Poll: Should Nintendo go third party?

[Zontar]

That's probably true and I agree, though they've had way too many losses for them to not try and do something differently at this point.

Well, they DID make their first new IP in over a decade

What? New IPs have been on both the Wii and WiiU!?!
Splat00n has just cuaght the eye of the internet making everyone see a new IP, but there have been several on the last two consoles.

You're mixing up Nintendo published and Nintendo developed games. Nintendo is much like Valve in that they both are developers, publishers and own their own platforms (Nintendo's consoles, Valve's Steam). A game on these systems or published by either company are not 'from' them, only those which are developed by them are. People often refer to these games as Nintendo first party games in their case, and in the case of Splatoon, it is in fact their first new IP from a first party game they have made in 14 years.

 

[onard]

I admit Nintendo should've handled the Wii U better.

But their handhelds still rock. Durable, long battery life, cheaper than the competition, and plenty of games.

And having their own hardware allows for Nintendo to make the best games, because they know how the tech works inside and out.

Also I'm not interested in Microsoft and Sony's single shared IP, "Middle aged white man with bad facial hair goes in a killing spree". I don't care if he's using swords or guns in the latest sequel, plenty of games like that in the PC thank you very much.

 

[kilenem]

I don't think we would've gotten 8 player smash with Gamecube Controllers. The adapters finally in stock. You can buy them at Nintendo's store if you can't find them.

 

[NPC009]

I can't see Nintendo going third-party anytime soon, even with the Wii U struggling the way it is. Despite their difficulties their still producing their own games for their own systems and still making money.

They'd be amazing at being third-party, though. Their ideas for hardware are often kind of out there, but games? They've IPs and plenty of creative talent, and recognise a good idea for a game when they see one. Splatoon, anyone?

But, I have to admit I'd rather see them do their own thing on their own systems. Nintendo may be weird and out of touch with several aspects of reality, they do bring new ideas to the table. They introduced touchscreens to the gaming masses, figured out affordable 3D on a handheld, introduced many people to gaming with the Wii's motion controls and even the Wii U's GamePad is kinda neat (and convenient if you live in a house with multiple people and just one decent tv). The industry wouldn't be the same without their brilliant weirdness.

 

[tstorm823]

You're mixing up Nintendo published and Nintendo developed games. Nintendo is much like Valve in that they both are developers, publishers and own their own platforms (Nintendo's consoles, Valve's Steam). A game on these systems or published by either company are not 'from' them, only those which are developed by them are. People often refer to these games as Nintendo first party games in their case, and in the case of Splatoon, it is in fact their first new IP from a first party game they have made in 14 years.

I just looked at the list of games on Wii, DS, and 3DS and found the things developed by Nintendo. In the last 14 years, there at least have been:

Wii Sports/Play/Fit
Rhythm Heaven
Brain Age
Nintendogs
Tomodachi

I'm not saying they've released a ton of golden new brands in the last 14 years, but this fun fact about no new IP for 14 years that's been going around is wrong.

 

[Phlap]

My reasons for wanting the big N to go third party would be purely so I can play their games on more platforms. There's little doubt in my mind that it'd probably hurt the company in the long run.

 

[Aetrion]

I love the idea of Splatoon, but I will likely never play it because I'm not going to buy a WiiU for just one game among hundreds. So in that sense, I'd like it if they sold their game on other platforms, but it's no skin off my back if they don't.

 

[Guffe]

Then there's a question, if Nintendo stopped hardware, and moved on to only games. Would they have to rush out games before they're done and be pushed by other companies. Or would they still have the freedom of working as they are, making sure games are actually done when releases and not focusing so much on DLC and patching and stuff (althou DLC is also part of their game now since... about 6 months back). Just a thought, I don't know.

You do know that Nintendo is a publisher right? There is your answer.

Yeah, but still, if they made games for Sony/Microsoft, couldn't they push for a releasedate and if some timecriteria aren't met, it would hurt Nintendos part in, for exampe, the share they'd get of the profit or something?

I'm not too into business and agreements and these sort of things, I just don't understand why so many other companies would fail to just have proper beta testings and are pushing for early releases when the consumers clearly want full fledged, working games, at launch.

 

[Guffe]

That's probably true and I agree, though they've had way too many losses for them to not try and do something differently at this point.

Well, they DID make their first new IP in over a decade

What? New IPs have been on both the Wii and WiiU!?!
Splat00n has just cuaght the eye of the internet making everyone see a new IP, but there have been several on the last two consoles.

You're mixing up Nintendo published and Nintendo developed games. Nintendo is much like Valve in that they both are developers, publishers and own their own platforms (Nintendo's consoles, Valve's Steam). A game on these systems or published by either company are not 'from' them, only those which are developed by them are. People often refer to these games as Nintendo first party games in their case, and in the case of Splatoon, it is in fact their first new IP from a first party game they have made in 14 years.

Okey...
So for example Xenoblade, Last Story, Pandoras Tower (operation Rainfall) on the Wii, and ZombiU and Wonderful101 are then second party titles? or what are games then called that are developed by other companies and just exclusive to one console?
Learning something new everyday

 

[fenrizz]

The day Nintendo drops out of hardware and goes 3rd party will be a monumentally sad one.
As of now, Nintendo is the ony console manufacturer that makes a dedicated gaming console that is not the exact same as the competition.

Xbone or PS4?
Doesn't matter. They have almsot the exact smae specs and games, with only minor differences between them.

I've always been a Playstation fanboy, but fuck it, I'm going Nintendo this generation.

 

[the_dramatica]

No, losing exclusivity on those games would cannibalize their console sales. It'd be corporate suicide.

 

[Arcadian Legend]

Okey...
So for example Xenoblade, Last Story, Pandoras Tower (operation Rainfall) on the Wii, and ZombiU and Wonderful101 are then second party titles? or what are games then called that are developed by other companies and just exclusive to one console?
Learning something new everyday

Not quite, those games (with the exception of Xenoblade) are all third party titles that are published by Nintendo. The IP's except for maybe ZombiU may actuallly belong to Nintendo though I'm actually not sure. I know that there are trophies for these titles in Smash 4 if that even counts for anything.

Xenoblade is an interesting one, many people think Monolithsoft are third or second party developers even though the truth is that Nintendo bought them from Namco in their entirety back in 2007 making them a first party subsidiary along the lines of Intelligent Systems. This of course makes Xenoblade a first party Nintendo owned IP. (Fun fact: like IntSys, Monolith helped/helps Nintendo with their own projects like Smash Bros Brawl and Zelda Skyward Sword.) The only thing that can be said otherwise is the link to Square owned IP Xenogears and Namco owned IP Xenosaga. Even this can be refuted however as the link is in name and story themes only. In fact the game didn't even begin as Xenoblade. It began under the title of Monado: Beginning of the World, only getting the Xenoblade moniker later merely out of respect for Gears and Saga creator Tetsuya Takahashi. The more you know!

Other recent first party IP's include Pushmo and Codename S.T.E.A.M.