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Uncategorized Tuesday, June 7th 2011 at 5:45 pm

We Might Have Just Witnessed the Beginning of the End of Nintendo

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Sony’s and Microsoft’s conferences were basically par for the course, nothing too surprising, franchises we know and love, like or hate, and a surprisingly low price tag for the PSP 2, now known as the PS Vita. Last, we have Nintendo. They’re notoriously awful at E3, leaving us with such amazing memories as using Wii Music as a conference surprise that ultimately fell flat because it was ridiculous. With the news that Nintendo was to show off the Wii’s sucessor, known as Project Cafe, surely, this Nintendo conference wouldn’t be the widely-perceived failure that many of their previous conferences were, right?

Well, with only a handful of games shown and announced, none of which being new first party IPs, an E3 presentation that honestly seemed put together the night before the conference, and their new console and controller combo, dubbed the Wii U, I think we might’ve just witnessed the beginning of the end of Nintendo. It happened once before with the GameCube, but Nintendo had the Nintendo DS and Wii rushing in to save the day. This time around? The Nintendo 3DS only launched a few months ago, so a new handheld can’t really rush in and save the day. If the Wii U fails, a new console can’t come rushing in to save the day like the Wii did, and it seems like this would be it for Nintendo. It is admittedly difficult to predict if a weird concept will succeed or fail, but after that press conference, it seems like Nintendo neither cares about either market of gamers (hardcore or casual), nor has any idea what they’re doing anymore. If Nintendo flounders this generation, we can look back at this conference and pinpoint the exact moment in time their downfall began.

The Wii U

First, the name: Wii U. Like with the Wii before it, a name which Nintendo literally released a Rosetta Stone-style webpage to explain, the Wii U has a weird name. The Wii still means the same: “We,” basically as in “we play together.” The newly added “U” portion of the name uses the same convention: “U” as in “you.” Hey, at least they’re consistent with the naming convention.

We don’t know much about the console as of yet — except that it looks like the offspring of an Xbox 360 that mated with a Wii — but like with the Wii before it, the controller is the main point of interest (or contention).

No, the Wii U isn’t a handheld device. That is the controller. Yes, it looks like a Fisher Price iPad. No, we don’t yet know exactly how expensive the controller will be on its own, not even counting the supposedly next-gen strength hardware. Yes, that is a problem because Nintendo consoles have been party game consoles for a very long time, and most people who own a Nintendo console use it for party game reasons after they consume the latest Zelda and Metroid (and Fire Emblem if you’re me), and what does a game console being used to play with friends require? Multiple controllers. Unless Nintendo is going to take a humongous loss on the hardware and sell the controllers at a cheap price (something Sony knows a little something about, for better or worse), this is going to be an extremely expensive way to play whatever regurgitated versions of Mario Kart, Mario Party and Smash Brothers that release for the system. Before we get to the speculation:

The Specs (from Nintendo’s press packet)

  • The controller is 1.8 inches tall, 6.8 inches wide, and 10.5 inches long.
  • The controller has a 6.2-inch 16:9 touchscreen, and the same button controls from the classic controller: A, B, X, Y in a diamond on the right side, analog stick above it, analog stick on the left side of the screen, D-Pad under it, select, Home, start and power toward the bottom of the controller underneath the screen, L/R buttons and ZL/ZR buttons.
  • Rechargeable controller, thank god.
  • Has a built-in accelerometer, gyroscope, rumble feature, camera, microphone, stereo speakers, a sensor bar and stylus.
  • The Wii U supports up to four regular Wiimotes, the Wii Nunchuck, as well as the Classic Controller, Classic Controller Pro, and the Wii Balance Board.
  • The self-loading media bay will play 12-centimeter proprietary high-density optical discs, and will also be able to read the Wii discs.
  • Supports 1080p, 1080i, 720p, 480p, and 480i, and can use HDMI, component, S-video and composite cables. Handles the standard audio stuff: AV Multi Out connector and six-channel PCM linear output through HDMI.
  • Will have internal flash memory (no, they don’t say how much), and will also be able to use SD memory cards of an external USB hard disk drive.
  • Will have four USB 2.0 slots and is backwards compatible with all Wii games and Wii accessories. Probably not the Wiimote condoms, though.

Now that the specs are out of the way, here’s what Nintendo thought was a big huge awesome tech demo:

Didn’t you expect the bird to land on Link’s shoulder or something? Well, instead there were some fish. No, not even a Zora. To be fair, a random site or two are reporting (possibly erroneously) that the above tech demo was partially controllable (nothing new for pre-rendered scenes in this day and age), but was realtime, in-game graphics, which would be impressive — not because other games this generation don’t look like that (some do), but because Nintendo finally made something that does.

What Is The Problem?

People weren’t sure about the Wii, but the hardware sales quickly ascended above the other consoles. Yes, the software has generally been underwhelming throughout the entire Wii generation, but that’s Nintendo for you. I have four games for my Wii, a system I excitedly preordered and bought on launch day. I literally got an awkward-shaped tan on my face because I waited many hours in the Florida sun half under the shadow of an awning just to get my preorder ticket. We know Nintendo hasn’t been the best with regards to actual, compelling software, but the Wii succeeded because it sold hardware. Losing steam with the hardcore gamers that kept them afloat, Nintendo managed to tap a non-gamer market: Parents, grandparents, extremely casual gamers that bought the Wii, played the bundled Wii Sports, and never bought another game again. That market was and still is huge (think mobile gaming). However, with the Wii U, there isn’t a big enough untapped market left to target and obtain like there was with the Wii.

The tablet PC style design of the controller isn’t anything new (think about every tablet you see in every coffee shop, or on any bus or train), and it’s quite late to the tablet PC arena. “But it’s the first one that works in conjunction with a video game console,” you might object. Basically, yes, but there are a few detrimental factors to consider.

Most importantly:

  • As mentioned above, the Wii U doesn’t seem to have a market. The market that Nintendo tapped with the Wii — the non-gamers — was the last large untapped market. Back then, there were gamers and non-gamers. Now, with smart phones and tablet PCs, there are just gamers and casual gamers. The Wii U doesn’t have that new interactivity approach that the Wii had: “I can move my arm like I am bowling and then the little guy on the screen bowls?!” What will that majority of the casual gamer market think when they look at the Wii U controller? Will they give their iPad or iPhone a long, hard look, then feel they need another mobile device that isn’t actually that mobile and run out to buy a Wii U?
  • The Wii U doesn’t have that “Wow!” factor that the Wii did. At its basic roots, it’s just a tablet PC that interacts with a console in an unwieldy (due to the controller’s shape and weight) way. The Wii was smart with its remote-control design — everyone has a remote, so they know how to use it. Yes, a lot of people have tablet PCs and smart phones, so the Wii U controller will indeed feel familiar; however, a television remote didn’t do the things the Wiimote did. The difference here? The Wii U doesn’t do the things that a tablet PC does.

There are other important factors:

  • As mentioned above, unless Nintendo is taking a huge loss on the controllers, they will be too expensive, even for the people who had enough disposable income to buy the Wii just to play Wii Sports a few times and never used their system for anything ever again.
  • The controller design is simply counterintuitive for any type of gaming, unless you only played games on the controller’s screen, and if that were the case, there wouldn’t be a console.
  • The controller will be too heavy to wave around for too long when using the motion controls.
  • There aren’t enough buttons, nor does the controller have an ergonomic enough design to satisfy the hardcore games. Why try to play a fast-paced, twitch action game like Ninja Gaiden 3 on that lumbery controller when you could just play it on an ergonomic PS3 or Xbox 360 pad that also has enough buttons to satisfy the game’s move list?
  • At least for now, judging by the E3 press conference, there aren’t games that enough people would actually spend money on. The big game reveal at the E3 conference? LEGO City Stories. There was a quick clip or two of some Zelda game, and the game didn’t have the same graphical style as the upcoming Skyward Sword, so it could’ve been a new Zelda, but Nintendo has shown footage of a realistic-looking Zelda that ended up being nothing but a techo demo before. In that case, the actual Zelda that followed the footage was Wind Waker. So, while it is a safe bet that at some point, the Wii U will get a new Zelda, those little clips shown in the Wii U promotional trailer don’t necessarily have anything to do with the eventual Wii U Zelda title. I mean, a Zelda wasn’t even named during the conference, nor do any Wii U games apear on Nintendo’s press page.
  • Though the Nintendo DS was successful with two-screen gaming, it was successful because it wasn’t possible to separate the screens — they were both in the gamer’s vision. This separated two screen stuff? Nintendo did this two generations ago, and it never caught on. The GameCube had a few A+ franchise games attempt to utilize the GameCube-Game Boy Advance interconnectivity, and no one really cared. Final Fantasy: Crystal Chronicles is more fun with 3 other players with GBAs than without the interconnectivity, sure, the same goes for The Legend of Zelda: Four Swords Adventures, but no one really cared. It was too expensive, and looking between two screens that weren’t directly in gamers’ eye line proved to be obnoxious and counterintuitive. So, what does Nintendo do? Force you to buy the metaphorical GBAs this time around by giving the Wii U the controller that is has. There is a connection here, just like the failed Virtual Boy and the currently floundering Nintendo 3DS — no one seemed to care about 3D back then, no one seems to care about it now.
  • Not even counting the GameCube-Game Boy Advance interconnectivity or tablet PCs, the Wii U controller isn’t anything we haven’t already seen, even for the actual Wii:

A lot of details regarding the Wii U are still undisclosed. Exactly how much internal memory? Am I going to have to mortgage my home to buy multiple controllers? The 3DS launched with barely any worthwhile games, will the Wii U follow? Will the online functionality be as terrible as the Wii’s? How will playing hardcore games that require twitch reactions and numerous buttons translate to that controller? Um, what’re the actual specs of the console?

Some people aren’t very happy with Nintendo’s lacking E3 conference and their new console. Some places are already impressed with the Wii U, but those places were impressed with the Nintendo 3DS, and do you have one of those? How many people do you know with one?

The Beginning of the End

My friend made a fantastic point after I talked to him directly after the Wii U reveal. He wondered why I was mad at Nintendo, and wondered why I didn’t understand the insanity that had just happened at their seemingly hastily thrown-together conference. He said Nintendo has been doing whatever they want for the past decade, and I should know this by now, so why be surprised? I should’ve expected this sort of thing. I thought about this, he was right after all. I haven’t stopped being disappointed by Nintendo throughout that decade, why was I surprised? Either it says a lot of Nintendo’s storied history and their legendary creative potential, and maybe somewhere deep down I still believe in them and expect good things from them, or actually don’t believe in them anymore, and the sheer level of insanity of their E3 press conference was just so unbelievably insane, that it surprised me even though I was fully expecting to be let down. I think it’s about half and half.

As Kratos said, “In the end, there will be only chaos,” and if this E3 press conference — one that showed a grim lineup of games for the future of the currently floundering 3DS and this ridiculous Wii U business — is the end for Nintendo, I can’t imagine a more chaotic way than bombing their two new systems, showing they’ve simultaneously lost touch with the market of gamers that kept them afloat during their dark times and the new market of gamers they tapped with the Wii that propelled them back atop the market, and basically showing they’ve lost their minds by pinning their future on a system that seemingly taps neither of those two markets. It’s entirely possible the Wii U will be the biggest success in gaming history, who knows, but as of now, coupled with that E3 presentation of what Nintendo gamers get to look forward to (ha), the future looks grim for Nintendo.

UPDATE: Satoru Iwata, president and CEO of Nintendo, actually had to tweet to to clear up the confusion that the Wii U is a console and a controller, rather than just the tablet thing. He even tweeted out a picture showing both in the same room, as if people starting thinking “Man, where does Clark Kent go when Superman shows up?” The picture is actually extremely intriguing, in that the controllers looks to be almost the same length and width of the console:

(via Nintendo Conference Live Stream, Joystiq)

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  • Scrodant

    Yeah, yeah… Nintendo is teh doomed. What evs.

  • http://www.facebook.com/sean.j.michelin Sean J. Michelin

    i suggest you look at past forays by the big 3. Sony had the psp go (discontinued), and the ps3 move is doing lackluster numbers. nintendo did the virtual boy in the past.  it flopped and didnt ruin the company. microsoft had the duke controller but when they discarded it for the s controller it made a surge. nintendo had the gamecube, and it did better with a price drop (much better in fact). and yes the wii had that tablet and the wii speak and it didnt do much for them.  but people looked at the wii with ridicule as well. your article was severly one sided and misinformed. the sony keynote was not on par with last year. the majorty of who viewed it were disappointed last year, and the microsoft one was underwhelming with the exception of Kinect. you should really look back on the industry before you can look ahead and make any haphazard predictions…. this is nothing on par with the crash of 83. nice sensationalist writing.. *facepalm*

  • Alexcat

    I take it you like Mircrosoft eh?

  • http://www.facebook.com/ajkidd Drew Kidd

    Funny…. I thought the beginning of the end for Nintendo was with the Wii a few years ago. 

    Let’s just forget that it outsold its competitors for like five years running.

  • http://www.facebook.com/sean.j.michelin Sean J. Michelin

    btw dont downplay the PS3 – lackluster launch title line, huge price tag, amazing tech specs… nintendo certainly hasnt forgotten this, and i think they have good risk management and marketing in place rivaling Apple and Sony.

  • Athemesong

    oh boy, here come the fanboys

  • Garret Gartner

    The controller is counter-intuitive? How is it any different than the PS Vita? It has every button/joystick that you could want, along with a touch screen (not to mention the camera and mic). And does it not have the same number of buttons and basic button layout as both the PS3 and the 360? I see two joysticks, a d-pad, ABXY, and two shoulder buttons on each side…

    You bring up some good points, but it seems that a large chunk of the review was written without actually looking at the console…

  • http://blog.gilly.ws Gilly

    You know what? I think you’re now to old for a Nintendo. It’s for kids and they love it. I loves my NES and SNES when I was a kid. Today Nintendo is boring at hell for me. But the kids still love it. 

  • http://www.facebook.com/ajkidd Drew Kidd

    Sounds exactly what a fanboy would say.

  • Dave87

    Bah.. Now to sell my Wii before gamestop lowers its trade value to 20$ like they do every time a new console is announced.. Then place a pre order even though I don’t really want this -_-

    Damn you Nintendo for tapping into my inner child!

    Also anyone know if there’s anywhere that you can pre order from? Amazon doesn’t have it up yet and the only site I saw that has some sort of recognition for pre orders is http://www.preorder-wiiu.com.. but even there you still can’t pre order.

  • Dave87

    Exactly. I’m not a kid anymore but it does bring me back every time they do something crazy like this.
    Thanks to the xbox360 I don’t need to look at Nintendo as a hardcore game anymore, I just expect their usual shenanigans and I’m happy.

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  • Axt113

    No offense, but you’re a moron.

    Even if both systems bomb worse than Gamecube, Nintendo has enough money to come back again and again.

    They have done a great job of making sure they remain profitable even in their dark times

  • Sweetzieulidan

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  • Sweetzieulidan

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  • Chris Cercone

    I’m still not sure why the GameCube flopped as badly as it did – I LOVE the GameCube, and play GCN games almost every day. It’s my favorite Nintendo console ever!

  • Bob Dole

    “Some places are already impressed with the Wii U, but those places were impressed with the Nintendo 3DS, and do you have one of those? How many people do you know with one?”

    I have a 3ds and so do 4 of my coworkers. I also have 110 unique miis in my streetpass plaza, so I think there might be more people with a 3DS than you think.

  • http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=57005833 John Cardarella

    Probably just wanted to stir up a debate.  This article is ill-written from any point of view and reeks of yesteryear anti-Wii bandwagoning.  They made their dollar with casual gamers and have always preached the idea of providing a segue for those gamers into a more gaming.  This is that next step.  Sony was planning a PS3-PSV connectivity that had to be answered as well.  In one conference, Nintendo introduced exclusives, popular third party games (albeit later, still there to steal some of Microsoft and Sony’s thunder), and a new system that directly addressed mobile gaming from apple.  Everyone questions Willy Wonka’s candy with chocolate on their faces. 

    A fisher-price controller?  And iphone’s aren’t with their single button?  Of course you’ve seen this tech before.  It’s called innovation, not invention. 

    Fanboys will be fanboys, but we’ve seen these paradigm shifts before.  We’ve also seen articles like this doubting the Nintendo.  The moment you praise xbox or ps3, you’re praising nintendo.  They made the moves the others play catch up to.  Just because the blue ocean isn’t easily seen doesn’t mean it’s not there. 

  • Dan

    How many times have we heard this one? At least they didn’t walk on stage with a big purple lunch box this time.

    They make money on every console sold which means Nintendo will be around for quite awhile to come.

  • Mo

    Fire Emblem Forever.

  • Anon

    This is the dumbest thing I’ve read in a while. I’d argue, but I have no idea where to start.

  • Anonymous

    “I haven’t stopped being disappointed by Nintendo throughout that decade.”

    Which also happens to be the decade in which they’ve had the greatest success and made bucket loads of money. 

    You won’t have to have more than one of those touch screen controllers per console. Most games will be using the Wiimotes, or the VC Controller (which has the same button config), for multiplayer. Pay closer attention before you get mad, bro.

  • Anonymous

    From what I’m reading, the Wii U just sound like a iPad that can play Mario games. Nothing I’m reading so far is making me excited for this new system and there’s still that uneasy feeling that third party support will still be rare. The Wii itself is once again facing a drought with very few worthwhile games and the 3DS continues to be the home for ports and remakes from other consoles. It’s hard to judge a new console when so little has been revealed (like a price tag), but they blew a big chance to prove the naysayers wrong. They could have prove that Nintendo could make a system that doesn’t rely on gimmicks, could be friendly for third party developers, and have games that aren’t Mario and Zelda. Unfortunately, the Wii U looks to be business as usual  for Nintendo.

  • Anonymous

    From what I’m reading, the Wii U just sound like a iPad that can play Mario games. Nothing I’m reading so far is making me excited for this new system and there’s still that uneasy feeling that third party support will still be rare. The Wii itself is once again facing a drought with very few worthwhile games and the 3DS continues to be the home for ports and remakes from other consoles. It’s hard to judge a new console when so little has been revealed (like a price tag), but they blew a big chance to prove the naysayers wrong. They could have prove that Nintendo could make a system that doesn’t rely on gimmicks, could be friendly for third party developers, and have games that aren’t Mario and Zelda. Unfortunately, the Wii U looks to be business as usual  for Nintendo.

  • http://www.facebook.com/Salkinator Gabe Salkin

    Except for the fact that it has just as many buttons as the 360 controller (actually more with the touch screen), it’s plenty light (read some hands on) and ergonomic despite the size.

    The whole point of the Wii U (yes, stupidest name since the Wii) is that its expansive for the audience, just like the Wii was.  It supports the Wiimote for games and people that want it.  Developers have shown a huge outpour of support for the hardcore audience and you know Nintendo will continue to support the casual audience and get other developers to do the same.

    I have my reservations about the Wii U, but at least be informed when you make these op-eds.

    DigitalGravitas.Wordpress.com

  • CM33

    Is this article serious? I really like this site too… What a shame.

  • http://twitter.com/MatthewHWolf Matthew Wolf

    I think it’s a gutsy but brilliant move by Nintendo. Tablets and phones are what is getting everyone excited these days. The iPad may have thousands of apps but what it does not have is 1st party Ninteno franchise games like Mario, Pokemon, Zelda, Metroit etc. I see PlayStation and Xbox coming out with their own tablets in 5 years just as they have copied Wii’s motion detection in the past.

  • http://www.facebook.com/e500freestyle Mike Rentschler

    Yeah I wouldn’t be surprised at all if that happened (Sony/Microsoft copying Nintendo’s tablet controller). The biggest promise for this console that I see is for families (like mine) where everyone is constantly fighting over the TVs, so the ability to be playing a game on the TV, and switch to the controller screen in the middle of gameplay, when someone else wants to watch TV (like my brother watching an NBA game or something) is a perfect solution to this problem. 

  • http://www.facebook.com/e500freestyle Mike Rentschler

    Also yeah, classic Nintendo franchises like Mario, Zelda, and Metroid ftw :)

  • Anon

    As many interesting and innovative ideas that Nintendo has had over the years, they always seem to cripple themselves by never being able to take their potential to the next level. 

    My childhood nostalgia is rooting for Nintendo to get it right this time–take all that cash they they earned to bringing in casual gamers and use it: keep them happy and finally get back to us–the players who really appreciate games. They can bring us remakes but I don’t want to continue to see them occupying the bulk of these conferences. I feel like they’re trying–kind of–the controller will look familiar enough to casual gamers not to completely scare them away and the system’s power will bring it onto a more equal playing field…but if ever there was a time to really go over the top–more games, more third party support, more specifics I feel like E3 would have been it. That said, even if the Wii U fails I can’t imagine Nintendo going down just like that, but I suppose we’ll just have to wait and see till next year. 

  • PIQ

    I can’t imagine this being “the end,” but the is certainly the most nebulous concept upon which we’ve ever seen a console based. No, we didn’t react this way to the Wii. Motion tracking? I could immediately imagine 100 ways to use it in a game. A screen on every controller? I just don’t see how it will be implemented in gameplay. Seems like it should have been a peripheral, and certainly doesn’t seem substantial enough of an innovation to be worth setting the system back 5 years in terms of techs.

  • Dustin

    This is THE dumbest move I have ever seen Nintendo do.  The marketing for Nintendo has always been horrible.  The ONLY reason Nintendo has made it this far is because they have so much money built up.  

    Will they make money on this? Yes, if they don’t produce too many of them.  
    Will it be as much as they could have if they just used their heads and made a competitive console that would really appeal to gamers? No where close.

    They remind me of the same minds that are making movies now.  They cannot create anything new.  They are entirely based on sequels and old technology now.  And yes, the controller is completely counter-intuitive.  How is one supposed to play a decent game on that thing?  Imagine trying to play any popular game on it…just think of your favorite and imagine playing it with that huge controller for hours….Halo, NBA2K?, Fable, CoD, or even the Nintendo games…Zelda, Mario, Fire Emblem…would all be crazy to play on that thing.  If it’s based on movements, I just hope I don’t drop the thing.  If it’s more controller-based, then the layout (for your hands, not the buttons) is the worst ever.  I’d rather play on an NES controller…

    I am not a fanboy of Sony, Microsoft, Nintendo, Apple, or anyone that is making any type of gaming system, but I am a marketer myself. 

  • Anonymous

    Didn’t find many flaws with the Wii U while watching the E3 conference, but after reading this article, i totally agree. What is going to kill this new console is the price.

    The console seems to have the same specs as a 360 (HDMI output, 1080p video which means a decent video card, probably a small HDD Drive, etc….), so I suspect that the console will cost about $199.

    The controllers themselves, which are very similar to a PS Vita (Camera, Gyroscope, Microphone, Multitouch screen, no HDD, etc……), will cost $149, a very lowball budget.

    That’s $349 at the least for a new console. The great thing about the Wii is that it is cheap, and most of the accesories are also cheap. People didn’t mind paying, what, about $35 per remote?  Casual gamers will be off put by the high price of the console and controllers, and hard core gamers don’t consider Nintendo for them anymore.

    They will probably need to go as cheap as possible and eat some of the cost and lose money every time they sell a console.

  • Guest

    Nintendo has lost their touch with any target market they could have possibly gone after this go around.  This is like Microsoft making a computer that has so many restrictions that you can’t change the theme, or like AT&T trying to make people pay for tethering on top of their Internet “package” (oh wait, they do that already).

  • Anonymous

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  • Jackbondnj16

    One thing here is true. The Wii U lacks the “Must have” draw that the Wii had. It’s rather confusing as a console, yes.

    But nearly all of your citations of past Nintendo failures, and opinions of Nintendo, and even the quality of the 3DS is pure bunk.

    Also, did you seriously make fun of the tech demo because Link wasn’t in it? I don’t know, Microsoft fans are weird, but only Sony fans would make stuff up like this.

  • Anonymous

    What a pathetic article, Geekosystem.  Nintendo owns my childhood and my soul.  

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  • http://www.facebook.com/amedeus8 Nick Gotshall

    You know, I’m seeing more and more long-winded articles bitching about dumb things concerning video games, these days. I assume it’s because these get the most comments. But it’s making me take less and less interest in the site by the day. I can listen to fanboys complain about each others’ systems anywhere on the Internet. I come here for interesting news, and I guess if you guys aren’t really that into that stuff anymore, I can leave you to your whiny devices.

    Don’t get me wrong, I’m all for complaining about the declining state of games. Let’s rise up and be heard and put an end to mass-produced grey and brown cover-based “realism”-toting drivel that dumb fucking meatheaded jocks will buy by the truckload, fire Bobby Kotick into the sun, and punch Pester Vesterbacka right in his smug face. But you guys are just jumping on every bandwagon that rolls by your couch without doing a whole lot of that “thinking” thing that geeks used to do as part of their very classification.

    It’s getting goddamn annoying.

    But while I’m here, let me just say that we have no idea where this console’s going to go, and to say Nintendo’s dying because you personally are not thrilled by the Wii U is absurd. I will agree that Nintendo mostly abandoned their long-term fans in favor of old people and housewives who think balancing on a board is a work out. I will agree that the big controller with the big screen seems unwieldy and expensive. And the Wii didn’t have a huge selection of interesting games, and the 3DS was launched with fuck all to play. But Nintendo’s a household name. Most gamers grew up with Nintendo and Sega, and Nintendo’s the only one still kicking in the console department. That’s not something that dies easy. Even if there were zero games worth playing, they’d have long lines of fans lined up down the street to get theirs. I know several people who think their day 1 3DS purchase was a great investment as it sits on the shelf, gathering dust. Now think about how few people I know on the grand scale of things and realize that there are many, many more like them out there. More than enough to keep Nintendo up and running for years to come.

    I can’t figure out why you think the Wii U controller has a lack of buttons. It has the same number as a 360 controller. You listed the buttons, yourself. Two control sticks, a D-pad, four face buttons marked A/B/X/Y, two sets of shoulder buttons, Select, Start, and a Home button. What does the 360 controller have? Two control sticks, a D-pad, four face buttons marked A/B/X/Y, two sets of shoulder buttons, Back, Start, and a console menu button. Plus a touchscreen, and a separate power button that requires no menu navigation. By my count, that gives the Wii U more.

    It strikes me that this also stands true for the PS3, only replacing A/B/X/Y with symbols.

    Your argument is that a controller with equal or more buttons (depending on how you wish to view it) has less buttons, when what you should be arguing is that putting the face buttons underneath the control stick seems like a bad layout, especially for those who have been muscle memoried into moving their thumb upwards from the stick to hit those buttons by pretty much every controller in the past two generations (aside from the Wii, which had a controller that admittedly made zero sense to me, what with having buttons spaced too far apart for reasonable use outside of NES games).

    And the Gamecube was never a near-death experience for Nintendo. It may not have done as well as they had hoped, but hey. Not everyone can have the most successful console unless they all merged into one awful company that everyone hated equally. The PS2 had more games on it, the Xbox had better-looking games on it when it was released. But I hold that the GCN had better quality games. That’s really what the cross-section that is my games collection for that generation looks like. The PS2 having more games represented than any other system, the XBox having games that I bought because they’d look better or I just wanted to utilize the system’s internal hard drive to avoid a memory card purchase, and the Gamecube having a large amount of my favorite games. Pikmin, Double Dash, SSBM, Mario Sunshine, Eternal Darkness, etc. And some phenomenal updated ports (Skies of Arcadia Legends, Sonic Adventure DX, Resident Evil REmake).

    What you should instead be using for comparison is the no games that the Wii had. I mean, honestly. It’s like you didn’t think your whole point out at all. There are dozens of great points to make, and you made one or two of them, and then a handful of points that you just pulled out of your ass.

    Go back to giving us news stories and animal videos. I’m really sick of this place being a personal blog than a semi-credible news source.

  • Nightmare

    This is parody, right?

    I mean… not enough buttons? Have you even looked at the damn thing?

    Unless you’re trying to claim that the apparent inability to “click” the analog sticks is an insurmountable control problem that will utterly doom it. And to be fair, third parties might actually be that stupid.

    Still, hardcore gamers act like their personal approval is worth more than money. The Gamecube made way more money than the original Xbox. The PS2 made a lot of money, but all that profit was completely wiped out by the PS3 and hasn’t started coming back yet. Nintendo consistently makes money. They are not going away any time soon. If the Wii U and 3DS did somehow utterly and irredeemably flop, they could afford to develop new consoles, and they have the install base, customer loyalty, and product quality to keep themselves afloat by going back to the Wii and DS.

    Hardcore gamers will not decide the fate of gaming anymore. Get used to it. We’re an increasingly small niche (helped in no small part by our own exclusionary tactics), and the things we demand — cutting edge hardware for under $1000, hundred-million dollar budgets, localizations of obscure Japanese games, and all for free (we’re entitled to these games, so if you dare to charge us over fifty dollars or put ads in the game, we have not only a right but a responsibility to pirate it) — lead only to companies bleeding money. Either we grow the hell up and learn share this space with the rest of the world, or gaming dies.

  • quaium

    The Wii U reminds me of something…

  • http://twitter.com/IM_SH IMSH

    Holding out for a Coleco is resurgence.

  • Anonymous

    madeshopping.net

  • Anonymous

    Here’s a rule of thumb: if a prognostication article uses the phrase “hardcore gamer”, presume the reality will be 100% the opposite.  You’re not as important as you think you are.

  • http://pulse.yahoo.com/_Z4CJFSWSF6NJQ2QO56FEBHKHJM K

    Or the casual gamer – I don’t have much time for consoles anymore, the only one I’ve kept is my Wii.  I think nintendo is trying to capture that market.  They may not grab the hard-core gamers, but who cares?  That’s not the market they’re trying for (I’m guessing).

  • Rye

    yah justlike you, nintendo fanboy

  • Rye

    yah but those dark times cost less compared to the floppy 3ds and this junk, this will cost the a fortune

  • Sweetzieulidan
  • Zee

    Wow.. Fanboy bias much?..

    Normally I like your articles, but this is so horridly one sided I’ve seriously lost respect for this site..

  • Anonymous

    madeshopping.net

  • Anonymous

    tinyurl.com/2a7usxg

  • Anonymous

    tinyurl.com/4ow75ws

  • Diesel

    Totally agreeing with that.
    James Plafke must be one of those “die hard” PS3 or 360 gamers.
    What is it with people losing taste in everything these days?
    People have lost respect and sight for the good stuff, be it personalities, morals or games.
    I must admit Nintendo has lost a bit of it old touch, but IMO Nintendo’s usually still better than Ms and Sony stuff.
    It’s just that people value better graphics, achievements and other people playing over the game actually being any good.
    True that Nintendo is lower on specs, and that most of the games are colorful and shiny..
    Nonetheless, they´re usually got better gameplay/depth.
    Not saying the rest doesn’t, but dunno..
    I find most PS3/360 games short, repetitive, highly overrated and filled with fanboys that rage way too fast. (main example is COD fanboys going it’s the best game evaaaa whilst it’s very well known it’s buggy as hell)

    Aw well, points being..
    -WiiU seems more like an accessory. One with, per chance, way too few games/etc with which you can really use it with.
    =Nintendo has lost a bit of its old touch (which kind of makes sense, and doesn’t matter that much)-James Plafke (unaware that the Playstation by origin is one of Nintendo’s old ideas/projects) clearly is, by all means, unqualified to review something and probably forgetting that the other consoles have been ripping technology from Nintendo. Which probably will be the case with the WiiU as well.
    -blaaaa..  ranted way too long so forgot my points
    ..

    James…   You’re a dick ;)

  • Raiden Daigo

    You can use your wii controllers with this new system and it will play your wii games. This would be a perfect system for first person shooters and racing games. Menus on touch screen would be ideal, and if you could use your 3ds as a controller this could kill the rest.

  • Fail is the new Win

    Yup, the Wii U is going to fail. Heck, it might even fail just as bad as the Wii did.

    We all knew the Wii wasn’t going to sell, right?

  • Guest

    The PSP could sync with the PS3.  It could do basically everything the Wii U can do.  No one cared.  How ’bout that.

  • Helloimaboy

     Apple and Sony….. ARE YOU KIDDING ME???

  • http://www.facebook.com/ajkidd Drew Kidd

    It’s just that calling someone a fanboy starts one of the most pointless debates you can get yourself into on the internet where inevitably someone is going to bring up Hitler.

  • Anonymous

    http://www.1up.com/news/forget-wii-u-ipad-offers-dual-screen-gaming-this-fall

    Looks like Apple has beaten Nintendo to the punch. 

  • Eric Bazilio

    Godwin’s Law!!!

  • http://twitter.com/fugitivealien Phil Sowers

    Sure is a whole lot of “blah blah blah” for something that looks pretty neat and fantastic to “normals” just ask my kids. ;)

  • Anonymous

    tinyurl.com/2a7usxg

  • Anonymous

    I have to disagree with this article completely. Some thought the Wii was the end of Nintendo. Just look at Nintendo now on top of the much hyped “console wars” (I believe, correct me if I’m wrong) 

    This is indeed a bias article and website.

  • Anonymous

    Everybody said back when the Wii came out “look at how behind the times and poor those 3D graphics are!… , well, maybe that weird looking controller might be vaguely of interest, but this is surely the end of Nintendo.”

    The N64 has nice graphics, but is rather too expensive, and only has a few games.

    For all of these proprietary hardware makers it’s going to get hard. Handheld computing is becoming a software game.

    Clever hardware is the only way to compete. The Wii looked like a loser, but ended up a winner.

    If you want to see Nintendo losing points from back in the “golden” days releasing Turkeys, check out the Famicom Modem (well it looked silly back then… what do you mean you could do your banking and trade the stock market on it… Fami-com meant family computer? Adults using a console? Wait… ), and what about that slot on the bottom of the N64.

    Actually, I bet you “intelligent” people thought the original flip-top Donkey Kong would bomb pre-release.

    Nintendo have always been weird y’know. But it’s not boring like Halo, eh.

  • Sure would be interesting…

    Very nicely put. I’m kind of tired of Nintendo releasing all this new stuff that isn’t necessary and they do a terrible job at keeping the good things from old games while introducing new things at the same time. Although as other people pointed out, I don’t know if 1 or 2 systems flops are going to run them out of business, that is, if the Wii U and 3DS don’t even sell that well. But the people who are loyal to Nintendo will keep buying their products and they will probably get enough money to stay in business. They’ve probably got a lot of savings for if some flop like that were to happen from their previously successful systems; especially the Wii. I have to say though that it would be exciting to have something like that happen. I was kind of disappointed to learn that they are making another Mario Party lol.

  • Devilofanger

    Very nicely put. I am getting tired of Nintendo making all this new stuff that isn’t even too good.  They don’t do the best job at keeping the old things that were good in conjunction with new ideas in their new games. But like other people said, I think that even if these 2 systems didn’t make any money then that doesn’t mean that they will go out of business. They probably have a lot of savings from all the money they made from the Wii and their previous systems. There’s always some people who buy new systems so it would have to be a big drop in sales. It would be interesting to see something happen though.

  • Anonymous

    The Wii U controller isn’t un-usable. Zelda: Four Swords Adventures, as mentioned, would look great with full-HD graphics. The controller would also work with HUDs for FPSes and RPGs, and hotkeys for other RPGs and RTSes. 

  • Anonymous

    The Wii U controller isn’t un-usable. Zelda: Four Swords Adventures, as mentioned, would look great with full-HD graphics. The controller would also work with HUDs for FPSes and RPGs, and hotkeys for other RPGs and RTSes. 

  • Skylerzio

    ….Just as sony and microsoft have copied (insert idea here)

  • http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1656444406 Nickos Foivos

    stupid review. please fire this guy.

  • Reddsite

    Fire the C.E.O.! He obviosly knows nothing about gamers and will bankrupt the company, just like forgotton consoles of the past. Wake up mario is not cool anymore. And nintendo refuses to listen to what gamers really want. If Wii U isnt as great as sony or xbox, goodbye, was a long run. R.I.P.

  • Kyle

    Correct me if I am wrong as I do not keep up very much except when E3 comes around but I think Nintendo doesn’t have a clear direction on where they want their company to be 10 years from now. 

    They need a 10 year plan to figure out so they can do their best to pursue it instead of games that balance on a board or bang drums.

    Nintendo needs to make a true sequel to Mario 64 but this time with better camera controls and platforming at the same time.

    I would LOVE a 3d Mario RPG game that has rich colors for their cartoon world much like Wind Waker used cell shading in which Link experienced emotions that in  Zelda gams today are not as good.

  • Kyle

    Will we ever have a true 3d Mario game without buggy camera controls again?

  • Kyle

    Also just because sales are high doesn’t mean people actually liked the WII.

    The article stated people would play the Wii a short time and then it would sit in the closet but the sales will show it as going up.  

    Statistics don’t prove that a console is enjoyable or not.   It only tells you how many people bought it compared to other consoles and they can be manipulated too.

    Zelda Twilight Princess in the E3 conference promised many things that never made it fully into the game like horse combat would play a major role where Link would be surrounded by monsters and have to fight his way thru.

  • Bitgod

    3ds isnt flopping..,.