Mongonzoo as CEO of Nintendo LTD.|General Gaming Discussion|Forum|SNES HUB

The first thing that Nintendo needs to realize is that the WiiU is a burning platform. That is why you see them doing things that they would never do otherwise such as early price cutting and selling their product at a loss.

To put the fire out they need an aggressive software approach akin to what they have done with 3DS, which was another burning platform early on. In doing this approach they need to do the following.

1. REIGN IN THESE OUT OF CONTROL DEVELOPERS. Nintendo is doing exactly what they complained about in 2006: Making games for themselves. They are damaging their brand in two ways:The first is lackluster entries in series that Nintendo executives are not interested in such as 2D Mario. 2D Mario was once what Crysis is now, Literally showing what they system can do at it’s maximum DAY ONE. One of the reasons why console sales these days are so bad early on (I know that they are selling NOW, my response: Wait until March…) Is because there is no longer a system showcase until over halfway through the lifecycle. If the developers do not care, then why do the customers? This needs to change, and an honest-to-god hard effort needs to begin going into DKC, Mario, Mario Kart, animal crossing, and other proven movers of hardware.

The second thing that needs to occur is that Nintendo must start meeting expectations. If I buy a Zelda, Metroid, ect, I expect certain expectations to be met (Metroid is an adventure shooter with a badass protagonist, Zelda is an ACTION RPG, Mario Kart should play like Mario Kart). No more re-skinning of new ideas the developers want to play with in a game that doesn’t match the content. If developers have a creative new idea, let’s channel that into a new IP that could be a hit since it will not clash with consumer expectations this way.

2. There needs to be an account system in place across all Nintendo products, which makes the WiiU AND the 3DS less of a risk for upgrading consumers. Keeping Wii BC was a good move, but there needs to be a system in place to where GC downloads are free or discounted with proof of prior ownership, and once you download a title YOU OWN IT FOR GOOD! Every other entertainment industry does this from movies to books, we cannot expect videogames to be any different. Imagine how Bluray’s customer adoption rate would be if they refused to play DVD? Why do videogames, a MUCH SMALLER industry, think they are special? 

3.The UPad MUST BE ABLE TO SHOW IT’S VALUE TO THE CONSUMER. Nintendo is home to the most creative minds in the industry, so if they cannot find a way to communicate the value of the product to the consumer,then it is time to re-evaluate it. The Upad is THE reason why WiiU’s are being sold at a loss, and there is too much money going out the door if we cannot convince customers that the Upad is worth it. We have the 2DS and it is doing a great job of capturing the market that wanted a super DS. Let’s look at the same thing for WiiU.

4.More investment into strong 2nd-party relationships.Leaning on Second-Party is a classic approach that has generally worked to Nintendo’s advantage (and THE approach that Sony and MS rely on). With HD taking up an abundance of in-house resources, 2nd-party should be brought in to develop new iterations of Priority-2 IP’s (no way in hell EAD should have wasted the amount of time they did on Pikmin 3, with WW’s track record there is no way in hell WWHD was justified, make it a GC download). Let 2nd party handle Punch-Out, Ice climber (so many ideas for that one), F-Zero, Star Fox, ect.) And look to the past and let 2nd party have some creative freedom to perhaps create another winner ala Banjo or Perfect dark.

5.Moving forward into Generation 9, LEARN FROM HISTORY, LOOK AT YOUR SUCCESSFUL PLATFORMS, AND PUT THE HARDCORE INTO PERSPECTIVE FOR FUCKS SAKE! In the year 2007 (when every Wii was sold out in America and the DS is Moving like Fire up a pine building) what were the Hardcore saying?

– “Nintendo abandoned their base! They abandoned the hardcore gamers!”

-“Yeah! Where are the hardcore games? I don’t want this Wii Sports crap.”

-“Nintendo did it wrong. They should target the hardcore gamers first and THEN expand to the ‘casuals’.”

-“The Wii Has No HD Graphics! Why?!?”

Nintendo did everything the hardcore wanted with the Wii U. HD Wii, shooters like ZombieU, an abundance of games like Pikmin 3, Wonderful 101, and Bayonetta 2 that were cheered by the Hardcore. 3D Mario, which is not doing very well in Japan right now. Where are all the hardcore gamers? What are the games that are responsible for the little sales momentum Wii U has? It is all the games the hardcore hates. It is games like NSMB U and Wii U Party That are moving consoles. It will be titles like Mario Kart.

SO MAKE MORE OF THOSE! We should not stop making hardcore games, but we do need more entry-level experiences than advanced experiences.

6. Change of marketing. Do not focus on the games, focus on people PLAYING the games, their reactions, their emotions. THAT is what gaming is about, and it is that focus that moves people to want a similar experience. Create word-of-mouth advertising, and once you have dedicated fans taking that is all you ever need. If you do the above, this is attainable. I have built businesses on this alone. 

7.A total transformation in how online is handled by Nintendo. One area the Big N is vastly outclassed in is it’s online. We need to do more, and a good start is in identifying BEST PRACTICES that both your competitors utilize.

8. More aggressive pursuit of retail space. There is no reason why the Wii should have been shoved off in a corner with it’s sales. 3rd-party companies are literally paying for MS and SONY’s retail space, which is a shame since both have much more capital to burn than Nintendo, but Market presence is an important expenditure that cannot be ignored despite being costly. Nintendo continues to ignore this at it’s peril.

There are many more ideas, but those are the most important ones. At this point it is important to not that after R and D and production costs have already been tallied, there is probably no way to save the WiiU at this point ala Gamecube. Thus most of my suggestions are for the movement into generation 9, which for Nintendo will be relatively soon…

That said, Nintendo did not listen to me when I was a shareholder lol! why would they make me CEO?

Thank you, but as I said it’s all a moot point. Nintendo, at least right now is not interested in what you or I think, and that is precisely the problem.

Until Nintendo can begin to look for advice outside a small circle of game developers and former game developers (many of which do not even play games and have no clue on how users experience them) Nintendo will continue to live a stable (because they Do handle their money well, but unfulfilled corporate life.

Well, considering Reggies job will likely be up for grabs along with Iwata’s if things continue……

Still, business acumen is not a substitute for actual EXPERIENCE in the industry itself, and I have no executive experience running an entertainment company. That said, executives cross industries all the time, as a way to get an outsider who thinks outside the box, but let’s just say that you will not see me running a Nintendo boardroom any time soon lol! 

A Wii Sports U (with the tablet player acting as a referee) would have been one helluva killer app.  Imagine playing hockey, football or basketball and intentionally committing a foul, hoping that the ref wouldn’t catch it.  Just like real sports!

It’s still a great idea though the more I think about, the more a tablet-free Wii U makes sense.  Wii Sports U could still have a referee mode, but that would be bonus content for those who own the tablet.  Everyone else would get to enjoy great, intuitive, motion-controlled sports games with HD graphics and a robust online mode.

Looks like Hector is correct, it’s $2 for a day pass (!) or you can pay $10 per sport to own it permanently* 

* – until the next console when you have to buy it again

Pretty insulting considering the Wii U is backwards compatible and a used copy of Wii Sports must be dirt cheap by now.

I want to take a moment to comment on the Wind Waker HD remake.  I think that this is a FANTASTIC idea with ATROCIOUS execution.  HD rereleases of 6th generation games are extremely common and have sold reasonably well on the PS3 and 360.  

Here’s the problem with Nintendo’s approach though; they used internal EAD staff to develop Wind Waker HD.  Almost no one else in the industry is using the original developers / studio to make their HD ports.  Sony for example, used Bluepoint to port Ico and Shadow of the Colossus.  Capcom used Pipeworks to port the Devil May Cry games to HD.  

Why is Nintendo using the most talented developers on the planet to port a 10-year old Gamecube game?  It’s really absurd when you think about it.

Had Nintendo hired say Bluepoint to take care of the port, they could have put out an HD-enhanced Zelda game (ideally at a budget price) while they used EAD staff to wow us with the first Zelda originally developed for an HD console.  Instead, they took away resources from getting a brand new Zelda out the door.  It’s really baffling when you think about it.

The beginning of generation 7 was a very humbling experience for Sony.  They seem to have learned a lot since then and have taken their “lessons learned” into our “current” gen.

As for Nintendo’s game pad, until they produce a killer app, it will remain a neat “nice to have” as opposed to a “need to have”.  Much of what the game pad “brings to the table” could just as easily be done with an app for Android / iOS tablets and phones.

The game pad is definitely cool, but is it cool enough to sell the Wii U at a cost that is very close to the PS4?  I don’t think so.