Support NeoGAF

[Xenoblade]

I'm pretty sure Kimishima knew just how much trouble Nintendo was in when he took the reigns. I'm not talking financial trouble, I'm talking mindshare. Had Nintendo continued on that path, financial trouble would surely follow. Kimishima understood this well.

Time will tell of course, but it looks like he took over at just the right time. I like this Nintendo. Let's see what the future holds.

 

[Principate]

2 days after the rumour this happened:

http://m.neogaf.com/showthread.php?t=1305643

2 days? The rumour was waaaaaaay older than that more like months.

 

[deadfolk]

Ubisoft have been pretty quiet about Steep for Switch since the announcement, haven't they. I wonder if it's still happening.

Pretty much any of their other big games seems like it would be a better choice. Wildlands or nuAssassin's Creed, certainly.

Steep was always an odd choice. Development on the Switch port was obviously started before the game released and flopped on other platforms, so I would not be surprised to see it quietly scrapped.

 

[cw_sasuke]

Steep was always an odd choice. Development on the Switch port was obviously started before the game released and flopped on other platforms, so I would not be surprised to see it quietly scrapped.

Think it's still happening as a fall/winter release. They are probably using the time to add some worthwhile new addition to justify a full price release ala Rayman.

 

[Ridley327]

Nintendo have never actually done that. Only studio they had purchased was Rare and that was not a total 100% purchase. And yes, there was an infamous talent exodus at Rare but reason for that was bad management at Kyoto office. I'm pretty sure Kimishima management isn't as dumb as their N64 era predecessors.

Retro Studios would like to have a word with you!

 

[sinonobu]

2 days after the rumour this happened:

http://m.neogaf.com/showthread.php?t=1305643

Okay I believe the rumor.

I fully expect DMC style Western MH coming out for PC/Xbox One/PS4 (maybe even Switch) around when the movie comes out.

 

[Shadow Broker]

I'm waiting till next year to see if I want a switch and part of that is waiting to see what third parties do. I don't need everyone to make games for the Switch but it'd be nice to see a company other than Ubisoft do so.

Bethesda with Skyrim? I'm thinking that if Skyrim sells great on the Switch Bethesda will bring more of their titles to the Switch.

 

[Dark Cloud]

How good do you guys think Skyrim will selll? Let's say they customize Skyrim and they add motion controls, gyro and HD Rumble. Let's say they add some Nintendo exclusive stuff like finding a Link costume or something to wear.

What do you think Bethesda is hoping to sell? I already know I'm buying it because I love Skyrim and it was one of my top 5 games (probably) of 7th gen.

Btw I think Skyrim will get a good amount of talk at E3 at Nintendos event. Maybe they talk about it a little at Bethesdas conference too?

 

[cw_sasuke]

Bethesda with Skyrim? I'm thinking that if Skyrim sells great on the Switch Bethesda will bring more of their titles to the Switch.

I can't see it not selling well on Switch unless the port is just straight up garbage.

I own it on Steam with all the addons but never finished it - would rebuy it in Switch though.

 

[george_us]

I legitimately don't know why I doubt Nintendo. I thought the Switch would barely do Wii U numbers because, on paper, the software lineup didn't look much better than the Wii Us. Better perhaps, but not "near Wii-like phenomenon" levels. Silly me.

 

[PSFan]

Yep, just as I suspected. Nintendo is really pissed off about third parties delaying their projects and even some of them not supporting the system at all. Looks like Nintendo has to cover their absence again this fall by spamming low quality filler stuff. Mario Sports Mix 2, anyone?

But seriously, if this shit keep up, it'll going to hurt Nintendo big time. They need to force third party to be there. Buy someone out, Nintendo. Capcom, Take Two, Sega, doesn't matter, buy some studios. Make the quality stuff exclusive to your system, not garbage filler shit.

Yeah, the last time they forced third parties to do anything, it didn't really work out well for them. They left in droves the minute something better came along. Nintendo doesn't have the luxury of being a monopoly anymore either, so they can't force anyone to anything really. They made their bed, now they have to lay in it.

 

[Principate]

Yeah, the last time they forced third parties to do anything, it didn't really work out well for them. They left in droves the minute something better came along. Nintendo doesn't have the luxury of being a monopoly anymore either, so they can't force anyone to anything really. They made their bed, now they have to lay in it.

Didn't they do a marketing deal with Capcom for MH and whose subsequent complete skipping of vita which lead to the vita's sales potential being dead in the water.

There's all sorts of deals companies can make to ensure certain strategic milestones are met.

 

[CaviarMeths]

I'm pretty sure Kimishima knew just how much trouble Nintendo was in when he took the reigns. I'm not talking financial trouble, I'm talking mindshare. Had Nintendo continued on that path, financial trouble would surely follow. Kimishima understood this well.

Time will tell of course, but it looks like he took over at just the right time. I like this Nintendo. Let's see what the future holds.

No doubt Kimishima knew what he was getting into, but everything we're seeing now and most of what we'll see in the next few years is all Iwata. Kimi is just steering the ship that Iwata built.

It's just a shame that Iwata couldn't be around to see it. Last thing he ever did publicly was apologize to fans for a disappointing E3 showing in 2015.

 

[nephilimdj]

No one expects or wants Capcom to out family games on Switch... Don't even know what you are getting at with the family games angle lol.

Why dont you get what I am getting at? Capcom range on 3DS is teens and family games
Capcom's console library is nothing like that. I mean even Strider skipped Wii U. see

An executive at one software company said Nintendo asked it to introduce major releases "as early as possible."

 

[JoshuaJSlone]

They purchased Monolith soft and Retro etc.

Retro Studios would like to have a word with you!

Retro was already formed as a Nintendo studio, they just didn't fully own it until buying out Spangenberg's share.

 

[Anteo]

2 days? The rumour was waaaaaaay older than that more like months.

Oh yeah I just read the dates on the google search and that generally is for the lasts post I believe. But I dont remember it being that long after the rumour, my memory is so bad these days lol.

 

[Principate]

Retro was already formed as a Nintendo studio, they just didn't fully own it until buying out Spangenberg's share.

It was a partnered studio with another company not really a pure Nintendo studio. Something closer to a second party.

 

[PSFan]

Didn't they do a marketing deal with Capcom for MH and whose subsequent complete skipping of vita which lead to the vita's sales potential being dead in the water.

There's all sorts of deals companies can make to ensure certain strategic milestones are met.

Wasn't that MH game originally announced for PS3 though? Regardless, they aren't in any position to force 3rd parties to do anything. Too many other alternatives for 3rd parties.

 

[JoshuaJSlone]

Why dont you get what I am getting at? Capcom range on 3DS is teens and family games
Capcom's console library is nothing like that. see

Haven't their biggest franchises shown up on both? Resident Evil, Street Fighter, Monster Hunter?

 

[sinonobu]

Wasn't that MH game originally announced for PS3 though? Regardless, they aren't in any position to force 3rd parties to do anything. Too many other alternatives for 3rd parties.

Japanese third parties have other viable alternatives?

PS4 doesn't sell well there and Vita is dead.

 

[TheDinoman]

I have never liked the idea of Nintendo (hell, any of the big three, really) buying out any big established developers/publishers like that.

A big problem I have with it is that it would screw over consumers in someway. For example, some people suggest that Nintendo should buy out Atlus. This, however, would be awful for Persona's fanbase, which mostly exists on PlayStation. Want to play the next mainline Persona game? Oop, you gotta go buy it now on Nintendo's consoles. Similar sort of thing with Capcom. Wanna play Devil May Cry 5 or Resident Evil 7 on PS4/Steam? Oops, gotta buy a Switch for that now too. People would be pissed. I'm still pretty mad that none of Rare's old non-DK content can ever be on Nintendo's consoles again after the Microsoft buyout, and quite frankly I don't want to see similar shit happen to other companies.

So yeah, I prefer Iwata's method of just having some decent partnerships.

 

[Principate]

Wasn't that MH game originally announced for PS3 though? Regardless, they aren't in any position to force 3rd parties to do anything. Too many other alternatives for 3rd parties.

Who said anything about force. Nintendo makes plenty of deals with Japanese third parties and close with almost every major one including exclusive games from each.

 

[cw_sasuke]

Why dont you get what I am getting at? Capcom range on 3DS is teens and family games
Capcom's console library is nothing like that. I mean even Strider skipped Wii U. see

I thought this was about the Switch? System is being picked up by Young Adults as of now - kids still have their 3DS and smartphones. When people bring up Capcom and Switch - it's to 99% about MH and Resident Evil. Stuff like Ace Attorney or Street Fighter is nice as well.. But RE/MH are the main draws.

 

[PSFan]

Japanese third parties have other viable alternatives?

PS4 doesn't sell well there and Vita is dead.

PS4 sells well enough and Vita isn't dead in Japan. Tons of games coming out for Vita in Japan for the rest of the year, NA too. Plus, Japanese third party games don't stay in Japan exclusively anymore for the most part. There's PC in Japan as well.

Who said anything about force. Nintendo makes plenty of deals with Japanese third parties and close with almost every major one including exclusive games from each.

The poster I originally responded to.

 

[Principate]

PS4 sells well enough and Vita isn't dead in Japan. Tons of games coming out for Vita in Japan for the rest of the year, NA too. Plus, Japanese third party games don't stay in Japan exclusively anymore for the most part. There's PC in Japan as well.



The poster I originally responded to.

Oh yeah his ideasand antithetical to Nintendo's state's goals.

 

[ggx2ac]

PS4 sells well enough and Vita isn't dead in Japan. Tons of games coming out for Vita in Japan for the rest of the year, NA too. Plus, Japanese third party games don't stay in Japan exclusively anymore for the most part. There's PC in Japan as well.

The PS4 and Vita barely have any million sellers in Japan.

Minecraft is the only known Sony published title to hit a million units in Japan since 2004

FFXV will probably become the first million seller for PS4 in Japan:

30./24. [PS4] Final Fantasy XV # <RPG> (Square Enix) {2016.11.29} (¥8.800) - 2.220 / 975.104 <80-100%> (+7%)

Compare that to 3DS, 3DS has many million sellers in Japan from first party titles to Dragon Quest, Monster Hunter, Yokai Watch, Monster Strike, etc.

The Wii U is dead and it managed to get three one million sellers in Japan:

New Super Mario Bros. U – 1,252,654 copies
Mario Kart 8 – 1,183,372 copies
Splatoon – 1,154,192 copies

There's a reason Nintendo still manages to get Japanese 3rd party support as opposed to western 3rd parties.

The Switch is still selling out in Japan and may hit 1 million hardware units in about 4 to 5 weeks if sales are consistent.

 

[Passose]

PS4 sells well enough and Vita isn't dead in Japan. Tons of games coming out for Vita in Japan for the rest of the year, NA too. Plus, Japanese third party games don't stay in Japan exclusively anymore for the most part. There's PC in Japan as well.



The poster I originally responded to.

being outsold 7-2 is not really "sells well" to me

 

[faint.]

The Switch will hit 10 million easily. Kimishima will acknowledge this once the Stars align.

 

[Klart]

The PS4 and Vita barely have any million sellers in Japan.

Minecraft is the only known Sony published title to hit a million units in Japan since 2004

FFXV will probably become the first million seller for PS4 in Japan:



Compare that to 3DS, 3DS has many million sellers in Japan from first party titles to Dragon Quest, Monster Hunter, Yokai Watch, Monster Strike, etc.

The Wii U is dead and it managed to get three one million sellers in Japan:



There's a reason Nintendo still manages to get Japanese 3rd party support as opposed to western 3rd parties.

The Switch is still selling out in Japan and may hit 1 million hardware units in about 4 to 5 weeks if sales are consistent.

Funny thing is the million sellers in Japan on Vita & PS4 are third party & the million sellers on 3DS & WiiU are first party.

 

[sinonobu]

Funny thing is the million sellers in Japan on Vita & PS4 are third party & the million sellers on 3DS & WiiU are first party.

For Wii U yes, but 3ds nope.

YW, MH are third party titles that sold way over million copies.

 

[Scrawnton]

How good do you guys think Skyrim will selll? Let's say they customize Skyrim and they add motion controls, gyro and HD Rumble. Let's say they add some Nintendo exclusive stuff like finding a Link costume or something to wear.

What do you think Bethesda is hoping to sell? I already know I'm buying it because I love Skyrim and it was one of my top 5 games (probably) of 7th gen.

Btw I think Skyrim will get a good amount of talk at E3 at Nintendos event. Maybe they talk about it a little at Bethesdas conference too?

I own it on PS3 and PS4 but I will definitely buy it again if it runs well on a Switch. I can see it being a multimillion seller if they time it right.

 

[Skittzo0413]

It continues to surprise me that Kimishima is expecting only 10 million for the FY, and now he's even saying they're unsure they'll hit that number? I hope this is just a case of lowering expectations, rather than them knowing about some problem with production.

I don't think Nintendo needs to buyout studios. If third parties aren't willing to release games, make them yourselves! What Nintendo are lacking are western centric titles, like fps, sport titles etc. I've said this in the past. Invest some money in the West. Now they only have NST? They are only making small games. Add a full fledged software house to NoA. Have separate teams, like Nintendo Japan. Don't let them just be a marketing and localisation team.

Instead of doing that (which I think they should do albeit on a smaller scale), Nintendo should start a big campaign to license out games to many of the big western AAA developers like they're currently doing with Ubisoft.

The big reason western AAA publishers don't bring their games to Nintendo consoles is because they have a belief that the audience will not buy their games at a level to give them a good return on investment. They know Nintendo properties sell the most on Nintendo consoles, so the obvious solution is to start their support with Nintendo properties. Have Bethesda or id make a 3D Metroid game, have Rockstar make an open world F-Zero, have Ubisoft make a Mario RPG (oh wait they are, seriously a weird choice)...

Those types of licensed games (while your ideas on developers and IPs may differ) will go a long way in establishing goodwill between the companies and also show them there is an audience for their style of games on the platform. It will also familiarize the audience with these developers such that they'd be more likely to buy their offerings in the future. It really is a win-win for all parties involved, as long as the games are actually good.

 

[CaviarMeths]

Funny thing is the million sellers in Japan on Vita & PS4 are third party & the million sellers on 3DS & WiiU are first party.

Monster Hunter
Dragon Quest
Yokai Watch
Puzzles & Dragons

Million-selling 3rd party IPs on 3DS.

Final Fantasy XV and Minecraft are the only million-sellers on PS4 or Vita in Japan, 1st or 3rd party.

 

[UnemployedVillain]

For Wii U yes, but 3ds nope.

YW, MH are third party titles that sold way over million copies.

I feel like he must've ignored the numerous 3rd party game series for the 3DS you listed

 

[ggx2ac]

Final Fantasy XV and Minecraft are the only million-sellers on PS4 or Vita in Japan, 1st or 3rd party.

.

 

[NewGame]

MH at e3 would be sick.

Not only would I rush out to buy it, I would hound my hunter friends to also buy one so we can hunt together.

So thats 4x switch sales right there.

 

[HStallion]

Bethesda with Skyrim? I'm thinking that if Skyrim sells great on the Switch Bethesda will bring more of their titles to the Switch.

I actually don't really care for Bethesda games so seeing Skyrim added nothing for me. Maybe if we got Wolfenstein or something but yeah I was hoping more like Capcom or what not.

 

[Xenoblade]

I have never liked the idea of Nintendo (hell, any of the big three, really) buying out any big established developers/publishers like that.

<snip>

So yeah, I prefer Iwata's method of just having some decent partnerships.

So do I, but honestly it's bad business. If you want people buying your console, exclusives are a major draw. Most of those people that you referred to that want to play the next Persona game are likely to buy the console to play that game.

The value proposition becomes even greater for the consumer as the number of exclusives increases.

Have Bethesda or id make a 3D Metroid game, have Rockstar make an open world F-Zero...

...It really is a win-win for all parties involved, as long as the games are actually good.

What incentive is there for companies to do this? If they do, generally it's the B team that's put to work on it (if there even is a B team). It doesn't make financial sense to go into a partnership and put your people on a project that will only release on one platform.

 

[Skittzo0413]

What incentive is there for companies to do this? If they do, generally it's the B team that's put to work on it (if there even is a B team). It doesn't make financial sense to go into a partnership and put your people on a project that will only release on one platform.

Companies do this all the time, they're called exclusives. Nintendo would be partially funding the game like they did with Bayonetta 2 and Hyrule Warriors. Why wouldn't a AAA dev want to be given money to develop an (almost) guaranteed million seller?

 

[Xenoblade]

I can see how it might benefit certain companies but if Rockstar, for example, had to decide between putting staff on a partnership project vs the next GTA, I just don't see how it makes sense to do that.

 

[Skittzo0413]

I can see how it might benefit certain companies but if Rockstar, for example, had to decide between putting staff on a partnership project vs the next GTA, I just don't see how it makes sense to do that.

That's a good point about Rockstar, I was just really naming big AAA devs off the top of my head. I don't know if Rockstar is a good one for this but in general I think they should be starting more licensed partnerships with western devs, and the Ubisoft Rabbids/Mario RPG seems like a start. Hopefully that continues but with more western genres like FPS, sports games, etc.

 

[thestopsign]

PS4 sells well enough and Vita isn't dead in Japan.

I just want to note, the Vita is super dead in Japan right now. It doesn't have a single game that will sell more than 100k the rest of the year and it is stuck around 5k a week. It's probably worse off than that in the rest of the world.

As for Nintendo pushing 3rd party games from Japanese publishers, I think they absolutely have leverage right now. The PS4 has shown itself to be only mildly capable and between the 3DS and Switch, Nintendo will have close to 75% of the hardware share for this year. I think they will be pushing hard for Level 5, Atlus, Capcom, Koei Tecmo, Namco Bandai, Konami, and Square-Enix to release everything they can on Switch.

 

[James Scott]

tbh at this rate, the switch doesn't even need Monster Hunter to help the console sales anymore

Yes it does.

It would definitely be better with it than without it, but I think Switch doesn't need it as much as the 3DS did.
If they get Pokémon early on and of Nintendo's previously console only support then Switch should keep selling.
But if it loses MH forever it'll drive more support away from Switch. But if it gets portable 5th or whatever then it could even out? Who knows

 

[Calm Mind]

I wonder how many Japanese 3rd party publishers will rise to Kimishima's challenge now that they've basically boxed themselves into a corner. Surely, no one saw the Switch having this much of an impact and other platforms (namely the PS4) cooling off as much as they have in such a short amount of time.

 

[Dehnus]

I prefer confident and belligerent Nintendo

Kimishima: "THAT'S RIGHT MOTHERFUCKERS"

Then I"ll be backing MS and Sony again. Arrogant Nintendo is far worse than Arrogant Sony. More expensive, nasty towards developers and even nastier towards consumers.

Time to get Kookie Krazy Ken Kutaragi out of the mothballs for a Vita successor. Only he can kill arrogant Nintendo .

Humble Nintendo I love and adore . They make the games I crave, they have electrolytes .

 

[TwilightPrincess]

Ubisoft have been pretty quiet about Steep for Switch since the announcement, haven't they. I wonder if it's still happening.

Pretty much any of their other big games seems like it would be a better choice. Wildlands or nuAssassin's Creed, certainly.

Ubis mature hardcore games bombed on Wii U, so they are bringing only familyfriendly titles. But they probably port their engines with those games (Mario Rabbids uses Snowdrop Engine, Steep is Anvil Next 2.0), so they are flexible in the future. We'll have to wait and see.

I see Switch as Wii U and 3DS successor, so the Wii U comparisons make me mad.

 

[JoshuaJSlone]

Then I"ll be backing MS and Sony again. Arrogant Nintendo is far worse than Arrogant Sony. More expensive, nasty towards developers and even nastier towards consumers.

Remember that time Arrogant Nintendo decided to launch a machine for $599?

 

[ArtHands]

Monster Hunter
Dragon Quest
Yokai Watch
Puzzles & Dragons

Million-selling 3rd party IPs on 3DS.

Final Fantasy XV and Minecraft are the only million-sellers on PS4 or Vita in Japan, 1st or 3rd party.

I think Minecraft is the one and only million seller for Vita worldwide.

 

[SinCityAssassin]

Yep, just as I suspected. Nintendo is really pissed off about third parties delaying their projects and even some of them not supporting the system at all. Looks like Nintendo has to cover their absence again this fall by spamming low quality filler stuff. Mario Sports Mix 2, anyone?

But seriously, if this shit keep up, it'll going to hurt Nintendo big time. They need to force third party to be there. Buy someone out, Nintendo. Capcom, Take Two, Sega, doesn't matter, buy some studios. Make the quality stuff exclusive to your system, not garbage filler shit.

The fuck are you on.

 

[jariw]

I wonder how many Japanese 3rd party publishers will rise to Kimishima's challenge now that they've basically boxed themselves into a corner. Surely, no one saw the Switch having this much of an impact and other platforms (namely the PS4) cooling off as much as they have in such a short amount of time.

Weren't there some interviews with Japanese developers just after the January reveal, that they were pretty impressed with the hardware design and the price?