90°

Nintendo Direct? More like Nintendo Misdirect.

Writer Leo Stevenson says, "This isn’t going to win me any popularity contests, but I can’t possibly be the only person who was left less than impressed after watching Nintendo’s most recent Nintendo Direct, can I? Sure, I can admit that there was some interesting, even promising, news revealed last night. But for every interesting tidbit there were just as many “announcements” that either only confirmed what we already knew, were “too little too late” or a thin smokescreen frantically attempting to veil the truth. That truth? That the Wii U is struggling to find traction with consumers, is failing to shift the numbers Nintendo were hoping for and is once again a Nintendo console without much of any third-party support."

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Whymii4106d ago

I think your a glass is half empty kind of guy. I remember when the Atari 2600 was cutting edge tech and have owned almost every console since. Every console has a flat spot after launch, partly as a result of consumer's insatiable need for new thrills, partly due to post Christmas slow down, and probably largely due to overly high expectations.

If you owned an Atari or Sega console then you will be disappointed in the end, but give Nintendo credit, they will deliver most of their promises. Not all, but what company does? Remember, they are in the business of making money and so they will charge whatever they can. Good luck to them I say. I hope you can enjoy your wii u as much as I and my family do in the future. Just as we enjoy our Xbox 360, PS3, 3DS, PSP, etc.

dedicatedtogamers4105d ago

I believe the author is correct. It isn't so much what games have been announced or haven't been announced. It's not that the system has only been out for two months.

This is the time for Nintendo to really DRIVE momentum for their new flagship console, and they aren't doing it. There aren't any "WOW! I gotta get that game!" announcements so far.

Neonridr4105d ago (Edited 4105d ago )

that new Monolith Soft game looks to rival anything that Square Enix has put out. If Xenoblade is any indication of the quality of game we can expect but with the added bonus of HD graphics and a larger disc format, then this game could be epic.

But I don't expect everyone to be excited for that sort of thing, maybe you're more excited by the next CoD, Halo or God of War, who knows. To each their own though.

Gamers are so spoiled nowadays. Does anyone remember the N64? It launched with 3 games... and it was home to some of the highest regarded games ever created (Mario 64, Ocarina of Time). I don't believe any console has launched with as many AAA tiles that the Wii U launched with, regardless if some were ports from older 360/PS3 games. Not to mention that the console in many cases is at least matching 7/8 year old consoles that developers have had so much time optimizing. That says a lot at how easy it is to get things up and running on the Wii U if they can do that in it's first run of games.

EVERY console suffers a lull after it's launch. The 360 and PS3 were bone dry in terms of releases after launch. For the 360's launch in 2005, they had one game show up a month after release (Dead or Alive 4), and then the next games didn't show up until the end of February (Full Auto and Fight Night Round 3) Not much difference here, except there are a heck of a lot better games to play on the Wii U than there were to play on the 360 during it's launch.

delboy4105d ago

You're joking right? No wow games.
Every N game is a WoW game, and anyone calling him self a rael gamer shuldn't miss new zelda, metroit, mario... you name it.

EddieNX 4105d ago

Now wow games ? Some people must be immposible to please.

Xenoblade chronicles 2 or X - Like have you played Xenoblade chronicles 1 ? If not go and buy a wii with Xenoblade chronicles right now , I order you.

Smash bros , 3D mario , Mario kart all ready for unveil at e3 - It doesn't get any bigger or better than those three games in their respective genres , they are the pinacle of each genre.

Windwaker Reborn - I just can't imagine someone not wanting a HD Remake of Windwaker , a Megaton anouncement

Shin Megami tensei x Fire emblem - Sounds awesome right ? .... right ? you must be uninformed...

Yoshi game - Looks nice , looks great , looks like a day 1 purchase.

Nintendo basically COULD NOT POSSIBLY OF HAD a better Nintendo direct. Nintendo Direct after all isn't E3 or anything like that.
It was absoloutly astonishing what Nintendo did in 35 minutes. Give credit where credit is due.

Old McGroin4105d ago (Edited 4105d ago )

@ delboy

I agree with you that the big hitters you named are 99% of the time very big deals and excellent games to boot, but now that the dust has settled on THAT Nintendo Direct announcement avalanche I can't help but wonder why in the hell Nintendo didn't have at the very least one of them ready for the Wii U's launch window. It's all well and good announcing these things but they are probably a year off. I mean, Nintendo might as well announce in the next Direct that there will be a Mario, Zelda and Metroid game on their NEXT console as well, but the people who have shelled out the large amount of cash for their shiny new console will soon enough have a dusty new console for lack of use. We need solid content and we need it now. And I have to agree with the author of this article, it's a complete joke that the Virtual Console won't be up and running in full for another 6 months when it was ready pretty much out of the box with the original Wii. I mean, there's such a lack of content for the Wii U that I found myself a little bit excited to be downloading that baloon bursting game for 30 cent that was originally a NES game. I WAS EXCITED TO BE DOWNLOADING A GAME THAT IS CLOSE TO 30 YEARS OLD. And there's not even an online leaderboard for it, sigh.

I'm as excited as anyone else about all the announcements made the other day but the bottom line is I still don't have anything new to play RIGHT NOW and barely any solid release dates for upcoming games. C'mon Nintendo, get with the times!

@ Kingofwiiu

I'd just like to add that I'm in full agreement with you and most of the games announced will be day one purchases for me, I just feel like those announcements should have been made 6 months ago and all those titles should only be a few months away.

Hisiru4105d ago (Edited 4105d ago )

Seriously... I can't understand you guys. Nintendo clearly said this Nintendo Direct was going to focus on FIRST PARTY CONTENT, and now you guys are complaining about lack of third party announcements? Really? Iwata even said "we will talk about third party games at a later date", how difficult is to understand that?

I can't deny that the WiiU really needs more third party support, but I will give it time. This console launched in November lol it doesn't even have 3 months on the market.

You guys are always complaining about the lack of "hardcore games" from Nintendo. Nintendo announced a heavily requested remake of a Zelda game, another Zelda game, a 3D Mario (playable at E3), a few Bayonetta 2 info and the incredible Monolith game, and yet, you guys are still complaining.

It's just a Nintendo Direct and not an E3 show, are you people expecting more from a Nintendo Direct? Really?

Whymii4105d ago (Edited 4105d ago )

I understand your point of driving momentum forward, but that's hard to do when realistically it takes a minimum 2 years to make a game. That's some serious forward planning. Nintendo can only do so much, therefore they gave to rely in other publishes and developers. Regardless what that bashers say, Ubisoft did a sterling job supporting the launch of an untried and therefore risky console.

It all comes back to money, do I spend 20 million and tie up my resources for 2 years on a console with unknown sales and a tiny install base or go for the safer option of the larger install bases of PS3 and Xbox? As the install base increases for the wii u, its business proposition will make more sense and therefore more developers will come onboard.

Two years from now, hopefully we'll see a thriving wii u software scene and I hope the other consoles are strong as well because that's good for everyone, manufacturers, publishers, developers and consumers.

+ Show (3) more repliesLast reply 4105d ago
user39158004105d ago

I sense truth by the author lol... Im in the same boat he is currently in, I know lack of third party support, unstable online, inferior gaming compare to competition, and the awkward controller is killing me. With that in mind, Big N is not selling well at all, ugh... my son will hate me for this, but I simply told him Big N lost the hardcore and gain the kids in its casual ways. This console its simply a retro machine and nothing more with the addition of a poor controller scheme that its low quality visually, too big, lack of play due to drain batterie and to see the equivalent on graphics that already been out for 7 years its not a joy, but a backwards thinking. Either way, Im a gamer and always will support Big N CAUSE i SIMPLY LOVE THEIR FIRST PARTY, OTHERWISE, the system would of been a dead weight with me.

G20WLY4105d ago

Regarding "not selling well", I really believe that - rightly or wrongly - many that are interested are waiting for a price drop and some of these big promised games to actually land before they will purchase.

To this day, I cannot fathom Nintendo's original pricing for the 3DS at launch. It was simply too much and it forced them to make a hasty price cut.

It has, to some degree, created a wider spread legacy issue, in my opinion.

I know people that say this big price drop is likely with WiiU as well, so are sitting back and waiting. They have no source, but if that's the perception you have to wonder how much that original 3DS pricing has impacted:

1) the Vita sales, as another handheld
2) the WiiU sales, as another Nintendo product

Prices will drop eventually, of course, but I don't think it will be as quick as 3DS did - others tell me I'm wrong and that's not good for Nintendo or any of the other hardware manufacturers :(

Munnkyman4105d ago

I haven't had any issues online and the control is just fine. You sound like you don't even own the system what do you mean by inferior gaming?

chadboban4106d ago

"Too little too late"

The system is two freaking months old. And that particular Nintendo Direct was made to show Nintendo's first party games and partnerships, the intention was not to show third party games. And Iwata pretty much apologized about the lack of first party titles for January and February on the Wii U, I don't see them trying to veil the truth there.

Does that make their situation any better, nope. The Wii U is struggling in for it's first couple of months just like EVERY other system launch. People need to realize that a system doesn't immediately start out as amazing and always needs time to grow. I mean just look at how far the PS3 has come from it's very dark early days. People need to calm the hell down with the Wii U and Vita doom they keep spewing. Those systems are going to be just fine.

lilbroRx4105d ago (Edited 4105d ago )

Vita's a different story(a year at the bottom is a lot different than 2 months in the middle) but, I agree with you pretty much otherwise.

I still don't see how Nintendo is "struggling" though. How does slightly above average sells equal struggling? I thought struggling meant failing continuously.

Every time I look at the Wii U's sells. It picks up just a little more each week.

http://www.vgchartz.com/
Its in the top 4 half, not the bottom 4.

Also, the fact is that the 3DS has been dominating for months. How does having one system be the best selling and the other being the runner-up equal struggling?

zebramocha4105d ago

Aren't you contradicting your self,and the same thing could be said for the ps3/vita,the vita didn't have a simultaneous release.

Ezz20134105d ago (Edited 4105d ago )

using vgchartes as some kind of fact make you lose any credibility you have

as for 3ds it only done that because nintendo give it huge price cut
before that it was barely selling and had tons of "doom and gloom" articles too

Neonridr4105d ago

Ezz2013 - if you can show a more reliable source than vgchartz, then be my guest...

so the 3DS is only doing well because of a price cut? Not the fact that there are tons of games on the system, or the fact that you can play DS games on it too? That makes its library 100X the size of the Vita's since Sony was so smart to not include PSP support.

Ezz20134105d ago (Edited 4105d ago )

""I mean just look at how far the PS3 has come from it's very dark early days ""

i still remember those days when "ps3 has no gamez"
"ps3 gfx sux"

but now ps3 have been kicking ass and taking names left and right
in games and gfx
and i don't see any change in the future even when ps4 launch (when ever that happen)

ppl need to not loss hope on WII-U just yet
it's not even half year old
give some time before the doom and gloom articles
i have no idea why the gaming media love to make "doom and gloom" articles about sony/nintendo
when they are the one doing all the good to gaming

from the beach4105d ago

Just no pleasing some people!

Looking back at the launch years for 360 and PS3, I think Nintendo are doing fine.

mshope104105d ago

two months in is to little to late.and we should take you serious?

your just hating that's it plan and simple.

most people who own wii u love it.

give it time to get more games.

anyone remember two years ago when the same thing was said about 3ds and 27 million units later its killing it.

and same thing with vita give it some time.I swear the gaming press has become jaded crybabies.not all of them cause there's still some great one's.but alot are spoiled jaded crybabies its the truth.

dubberman4105d ago (Edited 4105d ago )

The Nintendo Direct was for Nintendo published games ONLY. Third Party games will be spoken about a little later, more than likely E3 or just before to help build up some hype.

This was actually said in the direct, if the author actually bothered to listen..

Show all comments (30)
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?"

purple1019d 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 ☝️

Zeref8d 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.

DarXyde8d 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.

PhillyDonJawn8d ago (Edited 8d 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.

Einhander19728d 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.

MrBaskerville8d 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.

shinoff21838d 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.

Profchaos8d 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 8d ago
isarai9d ago

Is that why Hellblade 2 is digital only?

Zeref8d 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.

MrNinosan8d ago

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

mkis0077d ago (Edited 7d ago )

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

Einhander19729d 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.

9d ago Replies(3)
Einhander19729d ago

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

9d ago
9d ago
Zeref8d 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.

DarXyde8d 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.

Einhander19728d 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.

Einhander19728d 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.

BehindTheRows8d ago (Edited 8d 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.

Zeref8d ago (Edited 8d 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.

Chevalier8d 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.

Tacoboto8d 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.

shinoff21838d ago

Yay steam

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

Tacoboto8d 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 8d ago
Hofstaderman8d 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?

crazyCoconuts8d 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.

Xeofate8d ago (Edited 8d 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.

crazyCoconuts7d 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

FinalFantasyFanatic8d 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."

XiNatsuDragnel15d ago

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

banger8814d 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.

Jingsing14d ago

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

PRIMORDUS14d 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.

mastershredder14d 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.

shinoff218314d 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.