Topic: Would JRPGs Help Save the Wii U?

[Kytim89]

With the Wii U struggling and the reveal of Monolith Soft's X, arguably the only game that has anyone interested in a Wii U. At the tail end of the Wii's life cycle it got three quality JRPGs with Operation Rainfall. It pretty much has Monster Hunter and Dragon Quest as exclusives. Would an influx of JRPGs help save the Wii U?

[Adrock]

No. JRPGs in 2014 aren't saving anything. They might spike sales in Japan, but that's it.

Also, X is hardly "the only game that has anyone interested in a Wii U." Mario Kart 8 and Super Smash Bros. are far bigger and more important titles this year. Let's not pretend X is anything more than a nice title for a niche audience.

[Oblivion]

Ehhhh, I'd disagree. I'm all Mario Kart'd out for the rest of my life. Smash Bros. I completely agree though.

[broodwars]

JRPGs haven't been the savior of any console since the PS1 days, arguably the PS2 at the latest, so no...they would never be the savior of the Wii U.  Japan in general receding in relevance over the last console generation certainly doesn't help matters, either.

At this point, the only thing that can save the Wii U is Nintendo themselves, and that means investing money into more studios and more international studios specializing in more than just platformers and party games.  Nintendo's only real shot at this point is doing the kind of hard, expensive work that Sony had to do in the early PS3 years to build-up their 1st party lineup, as detailed in that "other" thread.  Sure, that means JRPGs, but it also means Western RPGs; First Person Shooters; Adventure games; etc.  It also means building new console franchises, something Nintendo has a very sketchy track record of over the past few decades.

It's hard; expensive; and it means catering to tastes outside Japan, all reasons why Nintendo will never do it. However, it's what Nintendo needs to do to make the Wii U a success, because they sure as **** aren't going to get 3rd party support after the disaster that was the Wii U's first year on the market and after how well the Xbone & PS4 have sold.

[Mannypon]

No, but since Nintendo was in the mood to bring Beyonetta 2 to the WiiU, I wish they would just go ahead and fund the development of Suikoden 6 and Skies of Arcadia 2.  Let the WiiU become the system of cult followers lol. 

[Kytim89]

Perhaps a sequel to Pandora's Tower, Last Story, Radiant Historia, and remakes for Chrono Trigger and Final Fantasy 6 (Bravely Default developer).

[broodwars]

Perhaps a sequel to Pandora's Tower, Last Story, Radiant Historia, and remakes for Chrono Trigger and Final Fantasy 6 (Bravely Default developer).

Sorry, but Nintendo's found a better use for the developers of Pandora's Tower: delivering year-late Fitness shovelware, which I'm sure you understand is their True Calling.

And don't start wishing for anything console-related from Square-Enix, because you won't get it. They're too busy diving into the iOS market like Scrooge McDuck and his Money Bin.

[Adrock]

I'd argue that Wii U doesn't need saving though it depends on what you mean by "save." Nintendo won't overtake PS4/One when all is said and done if that's what is being discussed here. It's too late for that. They squandered their year head start. There's nothing they can release now that will turn the tides significantly in their favor. If Nintendo were to miraculously get third party support like tomorrow, how long would it take for those games to come out? And it's not like third parties would suddenly also stop releasing PS4/One games in that time.

However, I think Wii U will ultimately be fine. Nintendo will release the usual suspects and the console will be profitable which Nintendo can live with even if every company aspires for more than the bare minimum. It's like being a lower seeded team. They're not terrible enough to sell the team, but they're (most likely) not good enough for a championship.

The only thing an influx of JRPGs would do is appease a small part of the market. That's nice and everything, but it won't make a huge difference in the end.

[broodwars]

However, I think Wii U will ultimately be fine. Nintendo will release the usual suspects and the console will be profitable which Nintendo can live with even if every company aspires for more than the bare minimum. It's like being a lower seeded team. They're not terrible enough to sell the team, but they're (most likely) not good enough for a championship.

Alright, let's continue that analogy (especially since I currently AM a fan of a lower-seeded team right now)  : : When you're a fan of a lower-seeded team, you have certain expectations. You acknowledge that your team is most likely going to lose the vast majority of their games, but in exchange for that sacrifice your head office is also building for the future. They're freeing up bad contracts for cap room to recruit upcoming big free agents; they're giving the younger raw talent valuable experience; and they have a clear plan for building a stronger future.

Nintendo has done none of that. They're a weak team currently at the bottom of their division and increasingly getting crushed by the Top 2 Seeds, but they haven't shown a clear sign that they're building for the future. Instead, they're staying the course: executing the same plays with decreasingly talented players, expecting that they will always be successful because they won games in the past.  They aren't making the moves necessary to build the strong foundation of a future contender.  Worse yet, the team's currently handicapped by at least half their salary cap and over half the team currently being funneled away to their successful D-League affiliate.

On top of that, they're playing their Star Center (Retro) as a Shooting Guard. Sure sometimes they can still have a career night, but as they already have several legitimate Shooting Guards back on the bench, it's a waste of talent and a sign of incompetent coaching.  As already mentioned, it doesn't help as well that their playbook is nearly 30 years old and every team in the league knows exactly what they're going to run any given night.  It likewise doesn't help that many of those plays involve running out the clock and then trying to take a shot at the buzzer, only to watch the vast majority of them clank off the rim.  Every once in a while, the team can surprise and turn out a very solid performance, but the vast majority of the time they send the fans home disappointed.

Nintendo needs to find some fresh new talent, give that talent the experience to truly reach their potential, hire a new coach that knows how to better assign their talent, and write a new playbook.  Until they do, they will continue to not only eternally be a lottery team, but one that sells its picks for cash so it can never improve (ala the 2000s-era Phoenix Suns).

[Oblivion]

I don't know sports, so these analogies confuse me.

[sweetfeathery]

Although I am a fan of RPGs, especially more recent entries on Nintendo's console (Xenoblade ftw) if Nintendo is going to invest in any game specifically for mass appeal then it should be Minecraft.
 I propose Nintendo fully funding a Wii U version but giving it the Nintendo treatment, creating a final product similar to the Nintendo themed Tetris DS.
JRPGS aren't as relevant as they were in the PS1/PS2 era but if you want a game that is appealing to the masses right now..... its Minecraft.

[Nile Boogie Returns]

The Wii U doesn't need "saving", it is what it was always going to be. With that being said, I get it: The U is underwhelming. In a few days we'll get numbers for Dec sales and you'll be able to get a clearer picture of the future.  I believe this is the part of the story when the hero gets a new ability and is able to go head to head with the villain.  As for jrpgs, that ship has sailed( KH3 and FFXV). Maybe "Last Story 2" or X can do some good. I always figured it would be something we don't know about, or smash…yeah probably just smash.

[Ian Sane]

The time for RPGs was the N64.  I want games like X but they don't really matter for attracting sales.  There was a big RPG boom in the aftermath of FF7 but Nintendo didn't have RPGs then.  Though I think that shows a chronic Nintendo problem: they've often missed the big console trends.  GTA was the biggest thing on the PS2 and Xbox got it but Nintendo didn't.  Nor did they have any such exclusives or notable ports of games in the same genre.  That was a whole gameplay experience that the Gamecube just did not offer.  Nintendo also used to have FPS games but lost that just as they became the de facto standard of game design.  Too often there are certain genres that are the "in" thing and Nintendo just doesn't have.  If they had good third party it wouldn't really be an issue but they should be smart enough to attempt to fill in the gap themselves when the support isn't there.  That's why it drives me nuts when they have multiple teams working on sidescrolling platformers when whole genres are practically absent on their console.  And Nintendo is talented enough that seeing them go into genres they haven't touched would result in some pretty cool stuff.

There is one popular genre that Nintendo had last gen - that would be the motion controlled mini-game genre they spearheaded with Wii Sports.  That actually is usually when Nintendo is on the ball with the popular genres, when they start the initial frenzy.  So if they're not going to make any real effort to follow they should at least make an effort to lead.  So what Wii U game was going to kickstart some new boom period for a genre or even invent a new genre?  Wonderful 101 is the only thing that looks it attempted to do so (and it failed, but not every new idea takes off).

They need the genres that are popular now or the ones that will be popular a year or two from now.  They need to follow or lead and they're doing neither.  They're just being old and out-of-touch.

[ShyGuy]

Can the WiiU help save JRPGS?

[sweetfeathery]

They need the genres that are popular now or the ones that will be popular a year or two from now.  They need to follow or lead and they're doing neither.  They're just being old and out-of-touch.

Nintendo DoTA, and Nintendo Minecraft it must be

[Kytim89]

The time for RPGs was the N64.  I want games like X but they don't really matter for attracting sales.  There was a big RPG boom in the aftermath of FF7 but Nintendo didn't have RPGs then.  Though I think that shows a chronic Nintendo problem: they've often missed the big console trends.  GTA was the biggest thing on the PS2 and Xbox got it but Nintendo didn't.  Nor did they have any such exclusives or notable ports of games in the same genre.  That was a whole gameplay experience that the Gamecube just did not offer.  Nintendo also used to have FPS games but lost that just as they became the de facto standard of game design.  Too often there are certain genres that are the "in" thing and Nintendo just doesn't have.  If they had good third party it wouldn't really be an issue but they should be smart enough to attempt to fill in the gap themselves when the support isn't there.  That's why it drives me nuts when they have multiple teams working on sidescrolling platformers when whole genres are practically absent on their console.  And Nintendo is talented enough that seeing them go into genres they haven't touched would result in some pretty cool stuff.

There is one popular genre that Nintendo had last gen - that would be the motion controlled mini-game genre they spearheaded with Wii Sports.  That actually is usually when Nintendo is on the ball with the popular genres, when they start the initial frenzy.  So if they're not going to make any real effort to follow they should at least make an effort to lead.  So what Wii U game was going to kickstart some new boom period for a genre or even invent a new genre?  Wonderful 101 is the only thing that looks it attempted to do so (and it failed, but not every new idea takes off).

They need the genres that are popular now or the ones that will be popular a year or two from now.  They need to follow or lead and they're doing neither.  They're just being old and out-of-touch.

I could easily argue that Monolith Soft is just as good or better than any developer that makes JRPGs on the market right now. The key is for Nintendo to harness their talents to the fullest extent. They need to gather up all of the small developers and make atleast five good JRPGs for the Wii U.

[geckog7]

No, but since Nintendo was in the mood to bring Beyonetta 2 to the WiiU, I wish they would just go ahead and fund the development of Suikoden 6 and Skies of Arcadia 2.  Let the WiiU become the system of cult followers lol. 

I would love this. And I just started Xenoblade, so X has just skyrocketed up my most anticipated games list!

[ymeegod]

X will be an cult hit at best and it's not going be released anytime soon. 

And Dragon Warrior--*cries* hasn't made it stateside for two years now so I really doubt on future games coming neither.

[Mop it up]

RPGs might help a bit with Japanese sales, but they wouldn't really do anything for other markets. I, personally, would like to see more of them though, as I've come to appreciate them more.

[Oblivion]

X will be an cult hit at best and it's not going be released anytime soon. 

And Dragon Warrior--*cries* hasn't made it stateside for two years now so I really doubt on future games coming neither.

Within a year isn't any time soon?

[BranDonk Kong]

To answer the question in the topic: "no."

[ymeegod]

"Within a year isn't any time soon?"--

So far we haven't seen anything other than one trailer and Monolith  is developing other games at the same time (project X Capcom).

So yeah, I'm expecting to see major delays for X not to mention the usually 6+ months to localize it.

[Oblivion]

Two trailers, actually. And they are co-developing Project X Zone. And they have two studios, one on Project X Zone and the other on X. Sorry bud, you need to get your facts straight. X is coming out this year.

[Weetrick]

Can the WiiU help save JRPGS?

This is a much better question.

[ymeegod]

Two trailers show the same content = same trailer, we haven't seen anything since e3 and if they were closer to launching within a year I would expect to see more.

Also, besides Project X Zone, they been working with Nintendo on other projects as well--two zeldas titles, Mario kart series, animal crossing, ect. 

An open-world HD RPG is going take more than a few years to make especially when you factor in all new assets are going be used (engine/art) ect.

it's an safe bet that the game will be pushed back.