Comments 315

Re: Retail Executives and Analysts Voice Support For Nintendo's NX Release Window and Lack of E3 Showing

montrayjak

At first I thought Nintendo was crazy for releasing in March, but I'm starting to think otherwise. Considering the Wii U's drought at the beginning, I think Nintendo learned their lesson and are coming back at it with a strategy.

The die hard fans are going to buy the console anyway, so the timing doesn't really matter. Those looking for it for a holiday gift are going to want something to play on it; and those who aren't interested at all are most likely only going to be compelled if there's a game that they're interested in.

Almost no console launches with a good set of games. It takes time for developers to come on board and some of that is just the publishers keeping an eye on the console and seeing if it's worth it. This extra time throughout the year will build some hype and really get things going.

I don't think it's necessarily the silver bullet, but at least it's a strategy. Now my big hope is they get the marketing right... I still have friends that ask "oh, that's the Wii tablet thing, right?"

As for E3, I think Nintendo has sort of lost interest in it in general. Once upon a time it was the way to get their news out there, but there's so many better channels now (youtube, ND, etc.), but I think they still have pride in their Twilight Princess announcement and want to top that. It might help if they approached it saying "The Legend of Zelda team will be at E3 2016 to present a playable version." Rather than "Nintendo just wants to show this one project."

Re: Talking Point: Nintendo's Resilience Against Wii U Criticism Emphasizes Its Longevity

montrayjak

I hear a lot of people talk about how much they're failing. The thing is Nintendo makes the console AND the games. Sony and Microsoft don't make games in-house (and for a good reason). If they manage to sell one system the chances are pretty likely they're going to buy multiple Nintendo games. A family might buy Wii Sports Club and Nintendo Land, while a gamer might buy Zelda and Mario. MS/Sony sell the console and... their subscription service? Licensing?

This has to count for something, no?

Also, along the same lines, Nintendo is successful for the same reason Google is. They dog food their products. Nintendo makes a console to make their games better. It's not about meetings with multiple developers to make the ultimate "videogame console" (souped-up PC). Nintendo can literally sneaker-net their ideas between development houses to make a better future for themselves which is how Nintendo can incubate the best developers and end up delivering the best polished innovative products*. I guess you could say "Chrome is to Google Drive, as Wii U is to Mario".

I think people get concerned because they forget Nintendo has a toy company's genes. It focuses on the entire family/party/life rather than the average 16 year old kid fueled by mountain dew and florescent lights. They do miss out on a lot of software because of this, but I don't necessarily see it as having doom cast on them.

But, even with all of that said, Nintendo does really need to focus on their advertising. Even some of my gamer friends have been really confused about Wii U to Wii which is really sad... I still think they should have called it something more like Super Wii.

(*And as a side note, I'm an indie developer myself. Their choices on the structure of the Wii U's hardware are challenging but genius.)