Ubisoft CEO says NX could bring back casuals! (UGHHHH!)

Meaningless praise...lets see if they stick with NX. :P

Never understood the stigma that people have for people that only play games casually. Is it wrong that some people only play an hour here and there?

I think there's a difference between playing games casually and being a casual gamer. I would consider someone who spends 50 hours a week playing Wii Sports a casual gamer, but if you're playing Ikaruga 3 hours a week I wouldn't.

Stupid I know...

I think the difference here, is that back then, Nintendo was fresh off of Wii (re: however you want to spin it, a global success), and Ubisoft probably felt more pressure to be supportive of Nintendo because of their previous track record. Now? Ubisoft could get away with saying whatever it wants. So I'll take his word for it this time.

I definitely agree, but you never know. Maybe Ubisoft and Nintendo have some kind of agreement, or maybe Ubisoft has some sort of business strategy where they always try to get early software on a new console, and so of course they'll talk up that console to boost their software.

At the very least, I think we can assume that Ubisoft knows something about the NX, and the NX has something about it that is wii-like, in that it is meant to capture the imagination of casuals. I doubt they would say what they did in the way they said it if the NX were just a clone of the ps4/xb1/neo/scorpio

This underscores why the label can cause more problems than it solves, I think. :P

dammit casual nintendo is back

I hope you guys realize that there is a huge difference between the casuals who bought the PS2 vs the Wii right?

The Wii attracted non gamers and the very extreme of casuals (Now Mobile Gamers), the PS2 attracted your average casual gamer who bought games like GTA, Madden and Guitar Hero. It is not the same at all.

You mean like they always have? Go figure..

Imagine being in the minority demographic-wise in a country and your voice, needs, and requests aren't being heard and catered by the government only the majority. Gamers who prefer games that have depth and require more thinking and understanding than your average casual games are in the minority.

Just like many of their games, I tend to not take Ubi statements very seriously. Anyway I don't think we have anything to worry about in terms of some awkward gimmick controller. LoZ: BotW is an NX game and Aonuma stated that it will be a similar experience to the Wii U version and they really de-emphasized GamePAd use as well. Whatever this "casual" allure might be it won't be in the control method.

I say its some sort of crappy AR.

No surprise here especially since Ubisoft was the one excited to dev for NX and there game at E3 was Just Dance.

nintendo's new console is going to flop "big league". there has never been 3 main consoles all succeeding at the same time

It depends on how we're defining casuals.

a) those that were Wii customers, whose gaming predilections now extend the length of cell phones, and only flocked to Nintendo's machine because there was no other alternative to get those types of fleeting experiences at the time they can now get for pennies, or....

b) those that buy the "core" machines but are not really what one would consider a gaming enthusiast (just for Fifa/Madden, etc).

If it's "a" this executive is referring to, Nintendo has the problem of convincing people to pay $2-300 for a system to get those games they're interested that they can already get for free or .99$ on a phone. I don't see how that is going to be easy, if even possible. If it's "b", what games are they going to have to do this? Of course we don't yet have a clue as to what the NX is, but it seems to me the core and casual market has been delineated fairly strongly.

@MirkoS77: Going for both and all of the above.

You can still have all that and cater to casuals. Nintendo is very good at it. Just look at Smash Bros, Mario Kart, Pikmin 3, Star Fox Zero, New Super Luigi, etc.

@GoldenElementXL said:

The "casuals" chose PS4 this round, which is why it's the best selling console... Whichever company wins the casual market, wins the sales war. How so many of you fail to see this is beyond me.

Core gamers live in a tiny bubble. That's why they miss the point so badly.

@iandizion713: I've no doubt, but how? How do you convince the people that only want to play games that are a matter of a few dollars to plunk down $200+ for a dedicated system?

@MirkoS77: You let them experience it. They will then say in their head, $.99 dollar game or $59.99 game. The choice will be very easy.

Considering the drop off of the user base from the Wii to the U, the choice apparently was very easy.

@MirkoS77: Wont be so easy this time, people know what mobile and indie gaming is now.

More Just Dance!

They've known it for many years, and they have alternatives to turn to right now. What makes you believe Nintendo's going to offer something drastically divergent from what Sony and MS have in terms of core/casual content? I think unless they hit it out of the park with some wildly successful gimmick that people can't get on either their phones, the PS4, or the Bone, they're going to struggle.

The U has shown that Nintendo's software isn't enough.

@MirkoS77: Cause Nintendo has games that cater to all ages. The Wii U has some of the best software Nintendo has ever created.

@iandizion713: as the U had. Point being...?

@MirkoS77: Point being, people change.

@iandizion713: It'll be interesting to see what happens.

@MirkoS77: I agree, Nintendo is fun to watch. They always keep it fresh.

@Gamerno6666: Pretty much

1) My perspective is that of a platform that will please its userbase. The potential customers are there for everyone and if you want to please them , its fine , but to AIM for those casuals as your main focus , hardware or software speaking , it LED TO SOME OF THE MOST EPIC FAILS IN CONSOLE HISTORY ( caps to emphasize ). And we all know what happened to either Wii or Wii U , let alone X1 that felt into this "casual" trap Wii set up the previous generation. So we had

Wii : That has the record of most shovelware games ever for the period was alive and kicking before goes into life support . Had the historical fact of being the first console in gaming history that despite its huge userbase ( hello casuals) AND huge profits from them ( both hardware and software speaking ) went into a serious life support ( that never happened before since 80s era ) , fans themselfs were salty about the situation calling it dust collector ( thats first for a console that won clearly its generation by far ).

Wii U : The all time low ( console sales speaking / life support early once again / very few games in its entire lifespan of Nintendo consoles

X1 : Tried to blend things and IT DIDNT WORK. Aka , be casual appeal with motion controls ala Wii PLUS at the same time provide everything Wii couldnt. Therefore the X1 brand name , 1 console for all. IT failed !! So much that they even took out KINECT, thei main marketing tool that supposed will appeal to casuals !

2) So , if companies like Nintendo keep not focusing on consumers like you and me ... Then theres a big chance for another Wii situation ! ( if they do it , we dont even know yet what NX is all about ) You can appeal TO ALL audiences without making fancy stuff and asking for extra money for them. For example , why this PAD for Wii U ?! Provide a traditional controller and make hardware itself better than provide an expensive pad !! Ask around any sheep you know if he would prefer Wii U with a traditional controler but BETTER GPU/CPU on same price tag than a way weaker GPU/CPU for having a fancy controller !

How this affecting CASUALS for example ? I dont get you

3) The only thing was good for Wii were the typical Nintendo games that were always good and aside KART , all together didnt sell , ALL together i repeat , didnt sell as much as Wii sports !! Its that what you want ? Wii sports , Wii Fit and Wii play selling x10 times than what Galaxy 2 did ? Fine by me. Im calling sales out because they are not saying the whole story when it comes to CASUAL platforms like Wii. So about profits,sales and alike check above what Wii really achieved except sales , profits and casual praise.

4) I agree , we dont know what NX is all about but we had official statements and we get an idea what will be most likely. Im not dumb either to give my money for a console that its main focus will be CASUALS , having a great spike of games for a year and then after 2-3 years will go into life support. I have enough dust collectors in my home , dont need another one ... and a pricey one.

All in all , we can talk again when NX will get a release , for now everything are speculations.

@lunar1122: Yes because x360, PS3 and Wii never happened. But I can agree, it's a tight space to hold 3.

@GoldenElementXL said:

The "casuals" chose PS4 this round, which is why it's the best selling console... Whichever company wins the casual market, wins the sales war. How so many of you fail to see this is beyond me.

True. Acting like all 40+ million PS4 owners are forum posting gamers is LOL

That first line is confusing to me. The console makers want their product to reach as many consumers as possible. The "hardcore" gamer crowd is still pretty niche compared to the gamer community as a whole. Are you offended by the term casual? Do you identify as a hardcore gamer? I think you are getting hung up on labels here. The Wii also had some great "hardcore" games. And the NES had its fair share of shovelware. How do you define casual games? Hardcore games?

I don't care what narrative is perpetrated by the lemmings, the statement is factual. Which ever console wins the sales war overall also won the casual market. Enthusiast don't make up a big enough portion of the pie for Sony to accomplish what they have.

Do you have any proof that Wii gamers went to tablets and smart phones? That's a pretty wild accusation. According to that hated Nielson survey, a higher percentage of Wii owners purchased a PS4 than PS3 or 360 owners. And since the Wii sold the most in gen 7, that would mean...

So you purposely bypass Nintendo titles when looking for quality? And you also require Nintendo to sell "through the roof" while maintaining 3rd party support. You can just say that you don't like Nintendo and be done with it instead of requiring such strange standards for Nintendo to meet your definition of success. And again, I think you have a strange definition of "casuals." Is a person that plays Madden, COD and NBA 2K every year a casual or a core gamer? What about a person that plays Minecraft. What games are hardcore? Bloodborne? Because that game didn't sell nearly as well as any of the others I listed. So targeting that niche, "hardcore" crowd is pretty silly for console makers. And who the hell cares about the amount of shovelware if there are still quality games that people can enjoy? You know people aren't forced to buy those games, right? And I thought the number of titles available was a good thing and gave gamers more choices. That's what some Cows on SW like to say anyway when those listwars threads are made.

And I hate to break it to you, but casuals ARE gamers. Many casuals spend more money and time on the hobby than most of the "hardcore" on this board. You folks aren't in some special elite club. People from 1-100 years old play games now. Get over yourselves.

@AzatiS: The only valid complaints against the Wii: weak hardware-limiting what devs could do with games, and some didn't like the wii remote. As far as games go, it had a bunch of great games. Shovelware always shows up on the highest selling system of every generation. Having casuals and non gamers buy a game system was a good thing.

Wii U sold poorly because it was not geared towards casuals. It also didn't appeal to non-Nintendo fans, and that's their biggest problem moving forward. If NX appeals to casuals, AND has sufficient power to go along with it, one can easily see why the people who already know what it is are predicting it will sell strongly.

Both Sony and Microsoft are trying too much to be like PCs, especially with these revisions on their hardware early on in the generation. Here's hoping Nintendo keeps console gaming like console gaming.

Hehe , lets summarize undeniable facts :

• Wii had the most shovelware ever created for a console for the period it was active. NEver before so much shovelware created for a console in 2 years period. In fact back then many was teasing Wii about this.
• Wii died prematurely let alone went to life support way before its competitors despite its amazing hardware AND software sales.
• This happened for FIRST TIME IN CONSOLE HISTORY , no other console managed to have such sales and profits and die so fast / went into life support let alone lack of 3rd parties.
• Wii lacked 3rd party support big time which hardware AND wii mote didnt help at all with that
• Wii sold that good BECAUSE of casuals and then everything else
• Wiis best AAA caliber IPs (Galaxies/Zelda/SSB) , aside Mario Kart , sold poorly compared to games like Wii fit , Wii play , Wii sports and other casual software
• Casuals turned their back to motions controls / gimmick controls big time next generation which affected further Wii U and X1.

Now those are facts and all are valid , you can google about every single one , you can find lists , comments from 2008 and beyond , you can find everything.

So is bad to focus on casuals ? Profit wise might not be , which all companies is all that care about in the end. But history showed clearly as of now , that you cant base your success on casuals for a long time success , CONSOLES speaking. I emphasize consoles speaking.

So do you really like NX to be one of those casual systems that will provide something fancy than focus on hardware and games , either 1st or 3rd , and focus mainly on casual mini games or those colorful , cute games Nintendo releasing since N64 era while missing all 3rd party? Well , so be it.

You want another Wii / Wii U with different name then. You dont mind the lack of 3rd parties , you dont mind the hardware being subpar of competition , you dont mind fancy controllers and alike , you dont mind playing the usual stuff Nintendo releasing ( means you dont mind if they provide you with NEW IPs like SONY does every generation ) , you dont mind if NX go into life support way earlier than it should etc ... ... All in the name of casuals ? So be it my friend.

Lets see what NX is all about and we will talk again.

@AzatiS: You basically repeated everything I said.

@GoldenElementXL: Bro.. If the enthusiast gamer did not make up a big enough piece of the pie then how in blue blazing hell did the first PS break the 100M mark while the Wii didn't?

You got things all kinds of backwards here man.

Basically , i insist on my original points :). Maybe you missed my edit.

Well , lets see , NX reveal cant be that far .. or it can !? :P

The Playstation sold 100 million consoles because it appealed TO THE CASUAL MARKET. The games were cheaper and the library was diverse. I think you're confusing casual gamers with gimmicks or something. Casuals dictate the market. Mass appeal is what sells.

@GoldenElementXL: No, I am pretty sure you have it backwards.

The core gamers buy a console in mass.

Developers turn the corner after a few years and start being more adventurous with their titles.

Casuals eventually come around when the game library is monstrous and the hardware is cheap.

This is basic shit dude. The Wii hit the market at a silly low and accessible price while the HD twins were bludgeoning each other. Nintendo skipped straight to dessert which is why their tail was nonexistent. I cannot believe I even have to explain this.

@GoldenElementXL: you definitely misunderstand me. Take a look at my post history. I've been an ardent Nintendo supporter for many many years. I just want to be able to play a variety of games on the NX. Not JUST Nintendo titles. And I believe that current Nintendo cannot attract 3rd party support on a system that doesn't sell well. My fear is that if a Nintendo system does sell well it will be because of some bullshit gimmick. A gimmick that will relegate them to receiving superficial 3rd party titles that lack depth.

@Shewgenja: You just switched from "enthusiast" gamers to "core" gamers Those are two VERY different things. Again, what are your definitions? Because the majority of console owners buy 2 or 3 games a year. And in most cases those games are COD or NBA 2K. Is that casual, core or hardcore/enthusiast. Because whichever console captures that crowd wins the generation.

@GoldenElementXL: I think 7th generation was the one and only mulligan where the core and enthusisst gamer did not dictate the winner of the gen by virtue of Nintendos cheap hardware and direct targeting of casual gamers and even nongamers. Otherwise, all things being equal, they all go where thr core goes.

A gamer is a gamer.

@emgesp: the Ps2 attracted people that didn't even game at all due to it being the cheapest dvd player on the market.

One who only plays smartphone games while commuting is vastly different from one who plays PC games and knows PC hardware. There are differences between audiences. It depends on who you'll cater for. Let's not try to deny it.

@PSP107: Super Mario Galaxy 1 and 2 > The entire PS2 library.

You honestly think the PS2 was mainly successful because of DVD playback? That might have been a big selling point initially, but it didn't take long for standalone DVD players to become cheaper than a PS2. The vast majority who bought a PS2 bought it to play games.

@Sonicplys: "Super Mario Galaxy 1 and 2 > The entire PS2 library."

Those Galaxy games aren't even better than Mario 3(SNES) and Mario World(SNES) =(

The casuals are playing Pokemon Go.

It will be VERY challenging for Nintendo to win casuals away from iOS and Android devices. Lets see what they can do.