Support NeoGAF

[plufim]

No mention of handhelds is just weird.

 

[Herne]

EA doesn't make children's games. Why would they have Nintendo listed?

Oh, dear.

 

[sn00zer]

Honestly with the games EA makes im not surprised...people who buy their games are going to buy the console versions over the handheld versions every time.

 

[Alvarez]

No mention of handhelds is just weird.

Cost effective. It costs virtually nothing to port to platforms like iOS and Android, whereas conversion to 3DS takes time and money, and returns would be insignificant compared to, say, Sports Game #3467 or Mass Effect 5.

It's worth noting that Nintendo is masterful at selling hardware, not software. 3DS first-party software sales have only recently exceeded the 3DS' 35 million, meaning that the majority of 3DS owners have not purchased more than one first-party 3DS game--a very similar situation to the Wii. This scenario isn't attractive for EA. The userbase is there, but the userbase isn't likely to buy EA's games.

Honestly with the games EA makes im not surprised...people who buy their games are going to buy the console versions over the handheld versions every time.

This too. The consumer base interested in EA games without access to other platforms is slim.

 

[Toad.T]

Hey Toad,

I'm familiar with the titles you've listed. I won't comment on them in fear of getting dogpiled again for having an opinion, but I'll say that I don't consider their existence evidence that Nintendo features a significant array of games that appeal to adults or those with extended video game experience.

I don't have a narrative--only some honest observations:

- All I ever hear about from Nintendo is more Mario, more Zelda, more Smash Brothers, and more undeniably cutesy games like Pikmin. On the rare occasion that they advertise a remotely new title, it's either an uninspired grab (Zombie U) or an anime epitome of fun, where fun is the only thing that matters.

- When a good game does get released for a Nintendo console, it's hidden away in the darkest corners for as long as possible. Nintendo does its best to keep it in Japan and to never talk about it. Nintendo is so bad at recognizing games that may appeal to more experienced gamers that it takes movements, such as Operation Rainfall, to get things rolling.

- All of the gimmicks, like the wand and the 3-D and the screen controller, are lost on me. For whatever reason, Nintendo has made these convolutions essential, whereas other companies have not. This is problematic not only on a personal preference level, but on a physical level as well: older gamers, myself included, sometimes have physical ailments that conflict with this forced method of play.

- Nintendo's primary IPs have not undergone significant change or progress, which has resulted in the apathy of some, myself included. For others, this is cause for celebration--and that's called personal preference. For me, it's cause for disinterest. I play modern Nintendo games as a last priority, if I get to them at all, and when I do play them I typically find that I haven't missed anything--because little has changed. Some Nintendo fans dismiss the notion that Nintendo veers away from change, but when change is suggested they often go into a frenzy, desperate to preserve "tradition". At the end of the day, one can take a decade-long break from Nintendo without missing much.

In conclusion, I'll point out that EA's income is not reliant on their shovelware games. If it was, Nintendo would be on that survey.

Edit: Oh, and know that I and others are doubly biased: Games like Deus Ex: HR and Batman for the Wii U aren't on our radar for reasons that I hope are obvious. The result is a shrunken Nintendo library on our end, which adds to the problem.

Thanks for taking the time out to reply!

-I do agree that titles need to be advertised better. Sadly though, the market has decided what they wanted time and time again through purchases and forums and the like. Nintendo responds thusly. You and I are only two people, of course, but change has to start from somewhere. If just a little bit of noise was made, people start to take notice and perhaps that one opinion shared by two people can blossom into a whole movement. It just needs time. As well as dedication. Or tl;dr: Vote with your wallet and eventually change will happen.

(I'm assuming the Anime title referred to in your last post was The Wonderful 101? Because the other title I can think of, Fire Emblem Awakening barley relies on just "Fun" as a game factor.)

-Sort of falls into the last point, honestly. It's also due to the fact that the times when they tried, they were shot down hard.
No one bought Earthbound, A Good Japanese game they once kept to themselves.
No one bought Sin and Punishment: Successor to the Stars, A Great Japanese game they once kept to themselves.
And even with the whole Rainfall movement of "We're serious this time! We'll buy it, honestly!" Xenoblade Chronicles, The Last Story and Pandora's Tower, very little bought those titles. Sure Last Story was a success for Xseed, but this is a publisher that thrives on the numbers that niche Games bring. Of course they'd be impressed with the Numbers that come from the Nintendo "Hardcore".

-I see where you're coming from on the "Gimmick" front. The thing is though, Gimmicks are Nintendo. The two are inseparable. In fact, Gimmicks are entirely responsible for Nintendo's success. Game industry crashes in '84. Stores absolutely don't want video game machines anymore. If Nintendo hadn't dazed everybody with the R.O.B gimmick, we wouldn't be having this conversation. The (Mostly) gimmickless Gamecube fails. Nintendo's on the rocks. They dazed people with the remote control gimmick and now motion controls are an industry standard. It's because Nintendo is, at heart, a toy company. Not just because of Video games themselves (I do NOT want to open that can of worms again,) But because of their past (Ultra Hand, Board Games, Pitching Machines). The other two major companies in the industry have origins as a electronics producer and a Operating System developer. So while those two follow their origins and their "heart", Nintendo follows theirs, leading to a combativeness between product philosophies. While electronic companies and OS manufactures focus on making something better and flashier, Toy companies go in completely opposite directions.

They should have alternate control methods for others though, I give you that. (It's not a foreign concept either. They had the Hands-Free Controller for the NES, which was designed for disabled players.)

-Perhaps so, but change is subjective in and of itself. Maybe their stable of franchises needs to get a few awkward teen years out of their system and see what comes from it. Maybe success? Maybe failure? Who knows. They should've done that during their successful run with the Wii, but we can't change the past.

-Perhaps bias/narrative were too harsh of words. I apologize. Yeah, third parties do gimp their offerings, but again, the market has shit their bed on this matter (so to speak) and now they have to lay in it.

Also, one could argue that their secret biggest moneymaker (The Simpsons: Tapped Out) is shovleware incarnate, but that's neither here nor there.

Hope I didn't come across too rude this time around, lol.

 

[Alvarez]

No one bought Earthbound, A Good Japanese game they once kept to themselves.
No one bought Sin and Punishment: Successor to the Stars, A Great Japanese game they once kept to themselves.
And even with the whole Rainfall movement of "We're serious this time! We'll buy it, honestly!" Xenoblade Chronicles, The Last Story and Pandora's Tower, very little bought those titles.

That's the difference between Nintendo and other companies: Companies like Sony do not appear as obsessed with sales. Nintendo has an excellent PR image, but does Nintendo pay for unpopular games like Heavy Rain and Beyond: Two Souls? Would Nintendo even mention a game like Journey or The Last Guardian? Whereas Sony celebrates these kinds of titles, Nintendo hides them--and they certainly don't fund them like Sony does.

The Wii U, for example, has the breathtaking X in development. Has Nintendo ever addressed this game? Of course not--not even after Xenoblade's incredible reception. This is the unfortunate reality I am talking about.

Nintendo needs to support a wide array of games, not just the ones that sell well. This isn't some immature command from me--this is me pointing out Nintendo's short-sightedness. Perhaps Xenoblade wasn't a blockbuster, but it got me to buy a Wii. Did anyone else here buy a Wii for Xenoblade? Undoubtedly. And that got me to buy even more Wii games. Nintendo needs to realize that if they want [a division of gamers], there must be games--preferably multiple games--that will draw that division in. Nobody wants to spend 300+ dollars on one game.

Nintendo must support all great games, not just the family-friendly first-party ones, and not just the ones that are guaranteed to sell.

Oh, more examples: Deus Ex HR, Batman, and other titles. When was the last time you saw Nintendo address these kinds of games? Late ports or not, these are great games, and... nobody knows that they're on the Wii U! All of this combined contributes to Nintendo's "for kids" image. Yes, the more mature titles are there, but they are infinitely more varied, available, and celebrated on other platforms. On Nintendo platforms, these games are treated terribly.

 

[speculawyer]

So have consumers.

 

[Demon Ice]

So the last posts you made are the best constructive answers you can make? If your posts are just about humor and laugh I'm going to pass sorry.

Hmmmm now where would you get that ide- Oh it's because that's literally what I said. Nice attempt to take the "constructive posts only!" high ground after your little FUCK YOU EA meltdown.

If you think there is nothing to add to the discussion, then why are you even posting in this thread. Simply to hurl insults? Yes, you quoted some laughable salty posts, but you are not coming off any better here.

I'm coming across as hysterically salty and in denial?

Nobody told me.

 

[Currygan]

that first page. Been hearing bollocks like that since 1996. Thanks, Sony

 

[greg400]

Don't care, just abort your horrid Origin platform and put your games on Steam. Mirror's Edge 2 is the only game they've announced I give a shit about.

 

[Hale-XF11]

The heaping pile of crap EA released on Nintendo DS tells you everything you need to know about much EA cares about making quality handheld video games.

 

[Turok_TTZ]

I enjoy that most of this thread is on ninty when the bigger thing to discuss is why the same treatment to the Vita? Sure it hasn't sold blockbusters but Vita is a capable handheld console. Does EA has something against handhelds? Vita can't even get a proper fifa ffs.

 

[diaspora]

EA's an abortion of a publisher, and I can see myself ignoring them in the PC space indefinitely.

 

[Darmik]

I can understand not bothering porting games like Battlefield 4 onto the Wii U. But they have games like The Sims 4 that would be a pretty damn appealing concept for the Wii U audience. They're only restricting themselves by focusing on only a few markets.

 

[flippedb]

The Wii U, for example, has the breathtaking X in development. Has Nintendo ever addressed this game? Of course not--not even after Xenoblade's incredible reception. This is the unfortunate reality I am talking about.

X will release in no less than a year. Nitendo started the advertising campaign for 3D World less than a month ago. Patience.

 

[Kimawolf]

That's the difference between Nintendo and other companies: Companies like Sony do not appear as obsessed with sales. Nintendo has an excellent PR image, but does Nintendo pay for unpopular games like Heavy Rain and Beyond: Two Souls? Would Nintendo even mention a game like Journey or The Last Guardian? Whereas Sony celebrates these kinds of titles, Nintendo hides them--and they certainly don't fund them like Sony does.

The Wii U, for example, has the breathtaking X in development. Has Nintendo ever addressed this game? Of course not--not even after Xenoblade's incredible reception. This is the unfortunate reality I am talking about.

Nintendo needs to support a wide array of games, not just the ones that sell well. This isn't some immature command from me--this is me pointing out Nintendo's short-sightedness. Perhaps Xenoblade wasn't a blockbuster, but it got me to buy a Wii. Did anyone else here buy a Wii for Xenoblade? Undoubtedly. And that got me to buy even more Wii games. Nintendo needs to realize that if they want [a division of gamers], there must be games--preferably multiple games--that will draw that division in. Nobody wants to spend 300+ dollars on one game.

Nintendo must support all great games, not just the family-friendly first-party ones, and not just the ones that are guaranteed to sell.

Oh, more examples: Deus Ex HR, Batman, and other titles. When was the last time you saw Nintendo address these kinds of games? Late ports or not, these are great games, and... nobody knows that they're on the Wii U! All of this combined contributes to Nintendo's "for kids" image. Yes, the more mature titles are there, but they are infinitely more varied, available, and celebrated on other platforms. On Nintendo platforms, these games are treated terribly.

I'm sorry but this is just insane. What should they do exactly? The launch of the PS4 should have told you all there is to know. EA didn't delay THIS NFS game till march did they? They didn't gimp this version of Madden did they? Same with all the other "mature" games. EA put out ME3 for the FULL price AT THE SAME TIME they released the entire trilogy on other consoles for cheaper. So what exactly, could Nintendo do in that situation?

Bottom line is, EA picked their horses and that's all there is to it which is fine, it's a business after all, decisions have to be made.. Nothing Nintendo could do to change the situation with them now. Now do they need to change their marketing to target more "mature" audiences? I suppose they could, but it won't change the EA situation due to gamers not being idiots and buying 6 month old ports or rip off single games from a rip off company.

Mark my words, EA will be one of the publishers to crash and burn, NOT because of Nintendo but because they are simply a horrible company.