As is an early New Year tradition here at Nintendo Life, we're going to look back at Nintendo's last year to consider what went well, areas that were problematic and to remind ourselves of how the company shaped up. 2013 was a year of contrasting tales for Nintendo - the 3DS was a major success (the best-selling system in multiple territories) yet the Wii U's sales woes continued and dragged Nintendo's financial performance back. 2014, then, kicked off with pressure on Nintendo to secure improved sales and return to profit; it was to prove a particularly turbulent start to the year.
January
It was a month of dramatic highs and lows for Nintendo; for starters, it had to deal with the ongoing fall-out of the Nintendo Network issues that had blighted the 2013 festive period. The recent inclusion of Nintendo Network IDs on 3DS and the launch of Pokémon Bank in Japan had caused a Holiday meltdown, and the subsequent removal (or non-release) of the 'mon app from the store had irritated fans around the world. Even in early January Nintendo was apologising for its absence, before finally re-launching the app in its homeland.
The greatest drama, which made for a difficult January for fans keen to focus on games and good times, came in the financial markets and the board room. A mix of factors including fluctuating market conditions and the Chinese government lifting a console ban brought an astounding share price rise, which seemed like a jolly way to start the year. That was a false dawn, to put it mildly, as Nintendo stepped in ahead of US sales data - in the middle of the month - to announce major reductions in sales and financial projections: in other words, the Holiday season hadn't gone well enough and previous projections were well off the pace. The share price plummeted as rapidly as it had climbed.
That early announcement was damage control ahead of the true financial figures at the end of January. The results - poor sales and operational losses - were just a setup for worse numbers to come, according to Nintendo itself; Satoru Iwata and Shigeru Miyamoto both took pay cuts. As a counter attack, Satoru Iwata brushed off some calls for his resignation and laid out his plans and strategy for Nintendo; he spoke of more aggressive licensing of Nintendo IPs, a dedicated team for smartphone projects, DS games for the Wii U Virtual Console (which has only brought one release to date), and made headlines with an intriguing half reveal of a new Nintendo platform - Quality of Life (QoL). These presentations to investors didn't bring a boost in share prices, but did show that Iwata-san would be standing his ground.
Away from financial affairs there was good, bad and peculiar news. There was a bit of a stir over altered Bravely Default outfits for its North American release, while the 3DS was also in the news as Nintendo lost a major patent case with Tomita Technologies; predictably, that's ongoing in appeals courts. Some humorous news came with the revelations that hackers found a way to remove region-locking from 3DS retail cartridges, before hackers hacked the hack - yes, really. There was happy news when Capcom announced Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate for a Western release on 3DS, while Next Level Games revealed that its focus is solely on Nintendo games; we're still curious as to what the studio is up to right now. We all had a chance to vent at EA, meanwhile, when an employee was quoted as saying the Wii U was dead to them very quickly - based on sales figures of its games on the system and the reaction of the Nintendo Life community, the feeling was mutual.
February
After a preceding month dominated by business, only a little of that crept into February. More investor briefing comments attributed to Satoru Iwata caught the eye, with fans of modern networks and compatibility perhaps pleased by his stated goal to emulate iOS and Android with a common platform in future hardware. That raised excited speculation about the future, and executives from companies such as Sony and Amazon spoke up in support for Nintendo and its vital role in the games industry.
Then the big N got us talking about games again with a Nintendo Direct on 13th February. Highlights for Wii U included Game Boy Advance titles for the Virtual Console, a final release date for Mario Kart 8 and (in one for 3DS fans too) an arrival for Little Mac in Super Smash Bros. In terms of the 3DS we were given release dates for a number of Spring and Summer games, while a limited edition Yoshi 3DS XL was confirmed for Europe. It was a Direct of enticing footage and useful details, if not lots of megaton reveals, though the sighting of Peppy Hare in Steel Diver: Sub Wars certainly set tongues wagging. On a negative score, Nintendo upset Wii owners when it confirmed the shutdown of online multiplayer on the Wii, effective as of 20th May.
February brought some decent games on the retail scene, with Nintendo's opening 2014 gambit for Wii U being Retro Studios' Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze - the revered Texas-based studio also said it'd been working on a new project since November 2013. The LEGO Movie Videogame tied in nicely with the hugely popular film, meanwhile, and fans of a late indie WiiWare arrival heard the welcome news of Retro City Rampage DX coming to the 3DS eShop; it was heavily promoted by Nintendo itself. Pokemon Bank started to arrive in the West, the announcement of the Sonic Boom games caused an internet meltdown, and quirky sim Tomodachi Life was confirmed for localisation.
In the wider, weirder world of the internet, notable stories included a rare gold Nintendo World Championship NES cart attracting huge bids, and the bizarre Twitch Plays Pokemon became a viral phenomenon. Ubisoft continued its role as the pantomime villain of the publishing world by delaying Watch Dogs for Wii U, though shocking Wii U sales numbers for its games had likely played a role in the decision. Oh, and a Nintendo patent emerged for an awesome room illumination device.
March
February was a busy month, so March was certainly a calmer period for Nintendo. Some of the month was summed up by Nintendo and third party publishers attracting the wrong kind of headlines - the closure of Wii online services was explored further, while Capcom made clear it could hear the anguished cries of Mega Man fans, before confirming Game Boy entries for the 3DS Virtual Console. Criterion boss Alex Ward lamented how Need for Speed on Wii U didn't get the chance it deserved, and Batman: Arkham Knight was exciting and, unsurprisingly, skipping Wii U.
There were positives, though, with a good example being Platinum crediting Nintendo as the saviour of Bayonetta. There was undoubted excitement when Nintendo showed off terrific upcoming eShop games, and disbelief turned to quickened pulses as Legend of Zelda DLC arrived in Sonic Lost World on Wii U. We had Mario Kart 8 bundles, confirmation of the Yoshi 3DS XL model for North America and even the launch line-up for GBA Virtual Console games, all bringing some smiles to faces. On the games front European 3DS owners could also get stuck into Professor Layton vs. Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney.
There were some weird stories this month, too, with Activision randomly dropping free DLC into Call of Duty: Ghosts for Wii U, while major PS4 release inFAMOUS Second Son had a load of Nintendo references included. There was also the exciting and equally terrifying news of a "dark and edgy" Sonic film being in the works, while we unboxed Super Mario Happy Meals for some reason.
Be sure to check back in the coming days as we continue to look back at key moments for Nintendo in 2014 - the next part will feature E3, no less.
Comments 32
DK! Woo-hoo!
I jumped from my seat when I saw the pic thinking there's an upcoming Direct.
I still don't think Iwata has been aggressive enough to make a true difference, look at what Spencer has done as the head of the Xbox since late spring 2014, and Iwata's hollow statements from January. smh
@BensonUii Same.
@Tsurii897 I hope so too.
Hoping for Mario Maker and MM3D news. Doubt we'll be seeing Zelda U yet...
You do realise that online was shut down for the Wii and DS, right? Not just the Wii.
It's been almost a year since i got my Wii U. What a great year it was! (For my Wii U anyway)
@BensonUii same here. Tom is such a tease.
Nintendo Direct, please... yean, but people let's get real they would have had to record it over the holidays and they sure didn't. So Iwata san might get around to record one soon into the year.
@BensonUii haha me too! It's been way way too long since the last proper direct aired.
@RainbowGazelle 'You do realise....', man that is such an annoying and patronising phrase. Really wish people on the internet would stop using it.
I think we're all eagerly awaiting the next Nintendo Direct.
I'm sure a lot of people are hoping for a release date for the New 3DS in Europe and the Americas. I was, but impatience got the best of me and I bought an Australian one since the region is the same. It's awesome.
When the Direct does come I'd like to see more of Xenoblade for the New 3DS and maybe another game exclusive to the new system to further show what it's capable of.
Other than that, just some release dates for Wii U games in Europe. I don't expect any new Wii U games announced in the next Direct.
I think the word we're all looking for is "troll". jk TW, jk
I'm waiting 4 dat next mario movie.
Nintendo in January-March 2014?
"Here's Donkey Kong....see you in a few months. No that's it. Next game in May....the end of May"
Love it Thomas! ^^
They'll restore a boring Pokemon transfer tool but they won't bring back Flipnote Studio 3D...
There were some great moments for Nintendo in 2014, like its excellent E3 for example, but sadly nothing it did had any meaningful effect on turning around the Wii U's fortunes and that's because despite some great moments it obviously still wasn't enough.
The Wii U is a decent console with some very good games but as far as I'm concerned it's not a truly great console experience and I think that's what most people who don't have one want to feel like they'd be getting before they decide to purchase one.
It's still possible to make the Wii U a truly brilliant console imo, even without the third party support that's almost definitely gone for the rest of the duration of this console's lifespan, but I'm not sure Nintendo is even capable of realising the full potential of its own system at this point to be honest.
@electrolite77
yeah that is what will happen here is donkey kong land/country now leave us alone for 3 months
and you will get donkey kong land/country 2 in may then have to wait a year or for donkey kong land/country 3
this is my 2015 prediction
Oh, yeah! I totally forgot to download that Sonic Lost World DLC. Free is good.
@Kirk
E3 was the highlight of Nintendo's 2014 for me.
There was a moment when I thought they might just turn it around and reach at least 9m sold by end of last year.
Some people say sales don't matter, just enjoy the console, but that's rubbish.
Sales matter when I can't have a decent game of Mario Kart 8 online until the U.S.A comes home because they are pitiful few Wii Us in the UK and Europe.
I really hope Nintendo have a better 2015 but I really can't see that happening.
Unlike you I think it is way too late to save the Wii U. The image of the console is badly damaged and Nintendo games just don't apeal to the mainstream like they use to, only fans. This is evident because Wii U games just don't sell consoles like the other systems. The games themselves sell well enough but it is obvious a high percentage of people who play these games have long since owned the console.
Saying all that this will be the best year for me personally. Zelda and Splatoon, X and although I am doubtful of it ever coming to the Wii U, Project Cars.
Hope I didn't go to much off-topic as the article is about Jan-Mar 2014. But seeing I don't own a 3DS and only DK happen on the Wii U for the first six months last year I thought I'd do the whole year.
Wonder when the next Direct will be. Probably mid January for Kirby and the spring lineup, I imagine...
@ZenTurtle I share your pain. I HATE that Flipnote is being stiffed from the rest of the world.
@shigulicious I used it more for the fact that the Direct pose amuses me every time. And maybe I'm a bit of a tease too!
@readyletsgo
It's like a slap in the face and my childhood is ruined
Nintendo should just announce Wii games for the Virtual Console, so we all can get ready for that first release in 2020.
Yeah...the beginning of the year was tough but by the end I believe Nintendo rocked 2014. More so than PS4 and XBone (and I'm not just saying that from a fanboy stand point). Nintendo still hasn't caught their full stride quite yet in my opinion, but they did a lot of great things in '14 that turned the tables and I believe they've finally got their feet under them again. 2015 will be pivotal to get ahead and they SEEM on track to do just that: 3 major IP games coming out (Zelda, Fox, and Mario Maker) and 1 new one (Splatoon) amidst the new superior iteration of their handheld along with undoubtedly more Amiibos and other surprises. I for one, am excited and have full faith in them despite their occasional shortcomings.
@Hotfusion The image of the Wii U isn't damaged - the image of Nintendo home consoles is. The GameCube started the damage by being the kiddy console despite the Resident Evil stuff, the casual Wii put the final nail in the coffin, and the Wii U is burying the coffin. Plain and simple, end of discussion. Nintendo can fix the damage, but it will take a lot of work.
And N64 Virtual Console for WiiU?
@CaptMcCloudAran Still not here. Will hopefully get here eventually
I'm sure there'll be a Nintendo Direct soon because it is good timing to show what's coming for those new to Wii U and remind/update the rest of us. However I think Nintendo also has one secret Wii U game up it's sleeve. They announced a HD remake was coming to the Wii U not too long before E3 last year but nothing came of it. I can see that being announced before E3 this year. Hopefully a first half year release.
Very helpful, nice to see how nintendo has improved in a year!
Devil's Third , Splatoon , Zelda U , Metroid U , Starfox U , Xenoblade X , Here's Hoping For MH4U !
Gameover Right There ~ Thats My Whole Year 2015 w/Nintendo
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