Does Nintendo Really Need a Miracle?

[Towi Wakka]

I started thinking about this question after reading UK Jester's sig. Does Nintendo Really Need a Miracle? I have to admit, their popularity is declining, but they still have many loyal fans (including myself) to support them. The biggest threat I can see is Microsoft. While they may have money on their side, no one can argue that they can compare to the creativity of Nintendo and their top man Shigeru Miyamoto!
I have a feeling that Nintendo has a few tricks up their sleeve...

[pink]

Well they better get their act together and FAST. They're losing 3rd party support, and quickly, so unless they hurry up and get to work they're going to lose so much they won't be able to recover.

[Legato2471]

A loyal fanbase just isn't big enough. The old school Nintendo people are getting older and gaming is becoming less important to a lot of them. I mean my friends still bust out the snes to play street fighter and zombies ate my neighbors, but the people who were around 13 or so when it came out just dont have the time for games.

The N64 wasn't really that great. It had a few good games but other the that, the controller was awkward, and it just wasn't that great of a system. It was dominated by the PS1. Though the Dreamcast was ahead of it's time, it was definitly better then the N64. Around 1998-1999 when pokemon was out, it was the thing that saved Nintendo. The marketed that to death, and it really paid off. However the marketing with shows and games like yu gi oh, digimon and pokemon are just fads and dont last long, but they make a lot of money for the corporations controlling them.

The gamecube was just poorly marketed. It's a good system with potential that went completely unused. It had a few good games, and because of that they had to lower the console price but keep game prices high. Nintendo is lucky for the gameboy systems because they make a lot of good games for that and it really keeps them in the "game".

They really need to do a better job marketing the Revolution, which many people, myself included are hoping it will be. We haven't even seen a controller for it yet. Plus all it has going for it is the backwards compatability which to me is a fancy way of saying roms and emulators, because it's just over hyped, although a cool feature. At this rate Nintendo will follow the Dreamcast in the console wars. They will however remain the king of hand held gaming.

When it comes down to it, Nintendo can't slack off. They need good games, lots of them, coming out at spaced times so they don't saturate their market too early then in the 2 or 3 years they use the system have few sales game wise. This is probably their last chance at the console game before they have to stop and just do handheld games.

[pink]

Now if they were smart, they would listen to people like you Legato.

[Lee-yoshi]

Heh, i think Nintendo have really been depending on themselves so far to keep the Gamecube alive (New Legend of Zelda, Pokemon, Fire Emblem, and all those Mario games). What Ninty need to do for the next generation console is to get all the big players in the game on board. EA, SEGA, Capcom, THQ, Namco, you know, all those kind of people, and start spending some money to get some new and decent exclusive games that STAY on Revolution.

They did a good job later on in the Gamecubes life, but by then it was already too late. If the Revolution has the kinda feedback the DS has gotten so far with developers, then the sky's the limit! They seem to be really trying this time around, putting in DVD playback, "re-inventing" an online games system, and making the console look a little more 'Non-Kiddyish' if you see what i mean.

This download service aswell i think will have old school gamers on the hook too, if it's marketed properly by Nintendo, another thing they really need to get a grip on, like Legato said. Theyve got all this money in reserve... SPEND SOME OF IT! For crying out buy some shelf space and control it's sales in the big games stores. I've recently been involved in adjusting my stores layout, and you know how many little bays the Gamecube has now? NONE! It sits on the little gondolas that stand in the middle of the floor while PS2 and Xbox have walls to themselves! I mean really come on, theyve spent some money, and look at what kinda impact thats having on customers and sales figures. Nintendo you idiots, it isn't rocket science!

[Double Edge]

Does Nintendo Really Need a Miracle?

Nope. Even if they lag a little behind Microsoft or Sony (which owe their success to "M-Rated" games almost in an entirety), they'll get back on their feet; especially considering the Revolution.

[Jimbo1990]

They need to try and appeal to more groups of peopl not just focusing on little kids!

[Legato2471]

Nope. Even if they lag a little behind Microsoft or Sony (which owe their success to "M-Rated" games almost in an entirety), they'll get back on their feet; especially considering the Revolution.

What makes you think they'll get back on their feet?

True that the Ps2 and Xbox have many M Rated games and quite a few helped their success. Halo, halo 2, Socom, Splinter Cell etc, but the systems are just so much more powerful then the Gamecube. The graphics they use and the playability in many of their games surpass almost everything on the cube. Gaming now days is being targeted at the age group of about 12-24. But with so much violence in the media not to mention the large appeal it has, consumers are gonna choose the more violent games. Games like Mario Kart Double Dash and Super Smash Bros Melee are fun, but those games have been out since the cube practically debuted and since then they've had few good games to boost sales. Nintendos other problem is that they won't go online, which is way games like Rainbow 6 don't get ported to the gamecube because they won't get to go online.

While it is true that the Xbox and microsoft dominate the online gaming circuit in the console wars, the ps2 has given them good competition with Socom and FF XI. Gamecube had PSO... and as you all can see, it did not fair that well. If Nintendo was less conservative and actually gave companies other then their own, sega, and EA then they might be able to do better.

The Revolution is a cool concept, but Nintendo is trying to be all secretive with the new console, and it's not gonna work. Sony and Microsoft have been releasing all the details and tech specs of their systems, and the public is drooling for them. Nintendo is still sittin there with the same 3 pictures of a sleek black box and a blue LED light in the disk drive. What does that tell us? The system will be easy to find in the dark? Come on, we want to see what this system can do.

[Towi Wakka]

That is where I dissagree Jimbo. Their games may be more kid friendly, but they seem to be the only games that have the most depth, not just sensless M rated violence. I am not saying that having some M rated games is bad but Xbox is atrocious for having bloodfest shooters. Also, GCN has games like Resident Evil 4, Metroid Prime, and Goldeneye. Hopoefully the appeal of super violent games will decline...

[Legato2471]

That is where I dissagree Jimbo. Their games may be more kid friendly, but they seem to be the only games that have the most depth, not just sensless M rated violence. I am not saying that having some M rated games is bad but Xbox is atrocious for having bloodfest shooters. Also, GCN has games like Resident Evil 4, Metroid Prime, and Goldeneye. Hopoefully the appeal of super violent games will decline...

RE 4 was the last good game for the cube. Metroid isn't violent and Golden Eye was just a bad game that nobody bought. Senseless violence appeals to the masses and the companies feed it to them, and they love it. Not much you can do about that. The PS2 has had a lot of in depth RPGs, like FFX FF X-2, FF XI, Kingdom Hearts, and many others that let players immerse themselves into a world of fantasy. Even Xbox had Morrow Wind, Fable, and of course the KOTOR series. Basically what I've been trying to say is that Sony and Microsoft put themselves out there and do a lot of different things, which had lead to great success. Nintendo however, has sat back and done their own thing which obviously did not work out too well for them. They need to try harder and be more assertive in the console wars or they're gonna get shot down again.