Topic: Suggestions on what Nintendo should do to become #1 next generation

[RobD]

Give your suggestions/ideas on what you think Nintendo should do to become #1 with the next generation machine they'll release in 2005. Both Sony and Microsoft will also be releasing their "next gen" systems around this time also. What does Nintendo need to do to finally become number 1 again? (Not that they really need to as they're the most profitable video game company but Nintendo fans want to see them win the crown again, at least I do.)

First off-NO PURPLE COLORS OR FISHER PRICE COLORS FOR THE COLORING OF THE SYSTEM. I'm sorry but no matter what anyone will argue, purple as your primary video game console color is a very bad choice. It does not fit in with people's home theater coloring schemes(most of them silver or black). So I stongly suggest they choose platinum or jet black. Hell, I'd even go with a see-through case with flourescent lights(kinda like a pc case mod). Now wouldn't that be wicked and something different and sure to get people talking?(As long as it's done right).

A highly competitive price point. I say $149.95 at launch with one controller and a playable demo disk.

System ships with wireless controller and is wireless only. 4 people can play using different frequencies if necessary. The controls should have a rumble feature.

Backwards compatible with the Gamecube. THIS IS A MUST. Since Nintendo is releasing a system pretty quickly after the Gamecube, it's in their interests and the fan's interests to have a backwards compatible system.

DVD support. Nintendo should finally take a hint and support the DVD format. While they could still go with the smaller discs like they did with the cube, they should give the players a nice option to be able to play dvds in the system.

A "cool" name for the system. Gamecube was o.k. I guess but how about something with some bite or just cool?  Nintendo Eclipse(cause it'll eclipse the competition hehe), Nintendo Nova etc.

Of course, killer system specs. It's gonna have to be powerful since they'll be first out of the gate apparently and it'll give time for Sony and Microsoft to up their specs.  That said, Nintendo should make sure that the system could be easily "upgradable" for consumers in case Nintendo decides to add special features or increase system performance ala more memory etc..

MATURE GAMES. Nintendo MUST realize that the people who played the nes or now a bit older and expect more mature themed games. I'm not saying they need to make all mature games but they definately need to reach out to the 20 and up demographic. I'd even go as far as having an internal Nintendo division devoted exclusively to making "mature" games for the system.

BE AGGRESSIVE. Nintendo needs to come out swinging and show they mean business. How to do this? How about buy a company like Rockstar Games or secure the Grand Theft Auto series as exclusives to the system. I believe Rockstar's contract with Sony is over in 2004. Nintendo needs to break out the cash and get Rockstar to make Grand Theft Auto. Tell me the next Grand Theft Auto game exclusive to the Nintendo system being available with the system at launch wouldn't sell systems! Plus, it shows they're going after the "mature" market.

THIRD PARTY SUPPORT. Nintendo needs to get as many quality third parties as possible to develop for the system. This is a no-brainer.

ROLEPLAYING GAMES. Nintendo has been dropping the ball big time with rpgs. They need to get a Dragon Warrior or the proper Final Fantasy series on the system. Bringing back the "Mother" series to the console would help.

ALL FLAGSHIP CHARACTERS SHOULD HAVE GAMES AT LAUNCH. Mario, Zelda, Starfox, Pikman, Pokemon, Metroid,
Super Smash Brothers..etc. These games should be available AT LAUNCH. Why? Well it'll get the people who say "well, I'll wait until I see Super Smash Brothers until I buy a system".

A SOLID ON-LINE GAME NETWORK. Just think, downloadable new quests for the Zelda game or teaming up with your friends online to play Zelda online exploring dungeons together. Pokemon battles. Star Fox space battles, F-Zero races and downloadable new maps and cars, Mario Kart online and so much more. Grand Theft Auto online.....If Nintendo does it right and with the franchise characters they have, their online network would definately give Microsoft and Sony's a run for the money.

That's all of my suggestions or ideas. Post yours!

-Rob D.

[Mario]

Quote
ALL FLAGSHIP CHARACTERS SHOULD HAVE GAMES AT LAUNCH. Mario, Zelda, Starfox, Pikman, Pokemon, Metroid,
Super Smash Brothers..etc. These games should be available AT LAUNCH. Why? Well it'll get the people who say "well, I'll wait until I see Super Smash Brothers until I buy a system".

Wow. If they did that, then i would buy ten of nintendo's next system! But i dont think its possible for Nintendo to release that many games on day one. IMO all they need is a mario game at launch, Luigis Mansion was ok, but its not a Mario caliber game. I agree with pretty much all of your points, except for DVD support and online games. DVD support would just make the console more expensive and also most people already have a DVD player, and if they dont then they most likely will have one by 2005. Online games would be ok, but only if they were affordable, none of this $100 for a modem adapter thingy and $100 a year bullcrap. But honestly, all they need is good games to get me to buy it. Nintendo Eclipse, damn thats a cool name. Good post RobD. They also need good marketing, commercials, ads, etc. to get people talking, Nintendo has a reputation for making &*$% up ads, so that isnt very likely though...  

[K_Icyfire]

its all about timing.  Release the new gameboy product earlier than the next gen consoles build alot of hype then release the next gen nintendo console with a new gameboy player bundled with it.  this would really hurt the competition.  ALSO release with killer app for launches (im talking super smash, mario 256 or something, zelda:next bla bla)  A dvd player sounds stupid.  BACKWARD compatability.  If they dont have this i'm gonna say goodbye to nintendo forever.  And thats about it.

[nolimit19]

call me insane....but i think if nintendo really wants to gain ground with sony, then they should pack the next gameboy and their next console together. i mean if they had dont that this generation.....pack the gameboy advance with the gamecube and sold it at the same price as ps2 and xbox, that would have done more for them then pricing them lower and seperately. this should be in other consoles though, because its not about the gamecube.

[kennyb27]

I disagree with the DVD playback for two main reasons.  First, in 2005/2006 most households will already have a DVD player.  Second, a console is for gaming; it is a gaming machine, not a multimedia machine that Microsoft and Sony plan on releasing.
We would all love to see every flagship series at launch, but, in my opinion, we would sacrifice quality for quantity.  In the year before Nintendo would be rushing to finish all these games for lunch, not that they would be bad games, because Nintendo has never released a poorly developed game, but they would not be top quality.

And my suggestion: A worldwide launch.  No matter how unlikely this is, it would be incredible to see it happen.  

[MarioLinkSamus]

Quote
ALL FLAGSHIP CHARACTERS SHOULD HAVE GAMES AT LAUNCH. Mario, Zelda, Starfox, Pikman, Pokemon, Metroid,
Super Smash Brothers..etc. These games should be available AT LAUNCH. Why? Well it'll get the people who say "well, I'll wait until I see Super Smash Brothers until I buy a system".

If Nintendo were to do this, they might as well kiss their hopes of getting enough 3rd party support to compete with Microsoft and Sony good-bye.  Nintendo has already learned this after the N64.  They have learned to pace their games with not too many at once.  If Nintendo were to release that many games of that calibur at launch, they would absolutely swallow any competition that would come and ultimately hurt everyone else's chances of selling successfully on the console.  As an up and coming 3rd party company, I sure as heck wouldn't want my games to be competing with Nintendo's.  You need to look at the big picture folks.

-MarioLinkSamus

[deminisma]

Backwards compatibility is pointless. The energy and restrictions to make backwards compatible would mean it wouldn't be worth their while anyway.

[PIAC]

first nintendo should use some form of mind altering device to make people realise PURPLE IS JUST A COLOUR YOUR GENITLES WONT SHRIVEL UP IF YOU OWN SOMETHING PURPLE.
yargh, i am fed up to here *puts hand somewhere near eye lashes* with people saying purple is teh ghey, there are alternatives, personally i prefer purple to black/platinum/spice its a great colour and it suits the gamecube, if anything have a whole slew of different colours ala the 64 around the end of its life, launch with 5 'standard' colours and have the option of gold/silver a bit later on to conicide with a big title launch for people who dont own one yet. Black Purple Green Blue and Red would be a nice selection of colours, black for yuppies/people with image problems/people who like black, purple for diehard hardnoses like me, and then green blue and red for anyone who happens to fancy those colours.

nintendo are working on getting more 3rd parties/'mature' games now so i figure they arn't going to stop any time soon, so some good relationships should be present come 2005 so that isn't so much a worry

wireless only? ehm no, launch with wireless or corded as an option, i dont want to only have wireless as wires dont worry me, given i sit all of 1 metre if that from my tv and have ample cord space, but that doesn't mean it should be corded only, a choice would be the best way to go.

well i personally dont really want online for my console games, but then im kinda a minority, so i guess having a decent online system, thats free mind you, would be a big plus.

as much as it pains me to say, a hard drive wouldn't be such a bad idea, but having a 251esque memory card that comes with the system would be an idea too, or both, so you can take your card round to your friends play and say looky at me, i own you! etc, especially if your taking a game that he/she doesn't have

[Don'tHate742]

I think they should produce an SD CARD but one that would be like a mini hard drive. I mean like 1 GB as the starting memory, hell ya, with that all the stuff they said could come true.

They should make contollers have a screen, so you will be able to play games like FF: CC without have to have 4 GBAs and Linkcables. Keep them corded unless they found a way to give ample life to it.

Online is a must, since alot of people will have broadband or faster connections.

Don't care about specs, as long as it is small agian, and is easy to attach things to.

Should be silver with a blue glow (Hell yes) or silver with a red glow, or black with a white glow.

Should come with a demo disk to further advertise games. THEY SHOULD LUANCH WITH A MATURE ZELDA AND A FPS, later follow up with Pokemon Online RPG and Metroid, then drop SSMB and F-Zero, few months later a Mario game accompanied by a totally new game. THAT IS ALL IN  ONE YEAR. All the while other hugely take care for and appreciated Second party games, and hopefully good third party game.


And i should get everything free.

[KDR_11k]

No unnecessary lights on the case! It looks just overkill.
Disk: Blue-Ray Disk, maybe .5cm larger than the current minidisks, so they are even harder to pirate.
As for the RPGs: Some kind of RPG-Maker in 3d. With option to transfer material via PC and import custom graphics (Hell, I'm a modeler!).
The price doesn't need to be too low. The GCs EUR199 (about USD200) was fine. But I'd say lower the game prices a bit (from 60 to 50), after all PC games cost just 45.
Buy Rockstar? Hell, WHY? GTA1 was the best anyway! And that was released for the GBA as well.

If they have some time left, they could release something like the EDS (if you've read Megatokyo, you know what I mean )...

[Tael]

Quote
Originally posted by: deminisma
Backwards compatibility is pointless. The energy and restrictions to make backwards compatible would mean it wouldn't be worth their while anyway.

Exactly. Just keep your GameCube if you'll still be interested in playing it. I'd rather Nintendo spent their money on making exciting new games on better hardware that'll blow my socks off.

[StRaNgE]

Backwards compatible.

That and a built in game boy advance player.

Those two items and I am sold.

[Infernal Monkey]

STEP 1: Create a cheap, crappy build of a game involving lots and lots of sex and death. Mail this in the form of a video, showcasing the death and sex to every news program around the globe.

They'll go crazy, "informing" the parents that they shouldn't stand for this crap, and that this game will never ever get released. This will hype up the pre-teen casual gamers.

"AW COOL NINTENDO IS ALL MATURE AND MAD! LOOK AT THE BLOOD AND STUFF! WOAH! THEY'RE COOL COZ THEY HAVE VIOLENCE!"

STEP 2: To get the parents back on track, so they buy it for the little ones, throw a mountain of cash at somewhere like the Ronald McDonald charity houses. Enough so that it'll make it to the news.

"AW NINTENDO IS SO SWEET! HERE CHILD! I'LL BUY YOU IT BECAUSE THEY SEEM INNOCENT AND NICE! MMM, PANCAKES! ME EAT GOOD!"

'Mum, you're freaking me out!"

"QUIET! GGGGR, BLARG, HULK SMASH! HERE! NEW NINTENDO FOR YOU!"

'Gee, thanks Mum'

"PANCAKES!"

STEP 3: Throw a DVD drive in there. I don't care about not wanting to go with the pack, it seems all future consoles will have a DVD drive whacked in there. GO WITH THE FLOW!

STEP 4: Have a new Mario game at launch. No Luigi. MARIO. MARIO MARIO MARIO! YIPPEE! YAHOO! HERE WE GO!

STEP 5: Wave Birds as a standard. NO SHORT CABLES AND POO! AND MAKE SURE PEOPLE KNOW WIRELESS CONTROLLERS ARE STANDARD!

STEP 6: Give it a name like "SUPER CUTE GORE FACTORY OLD MAN TICKET BRAIN ONION PEOPLE MEGA CD DUDE CRAP" people will be like "Woah, it's so odd, I have to have it!"

AND THEY'LL BUY 16.  

[Plugabugz]

I agree with everything bar the online gaming and DVD Support.
Nintendo concentrate entirely on ganmes, why deviate?
IF the gamecube isn't broken, why fix it?

The online gamine should concentreate particuarly on LAN Style Methodology. You can connect online, directly, to other gamecubes to play other people at say Mario Kart or F-Zero etc. (But don't focus entirely on First-party titles)

With that, keep the sizes and pads brilliantly designed, sheek colour (Holographic Black to Silver?), mature games (More Eternal Darkness and Metroid Prime) and a mature name - Nintendo Hybrid - And I'm convinced completely.

[Gamefreak]

In response to the original topic: Flooding the launch with tons of amazing titles is NOT a smart idea.

[Uncle Rich AiAi]

(1) Throw DVD playback out the window.  Anyone who wants a DVD pretty much has one now.  It's a waste of money for Nintendo.

(2) I liked the purpled colored GC, but most don't.  They should go for jet (with red LED) or silver (with blue LED).

(3) Backwards compatibility only if it is not too much of a hassle.

(4) Built in GB/GBA player would be sweet.

(5) And a worldwide launch!  That means we Aussies get it before the US!

[rpglover]

yeah i think ninendo should launch with one high-quality nintendo franchise than all of them at once
i definately think it should be mario- no if, ands, or buts about it
zelda would be good but zelda games have a history of launching 2 years after the console releases
nintendo is taking the right steps now though- they are getting more 3rd parties to develope for them
personally i would like to see at the nintendo's next console launch a mario game, sports games from ea, and some other 3rd party stuff
they should hold out on releasing any big name things for a little while
nintendo should also try to be after rpg companies- they should they have gotten a little support from square-enix but they should go further
they should get support from game arts, overworks, namco, monolith soft- all those company games do not have to be shown at the launch but it would be good for people to know that they are currently developing for their next console and have games in mind
nintendo has been taking good strides in this generation and hopefully that helps for the future

[kennyb27]

Quote
Backwards compatibility is pointless. The energy and restrictions to make backwards compatible would mean it wouldn't be worth their while anyway.

It's not pointless.  Why do you think PS2 did so well out of the gate?  It is because they had their entire PS1 library available at the start.  Nintendo needs this.  Here's an example, someone who looks at the next console and who never played GCN will say "hm, I'd like to try out Zelda: Wind Waker and i want to get game X for the Gamecube 2."  So he can just buy a GC 2 and play both games, the best of both worlds.

[Stex]

Yea, that's one of the major reasons I picked up a PS2.  I knew there were some great PS1 games that I wanted along with the PS2 games out, so that had me sold.  Backwards compatibility is never a bad thing...neither is DVD support if the system uses DVDs anyways.

What GC2 really needs is a killer game ala Halo for Xbox at release.  What did they have for the GC?  Luigi's Mansion? heh  A strong start always help in the console race.  

[Whichone]

"Backwards compatibility is pointless. The energy and restrictions to make backwards compatible would mean it wouldn't be worth their while anyway"

Are you crazy!! Backwards compatibility is almost a must for GCN2. Im sure Xbox Next will have it and PS3 already has it.  

[Luciferschild]

Haven't we all posted about this a million times already? Nintendo's never going to be number 1 again, it would surprise me if they beat ms. But instead of going back over the countless reasons they are lagging I got a quick solution that will put them back on top. Make Anna Kournakova's Extreme Nude Tennis.  

[Hostile Creation]

Okay Lucifer, I admit it, you're right.  There is no way in Hell that Nintendo could ever make back to second place, much less the top.  I should stop arguing right now and crawl into a hole and die Just messing with you.  It'd get lonely around here if I died

PIAC, I think you and I are soul thingies. Our opinions and such are very much alike.

[CHEN]

Metroid Prime 2 as a launch title! And backwards compatibility if it isn't too much trouble  

[reivned]

I know I'm only dreaming out loud, but i'd like them to do as they did when lunching the NES and the SNES : a include two controllers and a new Mario game.

I remember when I bought my SNES not long after launch and started playing Super Mario World with my brother right away ...

[The Doc]

First of all, DVD playback on Nintendo's future console is simply not needed, and if people want to play their DVD movies then will buy a DVD player for that purpose. Second, over 40% of GameCube owers are 18 or older, and Nintendo has addressed that it will make games for people of all ages, which means there will be more mature games coming from the gaming giant. Third, I highly doubt that Nintendo will make an online gaming service that would mimic xbox live due to the fact that Microsoft is losing money on their online gaming service. Ok, now I will make my suggestions for Nintendo's future console:

1) Backward compatability with current GCN software is a must!

2) Wireless controllers would be nice, however they should have a recharageable battary pack becuase replacing battaries all the time is just not feasible. The wireless controllers should also support the rumble feature.

3) Strong third party support is also a must. Keep in mind, Nintendo is gaining ground with their stronger third party support plan by working directly with third party devolpers.

4) Nintendo has already stated that they will fight their back to the number one spot, and they will not rest until they have reached that goal. I agree that Nintendo finishing first in this generation is a lost cause; Nintendo simply launched the GCN to late and as a result, they put themselves in a hole. However, the next generation is a fresh start and if Nintendo plays their cards right they will have a shot at the console crown.

The Doc