Nintendo Is Hurting :(

[Frag Mortuus]

I hope everyone knows that I didn't create this thread with the intent of having a place to bash Nintendo. In fact, I'm saddened by the big N's current situation. I want them to thrive. I want a creative third option in the console market. While I have mentioned that Nintendo should get with the times, I solely meant that from an Online / Graphics / Digital Purchase standpoint. I absolutely love my Wii U. It's my favorite next gen console thus far.

The only reason I even brought up graphics is because I think it would help third parties to bring more games to the Wii U. If developers could port their games over to the Wii U that they are already making for the PS4 and XBO, I'm sure they would. This could, in turn, sell more consoles because people are then able to get the multiconsole releases and get the awesome first party games as well. That is the only reason I think the graphics should have been updated. However, I'm completely fine with the current graphics on the Wii U.

[Jmustang1968]

Again, processing power allows much more than just graphics.

[Flake]

In the 20th Century a Nintendo console was an important thing to own if you wanted to keep up. In the 21st Century, it has not been.

and I disagree. What Sony and Microsoft offer is a tidal wave of derivative first person shooters, arcade racers, and the occasional one off like The Last of Us. Oh and the greatest targeted advertising system ever developed (Microsoft) and social interaction gimmicks (Sony).

Oh, the innovation!

Nintendo has created a lot of really great games in this century, many of which would meet your barometer of 'influential' if you would think about it for a bit. Animal Crossing, Metroid Prime, Mario Galaxy, recent Mario Kart games, recent Zelda games, Mario 3D, Nintendo Land, the Miiverse, the DS, the 3DS, motion controls, separate touch screen integration into home games - you are right now looking forward to games from Sony and Microsoft's developers that liberally and often shamelessly borrow the concepts at the core of Nintendo's 21st century offerings.

You don't have to like Nintendo. It's okay to have outgrown Nintendo - lots of people have. They still make a difference, though. It's the one advantage they have over their counter parts. Where Microsoft and Sony are console holders first and developers second, Nintendo does both jobs at the same time.

[Gunstar Green]

Nobody said you had to like the most influential and successful games of last generation or even their genre, most of which were created by third parties. It's a discussion about how Nintendo should keep from going under as a hardware developer not a discussion about why newer consoles don't appeal to retro gamers.

Everyone goes on and on about FPS (because there were so damn many) but really I think western style RPGs were another of the most popular and talked about genres of last generation, honestly.

Nobody has been saying Nintendo hasn't been making great games. Nintendo makes great games. It's what dragged Nintendo through hard times in the past. But that's irrelevant now. The question is if it's going to save them or not this time and at the moment the answer is, "not looking good."

I love Nintendo. But I have to take a step outside the box and admit my gaming sensibilities are becoming more niche and not that of the majority consumer's.

[AznKhmerBoi]

I did my part in supporting nintendo since the NES days.
I like the Wii U, but it lacking in software... majorly.

I have no gripes on the graphics / hardware because i think this is sufficient enough for Nintendo to work around with. They are know to create their own unique look to their 1st party games.

In the end I do not want to see Nintendo go down the path of the Dreamcast, so i hope something miracle like the 3DS will happen with the Wii U.

[dsheinem]

Nintendo has created a lot of really great games in this century, many of which would meet your barometer of 'influential' if you would think about it for a bit. Animal Crossing, Metroid Prime, Mario Galaxy, recent Mario Kart games, recent Zelda games, Mario 3D, Nintendo Land, the Miiverse, the DS, the 3DS, motion controls, separate touch screen integration into home games - you are right now looking forward to games from Sony and Microsoft's developers that liberally and often shamelessly borrow the concepts at the core of Nintendo's 21st century offerings.

I'd love to see some kind of evidence that the console games you mentioned here are seen as influential in contemporary game development by any of the criteria I gave a few pages ago. If you have links to some developer interviews or to polls by folks in the industry or if you can argue about clear design connections to subsequent successful games, etc. I'd happily reconsider my position.

You don't have to like Nintendo.

I do.

It's okay to have outgrown Nintendo - lots of people have.

That's absurd.

They still make a difference, though. It's the one advantage they have over their counter parts. Where Microsoft and Sony are console holders first and developers second, Nintendo does both jobs at the same time.

I just don't think their "making a difference" has to do with software and with the games released on (let alone unique to) their consoles. They did this once, they don't now.

Also, your view of Sony and MS' influence as developers on the medium is pretty skewed and repeatedly contradicted by, well, the vast majority of 21st Century game development.

[Flake]

I'd love to see some kind of evidence that the console games you mentioned here are seen as influential in contemporary game development by any of the criteria I gave a few pages ago. If you have links to some developer interviews or to polls by folks in the industry or if you can argue about clear design connections to subsequent successful games, etc. I'd happily reconsider my position.

You're kidding, right? I'm supposed to do an hour's worth of research online to change your mind when you could just apply a little common sense and see the connections between games like animal crossing and social games or the WiiU's touch screen and surface implementation in Microsoft's current software? To see how clearly Nintendo influences the industry?

You've made up your mind and I have better things to do than think for you.

[noiseredux]

You're kidding, right? I'm supposed to do an hour's worth of research online to change your mind when you could just apply a little common sense and see the connections between games like animal crossing and social games or the WiiU's touch screen and surface implementation in Microsoft's current software? To see how clearly Nintendo influences the industry?

while I can see Animal Crossing (or more likely Harvest Moon) influencing Farmville, I don't see how the WiiU touchsreen led to surface implementation for Microsoft. I mean, cellphones and tablets were what led to the WiiU's touchsreen. Some of them were even made by Microsoft. Am I missing something?

[Flake]

It's the tie in between a dedicated touch device and a home gaming console to provide a second screen for in game data or extra controls.

[noiseredux]

It's the tie in between a dedicated touch device and a home gaming console to provide a second screen for in game data or extra controls.

ah ok, I was missing part of what you were getting at then.