No, it came out too late if anything...

It should have been the "core" Nintendo home system focusing on 1st party exclusive + good 3rd party support, conventional control style and beefly hardware and complement the Wii, which they should keep supporting.

But the "core" focus would be on the U, which would be Nintendo's "true answer" to PS360... (sporting significantly better hardware, of course)

nameless12345

I agree with this. I mean Nintendo seems to have interest in the idea of a "3rd pillar" evidenced by their comments surrounding the DS when it first came out. If Nintendo came out with a console like you described, and then a budget console like the wii where it kept focused on it's motion controls and appealing to a broad audience like the wii (and had it priced at like $200-$250) i think they would be in much better shape right now (or hell just kept supporting the wii). 

[QUOTE="rjdofu"]

[QUOTE="PCgameruk"]

Vita: Overall build quality is far superior, higher quality games, multiplatform games, FPS games ( 3DS has none)

Its all down the prefence really. And i played the same Mario games before on DS and Wii. Pokemon is the only game worth a 3DS now.

PCgameruk

Like this? And this?

gotta be honest, what do you mean higher quality games?? just in the visual department or the games themselves of higher quality?? One of those points aren't debatable (visuals) but the other one i gotta respectfully disagree (biased viewpoint though as i have a 3ds and not a vita)

[QUOTE="nintendoboy16"]

[QUOTE="MirkoS77"]That the guy made an error does not negate the fact that this is an atrocious system implemented by Nintendo, for what reason I can't understand. It shouldn't even be a possibility that anyone can be locked out of what they purchased, caused by the stupidity of a corporation's decision.

 

Nintendo impresses me more and more everyday, and not in the right way. It seems everyday there's a negative news article/topic somewhere. It'd be fun to watch such a slow motion trainwreck happen if it wasn't so sad. C'mon Nintendo, where are you? MirkoS77

To be honest I don't want to see nintendo go down this path, but they have been shooting themselves in the foot for the last decade and the half. I mean I think their problem is they are way too stubborn for their own good. I get not copying what your competitors do, but there is no shame in viewing what xbox live does right, what PSN does right, hell even look at steam and at least adopt the aspects that they do well, and then add your own elements from that foundation.

That goes for the hardware as well. Personally I like the gamepad, but if they were trying to bring in the core audience, make sure your console is going to be noticeably better from a hardware standpoint so that consumers with a 360 and ps3 felt the need to switch. The fact is most 360/ps3 users basically look at the wii u as a $350 investment in a tablet controller that can play nintendo 1st party games in HD. I mean is it a really a shock nobody is going for that? 

In general Nintendo needs to go back and rethink their strategy. Look at what worked with the PS2, look at what worked with the PS1, the xbox 360, and even their NES/SNES. What they will find is a console that is simple, convenient for developers (give them the environment they need to achieve their visions), incorporates new features that make sense and are interesting (additional buttons, DVD player, online functionality), and also are consumer friendly, from the price point to customer support and ecosystem of the console. 

I like the gamepad, but it's not a system seller. Games, and more importantly games that make you feel like you have to have this over the other consoles you already own is key. Anything on top of that is fine, but it's a luxury and not a neccesity. Just because the Wii worked doesn't mean it's a good long term strategy. The Wii happened to have the perfect set of circumstances that allowed it to boom in popularity, and i doubt will be replicated again. 

Yeah Nintendo really needs to get this account tied to console nonsense out of here. I wouldn't have downloaded any games if i knew that was the case, so now im basically hoping my wii u doesn't break. Granted nintendo has solid build quality to their products so i haven't had much issues with their stuff breaking (besides the wii, though that's because i kept tipping it over and it still works, just runs very loud and gets hot). But still, its ridiculous that they didn't see this issue coming.

Same thing with the Wii U virtual console. I mean at least they gave a discount, but they should have really let users who bought a virtual console title on the wii to move it to the wii u free of charge (i know you can still play it on the wii menu for free, but regardless it's ridiculous). 

I personally can't comment on the vita as I don't own one. However I do love my 3DS. I think as much as nintendo disappoints with their home consoles they always seem to do a good job with their handhelds. I think the 3D display is a bit gimmicky but personally i kind of like it, unlike the wii and wii u that kind of force the gimmick on you in a way, the 3d functionality is kind of just there if you want it and doesn't get in the way if you aren't interested. 

The 3DS has a diverse library of great titles. The vita has much better graphics, but to be perfectly honest if i want something that impresses me visually I'll just play on a home console or pc. When it comes to handhelds it's not really as big of a deal for me. I think backwards compatibility with the DS is also a great thing as well.

I will say there are two problems with the 3DS that do bug me a little bit. First is the virtual console. Granted i love the fact they put a virtual console on the 3DS, to be able to play past nintendo titles on the go is pretty sweet. However they are wasting it's potential big time. I have no clue why they aren't trying to put SNES, GBA and N64 games on it. It would make the 3DS (as much as i like it) 50 times better. Second is the lack of second circle pad. I mean I'm fine with the circle pad pro, but why didn't they just incorporate a second circle pad in the 3ds XL? I have the original model, and honestly i plan just to hold out in hopes that they release a model with it built in. 

[QUOTE="nintendoboy16"]

[QUOTE="Bread_or_Decide"] I don't hate anything. I'm highly critical of Nintendo. I enjoyed my Wii, DS, and even got a 3DSXL a few weeks ago.Bread_or_Decide

Here's my thoughts on it:

Nintendo's Software?? Awesome

Nintendo's Hardware?? ehhhh.....

Now when i saw hardware im talking exclusive about their home consoles. Admittedly i've greatly enjoyed all of their handhelds so far (game boy color, gba, ds, 3ds). I even think the 3ds eshop is better than the wii u's in a lot of ways. If there's anything wrong with the 3ds, it's the virtual console which is highly lacking. I think they would make a lot of money if they filled it with SNES and GBA titles. Instead they put a bunch of regular game boy and some nes games. I liked the game boy color, but besides pokemon red/blue/yellow i'd never go back and play a game boy game. 

Their home consoles are another story. Admittedly I like the Wii. I think they tried to drag it out too long (i mean to me the console was basically dead by 2010 if that), and the initial novelty of it wore off after a year or two. But overall i think it was a cheap, solid complement to a 360/ps3 that you'd use when you were drinking with friends and wanted to play some wii sports or smash bros. 

The Wii U on the other hand makes no sense to me. It's not that i hate the console in itself, the gamepad has some neat features and playing blops 2 while on the john is amazing. I even like the fact i play can console games on the gamepad while a nba or hockey game is on. 

At the same time, who exactly were they trying to impress with this console?? The gamepad itself will scare away a lot of casual gamers (or if not, they will probably think their own tablet will be more than enough for their needs), and for enthusiasts, the console is frankly way underpowered (if rumors are true) than the next gen xbox and playstation. Which would be fine, except the wii u is also $300, $350 dollars. So you're making a true home console investment on a product that is in no way guaranteed in being future-proof. It makes absolutely no sense to me. 

I think whoever is making the executive hardware decisions needs to be let go, and some reorganization at the top is in order for nintendo (at least in the hardware side). Their software side is fine, they could use some new AAA IPs but in general you know the games you get are going to be quality products. I'd be all for them going 3rd party if I wasn't worried about if their products would dip in quality like sega's titles did for years following their exit out of the hardware business. 

it's going to be underpowered compared to next gen consoles, but let's take solace in one thing. At least it is indeed stronger (at least GPU wise (well GFLOPs wise)) then the ps360. I mean the wii couldn't say that much when compared to the original xbox. So in other words, progress. 

Though i like nintendo, i do hope the wii u tanks a bit, but only just enough to get a kick in the rear and get back to make consoles comparable to their sony/microsoft counterparts. I like the gamepad, but seriously is it too much to ask for a console with nintendo games and strong multiplat support? (without the multiplats looking like butchered versions in comparison to other console versions) 

I don't think any one buys a Nintendo for 3rd party games....

StrongBlackVine

well to be honest that's true, but it's not like it would suck to have a nintendo console where i could get all the 3rd party support i wanted. Hasn't happened since the super nintendo (granted n64 is my real love). 

People don't buy 3rd party games on nintendo mainly because they aren't any, or they are crappy ports because the hardware is too weak.  

[QUOTE="way2funny"]

[QUOTE="Grey_Eyed_Elf"]

Wii U:

• RAM - While it does have a lot more RAM available than the current generation of consoles though it may be just developer interview "fluff" it has been said that the RAM is being eaten up by the poor efficiency of the OS and the streamed information from the console to the controller, Anyone with a Wii U can tell you how sluggish everything feels and strangly longer than expected load times.
• CPU - Numerous developers have stated that the CPU is the Wii U's weakest link and if you take into account that just like the RAM a chunk of that perfromace is being split up to stream information to the touch screen controller.. how big the split nobody knows for sure but again load times and the sluggish OS is a clear indicator that something is wrong.
• GPU - While know one knows for certain just how much of a real life perfromance gain it has over the current consoles it is very much fact that it supports GPU technologies that neither of the current consoles possess.

When all things are considered and the reality of the fact that not one game has been shown to represent a leap over the current generation is pretty safe to assume that what ever hardware advantage the Wii U may have its being bottle capped by the controller... So will we see a game that looks as good as current graphics kings? with out a doubt... Will we see a game that looks like something that could never be done on current hardware?... probably not.

At best the additional GPU grunt and extra ram will give a slight resolutional bump from the console standard sub HD resoltions to 1280x720 or 1920x1080.

Either way the clear fact that thread's like this exist is a clear indicator that the Wii U is considered underpowered. 

Grey_Eyed_Elf

So sluggish Windows Vista and Windows ME and long loading times indicate theres something wrong with the hardware?

well, nintendo did say they were planning two updates (one in the spring and one in the summer) to improve the OS performance, so hopefully it's a software/firmware issue rather than a hardware one. 

Iwata recently also said he only got final dev kits shipped out middle of last year (i think those were the words), which makes me a feel a bit better about the launch titles performing a little sluggish. 

"Every gaming hardware has its specialties. There is a timing of hit and miss before the functions can be used fully. We were not able to provide development kits that get out all the power of wiiu until mid of last year."

 http://www.vgchartz.com/article/250711/iwata-wii-u-not-getting-a-price-cut/

then again, hearing comments about the hardware from developers doesn't inspire a lot of confidence in me

Metroid's not even top tier. It barely sells compared to other series. Cloud_765

true, but it technically fits under the premise of multi millions selling IPs. 

I think nintendo (in general) needs to make 1 or 2 IPs this generation that catch our eye. They tend to do it every generation (gamecube: luigi's mansion, pikmin, N64: super smash bros, star fox (technically snes but the n64 version i think was more popular), etc etc

Wii had wii sports, but I can't think of any notable ones besides that though (unless you count the games they published but didn't develop like the last story, or the monolith soft title xenoblade) 

I think they need to showcase 1 or two new IPs to kind get people to notice. Of course they will have a great 3D mario game, a fun mario kart game, a fun smash game and zelda title, but they need to give us one or two surprises. 

Also whatever it takes, get 3rd parties to port their games to their console. If you have 3rd party support, and those ports don't look completely terrible like the wii ports, it will be fine.