210°

Sony and Microsoft could have killed the Wii before it would save Nintendo

The midnight launch of the Wii U is a perfect time to reflect on the craze, six years ago, surrounding its predecessor, and the industry-transforming success of the Wii. And there really is no finer story you could read about that than what Rob Crossley has written for CVG.

Microsoft and Sony both had their shots at acquiring the motion control technology that would make their consoles second- and-third place to Nintendo. Had either done so, it could have been the end of console making for Nintendo, whose GameCube was in dire straits.

ritsuka6664170d ago

Awn, how totally unprofessional of Sony. Not that I'm surprised that they didn't want this guy's technology, but seriously... Sony could be a little less douchey about it.

-Mika-4170d ago

That guy was probably exaggerating. Sony is a really nice company.They probably let him down easy.

GreenRanger4170d ago (Edited 4170d ago )

There's no such thing as a "really nice company."

Meep4169d ago (Edited 4169d ago )

"That guy was probably exaggerating. Sony is a really nice company. They probably let him down easy."

I......you....just read what you type...Do you think exec's at Sony are going to say "Oh hey man im sorry we didn't back up your idea, here is a coupon for a Sony TV and cookies on the way out"?

BlackWolf4169d ago

You really think a company would not say something like that, only to make gamers skeptical of the technology the Wii was releasing? And most of all, do you really think a company would later talk well about their competitors?
Come on!! Don't be such a fanboy, please. Get real.

Deku-Johnny4169d ago

Sony is one of the biggest douche companies in the industry.

Information Minister4169d ago

Sony is a douche company compared to what? It's not like he got a much warmer welcome at Microsoft.

Quote from Tom Quinn about his meeting with Microsoft's Xbox division: "But the meeting went terribly. The attitude I got from them was that if they wanted to do motion control, they would do it themselves and make a better job of it. I mean, they were just rude. In fact, the meeting went so terribly that one of the executives came over to me afterwards and apologized on behalf of others. I remember him saying how this was not how Microsoft should be engaging with potential partners."

If you can put your bias aside for a minute, you'll quickly realize that the vast majority of companies in this business cares about money first and foremost, not about the people.

Instigator4169d ago

You should read the actual story Kotaku got this from:

http://www.computerandvideo...

Quote: "We were in a tiny little room with a big PC projector and Kutaragi comes in, introduces himself, sits down and - I swear this is true - he closed his eyes the moment I started showing my pitch. He never opened them until I had finished.

It was awkward, very awkward, but I still asked him for feedback and he said, 'well, can you produce this for 50 cents?'"

That's not letting someone down easy no matter how you look at it. Microsoft wasn't much nicer to this guy, but then again all companies has acted douchey at some point.

+ Show (3) more repliesLast reply 4169d ago
ssb31734170d ago

If Nintendo were out of the gaming business then this world would be a much darker place. As Mr Iwata stated, if they stop making hardware, they stop making software as well. Not being able to play Zelda, Metroid, Star Fox, Mario etc anymore would really be a depressing sight.

Yodagamer4169d ago

Not to mention most of the games left would be grey lifeless shooters. I mean i love the occasional shooter, but man i would be playing games alot less if nintendo died out.

killerhog4169d ago (Edited 4169d ago )

Yeah because jrpgs, mmo's (dc universe, free realms and dust 514), racing, adventure, hack-n-slash, create play and share, wrgs, horror, open-world, car combat, puzzle etc. doesn't exist especially if Nintendo falls? Gotcha.

Oh silly me, I forgot. Nintendo is the inventor of all, if they fall they take every genre with them since they created everything.

Oh my god I'm scared, how would Sony/I/everyone live on!! Think of the children!!! Because only Nintendo offers different genre games, but last I check, it was Zelda, Mario, metroid and some jrpgs. But oh my god Sony!! The company who introduce a few new genres like "create, play, share".

Really dude you'll be playing games a lot less because they're mostly shooters or because you don't own other consoles? Especially a ps3?

OneAboveAll4169d ago

Nope. I'm sure MS and Sony would acquire the IP's. Much like they have access to Sonic and other old games.

Honestly, i couldn't care less. I used to love Nintendo but now i'm 26 and the lack of mature games has turned me away along with motion controls.

Zodiac4169d ago

How would MS and Sony gain the IP's? They have been developed in house for 26 years.

SEGA is a third party developer now. that's how they can get Sonic games on playstation and xbox.

If Nintendo leaves, then every IP owned by Nintendo leaves the gaming world forever.

That is a big deal even if you don't like Nintendo anymore.

jbgamer4169d ago

Zombie u, ninja gaiden 3 razor's edge, microsoft sensors conker's live, and reloaded, sony sensored ps2 version of bmx xxx, nintendo did not. Any questions?

BlackWolf4169d ago

That's completely out of question. A company like Nintendo wouldn't give their best IP's to the competition if they stop producing hardware and software. Their games are produced on house, so if that goes down, all goes down. Sony and MS would have to go dry to pay for those IP's if they ever were for sale (not gonna happen IMO).

Y_51504169d ago

Well we will soon have no more twinkies.
Lets hope Mario will not join Mr. Twinkie.

tigertron4169d ago

I doubt Nintendo would stop making software if they exited the hardware business. Just look at Sega, they're still making games even after the death of the Dreamcast.

HarryMasonHerpderp4169d ago (Edited 4169d ago )

To be honest I thought the Wii sucked big time it was such a let down for me personally, I know I'm going to get a ton of disagrees for saying that but I just thought it was swamped in shovelware and the motion controls felt shoehorned into most of the games, plus there was no graphical leap like past Nintendo consoles.

But I wouldn't want Nintendo to go out of business because of one console I didn't like, I loved my Gamecube, N64, SNES and NES I've had great fun with them and gaming just wouldn't of been the same without them.
I hope Nintendo and Sony are around for a long time because for me personally they bring the best gaming experiences and have been doing for a long time now.

schlanz4169d ago

Main problem with the Wii was the same problem with the gamecube, namely the lack of strong 3rd party support. Which is probably because the core crowd somewhat abandoned the Wii for the more powerful consoles with more robust online features.

Still, the console was well worth it imo for Nintendo games (skyward sword, metroid prime 3, brawl, galaxy 1 & 2, kart, kirby, dk county, a few others) and the small amount of quality 3rd party games (xenoblade especially.. my favorite jrpg of all time)

Definitely do not want to see Nintendo ever exit the games industry, and even if the lack of 3rd party AAA titles continues I'll still end up buying their systems if they keep making such great games.

+ Show (2) more repliesLast reply 4169d ago
Kennny5554169d ago

ppl didnt realize that during the N64 and especially the Gamecube life time, Nintendo made most of their money off Pokemom ie movies, merchandising and every little thing they can milk off it.

Sovereign594169d ago

"Sony and Microsoft could have killed the Wii before it would save Nintendo"
Anyone else have a really rough time trying to make sense of that title? It's like a mixture of time tenses or something... "could have killed" to me implies past and "would save Nintendo" seems like an event that could take place in the future but the author is implying that Nintendo was already saved by the Wii. Maybe it's proper and I've just not seen much of this before. It's like saying (don't read this if you haven't seen season 4 of Dexter because I'm going to use that as an example) Dexter could have killed Trinity before he would kill Rita. I wouldn't say that. Should I say that? I would say Dexter could have killed Trinity before he killed Rita. Actually I'd put a few more words into it to add more clarity, Dexter could have killed Trinity long before Trinity had the chance to kill Rita. But should I just be saying Dexter could have killed Trinity before he would kill Rita?
ANYWAYS, I am maybe a bit too focused on this and should just go to bed.

bubblebeam4169d ago

Way to turn it into a Dexter fandom session lol ;)

Sovereign594169d ago

It was the first idea for an example that came to mind. The fact that the article had the work "killed" in the title may have helped this.

Deku-Johnny4169d ago

I imagine Sony and Microsoft would quit the gaming business if they had a failed console whereas Nintendo have enough cash to come back and try again.

80°

Nintendo's Massacre Of The 3DS And Wii U Is Finally Complete, Regrettably

Hanzala from eXputer: "The cruel hammer of Nintendo has fallen. Farewell, 3DS and Wii U, you surely brightened my life and many others; you won't be forgotten."

280°

Xbox's Preservation Step Sets A Much-Needed Example, Especially For Nintendo

Hanzla from eXputer inquires: "If Xbox can care about preserving its games and legacy, what exactly is wrong with Nintendo, trying to kill game preservation single-handedly?"

purple1015d ago

Ahh yes the good old game preservation of saving all your games to a removable hhd on the Xbox 360, taking it round your mates house, setting up multiple tvs to
Be met with “save data corrupted, please re download”

Or how about removing 360 games
From the store
, download them now or else, and, better hope to god that save data doesn’t corrupt, or it’s lost for ever

Nice one ☝️

Zeref4d ago

It's better than what Nintendo and Playstation is doing. It might not be perfect but at least they are TRYING. Unlike the others.

DarXyde4d ago

Trying? Take off the blinders for a moment, mate.

1. A failure to preserve games is just that: a failure to preserve games. Don't try to sugarcoat it: NO ONE is doing it properly. Better than awful is nothing to write home about.

2. At the time of this comment, isn't it the case that you need an internet connection to play Xbox games even if you buy physical discs that are hardly in circulation anymore? I don't have a Series X and I can't verify, but I think that is correct. I'm fairly certain you can at least play PS5 games at version 1.0 (not much of a win really when many games require day one patches). I think Microsoft's all digital, licensing approach is by far more aggressive than anyone else's. They really try to push you to game pass where you lose your entire library by umm.... Skipping a month of payments.

I don't think anyone is doing it right whatsoever. Don't get me started on Nintendo, who goes after anyone looking to preserve their games better than they ever would with extreme litigation.

Don't be a simp for any of these companies. Get it together.

PhillyDonJawn4d ago (Edited 4d ago )

@DarX never speak on Xbox again. You lost all credibility with your internet connection comment. Smh you have 0 clue and misinformed yet speaking on something you don't no squat about.

Einhander19724d ago

What has Sony done exactly? You guys keep deflecting to Sony but I am not actually seeing any results, and ai am certain nothing that you can come up with even comes close to what Microsoft has done and what they have tried and failed to do, like tie all your disks to your account on xbone.

Microsoft removed their whole indie section when they moved to the xbone because they were going to only allow games on the service that came from a publisher, id@xbox started after xbone launched and it only exists because Sony embraced indie and Microsoft was forced to cancel their plans and reverse course.

And every single game that was part of games for windows live including disk games (I have gta 4 on disk that won't work) so hundreds of games that use that DRM no longer work unless the company themselves patched it out which of course very few did.

MrBaskerville4d ago

Not trying. Tried. they killed of the backcomp program years ago. They set something up again, but sounds like it's more of an attempt to save the current library on whatever they are planning next. With luck they save everything and more, but let's see. I could see them killing off parts of the OG xbox and 360 libraries. Can't imagine that they would allow us to play Forza 5-7 in the future.

With that said, I do like what they've done and really wish they could have done more.

shinoff21834d ago

Zeref

So killing off physical media is trying what exactly. Ms don't really give a fk if you think they do your kidding yourself.

Profchaos4d ago

They are not trying this team is established for forward compatability the team is. It interested in preserving Xbox or 360 games.

+ Show (3) more repliesLast reply 4d ago
isarai5d ago

Is that why Hellblade 2 is digital only?

Zeref4d ago

Just because it's digital only doesn't mean you can't preserve it. Just put it on an external and you have the exact same functionality of what a disc does.

MrNinosan4d ago

Guess you're trolling, but if you actually think that's how it works, I'd recommend buying some braincells.

mkis0073d ago (Edited 3d ago )

Volitile vs nonvolitile data. A disc will not corrupt either. A drive can be corrupted.

Einhander19725d ago

This is just a scammy PR move to distract from the fact they are going digital only and trying to push streaming and subscriptions only.

No gaming company has pushed harder to remove ownership than Microsoft.

Without discs there is no preservation, preservation can't be done by the rights holders it can only be done by the consumers, anything else is a lie.

5d ago Replies(3)
Einhander19724d ago

Anyone remember xblig which Microsoft removed their whole 360 indie section removing hundreds of games from people?

4d ago
4d ago
Zeref4d ago

Do you know you can put your games on an external and preserve them that way? There are no benefits to discs. ZERO. Idk why some of you are still obsessed with them.

DarXyde4d ago

Because games like Persona 5 exist. It's STILL V1.00. On Playstation, that's a win because 1.00 is installed on the disc—no need to download anything.

If a game does not require any updates, it's all on the disc.

Extremely low bar in the modern era, of course. It's not much of a win by any stretch.

But for now, physical media does have a purpose, at least on Playstation.

Einhander19724d ago

That is factually not how game licensing works, try plugging your hard drive into someone else xbox, It's not going to work, and it won't work if the licensing servers ever go down.

Einhander19724d ago

Anyone remember games for windows live.

I have around a dozen games, some on Steam itself that will not work because Microsoft shut off the licensing servers.

BehindTheRows4d ago (Edited 4d ago )

I do. I STILL have games (Gears of War being the big one) I cannot access because Games for Windows LIVE is total garbage and no one has held Microsoft accountable.

Zeref4d ago (Edited 4d ago )

You don't have an Xbox apparently. Because you can 100 percent plug in your external and play games from it on any Xbox console lol. You just have to be logged in to prove ownership.

Chevalier4d ago

"You don't have an Xbox apparently. Because you can 100 percent plug in your external and play games from it on any Xbox console lol. You just have to be logged in to prove ownership."

Damn how many times do people got to explain your idiocy to you? You can take a copy of Persona 5 like someone used as an example and play that game on ANY console WITHOUT logging in which means I can lend the game to a friend without internet and they can play my game. Can you lend your hard drive to anyone without logging in for them to play? NOPE. That is a huge difference and if you think otherwise then sorry you're an idiot.

Tacoboto4d ago

"No gaming company has pushed harder to remove ownership than Microsoft."

Ubisoft is literally erasing games people bought from their libraries... My PS1-3 discs are useless on modern hardware. Nintendo's re-published and resold almost their entire Wii U library, and the eShop is completely dead with no BC mechanism in the Switch software. Microsoft publishes everything they make today day one on Steam and Xbox/Windows. Sony only brings to PC the titles they think you might want some years later and Nintendo won't even design a functional long-lasting joystick.

You're absolutely trolling and not serious if you think Microsoft today is the worst offender.

shinoff21834d ago

Yay steam

Not everyone fks with computers though. The disc is still the best way as a console player. Period.

Tacoboto3d ago

How do Sony and Nintendo feel about these discs from 2001-2013?

Don't be stupid, you know Xbox is the best at this today.

+ Show (3) more repliesLast reply 3d ago
Hofstaderman4d ago

Nobody wants this. Sales or the lack of it in the case of XBOX is very telling. I wonder how the adorably all digital series X will fare. Adorably dismal perhaps?

crazyCoconuts4d ago

Only time will tell, but for from someone like me suspecting that Xbox is trying to gracefully exit the console market, that "forward compatibility" team is trying to get Xbox games playing on Windows PCs. I mean, it's nice that they're not planning on exiting with a "enjoy your games while the hardware still works" message, so that's nice. They still have a brand to protect via Microsoft so probably feel obligated to have a better exit strategy.

Xeofate4d ago (Edited 4d ago )

That is not their plan, their plan is to transfer users accounts to the cloud.

Phil Spencer himself said as much a few months back, plans could have changed but I think people are reading way too much into one statement where Phil said he would allow Epic on xbox because he wants to be able to sell xbox games directly on other platforms. Aka, instead of selling Sea of Thives through PSN he wants to have an xbox store to sell his games on PlayStation without giving PlayStation any money.

Again, it's extremely unlikely that Phil plans to put PC on xbox and licensing would prevent them from just giving out other publishers games purchased on xbox copies of thier games on PC, Microsoft does not own their games.

crazyCoconuts3d ago

The thing that doesn't align with the cloud strategy is the giving up on exclusives. You'd still need strong exclusives for cloud streaming - it's still a "platform" , just with a lower upfront hardware investment. I feel like they've learned what PS learned with PSNow long ago. We're not ready to stream games and it's only gonna lose them money to try at this point

FinalFantasyFanatic3d ago

I would love that, I'd buy up some of the Xbox games if they could run on PC, like the Rare Replay, Lost Odyssey and Dead or Alive Ultimate, probably a pipe dream though.

Show all comments (43)
90°

Nintendo's War Against Player-Made Content Will Hurt The Company In The End

Danish from eXputer: "Nintendo has historically gone against player-made content and emulation of its games. This has done much to harm the company's image."

XiNatsuDragnel11d ago

I agree nintendo hire some these folks to help in your games it'll help imo.

banger8810d ago

They need to stop announcing these mods and fan remakes until they're finished. Finish it, upload it, and then if Nintendo dmca's it tough shit. Once it's online, people can share it around, even if the original download gets taken down.

Jingsing10d ago

True, but most modders need constant admiration during the process to motivate them.

PRIMORDUS10d ago

Yup, once it's a torrent nothing can be done Nintendo is helpless at that point. But it would be wise if they just had a site on the dark web, it's also easy to use with Tor and no one will bother you.

mastershredder9d ago

This is all coming from the mouth of short-sighted fandom and grifting madness.
No.... it wont. There is a clear defined reason why they don't. This is nothing new. Make your own shi7 from your own original ideas especially if you are trying to capitalize of it it. Duh.

Yeah, hire people that have zero respect or understanding for an established process. Wow. Yep. Totally makes sense.

shinoff21839d ago

Those guys that made that sonic game got a gig from sega or something along those lines and that game was dope as hell. One of the best sonics as of late.