Gaming Nintendo and the Current Online Infrastructure

[Agent_Moler]

My biggest criticism of Nintendo is how poorly they've been managing releasing virtual console titles to the 3ds and wii u. There seems to be little logical explanations as to why the 3ds and wii u can't share from the same pool of releases, especially SNES and NES games. I also wish they would revamp the way they determine titles to release, at this point, I feel that the entire virtual console selection process should be determined by the fans. They could do this through online polls or a kickstarter like pre-pay/pre-fund system where Nintendo already has an idea of the audience and potential buyers for their games. I'm tired of seeing lame games released on a weekly basis from our partly eshop update list.

 

[Ryukouki]

My biggest criticism of Nintendo is how poorly they've been managing releasing virtual console titles to the 3ds and wii u. There seems to be little logical explanations as to why the 3ds and wii u can't share from the same pool of releases, especially SNES and NES games. I also wish they would revamp the way they determine titles to release, at this point, I feel that the entire virtual console selection process should be determined by the fans. They could do this through online polls or a kickstarter like pre-pay/pre-fund system where Nintendo already has an idea of the audience and potential buyers for their games. I'm tired of seeing lame games released on a weekly basis from our partly eshop update list.

Oh geez, I completely forgot about that. Who even decides what virtual content appears? Most of them tend to be really bad games in general that I wouldn't pay a dollar for.

 

[AngryGeek416]

I wish Nintendo would implement Wii remote support when browsing the eShop with the Wii U. Right now you can only browse the Wii U eShop with the gamepad.

Yes and the wii u pro controller, system settings as well should be accessible without the gamepad.

 

[Parasite X]

I for one think the eshop is organized but it would be nice to see something that could compete with what sony & microsoft are offering ps+ is awesome & it would be nice to see cloud service on Nintendo & further more to the person that made this thread it was called DSi shop on the DSi not eShop it didn't appear until after the 3DS came out I know I owned a DSi.

 

[AngryGeek416]

I for one think the eshop is organized but it would be nice to see something that could compete with what sony & microsoft are offering ps+ is awesome & it would be nice to see cloud service on Nintendo & further more to the person that made this thread it was called DSi shop on the DSi not eShop it didn't appear until after the 3DS came out I know I owned a DSi.

yea the dsi shop and the wii shopping channel are separate stand alone stores

 

[RodrigoDavy]

I for one think the eshop is organized but it would be nice to see something that could compete with what sony & microsoft are offering ps+ is awesome & it would be nice to see cloud service on Nintendo & further more to the person that made this thread it was called DSi shop on the DSi not eShop it didn't appear until after the 3DS came out I know I owned a DSi.

I remember the DSi shop was utter shit. I was positively surprised with the 3ds eshop and web browser compared to the DSi ones.

 

[Parasite X]

I remember the DSi shop was utter shit. I was positively surprised with the 3ds eshop and web browser compared to the DSi ones.

Bro can I just hug you for saying that & adding that most of the DSiware was for toddlers & that there were very few titles actually worth getting as further note 3DS rules & DSi drolls

yea the dsi shop and the wii shopping channel are separate stand alone stores

Wii Shop was badass I use it on my Wii U the DSi Shop just sucks compared to the Wii/Eshop

 

[ibis_87]

Well, they are just not as big as Sony and MS, it's harder for them to get proper infrastructure. Plus, it's clearly improving with every system. Plus #2, they care about family friendliness, which means they pay more attention to local play and to minors' security online. But I'm generally very reluctant to play online on every system I own, so it doesn't really bother me much. Concerning eShop, I wouldn't say it's worse than the laggy PS Store on the PS3 (the eShop isn't blazing fast by any means, but the PS3 one felt laggy somehow, which is not the case with the eShop) and a fast, but, I dunno, nonsential one on the PS4. It's just uncomfortable to use - but maybe because it's somewhat empty now.

 

[Agent_Moler]

Oh geez, I completely forgot about that. Who even decides what virtual content appears? Most of them tend to be really bad games in general that I wouldn't pay a dollar for.

Right, why waste the engineering staff's time and the company's money putting out retro games few players want? It seems so idiotic that they do this. Being the 3rd place company in the home console race should have humbled them to the point that they are hyper-responsive to their fanbase. All of this copying Apple nonsense needs to stop, namely, no firm release dates and not listening to their fan community's feedback online.

 

[FAST6191]

Well, they are just not as big as Sony and MS, it's harder for them to get proper infrastructure. Plus, it's clearly improving with every system. Plus #2, they care about family friendliness, which means they pay more attention to local play and to minors' security online. But I'm generally very reluctant to play online on every system I own, so it doesn't really bother me much. Concerning eShop, I wouldn't say it's worse than the laggy PS Store on the PS3 (the eShop isn't blazing fast by any means, but the PS3 one felt laggy somehow, which is not the case with the eShop) and a fast, but, I dunno, nonsential one on the PS4. It's just uncomfortable to use - but maybe because it's somewhat empty now.

Smaller sure, they are still a multi billion dollar tech focused company though and improvements at the rate of once every what 5 years are not exactly keeping pace.

 

[Dr1941]

Are you taking any writing courses or are you just winging it? I don't know if you take this as seriously as I should be assuming reporters do, but your writing is less than optimal. The shift in tenses, the unfounded opinions stated as facts, and the overall flow is all off. I registered awhile ago as a person on Twitter complains about your writing "prowess" every now and again, but I figured it's better use to let you know of the issue than to idly stand by. Anyway, that's neither here nor there.

I think the core of Nintendo's problems come from its ability to exist as a company that aims to a primarily child-owned market. There are the few that are adults, sure, but Nintendo feels as if the idea of online-play must be somewhat restricted because bad behavior would make a mockery of the Nintendo name. Also, I don't think people are "turning towards Sony, Microsoft, or the PC to suit their online needs" as that makes the (unfair) assumption that people are basing their purchases in Nintendo's ability to bring their games online and not their exclusives. The argument is meant to be had when discussing their internet capabilities (or lack thereof) but it definitely shouldn't be presented at an angle that suggests Microsoft, Sony, et al are stealing customers from them because of it.

Anyway, I dunno how forums work, really, I thought they died off awhile ago, but I don't want to litter the thread with discussion about Ryuokouki's writing. If you want to discuss that, I believe you can PM me and I'll get an email along with it.

 

[Mario92]

My biggest criticism of Nintendo is how poorly they've been managing releasing virtual console titles to the 3ds and wii u. There seems to be little logical explanations as to why the 3ds and wii u can't share from the same pool of releases, especially SNES and NES games. I also wish they would revamp the way they determine titles to release, at this point, I feel that the entire virtual console selection process should be determined by the fans. They could do this through online polls or a kickstarter like pre-pay/pre-fund system where Nintendo already has an idea of the audience and potential buyers for their games. I'm tired of seeing lame games released on a weekly basis from our partly eshop update list.

I understand this with playstation 2 games on playstation 3 as they pretty much have to redo whole game as PS3 ain't backwards compatible and they are released mostly by third party but with Nintendo we are talking about really old titles that can already be emulated on those same machines and are first party titles. Because of emulation why bother buying them as then save file is locked to that device and game. Then there's also the thing that I can buy PSX title and then play it on PSP, Vita, PS3 or PS4! PSX games are also newer and cost same amount that NES titles on Nintendo platform. I laughed so hard when they said Wii virtual console titles had to be bought again.

 

[The Real Jdbye]

I think Nintendo Network is a decent online system, which 3DS games need to adopt sooner rather than later. It's not that Nintendo are far behind. Friend Codes are a thing that should never have existed in the first place. It reminds me of ICQ, but even there friend requests were a thing. ICQ's user system is probably the closest you can get to the friend code system but is still vastly better.

The friend code system is simply a stupid idea. It would've been a stupid idea 20 years ago, and it's a stupid idea now.
Nintendo Network however is a fine system, although a bit lacking in the feature department. They don't have a decent system for communicating with friends, but the way friend requests work is fine.

As for the eShop a system as cluttered as that one would never work on something like Android. With the limited amount of content available on the eShop browsing all the content in the shop doesn't take too long and if you know what you're looking for you can find it reasonably easily, but that's no excuse for clutter. The Wii U eShop is a lot easier to browse, if only because a lot more content is visible on one page, but I think they could both use a complete redesign.

 

[ekolimits]

Look, the issue is not in their online system working properly, its that no one plays their games online. Wii U has COD but no one is online playing even though they can! They need to address this or they will never be taken seriously. I dont just mean COD but other titles that are online but there is no community.

The issue is this: I turn my 3ds on and dont even know if one of my friends are online playing some game until I go through like 3 levels of ui and check. It should be easier to see what your friends are doing so you may join them! Otherwise I end up turning on my wifi in pokemon hoping to see if someone is on but end up playing on my own.

With the recent release of ps4, I feel like that the system is finally overtaking xbox because its added party chat option. Playstation has always had better games than xbox but because there was no cross game chat, people passed it up. In the states, most people tend to live far apart and I like hanging out with my friends online, even if we are not playing the same game. Nintendo needs to do that!

 

[codezer0]

My betting money is that Iwata and the board of directors are behind all of the shortcomings you mention. That guy seems to have a pathological hatred for anything involving networking that isn't physically attached to someone.

 

[Agent_Moler]

I understand this with playstation 2 games on playstation 3 as they pretty much have to redo whole game as PS3 ain't backwards compatible and they are released mostly by third party but with Nintendo we are talking about really old titles that can already be emulated on those same machines and are first party titles. Because of emulation why bother buying them as then save file is locked to that device and game. Then there's also the thing that I can buy PSX title and then play it on PSP, Vita, PS3 or PS4! PSX games are also newer and cost same amount that NES titles on Nintendo platform. I laughed so hard when they said Wii virtual console titles had to be bought again.

Its really inexcusable, I don't think sony is perfect at all, but at least they treat their various console as if they inhabit the same universe. lol. The frustrating thing about this whole situation is that Nintendo has many of the keys to succeed, a strong backlog of titles for the VC, compelling first party games, various games in development, and a heavy amount of nostalgia and high regard from fans. However, on each of these counts they've dropped the ball; they infrequently release VC titles and most problematically, ones that the fans aren't particularly interested in buying; there are still no firm release dates for Mario Kart or Super Smash which are perhaps their biggest titles of the year, if some info was out there about its release date, it might boost sales; the amount of titles available for 3ds and the wii u are greatly imbalanced, when I look at titles like Kid Icarus Uprising and Luigi's Mansion it makes me wonder what Nintendo was thinking not to release these on the Wii U, they really need to divert some quality titles to their struggling system (or at least have a multi-platform release); finally, Nintendo has many storied franchises that they are wasting, no new F-zero, Star Fox, Metroid announcements. When I see how some major companies are led, it makes me really sad that I can't get in there and bitch slap their CEOs and start calling the shots myself...

 

[RodrigoDavy]

there are still no firm release dates for Mario Kart or Super Smash which are perhaps their biggest titles of the year, if some info was out there about its release date, it might boost sales;

I agree with you. But, in some manner, it is also good they don't rush development. Great quality titles takes time to make.

the amount of titles available for 3ds and the wii u are greatly imbalanced, when I look at titles like Kid Icarus Uprising and Luigi's Mansion it makes me wonder what Nintendo was thinking not to release these on the Wii U

I think they're not working at Kid Icarus for Wii U because of Super Smash Brothers. You see, Masahiro Sakurai directed Kid Icarus: Uprising but now he is working on Super Smash Brothers. If they decided to make a Kid Icarus for Wii U now, they would need to find another director and I think they would rather wait for SSB to be launched instead.

Also, Luigi's Mansion is a wonderful game but unfortunately not a system seller.

 

[Ashtonx]

One argument i don't get "they keept it free"
You know what else keeps online gaming free ? PC, subscription for multiplayer and online gaming is an money milking idea of ms and current console generations not a standard.

And don't talka bout costs, Diablo 1 has free online access and infrastructure for 18 years and Blizzard ain't exactly making money through store, movies, nor does it spit out a lot of games

 

[DJ91990]

You know one app I really wanted to get released over in the US asap? Flipnote 3D. Guess which app is canceled (unofficially, but I have my suspicions) Flipnote 3D. Why would it be canned? Because people are drawing 3D penises and boobs and uploading them to Flipnote Online, a service you have to pay for. Question, how come, with all the income you make from subscriptions, you, ya know, DIDN'T FREAKING HIRE MODERATORS THAT CAN BAN THE LITTLE SH*TS THAT UPLOAD THIS CRAP!? NOPE, were just gonna disable a feature and not release this app elsewhere. I wouldn't be surprised if the Nintendo 3DS/2DS Camera app gets removed because people won't stop downloading Porn and forgetting to remove it when selling/trading/giving away the system. I wonder how many crudely drawn dicks it'll take till Nintendo decides to have another nanny attack and disable/remove Miiverse? One penis, two penis, "We at Nintendo have decided to discontinue the Miiverse service because of some trolls have been uploading crudely drawn genitelia to Miiverse." At that point, I'd be reformatting my 3DS, selling every game for it, and grabbing a PS Vita, then proceeding to grab PSO2 for it.

I can see it now, November 2014, Super Smash Bros releases in Japan, two weeks before it would come out over here. Then Nintendo's servers break, again. Then Nintendo will "Delay Smash U/3DS until further notice" then people will rage, then Nintendo will tweet a few weeks later; "More information on the release date of Super Smash Brothers U and Super Smash Brothers 3DS will be reveled in the future, thank you for your patience" Just like Pokemon Bank, you'll see.

 

[Skeet1983]

Vita is a good system, especially with full PSP mode unlocked