"Nintendo just won 2015. In January" - Nintendo Direct Impressions

Dealspwn: "Okay, I'll cop to hyperbole, but it's difficult to overstate just how impressive today's Nintendo Direct really was and how brilliantly it managed to cement my excitement about the upcoming 3DS and Wii U lineup while revealing more games to boot."

[Blues Cowboy]

It's certainly one of the most competent and confident Nintendo Direct presentations I've ever seen. It's like they've got their second wind.

Definitely getting that MH4 3DS XL if I can.

[FuzzyPixels]

I'm gonna be all over that Zelda XL like... erm... me, I guess, on a cupcake.

[Pitch_Blanck]

Nintendo follows the lead of Microsoft and Sony with the remasters trend. I guess they are not better than the others after all. Let's plug the cash machine with remasters and amibos that bring nothing in terms of gameplay. Not very good for the image of a company that is almost self-proclaimed "masters of gameplay". Maybe they better create something really new and take some risks for a change!

[TomShoe]

"Nintendo just won 2015. In January"

Yeah no. They're going to have another great year, but it's way too early to call them the winners. Sony's lineup is packed too, remember?

[darthv72]

@pitch... I dont really care who follows who so long as its done right.

Now i am not sure about the time frame but didnt nintendo do the remaster of NES games on the cube long before the 'trend' was made popular by the likes of MS and Sony???

[XanderZane]

That's what I want, even though it doesn't come with the Zelda: Majora's Mask game at all. You have to buy the game separately for the U.S. version. The Monster Hunter 4 3DS XL comes with the game. I don't know whether to get the 3DS XL first or the Wii U. Decisions... decisions..

[mikeslemonade]

We already knew most of these news. Still much of these games aren't relevant. Like how many people really want to play Wii games? And Remasters to last gen quality and 2005 quality on the handheld... This is lame and it just shows me how thick your Nintendo glasses are.

[breakpad]

except Splatoon which is looking a fun quality prototype game and Xenoblade that is really massive with excellent quality (as it seems until now) ...nothing else didnt impress me (aah and MH4 but probably this will change hands in the future) hOw Nintendo won 2015?

[ABizzel1]

"Nintendo just won 2015. In January"

Jan
Wii titles can now be directly downloaded to the Wii U ( Jan 29th).

Feb (aka New 3DS Month)
New 3DS announcement (Feburary 13th)
Ace Combat (Feb 13th)
Monster Hunter 4U (February 13th)
Majora’s Mask 3D (Feburary 13th)
Pokemon Shuffle FREE 3DS eShop game (February)
Kirby and the Rainbow Curse (February???)

March
Mario vs Donkey Kong Tipping Stars (Wii U / 3DS, March 5)
Code Name S.T.E.A.M. (March 13th)

May
Puzzles and Dragons Z & Puzzles and Dragons Super Mario Edition 3DS (May)
Xenoblade Chronicles 3D (May)
Splatoon (May???)

TBA
Zelda Wii U
Star Fox
Fire Emblem for 3DS
Mario Party 10
Hyrule Warriors Majora’s Mask DLC (Includes Tingle + Young Link)
Xenoblade Chronicles X
Fossile Fighters Frontier

eShop
Ironfall, Elliot Quest, Blek, Project Treasure, Citizens of Earth, Gunman Clive 2, Moon Chronicles, Sega 3D Classics, Etrian Mystery Dungeon, Story of Seasons (eShop games).

Other
More Amiibos and Amiibo functionality with many of their first party games.

I think this is great for Nintendo and really shows support for the 2 platforms. This is the second wind for both Wii U and 3DS. The 3DS will should be back on track to match the GBA sales (well PSP, GBA, 360, PS3 range of +80m), since I firmly believe it only has 3 years max left on the market, before it's successor drop.

However, I don't think it's going to help the Wii U extend it fanbase beyond what it has been doing with this line-up of games.

If you're a fan of Nintendo games, then 2015 is a great year for Nintendo fans, but what they're doing with their line-up isn't going to change the fortunes of the Wii U, which is sad, because they have some good exclusives to offer. They need a price drop down to $229 as soon as March hits so the 3DS can take February, and they can ride out the rest of the year with these great exclusives and a new low price, allowing Wii U to be an easier choice for a 2nd or 3rd consoles.

[3-4-5]

Solid Facts. Thanks for typing that all out.

* Was a better Direct than expected and one of my favorite of all time.

* Everything I thought I would like, I'm actually MORE excited for now.

* That Fire Emblem announcement caught me off guard too...Really happy to play another FE game.

[Highlife]

Well said. I'm just not a fan of Nintendo's games they just don't interest me outside of a few. Our family owns a wiiu and a ps4. While the games we got on wiiu are good they just all seem to be in the same world. Mario. Now that's in our house. We tend to play the ps4 more often. Playing garden warfare, cod, Nhl, mlb the show, minecraft and so on. Speaking of minecraft seemed like such a logical fit for Nintendo. The gamepad being your inventory. Nintendo just doesn't get That if they want to expand their user base they need big third party from the start. They will always have their following but that can only take you so far.

[gleepot]

i think mario party 10 is march, xeno 3ds is april, splatoon is may.

[NuggetsOfGod]

Great list!

Mature games are for my pc.

I might get the new 3ds!

If it has vita like graphics I would be ok with that.
Ninty is about fun not photorealistic content.

Wiiu gamers are the only console gamers who consistently play at 1080p 60fps.

WiiU/PC Master Race

[MoveTheGlow]

@NuggetsOfGod

It's probably not going to compare to Vita for you. The screens still aren't up to that kind of resolution regardless of the new computing power.

However, if you like your 3DS, I'd look into it. The loading times are far quicker, the controls are better, and the 3D has a much more solid implementation.

[Gamer1982]

thing i hated about the direct was confirmation that amiibos can only store data for one game.. What a crappy cash grab from nintendo. They could have put bigger chips on the amiibos to store multiple game data. But instead they chose limit to 1 game to rip their consumers off. How far they have fallen.

[pcz]

xenoblade is the only thing that impressed me.

[Aceman18]

only games i care about are

fire emblem 3ds
xenoblade wii u
zelda wii u

and

code name steam if its like valkyria chronicles in any way. also a new star fox

[_-EDMIX-_]

Agreed, its like listing a bunch of indie games on PS4 and XONE.

Sorry but all 3 have lots of games, to list games by other publishers and say "Nintendo is having" lol

No...they very much are not winning anything this year.

Both PS4 and XONE have far superior lineups as developers have the tools to create much more then on Wii U.

[Xb1ps4]

Don't know about calling them the winner already.... But that sure as he'll is how you continue to support your handheld...

[BenqMagician]

"Nintendo just won 2015. In January" Well it looks like Nintendo will have another great year like last year that's it.

[Pitch_Blanck]

Another year with Zeldas and Marios and more Zeldas and...oh wait, I have a dream, a new Mario would be awesome! Let's prey for a new Mario guys. There is almost no chance but...

[gerbwmu]

Are you hunting Mario?

[Xb1ps4]

To be fair... Mario's and Zelda's always bring something new to the table and are always great games.. So why hate on it?!

[ashcroft]

Prey? ROFL!!!

I'd rather see mario and zeldas, than call of rehash , broken releases and ripped content into DLC.

Also it's spelled pray.

As @gerbwmu hinted, Prey is hunting

[Concertoine]

Nintendo definitely has a lot of great games coming across 3ds and wii u. Excited to see splatoon in may.

[Pitch_Blanck]

Yeah, Platoon will probably be GOTY! Can't wait...

[Kingdomcome247]

Okay, you've made it clear that you don't think highly of Nintendo. You used all of your bubbles to troll. People like you on here infuriate me. If you don't like something then why come here to this thread? To belittle other people's preferences? Grow up. OT: Wow. Xenoblade Chronicles X looks amazing. I just want to explore that world.

[Lionalliance]

I wouldn't go that far yet, though i do wnat that Majora's Mask 3DS XL edition.

[GordonKnight]

Hope you pre-ordered as Game Stop is already sold out.

[GordonKnight]

Disagree, there is already one on Ebay for $2000.

[GordonKnight]

Nintendo will hurt my wallet more than my PS4 & X1 in 2015. Just like 2014.

Why do we need a winner? All three consoles are great and bring something to table.IMO

[DougLord]

Looks like Wii U's final year will be its best. Hopefully the sell more then 10 million consoles before they retire it in 2016.

[Concertoine]

Lol nice stealth troll.

Theyre at just under 9 million now, are you really implying they wont sell at least 1 million consoles in 2015?

[kwandar]

Final year and 10 million, and you call that a stealth troll?

No ... I'd say that is pretty much full on troll :)

[SliceOfTruth888]

so.....they won with remakes? The same thing everyone is condemning Sony and Microsoft for.....and they are not even HD.....NintendoFail if you ask me, even though iam currently downloading Galaxy 2

@onilink Sadly the wii games are not remakes because i would have paid insane cash for full HD versions, as for the 20 games you mention....can you list them? I must have missed about 16 of them. Again iam not trying to bash Nintendo i honestly would love to throw cash at them any chance i get, but if this gets people exited well i guess iam just a cranky kong

[--Onilink--]

they showed almost 20 games in that presentation, only 2 mentions of remakes. Majora's and Xenoblade 3DS. The wii games which are not remakes, simply Virtual console titles.

[--Onilink--]

Fire Emblem
Puzzle and Dragons combo
Pokemon Suffle
Splatoon
Kirby
Mario vs Donkey Kong
Story of Seasons
Ironfall
Ace Combat
Mario Party 10
Indie games (blek, elliot quest, gunman clive 2 and another one i cant remember the name)
Xenoblade 3DS
Xenoblade X
Majora's Mask
Fossil Fighters Frontier
Codename S.T.E.A.M
Etrian Mistery Dungeon

Thats 20 games for you, im probably missing one or two

[_-EDMIX-_]

To list something like Puzzle and Dragons combo
Pokemon Suffle
Splatoon
Ace Combat

Xenoblade port

Major's mask port

LMFAO! Fossil Fighters...

That is a weak, weak line up, its a list a thon of poor games.

Of that damn list....I want 1 game, Xenoblade X.

The rest of the line up, is nothing compared to PS4 or XONE's line up, in about 3 months, I'll own more games that I want on PS4 and XONE then I will on the Wii U....IN 3 MONTHS! Never mind summer, fall etc.

I'm sorry but its a line up filled with fluff and weak games.

Thats like me listing a Dynasty Warriors game like its something to Marvel at...

Legit...last year folks were making it seem as if Zelda having a Dynasty Warriors game was this GOTY, WORLD ENDING type game.....

...how many PS4 or XONE owners would really just list Dynasty Warriors as this GOTY type game or even a "must have"???

There is a reason why this system is selling poorly and its clear its going to continue to do so.

[--Onilink--]

im not arguing whether they are good or not, simply what was shown. If you want to speak about quality wiiU and 3DS games, i can give you a whole different list

[vacoby5]

I haven't read any news yet. Has Yoshi been delayed? No one seems to be talking about it

[Shinobi100]

I've previously stated that every Nintendo Direct is like a mini E3 presentation. Well, this one was no exception, aside from the fact you can take out the word "mini".

Just the 3DS announcements:

- New console release date
- Two collector versions of new console
- Localization of multiple retail games
- There's plenty more but I'm worn out from listing so much

Best part of this Nintendo Direct? Everything they talked about is coming out this Spring. Which means E3 should features TONS of 3DS & New 3DS reveals.

[telekineticmantis]

I don't understand how 3DS owners can be excited when Nintendo basically just stealthily announced a Next Gen Handheld so shortly after the last one. New User interface controls, and "more processing power"? Now as a Wii U owner who recently just purchased one, I have to worry about my console becoming less relevant in the near future if they announce a new Home console.

[caseh]

They won't announce a new console for a while yet I don't think. Once all of the usual suspects have made an appearance (Starfox, Mario, Mario Kart, Smash Bros. etc) including one or two sequels then I think something may be in the pipeline as there won't be much else left for it.

[deafdani]

It's not a next-gen handheld. It's just a slight upgrade to the current 3DS. Very similar to the DSi, which was only a slight upgrade to the DS Lite, until its true sucessor (3DS) came along.

[iNFAMOUZ1]

uh no try harder, weak sauce lineup is weake sauce
they need to stop being so cheap and stop doing these nintendo directs, no one even cares, their not fun to watch nor are they even mass available like e3 is or direct announcements. They are also slow and just boring.

[wonderfulmonkeyman]

You can hate on it all you like.
While you're wasting time being salty and negative, the rest of us are going to enjoy our celebrations.

[Shinobi100]

You can debate about the quality of their products, but there's no debating that the format of Nintendo Directs itself is awesome.

[Kingdomcome247]

What is wrong with people like you? I don't understand. There are obviously plenty of people who enjoy what was shown. Your life must be pretty bad to spend your time talking down on something you don't care about, and find boring. You couldn't find a more constructive use of that bubble? I'm so sick and tired of people like you. It just really speaks volumes about the type of person you must be, and your character, or rather the lack thereof.

[RosweeSon]

These sort of people are formed out of poor gaming habits like never allowing themselves to experience the finer things in life like Nintendo games and would rather blow £40 on a game just because its "Mature" last the overly long 10-12 hours, even a mario platformer lasts considerably longer than that, and much more inventive at the same time. Sure there are some great games that clock in the 10-12 hour mark but there's a lot of bad ones also, Nintendo games are timeless and can be played again and again if you ever get to the end as contrary to popular belief these games can be long (not in anyway a bad thing when it's this good) but also because they can actually be really challenging. Good luck finishing ALL the stars on Mario Galaxy ;)

[RosweeSon]

Are you watching the shopping Channel? Nintendo Directs are boring? No ones cares? Well it got you to crawl all the way out of your super cool rock to comment on the article so they must be doing something, not mass available?? Uh how did we all watch it from Home then, sure we get to see a lot of what they choose to show us but unless you work in the industry good luck getting into E3, nintendo Directs are awesome and maybe I agree the line up wasn't the best(I was hoping for new zelda, star fox, kirby and yoshi wii U in that order) but Majora's mask limited (supposedly) console and some more Amiibo's are enough to keep me going for the time being, the rate Nintendo have been churning out absolute classics over the last year or 2 has been phenomenal. Only finished skyward sword just before Christmas, nintendo has more than enough quality games past and present but since 3DS hit its stride they've been relentless games wise, love it. Compare it to Microsofts first party output and it's laughable I'm not talking about m-soft's 3rd party support there's no doubting it's great but for their own in house games... PFFT!! they got a long way to go to catch up to this juggernaut it's not all about massive sales figures, some people who just like the finer and in this instance (cheaper-wii U).... Quality!!

[True_Samurai]

No regular size 3ds for NA only the 3dxl? Well that sucks I wanted the regular so I could change faceplates

[Blackleg-sanji]

That fact that all this was for spring makes e3 2015 very interesting by e3 kirby, xenoblade,splatoon, mario party 10, mario vs donkey kong will have been out already!! So their e3 stuff will be completely new besides devils third,zelda wiiu and starfox

[Shinobi100]

There has been nothing announced for 3DS/New 3DS past spring. So E3 should be pretty freakin exciting for us handheld owners.

[Toiletsteak]

No console wins us gamers win.

[AstroCyborg]

winning this month isn't saying much

[firelogic]

Nintendo fans are so easily to please.

Majora's Mask remake...yay.
Another mario game (donkey kong vs mario)...yay.
Mario Galaxy 2 re-release...yay.
Super punchout re-release...yay.
Metroid Prime Trilogy re-release...yay.
Hyrule Warriors DLC...yay.
Amiibo Smash...yay.
Ammibo Mario Series...yay.
New 3DS release date...yay. Screw me more Nintendo. Please.

Look at how pathetic that list is. Just look at it! What are you excited about?

[Metallox]

I'm not excited for any of those things, aside from the Metroid Prime Trilogy and the Mario vs. Donkey Kong game; those are welcomed additions for me.

So, anyway, you are generalizing things a bit, not all Nintendo fans are excited for that stuff, and those who are... so? You don't like it, that's ok, but it's not pathetic.

[AWBrawler]

Ummm.. no. actually the things that had me excited this direct were:
Splatoon- new info and explaining the customization and gameplay features
Xenoblade X- showing off that beautiful world, vehicles, mechs, and huge creatures
Hyrule Warriors DLC- you dang skippy I was happy for this i already play the heck out of it.
Project Treasure- i know nothing and it was just a teaser, but color me intrigued
Etrian Mystery Dungeon- combine two of my favorite types of games? yes please
Fire Emblem- considering we thought this series was going to end before Awakening, oh heck yeah.
Majora's Mask 3D- only because i never finished it back in the day, now i can take it with me and finish it.

If thats pathetic, then I guess I'm just pathetic.

By the way I'm not even remotely excited by the crappy direction they took mario vs donkeykong in. the only one i like is the first one, i don't care for the stupid minis

[_-EDMIX-_]

Agreed. I'm sorry but the line up of games is fluff and lots of filler.

The only interesting game on their whole like up is Zelda and X.

To say otherwise is legit a joke.

Nintendo fans just excite way, way too easy. Thats like Sony fans jumping at a Jak and Daxter collection...it happened....wasn't the end of the world.

Guess what? Ratchet 1 is being remade on PS4....isn't a damn bullet point, is a huge deal, is not something one is going to deem GOTY, or list as this HUGE DEAL!

Nintendo fans are use to only getting 2 or so legit games a year while Sony and MS fans are use to getting loads and loads of huge games ,not only from Sony and MS but other publishers.

Bloodborne, The Order, Uncharted 4 (just off the top of my head)

Forza 6, Halo 5, Fable (again..just off the top of my head)

The Division, Witcher 3, Batman Arkham Knight, Dead Island 2, Dying Light, No Man Sky, Wild, Hell Blade, Deep Down, FFXV and the list just goes on.

To excite over some DLC, re-releases and a list of joke games is too damn funny.

Not sure how many PS4 or XONE owners will just list Sleeping Dog, Metro 2033 etc as reasons to be excited for the year.....too many damn games to be excited about on those systems THATS WHY!

Wii U has soooo damn little games, DLC is huge news to them, its a BIG DEAL to them lol!

You know your system is doing bad when re-releasing one of the worst playing Mario games is exciting news to them.

Sorry bud but.....was Ratchet 1 getting a PS4 remake something you see listed often?

PS4 and XONE just have way, way, way too many games releasing, to even think Wii U is comparable is a joke...its not even in the ball park.

[Metallox]

"To say otherwise is legit a joke."

How can I take you seriously then? For such an elaborated comment you sound extremely bias. According to you, if games don't have big budgets they are just jokes. Why do we play games, anyway? I personally play them to have fun, to keep me entertained, both AAA and indie titles do the same damn thing.

If you prefer AAA titles that's fine to me, but that doesn't mean that very minor titles like Splatoon and Mario vs. Donkey Kong can't offer similar experiences.

"To excite over some DLC, re-releases and a list of joke games is too damn funny", this is just another generalization.

"Nintendo fans are use to only getting 2 or so legit games a year while Sony and MS fans are use to getting loads and loads of huge games ,not only from Sony and MS but other publishers." More generalizations? You'll never see me owning only a Wii U.

You don't seem to own this system yet, so what about games that launched in previous years? What about New Super Mario Bros. U, Pikmin 3, The Wonderful 101, Super Mario 3D World, Tropical Freeze, Hyrule Warriors, the Bayonetta games, Smash and many more? People keep insisting that the release of games on Wii U is weak, but they ignore that many games are already available. Buying a Wii U beginning now it's not so painful like it sounds, some titles may surprise.

[LonDonE]

Wow i am speechless to hear people claim NIntendo won 2015 from such a weak direct! i saw nothing special.

I suppose for 3ds fans it was good but for a wiiu owner such as myself it was just MEH
The year just started people, and i assure u 2015 will go to the PS4 without a doubt just like last year, but time will tell.
Dont get me wrong all 3 consoles sold well and prove to the doubters console gaming isnt going anywhere any time soon.

I love owning every platform because i know so many great games r coming, i just feel sad for my wallet. :(

I just wish the wii games for wiiu they announced would render natively in 1080p 60fps, looking forward to buying them regardless just a shame they wont allow wiiu to render the games in 1080p and add anti aliasing like dolphin does on pc.

[wonderfulmonkeyman]

If you saw nothing special out of that Direct, then you went into it with a firm desire to dismiss everything it had going for it.

[LonDonE]

Dude thats not the case, see my avatar pic and profile pic.
I bought wiiu day 1 and i love it but that direct was focused on 3ds simple! they showed xenoblade but it was pretty much what i saw allready everything else was meh in my opinion which iam allowed to have.

I want to see proper support of the virtual console, wiiu is the only console this gen with backwards compatibility and 30 yrs worth of hits on eshop except nintendo is too lazy and stupid to release n64, gamecube, nes, snes, gameboy, ds, gba,mega drive, sega saturn, dreamcast, the dam list goes on and on!

Retro gaming is HUGE and if nintendo spent sum cash upfront to port all the massive game libraries of the afore mentioned platforms on eshop at resonable prices they could make A KILLING!!!!

The current prices r ridiculous considering we get no cross buy and the fact everyone has bought most these games several times allready!! The way sony handles is much better, hell on wiiu purchases r tied to the console WTF?

Nintendo is so lost without hiroshi yamauchi, iwata is a cancer and no didnt give us the or ds these technologies were being worked on before he took over.

I love nintendo see my comment history but it kills me to see what they have become! a casual gamer focused lost company using gimmicks instead of true innovations like they used too.

This direct was nothing special for wiiu owners and clearly was aimed more at 3ds owners who yet again r too stupid to realise nintendo is screwing them all over again with another model of thier handheld.
Its almost as bad as apple with the iphone, buying one is never secure as an investment because better revisions come out too frequently, better to wait till near the end of the gen to buyt the best version with all the best games.

Lmao at so called idiots who eat this $4it up!!

[GordonKnight]

What did PS4 win in 2014?

Sorry, I just think it's funny that people care about who won. There is no trophy given to the console that sold the most. With that logic the Wii was the winner last Gen. I know it's subjective but I believe the 360 won last. In the end who really cares who won.

[iluvmaPS3]

What did ps4 win? It won the console race which means better titles and support. With more of us ps4 owners out there we'll get the best stuff. If a game developer decides to release his new game on one console who do you think hes gonna pick? Dont bet your money on Nintendo lol

[mamotte]

So.. "In this Nintendo direct, we announce that the WiiU is now capable of full 1080P with AA, 3D, 4D, and it'll cook your meal while doing it. And the first game we'll see is... Call of Duty".

Brilliant.

[mochachino]

Wii U and 3DS probably have more 60 FPS games than PS4/xone.

[Revolt13]

Debatable

[telekineticmantis]

No Pokemon MMO, and almost nothing exciting revealed for Mature gamers, since they still insist on mainly catering to the casual and arcade crowd, the direct was a failure.