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Forums - Nintendo Discussion - Can Nintendo Make Another Successful Home Console w/o Expanding?

JayWood2010 said:

Nintendo has continued to struggle with the WiiU and it gets me to thinking will Nintendo ever be a relevant factor in the home console business again?

And to be clear i think Nintendo games in general will always have a relevance but I also dont think they can single handedly compete with Sony and Microsoft mostly because the audience that Nintendo appeals to is so small.  Sure the Wii was a success thanks to it becoming a phenomenon but that had little to do with Mario + Zelda + etc but more with the Wii mote and how casuals accepted the console.  But theyre gone and its more apparent every day with Kinect and WiiU

And this is what I'm saying.  If there is 10m fans of Mario then you are gathering a 10m fanbase for the WiiU.  And fankly Nintendo pushes mario down your throat with countless spinoffs, 3D, and 2D.  Mario is never ending but again its only a small fanbase if you look at the larger picture.  And this is where the problem is, that audience is the same audience who likes Star Fox, Pikmin, Zelda, etc.  All Nintendo games are focused on the same audience.  Its not very diverse.  They dont try to capture the other 100m's of people who like different stuff.

That is like Microsoft only being Halo.  It would appeal to about 10m people there for Xbox would only sell 10m lifetime.  Or Gran Turismo with Playstation.  However Microsoft and Sony goes for a wider variaty with things with different genres, different demographics, mature rated, and E rated.  Then to top it off they have more powerful graphics, better online, more features like achievements which to this day i dont understand why Nintendo wont add, and third parties that they cater to.  Its a much wider variety.

And then you think NIntendo and you mostly think E for everyone, mascots, and platforming.  WHile they do have other games like Xenoblade in general the games they push is very much Mario, Donkey Kong, etc which i think is a huuuuge problem.  Especially when you can get the same experience on a handheld now (3DS).

So, will Nintendo have to expand creating a wider variety in their portfolio?  Will they need to get away from the Mascot dominated culture and cutesy artsyles?  Or do you think that adding third parties to the mix will fix their problems?


I agree with a few points of the post...

I'm not sure why Nintendo hasn't done achievements yet either, especially considering that I think they're well suited for their games. It's also rather simple to do. It personally isn't a make or break for me, but it would honestly be a nice feature to have. I'd like more online features as well, but honestly I have no issues playing online in terms of performance. Nintendo tries to capture kids and families, but they should be more aggressive with other markets as well. 

And there's some disagreement...

I'm not sure what people expect Nintendo to do with their portfolio of games, because they already provide a pretty diverse offering of games. Also, what makes you think people want diversity in games? Look at the best selling games on any platform... Look at the type of games with annual releases. Look at what sells. Most people don't want new games, they want a similar experience over and over again with a few extra bells and whistles. Occasionally you'll get something new, but enevidably, the newness will wear off and it will simply turn into another franchise to milk.



Current gaming platforms - Switch, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Wii U, New 3DS, PC

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Yeah the wii brand is dead. Even gamecube 2 would off been better



From my observation, Nintendo is only able to thrive in situations where competition is extremely weak/non existent, such as the NES days or when it has a once in a lifetime fad, such as the wii the first three years with motion controls.

If any of those situations arises, conditions are favorable for Nintendo consoles to be relevant again.



The Wii U's problem, in a nutshell, is that it only appeals to pre-existing fans of the Nintendo style. I don't see much growth in the future stemming from that, which is not good. The next Nintendo console will need to win new consumers with precious little hold-over. In other words, the Nintendo fan-base itself will continue to shrink unless something is done.

The situation with Nintendo is kind of interesting, to be honest. It's a company where a few aging game developers are in complete control. In a world where businessmen often seem out of touch with the audience, that sounds like a great idea. However, the negatives of that are as apparent as the positives. They are going to keep making their games exactly the way they want to make them with little regard for the changing market. They haven't been paying attention to anything except themselves for a very long time. That has allowed them to perfect those specific areas of expertise, yes, but at the cost of diversity and the patronage of those who have developed a taste for new and different flavors.

None of that would be a problem if they were just a software company. Of course, they're also a hardware company, which is where the difficulty dwells.

If they want to grow, then I think Nintendo is going to finally have to take control away from the regime that has ruled for so long. They need someone who can look outward as well as inward, who understands the global audience, and has the power to make game development decisions without regard to tenure.



I dont see Nintendo ever gaining traction again. The pool of gamers is only so big. You have Sony fans, you have MS fans and the first year sales(in an abysmal year for games) gives you an idea of how big those fanbases are. The kids of today grew up on MS/Sony and that is where they game. People with Nintendo now are kind of what is left of the real base of the company. Its not getting any bigger cause most kids are growing up with Sony/MS and will put their dollars towards those brands once they are of earning age.

Ive said it before, Nintendo could have released a console 2x as powerful as the PS4 and things wouldn't be much different than they currently are console sales wise. The only thing that can save them is for them to true exclusive moneyhat/buy out an existing IP that people care about. I am talking MGS, COD levels of big.



Getting an XBOX One for me is like being in a bad relationship but staying together because we have kids. XBone we have 20000+ achievement points, 2+ years of XBL Gold and 20000+ MS points. I think its best we stay together if only for the MS points.

Nintendo Treehouse is what happens when a publisher is confident and proud of its games and doesn't need to show CGI lies for five minutes.

-Jim Sterling

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Ka-pi96 said:
They definitely could. But not by doing another Nintendo style console. They really really need to watch and learn from Sony and Microsoft and copy everything that they do well.

If they copy everything from Sony and MS, they'll lose me. I can buy the original, why should I purchase the copy?

To stay relevant, they have to stay different.



3DS-FC: 4511-1768-7903 (Mii-Name: Mnementh), Nintendo-Network-ID: Mnementh, Switch: SW-7706-3819-9381 (Mnementh)

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Perhaps, but they need to try something very different! Oh, ditching the "Wii" brand is also a must! Keeping that brand with the WiiU was a huge mistake imo!



                
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The way I see it, eventually Nintendo partners with some entity larger than itself, either in terms of dollars or gaming influence, for its next home console. People of course list Apple or Google. Or maybe MS or Sony. Or even Samsung. However I'd wager on a companies like Tencent, Valve, or Comcast.



I predict NX launches in 2017 - not 2016

Ka-pi96 said:
Mnementh said:
Ka-pi96 said:
They definitely could. But not by doing another Nintendo style console. They really really need to watch and learn from Sony and Microsoft and copy everything that they do well.

If they copy everything from Sony and MS, they'll lose me. I can buy the original, why should I purchase the copy?

To stay relevant, they have to stay different.

I didn't say copy everything, only the things that Sony and Microsoft do well. They should also retain plenty of their own original ideas as well, but they need to embrace at least some of what Sony/MS do in order to widen their potential market.

OK, I can agree with that. I think it is important to stay unique in comparison, but I agree they should incorporate good ideas that doesn't contradict their general niche.



3DS-FC: 4511-1768-7903 (Mii-Name: Mnementh), Nintendo-Network-ID: Mnementh, Switch: SW-7706-3819-9381 (Mnementh)

my greatest games: 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023

10 years greatest game event!

bets: [peak year] [+], [1], [2], [3], [4]

If by "expanding" you mean apealing for the "non-cartoonish" demographics then the answer is no!

What nintendo needs is a machine with their unique games + multiplatforms and for that they need:

- A machine on par with next gen;
- Better online;
- Achievement system(So people will not choose the competitor's version of the game in order to get the platinum/MSpoints);