Was Nintendo's 2008 flop of a lineup merely an issue with perception?

[BengaBenga]

Onyxmeth said:

BengaBenga said:

Ail said:
Nintendo released it's top 4 best titles in like a 8 months period ( Galaxy, Wii Fit, SSBB and Mk Wii) and while it sure helped the Wii sales a lot it's still not always a good idea to play all your good cards so early. And aside from a Zelda Wii I don't really see what title they could still have in store that could be as big as those already released....

 

This.

If you look at the complete Nintendo lineup since launch no one can say that Nintendo has forgotten anyone. 

Zelda, Mario, Metroid, Smash Bros, Kart, Fire Emblem, Paper Mario, Batallion Wars, Strikers, Animal Crossing, Excite, Disaster (PAL+JAP).

I mean that's an incredible release list for just two years. The problem was simply Q4 2008. There just wasn't a lot for core gamers that buy games when they release. And this was amplified by the wealth of titles on the PS360.

But isn't that merely an issue with perception? If Nintendo released these games later, yeah it would have filled out the Fall lineup, but why would it matter since those same games were already in our hands? If Sony released their Fall lineup in the Spring in 2008, it would have left the Fall empty, but you'd still have access to all the same games, just earlier.

My point was to show that the lineup in it's entirety was rather good for 2008, and getting great games earlier than the Fall isn't really a reason to bitch. If you can do something as simple as re-order the games to weaken the spring and bulk up the Fall, and now everything looks great, then really what was there to bitch about in the first place? You still get all the same games.

 

 

Oh yes, I don't disagree with you. But it's not just perception though. It's only a small group that's affected by this, because most people would not have bought most of these games already through the year. As Wii software sales were through the roof in Nov+Dec it proves that the majority of Wii owners did not see Q4 as a drought at all.

So postponing Brawl and Kart would have only helped the core audience, but those are the same people that would have complained massively about a delay. Basically it's like Iwata sais: Core fans can't be satisfied ever.

But 3rd parties were the real issue here. They had a good chance on success with low Nintendo competition. Only a few (Activision, Ubisoft) took advantage.