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[georly]

I don't think a Galaxy 3 would've helped any more than 3D World would've at launch. Both would be seen as more-of-same refinements rather than proof of concept system sellers. It was exactly the same issue NSMBU faced, only that game also carried a more worn out series brand on top of everything.

The Mario game Wii U needed to launch with was really Mario Maker. Something that felt legitimately new and yet still comfortably familiar. And also something that fundamentally enforces the strengths of the platform's interface.

I mean it being at launch in addition to NSMBU - basically just having a stronger launch in general. If it could have launched w/ mario maker and splatoon in the spring, Wii U would have been a much different system than it is now, but hindsight it 20/20. Just really have to hope nintendo learned from wii u is all we can take away from any of this.

 

[NOLA_Gaffer]

I ask that Nintendo stop making half-baked spin-offs like Amiibo Festival, Triforce Heroes and Federation Farce.

Amiibo Festival is the only one of those three you could call half-baked, which is a shame, because a Animal Crossing-themed party game would have been great if they had another six months or so of development time.

Triforce Heroes was great. Basically a "Dungeons Only" Zelda game and was a blast from beginning to end.

Federation Force isn't even out yet. It's a bit too soon to call that one half-baked, no?

 

[Vena]

The first point was how everybody thought the 3ds launch would go, which was riding the coat tails of the still strong DS (especially in America). And while some correctly predicted, a strong launch wouldn't be able to sustain itself without any positive buzz that the software lineup and 3D failed to achieve. Despite recuperating in Japan due to very key partnerships with a huge diversity of partners it struggled throughout in the west as that content doesn't translate as well (not to mention not having a MH ready by 2011 holiday and in my opinion not making a huge deal of Resident Evil with strong comarketing as some sort of MH replacement for the west). I think 3ds was the bigger slap in the face for the inception of the NX content where backwards compatibility needed to be reinvented in order to create natural and enticing upgrades options instead of having to toss away your momentum and having to start from scratch.

The 3DS was, conversely, overpriced, lacking launch software, and the 3D effect just hampered everything. I think the NX, at least to some degree, will avoid the first and third by necessity. They seem to be trying to also avoid the second problem by dominoing their software with a key delay.

But I think the actual underpinning of the delay is that they can't get enough hardware out in time. I really do think this delay greatly raises the possibility that their "industry leading chips" are on the new 14nm fab nodes and they, simply, didn't reach yield maturity in time for a holiday launch. They'd be incredibly strapped for supply if they tried to launch for holiday (*fuck up on the fab nodes rumor pending* only serves to exasperate the problem of the 14nm fab node), so it ultimately comes out to be better for them to delay: they get software domino, they get better long-term momentum from die-hards leading to holiday+casuals, and they a stock of hardware to actually sell.

 

[webster1]

I wish I could try miimoto, the game opens and crashes immediately... I hope fire emblem doesn't do so... I would uninstall it but I'd still like to give it a try if an update repairs it.
The crashing of mobile games is my biggest gripe with them, on a PC if q game crashes there are hardware firmware or software changes that can be done. I cannot do that on a note 4.

 

[Ninja Dom]

I wish I could try miimoto, the game opens and crashes immediately... I hope fire emblem doesn't do so... I would uninstall it but I'd still like to give it a try if an update repairs it.
The crashing of mobile games is my biggest gripe with them, on a PC if q game crashes there are hardware firmware or software changes that can be done. I cannot do that on a note 4.

You able to get a slightly older iOS device? IPad? Maybe an iPod Touch?

 

[AerialAir]

Some of their most recent releases (obviously not all, just some) have been a bit... weak. Add on the fact that they really don't have third party support, and won't have for quite a while, and NX might be a disaster for Nintendo. Now, it can also be their next big thing that actually succeeds, but they have to be very careful with how they release their software/hardware, in terms of content and price.

 

[AntMurda]

Some of their most recent releases (obviously not all, just some) have been a bit... weak. Add on the fact that they really don't have third party support, and won't have for quite a while, and NX might be a disaster for Nintendo. Now, it can also be their next big thing that actually succeeds, but they have to be very careful with how they release their software/hardware, in terms of content and price.

It seems Miyamoto's last duties as GM, before the restructure, was doubling down on proving the GamePad was capable of delivering new experiences. So there were a lot of small teams experimenting with software in the newly named Project GARAGE initiative. We only saw four of those projects, one which was fully developed in-house, two were half finished and sort of outsourced to Platinum, the last one was quietly shelved. But the important thing is that there were several un shown projects according to Miyamoto, so perhaps they show up NX gen.

 

[Fredrik]

So they're not planning on selling NX at a loss and NX is developed with this in mind. :/

Unfortunately this makes me worry that they aren't going for powerful hardware this time either even though some rumors seem to hint that. Slightly below PS4 is my guess as of now.

 

[Instro]

I ask that Nintendo stop making half-baked spin-offs like Amiibo Festival, Triforce Heroes and Federation Farce.

"Let's try something different, but make it super cheap and fast so that it is as unappealing as possible."

 

[Vena]

So they're not planning on selling NX at a loss and NX is developed with this in mind. :/

Unfortunately this makes me worry that they aren't going for powerful hardware this time either even though some rumors seem to hint that. Slightly below PS4 is my guess as of now.

And how did you reach that conclusion? Tech has advanced enough to push past the APU in the PS4 without breaking the bank... and you have no indication on the price of the NX. (Especially since every other indication has been of the opposite, just not to the level of PS4K.)

 

[Boney]

So they're not planning on selling NX at a loss and NX is developed with this in mind. :/

Unfortunately this makes me worry that they aren't going for powerful hardware this time either even though some rumors seem to hint that. Slightly below PS4 is my guess as of now.

It's also in the context of a weak yen which helps their profits inmensely.

"Let's try something different, but make it super cheap and fast so that it is as unappealing as possible."

Problem is that for Federation Force they started like around 2012 iirc and couldnt make it for the New 3ds launch.

 

[Vena]

It's also in the context of a weak yen which helps their profits inmensely.

This is another important detail in how its phrased. He's talking profitable on the basis of a weak yen. It could well be "This is being sold a profit because the weak Yen inflates our earnings. It sells at/near cost (say, 300-350$) in US dollars but conversions balloon the value of each unit."

 

[AntMurda]

This is another important detail in how its phrased. He's talking profitable on the basis of a weak yen. It could well be "This is being sold a profit because the weak Yen inflates our earnings. It sells at/near cost (say, 300-350$) in US dollars but conversions balloon the value of each unit."

Don't you also think for launch, they can do a 399 premium bundle again. After all, it was the higher selling sku for the Wii U. Perhaps then offering a core 299 for November.

The Wii U also lost a lot of potential profit by not selling new controllers. People recycling old wiimotes was money lost.

 

[AerialAir]

It seems Miyamoto's last duties as GM, before the restructure, was doubling down on proving the GamePad was capable of delivering new experiences. So there were a lot of small teams experimenting with software in the newly named Project GARAGE initiative. We only saw four of those projects, one which was fully developed in-house, two were half finished and sort of outsourced to Platinum, the last one was quietly shelved. But the important thing is that there were several un shown projects according to Miyamoto, so perhaps they show up NX gen.

This is what I'm afraid of. Afraid that they're half-baked launch titles. That should be what Nintendo wants to avoid at all costs.

 

[Instro]

It's also in the context of a weak yen which helps their profits inmensely.

Problem is that for Federation Force they started like around 2012 iirc and couldnt make it for the New 3ds launch.

Dark Moon didn't even release until mid 2013 so I'm going to guess no.

 

[Dark Cloud]

I still think they're going with a cheap console to grab the cheaper audience in and have the SCDs to boost power and make it more powerful.

 

[Tesser]

Yes, because Mario worked perfectly for Wii U.

I think you'll find that yes, they need to excite third parties. Just throwing more Mario and Zelda at the market isn't going to do shit.

Mario, in itself, wasn't the issue with its Wii U outing, at least for me. It was down to a sheer lack of creativeness and identity that has made notable titles in the past memorable. Perhaps this is taste speaking, but I'm not a fan of YET ANOTHER 2.5D side-scroller or a skybox filled with floating platforms ad nauseum.

Regarding other IP's and speaking purely as a [waning] "fan" - because I could waffle on if I choose to speak as enthusiast press - showing some love for IP's that aren't Mario or Zelda would be a good start, if not a great end result. Fire Emblem certainly shows Nintendo are/were willing to gamble on a niche name and a less-than-comfortable sales projection and I would love if Nintendo would show some further appreciation for Metroid/F-Zero/Wars/Golden Sun/new IP...but again, this is personal taste talking.

Splatoon shows they, as a video game developer, can still create something unique and interesting but they need to keep doing this while at the same time reassuring the dwindling base of fans that they're simply not betting on two/three IP's to do everything for them. Give me a Mario game that offers something different, yes; give me a Zelda game that tries something new and inventive, yes. Give me all this and more. Just don't retread or repeat something simply because it worked back then [Star Fox Zero].

 

[Vena]

Don't you also think for launch, they can do a 399 premium bundle again. After all, it was the higher selling sku for the Wii U. Perhaps then offering a core 299 for November.

The Wii U also lost a lot of potential profit by not selling new controllers. People recycling old wiimotes was money lost.

It's difficult to parse what he means because cost is more than just the console and it's guts. The PS4 was near cost at launch but that was accomplished by skimping hard on build and controller.

PS4K is very likely to be sold for profit out of the gate as a luxury/premium product. At that's 400$. At 300-350$ Nintendo could find themselves right between PS4 and 4K and still be sold at profit.

 

[Fredrik]

And how did you reach that conclusion? Tech has advanced enough to push past the APU in the PS4 without breaking the bank... and you have no indication on the price of the NX. (Especially since every other indication has been of the opposite, just not to the level of PS4K.)

Just a hunch, it's just the way they made it sound in that QA, developing it in a way to not risk losing money. It's good in some ways of course, won't result in an even more grim future if the console fails. But look at PS3, it was sold at a loss for several years but went on living for 7 years. PS4, XB1 and possibly also NX might just last a few years before they're getting replaced. Not ideal imo.

 

[Vena]

Just a hunch, it's just the way they made it sound in that QA, developing it in a way to not risk losing money. It's good in some ways of course, won't result in an even more grim future if the console fails. But look at PS3, it was sold at a loss for several years but went on living for 7 years. PS4, XB1 and possibly also NX might just last a few years before they're getting replaced. Not ideal imo.

What did you expect them to say to investors? "We plan to burn through five billion USD ala PS3 to deliver cutting edge power that no one will use!"

PS3 never made back what it devoured.

 

[Fredrik]

What did you expect them to say to investors? "We plan to burn through five billion USD ala PS3 to deliver cutting edge power that no one will use!"

PS3 never made back what it devoured.

There is no need for exaggerations, I just think they should take a loss and use some of their savings to better help paving the road into the future, I don't believe in the weak console with a twist at €399 idea anymore, I think they need to have awesome hardware at €399 or lower to have a chance this time.

 

[Colonel Mustard]

Just a hunch, it's just the way they made it sound in that QA, developing it in a way to not risk losing money. It's good in some ways of course, won't result in an even more grim future if the console fails. But look at PS3, it was sold at a loss for several years but went on living for 7 years. PS4, XB1 and possibly also NX might just last a few years before they're getting replaced. Not ideal imo.

If Sony could hit the redo button on the PS3 gen, they absolutely would. That's not an exaggeration, they lost tons of money.

 

[Mpl90]

There is no need for exaggerations, I just think they should take a loss and use some of their savings to better help paving the road into the future, I don't believe in the weak console with a twist at €399 idea anymore, I think they need to have awesome hardware at €399 or lower to have a chance this time.

I fear that, while a bit hyperbolic as an expression, that amount of money is around what PS3 actually caused as a loss through the years for Sony, correct me if I'm wrong

 

[L Thammy]

Honestly, I think all of the lame spinoffs were never expected to impress, but were just made so that there is some source of profit while Nintendo shifts gears to NX.

 

[Mory Dunz]

Honestly, I think all of the lame spinoffs were never expected to impress, but were just made so that there is some source of profit while Nintendo shifts gears to NX.

That's probably a fair assesment.

Animal Crossing HHD definitely made money.
Mario Tennis bombed (though it did surprisingly well in Japan...)
Amiibo Festival bombed
Zelda TFH did well enough

2/4 probably isn't horrible considering the effort. But it's not something you'd want to keep doing image wise.

 

[MilesTeg]

Some really soft questions honestly not much here.