Topic: Nintendo Aims to Make New Video Game Genres

[Ian Sane]

Battalion Wars could be Nintendo's answer to COD if it were made into an FPS.

Might as well just make a new IP.

Battalion Wars is a good example of Nintendo's approach to new IP lately.  It just doesn't seem "Nintendo good", you know?  Like it doesn't compare to the more established Nintendo franchises.  Pikmin did (no surprise since EAD made it).  The developer, Kuju, seems like Nintendo just grabbed some random Western dev.  They don't seem exceptional in any way.  At best they're just competent.  Compare this to someone like Retro or, in the past, Rare.  Those devs compare to Nintendo's own teams like EAD and Intelligent Systems (well Rare DID anyway).  Nintendo used to be selective in regards to what talents to partner with.  In the Iwata era they seem to just grab anyone.

And Battalion Wars also carries with it another problem.  In Japan it is considered part of the Advance Wars franchise and was originally given that name when it debuted at E3.  Here is one of Nintendo's popular franchises and they gave it to some random dev with no particularly great track record and the resulting game in terms of gameplay isn't even reflective of the series.  It's like "well it has battles so I guess it's an Advance Wars game" which just shows a complete lack of understanding why a franchise is popular in the first place.  That sort of logic is why Star Fox sucks now because Nintendo saw it as a bunch of furries instead of on-rails shmup gameplay.

I like the idea of Nintendo making new videogame genres (though often when you set out intentionally to do that the results are blantantly forced; the creative process is often more spontaneous) but not with the specific intent of attracting a non-gaming audience.  Why can't they just set out to make new genres and not be so focused on the audience?  The way they talk about it, it's like they won't dedicate effort to creating new genres for the existing audience.

[NWR_insanolord]

Comparing someone to Retro isn't exactly fair. I don't think there's a studio in the industry that doesn't have EAD in its name that compares favorably with them. You can't just make a team like that out of thin air (although that's kind of what they did when they made EAD Tokyo). Most studios with that level of talent are locked up by major publishers, which is why Nintendo improving third party support is so important.

[Chozo Ghost]

I'm sure there's a lot of talent out there which isn't ever fully realized just because they aren't given a chance to prove themselves. Miyamoto has the freedom to do basically whatever he wants, which is a luxury 99% of game creators do not have. Sometimes he strikes gold with things like Pikmin, and sometimes he gets flops like Wii Music, but the point is he can make anything he wants to and he will get the budget for it. Other people might have the best idea of all time, but they will never get the green light or funding to make it happen, and that's the really sad thing.

Even if someone actually does get the funding and green light, the publisher might cut funding or force the game out before its really done and then what could have been a great thing ends up being a failure because it just wasn't ready and the sad thing is the whole thing is blown and never will get revisited. Its like how TV shows get moved to a bad time slot which causes the ratings to plummet even though its through no fault of the show or its creators. This happens with video games too.

[NWR_insanolord]

That is true, and Nintendo has historically been pretty good at spotting that kind of talent. Retro themselves had done jack **** prior to Nintendo coming in and putting them on the right track.

[Mop it up]

If at this point people who are not interested in videogames are still not interested, there isn't any game Nintendo could make that would change their minds. If nothing on all of the current systems has done it, then nothing could be made which would do it. Unless I'm missing the point of what they're actually talking about... although I don't recall any movie studios making a statement like "We're making new movies for people who don't like movies."

Furthermore, Battalion Wars is an excellent game that isn't getting enough credit. Turning it into an FPS would strip away everything that makes it interesting and fun. Nintendo shouldn't turn any of their franchises into a (traditional) FPS, because none of them would fit... unless maybe that Mario Paintball fan idea became a real game. An FPS with a Nintendo twist could be very interesting indeed, though it shouldn't mimic Call of Duty in the sense that its setting is the real world or a real world stand-in.

Sometimes he strikes gold with things like Pikmin, and sometimes he gets flops like Wii Music,

The funny part of this statement is that Wii Music outsold Pikmin and Pikmin 2... combined.

[NWR_insanolord]

Remember, this is all targeted at investors. Saying they're going after new markets will score them more points with the shareholders than saying they're going to go after us. They're putting the best spin they can on it.

[Mop it up]

It would be nice if what he actually meant is that Nintendo is targeting people who don't like Nintendo by creating games in genres they don't typically make, but that's probably hoping for too much.

[ThePerm]

Well, Is there a Vitality sensor in the Wii U controller? Also wouldn't Wii U create new genres by default just by having a new controller? So this isn't news.

Also, as far as Nintendo used to be in terms of getting IPs they used to have Minoru Arakawa as President. He lived in the U.S for 20 years and spoke perfect English so he knew what was going on through the n64 years. He left, and all American operations became less independant. They can't have Reggie tell them whats what here, because he needs a translator.

[Ymeegod]

"Nintendo will never pay 3rd parties for support,"

LOL, not sure where you read that but they already have--you recall the Q fund where nintendo flung 150+ million Sqaure's way?  That deal helped the GC/WII/GBA/DS with a couple of these Final Fantasy titles amoung others.  Not sure what they gave Square/Enix for the rights to DQIX and X but I'm guessing that too involved an nice exchange for Capcom's Monster Hunter 3--and why Nintendo themsevles announced the exclusivness. 

[Chozo Ghost]

Sometimes he strikes gold with things like Pikmin, and sometimes he gets flops like Wii Music,

The funny part of this statement is that Wii Music outsold Pikmin and Pikmin 2... combined.

I think a lot of that has to do with the fact Pikmin 1&2 were GC games, and as we all know games sold lacklusterly on the GC no matter how great they were.

But even though a lot of people did buy Wii Music, that game has received a lot of negative feedback both from consumers and critics alike. The Pikmin series on the other hand may not have sold nearly as much, but it is critically acclaimed. The problem was just that it was released on a system not many people owned or cared about. Assuming the Wii U is even half the success the Wii was then I'm sure Pikmin 3 is going to sell very well indeed. For most players it will probably be their first Pikmin experience.