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.

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 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.