150°

Has Nintendo Already Become An Afterthought In the Next Generation Battle

Gareth at Skewed and Reviewed has posted an opinion piece that asks if Nintendo is already an afterthought in the battle for the next generation. He cites a lack of buzz and sales for the new Nintendo system and states that the 2013 holiday season may bea make or break time for the Wii U with the launch of new systems coming from Sony and Microsoft.

GuruStarr784038d ago

As a Wii U owner, I've pondered the same question, but in the end, it all really comes down to Nintendo delivering "the Goods"..

Games like Metroid, Zelda, a new mario galaxy, mario kart, etc.. etc, will eventually validate my purchase... I'm not worried about the Wii U not getting a next-gen call of duty port... personally, If I get those types of games, I'll get them on the PS4 or the next xbox... where there's trophy/achiement support and a larger online community..

NastyLeftHook04038d ago

I agree, Im all for next gen too with these amazing things that are happening with ps4 ect, but i also love the nintendo franchises. zelda, metroid, starfox, mario, ect are reasons i will get a wii u. nostalgia.

chrisarsenalsavart4037d ago (Edited 4037d ago )

just bought mine this week end for £200 deluxe pack brand new and although i will be buying the ps4, i am still pretty pleased with my purchase. and wiiu doesn,t need to sell like wii to be a success. when i hear people comparing the wiiu with the cube, i feel pretty good about it because if i can get as much great experiences with the wiiu as i had with the cube then i will be a happy man.
nintendo will never be an afterthought in my heart.
wait for the new zelda, and metroid, and you ,ll see what i am talkng about

ATi_Elite4037d ago

Yeh but when is Nintendo gonna start pumping out the High quality first party games?

this Christmas is gonna be over loaded with PS4/x720 stuff that the WiiU is just gonna get drowned.

I don't think Mario is gonna save Nintendo this time around as they have wasted too much time!

Munnkyman4037d ago

I think with the ps4 and xbox is going to be about price. If they are around 399 they well sell alot, but if the price is more then than that it will be harder for them to move consoles. W/e nintendo comes out with by the end of the year will move wii u's no matter whats coming out

Ck1x4037d ago

I guarantee that the new WiiU 3d Mario will outsell any PS4/720 game by a very large margin come this Christmas hands down...

Picture_Dancer4037d ago

Don't you think it is sad that Nintendo only offers the same games over and over again: Mario, Zelda, Metroid etc. I think it is worse scheme than new call of duty games, or the same Fifa games wvery year. Nintendo is sellind the same games since their first console.

Nintendo offers worst sequelstation in the history and the least innovative and new IPs.

Such commercial company aimed only for money.

chrisarsenalsavart4037d ago

the only reason you feel that way is because third party publishrs did not support nintendo the way they done with the other two.
and please every company is about making money.

KentBlake4037d ago

I don't see how anyone could disagree with you. It is a fact that Nintendo uses the same franchises since the beginning. I'm not a Nintendo hater at all, and I hope e WiiU does well, but they really need to step up their game if they want to compete with Sony and MS. The Nintendo fans are getting older and I don't see them creating a new fanbase.

They need a lot of new exclusive IPs to stay alive during next-gen, especially because third party support is gonna disappear once PS4 and NextBox arrive.

Ck1x4037d ago (Edited 4037d ago )

I have stated this before and I'll state it again! Its not that Nintendo needs new IP's so much, as it would be better for them to revisit some of their many existing ones that they have created in the past and update those. With all the credit you guys give to Sony for all the new IP's they bring out every Gen(lol). Nintendo's total list of owned franchises that they haven't even touched in years trounces Sony's list of games in number easily. You guys can't use the excuse that well isn't it obvious since Nintendo has been out much longer, because according to you N4G trolls Nintendo has never done anything outside of the Mario, Metroid and Zelda games...

BosSSyndrome4037d ago

Same IP's, different games. That simple.

miyamoto4037d ago (Edited 4037d ago )

Nintendo and Mario is like the McDonald's and Happy Meal of gaming franchises.

Whether you like it or not this is how franchise business go.

They have to keep the same formula through the years or it will be a different product altogether.

Its up to you if you will still eat it.

deafdani4036d ago

Mario 64 isn't the same as Mario Sunshine isn't the same as Mario Galaxy.

Zelda Ocarina isn't the same as Majora's Mask isn't the same as Wind Waker isn't the same as Twilight Princess (well, Twilight is similar in some things to Ocarina, I'll give you that)... isn't the same as Skyward Sword.

Metroid Prime 1, 2, and 3 are similar, of course. But they weren't released in a yearly basis. Also, Metroid Other M is VERY different to the Prime games, and it's been hated a lot, despite it actually being a pretty good game. Flawed in some areas, yes, but still pretty damn good.

But whatever, haters like you will only hate Nintendo just for the sake of it.

+ Show (3) more repliesLast reply 4036d ago
AsimLeonheart4037d ago (Edited 4037d ago )

Yes, you can get games like COD on PS4 or XBOX720 and keep Wii U only for exclusives but not everybody thinks like that. Most people can only afford a single console so they choose the one with the most games that suit their tastes. People will still buy Wii U but without major third party games, Wii U will lack mass appeal as THE console to own. As a result, only hardcore Nintendo fans interested in their first party titles will buy it as a secondary console. Third party support is essential for sales and competing with other consoles (the original Wii is an exception here which had the advantage of motion controls).

+ Show (1) more replyLast reply 4036d ago
jcnba284038d ago

Nintendo have nothing to worry about. Get N or get OUT! :)

LOL_WUT4037d ago

You sound way too confident anything can happen... ;)

Garethvk4038d ago

Thank you. I can honestly say I have been unimpressed so far. Not only that, but Nintendo has offered very poor supoort to media. Once it was launched, they have been very stingy on news and review materials to many in the press. We were lucky as we have been given good access to the system and games, but honestly I think I have turned the console on more in the past 2 months to show my wife movie trailers on the big screen downstairs more than I have to play a game. I played ZombieU for a few minutes again last week to show the console to a guest. They were not impressed with how a person has to stand constantly to play that game nor with the control system. Mario looked a bit better to him but he noted how it did not look that much better than the last one he played.

I really hope that what is coming is good, and that by the time we get to E3 we will have tons of great looking games to write about and cover.

NastyLeftHook04038d ago

yes, i believe its all in the developers hands to maximize its potential. the franchises are there, but they need to really start setting the bar higher for itself for the wii u.

GuruStarr784038d ago (Edited 4038d ago )

Yeah... as much as I REALLY want to play something on my WII U, there's nothing... I'm burnt out on 2d mario and ZombiU just wasn't that great.. I'm thinking about getting the new lego undercover game, but it seems almost too juvenile for my taste... Until we get something, it'll just serve as a cool "netflix player"..

oh and btw; monster hunter 3 ultimate, I rented.... and really disliked it..

C-Thunder4037d ago

Why did you buy it? The four games you listed are the only major games that were expected to release to this point, except for Rayman. Shouldn't you have expected to feel this way?

wantonGamer4037d ago

You have to stand to play Zombi U ? Why ?

BosSSyndrome4037d ago

Dunno wth he's talking about, I never stood once through the whole game.

Garethvk4038d ago

We were there at E3 in the Nokia theater when they announced it in 2011 and I thought it had promise. When we saw it in 2012 I was not that impressed as what I saw were games that were only slightly better graphic wise from the Wii in terms of Nintendo exclusives and third party games that did not look that much better than what we get on the Xbox 360 and Playstation 3.

During Comic Con they had a special area for press to play the systems that was not open to the public and this allowed us to reallly get an idea for it. I asked my wife if she thinks it is worth getting, and she said yes, for the reason that it looks like a fun system for social gaming and entertaining at parties like the way Wii Sports was played. She liked the new Mario Bros alot but I see that she is more interested in SimCity and Dance Central 3 than she is in anything for the Wii U. I am doing reviews so my story is a bit different, but Bioshock Infinite, and Starcraft: Heart of the Swarm have far more draw for me currently than anything they have out. I want to see something more than a casual or childs game with better graphics. They have the hardware, lets see a solid game with good online play that we will want to get. They do not have a signature game for the unit as of yet. Nintendo fans will play Mario, Smash Bros and such, but they need a big time hook.

Chrono4037d ago

I think Nintendo fans mostly care about Nintendo's own IPs only.

colonel1794037d ago

It's actually true. I want a Wii U ONLY for Nintendo games. Every friend who wants one, also wants the same. I don't know anyone who wants to play Fifa, Mass Effect 3, etc on a Nintendo console.

I am waiting to see the new Zelda and new Mario, which they already said they are coming, and which other franchises get announced to decide if I buy one.

lilbroRx4037d ago

You have some strange friends. Me and most of my friends by Nintendo creative games and for the exsclusives like Bayonetta 2, Wonderful 101 and Monoliths Xeno title.

I've owned every Nintendo console exept the SNES and I had a huge library on each, but 1st party Nintendo games were rarely a part of it aside from Metroid.

Ck1x4037d ago

While this is a true statement it should also be the reason that people want a PS4 or bought a PS3! I can't tell you hypocritical it is for people to run to these community sites and tout Sony exclusives when most of you would rather play some halfed baked game, instead of some exclusive game Sony spent millions and millions of dollars to create... Just go look at the top 10 games on the sales chart for both the Wii and the PS3. I guarantee that 8 out of the top selling games on the Wii are all Nintendo games and 7-8 out of the 10 on PS3 are probably 3rd party. While many may argue well Nintendo doesn't have very strong 3rd party support and this would be true dating back to the N64. The number one selling game on Sonys console should still be a Sony created IP though. The fact of the matter is that in the end Nintendo has more brand loyalty than Sony does. Sony could sell 70million of the PS4 this Gen to Nintendo's 30million for the WiiU and I guarantee overall Nintendo's games would sell higher and be more profitable for Nintendo then Sony's hands down.

Show all comments (58)
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?"

purple1016d 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 ☝️

Zeref5d 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.

DarXyde5d 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.

PhillyDonJawn5d ago (Edited 5d 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.

Einhander19725d 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.

MrBaskerville5d 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?

Zeref5d 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.

MrNinosan5d ago

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

mkis0074d ago (Edited 4d 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)
Einhander19725d ago

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

5d ago
5d ago
Zeref5d 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.

DarXyde5d 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.

Einhander19725d 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.

Einhander19725d 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.

BehindTheRows5d ago (Edited 5d 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.

Zeref5d ago (Edited 5d 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.

Chevalier5d 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.

Tacoboto5d 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.

Tacoboto4d 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 4d ago
Hofstaderman5d 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?

crazyCoconuts5d 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.

Xeofate5d ago (Edited 5d 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.

crazyCoconuts4d 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

FinalFantasyFanatic4d 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."

XiNatsuDragnel12d ago

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

banger8811d 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.

Jingsing11d 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.

mastershredder10d 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.

shinoff218310d 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.