Oh Nintendo, Why Do You Confuse Me So?

Nintendo has had to reduce their expected sales figures for the WiiU twice now, from the expected 5.5 million units back in 2012. Now they have only sold 3.5 million units worldwide. Not only that, but the 3DS sales were lower than expected as well. And I think both problems tie into the same paradigm that has haunted Nintendo for a long time: A lack of strong titles at launch. When I use the phrase “strong titles,” I usually refer to games that can sell systems, or games that make you want to buy the system. Nintendoland is a great game, but it isn’t what I want to play for the next month or so when I buy the system. When the PS4 was officially announced, Sony brought out a slew of games that were expected to be available at, or near, the launch date. If even only a fraction of that were available for the WiiU during the holiday season, I bet more units would have been sold at the time and shortly after. Sure, more titles will be released as time goes on, with interesting games that utilize the WiiU’s gamepad and can sell the system, but if the WiiU has to compete with the PS4 and Microsoft’s unannounced next-gen console, Nintendo needs to change their perspective on what they believe will make more money. After having to announce 2 consecutive years of profit loss, I think it’s time for something to change. Nintendo was on the right track with the Nintendo Direct Press Conferences, and then they decided to not have a major press conference at this year’s E3.

The Nintendo Direct Press Conferences is one of the smartest moves that the company has made. While slightly irregular in their releases, the conferences have released more information about games that I am interested in than the past 2 or 3 E3 Press Conferences put together. The fact that they are putting these videos out straight to fans over the internet is a really smart move, letting them continually put out solid content and keep fans interested in both the WiiU and the 3DS. Yet, that doesn’t mean that they can just disregard one of the biggest stages for generating possible revenue. To be fair, Nintendo is still going to have a presence at E3. Instead of having a large, hour and a half conference, as many other major developers do, Nintendo is going to have a smaller conference that is open only to developers and distributors. It seems likely that they would also have at least one Nintendo Direct Conference ready and plenty of demos on the show floor, but that may not be enough, especially with both Sony and Microsoft threatening to make them an afterthought with their new consoles. If Nintendo wants to try and reach the sky-high numbers of sales that the Wii hit, Nintendo Direct Press videos and game demos at E3 aren’t going to be enough.

Satoru Iwata speaking bad English on the internet is not the way to generate more revenue for the WiiU and 3DS

One of the reasons the Wii was so popular was because people who don’t normally play video games bought the system. Every other grandfather, aunt, uncle, principal, and lawyer had a Wii because it was a great game to play with family or with their children. Those people probably don’t habitually watch Nintendo Direct Press Conferences, or check in with gaming sites to see the latest news. It feels like Nintendo is at odds with itself, having decisions that are great and will be good paths for them in one hand, and then decisions that are bad ideas with potentially devastating effects in the other. The WiiU gamepad looks like a great tool for developers, essentially making a larger DS, with players having a personal screen to play around with. But that cannot be the sole reason to buy a console, especially when there are only a few games that utilize the screen well. I can only imagine how a strategy game or puzzle game would really benefit from the Gamepad, with all of the screen space in your hands for puzzles, strategy and interaction, and your TV screen devoted to really good graphics. Yet playing Call of Duty: Black Ops II is frustrating and ridiculous. Since E3 is coming up and we are sure to see a few more Nintendo Direct videos, Nintendo has a chance to really sell the WiiU with new games that a lot of people are hoping for.

Even through all of this Nintendo-Bashing, I want them to succeed. I want to see what they might do next with another Zelda or Donkey Kong title, or even new IPs that haven’t been announced yet. There are plenty of games out there to play and Nintendo has always been able to catch my attention with strong titles like Super Mario 3D land or The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword, and at this point all anyone can do is wait and see what else the company has to pull out of their hat.