60°

Squandering THQ’s assets and how Nintendo failed us

Leviathyn.com says: "Old news is, as they say, old but the catastrophe that was the total dismantling of THQ is still resonating throughout the industry. Tough as it is to accept, THQ’s prized properties are long gone, auctioned off to the highest bidder. Finding new homes with the likes of Koch Media, Crytek, Take 2, Ubisoft and SEGA, there’s one party who could’ve benefited the most from this company Steam sale – Nintendo. The final gavel may have been dropped on this case, but my issues with Nintendo’s indifference are just beginning."

Read Full Story >>
leviathyn.com
PopRocks3594095d ago (Edited 4095d ago )

...How did Nintendo fail us by choosing not to pick up assets from THQ and the Darksiders franchise? (Small point in the article, I know, but I wanted to focus on this type of rhetoric).

1. They already have a lot of developers on hand and are working with third party partnerships.

2. Darksiders already borrows elements from The Legend of Zelda... Nintendo can just make another Zelda for a game of that nature.

And don't get me wrong, it's a shame that a big publisher has yet to pick up that IP (unless it's happened and I just haven't heard about it). But you can't expect a publisher like Nintendo to pick them up just because you think it's a good idea and then call them out when they don't. Sony did not buy them out, Microsoft didn't buy them out and neither did any of the other big publishers.

Which brings me to my final point; Darksiders is a GREAT franchise. I love both games. But there's a consistency between them... they didn't sell well. Nobody bought either game. Now look at it from a business standpoint; do you want to lose money on a game like that? In this economy where big names like THQ and Atari have filed for bankruptcy, you can't risk picking up an IP that will lose you money. It sucks, but that's just how it works.

EDIT: I wanted to add that former employees of THQ joined Retro Studios who works under Nintendo, so.

Shok4095d ago

Not only that, but even before this year, there was a report that Retro had aquired some Vigil devs, along with Crytek and Naughty Dog people as well. So this recent hiring is actually the 2nd absorption Retro has done with Vigil.

But if any company needs to actually be bought out by Nintendo, it's Platinum Games. They have a flawless track record and seem to be very fond of Nintendo, and vice-versa.

PopRocks3594095d ago (Edited 4095d ago )

I absolutely agree. Nintendo acquiring Platinum Games would be a fantastic way to reel in more mature experiences for their platforms. Platinum can do more new IPs (like the Wonderful 101) and other such projects and Nintendo can occasionally hand them, say, a new Star Fox or F-Zero idea (speaking of which, what the hell IS Retro Studios doing with either of these franchises???).

The developer in question has a very solid track record, and with Nintendo's assistance I think they could create some outstanding experiences with both new and older franchises.

jacksheen00004095d ago (Edited 4095d ago )

@PopRocks

I have to agree with this article..Nintendo did failed us.

First, Nintendo kept leaning on 3rd Dev to help them advertise their Gamepad which in the end turn out to be a disaster.

Second, Nintendo have become way too reliant on making 2d side strollers and 3d platformers.

Third, Nintendo waited til the last minute to hiring more talents and games collaborations.

Forth, Nintendo waited til the last minute to get in to the HD bandwagon.

Five, Nintendo aren't producing enough quality games in a timely manner.

Six, Games ports weren't much better than xbox/ps3 versions.

Seven, Nintendo make too much rehashes, mini games, and casuals games.

Eight, Nintendo haven't been aggressive enough to make some new Ips.

You get the idea.

@PopRocks

I agree,But to say all of my above commits are depressing is going overboard.

Mind you Nintendo failed us many ways....

PopRocks3594095d ago

I don't know what's more depressing about this comment... the fact the entirety of it is all subjective as oppose to factual or that a large portion of it is completely off topic.

BlackWolf4095d ago (Edited 4095d ago )

You've called for some off topic and subjective arguments to your theory. I may as well give my counter argument then:

1. They used the devs as experts to speak positively about the Game pad. What's wrong with that? Aside form this, the way devs use the new controller is up to them. Whether the pad is good or bad is subjective.

2. In a industry in which there are a lot less games of this type, I personally see it as a bliss; it's what they do best, and they do it well, IMO.

3. It's not their fault that devs didn't want to work on Wii. Around now, Nintendo is trying to fix that problem. Why is that wrong? Also, they've made good games with their current personal.

4. Maybe they felt now it's the time for that? That's totally their call, I'm not gonna say anything about that. At least they are trying now.

5. Games take their time to be made. If they don't feel their games are top-notch, they are not going to release them earlier, won't they?

6. That's actually the devs' fault for making rushed ports of games that run on architecturally different consoles.

7. There are people that cater to these games. Also, some different games can be refreshing when you've had enough "hardcore" games. I think that's a lot better that getting a yearly CoD.

8. This is my favorite of your arguments. And here, my counter argument:
-Zangeki no Reingleiv
-Disaster: Day of Crisis
-Captain Rainbow
-Xenoblade Chronicles
-The Last Story
-Pandora's Tower
-The Wonderful 101
-etc.

And that's about it. It's all about a matter of perspective. While you feel you've been cheated by Nintendo, some do not share your viewpoint.

wiium644095d ago

totally agree, platnium games would go great with nintendo, really getting tired of all these nintendo failed stories, ssssoooo stupid.

infestedandy4095d ago

It's not that Nintendo failed, blah, blah, blah, it's that they aren't doing anything to help their classic franchises. I salivate at the thought of Nintendo buying Platinum Games and that's a true step in the right direction.

wiium644095d ago

yeah, and wait until, the e3, i know it sucks we will have to wait that long, but that's when they are going to show their big hand with all the franchises, then the game changes for good!

MasterCornholio4095d ago

@wiium64

I have a feeling that the Wii U is going to get overshadowed by the impending release of two next gen systems which will be the focus of E3. But i respect your devote faith in Nintendo.

wiiulee4095d ago

nintendo did not fail anyone..as wiiu is a brand new system and the only next generation with uniqueness and as for the games they are on the way...end of story

jacksheen00004095d ago (Edited 4095d ago )

@BlackWolf

You've made some interesting counter points.

I agree with everything you said.

But I'd also like to add that Nintendo did not do any of those things you've stated above at the right timing.

In the Gaming Industry having good timing is key; if FPS is what everyone what at the moment than make your own version FPS just to be on the same level as your rivals (Microsoft/Sony).

Sure,2d side strollers and 3d platformers are wonderful genre, especially if that what Nintendo do best then they should stick to your Guns and continue to make them.

Mind you Games are not so different from movies. You gotta go with the flow. This pattern which I speak of seem to go up and down on a month to month basis. If everyone want Sfi fi films at the moment make it instead of shoving your product down everyone throat like Nintendo have been doing in the past.

This is the main reason why everyone is getting tired of mario/zelda/kirby etc.

Everything they have produced since the 80s has been the same thing up until now, which is sad because I know what Nintendo can do if you backed them in to a corner.

Nintendo has a lot of potential if only they come to the realization that You Gotta Spend money to make money. Taking the short cut or cheap route is costing them everything, and if continue they may send themselves to the poor house.

BlackWolf4095d ago

So, by your logic, Nintendo must do what everybody does? I think that's the true shortcut. What makes Nintendo special is doing their damn own thing. Making FPS, for me, is a safe way to cater to cores (by the way, I dislike this term). Everybody doing the same thing is what's killing the diversity of games. And that should stop, IMO.

jacksheen00004095d ago

@BlackWolf

Not entirely should Nintendo do what everybody does gaming wise.

They should do what's required to satisfy everyone needs, core and casuals. Supply and demand.

Though, I love Nintendo and have since the NES days.

And as strange as this may sound, I Like the wii U because it the first time Nintendo have ever taken any interest in the core market. But of course things are going to take time. I don't expect Nintendo to be on the same as every other Devs out there.

But I know all the fuss about Wii U has given Nintendo the drive to take us gamers more seriously.

One thing that is for sure, I m no hater I tell it like it is even if people don't like it. I keep it real.

BlackWolf, I had fun communicating wit cha.

4095d ago
80°

How Many More Victims, Like Garry's Mod, Will Nintendo's Hurtful Crusade Create?

Hanzala from eXputer: "As Nintendo takes out 20 years' worth of stuff from Garry's Mod, I watch in shock, thinking why it continues to hurt and discourage its fans."

RiseNShine1d 22h ago (Edited 1d 22h ago )

The irony that some of the most disgusting business practices come from companies like Disney or Nintendo, i can't even begin to understand what terrible damage was Garrys Mod making to Nintendo bottom line, imho they're getting pretty nervous about where they're heading in the future, handhelds are no longer something exclusive to Nintendo, from Steam Deck to many others, now you can play the latest games and pay a fraction of the price on Steam sales, so it's up to their exclusives, which just on their own would make hard to justify purchasing a closed overpriced hardware with outrageous price policies (Super Mario Odyssey is still 60 euro 6 years later!), and as a home console they're always underperforming compared to Sony or Xbox.

gold_drake1d 15h ago (Edited 1d 15h ago )

i cam guarantee you, that their exclusives alone is what drives switch sales. they sell in the 10s of millions of copies.

nintendo created their franchises to be sort of nostalgia driven, exclusive only on nintendo.

people will always buy the pkmn games as they always bring in new younger fans amd is family friendly

mario kart, the same thing, mario games in general.

zelda games are system sellers. animal crossing for the casual gamers.

nintendo doesnt need third vame devs essentially. they made sure with the switch and the limitations that they looked more to pc ps and xbox.

its sad, but nintendo is more than fine with what they're doing. they positioned themselves to appeal to the more casual gamers.

but to your point, im not sure why they're doing this rly.

Inverno1d 13h ago

Look at how they handled Nintendo games being streamed or uploaded on YouTube in the past. They killed Yuzu and Citra even when they had nothing to do with ToTK being leaked, not to mention it was basically unplayable on emulation the week it was leaked. Smash Bros tournament, that was fairly recent. They shut down their online services without any care for purchases made. I bought a switch after skipping their last 2 consoles and handhelds but I don't plan on buying anything Nintendo in the future. They take things to the extremes, they legitimately hate their fans. They're honestly right up there with the likes of Acti, EA, and Ubi, only difference is that they disguise themselves as being family friendly all the while being shady.

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?"

purple10122d 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 ☝️

Zeref21d 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.

DarXyde21d 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.

PhillyDonJawn21d ago (Edited 21d 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.

Einhander197221d 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.

MrBaskerville21d 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.

shinoff218321d 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.

Profchaos21d 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 21d ago
isarai22d ago

Is that why Hellblade 2 is digital only?

Zeref21d 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.

MrNinosan21d ago

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

mkis00720d ago (Edited 20d ago )

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

Einhander197222d 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.

22d ago Replies(3)
Einhander197222d ago

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

22d ago
22d ago
Zeref21d 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.

DarXyde21d 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.

Einhander197221d 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.

Einhander197221d 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.

BehindTheRows21d ago (Edited 21d 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.

Zeref21d ago (Edited 21d 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.

Chevalier21d 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.

Tacoboto21d 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.

shinoff218321d ago

Yay steam

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

Tacoboto21d 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 21d ago
Hofstaderman21d 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?

crazyCoconuts21d 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.

Xeofate21d ago (Edited 21d 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.

crazyCoconuts20d 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

FinalFantasyFanatic21d 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)