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[Omikaru]

I've got to admit, if this rumour is how I've interpreted it, the prospect of EA getting a slice of every digital game I buy on Wii U is deeply sickening. Enough to turn me off the platform in its entirety, actually.

If Wii U is Origin-only, I'm out. No amount of great Mario or Zelda games can convince me to support that wretched service.

 

[Cerebral Assassin]

I've never seen EA NOT put their software on a Nintendo platform. They still supported Nintendo during the N64 years and even the late GCN years when other western third parties abandoned them.

Pretty sure they paid for the support in the GC years.

 

[hellclerk]

Back in the day Nintendo almost signed away the entire company to Sony and it was none other than Yamauchi who did it and they've got no clue about the online space. No clue at all.

Yeah, and right now they're savvy enough to know about business. The business of online and the infrastructure of the online space are two completely different things. What they need is savvy in infrastructure, something that they're not willing to put internal resources into. I highly doubt Nintendo is reaching out to only EA to figure out their online space. More likely, they're working with an independent firm that we haven't heard about to do the necessary research and legwork to get this sort of system up and running. Certainly, Nintendo is meeting with EA so that they can figure out how to accommodate them into this system, but they're also meeting with Ubisoft, Activision, and everyone else relevant. EA only got their words in because they had probably the biggest online game showing at E3. Ubisoft certainly had their word as well with their own whole fucking WiiU conference. Why aren't we worried about Uplay becoming the standard for Wii online?

Nintendo's alot savvier than people are giving them credit for and Iwata is no fool. If anyone's gonna get played in this, it's gonna be EA, but more likely I just suspect it's people blowing up something that really doesn't mean anything.

 

[Emitan]

Partnering with EA over Steam is exactly the shortsightedness Nintendo is known for. I won't be surprised when it happens, but I will be very disappointed.

 

[Azure J]

Oh my God, don't know if want with EA's Origin, but Steam? Holy fuck yes please.

 

[TheSeks]

LOL if true. I can't wait for the "Nintendo account is locked and many games were purchased on my account" threads a la the X-box Live "hacks" that are partly EA's fault.

 

[luffeN]

Lots of amazing ideas of how precisely Nintendo will ruin the online experience for their next console in here, but my favorite is the one where Nintendo implements a decentralized, multiple-vendor system that has all the drawbacks of online play on the PC without any of the immense benefits that come with it.

Explain please.

 

[Nuclear Muffin]

Nintendo is really stupid for getting involved with EA but I guess EA games are important than Valve games for Nintendo. Still, signing a deal like this could be very much like the 'Sony Playstation' deal that never worked out. All EA has to do is to make sure they get the profits from the smaller apps for the Wii U tablet because while Nintendo doesn't see it as a tablet the third parties certainly will. So you're right, Nintendo is really 'this' close to getting jack shit if they play this wrong and EA gets all the digital distribution money. The Wii U would be like the EA console they didn't have to pay development costs for but EA's going to make sure that you'll get the best deal (with exclusive DLC and all) online.

I agree. Nintendo is bending over too far backwards to court EA. Give these cunts an inch and they'll take a mile.

It does feel a bit like a SNES CD/CDi situation all over again. They're the kind of guys who'd try to pull off something like this and they'd be more than happy to flip Nintendo the bird and leave them high and dry with no exclusive support of note.

Pretty sure they paid for the support in the GC years.

They did. They also had to lend them their characters and IP for them to leverage.

Also, what support did EA ever give Nintendo during the SNES and N64 era? (FIFA is the only series that springs to mind - everything else was PS1/PC exclusive) They've always supported Nintendo's competitors over them (MD over SNES. PS1 over N64. XBOX/PS2 over GCN, even with Nintendo paying them off! PS360 over Wii)

I always surmised that NBA Jam was originally pitched as a Wii exclusive to Nintendo that EA wiggled out of (which explains it's original haphazard release). They've done it before and they'd be happy to do it again.

 

[RedSwirl]

I'll be baffled if Nintendo don't choose Steam, that have been functioning for several years, with high success, with most publishers already on the service (and familiar with steamworks) and several millions of users, over Origin, which is still on beta, with the EULA problems, which service funtionalities are still way behind steam.

I mean EA must be giving Nintendo one hell of an offer or it's just Nintendo being silly...

What I'm worried about is how much Nintendo is even aware of Steam.

Nintendo has a pretty long relationship with EA. They're one of the only western publishers that Nintendo people have openly complemented (Miyamoto citing Will Wright's work). I've never seen evidence of any dialogue between Nintendo and Valve other than a rumor once stating that Iwata was interested in Portal.

 

[[Nintex]]

I'll be baffled if Nintendo don't choose Steam, that have been functioning for several years, with high success, with most publishers already on the service (and familiar with steamworks) and several millions of users, over Origin, which is still on beta, with the EULA problems, which service funtionalities are still way behind steam.

I mean EA must be giving Nintendo one hell of an offer or it's just Nintendo being silly...

The people at Nintendo who will decide this just don't know any better. That's no offense it's reality. This is like a western company signing up for a big JRPG and looking around for a developer in Japan. You know the smart money would bet on Level-5 but Square Enix is the elephant in the room that won't allow you to ignore it. EA is the largest publisher in both the US and Europe, while Valve is just a PC developer who struck gold with their Steam distribution platform. Nintendo is proud in ignoring the competition and I'm sure they've heard of steam but EA could offer them so much more and eventually not deliver.

All Nintendo's decisions are made in Japan and Nintendo does a ton of research but their management still looks at the market in Japan and people like Miyamoto aren't interested in online gaming to begin with. Not to mention that Riccitiello and Moore are sly dogs. Especially Moore in hindsight his Microsoft moneybags did not only stall the PS3 train from gaining speed in Japan it also set back and fragmented the entire Japanese gaming industry because they eventually bet on the wrong horse.

 

[EatChildren]

From the thread title, it seems that EA might be threatening Nintendo. Do as what EA wants or, there won´t be any EA games on WiiU.

Kind of what Nintex was getting at;

Nintendo is really stupid for getting involved with EA but I guess EA games are important than Valve games for Nintendo. Still, signing a deal like this could be very much like the 'Sony Playstation' deal that never worked out. All EA has to do is to make sure they get the profits from the smaller apps for the Wii U tablet because while Nintendo doesn't see it as a tablet the third parties certainly will. So you're right, Nintendo is really 'this' close to getting jack shit if they play this wrong and EA gets all the digital distribution money. The Wii U would be like the EA console they didn't have to pay development costs for but EA's going to make sure that you'll get the best deal (with exclusive DLC and all) online.

The issue is they wont get good EA games regardless. EA always does this; blow their horn about how awesome a new platform is, then exploit it with the cheapest, shittest software they can. Their interest in the Wii U beyond typical multiplatform ports wont be any better than their interest in the 3DS, and the Vita will get the same treatment.

Like Nintex was alluding to, all EA will see the Wii U as is a tablet. Nintendo obviously want it to be a proper console, but EA wont care. If Nintendo sign any deal with EA it will blow up in their face, because EA will be in it for EA, and no matter what they 'promise' on their end they will weasel out of it or con Nintendo into believing/thinking they're offering more than they actually are.

Its not even anti-Nintendo conspiracy nonsense or anything. It's EA. They don't give a shit and it's in Nintendo's best interest to give an equal lack of shit about EA.

while I have absolutely no clue how nintendo actually operates, this is too much of a simplistic and derogatory analisis that I wouldn't expect from you. It's clear they're working with an partner(s?) to bring the online part.

Not seeking valve, would probably have to do with their minimal role in the console space rather than arrogance or whatever you call it. If this is the case, I'd agree it's shortsighted, but that's something much different than what you're trying to paint it as.

But I do agree completely on having Origin as an exclusive provider would be awful, both for consumers and their other partners.

Proof is in the pudding and until I see it I have no reason to believe Nintendo is difficult to work with. I believe Nintendo wants to form partnerships, but I'm not sure they're capable of giving a developer the flexibility they'd like.

And I'm not sure Nintendo is working with anybody of substance. Everything they've said has implied a wild west style online environment, either trying to appeal to everyone, or lacking the wisdom/interest in building their own service. Going with Origin might be a last ditch effort to create something more substantial, and it would be a classic EA con.

 

[Shiggy]

EA already paid Reggie underhand so that he supports their Origin wishes in discussions with NCL.

 

[Dabanton]

TBH EA holds more cards than Valve in terms of franchises that Nintendo would need on WiiU to compete seriously.

But i would rather Nintendo goes through the growing pains of doing their own service.

 

[Shao Kahn Brewing a Stew]

Might as well partner up exclusively with gamespy while they're at it.

 

[Nuclear Muffin]

Nintendo has a pretty long relationship with EA. They're one of the only western publishers that Nintendo people have openly complemented (Miyamoto citing Will Wright's work). I've never seen evidence of any dialogue between Nintendo and Valve other than a rumor once stating that Iwata was interested in Portal.

What?! No they haven't! Sim City SNES was done when Maxim was independent. EA have never had any sort of close relationship with Nintendo at all!

 

[bgassassin]

Back in the day Nintendo almost signed away the entire company to Sony and it was none other than Yamauchi who did it and they've got no clue about the online space. No clue at all.

Also EA was brought in as the number 1 Wii U supporter last E3, got Nintendo's audience to watch a clip showing all their latest and greatest titles not available on any Nintendo platform. They're also the number 1 iOS publisher so Nintendo is already dealing with the devil.

That's kinda "massaging" history isn't it. Wasn't it more like Nintendo and Sony were going to partner on the CD add-on, Sony makes it and essentially says "We want to own j00 for j00 to get this!", then Yamauchi said "WTF? LOL, GTFO!"

I'll be baffled if Nintendo don't choose Steam, that have been functioning for several years, with high success, with most publishers already on the service (and familiar with steamworks) and several millions of users, over Origin, which is still on beta, with the EULA problems, which service funtionalities are still way behind steam.

I mean EA must be giving Nintendo one hell of an offer or it's just Nintendo being silly...

It's not that Nintendo is choosing one over the other. Nintendo would essentially let all of them be on there. EA doesn't want all of them to be on there.

 

[Cerebral Assassin]

Like Nintex was alluding to, all EA will see the Wii U as is a tablet. Nintendo obviously want it to be a proper console, but EA wont care. If Nintendo sign any deal with EA it will blow up in their face, because EA will be in it for EA, and no matter what they 'promise' on their end they will weasel out of it or con Nintendo into believing/thinking they're offering more than they actually are.

Why would EA want Origin on a tablet?

 

[Emitan]

TBH EA holds more cards than Valve in terms of franchises that Nintendo would need on WiiU to compete seriously.

But i would rather Nintendo goes through the growing pains of doing their own service.

And Steam is far and away the best digital distribution platform of any market on any platform. Giving that up for a few halfhearted ports is a ridiculous level of stupidity.

Why would EA want Origin on a tablet?

It's coming to the iPad already.

 

[nephilimdj]

I didnt think valve has even added anything to ps3 except p2p portal 2 coop, something MS did with shadowrun years ago on a bigger scale.

I dont know why people are saying has to be steam, EA could do something cleaver.

 

[AceBandage]

Why would EA want Origin on a tablet?

I'm confused by this one as well...
The Wii U controller can't even be used without the console...

 

[rac]

TBH EA holds more cards than Valve in terms of franchises that Nintendo would need on WiiU to compete seriously.

Nintendo could tell EA to fuck off in regards to this situation and EA would still release as many games on the wii u regardless.

 

[SuperSonic1305]

Forget friend codes. You will need a unique login for every game at this rate.

 

[Cerebral Assassin]

And Steam is far and away the best digital distribution platform of any market on any platform. Giving that up for a few halfhearted ports is a ridiculous level of stupidity.

I doubt DD is a huge concern to Nintendo this gen, third party support is far more important.

 

[AceBandage]

Forget friend codes. You will need a unique login for every game at this rate.

Based on...?

 

[[Nintex]]

That's kinda "massaging" history isn't it. Wasn't it more like Nintendo and Sony were going to partner on the CD add-on, Sony makes it and essentially says "We want to own j00 for j00 to get this!", then Yamauchi said "WTF? LOL, GTFO!"

Nintendo and Sony were going to partner up for the PlayStation add-on and the deal was that Sony would get all the profits from CD based games(even Nintendo ones!) while Nintendo would get the cash from cartridge based games. Since even Nintendo knew that cartridges would in no way be able to compete when it came to price and or storage they just didn't meet their end of the contract and made some sort of half assed deal with Philips.

That would in no way be different from EA getting the 'digital' profits while Nintendo gets the 'retail' profits.

I'm confused by this one as well...
The Wii U controller can't even be used without the console...

EA bought PopCap, PlayFish and others and those type of 'apps' would be perfect for the tablet.

 

[Emitan]

I doubt DD is a huge concern to Nintendo this gen, third party support is far more important.

I' doubt Nintendo wants any of the money Valve, Microsoft, and Sony are making from DD only games. I doubt they want a proper DLC system. I doubt they want proper community and online features. I doubt Nintendo wants to partner with Steam, whom nearly every single publisher supports already.

 

[Dabanton]

And Steam is far and away the best digital distribution platform of any market on any platform. Giving that up for a few halfhearted ports is a ridiculous level of stupidity.

That may be so but a console without EA games is automatically on shaky ground.

 

[Sadist]

Iwata can't be that stupid can he?

Right?

 

[AceBandage]

EA bought PopCap, PlayFish and others and those type of 'apps' would be perfect for the tablet.

But... it's not a tablet...
It's a controller with a screen. I mean, they already release a lot of those games on the other systems as it is.
Why would they want it to act as a tablet when it literally can't?

 

[ghst]

valve brings steam to nintendo consoles, nintendo bring their games to steam.

stand in awe of progress.

 

[Jhriad]

Lots of amazing ideas of how precisely Nintendo will ruin the online experience for their next console in here, but my favorite is the one where Nintendo implements a decentralized, multiple-vendor system that has all the drawbacks of online play on the PC without any of the immense benefits that come with it.

Well, we can't fault Nintendo for always striving to provide the worst possible online experience.

 

[Phoenician_Viking]

Why not? Get another big publisher and increase your presence in the console space.

I meant to say what´s in it for Steam? For what reason would Steam partner with Nintendo, especially since Nintendo has tight control over its platforms?

 

[GC|Simon]

Hopefully Nintendo won't outsource the online business to someone else. Even if it's good on WiiU, it won't have a future on all Nintendo platforms. I don't understand Nintendos problem. It's not that hard to build a own online service...

 

[TheExplodingHead]

I would rather both, and Nintendo just work out some other sort of deal with Origin instead. But if I had to pick, it'd be Steam.

 

[Cartman86]

This is absurd. No way Nintendo would go for that, and no way EA would even attempt it.

 

[[Nintex]]

But... it's not a tablet...
It's a controller with a screen. I mean, they already release a lot of those games on the other systems as it is.
Why would they want it to act as a tablet when it literally can't?

Because it is:

 

[Emitan]

That may be so but a console without EA games is automatically on shaky ground.

Kind of what Nintex was getting at;



The issue is they wont get good EA games regardless. EA always does this; blow their horn about how awesome a new platform is, then exploit it with the cheapest, shittest software they can. Their interest in the Wii U beyond typical multiplatform ports wont be any better than their interest in the 3DS, and the Vita will get the same treatment.

Like Nintex was alluding to, all EA will see the Wii U as is a tablet. Nintendo obviously want it to be a proper console, but EA wont care. If Nintendo sign any deal with EA it will blow up in their face, because EA will be in it for EA, and no matter what they 'promise' on their end they will weasel out of it or con Nintendo into believing/thinking they're offering more than they actually are.

Its not even anti-Nintendo conspiracy nonsense or anything. It's EA. They don't give a shit and it's in Nintendo's best interest to give an equal lack of shit about EA.

They can either have the best online system of any console or horrible EA games...

And I highly doubt EA is going to abandon the Wii U and let Call of Duty have no competition.

 

[RedSwirl]

Would EA seriously threaten to not release any games for Wii-U of Nintendo didn't give them the exclusivity?

 

[hellclerk]

Nintendo and Sony were going to partner up for the PlayStation add-on and the deal was that Sony would get all the profits from CD based games(even Nintendo ones!) while Nintendo would get the cash from cartridge based games. Since even Nintendo knew that cartridges would in no way be able to compete when it came to price and or storage they just didn't meet their end of the contract and made some sort of half assed deal with Philips.

That would in no way be different from EA getting the 'digital' profits while Nintendo gets the 'retail' profits.

EA bought PopCap, PlayFish and others and those type of 'apps' would be perfect for the tablet.

But Nintendo WOULDN'T make that kind of deal in the first place. At all. You're implying that Nintendo wouldn't have learned from one of their most formative of mistakes. That's dumb as shit to the max. Hell, this entire concept evades logic and common sense worse than Sarah Palin on a book tour.

 

[ThoughtsOfSpeaking]

if true this really seems like nintendo doing a deal with the devil.

If it does work out, I feel its actually going to bad for both companies...no concrete reasons why, just a hunch.

 

[EatChildren]

Why would EA want Origin on a tablet?

EA want Origin everywhere, because more people owning Origin = more potential customers.

Nintendo wants third party support. Valve interested in bringing Steam to the system, EA interested in Origin.
EA cracks the shits over Steam, and wants Origin exclusivity on the platform.
Nintendo goes "herp derp EA is a huge publisher what is Valve? EA what can you give us?"
EA makes a bunch of suss promises and commits 'support' to the platform.
Nintendo is stupid and thinks they've got a sweet deal and lets EA dominate with Origin.
EA lols all the way to the bank as their 'support' consists of shitty iStore style apps and c-tier games targeted for iPhone/iPad like touch screen devices, treating the Wii U as just another overpriced tablet.

They can either have the best online system of any console or horrible EA games...

And I highly doubt EA is going to abandon the Wii U and let Call of Duty have no competition.

They won't abandon it, because they don't care in the first place, which is why Nintendo shouldn't care either.

 

[[Nintex]]

Would EA seriously threaten to not release any games for Wii-U of Nintendo didn't give them the exclusivity?

Has EA announced any Wii U games 'officially' yet?

THQ and Warner Bros. did and they just signed with Origin too.

 

[LeleSocho]

If it gets steam... I'll buy 2 day one even at FIVE HUNDRED AND NINENTYNINE U.S. DOLLARS
If it gets origin... I'll never take one even if they give me FIVE HUNDRED AND NINENTYNINE U.S. DOLLARS worth of games for free

 

[AceBandage]

Because it is:

No, it's a controller with a screen.
It can not function as a tablet.
It can not be used beyond the living room.
Anyone that is trying to make it act like a tablet is being stupid.

 

[daakusedo]

Don't understand much but sure there are crazy experts here.

 

[bgassassin]

Nintendo and Sony were going to partner up for the PlayStation add-on and the deal was that Sony would get all the profits from CD based games(even Nintendo ones!) while Nintendo would get the cash from cartridge based games. Since even Nintendo knew that cartridges would in no way be able to compete when it came to price and or storage they just didn't meet their end of the contract and made some sort of half assed deal with Philips.

That would in no way be different from EA getting the 'digital' profits while Nintendo gets the 'retail' profits.


EA bought PopCap, PlayFish and others and those type of 'apps' would be perfect for the tablet.

But that's my point. In this area you're making Nintendo sound like they are more incompetent than they really are, or else we would probably not be seeing the console market we have today as PS1 would not have existed as we know it today.

As been said by others in this thread I'd like to believe that EA is saying "We'll give you this and this, etc. if you make Origin the only DD provider." I would like to believe Nintendo has enough business sense to know doing that would be suicide before the console even got off the ground.

 

[Phoenician_Viking]

TBH EA holds more cards than Valve in terms of franchises that Nintendo would need on WiiU to compete seriously.

But i would rather Nintendo goes through the growing pains of doing their own service.

That would be the best option for Nintendo and consumer on the long run, but Nintendo won´t do it.

 

[guek]

If it gets steam... I'll buy 2 day one even at FIVE HUNDRED AND NINENTYNINE U.S. DOLLARS
If it gets origin... I'll never take one even if they give me FIVE HUNDRED AND NINENTYNINE U.S. DOLLARS worth of games for free

What kind of madness is this?

Has EA announced any Wii U games 'officially' yet?

THQ and Warner Bros. did and they just signed with Origin too.

Don't think so. To be fair though, very few titles have been announced, and that seems more like nintendo keeping a tight lid on things than anything else.

 

[Nuclear Muffin]

But Nintendo WOULDN'T make that kind of deal in the first place. At all. You're implying that Nintendo wouldn't have learned from one of their most formative of mistakes. That's dumb as shit to the max. Hell, this entire concept evades logic and common sense worse than Sarah Palin on a book tour.

Sneaky hidden clauses that get lost in translation can go a long way, especially if they're presented to a company who is absolutely desperate for your support...

Would EA seriously threaten to not release any games for Wii-U of Nintendo didn't give them the exclusivity?

Look no further than the Dreamcast http://www.gamasutra.com/view/feature/4128/the_rise_and_fall_of_the_dreamcast.php?print=1

 

[guek]

That would be the best option for Nintendo and consumer on the long run, but Nintendo won´t do it.

Nintendo says they don't have the resources to make competent net code without disrupting game development...

the goddamn buy the resources with your mountain of cash.

I really don't get why nintendo hasn't expanded their operations more heavily since they struck gold with the wii/DS