Opinion: Nintendo brings its B-Game to the hastened death of the Wii U and 3DS
With Animal Crossing amiibo party and Mario Tennis Ultra Smash arriving this weekend to disastrous reviews I figured it was about time someone said something.
Along with the previously mentioned titles, Nintendo’s Q4 releases so far for the most part have been well below par. This is specifically do with the games coming from Nintendo themselves, the ones they’re working on with other developers have actually been good and overall the two systems are doing just fine in getting a number of good games.
The real problem is that Nintendo are obviously on cruise control and look like they will be well into 2016. Absolutely no doubt remains that the Wii U and the 3DS are nearly the end of their lifespans but Nintendo are doing their best make sure you don’t notice.
Nintendo has been padding its lineup since E3 this year with low effort, spin off titles. They’re taking the franchises we know and love, shoehorning them into other genres and doing it cheaply with existing engines and technology. You could call this smart, but when the end product isn’t any good then it’s another word. Personally I’ve never felt such disinterest in playing a game from Nintendo as I have with Happy Home Designer and The Legend of Zelda: Tri Force Heroes. I am entirely grateful they delayed Star Fox Zero.
Games not developed by Nintendo internally.
The entire lineup of the Wii U and 3DS hasn’t been tainted with these low quality efforts though. Just last week Nintendo showed us a ton of upcoming, exciting and original games – Nintendo themselves just aren’t making them. They’ve either been shipped out to second parties or are third party collaborations. The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess HD is being developed here in Australia, Pokken Tournament is already ‘finished’ and developed by Bandai Namco, Fire Emblem Fates is finished and undergoing localisation. Everything Nintendo is working on or releasing has been in the ‘bank’ for some time and will spread in 2016.
It’s clear that Nintendo are working on the NX, mobile and the Wii U and 3DS are suffering for it and have been for some time.
It’s clear that Nintendo are working on the NX, mobile and the Wii U and 3DS are suffering for it and have been for some time. Nintendo’s teams are not working on Wii U games, they’re not working on 3DS games. They’re working on what’s next.
It’s also amazing just how badly Nintendo has dumped the Nintendo 3DS, the console out of the two that has actually been successful. Even the ‘New’ hardware refresh has failed to ignite a flood of games taking advantage of it. We got one port, developed by a subsidiary, and that’s it. All of the games featured in the Nintendo Direct? Finished and out soon or developed by a third party. People complain that Sony has dumped the Vita but Nintendo’s done one worse and dumped the 3DS and dumped it some time ago.
When did the Virtual Console on the 3DS stop releasing? Almost a year ago. Remember the original titles we got on the eShop from Nintendo’s teams? A thing of the past. The New 3DS reminds us of what happened with the Nintendo DSi, from announcement of the DSi to the announcement of the 3DS it was only 18 months, we’re already at 14 months since the announcement of the New 3DS. It’s not long for this world.
Sustained low quality efforts will do more than just sell poorly for Nintendo, it will damage their reputation. How often do you think ‘Oh, what if its bad?’ about a Nintendo game. To be fair games like Tri Force Heroes, Happy Home Designer, amiibo Party and Mario Tennis Ultra Smash aren’t poorly made games, they present well and have effort put into them but the problem is they’re shallow and empty. They’re all poor imitations of the game franchises they’re meant to be presenting and trading on their names. Nintendo’s latest ploy too, the bundling of amiibo will only work for so long as well.
Sustained low quality efforts will do more than just sell poorly for Nintendo, it will damage their reputation
Not only does the bundling of amiibo show the desperation to get us to buy but it also shows that Nintendo don’t believe these games have any value. They’re devaluing the game themselves by including another product like they don’t even believe in it themselves, it’s a wonder Mario Tennis Ultra Smash doesn’t come with one.
The Links of Death.
The Wii U might have had its fate decided long ago and the 3DS is getting older, but if Nintendo is going to put such little effort into its games for another year then they’re going to find themselves in even more trouble. Both consoles have a terrific back catalogue and that will be enough for some people, but it’s hard for many to justify buying a console without a future (especially if that future is filled with filler) and the NX is a long ways off.
Nintendo’s been here before. Their consoles slowly falter, wind down and finally spit out a Zelda before they’re done. (Four Swords Adventures, Twilight Princess, Skyward Sword)
It’s not fair to let these consoles go out with a whimper, the Wii U might not deserve it but the 3DS sure as hell doesn’t.
See, this is the exact sort of writing that’s sadly lacking in games journalism today.
An opinion piece it may very well be, but you include enough information and background to simultaneously bring the reader up to speed on this issue, and what the short-term landscape appears to be.
I don’t agree with everything you said, but you make it very hard for anybody to say a) you don’t know what you’re talking about or b) you’re completely incorrect.
If this is mirrored on another game sites today – those reading this who could do this know who they are – it would be the most truthful thing any of them have said about Nintendo in months.
There’s a form of writing across all enthusiast media – that games journalism sucks at – and that is the call on somebody to do better. A plea. A missive. An evaluation and recommended course of action.
A sports writer doesn’t take precious inches out of a weekend match report to berate the coach’s longterm strategy. He devotes an entire article to that.
You won’t hear diddly-fecking-squat about how Marvel saturates the industry during a film review of a Marvel movie. That’s a whole other argument.
Even click-bait junkies at the New Media websites understand that a listicle or funny photo of a politician isn’t the same place as an earnest deep-dive of a particular issue in society.
I don’t care if it’s positive or negative coverage of Nintendo, I just want to see coverage.
We are not seeing ANY.
That’s why we come to you.
Keep on keeping on.
I’m currently of the view that they’re talking about pretty much every 3DS title that there will be for the 3DS. Purely because at E3 they’re not going to want to talk about the 3DS anymore. Remember the last notable DS games were mostly built on previous DS games. Pokemon Black/White 2, Zelda Spirit Tracks, Mario & Luigi: Bowser’s Inside Story being the big ones. There are quite a few parallels there. What’s worth noting is that at E3 2010 they then announced the 3DS and all but forgot the DS. I think the 3DS may suffer the same fate this year.
Compare that to how the Wii was sitting before 2010. People were speculating about a “Wii HD”. We knew there was a Zelda on the way and there were a few other titles floating around. Super Mario Galaxy 2 was an early 2010 release, Xenoblade was almost ready for Japan but wasn’t coming over here. But nothing much for the back half of 2010. Then E3 swings around and we get DKCR, Kirby, Goldeneye and a trailer for Skyward Sword. Nothing about the “Wii HD” …. but it was the last push for the Wii.
Dude/Dudette that was a well put out thought. You’re probably right about Nintendo bailing…. Really…i liked your article. Whoever you are
It’s clear they are working on Zelda U.
As above, it is clear that they are working on Zelda Wii U, and I see this as the last hurrah.
Very well written. Whatever the next console is, they’ll really have a harder push to sell it and the games. It could sell itself, particularly if it’s the hybrid people suspect it is, but even so it will still have a hard time getting traction with this latest lot.
There’s no doubt I’ll be buying the NX, whatever it may be, but as I’m sure it’s the same for others, I’ve been eyeing off another console (for me, focus an Xbox One) and some of the quality games that have been appearing there for the future.
I find a lot of their games for Wii u have been pretty simple compared to preceding games in their series, at least in terms of depth. I sort of feel the same for the 3DS as well. They just don’t care to put much effort in to their products anymore :/
I sort of agree with your overall point – it does seem like Nintendo is being lazy, especially with releases like Amiibo Fest and Mario Tennis. Where is Metroid? Where is a vast majority of major entries in their beloved franchises?
However – Happy Home Designer and TriForce Heroes have made me smile more than any games in years. You are excited about a lazy remake but hate on TriForce Heroes, therefore I don’t understand your logic. Sorry!
Honestly, I’m OK with a bit of a death spiral for Wii U and 3DS but if and ONLY IF it means that NX gets massive support from day one. Launching with a drought of games simply cannot happen again for Nintendo. They need to hit NX out of the park with massive amounts of actual franchise games at the start. Thankfully, it seems like Nintendo realise this and are winding down and relying on “co-operative development” to pad out the Wii U and 3DS until NX is ready. And if rumours are true and that the NX is both home console and portable, or at least a unified architecture so that both handheld and console will run the same games, it means we don’t get the situation where Nintendo has to develop for one or the other. They can release games on both systems at the same time on a unified platform and hardware.
Nintendo’s hand-helds have been a huge cash cow for them. Obviously they’ve ran figures but unification of both systems can spell trouble for them. Then again, all those hand-held franchises on a console is rather enticing
Unless their handheld is as powerful or more powerful then a Vita, you’ll likely see some crippling being done to get a game working well on the handheld device (like a much lower resolution, shorter draw distance etc.). I don’t see them making it possible to play the games on both the portable system or home console, I’m reminded of horrors like the PS2 port of Ratchet & Clank Size Matters.
Oh and Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate.
Between that n 4… My eyes have bled from late nights haha
It’s Nintendo so I wouldn’t be surprised to have the nx unify consoles and hand-helds but be required to buy two “versions” for the game. Like a pokemon RPG on hand-held n a online arena that takes your pokemon from the hand-held.
Nintendo has been doing this ever since the N64 flopped, it’s only noticeable because it’s really only Nintendo now days keeping their consoles alive. I’m not defending them in any way n I’m a advocate of PC then wiiu/3ds, no need for the rest but as you said, your biggest point to me is when it’s common for people to say ‘is the game good’ then you know something need to change.
I really hope the nx brings in 3Rd party support and I don’t mean like gamecube 3Rd party, I mean if it’s on opposing consoles it is on wii u. Cos thata my next point, we’re so used to big 3Rd party games boycotting Nintendo we don’t even ask is it on wii u, we just already know it’s not.
Meant nx in 2Nd paragraph, my bad
I couldn’t agree more with this. Does it not remind you of what happened to a certain console two generations ago that didn’t live up to its billing and did poor in sales performance? Now there’s a new Zelda coming for the console which we haven’t seen much of and a new console on the horizon.
It’s dangerous for them to do this, it damages faith that the product people buy will be valuable for the full cycle before the next console. I guess it’s a bit more difficult when you have to make your own games but having said that, Sony could’ve bailed on the PS3 too last gen. They didn’t, they kept supporting it, pushed it into a respectable sales position (they were never going to catch the Wii numbers) and kept momentum strong for their PS4 and look at them now.
If Nintendo keep this up, they may end up like Sega, goodwill can only take you so far. I still think the 3DS still have a killer line up in th first half of 2016, even if they are mostly third party titles. I really really hope that the NX will actually have third party support, like even GC had better. It doesn’t have to be all the titles, just the AC, COD, FIFA multi plats that people know. If they can have that and then first party games, they would at least stay competitive enough. I hope th Wii U has been humble pie for them and lift their game. Excellent article as always man!
I have played and enjoyed Yoshi’s Woolly World, Kirby and the Rainbow Curse, Splatoon, Tri Force Heroes, Super Mario Maker and are just can’t agree with the sentiment of the article.
I especially don’t understand the “please save the 3DS!” mentality, what games is it missing? Wouldn’t that cause more “Games that where made for the sake of making them” that the article decries?