Nintendo are their own worst enemy

[Killarapp]

If you asked me what killed the gamecube I wouldn't say the lack of online (Sony won clearly with about 3% of PS2 owners connected) I wouldn't say the lack of 3rd party support. I'd say it was Nintendo heres why.

Make no mistake Nintendo games are great, if they wern't would we be here? and nintendo games are huge sellers, that's the problem. Look at the DS! how many Nintendo games do you own? compared to 3rd parties. If like me it's all Nintendo and maybe a Sega or Capcom thrown in. Who's got money for less established brands like Bomberman when the next 2d mario is out? and who needs to buy it when Mario will last you a good month? Nintendo suck the life out of the other games on their system.

Look at the Gamecube, it started getting abandoned by 3rd parties due to Nintendo crushing it's own partners. Yet Nintendo profited by it's own games tremendously. With no parties to help except the really major ones Nintendo started making even more games (leading to the DS's overcrowded market of games developed by Nintendo) Due to the cheapness of developing companies still try and make money with DS games but fail half the time.

So take a look at their lineup for 2007 Jan - March

# Wario Ware: Smooth Moves (Nintendo) - 12 Jan
# Excite Truck (Nintendo) - 16 Feb
# Kororinpa (Hudson) - 23 Feb
# Baja Racing (Conspiracy) - Feb
# Disney's Chicken Little: Ace in Action (Disney / Buena Vista Games) - Feb
# Wing Island (Hudson) - 23 March
# BIONICLE Heroes (Eidos) - 23 March
# SSXTM Blur (EA) - March
# Mario Party 8 (Nintendo) - March
# Tiger Woods PGA TOUR (EA) - March
# Bust a Move Wii (505Games) - March
# Dragonball Z Budokai Tenkaichi 2 (Namco Bandai Games) - March
# Disney's Meet the Robinsons (Disney / Buena Vista Games) - March
# Sonic and the Secret Rings (SEGA) - March
# Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (Ubisoft) - March
# Heatseaker (Codemasters) - Q1
# Metal Slug Anthology (Ignition) - Q1
# Mortal Kombat: Armageddon (Midway Games) - Q1
# Rampage Total Destruction (Midway Games) - Q1
# The Ant Bully (Movie License) - (Midway Games) - Q1
# The Grim Adventure of Billy and Mandy (Midway Games) - Q1
# Impossible Mission (System 3) - Q1
# Leaderboard Golf (System 3) - Q1
# Puzzle Balls (System 3) - Q1
# Tennis Masters (System 3) - Q1 2007
# Blazing Angels: Squadrons of WWII (Ubisoft) - Q1

Notice the lack of killer Nintendo francises? Nintendo's giving 3rd parties a chance to fight for our affection. Half those titles have no promise, the other's may do ok without the choking Nintendo competition. Still that lineup is close to crap and were all waiting for the next killer nintendo title.

So Nintendo gives the 3rd parties a chance and nobody buys any wii software. Or Nintendo releases tons of IP's and turns the Wii into another DS and risks losing these 3rd parties.

Nintendo can't win, it needs both to succeed total rule in this console war.

Your thoughts?

[wiistar]

A very interesting post. I kind of agree with what you have said.

I look through that line up and nothing really takes my fancy, maybe Tiger Woods will be pretty good, most EA games are.

Maybe its time for Nintendo to look at what Microsoft are doing with Xbox and giving the user a chance to create thier own games.

I look along the list and just see a list of "remakes" - I think Nintendo should be more supportive of the 3rd parties and encourage them to make classics.

Maybe if Nintendo support 3rd partys to create more games, then Nintendo can concentrate on spending more time producing thier own better quality games and then there could be a good balance of both?

[pinkfluffyhalo]

My question is how many of the above games are Wii only? Are most of them going to be released on all formats? If so then it is an easy way to get a larger number of games on the system. The outside producers will want to make a game for the newest and most in demand console on the market as it should be a good income for them.

In my opinion most casual gamers are most likely to buy a new game either on or soon after they purchase the console. Disney, EA, Sega games etc are still quite often worth a go, parents trust Disney, EA and Sega have a history of enjoyable games, most people have played one of theirs at some point.

It also gives Nintendo a little more breathing room to work on some quality games rather than rushing out a load of rubbish. It also hopefully gives the Wii some longevity and may help sell the second wave of consoles. I didnt buy a Gamecube until Mario Kart Double Dash came out. Perhaps this is part of the plan with Mario Galaxy, and hopefully a new Mario Kart eventually. There is no point putting all your best stuff out first when there is good hype about it. The Wii has pretty much sold itself with only one or two games for the "gamers" out there. Yes initail sales figures are great but the continuing sales are just as important.