1) What would you do to try and turn things around the near term (1-6 months?)
Advertisements:
Mario Kart 8 advertisements are a good blueprint for future Wii U marketing, just focus a bit more on the Wii U hardware and the fact that it is a successor to the Wii. Most people still think the WIi U-Gamepad is an extension for the original Wii. Continue the efforts throughout the year and intensify with the beginning of the holiday season. WiiU is making profit with every sold SKU? Let’s sell them!
E3:
Make sure that the impression for both platforms is that there are several good games to come until next year. Make sure that there will be no big gaps where gamers have to wait for good games that are not just smaller games from the eShop. Send this combined message 'directly' to the gamers. At the end impress them with a Sneak Peak for Zelda U, which will come out in 2015. This Sneak Peak will move some hardware this year even with Zelda U not being out yet.
2) Which device would you discontinue first (3DS/Wii U) and what would your timetable be for the transition of both devices?
I like the idea of a combined platform of mobile and home console gaming, but I think it isn’t necessary to introduce them both at the same time. First start with the handheld because Nintendo is still the market leader for dedicated mobile gaming devices. Design a new hardware that comes without clutter and gimmicks, just gaming. Nintendo can benefit from smart phones because components for mobile devices are cheaper than ever if you design your hardware with standards in mind.
The 3DS is expensive for Nintendo because it has a chip that does not follow industry standards, a 3D-Screen most people could pass on and a additional display with mediocre touch-capabilities. For three-dimensional screens the chipset has to render two different pictures/camera-angles which makes development harder and more than halves the available graphics power. For the next handheld just use one display, standard-components and a good multi-touchscreen. The price for these components will drop a lot faster allowing them to sell without loss and a more aggressive pricing.
Same is true for the WiiU-successor, the WiiU does use a very special chipset that is only used in a home console from Nintendo. Microsoft and Sony went a different path, they both have very similar chipsets with Sony having the one that is a bit faster. The chipset is very similar to the Chipsets AMD is producing for computers these days (APUs), which cuts development costs and makes it easy for developers to shine on the new hardware. Nintendo should introduce the successor to the WiiU with a Pro Controller and a Wii-Remote in the package for 249.99$ and go with a SoC (System on a chip) like Microsoft and Sony did. This SoC can be less powerful than the competition - I think next generation will move raw power to 4K-resolution - but contain the same standards for graphic effects and processor architecture. With a SoC from AMD they have to discard backwards compatibility with the WiiU - a system that sells less than the GameCube did - but they are not a full generation behind again and third-partys can port at least some of their games with a lower resolution to the console.
The lower price would help to reclaim the money printing spot that Nintendo had in the 7th generation where the Wii for most hardcore gamers was the second console beside a PS3 or a Xbox360 and that Nintendo lost with the high entry level price of the WiiU.
3) What would be the your strategy for bolstering 3rd party support on the next home console?
Technical Strategy:
Build an operating system that runs smooth and fast, invest more money and increase the number of people that are constantly working on this. Build one operating system to run on both platforms with the same kernel and different UIs like Apple did with OS X and iOS.
Build a game engine that developers can use external but is used for all internal projects. This helps to prevent delays and developer can better use the hardware potential. For a Fusion-like connection this engine needs to be the same for the mobile and the home console like the OS.
Make the OS and engine people working on the new hardware early on to ensure that the engine is ready for operation when the first game development starts.
Also maker of other relevant engines should have early access to the hardware to have them on board early.
Establish a bigger hardware support team for third-partys with some people speaking at least English. At the moment a support request from a western developer is translated to Japanese, answered by the team and translated back to English. This procedure takes a week and the possibilities for mistranslations is high.
In short: Make life more comfortable for internal and external developers!
Game Strategy:
More. Fucking. Games.
Nintendo does have a lot of money at the bank and Iwata needs to spend some of it for striking back and erasing the mistakes of the past. What we have learned from a struggling 3DS is that a price cut costs a lot of money and some games would have made a better job. Third-Partys won’t come back because the platforms are not profitable for them, so Nintendo needs to sell a lot of hardware to get them back into the boat.
Example: EA is not producing a Fifa game for the WiiU. Why is there no Mario strikers announced yet?
Only more games can help Nintendo to sell more hardware. Buy some little studios, buy some exclusives from third-partys, buy a third-party, establish new studios in existing second partys or in the Nintendo HQ. Nintendo needs a more steady stream of games coming to their platforms and I think they have to secure these games come out at the right time. In case the console is selling like the Wii EA will make a Fifa for it and it will sell because it’s a realistic game and Mario Strikers is not, but it would be a good bridge until EA is coming back. The same is true for all genres of videogames.
Indie Strategy:
Use the eShop like the iOS-AppStore, publish a simplified version of the SDK and the conditions that developer have to keep to get their games into the Store. This would help to launch games simultaneously with the smartphones and tablets. Nintendo doesn’t need to compete with iOS and Android in terms of hardware power but they should have as many good games on their platform as possible.
Fusion Strategy:
With a Fusion platform that contains both, mobile and home consoles, Nintendo can start with the mobile sector where they can easier have success and make money. With the home console having similar graphical capabilities with more power for a higher resolution Nintendo could sell Universal games like Apple does with the iPhone and the iPad, where you can buy apps in the App Store that you pay once and run with a suitable User Interface on both devices. Buy Animal Crossing Universal for 49.99$ instead of 39.99$ for mobile-only and play on both platforms with savegames synced with your Nintendo-Network-ID between those devices. Same thing could work for Virtual Console games, buy once, play on all your devices and savegames are synced. This strategy could help to make more games available for each platform especially in the important early part of the lifecycle without development costs getting out of hand.
