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[Lights and Waves]

Wii U instead of Wii 2.

 

[Version 3.0]

Calling the second itteration of the 3DS the New 3DS. This is a SEO nightmare, like how is anyone supposed to lookup anything about it and not get garbage search results.

This is a good, overlooked one. I mean, people mentioned the 3DS and Wii U names, which were awful, but I think you're the first to mention sticking "New" on the front.

You could make an Abbot & Costello "Who's on first" type of skit about someone calling Gamestop to get a 3DS. Not a New Nintendo 3DS, but a new, old, but-I-don't-mean-used, just regular 3DS. XL.

And let's not forget the 2DS. Like, isn't that just a regular DS, then?

Every name they picked in between the Wii and the Switch ranged from bad to 'worst name ever'.

 

[dcx4610]

Sticking with cartridges instead of CD due to licensing and piracy concerns with the N64. They conceded the top of the video game industry to Sony and Microsoft and never truly recovered.

Definitely less important but I think they should have called the Wii U just Wii 2 and included a remote and Pro controller. The exta money that went into the Gamepad should have been used on the hardware to get it on par or better than the PS3/360 or make the system cheaper.

 

[Jubenhimer]

Yeah well i got me some component cables for the Gamecube.
Needed them for my projector.


Nintendo in general is thickheaded as fuck.
No cd-rom drive, no DVD player, etc.


Most baffling decision since Wii is the incredible small upgrades in raw power.
They really have to do their best to make it as weak as possible.
It must be disappointing as fuck for any artist working there. Constantly hearing: "no sorry, we can't do that". "make it even less". And in the end, what little is left will be killed by jaggies.

Hate this. Didn't buy the Switch. I'll get back to them in a couple of years.

I don't mind "kiddy" (as some insecure folks like to call it) but stylized graphics need AA too mother fuckers. And a lot of other stuff.

Actually, most developers at Nintendo don't seem to mind working with underpowered systems. Their entire philosophy has always revolved around making the most out of older hardware. While some would like more power, I doubt they make up the majority of Nintendo's staff.

 

[Rodney McKay]

This would be a great argument if 3DS hardware hadn't been nigh impossible to find in the US for months. If you go into a store and look at the shelf trying to decide "Switch or 3DS?" the answer currently is going to be "Neither, because there's nothing in stock."

Nintendo rarely completely abandons their systems the second a new one comes out, especially handhelds.

They've still got tens of millions of owners of those systems out there and a lot of them are for younger kids whose parents don't buy them the newest fanciest console the second they come out.

The 3DS being impossible to find is another matter and definitely a weird decision by Nintendo.

 

[Version 3.0]

Nintendo rarely completely abandons their systems the second a new one comes out, especially handhelds.

They've still got tens of millions of owners of those systems out there and a lot of them are for younger kids whose parents don't buy them the newest fanciest console the second they come out.

The 3DS being impossible to find is another matter and definitely a weird decision by Nintendo.

Are you kidding? Nintendo has 100% abandoned their prior system immediately upon its successor arriving, on the home console side. If not before. True, they've been fine on the handheld side.

There were exactly zero Nintendo-published games on the N64 after the Gamecube arrived, 1 on the Gamecube after the Wii arrived (Zelda), and zero on the Wii after the Wii U arrived. And now, 1 on the Wii U (Zelda), on the same day the Switch arrived. And zero more on the way.

The N64, Gamecube, and Wii U were virtually dead and abandoned when their successors arrived. They were lucky to even still be on store shelves. You could even argue that the Wii was. It still had some games arriving, but not many, and none from Nintendo.

 

[Balb]

Not courting Minecraft harder years ago. Unbelievable.

 

[Salvadora]

Nintendo treating Europeans like second class citizens for many years was really fucked up.

 

[The Horror the horror]

Refusing to publish Body Harvest and therefore breaking-off talks to incorporate DMA Design as a second-party developer. Nintendo seemingly had forgotten its lessons from the SNES generation regarding its aversion to mature-themed video games and suffered for that memory lapse. History was changed for it.

 

[Version 3.0]

Nintendo treating Europeans like second class citizens for many years was really fucked up.

Another good one not mentioned (or I missed it). I feel like America got just a slight taste of that neglect a few years back, when a handful of games were hitting Europe but not NA, and even that sucked.

 

[Frillen]

Naming the Wii U the Wii U, especially after the confusion with the 3DS.

 

[DECK'ARD]

Refusing to publish Body Harvest and therefore breaking-off talks to incorporate DMA Design as a second-party developer. Nintendo seemingly had forgotten its lessons from the SNES generation regarding its aversion to mature-themed video games and suffered for that memory lapse. History was changed for it.

Never knew that, that's rather a big blunder.

 

[calavera_jo]

their relations with 3rd parties ever since the NES days

 

[Salvadora]

Another good one not mentioned (or I missed it). I feel like America got just a slight taste of that neglect a few years back, when a handful of games were hitting Europe but not NA, and even that sucked.

They got a taste of the neglect, we were born in it.

 

[AdventureRacing]

Another good one not mentioned (or I missed it). I feel like America got just a slight taste of that neglect a few years back, when a handful of games were hitting Europe but not NA, and even that sucked.

Same applies to MS. That's partly why Sony dominates the EU by default because they're the only one who really treats the region properly. It's strange when you consider just how big of a market the EU is.

 

[DrBillRiverman]

Dropping Sony for Phillips

 

[daTRUballin]

A long history that includes Lionhead, and...Mojang?

FASA, Ensemble, Bungie wanted to get away from them, Press Play, etc.

You're not showing me any sources here where it's stated Rare's best talent left before the sale, and pointing to their output that took place predominantly after the sale corroborates Eurogamer's account of the mismanagement by Microsoft that took place in the years to come after the sale, rather than it being from a mass exodus in the years before.

I've long suspected that "Rare's best talent left before the sale" is just hearsay that fans of the Nintendo+Rare partnership wanted to believe to feel better after the fact, rather than having any truth behind it.

This.

It's ironic when people refer to Playtonic as the "real Rare" when the Playtonic devs were still working at Rare as late as 2014.

 

[ghostjoke]

 

[HeelPower]

Slowing down the progress of Pokemon for as long as they did.

A game on Sun and Moon's technical level(in a multi-billion franchise like Pokemon)should've happened back in 2007.

 

[The Salt Life]

No blood in Mortal Kombat, instead we got sweat

The lack of a proper 2d metroid in forever

The fact that the New 3ds did not come with a charging cable

And of course the Nintendo Classic mini.

 

[boiled goose]

Their failure in developing a proper online and account system 5 systems in.

WiiU as a whole. Concept, cost, design, marketing, lack of target audience, execution, launch games, first year software, name, etc. A complete and total disaster.

 

[Jonneh3003]

Nintendo treating Europeans like second class citizens for many years was really fucked up.

This was true for all companies from the 70's to even the early 2000's.

 

[petran79]

Another good one not mentioned (or I missed it). I feel like America got just a slight taste of that neglect a few years back, when a handful of games were hitting Europe but not NA, and even that sucked.

It was not just that. Eg NES was never released in Greece. They went straight for the Super Famicom. As a result Sega Master System and Mega Drive were far more popular in the 80s there.
Also the various price fixing scandals in Europe that caused Nintendo and their distributors to pay hefty fines.

 

[MegaManTrigger]

Slowing down the progress of Pokemon for as long as they did.

A game on Sun and Moon's technical level(in a multi-billion franchise like Pokemon)should've happened back in 2007.

How was that going to happen on a DS? You have to take console limitations into account too.

 

[NekoGeo]

No streetpass for Switch.

 

[cartman414]

Dropping Sony for Phillips

Sony wanted all software royalties.

 

[JaseMath]

The DS in general. Especially after the meh(ish) sales of the Gamecube, and the uncertainty of their place in the market. If there was a do-or-die moment with Nintendo, I think had to be the DS—and I'll admit I thought it was going to flop.

 

[MegaManTrigger]

No streetpass for Switch.

Given a choice between a useless feature, and better battery life, I'd rather have better battery life.

 

[Dub117]

Right now, the NES classic. I can't believe they don't want to make money. I still haven't got one and I've been looking. My mom who knows nothing about gaming asked me why they would stop production when people still want them. Don't know mom, don't know.

 

[Ruud_Luiten]

The DS in general. Especially after the meh(ish) sales of the Gamecube, and the uncertainty of their place in the market. If there was a do-or-die moment with Nintendo, I think had to be the DS—and I'll admit I thought it was going to flop.

The DS is everything but not a fuckup

 

[nephilimdj]

Last few years of Wii was a trainwreck

Has to be biggest, multi-billion dollar product, lets barely support it or 3rd parties.

A reminder:

IGN top 6 Wii of 2011

Lost in Shadow
MARIO SPORTS MIX
CONDUIT 2
Xenoblade
The last story
Zelda Skyward sword

 

[test_account]

The only thing i can think of is only having voice chat on Switch through an app on your phone. I cant see why they went with this as the only option (unless things changes), makes no sense to me. Other stuff like not being able to backup saves makes at least some sense to me, its probably done trying to stop piracy and i'm sure that that cloud saving is coming. But i cant see any reason to just have voice chat through a phone.

I'm also thinking about what Nintendo did in the NES era with having two regions in PAL, PAL-A (UK, Italy, Australia) and PAL-B (rest of Europe). I guess it had something to do with limiting imports, but i dont think that the games were really that big in price difference between the region. Luckily this was only done on NES.

 

[Rathorial]

Voice Chat on Switch using only a smartphone app so far is pretty stupid. The thing has a headphone jack and Bluetooth, but hey why not run a headset on a separate phone + try to listen to the game on the TV.

If they don't later update to run chat audio through the Switch, that company is just retarded.

 

[Zee-Row]

The N64 using carts was had the longest lasting effect on Nintendo because it affected their relations with 3rd party developers.

 

[WillAble]

The actual reveal of the Wii U. Nintendo had built up Project Cafe to be their big return to their core fanbase, but the reveal put that idea to rest almost instantly. Bad name, bad concept, and an initial trailer catering to casual players again.

 

[MercuryLS3]

Sony wanted all software royalties.

Then add "Signing a shitty original contract with Sony" to the list.

 

[Square2015]

Not consecutively dropping the price of the WiiU.

 

[JigglesBunny]

It's a four way tie between the paid smartphone app for Switch voice-chat, everything about the NES Classic (from short cable lengths all the way to the abrupt and ill-advised production halt), releasing the Wii alongside HD consoles while it only barely managed beating GameCube in specs or the entire way in which the Wii U was handled.

I love Nintendo. I love their consoles. I love their software. I love their commitment to trying new ideas. I hate more than half of the business decisions they make.

 

[kamineko]

The N64 using carts was had the longest lasting effect on Nintendo because it affected their relations with 3rd party developers.

I think this is the one that N still has not recovered from. N used to kick ass in the 3rd party space, but N either didn't see value in that or just didn't care. There are other decisions that led to this, but N64 is the big turning point. SNES, for instance, was a JRPG powerhouse, but those same studios never touched N64.

their treatment of the Metroid franchise

This is my personal pick, though. N's management of Metroid is almost Konami-tier foolishness

 

[Jubenhimer]

I think this is the one that N still has not recovered from. N used to kick ass in the 3rd party space, but N either didn't see value in that or just didn't care. There are other decisions that led to this, but N64 is the big turning point. SNES, for instance, was a JRPG powerhouse, but those same studios never touched N64.

Back in the NES and SNES daysz Nintendo was really aggressive and almost tyrannical with 3rd party publishers and developers, with very strict and sometimes shady practices towards them. They were able to get away with it because they were the biggest name in gaming. But when Sony came and offered much friendlier policies, then everyone jumped ship as soon as they could. Yeah, going with cartridges didn't help, but it was Nintendo's draconian control that chased publishers away, not cartridges.

 

[Dantooine]

Wii U instead of Wii 2.

Plus no modern F-Zero. Just take GX, add a couple of tracks with online functionality. How hard can it be.
Oh yeah, nintendo's online functionality.

 

[What The Forest Taught Me]

Constantly doubling down on Japan despite it being a dying marketplace and all the real money being in the west.

This one's major, and has likely cost them far more marketshare than the majority of their other baffling, self-destructive decisions. Iwata was one of the key individuals responsible for this disastrous retraction from markets outside Japan.

 

[Van Bur3n]

Metroid. They've been incredibly dumb with how they've treated the franchise, as if they don't know how to make a Metroid game anymore.

 

[Weltall Zero]

Given a choice between a useless feature, and better battery life, I'd rather have better battery life.

Interesting choice of words: with the 3DS you were indeed given that choice.

 

[Sponge]

Not purchasing Rare back before the Stamper brothers shopped the company around is a big one to me.

More recently though, I'm baffled that voice chat for Switch is handled through a smart phone app.

 

[ArkhamFantasy]

I'd say N64 going with cartridges. That was a huge turn off to third-parties and gave Sony a huge advantage with the PS1. Still loved the system, but man...

Yeah, i think you gotta go with this because of the ramifications, gave Playstation the momentum they needed to become a force in the industry.

 

[What The Forest Taught Me]

I was baffled by Nintendo grooming Iwata as next president, as he was no businessman, just a mere honest gamemaker. Let's make him president of our multibilliondollar industry, very illogical.

Turned out quite well in the end though, remember vehemently defending the guy when the pitchforks were drawn. I would never defend his predecessor.

How did it turn out "quite well" in the end? By the time Iwata passed, Nintendo had, due to his management, experienced four consecutive years of annual losses (losing nearly two billion dollars in the process), bafflingly cut numerous ties with the world outside Japan, set company records for fiscal losses, was forced to cut roughly 8% of its workforce, had its most sparse, most criticized E3 showing to date, released some of its most critically panned, consumer-rejected software titles to date, became less consumer-friendly than it ever had been, offered less value for money than ever before, and saw its largest marketshare contraction since entering the console industry. Not at all a pretty picture. I loved the guy, but Iwata never should have become CEO, as Nintendo's still recovering from his many mistakes. Read and get the facts. You're grossly off-base here.

 

[ShadowFox08]

voice chat through a smart phone app is the worst I've heard for the switch, if we can't use voice chat through the OS.

 

[Dynheart]

The Wii. Nintendo, for better or for worse, was doing just fine with the 3rd party front with the N64 and the GC. Maybe not as much as Sony or Microsoft, but not horrible. With the Wii, it's like they segregated themselves from the industry, and the industry ostracized them in return. The Wii U was just the snowball effect from that generation.

Even though the Wii sold well, it damaged Nintendo as a publisher, and as a hardware maker. Now, even if they did design the most powerful console there would be: doubt, 3rd parties will not develop for it, people will not jump ship as they are embedded into Sony's/Microsoft's/eco systems.

Even if the Switch is successful, it will take this console, and possibly the next, for the industry (gamers, developers, jounalists) to trust Nintendo fully again. At that point, who knows what the industries landscape will look like.

 

[Lo-Volt]

I'm tempted to offer the "Nintendo and the third-party" answer because their licensing and manufacturing practices really made for a lot of bad blood.