pokoko said:
The first thing that needs to happen is that Nintendo fans need to learn that successful doesn't mean beating Sony or Microsoft in sheer numbers. Like the PSP, it can be successful while being primarily niche.
As for Nintendo, they need to take a cold, hard look at their business model for hardware. You cannot be underpowered and expensive, not with the competition in today's market. They need to take that to heart--actually, you'd think they would have learned with the reception the 3DS received initially. Also, if they're going to gamble on innovations/gimmicks, then they're going to have more strike-outs than home-runs, especially if the gambles are expensive. That's just the way it is. If they want to keep throwing the dice on hardware, fans should expect to see more Wii U's than Wii's.
They need to scrap this "we do don't follow what others do" philosophy. That's childish. If someone else comes up with something that's really better, which people really like, then you follow the hell out of it. That in no way stops you from coming up with your own innovations and ideas, it just stops you from falling behind. An accounts system, for example, should have been in works from the moment they saw how popular it was with Xbox and Playstation. It's not about pride, it's about giving customers the best experiences.
If they're set on remaining under-powered, which is fine, then they need to diversify their own offerings. This isn't the 1980s, most people play many different genres. What they're doing now with commissioning titles from outside studios is a start but they're going to have to really support their efforts. Acquiring or creating more studios which focus on other genres would not be a bad idea. They need a signature western developer, one that works on original, western flavored IPs. Can you see a Nintendo system with their own Naughty Dog?
Speaking of Sony, they're known for the technical assistance they provide to third-party developers with specialist groups like X Dev, Naughty Dog's tech-specialist ICE Team, and Sony Santa Monica. Nintendo needs something like that.
Honestly, my feeling with Nintendo is that they just don't want to spend much money on anything. That's great short-term but it might bite them in the ass eventually--if it hasn't already.
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