Former Bullfrog and Lionhead boss Peter Molyneux has had plenty to say about Nintendo over the past few years, which is striking when you consider that he hasn't released a game on a Nintendo platform in quite some time.
He has previously been critical of the Wii U, and even suggested that Nintendo's hardware gets in the way of its brilliance. He has also stated that the Japanese firm should bring Mario to the iPad.
Speaking to IGN, the famous British games designer — who can list the likes of Populous, Powermonger and Fable on his CV — voiced his concern that Nintendo has lost its way with the Wii U, but should never be seen as a spent force:
The problem with Nintendo is that they did a fantastic job of finding these millions of new players with the Wii, and the Wii U kind of does that but tries to bring in existing gamers as well, so I think they may have lost their way a bit. But they're super smart people - never underestimate Nintendo. They're probably one hardware release away from something that utterly convinces us that they know exactly what the future of gaming should be, so I wouldn't deign to give them advice.
Of course, "one hardware release away" could mean a few more years of struggles with the Wii U, and Molyneux feels that part of the problem is that the system just isn't "sexy" enough:
I do find the Wii U [GamePad] big, I find it clunky...certainly, it's not a sexy piece of hardware, and I'm used to sexy pieces of hardware — that has nothing to do with the shape of the Wii controller! [smiles] There are sexy pieces of hardware from Nintendo.
What are your thoughts on Molyneux's comments? Let us know by leaving one of your own below.
Image credit: GameSpot
[source youtube.com]
Comments 85
The man looks like a toad, and says, Nintendo hardware is not sexy..... It's like being call small by Danny Di Vino...
DON'T LOSE YOUR WAAAAAAAAAY
He looks like C. Montgomery Burns, only not as sexy.
But Wii U is the only next gen system with curves in its design.
I think the Wii U gamepad is sexy as hell~
Peter Molyneux has lost his way. The world hated Godus, and all the marketing around it was obnoxious and stupid. I wish he'd shut up.
The Wii U may not be sexy, but it has a great personality.
Pfff Almost hilarious coming from a guy like that. And for its size, the WiiU gamepad is extremely comfortable and reasonable light/heavy.
"They're super smart people" Looks at February Direct and eshop crash of last Christmas Never Mind
Man, what childish comments here. How does it matter what he looks like or what promises he's kept or broken?
He's still RIGHT!
And he's done more for gaming then, say, you santaman64. So instead of calling Danny de Vito "Danny Di Vino" (sounds like a wine mascot) or calling Molyneux a toad, how about posting something productive?
Or to say it in your words: You judging him, that's like "being called small by Danny de Vito".
I love the wii U and have never been able to play so much great games at such an early stage in a consoles life. I do agree, however, that the wii U hardware lacks lots of design aesthetics. The wii had that nailed, and believe me it helps sell the hardware as being something sophisticated in the first place.
I’m always pleased with nintendo’s controller ergonomics though, which I think is very well done throughout all their hardware usually.
Shigeru Miyamoto: 22Cans "Has Lost It's Way" with the release of Godus. "If I ran 22Cans, I would put Fable on the 3DS"
Nintendo has not lost their way, they always take the road less taken, sometimes they win, sometimes they lose. Everybody doubted the DS as a replacement for Gameboy, everybody doubted the motion controls of Wii, everybody doubted the 3DS could recover but now it dominates.
So maybe the Wii U gets lost in the woods and eaten by a witch in a gingerbread house, not every kid can be a hero, not every game hardware can be a revolution. Nintneod knows they could have released a Wii 2 or Wii HD and sold plenty and made some money, but that's not what Nintendo does, They create maps, they don't follow them, it's who they are.
lol wii u isn sexy enough said someone who developed for a clumsy big ugly console like the xbox xD THIS is really funny xD (this first xbox including the gamepad was the most uglyest console ive ever seen^^)
The popular view today is that there are basically two kinds of profitable video games: casual mobile games and cinematic first person shooters. So he can't back Nintendo's choices 100%, since they don't correspond to his view on how the video games marked should evolve.
Also, let's not forget that he was an associate of Microsoft for a longtime.
His tactic would of course be to laud Nintendo as a company, but subtly point out shortcomings of their consoles.
Smart enough to give us another drought.
@rjejr
Well said.
@KeeperBvK "And he's done more for gaming then, say, you santaman64." By that token, nobody outside of the industry has a right to criticise anyone, which is uncritical and dangerous. Would you do away with journalism?
I found your post extremely unproductive.
He definitely has a point when he says that Nintendo isn't sure what their audience is. The GamePad is a nice piece of hardware though. I'd they made that thing PS Vita build quality it would only increase the price. Still, a multi touchscreen wouldn't have been a bad idea...
I don't know how a piece of technology is supposed to be "sexy". Humans beings can be sexy, machines...err.. I'm not quite there yet Peter.
Hard to argue with what he says, I think in the end while wii u is a great console with some great games, it just wont get the traction it needs to be a big hit for nintendo. Home consoles from nintendo have been a bit hat and miss since the snes, their biggest strength is with handhelds. And while I wouldnt want to see them abandon home consoles, I think they need to rethink what people want in a home console.
Its a console, of cours it isnt sexy.
@sinalefa Best comment. Lol.
I don't think it matters that he's not released a game on Nintendo hardware for years, neither have any of us but we still comment on Nintendo every day. I think anyone involved in this industry is probably going to like Nintendo, but putting games on Nintendo consoles isn't a smart choice right now.
People will assume all these devs are hating, but clearly from the sales numbers a lot of Nintendo fans have not bought a Wii U. Heck, even 3DS had only sold about half as many units as the GBA, so there's a lot of Nintendo fans out there that are unsure about the current state of Nintendo.
When people speak out in the media, it's not hating, but genuinely lamenting the funk one of their favourite game makers are in.
@Klimbatize Oh man, you nailed it!
What worries me is that Nintendo is being mighty conservative lately...the Wii U was a risk that didn't work out. I think Peter has somewhat of a point. I wouldn't say they've lost their way but they don't seem to be willing to take any risks right now, even though a risk might be needed to jumpstart the Wii U (make gamepad optional, price cut, massive Nintendo Direct only focusing on Wii U, etc.)
They've definitely lost their way, It's really sad because they have always been very creative, innovative, and magical with their games and hardware. With a few exceptions, the wii u is the outlier of the company's history (along with virtual boy). I guess after the succes of the wii, they got a bit cocky.
He's not wrong to be honest, as much as I like Iwata I feel he needs to step into a senoir advisor role and bring in someone with fresh opinions. I think the biggest problem is that in the last 10 years the Western gaming scene has really flourished and brought some major advancements in the industry. I'm not convinced Nintendo executives really has a grasp of the Western scene and that is doing some major damage to it's success.
I think there's something to what he says here. But it's shouldn't be seen as a negative. With the WiiU Nintendo clearly prioritized interesting and new gameplay experiences over "sexy" features like video sharing, skype integration, or even high-end next gen graphics--all of which are nice, but not particularly necessary for great gameplay. On another post today someone said that the only people who "get" or "love" (can't remember the exact phrase) WiiU are the people who own one. I'll add that I don't know anyone who has one that doesn't like it. Cuz we're the ones that love it for the games and realize what gameplay experiences it offers. Everyone else just sees it as "just another box to play Nintendo games on". It might not be the sexiest thing--but once you take it home, it knows what it's doing...
His comments are sooo 2013.
And one man's not sexy is another man's....sexy?
I don't understand it, I LOVE the gamepad yet everyone seems to dump on it all the time =/
@KeeperBvK
He said that the game pad "is not a sexy piece of hardware" and that he is used to "sexy pieces of hardware." That kind of incredibly stupid comment deserves to be mocked, even if it takes the form of a personal attack.
I think it's a bit much to quote someone saying something along the lines of "Nintendo are great and will probably do the next great thing in gaming" and use it to say he was Nintendo-bashing.
It is ironic that he thinks Nintendo has lost its way when he sold out his IP to EA and let someone turn Syndicate (the greatest underused franchise in history) into a boring shooter. He has made all sorts of bold statements about games being art and emotional and then tried to make his games to become cynical cash cows before they've even proved popular. I also find it ironic that for every bit of additional power (i.e. sexy hardware) that Peter Molyneux has tried to utilise in his games, his games have gotten significantly more disappointing. His best stuff was when he was limited by the hardware.
He also works for Satan
@Kodeen I've amended it to make it more accurate. I thought he still had some kind of creative consultant's role at MS but only because of how biased I thought he was on a couple of interviews about PS4 vs Xbox1. Either way, he was trying to pay Nintendo a bit of a compliment so I'm surprised it has been turned into a news article.
"Mankind has lost its way."
Fix'd it for ya, you're welcome.
Its kinda hard to disagree with him when you look at Wii U sales, the markets reaction to it, and the lineup of games(or lack of) they have right now and coming to the system in the near future.
Good god people, personal attacks? Really? We can't be better than that here, and have a conversation about all of this that isn't immature?
You know, Molyneux is known for running his mouth off a little too much...
Sales does not mean quality.
Wii U is phenomenally unpopular device, but it is still fantastic product. It is competitively priced even when it comes with a tablet controller. Nintendo has not made good job making its benefits well known, or demonstrating them in many games(other than Nintendo Land), while its competitors have been hugely successful in their marketing.
But still the Wii U is THE ultimate multiplayer machine, among other things, and even though the 3rd party support is worrying, so far every 3rd party game I have played with Wii U was better with Wii U.
@Peach64 Absolutely. Some statements about Nintendo are just plain wrong (going mobile will most likely NOT help), but Molyneux has a point.
While the GamePad feels great, it doesn't look the part, especially when comparing it to all the slick controllers of gaming history. And looks are a deciding factor (though I wonder how a portable oven and a sandwich maker can be that successful sarcasm) when buying a console.
Also, Nintendo kinda did lose its way, but they are already in the middle of changing directions, with Iwata having realized many mistakes and doing his best to correct them - but that takes time, and not everything can be undone.
Besides, what's wrong with some of you folks? Show some maturity instead of turning him down without reasons.
Here's my problem with Molyneux: This is a guy who made some innovative games, but most of them have been severely lacking in their execution and didn't deliver the experience promised.
It would appear that Peter Molyneux "lost his way" for most of his career, and I think everyone but Molyneux knowns this. I'm not saying he's a terrible person or even a bad game designer, but if anything Shigeru Miyamoto and many of Nintendo's top designers have far better track records in designing amazing and genre changing experiences then Molyneux ever will.
@IxnayontheCK : On the gamepad hate...After the runaway popularity and the "fad" status of the Wii mote and motion controls, people wanted desperately to hate on the next Nintendo innovation, and the 3D feature on 3DS hit the spot. But as the 3DS started to become a runaway hit and not the flop they desired, the Wii U and gamepad became the new thing for the trendy haters to dump on.
I wish Molyneux would shut up he is over rated and his words don't keen anything his crappy xbox game Fable sucks.
Why does he keep piping up with his views why doesn't he sod off and play Mario 3d world or Fire Emblem on 3DS and then slate nintendo.
This guy, while the focus sadly shifted to what is a "sexy" piece of console, has some points. Nintendo has "lost its way" in a number of areas. Where is Zelda U? It was teased way back in 2011, but no information on it was given yet - if it was just a "tech demo" for the E3 sizzle reel, they picked the wrong game to do that with.
I personally love the control pad, but I can easily see why people don't care for it. The battery life is bad, it jacks up the cost of the system itself, and it just doesn't appeal to people who prefer a "standard" controller. And what's more, a lot of games don't even utilize it to its fullest potential, and that includes Nintendo-produced games.
And what kind of market is Nintendo looking to capture? The hardcore market, the casual market, or its core market? The launch of the Wii U was not very good with subpar marketing and Nintendo letting confusion between the Wii and the Wii U go on for way too long, and then a huge drought of no new games.
I love Nintendo and I don't think it's too late for the Wii U. But the tide of public opinion, warranted or not, is not favorable towards it. Nintendo has to do something big this year for this holiday season or next year, we will be in very dire shape.
He needs to stop humping his hardware.
He's clearly contradicting here. Saying Nintendo lost their way yet shouldn't be underestimated, only to claim later on the Wii U and Gamepad are not sexy all within that same interview? It's really ironic because he's produced more crap with the "Fable" name than recent Miyamoto and Anouma-made titles failed to meet expectations. Hell, Sonic games fared better.
Clearly shows what happens when you've sold your soul to a major corporation.
the problem is bigger than the wii U...the real issue is that nintendo don't have a compelling digital platform/ecosystem for its customers to invest into. this includes outdated pricing strategies. they also treat online gaming like a fringe activity and only suitable for specific titles.
it looks like they're going to try and get it right with accounts next time around with the unified architecture console-handheld, but that's a ways off. nintendo didn't make the right investments and now they're paying for it. you can't blame the market or the media for their bad management.
Doesn’t “sexy hardware” generally mean you’re overcompensating for something?
Nintendo tried to recapture the casual market the Wii lost with the Wii U but the fact is the casual market simply didn't and still doesn't care about consoles anymore. It's smartphone/tablet games for them.
Early on Nintendo advertised the Wii U as more accepting of "hardcore" games, but have since dropped that and are back to being the "casual" company.
Also, Nintendo insistence on region locking and anti customer DRM is not helping. Nor is their incredibly lacking online in general and intentional prevention of communication between players.
No Nintendo, local multiplayer is fine but it DOES NOT out prioritize online multiplayer.
@KeeperBvK in your opinion, he is right. I can respect that. But I don't find a problem with the look of the controller. So in my opinion, he is not. And I think the man is ugly. So I gave my reply. Comparing my opinion of the man's looks to Peter's opinion about the controller, seemed reasonable. And this is a gaming website, very little will ever be "productive" from the comment section. Unless, someone plans to quote, and if that case, "Look, mommy, I am famous!" But I do agree, I did a crap spelling of the actor's name.
I don't know how many people agree with me or not, but I think the Nintendo took most risks in the Gamecube era. Mario Sunshine (F.L.U.D.D, no Mushroom Kingdom setting), Mario Kart Double Dash (Two characters, one kart) Mario Strikers, Wind Waker (graphics).
The Gamecube was my first console, and the games were very inspiring to me. I feel bad for 8 or 9 year olds who grow up with 3D World.
the funny thing is that the ergonomics of the gamepad is one of the best features of the console, regardless of how it looks. my problem would be the rest of the design - low horsepower, bad design/lack of features in the OS.
and the off-tv functionality is personally something that is not useful, aside from for VC games of which there are few released. we haven't seen enough compelling use of the gamepad to justify it as mandatory. it should have been optional, especially considering the price of the original wii...
I agree with most of what he's saying..lol
@Peach64 I love that you actually try to be neutral and fair about statements made for or against Nintendo but I don't think many people here will get it through their heads that Nintendo can take criticism.
Kind of agree with him, although he's slightly more optimistic than I am.
In all honesty.... he's right. If you compare the aesthetics of the Wii to the Wii U, the Wii is a much better looking piece of hardware (especially held vertically).
Out of all the current gens the PS4 defo has the most "sex appeal" (again I'm pointing about aesthetics) this generation which is no doubt helping with it's sales cause it is still more expensive then the Wii U.
Sony have done a really good job this generation with their hardware, no doubt about that but I'm sticking with my "ugly" Wii U
He does bring up some valid points. The look of a console does matter to some people. Look at the heated race in the smartphone market as every company is trying to find a niche with some phones being thinner, bigger, matte finish, gloss finish, etc. Maybe even basing the Wii U's shape on the Wii could also be part of the issue people have in differentiating the two that goes hand in hand with the similar name.
@PokeTune Pretty much this.
The wii u console is a much better design than the god awful ps4 and beta max player xbox one
@PinkSpider Nice avatar picture. I love that band even though I only heard 1 song from them, lol.
Not this guy again.
i... sort of agree with this statement. Nintendo just doesn't make games like they used to. Half of their best IPs are abandoned in favor of the typical mario and zelda games, and even then they don't make the games the same.
@PokeTune said: "I don't think many people here will get it through their heads that Nintendo can take criticism."
I think you'll find a little bit of customer loyalty and "fanboyism" anywhere you go...but that doesn't mean we have to completely accept any and all criticism at face value.
You also have to consider the source. If a guy who runs over people to escape a fire calls me a coward it has much less weight then a man who saved an old woman from the same fire calling me one. Molyneux isn't exactly the poster child for quality and delivering on promises.
That being said, this criticism seems lazy and it's all over the place. It's got just enough sting to net headlines, but not enough to actually warrant real controversy or add anything important to our gaming culture.
One final note, the black, glossy Wii U deluxe is very sexy. It looks really awesome next to my black Sony TV and Blu Ray player. Certainly more sexy then my beastly powered PC tower that already surpasses the power of every (less sexy?) console currently available.
Players with big hands love the gamepad this guys must have small hands lol
Oh man, look at the pot calling the kettle black. When's the last time Peter Molyneux made a game that mattered?
I have actually thought the same thing old Pete is saying. The feel of the gamepad is awesome, its balance, weight, thiness really make it a very comfy controller for me and I find it better than any handheld. It could look better and maybe be a tad smaller by going with a smaller lcd. Other than that I really question those that pan the gamepad because if you have used one you know it is well designed. Nintendo often does 2.0 type things so a new Gamepad might happen in the WiiU life span or maybe when we get WiIU-2
He has a good point. Lost, took a wrong turn, I don't care what you call it but Nintendo is stuck. I think a lot of it is the Wii U doesn't have anything to catch your eye. There isn't anything about it that makes you stop and think "gee, that looks like fun, I wanna try" or even just mind-blowing graphics to lure you in.
Missing things like unified accounts doesn't help any either. People hear Nintendo doesn't have this or that and wonder what they're paying $300 for.
I just don't understand how someone who hasn't been successful with their endeavours in the past 10 years can talk about another companies misfortune. The Wii-U is a fantastic system that just needs more developers to utilize it. Think creatively. I have a couple ideas for games that would be amazing, and use the gamepad in new different ways.
Is true that nintendo needs to improve but they are doing it well at some point, but molineux want some attention and what a better way to do it than talking about nintendo??
The Wii U is TOTALLY SEXY! I'd hit that! Now the 3DS XL on the other hand...
....could've looked as sexy as the original 3DS. Oh well, i still play the crap out of it.
@erv I feel the same way about my wii u!!! I just try to ignore all these people who are either trying to depress everyone with their doomsday rants or who are just trying to overall oppose their opinions and try to make you look and feel stupid for liking them!!! Overall, I love my wii u and I'm glad I'm not missing out on the new games that I really enjoy!!! I think xbox and sony are cool and are awesome consoles (I've played them both) but I personally am not won over with most of the franchises and games that they make! They have cool games but not enough that interest me enough that it would be worth missing out on the games I really like! These are all just my opinions and I'm entitled to them!
@marnelljm You have a good grasp on this. Better than fanoyish praise. The Wii U isn't bad, but slow dev time for games & a non-integrated network service are big flaws in Nintendo's strategy. Better to tell Nintendo how they can improve and what they need to continue doing right than saying everything is awesome.
I think Peter's hair has lost its way
My Gamepad is sexy
Here's a good strategy Nintendo could try for Wii U; more games.
I find it hilariously ironic that the head of a game development team that has lost its way(fable 3,fable legends anyone?) is talking about nintendo losing its way...
@Peach64 Perfect comment! I second that! Though I do wish game devs would stretch out that olive branch and at least give us the same experience other consoles get. Releasing games with missing dlc and/or features that every other version has helps no one
I like all the games he made for the WiiU... oh wait...
@LDXD Are you playing Dark Souls 2? I'm loving it even more than the first one!
@Zombie_Barioth The hell are you talking about?? When I saw how the gamepad interacted with Nintendoland I definitely wanted to try it out. Or when I saw off tv play It enticed me as well.
What exactly does PS4 or Xbone have other than last gen ports? Titanfall doesn't make me want one, esp with a 360 version on the way...so then what? Knack?
This article is the perfect example of why the NL comment section is so awful. People are slamming a well established game-dev and calling him ugly? really people? you disagree with him so you decide to say he looks like a toad, even if he did (which he doesn't) then it would make his argument invalid, the WiiU is still clunky compared to an IPad for example. The comment section is so terrible on this website, and though i love NL and the coverage is the best for a nintendo website, I find it strange that NL find the need to make this kind of thing into an article. URGH i mean either way, Peter Molyneux was not cursing nintendo, he was just being critical, but at least he did it with maturity unlike the people commenting here.
Oh yeah, did i mention how stupid people were being with the microsoft thing? becuase 1) he worked for Lionhead, not microsoft and 2)he works at 22cans now and 3)just because he was associated with microsoft doesnt make his point any less valid
@ Captain-Falcon
A lot of people are kind of nasty around here because they are bored and disappointed in the Wii U, but can't bring themselves to acknowledge it. If people were genuinely happy with the Wii U they probably wouldn't feel the need to insult people that think otherwise.
@LDXD
Yeah dude. DS 2 is incredible.
@Bizzyb
No offense, but going by how the Wii U is doing you might be in the minority. Like another poster already said it seems only those who already have a Wii U love or 'get' it. Theres a lot of people who either don't get or don't understand why we 'need' the gamepad at all. It just doesn't 'click' like the Wii remote.
For these people things like asymmetric gameplay and off-screen play aren't a selling point. If the only way to sell people on a Wii U is for them to play with it a while then thats a problem, especially the way Nintendo have been marketing it.
I didn't even mention the other consoles, so I don't get what they have to do with anything. If its cause I said no "mind-blowing graphics" I meant as in they don't make people go "ooh, shiny". Graphics are one of the easiest ways to sell something after all
@gage_wolf - good god that's some inverted logic.
No really, some people really love their Wii U system and we get tired of these industry people scrounging up publicity for themselves by making these statements. Sorry if it makes you unhappy that some people genuinely like something you have committed yourself to disliking.
Now really, on Peter Molyneux...are you familiar with his work?
I will never forget Black & White...All the waiting, all the hype and all the bold claims made by Molyneux and his team. It was going to change gaming forever! What we ended up with was one of the most bogged down, broken, barely playable, hardware crushing disappointments of all gaming history.
You don't have to be a blind fanboy to disagree with a statement that isn't very well thought out from a developer you have lost a lot of respect for over the years.
Well, he was quite right with Nintendo being "only one hardware away" from probably striking gold again. And according to the new interviews it seems he surely did find the sexy hardware he was looking for with the Switch. He's been a bit hit and miss with his games but has some shining examples under his belt so Kudos for that Mr M.
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