Topic: Wii U - e3 is over... now what?

[NWR_insanolord]

There weren't three viable platform holders until about 10 years ago, and even then it was only because Microsoft was willing to lose billions in order to gain a foothold.

[Kairon]

I'm the opposite. I want Sony and Microsoft to go third party so that I only need to own a Nintendo console and they would have a monopoly on the market and thus have all of the games... just like they did back in the golden age of the NES era. I want that era to return.

Hiroshi Yamauchi? Is that you?

[Chozo Ghost]

History shows that there shall always be 3 Videogame Platform holders.

Only if you consider recent history. Sure, in the NES era there was the Master System and some other things, but their level of market share was negligible. Then in the 16-bit era it was a neck and neck race between the Genesis and SNES. Sure there was the Turbografix-16 and the Neo Geo and so on but these had such minuscule market share that they were non-entities.

Its only been within the last 10 years or so that we've seen it being a 3 way race, and arguably during the PS2 era it wasn't really even a race considering the PS2's 90% market share. So some might argue that its only been from 2006 that its been a 3 way race.

[tendoboy1984]

I just want Nintendo of America to hire more people from within the gaming industry. It seems most of the PR and marketing people they hire have no experience or knowledge of the video game market (Cammie Dunaway, Scott Moffitt, Reggie, etc.).


Reggie doesn't have any background in the gaming industry, so how is he qualified to run Nintendo's American branch? He's just a PR person, he's all talk. Iwata has more credentials than Reggie, he was a developer at HAL, so he's perfectly fit to run Nintendo; he has the experience.


Satoru Iwata is like Steve Jobs, he knows about the industry he runs. He's done the hard work in game development, and he also has the marketing skills to sell his product. Reggie has the marketing skills, but that's about it.

[Kairon]

I miss Perrin.

[Chozo Ghost]

Reggie just sees this as another job to him. He has no loyalty to Nintendo or passion for gaming. In the past he worked at Pizza Hunt and VH1, so what makes this any different? This is just his current job, and tomorrow he could move on to something else.

What we need running the show is someone who is actually passionate about gaming and loves what they do. When people are passionate about their jobs they will do things better than someone who just sees it as another pay check. That's why Reggie needs to go and someone more passionate about Nintendo and gaming needs to take his place.

[NWR_insanolord]

The skills required for running a business are different from those required for making games. It's unrealistic to expect to get all your executives that way. The important thing is for the business people to trust the game people and listen to their concerns. Hiroshi Yamauchi didn't know **** about video games when Nintendo entered that market, and that worked out okay for the company.

As awesome as it would be if Bill Trinen were president of NoA, I don't know that the company would be in any better shape.

[tendoboy1984]

The skills required for running a business are different from those required for making games. It's unrealistic to expect to get all your executives that way. The important thing is for the business people to trust the game people and listen to their concerns. Hiroshi Yamauchi didn't know **** about video games when Nintendo entered that market, and that worked out okay for the company.

As awesome as it would be if Bill Trinen were president of NoA, I don't know that the company would be in any better shape.

Look at Iwata. He has the experience as a former game developer, and he's an incredibly smart businessman. I hate to make this comparison, but he's very much like the Steve Jobs of video games.


And yes I agree that Bill Trinnen should be the next NOA president. And they really need to hire marketing people who know how the gaming industry works. I'm glad Cammie Dunaway is gone, but Scott Moffitt doesn't seem to be right for the job either.

[NWR_insanolord]

Really, in terms of management philosophy, Yamauchi was way more Steve Jobs than Iwata is. And those guys don't just grow on trees. Iwata was a special case; I doubt there was anyone within NoA with the qualifications he had. You have to work with the people you have, and if they'd had someone like that I'm sure he would have been in the running, but you can't just magically make someone like that exist.

[Chozo Ghost]

What if Miyamoto ran Nintendo?

[tendoboy1984]

What if Miyamoto ran Nintendo?

Well Iwata and Miyamoto both have very similar game design philosophies, so Nintendo wouldn't be much different than it is now.

[tendoboy1984]

Really, in terms of management philosophy, Yamauchi was way more Steve Jobs than Iwata is. And those guys don't just grow on trees. Iwata was a special case; I doubt there was anyone within NoA with the qualifications he had. You have to work with the people you have, and if they'd had someone like that I'm sure he would have been in the running, but you can't just magically make someone like that exist.

They could hire someone from a different game developer who also has good business sense. Ted Price (from Insomniac), Gabe Newell (from Valve), I'm not very familiar with who runs these Western publishers...


Anyways, Nintendo could hire a PR person from another game publisher, someone who knows about the industry.

[Adrock]

I hate to make this comparison, but he's very much like the Steve Jobs of video games.

Please explain. Jobs would tear people down, probably to the point of tears. Your ideas were **** until you could not only explain to him why they weren't but why they were the best way to do things. That's an interesting way to get results. Maybe he didn't have to be such a dick about it but he got results from his employees by forcing them to prove to him and more importantly, themselves that something was worth pursuing. I don't get the same impression from Satoru Iwata. Not that his management style is bad but it's not really Jobs-like. Maybe he's closer to Tim Cook. Apparently, the atmosphere is looser at Apple post-Jobs because employees are not afraid of being verbally ass-reamed. At Nintendo, people probably weren't afraid of being in the same elevator with the company president post-Yamauchi.

[Chozo Ghost]

From what I heard Yamauchi liked to tear people down and was a real asshole so he was probably more like Steve Jobs than Iwata is. Iwata seems like a friendlier guy who is more willing to listen to suggestions and feedback and whatnot.

But like him or not, Yamauchi delivered results, so his hard ass take no bullshit attitude seems to have paid off at least some of the time....although, yeah, he did have a lot to do with driving 3rd parties away from Nintendo, and that's not good. But Iwata's softer stance hasn't managed to win them back either, so its hard to say who is more to blame. What would probably be best for the company is for it to be run by someone who is more in the middle and neither too soft nor too hard.

[Adrock]

Business schools are going to be studying Steve Jobs for decades but the circumstances of his life made him the leader that he was and that's something you can't teach. Everything from being adopted to dropping acid to quitting Apple to founding NeXT to buying Pixar and negotiating Toy Story with Disney made Steve Jobs the businessman. Comparisons aren't terribly fair and you can't just manage a company by trying to emulate someone's methods. Jobs wanted the people whose hands he left Apple in to do what's best for Apple instead of thinking about what he would do.

That's true for any company. For Nintendo, it was important that Iwata went his own way. By the time, Yamauchi stepped down as president, he seemed so out of touch with a rapidly evolving industry. He admitted that he ordered N64 to be difficult to program for in an effort to repel less talented 3rd parties. They all responded with a giant F-you. Who thinks sabotaging their own product is a good idea? He handed Iwata the keys to a car he crashed first and said, "Here, you fix it." I don't think it's fair to blame Iwata for not being able to bring back 3rd parties. Outside of throwing money a them, what else can he do? Relations have improved and one of their big hang ups is that consumers really like Nintendo games. That's a precarious situation to be in. Nintendo shouldn't lay down their own integrity just so 3rd parties can sell their wares without as much competition. What the hell is that?

[Chozo Ghost]

He admitted that he ordered N64 to be difficult to program for in an effort to repel less talented 3rd parties.

But to be fair, the quality of the software the N64 was impeccable. You can't argue with the results.... the N64 had a load of really incredible A++ software. Then again, the N64 also had Superman 64, so apparently Yamauchi's effort wasn't fool proof, but I can at least appreciate what he was TRYING to do.

Maybe if Iwata had done something like that with the Wii it would have locked out a lot of the shovelware like Chicken Shoot, Elf Bowling, and other horrible crapware like that.

They all responded with a giant F-you.

In the case of the developers of those games I just mentioned I would just say "good riddance". If you scrapped away all the casual crapware that the Wii was buried in and just left behind the polished gems then maybe many people's opinion of the Wii would be more favorable.

[Adrock]

the N64 had a load of really incredible A++ software.

From Nintendo. That's hasn't really changed. Again, subjective.

In the case of the developers of those games I just mentioned I would just say "good riddance". If you scrapped away all the casual crapware that the Wii was buried in and just left behind the polished gems then maybe many people's opinion of the Wii would be more favorable.

Yamauchi chased everyone away with a shotgun and his crazy eyes. He tried what you're suggesting and it backfired. Badly. The good ones left too. Letting only certain 3rd parties into their special super-friends club with a decoder ring and a secret handshake just alienates everyone. Who qualifies? That's not a judgement call Nintendo should make even of Jack of All Games seems like an obvious choice. That just sends a terrible message to the entire development community that Nintendo is going all soup-Nazi (game-Nazi?) on the industry. You let the good in with the bad. Sure, Nintendo has been getting shafted by many 3rd parties but, again, they can't force anyone to do anything. Sending certain developers packing just exacerbates the situation.

[shingi_70]

Can someone define what makes a game casuel and how its better than a "hardcore game.. and why does a company only need to focus on the hardcore gamer at events like E3.

I mean as much crap Microsoft got at E3 this year I wouldn't be surprised if Nike+ outsells the last of us. Same goes for Wii fit U and maybe even sing.

[cubist]

I hate to make this comparison, but he's very much like the Steve Jobs of video games.

Please explain. Jobs would tear people down, probably to the point of tears. Your ideas were **** until you could not only explain to him why they weren't but why they were the best way to do things. That's an interesting way to get results. Maybe he didn't have to be such a dick about it but he got results from his employees by forcing them to prove to him and more importantly, themselves that something was worth pursuing. I don't get the same impression from Satoru Iwata. Not that his management style is bad but it's not really Jobs-like. Maybe he's closer to Tim Cook. Apparently, the atmosphere is looser at Apple post-Jobs because employees are not afraid of being verbally ass-reamed. At Nintendo, people probably weren't afraid of being in the same elevator with the company president post-Yamauchi.

Sounds like many have read the Walter Isaacson biography on Steve Jobs too.  I agree that Iwata-san doesn't come off like Steve Jobs.

If he were like Steve Jobs, we wouldn't have to worry about our press conferences being a disappointment.  Watching that Apple Keynote at WWDC yesterday was like watching megaton announcement after megaton announcement roll out in pure Jobs-esque awesomeness.  If Iwata were like Steve Jobs, he'd talk **** about the competition and go out and not just one-up them, but make sure they regret trying to copy him.  Steve Jobs drove up and stormed the Google offices when they decided to build their mobile OS (Android), and now they're about to out-Google Google with an even better version of maps for iOS6.  If Iwata were more like Steve Jobs, we wouldn't have to worry about cutting edge graphics while implementing fancy words like blue ocean strategy.  Our wallets would take a major nosedive though, like the fact that I'm considering forking out $2500 to $3000 for the new MacBook Pro, but completely worth it and completely satisfying. 

[Oblivion]

You must be part of the Cult then, because **** that, I'm not spending that much cash for a fucking computer.

[shingi_70]

What megatons were at the WWDC keynote?

Ios maps thing wasn't that big to me.

[shingi_70]

You must be part of the Cult then, because **** that, I'm not spending that much cash for a fucking computer.

What's wrong with paying for a quality machine. Alittle too rich for my poor student blood.

I am hoping there is a 15 inch Zenbook coming out or something from the spectre line and those start at $1000.

[Caterkiller]

This guy Shane Satterfeild was the one who said the Wii U launch line up was looking pretty darn good. But in this statement says a certain game was missing from the line up at this E3. Probably Retro's or maybe we missed Retro and another companies game.

http://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2012-06-11-wii-u-getting-call-of-duty-black-ops-ii-this-holiday
Activision say's they will support Wii U in the future after seeing how it fairs. Of course they will be there eventually and some of their games are basically confirmed all ready. But I guess they won't get those launch day Ubisoft rumors.

Also this, more games from EA are coming.
http://www.computerandvideogames.com/353349/ea-holding-fire-on-two-unannounced-wii-u-games/?

[Evan_B]

Subjective, I suppose.

Let's not talk about what could have been, but what is. To me, the Wii U software represented more than just casuals and core gamers. Games like Rayman Origins, Lego City: Undercover, and even Nintendoland are attempts to cater to all audiences- Lego's open world, acrobatic and GTA-styled gameplay is a deeper attempt at gameplay. Rayman Origins is kiddy in appearance, but its mechanics and platforming cater to a more "core" audience. And Nintendoland is minigames featuring the "core" Nintendo titles. I think it's a smart introduction into the console race, and it's showing that the Wii U is, essentially, a grown-up Wii, with more mature games and a recognition of what made the Wii successful (motion controls, simplicity) while also tossing in more mature overtones, a social network, etc.

[Adrock]

I was pretty excited about that MacBook Pro with Retina Display until Apple announced the price and I was like, "Back away, not today, disco lady..."

Steve Jobs made everything sound like it was m-f-ing amazing even if it was just an update to Safari. That's probably a lot of people's issue with the E3 press conferences. They all lacked pizazz. Jobs would also never hold a press conference unless he had something important to show. "One more thing..." He was a showman. He knew how to rev people up. That's not really anyone's style but Jobs. I wish Nintendo execs didn't look and sound like cardboard cutouts on stage but I don't really expect more on that front.