Why WiiU is the only viable strategy for Nintendo

[JWeinCom]

HoloDust said:

JWeinCom said:

HoloDust said:
Well, for start, platform holder's fee is 20%, so on $60 game that's $12, not $7.

As for WiiU...

...Nintendo should've spent money on bit beefier hardware, one that is not so underpowered compared to PS4/NextBox (not saying they should've competed directly, something similar in performance to 4850 which was speculated when first rumors about next Ninty console appeared would be more than enough), instead of spending that money on Gamepad (making it effectively an accessory, convenience option all next-gen consoles will most likely have).

Also, ship this SuperWii (I believe there was Japanese ad that called WiiU exactly that) with SuperWiimote and Game Pro controllers as default, and launch it with SuperWii Sports and Mario Kart SuperWii, all while working on new IPs that would help bring more of core audience (action-adventure and FPS audience most notably).

Would you mind providing a source for the fee?  Not that I'm doubting you, I'd just like to confirm that for my own information.  Assuming that, they'd still need an extra 6ish games before seeing a profit.  More likely, but still not very.

All consoles will have something similar to the Wii U, but not as good.  Being part of the package makes integration that much simpler.  If it's not a standard feature, it won't be used meaningfully outside of a handful of games for fear of splitting a fanbase.  See the Move, Kinect, or even the Wii Motion Plus.

So, Nintendo makes games focussing on the hardcore gamer.  Are they going to make franchises that outdo Halo, Uncharted, and Gears of War at their own games?  This is essentially what Sony tried to do to Nintendo in reverse.  They tried to make PSASBR, Little Big Planet Karting, Sports Champions, etc, and they failed because they, and their studios, are not good at those types of games.  They haven't build the talent, the methods, etc.

If Nintendo tried to make Bioshock Infinite or Gears of War, they'd probably fail at it. Is Nintendo: Military Shooter really going to take out Call of Duty (which has a budget and team size far beyond anything Nintendo's ever done)?  Is Gears of Nintendo going to drag X-Box fans away from their X-Box Live accounts? Meanwhile, Nintendo will have far less content for the markets that they actually do really well in.

For price breakdown:

http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2011-01-10-where-does-my-money-go-article

(skip to 2:40) http://www.gametrailers.com/videos/qba2o2/pach-attack--episode-111

As for Gamepad like devices on other consoles  - they will not be anything else but convenience gadgets that are practically clients in local cloud powered by your console - all games will work on them - at least on PS4/Vita combo that's confirmed, and pretty much we should expect MS to do the same. As I said in other thread, if Sony is smart they will make tablets/tablet accessories that also support Remote Play, or even let other manufacturers include it in their tablets (ones that meet certain standards). I think Gamepad was too much of a focus for Nintendo as a selling point for system, and so far it has not attracted attention they hoped for.

As for more new "core" IPs - I think they need FPS, not military one, but something that will at least try to compete with MS/Sony - Sony did it with Killzone/Resistance to compete with MS, they are not as successful as HALO, but at least they're trying - something that will try to bring back Golden Eye days back for them.

As for other genres, something like action-adventure or RPG that draws from Zelda universe might be way to go - I mentioned several times this in various threads here, Sheikahs would be perfect for spin-off IP that can be more in the lines of what "core" PS360 audience expects from that genres.

Thanks for the link.  As for the Gamepad, having it integrated with the system is a huge difference from having it as an add on.  Remote play for instance would be impossible for 99% of games if you're using a tablet.  Out of the games we've seen in Nintendo Land, perhaps 1/3 of the games could be replicated using the tablets.  If you want to make a game that truly utilizes the functions of a peripheral, then you need to be sure that every gamer on a system has that peripheral, or else you're severaly limiting your audience.  There is a reason that the Move and the Kinect didn't catch on (or caught on then died off very quickly). 

Trying to appeal to the PS360 audience is a dead end.  Nintendo won't be able to drag those gamers away from Microsoft while simultaneously creating enough content to keep their audience content.  We've seen Sony and Microsoft both fail when they tried to play Nintendo's game.  If Nintendo plays theirs, they'll fail as well.