No. Mario Kart 8 will help, but it will not all of a sudden sell millions of Wii Us. The casual audience is gone. They use smartphones and tablets now to play games. Whats left is the core gamers, whom Nintendo alienated with its Wii messaging and by refusing to cater to 3rd parties. Core gamers that are my friends won't buy a Wii U until Smash Bros hits, if they do at all. Core gamers want PS4s now, because they have great 1st and 3rd party offerings from all types of genres and developers. They are not interested in paying $300 for a console that pretty much just plays Mario games and those gimmicky Wii Sports/Fit games they hated on the Wii.
Its not that core gamers dont like Nintendo games, it's just that they will not buy a console just to play them and nothing else. Until Nintendo home consoles have 3rd party games, they will continue to place last compared to its competition.
Not that interested. The Yoshi games are okay, but they've just never appealed to me as much as the mainline Mario games. I'll save my money for other games and consoles i want to buy later this year.
EA sucks. Their games suck, and so do the guys in charge. They are by far the worst game company out there. I've never played a game published by them that i would consider anything better than average. Even Mass Effect 3 was the worst one in the series, probably because EA touched it. I used to love Bioware, but everything they've made since they joined EA has been much worse than what they made before.
Not a huge fan of any of these, really, except EarthBound, which will never happen. Extra VC support is needed, but should be obvious already, and playing old games isn't really what i want the most on Wii U going forward.
Since playing any Nintendo games anytime soon will remind me of what is going on in the news, i'll be steering clear of my WiiU and 3DS for a bit.
In their place, i'll be busy watching NFL games this weekend. When i do get time to play games, i'll scratch the itch with my Steam account strategy games in XCOM and Civilization V.
Did everyone miss what Iwata is saying? He's saying that the current strategy of making dedicated gaming consoles for $200-300 and selling $50-60 games isn't working because times are changing. By 'new strategy,' it sounds like he's suggesting that they stop using that model and do something else.
The problem is, that model IS NOT failing, its just failing for Nintendo because no one wants the WiiU when they can buy a stronger, better console in PS4 or XBO. PS4 and XBO are selling just fine, Iwata. The issue isnt the console model, its Nintendo's way of doing said model.
But hey, if they'd rather make smartphone games than admit they're wrong and make consoles that gamers actually want, so be it. I'll just buy a PS4 and a Vita and move on without Nintendo i guess.
I earnestly hope that this is not the case, but changes are coming, people. Let us hope that they are good ones.
Nintendo needs to rethink their strategy, but putting their games on tablets isnt the answer. Tablet/smartphone gaming blows and the second Nintendo abandons 3DS/WiiU for that kind of gaming will be the last straw for me. I'll buy an Xbox One before i switch to a tablet for my gaming experiences.
Nintendo's failures aren't all on Iwata. Its on the entire philosophy of the company. The way they continue to repeat the same mistakes over and over is troubling, but Miyamoto and Yamauchi quoted the same philosophy Iwata does, which is this whole idea that Nintendo makes whatever it wants to make rather than compete with what others are doing. The problem is that when they do that, they run the risk that NO ONE WANTS WHAT THEY WANT TO MAKE! This is what is happening to Wii U. People want a high powered, third party supported, traditional control schemed next gen console. Nintendo did NOT make one of those in Wii U. Therefore, only Nintendo fans are buying it.
There were plenty of other mistakes, such as huge software droughts, a terrible name brand that still sounds embarassingly bad and confuses casual consumers, and bare bones marketing, as well as other things Iwata will be saying 'please understand' about... But at the end of the day, until Nintendo changes its big picture philosophy, they'll continue to lose out to the competition.
Nintendo's great first party games aren't enough anymore, obviously. Mario 3D World didnt come close to the sales of major third party titles on other consoles, despite high review scores from every media outlet. If Mario can't do it, I don't know what can.
Wii U failed guys. Its not a possibility anymore, its a reality. It sucks, but Nintendo has no one to blame but themselves. They can do one of two things now: learn from their mistakes and change their strategy, or continue to fail by being stubborn and refusing to adapt.
This is one of the few NES games that has stood the test of time for me, and the only one that i love playing just as much today as i did when i was a kid. Fantastic game, definitely an all time great. Anyone making a top 10 or 25 or 50 games of all time list or whatever shouldnt be taken seriously if this game isnt on their list somewhere.
Wii U 3rd party support was over the second PS4/XBO specs were revealed to be vastly superior to it. Given that we now know that WiiU's tools make it annoyingly difficult to port games from other consoles to it anyway, and the fact that it isnt exactly selling very well (with PS4 set to surpass WiiU's lifetime sales by March, just 4 months after its launch). Not to mention most WiiU owners wont buy anything un-Nintendo-like, and all 3rd party devs outside Japan have zero reason to put their games on WiiU.
I'm glad that they do this, but come on. 4 available games, and most people dont want them. They choose bad games almost every time, with a few exceptions. Give us something good like Wario Land or Super Mario World. If you're going to put up rewards that no one wants, why bother putting em up at all?
I tried speedrunning a few games a couple times, including Super Metroid. All it did was make me start to hate video games after a while, as playing a game became a chore rather than a hobby. I had to play through the game and memorize everything the fastest way possible, with no mistakes. It just wasnt fun at all for me. I can beat Super Metroid in under 2 hours to get the best ending, but what those guys did in that video takes hours and hours of grueling practice.
Nintendo isnt making Star Fox right now, at least not for WiiU. The reason? Money. Its the same reason we've got 10 or more games with Mario in them the last few years. Mario sells. Fox McCloud doesnt sell even close to Mario. Or Pokemon. Or Zelda. Or Animal Crossing.
Nintendo's lesser known franchises like Star Fox, F-Zero, Golden Sun, Kid Icarus, etc. will always get pushed aside for more Mario, because ultimately Nintendo is a business, and with WiiU performing so badly in sales, Iwata and co cant afford to take software risks (even though that is what their dedicated fans want). The Wii era saw Nintendo back away from some great franchises and i doubt we'll see retail releases of some of them anytime soon. Metroid is in a critical condition in this, too, as Nintendo has repeatedly expressed disappointment in Other M's sales. So when Retro says they're making DKCTF when hardcore fans wanted Metroid? The alarm bells went off in my head that said 'they're being told to, because DKCR made a lot more $ than Other M.'
It sucks to think of it in terms of units sold, but regardless of what Ninty says about listening to fans, it's clear that what they're really aiming for are the missing 95 million Wii owners that havent upgraded to WiiU, because the dedicated fanbase crying for Star Fox? Those people probably already own a WiiU. No need to lure them in.
Most of the series by Capcom that i actually care about, they dont make anymore. Like Mega Man, Mega Man X, Power Stone and more. They've run Resident Evil series into the ground, and Street Fighter hasnt evolved enough since the SNES era for me to spend $60 on its 3 different versions that get released per entry. Monster Hunter could benefit from this, its just that they havent even localised MH4 yet... Modern Capcom sucks compared to the late 80s/90s Capcom.
I love the franchises shown, but i dont really want the next Paper Mario, Star Fox and F-Zero games to be $15 eshop experiences. Also, while they are my favorite games of all time, i dont want an HD remake of the Galaxy games even half as much as i want a sequel to them, whether its Galaxy 3 or Mario 64-2 or whatever. I'd still buy HD Galaxies, but i dont think we need that now with WiiU able to play the original games anyway.
Metroid Prime 4 needs to happen, but Retro will take 3 years to make it like always with their games, so i dont expect to hear about it for some time. It'll probably hit in late 2016 or so. Metroid Dread, on the other hand, needs to happen ASAP. With the 3DS' underwhelming 2014 lineup, this game would help tremendously.
Also, a co-op Luigi's Mansion game on WiiU would be a dream come true, especially if the two players could be in different areas of the mansion at once, and if they went back to the open exploration style of the first game instead of the mission structure of Dark Moon. One player using the GamePad screen while the other uses the tv. I'd buy that for sure.
Not sure how i'd feel about WiiU Animal Crossing. The online features would have to improve substantially and there would have to be some pretty compelling changes made to the series beyond just making an HD port of New Leaf like City Folk was to Wild World. Animal Crossing just seems to work better on handhelds anyway, like a lot of Nintendo's games do these days.
So now that we've heard the real story from a 3rd party developer who actually did try making games for WiiU... And we learned the truth that WiiU is low on power and hard to develop for, and even for some reason only known to Nintendo, hard to create ports of last gen games on....
Can we stop pretending like its all 3rd parties' fault that WiiU isnt selling like PS4?! Seriously, even the good 3rd party games that make it to WiiU like Need for Speed and Splinter Cell sell pitifully on WiiU, making these ports not worth it cause its obvious to 3rd parties that WiiU owners apparantly dont want them.
No, WiiU is Nintendo's failure alone. By making a console yet again that is nowhere near as powerful as its rivals, and by making it stupid hard to develop for and port games to, they've failed to understand the direction the gaming industry is moving in (which to be fair isnt a new thing for them).
And for all the fanboys saying 'its not all about the graphics,' just stop. We all know that if WiiU had the best tech, not only would that make the games on it look way better, but fanboys like you would be shouting from rooftops that WiiU has 'all teh powerz.'. So dont unnecessarily defend Nintendo when they unnecessarily handicap their system to the point where no one wants to make games for it.
Nintendo had better learn from their mistakes this time, like Sony did with PS3, and make a console that people actually want next gen. That or they need to quit and go handheld only, and then make console games as a 3rd party for Sony.
2014 will be a letdown on 3DS compared to 2013. Nothing in the current 2014 lineup compares to Link Between Worlds or Fire Emblem Awakening. Only one (Smash Bros 3DS) has the potential to be as good as some of last year's 3DS games in my opinion, and the better version of it will be on WiiU anyway.
Yoshi's New Island doesnt look interesting, and i havent liked a Yoshi game since the original, as every one thats released since then has basically been a less imaginative version of that one. The new Kirby looks like just another standard Kirby, too, which is okay, but after Epic Yarn and Mass Attack, I feel like Kirby needs to be more creative with its approach to justify a $40 purchase.
Mario Golf has potential if they include the RPG elements that we wanted in Mario Tennis Open. If not, i wont bother.
If Capcom localizes Monster Hunter 4, that would go a long way in helping 3DS' library in 2014.
Right now, Yoshi, Kirby, Mario Golf and Smash Bros stand no chance at standing up to Fire Emblem, Luigi's Mansion 2, Animal Crossing New Leaf, DKCR3D, Mario & Luigi 4, Pokemon XY, and Link Between Worlds. Theres a huge gap between the two years' lineups that i doubt can be closed.
I'll be trying the Chibi-Robo demo out first, and if i like it, $10 doesnt sound too bad. I'm really just tired of the VC getting ignored by Nintendo in NA. Europe already has SMB3 and LttP, yet we have neither. At least one of them would be nice.
I love Next Level. Glad they love working with Nintendo. I'd love to see them work on some of Nintendo's neglected franchises like they did with Punch-Out and Luigi's Mansion 2. Maybe they could make a new Star Fox or 2D Metroid. Or i'd be up for Luigi's Mansion 3 on WiiU! Whatever they work on, i'll be interested in it because their past work is phenomenal.
I've wanted another 3D Donkey Kon game for over a decade now. When Retro announced Donkey Kong Country Returns, i was a little disappointed it followed the SNES DKC games' style rather than DK64. Donkey Kong 64 is by far my favorite DK game. If Retro announced a 3D DK as their next game, i would love that even more than a new Metroid Prime.
3D Adventure/Platformers are my favorite genre of games, which sucks because it's a dying breed outside of Mario (and even then the plumber is trending toward a 2.5D hybrid). I miss the days of the N64/PSX when those games were all over the place. I also miss Rare, because they made the best ones in DK64, Banjo-Kazooie, Banjo-Tooie and Conker.
This game better get released and marketed well here. There are more than enough MH fans in the west to justify a release. Maybe not as many as in Japan, but it still has a good enough following to make not localising MH4 a crime in the most torturous order.
N64 is better than any Xbox console. So are NES and SNES, and i would even argue 3DS and GCN too. Wii wasnt better than 360 overall, but it did have a few games that were overall better than anything on 360, but 360's library overall was better than Wii's. Jury is still out on WiiU vs XbOne, but right now I'd take WiiU. SM3DW, Pikmin 3, Zelda: Wind Waker HD, The Wonderful 101, and upcoming games like DKCTF, X, Smash Bros, Bayonetta 2 and Mario Kart 8 trump anything that has been announced so far on Xbone except for possibly Halo 5, which isnt enough all by itself.
I dont really care either way. I've only ever played Super Castlevania IV, and it was good, but not it wasnt one of my all time favorites or anything. Its not even in my top 10 SNES games. I watched my roommate in college play through Lords of Shadow on 360 and it didnt look interesting to me... Just like the article said, it seems to be a poor man's clone of God of War.
A classic franchise moving away from Nintendo isnt new. Its been happening since the N64 days. Final Fantasy, Mega Man X, Metal Gear, Street Fighter, Banjo-Kazooie, and many more have abandoned Nintendo in favor of Sony and/or Microsoft throughout the years. Sure, we get an occasional Final Fantasy spinoff or Metal Gear remake or Street Fighter VC release, but i dont count those. Third parties dont like Nintendo systsms, and wont go out of their way to support them unless theres a sure chance they can make a lot of cash, which is why Wii had all that shovelware. Castlevania leaving Nintendo isnt that newsworthy... I'm surprised it didnt happen long ago.
Love the VC offerings this week! Although i am jealous that everyone has Mario 3 and Link to the Past but NA, Super Punch-Out!! and Mega Man X2 are great games in their own right.
Also looking forward to some Dr. Luigi and the Bravely Default demo! Great way to start 2014 on the eshop!
Stoked for Smash Bros and X the most, but i'm definitely interested in MK8, DKCTF and Watch Dogs as well. The only way i'll be picking up Bayonetta 2 is if it is bundled with Bayonetta 1. Otherwise, i'm not interested, as i never got to play the original and from what i hear the story of the first one is hard enough to understand even if you HAVE played it... I dont fancy going in blind for the sequel to a story like that.
There is already a game drought going on. From November 23-February 20, nothing noteworthy is releasing on WiiU. 3DS has a slightly small drought in NA due to Bravely Default's release on Feb 7, but really its not much better. Wii U is going almost all of Winter without a game release. And even after DKCTF hits Feb 21, who knows how long it'll be til MK8, Bayo 2 or Smash Bros hits?! Since 3rd parties are basically non-existant at this point, Ninty is going to need to ramp up its releases on WiiU. Even if they have to sacrifice developing more games on 3DS in 2014, they need to. 3DS can handle a down year after its amazing 2013, but WiiU cant. Nintendo has to work extra hard to ensure quality games launch from them in regular intervals. No delays, no excuses. Its Ninty's fault WiiU is in the place it is, so it's their job to clean up its mess.
Having played both, i can honestly say SteamWorld Dig is by far the best eshop game, over HarmoKnight. Both are good, but SWD is great. It's actually my third favorite 3DS game this over behind Link Between Worlds and Fire Emblem.
WiiU choices were pretty easy. Mario 3D World is by far the best thing to hit the console in its short lifetime. The 3DS was much harder to pick favorites for... Fire Emblem, Luigi's Mansion, Animal Crossing, Pokemon and Link Between Worlds are all more than deserving, and choosing between them is like choosing which one of your children is your favorite lol. SteamWorld Dig was an easy pick though... That game is awesome on eshop. If you havent played it yet, do yourself a favor and download it tonight. You will not regret it.
Mario Kart and Smash Bros will help next year. I know lots of people who cant wait for Smash Bros that dont have a WiiU. Problem is, its also hitting 3DS. If the WiiU version isnt significantly different/better, the 3DS could hurt some of WiiU's sales it could have with a new Smash Bros game.
I was glad to see some of the eshop stuff like Dr. Luigi, NES Remix and Chibi-Robo. The new footage of MK8, SSB and DKCTF looked awesome too. I'll need to see more of Hyrule Warriors though... I'm a huge Zelda fan, but not the same for Dynasty Warriors. The trailer looked interesting, but i'm pretty skeptical at this point. I was hoping we'd get some new info on X, but it didnt happen. Hopefully we'll learn more on that pretty soon.
If he runs the shop, will he be selling fruit-launching guns like he did in DK64? Btw, i desperately want another DK game in the 64 style. I know there were flaws in it, but it was still a great game overall.
NA had better get Link to the Past soon. Europe already has it, and so does Japan i believe. I'm chomping at the bit to play it on the GamePad for just $1.50.
I hope Ninty makes more of these. Maybe NES Remix 2 with stuff from Metroid, Punch-Out!!, Super Mario Bros 2, Zelda II, Kid Icarus, StarTropics, etc. Even better in my opinion would be an SNES or N64 Remix game. I'd love to do crazy challenges like this in games like Super Metroid, Link to the Past, Mario 64, and Super Smash Bros!
Hope we get some release dates, too, for Mario Kart 8, Bayonetta 2, Kirby 3DS, Mario Golf, etc. And if we're lucky, maybe a release window for Smash Bros like 'Summer 2014" or whatever.
When i talk to most gamers, they love Nintendo, but they love 3rd party games like GTAV, Assassin's Creed, Call of Duty, Destiny, Borderlands, Final Fantasy, and stuff a lot more. They aren't willing to shell out $300 for a system that doesnt have most of those games. Tons of gamers love Zelda, Smash Bros, etc. But they also love other games, and they arent going to buy two consoles this time around, as its just too expensive. Wii U doesnt have a chance to win this gen, guys. I'm not being a downer, just being realistic. The head guys at Ninty have lost touch with the gaming community, and the casual market has moved onto other platforms. Hardcore Ninty fans are all thats left. Wii doomed Wii U, because Nintendo gained fluke success with it, and so to them it justified their 'let's do something different' strategy. The problem is that as time went on, and the shovelware piled up, and the good 3rd party titles left Wii, it alienated the gaming community, who left for Xbox and PS3. And when Ninty announced their next console, with a brand name that included 'Wii' and no obvious upgrade over current gen systems save for another gimmicky controller? Yeah, they scoffed. I like my Wii U, but i understand why it's failing: because it doesnt have what gamers want in a new $300+ console.
I think Ninty should give it til Smash Bros. If that doesnt work, its time to burn it and move on to something else, whether its a new console or being a third party dev. Whatever they do, they need a new direction and philosophy because the old one clearly isnt working.
Lost Levels is tempting, but i'll hold off. Last month i got Dillon and LttP, so i'm cool not getting one this month. Its great that we have a WiiU option now though!
SNES games should've been on there from the start, along with GBA games. It's ridiculous that they aren't. The same goes for N64 and GCN games on the Wii U eshop. There is no excuse for the poor support the VC has gotten this gen. I remember back when Wii came out, that first year or two, we had like 4 VC games per week on just Wii. There's no reason WiiU only gets 1 per week, with that one title sometimes being something awful like Urban Champion or NES Pinball.
Having played Ni no Kuni, in no way does it beat Fire Emblem Awakening for the RPG award. Both games are great, but FE was phenomenal.
Also, GTAV should not have beat The Last of Us. It probably shouldnt have beat SM3DW or Bioshock either, honestly. In terms of gameplay, creativity and atmosphere, all 3 of those games trump GTA V.
But hey, its a popularity vote, right? Thats all awards shows are. GTA V is more popular, so who cares if its actually the better game?
I'd take a Majora's Mask remake at some point, but i'd rather them just make NEW zelda games again. As great as it was to replay OoT and WW with enhancements, its nowhere near as excited as i was for LBW and at the moment for Zelda Wii U. I love MM and all, but i'm tired of the remakes. Give it a while and make a couple new Zeldas first, and then i'd be fine with it.
@Ronoh This is exactly how i feel, too. Nintendo makes great games, and i bought a Wii U because i know i won't get them anywhere else... But mostly everyone else looking to buy a new console wants the big, AAA 3rd party games more than they want Mario, Zelda, etc nowadays. I cant recommend Wii U to anyone but Nintendo fans because thats all the system really is going to have in the near future.
I'll be getting a PS4, because if i don't, i cant play great stuff like Destiny, Kingdom Hearts 3, Final Fantasy XV, etc. It sucks that Nintendo continues to make consoles that only they want to make games for. I love the GamePad, but the choice to be 'innovative' over developer friendly is what is going to place Wii U in a distant 3rd place this gen. I dont believe it's doomed by any means, but the majority of the gaming community just wont accept a Nintendo-only box anymore. Ninty fans will, but the majority will not.
I like Luigi a lot, but i think it's time for non-Mario games to start getting a focus. Metroid, Star Fox, F-Zero, Donkey Kong, Golden Sun, Fire Emblem, etc... I love me some Mario universe games, but we've been hit with so many of them in the last 3 years. Mario 3D Land Mario Kart 7 Mario Tennis Open Paper Mario: Sticker Star New Super Mario Bros U New Super Mario Bros 2 Luigi's Mansion 2 Mario & Luigi: Dream Team Super Mario 3D World Mario Party: Island Tour
Thats so much Mario in a 3 year span, while we havent seen a single new F-Zero, Star Fox or Metroid game in a good long while. Not to mention, there's more Mario on the way in the shape of Mario Golf 3DS, Yoshi's New Island and Mario Kart 8 in 2014. None of those are bad, but i'd definitely rather have a Wii U Metroid over any of them, or even a 3DS or Wii U F-Zero game.
But, Mario is the cash cow for Nintendo in the same way CoD is, or Madden for EA, or Assassin's Creed for Ubisoft. Way more people buy a New Super Mario game than Metroid Prime (which is a travesty, but i understand why). So Mario is always going to have the lion's share of focus at Ninty, because at the end of the day its about business and making money.
I love Mario. It may be my favorite game series ever. But i have other favorites, too, and sometimes i feel they get pushed aside in favor of developing a new Mario Tennis or Mario Kart instead.
While i dont agree that Ninty is irrelevant, the interesting a true point i think he made without even realizing it is this:
Without innovative, interesting software to support their supposedly innovative hardware, Nintendo's consoles are irrelevant.
This is true, and its one of the big reasons why Wii U is failing: because it doesnt have any sodtware that justifies its uniqueness. I still have yet to play/see a game on WiiU that convinces me tge GamePad and Miiverse are anything to get excited about. Even SM3DW, while an amazing game, would have looked and played just as good or better on a PS4. Nintendo isnt justifying their 'innovation over superior tech' strategy this gen like they did with Wii. So yes, i think the Wii U is in danger of being irrelevant, because it has no killer software that takes advantage of its unique capabilities.
Where would the N64 have gone without its Mario 64? Or Wii without Wii Sports/Fit? Or the DS without stuff like Nintendogs/Brain Age? Or the Gameboy without Pokemon? What about the Xbox without Halo?
For a non-Ninty example, look at the PS Vita. As a standalone gaming device, its in the same boat as Wii U. It has no interesting software that takes advantage of its capabilities, and so it doesnt sell.
Unless Ninty creates a must-own game that truly shows why the Wii U is a special console that can do things the other two cannot, it will be in danger of irrelevance.
I'm excited for this. It comes out 2 days before my birthday, so i'll grab it then. I loved Final Fantasy IV-X, but the series kind of lost some of its magic with XI, XII and XIV. XIII was okay, but not as good as the older ones. Bravely Default reminds me of FFV, VI, and IX. Looks great. Cant wait to play it!
Final Fantasy is way more popular in Japan than Mario, so its not surprising. If your system doesnt have an exclusive Pokemon, Final Fantasy, Dragon Quest or Monster Hunter game in Japan, you can forget about winning any 'console war.' This is why 3DS is destroying the competition over there, while Wii U is struggling. I know Wii U has DQX and MH3U, but those are ports of last gen games people already own. I'm not saying Wii U is doomed in Japan, far from it, but with Japan's preferences for game genres and handhelds, I never expected Mario to help that much.
If Mario, Wii Fit U, WWHD, a $50 price drop and great new bundles dont help Wii U in NA, though, then i will start saying Wii U is doomed.
On twitter a few hours ago, someone asked Kamiya-san when we could hear news about the possible port of Bayo 1 on Wii U. His reply? Read game magazines next week. This may become a reality, or he could just be trolling. I hope it gets ported... I have a friend who played the original on his 360 and he said its one of his top three favorite games ever. It'd be even cooler if it came bundled with the sequel as a part of a special edition or something.
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Re: Mass Market Price And Mario Kart 8 Will Reverse The Wii U's Fortunes, Say UK Retailers
No. Mario Kart 8 will help, but it will not all of a sudden sell millions of Wii Us. The casual audience is gone. They use smartphones and tablets now to play games. Whats left is the core gamers, whom Nintendo alienated with its Wii messaging and by refusing to cater to 3rd parties. Core gamers that are my friends won't buy a Wii U until Smash Bros hits, if they do at all. Core gamers want PS4s now, because they have great 1st and 3rd party offerings from all types of genres and developers. They are not interested in paying $300 for a console that pretty much just plays Mario games and those gimmicky Wii Sports/Fit games they hated on the Wii.
Its not that core gamers dont like Nintendo games, it's just that they will not buy a console just to play them and nothing else. Until Nintendo home consoles have 3rd party games, they will continue to place last compared to its competition.
Re: Yoshi's New Island Hatches in Europe on 14th March
Not that interested. The Yoshi games are okay, but they've just never appealed to me as much as the mainline Mario games. I'll save my money for other games and consoles i want to buy later this year.
Re: Nintendo Was Dead To Us Very Quickly, States EA Source
EA sucks. Their games suck, and so do the guys in charge. They are by far the worst game company out there. I've never played a game published by them that i would consider anything better than average. Even Mass Effect 3 was the worst one in the series, probably because EA touched it. I used to love Bioware, but everything they've made since they joined EA has been much worse than what they made before.
Re: Feature: Nintendo Games Our Readers Would Love to See in 2014
Not a huge fan of any of these, really, except EarthBound, which will never happen. Extra VC support is needed, but should be obvious already, and playing old games isn't really what i want the most on Wii U going forward.
Re: Talking Point: What Games Are You Playing This Weekend? - Issue Twenty One
Since playing any Nintendo games anytime soon will remind me of what is going on in the news, i'll be steering clear of my WiiU and 3DS for a bit.
In their place, i'll be busy watching NFL games this weekend. When i do get time to play games, i'll scratch the itch with my Steam account strategy games in XCOM and Civilization V.
Re: We Cannot Continue Without Winning, But It's Not As Simple As Moving Mario To Smartphones, Insists Iwata
Did everyone miss what Iwata is saying? He's saying that the current strategy of making dedicated gaming consoles for $200-300 and selling $50-60 games isn't working because times are changing. By 'new strategy,' it sounds like he's suggesting that they stop using that model and do something else.
The problem is, that model IS NOT failing, its just failing for Nintendo because no one wants the WiiU when they can buy a stronger, better console in PS4 or XBO. PS4 and XBO are selling just fine, Iwata. The issue isnt the console model, its Nintendo's way of doing said model.
But hey, if they'd rather make smartphone games than admit they're wrong and make consoles that gamers actually want, so be it. I'll just buy a PS4 and a Vita and move on without Nintendo i guess.
I earnestly hope that this is not the case, but changes are coming, people. Let us hope that they are good ones.
Re: Nintendo Has "Great Games" But Is Facing A "Structural Problem", According To Industry Analysts
Nintendo needs to rethink their strategy, but putting their games on tablets isnt the answer. Tablet/smartphone gaming blows and the second Nintendo abandons 3DS/WiiU for that kind of gaming will be the last straw for me. I'll buy an Xbox One before i switch to a tablet for my gaming experiences.
Re: Iwata Accepts Responsibility For Poor Financial Results, Ignores Calls To Resign
Nintendo's failures aren't all on Iwata. Its on the entire philosophy of the company. The way they continue to repeat the same mistakes over and over is troubling, but Miyamoto and Yamauchi quoted the same philosophy Iwata does, which is this whole idea that Nintendo makes whatever it wants to make rather than compete with what others are doing. The problem is that when they do that, they run the risk that NO ONE WANTS WHAT THEY WANT TO MAKE! This is what is happening to Wii U. People want a high powered, third party supported, traditional control schemed next gen console. Nintendo did NOT make one of those in Wii U. Therefore, only Nintendo fans are buying it.
There were plenty of other mistakes, such as huge software droughts, a terrible name brand that still sounds embarassingly bad and confuses casual consumers, and bare bones marketing, as well as other things Iwata will be saying 'please understand' about... But at the end of the day, until Nintendo changes its big picture philosophy, they'll continue to lose out to the competition.
Nintendo's great first party games aren't enough anymore, obviously. Mario 3D World didnt come close to the sales of major third party titles on other consoles, despite high review scores from every media outlet. If Mario can't do it, I don't know what can.
Wii U failed guys. Its not a possibility anymore, its a reality. It sucks, but Nintendo has no one to blame but themselves. They can do one of two things now: learn from their mistakes and change their strategy, or continue to fail by being stubborn and refusing to adapt.
Re: Nintendo Download: 16th January (North America)
I'll wait for the Unepic review to decide on that one. If its lame, i'll be skipping any downloads for the third week in a row.
Re: Review: Super Mario Bros. 3 (3DS eShop / NES)
This is one of the few NES games that has stood the test of time for me, and the only one that i love playing just as much today as i did when i was a kid. Fantastic game, definitely an all time great. Anyone making a top 10 or 25 or 50 games of all time list or whatever shouldnt be taken seriously if this game isnt on their list somewhere.
Re: Talking Point: An Unplanned Flash Sale Looked Like Retail Download Genius from Nintendo
I would buy W101, DKCR3D, and ACNL at those prices. Maybe even Dream Team, too. I hope if this happens again it hits NA too.
Re: Talking Point: Claims of Wii U Third-Party Development Troubles Shouldn't Be Dismissed Lightly
Wii U 3rd party support was over the second PS4/XBO specs were revealed to be vastly superior to it. Given that we now know that WiiU's tools make it annoyingly difficult to port games from other consoles to it anyway, and the fact that it isnt exactly selling very well (with PS4 set to surpass WiiU's lifetime sales by March, just 4 months after its launch). Not to mention most WiiU owners wont buy anything un-Nintendo-like, and all 3rd party devs outside Japan have zero reason to put their games on WiiU.
Re: Club Nintendo Rewards Updated for January
I'm glad that they do this, but come on. 4 available games, and most people dont want them. They choose bad games almost every time, with a few exceptions. Give us something good like Wario Land or Super Mario World. If you're going to put up rewards that no one wants, why bother putting em up at all?
Re: Video: This Awesome Games Done Quick Super Metroid Race is a Must Watch
I tried speedrunning a few games a couple times, including Super Metroid. All it did was make me start to hate video games after a while, as playing a game became a chore rather than a hobby. I had to play through the game and memorize everything the fastest way possible, with no mistakes. It just wasnt fun at all for me. I can beat Super Metroid in under 2 hours to get the best ending, but what those guys did in that video takes hours and hours of grueling practice.
Re: Video: Please Don't Let This Wii U Star Fox Footage Get Your Hopes Up
Nintendo isnt making Star Fox right now, at least not for WiiU. The reason? Money. Its the same reason we've got 10 or more games with Mario in them the last few years. Mario sells. Fox McCloud doesnt sell even close to Mario. Or Pokemon. Or Zelda. Or Animal Crossing.
Nintendo's lesser known franchises like Star Fox, F-Zero, Golden Sun, Kid Icarus, etc. will always get pushed aside for more Mario, because ultimately Nintendo is a business, and with WiiU performing so badly in sales, Iwata and co cant afford to take software risks (even though that is what their dedicated fans want). The Wii era saw Nintendo back away from some great franchises and i doubt we'll see retail releases of some of them anytime soon. Metroid is in a critical condition in this, too, as Nintendo has repeatedly expressed disappointment in Other M's sales. So when Retro says they're making DKCTF when hardcore fans wanted Metroid? The alarm bells went off in my head that said 'they're being told to, because DKCR made a lot more $ than Other M.'
It sucks to think of it in terms of units sold, but regardless of what Ninty says about listening to fans, it's clear that what they're really aiming for are the missing 95 million Wii owners that havent upgraded to WiiU, because the dedicated fanbase crying for Star Fox? Those people probably already own a WiiU. No need to lure them in.
Re: Capcom Claims Its New Panta Rhei Game Engine Can Be Adapted To Any System
Most of the series by Capcom that i actually care about, they dont make anymore. Like Mega Man, Mega Man X, Power Stone and more. They've run Resident Evil series into the ground, and Street Fighter hasnt evolved enough since the SNES era for me to spend $60 on its 3 different versions that get released per entry. Monster Hunter could benefit from this, its just that they havent even localised MH4 yet... Modern Capcom sucks compared to the late 80s/90s Capcom.
Re: Feature: Nintendo Games We'd Love to See in 2014
I love the franchises shown, but i dont really want the next Paper Mario, Star Fox and F-Zero games to be $15 eshop experiences. Also, while they are my favorite games of all time, i dont want an HD remake of the Galaxy games even half as much as i want a sequel to them, whether its Galaxy 3 or Mario 64-2 or whatever. I'd still buy HD Galaxies, but i dont think we need that now with WiiU able to play the original games anyway.
Metroid Prime 4 needs to happen, but Retro will take 3 years to make it like always with their games, so i dont expect to hear about it for some time. It'll probably hit in late 2016 or so. Metroid Dread, on the other hand, needs to happen ASAP. With the 3DS' underwhelming 2014 lineup, this game would help tremendously.
Also, a co-op Luigi's Mansion game on WiiU would be a dream come true, especially if the two players could be in different areas of the mansion at once, and if they went back to the open exploration style of the first game instead of the mission structure of Dark Moon. One player using the GamePad screen while the other uses the tv. I'd buy that for sure.
Not sure how i'd feel about WiiU Animal Crossing. The online features would have to improve substantially and there would have to be some pretty compelling changes made to the series beyond just making an HD port of New Leaf like City Folk was to Wild World. Animal Crossing just seems to work better on handhelds anyway, like a lot of Nintendo's games do these days.
Re: A Third-Party "Secret Developer" Gives an Inside Story of Working on Wii U
So now that we've heard the real story from a 3rd party developer who actually did try making games for WiiU... And we learned the truth that WiiU is low on power and hard to develop for, and even for some reason only known to Nintendo, hard to create ports of last gen games on....
Can we stop pretending like its all 3rd parties' fault that WiiU isnt selling like PS4?! Seriously, even the good 3rd party games that make it to WiiU like Need for Speed and Splinter Cell sell pitifully on WiiU, making these ports not worth it cause its obvious to 3rd parties that WiiU owners apparantly dont want them.
No, WiiU is Nintendo's failure alone. By making a console yet again that is nowhere near as powerful as its rivals, and by making it stupid hard to develop for and port games to, they've failed to understand the direction the gaming industry is moving in (which to be fair isnt a new thing for them).
And for all the fanboys saying 'its not all about the graphics,' just stop. We all know that if WiiU had the best tech, not only would that make the games on it look way better, but fanboys like you would be shouting from rooftops that WiiU has 'all teh powerz.'. So dont unnecessarily defend Nintendo when they unnecessarily handicap their system to the point where no one wants to make games for it.
Nintendo had better learn from their mistakes this time, like Sony did with PS3, and make a console that people actually want next gen. That or they need to quit and go handheld only, and then make console games as a 3rd party for Sony.
Re: Nintendo Boasts of "Record-Setting" 3DS Sales in 2013 and Confirms Yoshi’s New Island Release Date
2014 will be a letdown on 3DS compared to 2013. Nothing in the current 2014 lineup compares to Link Between Worlds or Fire Emblem Awakening. Only one (Smash Bros 3DS) has the potential to be as good as some of last year's 3DS games in my opinion, and the better version of it will be on WiiU anyway.
Yoshi's New Island doesnt look interesting, and i havent liked a Yoshi game since the original, as every one thats released since then has basically been a less imaginative version of that one. The new Kirby looks like just another standard Kirby, too, which is okay, but after Epic Yarn and Mass Attack, I feel like Kirby needs to be more creative with its approach to justify a $40 purchase.
Mario Golf has potential if they include the RPG elements that we wanted in Mario Tennis Open. If not, i wont bother.
If Capcom localizes Monster Hunter 4, that would go a long way in helping 3DS' library in 2014.
Right now, Yoshi, Kirby, Mario Golf and Smash Bros stand no chance at standing up to Fire Emblem, Luigi's Mansion 2, Animal Crossing New Leaf, DKCR3D, Mario & Luigi 4, Pokemon XY, and Link Between Worlds. Theres a huge gap between the two years' lineups that i doubt can be closed.
Re: Nintendo Download: 9th January (North America)
I'll be trying the Chibi-Robo demo out first, and if i like it, $10 doesnt sound too bad. I'm really just tired of the VC getting ignored by Nintendo in NA. Europe already has SMB3 and LttP, yet we have neither. At least one of them would be nice.
Re: Next Level Games "Doing Only Nintendo Products Now"
I love Next Level. Glad they love working with Nintendo. I'd love to see them work on some of Nintendo's neglected franchises like they did with Punch-Out and Luigi's Mansion 2. Maybe they could make a new Star Fox or 2D Metroid. Or i'd be up for Luigi's Mansion 3 on WiiU! Whatever they work on, i'll be interested in it because their past work is phenomenal.
Re: Kensuke Tanabe Highlights Potential Return of 3D Donkey Kong Games
I've wanted another 3D Donkey Kon game for over a decade now. When Retro announced Donkey Kong Country Returns, i was a little disappointed it followed the SNES DKC games' style rather than DK64. Donkey Kong 64 is by far my favorite DK game. If Retro announced a 3D DK as their next game, i would love that even more than a new Metroid Prime.
3D Adventure/Platformers are my favorite genre of games, which sucks because it's a dying breed outside of Mario (and even then the plumber is trending toward a 2.5D hybrid). I miss the days of the N64/PSX when those games were all over the place. I also miss Rare, because they made the best ones in DK64, Banjo-Kazooie, Banjo-Tooie and Conker.
Re: Matters of Import: Welcome To The Terrifying Yet Accessible World Of Monster Hunter 4
This game better get released and marketed well here. There are more than enough MH fans in the west to justify a release. Maybe not as many as in Japan, but it still has a good enough following to make not localising MH4 a crime in the most torturous order.
Re: Video: Xbox One vs. Nintendo 64
N64 is better than any Xbox console. So are NES and SNES, and i would even argue 3DS and GCN too. Wii wasnt better than 360 overall, but it did have a few games that were overall better than anything on 360, but 360's library overall was better than Wii's. Jury is still out on WiiU vs XbOne, but right now I'd take WiiU. SM3DW, Pikmin 3, Zelda: Wind Waker HD, The Wonderful 101, and upcoming games like DKCTF, X, Smash Bros, Bayonetta 2 and Mario Kart 8 trump anything that has been announced so far on Xbone except for possibly Halo 5, which isnt enough all by itself.
Re: Talking Point: Is The Castlevania Series Finished With Nintendo?
I dont really care either way. I've only ever played Super Castlevania IV, and it was good, but not it wasnt one of my all time favorites or anything. Its not even in my top 10 SNES games. I watched my roommate in college play through Lords of Shadow on 360 and it didnt look interesting to me... Just like the article said, it seems to be a poor man's clone of God of War.
A classic franchise moving away from Nintendo isnt new. Its been happening since the N64 days. Final Fantasy, Mega Man X, Metal Gear, Street Fighter, Banjo-Kazooie, and many more have abandoned Nintendo in favor of Sony and/or Microsoft throughout the years. Sure, we get an occasional Final Fantasy spinoff or Metal Gear remake or Street Fighter VC release, but i dont count those. Third parties dont like Nintendo systsms, and wont go out of their way to support them unless theres a sure chance they can make a lot of cash, which is why Wii had all that shovelware. Castlevania leaving Nintendo isnt that newsworthy... I'm surprised it didnt happen long ago.
Re: Nintendo Download: 2nd January (North America)
Love the VC offerings this week! Although i am jealous that everyone has Mario 3 and Link to the Past but NA, Super Punch-Out!! and Mega Man X2 are great games in their own right.
Also looking forward to some Dr. Luigi and the Bravely Default demo! Great way to start 2014 on the eshop!
Re: Feature: The Biggest Wii U Games of 2014
Stoked for Smash Bros and X the most, but i'm definitely interested in MK8, DKCTF and Watch Dogs as well. The only way i'll be picking up Bayonetta 2 is if it is bundled with Bayonetta 1. Otherwise, i'm not interested, as i never got to play the original and from what i hear the story of the first one is hard enough to understand even if you HAVE played it... I dont fancy going in blind for the sequel to a story like that.
Re: Talking Point: New Year Resolutions for Nintendo
There is already a game drought going on. From November 23-February 20, nothing noteworthy is releasing on WiiU. 3DS has a slightly small drought in NA due to Bravely Default's release on Feb 7, but really its not much better. Wii U is going almost all of Winter without a game release. And even after DKCTF hits Feb 21, who knows how long it'll be til MK8, Bayo 2 or Smash Bros hits?! Since 3rd parties are basically non-existant at this point, Ninty is going to need to ramp up its releases on WiiU. Even if they have to sacrifice developing more games on 3DS in 2014, they need to. 3DS can handle a down year after its amazing 2013, but WiiU cant. Nintendo has to work extra hard to ensure quality games launch from them in regular intervals. No delays, no excuses. Its Ninty's fault WiiU is in the place it is, so it's their job to clean up its mess.
Re: Game of the Year: Nintendo Life's Staff Awards 2013
Having played both, i can honestly say SteamWorld Dig is by far the best eshop game, over HarmoKnight. Both are good, but SWD is great. It's actually my third favorite 3DS game this over behind Link Between Worlds and Fire Emblem.
Re: Feature: Time to Vote For Your Game of the Year 2013
WiiU choices were pretty easy. Mario 3D World is by far the best thing to hit the console in its short lifetime. The 3DS was much harder to pick favorites for... Fire Emblem, Luigi's Mansion, Animal Crossing, Pokemon and Link Between Worlds are all more than deserving, and choosing between them is like choosing which one of your children is your favorite lol. SteamWorld Dig was an easy pick though... That game is awesome on eshop. If you havent played it yet, do yourself a favor and download it tonight. You will not regret it.
Re: Nintendo Reiterates Confidence That the Wii U Can Compete
Mario Kart and Smash Bros will help next year. I know lots of people who cant wait for Smash Bros that dont have a WiiU. Problem is, its also hitting 3DS. If the WiiU version isnt significantly different/better, the 3DS could hurt some of WiiU's sales it could have with a new Smash Bros game.
Re: Reaction: Nintendo Direct's Final Flourish of 2013
I was glad to see some of the eshop stuff like Dr. Luigi, NES Remix and Chibi-Robo. The new footage of MK8, SSB and DKCTF looked awesome too. I'll need to see more of Hyrule Warriors though... I'm a huge Zelda fan, but not the same for Dynasty Warriors. The trailer looked interesting, but i'm pretty skeptical at this point. I was hoping we'd get some new info on X, but it didnt happen. Hopefully we'll learn more on that pretty soon.
Re: Funky Kong's Return Confirmed for Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze
If he runs the shop, will he be selling fruit-launching guns like he did in DK64? Btw, i desperately want another DK game in the 64 style. I know there were flaws in it, but it was still a great game overall.
Re: Nintendo Download: 19th December (North America)
NA had better get Link to the Past soon. Europe already has it, and so does Japan i believe. I'm chomping at the bit to play it on the GamePad for just $1.50.
Re: Review: NES Remix (Wii U eShop)
I hope Ninty makes more of these. Maybe NES Remix 2 with stuff from Metroid, Punch-Out!!, Super Mario Bros 2, Zelda II, Kid Icarus, StarTropics, etc. Even better in my opinion would be an SNES or N64 Remix game. I'd love to do crazy challenges like this in games like Super Metroid, Link to the Past, Mario 64, and Super Smash Bros!
Re: Nintendo Direct Focusing On Wii U And 3DS Games Coming Spring 2014 To Air Tomorrow
Hope we get some release dates, too, for Mario Kart 8, Bayonetta 2, Kirby 3DS, Mario Golf, etc. And if we're lucky, maybe a release window for Smash Bros like 'Summer 2014" or whatever.
Re: Two Mega Man Titles Get a Two Day eShop Discount in North America
So glad i waited to get Mega Man X on Wii U. Downloading it when i get home!
Re: NPD Results Deliver a 3DS Milestone And Modest Wii U Sales
When i talk to most gamers, they love Nintendo, but they love 3rd party games like GTAV, Assassin's Creed, Call of Duty, Destiny, Borderlands, Final Fantasy, and stuff a lot more. They aren't willing to shell out $300 for a system that doesnt have most of those games. Tons of gamers love Zelda, Smash Bros, etc. But they also love other games, and they arent going to buy two consoles this time around, as its just too expensive. Wii U doesnt have a chance to win this gen, guys. I'm not being a downer, just being realistic. The head guys at Ninty have lost touch with the gaming community, and the casual market has moved onto other platforms. Hardcore Ninty fans are all thats left. Wii doomed Wii U, because Nintendo gained fluke success with it, and so to them it justified their 'let's do something different' strategy. The problem is that as time went on, and the shovelware piled up, and the good 3rd party titles left Wii, it alienated the gaming community, who left for Xbox and PS3. And when Ninty announced their next console, with a brand name that included 'Wii' and no obvious upgrade over current gen systems save for another gimmicky controller? Yeah, they scoffed. I like my Wii U, but i understand why it's failing: because it doesnt have what gamers want in a new $300+ console.
I think Ninty should give it til Smash Bros. If that doesnt work, its time to burn it and move on to something else, whether its a new console or being a third party dev. Whatever they do, they need a new direction and philosophy because the old one clearly isnt working.
Re: Nintendo Download: 12th December (North America)
So no LttP and still no SMB3? I dont care for Double Dragon, either, as its sequel is by far the better game.
I was really hoping we'd get LttP or Mario 3 this week.
Re: Club Nintendo Rewards Are Updated for December
Lost Levels is tempting, but i'll hold off. Last month i got Dillon and LttP, so i'm cool not getting one this month. Its great that we have a WiiU option now though!
Re: Rumour: Could This Contra III Image Mean That SNES Games Are Coming To The 3DS eShop?
SNES games should've been on there from the start, along with GBA games. It's ridiculous that they aren't. The same goes for N64 and GCN games on the Wii U eshop. There is no excuse for the poor support the VC has gotten this gen. I remember back when Wii came out, that first year or two, we had like 4 VC games per week on just Wii. There's no reason WiiU only gets 1 per week, with that one title sometimes being something awful like Urban Champion or NES Pinball.
Re: The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds Picks Up Best Handheld Game VGX Award
Having played Ni no Kuni, in no way does it beat Fire Emblem Awakening for the RPG award. Both games are great, but FE was phenomenal.
Also, GTAV should not have beat The Last of Us. It probably shouldnt have beat SM3DW or Bioshock either, honestly. In terms of gameplay, creativity and atmosphere, all 3 of those games trump GTA V.
But hey, its a popularity vote, right? Thats all awards shows are. GTA V is more popular, so who cares if its actually the better game?
Re: Majora's Mask Appears Again, This Time as a New Smash Bros. Assist Trophy
I'd take a Majora's Mask remake at some point, but i'd rather them just make NEW zelda games again. As great as it was to replay OoT and WW with enhancements, its nowhere near as excited as i was for LBW and at the moment for Zelda Wii U. I love MM and all, but i'm tired of the remakes. Give it a while and make a couple new Zeldas first, and then i'd be fine with it.
Re: Soapbox: Even With The Arrival Of PS4 And Xbox One, I'd Still Pick The Wii U
@Ronoh This is exactly how i feel, too. Nintendo makes great games, and i bought a Wii U because i know i won't get them anywhere else... But mostly everyone else looking to buy a new console wants the big, AAA 3rd party games more than they want Mario, Zelda, etc nowadays. I cant recommend Wii U to anyone but Nintendo fans because thats all the system really is going to have in the near future.
I'll be getting a PS4, because if i don't, i cant play great stuff like Destiny, Kingdom Hearts 3, Final Fantasy XV, etc. It sucks that Nintendo continues to make consoles that only they want to make games for. I love the GamePad, but the choice to be 'innovative' over developer friendly is what is going to place Wii U in a distant 3rd place this gen. I dont believe it's doomed by any means, but the majority of the gaming community just wont accept a Nintendo-only box anymore. Ninty fans will, but the majority will not.
Re: Reggie Declares The Year of Luigi Will Continue Into 2014
I like Luigi a lot, but i think it's time for non-Mario games to start getting a focus. Metroid, Star Fox, F-Zero, Donkey Kong, Golden Sun, Fire Emblem, etc... I love me some Mario universe games, but we've been hit with so many of them in the last 3 years.
Mario 3D Land
Mario Kart 7
Mario Tennis Open
Paper Mario: Sticker Star
New Super Mario Bros U
New Super Mario Bros 2
Luigi's Mansion 2
Mario & Luigi: Dream Team
Super Mario 3D World
Mario Party: Island Tour
Thats so much Mario in a 3 year span, while we havent seen a single new F-Zero, Star Fox or Metroid game in a good long while. Not to mention, there's more Mario on the way in the shape of Mario Golf 3DS, Yoshi's New Island and Mario Kart 8 in 2014. None of those are bad, but i'd definitely rather have a Wii U Metroid over any of them, or even a 3DS or Wii U F-Zero game.
But, Mario is the cash cow for Nintendo in the same way CoD is, or Madden for EA, or Assassin's Creed for Ubisoft. Way more people buy a New Super Mario game than Metroid Prime (which is a travesty, but i understand why). So Mario is always going to have the lion's share of focus at Ninty, because at the end of the day its about business and making money.
I love Mario. It may be my favorite game series ever. But i have other favorites, too, and sometimes i feel they get pushed aside in favor of developing a new Mario Tennis or Mario Kart instead.
Re: VGX Award Ceremony To Include New Footage of an Upcoming Wii U Game
My money is on Smash Bros. But i'm really hoping it's the new Zelda for Wii U.
Re: Former Naughty Dog And THQ Head Jason Rubin Says Nintendo Is "Irrelevant" In The Hardware Arena
While i dont agree that Ninty is irrelevant, the interesting a true point i think he made without even realizing it is this:
Without innovative, interesting software to support their supposedly innovative hardware, Nintendo's consoles are irrelevant.
This is true, and its one of the big reasons why Wii U is failing: because it doesnt have any sodtware that justifies its uniqueness. I still have yet to play/see a game on WiiU that convinces me tge GamePad and Miiverse are anything to get excited about. Even SM3DW, while an amazing game, would have looked and played just as good or better on a PS4. Nintendo isnt justifying their 'innovation over superior tech' strategy this gen like they did with Wii. So yes, i think the Wii U is in danger of being irrelevant, because it has no killer software that takes advantage of its unique capabilities.
Where would the N64 have gone without its Mario 64? Or Wii without Wii Sports/Fit? Or the DS without stuff like Nintendogs/Brain Age? Or the Gameboy without Pokemon? What about the Xbox without Halo?
For a non-Ninty example, look at the PS Vita. As a standalone gaming device, its in the same boat as Wii U. It has no interesting software that takes advantage of its capabilities, and so it doesnt sell.
Unless Ninty creates a must-own game that truly shows why the Wii U is a special console that can do things the other two cannot, it will be in danger of irrelevance.
Re: Review: Bravely Default (3DS)
I'm excited for this. It comes out 2 days before my birthday, so i'll grab it then. I loved Final Fantasy IV-X, but the series kind of lost some of its magic with XI, XII and XIV. XIII was okay, but not as good as the older ones. Bravely Default reminds me of FFV, VI, and IX. Looks great. Cant wait to play it!
Re: Super Mario 3D World Underwhelms on Japanese Chart Début
Final Fantasy is way more popular in Japan than Mario, so its not surprising. If your system doesnt have an exclusive Pokemon, Final Fantasy, Dragon Quest or Monster Hunter game in Japan, you can forget about winning any 'console war.' This is why 3DS is destroying the competition over there, while Wii U is struggling. I know Wii U has DQX and MH3U, but those are ports of last gen games people already own. I'm not saying Wii U is doomed in Japan, far from it, but with Japan's preferences for game genres and handhelds, I never expected Mario to help that much.
If Mario, Wii Fit U, WWHD, a $50 price drop and great new bundles dont help Wii U in NA, though, then i will start saying Wii U is doomed.
Re: Fan Campaign for Bayonetta Wii U Release Kicks Into Gear
On twitter a few hours ago, someone asked Kamiya-san when we could hear news about the possible port of Bayo 1 on Wii U. His reply? Read game magazines next week. This may become a reality, or he could just be trolling. I hope it gets ported... I have a friend who played the original on his 360 and he said its one of his top three favorite games ever. It'd be even cooler if it came bundled with the sequel as a part of a special edition or something.