If Nintendo takes a $20 cut like third parties, that would put the development cost for a new Fire Emblem on the Wii U around $18 million. I think that is a plausible number, especially when you consider Grand Theft Auto IV cost $100 million to produce on the PS3 and Xbox 360.
@GreatPlayer For major first party development, yes, that it exactly what he is stating. Nintendo is in the HD era now and this is the reality of things.
@SCAR392 I don't know where it is that you are getting your "facts" from, but whomever or wherever it is, I'd highly recommend that you look to other avenues to get your information.
Sony is absolutely not a dying company. This is not a fact in any way, shape, form or fashion. While the electronics division of Sony is indeed its weakest link, the revenue it makes from selling insurance, movies and music are so great that any loses it takes in its electronics division pale in comparison.
Sony's "PlayStation" brand is actually one of its profitable sides of its electronics division, which completely contrast to your claims. In fact, it's televisions division is the main part of the company that damages it the most.
Your claims that Sony is doing worse than Nintendo and that it isn't relevant is laughable. The vast majority of industry journalist and analyst agree that it is Sony and its PlayStation 4 that will lead the charge (and most likely reign supreme) through the next generation. Almost every developer that I personally work with have stated the exact same thing as well. In fact, I've never seen so much excitement from developers over a gaming console as I'm seeing with the PS4.
Unless you know something that I don't, then your claims are nothing more than just that. If you have some proof to back up these things that you are stating, please provide links to them, as I'd very much like to see it.
@SCAR392 So your biased opinions are facts - is that what you are telling me?
The simple fact that you state that you want to see a major player in the gaming industry fall is enough for me to tell you that I have nothing else to discuss with you, but just for the record, know that if any of the Big 3 were to fail, it's highly probable that it will start an industry wide collapse, which would in fact, damage Nintendo.
@SCAR392 That "pile of bolts" that you are calling the Vita is outselling the Wii U - you should probably rethink your argument.
Also, the PS4 will have full third party support, right along with the Xbox One. The chance of either of these upcoming systems stalling like the Wii U has is quite small, especially considering the PS4's price is nearly the same as the Wii U's.
@Adam Not exactly Adam. Say that your 3DS breaks 15 years from now and the 3DS eShop no longer exist - your games are from that point forward, gone forever, unless Nintendo has a service - like the PlayStation Network or Apple's iOS Marketplace - where the downloads are account-based, allowing you to re-download past purchases on newer consoles.
If Nintendo discontinues DSiWare or WiiWare any time soon, those system have the games locked onto them and if/when that console dies, your games can no longer be retrieved.
Only games that can be backed up to third party storage without DRM can be considered to be "permanent." This is why I've spoken out publicly many times here at NL in Round Tables in the past about Nintendo's decision to lock games to consoles.
Second screen gaming on Wii U is a good thing for sure, but what when you look at the amount of "screens" that are widely available (already owned), whether this is a smartphone or tablet, the install base is astronomical. If you understand the mobile gaming market, in its simplest terms, the reason the Free to Play market is so successful, is because if a developers game can be freely downloaded by billions of people, and .01% of those people spend $.99 in the game, the developer can potentially turn a profit. If 1% of those people spend the same amount of money, the developer makes an absurd amount of money.
These "screens" are widely connected and many of them are open source - they aren't restricted and can be integrated into the video games that we play. The reason that "second screens" are so exciting to developers today is that the technology in these mobile devices is now at a point where it can be integrated into dedicated home consoles. If done correctly, it can then be used as one of the largest marketing ploys the video gaming industry will ever see.
A time when the niche dedicated gaming industry merges with the mobile markets that already has an install base of over 7 billion devices - yes, this is indeed exciting for industry.
For Wii U, its reluctance to fully integrate into the online world will most likely keep it from seeing a benefit from this. Also, it chose to set itself in a secondary niche by producing its own "second screen," instead of tapping into the ones that are already widely available.
@GazPlant This is typical business smarts in an industry that has been in a 10-13% decline for years now, year after year. Game engines are very complex and it would take a decent sized team quite a long time to configure the Frozenbite 3 engine for the Wii U. With the console only having a few million units on the market for an extended period of time - why spend the money to do this, when you know as good as I do, that the majority of the Wii U owners will not purchase these titles on the console. Yes, the readers here will, but they are in the minority - Call of Duty: Black Ops 2 sales on the Wii U are atrocious, in comparison to competing consoles, and the Wii U version had exclusive content.
PS3 and Xbox One are just a continuation what we already have with current generation consoles - it is just a console refresh to draw in interest. These consoles will also sell very well at first, but your going to see the current generation consoles outperform them for the first year in software sales.
Nintendo should have never entered the HD market if it wasn't going to push a competitive and fully functional online features. Keeping high profile titles like Super Mario 3D World offline is just baffling.
The simple fact that so many of the Wii U's games lack online multiplayer and are so heavily focused on local co-op is one of the main reasons that is keeping me from purchasing the console.
@theblackdragon I don't expect, nor care if you reply, but just to clarify, I am most certainly not sympathetic to the Ouya company. In fact, I'm quite shocked that you would use this choice of words, because if it was intentionally, it truly shows just how biased you are towards this console.
Ouya needs to reprimand the employee that made the RT and pay the penalties, if Nintendo desires to press the matter, which I highly doubt that it will. There's really nothing more to the matter.
@theblackdragon Ouya did not create this image and most certainly didn't formulate an advertisement using a Super Mario Bros. image, as you have now stated several times.
What this article here at NL fails to fully disclose is that the "Reasons to Own Ouya" tweets were not from Ouya itself, but instead from an Ouya enthusiast - Ouya's official twitter was retweeting said enthusiast's tweets. Yes, they added the hash tag, and no they shouldn't have done this, but this was not a formal marketing tactic and/or advertidment from the Ouya team.
Could Nintendo possibly fine the company for this? It's definitely possible. Shut this company down though - on what grounds? An informal RT on Twitter? Highly unlikely.
Also, please show me where the Ouua team has made emulation the main selling point of the console to such an extent that the company needs to be shut down. I'd very much like to see this for myself.
Are the emulators a selling point? Yes. Are they the main selling point? Not a chance. I've gotten every single update from this team and the consoles main selling point is indie games.
Also, there is no proof that this image showcases an emulated game. Then again, if it does - do you know that it was emulated illegally?
Ouya's policies state that emulators that contain ROMs can only be available, if the publisher of the emulator has the license for the respective ROM(s). Even with the emulators downloaded on Ouya, you still can't just freely download away - you have to intentionally sideload them onto the console, which is not something that anyone can just unknowingly perform.
Lastly, is Nintendo really that concerned over an Android based console? If it is, it has much bigger problems to worry about.
@HeatBombastic No, it isn't. Emulators are not illegal. Downloading ROMs is illegal. Ouya is breaking no laws by having emulators on its marketplace. Apple's iOS Marketplace and the Google Play stores both have emulators on them as well.
@theblackdragon It isn't illegal to advertise an emulator. Emulators themselves are not illegal. Ouya's largest selling point from many I've seen personally is that the console itself is a dev kit. If you have the capable equipment, then you can emulate games to your Ouya legally. Only the emulators are available to download from the Ouya Markepplace - not the ROMs, as many seem to think here. I personally have the console and know this for a fact.
What I'm seeing is a lot of people wanting a new upstart console that doesn't have "Nintendo" stamped on screaming for its demise. I do not condone emulation and haven't even thought about downloading an emulator on my Ouya. All the mobile platforms have emulators on their respective marketplaces, just like Ouya. Ouya, nor the mobile platforms are breaking the law. Is it shady? Yes. But it isn't illegal.
@theblackdragon Some of the gaming media is taking this way out of proportion. Emulation is only but one part of what the open source console can do. If its such a major part of the console - why doesn't it have its own menu? And why would the Ouya Store have hundreds of games available that you have to pay for to unlock the full game?
If Nintendo goes after Ouya, they have to go after all Android devices that offer emulators. I don't think it's in a position right now to open up that box.
I've had Ouya for well over a month now and enjoy the system quite a bit. Emulation is not illegal if you own the hard copy of the games, so there is nothing wrong with the Ouya team tweeting what they did.
So if you own a hard copy of Mario Kart on the Nintendo 64 and you emulate it on your Ouya - wouldn't you technically be "freeing" your game from its hard shell?
The original Sniper Elite was a very niche and low budget title, that gained a fairly large following. This ins't technically a new title, as it is more of a revamp of the original, but for those of us who enjoyed the original so much, this title was fantastic. This was a highlight game for me last year.
@Ducutzu I use the trap mines the most. If you're careful and play it right, trap mines inside buildings are beyond deadly, as the explosive power is amplified numerous times while indoors - you've got to get out of the building though. Finding a way to do all of this, and killing 10+ enemies with a singe enemy lured into a network of explosives is exhilarating.
"If anyone wonders why third-party enthusiasm and support matters, the trials and tribulations faced by Nintendo delivering system-selling games shows that the famous company can't do all of the work on its own. Modern development and consumer expectations make that task too great, and help will be needed."
Yes, this is true, but you've missed the most critical part - in the HD generation, Nintendo all but has to have the licensing and royalty fees that stem from third parties selling their games on Nintendo's platforms. This money is vital (and I dare say, "critical") with the over inflated cost of HD development. I've spoken here at NL on just this many times prior to Wii U's release - Nintendo was not prepared for the HD era. It's development teams (per team) needed to at least double in size - what 10 engineers could do in SD, it can take 20-30 in HD; this is a simple fact with the development of HD games.
This severely inflates the cost to develop a video game. The reason that Iwata stated that: "it is more challenging to sell packaged software for around $50-$60." wasn't just because it was needing to make more games to keep the platform viable in the market, it was because it isn't profiting from being a platform holder, with the all but complete loss of third party support. All of the R&D cost for the Wii U, manufacturing cost to get the console to the market (and sold at a loss) and severely inflated development cost of its HD games, there's little to no profit left, especially with less than 4 million consoles on the market.
If you understand the inner workings of the gaming industry, you would have understood that Nintendo is at a high risk of staying in the red with the Wii U, unless it either develops major landmark titles that sells the console by the tens of millions, or the third party support returns in mass. Otherwise, Nintendo's investors will most likely make sure that this is Nintendo's final foray in the HD home console market. This is also why Nintendo's current strategy of playing it "safe" isn't a financially sound thing to do.
Time has a good point - Nintendo has done little to nothing to show-off the potential of the GamePad. If consumers are going to pay a premium price for this underpowered console (that's only $50 less than the PS4) then Nintendo absolutely needs to give them a reason to do so.
So far, Nintendo has done nothing to prove that the GamePad is an essential gaming peripheral. Until it does so, the Wii U will continue to lose the mainstream audience.
@Rafie Absolutely not. Nintendo absolutely doesn't need to even touch cloud-based gaming. Sony alone spent $380 million USD to acquire Gaikai for its cloud-based sector of its industry, and that was just in acquisition. I'm sure it spent another $300 million thereafter to implement the service. This is not something that Nintendo wants to dabble in - it doesn't even have a full digital service yet, and Nintendo gamers refuse to buy third party titles. I don't see how this would be profitable for Nintendo.
In regards to the Wii U - it all comes down to the hardware. Yes, Mario Kart 8 looks absolutely fantastic, but this is because Mario Kart doesn't utilize a physics engine, like most modern day racers (Gran Turismo 6, GRID 2 and Forza 5). Mario Kart 8 can indeed looks absolutely amazing - also remember that we haven't seen this run in real-time yet - but the majority of the CPU and GPU's power is pushing graphics, where in other titles the majority of the power consumption would be allocated to the physics engine (tyre grip, weight ratio management, aerodynamics, braking bias, etc., etc., which is all being rendered in real-time via user input). If you added an advanced physics engine to Mario Kart 8, either it wouldn't run on the Wii U, or the graphics would take a significant hit. The art of designing video games is literally a ballet dance of power management. When you compare the hardware specifications of the next generation consoles to the Wii U - the Wii U doesn't even come close to standing with them. Both the Xbox One and PS4 double current generation consoles power and the Wii U is literally right above average with the current generation.
With that said, Nintendo is no longer competing with these two consoles with the Wii U, which is why it didn't have an E3 presentation. The Wii U cannot run next generation games without major sacrifices, especially once the second/final waves of games that push these immensely powerful consoles' limits come into fruition. The Wii U titles would only be gimped and there's no sense in that - Nintendo is better off doing its own thing and hopefully third parties will show a little support going forward (original titles).
@Rafie I'll put it to you straight up - from a technical standpoint, the Wii U is about half the specs of the Xbox 720 and PS4. Another thing that gets little to no talk here at Nintendo Life and is a major selling point for both of the upcoming consoles is cloud gaming. This will play a major role in the next generation and Nintendo hasn't even caught up with the current generation in regards to online gaming.
I absolutely disagree with this sentiment. E3 has shown that Nintendo is practically own its own to sell this console, with third party support falling beyond low. Nintendo played it safe with New Super Mario Bros. U and it didn't sell the console. Why would playing is safe with Super Mario 3D World be any different?
The fact that Super Mario 3D Land is largely a multiplayer title, shows just how out of touch Nintendo has been with the Wii U, because tablets are not commonly seen as something used for local multiplayer experiences by the mainstream audience. Nintendo fans have always looked to Mario's 3D outings for a large and robust single player experience - something that the Wii U is in dire need of - and this simply isn't it.
The Wii U absolutely needs ground breaking first party titles, not "safe" games. How anyone can think that Nintendo playing "safe" with a severely struggling system is a commercially smart move for Nintendo to make is beyond me. Sony has been playing it "safe" with the Vita - it is failing on the market!
Super Smash Bros. and Mario Kart 8, however, both look absolutely incredible and I've no doubt that both of these titles will move units off of store shelves. The only issue with these, is that Super Smash Bros. will be available on the 3DS, which is how I'll be purchasing it - I would have bought a Wii U just for SSB, had it not been developed for the 3DS.
I was dead-set on buying a Wii U before E3 later this year, but after seeing what Sony is doing/providing with the PS4, I preordered the upcoming console within mere minutes of Sony's conference ending.
@Rafie No apologies needed at all, my friend. I was merely letting you in on why you at times come across comments such as the ones you were mentioning here at NL. There are also a lot of younger readers here and if you were anything like me when I was an adolescent, the games I owned were the BEST, and the competition was nowhere near as good. Haha
You probably don't want to see my PSN gamer card, it's absurdly filled with trophies. And on that front, that is another thing that I think Nintendo is missing out on with the Wii U - it absolutely should have implemented trophies with the Wii U, seeing how it could have been further integrated into Miiverse; 1-up on the competition.
@Adam If it wasn't for Uncharted's character development, narratives, high production values and cinematic flare, I wouldn't care for it either. The climbing segments have gotten old and the repetitive shooting elements are wearing thin for me too, but I love the characters (the most), and that is what keeps me coming back to the series.
@Rafie I think one thing you might be missing is that many readers here at NL don't have experience with games like Uncharted, Tomb Raider (newest) and many other of these big budget high profile titles. It is hard for these readers to comprehend the difference(s) between a game like this and The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword, which is a poor comparison in itself - no offence to this article's writer.
Also, don't think that people that play Battlefield and Call of Duty don't play other types of games, because many of them most certainly do.
You don't just simply "develop" a game like The Last of Us. Naughty Dog and Insomniac Studios - both studios worked within the same building that Sony built specially for the two teams to work within/together - have worked together for decades to learn how to develop a game of this calibre. The difference between the original Uncharted and the third entry in the series is astounding, alone.
Nintendo doesn't simply put a team together to develop these types of titles. It would have to build a team that has a lot of experience developing games such as this - entirely possible with all of the failing companies - and then start from scratch. If Nintendo started this right now, we would not likely see a title like The Last of Us for another 4-6 years on the Wii U.
Nintendo should have done this 5 years ago and had a title such as this ready for the launch of the Wii U.
@Damo I would never expect any fan site to do a "in-depth company profile" for a news piece - this audience simply isn't looking for this kind of information here.
We will have to agree to disagree on the "newbie/veteran" debate - I personally wouldn't consider a company that has been in business for 15 years a "newbie."
In short, I just felt that the article should have stated that GungHo was quite a large publisher and not a one-trick pony (a quick Google search is all that is needed to research this). Because when it seems that this publisher/developer is just that, then (to me) the article came off like it was intentionally designed to smear GungHo and its CEO for his statement.
I'm not, and wasn't, trying to attack you for your writing style - this wasn't the only article that was written in this manner on this very topic - I just don't like to see a publisher/developer not given the credit that it deserves.
@ramstrong You have a fantastic knowledge of the English language, as you write better than most native to it - I applaud you for that. In regards to your comment, that is the very reason that I stated what I did.
@Damo "A" title. GungHo is a major publisher in Japan and if you read some of the above comments, it appears that your readers might have been misinformed - it seems that a some of them think that GungHo only owns one IP, which if true, would make this guy look near insane to voice accisations such as this. Not only does GungHo have large, successful MMO's published, but it also owns Grasshopper, which your readers are very likely to be extremely familiar with, because of its success with its niche titles on Nintendo's platforms: Killer7, No More Heroes and Contact.
While I will agree that it is only here recently we are hearing of "GungHo" outside of Japan, that doesn't negate this company's successes in its native country, where it is a major publisher.
Great job at making GungHo Online Entertainment sound like a minor start-up company!
GungHo has been in business since 1998 and the company has developed titles (primarily Japanese) for the PlayStation 2, PSP, DS, Vita, Mobile and PC. The company runs multiple major MMOs: Ragnarok Online, Shin Megami Tensei: Imagine, Grandia Online and Ragnarok DS.
Yes, Puzzle Dragons is doing very well for GungHo, but it is the Ragnarok series that has boosted GungHo into its position in the Japanese market.
I completely forgot that GungHo Online Entertainment owns Grasshopper Manufacture.
This is one of the most unprofessional things I've seen from a senior level employee for one of the major companies in the gaming industry. If I was his superior, Mr. Summerwill would be without a job right now.
@banacheck I think Indie games have a fantastic chance to shine on the Wii U, actually. The Wii U eShop isn't flooded with shovel-ware like the iOS Marketplace and direct ripoff software like what is found on the Google Play store. Also, the Wii U has so many unique control options and features, that it allows the Indies to be overly creative with its games; in short, I think the Wii U is a perfect place for the Indies to shift over too.
For Nintendo-only fans, this might be controversial, but with the Wii U and the Vita being so similar technology wise, and Sony's massive push for Indies as well, I think (hope) that we are going to see a lot of Indie games being in development for both the Vita and the Wii U. This doubles the chances for the Indies to make more money on marketplaces that are desperate for games and gives a better chance of finding them making enough money to develop another title thereafter. But with that said, I do not think that the Indies alone can "save" - that's not a word I'm accustomed to using - neither the Wii U or the Vita.
Comments 1,712
Re: Nintendo: Wii U Fire Emblem Would Need To Sell 700K To Justify The Effort
Shin Megami Tensei X Fire Emblem is in development by both Atlus and Intelligent Systems and published (read: funded) by Nintendo.
Re: Nintendo: Wii U Fire Emblem Would Need To Sell 700K To Justify The Effort
If Nintendo takes a $20 cut like third parties, that would put the development cost for a new Fire Emblem on the Wii U around $18 million. I think that is a plausible number, especially when you consider Grand Theft Auto IV cost $100 million to produce on the PS3 and Xbox 360.
Re: Intelligent Systems: Wii U Fire Emblem Would Need To Sell 700K To Justify The Effort
@GreatPlayer For major first party development, yes, that it exactly what he is stating. Nintendo is in the HD era now and this is the reality of things.
Re: Miyamoto: HD Development "Took More Time Than Originally Anticipated"
@SCAR392 I don't know where it is that you are getting your "facts" from, but whomever or wherever it is, I'd highly recommend that you look to other avenues to get your information.
Sony is absolutely not a dying company. This is not a fact in any way, shape, form or fashion. While the electronics division of Sony is indeed its weakest link, the revenue it makes from selling insurance, movies and music are so great that any loses it takes in its electronics division pale in comparison.
Sony's "PlayStation" brand is actually one of its profitable sides of its electronics division, which completely contrast to your claims. In fact, it's televisions division is the main part of the company that damages it the most.
Your claims that Sony is doing worse than Nintendo and that it isn't relevant is laughable. The vast majority of industry journalist and analyst agree that it is Sony and its PlayStation 4 that will lead the charge (and most likely reign supreme) through the next generation. Almost every developer that I personally work with have stated the exact same thing as well. In fact, I've never seen so much excitement from developers over a gaming console as I'm seeing with the PS4.
Unless you know something that I don't, then your claims are nothing more than just that. If you have some proof to back up these things that you are stating, please provide links to them, as I'd very much like to see it.
Re: Miyamoto: HD Development "Took More Time Than Originally Anticipated"
@SCAR392 So your biased opinions are facts - is that what you are telling me?
The simple fact that you state that you want to see a major player in the gaming industry fall is enough for me to tell you that I have nothing else to discuss with you, but just for the record, know that if any of the Big 3 were to fail, it's highly probable that it will start an industry wide collapse, which would in fact, damage Nintendo.
Re: Miyamoto: HD Development "Took More Time Than Originally Anticipated"
@SCAR392 That "pile of bolts" that you are calling the Vita is outselling the Wii U - you should probably rethink your argument.
Also, the PS4 will have full third party support, right along with the Xbox One. The chance of either of these upcoming systems stalling like the Wii U has is quite small, especially considering the PS4's price is nearly the same as the Wii U's.
Re: Ubisoft CEO Admits ZombiU Sales Were Disappointing, No Plans For Sequel
@Jaz007 Red Steel shifted 1 million units, so I'd think that they made off very well with it.
Re: Your View: The Issues of Collecting and Owning Download-Only Games
@elreins And if you sell your console they do nothing, unlike the other companies where you can just re-download your games.
Re: Your View: The Issues of Collecting and Owning Download-Only Games
@Adam Not exactly Adam. Say that your 3DS breaks 15 years from now and the 3DS eShop no longer exist - your games are from that point forward, gone forever, unless Nintendo has a service - like the PlayStation Network or Apple's iOS Marketplace - where the downloads are account-based, allowing you to re-download past purchases on newer consoles.
If Nintendo discontinues DSiWare or WiiWare any time soon, those system have the games locked onto them and if/when that console dies, your games can no longer be retrieved.
Only games that can be backed up to third party storage without DRM can be considered to be "permanent." This is why I've spoken out publicly many times here at NL in Round Tables in the past about Nintendo's decision to lock games to consoles.
Re: Soapbox: Why Region Locking Is A Total Non-Issue
@TBD My thoughts exactly!
Re: Poll: How Important is Dual / Second Screen Gaming?
Second screen gaming on Wii U is a good thing for sure, but what when you look at the amount of "screens" that are widely available (already owned), whether this is a smartphone or tablet, the install base is astronomical. If you understand the mobile gaming market, in its simplest terms, the reason the Free to Play market is so successful, is because if a developers game can be freely downloaded by billions of people, and .01% of those people spend $.99 in the game, the developer can potentially turn a profit. If 1% of those people spend the same amount of money, the developer makes an absurd amount of money.
It is expected that the number of smartphones will exceed the world's population in 2014 - that's 7.3 billion smartphones. This isn't taking into account the tablet market share - Apple alone has sold over 100 million iPads as of October 2012.
These "screens" are widely connected and many of them are open source - they aren't restricted and can be integrated into the video games that we play. The reason that "second screens" are so exciting to developers today is that the technology in these mobile devices is now at a point where it can be integrated into dedicated home consoles. If done correctly, it can then be used as one of the largest marketing ploys the video gaming industry will ever see.
A time when the niche dedicated gaming industry merges with the mobile markets that already has an install base of over 7 billion devices - yes, this is indeed exciting for industry.
For Wii U, its reluctance to fully integrate into the online world will most likely keep it from seeing a benefit from this. Also, it chose to set itself in a secondary niche by producing its own "second screen," instead of tapping into the ones that are already widely available.
Re: EA Outlines Its Reasons for Lack of Wii U Support
@GazPlant This is typical business smarts in an industry that has been in a 10-13% decline for years now, year after year. Game engines are very complex and it would take a decent sized team quite a long time to configure the Frozenbite 3 engine for the Wii U. With the console only having a few million units on the market for an extended period of time - why spend the money to do this, when you know as good as I do, that the majority of the Wii U owners will not purchase these titles on the console. Yes, the readers here will, but they are in the minority - Call of Duty: Black Ops 2 sales on the Wii U are atrocious, in comparison to competing consoles, and the Wii U version had exclusive content.
PS3 and Xbox One are just a continuation what we already have with current generation consoles - it is just a console refresh to draw in interest. These consoles will also sell very well at first, but your going to see the current generation consoles outperform them for the first year in software sales.
Nintendo should have never entered the HD market if it wasn't going to push a competitive and fully functional online features. Keeping high profile titles like Super Mario 3D World offline is just baffling.
Re: Impressions: Multiplayer is a Big Deal in Nintendo's Wii U Lineup
The simple fact that so many of the Wii U's games lack online multiplayer and are so heavily focused on local co-op is one of the main reasons that is keeping me from purchasing the console.
Re: Ouya Heralds Emulation By Tweeting Image of Super Mario Bros.
@theblackdragon I don't expect, nor care if you reply, but just to clarify, I am most certainly not sympathetic to the Ouya company. In fact, I'm quite shocked that you would use this choice of words, because if it was intentionally, it truly shows just how biased you are towards this console.
Ouya needs to reprimand the employee that made the RT and pay the penalties, if Nintendo desires to press the matter, which I highly doubt that it will. There's really nothing more to the matter.
Re: Ouya Heralds Emulation By Tweeting Image of Super Mario Bros.
@theblackdragon Ouya did not create this image and most certainly didn't formulate an advertisement using a Super Mario Bros. image, as you have now stated several times.
What this article here at NL fails to fully disclose is that the "Reasons to Own Ouya" tweets were not from Ouya itself, but instead from an Ouya enthusiast - Ouya's official twitter was retweeting said enthusiast's tweets. Yes, they added the hash tag, and no they shouldn't have done this, but this was not a formal marketing tactic and/or advertidment from the Ouya team.
Could Nintendo possibly fine the company for this? It's definitely possible. Shut this company down though - on what grounds? An informal RT on Twitter? Highly unlikely.
Also, please show me where the Ouua team has made emulation the main selling point of the console to such an extent that the company needs to be shut down. I'd very much like to see this for myself.
Are the emulators a selling point? Yes. Are they the main selling point? Not a chance. I've gotten every single update from this team and the consoles main selling point is indie games.
Also, there is no proof that this image showcases an emulated game. Then again, if it does - do you know that it was emulated illegally?
Ouya's policies state that emulators that contain ROMs can only be available, if the publisher of the emulator has the license for the respective ROM(s). Even with the emulators downloaded on Ouya, you still can't just freely download away - you have to intentionally sideload them onto the console, which is not something that anyone can just unknowingly perform.
Lastly, is Nintendo really that concerned over an Android based console? If it is, it has much bigger problems to worry about.
Re: Ouya Heralds Emulation By Tweeting Image of Super Mario Bros.
@HeatBombastic No, it isn't. Emulators are not illegal. Downloading ROMs is illegal. Ouya is breaking no laws by having emulators on its marketplace. Apple's iOS Marketplace and the Google Play stores both have emulators on them as well.
Re: Ouya Heralds Emulation By Tweeting Image of Super Mario Bros.
@theblackdragon It isn't illegal to advertise an emulator. Emulators themselves are not illegal. Ouya's largest selling point from many I've seen personally is that the console itself is a dev kit. If you have the capable equipment, then you can emulate games to your Ouya legally. Only the emulators are available to download from the Ouya Markepplace - not the ROMs, as many seem to think here. I personally have the console and know this for a fact.
What I'm seeing is a lot of people wanting a new upstart console that doesn't have "Nintendo" stamped on screaming for its demise. I do not condone emulation and haven't even thought about downloading an emulator on my Ouya. All the mobile platforms have emulators on their respective marketplaces, just like Ouya. Ouya, nor the mobile platforms are breaking the law. Is it shady? Yes. But it isn't illegal.
Re: Ouya Heralds Emulation By Tweeting Image of Super Mario Bros.
@theblackdragon Some of the gaming media is taking this way out of proportion. Emulation is only but one part of what the open source console can do. If its such a major part of the console - why doesn't it have its own menu? And why would the Ouya Store have hundreds of games available that you have to pay for to unlock the full game?
If Nintendo goes after Ouya, they have to go after all Android devices that offer emulators. I don't think it's in a position right now to open up that box.
Re: Ouya Heralds Emulation By Tweeting Image of Super Mario Bros.
I've had Ouya for well over a month now and enjoy the system quite a bit. Emulation is not illegal if you own the hard copy of the games, so there is nothing wrong with the Ouya team tweeting what they did.
So if you own a hard copy of Mario Kart on the Nintendo 64 and you emulate it on your Ouya - wouldn't you technically be "freeing" your game from its hard shell?
Re: Reggie Fils-Aime's Home In Animal Crossing: New Leaf Distributed Through SpotPass
What. A. House!
I've got the Virtual Boy! Hehe
Re: Talking Point: New Super Luigi U Opens The Door For Quick Expansions in Other Franchises
...and then you're going to find that people are going to start questioning if the paid DLC should have been included in the original title.
Re: Exclusive: Conker's Bad Fur Day Creator Chris Seavor Is Bringing Rusty Pup To Wii U
This sound like it has the potential to be a fantastic indie title. This just got added to my "most anticipated" game releases list.
Re: Review: Sniper Elite V2 (Wii U)
The original Sniper Elite was a very niche and low budget title, that gained a fairly large following. This ins't technically a new title, as it is more of a revamp of the original, but for those of us who enjoyed the original so much, this title was fantastic. This was a highlight game for me last year.
@Ducutzu I use the trap mines the most. If you're careful and play it right, trap mines inside buildings are beyond deadly, as the explosive power is amplified numerous times while indoors - you've got to get out of the building though. Finding a way to do all of this, and killing 10+ enemies with a singe enemy lured into a network of explosives is exhilarating.
Re: Guide: How to Spot Fake Paintings and Statues in Animal Crossing: New Leaf
Awesome Stuff Katie! This will come in handy, big time! Thanks!
Re: Talking Point: The Effortless Social Charm of Animal Crossing: New Leaf
This is rapidly becoming my absolute favourite video game... Ever!
Re: Reggie: This Holiday Season Is Going To Be Extremely Strong For Wii U
@LDXD @SirMario Thanks guys for the laugh!
Re: Reggie: This Holiday Season Is Going To Be Extremely Strong For Wii U
And which game(s) is it that are going to start the console selling?
Re: Review: Dr Robotnik's Mean Bean Machine (3DS eShop / Game Gear)
I actually beat this game - I nearly had a nervous breakdown from frustration, but yeah, I beat it.
Re: 3DS Tops NPD Hardware Sales for May
The 3DS is rapidly becoming my favourite console of all-time.
Re: Talking Point: E3 Exposed the Strains of Nintendo's Development Workload
"If anyone wonders why third-party enthusiasm and support matters, the trials and tribulations faced by Nintendo delivering system-selling games shows that the famous company can't do all of the work on its own. Modern development and consumer expectations make that task too great, and help will be needed."
Yes, this is true, but you've missed the most critical part - in the HD generation, Nintendo all but has to have the licensing and royalty fees that stem from third parties selling their games on Nintendo's platforms. This money is vital (and I dare say, "critical") with the over inflated cost of HD development. I've spoken here at NL on just this many times prior to Wii U's release - Nintendo was not prepared for the HD era. It's development teams (per team) needed to at least double in size - what 10 engineers could do in SD, it can take 20-30 in HD; this is a simple fact with the development of HD games.
This severely inflates the cost to develop a video game. The reason that Iwata stated that: "it is more challenging to sell packaged software for around $50-$60." wasn't just because it was needing to make more games to keep the platform viable in the market, it was because it isn't profiting from being a platform holder, with the all but complete loss of third party support. All of the R&D cost for the Wii U, manufacturing cost to get the console to the market (and sold at a loss) and severely inflated development cost of its HD games, there's little to no profit left, especially with less than 4 million consoles on the market.
If you understand the inner workings of the gaming industry, you would have understood that Nintendo is at a high risk of staying in the red with the Wii U, unless it either develops major landmark titles that sells the console by the tens of millions, or the third party support returns in mass. Otherwise, Nintendo's investors will most likely make sure that this is Nintendo's final foray in the HD home console market. This is also why Nintendo's current strategy of playing it "safe" isn't a financially sound thing to do.
Re: Time: Nintendo Is "Stumped" By The Wii U GamePad And Should Ditch It
Time has a good point - Nintendo has done little to nothing to show-off the potential of the GamePad. If consumers are going to pay a premium price for this underpowered console (that's only $50 less than the PS4) then Nintendo absolutely needs to give them a reason to do so.
So far, Nintendo has done nothing to prove that the GamePad is an essential gaming peripheral. Until it does so, the Wii U will continue to lose the mainstream audience.
Re: Wolfenstein: The New Order Looks Set To Skip Wii U
@Rafie Absolutely not. Nintendo absolutely doesn't need to even touch cloud-based gaming. Sony alone spent $380 million USD to acquire Gaikai for its cloud-based sector of its industry, and that was just in acquisition. I'm sure it spent another $300 million thereafter to implement the service. This is not something that Nintendo wants to dabble in - it doesn't even have a full digital service yet, and Nintendo gamers refuse to buy third party titles. I don't see how this would be profitable for Nintendo.
In regards to the Wii U - it all comes down to the hardware. Yes, Mario Kart 8 looks absolutely fantastic, but this is because Mario Kart doesn't utilize a physics engine, like most modern day racers (Gran Turismo 6, GRID 2 and Forza 5). Mario Kart 8 can indeed looks absolutely amazing - also remember that we haven't seen this run in real-time yet - but the majority of the CPU and GPU's power is pushing graphics, where in other titles the majority of the power consumption would be allocated to the physics engine (tyre grip, weight ratio management, aerodynamics, braking bias, etc., etc., which is all being rendered in real-time via user input). If you added an advanced physics engine to Mario Kart 8, either it wouldn't run on the Wii U, or the graphics would take a significant hit. The art of designing video games is literally a ballet dance of power management. When you compare the hardware specifications of the next generation consoles to the Wii U - the Wii U doesn't even come close to standing with them. Both the Xbox One and PS4 double current generation consoles power and the Wii U is literally right above average with the current generation.
With that said, Nintendo is no longer competing with these two consoles with the Wii U, which is why it didn't have an E3 presentation. The Wii U cannot run next generation games without major sacrifices, especially once the second/final waves of games that push these immensely powerful consoles' limits come into fruition. The Wii U titles would only be gimped and there's no sense in that - Nintendo is better off doing its own thing and hopefully third parties will show a little support going forward (original titles).
Re: Wolfenstein: The New Order Looks Set To Skip Wii U
@Rafie I'll put it to you straight up - from a technical standpoint, the Wii U is about half the specs of the Xbox 720 and PS4. Another thing that gets little to no talk here at Nintendo Life and is a major selling point for both of the upcoming consoles is cloud gaming. This will play a major role in the next generation and Nintendo hasn't even caught up with the current generation in regards to online gaming.
Re: Talking Point: Nintendo's Wii U Lineup Makes Commercial Sense
I absolutely disagree with this sentiment. E3 has shown that Nintendo is practically own its own to sell this console, with third party support falling beyond low. Nintendo played it safe with New Super Mario Bros. U and it didn't sell the console. Why would playing is safe with Super Mario 3D World be any different?
The fact that Super Mario 3D Land is largely a multiplayer title, shows just how out of touch Nintendo has been with the Wii U, because tablets are not commonly seen as something used for local multiplayer experiences by the mainstream audience. Nintendo fans have always looked to Mario's 3D outings for a large and robust single player experience - something that the Wii U is in dire need of - and this simply isn't it.
The Wii U absolutely needs ground breaking first party titles, not "safe" games. How anyone can think that Nintendo playing "safe" with a severely struggling system is a commercially smart move for Nintendo to make is beyond me. Sony has been playing it "safe" with the Vita - it is failing on the market!
Super Smash Bros. and Mario Kart 8, however, both look absolutely incredible and I've no doubt that both of these titles will move units off of store shelves. The only issue with these, is that Super Smash Bros. will be available on the 3DS, which is how I'll be purchasing it - I would have bought a Wii U just for SSB, had it not been developed for the 3DS.
I was dead-set on buying a Wii U before E3 later this year, but after seeing what Sony is doing/providing with the PS4, I preordered the upcoming console within mere minutes of Sony's conference ending.
Re: Hideki Konno Delves Into Mario Kart 8
This looks incredible!
Re: Nintendo Reveal Why Its 3D Mario Title Isn't Super Mario Galaxy 3
Wouldn't the 4 player game have been better suited for the Wii, and not a single screen console?
Re: Talking Point: Nintendo Should Aim to Produce Mature, Genre-Defining Storytelling Experiences
@Rafie No apologies needed at all, my friend. I was merely letting you in on why you at times come across comments such as the ones you were mentioning here at NL. There are also a lot of younger readers here and if you were anything like me when I was an adolescent, the games I owned were the BEST, and the competition was nowhere near as good. Haha
You probably don't want to see my PSN gamer card, it's absurdly filled with trophies. And on that front, that is another thing that I think Nintendo is missing out on with the Wii U - it absolutely should have implemented trophies with the Wii U, seeing how it could have been further integrated into Miiverse; 1-up on the competition.
Re: Talking Point: Nintendo Should Aim to Produce Mature, Genre-Defining Storytelling Experiences
@Adam If it wasn't for Uncharted's character development, narratives, high production values and cinematic flare, I wouldn't care for it either. The climbing segments have gotten old and the repetitive shooting elements are wearing thin for me too, but I love the characters (the most), and that is what keeps me coming back to the series.
Re: Talking Point: Nintendo Should Aim to Produce Mature, Genre-Defining Storytelling Experiences
@Rafie I think one thing you might be missing is that many readers here at NL don't have experience with games like Uncharted, Tomb Raider (newest) and many other of these big budget high profile titles. It is hard for these readers to comprehend the difference(s) between a game like this and The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword, which is a poor comparison in itself - no offence to this article's writer.
Also, don't think that people that play Battlefield and Call of Duty don't play other types of games, because many of them most certainly do.
Re: Talking Point: Nintendo Should Aim to Produce Mature, Genre-Defining Storytelling Experiences
You don't just simply "develop" a game like The Last of Us. Naughty Dog and Insomniac Studios - both studios worked within the same building that Sony built specially for the two teams to work within/together - have worked together for decades to learn how to develop a game of this calibre. The difference between the original Uncharted and the third entry in the series is astounding, alone.
Nintendo doesn't simply put a team together to develop these types of titles. It would have to build a team that has a lot of experience developing games such as this - entirely possible with all of the failing companies - and then start from scratch. If Nintendo started this right now, we would not likely see a title like The Last of Us for another 4-6 years on the Wii U.
Nintendo should have done this 5 years ago and had a title such as this ready for the launch of the Wii U.
Re: Review: Animal Crossing: New Leaf (3DS)
The wait is KILLING me!
Re: Talking Point: E3 2013 Is All About The Games
Speaking of Deus Ex: Human Revolution - that is this month's freebie on PS+. I've got to download that one today.
Re: GungHo's CEO Wants To Surpass Nintendo's Sales By His Retirement
@Damo I would never expect any fan site to do a "in-depth company profile" for a news piece - this audience simply isn't looking for this kind of information here.
We will have to agree to disagree on the "newbie/veteran" debate - I personally wouldn't consider a company that has been in business for 15 years a "newbie."
In short, I just felt that the article should have stated that GungHo was quite a large publisher and not a one-trick pony (a quick Google search is all that is needed to research this). Because when it seems that this publisher/developer is just that, then (to me) the article came off like it was intentionally designed to smear GungHo and its CEO for his statement.
I'm not, and wasn't, trying to attack you for your writing style - this wasn't the only article that was written in this manner on this very topic - I just don't like to see a publisher/developer not given the credit that it deserves.
Re: GungHo's CEO Wants To Surpass Nintendo's Sales By His Retirement
@ramstrong You have a fantastic knowledge of the English language, as you write better than most native to it - I applaud you for that. In regards to your comment, that is the very reason that I stated what I did.
Re: Warren Spector: Underestimate Nintendo "At Your Peril"
Underestimating Nintendo is one thing that nobody in the industry should ever do!
Re: GungHo's CEO Wants To Surpass Nintendo's Sales By His Retirement
@Damo "A" title. GungHo is a major publisher in Japan and if you read some of the above comments, it appears that your readers might have been misinformed - it seems that a some of them think that GungHo only owns one IP, which if true, would make this guy look near insane to voice accisations such as this. Not only does GungHo have large, successful MMO's published, but it also owns Grasshopper, which your readers are very likely to be extremely familiar with, because of its success with its niche titles on Nintendo's platforms: Killer7, No More Heroes and Contact.
While I will agree that it is only here recently we are hearing of "GungHo" outside of Japan, that doesn't negate this company's successes in its native country, where it is a major publisher.
Re: GungHo's CEO Wants To Surpass Nintendo's Sales By His Retirement
Great job at making GungHo Online Entertainment sound like a minor start-up company!
GungHo has been in business since 1998 and the company has developed titles (primarily Japanese) for the PlayStation 2, PSP, DS, Vita, Mobile and PC. The company runs multiple major MMOs: Ragnarok Online, Shin Megami Tensei: Imagine, Grandia Online and Ragnarok DS.
Yes, Puzzle Dragons is doing very well for GungHo, but it is the Ragnarok series that has boosted GungHo into its position in the Japanese market.
I completely forgot that GungHo Online Entertainment owns Grasshopper Manufacture.
Re: Round Table: Let's Talk About the 3DS
The 3DS has quickly become my primary gaming console here lately.
Re: Senior EA Employee Caught Out Criticising Wii U On Twitter
This is one of the most unprofessional things I've seen from a senior level employee for one of the major companies in the gaming industry. If I was his superior, Mr. Summerwill would be without a job right now.
Re: Talking Point: Nintendo's Mixed Week With Wii U Third-Party Support
@banacheck I think Indie games have a fantastic chance to shine on the Wii U, actually. The Wii U eShop isn't flooded with shovel-ware like the iOS Marketplace and direct ripoff software like what is found on the Google Play store. Also, the Wii U has so many unique control options and features, that it allows the Indies to be overly creative with its games; in short, I think the Wii U is a perfect place for the Indies to shift over too.
For Nintendo-only fans, this might be controversial, but with the Wii U and the Vita being so similar technology wise, and Sony's massive push for Indies as well, I think (hope) that we are going to see a lot of Indie games being in development for both the Vita and the Wii U. This doubles the chances for the Indies to make more money on marketplaces that are desperate for games and gives a better chance of finding them making enough money to develop another title thereafter. But with that said, I do not think that the Indies alone can "save" - that's not a word I'm accustomed to using - neither the Wii U or the Vita.