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Forums - Nintendo Discussion - How Nintendo turned the Wii U around

Mythmaker1 on 28 December 2014
atomicblue said:

I'm not insulted or offended, I just think it's a silly thing to say.

I think you're confusing "designed for kids" with "not designed to exclude kids". I'm sure Nintendo are well aware of the fact that children like to play their games, but so do adults. Something like Teletubbies is designed specifically to be enjoyed by children and not adults (can't comment on My Little Pony as I've never watched even a minute of it so I don't know what it's like). Something like a Mario game is designed to be enjoyed by everyone. Not sure why you can't see the distinction.

When you say of Nintendo games that "they're for kids", that implies that they're designed primarily for children; adults are just an afterthought. Again, given how difficult a lot of those games are, that's clearly not true. If Nintendo made games specifically for kids, they'd be a lot easier.

Based on what I've seen, ironically, there are just as many kids who are into things like GTA and Halo as there are kids who are into Mario or Donkey Kong, if not more.

EDIT: Saw the post above me, was almost going to post the C.S. Lewis quote myself. Also agree that the average Wii U owner is quite possibly older than an XO or PS4 owner. I work at a gaming convention here in Australia and the kids weren't interested in entering the Super Mario 3D World tournament, they all seemed to gravitate towards Halo 3 (also Pokémon, to be fair).

In terms of story, Nintendo games are on the level of a children's cartoon. Sometimes there's some mature storytelling involved, but those tend to be outliers, and often the less successful entires in their series.

In terms of gameplay, there's depth like with titles like Pokemon, but even those titles find most of their depth in the margins of competitive play or optional challenges. The games themselves are a breeze to play on their own, even for kids. 

In terms of appeal, they're almost all about just being fun. Which is fine, nothing wrong with that. But there's no real edge to that fun, no nuance or depth. And while that can appeal to everyone from time to time, the kind of people who aren't able to look beyond just fun tend to be, well, children.



I believe in honesty, civility, generosity, practicality, and impartiality.

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Aquietguy on 28 December 2014
Aeolus451 said:
 

Ah, refused to answer that, huh? Nintendo is well known for having games that pertain to kids. It's no secret. There's some adults like to play those games. There's nothing wrong with it. I'm like that with pokemon. I feel like a damn moth that's being drawn to the flame whenever I walk by a tv that has that show on. I don't seek it out but I just can't stop watching if it happens to be on. It's a kid show. There's no point in dressing it up as something else. For example, Mario kart is designed for kids but anyone can play it but that doesn't change the fact of who it was designed for.

Yes the teletubies were aimed at kids. No doubt about that. So is Elmo. How does that mean Nintendo games are aimed at kids? How is Mario Kart for kids?



Aeolus451 on 28 December 2014
atomicblue said:
Aeolus451 said:
atomicblue said:

I can't believe people are still doing the "Nintendo = kiddie" argument in 2014.

There's a big difference between Teletubbies, which clearly doesn't aim for a level of intelligence above what you'd expect for five-year-olds, and Nintendo's first-party content, which requires a much greater skill level than kids can generally manage.

One of my friends picked up a Wii U recently to play with his son. His son loves things like Super Mario 3D World but, being about six, he's not able to finish the game (pretty sure my friend told me he's made it to world 3 or thereabouts). That doesn't mean he can't enjoy it. It can also be enjoyed by people like his dad or myself, who are in our 30s and love the challenge of the later levels. Neither of us would have any interest in Teletubbies.


lol. I used teletubbies as an example. Didn't mean that as a insult to anyone. I could of used My little pony as another example. haha My point is that the majority of nintendo's games are designed for kids. I don't know why some people find that offensive to hear that. I never said anything about an adult not being able to enjoy those games. Like I mentioned several times, it's fine if you like that type of game. To each their own or whatever floats your boat.


I'm not insulted or offended, I just think it's a silly thing to say.

I think you're confusing "designed for kids" with "not designed to exclude kids". I'm sure Nintendo are well aware of the fact that children like to play their games, but so do adults. Something like Teletubbies is designed specifically to be enjoyed by children and not adults (can't comment on My Little Pony as I've never watched even a minute of it so I don't know what it's like). Something like a Mario game is designed to be enjoyed by everyone. Not sure why you can't see the distinction.

When you say of Nintendo games that "they're for kids", that implies that they're designed primarily for children; adults are just an afterthought. Again, given how difficult a lot of those games are, that's clearly not true. If Nintendo made games specifically for kids, they'd be a lot easier.

Based on what I've seen, ironically, there are just as many kids who are into things like GTA and Halo as there are kids who are into Mario or Donkey Kong, if not more.

EDIT: Saw the post above me, was almost going to post the C.S. Lewis quote myself. Also agree that the average Wii U owner is quite possibly older than an XO or PS4 owner. I work at a gaming convention here in Australia and the kids weren't interested in entering the Super Mario 3D World tournament, they all seemed to gravitate towards Halo 3 (also Pokémon, to be fair).

Nintendo has always thought of itself as a toy company. That's their roots.  From their earliest console, it's apparant that their 1st party games were mainly for kids. Nothing has changed except those "kids" aged and they still like to play those type of games. Nothing wrong with it. Anyone can enjoy it. Do a search with "which console is best for kids" and see what pops up. It's for "everyone" is a marketing ploy to get parents to buy it. There's for kids, for teens and for adults but adults are the ones who can play all 3 and enjoy them.



Aeolus451 on 28 December 2014
Aquietguy said:
Aeolus451 said:
 

Ah, refused to answer that, huh? Nintendo is well known for having games that pertain to kids. It's no secret. There's some adults like to play those games. There's nothing wrong with it. I'm like that with pokemon. I feel like a damn moth that's being drawn to the flame whenever I walk by a tv that has that show on. I don't seek it out but I just can't stop watching if it happens to be on. It's a kid show. There's no point in dressing it up as something else. For example, Mario kart is designed for kids but anyone can play it but that doesn't change the fact of who it was designed for.

Yes the teletubies were aimed at kids. No doubt about that. So is Elmo. How does that mean Nintendo games are aimed at kids? How is Mario Kart for kids?



Mario kart is just aimed at a higher age group than teletubies' typical audience. Seriously, just look at the cover of a mario kart game. Try to tell me that's not meant for a kid.

TheJimbo1234 on 28 December 2014
spurgeonryan said:

http://www.geek.com/games/how-nintendo-turned-around-the-wii-u-1609920/

 

It took Nintendo nearly two years to get there, but the Wii U is now a fantastic game console. There are more “must own” games on the Wii U right now than either of the other next-gen consoles, and all but two of them are family friendly titles that anyone of any skill level can enjoy for hours. Getting to this point was no easy task, but now that Nintendo has a solid, inexpensive console with no shortage of great content, the chances for success increase significantly. The road Nintendo took to get here was far from smooth, and as a result it’s going to be hard to regain the trust of gamers.

 

When I left Nintendo’s press event for the Wii U back in October of 2012, there was no doubt in my mind that I had just seen the future. Nintendo had managed to successfully deliver their DS experience on the television, with hardware that was on par with the current generation of consoles and a focus on the entire living room that I found entirely refreshing. Unfortunately, what Nintendo delivered at launch was exactly none of these things. The launch was full of problems, not the least of which was the sheer volume of consumers who didn’t even understand that Nintendo was delivering a new gaming console. Features were missing, the launch lineup was less than exciting, and the console itself was just plain slow.

 

 

The first step towards getting the Wii U up to fighting strength was actually finishing the console, which included simple things like ensuring the GamePad would always work when in range of the console. Nintendo also quickly reacted to the desire for better battery life on the GamePad, and released larger batteries for those who wanted to lose a Saturday inside games like The Wonderful 101.

 

In finishing the OS and releasing most of the features that were promised at launch, Nintendo also figured out a clever way to give users something to do while the console started up. The Quick Launch menu on the Wii U GamePad made it easy for users to just jump straight into an app as soon as they hit the power key, and in many cases makes the console feel significantly faster than it actually is when it comes to booting and loading games. Quick Launch is a fantastic feature to have if the GamePad is your primary method of playing with the console, and it goes a long way towards making the Wii U feel nimble.

 

 

read more at link above!

 

 


What utter drivel.

If the WiiU has been "turned around", then why are the sales still dire? More biased fans writing fanfiction and trying to pass it off as journalism.



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zorg1000 on 28 December 2014
Aeolus451 said:
Aquietguy said:
Aeolus451 said:
Aquietguy said:
Aeolus451 said:
bowserthedog said:
bonzobanana said:
That article doesn't make a lot of sense. We are entering 2015 with just about all major third party support cancelled for wii u. This year the wii u will be even more a niche format and not get any of the impressive, state of the art games that ps4 or xbone get or the weaker ps3 and 360 versions.

Both ps3 and 360 are still more relevant and in mainland Europe the ps3 is still outselling wii u most of the time despite the huge existing ps3 userbase.

Nintendo are stuck with the wrong product which they must support for a few more years yet.


I don't see the appeal of have yet another GD console to play the same games. We've already got pc, xbox, and playstation, and now steam box. And you peeps want another console playing the same games? I buy one console to play cross platform games and then I buy others for the exclusives and wiiu is by far the best system for exclusives.


Most of it's exclusives are kid games and because it doesn't have 3rd support, it's not attracting anyone but nintendo fans and kids.


Kids games? Could you define "kids games".


Sure. :D A game that's mainly designed to target or appeal to kids but anyone can play it. It's the same with kid shows like teletubbies, spongebob squarepants, power rangers or pokemon. There's nothing wrong with watching or playing something that's mainly for a kid but I'm just gonna say how it is instead of saying that games like that are for "everyone" for the sake of feelings.

Nintendo games are targeted to everyone. Just because there is no blood, violence, or bad language doesn't mean its targeted at kids. Certainly thats not all it means to be adult. And its certainly not need to make a good game.


Ok, do you think that teletubies was designed for kids?

Teletubbies is a horrible example, that show is aimed directly at preschool age children. Pixar/Dreamworks movies like Cars, Kung Fu Panda, Shrek would have been much more appropriate examples. Movies that clearly have children in mind but also throw in enough jokes/references that adults can enjoy them as well.



When the herd loses its way, the shepard must kill the bull that leads them astray.

Aquietguy on 28 December 2014
Aeolus451 said:
 

Mario kart is just aimed at a higher age group than teletubies' typical audience. Seriously, just look at the cover of a mario kart game. Try to tell me that's not meant for a kid.

I see you didn't answer my question. But anyway, Mario Kart is aimed at a higher age group. From child to infinity.

 

How does the cover means its aimed at kids? The cover shows what the game looks like. Are you telling me that a dead body bleeding in the road would make it mature?



Aeolus451 on 28 December 2014
zorg1000 said:
Aeolus451 said:
Aquietguy said:
Aeolus451 said:
Aquietguy said:
Aeolus451 said:
bowserthedog said:
bonzobanana said:
That article doesn't make a lot of sense. We are entering 2015 with just about all major third party support cancelled for wii u. This year the wii u will be even more a niche format and not get any of the impressive, state of the art games that ps4 or xbone get or the weaker ps3 and 360 versions.

Both ps3 and 360 are still more relevant and in mainland Europe the ps3 is still outselling wii u most of the time despite the huge existing ps3 userbase.

Nintendo are stuck with the wrong product which they must support for a few more years yet.


I don't see the appeal of have yet another GD console to play the same games. We've already got pc, xbox, and playstation, and now steam box. And you peeps want another console playing the same games? I buy one console to play cross platform games and then I buy others for the exclusives and wiiu is by far the best system for exclusives.


Most of it's exclusives are kid games and because it doesn't have 3rd support, it's not attracting anyone but nintendo fans and kids.


Kids games? Could you define "kids games".


Sure. :D A game that's mainly designed to target or appeal to kids but anyone can play it. It's the same with kid shows like teletubbies, spongebob squarepants, power rangers or pokemon. There's nothing wrong with watching or playing something that's mainly for a kid but I'm just gonna say how it is instead of saying that games like that are for "everyone" for the sake of feelings.

Nintendo games are targeted to everyone. Just because there is no blood, violence, or bad language doesn't mean its targeted at kids. Certainly thats not all it means to be adult. And its certainly not need to make a good game.


Ok, do you think that teletubies was designed for kids?

Teletubbies is a horrible example, that show is aimed directly at preschool age children. Pixar/Dreamworks movies like Cars, Kung Fu Panda, Shrek would have been much more appropriate examples. Movies that clearly have children in mind but also throw in enough jokes/references that adults can enjoy them as well.



Yes, you're right. I realized that after I got so many repeated replies. ugh. I should of just used My little pony as an example. :D

Aeolus451 on 28 December 2014
Aquietguy said:
Aeolus451 said:
 

Mario kart is just aimed at a higher age group than teletubies' typical audience. Seriously, just look at the cover of a mario kart game. Try to tell me that's not meant for a kid.

I see you didn't answer my question. But anyway, Mario Kart is aimed at a higher age group. From child to infinity.

 

How does the cover means its aimed at kids? The cover shows what the game looks like. Are you telling me that a dead body bleeding in the road would make it mature?



To answer your first question. The game itself looks like it's for kids. To your 2nd question, of course not. You keep bringing up examples of adult type games when I'm just pointing out that the majority of nintendo's games are intended to appeal heavily to kids. Kids are only supposed to play the "everyone" games because that's the only games that are rated for kids. They can't touch the teen, mature or AO stuff. So what does "everyone" rating actually imply it's for?

Aquietguy on 28 December 2014
Aeolus451 said:
Aquietguy said:
Aeolus451 said:
 

Mario kart is just aimed at a higher age group than teletubies' typical audience. Seriously, just look at the cover of a mario kart game. Try to tell me that's not meant for a kid.

I see you didn't answer my question. But anyway, Mario Kart is aimed at a higher age group. From child to infinity.

 

How does the cover means its aimed at kids? The cover shows what the game looks like. Are you telling me that a dead body bleeding in the road would make it mature?


To answer your first question. The game itself looks like it's for kids. To your 2nd question, of course not. You keep bringing up examples of adult type games when I'm just pointing out that the majority of nintendo's games are intended to appeal heavily to kids. Kids are only supposed to play the "everyone" games because that's the only games that are rated for kids. They can't touch the teen, mature or AO stuff. So what does "everyone" rating actually imply it's for?

The game looks like its for everyone. The only reason you think everyone means for kids is because there is no kids rating. And there are games only a kid could like. Certainly not Nintendo games. How many kids could end Nintendo games. Just as many that can end "mature" games.