Iwata Is Naturally Unhappy With Q2 2014 Results, But Claims Major Overhaul Isn’t Necessary

[Arius Dion]

Mr Khan said:

Arius Dion said:

Mr Khan said:

 

I have my critiques of Nintendo, but i feel that trashing the Wii U is really not going to get anyone anywhere, since the console is what it is. Let's talk about how to right the ship rather than gleefully watching it burn so that we can later build a new ship. Certainly there are hard things to be done. To parallel American politics again, it's like all the bashing of any various environmental or business regulations: they're there, they're law, trying to get rid of them is denial of political reality, try to fix them, instead.

Calling for heads to roll at Nintendo, or even having actual heads roll, is not going to do anything. If executed recklessly, it would be worse than doing nothing.

I simply advocate for reality, rather than idealistic purity.

Ok, lets get down to this, instead of taking subtle (and not so subtle swipes lol) at each other, Tell me some of your critiques you have with Nintendo?

Lets deal with the reality. Wii U is floundering, I've posted many times of reasons I think it is floundering about. From the Gamepad to the software being greenlit. I actually like Iwata, but I do think also that being a former dev, hes empathetic to developers. I've voiced this plenty of times in the past, even before I've read Malstroms take. I do believe that the software NIntendo has released thus far  was not the right kind of software for creating momentum for the console. I do believe the Wii U has more in common with Gamecube than it does the Wii.

You know me, I loved the Wii, was a huge fan and advocate for it. I've always been a Nintendo fan at heart. But the Wii U doesn't entice me at all. In fact it repels me. Nintendo's problem is not third party support. They've always had third party resistance. Nintendo is the only company that is in control of its own fate.

Why was Pikmin 3 made? Wind Waker? These games are Gamecube games. I'm not saying they don't have their fans, but if you are running a business, do you invest in those two games out the gate? Or do you create a HD Wii Sports Sequel? I'm no mouthpiece for no one but myself. Let me be clear, The reality is, Khan, many former Wii owners are repelled by the Wii U. Nintendo has a fire within their fanbase. Since none of us are on the inside, we can only speculate. But behavior they've exhibited is all we have to go on.

You have your ideas and perspectives on how Nintendo can turn this system around..I'd like to hear them actually. I have my ideas as well.

Okay, i'm going to take a look at a point-by-point breakdown of existing and upcoming first-party Wii U games (the big ones, at least):

Nintendoland: a bit disjointed, may have served better as a downloadable game (with Wii Club Sports being the pack-in instead), but certainly not indulgent from a "dev's fantasy" point of view.

New Super Mario Bros U: the problem with this one was that it wasn't creative enough (also, NSMB2 should not have existed, or at least not been released until 2014, for pacing concerns). The game here needed to be more ambitious, not less, and certainly has no problems with "inner picasso."

Pikmin 3: I'll agree the game was likely a waste of resources. They either should have forced it out for Wii in 2011, or realized that they didn't have the capacity for it early on and scrapped it back in the design stage. However, since they did not, you can't really blame them for just up-ressing it and dumping it on Wii U. The fact that the game was made at all when there were bigger fish for EAD to fry is hinting of "picasso" but not the game itself, which is right in line with other Pikmin games, and more fits the spirit of 1 than 2.

Wonderful 101: Really shouldn't have been bankrolled. The concept is too confusing (the idea of using superheroes, who have the tendency to fight either in small groups or as individuals, as Pikmin-like hordes, is very odd. The art style was a bit simplistic, so even if the core game was good, they needed a better idea to center it around, but since it's not EAD or another wholly-owned studio, it's harder to blame them.)

Wind Waker HD: This was a smart idea, as long as they kept their expectations low. Given how far they are (supposedly) in Zelda U development, and with Link Between Worlds coming, its development did not slow down any other games, its budget was clearly quite low, so it should turn a tidy profit for Nintendo, and has helped (in a small way, but every little is a gain in the Wii U's case) to move consoles, so there's no fault for it having been made. The only argument to really be made against it is "why not Twilight Princess?"

Wii Party U: Again, the critiques against the game are that it's not that much more ambitious than the Wii iteration.

Super Mario 3D World: Seems a basic upgrade on 3D Land (even as it achieves a much wider scope). One could debate whether the cat costume is necessary, but they seem to have put a lot of thought into how it effects the basic platforming experience, so it certainly is not pointless experimentation (and if you read the Iwata asks, they had to scrap a lot of ideas to avoid making the game seem too creative and disjointed).

Donkey Kong Country Tropical Freeze: everyone seems to be in agreement that this is a good idea.

Super Smash Bros For Wii U: Can't really mess this one up, and Sakurai doesn't seem to be rocking the boat, but rather trying to improve upon what Brawl introduced and roll back the Brawl features that were less loved.

Mario Kart 8: Can't really screw that up, and they don't seem to be trying, aside from F-Zero esque elements that certainly aren't very far out.

X: Could actually see significant sales potential increase from Xenoblade if Nintendo gets behind it, given Xeno's unexpected popularity for a game of its type. the big question is how bloated the budget will be.

Bayonetta 2: A smarter investment than Wonderful 101 at the very least, but we'll see how it plays out. There's a fair deal of hype for it, and the original crawled its way to 2 million across PS360 (admittedly in the bargain bin), so clearly there is potential if Nintendo and Platinum work together to keep the budget sensible and continue building hype for the game appropriately.

So i'll ask again, where is the evidence of these "untamed developers seeking their inner picasso"? You're talking games like Spirit Tracks or Other M, and these simply aren't being made any more.

Ok look at the games mentioned. Spirit Tracks and Other M, but put Skyward Sword in there along with Pikmin 3. Wii Party U is trying to show value to assymetric gameplay, I don't think that will work either.

Nintendo Land was not a momentum creator for the Wii U plus it most certainly was a vanity project an amusement park theme of cotton candy Nintendo 'goodness' and people weren't feeling it. The only game that has propped up the Wii U is NSMBU. But that game is so uninspired that its hard to be considered a flagship game when it feels that lazily done.

Mario Kart 8 while it looks beautiful, most certainly is exploring exploring inner their picaso. Instead of creating an F-Zero game, they mix and match anti Gravity into a Mario Kart game? That's about as out of place as Trains in a Zelda Game.  

Lets watch what the New Zelda U looks like. It most certainly will not look like the kick ass demo before. Hell look at what the promotional art for ALbtW looks like now, compared to before. Smash Bros I'm glad took away the subspace crap. Because that most certainly was an example of exploring their inner picaso as well.

Absolutely DKC looks the most solid to me. The game looks like it is just trying to build on the skeleton the created with the first game as well as improve everything else. If I were to buy a Wii U, it'd be forced by that game.

And I don't see the Gamepad being used at all in the gameplay vids I watch. What are your thoughts on the Gamepad? And do you think it was a good idea? a mistake? or what?