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TheMisterManGuy on 08 December 2023
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burninmylight said:

Nintendo both tried too hard with the GCN and didn't try hard enough. Exact same issue with the Wii U, which I'm still amazed it didn't remember that lesson after the GCN. Sony and MS have been mostly clear with their marketing strategy and target demographics. I say mostly because MS in the Kinect era started committing the same mistakes, especially with the launch of XB1 and the forced Kinect 2.0.

As a gamer during the GCN era, I'm like, "Nintendo if you want to be so hardcore, why aren't you trying harder to get GTA games on your console like MS pulled off? Why are you content with letting Soul Calibur III be a PS2 exclusive? Why aren't you spending more of your marketing budget on the third parties that do come to your console like Resident Evil 4, True Crime and Capcom vs. SNK?"

With the Wii, Nintendo went into the extreme social/casual/family route with marketing and message. I didn't like all of it, but I could respect the clear direction. With the Wii U, it went back to the one foot in, one foot out strategy. That doesn't work when you're trying to establish an identity for a new console. You have to fully commit to an idea. That's what it did with the Switch, and along with some must-have titles on the launch window, look at what happened.

Exactly. This is why Nintendo's attempts at being edgy came off as lame to people because as someone mentioned, it always felt like an out of touch dad trying to be hip with the kids of today.

Just look at the third party deals Nintendo made during this era, they were all targeting PS1 originated franchises like "Hey gamers! You like Resident Evil and Metal Gear Solid right!? Well now they're on Nintendo too!" But the generation was already being defined by Gran Theft Auto, Halo, and others that weren't on Nintendo. The GameCube felt like a PlayStation 1 killer... That was seven years late to the party.

It feels like every time Nintendo tries to pander to the PS/Xbox crowd, it always fails (GameCube, Wii U launch). They're much more successful when they're offering something different from the big two (DS, Wii, Switch).