Restored faith in nintendo?

[Agent Gibbs]

Just trying to understand my own stance on what makes a game 'great' - I don't think a great game needs to be successul critically or monetarily' date=' but they are good [i']indicators[/i], this I am [nitpicking,] questioning the 'need' bit.

 

It's irrelevant now!

 

gotta say i take this stance too! some great games i have or played have not been commercially successful as say GTA COd or even some lower titles

 

For example Breath of Fire 4, a number of the Tales Games, Onimusha, etc

 

nobody could argue they were all hugely commercially successful, but they were great games

 

Its the same reason i don't put too much weight into official reviews scoring systems, i've bought some terrible 90+% games that have been really short and boring

[ipaul]

WiiU pre-orders are through the roof in the US with most pre-orders already sold out.

 

I went to a game store today where I asked the manager there how the pre-orders are like, his reply was basically HUGE, bigger then anything else except the Wii, which he then said that by the end of next week it will have gone past the pre-orders for the Wii the way things are going.

 

And while 3DS is not the best as can be, it's ripping to shreds the sales in Japan, it's almost beating PS3 LTD in Japan already, I think in a couple of weeks it will have.

 

Just seen this. That's pretty interesting, didn't know that and it seems encouraging.

 

Then again I'm pretty sure the Dreamcast sold shedloads at the start of it's early life

[Zechs Merquise]

Just seen this. That's pretty interesting, didn't know that and it seems encouraging.

 

Then again I'm pretty sure the Dreamcast sold shedloads at the start of it's early life

 

Yeah, but the Wii has sold 97 million units worldwide, the Saturn (the forerunner to the Dreamcast) sold only 9.5 million units worldwide. Nintendo are launching on the back of their most popular home console ever, Sega were launching off the back of a series of flops (Mega CD, 32x and Saturn).

 

I really think people who make the Dreamcast comparrison need a history lesson on console gaming!

[Cube]

People said the Xbox 360 was going to be then next Dreamcast.

[Helmsly]

yeah, you can still find some of those Xbox/Dreamcast comparison articles:

 

http://www.1up.com/features/dreamcast-20

[darkjak]

Yeah, but the Wii has sold 97 million units worldwide, the Saturn (the forerunner to the Dreamcast) sold only 9.5 million units worldwide. Nintendo are launching on the back of their most popular home console ever, Sega were launching off the back of a series of flops (Mega CD, 32x and Saturn).

 

I really think people who make the Dreamcast comparrison need a history lesson on console gaming!

 

Problem is that Sega had built up a big fanbase. A lot of people bought the format because they loved Sega games.

 

The Wii is built on the foundations of casual gamers. And casual gamers are in my experience not loyal gamers. They won't buy the Wii U because they're hoping for a new Wii Sports might come out some time. They'll buy what's trendy. I dated a girl who was going to buy an Xbox 360 with Kinect, because all her friends played it at their boyfriends' place. Then they got boored and stopped playing, resulting in the girl I was dating not buying any game system at all. The casual gamers who'll desire to buy an HD console will probably buy the much cheaper PS3 with its clown nosed d***o. Or they'll move over to the next craze. Like Pogs or skateboarding.

 

Don't get me wrong, no chance in hell that the Wii U will do as badly as the Saturn or Dreamcast. I'm saying that the previous consoles emphasis means that one part of Nintendo's customer base won't buy the new console. They've still got millions of true fans and they seem to want to win back the core. Perhaps with time, they'll win back the casual as well.

[Zechs Merquise]

Problem is that Sega had built up a big fanbase. A lot of people bought the format because they loved Sega games.

 

Clearly you didn't read my post or know anything about gaming history. Sega had a big fanbase during the Megadrive era. Sega squandered that and reduced it drastically with two over priced peripherals which had very few games released for them - the 32X and the Mega CD. Those two devices went a long way to pissing off the public. When the Saturn emerged it was poorly priced compared to the competition, was difficult to develop for and coming off the back of the 32X and Mega CD it failed to sell more than 10 million units worldwide. This would basically prove Sega didn't have a big fanbase. The Dreamcast, whilst doing marginally better than the Saturn was still a flop.

 

Nintendo's lowest selling console was the Gamecube which sold 21.7 million units - more than the Dreamcast and Saturn put together. What's more, software sales on the Gamecube were much better than on the Saturn or Dreamcast. Hence this clearly shows if you're talking about fanbases, Nintendo's is much bigger, even at it's lowest point.

 

The Wii is built on the foundations of casual gamers. And casual gamers are in my experience not loyal gamers. They won't buy the Wii U because they're hoping for a new Wii Sports might come out some time. They'll buy what's trendy. I dated a girl who was going to buy an Xbox 360 with Kinect, because all her friends played it at their boyfriends' place. Then they got boored and stopped playing, resulting in the girl I was dating not buying any game system at all. The casual gamers who'll desire to buy an HD console will probably buy the much cheaper PS3 with its clown nosed d***o. Or they'll move over to the next craze. Like Pogs or skateboarding.

 

If the Wii was simply built on the casual gamer how has it managed to sell over 10 million copies of games like Mario Galaxy and Smash Brothers? These sales are well in excess of most games on the so called 'hardcore' systems.

 

What's more if you look at the number of games that have sold over a million units on the Wii you'd be surprised. The Wii has had a higher attch rate than the PS3! Software sales have been consistently strong - despite a vocal minority claiming they never touch their Wiis anymore.

 

The fact is many people purchased a PS3 for the Blu-ray player. Many people purchased the 360 for Kinect. Many people buy a Nintendo console to play only 2D Mario games and Mario Kart, just like many people buy a 360 to play just COD and FIFA. There's all sorts of buying patterns.

 

The Wii U has a unique selling point just like the Wii did - the controller. It will in itself generate interest and drive sales. As will the software the line up, bear in mind that this is the first Nintendo console to launch with a Mario title since the N64 - and it's a 2D Mario game.

 

What's more in Japan it launches with Monster Hunter and FREE access to Dragon Quest Beta - if you don't know the importance of those two titles (and a 2D Mario) in Japan you need to read about it!

 

Nintendo is launching in the States with a superior version of the next COD and probably the strongest launch line up any console has ever launched with. What's more, Nintendo's fan base in the States is huge.

 

Don't get me wrong, no chance in hell that the Wii U will do as badly as the Saturn or Dreamcast. I'm saying that the previous consoles emphasis means that one part of Nintendo's customer base won't buy the new console. They've still got millions of true fans and they seem to want to win back the core. Perhaps with time, they'll win back the casual as well.

 

Nintendo have managed to sell over 4 times the number of home consoles this generation than they did in the last one. They are coming out of the gates with a better line up and more momentum than they ever had (and I've been with them since the Game and Watch was the device to be seen with). I'm pretty sure (as it's already sold out in the US) that the Wii will be the must have gift this Christmas and due to the Wii making Nintendo a bigger household name than it's ever been, that alone will gain them bigger recognition among the general public than they've ever enjoyed in the past.

[nekunando]

Nintendo is launching with probably the strongest launch line up any console has ever launched with

 

That may actually be true for a lot of people but I feel that there isn't any standout game for me personally, unlike Super Mario 64, Pilotwings 64, Wave Race: Blue Storm, Luigi's Mansion, Wii Sports and The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess from previous generations.

 

I'm not saying it's a bad selection but it doesn't inspire me to get the console on launch, however much I'm looking forward to getting my hands on the controller to see what it feels like!

[Wii]

I have to agree with @/nando/ there is no stand out title. Every other launch had something really exceptional and exclusive. Not this time. Blops 2 maybe is the closest but that's multiplatform. Zombii U, it's hard to know, I keep remembering Red Steel. A lot of ports, late ports, yet we're expected to pay full price. Nintendos effort is lazy in my view. Nintendo Land, not interested in minigame collection. How much effort did NSMB U take? It's basically a remix of all that's gone before with a HD skin. Games this generation for Wii U will be more expensive now that Nintendo has entered the HD market. I don't think NSMB U is worth €60 or more. Even Pikmin 3 started out as a Wii game. We've yet to see Nintendo make the Wii U sweat. I know all that will come in time but it's not a jaw dropping start.

[dazzybee]

Assassins Creed 3 and BLOPS 2 are probably the biggest games of the year, it's good we have them. But I suppose for a launch you want games only for you. That could've been PIkmin 3 but they decided against that, I'm sure Nintendoland will easily be a match for Wii Sports (in truth, Wii Sports was a retrospective slice of genius) how many people were really excited about it beforehand?!

 

Zombi U though is the only thing that could be the defining game of the launch window. It looks truly fantastic so has a shot, but it's hard to say at the minute.

[Cube]

It's hard to argue that this isn't the best line-up of any console...ever. There are a lot of great games.

 

The problem is that a lot of people have the option of buying the games (or own them) on other consoles. Even so, it's still a brilliant line-up.

[Zechs Merquise]

That may actually be true for a lot of people but I feel that there isn't any standout game for me personally, unlike Super Mario 64, Pilotwings 64, Wave Race: Blue Storm, Luigi's Mansion, Wii Sports and The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess from previous generations.

 

I'm not saying it's a bad selection but it doesn't inspire me to get the console on launch, however much I'm looking forward to getting my hands on the controller to see what it feels like!

 

I can see where you're coming from - but it's pretty subjective. Personally I am really excited for NSMBU and Black Ops 2. What's more I'm interested in several others - Mass Effect 3, Batman, ZombiU, Nintendo Land and AC3.

 

For the N64 I picked up Mario 64 and Mario Kart as I got it a few months after launch. On the Gamecube I picked it up on launch day and went for Wave Race: Blue Storm and Rogue Leader. For the Wii I ended up jumping in nearly a year late and ended up getting a ton of software when I did pick it up.

 

I have to agree with @/nando/ there is no stand out title. Every other launch had something really exceptional and exclusive. Not this time. Blops 2 maybe is the closest but that's multiplatform. Zombii U, it's hard to know, I keep remembering Red Steel. A lot of ports, late ports, yet we're expected to pay full price. Nintendos effort is lazy in my view. Nintendo Land, not interested in minigame collection. How much effort did NSMB U take? It's basically a remix of all that's gone before with a HD skin. Games this generation for Wii U will be more expensive now that Nintendo has entered the HD market. I don't think NSMB U is worth €60 or more. Even Pikmin 3 started out as a Wii game. We've yet to see Nintendo make the Wii U sweat. I know all that will come in time but it's not a jaw dropping start.

 

Well to claim that a new 2D Mario game at launch is nothing special is just crazy talk. The last time this happened was with the SNES! Also to call it lazy is ridiculous. Do you realise just how much effort developers put into games like NSMBU to get those incredible level designs and make sure it plays as smoothly as it does?

 

You might take it for granted that a 2D Mario game will have perfect controls and awesome level design - but believe me, if it was as easy as you think it is everyone would be copying it. But in reality there aren't many 2D platform games that come close to Mario. The only one that isn't produced by Nintendo is Rayman Origins.

 

Mario might not have some crazy evolutionary jump every time a new 2D game is released, but that's not lazy - you don't need to reinvent the wheel! Mario is perfect, it has been since the days of the NES, why would Nintendo screw with a formula so successful?

 

It's like all the crazy people who cry every time a COD game is announced. Whining that it's not built on a new engine and that it looks similar to the last COD game. When MW came out it was for a revolution for FPS games on consoles - just like Goldeneye was back in the day. Why would a developer who has created something that works so well try and reinvent it? EA and several other publishers have been trying - but have failed. None of the titles that have tried to compete with COD have had the same critical or commercial success.

 

When something is as right as Mario, you don't mess with the formula. This is the sixth Nintendo home console and the 7th home console 2D Mario (that's counting Yoshi's Island). It's hardly lazy or milked. It's just platforming gold! Let's put this into perspective - there's been as many COD games this generation as there has been 2D Mario games over six generations.

 

What's more, as they're adding a bunch of new modes to NSMBU, online leader boards, asymmetric game play and the ability to play it on the tablet whilst someone else watches TV - don't go writing it off as if it's Super Mario Bros. on the NES in HD.

 

Assassins Creed 3 and BLOPS 2 are probably the biggest games of the year, it's good we have them. But I suppose for a launch you want games only for you. That could've been PIkmin 3 but they decided against that, I'm sure Nintendoland will easily be a match for Wii Sports (in truth, Wii Sports was a retrospective slice of genius) how many people were really excited about it beforehand?!

 

Zombi U though is the only thing that could be the defining game of the launch window. It looks truly fantastic so has a shot, but it's hard to say at the minute.

 

Amen to that - Nintendo have gone from being the platform which has been looked over for many of the big third party releases to the platform that has them all from day one - and in the case of COD it has the superior version!

 

It's hard to argue that this isn't the best line-up of any console...ever. There are a lot of great games.

 

The problem is that a lot of people have the option of buying the games (or own them) on other consoles. Even so, it's still a brilliant line-up.

 

That's the only snag, a lot of the games have been around for a while, and although they have added content or are GOTY editions, is that enough to tempt players who have them on other systems?

Edited September 26, 2012 by Zechs Merquise

[Cube]

That's the only snag, a lot of the games have been around for a while, and although they have added content or are GOTY editions, is that enough to tempt players who have them on other systems?

 

Personally, no. I don't plan on getting the Wii U until Summer 2013 at the earliest.

[Grazza]

I've never been more on the fence about a games machine than the Wii U. One day I'll want it, the next day I won't, and so on... At the moment I can get it quite cheaply, but I'm still reluctant.

 

The only launch game I want is New Super Mario Bros U. As has been said above, it's nice to have multiformat games, but as they are available on other formats, they're more the sort of thing I want during a console's lifespan rather than old ones at the start. Loved multiformat games on the GameCube, but wouldn't have been impressed if they were part of the launch line-up.

 

But back to New Super Mario Bros... I'll probably be able to buy it for £35-40, but I'm not sure it's that exciting. This is really the point when people are apathetic about the NSMB series. It's not that there's any doubt about how much fun they are to play; it's whether they are system sellers. The "Nintendo fan" side of me wants to be on-board early with this console, but the other side of me thinks there needs to be more exciting, more compelling reasons to spend £300. I need the "must have" feeling, and that's what I'm not getting from the Wii U.