Nintendoomed? A look at Nintendo's financials.
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 24 ส.ค. 2024
- Nintendo's been in the news lately for unflattering reasons. Their situation is bad, but are they doomed? Let's take a look at the past, present and future of the company's financial strategies to find out!
...This video needs a bunnyhop update
Did not age well
Zing!
Someone give this man a cookie! He predicted Doom on a Nintendo system 3 years ago!
Leanne B. Doom was on the Nintendo 64 system in late 90’s. Lol! But yeah, Doom is once again on a Nintendo system.
It was on SNES
Doom 1 and 2 were also on GBA, the first commercial release of a portable Doom
They changed everything that is mentioned in this video as Nintendo's faults for the Switch, and it is really paying off. This guy was right
It is 2017 and this video seems like a product of ancient times since these things are happening or happened
wow1371 its so wierd playing a switch remembering how bad the wiiu waa doing. God rest its soul
"They're not going to make Smartphone games"
**stares at Super Mario Run**
And so much for "continued development" of the WiiU lol
They did continue to develop the Wii U for 3 years after that statement, and that's a lot, I don't consider their support over until this Friday when Breath Of The Wild launches(and even then, there's DLC coming out at the end of the year). About smartphones, they changed their mind when they saw how well The Pokemon Company was doing with it.
they only made mobile games after the person who made that statement died so the company moved to new leadership....
TheVividYoshi It's not worth it's price. Especially when other alternatives exist that are far superior.
Calamack I mean, i'm not complaining about Fire Emblem Heroes
I recently discovered your videos. In addition to enjoying your analysis of entire games like the Metal Gear Solid franchise, I also like hearing your thoughts on current gaming topics and issues, and I appreciate that you do them in an entertaining way with such great visual presentation and editing! :)
Aww, thanks! :)
Super Bunnyhop
Same here! I love your videos, it's the only channel that offers real insight and heartfelt examinations of my favorite games and common themes on how to improve them.
+Amelia Bee The Final Bosman was great at that, and Extra Credits does the same but more from the viewpoint of the developers ... Still channels like these (including Bunnyhop) is a bit hard to come by, so thank you :D
Ahhhh the days before the Switch changed everything.
and then nintendo switch happened
The GameCube is severely underrated
As is the Wii U.
I've heard the claims since I was a child. "Gaming is dead, the NES is doomed to fail." "Genesis will crush Nintendo." "The N64 will be Nintendo's last console." "The gamecube will be Nintendo's last console." "The wii will fail miserably." "No one wants a DS." "No one wants a 3DS." There's been a certain crowd of people that just seems to be emotionally invested in hating this company for decades on end.
Nick Fagone 3 years later nintendo is more profitable than ever
Nick Fagone
Take a look at the GameCube years again.
I don't think there's any specific crowd that hates Nintendo.
That's just people hating on something but you're making it out ot be a specific, frequent demographic.
If theres a company that will probably be out itll be xbox.
AntiBunny Studio
Clearly, they are PlayStation/Ouya/Stadia/Xbox/PC fanboys.
then the switch came around and sold more units in it's first year than the wii u did in its whole lifespan, I think they're just fine again
hardware limitations? Then stylize the graphics, stop going for photo-realism and make some bloody, brutal shooters that have interesting art styles. This is why I prefer the Wii U over the other systems. The limitations can make games more interesting by working around it. Sometimes pushing the limits can be better (SOTC), but the limitations gave us some of the best games ever.
BassbaitGG Except, the sad thing about trying that is that it might be instantly labeled as a Borderlands clone even if it's nothing like Borderlands except the art style.
the problem is that no one other than smart people buy games like that.
then nintendo...
*switched*
Two years later Nintendo is now releasing smart phone games.
And have a new console to replace the WiiU
Daniel Foutz And are worth more than Sony in console market share
lol? do i even need to bother
People who call themselves "Hardcore" are more than likely a CoD or Battlefield player. I'd rather play Mario or Legend of Zelda over ANY "Gritty" and "realistic" first person shooter that gets churned out in today's market.
*****
Eh...even myself, a die-hard Zelda fan, has grown tired of the same game over and over. I haven't even picked up the latest game for the 3DS because after reading reviews and the story synopsis, I knew there was nothing new to add to the Zelda experience.
Same goes for Mario. It's just not fun anymore when you can pick up any game from previous gens and get an almost identical experience.
But maybe I'm just a grump. :3
NARROW-MINDED RETARDED GENERALIZATIONS AHOY!
Or I'd rather play everything equally. That's the true spirit of a hardcore gamer.
Its a tragedy really. I think it will go down as one of the most underrated consoles of all time. Despite its limitations, I've got thousands of hours played on mine.
Dreamcast, GameCube and WonderSwan to the Wii U: "Welcome to the club!"
GameCube was/is more powerful than the overrated PS2
People who do not enjoy good games because of childish themes, are casual gamers.
I dont know. I have a wii but I prefer things like gears of war, halo and mass effect. Id pick an xbox over a wii every time. Dont get me wrong, games are excellent, but what appeals to me is entirely different.
DreamVikings
gotta love animal crossing tho....
DreamVikings Harvest moon, my hours of life, oh were they spent on those glorious days.
DreamVikings
I'm obsessed with AC! Hehe I'd ask for your friend code, but that's sorta creepy so I won't...
I actually find it fascinating how people don't understand the depths some themes have. For example friendship is hardly exclusive to our childhood, yet constantly associated with it, but it's arguably more relevant as you get older and lose touch, and once they're lost, good luck trying to make friends by sharing candy with the other kids on the playground when you're 40.
Nintendo's come-back strategy:
1. Fuck the Wii-U, pretend it never existed. The Switch is just a sleeker (and actually portable) Wii-U without the dumb dual-screen gimmick that no nearly no devs used.
2. New Zelda, New Mario, and New Smash
3. Go all-in on 3rd party indie games.
And port a shit ton of games from the Wii U
I never understood how people confused the Wii and Wii U. The only reason I can think of is because the names were very similar, but people still never confused any of the Xboxes. Maybe it's how to console looks kind of similar? I really don't know
It wasn't advertised well. It came out before I was up on gaming culture, so I thought it was yet another Wii add-on and balked at the price. The graphics weren't that huge a difference at a glance, so it just looked like a giant, incredibly heavy version of those uDraw things.
Quality video! enjoyable and informative :-)
Hi.
George, saying that a company has 15 billion in total assets doesn't mean they have 15 billion to "screw around with." That includes nonliquid assets. Cash would be the better thing to consider, or even better, the ratio of current assets to current liabilities (both of which are healthy, yes).
It would be really bad if a public company could endure decades of losses. It would imply they were being horribly mismamaged, because those assets should be used to drive growth or be paid out to shareholders.
How much did you think a company can pay for the rights of Mario, Zelda, Kirby etc??? Nintendo can sell every character separately if they want, and make tons of money. They also have a lots of patents, infrastructures, etc.
+Jhon OX those things are accounted for as assets on the balance sheet. What's your point, anyway?
The WiiU turned into a perfectly fine console. It plays well, it has a great software library, and the dreaded tablet controller is actually really satisfying to play on. The marketing really failed them this time, and the fact that everyone feels the need to write about how terrible it is without actually using it. In my opinion, it's the best console on the market by a large margin. XBox One and PS4 are really just inferior PCs, and their marketing has succeeding in selling them as cutting edge gaming consoles. The only reason to buy one is the exclusives, or if you really don't know any better, but at that point, it puts them on the same level as the WiiU, without all the Nintendo titles.
Garrette How are ALL consoles this generation not inferior PCs? How were XBox360 and PS3 not a mediocre PC which only lived from living-room-friendliness, if that's even a word, and exclusives? I don't quite get your point.
Siana Gearz I'm not saying the Wii U is any better or different hardware wise from the other consoles. It's still extremely weak when compared to a PC, but it has two things that make it more valuable than the others. The first is the first party games that you can't get on any other system. The other two have a couple of exclusives as well, but 99% of their library is available on PC. Not so with the WiiU. It also has a much cheaper price point. Xbox360 and PS3 suffered from many of the same problem that their new iterations do.
Garrette At this point, i wonder what is Wii U's reason to exist.
SEGA had a console which started the generation two generations ago, a system of back then unseen power that could not be matched by anything you could get off the shelf, a system with awesomely fun and reasonably good looking games, a system which was inexpensive to build and profitable to sell, and the system which introduced online multiplayer out of the box (though pretty much with just one title, Phantasy Star Online). One and a half years in, it fell behind GameCube and waaaay behind PS2 in installed base, there weren't enough consoles out there in order to sell the titles they were developing in sufficient quantities to cover the cost of game development if they were to publish them exclusively .
Finally, Dreamcast was no longer superior to the other consoles any longer, they became, from publisher's point of view, interchangeable, so SEGA drew the consequence of developing for GameCube and PS2 instead, just like all other publishers did before.
Now, Wii U has taken more time on the market and established less installed base than Dreamcast, all the while game development cost sky-rocketed. And it too does not have anything a third party publisher would want to leverage, nor does Nintendo appear to have a strategy of what to do about it. They can not support it with exclusives indefinitely because development costs are not covered. All the while, Wii U unnecessarily removed GameCube compatibility.
From here on, Nintendo has two choices, either downsize into a software company like SEGA before, or find something that will get a Wii U into another tens millions of homes at once. The reason i personally don't have it is because it won't play GC titles. Plus what's the point of getting GC titles on VC, if i'm gonna lose all of them again when the console hardware dies in 5-10 years? But of course that's not a major reason why so far it's failing, it's merely my personal story.
Siana Gearz The Wii U is basically done. It will continue to sell, but the profits won't be anywhere near their other consoles, except maybe Gamecube which also didn't do that well. Nintendo is likely going to eat whatever losses the system brings, and they have more than enough money to do so many times over. Hopefully their marketing is better next time and they've learned some lessons I would argue that failed sales.don't make it a bad console. The first party titles are as good as ever, and the system works perfectly fine.
Garrette
I think bringing out another console now will be the downfall of Nintendo, if they decided to do so. They would alienate all those people who bought Wii U, Nintendo will not be trusted again by its most devoted core customers. Downfall of SEGA happened because they rapidly replaced consoles without a clear direction, like MegaDrive attachments over attachments over attachments, 32x and Saturn coming out within what felt like weeks from each other, and then another year the Dreamcast comes out, and nobody has the patience for it.
Now of course it has been a couple of years, but the times became so much slower. The last generation held on for almost a decade and the one before held on for 7 years, while generations have cycled much faster before.
Wii U is not technically outdated, it can hold up, so the only possible cause to abandon it would be to abandon home console business altogether. If they are not willing to do that, they need to save the system and get it into more homes. By giving more long-term assurance to potential owners, more features to the existing system, perhaps. Also Nintendo 3DS is so strong, it can carry Nintendo above water, but they need to leverage DS and 3DS somehow to make Wii U highly desirable for owners of those. Maybe it's time to put the business on its head, and instead of devaluing the console, start giving away free Wii U game copies to owners of 3DS and active buyers of 3DS games.
Gamecube was not an unpopular system. It sold as many units as original Xbox and more than twice as many as Wii U and Dreamcast. It sold about as well as Xbox Stupid and PS4 combined.
My favorite Nintendo system will still be the Gamecube. I wish they kept in the direction they were going in and some how be super successful.
They had all the third parties; I prefered them on GC for the 4 player sockets (Like Timesplitters and Medal of Honor and racing games)
They had some of the most epic new looks at awesome titles (Metroid Prime/Wind Waker/Star Fox)
Epic new IPs - Pikmin/Lugi's Mansion/Wars
Awesome exclusive third party games - Eternal Darkness/Twin Snakes/RE:Zero/RE4(was supposed to be)/RE1
Awesome GBA player
Epic GBA-controller use (Four Swords/Crystal Chronicles) - wish they made more.
The only thing that I personally didn't like was the Mario title and the Donkey Kong games.
You forgot to mention the GBPlayer - All GB and GBA games !!!
Yet, will all those awesome things, the gamecube massively failed in sales departement... People should have bought it back then and support Nintendo to continue making powerful console... instead of complaining 12 years later that they made a drastic change in their choice of hardware. It's too late now...
GameDjeenie I did mention the GBA player :p
but yes... too bad that didn't do as well as it should have done.
Sorry about the GB player ! I didn't see it :- )
Aside from your over-use of the word "epic", I whole-heartedly agree.
What do you mean with the new ip "Wars" though? Batallion Wars? Advance Wars?
Both I really like their spin on turn based and real time strategy.
Full Disclosure: I own a gaming PC, PS3, 360, PS4, Wii, 3DS (as well as having had owned a PS2, Xbox, Gamecube (my favorite older generation console), Gameboy/Color/SD/DS)
I think a lot of people try to pin Wii U's failures on the lack of "mature" games but having a Call of Duty on the Wii U just seems so... out of place. Nintendo for a long time has always held a place in my heart as a sort of palate cleanser. It's where you go to play enjoyable, inoffensive and light hearted fun factories like Animal Crossing or Mario. It's where you go to escape all the blood and killing and "dramatic" story telling of Call of Duty and Battlefield for chasing a mushroom around dressed as a cat.
I don't think Nintendo needs the main "mature" third party games that come out on their competitors. It just needs more age-neutral titles. Games like Pikmin and Monster Hunter and Animal Crossing are not strictly kids games. They are for anyone who enjoys them. They don't dumb anything down and they don't cater to a younger audience. They simply have something for everyone in a light-hearted manner. Like watching Adventure Time.
And overall the Wii U, while a troubled and seemingly failed console, has been the least controversial of the three. It's not a scary platform to approach. There isn't some giant camera watching your every move and recording what you say all the time and there is no subscription fee holding your multiplayer gaming hostage. In fact the only thing really holding it back on that front is its somewhat dated online service, with what you mentioned primarily being digital content tied to hardware.
I think the Wii U or any new Nintendo console can still firmly hold the place as "The Second Console" and not try to hide that badge out of humiliation. There are lots of games competing for our attention these days and most of us seem to always have a spot reserved for Nintendo, and that's just a great thing.
Funny that Doom is on the Switch now
The Shadowgunner - I know...especially since Doom was also on the Nintendo 64.
And now The Witcher 3.
All you need is a PC, Wii U, and a 3DS.
This gen, definitely!
StrayF0X
And PS4, if only for the exclusives.
Kuro Kohi
I'd prefer to actually make sure the games I like get sequels.
As much fun as I have had with mine, I think the Wii U will go down in history as a prime example of the importance of marketing.
How nintendo could make additional 1 billion dollars in one year:
Wii U pokemon MMO.
Arthas Leks Subscription based console MMOs do very poorly.
Arthas Leks Why?
Isaac Argesmith
They just do, pretty much the only successful ones are made by Square Enix (FF:XI, FF:IV and Dragon Quest X). Even then, they always start out really poorly without exception, every single one needing a soft reboot.
SkaiCyan I mean the Pokemon MMO part, I agree with what you said.
Isaac Argesmith That depends on Nintendo pulling of the MMO part. Players need to be able to constantly be connected to hundreds of players but online isn't one of Nintendo's strengths. You are right that it would net Nintendo lots of money if they pulled a Pokemon MMO off but I don't think any of their consoles can. Plus it would greatly affect future pokemon games' sells and I don't see Nintendo making just one super important pokemon game.
Everybody’s saying this aged like milk when he literally said he had a ton of faith in the company and that Nintendo could endure annual losses for decades without going out of business
At least the Wii U works. I'm looking at you Sony, and fix CE-34878-0!
I think what it means to be a true gamer is to value engagement over specifications, and to not think something is bad because it is childish. To judge things like that actually makes *you* childish.
do you feel that your channel is taking more of a turn towards the business side of gaming? You produce great content regardless of the subject, but you seem to be focusing on number crunching a lot more lately than on the sort of in-depth game reviews that you don't find from sites like IGN or Gamespot.
I don't mean like critical close-ups (I respect that those require tons of effort), just reviews of games that look somewhat briefly at the mechanics and story and explain what does/doesn't work and why.
Truth be told, this whole weekly deadline thing makes it awfully difficult to put out a critical close-up on a reliable schedule. I've had the next one planned since November, but have yet to really get started on it...
you should consider looking for input from the community. I know I can't speak for your entire audience, but I'm sure that plenty of subscribers would be willing to wait a couple extra weeks between videos if it resulted in slightly more complex content.
Of course, if the new business focus is what makes you happy, then pursue the hell out of it. An audience will certainly form.
Despite being only a year ago, I watch these 'nintendo is doomed and the wii u is an epic flop!' videos and laugh from my belly at how stupid we all were to believe it. 6 months later came Mario Kart 8 and the reality of nintendo's financial 'woes' came to fruition. Like ebola, its all scare mongering
Because most people don't get how economics work. But people do know how to pick sides and use a bad sounding situation to make it seem like the end of days.
madcapoperator Despite being only 5 months ago, I read this comment referencing Ebola and laugh from my belly how this was a thing people were worried about.
CasaiAgicap And yet, nintendo had a piss poor showing at E3 this year...ce la vie
madcapoperator Hey man, I wasn't planning on making any substantial addition to the conversation--I just wanted to make a crack about Ebola.
E3 coulda been worse.
madcapoperator END OF DAYS!!! NINTENDO IS DONE FOR!
Wow, how things have changed.
I do kinda like the Wii U's failing in a way cause its bringing them to make some pretty alright decisions.
1.) A universal account system, with the games FINALLY being tied to that instead of the machine
2.) Discounts on the games that are bought the most
3.) Letting people use their characters more (IE Bandai making some mario toys recently)
and finally
4.) www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=761036
If Nintendo started buying more companies like Capcom and such... Itd be near monopoly.
that's one "monopoly" i'm willing to accept :)
If they bought Capcom we might actually get a new Megaman game, rather than a Street Fighter 4 update that costs 60 dollars.
Nintendo is considering M&A! I really hope they buy capcom.
WiiU has barely any quality titles yet and it's way too gimmicky, but it might be the PS3 of this gen, slow start but eventually awesome games coming out.
yep It has fun games like MK8 but the lack of 3rd party support and simple things like a trophy/achievement system and region locking IMO is hurting it.
Only problem was that on launch, PS3 already had as good, and in some cases better hardware than the 360 and Wii. WiiU is already a full generation behind PS4 and Xbox One. Its hardware is outdated, so the awesome games that will eventually come out won't be able to be played on the WiiU.
Although it isn't on its way out quite yet, Nintendo WILL be on its way out by 2020 if it keeps going at this pathetic rate.
LOL @ 6:08
''Mature gamer choosing mature system #PS4''
That phrase actually made him sound like a child.
Excellent analysis, as always. I wish more people in the media were capable of thinking things through as well as you, or that you had a larger (worthier) audience. Oh well.
The only point I think you missed is Nintendo's refusal to acknowledge many of the modern characteristics of gaming, whose absence from Nintendo's business model is indefensible and unforgivable. Part of this is the lack of an account system, but the problem is far more widespread and endemic than just their policy on digital distribution. For example, with Super Mario 3D World Nintendo released on of the absolute best multiplayer games in years... but refused to incorporated online multiplayer and worse, have stated that they only "might consider" implementing online at some vague, future point. It's really ridiculous how far stuck in the past Nintendo is.
And then there's their horrible mismanagement of the virtual console service.
Nintendo makes great games, but goddamn, they seem to have no idea what they're doing when it comes to hardware or service or advertising. Hell, they could probably double or triple WiiU sales just by remaking the old Wii commercials and changing the last line to "Wii would like to play with U."
Still, I really don't have any faith that Nintendo is even remotely aware of the myriad things they're doing wrong, so I have even less faith that they'll ever make any progress correcting those things.
Nintendo's strength in *Kid friendly* is the charm of their games.
Man, if they would only release all the SNES and Genesis games on the 3DS.
And if they'd actually make public releases of those Ambassador program GBA games - and more GBA games to boot - for the 3DS, I'd probably be buying them in a heartbeat
EdwardBerner Word, I'd just be throwing money at them and live from bread and water.
***** Completely agree with you on that. Well, at least the GBA SP. The GBA itself was garbage and I hated Nintendo for having to buy another one just one year later :D
Now that the Switch is already 6 months in the market and doing amazingly well, I wonder how the people with the "Nintendo will be dead" statement are and how this video holds up
Oh they will always find some reason to say that Nintendo will die. Something like "They are doing fine now, but when Nintendo's makes more copy paste games, the sales will eventually reach a plateau, and when that happens, nobody will want to support Nintendo anymore, Blah blah" There is no detering them.
Arthus850 this video was 3 years ago
Yeah, so? I was replying to a comment posted two months prior to my reply.
"We will not make Smartphone games" How times changed and still i loved the Wii U and the switch blew everything out of the water
I don't think any console can survive on exclusives alone anymore.
Aaaand that's a sub from me. Really enjoyed this, and your other videos look very interesting and informative too! Keep up the great work. ^^
I'd like to give you an insider's perspective on Nintendo. I agree with everything you say here, with a bit of a footnote: Nintendo is very traditional, both in its stubborn, unchanging business tactics as well as its cultural attitude. They don't treat their employees well, and there is NO growth inside the company whatsoever. And so over time, most of the talent has just sort of left for better opportunities where they know they can climb the corporate ladder and not be stuck in a dead-end job for the rest of their career.
So I think part of the problem is, there just isn't any innovation. Or at least, said innovations are in the hands of one or two people, and there isn't anyone to add a fresh perspective to the business or its products.
Hmm... have you done work for them before?
Yes Amelia Bee , we'd like to know (if you are willing or allowed to tell us, that is.
Yep! I was a tester there for several years, and a project manager for a little less than a year. They keep their support staff in a separate building and aren't allowed to interact with any of the execs across the street.
When conducting interviews, I was explicitly told to nix any candidates who stated that they hoped for a better position in the company when asked the canned "where do you see yourself in 5 years?" question. After speaking to other ex-NOA employees I learned this was standard practice. They only wanted people who were willing to put up with a job with no opportunities to advance, for low pay. So obviously we tended to hire people that weren't exactly go-getters and visionaries, if you catch my drift.
After ten years I got out of the industry for good, it's just gotten too, I dunno...corporate! :p Yeah, I know...but I swear, it used to be a lot more laid back and fun to work no matter what the company. Now no one cares about the product and the people calling the shots couldn't care less about video games.
The very last place I worked was a small studio, but it was no different. I hired on a bright eyed, enormously talented but inexperienced artist, and after just two months he'd quit. He told me in his exit interview that "if all game companies are like this, fuck it". And I couldn't in good faith tell him that they weren't.
Bleh, sorry for the rambling! This is kinda cathartic for me. I'm currently back in school to become a vet, the polar opposite of what I was doing before.
That's... actually pretty eye-opening stuff. You could've passed it on to journalists. If verified, it might've just been really helpful news a few weeks ago during Nintendo's quarterly reports. Might still be. Do you mind if I screencap this comment and save it for citations later? It might come in handy if another Nintendo topic comes up again.
Amelia Bee You know, you could also apply your statement to the film and TV industry, too.
Also, I can appreciate your "rambling". It's high time we had someone from the entertainment business who isn't afraid to be honest with themselves and the industry that they worked for.
By, the way, did you get the PM that I sent you not too long ago?
I blame the whole mature cinematic trend that is going on.
Since late ps2 it is more about killing people, if possible in HD, instead of good old fashioned fun.
Nintendo has been doomed for 20 something years and I don't see them going anywhere. Iwata also admitted that he underestimated the dumbness of consumers, he expected people to look things up instead of being confused by the name.
He underestimated the need to market his product. That's a huge blunder, because it's quite good third parties be damned.
Iwata doesn't sound like a very good businessman. I can't imagine a CEO who thinks "but no one is THAT stupid" ever being financially successful.
Its not that people are dumb, it's that they did a lousy attempt at marketting it. Most people just don't have the time to invest at researching a lot of this stuff if they're not already a huge fan of nintendo.
Hal Emmerich, Iwata meant the ones that are asshole gamers.
And then came the switch
Oh, and I've heard that Nintendo put a lot of effort this past year into getting the 3DS to work, which even included pulling resources from Wii U games and development. It worked out real well, if you recall how the public opinion at large of the 3DS a year or two ago was pure doom.
I'm optimistic that this year will see Nintendo recast its efforts into the Wii U, launch several great games, and really have momentum on their side this time next year. They're a real savvy bunch, even if at times seemingly absurdly conservative.
I don't care one bit if the Wii U doesn't sell. As long as Nintendo is working on a new console for the next generation (as they always are) and they're releasing quality games every now and then, I'll just enjoy playing on my Wii U. If Nintendo isn't going anywhere, I don't care if their system doesn't sell. It's their first party exclusives that make me choose Nintendo first generation after generation after generation. Although I have to admit, I wasn't too thrilled with the Wii. The Wii U is tarnished with the Wii's lack of appearance to "hardcore gamers" While Sony and Microsoft fans shout about how the Wii U isn't selling, I'm playing Super Mario 3D World in peace waiting for Donkey Kong, Mario Kart, Smash Bros, Bayonetta, X, and Hyrule Warriors.
*****
I personally am never, ever getting an Xbox One because of what Microsoft did to Rare, which was akin to crucifying my childhood, flaying off its skin, covering it in salt and gasoline, burnining it, and then peeing upon the ashes...
I have strong feelings about this, okay.
Even if they only sell about as much as the Sega Saturn, they aren't going anywhere.
From history, I think we have all learned that limitations + Nintendo = Gold. I mean from what we've seen already it seems like the hardware limitations wont be an issue
It was. The Wii U flopped because of how few games were released. Not even talking about exclusives. I'm talkin about Ass Creed and others like Life is Strange, not being released on the Wii U because of tech limitations. Sure the 1st party games were good, but there just wasn't ENOUGH quality content to make up for it.
Dunno why everyone is saying this aged like milk, you were completely right. Things are different now, but I remember peoples' surprise around the Switch. And during the entire Wii U saga, like probably until Splatoon, it did FEEL like Nintendo were just set (even though that isn't really good for real judgement), and they definitely didn't manage to pick more sales up there.
I mean, honestly they release worse games for the Switch but they managed to get hype around this console and fix some flaws with the console itself while not fixing and picking up others so... I ultimately prefer the WU.
I've switched back and forth in my opinion on Nintendo not using their built-in microphones for voice chat. Having to type or select from a limited number of message options in Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate is really frustrating, but at the same time, things could probably get very unpleasant very quickly if it were allowed.
I guess the whole 'Online interactions not rated by the ESRB' disclaimer isn't enough for Nintendo, which I kind of respect, since they do skew younger in many cases. Also, the number of international players I run into in MH4U probably makes voice chat less universally useful.
I think a big part of the problem is less nintendo not making good products and more "mature" kids and the atrocious slander they have had to deal with since the n64 era.
Though with the 3rd part nonsense I would equate them to becoming lazier than how the were during the original NES era crap got on there sure but nintendo regulation is something we would and should want the shovelware on the consoles are getting worse and worse if you want a modern day example just look on any app store for smartphones it is worse than it was during the atari crash.
Total Assets does not mean total cash.
I would look at their retained earnings.
There is also a problem with the almost nonexistant marketing. I only found out that the WiiU was released when I first saw it in the stores.
I like my wii u. In the short span of two months; I've bought more games for that system then any other platform I've owned since I started gaming. Multiplats, couple exclusives and a VC game or two. Why did I? The gamepad. It offers something I can't get on another console. I got a gaming PC. I can outrun the ps4 or xbone twice over at least so the wii u and it's gamepad enticed me. Sure, AC4 doesn't look as shiny, Bamham plays like spam and looks like "pork flavored lunchion meat"; but that doesn't matter if I can play it in a different way...well, it kinda does but I can swallow it down. I say to hell with the morons who think the wii u would be saved if they ditch the gamepad. I really hope they go whole hog on improving it.
Although I do hate the digital download shit. Lost all my virtual console games and they haven't exactly gone down in price.
Personally to me I am a very 'wide-ranged' in my selected genres and styles. That's why I've always found owning a PC and the latest Nintendo console as giving basically every experience I'd ever want.
I can get kid-friendly light hearted games on the Nintendo and
brutal-super graphics and deep multiplayer experiences on the PC
Also with both I have somewhat of a wide range of control options which is pretty cool. At least I think it is.
Also I've decided to start collecting old Nintendo games and the Virtual console is terrific for getting games like Earthbound. On VC it is $10 and physical copies go for around $200.
I just wish they would start pumping out the VC games. I've bought most of the VC titles already despite owning some of them already. Idk having my shelf copy on the shelf to look pretty while I play my convenient digital copy is something I like!
Also there are 8 games I'm very interested in buying... I just don't have the cash to drop on them. Especially with the fact I've been blowing all my money on the VC titles and the 4 titles I did buy.
I mean I own a PS3 and anytime it comes between getting a game that is on both the PC and PS3 - the PC ALWAYS WINS. I just hope that Metal Gear will make it to the damn PC this time :/
You really hit the nail on the head bringing up the bit about their software and marketing.
One of nintendo's strengths has always been their ability to push franchises that are superficially very kid friendly while still having a deeper layer that allows it to be appealing to a much wider audience. Mario is a very basic system that has room for some extremely technical and hard gameplay. Zelda is a classic adventure not bogged down by dark and gritty nonsense. Pokemon is a cute little RPG with a silly complex metagame buried underneath it. Smash is a goofy little fighter that lacks the execution barrier of its contemporaries but still has enough to it to stand up as a "serious" or competitive brawler. Etc.
So it's ironic and a bit sad that this ability doesn't extend to their core software, which feels suffocated by that "kid friendliness" and cutesy polish they out on it. Honestly one of the main things that's kept me away from their newer consoles are things like friend codes, clunky menus, poor netplay and problems with their store. Admittedly though so far I've avoided every member of the newest line of consoles, not just Nintendo's.
Shame so much nowadays comes down to marketing, not quality.
Honestly, a lot of people buys nintendo consoles simply because of certain EAD games. The new Zelda, the new Smash Bros, the new Mario Kart. Those are some of the most popular titles in gaming, and I don't think anyone should worry too much about sales when those aren't even out yet.
Well they're certainly not going to tank financially, although I think naming their "next gen" system the Wii U was a massive mistake, it confused the casual market who didn't know that it wasn't just another iteration of the Wii and was completely new hardware.
Now they're printing money on the Nintendo Switch
good video. It's an odd one to talk about, and your right, there's a lot of people just refusing to just admit a lot of facts the whole console wars things never did end, even as a kid I was shocked to see Donkey Kong and Mario Bros on the Atari 2600.
But what is fascinating is how you end it, in that "yes there are games I want to play but I don't have the money for it." rings true to A LOT of people.
Here's the thing though: Even if they have that large amount of cash to ride out bad consoles, if they fade into obscurity, as they are doing now, they will never come back unless something occurs to bring them back, which likely won't.
It's weird to think that they went from everyone thinking they were the next Sega to absolutely dominating the market again.
Probably your best video that I've seen, where you talk about the industry. So much truth being said. So many things that aren't that visible being pointed out. Resubscribed lol
The way I see Nintendo's current situation with the Wii U, they're trying to reach out to third parties to get that crucial support, but are doing it in the wrong way, so they aren't getting the support they've wanted. Another big problem is the Wii U sounds less like a new console the way they advertised and announced it and more like a new console-expanding controller (because seriously, when they first announced the Wii U they didn't show the console at all, just the controller). That said though, I want the Wii U to succeed because I can see all the potential of the weird way the system is set up.
I won't count Nintendo out, though. The 3DS is pretty successful after last year with all the big 3DS releases driving more people to buy the system. Granted, Nintendo still makes mistakes with the 3DS, they really seem to still not have a firm grasp on anything internet-related and they apparently don't know that taking games off of their digital distribution system or organizing that digital distribution system piss-poorly are stupid ideas. Don't even get me started on the digital prices being as high as physical cartridges unless you look at eShop during a sale.
3 years later, they're making smartphone games and killed the Wii U.
Thanks for addressing this. I'm literally sick of all the "Nintendo is doomed" messages that are floating around the internet at the moment. They are in a bad spot of course, but it's not like they don't have the ability to get themselves out of it.
Holy shit, you really hit the nail on the head there. People don't mind child-friendly games but they don't want child-friendly hardware. I've never seen it that way.
You're doing really good work here. I came for the well researched analyses and am staying for these good journalistic (I really like hard numbers you pull!) pieces with a strong, though not overt, individual voice.
You could really headline something like the late Penny Arcade Report, as a single strong editorial voice. I'm honestly amazed you aren't payed to do this!
Keep up the good work! We need more voices like this in the conversation.
3DS was top selling platform last year. The handheld everyone doomed and flooded about is kicking ass in an age of tablets and smartphones
Firstly, I love your videos. Now, on to my point.
My reason for not buying the Wii or Wii U is less about the maturity level of their games, and more about the controls. When I play a console game, I want to sit down (or stand, if I so choose) in one place and relax. I don't want to wave my arms around or have to aim a remote at a sensor to play my games. It's the same reason I don't have any interest in Sony's Move or Microsoft's Kinect.
I wouldn't mind trying the new Mario games, having been a fan of Mario 64, and the new Zelda and Metroid games are also very appealing to me; however, the hardware is not, and that is disappointing.
The WiiU doesn't require you to use the Wii remote. You can just use the gamepad or a classic controller.
You do realize only a select few games use the motion controlls for the U. And clearly you haven't seen the Pro Controller
In hindsight, their top-level decision to continue "converging Wii U and DS games" was an incredibly smart and brave move. We have the Switch because of Nintendo's dedication to their vision.
You can use the built-in mic. Or with just any headphones, it's stupid how other consoles doesn't have this.
Anyone who honestly believes Nintendo is doomed is fooling themselves
but the same is the case for those who honestly believe the Wii U isnt doomed.
I LOVE my Wii U. I LOVE 3D World and W101. Nintendo's first partys are the only ones that Id honest to God throw any amount of money to have through out the gen anymore, which is what makes them so special. I dont mind owning a Wii U because the products they provide for their consoles ALWAYS manage to pay off for it (some more than others at times, but still). I cant really say the same about the other consoles, despite being much superior in terms of hardware.
The announcement of a new Infamous doesnt excite nearly as much when a new Zelda is announced. There so much heart and GENUINE child-like fun and above average quality put into them, its like, how could I not?
I STILL go back and play Brawl with my buddies pretty much every weekend.
I would never recommend JUST owning a Wii U for the gen of course. There are some fantastic 3rd parties or Indies that produce just as much quality as Nintendo, which you arent gonna find on the Wii U.
But its just worth pointing out that the Wii U (or Nintendo consoles period) are more than just a machine you need to play a game that has a bad/non-existent PC port.
You actually can use the gamepad's built in mic for online multiplier communication.
I know Nintendo said you couldn't, but I use it for Monster Hunter all the time.
Thank you for bringing all these facts to light and showing us examples of what you mean :) I wish more people were as level-headed about Nintendo as you!
I like how now they are making mobile games and the switch is coming out.
Another very good video. I think Nintendo is just biding their time until this holiday. Unless Sony/Microsoft have some secret killer apps in plan, Smash Bros will single handedly own and dominate December. I wouldn't be surprised if close to, or even more than a million units sell the day it came out.
It's a shame because the Wii U is great. I don't think it would benefit from a "killer app" though. In my view it already has the cream of the crop. Only the best indie games come out for it, and all AAA releases for it are fantastic. While reading about how the latest Battlefield and Assassin's Creed are both glitching out, Hitman and the FF7 remake are chopped to bits by corporate greed and Bloodborn beats a new record in framerate dips, every single new Mario is great and runs well, Bayonetta and W101 meet critical acclaim and Splatoon (while unplayable in several European countries (I have a love/hate relationship with Nintendo)) revolutionizes the console FPS scene with gyro controls. The problem is that trends come and go faster and faster, so having many games is often valued above having good games. The Wii U needs Minecraft, Dark Souls III, Goat Simulator and I Am Bread, and it needs them when it comes out. I could play Mario Kart or Shovel Knight on my Wii U forever, but anyone who wants to stay up to date in the video game world is going to miss out.
I can tell you for a fact that the WiiU will let you use the built in microphone for voice chat in some games. I don't know if it worked in the games that were ports, but I got it to work for MH3U. I think the WiiU is going to sell more units when the new Smash Bros comes out. It's not a sure thing because people are wary after the disappointment of Brawl and it's going to be on the 3DS as well but I think it'll get the ball rolling.
Look, the worst case scenario is that Nintendo stops being a console manufacturer. And Im okay with that- cause their games are good and I'll probably buy all of them (with the exception of Mario Bros). I dont think they'll stop making handhelds cause no one beats them at that- but to lose the Wii /Wii U and not worry about having to buy a Nintendo console every gen to play Nintendo games isnt a bad thing.
I feel if the Wii U wasnt so underpowered there wouldnt be an issue making 3rd party games on it. This isnt the days of Gamecube when Nintendo hardware==everyone else, so if the Wii U cant provide the graphics for the games that the market wants but also doesnt have indie exclusives; then there's no reason to buy it over it competitors other than for Nintendo's 1st party games; which are... Mario 3D World... um... Pikimin 3... um... um.... well Platinum made Wonderful 101.... um... well Super Smash Bros is coming soon... and... Zelda hasnt been announced yet... yeah there's also Sonic Lost World who no ones sure if they like or hate... and so on...
I'm more OK with this than I am with them trying to compete in the app store.
MiloticMaster Didn't they say that they'll get out of video games period if they can't be first party anymore?
ok, I can't let it go. The "Nintendo Seal of Quality" wasn't a quality approval measure to regulate how fun games were (otherwise the Angry Nerd Wouldn't have much of a career), it was simply a label for whoever was liscenced to produce games under the prison-esque system that Nintendo subjected their partners to. You can read entire articles about the draconian practices Nintendo engaged in back then, and notably of how Namco tried to break away from that and rebel with their NAMCOT brand that began with some good games on the Megadrive/Genesis.
It didn't work out when Namcot failed to sell enough to make up the difference and had to go back to Nintendo for an inferior deal. This seal of quality stuff is simply the manufacturers signature on a licensed product, nothing more.
Nintendo has two primary problems that I can see. firstly, they have major usability problems with the Wii U, the worst of which is tying games to consoles as opposed to accounts like any modern system.
The Second is that the Wii U serves no market correctly. It's too expensive for use as an amusement centre for the family, which is worsened by it's marketing. After all, why spend the $500 on a Wii U for little Johhny when you can get a better system for the same amount, if you don't already. The new console generation will only worsen this with better family/couch based features, especially with the Xbox One. Likewise, it's too objectively underpowered for core gamers, advertising that it was just as powerful as five year old systems when it was launched, despite those systems getting nearer to arguable obsolescence before it was even launched. Besides other systems having equal or better specs, they also had the benefit of significant catalouges of games, especially when the vast majority of exclusives for the Wii U being either poorly made, and most ports being afterthoughts.
Hopefully Clover Games can bring a spike in Wii U sales, If only because I'd hate to think that Clover Games had to make cutbacks just because they focused on two full games that never sell. There's a chance it'll happen, especially considering that Bayonetta is a well known title that had a great deal of popularity, but in all honesty I think they need another Smash Bro's to sell well. The only problem being the controller scheme, of One touch screen and Four Wii Mote's isn't conductive to playing Smash Bro's. I don't know about anyone else but among my friends we only ever played with old Game Cube controllers. The Wii Mote design works well for casual games and gimmicks, but when any deal of precision is required, it fails, even when just using the buttons and not the motion sensing capabilities.
Great vid! Puts a lot of perspective with Nintendo's current situation, and tells what most don't like to admit; that NINTENDO were generally the ones who bailed on the casual audience with Wii U, whereas convention wisdom is that somehow all these people just decided to up and leave Nintendo at once..
That's a lot of money from Nintendo, but it's best to compare their operating costs for a financial period against the money in their coffers for a good burn rate (there's no way you didn't do this, but I wish you showed your numbers)
The WiiU is probably fine but the controller seems questionable. Also their marketing seemed pretty poor. I legitimately had no idea that WiiU existed till it had been out for about 8 months, and I thought it was literally just a controller for about a year and a half.
Quick question, if Nintendo had a standard of quality, why are the majority of AVGN's episodes about licensed NES games for being awful.
Because there was probably very little difference between "Seal of Quality" and "$90 greenlight fee" at the time.
SonicMaster Sword the best part is that somehow sonic boom has that seal.
My wet dream - Nintendo and Valve joining forces and bringing "Nintensteambox" ! Ou yeah ! :D
Super Steam Box Entertainment System... the *SSBES*!
"I wanna say that maybe we shouldn't be worrying so much."
You're one of the only people worrying.
It's too bad their honeymoon with Valve didn't last...
I agree, tragic.
I like how everyone instantly refer to other consoles to FPS , but their own console to all the games they play on it.
RIP Satoru Iwata
I love finding awesome channels like this, it means a solid night of new, interesting vids.
Also, the Gamecube was my fave console which is a strange place to be at as although everyone I know who owned a GC loved the crap out of it seems from your vid (and others) it did not sell well.
Wii U can only rely on PS3/360 multiplats to keep afloat. Its harder to program for Wii U as opposed to x86 of competitors and the return investment isn't as high to downgrade
holy shit.... that shamisen song on the wii commercial.. that was the yoshida brothers 0.0
PS4 could have been the first system to sell the best for a generation in which it had the strongest hardware, but I am not sure what to consider the level of power with Steamboxes that range in power and price from the 400 ish dollar level to beyond 3K. I still can't believe that the PS4 is doing so well it defies history.
I still think, and this isn't going to solve all their problems, that they need to make a third-party ambassador program. All third-parties that made a WiiU game up to december 2014 will get to put their games on the system without having to pay Nintendo. Then also have people who are good at coding to the WiiU go to these third-parties to help get the game running on WiiU at no cost to the third-parties. This plus their recent steps to get IDs not tied to hardware, which Iwata mentioned but with no date as to when, and many more games coming out, frequent sales on EShop with discounts to frequent buyers, should all contribute to them getting more sales hopefully. There is still more things needing done for them to survive the future, but for now they should be good. I certainly would buy the WiiU if I had the money, but I'm kinda poor and can't pay for any new system, or even games.
Does zoom cropping throw off the ContentID?
Well he was wrong