So basically in Japan, seniority is a big thing. I.E. being older, and having more experience developing games almost always gives you final say in how a game is developed. This is why Miyamoto always directs Mario & Zelda games, and the same goes with Final Fantasy and Hironobu Sakaguchi (now Mistwalker), Yoshinori Kitase, and others.

So I was thinking, and I've noticed that Nintendo relies on sequels much much more then they used to, and they are making less and less IP's. Even the new Nintendo games, they often seem very similar to old games. Super Mario 3D World is a lot like 3D Land, Galaxy, and even Super Mario 64, with the newest outfit being a cat suit. Go back in time, and Super Mario World was very different from Super Mario Bros 1-3, mostly because of Yoshi though.

Still, look at WiiU and 3DS's lineup. Super Mario, Pokemon, Donkey Kong Country, Mario Kart, Wii Party U, Animal Crossing etc. All sequels, and in reality they aren't that different from the games released 1-10 years ago.

Jump back to the 90's and you have the introduction of Yoshi and his own series of games following, Introduction of Kirby, Mario Kart, Donkey Kong Country (before think DK was just a villan), Super Mario RPG, Paper Mario, Mario Party (1 & 2 are >>> then what's releasing nowadays), Killer Instinct, Starfox, Super Smash Bros, Pokemon (was an amazing improvement in handheld games at the time), F-Zero, etc etc. Nintendo never relied on sequels, and all their new IP's did so well.

Nowadays, while the new Nintendo IP's are still wicked fun, there are so few of them. Off the top of my head, I can only think of Pikmin and XenoBlade, which can be argued to not be a new IP, just a new Nintendo exclusive....

Anyway.....I'm ranting.

Should Miyamoto step down and let others take control? He made great games for the first 15 years he worked for Nintendo, I'll admit that, but he's entering his 60's now, and most gamers are less then half his age. Plus look at the other Nintendo published games which aren't directly controlled by him now. F-Zero GX was probably the best F-Zero game. XenoBlade was phenominal. Metroid Prime was also developed by a western studio and it's amazing.

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The reason I'm making this thread is I was looking at WiiU's upcoming games, and I'm a bit disappointed. I still haven't finished off SM Galaxy, so why buy 3D Worlds? Do I really need another Mario Kart & Smash Bros? X and Pikmin 3 look amazing, but to be honest I'm just as interested in Bayonetta 2, and a possible Starfox developed by Platinum Studios. I wish Nintendo would have new devs makes new IP's entirely, I wish the WiiU had as many new IP's as the SNES.

I think Japanese corporate culture has pros and cons. I think that the cut throat nature and high turnovers in the West can result in managers with a short term and self centered attitude. But that same nature can lead to competition and the removal of inefficient managers more quickly.

It's a complicated, but good question. It's important for everyone not to just bash Japan (or the West).

You know you're going to look REALLY stupid with this in a couple months. ( You know, when they reveal their new "shit")

Nintendo's put out a lot of their main stays already. In order to push their systems.

But people complain because they dont have any new franchises or mascots.

But they 're always making games. Anything Monolith Soft makes is as Nintendo as any thing Intelligent Systems, Genius Sonority makes. As are any of their collaborations.

We all have something to learn from everyone else's culture, remember that

Miyamoto's not doing much of anything besides Pikmin and his own stuff, he's quality control and he's teaching more developers, particularly Nintendo's 2nd party devs.

Miyamoto's going to retire in a few years anyway, if not sooner sadly enough... He already announced that Mario 3d World is gonna be basically his last Mario game and I am sure hes planning a retirement shortly after

But overall, I don't really think so... I don't see why they can't sell you both their old IPs and make some new ones... Also Nintendo have done a few bad things but there are plenty of great things they still have even with their games, for example, the Art Direction usually cannot be matched by any other companies and all of their games have close to zero bugs when they get released...

http://www.nintendolife.com/news/2013/11/shigeru_miyamoto_plans_to_step_away_from_working_directly_on_future_mario_titles

In a couple months, Nintendo is just going to release more sequels. Even if they manage to turn WiiU sales around, my point is, is Nintendo as good of a company as it used to be.

Mario Kart, Smash Bros, and Super Mario 3D World look great, but Nintendo is reling too much on their big IP's, and I feel their games are starting to get repetative. I mean 7 years ago the Wii got Smash Bros, Mario Kart, and Galaxy, and they were great too, but is this going to start becoming a cycle?

I think the overabundance of sequels has more to do with Iwata and the other higher-ups. Why take a risk on a new IP when you can just make Mario #3453. It makes sense if you're in Iwata's shoes. The WiiU isn't doing very well and Mario games have a proven track record.

Ha no. Sequels dont factor into their plans.These guys want to own the market. I dunno what Iwata did to them, but they're insane. They got something in their eyes, I dunno man.

Miyamoto is no longer directly in charge of Mario games. That hasn't been the case for six years. Bar Twilight Princess, he hasn't been project lead on a Zelda game for fifteen years. And, Miyamoto WAS involved in Metroid Prime, in fact, he argued both that the game should be first person and that a multi-visor system should be implemented to give different perspectives and to increase the potential for puzzles.

Blaming Miyamoto is an easy and misinformed thing to do. Nintendo's problems run far deeper than one man, however influential, and without Miyamoto's insight and development nous, I expect they would be in a far worse position. It was, after all, Miyamoto that dreamt up Nintendo's biggest and most successful new intellectual properties this decade: Wii Sports, Wii Fit, Nintendogs.

Nintendo do need more variety in their software, but that won't come about by forcing the most influential games designer in history to retire. It will come about if Nintendo continue to allow new blood, like Yoshiaki Koizumi, take charge of their existing franchises, invest in new studios (like Platinum and Monolith Soft), return to franchises that aren't often utilised, and create new intellectual property. Removing Miyamoto won't make any of those things happen.

EDIT: Also, hasn't Wii U seen a new Nintendo IP, co-developed by Platinum, release this year? The Wonderful 101, anyone?

Wii U will not have as many new IP's as the SNES ever. You are comparing a time when Nintendo was 5 years into the console market to now being 30 years in. They aren't going to just stop making games for their most popular franchises. It's like asking why does Square Enix make so many Final Fantasy & Dragon Quest games? Or why does Activision release so many Call of Duty's? Or Rockstar making Grand Theft Auto's? It would be nice if these companies diversified, sure, but they aren't going to stray from their cash cows. By comparison, Nintendo is a lot more varied in what they do.
What I don't get is when people look at Mario and say, "Oh, it's just another platformer", or "Oh, it's just another 3D game." There's only two ways to do a Mario action game, flat platformer or 3D open world. It's what's in the game that diversifies it from previous titles. And, if you can honestly watch the trailers for Super Mario 3D World and say the Cat Suit is the ONLY thing different about that game than any other Mario, then I don't know what to say.
Yes, new IP's are exciting. But, I find it funny that everyone says they crave new IP's, and then something like the Wonderful 101 comes out, and nobody buys it. Just like everyone wanted a "hardcore" game on Wii, and nobody bought MadWorld. X is the sequel to what was a new IP, and already you're saying you're just as interested in playing the next Starfox (which ironically runs counter to your premise of desiring new IP's opposed to old).

Madworld Sold better than Anarchy Reigns did XD