Ever since the N64, Nintendo’s consoles have struggled to provide their audience with a consistent and satisfying release schedule. The Wii has been no exception, and the holiday 2008 lineup has been a major point of contention for the fan base as a result. Much of this problem can be attributed to the fact that the company has not seen favorable third party support since the Super Nintendo, and those publishers should be given an ample share of the blame. But after more than a decade it’s worth questioning why Nintendo itself has never done anything internally to curb the trend. During the N64 and GCN eras, profitability kept expanding the firm’s development teams from being a viable option, but with both the Wii and DS poised to break some of the loftiest sales records in the industry’s history it may be time for Nintendo to reinvest some of this good fortune in an infusion of new blood.
True story: at least half of these were worth playing. Compare that to the Wii’s mostly shovel-worthy third party offerings.
It has been almost two years since the Wii launched and the platform still cannot boast a single third party title on par with EAD’s best efforts. While it is possible support could improve in the future, there is no guarantee that such a shift will ever take place. Thus far the Wii has managed to disprove conventional wisdom that the top selling hardware will boast the largest assortment of software, marking the first time a frontrunner has ever lagged behind in this regard in the history of gaming. Internal Nintendo efforts have been admirable, as usual, and Wii owners have enjoyed the company’s best output (in terms of total software produced) since the golden days of the SNES. But that impressive outpouring of quality software in such a short time span has obviously been taxing, as the 2008 holiday release list for both the Wii and DS can attest. It almost seems as if the brain trust at NCL decided to frontload their release schedule to keep gamers occupied while the rest of the development community scrambled to get on board. In theory that was a fine plan: give players your best efforts right up front and then leave a giant window of opportunity for developers who have historically complained about competing against flagship first party games. Unfortunately the window of opportunity is wide open but it seems no one ever bothered to take advantage of it. As a result, Nintendo has been left holding the bag and issuing a series of apologies and soothing press statements assuring devoted fans that while they may have little to play this holiday everything is actually going according to plan.
Not only did gamers get a new iteration of Super Smash Bros. on the Wii early in its life, but something like half of the characters shown ended up starring in their own games, thanks to an explosion of talent by NCL and others.
If the idea all along was to push all the best and brightest franchises out the door in the first year of the Wii’s life, one can hardly fault NCL for assuming that publishers would take over from there. The entire industry was caught off guard by the console’s early success, but after a full year of domination it was easy to see that this was no fluke. Every hardware sales leader to this point had gotten a lion’s share of third party support and it served to reason that as the Wii continued to sell, its support from prominent publishers would grow. Unfortunately for Nintendo, and Wii owners everywhere, that has not happened. While a few glimmers of hope exist, the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 are still top priority in the minds of most of the industry’s top development talent. When the Wii began to take off at retail it was safe to assume that support would follow, historical precedent assured it, but since that failed to happen NCL must make some tough decisions going forward to ensure that droughts like the forthcoming holiday 2008 release schedule do not happen again. Nintendo was fooled this time, and they can be excused for that. But the second time is shame on them.
While Nintendo hardware has suffered from periodic software droughts for well over a decade, the company finally has the financial means to combat the problem. The days of the console division barely scraping together a profit are over and the money has yet to stop rushing in. In this new era of excess, it’s time for NCL to push past their own frugal traditions and invest heavily in expanding the company’s internal studios. Realistically, first party output would have to be at least doubled in order to make up for what the Wii cannot seem to receive from other publishers. Such a radical undertaking would require not only an enormous financial investment but also a lot of patience. Finding the funding would obviously be no problem, whether the company as a whole has the will to push for such a dramatic expansion is another matter entirely.
Simply throwing money at the problem, and being patient for the returns, would not be enough though. Creating another five studios that release various forms of Mario and Pokémon will do very little to improve software variety. If Nintendo was to dedicate themselves to expanding their software teams, it would need to be done intelligently, with an eye towards what the company currently lacks. Ideally each new acquisition, or startup company, that would be financed would have its own identity and bring a unique mindset to the table. Dreamcast-era Sega would be the best example of a hardware company that enjoyed such a situation. While comparing the Wii to the Dreamcast may seem like a bit of a stretch, both platforms have quite a bit in common in terms of software support. Both the DC and Wii have relied heavily on first party software, and install base aside the comparison is a fairly even one. A quick look at both the top-selling and top-rated software for both machines reveals that they lean heavily on internal efforts by necessity.
It’s important to note core gamer perception of the two machines. The Dreamcast was never seen as lacking in software for the core gamer while the Wii has that weakness exposed on a daily basis on message boards across the net. The difference lies in the development environment. Nintendo’s teams have traditionally been very centralized and the company’s style has remained consistent regardless of which studio creates a title. Sega, on the other hand, managed their studios as separate entities, each one with differing philosophies and style both visually and in terms of gameplay. If Nintendo was to invest in new talent, it would be beneficial for them to take a look at what made the Dreamcast’s software so memorable to many gamers. It wasn’t just the number of great first party games, but also the fact that a Sega game could be any sort of style or genre. EAD, along with Nintendo’s other studios, too often suffer from never trying to shake things up. The quality control that has made Nintendo respected for decades would, of course, have to be maintained, but there is no reason that every title that comes from the company has to feel as if it were endowed with the same colorful vibe present in the vast majority of its current offerings.
Shenmue, although not as commercially successful as some other Dreamcast titles, was a truly innovative title and a pivotal element in the Dreamcast’s valuable and varied first-party library.
If NCL spent its recent profits wisely on new talent that was both skilled at their craft and varied in their design philosophy, it would once again propel the entire company forward in the eyes of the core gamer. This sort of undertaking would probably take several years to bear fruit, but it’s not unrealistic to think things couldn’t be sorted out in time for the Wii’s successor. If such a scenario unfolded as planned, Nintendo would have an arsenal prepared right out of the gate for its next machine regardless of outside support. Assuming their next console enjoys the same user base as the Wii, the company’s investment would pay for itself in short order. As the PS2 has proven when dealing with such a large base of consumers, it is relatively easy to turn a profit on nearly any type of software. While the profit margins of some of these games would pale in comparison to Wii Fit or Wii Play, the benefit of shoring up the console division’s primary weakness is something you cannot put a price on. The perception of hosting a healthy, robust gaming pipeline is key here; the nearly guaranteed income from these new divisions is really just icing on the cake.
It’s become obvious in the last few years that Nintendo’s only vulnerability at this time is their lack of sway with the core gaming community. While it seems unlikely that their competitors could use this to topple what looks like an iron grip on the top of the hardware charts, it would be prudent of NCL to nonetheless address this flaw before it could pose any threat to their run of prosperity. Obviously the company could never match the entire output of every publisher’s top PS3 and 360 offerings but if the Dreamcast is any indication a steady output of quality software, even if it is a bit slower than what competitors boast, is something the core gamer can respect. It’s time for Nintendo to step up to the plate and provide for their fans what other publishers have refused to give for a decade and counting: quality, consistent support on their consoles. Such an act of good faith would do wonders not only for the long term prospects of the company’s console division but could also serve as something of an olive branch to the core gamer, perhaps restoring confidence in enough of a meaningful way to make up for what has been perceived as an extended period of neglect.
Like this article? Please Digg it!
digg_url = ‘http://digg.com/nintendo/How_it_Can_Be_Done_Securing_Nintendo_s_Empire’;
Historically Nintendo has steered clear of sweeping actions, particularly ones that required a huge financial investment, but it’s past time for the company to reconsider that policy. The Wii has secured their hold on both hardware markets, console and handheld, but the duration of that reign will depend entirely on how proactive NCL is willing to be. If they stand firm and ride the wave of new audiences as long as it lasts, an option that is certainly enticing, their downfall will come the moment non-gamers lose interest in a control mechanism and software approach that cannot stay fresh forever. They have the means to fix their only weakness, something neither Sony or Microsoft can claim. The question is whether they have the will.
