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happydolphin on 01 March 2012
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RolStoppable said:
happydolphin said:
Mr Khan said:

Stop and think about that for a second. Why would anyone want to bridge back to the N64/GameCube?

Good question, but the failure of the N64, or even the Gamecube go way beyond SW, even HW content, you should know that! The PS1/2 did not go the way of the Wii, yet sold a shton, so what happened there, was it the casuals that helped that happen? Also, the HD twins are now at almost 120M sold! Trad vs casual, really is that the question, or is that simply a new question? Trad has an intrinsic value, despite the failure of N64/Cube.

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The failure of the N64 and GC is rooted in the software and hardware though. Everything beyond consists of just minor factors. No amount of marketing can save a poor product in the long run and neither was price ever a real issue for these two Nintendo systems. An interesting question is why did the GC worse than the Nintendo 64 despite having vastly better third party support, i.e. receiving most multiplatform games and more games overall in its lifetime? And how could the Wii with worse third party support than the GC when it comes to quality software outsell the previous two Nintendo systems combined with ease? Why did Wii sales collapse eventually?

The right answers to these questions lead to an unsettling truth that puts world views upside down. The N64 and GC were not traditional consoles, they were abominations. Once you step out of the Nintendo fanboy zone, you begin to realize that these generations were not a time of evolution, but rather an era of destruction of the original values. Once the tradition was restored, Nintendo became successful again. Once the tradition was abandoned again, Nintendo's business started to fall through the floor. Within Nintendo, there are two opposing directions that do not mash. Whichever one happens to be the dominant one at a given time decides over Nintendo's fate.

I think your biggest blind-spot here is that you confuse Wii's strategy with a return to tradition. On the contrary, it was a major contingency plan in face of an identity crisis, after seeing the Red Ocean helplessly stolen from under their feet.

To further your point, you demonstrate that the NES catered to the mainstream, but what you don't realize is that the Wii's strategy was to Primarily target the mainstream at the expense of mostly all else. That was not the NES strategy.

The Wii U strategy is closer to a return to the NES strategy, with a slight bend towards the hobbyist. Not considerably though. Both the mainstream and the hobbyist will be targetted, as was the case with the NES.

@Italics. Good question. Wii sales collapsed because Nintendo did not solidify its fortification, by ensuring a solid general hobbyist userbase, as well they decided to sacrifice catering to the Wii's mainstream in order to focus on the next gen. This is where 3rd parties are a fundamental piece of the puzzle. For backup.

@bold. The failure of these 2 platforms comes from the departure of 3rd parties at the time of the N64, even if the GC had a measure of support, it was far too late.