Nintendo's Partnering strategy

So, amidst the announcements that coupled with the leaked xbox specs makes it seem like the console race is already at gg with the big N at #1, I noticed that they talked briefly about their partnership strategy where they're willing to let 3rd Parties that partner with them and utilize Nintendo franchises. When I thought about this for a minute, it sounds like Nintendo has finally found a hook to get 3rd parties to finally develop for their system. It's no secret that 3rd parties have never really focused much on the Nintendo system, but by the looks of it with Bayonetta 2 coming ONLY to Wii U, it sounds like Nintendo has got 3rd party attention. What this could easily mean is Wii U could become 3rd party dev console of choice, because they're not only allowed to use Nintendo IPs, they're able to get the big N to help them out developing the game. even if that's just for porting, that's just easy money for devs.

Coupled with Miiverse, Smartphone integration and the overall attention Nintendo appears to have paid to current trends, I firmly believe that Nintendo is about to become even more of a juggernaut than it already is. (This is not even talking about the new tech the controller uses and the still new hardware that devs haven't fully utilized yet in the console)

As I said before, apart from an absurd amount of RAM, the xbox 720 looks to be about 1.3x stronger than the Wii U, which is exactly as underwhelming for lems as it sounds, meaning that ports should be very doable for the Wii U. I'm not trying to start a system wars here, but I believe that my numbers are reasonably accurate.

Tl;dr: Nintendo's partnering strategy with 3rd parties is exactly the hook that 3rd parties need to jump aboard the Nintendo train.

My only issue with your argument (I agree overall that it's a very clever way to get 3rd parties to make games) is that when you look at Pokemon Conquest, the title emphasizes one series over the other. I don't see Nobunaga's Ambition suddenly becoming more popular because of Pokemon Conquest, because nowhere in the game was it obvious that the other "random" characters were from that series. There's a chance that people who played Pokemon Conquest would recognize characters from NA, but I don't think that would lead them to buy the game necessarily.

in Japan maybe, but not in the west tho...just look at the titles its missing out & the excuses devs comes up with. The other thing they need to stop with (imo racist) - Japan ONLY games & region lock. So Im not allow to play because Im not Japanese? or I must not like the games because Im not Japanese? :P

this strategy was laid out well in advance with Nintendo's recent massive restructuring. Earlier, Iwata said that Nintendo wouldn't bribe developers to put games on their system. That was a flat out lie. Not only have they simply purchased exclusivity for Monster Hunter, but they have built a mecca for third parties in Tokyo with the sole purpose of Nintendo assuming the cost of game development in exchange for exclusivity (a la their partnership with Platinum). I'm not against the idea, I just wonder if this strategy is sustainable. It's massive institutional bribery.GunSmith1_basic

It's probably only as sustainable as the combination of Nintendo's wallet and the willingness of thrid parties to ignore a larger userbase for their games. I'm skeptical about this being a really viable option for most third parties down the road, really. The reason it looks good for Platinum is because Bayonetta 2 didn't look like it was going to be a finished game anytime soon under normal circumstances. However, for publishers and developers who can afford to build games across multiple consoles, they're probably are not going to be as willing to support Nintendo's plan for exclusivity, knowing that their products have a much better chance of surviving at retail elsewhere. And if it's not an exclusive game, supporting the Wii U pretty much becomes a shot in the dark for most third party franchises, regardless of what similiarities or contrasts the Wii U may have with the upcoming consoles.

The key right now is for the likes of Bayonetta 2 and The Wonderful 101 to not only sell as software, but possibly move hardware as well. If they can't do that, I simply don't see how this works for Nintendo or third parties moving forward. While Bayonetta was well-known and acclaimed, I'm not sure if it was ever really classified as a "system-seller" kind of game, so there's a lot of pressure on Platinum's plate to do something it hasn't done in the past (keep in mind that it made Madworld for the Wii, and that game was a total flop at retail). To say that Nintendo has the inside track in regards third party support because of this and being able to use Nintendo's IP's (which is a strategy Nintendo has used in the past, to minimal impact) is being probably too optimistic, especially when the Wii U still can't encourage ports of current-HD console games very well.