the PS4 on the way and the Durnago soon to be official, they have to convince people to spend the money now on their system rather than waiting for a much much stronger one a little farther in the year. I don't think there's any way Nintendo will have a boon like they did with the Wii, the appeal just isn't there.

With the PS4 and Durango both having hardware that just put anything the Wii U can do to shame, any multiplats that come out for all three will automatically get sales from the PS4 or Durango simply because the game will look and perform better. How do you convince someone to spend $300+ on a console right now with a shit library and less than appealing 3rd party support with the two big hitters coming out so soon?

 

[Alcotholic]

Guys, I'm running out of nails for this coffin!

Hmm... Nintendo is fine. They always are. They make unusual missteps, but they end up being profitable.

I have a feeling sales of all next gen consoles will lower to the numbers they achieved before the current gen. Dont expect huge numbers for PS4 or Durango either.

 

[shinra-bansho]

Or, you know, maybe a lot of Wii U owners already own all the late-to-the-party ports that the third parties have offered so far

Which again begs the question: why produce Wii U SKUs at all, when it doesn't reach an increased audience?

Its pretty damn silly when they build a game with no Wii U version in mind. Most of the games have been in development for awhile before Wii U even launched.Resulting in making just quick ports like asscreed 3 or mass effect which couldve benefitted from the Wii U hardware to make a better peforming game. Games like asscreed 4 or watch_dogs should be better performance wise than ps3/360 titles of the same games. Even unwanted game like deus ex thats like a year old has already got numerous improvements compared to the other versions. Id rather have a dev go that direction then quick port of 360 just because. That is silly.

And I dont know if they will stop making Wii U games seems too broad to say that. But you talk in such certainty about things in the future its impossible to agrue that since you always will be right since you know these things somehow.

These are opinions, I'm perfectly open to reality either vindicating me or serving me a healthy portion of crow. I've tasted it before and it's really not that bad. Unless the Wii U takes off in some unforeseen fashion though, and I currently see no reason for that to occur (and no one seems to offer reason beyond "more Nintendo games"), when it stops making business sense to create 360/PS3 SKUs for cross-gen games (i.e. when cross-gen ceases), it will stop making business sense to port those SKUs to the Wii U.

The worst part is, how do you even solve an audience problem? That's complicated and takes years. Their best bet is to spend the rest of this generation somehow trying to figure that out (new marketing/foster audiences for certain titles by making your own/etc...) and then hope that the generation after the wiiU they'll be in a much better place than this one from the get-go. Obviously assuming they A) do that and B) don't make any of the same mistakes next generation.

Nintendo have traditionally tried to have a large open tent. They've tried to be family friendly. They've tried to be accessible to all and in doing so have at times alienated the "some" that are the primary audience for third party publishers' titles. Microsoft and Sony's ecosystems, while still trying to attract people outside of the primary demographic, are primarily aimed at the 16-35 male that fuels the triple-A industry.

I think it's a case that this is a brand cultivated over decades. It's not one they're willing to let subside, while remaining obtuse to the notion that there's far more competition nowadays for those other demographics they struck gold on with the Wii.

Don't forget that for the most part, Nintendo are also a competitor to third parties - they have a strong first party line up, far stronger than Sony or Microsoft, so they might just see the other two as giving them more room to breathe.

Third parties are not scared of Nintendo's output.

It's nonsense. They aren't scared of Halo when they release FPS on the XBOX. They aren't scared of GT when they release racers on PlayStation. They aren't scared of Mario when they release platformers on the Wii. The platform holder sets the tone of the system, their software helps to cultivate an audience. Nintendo have made no substantial effort to do so on the Wii U, from the hardware design, to the software releases, to the branding and positioning.

 

[EagleBurnn]

Hmm... Nintendo is fine. They always are. They make unusual missteps, but they end up being profitable.

Nintendo is fine but not the WiiU. It's already far below expectations and the competition is not even in the picture yet.

 

[Meelow]

The 720 hasn't been announced yet. The Wii U was riddled with confusion and indifference from its actual unveiling. CNN ran stories about it being a Wii addon the day it was officially revealed at Nintendo's presser. Lets wait until the Xbox is actually revealed before we can actually conclude that MS is just as out of touch with the market and their audience as Nintendo was leading up to the Wii u launch.

Your right, the Wii U did have confusing as to what it was leading up to launch, maybe Nintendo naming it Wii 2 or Super Wii would of been a much better choice, if Xbox is named just "Xbox" or "Xbox 8" like rumored that will cause even more confusing, but like you said we'll have to wait when Microsoft finally announces the 720.

But to be fair also, gamers (well most gamers) weren't confused as to if the Wii U was a Wii add on or a successor just like if Xbox 720 was just "Xbox" or "Xbox 8", it's the people that don't game often that would be confused by the Wii U and/or Xbox.

But anyway, I don't see how this has to do with third party support.

Meh, the 720 is like the 360 was. Forums go to town picking apart what it doesn't have or how it has something that seems so stupid that there is no way it can compete with the Sony product. If this gen showed anything, it's that Microsoft does not give a fuck what forums and gaming sites think and will push their product to the the top of charts.

Nintendo sits in a really bad spot right now. With the PS4 on the way and the Durnago soon to be official, they have to convince people to spend the money now on their system rather than waiting for a much much stronger one a little farther in the year. I don't think there's any way Nintendo will have a boon like they did with the Wii, the appeal just isn't there.

With the PS4 and Durango both having hardware that just put anything the Wii U can do to shame, any multiplats that come out for all three will automatically get sales from the PS4 or Durango simply because the game will look and perform better. How do you convince someone to spend $300+ on a console right now with a shit library and less than appealing 3rd party support with the two big hitters coming out so soon?

Your right, the Wii U won't have the upper hand in specs, but it might have the upper hand in controller features, a lot of people love the off screen feature of the Wii U, as well as the touch screen features.

Nintendo could make the Wii U version sound superior without it actually being the best version.

 

[Bony Manifesto]

Like I said, because ever since Iwata took his office, western support for Nintendo got lower and lower. Very likely the japanese centric direction from Iwata is repelling them from supporting Nintendo and because of this direction they don't feel confortable to bring their games for it.

But you seemed to be suggesting before that this is a deliberate attempt by Western publishers to suffocate Nintendo, even if it goes against their own interests.

Truth. Third-parties seems to be in a process of "freeze out" on Nintendo. It has been like this ever since the GCN. They try to find whatever excuse they can to not support a Nintendo console and this excuse later become the "official reason" for why Nintendo failed. I wonder if Nintendo made the PS2 or the PS3 what would be the excuses third-party would give to not support it, like "PS2's hardware is too complex" or "PS3's cell and blu-ray are too expensive".

 

[SniperHunter]

It's what Nintendo ISN'T doing now. They aren't cultivating any sort of atmosphere for third parties to succeed on Wii U. Hell they can't even get a game out themselves. What faith are they showing? Coming off the last 2 years of Wii and the launch of Wii U, why would a third party feel comfortable making a game for the system? The system had a lot of negative pub and perception going into launch. Market confusion, aimless attempts to get back the "casual" audience that fell completely flat. The system had no direction. Nintendo is their own worst enemy when it comes to third parties every step of the way. They are out for number 1. Everything they do when regards to design and implementation of their hardware is to try and create the most amount of revenue for themselves. Which is fine. It's worked for the most part. But lets not kid ourselves into lame conspiracy plots to figure out why third parties haven't given a fuck about Nintendo for the better part of the last 15 years (and why the feeling has seemingly been mutual).

very good post this

 

[Bsigg12]

Your right, the Wii U did have confusing as to what it was leading up to launch,

There is still a huge confusion about this. Go stand in a Target or Walmart around the game section and if people start looking at the Wii U games, they ask if they can play it on their Wii if they get the tablet controller. It's a wreck. I'm at stores everyday hearing the same misinformation as I put up signs and work on game cases around my district, and people just don't have a clue to what the Wii U actually is.

 

[BlazinAm]

There is still a huge confusion about this. Go stand in a Target or Walmart around the game section and if people start looking at the Wii U games, they ask if they can play it on their Wii if they get the tablet controller. It's a wreck. I'm at stores everyday hearing the same misinformation as I put up signs and work on game cases around my district, and people just don't have a clue to what the Wii U actually is.

That is a real problem.

 

[BlackJace]

That is a real problem.

Completely Nintendo's fault, really. They need to axe their current marketing team.

 

[Meelow]

There is still a huge confusion about this. Go stand in a Target or Walmart around the game section and if people start looking at the Wii U games, they ask if they can play it on their Wii if they get the tablet controller. It's a wreck. I'm at stores everyday hearing the same misinformation as I put up signs and work on game cases around my district, and people just don't have a clue to what the Wii U actually is.

Yeah, Nintendo needs better marketing.

But you have to remember the 3DS had the same confusing as to if it was another revision of the DS or an actual successor, it looking exactly like the DS didn't help as well, and now people know what the difference is between a DS and 3DS, if Nintendo could do it before they can do it again me thinks.

But really, this is probably the last gen Nintendo will use odder names like 3DS and Wii U, I really don't see 3DS and Wii U successor having a "DS" and "Wii" in the name.

 

[MYeager]

There is still a huge confusion about this. Go stand in a Target or Walmart around the game section and if people start looking at the Wii U games, they ask if they can play it on their Wii if they get the tablet controller. It's a wreck. I'm at stores everyday hearing the same misinformation as I put up signs and work on game cases around my district, and people just don't have a clue to what the Wii U actually is.

Yep. I know it's anecdotal, but I hear the same when I'm shopping. The packaging doesn't look very different in stores and the ads don't do enough to sell people on the fact that it is a new system. There's still too much consumer confusion, which there shouldn't be at this point. They really need to market it better.

 

[B.O.O.M]

Completely Nintendo's fault, really. They need to axe their current marketing team.

I agree they need better marketing. But doesn't the newer commercials say a brand new console or something similar. Might not be an easy point to get across at this point

 

[DXB-KNIGHT]

Is there a prize for the company that support the WiiU the least? 3rd parties excuses are similar to the PS2 era excuses but the problem here is that there is no console that as successful as PS2.

 

[TreasureHunterG]

That is not reflective of Nintendo's current third party issues. Nintendo during the GameCube era were able to get odd exclusives during that time period but the retail market isn't built for those type of releases anymore. Not to mention that the audience that Nintendo is appealing to right now are more interested in first party software than third party software.

On a another note what is with a sample of Wii U owners here who have the dual argument of I bought this hardware for Nintendo game only and then bemoan the lack of third party support; honestly comes of as buyer's remorse.

GCN was already being freeze out by western pubs. Lucas Arts for some odd reasons canned their support for it and their games were strong sellers on it. Burnout 3 didn't came it, 1 and 2 had solid sales when Acclaim was publishing it. MK Deception didn't came out at the same time as PS2/Xbox after solid sales from Deadly Alliance. Rockstar only brought Smuggler's Run. Eidos canned their support for it after the late port from Hitman 2. Midway originally announced Psi-Ops and The Suffering for GCN and later canned them. Same thing for Atari's DRIV3R.

Outside of LucasArts's Rogue Squadron series, there wasn't no relevant western exclusiviness.

N64 had an audience for such M-Rated games. This change started GCN onward. Yes, you're right when you say Nintendo's audience are interested on their first-party line-up only, but that's how Nintendo is currently advertising their consoles for (for Nintendo games only).

The market changed and games got more expensive had more to do with that. Nintendo did have a ton of western support on the Wii it is just games that you are choosing to gloss over.
There are less publishers in the console space than there was when the Wii came out and there are more risks involved in releasing games to retail.
Also you have to look at the WiiU like this; it is priced too high to be a budget console against the Xbox 360 and Ps3 and it lacks the next generation selling point and the interest that the Ps4 and Xbox 720 have.

Well, if they don't take the risks into consideration for PS4/X720, there would be no logic for why they should consider Wii U "risky".

But you seemed to be suggesting before that this is a deliberate attempt by Western publishers to suffocate Nintendo, even if it goes against their own interests.

It's more like a response against their direction.

 

[AZ Greg]

But you have to remember the 3DS had the same confusing as to if it was another revision of the DS or an actual successor, it looking exactly like the DS didn't help as well, and now people know what the difference is between a DS and 3DS, if Nintendo could do it before they can do it again me thinks.

Forgive me if I'm not remembering, but what new marketing did Nintendo employ to differentiate between the DS and 3DS? I thought the revitalization was simply due to them desperately slashing ~1/3 of the price off before the handheld's 6 month anniversary...

 

[Mihael Mello Keehl]

Which again begs the question: why produce Wii U SKUs at all, when it doesn't reach an increased audience?These are opinions, I'm perfectly open to reality either vindicating me or serving me a healthy portion of crow. I've tasted it before and it's really not that bad. Unless the Wii U takes off in some unforeseen fashion though, and I currently see no reason for that to occur (and no one seems to offer reason beyond "more Nintendo games"), when it stops making business sense to create 360/PS3 SKUs for cross-gen games (i.e. when cross-gen ceases), it will stop making business sense to port those SKUs to the Wii U.Nintendo have traditionally tried to have a large open tent. They've tried to be family friendly. They've tried to be accessible to all and in doing so have at times alienated the "some" that are the primary audience for third party publishers' titles. Microsoft and Sony's ecosystems, while still trying to attract people outside of the primary demographic, are primarily aimed at the 16-35 male that fuels the triple-A industry.

I think it's a case that this is a brand cultivated over decades. It's not one they're willing to let subside, while remaining obtuse to the notion that there's far more competition nowadays for those other demographics they struck gold on with the Wii.Third parties are not scared of Nintendo's output.

It's nonsense. They aren't scared of Halo when they release FPS on the XBOX. They aren't scared of GT when they release racers on PlayStation. They aren't scared of Mario when they release platformers on the Wii. The platform holder sets the tone of the system, their software helps to cultivate an audience. Nintendo have made no substantial effort to do so on the Wii U, from the hardware design, to the software releases, to the branding and positioning.

I could care less about crow, Im just saying for talking within in the realms of whats happening now. If someone is concluding things that are to come in the future its impossible to debate anything with them.

 

[duckroll]

Forgive me if I'm not remembering, but what new marketing did Nintendo employ to differentiate between the DS and 3DS? I thought the revitalization was simply due to them desperately slashing ~1/3 of the price off before the handheld's 6 month anniversary...

I don't think Nintendo ever really differentiated the 3DS from the DS. The difference was really that the DS wasn't a system third parties looked on with scorn and disgust. Consumers didn't only buy Nintendo games on it either. There was relatively healthy support for it. That continues through to the 3DS, and the price drop helped enormously since people actually wanted the system and the games on it.

The Wii and the WiiU? No so much.

 

[Justzisguyukno]

Man, it is bad when I find myself saying "I didn't buy my Wii U for 3rd party games", when really, it should be just as capable as the 360/PS3 when it comes to getting support.


But with how badly some companies have been financially, I understand it might not make much sense to stretch your resources and budget out to port to a 3rd system, which has only been out for 6months and has a fairly weak install base.

I think the recent report from Square definitely sheds some light on the problem, when Hitman Absolution sells 3.6 million, and Tomb Raider 3.4 million, and yet they still miss expectations.

 

[pixlexic]

So this is huge deal but the new batman game is not? seems the teeter totter is weighted heavily on one side.

 

[Ninja Scooter]

So this is huge deal but the new batman game is not? seems the teeter totter is weighted heavily on one side.

Go make a big deal about the batman game until your heart is content. Who the hell is stopping you?

 

[shinra-bansho]

I could care less about crow, Im just saying for talking within in the realms of whats happening now. If someone is concluding things that are to come in the future its impossible to debate anything with them.

So you think it's impossible to form opinions on and discuss future potential outcomes informed by currently available information. Okay.

 

[AZ Greg]

I don't think Nintendo ever really differentiated the 3DS from the DS. The difference was really that the DS wasn't a system third parties looked on with scorn and disgust. Consumers didn't only buy Nintendo games on it either. There was relatively healthy support for it. That continues through to the 3DS, and the price drop helped enormously since people actually wanted the system and the games on it.

The Wii and the WiiU? No so much.

Agreed 100%. Which is why I always find it so funny when people try and make comparisons between the 3DS' slow start and the WiiU's. The perception of Nintendo handhelds and Nintendo home consoles are completely different. Not just among consumers, but developers and publishers as well. If mimicking the strategy of one would lead to success of the other then Nintendo would have easily translated the success of the GBC to the N64 or the GBA to the GC. Or on the flip side, Sony would have translated the success of the PS2 to the PSP.

So this is huge deal but the new batman game is not? seems the teeter totter is weighted heavily on one side.

Support drying up for a console that is ~6 months old is a teeny tiny bit more deal worthy than the announcement of an expected type of game...

 

[PetrCobra]

So this is huge deal but the new batman game is not? seems the teeter totter is weighted heavily on one side.

I'm not really sure how much of a big deal the new batman game really is. It's not made by Rocksteady but a team who did some Looney Tunes game and the Wii U port of Arkham City. It could be the new Aliens CM.

 

[BlackJace]

"Expected type of game". I'm willing to bet if it wasn't announced for the system, it would've been "expected" in another sense lol.

But uh, yeah, the system's in a bad spot. Hopefully they can at least reach the surface before they can start moving forward.

 

[Jokes and Riddles]

In other words: "Wii U ain't selling, so f*ck that."

When the Wii outsold everything else, many of these same companies could have cared less then too.

It's just catering to demographics.

 

[AZ Greg]

"Expected type of game". I'm willing to bet if it wasn't announced for the system, it would've been "expected" in another sense lol.

But uh, yeah, the system's in a bad spot. Hopefully they can at least reach the surface before they can start moving forward.

Expected because the system already got B:AC:AE...

And no, if it hadn't been announced it wouldn't have been expected. It just wouldn't have been surprising...

 

[BlackJace]

Expected because the system already got B:AC:AE...

And no, if it hadn't been announced it wouldn't have been expected. It just wouldn't have been surprising...

Er, gotcha.
What'd I'd be to be a fly on the wall at Ninty HQ.

 

[TaroYamada]

I'd say their expectations were unreasonable if they thought a top down spin off game was going to sell as good as an actual full fledged 3D companion title.

That's like complaining Dead Space extraction didn't sell what Dead Space did, or Halo Wars not selling what Halo does.
If they'd released a GTA Collection on the Wii and that had bombed, that would be a different story.

Even if it didn't meet expectations, the NPD is awful, I just looked it up. Gamespot states it sold 90k in the US in the first two weeks, that's awful for a GTA game.

 

[metalslimer]

And Wiiu continues to look like a 350 dollar Nintendo machine with WB and Ubisoft in for PS3/360 game ports.

 

[Kusagari]

So this is huge deal but the new batman game is not? seems the teeter totter is weighted heavily on one side.

With them buying Saints Row and Metro, Deep Silver is becoming a pretty major publisher. Them flat out saying they're not going to support Wii U at all is far bigger news than Wii U getting a Batman port.