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Reports today show that Nintendo’s quarterly profits are down 61 percent. Should anyone be surprised by this? If you are a market analysis type, maybe but if you are a gamer, probably not. According to an article in the NY Times, Nintendo cites “boredom, not recession” as the main cause of their economic woes this quarter. I’m inclined to agree.
Nintendo can boast that they are still doing better than Sony but realistically, the Wii started the new generation console war with a massive lead from which their competitors still haven’t fully recovered. The Wii sports a truly innovate “Wii-mote” controller interface that Sony was quick to emulate right before the PS3 launch with their “six-axis.” Most of the games for Wii use the Wii-mote (that combines a joystick and a wand like a nunchuck) pretty well, but the Wii suffers from a fatal fall I pointed out long ago when the Wii’s specs were released. The Wii is effectively a supped up Game Cube. It lacks native video disc playback, no HD support, it’s web interface is very “2000 and late,” and I’m personally tired of Mario. Mario Galaxy, Mario Baseball, Mario Tennis, Mario Kart, Mario and Friends, Mario this, and Mario That – give me a break! I’ve felt for a long time that Nintendo was a one trick pony, but the Mario brand borers on ridiculous.
The problem with the Wii and the reason why I think the Wii will not bounce back in the Christmas season is the games suck. Use Sony and Microsoft have games that are graphically mind blowing, and are becoming increasingly realistic, more cinematic, more interactive, and more community oriented. The Wii simply can’t compete with the Xbox 360 and PS3 in the hardware department. As a result, the Wii can only hope to release great titles that make even better use of the Wii-mote which is difficult because from what I’ve seen, the controller’s potential seems close to maxing out. Add to this, PS3 and Xbox developers have had a lot of time to learn the consoles, so I trust the games coming out for the Christmas season will be unlike anything we’ve seen before gameplay-wise or graphically, and the Wii will have to resort to its whack-a-mole games to keep up.
The Nintendo Wii is a novelty game system that in my humble opinion, has a limited appeal to the hardcore gamers who comprise the largest percentage sales for any gaming system. It was a great experiment and has lots of potential, but Nintendo needs to stop focusing on gamers of today and project what gamers will want in the future. Until then, Nintendo needs a Golden Eye. You know, the blockbuster first person shooter for Nintendo 64 that is still considered one of the greatest games ever made? The game that single handedly saved Nintendo from failure? Without that one mega hit game, Nintendo is doomed. While I have no degree in finances, I will predict Nintendo will not have a good Christmas if they fail to produce a mega blockbuster hit. It is a problem too big for Mario or Whack-a-Mole sports.
Reports today show that Nintendo’s quarterly profits are down 61 percent. Should anyone be surprised by this? If you are a market analysis type, maybe but if you are a gamer, probably not. According to an article in the NY Times, Nintendo cites “boredom, not recession” as the main cause of their economic woes this quarter. I’m inclined to agree.
Nintendo can boast that they are still doing better than Sony but realistically, the Wii started the new generation console war with a massive lead from which their competitors still haven’t fully recovered. The Wii sports a truly innovate “Wii-mote” controller interface that Sony was quick to emulate right before the PS3 launch with their “six-axis.” Most of the games for Wii use the Wii-mote (that combines a joystick and a wand like a nunchuck) pretty well, but the Wii suffers from a fatal fall I pointed out long ago when the Wii’s specs were released. The Wii is effectively a supped up Game Cube. It lacks native video disc playback, no HD support, it’s web interface is very “2000 and late,” and I’m personally tired of Mario. Mario Galaxy, Mario Baseball, Mario Tennis, Mario Kart, Mario and Friends, Mario this, and Mario That – give me a break! I’ve felt for a long time that Nintendo was a one trick pony, but the Mario brand borers on ridiculous.
The problem with the Wii and the reason why I think the Wii will not bounce back in the Christmas season is the games suck. Use Sony and Microsoft have games that are graphically mind blowing, and are becoming increasingly realistic, more cinematic, more interactive, and more community oriented. The Wii simply can’t compete with the Xbox 360 and PS3 in the hardware department. As a result, the Wii can only hope to release great titles that make even better use of the Wii-mote which is difficult because from what I’ve seen, the controller’s potential seems close to maxing out. Add to this, PS3 and Xbox developers have had a lot of time to learn the consoles, so I trust the games coming out for the Christmas season will be unlike anything we’ve seen before gameplay-wise or graphically, and the Wii will have to resort to its whack-a-mole games to keep up.
The Nintendo Wii is a novelty game system that in my humble opinion, has a limited appeal to the hardcore gamers who comprise the largest percentage sales for any gaming system. It was a great experiment and has lots of potential, but Nintendo needs to stop focusing on gamers of today and project what gamers will want in the future. Until then, Nintendo needs a Golden Eye. You know, the blockbuster first person shooter for Nintendo 64 that is still considered one of the greatest games ever made? The game that single handedly saved Nintendo from failure? Without that one mega hit game, Nintendo is doomed. While I have no degree in finances, I will predict Nintendo will not have a good Christmas if they fail to produce a mega blockbuster hit. It is a problem too big for Mario or Whack-a-Mole sports.
