Understanding Nintendo and why no one does

Clarky

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While reading around I came across this great little article I thought that would be worth sharing. the article is here. Some highights from the article.

One particularly absurd example of this was a couple of weeks when ex-EA exec Bing Gordon came out with this little gem when speaking to GamesIndustry International:
‘I think Nintendo’s already on track to become primarily a software company. We saw that with Sega back in the day; Sega made some missteps and became primarily a software company. Nintendo hasn’t really made missteps, Nintendo probably has better creative talent and better leadership now than Sega did. It’s got the most robust business model, the best creative talent; Miyamoto’s still the best in the business.’
Bing offers no explanation for why Nintendo are ‘on track’ to become a software company (especially as he notes their lack of ‘missteps’) other than the fact that he believes they’re in competition with Apple.

Offered a great view on Nintendo which does make a lick of sence, anybody elses opinion?
 

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I'm going to be the party pooper here, come out and say it - it's been years since Nintendo created a new franchise that caught on - they're mostly putting the ones they created in the late 80'ties on IV's and print money.
 

Clarky

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I'm going to be the party pooper here, come out and say it - it's been years since Nintendo created a new franchise that caught on - they're mostly putting the ones they created in the late 80'ties on IV's and print money.

There are franchises Nintendo have done that caught on, its just the ones that "gamers" don't do. (eg Animal Crossing, Nintendogs, Wii Sports, Wii Fit) But yeh, the most recent one that comes to mind taking off is Pikmin. But yeh i respect where you are coming from with the statement
 

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There are franchises Nintendo have done that caught on, its just the ones that "gamers" don't do. (eg Animal Crossing, Nintendogs, Wii Sports, Wii Fit) (...) Pikimin
Uhh, not that I want to burst your bubble, but Pikimin started off with the Gamecube, meaning an eternity ago, Nintendogs is a glorified Tamagotchi, Wii Sports "sold" so well because it was bundled with the console and you had no say in the matter, Wii Fit was bundled with an accessory and has little to do with gaming and Animal Crossing originates from the N64 game "Animal Forest", and even if you don't count that one as part of the franchise then the original is a Gamecube game from over 10 years ago.
 

Clarky

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There are franchises Nintendo have done that caught on, its just the ones that "gamers" don't do. (eg Animal Crossing, Nintendogs, Wii Sports, Wii Fit) (...) Pikimin
Uhh, not that I want to burst your bubble, but Pikimin started off with the Gamecube, meaning an eternity ago, Nintendogs is a glorified Tamagotchi, Wii Sports "sold" so well because it was bundled with the console and you had no say in the matter, Wii Fit was bundled with an accessory and has little to do with gaming and Animal Crossing originates from the N64 game "Animal Forest", and even if you don't count that one as part of the franchise then the original is a Gamecube game from over 10 years ago.

no bubbles burst. a I pointed out was Nintendo have had more franchises than just ones made in the 80s work out
 

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no bubbles burst. a I pointed out was Nintendo have had more franchises than just ones made in the 80s work out
And I used the word "mostly" - to me, they've gone without anything fresh for over 10 years now, and it's kinda sad. Not to mention that their best series are the ones that are the most neglected. Where's 3DS Wars, I ask? Where's a new Metroid game? :P

I remember saying something along the lines of "We'll sooner see a Mario Astronaut game than a new Advance Wars" for giggles, and then Mario Galaxy came out. Two of them, actually.
 
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gamefan5

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no bubbles burst. a I pointed out was Nintendo have had more franchises than just ones made in the 80s work out
And I used the word "mostly" - to me, they've gone without anything fresh for over 10 years now, and it's kinda sad. Not to mention that their best series are the ones that are the most neglected. Where's 3DS Wars, I ask? Where's a new Metroid game? :P

I remember saying something along the lines of "We'll sooner see a Mario Astronaut game than a new Advance Wars" for giggles, and then Mario Galaxy came out. Two of them, actually.
To this point I fully agree wth you.
Nintendo, WHERE'S MAH F-ZERO GAME??? I DEMAND IT!
 

Clarky

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no bubbles burst. a I pointed out was Nintendo have had more franchises than just ones made in the 80s work out
And I used the word "mostly" - to me, they've gone without anything fresh for over 10 years now, and it's kinda sad. Not to mention that their best series are the ones that are the most neglected. Where's 3DS Wars, I ask? Where's a new Metroid game? :P

I see your point now. Half the problem in my opinion is having a huge amount of franchises under there belt and making some of those franchises work on a newer consoles. As much as the world was deprieved of Metroid from Super Metroid to Metroid Prime (or was it fusion?) looking back I don't think Metroid could have worked on the N64. 3DS wars will happen at some point, Metroid I imagine could work wonders with the Wii U pad
 

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Series aside, they could come up with something entirely new. I mean, there's been talks of a Nintendo shooter, right? I'd like to see how they fare with that. Or maybe a new RPG game? A proper RPG, not a Zelda clone? Golden Sun came out well, they could do even better! The possibilities are endless, and yet it seems to me that they're too busy making Mario rehashes and minor improvements to the Pokemon series. Their design department must be pretty hard at work drawing all those new Pokemons each generation.
 

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I do see the point that the really BIG franchises have all been started a rather long time ago. Of course, that's what makes them classics. The older they are, the more people like them.

All the big franchises started out being the first, most innovative game in their time.
-Metroid was the first game where you could walk in both directions.
-Zelda was the first game that made you explore.
-Star Fox was the first FX chip game.
-Mario ... umm ... I guess SMB was the killer app that made the NES a success in the first place but I can't think of why off hand.
When people saw the sequel, they though "oh, the first game was great, let's check this one out" and, fortunately, they were smart enough to give people what they were expecting so they kept coming back once they had hooked them.

In what little defense I can muster of the last few years, it almost seems the Wii has been more of a rebirth of retro gaming with VC games and all the 20 and 25 year anniversary things. This, unfortunately, partly comes from the fact that it wasn't all that powerful compared to the competitors and was easier to remake old ports but it was also kinda a way of Nintendo saying to the competition "look at us, we've been in the industry for TWICE as long as you have." and rubbing it in their faces.

 

emigre

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Personally I reckon Ninty should give Retro studios the freedom to make their own IP. Retro have illustrated they have quality and more importantly, as illustrated by their handling of Metroid and DK, they reinvent IPs. I say let them go all the way on creating some new IPs.
 
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Gahars

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Relevant

I do agree with Foxi that Nintendo could certainly benefit from a little more experimentation. They might not all work out, but then again, maybe they'll create their next big name franchise. It's a gamble well worth taking.
 

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I'm going to be the party pooper here, come out and say it - it's been years since Nintendo created a new franchise that caught on - they're mostly putting the ones they created in the late 80'ties on IV's and print money.

The problem is they use their old franchise names when making new type of games, making it sound they are less innovative.
Examples: Kid Icarus - Uprising: It's technically an old franchise but the game itself has no resemblance with the older Kid Icarus games, so it's a completely new type of game for Nintendo.
Super Mario 3D Land - It's a Mario game, nothing to discuss here... But, hey! It doesn't fit in the 2d Mario platform series and it certainly doesn't fit in the main 3d Mario platform series, so it's innovative because it's a game of it's own, not a sequel to yet another Mario game.

When there was a new FPS, Nintendo used Metroid. When there was a new microgames game Nintendo used Wario. When there is any new sport game expect to see Mario. They were new games, it's the franchises that are overused (a strategy which works everytime, not only for Nintendo)
 
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Taleweaver

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@OP:

I almost fell out of my chair by that guy claiming that "Nintendo’s already on track to become primarily a software company" and that "they’re in competition with Apple". It's so retardishly wrong it's almost a ploy (so in case something happens and things are totally different in a decade, he can claim that "he already knew it for years").

For the article...there's something true about it, yes. Since the Ds, nintendo sorta stepped of the beaten path of making videogames to do innovative stuff with their hardware, then redefine their software to fit that hardware. That "a new way of gaming" may sound like E3 salesman bullshit, but in nintendo's case, it only fits the description.

Innovation isn't always a plus, though. The convenience of a regular gamepad is exactly that you quickly forget you're holding it so you can focus on the experience.
If nintendo has one quality (well...one quality that stands out above the others), then it's that they know how to make doing things in an unusual way fun.


As to not having enough new franchises coming out...I think it's mostly the audience who decides on that. It's not like they don't try (wii music, anyone? or perhaps steel diver?), but the main reason to have a game turn into a bunch of outselling sequels is the amount of people who buy and like it.
And also what RodrigoDavy says: sometimes they just rehash already existing characters in completely new games. With a different main character and name, I don't think anyone would have seen the resemblance to that random NES game. I think it's more of a "why reinvent the wheel? We already have dozens of them!" approach than anything else. In Kid Icarus's case, I'd even say that it isn't to please the fanboys (honestly? Kid Icarus? If it wasn't for SSBB, barely anyone would have remembered him).
 
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The Milkman

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Nintendo is making new IPs. the problem is that when it comes out people get pissed off because they use similar names, like someone else said, Uprising was a very different game from anything Nintendo had done, but still people wanted a new IP, but then, when they released Steel Diver, people called it a fucking flash game without even playing it, same story with Dillions Rolling Western, it combined tower-defence with ARPG and actually did it right, how many of you have even played huh?! I can understand why they just keep throwing Mario and Pokemon out, and do all thier innovation under those two names, if they dont people wont even take a second loom at it.
 

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Nintendo is making new IPs. the problem is that when it comes out people get pissed off because they use similar names, like someone else said, Uprising was a very different game from anything Nintendo had done, but still people wanted a new IP, but then, when they released Steel Diver, people called it a fucking flash game without even playing it, same story with Dillions Rolling Western, it combined tower-defence with ARPG and actually did it right, how many of you have even played huh?! I can understand why they just keep throwing Mario and Pokemon out, and do all thier innovation under those two names, if they dont people wont even take a second loom at it.

HAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHA

Also Steel Diver is the epitome of average.
 

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