I have been very disappointed by the DS games, most DS games were terrible aside for the ones that were already really mainstream, so there was probably hundreds of games that had bad graphics, or bad stories, or something wrong with them. It's getting better with the 3DS because games that haven't been with Nintendo are coming over like Monster Hunter and Persona, but it's still there. Other than that, the price doesn't fly with me. If it's one of those non mainstream games, the price will drop, but if it's a game you actually want, forget about it, the price will stay the same for 5 or more years. Just look at Pokemon HeartGold, its still $50 used after all these years and even Diamond, from nearly 10 years ago is still like 28 used.

I think it might be a brand recognition thing. When you think of Nintendo, most people probably think of Mario. When you think of Playstation, most people would have very different answers. They might be running low on ideas, but if they can slap a beloved franchise's name on a new game, people will always buy it.

   Like the new Metroid Prime: Federation Force. The game isn't even out yet, and there is already an online petition to cancel it, and make a "True" Metroid game. However, even if they do release it, I'm pretty sure Metroid fans are still going to buy it... Because it says Metroid on the box.

   Plus, Nintendo likes to pander to family friendly forms of entertainment, so having mascots that are easily recognizable is much better for their business. Mario is more well known than, let's say, Nathan Drake from the Uncharted series.

   They might also be a little more reserved than usual, seeing as how the Wii U isn't doing that great in sales.

   I've been playing Nintendo games forever, so I wish them well.

I completely disagree with your statement. I happen to think Nintendo's still putting out some of the best modern games you'll find, and a lot of them are from those franchises that supposedly have "come and gone". Nintendo's still making amazing games, they just need to make better systems and do a much better job with advertising.

Nintendo is one of the best system ever.

   I've been wondering. Maybe Nintendo should team up with 3rd party companies in order to have much more and maybe better games. Like Rare with Donkey Kong, Banjo Kazzoie, and Goldeneye 007. 
   Even if they might be gone from the market, maybe Nintendo should be owned by Sony. Sony teamed up with Nintendo once, to make a CD-Rom console, but it failed and it could be seen as a good console. They would make great games as well! However let's just hope that Nintendo isn't owned by just a obscure company, a failing company, or any worst team ups.

I love Nintendo consoles. I don't like how pricey it gets, and sometimes you need different controllers but, I think Nintendo has greatly improved.
I love the fact that their latest console, WiiU, allows you to play games for just about all Nintendo consoles ever released. Some of these games cost as little as $4.99 and are downloaded immediately. Not only that, they added a restore feature to save your game and come back to it later which as it turns out comes in extremely handy keeping in mind a lot of these old games had a higher difficulty level than modern ones. It also preserves the graphics and I like that. But, I do believe $150 for their gamepad controller is too much considering you can't play it without being away from the sensor bar or take it with you like a Gameboy- I mean for that price why not? 

Nintendo has its areas where there's plenty of room for improvement but, for what they focus on they're doing just what they want and they have kept their commitment with most of their famous games throughout their consoles. I really like that. I like knowing that Mario isn't going anywhere soon and geez they come up with so much it's crazy. I love Nintendo but, I have to have an Xbox or PlayStation as well to navigate the website, Twitch and other features Nintendo does not explore.

I've been meaning to reply to this for days now, and I'm just now getting around to it, probably because I fully expect this reply to take me fifteen or more minutes and total three hundred words. lol


Nintendo certainly has some serious issues going on right now that I'm hoping get worked out soon. Firstly: the controller.

Answer me this: when you release TWO systems in a row and find yourself deciding to make controllers from an older system (GameCube) work with some games because you know many gamers want that controller more than the default one, how does this not throw up a red flag in your mind? I mean, if they're wanting this badly enough to buy special adapters OR a new version of a controller that looks and handles like the older one, does that not tell you that your new controllers aren't as satisfactory and amazing as you insist on thinking they are?

Now I'll grant you, many people like the new controllers, but there should NEVER be a need at all for more than one kind of controller, and when we have to debate over which controller is best used, it's because one of them just isn't cutting it (hint: in this case it'll always be the new one).

But does Nintendo listen? Nope. They continue to blame the consumer consistently and without fail. Instead of "We get it: you miss our classic and conventional controllers" we hear things like "We did nothing wrong with that controller. It's your fault for not understanding how great it is", and that is a paraphrased quote. Yes, that's actually the response they gave us: that we just didn't understand. Why not consider that maybe the customer is right, Nintendo? I love you to pieces, but you lack business sense sometimes.



The next problem: They seem to have too much confidence in their decisions, and not enough in their abilities. Nintendo can more than make it on their game designing abilities alone, they don't need new ways to play in order to stay relevant. Either they're not trusting their abilities, or they're targeting someone besides gamers...the latter of the two being just plain dumb. GAMERS buy game systems. Target them. PlayStation and Xbox do, and look how well they do compared to your "innovative" concepts.

And I'm not even arguing that the tablet controller stuff isn't the way of future gaming, or that it's a bad idea. Rather I'm saying that gamers in general don't want it right now. Maybe it's a little too far in the future. Things that are ahead of their time die because we aren't ready to embrace them yet. Know your audience.

At least the next system rumors make it sound like they've finally listened to us after ten years, if said rumors are true. But that controller stuff persists.


And back on the controllers (did I ever leave that part?) : I think in an interview with Fortune(?), Miyamoto said it best when he said he thought that it was a shame that the Wii U and it's gamepad never caught on, because he felt that it was a "novelty". He's right, it WAS a novelty, but what he's missing is, novelty wears off fast.

Think about it: you buy an item from a novelty shop and pay extra because it's themed (a special coffee cup, maybe. Or a special toy) but after a few weeks, it becomes just another cup, toy, shirt, etc. Buy a kid a Jake and the Neverland pirates pirate doll and they'll live it more than their other pirate dolls...for a few weeks. After that they toss it into the mix and play with them all the same (some kids are an exception). And much the same with novelty gamepads: the novelty makes it amazing for all of a few months, and then it's just another controller. I bought a PS4 and it was the most amazing thing ever, just because it was a PS4 and new. That wore off after my PS Vita purchase. I still love my PS4, but now I love it because of the fun games, and not because it's a PS4. Now the name PS4 makes it no more special than the names PS2 or GameCube make my other systems. So basically what I'm saying is, novelty won't sell a game system, and it won't make the system great. If the Wii U is great, it's great because of it's games, and if it's bad, it's bad because of it's games. Isn't this whole novelty selling idea in direct contradiction of Nintendo's "games sell consoles" philosophy?

I'm moving on from the controller now.


Next up, and the real issue: self sufficiency. Nintendo got a big head after the NES and SNES, and became high on pride and a feeling self sufficiency. Suddenly they didn't need third party support, nor did they need power or accessibility -all of which factored heavily into the success of their popular systems. No, now all they needed was Mario and their other amazing games that were the best in the industry, and people would come running and throwing their money at them.

This failed to prove true for two generations and Nintendo panicked and tried to compensate with "innovation!". This fad helped patch a sinking ship, and deceived them yet again. Now the Wii U has hopefully taught them a lesson: no man is an island unto himself. Nintendo is amazing, but they cannot carry their own systems with solely games made by them, no matter how great they are, or how good or unique the systems. They need more games because, as they say, Games sell consoles. Games, not gimmicks. Games, not innovation. Games, not a company name. Games.

Now as I said, it sounds like they've learned this, and while they refuse to ditch the idea that they need new and creative ways of doing things, they at least seem to be considering third party support and returning to their roots in that area. If they can do that successfully, they will again stand a chance at leading the market. And rightly so, because they're good game makers.


So yeah, Nintendo has a lot of issues, with arrogance and multiple controllers being their main ones. Still, they have good games and I hope they can turn it around soon. If not and their system business tanks, hopefully they bring their titles to other systems, because I don't want a game world that has no Nintendo games.

Also this took a half hour, not fifteen minutes. xD And 1,100+ words? Oh gosh, I talk too much.

Eirinn : You sure did put a lot of thought into this reply. And yes I agree with everything you stated. And honestly, its not just the games that I have issues with, its the consoles. For example, I remember a time when the most complicated controller that Nintendo had was the GameCube controller, now we got a controller tablet hybrid. Its unnecessary. And the other games that I've mentioned are just...lame. But otherwise, yes, your statement I agree with the most here.

Nintendo's game quality hasn't really changed. You have to remember that a lot of their games are targetted towards children, so while we grow up, the games... don't. The difficulty doesn't change. The mechanics don't change, and after playing through them several times, we have everything memorized. But hand the controller to a seven year old, and depending on his skills, he may be just as stumped as we were. 

I love Nintendo. I grew up on them. My first console was a Gamecube (though I was born when the N64 was still popular). My first real Nintendo game was the Zelda collection. We played Zelda games until we were sick of losing because they were so difficult for us. Pokemon is my favorite franchise from them, with TLoZ being next. But, I think their formulas are always the same, and while I agree because they're known for said formulas, why should they change them, but there needs to be change. 

They need to bring back series (*coughF-Zero because I'm totally not biasedcough*), and all the remakes they make are just easy money grabs because everyone will eat up their childhood nostalgic game made in modern graphics (guilty as charged with Majora's Mask). We're in an era of remakes anyway. Everywhere you turn everyone is remaking games and movies. Really, I'd say it's not a lack of talent or ideas, but more of people are afraid to deviate from the norm. People got rich from a certain method; why change the method? Why fix what ain't broke? 

But Nintendo's failure really comes from lack of advertising. I know from a lot of articles I read and people I follow on Facebook and stuff that Nintendo is wanting to go digital and they're most definitely neglecting their advertising. It's so rare for me to see Nintendo commercials that when I do see them, I get so excited and nostalgic that I scream in excitement. 

And with how popular Mario and Zelda and Pokemon are, can you blame them for not wanting to deterring to creating new things but instead rehash and ship out a new Mario world or Pokemon game? People are afraid to change because the general public fears change. Think about how many people hate the new Pokemon. And the games that did try and deviate (Mario Sunshine, Luigi's Mansion) were met with a lot of hostility (seriously. I love Luigi's Mansion, but a lot of people didn't like it for it's time for whatever reason).

I think the whole industry is all messed up honestly and it isn't just Nintendo. Think about how quickly they remade The Last of Us as an excuse to port it to the new consoles and have everyone eat it up. That game wasn't even that old and was still relatively fresh. Gears of War remakes. Halo remakes (though the first two kinda can get away with that). And rehashing the same things over and over, the same methods, the same formulas... everything is a mess. 

Sorry for going on this rant omg. I didn't mean for it to get this long.
But tl;dr: Nintendo is good, yes, but they're making mistakes everyone else is making aside from advertising and need to get themselves together on that part gosh. 

Nintendo does need to get their heads back into the game because they have been falling behind in the race with Sony and Microsoft, with Nintendo announcing the NX for the first console of the 9th video gaming generation, you can bet that Sony will announce the PlayStation 5 and Microsoft will announced the Xbox 629 (or whatever random number MS will call it), and if they release those with much better graphics than the PS4 and XBone, then that spells trouble for the NX.

I know that Nintendo wants to keep the graphics a little cartoony, because their games are more focused to 6-12 year olds, but little do they know that most of their customers are in their adult teens (18 & 19) and 20's, and most of their profits mostly come from the Pokemon games, Super Smash Bros, and Splatoon, not a whole lot with the Mario games like in the past.

Another thing hurting Nintendo is their advertisements, I have watched TV quite a bit, and I rarely see any Nintendo commercials outside of channels like Cartoon Network, Nickelodeon, Disney, and channels like that. I feel like if they branch out onto other channels, then yeah, you'll get a lot more sales, but another thing could be that those channels doesn't want kiddy commercials and that is really bad. Not all Nintendo games are "kiddy", advertise all you "T"/"PG-13"/"13+" rated and "M"/"R"/"18+" rated games that are exclusively for your console like Xenoblade Chronicles X and you'll get customers to see your other games and sees that they are more interesting.

Another thing as preventing 3rd-party games to be played. Sure, I understand that Nintendo seen that the causes of the Great Crash of 1983 and the Video Game Great Depression of 1983-1985 was caused by so many 3rd party games and hacks. I feel like if Nintendo just support a little bit more on 3rd-Party games and kept up with the other consoles, I would feel like they would make a whole lot more money that will help them on their way.

These are my 2 cents on why Nintendo needs to improve because if they don't, the NX will be their last console and they won't be a Nintendo console in the 10th video gaming generation.

I think Nintendo are relying a bit too much on franchises that they've relied on for many, many years now and is in need of some new IPs, such as Splatoon.
Nintendo being a 3rd place developer isn't anything new. For the past 15 years, they always have been that. But they just need something to captivate the public, without being as alien as the Wii U was.

I have to disagree with this. I thoroughly enjoyed Super Mario Maker, and have heard nothing but great things from Yoshi's Wooly World.

Nintendo's 3DS library, while launching with a laughably poor library, has taken off with really good games down the stretch.

The last time Nintendo had a "powerful" console was, technically, the GC (since the PlayStation 2 was statistically the weakest console in the field by quite a bit), and if you don't count that, the SNES. They have never put most of their focus on the consoles; they've put it on the games. And I feel they should continue to do that. They've always been a step behind on graphics since the N64, so that isn't really news to people.

My one real gripe that I would want them to fix (and this would REALLY help their sales) is to not be so freaking conservative with their starting library. The Gamecube's launch had Super Smash Bros Melee as a launch title, a game that is now considered one of the greatest Gamecube games. The SNES launch had Super Mario World as a launch title, a quintessential classic. This generation of consoles, however, had arguably the worst launch libraries I'd ever seen overall, and that was a massive shock.

As far as their actual games go, though, I don't believe they should change much about them. Nintendo's claim to fame has never been making completely unique games or completely turning a genre on its head. They've always been about the subtle changes between games, keeping the gameplay stable and similar to its predecessors and just continuing to perfect the tried and true formula. People will continue to stay interested if they do this much.

People complain about Nintendo because they want their games to be the same generic First person type game like everyone else is making. With long movie type cutscenes and all of that.

Nintendo has never been about that. And they never will be. So if that's what you are looking for, you probably just need to find a new system to talk about.

Most people that complain about Nintendo are usually only discounting a game because they think it's for "kids" or rating down the graphics/art style in their games, which is usually invalid since they are producing a totally different type of game/experience.

Nintendo has always prided themselves on being different and are always trying new ideas and changing Ideas with old franchises. Their consoles aren't made "powerful" because they try to keep them cheaper for the average gamer. They have done that for years now and it seems to work well for them for the most part. Easier to talk a parent into spending 250 on a console than 400$

The main argument I've always made that is their one biggest fault is that they don't release enough of their BIG Franchise games early enough in a systems lifespan. For example with the Wii-U. No new Zelda out yet, no Metroid, and the big Mario game just came out recently...and the Wii U has been out for a couple years now. What took so long? If they released these big IP's like Pokemon closer to the systems launch, we would all be much happier.


zanderlex : I'm surprised by your general statements regarding the games on the DS. How can you just mark a system down because developers made a ton of games on a popular platform? It's not Nintendo's fault that a lot of different developers wanted to make a game on their platform. Also the prices that these games go for used, has to do with the company re-selling it and the games popularity itself, not Nintendo. If anything most developers would probably prefer their games not be re-sold.

Jordanv78 : Nintendo just didn't have success with most of its Indie games. You have the mainstream games still going for 30-40 yet some of the unheard ones are being sold for $2 or less at GameStops. It's not their fault, but people just don't play a majority of the games that were released for it.

ZeegSerpentine : I agree. I haven't bought an Nintendo game for quite a long time. Especially Mario. They aren't bad, just, for me, not interesting. I will always buy their new Metroid games, I mean, there hasn't been once announced since Other M (no, no, there is not a new one coming out, no, shut up, Nintendo did not announce once at E3) and I love Metroid. I like Zelda as well, A Link Between Worlds was excellent, but even then, I still haven't beaten it. Which just shows how easily I get disinterested int their games (except Metroid, seriously, I love) what they do, they do well, but nothing is new. I haven't played Splatoon, but it looks like a step in the right direction. That's about my two cents.

zanderlex : Well considering most indie games aren't released on cartridge, I'm confused on where you are coming from. Especially since NDS was one of the most successful consoles of all time.

I think in most instances, the games that sell the best for each console are backed by the biggest game publishers/developers.

The titles you've listed aren't exactly "running out of ideas", they're more or less things we expected them to make years ago when their styles/concepts were popular.

Nintendo is falling deeply on quality and it can mostly be blamed on the success and massive focus on the amiibo. The amiibo is making tons of money, and Nintendo is saturating their market with games that serve no purpose other than buying more amiibos. For example, in Mario Party 10, the classic mode of Mario Party (the one where you do not play in a car with the other players) cannot be played without at least 2 amiibos, one for each player. Another example would be the mere existence of a game like Animal Crossing: Amiibo Party. The only reason we have those games out in the wild is because it makes Nintendo lots of money, something they've been losing since the release of the Wii U. Through this, they've abandoned the core players yet again, and even abandoned some of their casual audience, in favor of people that buy games just for the 15 dollar physical DLC they get to start collecting.

Something big to notice from these games is their Metacritic score, with Mario Party 10 having a score of 66 and Amiibo Festival having a horrifying score of 43. This heavily contributes to the fact that 2015 has not only been the second lowest amount of releases from Nintendo in over 10 years, but it's also been their lowest scoring year in over 10 years. You also have games like Devil's Third, Mario Tennis: Ultra Smash, and Chibi Robo: Zip Lash that have some of Nintendo's worst reception in their history.

On the other hand, 4 titles came out this year that wowed audiences and got Nintendo accolades they've never seen before. Who could have imagined that Splatoon would exist, much less be one of the greatest, most innovative shooters of 2015? Who would have known that Super Mario Maker would be this much of a hit, and grab a nomination for Game of the Year at The Game Awards? How could the Zelda equation be complete without Majora's Mask on a handheld, and even ending up being better than the original game, which was already considered a masterpiece? And finally, the idea that a Nintendo first party studio could make a mature, expansive, and masterful RPG such as Xenoblade Chronicles X is just unbelievable and completely remarkable to see. They've hit some high notes in 2015, but when you think about the amount of games they've had that failed or simply came off as a cash grab, you'd realize the latter outweighs the former by an unusually massive margin.

At E3 2015, Nintendo stated that they envisioned their announcements as "A presentation of transformation" as they announce additions to franchises that deviate from their normal formula, and in cases like Super Mario Maker and Animal Crossing: Happy Home Designer, it worked flawlessly, but in numerous cases like Chibi Robo: Zip Lash, Animal Crossing: Amiibo Festival, and the upcoming Metroid Prime: Federation Force, the reception by critics and fans alike has been absolutely abysmal.

The passing of Nintendo CEO Satoru Iwata is also a massive blow to the company, as his leadership brought the DS and Wii to being two of the most successful consoles ever made, but also his decisions were known to abandon the core audience in favor of the larger, casual audience. We do not know yet how his death will affect their performance in the future, as little is known or seen about their new CEO.

Finally, Nintendo consoles have been moving pretty badly in sales this year compared to others, even with a hardware revision like the New 3DS XL, their sales have dropped dramatically and even the PlayStation Vita, a console that Sony dropped support for, still has more units sold more than the Wii U. The 3DS, moving tens of millions of systems per year, has only sold 5 million units this year. With Wii U sales of 3 million this year compared to the PS4's 13 million and the Xbox One's 6 million, Nintendo remains in third place in the industry, not even seen as competition by either of the other companies. I mean, the Wii U has done better this year than in other years, but that truly isn't saying much. (Stats source: VGchartz)

Has Nintendo any hope of recovering from such a nasty and desecrating year? We have no way of knowing until the summer, with only a handful of announced games, we just don't have any idea of what's ahead for them. (I can't wait for Star Fox Zero, Zelda U and Twilight Princess HD, though!) When they finally reveal the Nintendo NX at E3 2016, and it's library of launch titles, our questions will be answered. All we can do is cross our fingers that their new CEO can straighten out their mess and find a way to bridge the gap between their lost players and the millions who ended up losing faith in them.