Despite what some of the defenders are saying. What has happened is fundamentally inexcusable. The Wii U didn't just suddenly materialize out of the aether. It was a very long time in coming, and thus Nintendo had ample time to do the things that would make is successful. They chose for the umpteenth time to build hardware that served only their interests at the expense of what third party developers wanted and needed. They failed to make inroads with third parties, and yes especially for Nintendo that includes paying for third party development.
Third party developers aren't being mean to Nintendo. As much as they are afraid to develop games for their consoles. They have been burned so many times, and lost serious money developing games for their platforms. That a cash incentive to do so wouldn't just be a nice thing. It has gotten to the point where it is damn near necessary. Nintendo needed to make those cash offerings to get more games into the development channel.
On their side of development they needed to do two things. Firstly they needed to expand their development base by gasp actually acquiring new studios, and they needed to address deficiencies in their own staff. Yes some old hands that weren't up to snuff needed to get the axe, and new fresh talent needed to be brought in. With the economy the way it has been. It isn't like there isn't a surplus of talent to be had. High Definition development has been going to for seven years now on the console side. Nintendo has had ample time to upgrade their staff. In other words it shouldn't be this hard for them. Show me a company that refuses to reinvest in keeping their workforce skilled, and I will show you a company that can't possibly be competitive.
Further more Nintendo has needed for the longest time to diversify their own development. A one trick pony is destined for the glue factory. If Nintendo seriously wants to be a console brand for everybody it needs to be making games that actually cater to segments of the gaming public. We aren't all the same, and they can't treat us as such. Mario just isn't for everyone. As well as being almost exclusively kiddie in presentation. They needed to stop being a niche developer. Nintendo is probably the last Japanese developer to figure this out.
As for what they can do now. Well they can't do anything about the bad hardware, the wasted time, the poorly trained staff, or get more varied games out of the development pipe in time to do anything. This isn't about making a successful platform at all anymore. This is about salvaging the console before it goes right off the cliff. To do that they are going to have to make some very bold moves. They are way past the point of tweaking.
Firstly they do need to fire the management. What has happened is nothing less then incompetent. It is one thing to try a thing, but something else to try absolutely nothing. Those cash reserves that Nintendo has been sitting on for years are potential that has been wasted. It should have been put to work for the companies benefit. Nintendo isn't a bank. It is a player in a incredibly competitive industry. Reinvestment was called for.
Secondly they need to make some strong strategic acquisitions especially outside of Japan. If they want to be a player in the global marketplace they need to stop acting like home bodies. They need western developers to cater to those markets. They should in fact make it a point to look for studios that have games in the pipe that are due to arrive soon for their rivals. So that they can divert the flow to themselves. More importantly it will fill out their library.
Thirdly they need to up their investment in information architecture. They need more data hubs at the very least. Over night downloads just isn't acceptable. Not in this day and age. They also need to seriously invest in making a top of the line operating system for their platform.
Fourthly they need to aggressively court third party developers. Pay for development, market their goods for them, pay for any exclusivity that they can get. Become a competitor for third party development. They need to make themselves into some kind of attractive alternative. They wont get everything given how their console has sold, but they will find partners who will make a go of developing for under exploited territory. There are developers who would gladly develop exclusive games for the platform if the risks were dramatically reduced.
Yes there is a switch Nintendo can flip, but it is a big switch, and it will probably cost them a few billion to flip, but it isn't like doing so would go unnoticed by developers or consumers. If Nintendo went out tomorrow, and gobbled up five development studios, announced half a dozen third party exclusives they paid out of their pocket to get, announced the termination of the top staff that the market didn't have confidence in, and started hiring new staff like mad. I can tell you the doom and gloom would fucking evaporate.
