Should Nintendo stop making home consoles?

Tepid sales of Wii U hardware and the slow drip of content being released for it have led some to suggest that perhaps it would be best if Nintendo just got out of the business of making game systems for the living room. With their handheld business strong and their library of memorable properties, could they be better served as a company by backing out of the highly competitive home console market?

[NYC_Gamer]

Nintendo should continue since they have loyal fans who enjoy playing Mario and others on tvs

[Pope_Kaz_Hirai_II]

They need to stop catering to casuals , they are not a loyal fanbase, they should take some risks and come up with an uncharted type 1st party hit and get proper 3rd party support for their home consoles like they used to have.

[AngelicIceDiamond]

Uncharted type of hit? why does EVERYTHING gotta be what the PS3 does on here? In order for a console to be success they need a Sony exclusive type game to succeed, get real.

No Nintendo doesn't need an uncharted type of hit. They need to innovate their first party titles as well as get third party titles on their system. GTA 5 Wii U version is a possibility which is fantastic news for U owners.

Innovate first party and major third party support is what Nintendo needs.

I'm sorry but this "its about only PlayStation" mentality is getting really old fast.

[DwightOwen]

Sony WISHES Uncharted could sell Mario-type numbers.

[Venoxn4g]

Uncharted?!? Cha-ha ha :D

[MariaHelFutura]

No, Nintendo should not stop making consoles. But, they should stop making underpowered last gen consoles.

[DwightOwen]

Compared to what? PS4? Sorry, but Sony's nonexistent console doesn't come out for another 7 months, yet it's already obsolete. The same goes for the next Xbox.

[DrJones]

DwightOwen

If PS4 is last gen, then Wii U is last last gen.

[GraveLord]

Nintendo consoles aren't necessary though. I would be more than happy playing Super Smash Bros on my PS3.

[deafdani]

Sony consoles aren't necessary though. I would be more than happy playing God of War on my Wii U.

See how easy it was for me to spin your ridiculous argument?

[BattleAxe]

^^^

Well what you're saying might have made sense if the WiiU had released at the same time as the PS3 and 360, but the WiiU isn't anywhere close to being able to run games that will be on the PS4 and 720.

You see how you just got turned upside down and dropped on your head?

[deafdani]

@BattleAxe:

You raise a valid point. Actually, I had this exact same argument with another dude via PM, and the guy told me pretty much the same thing you said. This is what I said to him:

"You conveniently forget that Sony's PS1 and PS2 were considerably weaker than their competitors when they were released. Just like Sony is nowadays focusing in sheer power and Nintendo isn't, the situation can change completelly in future generations."

"Also, you talk abput power as if that's the only thing that matters. Yes, it is very important, but as a gamer, I can also appreciate the other stuff that Nintendo brings to the table. The Wii U may not be nearly as powerful as the PS4 will be, yet itbdoes have the gamepad, which in my opinion, is awesome. Not only for games, Miiverse is also a superb example of a great experience made possible thanks for the Gamepad, and that's Nintendo specialty: those quirky ideas that bring a different sort of experience to the table."

"Notice how I'm not stating that these experiences are better, or worse. Just different, and I enjoy them immensely, as well. Just because YOU don't find the same appeal to it doesn't make Nintendo machines "unnecessary". "

"I hope you get my point here. Good night. :) "

-------

Experiences like Zombi U and Nintendoland, for example, and the Miiverse itself, won't be possible on the PS4, because that console's controller won't have a touch screen on it. (I can't speak for the Xbox 3, of course, until it is revealed to the public). I expect these kind of unique experiences to grow over time, as the Wii U matures and more games get released for it.

Power (Sony / Microsoft), or different approaches to hardware (Nintendo); to me all are valid propositions that bring a lot of enjoyment to the table, if you have a open mind. I don't think any of the big three needs to go third party at all.

[LOL_WUT]

No, what they need to do is stop relying on their old characters and instead work on taking more risks to create intriguing and unique games. ;)

[truechainz]

if you are looking for something unique and intriguing, pikmin 3 is rumored to be out this summer

[lilbroRx]

So they need to stop making games with record holding/breaking sells? Please explain this logic to me.

I really cannot comprehend why people are constantly attacking the most successful parts of Nintendo as needing revision, and it is primarily because they constantly revise them with ever iteration already.

Mario Sunshine and Mario Galaxy were worlds apart. Majora's Mask and Wind Waker are world's apart.

Second, they make mulitple new I.P.s every year. Just this year alone, they have Crashmo, Wonderful 101 and Fire Emblem X Shin Megami Tensei. Last year they had Nintendo Land and Dillon's Rolling Western. Next year they will have the sequel to Monado.

[THEMIGHTYDOOVDE]

New IP's are all well and good but the last time I checked the successful games are mostly franchises. I mean, look at Sony. They release plenty of new IP's and 90% of the time they all flat on their face!

[3-4-5]

People just need to be more patient.

Everybody expects everything right now and exactly how they want it.

Good games take time to make.

[QuebecSuperstar]

I agree. Instant satisfaction is what people seek nowadays.

[MEsoJD]

They could still do that without having their own console if they go third party.

[rick1woller]

nintendo should remember its hardcore fans like things other than mario n zelda such as 1080, wave race=extreme sports title.

[brich233]

They should stop making home consoles go multiplatform and allow thier portable gaming device to work with other gaming consoles/Pcs. Thier games will sell Triple and they wont have spend money in the console buisness.

[PopRocks359]

Oy vai. How many more articles with this same damn headline are we going to get?

Would dropping hardware be all that beneficial to non-Nintendo fans anyway? I can imagine Nintendo providing software exclusively for their handhelds if they ever stopped making consoles. Which really would not happen considering even Nintendo's lowest selling consoles were profitable. The reason Sega dropped out of hardware is because they produced two consoles that did not sell very well and lost them a ton of money, the latter of which they could not even make back on software due to rampant piracy.

[Donnieboi]

This is exactly the point you were trying to make in that blog. These types of articles/video's are just to get high hits.

[limewax]

This is also why the site I write for stays away from this sort of thing. Not only is it a cheap tactic but it's downright disrespectful to the audience.

I won't divulge who I write for since that's just as cheap, but all I'll say is that we'd all choose slowly growing figures over easy hits and it's a shame that this sort of stuff takes the limelight from actual developments happening in the industry on a daily basis.

[Studio-YaMi]

Having no competition means we all lose,I want all three major companies to keep making consoles.

I admit,I dislike Microsoft out of the three,but if it wasn't for the Xbox360,PS3 fans wouldn't have seen such a great line-up of games pumping year after year since the awful one and half years of the PS3 Launch.

Same goes for Nintendo,having them in the gaming industry is only helping fuel the competition.

So wishing for any of the companies to stop making consoles or to close down is just utter selfish and extremely fanboyish.

Wish them all best of luck ! :D

[majiebeast]

No aslong as people enjoy them and Nintendo can still make a profit from it, why would they quit?

I think you guys needs to watch the video they are asking a question and most disagree that Nintendo should stop making consoles.

[jcnba28]

I couldn't watch more than a minute of the video, so dumb.

[Zodiac]

I will answer that with a question. Should we get rid of bacon and porn?

[mshope10]

nope!how many people have been saying this the last ten years!

the first year 3ds was out everyone said vita will crush it and they shouldn't make hardware anymore.

how did that Work out?

so calm down wait till after next holiday season and shut the Fuck up with this shit.

because everything will be fine by then.

but you won't see any article about how good Nintendo is doing only the two time in over 30 years they ever lost money people talk shit.

oh wait during most of time Nintendo was a game maker people thought they would fail.

how did that workout haters?!lol

[Studio-YaMi]

Wow,you're really mature aren't ya ! xD
Btw,off topic there a lil bit buddy.

[MariaHelFutura]

Relax.

[ziggurcat]

no.

[arbitor365]

when people talk about the merits of the wii or wii u, its always about the mario and zeldas. the first party exclusives.

that's fine. but if first party software is literally all a console has going for it, then that doesn't really vindicate the hardware.

nintendo's console hardware is not defensible. it is the most underpowered console hardware ever put out by a mainstream company, and it rides on gimmicks.

and yes, motion controls are a gimmick. nothing more. which is why nintendo has pretty much abandoned them in favor of the next temporary gimmick, a tablet gamepad. none of these things have a lasting impact or worth in the industry. and anyone who calls them "innovation" needs to check themselves.

sorry people. nintendo has no business making console hardware anymore. it has long passed them by. the industry does not need nintendo consoles. sony and microsoft are competing in terms of console power, online features, connectivity, and content sharing. nintendo is not even part of the equation anymore.

[Trago1337]

Hang on, so because it's under powered, it's gonna fail?

The NES, PS1, PS2, Gameboy, Ds, and 3DS beg to differ.

ALL of the consoles I mentioned had competitors who offered consoles with vastly superior hardware, and yet they were fine. Regardless of how you feel about Nintendo's first party exclusives, there is still a market for them and that's a stone cold fact.

It's way too early to start making bold claims.

Does Nintendo have a lot to fix, you bet your ass they do, but claiming that there's no place for them in the console space is stupid imo.

Look at how stupid everyone looked when they were spelling out DOOM for the 3DS. Exactly.

[arbitor365]

lol its funny how you dont even address ANY of my points and just go off on the typical damage controlling tirades that nintendo fanboys engage in nowadays.

im discussing the merits of nintendo's hardware and you go off on a tangent about sales. as if that somehow absolves nintendo of criticism or lifts the quality of their system, any more than the box office revenue of "transformers 3" makes it a good movie.

this is the problem with you nintendo fanboys. you cannot deal with any criticism of the company you have sworn allegiance to, so you bury your head in the sand and switch topics whenever any problems are brought up.

so, im not even going to dignify the asinine comparisons or in-comprehensive summations of the gaming industry you are putting forward, with a response. because they aren't even relevant to the discussion at hand.

i dont care how many units the wii sold or how much you think the wii u will sell. Nintendo's hardware and online are still garbage. and hiding behind the hardware sales of casuals and children are not going to convince me otherwise.

PS. if you think the wii u will sell anywhere near as many units as the wii, you are out of your mind. there is no way you will have a craze surrounding the tablet controller comparable to what you had with motion controls. period

[Trago1337]

I thought you were smarter than that dude haha.

Not once did I mention sales to you. I was speaking in terms of those system's libraries.

See, I was trying to apply your logic to the PS1, PS2 etc.

Because by your Logic, the PS1 and PS2 must have been utter SHIT compared to the N64 and original Xbox, since the N64 had minimal load times and the original Xbox offered a hard drive, something the PS1 and PS2 didn't.

And yet despite those systems shortcomings, their game libraries were phenomenal.

It's common facts that the PS4 offers more than the Wii U, but does that mean Nintendo should quit consoles? No.

You missed my point, and you're the one crying fanboy lol. Would a fanboy tell you that Nintendo have a lot of things to fix about them? No.

If anything, you seem to be the fanboy here, because ANY gamer with half a brain cell would know that any of the big three leaving the console business would only hurt US THE GAMERS. And yet you claim they should leave.

What a shame.

[truechainz]

"sony and microsoft are competing in terms of console power, online features, connectivity, and content sharing."

If these are things that you find most important in gaming console competition, then I don't even see why you enjoy playing video games. I mean to say Nintendo hardware is not defensible? Get off your high horse buddy. You don't determine what everyone likes.

[josephayal]

I think it's far too early in the Wii U's life to really judge how it's going to end up

[Studio-YaMi]

I sure hope not ! I enjoy Nintendo first party games,yes..people think they are rehashing or milking the same franchises over and over again,but that's not the case with Nintendo,they make fresh approaches every time they make a new game for an old IP of theirs,Nintendo first party games just have a special charm to them and that's why I like them.

So the short answer here is .. NO!
Nintendo existence is vital to the gaming industry.

[GreenRanger]

Short answer: No.
Long answer: Hell No.

[kirbyu]

No. Just because a bunch of people on the internet don't understand that there's more to a game console than it's launch lineup, that doesn't mean a company needs to stop making consoles.

[Kyosuke_Sanada]

Why should we get rid of what got us here today?

[silkylove]

Why? I've enjoyed every single Nintendo home console. And every one of them has allowed me to play at least one "game of the generation" type game. Sometimes two or three or more of those type of games.

[MEsoJD]

I see them going third party eventually. Which would be great!

[deafdani]

Sony is actually in a much worse financial state than Nintendo. If anything, Sony would go third party before Nintendo does, and I honestly don't see that happening, either.

Stop dreaming. If Nintendo goes third party, it won't be anytime soon.

[MEsoJD]

Nintendo has sub par third party support, online services, and hardware compared to competition. Unless they make some radical changes. It's their first party that keeps them alive(in terms of the home console) so why not go third party?

Lets keep this about Nintendo. Sony/MS still have consoles that are selling and continue to have third party support unlike the wii. They clearly have longevity in mind when designing consoles/services.

I really do want to see a rational reason why Nintendo should continue to make home consoles after the Wii-U?

[deafdani]

@MEsoJD: I will just redirect you to this another thread where I addressed why I think Nintendo don't need to go third party (nor any other, for that matter):

http://n4g.com/news/1238665...

[danitanzo]

I think when they make their own console, they know it very well and can use its features very well. If they didn't make their own, I don't know if the quality of their games would be the same...

[jc48573]

so what do you want Nintendo do if they do STOP? I just find it hard to accept regardless of how people feel about the company.

[gamertk421]

Wait, they still make home consoles? (Covers head and runs away)

[gamertk421]

Well there are at least 3 people who can't take a joke!

[Kingthrash360]

why is this on the vita channel?

[kagamer79]

Articles like this sadden me really. Nintendo has contributed alot to gaming. Gaming wouldn't be where it is today without nintendo paving the way and building the game community when there was none. I know nintendo isnt the ruling and dominating force it once was. But you people gotta understand after 35 yrs they got some tough competitors. Sony has some nice exclusives and microsoft has an awesome online for gaming. I think nintendo does their best to innovate ways to game. Do they fall short sometimes? Yes they do but they try to deliver an entertaining and affordable experience. I think me and most everyone here would love to see nintendo make a powerful console and bring back the old slogan "Now your playing with power". But thats not likely. Nintendo does their own thing and they play by different rules. Michael pachter admitted that nintendo is a successful company worth about 8 or 9 billion dollars. He hates nintendo but he himself even admitted also to adam sessler that nintendo could flop consoles for the next 50 yrs because they have that much money. Michael Pachter also stated this and i agree with him he said"nintendo may quit making home consoles one day but it wont be because they have too they have too much money for that to happen it will be because they want too". Hate nintendo all you want they got the money to go for years to come. So for every reason ppl say nintendo should quit , they have around 9 billion reasons in the bank not to.

[busytoad]

They should be a software only company,they havent had a good console since the n64.

[MyNutsYourChin]

There is no reason, from the philosophical end to the financial means, that Nintendo should step out of the console business. They are very much a beneficial influence and pillar of excellence in the gaming industry even if they have their down time from time to time.

[imXify]

Not really but it's kinda ridiculous that there's no market share of games on those consoles.

The sales are like 90% Mario, Zelda, Mario Kart and the other 10% are games like CoD, Need for Speed and other 3rd party games. There's no surprise if they dont want to release their games, it's unbalanced.

[BitbyDeath]

Nope they just need to learn how to work with 3rd parties.

[BosSSyndrome]

Nintendo simply could not create the same experiences on different hardware. They design their hardware around their games. Their consoles are optimized for the experiences they envision. Nintendo games just wouldn't reach their full potential on non-Nintendo hardware.

[DivineAssault]

YES! They should go segas route.. But have a line of hardware like madcats.. That way they can design funky controllers & what not

[just-joe]

No.

[PS4isKing_82]

No they should not. Ninetendo has been around too long to go away. My first home console was a NES and i loved the hell out of it. Ive loved all of nintendo's consoles except the wii. One thing i find funny is a lot of fanboys proclaim nintendo hasnt made a new ip in years when forgetting microsoft hasnt made a new ip in 12 years with the release of halo on the original Xbox. Even forza and fable are from the Xbox 1 days and gears of war is a 3rd party game. Could nintendo do better? Of course they could but lets not put all the blame and hate on them either. Microsoft milks their same mediocre 3 ips every year and yet when nintendo gives us a new installment of mario or zelda, its a crime.

Fanboys and their logic make my head hurt.

[delboy]

Everyone wanting that N goes software is only admitting that N has the best games in the industry!
You know you want to play those fun/exellent games, because you are bored with medicore/only about grapchics games you got with the other console.

[truechainz]

If you watch the whole video some pretty good points are made about how the games would not having the same quality if Nintendo did go third party due to the pride of Nintendo as a Japanese company which is very true.

[Jagsrock]

whoa Deja vu! I could have sworn I saw this headline last week...oh wait I did. Seriously they're not going anywhere. If you want to play their games you're gonna have to play it on their hardware like it or not.

[AKR]

Stop making consoles? Say wha? It's because Nintendo STARTED making home consoles, we have so many "common" features in the systems today. Things like motion controls, force feedback, the D-Pad, shoulder buttons - That all started with Nintendo.

Add to that, when they released the DS, 3DS, Wii and Wii U - It shows how they're not only trying to innovate with their games, but it also shows how they're trying to innovate with their systems, looking more into the fun-factor than power-factor, and it's been working.

Nintendo has nothing to worry about as far as home systems go. The Wii U is off to a slow start, but it's not like any systems before it didn't have any growing pains like this.