I guess I really just don't understand what the big deal is about having a second circle pad. They're rarely functional, outside of FPS games, except to change camera angles. I can count on one hand the number of times I've voluntarily made use of a right analog stick, much less felt the need for one on the DS. It's just another thing that gets in the way of buttons on a handheld.

@Obito_Tennyson That's actually pretty freakin' cheap for six hard cover game guides that generally retail at $35 a pop.

The problem is simple:

Nintendo has been loathe to jump into the 21 Century.

When everyone else started moving to a digital distribution model (for new releases), Nintendo stuck with physical;

when everyone else moved on to web-based/mobile-based purchases for later download, Nintendo stuck with console-exclusive purchases;

when everyone else moved on to cross-platform (within the same company) User IDs and multi-console purchases/downloads, Nintendo stuck with console-locked User IDs and purchases/downloads;

when everyone else moved on to HD graphics and more powerful internal specs, Nintendo stuck with specs that don't impress 3rd Party Developers (for better or worse, that's unclear);

when everyone else in the entire world moved on to consumer-friendly, user-friendly, and professionally designed websites, Nintendo stuck with an early 00s Java nightmare that's slow, glitchy, and difficult to navigate.

While I love Nintendo products dearly, as someone who works in promotional events, they really have been so far behind the curve, it's not even funny.

@The-Chosen-one EXACTLY. I may come across as a relic of bygone era, but I remember seeing Nintendo commercials on television rather frequently throughout the 80s and 90s. They had their own magazine, for Christ's sake, which they sold and destroyed. It's hard to believe that they can't figure out why it's hard to get gamers' attention when we never see a freakin' commercial in any medium, other than on their own website.

A better point to bring up is, "What, exactly, is Nintendo's overall marketing strategy?" With the release of the Wii, we saw cute commercials in the States that highlighted the Wii's uniqueness. With the Wii U? Umm...nothing. 3DS? Nothing. Upcoming games? Nothing.

I hate to tell you, Nintendo, online advertising on your own website and hoping the word of mouth will spread news about your product isn't a sufficient marketing strategy, much less one that will help you to increase movement of your product.

That's awesome! If only more American companies would follow that lead. Short-term profits are not indicative of long-term success.

Why would I buy a Wii U? Because I'm not a goshdarned 19-year-old frat brother! I am not the target demographic for ANY of the four examples of gaming franchises Pachter mentions, and honestly, neither are most of the people who purchased the Wii and Wii U. I don't enjoy Sports games, FPS games, or War games.

XBOne has their demographic - let them keep it. PS4 will very likely be the most broadly purchased console, as it has the widest selection of games. So, why would anyone buy a Wii U? Because it's a great system that doesn't specialize in games for 19-year-old douche bags.

I finally got so fed up with Nintendo's region locked nonsense that I bit the bullet and purchased a Japanese 3DS and Wii so that I could import the Dragon Quest games Square-Enix is too miserly and cheap to localize. It set me back hundreds of dollars, and the purchase of the software was even more expensive, but in the end, I played Dragon Quest VII 3DS to completion, and have taken a short break before delving back into the worlds of the Roto Trilogy.

This nonsense needs to stop.

No; he thinks that you're a troll and a twit who can't let others have their own opinions without pillorying them.

I was just having a similar conversation (to this article) the other evening:

I grew up when video games in the home were first becoming a possibility. Prior to consoles that were connected to the Internet, we got games that were complete from the moment you took them from their box and inserted them into your device, ready to be enjoyed, and capable of providing days, if not months and years, of entertainment without the need to purchase "additional content." What the games lacked in immediacy was made up by having better games that have stood the test of time.

As I've continued to play games into my thirties, I've found myself more and more frustrated by the lack of content provided by many games that are released at full retail price, only to have minimal content that must be "expanded" or supplemented by DLC.

Take, for example, Final Fantasy Theatrhythm:

I've just shelled out $39.99 for a 3DS game (at release), only to find out that, in order to unlock all of the songs that are ON the cartridge, they expect me to shell out an additional $81.47 in DLC costs? So, my $40 game suddenly costs over $120...for a 3DS game. The iOS port is even more extortive, costing $20 to purchase the app, and $143.03 to unlock the songs that are already included in the app, for a total of $163.03. All that for a game that is, truth be told, not graphically impressive enough to warrant that price tag. It's literally the cost of some handheld consoles.

To my way of thinking, this is unacceptable. Imagine if, in order to complete New Super Mario Bros. U, you had to pay $5-$10 to unlock each additional map world beyond the first in order to reach the end. This is the kind of anti-consumer behavior that sours people on the gaming industry, and forces lower income gamers to be priced out of the market.

Less troublesome, but no less irksome, for me is that the vast majority of DLC for RPG games I see on the market is absolutely worthless. $1.99 to unlock a costume for your character? This must be some kind of Japanese obsession for creating the cutest character possible, because I have never really cared enough about what my characters were wearing to make me desire to put them in a bathing suit, particularly if that outfit serves no other purpose than to...see what they'd look like in a bathing suit.

Finally, I have a firm belief that, if DLC is something that is already on the disc, it should be provided for free. I'm sorry if your production costs exceed your ability to set an acceptable initial price offering, but frankly, that's your fault. There is absolutely no excuse to offer DLC such as "Unlock 2x Experience (This DLC can be accessed via gameplay - no refunds minuscule print at the bottom of a brightly colored screen in a similarly colored, well camouflaged font) other than to make a quick buck off of lack, entitled gamers who are unwilling to do the work intended by the game's creators.

Ultimately, I believe the rise of DLC as an acceptable form of gaming transaction has been a largely bad thing for the gaming industry. Internet-connected consoles have allowed companies to update their software to fix bugs, which is good; it has also allowed them to provide incomplete or subpar products to a consumer base that is increasingly willing to accept mediocrity in place of quality if it means that the games will be ready more quickly than in years past.

@k0mmanderBlack If you don't want them, don't buy them, and stop complaining about a company that doesn't give you what you want. May I suggest XBOne?

It would be great in Square-Enix would stop releasing crappy sequels that nobody wants, and get back to releasing great games like the Dragon Quest and Dragon Quest Monsters series, as well as Bravely Default.

A linked account system between Nintendo devices MIGHT just bring them into the second decade of the 21st century. Let's also hope they decide to redesign their website.

You mean we're not going to get dozens of games that are just annual updates of their previous games with only slightly better graphics and slightly altered gameplay? WhatEVER will we do?

</sarcasm>

I don't predict good things for Microsoft's XBONE, primarily because it will completely lose the Japanese market, if not the European market, as well. The PS4 is highly popular in all three regions, and will have great success after the price drops; the XBONE, however, will really only sell well in the American market, if it sells well, at all. It's basically an overpriced CableBox One.

He is correct about losing non-traditional gamers. Nintendo is really the only company of the Big Three that is courting "gamers," in the traditional sense, and is largely eschewing the social approach taken by Sony and Microsoft. That's not a bad thing. But, it would be nice to get some more games (that weren't made prior to 2008).

@Pikachupwnage In Japan.

I wish I could have liked playing Ocarina of Time, again, but frankly, it just reminded me of why I liked the top-down design of Link to the Past, and the original NES game. In fact, I could probably say that I even liked The Adventures of Link more so than OoT, and have yet to enjoy a game with the same level of wonder and joy that I do even now, when I replay those original games.

@ikki5 I remember trying out the system in a Hills Department Store when it came out. I wanted it so badly, but it was too expensive. Little did I know that it would be discontinued within the year.

Maybe we could get a real Dragon Quest game on the Wii U (as opposed to some nonsense MMORPG).

@Peach64 While digital downloads are not, in fact, examples of backwards compatibility, they are examples of people using their consoles to play games from previous systems, rather than to play current gen games.

Secondly, as far as consoles are concerned, yes - the PS2 and Wii are the only two backwards compatible (to the previous iteration) of the console systems (the PS3s compatibility with PS1 titles should really be counted, as well). However, if we were to include handhelds, there are myriad examples of backwards compatibility. The Gameboy Color could play Gameboy games; the GBA could play Gameboy and GBC games; the first DS could play GBA games; the 3DS can play DS games.

Currently, Nintendo and Sony are the only two companies that really have the back catalog to warrant backwards compatibility.

As far as XBOX is concerned, all of their "franchise" games are largely replaceable - they release a new version with slightly updated graphics and content almost annually - that they won't offer backwards compatibility really speaks more to the fact that they don't need to offer it.

When I bought my first Gamecube, I did so because it was bundled with classic Zelda games.

When I bought my first Wii, I did so because of the Virtual Console.

When I bought my first PS3, I did so because the PSN had come out with classic Final Fantasy games.

I am the gamer who would rather play classic games that stand up to the test of time, and have excellent replay value.

This was, and still is, my favorite Super Mario title, to date. Growing up, the music was infectious, and to this day, I still have it as my ringtone (something we'd never dreamt of until I was out of college). I will forever love this game.

Not for nothin', but frankly, if they released games worth purchasing (aside from two or three games in three months), maybe they'd get some return on their investment. Not to mention the fact that the iOS is littered with all types of games that appeal to all types of gamers. It's really not that shocking, honestly.

I DO love the 3DS XL. It is, however, high time that Nintendo cuts the crap with this region locking nonsense, particularly if they're going to keep glutting the Japanese market with dozens of special edition 3DS/3DS XL systems that will never see the light of day in Western markets, despite their likely appeal to consumers. The same should be said of their other console offerings.

Furthermore, and I can't hammer this point home, enough, Nintendo needs to welcome itself into the world of modern technology as it relates to account management. It is unconscionable, the level of disrespect they pay their customer base, locking accounts and eShop purchases to a single console, despite those purchases being linked to their accounts on the websites. It's an embarrassment.

So, I can't disagree with much of what he said in this screed.

What I CAN say is that I own a Wii U, and several 3DS systems, both of which I purchased on their launch dates.

To be honest, Nintendo has gotten exactly what it had coming to it with both of these releases. I can appreciate that Japanese gamers are, for some reason, so incredibly in tune with gaming that they barely need to do any advertising in order to sell something like hotcakes (just slap a Pikachu on it, and it'll sell millions) - but, America is not Japan.

I had pre-ordered the 3DS months in advance, as soon as the launch date was made public. A month prior to that date, most of the GameStop employees had no idea when it was coming out, and had to check the schedule to see if it had even been slated for release; a week prior to the launch, there were no ads in the stores, no ads on websites, and not a whole lot of info about it available - and I lived in Los Angeles, at the time.

The same happened with the Wii U.

Nintendo really needs to address their appalling lack of connectivity - accounts need to be linked across all of their platforms. It's not hard to implement. Get it together. They need to also address their refusal to advertise their products in any meaningful way, and stop blaming a lack of interest on the part of Americans on their own failure to get out information about their products.

Unfortunately, we live in a digital era, where we can have almost any type of media entertainment at the push of a button and the click of a mouse. Nintendo seems to be living in a world where they have no need to keep up any sort of a consistent release schedule in the way of games. Yes, we have their weekly updates to the eShop, but let's be honest - there're only so many times you can release the same game across three platforms and expect it to be a big seller; furthermore, who got excited about last week's releases? crickets

Sony, in that regard, has Nintendo beat; Microsoft does, if the only games you enjoy are Sports, FPS, and MMORPGs/WRPGs. Beyond that, it's just doesn't provide a very wide variety of offerings.

I'm amazed at how unprofessional these launches from Nintendo have been, over the past few years. The 3DS launched without games or features; the 3DS XL launched on top of ridiculously discounted 3DS systems with games included; the Wii U launched without all of its features, but with great starter games...and now, what.

It's not like Nintendo is new to this game - they've been around for over a century, and making video games from nearly 35 years. This isn't their first trip to the rodeo. They really need to have this poop together, by now, and that they don't is inexcusable, regardless of what spin Iwata wants to put on it.

Square-Enix has made it clear that localizing any game other than Final Fantasy or one of their several failed IPs is not their priority. At this point, it's up to NOA and NOE to make it happen.

Dragon Quest VII. Set. Game. Match.

This sounds like something that could be a very costly class action suit.

Dragon Quest VII 3DS? Selling like hotcakes, and breaking records. Dragon Quest X Online? You get EXACTLY what you deserve, Square-Enix. Dragon Quest is NOT an MMORPG. It's not about staying on portables or consoles; it's about fundamentally changing the way the game is played in a cheap excuse to make a quick buck from subscriptions.