Just a small note: though this blog is primarily concerned with matters of my family and things of a Christian nature, it must be said that I am myself an avid video gamer. So occasionally a game-related post will pop up. A future blog, for example, will deal with how Christians should use and view video games in the culture in which we live.
Anyway, to celebrate a year with the first next-gen system, I'd like to make some notes on what Nintendo has done in this last year for their new system, what they haven't done, and what I think they should do.
What they have done
Expanded functionality
Nintendo has done a fine job expanding their functionality. When the Wii U first launched, their were a few apps not yet available. Some were available on other systems, like Hulu Plus and Amazon instant video. But there was one service that was exclusive to Wii U: Nintendo TVii. This was Nintendo's quite successful attempt at making TV interactive. From giving you a digital TV guide to acting as a functional TV remote, it is quite useful. But it's real strength comes in the form of tv tag. For more popular shows, using Nintendo TVii shows a timeline on the Gamepad, giving you snapshots of what's going on. I watched a show I'd never seen before, but after two minutes of looking at the timeline, had a decent idea of the characters and plot. In addition, tv tag allows for people to comment, and offers polls that people all over the country can take part in. In a sense you watch TV in a community.
Expanded beyond Wii U
It's easy for a company, especially Nintendo, to make their system the sole access point to its services. But the world is changing. Nintendo has changed as well.
One of the greatest features on the Wii U is Miiverse, something of a social network specifically for gamers. Miiverse, at first, was limited entirely to the Wii U. Unless you had a Wii U, you could not make an account. Unless you were on your Wii U, you could not view Miiverse.
Thankfully, in early 2013, Nintendo created a way to view Miiverse on the PC, or even on your smartphone. They have also promised to makes dedicated Miiverse apps for Android and iOS. Next month, they will also release a 3DS version of Miiverse. You still need a Nintendo system to join Miiverse though, which is just as well.
Games
If you follow video games at all, this one might be a surprise for you. Yet for all the hate Nintendo gets, there is a nice supply of games available today for the Wii U.
Even excluding launch titles, there are still games like:
Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate
LEGO City Undercover
Game & Wario
Pikmin 3
The Wonderful 101
Sonic Lost World
The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker HD
Mario and Sonic at the Olympic Winter Games Sochi 2014
Scribblenauts Unmasked
Wii Party U
Wii Sports Club
Wii Fit U
That's not including any of the great digital offerings on the eShop. It's not including any future games, like Super Mario 3D World (which comes out Friday). It's not including any third-party offerings. Just looking at exclusive retail games that came out after the system launched, it's still a nice looking list of games available today.
Alternative Pricing
Apple changed gaming. There was once a time when you had two options: console or handheld. You paid around $50-60 for a console game, and $35-45 for a handheld game.
Then Apple came in. The App Store was filled with games that were free, or 99¢. Now, even the heavy hitters on iOS or Android only cost about $7. Some of them even connect to Apple TV, allowing for a Semi-Wii U experience with games for a fraction of the cost! Now, are these games anywhere close to the level of depth or overall value? Certainly not. But it turns out hat most people don't care. People are increasingly 24/7 and any games they play must be short and cheap. That has affected the entire industry, not just handhelds.
Thankfully Nintendo has begun to vary its pricing structures somewhat. For example, Wii Fit U will be released in a number of bundle forms. But right now Nintendo is offering a month-long trial of the game on the eShop. However, if you go to Toys R Us and buy a Fit Meter, an activity meter you can wear all day and syncs with Wii Fit U, then the trial counter disappears. In other words, buying a $20 meter gets you the full game for free.
I climbed an ostrich!
What they haven't done
Games
Say what? What about that list of great games?
Unfortunately, while that nice list of games proves that there are great experiences to be had exclusively on Wii U, it was also an exhaustive list. The number of good exclusives has been, unfortunately, small.
Lack of ambition
Now I'd love to be wrong about this. If everyone else were jerks and idiots and Nintendo has been doing the best it can to secure deals, then that's fine. But I don't think it's the case.
Simply put, Wii U games are gimped. Whether it's missing downloadable content, like Assassin's Creed IV (but not III) or Call of Duty, missing modes, like Splinter Cell: Blacklist or Batman Arkham Origins, or just plain missing games (like every single sports game EA made this year), the Wii U, outside of exclusives, provides little to provoke a purchase.
Take Need for Speed Rivals, for instance. It's coming to Xbox 360, PS3, and PC. It's also coming to PS4 and Xbox One. But it's not coming to Wii U. Why? Because of poor sales of the previous game, Need for Speed Most Wanted U.
Let's think about this for a moment.
The Wii U version of the game came out almost half a year after the PS3 and 360 versions. It debuted on hardware not even half a year old at the time, with therefore only a few million people who could buy it. Most importantly, by the time that Most Wanted U came out, the other versions had already dropped in price to $30, while Most Wanted U cost the full $60! Did the Wii U version look better? Yes, because the developers could take advantage of the more powerful hardware. Did the Wii U version have new features? Yes, due to the GamePad. Is that worth paying double the price? For most people, no. Should it really shock the developers that releasing a game late with a few new features at double the price of the other versions would actually sell well? No. But apparently it did. So they aren't bringing Rivals to Wii U.
And it seems that Nintendo didn't do a thing to stop it.
On the consumer side, we can't see much. But from what it looks like, it looks as though everyone slapped Nintendo in the face, and Nintendo just took it. Don't try to get Multiplayer in Arkaham Origins. Don't try to get Madden 25 on Wii U. Just sit there and talk about Mario.
There's just no ambition there.
Marketing
Oh boy. Marketing. I'm not going to spend too much time on this. The horse is just about dead.
But even now, a year later, there are still those who think that the Wii U is a $300 screen to use with their current Wii console. When people aren't even sure that you have a new console after a year, you have a marketing problem. Adding to the problem is their decision to release the Wii Mini, a horrible, incredibly stripped-down version of the Original Wii for only $30 cheaper.
Now, I don't have TV, so I don't know this experientially, but from what I've heard, it seems that Nintendo is marketing a lot, but on kids channels. 10 years ago, that would have worked. Not anymore.
10 years ago, violent games were played primarily by adults and teenagers. Unfortunately, it is no longer uncommon to see seven-to-eight year-olds playing Call of Duty. 10 years ago, Super Mario 3D World would have been much more attractive to kids than Ryse: Son of Rome. Unfortunately this is not the case. To focus your advertising on a group of people increasingly disinterested with the games you make and not advertising much elsewhere is bad marketing.
It should be on local channels. It should be on iTunes Radio. It should be in magazines and newspapers. Nintendo needs something like 2007's "Wii would like to play" campaign, where commercials showed creepy Japanese businessmen knocking on peoples' doors.
Ruined the company
Unlike the doom and gloom of many, I don't believe that Nintendo has dug a pit they can't get out of. It will take work, but I honestly think they can manage. They certainly did so with the 3DS.
What they should do
Keep the price (for a while)
People are very quick to tell Nintendo to drop the price. I say not yet. I think next holiday will have a different picture. I don't expect Sony or Microsoft to drop prices anytime soon (especially Sony). I don't expect the 360 or PS3 to be of great demand when their successors have been on the market for a year. I don't think developers will keep developing for the old systems too long (they say they will, but they always seem to say that, like Nintendo's "Three pillars" of GameCube, Game boy Advance, and Nintendo DS). So let's look at the market as of last week (due to limited availability, I'm disregarding the new consoles for the time being):
Xbox 360 - $180
PS3 - $200
Wii U - $300
The Wii U doesn't seem very appealing.
But next year?
Xbox One - $500
PS4 - $400
Wii U - $300
Now it sounds much better, and Nintendo doesn't lose any more money per Wii U.
After that, maybe drop the price $50. At that point, the technology might be cheap enough to allow the drop.
More games
This is the obvious solution, and one that Nintendo is working on. Next year we'll have Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze. We'll have Mario Kart 8. We'll have Super Smash Bros. We'll have Bayonetta 2. We'll have Monolith Soft's "X". And that's just what's been announced. Things are looking pretty good so far for the Wii U, exclusives-wise. Nintendo just needs to put the gas on and show more titles to regain the faith of an industry disillusioned by a long drought.
Utilize smartphones
Gaming is taking an interesting turn. In most instances, it seems, Nintendo takes the lead in innovation. This time, it is Microsoft (albeit spurred on by Nintendo). Microsof's response to the Wii U launched last year in the form of Xbox Smartglass, an Android and iOS app that connects to your Xbox 360 (and soon Xbox One) and allows some interesting features. That has been followed up by "companion apps" such as those for Call of Duty: Ghost, and Grand Theft Auto V. What these do is essentially allow you to take aspects of your game to your phone. Got a spare minute at work? Take out your phone and train your dog in GTA5. When you come home, that progress is reflected in your game. It is truly the future.
Fortunately, Nintendo has made it known that they have great interest in this. As mentioned earlier, it is already possible to view and post on Miiverse from your iPhone. Ubisoft has declared that the Watch Dogs companion app will indeed work with the Wii U. In fact, Nintendo has just recently purchased a large stake in a mobile content company named Dwango.
So what can Nintendo do going forward?
First, they need to release the standalone Miiverse app for smartphones. Some people (including myself) don't have a web browser on their phone for whatever reason, and therefore cannot use Miiverse on my phone. The app they promised would alleviate this. Personally I'm hoping for a dual release next month, giving us Miiverse on iOS/Android, and Miiverse for 3DS.
Also, they need to take advantage of this concept. In an ever-mobile world, I want to take my home console games and experience them in some fashion on the go. Of course, they don't need to use smartphones (although they should). Unlike Microsoft, Nintendo has the great advantage of having a handheld console, the Nintendo 3DS. That brings me to my next point.
Greater Wii U/3DS connectivity
Connectivity between home and handheld has always been in Nintendo's eye. From the time of Pokemon Stadium for the N64, to Zelda: Four Swords Adventures for GameCube, to Pokemon Battle Revolution for the Wii, these two systems are in a symbiotic relationship.
We see this happening already; it just has to happen more.
In Super Smash Bros. for Wii U and 3DS, customized stats of some sort will be able to be transferred between platforms. In Sonic Lost World for 3DS, you can create devices that can be transferred to the Wii U version, allowing for a second player to control the device made on the 3DS. In fact, Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate is essentially the same game, and you can transfer your save data from one system to the other! That means you can play on the Wii U, transfer it to 3DS, then play the same game outside the house!
While this is great, Nintendo needs to play catch-up. Sony has been doing this (called "Cross-Play") with a number of its games since last year between PS3 and PS Vita.
The Wii U could also benefit from the 3DS in other ways. You Streetpass with somebody at the subway (or at Subway)? Maybe that person's Mii can come into a Wii U game. Perhaps Play Coins can be transferred into a Wii U game's currency.
Collaborate with Sony and Microsoft
We're told that Nintendo needs to jump ship. Put Mario and Link on PS4. Let's have Metroid on Xbox. Nintendo would never do this, and Nintendo should never do this. We need only look at SEGA, a shell of their former self after becoming a third-party developer. They no longer do what Nintendon't.
But ever since the Wii, Nintendo has changed its self-perception. Nintendo is no longer fighting against Sony and Microsoft. They do their own thing, and honestly, they do it rather well. Even Sony's president, Shuhei Yoshida, admitted that he doesn't see Nintendo as an enemy. In fact, he owns two Wii U's (one American, one Japanese) to play games with his daughter.
So if Nintendo doesn't see itself as in the race, and the other hardware makers doesn't see Nintendo as in the race, then why not act as though they aren't in the race?
Remember the Wii? Very, very few gamers had only a Wii. People thought of the Wii as a secondary system to PS3 or 360. Why can't the Wii U be the same?
Consider the following idea for a commercial/YouTube short:
A man walks into a room, and turns on his Xbox One (obviously by saying “Xbox On”)
He goes on Skype via his Xbox, and invites a bunch of his buddies over.
He sits down, controller in hand, and starts playing Forza.
Soon, one of his friends shows up. After saying hello, the second man grabs a Wii U GamePad, and starts playing Wind Waker HD.
After a few shots of both people enjoying console videogames (one on TV and one on the GamePad), the door rings, and the other three guests arrive.
The man playing Xbox pauses, and the man playing Wii U uses the GamePad as a TV remote to change the input to the Wii U.
They boot up NintendoLand, and all five people have a blast playing together.
Perhaps at the end, while everyone is partying, the Xbox player gets a notification about another game via Smartglass (just to throw some more Xbox functionality in there)
Year Two
This next year will prove incredibly important for Nintendo’s fledgling console. All the pieces are here: The game lineup looks good; they are taking steps in the right direction to unify accounts between the Wii U and the 3DS; There will soon be no more “looming” consoles; and Nintendo will have (hopefully) learned much from this year, filled with great accomplishments and great failures. I hope to look at this, one year from now, on November 18, 2014, and see that our fears and our assumptions about “the death of Nintendo” were absurd. I hope to own a successful console, instead of a console filled with questions and promise.
I suppose we’ll see.
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