Nintendo Considering "New Business Structure"

I guess the good news is that Nintendo knows what they've been doing the past 2-3 years isn't working and they can fix whatever problems they have before going under. I highly doubt they're leaving the hardware business after the Wii's success just a generation ago, but maybe the Wii U's life will be cut a year or two short in order to bring in a new console that can match or even best what the PS4/Xbone offers? Who knows. I think having a less powerful system definitely hurt Nintendo this time around since the Wii U controller didn't catch on like they wanted.

Personally, I think Nintendo has to create some new IPs that can maybe spark new life into the company. Not every game has to star Mario or Link or Kirby or whoever. A new proper Mario and Zelda game every few years is fine, but perhaps give those Mario spin-offs a break so the developers can make something new and exciting.

I'm a staunch Nintendo fan, but even I know changes need to be made. I doesn't have to be as drastic as going the way of Sega, but a shakeup is needed.

Nintendo releases a handheld that runs on Steam OS and lets you not only play your Steam games on the go, but all the Nintendo games, eshop, virtual console. (Why hasn't the Steam app on Android let you play Android versions of games you own?)

Did I mention Nintendo makes the most awesome controllers? So for a hardware maker Nintendo is literally the best choice if Valve wants Steam OS to succeed in the living room, because lets be honest that Steam controller isn't going to convince many people to care.

I really want the next generation of Nintendo systems to run on Linux/Steam OS, because it is just the best idea.

Sheep saying Nintendo is doomed are really really really dumb. They probably played Mario 3D World and never noticed the tempo synced animations....its not like theres no videos on youtube showing that off. Just like how everyone hates on Wii Music and it seems like only one person on this planet outside of Nintendo loves that game. The amount of great Wii U games I have is a larger number than the amount of great Wii games that I had at the same point in time in the console's life. The games are better, just like 3DS over the DS.

Maybe if sheep paid attention then they will sell more, but at the moment it is ruled by sheep. Just let the sheep play with their dull nothing, and become reinspired by awesomeness. No big deal at all. Let the sheep get dumber and say again and again how excited they are for a living room console that runs linux and the designers of the controller still haven't decided on a final shape or control scheme. Like Kid Icarus on 3DS or Wonderful 101 on Wii u, both are perfectly suited for the controller. Will that ever happen with the Steam Controller?

If Nintendo fails it will be because no one paid attention and were too busy giving money to crooks who didn't deserve it.

Nintendo considering making huge piles of swag by producing games for other platforms, especially mobile ones.

A million times yes.

Sega do not rely on games anymore. Since the merger with Sammy they have over $4 billion in revenue in many markets in entertainment. They are a healthy business. Of course that comes at the cost of games for western audiences. I am still waiting for Yakuza 5 Sega.

2014 will tell us if people still care about Mario Kart or SSB ( hope those games came in the spring ) if those games do not move the system then nintendo will just focus on the 3ds

@striderno9: Even though 3DS had an amazing year they still failed on meeting expectations for the 3DS. I think Nintendo must reboot the company and produce a less expensive handheld if they become a handheld focused company.

MINDCRIME DETECTED

ALERTING PROPER AUTHORITIES

GLORY TO ARSTOTZKA

I'd be sad to see Nintendo change direction but if it helps them survive maybe a handheld only company?

@goldanas said:

i'm sorry, but there's something wrong with you.

ORIGINAL THOUGHT ALERT

Maybe Nintendo is going to transition into wearable Game and Watches.

Great! If you could just buy one for all of your friends and family, as well as about 5 or 6 games per console, that would really help out.

I'm hoping its a price re-structuring. Their VC games are way over priced. So are their physical copies.

@patrickklepek: Nintendo should stop developing for the Wii U. Stay w/ the 3DS and seriously think about making a Nintendo branded Steam Box w/ a better e-shop and and a destination for all their 1st party titles. Most the development has already been done. Valve would welcome them w/ open arms. It could be out by Holiday 2014.

@mars: Why?

If Nintendo put ALL of their old releases on Virtual Console/e-Shop in this region I would go buy a WiiU. Trying to find a legal route to play all of the old childhood classics of NES and SNES, especially with a controller that feels right is nigh impossible. A system for 299.99 that is basically every Nintendo system... Yes, I want that.

Also, Windjammers would be a system seller. Do that.

@aquacadet: I am not disagreeing. I mean, it really sucked a lot when I played Nintendo Land and not only did you have to use Wiimotes for most of it, but you need to have the silly Motion plus attached to it, which I only had 1 of and I couldn't play with my brother and sister.

But there are a lot of things I really love about this console. The Miiverse is really great and the way it has been implemented in recent Nintendo games (Windwaker HD and 3D World) is incredibly smart. The Game Pad is actually a really good controller. The Gyroscope works surprisingly well and it feels great playing with the controller in hand for extended stretches of time. The fact that some games have a GamePad only mode is way more useful than I would've thought. I can just pick up my controller and play some 3D World or Rayman Origins in bed or do my daily Wii Fit really quickly.

What I'm trying to say is I agree, a console with not a lot a great games is not a great console, but the rare games I've played on the system have been great experiences. It's more Nintendo's fault that the console is failing more than the console itself, if that makes any sense.

HAILINEL

So how bad is Nintendo's position now compared to the where it was at after the N64? Or after the Gamecube? I see doom and gloom forecast, but surely after the huge successes of the Wii the company is in a stronger position now than it was in either of those cases?

They're the last relic of how videogames used to be, and they still make games that revel in that childlike wonder and fun. It'd be a real shame to lose that, which would be guaranteed if the company went third party.

The first thing they need to do is release a new model of the Wii U with an entirely different name. If they want to stick with the Wii branding then either Wii2 or Super Wii would get the point across pretty well. Considering there are gamers who are pretty knowledgeable about the industry who still think the Wii U is just a new controller for the Wii, I don't see how Nintendo has any hope of getting the average person to understand that the Wii is a whole new system. Then they need to hire a new marketing firm and that firm needs to focus on how the Wii2 is different than the Wii and why it is worth getting it over the Xbox One or PS4.

Personally I think Nintendo's problem right now is that they just aren't doing a very good job making people aware of the Wii U's existence and even people who know there is something called the Wii U don't really understand what exactly the device is. They need to rebrand the device, and improve their marketing. Then the next step is vastly improving their online services, especially in regards to unified accounts and sharing content between consoles using the same account. And lastly they need to introduce a Wii U model with either a hard drive or greatly expanded flash memory.

The core Wii U console is fine. It's just the stuff surrounding it that isn't working.

I wish I could care enough to buy a Wii U. Well hopefully they'll finally pull their heads out of the sand and stop acting like it's still the 90s.

@dizzuncan: Thanks for the heads-up. Plan B might be to moan at customer support until they cave and give me what has been industry standard since before I can remember.

Plan A is that hopefully they can repair it under warranty.

If I bought Knack w/my PS4 I prolly would have spent more time with it than I have with Mario, but I didn't buy Knack due to the reviews. I actually have only played the PS Plus stuff on PS4. Also, this'd be the case because I rarely touch my Wii U but what I have actually played of the Mario game was pretty damn good.

I would like to point out how everyone is always ready jump on Nintendo about money problems, but you really never hear about how Microsoft has lost around 3 billion dollars in the last 10 years with xbox and the Ps3 didn't turn a profit until 4 years after it came out, but heaven forbid Nintendo has a bad year or two.

Guys, I really like my Wii U!

As a latent Nintendo fan this is a little depressing, i want nintendo to continue to do watever the hell it wants (even if i hate the result) since they seem like the only console manufacturer with a vision (sans valve). If Nintendo's future has anything to do with gaming without buttons just because they are chasing the ios gravy train, then i'm out, completely out.

Oh also, Iwata seeeems like a good guy, i don't wanna see him go just yet.

Actually I think it says more about you.

The WiiU just isn't exciting in any way.

It's too expensive because of a tablet that I don't want (and hasn't been used creatively yet), so it can't be the "second system" that Nintendo has relied on for the past few generations. Seriously, I had the PS1 and the N64, then the PS2 and Gamecube, then the PS3 and Wii, but the WiiU is way too expensive to buy just so I can have a few decent Nintendo exclusives.

The graphics are a generation behind, which would be fine if there was a flood of creative games being released for it.

The Virtual Console is kind of pointless. This was a huge problem with the Wii as well, a bunch of great games were released at the beginning, and then nothing.

The number of games that have been released or are going to be released that are interesting, I can count on one hand with fingers to spare.

I'm not a Business major or anything, but I CAN tell you what would need to happen for me to buy a WiiU:

1. Drop the price, either by making the tablet cheaper, or dropping it fully.

2. In between huge releases, have as many smaller e shop games as possible. I don't mean indie stuff (although that would help), I mean really simple games Nintendo makes themselves. If a person working on the next Mario game wants to make an arcadey shooter or simple platformer with a cool little twist, let them! Not only is it a more steady stream of content, but who knows what interesting stuff might be created (and possibly made into new franchises)

3. Make the Virtual Arcade worthwhile. What Jeff and the other guys thought NES remix was GOING to be sounded awesome. Release as many old NES/SNES/Sega games as possible, but give people a reason to buy them instead of just downloading roms. This could be as simple as putting up online leaderboards for each game, weekly challenges, or little rewards if you beat the game (say an 8-bit master sword for your Mii if you beat the original Zelda).

4. Release some goddamned games. If I bought a WiiU tomorrow, I'd buy Super Mario World, and maybe Pikmin 3. After that, what else is there? Smash Bros and that Fire Emblem X Shin Megami game sounded interesting. There's no Zelda, no Metroid, no F-zero, no Kid Icarus, no EarthBound, and nothing else. It's annoying because Nintendo has by far the best IPs in the video game industry, but instead of using them, it's just Mario games over and over. I'd KILL to see them go back to their older games and re-imagine them. Imagine Balloon Fight as a multiplayer deathmatch party game, or Excitebike as a Trials Evolution style racer, or a new Ice Climbers. Hell, try to do stuff that wasn't first party. I'd LOVE to see a new Star Tropics or City Connection.

The LAST thing I want to see is Nintendo pumping out a bunch of pointless garbage for mobile devices.

Make just ONE Nintendo franchise multi-platform, and once Nintendo sees how much money they will make, they will only ask themselves why didn't they do this sooner.

I'm ready for change, guys.

I'm thinking much of that sentiment is espoused by folks that aren't Nintendo fans to begin with. So if Nintendo would just kindly drop off the radar so much the better.

I love the 'Pokemon MMO' theory... I know lets have a company that is known for not having good online support make a MMO, its not like Pokemon Bank being released in Japan caused Nintendo's network to set on fire or anything :/... makes total sense to me... (also lets not forget that not even a Star Wars MMO could cut it and Star Wars is far larger than Pokemon)

To me this just sounds like Nintendo will look at more pricing models... I would like to see small cheap (mobile) style games on the 3DS with Nintendo Franchises (like a Mario endless runner or something)

Love my 3DS, I find it a better device with a better library than the DS (lite). However, they kind of dug their own grave with Wii U.

As someone who purchased both games, I can tell you that I played Knack more, and was more invested in it during my play-time. That says something about Mario.

Mario is definitely a better game, undoubtedly, but it's also so much more boring. There is just nothing interesting about Mario anymore, and the Duplo Blocks aesthetic is really not fooling me anymore.

The sad thing is they'll eventually be right, every company is eventually gonna fail, but they'll take that inevitability as a time to pat themselves on the back as if they had actually predicted anything.

Maybe they'll actually put out Virtual Console games now.

E-A GAMES, it's in the game.

@fram: Try being "the Wii guys" for a few years and see how that shapes your expectations. I'm not saying Nintendo aren't batshit crazy for thinking they'd just auto-win with the Wii U, but I can sort of see where that hubris comes from. Sony got it good, too. They DID manage to turn it around though. Difference is when the PS3 came out the thing felt like a fucking hoax until developers got a grip on it. The Wii U doesn't even exist yet in the public eye.

Nintendo has been going down since the N64, the Wii was a lucky break that just pushed the innevitable one generation further down the road.

ill believe it when I see it, right now all I'm hearing is "uhhh well we lost a ton of money because we're still trying to party like it's 1999, but don't get mad investors cause we're totally doing that smartphone thing you guys wanted"

In other words, "please understand."

I suspect this foreshadows the Wii U being their last home console. I believe they will transition to a mobile only company. Whether that's smartphones or a follow up to the 3DS, I'm not sure.

I think Nintendo's best strategy right now, and this is me being mostly an ignorant nobody, would be to gather a greater group of 2nd party teams. Monolith and Retro are excellent examples of companies that thrive under Nintendo's wing, and I personally would love to see Nintendo, for instance, invest a shit ton of money in Platinum, and directly reach out to indies to fund their development. In short, they need to become a little bit more like Sony in how they deal with small teams, and they need to become a lot more like a publisher in how they deal with their closest third parties.

I feel fairly confident they could turn this ship around with an actual marketing push (a real one), and exclusive partnerships with a stable of dedicated, well funded teams, they could make the Wii U *highly* relevant. And I say that as someone who actually knows the hardware, and how it seems almost designed to turn away multiplat games, but let exclusives sing.

The thing that gets me the most about this whole thing is that the 3DS is still considered an underperformer by Nintendo, despite it being the best selling console in the US last year. They revised down its sales targets from 18 million to 13.5 million.

To uneducated me, this reeks a little of Square-Enix-like unrealistic expectations. Despite the enormous amount of cash they're apparent sitting on, nothing but a big change is going to get them profitable again.

They are sitting on a gold mine, all I want is the ability to play Zelda and Mario in HD without having to buy yet another box. They should really consider making a steam machine, that would really give PC gaming that extra shot in the arm it needs.

Mario vocaloid Pizza Hut app?

this. It's like they dont even know where their strong character's are. I mean where the fuck is a starfox game/

I read somewhere that most of the key designers for Nintendo's internet service have never used Xbox Live or PSN. It definitely explains some things...

I think Nintendo could definitely turn around. They offer a very unique perspective and a wide variety of gaming experiences, but the stuff around the edges is always really...crappy. Actually, Miiverse is pretty nifty.

I take no joy in it, but I absolutely called this whole WiiU thing. Anybody that wanted to play last-gen games for the next 2 years or so probably already had a PS3 or a 360 and so the only people out there buying the WiiU are the Nintendo try-hards die-hards. The quasi-shitty tablet was a bad enough mistake, but to pair it with largely last-gen hardware made for something too expensive to compete with 360/PS3 and not powerful enough to compete with PS4/XBone. The only surprising thing about dev support drying up is that it didn't even take until the end of the PS3/360 era to happen.

That said, I really don't know what, if anything at Nintendo will actually change. Putting games out on smartphones would cannibalize the one healthy platform Nintendo has, but the WiiU is so far gone at this point, I don't think it's possible to save it. In less than three months, the PS4 and XBOne are on the verge of outselling the WiiU which has been out for about 14 months, and it's only going to get worse. If they give up and start work on their next home console, that just screws over their most die-hard fans. I do not envy Iwata right about now...

Yes, Nintendo needs a shake up!