Could someone please explain to me what the hell is wrong with Nintendo?

[Fonejackerjon]

1) They release a underpowered overpriced console with the worst launch line up ever only one single games worth playing.
2) They discontinue the insanely popular NES classic for no reason.
3) Charge ?35 for ultra street fighter which was ?9 on xbox 360 several years ago.
4) Deliberately under stock their product the Switch.

When did this fall from grace happen and why? please someone explain how the powerhouse that produced the Snes and N64 beasts became the lame ducks they are now...please someone explain?? Do Nintendo want to actually fail because I defy anyone with half a brain to think this isn't done on purpose for some reason? It just seems they dont care anymore relying on releasing the same crap over and over and showing no signs of breathing life into their products.

 

[Johnny Novgorod]

The recurring narrative from fans is 1) the launch line-up sucks because they're spacing releases, duh; 2) the Mini NES was never intended to be continously produced, duh; 3) uhhhh something about other studios' business practices, duh; 4) artificial scarcity creates demand, duh. To them Nintendo is a blameless godsend: if it appears to do wrong, you do not understand them, and if it does wrong, it's somebody else's fault. You didn't believe in them in their hour of need, or they were led astray but other companies.

Also:
http://www.thejimquisition.com/whats-nintendos-fucking-problem/

 

[Hades]

I think that Nintendo is still more a company of developers than actual businessmen which can lead to bad decisions. Also they seem quite arrogant, willing to trust their own judgement and take great risks but also to stubbornly follow the designated course no matter where it leads.

But I wouldn't call Nintendo a lame duck. You could argue they actually are making a recovery. The Switch seems to start its life as a small success and if it can maintain or surpass these sales numbers it will likely stay a success.

As for the launch lineup, that depends on how you look at it. At the moment it only has breath of the wilds but if everything goes according to schedule then 2017 will see the Switch get a mainline Zelda AND a Mario game, as well as Fire emblem Warriors, splatoon II and perhaps even the new Xenoblade(though I doubt that one). If all these games make it this year then you could very well argue that the launch year of the Switch has a very solid assembly of games.

 

[WeepingAngels]

Their new management seems to be, well not too good.

 

[Saelune]

They arent. You (and many others) just think that because Nintendo dont act like Sony and Microsoft, they must be failing...

Them not being Microsoft and Sony is a good thing.

 

[JohnnyDelRay]

The spaced-out releases and rehashed old games is what gets me. I think this is the first console of theirs that didn't get it's own mario kart (yet?). BotW might be game of the year, but I'm not buying a console for one freaking game. In all generations, I usually wait until there's at least 4-5 exclusives, that I know I will play the shit out of, before I commit anything. Except for PC of course, but that's usually revolving around upgrading components.

Not that there's anything wrong with that though. I mean people are happy to buy the Switch just for Zelda, and backwards compatible/virtual store or whatever, just that's not for me. The prices of their games though has always been on the ridiculous side. And renting out ROMs as a bonus for online subscription is a bit of an insult, to be honest. I dunno if that's still the case though, I haven't followed the news since it went stale somewhat, just waiting for more actual releases.

 

[Aiddon_v1legacy]

1) Really? We're going on about this again? I realize it's freaking you out that the Switch is doing well, but I don't see why it should be a concern. Diversity and competition is good for the industry
2) Uh, a lot of the games on that system aren't owned by Nintendo. Licensing fees, boyo. It's also a neat little gimmick, but it was never going to be the Wii or even 3DS
3) This is on CAPCOM. And keep in mind they pretty much pumped it full of unique modes like Way of the Hado, co-op, an extensive gallery, and adding two new characters, including Violent Ken.
4) Welcome to reality: even if you stock according to your predictions, IT WILL NOT BE ENOUGH TO MEET DEMAND. If there's "deliberate" understocking it's because there are only so many hours in the day to pump out new machines. If I want to listen to garbled conspiracy theories I'll listen to Alex Jones

 

[Saelune]

They arent. You (and many others) just think that because Nintendo dont act like Sony and Microsoft, they must be failing...

Them not being Microsoft and Sony is a good thing.

Yes. Purposefully causing scarcity and enabling scalpers is such a great thing.

Cause only Nintendo has ever done that.

 

[Johnny Novgorod]

They arent. You (and many others) just think that because Nintendo dont act like Sony and Microsoft, they must be failing...

Them not being Microsoft and Sony is a good thing.

Yes. Purposefully causing scarcity and enabling scalpers is such a great thing.

Cause only Nintendo has ever done that.

Ah ah ah, what did I just say?

3) uhhhh something about other studios' business practices

 

[Saelune]

They arent. You (and many others) just think that because Nintendo dont act like Sony and Microsoft, they must be failing...

Them not being Microsoft and Sony is a good thing.

Yes. Purposefully causing scarcity and enabling scalpers is such a great thing.

Cause only Nintendo has ever done that.

Ah ah ah, what did I just say?

3) uhhhh something about other studios' business practices

Nintendo isnt perfect, but they are way better than Microsoft and Sony.

And all the naysayers and doom predictors are just as obnoxious as the Nintendo super fans (which I admit I am more similar to than not).

If people want to have a proper discussion on this and Nintendo in general, best not to start with excessive panic or "end of Nintendo" BS. They could survive on Pokemon alone.

 

[Drathnoxis]

Miyamoto's getting old, and his heart doesn't seem to be in it anymore. Miyamoto pretty much was Nintendo, he created almost all of their most popular franchises and there's too much hero worship in the company for anybody else to step up and take his place.

Besides that, they have dumb management executives, just like every other mega-corporation out there. Something about gaming CEOs is just a magnet for out of touch idiots.

 

[Vausch]

They arent. You (and many others) just think that because Nintendo dont act like Sony and Microsoft, they must be failing...

Them not being Microsoft and Sony is a good thing.

Yes. Purposefully causing scarcity and enabling scalpers is such a great thing.

Cause only Nintendo has ever done that.

Ah ah ah, what did I just say?

3) uhhhh something about other studios' business practices

Nintendo isnt perfect, but they are way better than Microsoft and Sony.

And all the naysayers and doom predictors are just as obnoxious as the Nintendo super fans (which I admit I am more similar to than not).

If people want to have a proper discussion on this and Nintendo in general, best not to start with excessive panic or "end of Nintendo" BS. They could survive on Pokemon alone.

I disagree. I like Nintendo plenty but their business practices are just outright horrendous. This isn't even limited to the poor pattern recognition with console numbers. Copyright strikes on youtube that have led to a copyright deadlock because both Nintendo Japan AND America claimed videos, pulling people into this crap of "you give us all the money for your channel and we'll give you, say, 70% of what you earned but you can only play our games WE say you can", and the way they seem to ignore the things people beg for.

Nothing that people are freaking out over is going to be the "End of Nintendo", but they need to drag themselves to the present and stop trying to make things conform to fit their ways. And yes that applies to virtually every major entertainment business that hasn't realised they're becoming outmoded and need to keep up.

 

[Johnny Novgorod]

They arent. You (and many others) just think that because Nintendo dont act like Sony and Microsoft, they must be failing...

Them not being Microsoft and Sony is a good thing.

Yes. Purposefully causing scarcity and enabling scalpers is such a great thing.

Cause only Nintendo has ever done that.

Ah ah ah, what did I just say?

3) uhhhh something about other studios' business practices

Nintendo isnt perfect, but they are way better than Microsoft and Sony.

And all the naysayers and doom predictors are just as obnoxious as the Nintendo super fans (which I admit I am more similar to than not).

If people want to have a proper discussion on this and Nintendo in general, best not to start with excessive panic or "end of Nintendo" BS. They could survive on Pokemon alone.

I don't believe for a second that Nintendo is "ending" anywhere near soon. What I don't understand is why the fans mention this every time criticisms are brought up against them. Here we are talking about weak launch line-ups and discontinued products and every other shitty business decision Nintendo has taken as of late, and it feels that for lack of a good response people default to "pfff whatever, they're not going anywhere". Okay... nobody said they did? "They can afford sucking for sooooo long" is not a good compliment. I'm sure they can. And they will.

 

[Saelune]

They arent. You (and many others) just think that because Nintendo dont act like Sony and Microsoft, they must be failing...

Them not being Microsoft and Sony is a good thing.

Yes. Purposefully causing scarcity and enabling scalpers is such a great thing.

Cause only Nintendo has ever done that.

Ah ah ah, what did I just say?

3) uhhhh something about other studios' business practices

Nintendo isnt perfect, but they are way better than Microsoft and Sony.

And all the naysayers and doom predictors are just as obnoxious as the Nintendo super fans (which I admit I am more similar to than not).

If people want to have a proper discussion on this and Nintendo in general, best not to start with excessive panic or "end of Nintendo" BS. They could survive on Pokemon alone.

I don't believe for a second that Nintendo is "ending" anywhere near soon. What I don't understand is why the fans mention this every time criticisms are brought up against them. Here we are talking about weak launch line-ups and discontinued products and every other shitty business decision Nintendo has taken as of late, and it feels that for lack of a good response people default to "pfff whatever, they're not going anywhere". Okay... nobody said they did? "They can afford sucking for sooooo long" is not a good compliment. I'm sure they can. And they will.

When was the last time a console had a "strong line up"? Cause I swear, this same complaint was thrown at PS4, PS3, Xbox One, 360, Wii U, Wii, etc.

Unless you're a new console entirely, like the Ouya, then it will be fine eventually.

Im not saying Nintendo doesnt have problems, but I find alot of people criticizing Nintendo as a whole...dont know what they are talking about anyways, and thus not capable of actually discussing anything relevant.

If I was a steak eater, I wouldnt pay much mind to vegans complaining about the steakhouse I eat at.

Personally, I think the amount of features "not available at launch" on the Switch is a bigger deal than Nintendo having a limited supply of a limited time product that plays games widely available on virtually every other Nintendo system since atleast Gameboy Advance.

 

[Bilious Green_v1legacy]

Nintendo are a bunch of strange cats, that's for sure. I think a lot of it comes from the fact that they are a very Japan-centric company (much more-so than Sony), so their thinking is focused around what works in Japan, which makes many of their decisions seem odd from a Western perspective. Japanese players don't care that much about whether the system has CoD, Ass Creed, or GTA, but things like Fire Emblem, Pokemon, and Monster Hunter do draw in Japan. Japanese audiences also seem far less concerned with things like graphics than western audiences do, as evidenced by the fact that PS3 has been alive and well in Japan until very recently.

I think Nintendo has made a calculated choice to not aggressively seek to compete with Sony and M$ for the mainstream audience in the west, and have instead chosen to bank on the strength of their own IPs and certain key Japanese IPs to draw whatever sales in the west they can get with those offerings, while remaining focused on Japan as their core audience. Nintendo's approach seems weird if you compare it to what Sony and Microsoft do, but if you accept that Nintendo are doing their own thing, it makes a strange kind of sense.

 

[SlumlordThanatos]

I think that Nintendo is still more a company of developers than actual businessmen which can lead to bad decisions. Also they seem quite arrogant, willing to trust their own judgement and take great risks but also to stubbornly follow the designated course no matter where it leads.

I think you have that backwards.

Ever since Satoru Iwata died, his replacement (Tatsumi Kimishima) has been hell-bent on maximizing Nintendo's profits. Problem is, he worked for a bank for 27 years and really has no idea how to make a video game company profitable. It requires a different mindset than most companies, and it practically requires that you have extensive and personal knowledge of your products. Iwata had it, since he worked on video games for almost all of his adult life. Nintendo's current CEO just doesn't have that experience, and it shows.

Nintendo isn't lacking in businessmen. Problem is, those businessmen haven't quite figured out the video game market, and are making mistakes because of it.

 

[Randomosity]

1) They release a underpowered overpriced console with the worst launch line up ever only one single games worth playing.
2) They discontinue the insanely popular NES classic for no reason.
3) Charge ?35 for ultra street fighter which was ?9 on xbox 360 several years ago.
4) Deliberately under stock their product the Switch.

When did this fall from grace happen and why? please someone explain how the powerhouse that produced the Snes and N64 beasts became the lame ducks they are now...please someone explain?? Do Nintendo want to actually fail because I defy anyone with half a brain to think this isn't done on purpose for some reason? It just seems they dont care anymore relying on releasing the same crap over and over and showing no signs of breathing life into their products.

Your first point is all kinds of wrong. "worst launch line up ever" Really now? Allow me to refresh your memory a bit. The launch lineup for both the PS4 and Xbox One were pretty damn awful. The PS4 had Killzone: Shadow Fall, which was an alright game, it also had Knack, which was a turd, and then it had some indie games.

The Xbox One had Killer Instinct, which was a pretty awesome game, and it had Ryse: Son of Rome which was a turd, and then it also had some indie titles.

Now we have the Switch which has Breath of the Wild which is a pretty good game, it has 1,2, Switch which is kind of a turd, and it also has, you guessed it, some indie titles.

No console in, like, the last three generations has had a solid launch lineup. They all tend to suck.

On point two, yeah it sucks the discontinued it. I refuse to comment much further than that because I don't know the internal numbers behind it.

Third point. That is a Capcom game sold by Capcom. Can't rightly blame Nintendo for that.

Finally, Nintendo planned to sell roughly 2 Million Switch units in march if I recall correctly. In march they sold like hot cakes, to the point that they needed to double production. They were only planned to sell 8 Million units this year, now they have bumped it up to 16 Million. I'm not completely convinced Nintendo is pulling the false scarcity shtick this time. If I had to guess, they are likely prepping to make a big sales push over the summer and leading into the holiday season. This could potentially be a case where demand simply out stripped supply.

Nintendo is not a blameless company of course. They have done some really shitty things, their YouTube policies are a perfect example of this. But trying to poke at a poor launch lineup (Nothing new under the sun), or Capcom overpricing a game seems like trying to make up reasons to hate on Ninty. Which isn't even needed, as I said above, there are plenty of things Nintendo has done that are far more deserving of criticism.

 

[Tanis]

NINTENDO IS THE GAMING VERSION OF A PANDA!

But how?!?!

Because they've got too much money and not enough new blood to more them forward.

Nintendo simply doesn't care what anyone thinks.
They KNOW they're at least 'break even' with their hardware.

Add to it their INSANE piles of money and...well...why push yourself when you've got such a nice bed?