Canadian Gamers – Episode 26: Nintendo Gives Gamers The Middle Finger
The title says it all really. Nintendo really gave us all the middle finger coming out of E3 this year. New Super Mario Bros. 2 won’t be online, and Miyamoto-san says that getting Pikmin 3 online would be technically difficult to do. Guess he’s never heard of StarCraft before. Anyways, Steven and Jarrod really go on a rant here so sit back and listen to this short, but hilarious podcast.
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#2 written by Enhas 11 months ago
NSMB2 not being online (aside from crummy StreetPass features) is actually a huge loss. I’m in the same situation of not having anyone near me to play locally, so I’m out of luck.
I thought one of the biggest complaints about NSMBWii was that there was no online multiplayer of any kind. Well, Nintendo has had three years or so to work on that and yet they didn’t whatsoever for either new game? Seriously, what is Nintendo thinking?
I dug out an old NextGen magazine from 2000 last night that previewed the Gamecube. Basically, it (very accurately) predicted that Nintendo’s track record of “living in their own bubble” and overall lack of third-party support compared to its competitors could leave Nintendo in last place among the PS2 and Xbox. And indeed, this is what happened. Even then the PS2 and Xbox had online multiplayer while the Gamecube basically had almost none. And, in the same article, the same argument was given that “power doesn’t matter but it’s what you do with it” that’s still being said a decade later. While this can (and has been) true at times, I really wish Nintendo would just stop being like this. Nintendo has always done things their own way but now many are getting fed up. Just look at how everyone reacted to E3.
Speaking of E3, if it had been confirmed that both NSMB games and Pikmin 3 were going to be able to be played online in addition to local multiplayer (and with examples to show), then I think it wouldn’t have been nearly as bad. Or at least, not as much of a disaster.
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Yeah….Nintendo have been doing their own thing since the dawn of time. It’s given them success, failures, and milestones. They’ve opened up for the past couple of years, but as evident by the deviated direction they’re taking, they’re still adamant about certain aspects of console gaming, like focusing on innovation, being cost effective, and ignoring online multiplayer. The latter doesn’t bother me as much as I do have the convenience of going local. I applaud them for being one of the few developers out there which sticks with local and innovates on it (5 players is my new buzzword for the Wii U). I think their internal development teams are not exactly comfortable or in a rush to have Mario and Zelda connected online, compared to Mario Kart and Animal Crossing which heavily focus on them. People and fans speak with their money after all. As soon as NSMB or Nintendo’s multiplayer titles stop selling like hotcakes, they will consider online.
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Yeah guys Nintendo has danced to the beat of their own drums since day 1 pretty much, well at least since the NES days at least. When they originally put together those anti-competitive publishing restrictions on publishers, that was sort of unheard of at the time. From there they originally planned to keep the NES as their only console until…today. People tend to forget that the SNES was not created because of want, but rather because of need. When the Genesis started making inroads, that’s when they really kicked the SNES into gear, at least in terms of development. People always seem to forget that the Genesis was released in 1989. With the N64 it was the carts, with the GameCube it was lack of online, and with the Wii it was their disruptive market strategy. In each case they’ve had wins and losses, but overall their strategy has worked for them up until now, so they see no reason to change it.
I was one of those who was shocked by the worldwide phenomenon that was the Wii. I never imagined it would resonate so well with those that have never played videogames before. Will that happen again? I have no clue, but whatever happens I’m just very pleased we will finally play Nintendo-made games in HD. It might take a few years to happen, but I’m sure once the Wii U GamePad is used in creative ways it will enhance our gameplay experience. The ultimate fate of Nintendo’s console lies in its ability to sell games and move units, much like all the other platforms. If Nintendo has another major hit on their hands with the casuals, than it will be a loss for the hardcore gamer, but a huge win for Nintendo and ultimately that’s their main goal.
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I’ve noticed that with this generation especially, consoles and game releases exist in a harmonious fashion and it will likely continue to do so in the long run, which is why I’m not exactly complaining or fuming mad about what Nintendo’s doing from a business perspective. While the general conscious about the Wii hasn’t been favorable, we ultimately did get what we want out of it: unique experiences, a handful of hardcore third-party titles and some amazing first-party offerings like Mario and Zelda. Even though it got a casual audience, it didn’t exactly completely shun the hardcore like most people overstate. Even you were surprised when you caught up with the Wii releases, Jarrod. I don’t need to state the amount of great things the system has. Whatever faults the Wii has, I’m perfectly happy with it because I got what I wanted from it. It wasn’t perfect, but I completed its faults elsewhere with what the PS3/360 offered. That’s why I don’t think the Wii or the Wii U are a loss for the hardcore gamer even if they have a new audience (casual). Hardcore gaming offerings are here to stay, and the Wii certainly did not lack that.
In the same time though, the 360/PS3 got some awesome support of their own which were quite different from what the Wii has and even different from each other. You have more of an incentive now to go multi-platform rather than stick with a single console. Most people have at least two out of three. So yeah, Nintendo can do its worst with the Wii U and shun some developers away, but they’ll still get support in turn whether it’s hardcore or casual. It’s almost as if it’s representing a balance; you lose some, you win something different in return. Nothing’s going to change with the Wii U aside from the type of experience you will have. Nintendo will stick with their big franchises and give us Zeldas and Marios, some third-party developers will think outside of the box and give us immersive games, and maybe a bunch of casuals will delve in as well. If you want your Elder Scrolls 6 and what have you two years down the road, you will have a choice to get the PS4 or Xbox 720 or both. Hell, you can skip those consoles in favor of a PC which will most likely have all these graphically imperessive releases, too. Whatever the case may be, it’s all good. I would like to have a choice to experience something alternative and different for the next generation consoles, even if it doesn’t have the bells and whistles of online gaming and super high-def graphics…and it looks like the Wii U will be the answer to this calling.
I think Nintendo realizes all this, too. They realized that they’re in the alternate space and likes being in it. Ever since the Wii has been released, they’ve decided to go with the alternative experience route even if it sacrifices the possibilities of getting the big titles….whether they weaken the graphics or not develop an online infrastructure. After all, they’ve tried sticking with the big guns with the GameCube, right? Which is technically a more powerful system than the PS2. They tried courting third-party developers for the big releases like Resident Evil and collaborations like F-Zero GX. While we gamers recognize is as arguably their best console, sales didn’t speak for it. In fact, It’s their worst selling console of all time. So what does that tell you? If Nintendo tries that route again, they’ll pay big time for it. So they’d rather do their own thing and still have their impeccable first-party software to boot. And rather than courting developers by spending millions on exclusives, they’ll see who would be interested and hype them up. It’s a sure fire way of getting true long-term exclusives which cannot be experienced in the competitors unless Sony and Microsoft try to mimic whatever Nintendo has. It’s a smart way to differentiate yourself from the competition and force a trend in the long run. After all, the PS Move and Kinect didn’t exactly cause an explosion in the industry. They may have mimicked Nintendo and grabbed some piece of the pie, but they didn’t blow anyone’s minds nor dominate the charts.
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Exactly Ahmed, very well put about the GameCube, and sort of what I was trying to imply above, without going into all the detail. The only reason I said it would be a loss for the hardcore, mainly was in terms of perception and if the hardcore only own the one system. It’s should be clear to everyone by now that the NES and SNES Nintendo days will never again happen. Third parties and exclusives are no longer what they used to be. Nintendo will draw their audience because of their games and the unique experiences they offer, and this has been the case since the N64 days. If you’re a hardcore gamer the Wii couldn’t have been your only system or I’m certain the person would be really disappointed. While it offered more games than even I realized, as you’ll soon see in my next video, it wasn’t enough to own all by its lonesome, and I think the same will hold for the Wii U as well. We can all bitch about this or that, but ultimately I’m sure the system will be worth owning just for those hardcore games Nintendo will release. That said, it’s fun to bitch too ;)
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I can’t imagine anyone owning only a Wii nowadays unless he/she is a casual gamer. Owning one console would’ve been the case in 2006 when the Wii was the most affordable console out of the competition, but for the past two years or so all the other systems dropped to affordable prices, too. So the attachment rate of having two consoles nowadays should be very high. But yeah, agreed entirely that whoever owned a Wii only would be be disappointed. The same case holds true with the Wii U as you’ve suggested, and Nintendo knows this more than anyone. What they’re trying to achieve by releasing earlier however is a very high attachment rate as the competition catches up next year. Whoever liked the Wii will immediately jump ship with the Wii U launch, and that’s a very big market right there. Next year, most gamers can only afford either the Xbox 720 or the PS4 at launch (assuming that most likely both will be released head-to-head) so both sales will eat up from each other as the Wii U drops its price and already has a high attachment rate.
Yeah, it’s fun to bitch and moan about Nintendo making weird decisions. We are gamers after all…love looking at things in the short run and demanding like crazy. For some reason though, I can’t help but step back at times and look at the big picture however boring and optimistic it might seem. As a game-only company, it must be very hard for them to balance pleasure choices with business-ones. They may have screwed up with some choices regarding opting out of online multiplayer with some of their choices, but I have a feeling that I will be pleased with the offerings after launch.
Curious to see that video of yours.
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#10 written by Enhas 11 months ago
One thing I wish was better on the 3DS is the eShop. I know it’s only been about a year, but releases seem to be few and far between and there’s still many big-name games missing. Japan has it slightly better, but not much. So far there’s no Wario Land games (except in Japan), no Donkey Kong Land games, and no Oracle of Ages / Seasons just to name a few.
This week, we were given the spectacular Donkey Kong Jr. for $4.99. What’s taking Wario Land so long?
I think that, despite Nintendo’s insistence that no Gameboy Advance games will ever be released to non-ambassadors, there will be some Gameboy Advance games added at some point (probably later into the 3DS’s life). I certainly hope so, even if none of them are the ambassador games, since there are plenty of GBA games I’d like to see in the eShop (the Castlevanias, FFV Advance, etc…).
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Good podcast guys. I cannot wait for nintendo to be a software only company ha ha. I probably won’t be picking the wii U up. These guys sure know how to let people down over and over again.