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Nintendo Sports: Can Nintendo "Replace" EA on Wii U?
- Thread starter Metallix87
- Start date
And baseball is a big deal in Japan, as well. Presumably the same engine could power two different games.
TitusGroan
Banned
Actually, thinking about it a little more, probably the best thing Nintendo could do is set up their own 'Nintendo Sports' label to act as a cohesive house for their sports titles. If they were to release disparate sports games here and there with no cohesive branding to tie them together, there's always the risk that no matter how good the game, without the license people won't be interested. But if Nintendo were to announce one year at E3 a dedicated sports brand like Nintendo Sports, then release various titles under that banner, it could be a good way for them to market themselves as a sports game publisher. After all, EA publishes all its sports titles under the EA Sports moniker for a reason.
It helps they've got some dormant sporting franchises that people would love to see return. So if they revealed a Nintendo Sports brand, then released a Nintendo Soccer game, a new 1080 Snowboarding (at 1080p, obviously) and a new Wave Race game as the first wave of titles under that brand, they could gain a lot of attention, hype and (hopefully) marketshare. They wouldn't just show that the Wii U has a football game here or there, they'd show that it's a dedicated platform for sports franchises.
It helps they've got some dormant sporting franchises that people would love to see return. So if they revealed a Nintendo Sports brand, then released a Nintendo Soccer game, a new 1080 Snowboarding (at 1080p, obviously) and a new Wave Race game as the first wave of titles under that brand, they could gain a lot of attention, hype and (hopefully) marketshare. They wouldn't just show that the Wii U has a football game here or there, they'd show that it's a dedicated platform for sports franchises.
I'd love to see Nintendo take a serious stab at offering a series of more arcadey alternatives to the popular sports sims. A lot of modern sports games have become very complex and bloated, and there may be a viable market for something that's a bit more dynamic and easy to pick up and play, two game design elements Nintendo is very good at.
If I were them, I'd probably start with basketball as its fans seem a lot more receptive to arcade-style gameplay than say, football or soccer. For example, the NBA Street series was nearly as successful in the early 00s as the NBA 2K series is today. I think Nintendo could turn quite a few heads if they offered a middle ground between the two.
If I were them, I'd probably start with basketball as its fans seem a lot more receptive to arcade-style gameplay than say, football or soccer. For example, the NBA Street series was nearly as successful in the early 00s as the NBA 2K series is today. I think Nintendo could turn quite a few heads if they offered a middle ground between the two.
I did play this game at E3, and it was nothing special (and not "rock solid"). No surprise why it didn't get released.
I'm a fan of Nintendo's sports games, but when EA comes back on board the N train (next generation it looks), it wouldn't make financial sense to go against the juggernaut.
Mario sports titles have a niche, however.
Nobody is going to buy a Nintendo platform for sports games. They would sell in some amount, but not on a level that makes it worth it to develop new sports exclusives from the ground up. EA may be kicking themselves if the Wii U has a turn around this year, but overall they've probably weighed the financials and decided it isn't worth the cost to bother.
This I think isn't the right way to think about it. True, it might not be a big market. But Nintendo's not just in the software market - they're also in the hardware market. I read a good story the other day about why HBO will spend a lot on quality, but niche, programming - it's because HBO doesn't need you to like all their shows. HBO just needs you to want ONE of their shows. Similarly, Nintendo needs to attract lots of different types of gamers to sell their platform - which they can do one niche at a time.
Baron_Calamity
Member
I personally would buy non-branded sports games. I never liked official sports games. they are too rooted in reality and too far up the ass of the the industry to actually be fun.
No, they cannot. People associate sports with sim sports titles and EA pretty much owns that space for a quite a few sports. If it dosen't have the NFL, PGA, along with espn presentation with all the real players, stadiums and whatever else that exists in the real world, the market simply won't give two shits about it.
And here ladies and gents, is one of the reasons why EA stopped making games for the Wii U.
Dude, don't fuel more the stereotype about "Nintendo fans" not liking sports or even stuff not from Nintendo themselves.
You don't like sports games, fair enough, but the "Nintendo fan" bit is unneeded.
Schnozberry
Member
It would be great to see Nintendo put together a sports studio and make a couple of competent games. The NFL is never going to happen, but they could easily get licenses for the NBA, NHL and MLB. I'm sure International Soccer licenses aren't difficult to come by either. EA's output has been awful as of late. I'd love to see a new take on sports sims.
The gamepad has a lot of uses for hardcore sim players that the other consoles can't offer without a tablet or a vita.
The gamepad has a lot of uses for hardcore sim players that the other consoles can't offer without a tablet or a vita.
Ninja Scooter
Member
arcadey stuff like the Mario Sports games and Punch-Out make sense. Proper sports sims? lol no chance. Nintendo would never invest the kind of resources necessary these days and they don't have an audience for it.
Metallix87
Member
They could cultivate an audience, though, with enough marketing and good buzz.
The thing is, sports games largely sell on visual quality and realism. The Wii U will always be behind PS4 and Xbox One in this regard, and EA/2K/etc. have years of experimentation and user data to build a compelling package out of. I don't think the money and R&D spent on building sports sims will result in a niche that's worth capturing in their current situation. Back in the SNES/N64/GC days it kind of made sense, but now... no. It even would have made sense in the Wii's heyday because people were hungry for motion controlled sports games, but they didn't even bother then.
Ninja Scooter
Member
They'd be completely out of their element. Breaking into the sports game when your name is not 2K or EA is probably the hardest genre to break into right now. That's why so many publishers dropped their sports lines. High risk/low reward. There isn't a huge audience there. People usually buy one baseball game, one basketball game, one football game per season. Convincing them to pick yours when there are hugely established titles already on the market is fucking tough enough on consoles that have established sports sim audiences, let alone a console that has no real market for it. I just don't see it as a viable or smart option for Nintendo. Their resources are probably better used elsewhere.
Shpeshal Nick
aka Collingwood
I'm not saying the games were bad. Not for one second.
I'm just saying that in the end, they couldn't replace EA in that space. Even WITH great games.
does the lack of EA sports matter anymore? were not talking 15 years ago. the market is way more diversified than before.
the madden factor really hasn't existed on nintendo platforms for sometime... the genre of "sport" video games has also expanded and retracted in a few ways, certain titles sell way less than used to and their clout isn't what it used to be. on the other hand, work out (dancing) and fantasy sports have taken a bite out of the traditional mix for many casual gamers on a mix of different platforms.
at this point, i would find it fruitless for anyone to try and bother with HD sports titles on consoles. let EA have it, they know the market is somewhat stagnant when it comes to growth opportunity. NFL on consoles isn't really the plug it was some gens ago.
the madden factor really hasn't existed on nintendo platforms for sometime... the genre of "sport" video games has also expanded and retracted in a few ways, certain titles sell way less than used to and their clout isn't what it used to be. on the other hand, work out (dancing) and fantasy sports have taken a bite out of the traditional mix for many casual gamers on a mix of different platforms.
at this point, i would find it fruitless for anyone to try and bother with HD sports titles on consoles. let EA have it, they know the market is somewhat stagnant when it comes to growth opportunity. NFL on consoles isn't really the plug it was some gens ago.
I would love this. Nintendo brought in some cool arcade sports titles that I miss like 1080, Wave Race, and futuristic racer like F-zero.
Speaking sports titles, how many golf franchises are left in video games? I can only think of Mario Golf, Hot Shots golf and that new EA golf game they showed off at E3. And I believe tennis is being only held up by Mario himself, I haven't seen a new Hot Shots Tennis in forever.
Simply not worth the effort unless Nintendo believes EA has abandoned their consoles permanently.
Otherwise, the cost ramp would look like this:
1) Spend millions planning for a team
2) Spend more millions hiring the necessary staff
3) Spend more millions paying them
4) Hope they produce a decent couple of games before the Wii U dies down in 2017/18/whatever
5) As a new system launches, you'll want EA to step back in
6) New team is no longer necessary and may even act as an impediment to EA returning. Team is wound down.
Opportunity cost is simply too high. Again, unless Nintendo is convinced EA is never coming back.
Otherwise, the cost ramp would look like this:
1) Spend millions planning for a team
2) Spend more millions hiring the necessary staff
3) Spend more millions paying them
4) Hope they produce a decent couple of games before the Wii U dies down in 2017/18/whatever
5) As a new system launches, you'll want EA to step back in
6) New team is no longer necessary and may even act as an impediment to EA returning. Team is wound down.
Opportunity cost is simply too high. Again, unless Nintendo is convinced EA is never coming back.
Nintendo could make some awesome Arcade Sports Games, but they could never replace EA and Sony. A massive portion of the people who play sports games do not play them for the fun and inspired gameplay. They play for the raw stats and real player rosters. Nintendo will never be able to ink deals with the NA sports leagues. Those contracts are basically the only thing keeping EA standing.
It matters in the sense that NFL and NBA fans will buy their preferred game each and every year for $60 +DLC. Nintendo take of that market is zero (worse than it was before), even when the Wii was a preferred platform for certain sports games (Tiger Woods PGA games come to mind).
Now would the Wii U make any headway into PS3/4 and Xbox 360/One sales where people really like their friend lists. . . probably not, but the Gamepad could have been a wonderful addition in those games.
Exactly.
With the Dreamcast, it was smart of Sega to make their own sports games because they had experience and they were launching the most powerful console ever at that time, with online play for the first time ever. Sports games were a natural fit, and Sega was going to do it with or without EA.
Didn't work out for their fortunes long term, but there was actually a lot of buzz around the DC as a sports game console.
Nintendo let the sports sim audience completely leave their systems. I'm sure with high quality titles Nintendo could build the audience again, but it would take 3 or 4 solid releases with good word of mouth. In other words Nintendo would have to take a loss on the games for multiple consecutive years to rebuild the audience. And that's only if the titles are great. If they aren't pervieced as best in class for their sports, no one will bother to move over.
HF2014
Member
Honestly, id love to see this happen.
1- Mario Baseball, with old school 8bit Baseball feeling will get my attention.
2- Mario Hockey - If its anything like Ice Hockey with small medium and big player combination, id play that before any WA hockey ( which i stop playing for what, 4-5 years now?) Perhaps signing a seller license ( Like Sidney Crosby Hockey etc, will even get mroe attention)
Seriously, if they make these games on Wii U, i buy.
1- Mario Baseball, with old school 8bit Baseball feeling will get my attention.
2- Mario Hockey - If its anything like Ice Hockey with small medium and big player combination, id play that before any WA hockey ( which i stop playing for what, 4-5 years now?) Perhaps signing a seller license ( Like Sidney Crosby Hockey etc, will even get mroe attention)
Seriously, if they make these games on Wii U, i buy.
Metallix87
Member
Honestly, I don't think EA is coming back, and if they do, it's not with top quality content.
So why isn't this helping out the Wii U?
Those games will not help to bring in the Fifa/Madden crowd to Wii U, even if Nintendo made the "best-selling sports game of all time with no official license".
because no one knows that WiiU is a successor to the Wii (as opposed to naming it Wii2)
and thus WiiU Sports is not in people's minds as the successor to Wii Sports :/
At this point, shouldn't EVERYONE be convinced of this? I know I certainly am.
All EA ever does when they release games on Nintendo consoles is bitch about the audience not wanting to touch the steaming deuces they thought was going to attract that audience, then blaming Nintendo for their failure. They've done it for 10+ years now, and finally they feel in a position that justifies ignoring them completely.
For EA, the time of the "unprecedented partnership" PR wank that they subjected people to is over. They can finally fess up and do what they've always wanted: pretend Nintendo doesn't exist.
Even if we're not all convinced that EA is NEVER coming back, it's absolutely certain now that EA WILL skip Nintendo consoles, the same way they skip Nintendo handhelds. And of course it was confirmed last gen that even if they don't skip a Nintendo console, they will absolutely take a serious sim franchise and put out an All Starz Kiddiez version because f- Madden fans with a Nintendo console.
If Nintendo wants to get licensed sports game fans on their console, it's pretty clear at this point they'll have to do it themselves. Otherwise, why would those fans get invested in the Nintendo eco system, when Nintendo may get ZERO of the games they like, or may only get a kidz version?
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