What Needs to Be Done?

[zack125]

With the PS4 and the X1 being released very shortly, and a lot of people only able to afford one console, what does Nintendo need to do for an impressive impact on the market? Remember Twilight Princess? Super Smash Bros? I don't see that much from Nintendo anymore

 

[Ventus]

Nintendo needs to make a realistic art style Zelda. That's about all they CAN do...but I doubt we'll get even that.

 

[Justac00lguy]

Nintendo needs a Triple A titles, it's as simple as that. This has always been Nintendo's strong point in terms of top quality exclusives and I feel it's failing in the department thus far.

Sure they had SMBU, Zombi U and later on, Pikmin 3 but these aren't really huge releases. I guess one could say the remake of TWW has had somewhat of an impact but I'm taking "system sellers". Nintendo needs their mascots on form: Mario, Zelda, Metroid etc. and I guess we can say that's coming - Super Mario 3D World is going to be vital and it will hopefully set the tone and the benchmark of what Nintendo need to do. Then you have such games as Mario Kart U, SSB4 and the hope of an upcoming Zelda game.

If Nintendo has around 5 real system sellers by next year then that's huge, that will serve as the base for people to want a Wii U. They will look at the Wii U and see that it has some of the best games available and then they will expand and look at other games, which I'll call the "lesser big releases" and now the Wii U seems like a decent purchase.

I still believe the Wii U has a lot of potential - to be honest I don't care for what frame rate a game has, how powerful a console is, I just want a system where in splay great games. The Xbox One And PS4 are no undoubtedly going to be more powerful but that's not the be all and end all - Nintendo has several advantages over both systems and Nintendo needs to use these as selling points. For one you have the innovative side of the Wii U, the Gamepad - this is something that could be the future of gaming and if Nintendo utilise it to its full potential then Sony and Microsoft will have a problem. Nintendo also has a price advantage, they could easily use this as a "price penetration" tactic and suppress competitors. Then you have such things like backwards capability.

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Nintendo could have a potential problem but if their big titles are highly successful and they use this as momentum combined with the system's own advantages then I feel they could serve fine and possibly beat Sony and Microsoft easily again.

 

[zack125]

They have an impressive impact on the market. Look at the 3DS. Just keep releasing 3ds games. You don't see much from Nintendo? Pokemon X and Y? Upcoming ALBW? I see plenty.

It's true the 3DS is a success, but is it enough for them to get to the top? I don't think so.

Sure they had SMBU, Zombi U and later on, Pikmin 3 but these aren't really huge releases. I guess one could say the remake of TWW has had somewhat of an impact but I'm taking "system sellers". Nintendo needs their mascots on form: Mario, Zelda, Metroid etc. and I guess we can say that's coming - Super Mario 3D World is going to be vital and it will hopefully set the tone and the benchmark of what Nintendo need to do. Then you have such games as Mario Kart U, SSB4 and the hope of an upcoming Zelda game.

I think what needs to be done is Nintendo taking a risk and start creating new IPs. Yeah, Nintendo's current franchises is great but I think gamers know what they are going to get. Zelda is still going to get kidnapped and Link will have to rescue her. Mario had always the same basic plot. I think gamers need a reason for coming back.

 

[Mercedes]

I don't think Zelda is a console saver. Perhaps ZeldaU will prove me wrong but if Mario can't do it I don't think Zelda can. Mario 3D World will be what dictates how well the WiiU will do.

Agreed. Doubt many people on a Zelda website will agree though. Zelda makes a big splash amongst core gamers and gaming websites, and does sell well usually, but it's not as broadly appealing and loved, and known amongst the general public, as Mario is. Mario is what will help the Wii U, if anything. Anything could happen but I think games like Mario Kart and 3D World have the best chance of boosting numbers by a substantial amount.

But honestly, other than that, there's nothing Nintendo really can do bar something really big. Like what happened to Microsoft, I don't think Nintendo are 'cool' anymore, and the Wii U isn't the hot new must-have product on town like the Wii was. Perhaps this is partly due to some pretty bad marketing unlike the brilliant marketing for the Wii, since people didn't get what the Wii U was and once a new product doesn't make a splash it tends to fall off the general radar a bit. I mean, I've seen 0 adverts for the Wii U here in Britain for months now and it's currently relegated to a single shelf in my local GAME, shared with the Wii, which I'm sure doesn't help consumer confusion. Not counting them out yet of course but I feel Nintendo relied on just being Nintendo to get people on-board. Cos if I wasn't a Nintendo fan, I've seen nothing that would make me want to go out and buy it... And the Gamepad is just not a system seller for me. It's nice, I really like what it can do, but I definitely didn't buy a Wii U for a Gamepad. I feel they could have gotten rid of it, sold the system for massively cheaper, and I would enjoy the games just as much.

I imagine Nintendo fanboys will have stern words to say over that ^ but that's just how I feel.

 

[A Link In Time]

I believe that what needed to be done is already in effect. Now it's time to play the waiting game.

The Wii U was too expensive. No one predicted the PS4's launch price before E3. In order to counteract Sony's trump card, Nintendo wisely chose to market the Wii U much like the Wii before it, as a dramatically cheaper alternative. But this marketing has proven to be a double edged sword. Because Nintendo is no longer following its blue ocean strategy, instead placing heavy emphasis on bringing "core" gaming experiences back to its home console, this generation is more comparable to the 6th generation (GCN, PS2, Xbox). Nintendo lost there because the Gamecube had no key features distinguishing it from the rest even though the Gamecube rapidly dropped to the very agreeable $100 pricepoint.

Nintendo needs to make more of an effort to convince gamers why they need to purchase games for the Wii U instead of the alternative platforms. Although the other consoles are tablet optimized, the GamePad is the Wii U's primary control output. Early games like Nintendo Land, ZombiU, and even ports like Batman Arkham City did a good job of underlining this feature. Players could "be" Link or Batman by carefully aiming arrows or maneuvering the Batarang. Fighting off hordes of zombies was more engrossing because shaking the GamePad to loosen an attacking foe made you feel like you were actually living the moment.

At the start of every generation, people are quick to say that the most powerful system will demolish the competition, yet the past three generations have proven the opposite true. The most commercially successful systems of those generations, the PS1, PS2, and Wii also had the weakest hardware. Instead, they tried to offer something for everyone. If Nintendo can continue to convince developers to make Wii U versions of popular games while also encouraging third parties to bring software only the Wii U can bring to the table, the Wii U can still perform as well as its predecessor despite the rocky start.