Hi ^~^
So, having been on the interwebs heavily on Nintendo-based stuff, annoying the crap out of everyone by talking about it and reading people's opinions about the company's present and possible future as well as the so far mysterious NX, I decided to make a whole blog dedicated to my thoughts on the issue.
So, the current generation has seen the Big N trip a few times in terms of hardware and software sales and quality. No questions regarding this, especially after the major, groundbreaking successes their 7th Generation consoles (Wii and DS) were in both aspects.
Nintendo's current consoles are the Wii U and the 3DS. Both have had similar circumstances, yet got different results. To put it bluntly, the Wii U flopped, while the 3DS pulled through and found success as the leading console in the 8th generation as a whole.
So, why is this? Some background is required for it.
Why did the Wii U fail? (objectively speaking. It failed to meet sales expectations, therefore it is a failure financially)
-Firstly, it's rough start due to lack of mainstream marketing meant lack of awareness of the product. This means less people know it, less people buy it.
-Secondly, it's massive software droughts and poor launch lineup. It launched with very few quality titles, and long waiting times occurred between releases. This made people not acquire it.
-Thirdly, heavy competition. The XB1 and PS4 already came in boosted by the momentum of the XB360 and the PS3 (...on it's final days, at least) and thanks to the lack of sales from the Wii U, this gave way to more people acquiring those. This further locked down the Wii U as by the time the big titles for it came around, people had mostly gotten either an XB1 or a PS4.
Now, why did the 3DS NOT fail, despite having similar issues as the Wii U?
-Firstly, in light of it's slow early sales, it quickly got a sizeable price cut that put it into accessible ground, favoring gaining a higher install base and turning profit off software sales rather than hardware sales.
-Secondly, it's a handheld console, this carries several perks over home consoles. It is indeed weaker hardware than it's partner, BUT this means development costs are far inferior to those of Wii U, which makes it less straining to make games for. Being more accessible and thus having better possible install base also helps plentifully. It's games aren't on other platforms unless they are very different ports, this means more exclusivity, all of this means more games early on compared to Wii U, more exclusive ones, which means more reasons to buy the console, which means more sales. The other one is on the next point.
-Thirdly, lack of direct competition. Yes, the PSVita was the market competitor for the 3DS, but it very quickly tapered off as Sony dropped support for it, thus leaving the 3DS on the spot alone. What this also means, however, is that the 3DS is seen as the optimal "second" console of choice. People might choose between home consoles, but for a secondary console, the 3DS has all the advantages. Accessibility, games not found on other platforms, portability and more. It is also not competing against the likes of PS4 nor XB1 nor PC, so it doesn't have to fear them stealing it's market share, instead, it will likely have a spot regardless of who got a lead on such competition. Like an outside observer who profits off war despite not being a part of it.
So, what can we gather from this?
Wii U and 3DS both faced difficulties. Wii U stayed down, 3DS didn't and went to surpass everyone else.
-Both had a poor launch. Wii U stayed that way for a while, 3DS quickly got on it's feet with big titles like Zelda OoT3D, Super Mario 3D Land, Kid Icarus Uprising and Fire Emblem Awakening.
-Wii U had competition, 3DS didn't have real competition, and thus sold more.
-3DS was cheaper and easier to develop for than Wii U, which, again, means more games.
In short, right now; Nintendo is getting swept aside from the home console market and shoved into the handheld market. They've lost a huge amount of their playerbase.
However, they still have the strongest IPs in the history of gaming. There's no denying the power series like Mario, The Legend of Zelda and Pokemon, for example, hold. They have truly talented and skilled game developers. Massive resources to keep them going even after years of losses.
Pretty much, they have power and hold on the industry, but they cannot exercise it at the moment. Something is true, however: neither can they go Sony and MS and make a power home console focused on sheer hardware capacity, and definitely not continuing how they are and making other duo of a souped up Wii U and a souped up 3DS. On the former, releasing a straightforward home console this late on the generation won't do anything, it will be just like the Wii U or worse, as the market is already set and divided. For the latter, add the former case plus even more game droughts.
I consider 2 main solutions for this:
-Going third-party. I don't like this one, myself, but it would definitely increase their earnings sharply. I know it won't be happening anytime soon and it's a relief, really. Objectively speaking though, they could very well become THE biggest third-party developer in the industry, sweeping aside the likes of Electronic Arts, Activision and Ubisoft. Selling the bigger games from their franchises like Mario, Zelda, Metroid and such on the main multiplatform format (PS4+XB1+PC) will guarantee massive sales. Selling the smaller, budget titles on smartphones.
The other, my personal, ideal choice for the NX. To go fully handheld and single-platform.
Why would this be? Why abandon the home console market? Simple, they aren't competitive on that scene anymore. They can, however, remain outside the fray exactly like on the 3DS case, but better. Current System-on-Chips can slightly surpass Wii U performance whilst maintaining very low production costs, comparatively speaking.
So, instead of trying to fight off other competitors, they can instead make a single platform, a handheld console with slightly higher power than Wii U, no issue there, using modern architecture. Nothing impressive for a home console, but this wouldn't be a home console, thus comparisons would be moot. A powerful portable console that is easy to develop for yet very powerful for a handheld device, is affordable, and has all of Nintendo's IPs focused on it, right on a single device; not to mention any and all exclusives they can get by being more affordable to develop for than the home consoles. This would allow them to sell amazingly well as the secondary console of choice; at this point having no competition on the handheld market; NOT being a competitor in the home console market, and doing what the 3DS managed by accident, but with more focus on achieving that.
Even further, third-parties would no doubt jump on it, especially Japanese companies, given their predilection for handheld consoles and games. Not to mention the ones Nintendo brings over by funding halted projects, like was the case with Bayonetta 2.
For perspective. Imagine if this (portable, powerful for one, accessible, single platform) was done instead of a Wii U and a 3DS. Merge the libraries of both into one and you have a must-have console.
Tl;dr. Nintendo should focus on their strengths: strong IPs, handheld dominance. And avoid the main competition altogether.
Naturally, one never knows what they'll do next, so, who knows? They might pull something out of their sleeves and surprise everybody >_>
Sorry for the length ;_; (if you did read up this far, anyway) butbI felt I had too much to say and needed it all on a single place xD
So, yeah <.< this is my take on their current situation, as well as my expectations on which steps they should take in terms of further success.
So, having been on the interwebs heavily on Nintendo-based stuff
So, the current generation has seen the Big N trip a few times in terms of hardware and software sales and quality. No questions regarding this, especially after the major, groundbreaking successes their 7th Generation consoles (Wii and DS) were in both aspects.
Nintendo's current consoles are the Wii U and the 3DS. Both have had similar circumstances, yet got different results. To put it bluntly, the Wii U flopped, while the 3DS pulled through and found success as the leading console in the 8th generation as a whole.
So, why is this? Some background is required for it.
Why did the Wii U fail? (objectively speaking. It failed to meet sales expectations, therefore it is a failure financially)
-Firstly, it's rough start due to lack of mainstream marketing meant lack of awareness of the product. This means less people know it, less people buy it.
-Secondly, it's massive software droughts and poor launch lineup. It launched with very few quality titles, and long waiting times occurred between releases. This made people not acquire it.
-Thirdly, heavy competition. The XB1 and PS4 already came in boosted by the momentum of the XB360 and the PS3 (...on it's final days, at least) and thanks to the lack of sales from the Wii U, this gave way to more people acquiring those. This further locked down the Wii U as by the time the big titles for it came around, people had mostly gotten either an XB1 or a PS4.
Now, why did the 3DS NOT fail, despite having similar issues as the Wii U?
-Firstly, in light of it's slow early sales, it quickly got a sizeable price cut that put it into accessible ground, favoring gaining a higher install base and turning profit off software sales rather than hardware sales.
-Secondly, it's a handheld console, this carries several perks over home consoles. It is indeed weaker hardware than it's partner, BUT this means development costs are far inferior to those of Wii U, which makes it less straining to make games for. Being more accessible and thus having better possible install base also helps plentifully. It's games aren't on other platforms unless they are very different ports, this means more exclusivity, all of this means more games early on compared to Wii U, more exclusive ones, which means more reasons to buy the console, which means more sales. The other one is on the next point.
-Thirdly, lack of direct competition. Yes, the PSVita was the market competitor for the 3DS, but it very quickly tapered off as Sony dropped support for it, thus leaving the 3DS on the spot alone. What this also means, however, is that the 3DS is seen as the optimal "second" console of choice. People might choose between home consoles, but for a secondary console, the 3DS has all the advantages. Accessibility, games not found on other platforms, portability and more. It is also not competing against the likes of PS4 nor XB1 nor PC, so it doesn't have to fear them stealing it's market share, instead, it will likely have a spot regardless of who got a lead on such competition. Like an outside observer who profits off war despite not being a part of it.
So, what can we gather from this?
Wii U and 3DS both faced difficulties. Wii U stayed down, 3DS didn't and went to surpass everyone else.
-Both had a poor launch. Wii U stayed that way for a while, 3DS quickly got on it's feet with big titles like Zelda OoT3D, Super Mario 3D Land, Kid Icarus Uprising and Fire Emblem Awakening.
-Wii U had competition, 3DS didn't have real competition, and thus sold more.
-3DS was cheaper and easier to develop for than Wii U, which, again, means more games.
In short, right now; Nintendo is getting swept aside from the home console market and shoved into the handheld market. They've lost a huge amount of their playerbase.
However, they still have the strongest IPs in the history of gaming. There's no denying the power series like Mario, The Legend of Zelda and Pokemon, for example, hold. They have truly talented and skilled game developers. Massive resources to keep them going even after years of losses.
Pretty much, they have power and hold on the industry, but they cannot exercise it at the moment. Something is true, however: neither can they go Sony and MS and make a power home console focused on sheer hardware capacity, and definitely not continuing how they are and making other duo of a souped up Wii U and a souped up 3DS. On the former, releasing a straightforward home console this late on the generation won't do anything, it will be just like the Wii U or worse, as the market is already set and divided. For the latter, add the former case plus even more game droughts.
I consider 2 main solutions for this:
-Going third-party. I don't like this one, myself, but it would definitely increase their earnings sharply. I know it won't be happening anytime soon and it's a relief, really. Objectively speaking though, they could very well become THE biggest third-party developer in the industry, sweeping aside the likes of Electronic Arts, Activision and Ubisoft. Selling the bigger games from their franchises like Mario, Zelda, Metroid and such on the main multiplatform format (PS4+XB1+PC) will guarantee massive sales. Selling the smaller, budget titles on smartphones.
The other, my personal, ideal choice for the NX. To go fully handheld and single-platform.
Why would this be? Why abandon the home console market? Simple, they aren't competitive on that scene anymore. They can, however, remain outside the fray exactly like on the 3DS case, but better. Current System-on-Chips can slightly surpass Wii U performance whilst maintaining very low production costs, comparatively speaking.
So, instead of trying to fight off other competitors, they can instead make a single platform, a handheld console with slightly higher power than Wii U, no issue there, using modern architecture. Nothing impressive for a home console, but this wouldn't be a home console, thus comparisons would be moot. A powerful portable console that is easy to develop for yet very powerful for a handheld device, is affordable, and has all of Nintendo's IPs focused on it, right on a single device; not to mention any and all exclusives they can get by being more affordable to develop for than the home consoles. This would allow them to sell amazingly well as the secondary console of choice; at this point having no competition on the handheld market; NOT being a competitor in the home console market, and doing what the 3DS managed by accident, but with more focus on achieving that.
Even further, third-parties would no doubt jump on it, especially Japanese companies, given their predilection for handheld consoles and games. Not to mention the ones Nintendo brings over by funding halted projects, like was the case with Bayonetta 2.
For perspective. Imagine if this (portable, powerful for one, accessible, single platform) was done instead of a Wii U and a 3DS. Merge the libraries of both into one and you have a must-have console.
Tl;dr. Nintendo should focus on their strengths: strong IPs, handheld dominance. And avoid the main competition altogether.
Naturally, one never knows what they'll do next, so, who knows? They might pull something out of their sleeves and surprise everybody >_>
Sorry for the length ;_; (if you did read up this far, anyway) butbI felt I had too much to say and needed it all on a single place xD
So, yeah <.< this is my take on their current situation, as well as my expectations on which steps they should take in terms of further success.
To put it into perspective, developing for the 3DS is developing for a handheld console with specs equivalent to 6th gen hardware with lower than standard definition home consoles, the Wii U is an HD console steonger than 7th gen hardware. The 3DS's architecture is also much more friendly.
It's like the difference between developing for a PSP and a PS4, kinda.