Topic: Which is a better strategy for Nintendo. Do everything differently, or try to do what everyone else is doing?

They already did drop a turn based series, it's called Golden Sun.

Off line play alone makes the gamepad worthwhile for games that don't make use of it. But there are a few that make great use of it- Rayman, Wii Sports Club, Tekken, Deus Ex, W101, Madden, Wii Party U and then there's going to be several coming out that make use of it- Star Fox, Yoshi, Mario Maker and a few others.

I don't there are enough people that are the "I'd buy Nintendo if they had everything camp" that are single system owners, and thus I don't think they would make a huge change in install base. Obviously I'm using my own personal experience here and I'm sure I'm wrong about the whole demographic but most folks I've seen that like Nintendo and like third parties already have two systems or plan to buy two systems. Most others I've seen are stating that Nintendo doesn't have enough games to jump ship if they are one system only and even if they did their buddies won't jump ship too, so why bother. (source: years of working for various gamestops.)

The real chunk of gamers that Nintendo needs to sway are the folks that grew up with Sony and MS systems. They have the ecosystem and the exclusive branding that Nintendo can't get with having third parties. Halo helped create the xbox fanbase, no amount of multiplat games are going to shake that base. HOWEVER games that challenge that can siphon some of those users away. Which is why I say Nintendo needs to go on a genre void hunt. We need a serious FPS game. Nintendo developed preferably but if we can get a second party to do it that could work as well. We need sports games both realistic and arcade style.

Marketing does need to get a kick in the pants. Nintendo needs to go to cons and trade shows and market the hell out of the WiiU. The system is incredibly fun and they need to get people to see that. Sure, the "Serious Business TM" gamers aren't going to care because they have internet street cred to maintain but I feel there are many out there, that if they got some playtime in or some explanations of the system's features they would buy one. Explain and be proud of the Gamepad: Nintendo needs to do this asap. I feel like I'm one of the only people that adore the gamepad and I'm the only one in my house, meaning I don't even use it to its full potential. There needs to be internet ads as well... you should see WiiU ads on youtube. If Sony could sell the PS4 before it came out off of HYPE I know Nintendo can turn things around...the issue is it will take money. Also I hate to say it but Nintendo needs to beef up their retail loyalty programs. Sony and MS gives a ton of incentives to retail managers and employees to make them promote the games. They have loyalty sites that allow you to get cheap games, and this year Managers at gamestop got free systems. Nintendo doesn't do this stuff. I respect them for it because that means they succeed on their own merit, but if your section of a store is shoved in the back...how are you going to get games and systems into people's hands? Again, this is a money thing.That is a hard thing to tell your shareholders.

It is harder for Nintendo write the checks because this is their main source of income while that isn't the case for Sony and MS.

Heh. I never took that announcement like that. I saw it as "Hey you said we were missing third parties, so we brought them back." Bethesda flat out said early on they weren't putting anything on wiiu...which I still think is a missed opportunity. Then again they made TES an online game so okay then. Obviously I am not the consumer they want. Anyway, I thought that meant we would get the games like sports games and the annual shooter. I expected that third parties would do like they did with game cube and make exclusives (I still need another game set in the baten kaitos universe.) to cover for games that they couldn't/wouldn't bring to the WiiU. Given the power disparity AND knowing how lazy/cheap devs are I knew eventually we would lose out on some of the big games. I just didn't expect the third parties to put in such a weak effort. Yes that includes Ubisoft.

Then again my PC and I are still waiting on why I should buy Sony or MS's systems at this point. Sony burned me once with the Vita.

Well that's what I'm saying. I was also a "Wii60" owner. Why? Because I wanted to play my favorite Nintendo franchises, but I didn't want to miss out on Elder Scrolls and Mass Effect and the like. Had those games come out for Wii, I would have never gotten a 360.

I completely disagree with Ryu in that I think there are people out there who would not get multiple consoles if they could get a full experience on one. Especially us older gamers (who grew up with Nintendo, not Xbox). If you can get Zelda and Kart and Pikmin AND Call of Duty, FIFA, Elder Scrolls, why would you get two consoles? It makes no sense.

I appear to be headed in that direction again: I will likely have to break down and get an alternative console to play whatever Elder Scrolls or Fallout game comes out eventually, because it obviously is skipping Wii U. If that game came out for Wii U, then I wouldn't get a PS4 or XBO. I don't want one. I don't like PlayStation nor Xbox, but if I want to get those games I'll have to get one of those machines. To me that's a huge loss for Nintendo.

Can you name some? Only about 10% of the Wii games I've played have had bad motion controls.

But think about the costs. Bundling a Gamepad and a Pro controller would add about $150 to the system. In order for it to remain affordable, Nintendo would have to gut out features.

Go back in history and see what happened to the number three console in each generation when all three or more attempted to be the same thing. Each time two consoles come out on top (or one dominates with a 1 or 2 runner ups). Just like with American Politics (and everything else), the masses generally like to have two front-runners with maybe a few niche ones to throw a bone to on occasion a evidence that their is a free market. (Pepsi or Coke, nevermind the RC Cola over there. iPhone or Android, belittle Blackberry & Windows Phone).

So Nintendo is better off focusing on those interested in it's products and delivering what it does best.

Like I said I just don't believe there are as many people that would buy just one system only. There are many factors to look at why a person buys a system. What are their friends playing, online ecosystem (ps plus, leaderboards, regional store access), connecting features (if any, like smart glass or remote play), exclusives, overall library, controller type and region locking (I've had customers say that they passed on the wiiu because they travel and need a system that they can buy games from anywhere). I don't feel that there is a huge untapped base of users that will feel that even a WiiU with full blown third party support will meet all of those and will only want a WiiU. Sure the demographic will shift but I don't feel it will be a mass exodus.

I disagree. I'm surprised consoles have done as well as they have nowadays, and I'm really surprised owning multiple consoles is still a thing. The amount of legit hardcore gamers who really care about that stuff is probably like...1/4 of console gamers at best. Most of them are like "hey look a new Mario Kart/Halo" and then play that for a few hours a week for the next half a year at least, and that's a large chunk of their total gaming because they don't play games a ton or they have friends that do or that new iPad game is super replayable and only 3 bucks. And even 1/4 is probably either me being optimistic or a reaction to Nintendo's dead support towards the end of the Wii's lifespan causing people to sell/switch.

I'm personally refusing to buy another current gen system (barring maybe a cheaper Vita) for a very long time despite being a hardcore gamer. Why? Because who has the money or time for that! Some people, but not the majority or even anywhere close.

That's probably also why Nintendo tried bringing the 360/Ps3 crowd on board at first. Because if they buy the competition instead, how many of them will reasonably be able to afford a second console when it still matters? But of course, I think that logic is flawed, because the people buying consoles at launch are frequently the ones most likely to buy everything they can(the ones that aren't crazy fanboys at least).

But right now, Nintendo should be focusing on being fairly separate and different from the competition while also taking bits and pieces of successful things elsewhere, and making it their own. That's what Nintendo usually does anyway. If they can get back support of Xbox One/PS4 publishers, then maybe I'd suggest both sides looking closely to see what will actually work this time, but until then, Nintendo doing their own thing is their best shot. While I love the idea of doing both, Wii U's launch made it apparent how much that can backfire and just cause you to appeal to close to no one instead.

@kkslider5552000
I agree. Supporting Wii U coming from Xbox 360 and PS3 actually made alot of sense. especially since now Xbox One and PS4 aren't offering much more than 7th gen, and that was the biggest complaint people had about Wii U, besides maybe "hating" the GamePad or wanting more online features.

I think Nintendo figured that they might as well try to compete with Xbox 360 and PS3. There seriously wasn't any other option as far as I can tell. Even Xbox One and PS4 are competing with last gen. So you're right that they should basically just be doing what they always do anyway. I do think they should add more system features and apps, but that'd be appealing more to other people besides whoever was already going to buy Wii U for MK8 or Smash Bros.

There's alot of stuff they could do. I just figure they don't market stuff, because the games they're releasing right now are only games that fans would really be paying attention to regardless of advertising. Everytime I see a commercial about anything gaming related, I already knew about it before they aired it on TV. Xbox and PS apparently think that everything is worth advertising, and Nintendo doesn't think everything is. Only MK8, Pokemon, and Smash Bros. are the only Nintendo games I've seen on TV that were heavily advertised, because those are the most known already, outside of people that pay attention to everything Nintendo does online . Everything else a fan would already know about, Even 3rd parties didn't advertise Wii U games, because of the same reason. They figure the people who care about said games will buy it without an advertisement. Ubisoft is basically guaranteed not to advertise Watch_Dogs.

Getting all three consoles is not expensive. Even taking it at £1200 if you take it as 7 years it works out at about £15 a month over that period. Most people have a phone contract costing more than that. Very minor expense. Games cost far more in an average month for me as does pretty much everything else. (Internet / TV / Rent).

I agree. I just buy everything ASAP, because I've missed out on other systems from past generations that I know for a fact I would have had tons of fun with, if I had bought them alot sooner than I did. That's why I bought Wii U on launch and Xbox One when Titanfall came out. If I have the money in my pocket, it's already spent.

Do you realize how pretentious you sound? $30 per month is a ton of money for an entertainment hobby. Internet, Phone contracts, and Rent are pretty much a necessity in today's world, and many people forgo cable in favor of Netflix ($8 per month) and other services. Even it you are paying for cable, TV is a far more ubiquitous hobby, and can play a much larger role in social interaction than gaming can. I'm not saying gaming is niche, but compared to watching TV, it's not nearly as big. On top of that, games cost $50-60 EACH, so if you buy one game every 2 months, you are paying closer to $50 per month.

If gaming is important enough to you that buying all 3 consoles is a drop in the bucket, that's fine. But don't say it's just generally cheap. Because it's not. It's incredibly expensive.

In addition, you have to consider the number of gamers in the 18-24 demographic, many of whom are on extremely low incomes with several expenses paid for by either parents or loans.

Getting all three consoles are very expensive especially if you are buying more then a game for each every month, buying controllers and if you have subscription(PSN or Xbox Live)

and can i just say Nintendo just needs more diversity in their games. Too many platformers not enough Racers, Shooters, WRPGS etc.

@iKahn
I didn't think about it like that. You're right, though. My phone bill is cheap, and I don't even pay for it. I use a digital antenna for over the air TV, too, so I'm generally pretty cheap about that stuff, besides video games of course.

All I pay for is the big initial investments, and the only subscription I pay for is Xbox Live, so I was thinking more about the initial investment, rather than paying for service or continuous expenses, which does cost alot if you decide to take that route. I don't watch very much TV and only use my phone for calls and texts, which are obviously the cheapest options.

It's fairly expensive, but it's not impossible. Not buying junk at the convenience store or just cutting out unnecessary expenses in general can go along way towards other thing that I would consider more important. I have less money than alot of people, but I spend it better, so it looks like I have alot more. The people that buy multiple phone cases and get "bored" of them are wasting their money, for example, and I've seen it.

I just wait for sales to show up, unless it's something I want really bad.

As a hardcore gamer whose entertainment is almost entirely based on gaming and internet access, I can say that I've spent...200 dollars on gaming this year. That's about it. But to be fair, I don't have a job right now, so I'm admittedly not the best example.

I don't get why people would own everything unless they're rich or a reviewer or something. Spending 400 dollars AGAIN for another console for the 2-3 worthwhile exclusives it has, makes no sense to me.

@kkslider5552000
In my case, I had the spare cash and the only thing to buy was either more Wii U/3DS games, or go buy an Xbox One and buy a few games for that. I'm not rich or a reviewer. I just don't want to miss out on content for the consoles I'm interested the most in. Admittedly, my Xbox One purchase hasn't paid off as much as my Wii U has. I have Dead Rising 3, Tomb Raider, and Titanfall, followed by a handful of indie games from Games with Gold, so it's still decent, but it still hasn't caught up to my Wii U library; not even close.

Most of the reason to buy a console right now is, maybe seeing something that comes out that I have even the slightest interest of. The next game I'll be buying for Xbox One is Halo Collection, so anything after that isn't really on the cards until at least a month or 2 away when it starts to matter more that the game exists. Alot of the problem is that people are looking too far ahead and draw conclusions from it.

Destiny has been being hyped up for 1.5 years or so, and Wii U got a ton of games in between that waiting time, so while people were busy hyping up one game or another that wouldn't release for a year or more later, Wii U owners were buying what's already there. I know it's kind of a tangent, but that's the reasoning why I have 2 consoles right now.