Nintendo WiiU : Thread 04

[nakamura]

Maybe they should find out what the west actually likes.

[importaku]

I think there is already enough pretend army man simulators & realistic driving games out there already

[speedlolita]

The West likes Call of Duty and Fifa, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One provide this.

They continue to produce the likes of Mario Kart and Smash Bros and they shift units but not like they used to. I don't think there's anything Nintendo can do at this stage in the game to regain any significant ground. Maybe they should just keep their console hardware in Japan, if it is even doing that well there, and leave their handheld stuff in the West because that is proving to be popular. Especially with Sony not giving a crap about the Vita.

[wakka]

Nintendo's technology is poor, which is a big problem. No question they could make a PC-in-a-box like PS4 and Bone, but would they have the software and infrastructure to back it up and make it a credible contender? Judging by things like the current state of the WiiU eShop and the total lack of integration between 3DS and WiiU, it seems unlikely.

PSN and XBL are very mature platforms now, in online gaming, social media and content delivery. Miiverse is a really nice idea, a sort of Nintendo Twitter, and I like it a lot - but they'll have a long way to go to match the integrated news feeds and sophisticated sharing options of the new consoles. Not to mention friends lists and messaging and so on have never been done well by them. I know a lot of people hate these social media features, think they're bull**** etc, but the fact is that this sort of thing is essential to an online community platform in 2014 and beyond.

It would all add up to a console that lagged behind Sony and MS for the gaming market at large - your online-focused FIFA/CoD/AssCreed players.

Maybe they should just keep their console hardware in Japan, if it is even doing that well there, and leave their handheld stuff in the West because that is proving to be popular.

Sadly there is no way that it would be economically viable in the present day to develop, market and release a major console for Japan only.

[Brad]

If I'm being honest as well I don't think Nintendo would gain much from going third party. I honestly believe most XBO and PS4 owners couldn't give a rats about anything Nintendo puts out.

Other devs try to ape Nintendo games on those other systems though (and usually fail). I have to disagree with you. I think plenty of XBO and PS4 owners would buy Mario 3d World, Zelda, Mario kart etc. if they could. I reckon Nintendo would sell WAY more software without taking a single penny hit on hardware R&D, losses on hardware sales, no network infrastructure etc. I'm with Nakamura - partner with Sony and clean up. There's a reason PS4 is getting a new Singstar; the casuals still love Playstation so there's plenty of room for Nintendo. Sony would even give them their own page on the Playstation store :-)

[nakamura]

You are limiting your thoughts too narrow, just like Nintendo. The west like media as much as games. A machine than can sit under their TV and play movies, stream TV, listen to music etc. Then it needs support of mass market games such as Fifa and Call of Duty with a decent online infrastructure with party play.

The Wii U offers very few of these. It's extremely outdated in so many ways. It's simply a tool to play Nintendo games, all of which are cutesy and on the Wii U, quite samey. I find it funny when people bitch about army men games when the amount of similar platform games on Wii U and 3DS released in a two year period was crazy.

[speedlolita]

There are so many solutions to handle those things though, is there really a need for Nintendo to offer the same solutions as everyone else?

[nakamura]

Well, everyone else does them and they are selling their systems.

[speedlolita]

I don't think much would change even if Nintendo did resort to that and it would sort of be sad to see.

I wish a machine like the Cube that didn't have updates and a simplistic menu screen was still viable but I guess not.

[Neon Ignition]

That's probably the biggest frustration. Whether Nintendo started doing the same as its rivals or took a completely drastically different path, it'd be nice to see them do something. Their apathy to the WiiUs state is only topped by Sony's with Vita

[wakka]

Most people don't buy multiple systems. People see it as a real value add to get Netflix etc. You have to REALLY want to play Nintendo games to buy a Wii U because it does bugger all else, which doesn't make for a great value proposition for ?200.

I don't think much would change even if Nintendo did resort to that and it would sort of be sad to see.

I wish a machine like the Cube that didn't have updates and a simplistic menu screen was still viable but I guess not.

Ultimately this is a nostalgic instinct, there's no real logic to this. It's clearly better to have a device that can do lots and has new features added regularly - it's not like it harms your game playing. It's like when people on here say they'd love to see a 2D-only machine - there's not much point when all of the current consoles can do 2D flawlessly anyway, far better than any console could back in the day. Now the 2D games like Rayman actually look like real cartoons.

[speedlolita]

Do Xbox One or PlayStation 4 allow you to watch Netflix on the toilet though?

[wakka]

My WiiU certainly doesn't - the gamepad conks out as soon as I leave the room, and I live in a 1 bedroom flat!

[Brad]

Do Xbox One or PlayStation 4 allow you to watch Netflix on the toilet though?

With a vita yes!

[Nu-Eclipse]

How's that cynical fella?

Where to start fella?

The Gamepad is a glorified controller, even at its best. It's not needed in any serious shape, way or form to play Wii U games but it's forced on Wii U owners de facto despite having no essential use or property attached to it. That makes it quite cynical right off the bat. Given the way that Nintendo's Customer Service has worsened (personal experience + many others I know), I'd like to see just how much Nintendo would charge to repair a broken Gamepad out-of-warranty. It would surely be exorbitant, no?

The fact that Nintendo have seen fit to actually region-lock what is essentially a controller, along with the above, kinda explains the cynicism itself.