5 ms·

I see problems with all three approaches. The Wii U depends mostly on casual gamers, but the best casual gaming device for most people is the iPad Mini. Never

I see problems with all three approaches. The Wii U depends mostly on casual gamers, but the best casual gaming device for most people is the iPad Mini. Never underestimate the power of Pokemon though. That alone can potentially change the tides.

ebbv 13y ago
Pokemon is mostly a mobile/handheld title. The new Pokemon X and Y games are for the 3DS, not the Wii U. The Wii U may make a comeback when an original Mario or Zelda game comes out for it. The mistake Nintendo continues to make (which it made previously with the Game Cube) is releasing a new console without a "Oh my god I have to play this!" game. So far Sony and Microsoft have not announced "Oh my god I have to play this!" games, either. At least, IMHO.
- tankbot 13y ago
  I have to disagree somewhat. The Wii released with Wii Sports which, despite being more a collection of mini-games, was definitely an "Oh my god I have to play this!" game. When everyone you know, including your 85 year-old grandfather, is getting in on the bowling/tennis action you know Nintendo did something right.
  - ebbv 13y ago
    I never said the Wii didn't release with an "Oh my god.. " game. I said the Game Cube didn't. We don't disagree. The N64, SNES and NES all released with "Oh my god.. " games as well.
    - tankbot 13y ago
      Ah my mistake. The only excuse I can offer is it was late in the day and my eyes were tired.
  - Xixi 13y ago
    Super Mario Galaxy was Wii "Oh my god I have to play this!" game, at least as far as gamers go. Though technically it was announced at the same time as the Wii, but not available at launch.
    - slantyyz 13y ago
      While I'm sure Super Mario Galaxy is an excellent game, Wii Sports was more than "Oh my god I have to play this!", it was actually "Oh my god, I have to play this and I'm going to buy that system to do it". Wii Sports is probably one of the most important bundled games in console history. It was a killer app with system-selling universal appeal reaching well beyond just gamers.
- bitwize 13y ago
  The Wii U may make a comeback when an original Mario or Zelda game comes out for it. Screw Mario; what about Sonic? Sonic: Lost World looks like the coolest and most innovative thing they've done with that long-beleaguered franchise in well over a decade, and harks back to the radical experimentation they were trying with Sonic X-Treme in the mid-90s. It's my "oh my God, I have to play that" game, anyway.
  - withad 13y ago
    Sonic: Lost World looks interesting but a lot of previous Sonic games have looked interesting without actually being very fun. Honestly, I think part of the problem with the Sonic franchise since it went 3D is that there's been too much innovation. Every game has to have some "revolutionary" new feature without the basic gameplay being polished - three characters at once in Heroes, cars and guns in Shadow the Hedgehog, the mach speed zones, vehicles, and telekinesis in Sonic 2006, the swordplay in Black Knight, the list goes on. I've always thought they would've been much better off going back to the style of the Sonic levels from the Adventure series, perfecting that, and then building on it with new features. That's more the approach Nintendo took. Super Mario 64 laid the solid groundwork for all the 3D Mario games since and Sunshine and the Galaxy games were able to play with the formula a bit.
    - bitwize 13y ago
      Lost World appears to be using a hybrid of the Adventure series levels and the original Genesis levels, to profound effect.
  - Camillo 13y ago
    What about Sonic? I don't mean to offend anyone, but my impression is that the Sonic fandom is a sort of weirder, more awkward, less socially acceptable version of the furry fandom. Maybe I've been on the Internet for too long, though.
    - bitwize 13y ago
      You're rightm, but I can pretend that the wankery doesn't exist and enjoy a Sonic game when it's done right. Anyway, Sega have hired a couple of writers (the writers of Happy Tree Friends as it turns out) to take Sonic in a completely different, more cartoony direction.
- justinhj 13y ago
  I count New Mario Bros WiiU in that category. Or do you mean new as in an order of magnitude bigger like the jump that Mario 3d was when N64 came out?
jsemrau 13y ago
Never understood why people follow this notion. All gaming consoles are for casual gaming (relax on the couch, turn on, play , stop). The number of FPS' don't make a good indicator to distinguish between "hardcore" and casual.
- UberMouse 13y ago
  I would hardly say the people who play Call of Duty 12h a day when a new one comes out are using their console for "casual gaming"
  - teamonkey 13y ago
    You're referring to the 'midcore' market.
  - neona 13y ago
    I'm not exactly sure what to call those people without being derogatory (brogamers, etc), but generally I consider those people to be separate from those who play a wider variety of games.
- NoPiece 13y ago
  I think there is a meaningful distinction to be drawn between the "casual" xbox strategy for the last couple years with Kinect focused games and the core game orientation it had for the first few years after it launched.
- slantyyz 13y ago
  >> The number of FPS' don't make a good indicator to distinguish between "hardcore" and casual. You are so right. It's annoying that the standard for "gamer" has become FPS players. In my day, hardcore gamer meant you could have been into any genre, whether it be Japanese style RPGs, Japanese style shooters (I'm talking Raiden or Gunstar Heroes, not FPS), or fighting games. The only reason why I keep a PS3 around is for stuff like Street Fighter and King of Fighters -- stuff that a "modern gamer" (i.e., gamers from the 360 era and forward) would probably call niche.
- gordaco 13y ago
Tiktaalik 13y ago
Game industry outsiders often overlook how much console sales are driven by quality games and how often a suddenly popular game can completely change the market. Consider for example how the Monster Hunter series became a cultural phenomenon in Japan and made the Playstation Portable incredibly successful. In contrast Sony's Monster Hunterless followup system, the Playstation Vita, has been a failure. Of course it's impossible to predict which games will become phenomenons (though Nintendo seems to strike gold more often than others) and so when predicting game industry fortunes you have to make a prediction ignoring the possibility of a random breakout title, but then footnote that "of course anything could happen."

ebbv 13y ago

Pokemon is mostly a mobile/handheld title. The new Pokemon X and Y games are for the 3DS, not the Wii U. The Wii U may make a comeback when an original Mario or Zelda game comes out for it. The mistake Nintendo continues to make (which it made previously with the Game Cube) is releasing a new console without a "Oh my god I have to play this!" game. So far Sony and Microsoft have not announced "Oh my god I have to play this!" games, either. At least, IMHO.

tankbot 13y ago
I have to disagree somewhat. The Wii released with Wii Sports which, despite being more a collection of mini-games, was definitely an "Oh my god I have to play this!" game. When everyone you know, including your 85 year-old grandfather, is getting in on the bowling/tennis action you know Nintendo did something right.
- ebbv 13y ago
  I never said the Wii didn't release with an "Oh my god.. " game. I said the Game Cube didn't. We don't disagree. The N64, SNES and NES all released with "Oh my god.. " games as well.
  - tankbot 13y ago
    Ah my mistake. The only excuse I can offer is it was late in the day and my eyes were tired.
- Xixi 13y ago
  Super Mario Galaxy was Wii "Oh my god I have to play this!" game, at least as far as gamers go. Though technically it was announced at the same time as the Wii, but not available at launch.
  - slantyyz 13y ago
    While I'm sure Super Mario Galaxy is an excellent game, Wii Sports was more than "Oh my god I have to play this!", it was actually "Oh my god, I have to play this and I'm going to buy that system to do it". Wii Sports is probably one of the most important bundled games in console history. It was a killer app with system-selling universal appeal reaching well beyond just gamers.
bitwize 13y ago
The Wii U may make a comeback when an original Mario or Zelda game comes out for it. Screw Mario; what about Sonic? Sonic: Lost World looks like the coolest and most innovative thing they've done with that long-beleaguered franchise in well over a decade, and harks back to the radical experimentation they were trying with Sonic X-Treme in the mid-90s. It's my "oh my God, I have to play that" game, anyway.
- withad 13y ago
  Sonic: Lost World looks interesting but a lot of previous Sonic games have looked interesting without actually being very fun. Honestly, I think part of the problem with the Sonic franchise since it went 3D is that there's been too much innovation. Every game has to have some "revolutionary" new feature without the basic gameplay being polished - three characters at once in Heroes, cars and guns in Shadow the Hedgehog, the mach speed zones, vehicles, and telekinesis in Sonic 2006, the swordplay in Black Knight, the list goes on. I've always thought they would've been much better off going back to the style of the Sonic levels from the Adventure series, perfecting that, and then building on it with new features. That's more the approach Nintendo took. Super Mario 64 laid the solid groundwork for all the 3D Mario games since and Sunshine and the Galaxy games were able to play with the formula a bit.
  - bitwize 13y ago
    Lost World appears to be using a hybrid of the Adventure series levels and the original Genesis levels, to profound effect.
- Camillo 13y ago
  What about Sonic? I don't mean to offend anyone, but my impression is that the Sonic fandom is a sort of weirder, more awkward, less socially acceptable version of the furry fandom. Maybe I've been on the Internet for too long, though.
  - bitwize 13y ago
    You're rightm, but I can pretend that the wankery doesn't exist and enjoy a Sonic game when it's done right. Anyway, Sega have hired a couple of writers (the writers of Happy Tree Friends as it turns out) to take Sonic in a completely different, more cartoony direction.
justinhj 13y ago
I count New Mario Bros WiiU in that category. Or do you mean new as in an order of magnitude bigger like the jump that Mario 3d was when N64 came out?

jsemrau 13y ago

Never understood why people follow this notion. All gaming consoles are for casual gaming (relax on the couch, turn on, play , stop). The number of FPS' don't make a good indicator to distinguish between "hardcore" and casual.

UberMouse 13y ago
I would hardly say the people who play Call of Duty 12h a day when a new one comes out are using their console for "casual gaming"
- teamonkey 13y ago
  You're referring to the 'midcore' market.
- neona 13y ago
  I'm not exactly sure what to call those people without being derogatory (brogamers, etc), but generally I consider those people to be separate from those who play a wider variety of games.
NoPiece 13y ago
I think there is a meaningful distinction to be drawn between the "casual" xbox strategy for the last couple years with Kinect focused games and the core game orientation it had for the first few years after it launched.
slantyyz 13y ago
>> The number of FPS' don't make a good indicator to distinguish between "hardcore" and casual. You are so right. It's annoying that the standard for "gamer" has become FPS players. In my day, hardcore gamer meant you could have been into any genre, whether it be Japanese style RPGs, Japanese style shooters (I'm talking Raiden or Gunstar Heroes, not FPS), or fighting games. The only reason why I keep a PS3 around is for stuff like Street Fighter and King of Fighters -- stuff that a "modern gamer" (i.e., gamers from the 360 era and forward) would probably call niche.
gordaco 13y ago

Tiktaalik 13y ago

Game industry outsiders often overlook how much console sales are driven by quality games and how often a suddenly popular game can completely change the market. Consider for example how the Monster Hunter series became a cultural phenomenon in Japan and made the Playstation Portable incredibly successful. In contrast Sony's Monster Hunterless followup system, the Playstation Vita, has been a failure. Of course it's impossible to predict which games will become phenomenons (though Nintendo seems to strike gold more often than others) and so when predicting game industry fortunes you have to make a prediction ignoring the possibility of a random breakout title, but then footnote that "of course anything could happen."