The Nintendo Switch and a New IP Renaissance

[Darwinianevolution]

Well, Nintendo has a bit of a problem when it comes to create new IPs. And that's the fact their old classic series can cast such a powerful shadow over the new games. They create more new IPs than people realize (BoxBlox, Fullblox, that horse racing one, W101, STEAM...), but usually are either not pushed enough or focused to a very small userbase.

Plus, they need to know what they want to achieve. Splatoon was very clear: an online shooter where the objective is to paint as much ground as possible. It was ink themed because of that, thus the squids and octopus, and they decided to go with a Nikelodeon-90s aesthetic because the emphasis on colour. Simple, and all making sense. Codename STEAM is, on the other hand, one of the biggest clusterfucks of a game I've seen. It's a Turn base RPG focused on steampunk characters based on american folklore fighting lovecraftian aliens (okay, what?). Its aesthetic is based on cartoony comic books with a lot of humour (wait, what? Why?), and its gameplay its more similar to Valkyria Chronicles (Why, again?). It's cartoony looks are not popular enough with the older userbase, who prefers either a more realistic approach or an animesque one. Younger audiences who might like the artstyle and the humour will find the gameplay too boring and dificult, and the fact it's american-themed basically alienated those who preffer something more neutral, specially in Japan and Europe. Thus, you have a game that appeals to basically noone. And I bought the game, it's mediocre at best. The choices they took don't mix at all. Nintendo needs to get a clear concept of what they're trying to achieve before making a new IP, otherwise they are going to get a lot of STEAMs.