​

2015 Has been a year of solid releases all around for most publishers, but it would appear the same can't be said for our good friends at Nintendo.

NeoGAF member TI82 compiled Metacritic data from the last 10 years of Nintendo games, and 2015 is the worst one, with an average rating of 69.8. That includes all Nintendo games, both Wii U and 3DS games.

While the Wii U has had some great releases this year, such as Splatoon, Super Mario Maker, and Yoshi’s Woolly World, it also had some pretty bad ones. Like Mario Tennis Ultra Smash, which has a 60 rating on Metacritic.

As the chart below shows, the best years for Nintendo were 2009 and 2010, with Metacritic averages of 82 and 86, respectively.

For 2015, Nintendo’s average is just 69.8. By comparison, Sony’s average is 76.6, and Microsoft’s is 80. However, Nintendo has released more games this year than both Sony and Microsoft combined.

The chart breaks down as follows:

​

Keep in mind that release of titles such as Xenoblade X do not contribute to these averages due to yearly cutoff around this time in November.

The fact that Star Fox and Zelda were delayed may also contribute to the much lower score, coupled with the recent releases of highly anticipated titles met with mediocre reception, such as Yo-kai Watch and Tri-Force Heroes.

What is your opinion of Nintendo's 2015 year of games? Do you agree it is as lackluster as it appears to be?

 

[dimmidice]

super mystery dungeon has a pretty small audience though? or am i wrong in thinking that? it's also a spin off. i mean what big games have come out this year for 3ds from nintendo? i looked through googles list and all i can find is fire emblem fates, majoras mask and pokemon shuffle.

 

[Saiyan Lusitano]

Okay, but all your + list are 3a with best in class graphic, which is very bias sometimes. Their quality is better though.

It's more than just in the graphics department but moreso that they offer great content and gameplay. Admittedly PZ:MoBW was being quite monotonous (did not like the FNAF episode at all) though with the 12th Drop it really stepped up its game. Xenoblade X is almost here.

 

[RevPokemon]

It's their fault for going with lower budget type games rather than quality games but hey 2016 looks promising

 

[Flame]

no Pokemon main game this year...


coincidence i think not.

 

[RevPokemon]

no Pokemon main game this year...


coincidence i think not.

Seriously having Z coming out would have helped a ton

 

[Flame]

Seriously having Z coming out would have helped a ton

you whats even better?

XZ & YZ


both will get the same score... so, bring up the average will be twice the impact.


Don't Shuckle With Maths skills.

 

[RevPokemon]

you whats even better?

XZ & YZ


both will get the same score... so, bring up the average will be twice the impact.

Then you also get to but two games instead of one! That's like twice the moneys!

 

[Flame]

Then you also get to but two games instead of one! That's like twice the moneys!

dude. thats twice the fun.

 

[linkenski]

Gotta make some sacrifices for NX! I'm sure they're hiding their biggest works for when it's ready unless they wanna repeat the failure of Wii U because they're gonna need a hard-hitting first party lineup when their third party support is so shaky.

--------------------- MERGED ---------------------------

definitely agree with it. nintendo has been pumping out too many free to start games. if they're focusing on that it's no wonder their average goes down.

They've mostly released spin-offs to buy time for the bigger releases that will come out next year, not to mention, probably a slew of unnanounced titles in the making for several years of mainline games.

 

[DarkCoffe64]

Heh, I noticed that Nintendo's been doing bad decisions and not-so-good games this year... 'cept for Splatoon, Smash, and some other games.
Let's hope they get their sh*t together for next year, and turn back into the Nintendo we all love. I doubt it, tho...

But, guys, don't use Metacritic to judge stuff or what. Here's why:

 

[emigre]

So yeah guise, it looks like Nintendo are doomed...

 

[DiscostewSM]

Well, if you were to limit the number of titles Nintendo made to that which Sony or MS made, the top game scores would be ~78% and ~81% respectfully.

 

[Tom Bombadildo]

http://isnintendodoomed.com/

;O;

Nintendo did a lot of shitty shit this year. It probably didn't help that they delayed Star Fox and Zelda Wii U, too.

 

[Chary]

For every good Nintendo game, there's been two bad games to offset it recently. This was one of the biggest years in gaming, in terms of heavy hitting releases, but by contrast, Nintendo had such a weak year. Delayed major titles, mediocre installments for their biggest IPs, etc. Hopefully they step it up with the NX, along with having the sense to get 3rd party support.

 

[HaloEffect17]

I'd say to Nintendo not to give up on the Wii U's life span just yet. It's unfair to the people that invested in it from the very start only to realize that the NX is just around the corner.

I might also add to inject more quality in your games. Make games that your fans have been screaming for, not ones that people will never care about.

 

[osaka35]

Lord Nintendo giveth, Lord Nintendo taketh.

Also, I wonder if they factored in amiibo somehow, if that would shake those numbers up any. That whole "toys-to-life" section of the market.

 

[tbb043]

So yeah guise, it looks like Nintendo are doomed...

Doomed will support amiibo, you know.

 

[Powermad80]

For every good Nintendo game, there's been two bad games to offset it recently. This was one of the biggest years in gaming, in terms of heavy hitting releases, but by contrast, Nintendo had such a weak year. Delayed major titles, mediocre installments for their biggest IPs, etc. Hopefully they step it up with the NX, along with having the sense to get 3rd party support.

Yeah, which is pretty much the opposite of last year, when the industry at large released big disappointments one after another for the most part while Nintendo just sat by and released plenty of great games. For every peak there must be a valley I suppose. 2016 looks like it'll be good.

 

[TecXero]

I don't care for scores, but it's pretty obvious Nintendo hasn't had a very good year. Between terrible PR, desperately pushing gimmicks, and a "one size fits all" attitude, I don't have much confidence in them. Not that Nintendo is bad, I still think they make the best handhelds and the games I do enjoy from them, I really enjoy. ALBWs was a perfect Zelda game to me.

Of course they could turn this around, they have before, but for now I'm going to be wary. The Wii U really wasn't worth it to me and I wish I would have waited to get one until the end of its commercial lifespan and I could have found one used and cheap. It doesn't help they keep pushing mostly franchises I don't care about and drop the ones I enjoy (mainly Metroid and F-Zero).

Though, I can imagine they're having a rough time internally as well, losing a president and shaking things up like that can be very stressful.

 

[HaloEffect17]

Though, I can imagine they're having a rough time internally as well, losing a president and shaking things up like that can be very stressful.

Yes, true. Sometimes we forget that Nintendo has to worry about other things like this as well. Hopefully, they can rebound from this and more forward for a fresh start in 2016.