Nintendo needs to fire people...

[+Gemintronic]

I guess the only real question is: is Nintendo actually losing money? That is the only thing Nintendo cares about.

[Pixelboy]

I don't agree with this. If this were true, why put out the console when they did? Why sell it at all? And if this was really their marketing direction, it's really done a good job of not selling consoles, causing publishers and developers to basically abandon the console entirely. If you don't advertise, you aren't going to sell as many consoles (which happened). Nintendo has sold roughly 3.5 million units, which is pretty laughable 8 months in. It's no wonder no one wants to develop for them. Prime titles or no, your console has to be in the hands of as many gamers as possible if you want developer support.

 

Well, look at it this way: If Nintendo had done the "correct" thing and waited until a good Mario or Zelda system seller was ready before releasing the Wii U, that would have pushed the Wii U's debut after the debut of the PS4 and XBox One. By that time, the Wii U would have been even less interesting for third-parties.

 

So Nintendo's strategy becomes clear: They released the Wii U way too early because they wanted to gather third-party support before Microsoft and Sony had announced their own next-gen systems. And that strategy failed miserably.

[bomberpunk]

*deleted*

Edited July 11, 2013 by bomberpunk

[JamesD]

The strategy that failed miserably was continuing to produce consoles that are way less powerful than their competitors.

The Wii U didn't have to be as fast as the next gen machines, it just had to be noticeably faster than the current gen PS3 and 360.

That doesn't appear to be the case.

 

When combined with a dismal internal software effort it *may* turn out to be a fatal blow.

I have no doubts the competition can catch up and pass them in sales in a matter of months.

The only question is did Microsoft shoot themselves in the foot bad enough that they will suffer the same fate?

SONY has done themselves a huge favor by mostly keeping their mouth shut and by once again trying to have the fastest hardware.

But they have a history of having crappy development tools at the launch of a new console so they may be shooting themselves in the foot as we speak and we just don't know it.

[moycon]

I hope Nintendo fires Luigi, everyone knows he sexually assaulted Peach at the company Christmas party last year.

[toptenmaterial]

I hope Nintendo fires Luigi, everyone knows he sexually assaulted Peach at the company Christmas party last year.

 

 

Hahahaha!!!!!

[Reaperman]

Speaking of nintendo needing to fire people, I do have a question for somebody who knows nintendo better than I do:

How long has nintendo's current upper-management been in place?

 

See I used to be pretty interested in Nintendo hardware and software, and was firmly in the 'target market' for it. Actually, I still buy a lot of Nintendo products from those eras. But after they killed off the GBA, I largely lost interest in them. I feel like they went a different direction, and left me behind. Was there a major internal shakeup ~2005?

Edited July 30, 2013 by Reaperman

[Karyyk]

It seems that Nintendo is making money again. In a day and age where exiting CEO's of bankrupt companies are getting retirement bonuses in the millions, I'd say they're in better shape than a lot of companies.

 

http://www.usatoday....-sales/2602329/

 

 

 

Speaking of nintendo needing to fire people, I do have a question for somebody who knows nintendo better than I do:

How long has nintendo's current upper-management been in place?

 

See I used to be pretty interested in Nintendo hardware and software, and was firmly in the 'target market' for it. Actually, I still buy a lot of Nintendo products from those eras. But after they killed off the GBA, I largely lost interest in them. I feel like they went a different direction, and left me behind. Was there a major internal shakeup ~2005?

 

Hiroshi Yamauchi was the president of Nintendo until 2002. He had overseen all of their gaming consoles, from the NES on. Iwata became president in 2002, but Yamauchi was still Chairman of Nintendo's board until 2005 (when he retired). I'm guessing what you're noticing as a "different direction" was the lack of Yamauchi's input on any level (although he remains Nintendo's largest shareholders...meaning he's lost a bunch of money lately).

 

Interesting to note, considering the statement I made above about CEO's and retirement bonuses...Yamauchi actually turned-down his Nintendo retirement (which would have been between $9 and $14 million) citing that Nintendo could better use the money elsewhere. Nintendo made the guy rich, so I don't see that as much of a sacrifice, but it's a classy move nonetheless.

Edited August 2, 2013 by Karyyk

[+Gemintronic]

Most of Nintendos upper management came from a time when you stayed at the same company your entire career. I doubt they'd change that system for themselves. Maybe for their underlings, though.

 

The worst that could happen is that you'd be shunted to a remote division with little responsibility the rest of your life.

[cimerians]

Nintendo and management changes the past couple of years:

 

http://www.forbes.com/sites/erikkain/2013/04/24/iwata-steps-in-as-ceo-of-nintendo-america-tatsumi-kimishima-heads-back-to-japan/

[JamesD]

Nintendo and management changes the past couple of years:

 

http://www.forbes.co...-back-to-japan/

 

4/24/13... after the Wii U was released.

 

Kimishima will be replacing both Yoshihiro Mori and Masaharu Matsumoto, who are retiring. Shinji Hatano, Senior Managing Director at Nintendo, will also retire according to Nintendo.

I wonder if that retirement was planned ahead of time or after the Wii U was released.

 

 

According to Nintendo, the move “will support the company’s unified global strategy, allow streamlined decision making and enhance Nintendo’s organizational agility in the current competitive environment.”

Downsizing or a reorg due to a major failure.

 

 

Other new additions to the board of directors include Shigeyuki Takahashi, the current General Manager of Finance Department; Susumu Tanaka the current Deputy General Manager of Licensing Division; and Hirokazu Shinshi, the current Deputy General Manager of Manufacturing Division.

You wanted people fired... people got fired.

[cimerians]

I wonder if that retirement was planned ahead of time or after the Wii U was released.[/size]

 

I thought the same thing..

 

When it comes down to it I think they did a poor job of rushing the system out with no Nintendo games and very little for the first year. They HAD to have known about 3rd party publishers before the Wii U release date so they decided to do it anyway. It seems they got some 3rd parties to port some games over but since those games already exist on other consoles what was really the point in that? Why not try something new? Because publishers dont try new things and of course it's up to Nintendo to do the work.

 

I still have no idea what they were doing the last 2-3 years. Few Wii games within Nintendo were coming out so why not work on some Wii U prototype games to release with the system?

 

Why are we sitting here with nothing on the Wii U other than Pikimin 3? Someone needs to get fired.

 

[JamesD]

I still have no idea what they were doing the last 2-3 years.

I just had this vision of a bunch of Japanese dudes in a giant hot tub surrounded by scantily clad women partying away with champagne and saying "Wii rock" over and over.

[Metal Ghost]

Well, look at it this way: If Nintendo had done the "correct" thing and waited until a good Mario or Zelda system seller was ready before releasing the Wii U, that would have pushed the Wii U's debut after the debut of the PS4 and XBox One. By that time, the Wii U would have been even less interesting for third-parties.

 

So Nintendo's strategy becomes clear: They released the Wii U way too early because they wanted to gather third-party support before Microsoft and Sony had announced their own next-gen systems. And that strategy failed miserably.

 

I look at this a bit differently....I think Nintendo released the Wii U way to LATE, as in about 2 years too late. With the novel motion controls when the Wii was released, they were blessed to be able to enter the market with what was otherwise and realtively speaking weak hardware. They should have known that Wii sales were going to tank before Xbox 360 and PS3 sales did, which is exactly what happened. By way of example, the Xbox 360 has been the sales leader in the US and I believe UK for something like 36 months straight (don't have source, sorry, but I'm sure I've read that via NPD or something). But instead of having new hardware waiting in the wings after a respectable 4 years of the Wii being on the market, or even 5, Nintendo waited 6 years. SIX YEARS before they had the Wii U into the marketplace. And even then they don't have games for the console? That's borderline negligence.

 

Regardless, I'm looking forward to getting one soon. But I'm going into it knowing full well that I'll be picking up an Xbox One at launch and will only getat best a relative handfull of games over the lifetime of the system.

[JamesD]

I think the Wii U is what the Wii should have been in the first place but I agree the Wii U should have been out a couple years ago to head off the shifting market.

[Xot]

So Nintendo's strategy becomes clear: They released the Wii U way too early because they wanted to gather third-party support before Microsoft and Sony had announced their own next-gen systems. And that strategy failed miserably.

 

Otherwise known as Sega Saturn Syndrome.

[DaytonaUSA]

Otherwise known as Sega Saturn Syndrome.

 

Sadly, the Sega Saturn's release looked more exciting, and made more sense than the Wii U's.

 

Nintendo needs to fire and hire many people. If making HD games was so hard to do for them, they should have brought in people to help. If they can't make the Wii U's menu system at least as lighting quick as the Vita's (despite the fact the Vita has much less RAM devoted to it's OS than the WIi U does) then they should HIRE SOME PEOPLE who know how to do this. If they don't know how to make a convincing online infrastructure, or get their virtual console games in the store for sale already.. HIRE MORE PEOPLE.

 

And I do agree, and have been saying this for a long time, that the heads of Nintendo need to be either let go, or moved to a different division. Die hards always will lash out at you for even suggesting this but these guys have shown time and time again that they have no idea how to make a modern day console, how to manage game releases or for that matter give us the games we've been begging for (hello? Where is Metroid, Starfox, Wave Race and F-Zero to name a few?).

 

If I was in charge of Nintendo and I had the METRIC TON of IPs to draw from that they have, and the billions in cash that they have, I think I could deliver a wider variety of games, better hardware, and a fuller release schedule just by getting the right talent in the right positions. And when I say better hardware I dont necessarily mean PS4 level graphics, but hardware that makes sense. 8 or 32 GB of save space with no internal laptop drive hdd slot is still one of the most baffling business decisions I've seen in this hobby.

[dendawg]

I hope Nintendo fires Luigi, everyone knows he sexually assaulted Peach at the company Christmas party last year.

 

[TheGameCollector]

METRIC TON of IPs to draw from

 

 

Yeah whatever happened to their IP character, Muddy Mole? Mole Mania needs a sequel on a console!

[Xot]

I hear the guys from Nuts & Milk aren't doing anything.

 

But it should come as absolutely no surprise that the Wii U launch was unspectacular. ALL the Nintendo system launches have been unspectacular, with the exception of the N64, which only had a whopping TWO games available but no one cared 'cause one of them was Mario 64.

[DaytonaUSA]

 

 

 

Yeah whatever happened to their IP character, Muddy Mole? Mole Mania needs a sequel on a console!

 

Ha! I had that game as a kid. Loved that game...

[SoulBlazer]

I hear the guys from Nuts & Milk aren't doing anything.

 

But it should come as absolutely no surprise that the Wii U launch was unspectacular. ALL the Nintendo system launches have been unspectacular, with the exception of the N64, which only had a whopping TWO games available but no one cared 'cause one of them was Mario 64.

The SNES one was pretty damn good, all three games were great! (Super Mario World, F-Zero, and Pilotwings). Also, having Super Mario Brothers packed with the NES and Tetris with the GB were great moves.

[DaytonaUSA]

 

The SNES one was pretty damn good, all three games were great! (Super Mario World, F-Zero, and Pilotwings). Also, having Super Mario Brothers packed with the NES and Tetris with the GB were great moves.

 

Damn I'd take digital copies of those three games with the Wii u over nintendo land any day.

 

I miss that era of Nintendo. Those titles still stand the test of time.

[TheGameCollector]

Nintendo's past history is just so good among gaming that I can see why their fans just won't let them die, even if what they put forth becomes mediocre at some point in comparison to the originals. We've seen progress being made on some of the games we do want. What we don't want is for them to rush incomplete games like Sega did and leave a bunch of game breaking glitches in the games. Nintendo just doesn't do that. They might have been better off holding out and keeping the system secret a while longer though. Still even if I did get a system just for New Super Mario Bros. U I would probably find myself replaying that a lot like I did the others. Even though New Super Luigi U sounds like an over milked idea, I'm interested in it too just to play more levels. There is one thing I can probably bet on though. We probably won't hear about a new Kirby for a few years. In the past history, main non-gimmicky Kirby games were usually surfacing near the end of a system's life to make each system go out with a bang instead of a slump. The Gamecube one was procrastinated on so much that the system died before it was finished and it became the Wii one in the end though.

[Austin]

But it should come as absolutely no surprise that the Wii U launch was unspectacular. ALL the Nintendo system launches have been unspectacular, with the exception of the N64, which only had a whopping TWO games available but no one cared 'cause one of them was Mario 64.

 

The Wii U launch was probably the most fleshed out from a software standpoint than any other previous Nintendo launch in [recent?] history. The problem was the drought that came after.