There’s a lot of discussion at the moment about Nintendo and how to ‘fix’ Nintendo. I think most of it is complete nonsense but that’s just me. The suggestion that just won’t go away is the idea that Nintendo should focus its resources on game development and stop making consoles altogether. What do you think: good idea, bad idea?
What are your thoughts? Vote in our poll and, if you feel so inclined, drop your reasoning below.
Comments
84 responses to “The Big Question: Should Nintendo Go Third Party?”
I think one of the only things Nintendo has going for them is the amazing original IP you can get on their consoles. I feel like some of the magic will be lost without the consoles and the brand will be diluted. I’m more open to them making games for all the consoles, while still having their own handheld systems though…
Plus their hardware, and especially the controllers, has historically driven market trends. We’d lose some of that crazy innovation if they stopped marking hardware.
Yeah but they can’t invest billions just in the hope of satisfying our curiosity.
They need to develop competitive hardware or get out of the market.
It seems to me that they’ve decided to remain true to their tried and tested genres, characters, IPs etc.
Which is fine it itself, but not enough to support a console – as we can see,
So they either change their game development strategy – and start developing for a wider range of genres, or they continue making lacklustre consoles, or they continue as they are, but without the hardware.
But I agree, it makes sense for them to continue with handhelds up until it’s shown that that’s no longer viable.
I don’t see what we would lose if Nintendo stopped making consoles, but continued making games. It would simply mean we can all play Mario or Zelda without having to spend $3-400 on hardware before doing so (presuming we already own another compatible console).
Yeah. Without that hardware advantage I don’t think they’d be producing the same stuff. We see Nintendo come into a new hardware generation with games that are comparable to end of generation third party titles. I don’t think we’d see games like Wind Waker and Metroid Prime if they were making XBOX and Playstation games.
Why?
I think the real question is if those games would sell well on those systems. If they don’t Nintendo could really be in trouble, should they go down that route.
I think Nintendo have perhaps assumed that people will automatically buy the latest Nintendo console and maybe people just won’t do that anymore. Maybe we’re more resistant in spending $400 or so on a console – although record breaking sales of PS4/Xbone seem to suggest that isn’t the case – certainly with early adopters.
It is the case for me.
Right now I have a notebook which I bought about 18 months ago, which does EVERYTHING I want it to with ZERO issues. It replaces a 5 year old notebook which did everything I wanted it to with some minor issues. I’m glad that I bought this one and no longer have those issues, but I just can’t see me feeling the need to buy a replacement until and unless this one dies. Same with my 5 year old 24″LCD Monitor. Same with my 8 year old GPS. Same with my 3 year old mobile.
Right now I’m very satisfied with the technology I own. It all does what it should be doing, I just don’t feel any need to upgrade. Sure, if the Samsung Note 3 was $150 I’d buy one, but it isn’t – it’s around $700 or so – and I’m not spending that to discover that it doesn’t do anything that I can’t do with my existing phone.
I’m feeling that way about phones right now. I want a Lumia 1520 but I want it for a 520 price. Spec by spec I just don’t care about the differences enough to justify the price difference. I read that I can get a 1520 for $600, but even that’s high considering I only use smartphones for a handful of basic apps, a music player and basic phone functionality. As far as my usage is concerned the only difference between the 520 and 1520 is that the 1520 has a much more comfortable screen.
I’m lucky enough to be in a position where they don’t make a smartphone that I can’t afford, but I still can’t get past the idea that I’d be replacing my almost 5 year old iPhone that does almost everything I want with something that costs five times as much as the 520 and does the same things only more comfortably.
Back on consoles though out of the XBOX One, PS4 and Wii U I’m actually feeling most satisfied with the Wii U. It’s a fantastic bit of hardware when that’s a lot of fun when you actually get your hands on it, but I still sort of look at is as a $400 add-on to a ‘real’ console that lets me play Nintendo games.
Yeah, my Galaxy S2 is great, although the battery struggles a bit.
But it feels great in the hand, the camera is excellent, apps open in 2 seconds. I use it as a phone, internet browsing, occassional youtube video, a couple of basic apps and that’s it.
I don’t use it for email, or VoIPing. I could and I’m sure it will work very well, but it’d be more hassle than it’s worth.
I can afford a new phone, but I can only really justify a new phone on the basis that the tax man will allow me to get a new one and for it to be a tax deduction, and the fact that everyone else on the planet gets a new phone every 2 years.
And I’m sure a new phone will be better, in very minor and unnecessary ways.
On top of that, I’m not convinced about the screen size I want. 4.2″ works well for me, but apparently the best thing is to get a 5.0″ or bigger screen – and I don’t know if I want to spend $600 or so just to discover that I do prefer 4.2″.
But back to games, if we must.
Yeah I’m sure the WII U is very capable in its technology. The PS3 is no slouch either. They just don’t compete with the new boys on the block.
As soon as PS4/Xbone stretch their legs they’ll be offering the more engaging experiences, for most of us.
Yeah I bought the Wii as an accessory in a way – but I regret that now, and I’m not going to throw away $400 again without good reason. I’d be tempted to throw $200 away at the Wii U, although i resisted when Dick Smiths had their sale on.
Yes, for consoles, no on handhelds.
I just think it’s no longer their strong suit, and for all the arguments about “controlling the ecosytem” I’d love to see Nintendo use the full capabilities of a PS4.
What are they going to do on a PS4 that they cant do on the WiiU?
Nintendo aren’t in the business of making Hi Def hyper realistic games… they are in the business of making casual fun games, that are full of adventure, color, humor. If they wanted to make a gritty realistic Mario or Zelda they can do that now on the WiiU but that’s not what they want – they have a style and I strongly doubt that there game development would change one iota if it were on a PS4 or Xbone, that just not what they do. I am not bagging Nintendo here I love Nintendo I play my WiiU all the time fantastic console, I just really doubt if they were to make games on a PS4 they would even come close to using the full capabilities, I think people just need to stop hating on the Wii U its great, it is just lacking games but the same can be said for PS4 and Xbone for the time being.
But if Nintendo could invest all of the resources they currently put into developing hardware into software, imagine what they could come up with? I don’t see any really compelling argument that says that Nintendo’s core business is consoles. Whenever people praise Nintendo, they praise the games, not that they played them on the Wii U.
Also, imagine a Smash Bros that takes advantage of all the XBOX Live features, or a live-streamable Mario, or a Kinect enabled Animal Crossing. That’s exciting.
I think this idea of investing all their resources into software rather than hardware is probably what they will do, but for the WiiU rather than other consoles.
Dont really see the merit in the anti console arguments popping up too. People were recommending they give up on handhelds when the 3ds was still in its infancy, now look at it.
@Redartifice
I think you missed the point even if they had a bijillion dollars and the most powerful console ever known to man, we would still get 2D Mario games and the same amazing Zelda games because Nintendo aren’t interested in the markets that aren’t interested in them. They have a style and a lot of Nintendo fans don’t want to see that change. Sure I would love a gritty ‘adult’ Zelda but if Nintendo turned around and released another Windwaker-esk Zelda I would play it to completion like all the others. Which is why I believe the WiiU is fine as it is and will continue to support it.
@sughly
Well put!
But if we’re still going to get all those games, why do Nintendo need to sell a specialised box to play them on?
To generate more profit, they are at the end of the day a business and the money they will make with a console compared to the money they will make with out a console is a big difference,
I see your point tho, they could do what they do on other systems but it just wouldn’t feel right.
Actually the mere existence of the wii U is costing them billions. Without it they would have huge profits from the 3DS alone.
So your argument makes no sense in this context. If the answer really is “to make more profits” they would make MUCH MUCH more abandoning the entire home console market while keeping hand helds. Allowing the AAA console game sot reach a much larger audience and thus sell more.
It also allows for them to make better games, having either Xbox or PS online capabilities into a monster hunter or smash brothers game would make then far far better than the plainly shit offerings we get on their consoles.
Yes, if Nintendo are profiting hugely from having their own console, be that through profit per unit, or profit per first or third party game sold, then they should continue.
But this is a discussion be that isn’t the case. They’re not making profit. They’re losing hundreds of millions of dollars. And given their longevity in the industry that really ought not be the case.
I would imagine that if they developed the same Mario and Zelda games, be that the same as the current games or some new hi def adult version, that they would sell handsomely on the other consoles – as they would be bought by gamers that grew up knowing about Nintendo, even if they weren’t a Nintendo console owner.
Nintendo would be giving up the profit per console unit, and giving up the profit of third party games sold on their console – but they’d be avoiding console development costs, and significantly expanding their target market.
Let’s face it – Xbone + PS4 market size will be far greater than that of the Wii U.
If Nintendo can be confident that their next console will be successful and profitable, they should carry on – but I don’t see how they can be confident when the Wii U has failed (on several counts) and when the Wii’s success was short lived (let’s not deny that most gathered dust).
A Kinect-enabled Animal Crossing? I’d rather rot in hell than play that.
@kingpotato
The previous comment
My response to that was to generate more profit, Nintendo released the Wii U to generate more profit they didn’t sit down and say, guys seriously we need to figure out a way to hemorrhage money! The Wii U was created to generate more profit that fact that it is not doing that now has no affect on the original decision to release it.
So your argument here is that if Nintendo released there games on lets say PS4 that they would increase profits because more people would buy there games? That’s like saying if we legalise heroin everyone will become an addict. Just because something is there doesn’t mean people will buy it, you have no way of knowing how much more or less profit the company would receive if they went third party. Not to mention the entire business would have to be restructured to work with a difference platform not something that can just happen over night and a very $$$ endevour.
For the vast majority of Nintendo users and remember Nintendo’s biggest market is the casual gamer don’t care about having the uber l33t capabilities of PS plus, they just want to play the new Mario or Zelda, there is nothing wrong with the online capabilities of the Wii U.
I think Kingpotatos point was more that Nintendo would be more profitable if they didn’t develop the Wii U due to the amount of losses they’ve incurred because of it. Also, I think he’s insinuating that if Nintendo had not created the Wii U, then more Nintendo fans would have been drawn to the 3DS (as it would be the only available Nintendo console (other than Wii slim or whatever the redbox thing is called), and that Nintendo would have had more funds available to develop for the 3DS which in turn should lead to more sales and more profits.
The weakness of Kingpotatos argument (am not able to reply directly) is that we all strongly suspect that the handheld market is likely to be severely impacted by the continued growth of smart phones. If smart phones didn’t exist, Kingpotatos suggestion would be spot on, but the fact that they do would make this strategy questionable.
If I were a PS4 owner, and they released a Mario game, I would want it. I wouldn’t pay $80 for it, and I’d expect it would take a decade to drop in price to what I would consider a reasonable level, but I would want it none the less. Think of how affected gamers are by hype, and think how much hype Nintendo has had constantly generated for the last 30 years or so. Nintendo haters love Nintendo. We all do. It’s just that not all of us want to invest $3-400 on something that likely has very limited scope.
Well put, but the fact of the matter is it is all here say, we can say now they shouldn’t of spent the money on developing a new console and then handhelds would be in higher demand and they would of developed more games for those devices but, at the end of the day this article would probably be questioning where Nintendo s new console is? Granted I cant say that for sure and who knows in on Earth 2 things may of gone that way or a thousand others, but the facts are the did create the Wii U and it is a great console.
I hate the term Hardcore gamer but I do play a lot of games, I have a Wii U, 3DS, PS4 and a PC and I can say my Wii U get just a much play time as my other devices the one i use the least is actually the 3DS which is only really used on flights or long trips, I couldn’t see myself get my full Nintendo fix from a handheld even if it was my only option, but that is just me.
To be clear, I think Nintendo should have developed a console – but a competitive console, whereas they’ve developed a fairly advanced console which in terms of it’s competition is woefully outclassed.
That doesn’t mean it’s bad technology, It just means that it’s not good enough to compete. And it needs to be good enough to compete.
Yeah I’m not an endorser of the terms hardcore / casual as such but I would say that the majority of modern, experienced, active, paying gamers are mostly into the FPS, third person shooter, racing and sports genres – and they’re not catered to by Nintendo – and haven’t been for a long time.
That doesn’t mean hardcore gamers can’t enjoy Nintendo games, it just means that hardcore gamers have no incentive to buy Nintendo hardware other than to play Mario and Zelda, and for a lot of the hardcore gamers that is no where near enough to justify a $400 + purchase.
That’s not the point.
The point is that with the Wii U people have to invest $3-400 before being able to play a Mario game.
If the same Mario games was launched on PS4, and you already owned a PS4 (or Xbone) as much of the hardcore gamers (i.e. gamers that spend money on buying games) do, then there is no need for an additional investment.
By this reasoning we should just abandon consoles all together and just play PC and let everyone develop for that, why invest in any console when you can get the games at a better quality on PC?
Because people want exclusive that’s how consoles sell.
There are a few reasons why consoles sell. Exclusives is one of several reasons.
For me, I have a notebook that is pretty advanced – i7, 8gb RAM, 2gb graphics card if I remember correctly.
But I have a shitty logitech controller. The top of the range logitech controller, but it’s still pretty shitty. Yes I could get the Microsoft controller, but I don’t really want to, and yes there are ways of getting the PS3 controller to work on PC but I just want it to blinking work without any work arounds or the need for a cord.
On top of that, I don’t really want to play at my desk on a 24″ screen. I’d much rather be lying down on the couch, scratching my balls whilst playing on my 42″ plasma.
At the moment consoles are still popular, but more specifically Sony and Microsofts consoles are still popular, and that’s because they offer the gamer a wide range of games that just work in a convenient manner.
Nintendo aren’t offering the range of games on their consoles that make it a compelling purchase. That’s fundamentally where they fall down.
And they’re not going to be able to offer that via third party development given that their technology is so far behind the competition, and that their only way of doing that is via exclusives, and even if they get that right things will be limited – given that they don’t have existing franchises or pedigree in several major genres.
Frankly they’ve let themselves down.
It’s not just that they’ve produced a lacklustre console. It’s not just that they’ve taken too long to release their key franchise titles. It’s also that they’ve failed to develop in new genres for the last 2 decades or so and have basically played the same album again and again whilst their competitors have evolved and developed along with their market.
profit?
I think a better question is what can they do on the Wii U that they can’t on the ps4?, considering only nintendo is pushing the wii u
No. Nothing needs to be fixed at Nintendo. The console has barely been out for a over year, and just like the 3DS, PS3, and original XBOX, it will pick up steam.
Nah.
Nintendo have crazy hardware ideas, they don’t always work out but I think the industry needs someone like them to try new things just to keep everyone on their toes.
I totally agree with this sentiment, but also feel that as Nintendo continues forward they should continue to make consoles with the added crazy factor, but should also attempt to balance that with the solid gaming platform principles that made the NES/SNES/GC so enduring and comfortable.
Yeah Nintendo, it would be cool if you could lose a few billion just so that the competition provide us with better stuff. Cheers.
I think Nintendo just needs to make their consoles better, but they’re not a lost cause… yet…
Not even close to being a lost cause.
They are sitting far prettier than seven years ago when their distribution chain was facing massive downsizing.
Even with flagging sales they are not doing to bad business wise.
I’m not sure that anything Nintendo-produced would flourish if not fully incorporated with the Nintendo brand by being exclusively on Nintendo consoles. Nintendo’s current consoles aren’t doing great, but they’ll pick up.bounce back. Probably.
That said I’d love to see a large-scale Pokemon RPG on something other than a handheld.
I’m amazed there’s no Wii U Pokemon RPG. Not sure why they’re limited to handhelds!
They have said that they think it’s better on handhelds as it’s easier to go around and trade/battle etc.
They stated that it won’t come to consoles.
No, plain and simple.
Ok first off, too all the people who want Zelda on Xbox/Playstation, the reason you want this is because Zelda on Nintendo consoles are just that good in fact its a general consensus that ALL Nintendo first party games are generally really really good, you know why that is right?
Because Nintendo are using their own tech.
This is why first party titles are generally better all across the board, because these devs know the tech better than anyone else. If Nintendo was to go third party, we no longer have that assurance, Nintendo spend years R&Ding all their systems, if they are given another companies system and work to their specs it is going to feel forced.
Secondly, Miyamoto may as well quit, Iwata and Nintendo R&D will essentially make a console to his standards, his desires and why wouldn’t they? If the guy who makes you Billions upon Billions every where wants something then no doubt the company will do it. Does anyone honestly think that Miyamoto will feel even a fraction of the inspiration he usually has by looking at Xbox One and PS4.
Thirdly, this goes directly to all people who are demanding Nintendo go third party, once again you are saying this because you want to play Nintendo games. But I ask you,
Why not just BUY a Nintendo console?
Nintendo consoles have generally ALWAYS been cheaper then their competitors and yet you go and buy more expensive boxes and then complain that another company isn’t on your machine. Yet you could buy a Wii U, play Mario, Zelda, Smash, Metroid etc, third party developers would actually want to develop for the system because people are buying it.
and lastly, remember the Nintendo of the 80’s/90’s? Remember the kind of MONSTER that company was, well let Nintendo go third party and they will be a nightmare even EA would be scared off. This company si worth more than most third party developers in Japan combined, Sega, Capcom, Namco, Tecmo, hell maybe even Square Enix! Nintendo could go on a massive spending spree and be a rutless monster to Microsoft and Sony, having so much money and influence they could form the Xbox Two and PS5 into a device made for them, just look at what EA did to the Xbox One with it’s DRM bs.
Now all of that is just speculation, but what isn’t is the magnitude of this company. Nintendo is HUGE, they are not giving up because of just one lackluster console, they are not Sega and this isn’t the Dreamcast.
So again, Nooooooo!
Sega did and now they are a shadow of their former glory
I would hate to see Mario go the way of Sonic
Agreed, that would be an absolute tragedy
Worse, I would hate to see Zelda and Samus go the way of Sonic
Mario and Sonic and Sony’s Mascot of the Month at the Olympic Games!
I could be wrong, but I think Sega are financially a lot stronger than some of it’s competitors.
Look at Capcom. Look at Atari. Commodore.
Sega aren’t as big or as relevant as they once were, but they’re still here. Still producing games. Still have a fanbase.
exactly my thoughts
Does it mean I get Pokemon on my phone? I’ll vote yes to anything that gets Pokemon on my phone.
Be careful for what you wish for.
You may find yourself paying to use the pokecentre (and that’s probably just the tip of the iceberg)
Oh, man. The game would come with 20 Pokemon, and you’d have to pay for additional ones to be in the game. First Gym Leader is free, each additional city $5.99. 99c for a Pokeball with a random Pokemon in it, including some that are only available through that system.
That said, I’d pay like 5 bucks to skip past the guy in Viridian City who teaches you how to catch Pokemon.
But he’s vital to the story!
1. Talk to him.
2. Fly to the Cinnabar Island, Surf up and down the east coast.
3. ???
4. Profit (on 6th item slot)
I’ve always thought this as well! Nintendo would make so much money porting Pokemon for the App Store and GooglePlay. The 3DS is great and pretty popular, but there are literally millions and millions of mobiles being carried around 24/7.
Potential battles over Wi-Fi or Bluethooth around every corner!
Posted this in another thread but might also leave it here coz there seems to be more discussion:
If I were them I’d ditch the living-room console and focus on expanding the 3DS market. I’d stay with physical media of new/current gen games & add an account-based service with the historic Nintendo library available for purchase then add to that a premium subscription model to gain further interest from developers who are interested.
My subscription-based marketplace would be open to developers who wish to participate, and offers a pay-per-share style model which takes profits from the subscription model & divides the dividends to all studios based on the number of downloads made to active subscriber accounts. Naturally Nintendo would probably take the biggest portion given how many titles they own and what proportion of the marketplace they take up however it would give the incentive for 3rd party developers to join the premium marketplace & if they’re successful then it means they’ll be able to have a stable income for what could be a decent amount of time.
The issue with nintendo is that its made for children, you can argue that they have adult games, but its really for children.
Look at their top 3 games – Pokemon, Mario and Zelda. All geared toward children. I really couldnt name any other games on the nintendo without having to think about it.
The children have grown up and outgrown these games and are looking at the *cough* mature games that get the MA15+ rating with the blood and the gore and the killing.
If they really wanted to make a crap ton of money, all they would need to do is make a grown up Pokemon RPG MMO geared towards adults, and make it Wii U exclusive.
I couldn’t give a rats ass about the new releases but I would love to add things like Super Metroid or the older Megaman games to my steam list.
^^ this. I’m amazed they haven’t ported the old titles to PC and put them up on Steam, they are seriously throwing tens of millions of dollars down the toilet by ignoring this market….especially with Big Picture already implemented and Steam Boxes on the horizon, really seems like a no-brainer.
I think they need a SNES. A good console that competes directly with the competition feature for feature. They just need to make sure all the major third party titles make it to their console to fill in the spaces between Nintendo titles. I think if they had the PS4’s hardware and line up, with the PS4 exclusives swapped for Nintendo IPs, they could have secured a pretty reasonable market share this generation.
That said I don’t think that would help them now. The GameCube losing to the PS2 killed them. The Wii alienated them. Then the Wii U cemented them as the console you’re free to ignore. They’ve got an almost impossible to fix image problem now that prevents them from being taken seriously in the console arena.
If the Wii could have done HD, had the Wii U’s Pro controller included with every console and the online capabilities were closer to being inline with the XBOX 360 and PS3 I think they could have potentially pulled out of that position last generation, but now they’re too deep.
I totally agree that that’s what they need – a competitive console. But they’ve shown that they’re no longer up to the task.
The Wii and Wii U have both been woefully technically behind it’s competitors. It’s embarrassing.
If they can compete on a hardware footing, great, if they can’t they need to lay down.
I’d love them to start making games for other systems! They can keep making their own hardware if they want, but it would be great to get some of the Mario games ported on to other systems. I imagine the profit they would make from porting Super Mario 3D World from the WiiU to the PS4/XB1 would far outweigh the cost of the actual porting process.
They won’t for the same reason that Halo1 hasn’t been ported to Playstation and Uncharted is not on Xbox.
They can’t do that. Either they make Wii U exclusive games, or they stop making consoles.
Nintendo aren’t interested in a few million profit – they’re interested in 10s of billions of profit – and they should be.
They’ll be a mighty company once more if they get their approach right. It’s just a matter of doing something different.
People need to change their attitude, not Nintendo. Nintendo invent new wacky ways to play games the rest follow.
Overall, I don’t think they will, not for a very long time anyway… but ultimately it would be horrible for my wallet if they did.
I haven’t really played a Mario game since Galaxy, but that is more due to the fact that I have drifted back to a single console by the end of the (PS360Wii) generation.
So, whilst I know I am missing out on some great games by not having a WiiU, there isn’t enough pull to get me to pick up an additional console anymore. However, the possibility of having those games on the console I do have? Then yes, I would be picking up pretty much all of them.
I cant help but think that if Nintendo called the Wii U something else and actually gave people what they wanted: the first true next gen HD console (on par with PS4/XBone hardware) before Sony and Microsoft beat them to it they would be the market leaders right now.
Instead… Nintendo being Nintendo, they do what they want and only half of the time have anything good to offer.
I do enjoy the logic of people that say, “No! Keep their games locked on their systems! Don’t share with anyone else!!!”
Sega’s games are everywhere. Literally every system past the Dreamcast has had Sega games on it. PC, Xbox, PS3, PSP, DS, the Wii etc. This is a BENEFIT to gamers, not a detraction. It means that everyone can enjoy Sega’s titles. You don’t have to spend $600 on a new console to play the latest Sonic game anymore (not that you’d necessarily want to since most of the recent ones have been crap, but I digress). This is what pisses me off about console gamers. There’s this mindset that console-exclusive games are somehow not only justifiable but actually a great thing to have. Rubbish. Having exclusives means 2 things. 1 – You limit your player base to people who own that console. 2 – In years to come when that console is made obsolete, chances are you will no longer be able to play that game. However, I’m still playing games on my PC that came out 20 years ago and older. It can be a pain in the arse to get them working sometimes, but it’s rare that you find one that just doesn’t work at all. Good luck keeping your Xbox 360 working for the next 20 years. And if the arugment is that oh well in 20 years time PCs will be powerful enough to emulate it, that’s irrelevant. You wouldn’t need an emulator that may or may not exist in the future if the game had been multi-platform to start with.
Personally, I’d love to see Nintendo all move to a 3rd Party publishing roll. It would mean more people could get access to their great library of games without resorting to piracy or being forced to fork out hundreds of dollars for their latest system. The same goes for Microsoft and Sony. The more people who get to play, the better off both the players and the industry will be.
This is why I think the Wii U should be their last console. It would be suicide for Nintendo to go third-party whilst the Wii U still lives. The Wii U completely alienated Ubisoft from ever doing business with them again. Since third-parties are not interested in Nintendo consoles, Nintendo should stop making them. This won’t happen whilst Iwata is in charge, though.
Yep it’s an old and irrelevant mindset.
It’s still the basis of the new generation of consoles, but how much longer can it last. It looks like Sony is changing things by having games on Android systems.
Also, a lot of the first party games are over rated. I think first party games tend to have an above average or indeed very high quality, but they’re not necessarily the be all and end all.
Is God of War better than Bayonetta? I don’t see it. Pretty much the same to me.
I think there are bigger questions in life than this.
I honestly believe the gaming industry would be much poorer for it if this ever happened.
Nintendo don’t need 3rd party. Look ho dark and mature the themes are in OoT or Majora’s Mask. They just need more brillant timeless games like that on wii u.
Remeber analogue sticks, rumble packs, game boy system to console linkage, motion controls? All that was Nintendo that the other two copied.
Third party Nintendo would die like Sega.
Nope.
If Nintendo went Third Party I’d be so goddamn sad.
Would love to see Nintendo go third party. I think Nintendo’s strengths have always been their games, not their hardware. I think people enjoy their games despite the hardware, not because of it. You’re not going to lose anything transitioning Mario over to XB1/PS4.
I like Nintendo games, but not enough to buy a whole new console just to play them. But I would definitely buy the games on my 360 if they were available and I imagine a lot of people would feel the same. Feel like they are missing a massive amount of income by ignoring everyone who doesn’t own their console.
Get rid of home consoles, keep the handhelds. just make them better.
it would be great for nintendo to develop for other consoles.
on the handheld front the only handheld they should be developing for should be theirs, at least their original IP’s will stay on their consoles on the handheld front.
“Yes and No”
The 3DS is awesome, the Wii U is below average. The Wii U might still be a GOOD CONSOLE in itself, but it is difficult to code for, is weaker than the XBone/PS4, has few games, and most importantly: does not have consumer confidence. People have largely decided on whether they will buy a Wii U, and the answer is no. Nintendo could convert people if they brought out exclusives, but that is basically forcing people to buy a console because of games they really want, not because they want the console itself.
I think that this is quite obvious. Now Nintendo is also a proud, old-fashioned japanese company and I really think they are sticking to their guns until they go down with the ship. In terms of the Wii U, I think they need to do what I suggested earlier; to recall all Wii U’s and replace them for with their upgraded next-gen console… “Ultimate Nintendo Entertainment System” or something with maybe a small upgrade fee of US$150 or something. If you buy a UNES, set it at US$450 or something. Make it easy to program for, and superior to the XBone/PS4, and recode the Wii U games for it.
I agree
I love my 3DS and I also love my Wii U to a degree but the fact that its so hard for 3rd parties to port games to it means that I’m just going to end up spending more money on my PS ecosystem than my Nintendo.
If they re-release the Wii U with a new name potentially and with higher specs to be able to run games in the leagues of PS4 and Xbone, I think they could potentially save themselves from a painful generation.
I think Nintendo’s biggest issue is they are not moving with the times. They are still stuck with a family model that is not as relevant as it was in the early 90’s. They need to stop focusing on family fun games so much and realise that the gamers have grown up. I’m not saying family party games are a bad thing. I just think they need to open their minds to more 3rd party exclusives. Throw some money at big developers.
Also, they need to integrate the 3DS and 2DS into the Wii U. I don’t know why they made this big screen controller when they could of just made the 3DS it. They just need to go back to the NES, SNES, and 64 days and look at where they went wrong.
Nope never.
If these silly rumours are true (0.1% chance) and they do make a new console, then yes because it’s only a matter of time before they face a Sega-like decline and pull out.
Fortunately Nintendo are smarter than that. All they need is to get rid of Iwata and put a better CEO who can actually instil confidence in the company and its products. It can be done- look at how Kaz Hirai turned around the Playstation 3. It was a laughing stock for the first few years because of cocky decisions by Kutaragi, Hirai replaced him and turned it around big time.
nintendo exists in its own little bubble, oblivious to the standards set by the rest of the industry. they make great controllers sure, but the wii u console itself is awful. abusive DRM, awful online infrastructure, minimalist OS, lack of grunt. frankly I don’t think sticking a touch screen in the controller makes up for that.
I’d rather they stick to handhelds, thats their strong suit.
You will get lynch mobbed for asking that question.
Going Third Party would be the least interesting thing they could do. They need to do something crazy and unexpected.
Here is a crazy idea they can have for free:
Form a partnership with Oculus Rift to create a Wii U version of the device and announce that all Nintendo games will support some level of VR.
“Ladies and gentlemen, this is the Wii Rift. And this is what a Pokemon battle looks like in 3D virtual reality”
I don’t know if they should go 3rd party, but they definitely need a wake up call. Nintendo is going the same way Sega did; too many consoles and not a big enough gap between. Not to mention the WiiU is spectacularly underpowered compared to… well, everything, and it has an appalling lack of games.
Nintendo’s biggest problem is their arrogance. They believe that releasing one new Zelda, Mario, Pokemon, Donkey Kong, Yoshi game a year will keep them alive. Yes Nintendo has awesome first party exclusives, but that’s not enough anymore to make people buy a console, just for the occasional game they want to play. Nintendo are doing absolutely nothing except keeping their core fanbase – the people who will devour every single one of those Zelda or Mario or Pokemon games. But that’s it. There’s absolutely nothing to recommend a Nintendo anything to a casual gamer anymore. Unless you like those few franchises I’ve listed, there’s no other exclusives that make people sit up and go “God, I really NEED a WiiU/3DS/etc”. Not to mention, I’d say very few people would prefer to play multiplatform third party games due to the aforementioned underwhelming power of the WiiU.
I don’t currently have a Nintendo anything. I’ve preferred PlayStation since I got my first one and I can only afford to maintain one console. But I grew up with Nintendo and up until the release of the Wii I’d had every Nintendo console or handheld that had been released. I loved Nintendo, and they used to be the THING. But they’ve become lazy, complacent, and as I said, arrogant. And if they don’t wake up to themselves, and soon, Nintendo will be a thing of the past.
In the previous generation they hit the jackpot with the Wii. OK, the Wii U isn’t great, but that doesn’t mean they should give up on consoles forever.
I would sincerely hope that everyone who ticked ‘NO’ in the poll, owns a Wii U and actively supports Nintendo. Personally i ticked yes as the only good games on Nintendo’s console are 1st party, i feel i have a better selection of games on the PS4/Xbox/PC , would love to see Nintendo count their losses and bring their content to the wider market, this would enable them to sell more games, earn more money and thus make more great titles!
I think Sega has already demonstrated perfectly well how far a great and creative game company will fall once they give up on their consoles and no longer have the breathing room to take risks.
Problem isnt with their consoles (ok some of it is) but the problem is with their lack of inspiring games. Why would I want to play a new Zelda when I can play Metal Gear Solid 5?
Yes yes they should I would love to turn the PS4 on and play some Super Mario PS4,donkey kong country and other titles.Even though I do own a 3DS just seems like so much effect to grab and turn on unlike the PS4 lol
Another ‘Big Question’ article and just like all the others it doesn’t work on the mobile site 🙁
The amount of people saying that Nintendo games are only special/only work on a Nintendo machine confuses me, since from what I’ve heard, most Wii U games don’t really use the Wii U controller except superfluously. Not to mention the 3DS, aside from streetpasses (which while a nice distraction add nothing to 99% of games), what unique thing does it offer? Certainly not 3D, since flagship titles like Pokemon X/Y barely even uses it!
99.9% of Nintendo titles would work fine on any other platform. That’s fact, as much as people seem to believe otherwise. I don’t understand why people deny this, I can only assume it’s to make themselves feel better about their Nintendo console purchases that gather dust for months at a time between Nintendo titles.