Netferarri
Kage in the Making 👑
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Gamers love Nintendo. They provided us with some of the most joyous gaming experiences ever from the original Super Mario to the more obscure gems such as Red Steel 2, from the legendary Nintendo 64 to the simple, but revolutionary Wii.
However, after a disastrous Wii U release and recent E3, I cant help feel that it is time to stop forgiving Nintendo and start raising questions. The Wii U launched in November 2012 and has been a flop. With underwhelming sales, a barren game library and poor marketing, the Wii U has been a failure, a fact that needs accepting. I’m not writing off the Wii U; the console has huge potential and some of its games have utilized the Game Pad exceptionally well, the new Rayman Legends being a perfect example, but Nintendo really dropped the ball.
Consumers did not understand what they were buying with your average Joe believing the GamePad to be a mere accessory for the existing Wii. Most people know that the Playstation 4 is a brand new Playstation or that the Xbox One, although confusingly named, is a new machine from Microsoft. The Wii U on the other hand? It just doesn’t sound new. Partner the lack of concise and clear advertising with the seemingly menial name factor and you have your self a device that is already fighting an uphill struggle against the causal market. Mix in the fact the Wii U is now having to stand alongside the Xbox One and PS4 in terms of next-generation gaming, and it was not looking good for Nintendo in the first place.
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But, back when it was released and a few months after, we still believed in Nintendo, trying to be optimistic towards the game ridden future. At E3 2011 we were promised strong third party support with companies such as Activsion and Ubisoft saying they’ll support the new console. A few ports were released like Assassins Creed III and Batman: Arkham City but looking into the next year or so? Third party support has seriously declined. In fact a recent spokesperson for EA announced that FIFA 14, a game that is universally released on DS, Vita and even PS2, wont be coming to the Wii U as it was not a ‘viable option’. When your next generation console cant handle a FIFA game, you know you’re in trouble.
Similarly, Nintendo’s recent E3 showing further amplified the Wii U’s lack of third party support and flaying consumer ‘mind share’. Although credit must be given for the avoidance of a large major conference, Nintendo’s series of ‘Directs’ were highlighted by Super Mario World 3D, Donkey Kong, Mario Kart 8, Bayonetta 2 and Super Smash Bros. The games from Nintendo studios may be fantastic with Super Smash Brothers continuing the series history of friendship-demolition and Mario Kart 8 might invigorate the karting genre once again. Bayoneta 2 is a sequel to one of the generations greatest games and the remake of Zelda: Wind Waker may also bring nostalgia tinted tears too your eyes, but there lies my biggest fuss with Nintendo, and the main reason I believe we should stop forgiving them.
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People hate on games like Call Of Duty, Halo and Madden for the fact the games don’t change and innovate at every iteration. Whilst those franchises may nearly be yearly in some shape or form, Nintendo’s main franchises are more spread out, but just as tedious and samey. Super Mario World 3D? Already seen before. Zelda remake? Already seen before. Mario Kart 8? Already seen before, well, apart from the new upside down driving! Every game at E3 is already available to play in some other form, none of the new games look to be adding anything new, original or innovative to Nintendo’s biggest franchises. And it’s time to see the difference between ‘innovation’ and ‘gimmicky’.
Yet, through all these reboxed first party experiences, millions of people still lost their minds over Nintendo’s E3, and its all due to the companies over reliance on nostalgia, a sentiment that stains the entire company’s business strategy. There is no denying that Ninty have one of the richest histories in gaming, perhaps even the strongest, but in a landscape that is constantly changing through games such as Watch Dogs, Journey and Bioshock Infinite, you cannot rest on your laurels, a move Nintendo seem keen to pull. We may love these franchises and we may get stupidly excited for the next Smash Bros., but personally, its time to stop forgiving Nintendo and question their dwindling game library.
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Nostalgia is great but it is not a strong enough emotion to base a whole companies strategy on. Nintendo releasing another Mario Kart is like Sony still relying on Spyro and Crash Bandicoot to pad out their release schedule. If that happened, Sony wouldn’t have gained exclusives such as Uncharted or The Last Of Us, exclusives that have aided Sony in succeeding this generation, and potentially the next.
Dont get me wrong, I still think the Wii U has bags of potential and if used right, it has a chance of standing up to the PS4 and Xbox One. Nintendo need to treat the Wii U as an entire new machine, as a stepping stone for the next 7 years of gaming goodness. At the moment though, it looks like Nintendo see the Wii U as another platform to port their first party classics across, shoe horning in new mechanics in the wildest hope to claw nostalgic fans back.
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Nintendo need to regain some footing and really blow our minds with the Wii U, showing that it can play with the big boys. In times of dire financial states, most people can afford one console and with the new consoles offering much more in terms of the gaming and entertainment front, Nintendo need to create their own niche that they did so brilliantly with the Wii. I believe in the Wii U, but not necessarily Nintendo.
The Wii U is flailing, first party games are getting rehashed over and over again and a lack of third party support is turning gamers away. It’s time to face the music and stop forgiving Nintendo for their unforgivable mistakes.
