Ubisoft: Nintendo Has "Some Of The Best IP In The World", But Needs To Work On Communication

That Mario Kart picture looks awesome

The games are coming in now but Nintendo wants more customers sooner rather than later. Communication is gonna be key to getting people to the console as soon as they'd like.

But what that communication will be I'm not sure if even Nintendo has that part figured out yet:S

This looks great, but one thing concerns me. The "hook" for this game is the anti gravity, but the camera follows you upside down from what ive seen, so you dont look upside down, other than the backgrounds. I pictured it that your kart actually appears upside down, with switched controls (left to go right, right to go left). Am i missing something, or is this basically just the same Mario Kart as always but with upside down backgrounds at times?

@SanderEvers For valid reasons that have been explained to you numerous times before.Get over yourself man!

Another concern I have, regarding the sales, is that Nintendo should've STARTED this whole influx of games with one of the 2 system selling titles (SM3DW & MK8).

As the first few sales weeks are the most important for most titles, it's really important to have the userbase there when these titles come.

Pikmin3, W101, WiiPartyU, Sonic Lost World all look great, but they arent system sellers. While Zelda usually is, i fear a 10 year old remake of an entry that didnt sell great, isnt. DKC im guessing isnt a console mover, but again, its a guess, maybe someone can correct me. But i cant see non-mario 2d platformers being too must-have in 2013.

Anyway, my point is, the better strategy would be to release a system selling game, move the units, THEN start dropping all these games. By the time these games sell the system, this whole year (er.. 2nd half of the year) of games is going to be old news.

Obviously the games arent ready yet, but they had a long time to do this, whether it meant pulling the Pikmin team to help with 3d world or whatever it took. I just hope this works out...

I think the biggest scheduling mistake on N's part was not having a first party online multiplayer supported game like MK or Smash for 2013. I wouldn't be surprised if that kept a few million purchases out of the picture for this fiscal year.

Picture the scene: the usual person holding a gamepad infront of a tv,they press the touchscreen then a montage of the latest games comeout with a picture in picture display of the gamepad showing what features are specific to the wiiu ver(if its a 3rd partygame). Then zoom in to the gamepad screen showing another quicker montage running through the same games that can all be played off-tv style. Then the slogan appears. The wiiu diference...
Cmon nintendo I have no background in advertising and I just came up with a better ad than you have! Why is it so dificult?

I and numerous others have tried explaining it to you before on your last rant and I am too lazy to do so again.You have made it clear you're not going to buy it so why waste your energy getting angry and still commenting on old news.Let's keep the conversation about the topic rather than go there again,cheers

applause Well said, Ubisoft, well said. Nintendo has a huge selection of games coming to Wii U, and the Wii U is a great console...but we can all agree that they have done an incredibly poor job at marketing it. Every person that comes to my house, they always point to the GamePad and ask, "What's that?" I say, "It's the Wii U controller!" They always say, "...what's a Wii U..."

Nintendo needs to get their marketing act together. I'm starting to see hope for their marketing campaign...the Pikmin 3 commercial was the first Wii U commercial that wasn't cringeworthy and it's been popping up everywhere. Keep this up, Nintendo, and maybe more people will buy your console!!

Some advice from a forever faithful fan.

@LetsGoRetro I think we need to stop with the notion of "system sellers" because by that analogy the only thing that will sell the wiiu is yet another mario or zelda game! And if thats all the wiiu is good for then im guna be very disapointed.
No,what we need to look at is the bigger picture. We need to look at several titles that will make wiiu fly off the shelves when we take all games into account.
So yes, sonic lost world on its own I wouldnt say is a game people will buy wiiu just to play it(though some will im sure and they are all the better for it) but if we take a step back and come xmas see Mario 3dworld,pikmin 3, windwaker,deus ex,donkey kong,sonic,lego city,monsterhunter,nintendoland,game and wario,wiiu party,wii fit u,all exclusive to wiiu and ready to purchase? Then we have a whole bunch of games that should sell the system.
Its a matter of perspective

@Marshi Personally, it's a few must-have games that convince me to get a system. A lot of exclusives that aren't must-haves to me aren't worth getting a system for. I won't get a Wii U until games like X start coming out. Monolith Soft has made excellent games, & X looks like no exception.

@VincentV People complain that there arent games on wii u, once wii u gets all these games and exclusives, people complain these aren't must have games -.-
People like you disgust me

@Marshi I guess that we will see how "die hard" these Bayonetta fans claim to be, I know that most people on the internet are "all talk" usually but judging from people's reaction, Bayonetta 2 should shift some units. Maybe a Bayonetta bundle in the future?

Well, i did see the Pikmin commercial on Dutch TV this morning. Let's hope it's the start of a media blitz

@Cohort Exactly dude, I think alot of people are saying theres not 1 must have game for the system.thats true,there are several

Mario 3D may be a System-Seller (SS). Zelda WW HD will probably sell more games and systems than that. The original Celda had a LOT of fans, even if I hate it the most of the tree types of Zelda (2D like Link to the Past, Link's Awakening; 3D like OoT, Tp, Skyward Sword; Celda like WW, PH, STs). DKC will probably sell systems, not more than Mario, but may sell just as many games. Pikmin 3 should have been a mild SS but I think Nintendo didn't get the message out yet. That is about it for this year.

As for next, BOTH Mario Kart and Super Smash Bros. have been SS in the past. Highly unlikely that these new ones will not be. My opinion? SSBX will be the grand SS for this system. Unless Nintendo pulls something great, Super Smash Bros. Wii U will be the best of the best. And that has to compete with the people who will only get the 3DS version and those who will not get it because there will be no Subspace Emissary-like area. I know that I will greatly reduce my time on this new game because I don't like fighting games as much.

@Marshi There's a lot of "must haves" even if you discount the "exclusive titles" stuff like Blacklist, Deus EX and Watchdogs that should be the definitive versions of those games due to the GamePad features.

I have read via Miiverse that Blacklist has issues, I also bought ZombiU which also has a few issues that should have really been fixed, I know people who don't even play it anymore because of the "judder", so maybe Ubisoft need to focus on what they are doing before spouting off about Nintendo?

@Cohort The Blacklist issues are effecting All Platforms, not just WiiU, Google search results- http://www.google.com/search?client=wiiu&hl=en&rls=com.nintendo.wiiu:8047+UK&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&q=splintercellblacklistconnectionproblems
Its probably Launch weekend Server glitches at ubisofts end as it effecting all platforms But putting the WiiU into your routers DMZ helps a lot while these gitches are sorted.

@Cohort
But Ubisoft doesn't have a problem selling their games. They know exactly how to advertise their products to get them to sell. I see full page ads for Splinter Cell Blacklist on IGN, I see them on GameStop's website- everywhere you look. No one's saying Nintendo games have technical issues while Ubisoft's games do not. Ubisoft's statement was purely about communicating the value of Nintendo's products to consumers.

And they're dead on- Nintendo DOES need to do a better job at that. They're not advertising here in the US, and the ads in the UK are a joke. They need to be running full page ads like Ubisoft is- getting people pumped for the Wii U. That sizzle reel of exclusives that Nintendo UK posted to Youtube- that needs to be a paid advert all over Youtube. No one's gonna watch it on Nintendo's channel except fans.

And for the record, I own Splinter Cell Blacklist and ZombiU on Wii U- ZombiU is fine, but yes, Splinter Cell Blacklist has issues with Spies vs Mercs, but the co-op is fine. Called customer support and they are aware of the problem and working on a fix. And I do want to add, the game is utterly amazing btw.

@LetsGoRetro
Yes, the camera follows you no matter what the orientation. But that's preferable really. It's like F-Zero in that respect. Trust me, it's a lot cooler than you're making it sound. I used to LOVE F-Zero GX and how the tracks would twist and bend and all that. It adds a lot of depth, multiple paths, and I watched some gameplay of MK8 in an underwater ghost house that had tunnels- you would get so disoriented you'd forget if you're upside down or what, then come bustling out into the fresh air outside and be sideways lol- it looks great.

@JasonH I have both ZombiU and Blacklist and your right. Zombi Plays ok, yeh its got a few bugs but then it was launch title where the developers were making the game on new hardware they were getting used to, Used in-complete dev kits to begin with at least and were making an all new game using the WiiU's unique capabilities rather than a port like just about every other non-nintendo launch game was.
Blacklist really shows how much Ubisoft has learned about the WiiU, and my die hard Sony Fan Brother-in-Law even admits The WiiU version looks and plays better than his Ps3 version. (though its still great on ps3) He even said to me that if games on Ps4 are going to have second screen functions as standard but via the Vita or Smartphone/Tablet app he'd rather have a WiiU for the gamepad as on WiiU it makes sence, but switching between the controller and second device for second screen features is a stupid idea. (In reality knowing him he'd buy games with dual screen features on WiiU and those without for Ps4 meaning I know for a fact we won't not buy a Ps4 but coud end up getting a WiiU aswell)
Since both Ubisoft and EA are both going to bring second screen gaming to ps3 and Xbone via a Apps on smart devices and if my self-confessed Sony Fanboy In-Law is anything to go by could work in WiiU's favour.

@SanderEvers
I disagree and here's why. I said it before, and I'll say it again: Ubisoft has NO problems communicating their games' value to consumers. None. They're running full page adverts on IGN, GameStop's website, etc. Nintendo could learn something from them. And to say Ubisoft disappoints their fans, really? I'm an Ubisoft fan, and I'm not disappointed in the least. I'm actually just as pumped for the Ubisoft lineup as I am Nintendo's! I just bought Splinter Cell Blacklist Wii U, and the game is flippin' phenomenal. Just amazing.

Ubisoft is right. Just because a fault of Nintendo is pointed out, doesn't justify getting defensive toward the person speaking that truth. Am I saying Ubisoft is perfect? Heck no. Does Ubisoft make mistakes, of course they do! But that's the nature of humanity. Until companies are run by machines, that's gonna happen. Forgive and move on.

Yes, Ubisoft delayed Rayman Legends. I know you didn't like it, neither did I. But can you blame them? The game would have TOTALLY FLOPPED. All that money invested in it, for an exclusive release that MAYBE would have sold half a million copies? Doesn't make sense. We may not like it, but that's reality.
People want to lie to themselves and say, "but it would have sold gangbusters". No, it wouldn't have.

Rayman has never been a top-selling game, and as an exclusive on a system with only 3 million users, yeah, the game would have been a commercial failure, BIG TIME. I think Ubisoft thought the Wii U was gonna catch fire right away, which it didn't. So they had to adjust their plans. I don't blame them for that. We're not gaming sultans that get to demand when a game comes out, then shun any developer who dare defies our wishes.

so umm wheres the new trailers like the UK one but for US and such?

Wii U has my wallet crying now until the end of the year and then into 2014. It has one BIG game, sometimes two, coming out every month, that I want.

Ubisoft has nothing worth having so their opinion is invalid.

(My opinion might be not valued by anybody but it hasn't actively made things worse for the rest of the 3rd party dev's on Nintendo platforms like Ubisoft has with doing what they did. Now people will think twice about any none Nintendo game at a high price thinking if they wait they will get it for next to nothing.).

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He's right, Nintendo does have some of the best IPs in the business, but those games alone are not enough to make the machine a runaway success. I have a Wii U to play the excellent first party games that Nintendo produces, so that's fine, but if you want other, non-Nintendo like gaming experiences, you need another system. We've seen time and time again that third-parties simply do not support the system. Yes, a third party port or exclusive might come out here and there, but that's not enough.

I support both Nintendo and Sony. Ni No Kuni, Tales of Xillia, DmC, The Last of Us; I couldn't imagine just owning the Wii U and watching those games come and go, knowing that I'll never get to play them.

Also, Nintendo just go and make a new F-Zero, Metroid, and Star Fox for the Wii U. Mario and Zelda are great, but you have other IPs that you're not even doing anything with. Give the fans what they want, or they'll find somewhere else to go. I did when I bought a PS3...

@GiftedGimp So issues across the board then, marvelous!
@JaxonH I was thinking of buying Blacklist, when they fix it I will.

ZombiU didn't sell well so obviously they do have problems selling their games, you can advertise all you like but the games generally still have to be great to sell consistently.
I'm not surprised that Ubisoft hare having communication issues with Nintendo to be honest, if someone delayed an exclusive title for my console and then decided to go multiplatform with it... I don't think that I would speak to them either

@SanderEvers
That's a good question, and one that I don't have the answer to. Perhaps it was only after realizing Nintendo didn't really advertise or hype the Wii U launch that they decided to delay it a few months to determine how the console would fare. After the sharp decline in January, they made the decision to push the release back for multiplat (because of MS stupid policy, all versions had to be put on hold).

Again, I don't like it. And yeah, it sucks, but I'm so over it. The game will be out in one week, and it's a better game now, so it wasn't all for not. Again, not saying Ubisoft is perfect- they're not. But their imperfection doesn't make their point about Nintendo any less legit.

@SanderEvers
Understood. And yes, you're right. Culture differences do play a big part in software appeal. But I think we can all agree that most of Nintendo's games are internationally accepted, even their RPGs like Mario & Luigi Dream Team and Fire Emblem Awakening did fairly well in NA. But yes, there's a reason the Metroid Prime games sold more in NA than the rest of the world combined: US and Canadian gamers are big on FPS. It's part of the culture here.

Nintendo may be an eastern company, but their games appeal to people of all regions. The problem is, the Wii U isn't popular, as you stated. And yes, they need to make the console more appealing. Fortunately, that's where NoA and NoE come into play. Their purpose is to handle Nintendo's business in other regions, because they understand their own culture. NoA and NoE should be running ad campaigns in their respective regions with commercials and adverts that gamers will pay attention to.

What ever happended to advertising games and hardware in a way that makes the games look cool? Nintendo always goes with quirky ads, but in NA and Europe, they should be running ads like that sizzle reel on Youtube. Entice gamers with games that look cool and fun to play. Make them desirable. People just don't buy into "quirky", at least not here in the US.

@SanderEvers Ubisoft should have released on Wii U and then on other consoles later.

Although I agree with them, I still feel like these third parties are depending on Nintendo's big games to sell the Wii U, indirectly admitting they are unable to make system selling games.

You can make tons of ads for these new Nintendo games but as has been said before, to understand Wii U you need to PLAY IT yourself, something that an ad cannot show you. Those demos they gave to Bestbuy are good, but they could do better trying to extend it to more locations/stores.

EDIT: I stand corrected, I went to Nintendo's website and found this:

Get ready to go hands-on with Wii U™ and Nintendo 3DS™ systems and the hottest new games during the Nintendo Experience, coming to 12 different Simon Mall locations from Aug. 31–Nov. 3, 2013.

...They seem fine to me. we wouldn't be getting a bunch of Nintendo Directs and notifications from them on our systems if they didn't.

With each of these releases the Wii U sells a few thousand units and then dies off again it seems to me. That's not the kind of sales trends they want I'm sure. In fact they want 9M by fiscal end. They may be saving up to ad blitz November shopping season enough to sell again what they did at launch.

@sinalefa
Thats a good point. I don't think its their inability to make system sellers, just that they don't want to take the risk. They don't want to be apart of the solution, only to reap the rewards afterwards. Then they'll complain that Nintendo fans won't buy their games.

I think what Nintendo needs to do is use their adds and demos in tandem. They should make adds that make people want to seek out their demos, advertise the Nintendo Experience, point out that the game you just saw is available at a demo kiosk near you at the end of adds. If you have to play the wii U to understand it then make adds that will make people want to try it.

The really need to make them available at other retailers too, not everyone goes to Bestbuy nor will they make a special trip just for a demo station. gamestop would probably be the most important, I always see people playing demos when I go there but they don't pay attention to the video ones.

@unrandomsam Like you said, "Your opinion might not be valued by anyone."

I have to agree with Ubisoft they need more advertisement, but like I said before the console just came out. Plus since everyone on Xbox One, Nintendo has a big advantage to take and come back in.

Sadly I think the first 2qtrs of this year really hurt WiiU in a major way. I mean you had terrible things being said almost daily by different people with EA leading the charge. Then we see EA is heavily in collusion with M$ so their canceling of finished games lke Crysis 3 and who knows what else that were essentially finished were done to purposefully done to sabotage the system. Then instead od publishers or devs talking about how cool the gamepad is and inovative ways they might use it they totally disregarded it and then talked about how weak the hardware was. So i think we should appreviate Ubi as they were mostly supportive thru put the year and while the rayman was delayed it wasn't cancelled and they gave us the free challenge app and added content. They also released AC3 DLC despite its poor sales. SC BL looks good and I am sure the muliplayer will smooth out and WD and AC4 should be great games. People act like what Ubi is saying is critisizm of Nintendo and maybe it is but in the end they want WiiU to succeed so they can continue to support it. Lastly....I don't know if WiiU is getting that killer app this year but it is getting a lot of good games and many are exclusives. I think Zelda WW will do quite well as it is the first HD Zelda and many of todays gamers won't even know it is a remake. Ps4 and xb1 will be very hard to find and WiiU with a much more attractive library and price point my benefit from that. Nintendo hopefully will do a Nov/Dec ad blitz and they might want to mention it is the only new system you can online game for no monthly fee!

They're after the 3DS crowd right now. The 3DS eShop now has a Wii U section (which also shoots down the ridiculous Earthbound on 3DS rumor)

@LetsGoRetro

Yeah, it's mostly more of the same. Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed is certainly the better game.

@ScorpionMG I'm just not that interested in The Wonderful 101 or Pikmin 3 (Pikmin 3 does look good, but not quite worth getting a new console for). I'm not using it as some cheap fanboyish excuse for not getting a console. If there's many exclusives on a console that you aren't interested in enough to get a new console for, why get it? Some people don't like Halo. I think it's a great series, but if you don't care for it, I'm not going to think you're cheap for not wanting an Xbox 360. Same applies to the Wii U.

If there's just one thing I wish Nintendo would do more is use IPs that are rarely used, such as Star Fox, F-Zero, Metroid (not as much, but it's still not used a lot), Golden Sun, Chibi Robo, Custom Robo, and others as well. I know but GS is developed by Camelot, but it's a Nintendo exclusive, so I wish they'd try to get it out there more. Even niche games like Fire Emblem get usual releases every 2 years or so, and look what happened, the latest one became a million seller. If Nintendo just tried to get their games aside from Zelda, Mario, and Pokemon out there, similar things could happen, and even if they weren't smash hits, it's not like Nintendo doesn't have the money to experiment.

@Gorlokk I like how Nintendo has brought companies like Monolith Soft and Platinum Games into the fold. I think they should be doing that more, with studios like Ubisoft and EA, too. (Yes, I know EA and Nintendo aren't the best of friends.) And it'd be a good way to utilize some of those characters.

Nintendo just need's a new 3D Mario platform that's what saved the 3DS

They games are coming, it's true that it's up to Nintendo to sell them.

Well said. Their communication is weak.

I don't see how it's "weak". They're advertising on the 3DS. They're touring the country (US) at least twice in Best Buy and soon Simon Malls. Their Facebook and Twitter are always buzzing with news and they have ads even on this site.

@B4SDR4G Anyone who says the Wii U is on par with the ps3 or x360, just point them to this game. It is way way way out of reach of the ps360... HDR and dynamic Lighting, a higher quality of bokeh, displacement mapping... There is a whole host of effects the Wii U's GPU can do that just isn't possible on the PS3/x360. If you throw out art styles and judge it on a technical level of what the GPU is actually processing, MK8 shows the Wii U is at least on par with a Radeon 6000/OpenGL 4.4 spec, including tesselation. Not only is it rendering scenes that would choke the ps3/x360, but its doing it at a blazing 60fps, even in split screen and rendering to a second screen.

Sure the xBone will outclass the Wii U by 3x, but the Wii U outclasses the PS3 and x360 by at least 3x itself. The system is a lot more powerful and advanced then trolls are giving it credit for.

@LetsGoRetro I don't think I'm following what you are saying. You think Nintendo should have released their biggest game of the year(SM3DW) in the Summer when the potential pool of console buyers are at their lowest point of the year?

Surely the best time to release your biggest system selling game of the year is just before Christmas when the pool of potential customers with money in hand ready to buy a console and game is at its peak for the year.

We as Wii U owners might not like this very much because we want to get our hands on these games faster, but there is a solid business plan for why they chose December over August to release SM3DW.

Nintendo does have a strategy, and they've mentioned it many times: GAMES WILL SELL THE SYSTEM. That''s what sold 3DS when it was performing horribly, and that's what has sold every other Nintendo console ever made.

Listen: consumers aren't stupid, and Nintendo has learned that lesson. People are not going to fall for false marketing: Nintendo knows this. I don't know if anyone has ever seen the old North American SEGA Saturn commercials, but here are a couple:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MoYyztfOc-0

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-cIvo8flaBc

I'm not saying that attacking the competition in commercials isn't a good idea, because the SEGA Genesis did the same, and it worked. But the Genesis had the right to attack the Super Nintendo, because it had good, solid proof to back it up! Genesis had TONS of great games, and yes, "Blast Processing" was real, and people knew it, because all it took was one good solid look at Sonic 2 to see that! Genesis did what Nintendidn't because Nintendo was 8-bit, and CLEARLY Genesis was 16-bit.

The problem with the Saturn, was everybody KNEW that the commercials were full of crap because PlayStation had TONS more games than Saturn, and overall, Saturn was really nothing compared to PlayStation or N64. I'm not trying to diss the Saturn, as I love its games a ton more than those on PS, but I think the moral of my story is that before Nintendo goes up against the competition and starts marketing about how great the Wii U GamePad really is, it need great games to show people that yeah, it is worth owning.

@B4SDR4G They should use it for the boxart. You should suggest that to Nintendo

@SanderEvers it is probably karma. Nintendo bullied Sega by not allowing third parties to publish games in SMS and Mega drive. It leads to sales flop of sega systems in Japan.

Now most third parties are leaving Nintendo. The wirld is teaching Nintendo a lesson.

I always love people who cry about Ubisoft delaying a game, when Nintendo themselves delay every single game they make. That first true software title that is a system seller is Mario Kart 8, which will be released in March 2014 to capitalize on the end of Nintendo's fiscal year.

I plan on purchasing the same amount of Ubisoft games (2) for the Wii U this year as Nintendo published titles (2). Without rehashing all the mistakes Nintendo has made in regards to the Wii U, the fact is it is the end of August, two new consoles are coming shortly, and the lead Nintendo had by releasing their console a year in advance is pretty much gone. They have to get out and promote the console via traditional avenues as most die-hard Nintendo fans either own the console or are contemplating buying it (Nintendo Directs and using social media only hit those they seek the information).

This new game every month will be very telling for Nintendo in regards to hardware and software sales. I hope it goes well, but if it doesn't, then Nintendo will have to re-evaluate its strategy and software going forward.

You lost me at Ubisoft.