PXAbstraction

I would guess that a lot of people got rich during the Wii/DS era and in past Nitnendo high periods. Also, I don't think anyone is saying they're a perfect company that doesn't have failures. At least, I'm not saying that. Every company has failures, that's part of business. Even everyone's much beloved Apple has a checkered past. They were almost bankrupt before the iPod was introduced. However, few companies in the world can claim over 100 years of constant profitability. Once again, not being at the top doesn't mean you're automatically a loser.

They are? Both of those systems were profitable. Lest we forget, until last year, Nintendo had never lost money in their 100+ year history. Sure, they weren't top dog of their respective generations to be sure but you don't have to be in first place to be a success.

Very good article Alex. I agree with most of your sentiments but I think a lot of people out there forget that the Wii U's current challenges aren't exactly new for Nintendo. The DS didn't fly off shelves when it came out because no one understood it and wait for it, there weren't many good games. It's now the best selling dedicated gaming system of all-time if I recall. Similarly, the 3DS has a poor start and is now doing quite well, though as you say, it's missing projections (but so are a lot of things these days, the economy is still in the toilet lest we forget.) Even the Gamecube didn't have a great start and a rocky run overall but it was profitable for Nintendo.

Twits like Michael Pachter and the like drone on about how this is finally the end and Nintendo will have to join the chorus of people making crap iOS games if they want to survive. However, this type of launch is nothing new for them and they have overcome such challenges before. The Wii was a fluke success even Nintendo didn't plan on. I think even they know that the Wii U never had a chance of coming close to that. I agree they've bungled the messaging badly on it (it should be called the Wii 2, not the Wii U) but they have created a unique and very cool system that can provide gaming experiences literally nothing else can. They just have to court the right developers and most importantly, get their own amazing teams making games that show off why it's so cool. I'm convinced those titles will come and will ensure that the Wii U does find success. Not Wii success, maybe not even PS4 and Xbox 720 success (plus, who even knows what success will be for those systems) but I think it will make Nintendo money in the end and satisfy people like myself who invested in one. Don't listen to analysts, they talk out of their ass and controversy brings them attention.

tl;dr, there's a reason the phrase "never bet against Nintendo" exists. If people can wait a little bit, they'll make it work. But we always need something to hate on. It used to be Sony and Nintendo's it right now.

Welcome back sir! Can't wait to see what you bring to the new sites.

I gotta' say, it's near impossible to get fired from the Government of Canada and there are hundreds, if not thousands of spectacularly inept people who have been working their cushy jobs on the taxpayer dime for decades. That this guy gets fired because he parodies his crappy job and doesn't even mention where it was, that's just ridiculous. Shouldn't be surprised with Revenue Canada I suppose. I'm absolutely buying this game to show support for the guy. I hope this helps get him started on a path to a better career.

@cmblasko said:

@Overbite said:

It's a shame that Patrick seems to be in the same group siding with Kuchera. From the tumblr

Q.Has Ben Kuchera just completely lost his mind? Eric Kain makes one mistake, and Kuchera actively wants to ruin his career?

A. Kuchera aside, it’s really weird that Eric would put that legal question at the end of an article. You don’t do that. You’re the reporter.

Completely ignore what Kuchera has been doing to go after Kain. Professional.

What the hell? What does Kuchera have over these guys that makes them completely overlook the fact that he is publicly acting like a child?

Kind of disappointed by Patrick's reply.

The way I read it is not that Patrick was siding with Kuchera's behaviour, he just didn't want to wade into the drama by commenting on that. He said that Kain may have made a mistake with his original article in his opinion but he didn't slam his credibility. Anyone who is "taking a side" in this debate is becoming a target and I think Patrick would probably rather stay out of it. Also, most respectable journalists don't publicly call out other journalists. If they have a problem with someone else's writing, they usually take it up directly with them. A lesson Kuchera doesn't appear to have learned.

I was head down finishing ZombiU tonight so I didn't have my Twitter client loaded up. When I came back on, I saw this whole thing and was all confused. I heard it involved a Forbes article and assumed the worst because much like cable news, Forbes is usually where journalism goes to die. Then I dug into it more and found out it was actually Ben Kuchera being an egotistical douchebag. Again.

He's a good writer but I've said for a long time that Penny Arcade Report is structured more as an ego-stroking vehicle for him than anything else. The site's mission statement talks about how game journalism is broken but many of his articles frequently break the rules and integrity he claims he's going to solely restore. Examples are articles in his pretentious "The Cut" that use random people on Twitter as sources or his endless fellating of the Oculus Rift (which has been delayed), usually right after an article calling the OUYA a Phantom-like scam (even though it shipped its dev kits on time). "Game journalism" needs more people with his writing skill but he really needs to come off the ivory tower he's built himself on Penny Arcade's back.

Fantastic write-up Alex, the best I've seen on the THQ situation yet. Like you, I've seen several publishers go away and whiel that always sucks, I've felt myself feeling much more profoundly sad at the loss of THQ. They were a badly run company (Brian Farrell should win some award for worst CEO) in many ways but like you said, they took a lot of creative risks and release some really unique, kooky stuff that the likes of EA or Activision would never have let come to pass. An important philosophy in the AAA space became a lot quieter this week. Maybe it had to be since the AAA industry as a whole can't seem to find a way to make sustainable profits any more but that makes me damn sad. THQ was important for a lot of what they did and a lot of great potential was lost with them. I hope everyone from there lands on their feet and continues to be able to make amazing things.

Cool article Patrick. I hate horror anything and am not a fan of super hard games either but I bought ZombiU after getting a Wii U for Christmas because the ideas behind it seemed so cool. I'm just about to finish the game (no spoilers but I'm in the "final sequence") and have absolutely loved it, despite the scares and punishing difficulty. It just feels so satisfying when I actually make progress in it and the game really shows the potential of what the Wii U GamePad brings to the table. I do hope DLC is coming, I'd dive into it for sure.

Did they give any kind of hint in your interview as to whether a sequel is coming? I have no idea how well this sold but I'm hoping given the kind of weak visuals that it didn't have a massive budget and didn't have to sell a couple of million to justify a sequel. I would love to see them take the ideas they had with this and be able to fully flesh them out into a more expanded scope.

And this is the company that now owns Volition, wonderful.

Also, I blame Phil Kollar for mentioning the comments here and making me check them out of morbid curiosity. There is so much growing up left to be done in the video game industry and community. As someone who has played games for almost 30 years, that makes me sad.