Yep, Nintendo is in trouble

Nintendo really doesn't know what they're doing. They have no coherent long-term plan. They had a smash hit with the Wii initially fueled by a motion controller gimmick that didn't live up to it's promise, to bring us thrilling new gaming experiences with solid dev support and great games. Not even their first party dev teams could do anything with it besides little party games, so now Nintendo is stuck with a very underpowered system with a useless motion controller and no games. They're sitting on a big pile of cash, wondering what to do now. This ought to be interesting.

A new beefed up Wii with backward compatibility would be too little too late if they really want to be on the same playing field as the 360 and PS3. With the hardcore gamer base already established on the 360 and PS3 combined with continued weak third party support for Nintendo consoles, Nintendo seems to have no option but to continue trying to appeal to kids and their moms, sadly. So they better not throw their installed base of 54 million people under the bus by releasing a more powerful Wii. This would be their indirect message to all those Wii owners:

"Thanks for buying a Wii, but you need to buy our new console now. You didn't get $250 worth of fun from your Wii? We're sorry about that, but yeah buy our new console k thx."

It's very bad PR, and Nintendo is already catching heat with their handling of the DS lately. So if they don't make Wii owners happy, they can say goodbye to their future console sales. They've already lost any remaining hardcore gamer fans they had left. Can they keep the casuals?

Nintendo may be stuck with their weak console until next gen begins in a few years. The question is, how can Nintendo make compelling games on such outdated hardware? What about the Wiimote, will it ever become more than a gimmick? Throwing a virtual frisbee is only fun for about 2 minutes. You gotta do better than that Nintendo.

Not even their first party dev teams could do anything with it besides little party games,.

Tauu

How are nintendo in trouble? those "cheap party games" sell millions more then any other game on the PS3/360.

Nintendo really doesn't know what they're doing.

Tauu

Stopped reading here.

When you come in conatct with truth, do you break out in hives?

I agree.

But we're all aware of the fact that Nintendo is the worst of the bunch.

I'm pretty sure that a company that makes a huge profit off their product is in no trouble at all.

Especially when they haven't released any huge hits for about a year and they're still selling thousands and thousands.. Their business plan succeded..Nintendo has won by just changing a controller and there's nothing that Sony and Microsoft can do about it.

I agree with you. It's just one of the reasons why I never bought one. This article sums it up perfectly of how Nintendo really cares about their fanbase.

Nintendo of America needs to ****.

Nintendo needs to wake up & start putting out better games out there, & not just rehashes of Mario, Zelda, & Metroid & Wii Fit. Plus they need to get their 3rd party developers to develop good games for the system instead of just having remakes, PS2 ports, & more shovelware. We got their fanbase who admitted that they haven't touched their Wii's in a year or so & are just having it as a dust collector. Plus there are others who have either sold their Wii's off & have bought themselves either a 360 or a PS3, or that they have just abandoned them altogether. It's just like the PSP all over again.

Plus the reason why they even dropped the price of the Wii is because they realize that their hype is dying & that Sony is starting to take over in the sales category. Especially Japan. And it's going to take more than just a price cut to put them back on top in sales each month. They need better games. Even Satoru Iwata admits it, & it shouldn't have took them 3 years to figure that out. They should've have thought of that after their 1st year.

"The Wii Has Stalled."

A new beefed up Wii with backward compatibility would be too little too lateTauu

Nintendo isn't exactly having a rock solid Q4 this year.

you got NSMBW, maybe one or two on-rail shooters like Resident Evil Darkside Chronciles and Silent Hill. but that seems to be pretty much it.

BUT....

do no discount the Wii just yet. yes it's still very well, and despite falls in profit and having to cut $50.00 bucks off (which they didn't need to do - i don't think). I do very much believe that we will see a new iteration of the Wii sometime next year. What it will be like we don't know, but i'd totally expect something at either GDC or E3. perhaps a Wii HD? or maybe just a Wii with a hard drive attached? maybe just a Wii that can handle more tougher games, not necessarily be in HD, IE the Wii could run a game like Fallout 3.

Also 2010 Nintendo is planning to launch it's trifecta super-powered mascots. Mario, Zelda, and Metroid.

Not to mention some really cool exclusives that cater to hard core and appeal to young gamers like Epic Mickey.

and for Grandma, there is the Wii Vitality..... it'll help her fall asleep after she plays some virtual softball.

-----------

Nintendo is just having to really gear up, for a while now it's been resting on it's laurels, and for good reason. it's selling, and selling well, they're old fanbase is whining, but what matters to them are the dollar signs.

One of the writers at G4 said it best. "Nintendo has forgotten it's base! no.. it's has not, it's just taking you for granted" because they know your gonna buy that Mario game in whatever form it may take.

who knows it could of been part of their business model plan as well, they have been in the gaming business longer then both Xbox department at Microsoft or Sony's gaming department.

Yep, millions in their pockets and a dominating 1st place... they sure are in trouble.

I agree.

But we're all aware of the fact that Nintendo is the worst of the bunch.

Propaganda_

once again you prove your ignaorance

Nintendo is in trouble...hmmm...I am not sure Nintendo can hear people shouting this at them.

The sound of haters screams can't penetrate the Solid Gold Walls of Nintendo's Castle.

"Thank You Haters!

But the Trouble is in another castle! " :P

Nintendo is in trouble...hmmm...I am not sure Nintendo can hear people shouting this at them.

The sound of haters screams can't penetrate the Solid Gold Walls of Nintendo's Castle.

SolidTy

"WHAT?! SolidTy? YES! i am at the Nintendo Castle!, sorry i'm gonna have to call you back! yeah!... I can't hear over the sound of their water fall! What?! No it's literally flowing with golden coins! yes I know! Wario is pissed!" :D

Nintendo always play their cards close to their chest. I think you're underestimating their ability to have long term plans.

[QUOTE="SolidTy"]

Nintendo is in trouble...hmmm...I am not sure Nintendo can hear people shouting this at them.

The sound of haters screams can't penetrate the Solid Gold Walls of Nintendo's Castle.

"Thank You Haters!

But the Trouble is in another castle! "

SaudiFury

"WHAT?! SolidTy? YES! i am at the Nintendo Castle!, sorry i'm gonna have to call you back! yeah!... I can't hear over the sound of their water fall! What?! No it's literally flowing with golden coins! yes I know! Wario is pissed!" :D

Hurry, jump up and collect as many as you can! If you get one hundred, you earn an extra life! :)

[QUOTE="Tauu"]

Not even their first party dev teams could do anything with it besides little party games,.

OreoMilkshake

Not even their first party dev teams could do anything with it besides little party games, so now Nintendo is stuck with a very underpowered system with a useless motion controller and no games. They're sitting on a big pile of cash, wondering what to do now. This ought to be interesting.
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A new beefed up Wii with backward compatibility would be too late

Tauu

1.Every hear of Mario Galaxy, Mario Galaxy 2, Punch Out, Metroid Prime 3, Metroid Prime Trilogy, Metroid Other M, Zelda Twilight Princess, Zelda Wii, New Super Mario Bros. Wii, Super Smash Bros Brawl, Pokemon Battle Revolution, and many other games?

2.It does have backwards compatibiity. It goes all the way back to the NES with backwards compatibility. NES, SNES, N64, Neo Geo, Genesis, Gamecube, and other systems games can be played on the Wii.

Nintendo really doesn't know what they're doing. They have no coherent long-term plan. They had a smash hit with the Wii initially fueled by a motion controller gimmick that didn't live up to it's promise, to bring us thrilling new gaming experiences with solid dev support and great games. Not even their first party dev teams could do anything with it besides little party games, so now Nintendo is stuck with a very underpowered system with a useless motion controller and no games. They're sitting on a big pile of cash, wondering what to do now. This ought to be interesting.

A new beefed up Wii with backward compatibility would be too little too late if they really want to be on the same playing field as the 360 and PS3. With the hardcore gamer base already established on the 360 and PS3 combined with continued weak third party support for Nintendo consoles, Nintendo seems to have no option but to continue trying to appeal to kids and their moms, sadly. So they better not throw their installed base of 54 million people under the bus by releasing a more powerful Wii. This would be their indirect message to all those Wii owners:

"Thanks for buying a Wii, but you need to buy our new console now. You didn't get $250 worth of fun from your Wii? We're sorry about that, but yeah buy our new console k thx."

It's very bad PR, and Nintendo is already catching heat with their handling of the DS lately. So if they don't make Wii owners happy, they can say goodbye to their future console sales. They've already lost any remaining hardcore gamer fans they had left. Can they keep the casuals?

Nintendo may be stuck with their weak console until next gen begins in a few years. The question is, how can Nintendo make compelling games on such outdated hardware? What about the Wiimote, will it ever become more than a gimmick? Throwing a virtual frisbee is only fun for about 2 minutes. You gotta do better than that Nintendo.

Tauu

Huh? First party devs are making party games? All I have to say is Super Mario Galaxy, which was GOTY2007 here -- and considered by many, one of the best games of the generation. Nintendo first party developers are doing fine -- though they are using the same three core franchises (Mario, Zelda, Metroid) which are great franchises, however, I want to see whats happening with Star fox, F-Zero, Kirby, etc -- what is Retro working on? What about the potential Kid Icarus title? Nintendo first party developers generally don't have problems making quality titles.. however, I want to see those other franchises being brought to the Wii as well.

Very false statement. Only here, and honestly, I mean only here -- do people actually believe 'Wii has no games'. The Wii is very under appreciated in terms of its library. You'd be right to say it lacks multiplat games, which it does, however the library is pretty good with lots of niche and exclusive titles -- as well as Nintendo core titles.

Nintendo's audience has always been younger people, core Nintendo fans and new/casual gamers. Most games that they've made, since the beginning have been like this. Also -- a lot of games that you see on the PS3/360 -- GTA, Modern Warfare, etc -- have massive casual, or what I like to call, 'Mainstream' gamer appeal. Its not a bad thing by any means. Actually, its a good thing. The more people playing games, the better for the industry.

They've lost core fans? I think anyone who is a core Nintendo fan has to be happy with the quality delivered on the Wii. It's been much better than their last two platforms.

Really, this gimmick argument is getting rather old. Motion controls, when done right, can be amazing. Metroid Prime Trilogy uses the Wii's IR pointer in smart and great ways that are innovative for that genre on consoles. A game like Zack and Wiki showed Wii owners a great way to play games and utilize motion controls effectively.

Wii MotionPlus is out and Wii Sports Resort and Tiger Woods PGA Tour 10 made me a believer. Now its up to Nintendo to not make it a wasted opportunity and have developers support it. Besides Red Steel 2 and Zelda Wii I haven't heard of any other games using MotionPlus, which is sad, because the potential is huge.

Nintendo is in great shape. Wii and DS software dominates on a global level. Their hardware dominates on a global level as well.

[QUOTE="Tauu"]

Nintendo really doesn't know what they're doing. They have no coherent long-term plan. They had a smash hit with the Wii initially fueled by a motion controller gimmick that didn't live up to it's promise, to bring us thrilling new gaming experiences with solid dev support and great games. Not even their first party dev teams could do anything with it besides little party games, so now Nintendo is stuck with a very underpowered system with a useless motion controller and no games. They're sitting on a big pile of cash, wondering what to do now. This ought to be interesting.

A new beefed up Wii with backward compatibility would be too little too late if they really want to be on the same playing field as the 360 and PS3. With the hardcore gamer base already established on the 360 and PS3 combined with continued weak third party support for Nintendo consoles, Nintendo seems to have no option but to continue trying to appeal to kids and their moms, sadly. So they better not throw their installed base of 54 million people under the bus by releasing a more powerful Wii. This would be their indirect message to all those Wii owners:

"Thanks for buying a Wii, but you need to buy our new console now. You didn't get $250 worth of fun from your Wii? We're sorry about that, but yeah buy our new console k thx."

It's very bad PR, and Nintendo is already catching heat with their handling of the DS lately. So if they don't make Wii owners happy, they can say goodbye to their future console sales. They've already lost any remaining hardcore gamer fans they had left. Can they keep the casuals?

Nintendo may be stuck with their weak console until next gen begins in a few years. The question is, how can Nintendo make compelling games on such outdated hardware? What about the Wiimote, will it ever become more than a gimmick? Throwing a virtual frisbee is only fun for about 2 minutes. You gotta do better than that Nintendo.

Haziqonfire

Huh? First party devs are making party games? All I have to say is Super Mario Galaxy, which was GOTY2007 here -- and considered by many, one of the best games of the generation. Nintendo first party developers are doing fine -- though they are using the same three core franchises (Mario, Zelda, Metroid) which are great franchises, however, I want to see whats happening with Star fox, F-Zero, Kirby, etc -- what is Retro working on? What about the potential Kid Icarus title? Nintendo first party developers generally don't have problems making quality titles.. however, I want to see those other franchises being brought to the Wii as well.

Very false statement. Only here, and honestly, I mean only here -- do people actually believe 'Wii has no games'. The Wii is very under appreciated in terms of its library. You'd be right to say it lacks multiplat games, which it does, however the library is pretty good with lots of niche and exclusive titles -- as well as Nintendo core titles.

Nintendo's audience has always been younger people, core Nintendo fans and new/casual gamers. Most games that they've made, since the beginning have been like this. Also -- a lot of games that you see on the PS3/360 -- GTA, Modern Warfare, etc -- have massive casual, or what I like to call, 'Mainstream' gamer appeal. Its not a bad thing by any means. Actually, its a good thing. The more people playing games, the better for the industry.

They've lost core fans? I think anyone who is a core Nintendo fan has to be happy with the quality delivered on the Wii. It's been much better than their last two platforms.

"The Wii has stalled," Iwata said. "Games of high demand could not be continuously released". Granted, high demand and quality aren't necessarily synonymous, but if the presedent of Nintendo says there are issues with the library, I'm inclined to believe him.

I consider myself a core nintendo fan, I own *every* nintendo platform except for the gameboy color and the Wii. Until recently with all the great 2d games that have come out for it, the only two games I had wanted was prime3 and mario galaxy. But even with those 2d games I would still rank the n64 and cube library much higher than the wii's right now.

Nintendo might be in trouble next gen when hardcore gamers (i'll use that term loosely since it offends alot of people here on Gamespot for some reason) won't purchase their console since they have better alternatives for what they are looking for in a console. (HD gaming, better online networks/community) This gen has alienated a large number of gamers from the Wii and motion control in general. Myself included.

While the casuals that got the Wii might not be compelled to get Nintendo's next console seeing as they won't be the only system on the market with motion control. Plus there are alot of people who aren't playing their Wii right now or buying many games for it.

Their in trouble for me because the only game they have coming out for it that I have any interest in is Tatsunoko vs. Capcom. I bought it for my girlfriend and my kids to play, so I don't get much use out of as it is. But my girlfriend dosen't even really like the Wii games. She mostly wanted it because of the Virtual Console so she could play the old NES and SNES mario games. So yeah, I would say Nintendo did a poor job this gen.

I bet Sony and Microsoft wish their consoles were in the same trouble then.CanYouDiglt

I am not quite sure what kind of twisted world you live in, but if that is trouble for you then all I can say is that I would also love to be in trouble.

"Thanks for buying a Wii, but you need to buy our new console now. You didn't get $250 worth of fun from your Wii? We're sorry about that, but yeah buy our new console k thx."

Tauu

Please try harder TC.

Nintendo has won this generation. They are destroying sales wise. And you lost all credibility when you claimed the Wii didnt have backwards compatibility or that Nintendo didnt do anything but make party games. :lol: Please stop

In regards to growth, they have hit a wall. But, that is with every product, especially fads. Depending on how quickly sales plummet each month, we'll know for sure if the Wii really was a fad. If within the next 6 months sales drop the into 2nd place or near 2nd place, the Wii was indeed a fad.

how is nintendo in trouble when their console is on top every weeksherlock99

Remember this is Backwards Land, the place where the PS3 is in the lead.

Uh oh, we're in trouble, somethings come along and its burst our bubble yeah yeah!

I see the thread has backfired...:P

If your like me and didnt own a gamecube then the wii is the best console

Please try harder TC.

Nintendo has won this generation. They are destroying sales wise. And you lost all credibility when you claimed the Wii didnt have backwards compatibility or that Nintendo didnt do anything but make party games. :lol: Please stop

bobcheeseball

You keep gloating about 'WON' in every topic.

If NINTENDO have won... then WHY are you even here? lol

Scared of the fact that your choice of console is not all great?

Just because it sells well, doesnt mean its the best and Quality is better than Quantity.

Id rather have one Lamborghini Reventon than 5 Ford Puma's.

Nintendo aint in trouble since it has all that money, they too lazy to make a top spec console.

Let's remember that Nintendo has been profitable, where as Sony has been taking looses, although Nintendo is down slightly right now where as Sony is now predicting a profit for next year.

The current downturn for Nintendo is just one of the ebbs and flows of the consumer market. They have sold a tremendous number of the consoles already, so they may be nearing a saturation point, but just maybe. While Nintendo has had a slower year with their major 1st party releases, they have gotten a steady stream of good games (many AA here) both 1st and 3rd party, and the Wii Fit and Wii Fit Plus are still selling a lot.

Remember that NSMBWii is coming, along with Metroid, Zelda, SMG2 and rumors of others also in the works. This also doesn't count the other things that Nintendo has in mind, and they always play things close to their chest.

Nintendo is fine.

[QUOTE="bobcheeseball"]

Please try harder TC.

Nintendo has won this generation. They are destroying sales wise. And you lost all credibility when you claimed the Wii didnt have backwards compatibility or that Nintendo didnt do anything but make party games. :lol: Please stop

g0ddyX

You keep gloating about 'WON' in every topic.

If NINTENDO have won... then WHY are you even here? lol

Scared of the fact that your choice of console is not all great?

Just because it sells well, doesnt mean its the best and Quality is better than Quantity.

Id rather have one Lamborghini Reventon than 5 Ford Puma's.

Nintendo aint in trouble since it has all that money, they too lazy to make a top spec console.

How very true. Now I see why the Wii fanboys are coming out of the woodwork every time someone tells the truth about their "greatest system." But the sheep on this board will never admit it.

[QUOTE="bobcheeseball"]

Please try harder TC.

Nintendo has won this generation. They are destroying sales wise. And you lost all credibility when you claimed the Wii didnt have backwards compatibility or that Nintendo didnt do anything but make party games. :lol: Please stop

g0ddyX

Scared of the fact that your choice of console is not all great?

Just because it sells well, doesnt mean its the best and Quality is better than Quantity.

What quality has anything to do with this topic? The topic is on the financial state of Nintendo, not the subjective issue on quality.

While Nintendo's profits are down, at least it is in the black, something that all business strive for. Also, the fact that 2008 was a strong year for sales, not only for Nintendo but for its competitors, how can it and its competitors match it this year?

No game released in 2009 have yet matched the sales of Mario Kart Wii, Super Smash Bros. Brawl, Grand Theft Auto IV, or Metal Gear Solid IV. As a result, sales and profits went down in 2009. Other than a lack of very profitable hits, the strong yen was another reason for Nintendo's drop in profits due in fact to paying currency exchange fees, as Nintendo receives much of its profits outside of Japan. Sony, another Japanese company, has to pay currency exchange fees as well which takes a bit out of its profits.

The only way Nintendo can be more profitable is try to match 2008's success by releasing games that sell extremely well.

[QUOTE="Tauu"]

Not even their first party dev teams could do anything with it besides little party games,.

OreoMilkshake

They never really had a long term plan after they saw how big the Wii blew up.

there plan now is to just cash in.

TC brings up alot of good points.

I like how Wii fanboys are constantly screaming about how Nintendo is still in perfect shape, has the best system (despite being hugely far behind in AAA's and AA's while being 1st in sales, first time in history that has happened) whereas Iwata himself is saying the Wii has "stalled" due to a lack of good games.

I guess they know more about Nintendo than Iwata.

Nintendo really doesn't know what they're doing.

Tauu

stopped reading there

Nintendo is fine and they'll be better next year with itsline up.