Kickstarter Absorbed My Life

Sorry it's been so long since I've written a blog.  You'd be surprised how much work goes into getting your Kickstarter project up and running.

What I wanted to talk about today was Nintendo.  I've been a vocal supporter of them in the past (even when I'm audibly discrediting some of their less than impressive games).  Recently, however, I've been a little off-put by their choices.  These blogs can sometimes be a bit of therapy for me, so allow me to express my dissatisfaction for all to see.

Do Your Homework

First and foremost, as a huge corporation with tons of employees, how is it that not one person looked at what happened with the 3DS and said, hey, you know what, we're kind of going down the same route as before.

Yes, I'm aware that the Wii U's biggest problem currently is its lack of software, but maybe if it wasn't for its poor sales thus far, heavy hitters like the already completed Rayman Legends would have already been released for it.

Here's where Nintendo dropped the ball.  Back when the 3DS hit the market, a huge misstep that they had was in the name.  Many of the more casual gamers had no idea that it was a new system.  It didn't have that same catch that the DS did, and that's because, for a handheld with tons of iterations, the 3DS just sounded like another in a long list of upgrades.  Nobody knew that new games were going to require this newer, better hardware.  Advertising didn't do a good job of conveying that message either.

Now, with the Wii U out - and after hearing them say dozens of times that they learned from their mistakes with the 3DS - they make the same mistakes.  The Wii U sounds like a peripheral you can pop onto your Wii, and the gamepad looks like nothing more than a gimmick.  They have a handful of good games out right now, but most people don't realize what the appeal is.  A game like Nintendoland is as good, if not better than Wii Sports.  It has been the focal point of all of my parties since December.  That is a pretty damn good game.

But for some reason, it doesn't have that same word of mouth as Wii Sports or the Wii.  Work on it, Nintendo!

You Betta Localize!

Seriously guys, what is the deal with the lack of software.  Hell, that's not even the big problem at this point.  What is the freaking problem with the lack of release dates?  We've known about Pikmin 3, Bayonetta, the Wonderful 101, and Game and Wario for months.  Why can't you give us some kind of solid information on them?

Game and Wario was already released in Japan, but we haven't even heard an inkling of news for a NA or EU release date yet.  Smooth Moves was one of the Wii's earliest party games - and that's what you're trying to sell here Nintendo.  The Wii U is not going to be the next big online system right out of the gate, but you can stick to what you do best.

Assymetric Gaming

Unfortunately, what makes Nintendo fun for the whole family has been restricted to just a few games since the launch window.  Nintendoland is fucking bananas.  It's one of the best multiplayer games you can play that's out there right now.  Especially for local gaming.

The Wii was strengthened by games like Rayman: Raving Rabbids and Wii Play.  The Wii U doesn't have a Wii Play equivalent yet, and its Rayman game is not multiplayer friendly.  It was like Ubisoft was just trying to churn out a Rabbids game to say they did.



Phew... with that out of the way, I feel like there's still some good things to say about the Wii U.

Who cares about the lack of true Unreal Engine support?  Who cares about no Frostbite Engine?  If that kind of stuff is that important to you, consider that the graphics argument that you keep making is made completely obsolete by the fact that most of the multiplatform games end up on the PC these days, and the quality is even better there.

If you're buying console games for their graphics, you're doing it wrong.

As long as Nintendo manages to keep a steady stream of titles over the next four or five years, the Wii U is going to pick up steam, and perform well.  It's asinine to think it could perform as well as its most immediate predecessor, but as long as it pushes out 50-70k units, I think we can call that a success.