Nintendo Sucks, and Here's Why

Eks

Well-known member
It's 1988. The original NES is at its peak and the Gameboy is just about to drop. Everyone who's anyone is developing games for Nintendo's console. The NES is virtually unstoppable.

Flash forward to 1994. The SNES and Gameboy are now dominating the market. Nintendo has trounced just about every competitor that's attempted to enter the market. Only Sega's Genesis (and Game Gear to an extent) have made a dent in Nintendo's market share.

Back then, Nintendo charged big licensing fees just to make games for their systems. They could make just about any demand of developers and the demand would be met, just to have a game out on the SNES. Gaming was a lot simpler then, too. The games were smaller. There was no online multiplayer. DLC was impossible. Even game development was completely different.

The entire gaming industry was different.

When Sony introduced the original PlayStation, they changed the game entirely. With the introduction of disc-based media, companies could produce bigger games because CDs held vast (for the time) amounts of information and the actual media cost much less than a cartridge. They could spend more on development, less on materials, and they had more room to hold the data.

The Nintendo 64 is very successful, but the PlayStation steals a huge amount of the market. Sega's Saturn flops.

The PS2 brought DVD media into the picture and allowed for even bigger games. The Xbox introduced hard drives and internet gaming. The XBox 360 and PS3 focused more on online gaming and DLC runs rampant. They also added HD gaming, Gamer Points and Trophies and wireless controllers as the standard.

Meanwhile, Nintendo puts out the underpowered GameCube and Wii that have hardly any 3rd-party support. Sure, they still have their flagships like Mario, Link, Samus and Donkey Kong, but it's clear that they're the low man on the totem pole.

One pervasive trend with each Nintendo console has been innovation, not just with more advanced hardware, but with new, game-changing ideas. The NES used joypads instead of joysticks, like the Atari consoles. The SNES added shoulder buttons. The N64 had the analog stick. All of these additions enhanced gaming while also being accessible. (These weren't funky controllers like the Power Glove or Power pad.)

With the GameCube and Wii, they tried to bring innovative ideas, but I don't think they were the game-changers like they were back in the pre-disc era. Actually, I don't know if the GameCube introduced anything innovative. The PlayStation and Xbox had 2 analog sticks that functioned a lot better than the C buttons on the N64 and GameCube.

The Wii has the motion controls, but I don't think hardcore gamers care about any of that. Sony and Microsoft have made similar peripherals, but they haven't sold well. I've seen polls for the Kinect that show only about 1/3 of the people who bought it actually like it. It doesn't sound like an idea that has really enhanced the gaming world. It's just different, not drastically better.

The biggest selling Wii game is the pack-in game, Wii Sports. There are stellar titles like Mario Galaxy, New Super Mario Bros Wii, Twilight Princess, Smash Bros Brawl and a better-looking Mario Cart, but none of them sell like the simple game that's intended to acclimate us to the primary draw of the Wii - motion controls. Sure, the Wii outsells the Xbox 360 and PS3, but they have Wii bowling tournaments in nursing homes.

Based on this info, it's pretty obvious why the Wii outsells the other consoles - it's cheap and appeals to the bigger, casual gamer market.

I've been playing games for over 30 years, so I'm not exactly what you'd call a casual gamer.

With the Wii U (as if Wii isn't already a horrible name), we get the bulky and goofy Gamepad Pro (or whatever). I guess Nintendo thinks this is a good idea, but don't think that looking away from the screen in a fast-paced game like Black Flag make sense. I also don't wanna lug a controller that's almost the size of the console around. Part of the appeal (and success) of the Wii it's inexpensive, but I seriously doubt we'll ever see a really cheap Wii U, unless they ditch their primary "innovation" that is the Gamepad Pro.

For 2013, 2 of Nintendo's games are contenders for GOTY on most lists - Mario 3D World and A Link Between Worlds. A Link Between Worlds beats a lot of games, including The Last of Us and the best selling game to date, GTA V. Most notably, it wins GOTY on IGN's list. And the REAL kicker? It's a fricken DS game. It doesn't take advantage of heavy-duty hardware. It doesn't make use of silly motion controls. It's a relatively small game, too.

All of this is to get to what I think Nintendo needs to do to survive, and possibly even become top-dog again. They need to get back to their roots. They need to make games like they did 20 years ago. Give us a new, massive side-scrolling Metroid. Give us a new Mario 64, that doesn't rely on the nunchuck. We want A Link to the Past in 720p, not Wind Waker HD. Maybe even stop making home consoles. (Keep the handheld market since they're still killing in that area.) Put out games on Sony or MS's high-end consoles and use the money they would've spent on hardware development on better games. Make games that can be played on the Xbox and give us a portable version we can play on the DS while we're waiting at the DMV.

This isn't 1994, so stop acting like it.
 
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As a person who owns a WiiU, I felt the same way until I played Super Mario 3d World. It was almost everything I've wanted in a Mario game.


And I actually think Nintendo is starting to understand that gimmicks wont work anymore. The casual crowd that made the Wii so successful has moved onto the simpler, more accessible mobile games for Android, iOS and tablets.

They recently patched in Pro Controller (the 360 looking controller for the WiiU) support for New Mario Bros WiiU.


It's too late now unfortunately, but if Nintendo were to make a console that's on par with it's competitors, they'd demolish the competition. Ditch the gimmicks and show you're interested in innovative software rather than hardware. Get the third party support back on your side and keep digging in those first party goldmines. I only buy Sony and Microsoft consoles because I have too. I couldn't give a shit less about Halo and while I'm a big fan of the Ratchet & Clank series, I'm not buying a system just to play it. But I can't get my GTA or my Mortal Kombat, my Skyrims or my Bioshocks on a Nintendo console.

Hopefully Nintendo has learned their lesson about gimmicky bullshit.
And hopefully they stay alive long enough to fix their name
 
The kids they were trying to appeal to in the 90s have grown up.

Also, they need a change. Its been the exact same people in the company for years.
 
The Pro controller is the more traditional controller, not the one with the touchscreen. That being said, I find the standard Wii U comfortable in spite of its size, although I question if they will be able to fully utilize two screens like they do with the 3DS.

Motion controllers was a neat idea in theory, but in practice the Wii controls were not that precise and most developers really didn't know how to develop games around it the controller.
 
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Good read I agree, two additional points to flesh out, Nintendo not only charged an arm and a leg to develop on the NES they also made you purchase their cartridges to use on the system. Now that eventually spawned a handful of games that used those black carts and a few other shapes but that was a big deal back then.

Second point to add, if my memory serves Nintendo passed on the Playstation idea seeing how they developed it with Sony but ultimately passed on it, if they would have went with it how different would their company look now and what kind of game library would we have gotten?
 
As a person who owns a WiiU, I felt the same way until I played Super Mario 3d World. It was almost everything I've wanted in a Mario game.

It looks great and fun, but I am sans Wii U, so I haven't played it. It's games like this that inspired me to post this. They need to make more games like it, that use more tech to produce that old-school style.

And I actually think Nintendo is starting to understand that gimmicks wont work anymore. The casual crowd that made the Wii so successful has moved onto the simpler, more accessible mobile games for Android, iOS and tablets.

Good point. I think they know this, too. They tried to make the Wii U innovative, inexpensive and still offer a system that's powerful enough to make AAA titles.

They recently patched in Pro Controller (the 360 looking controller for the WiiU) support for New Mario Bros WiiU.

I was talking about the big, screen controller, not the smaller one, soooo, yeah.

It's too late now unfortunately, but if Nintendo were to make a console that's on par with it's competitors, they'd demolish the competition. Ditch the gimmicks and show you're interested in innovative software rather than hardware. Get the third party support back on your side and keep digging in those first party goldmines. I only buy Sony and Microsoft consoles because I have too. I couldn't give a shit less about Halo and while I'm a big fan of the Ratchet & Clank series, I'm not buying a system just to play it. But I can't get my GTA or my Mortal Kombat, my Skyrims or my Bioshocks on a Nintendo console.

Aside from the handheld market, I don't know why they need to make the consoles to stay relevant. I really don't. They could funnel the money they spend on developing new hardware into R&D. The Wii U is gonna sell about as well as the GC.

Hopefully Nintendo has learned their lesson about gimmicky bullshit.
And hopefully they stay alive long enough to fix their name

The name grates, but as long as they put out good games, I'm game.

Good read I agree, two additional points to flesh out, Nintendo not only charged an arm and a leg to develop on the NES they also made you purchase their cartridges to use on the system. Now that eventually spawned a handful of games that used those black carts and a few other shapes but that was a big deal back then.

Second point to add, if my memory serves Nintendo passed on the Playstation idea seeing how they developed it with Sony but ultimately passed on it, if they would have went with it how different would their company look now and what kind of game library would we have gotten?

Them skipping on CD technology was because of their mentality from back then. They thought they were untouchable, but Sony was wanting to take gaming to the next level. Gaming was smaller, both in audience and in fiscal returns, but Sony knew how to bring it to the mainstream, and they did so. Quite well, too.

The major problem is they still think that way. The DS and Wii sold very well, and they think that because of that, Nintendo is more relevant than it is. They don't look at the game sales on the other systems. They need to modernize their business model, not their controllers.
 
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Dude, I have to give you credits for typing all that.

Gaming has changed, most kids want to play the same games the adults play, all those kiddy games are fun to play for a while, but they're not system sellers and that includes Mario, that's a game I would love to have on the Wii-U if I owned one, but I sure wouldn't buy the console for that. Sales might get better if the new Smash Bros is great and played at tournaments. Sooner or later, those who stayed loyal to the company are going to jump ship, knowing that 3rd party developers won't even bother with it.

I do think it's too early for them to consider the Wii-U a total failure and move on to the next console, it is not beyond saving, what it needs are better 3rd party exclusives, games that give us a good reason to buy the console and make the PS4 and Xbone owners envy.
 
Yes, I agree with it all. I use to be a huge Nintendo fan, I still love it though. Nintendo really isn't fun as it use to be on the consoles. But I have to admit, they're still the best with these handhelds. They're doing better than Sony.
 
I only buy Sony and Microsoft consoles because I have too. I couldn't give a shit less about Halo and while I'm a big fan of the Ratchet & Clank series, I'm not buying a system just to play it. But I can't get my GTA or my Mortal Kombat, my Skyrims or my Bioshocks on a Nintendo console.

^^^
THIS.
All day, this.
Hit the nail on the head.
I couldn't agree more.

I had NES, Super NES, and N64 back in the day.
Hell, I even gave the GameCube a shot for MGS: The Twin Snakes.
As it is, my GameCube is collecting dust because I only played The Twin Snakes for about a whole year.
The only reason that I see for me to get a WiiU would be for Mario World and if they do a new Zelda game, and even then I probably STILL WOULDN'T get a WiiU, because it would be useless of me to get the console for 2 games, to let it sit and collect dust.
The last console that I did that for was GameCube, and I really regret doing that.

I started going the PS route since PS1 because I was finally able to get my games on that console along with Tomb Raider, which I couldn't get on Nintendo.
Game series like Metal Gear Solid (past Metal Gear 1 and Metal Gear 2), Legacy of Kain, Bloody Roar, Virtual Fighter, Tekken, Mortal Kombat (past MK4) were nowhere to be seen on Nintendo, but my games are available on Xbox and PS.
 
I still have my N64, I thought it was an awesome system at the time. I own a Wii (technically, it's my daddy's) but I don't play it as much as my parents and my cousins do. (They have game nights and play Wii Sports a lot) I have no interest in getting a Wii U because the only game I am remotely interested in getting would be Super Smash.

I am a Playstation chick, always have, always will. Hell, I convinced my boyfriend getting an Xbox One will be a mistake if he got it. Granted that there's not a lot of titles released for the PS4 unlike Xbox One, I keep saying, "It's like when the PS3 was new. It didn't get a lot of interesting release titles, and Xbox 360 was dominating the game industry at the time. However, it did a HUGE flip flop and PS3 came out dominating." (And his friend also agreed too)

I still play my Nintendo 64 because I felt that was their greatest system after SNES... the Wii was interesting at first, but the gimmicks started to become more repetitive, and I honestly couldn't continue playing the same game over and over and over again. I'd rather them go back to their old roots, but I doubt that they'll do that. They'll continue showing off more gimmicks and not care about just being a gaming system.

I just want to play games, I don't care for fancy gimmicks that NEEDS to be the highlight of the system.


All of paragraphs that I wrote stated with "I," heh, that's kinda funny to me.
 
The fact that they created and are supporting the WiiU Pro controller hints at Nintendo moving away from the gimmicks. They understand that alot of fans want the conventional experience rather than a bulky brick of plastic.


They didn't show this in the Wii's life when games like New Super Mario Wii, Donkey Kong Country Returns, Mario Galaxy and Skyward Sword were incompatible with the Classic controller and Gamecube pad.
 
The second screen of the Wii-U controller could be useful for games with a point-and-click interface or have lot of data to look at. It frees up big screen of HUD displays and make menu navigation less cumbersome. True it enough it's you are better off with the Pro Controller for fighting games, where where the HUD is minimal. However, for games like Fire Emblem or Advance Wars, a second screen can save the hassle of going through several menu screens.
 
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Nintendo is REALLY far away from ever going bankrupt. I remember seeing the math. They'd have to flop like 8 console generations of sales before they start getting into trouble.

They are sitting on that much bank.

I personally don't care about Nintendo atm. They don't care about competitive gamers atm. Brawl had INTENTIONAL changes to keep it from being a competitive game.

Sorry but I like to think at 200mph, and work hard and fast on my games.

The only franchise I still get a little giddy for is Metroid and I feel like it's going to be a while before I get one of those.
 
The 3DS is still a money printing machine at this point, and there's still some AAA first party titles coming out for WiiU (Smash Bros, Mario Kart 8, Donkey Kong) that will give them a boost.

The funny thing is I was reading an old gaming magazine talking about how the N64 (then still called the Ultra 64) was being delayed. The system was ready, but the games weren't. It seems like all consoles now rush to get their hardware out first and end up creating a gap before any decent games come out. WiiU was no exception, there really wasn't anything available at launch other than the New Super Mario WiiU game. If they would have waited a few months to release the hardware, there would have been a more impressive lineup. Now the games are starting to roll out, but the "WiiU has no games" meme has become solidified in people's brains.
 
The 3DS is still a money printing machine at this point, and there's still some AAA first party titles coming out for WiiU (Smash Bros, Mario Kart 8, Donkey Kong) that will give them a boost.

The funny thing is I was reading an old gaming magazine talking about how the N64 (then still called the Ultra 64) was being delayed. The system was ready, but the games weren't. It seems like all consoles now rush to get their hardware out first and end up creating a gap before any decent games come out. WiiU was no exception, there really wasn't anything available at launch other than the New Super Mario WiiU game. If they would have waited a few months to release the hardware, there would have been a more impressive lineup. Now the games are starting to roll out, but the "WiiU has no games" meme has become solidified in people's brains.

If they would've waited and made a console that's on par with the PS4 or XBox One, they would've had 3rd party devs on deck to make AAA titles. The sale of these would've helped support their newest console and put Nintendo in the running like they were back in the SNES/N64 days.

Unfortunately, most gamers want net-gen system mostly to play COD, Battlefield, and annual sports games. They're not as interested in Mario, Zelda and the rest of the popular Nintendo franchises, so for most gamers, the Wii U doesn't have any games.

Something else that I should've mentioned in my original post is how badly Nintendo botched networking for the Wii U. I read in an article that they wanted Super Mario 3D World to be played with everyone in the room. Assuming this isn't some excuse for not having better networking capabilities, the designers of the game/system seem to misunderstand how most Americans play games. I can totally believe this since arcades are still relevent in Japan and internet gaming at home isn't the standard like it is here.
 
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