Reggie: More Titles Due for Wii U Launch Window

Comment by Ikana, on 30.09.2012 at 16:51

Only launch title I'm interested in so far is NSMB, probably gonna wait for more titles and a price drop before getting a Wii U. I learned my lesson from the 3DS. :P

Comment by Stulaw, on 29.09.2012 at 21:18

To add to that, the 3DS has only very recently started to make profit.

Comment by justonesp00lturn, on 29.09.2012 at 21:09

http://www.joystiq.com/2011/07/29/iwata-taking-50-pay-cut-over-3ds-performance/

Iwata and several other higher-ups including Shigeru Miyamoto docked their own pay to allow for the 3DS price drop. As far as I can find, nobody was fired, nobody in the lower end of the company got pay cuts, just the executive directors.

Comment by God, on 28.09.2012 at 18:44

You sure? Have you looked up sales figures of consoles, the rate at which they sell and then figure out how much Iwata needs to make to have any meaningful impact on price reduction?

I hope for you you get to play a 'different' Zelda game again. But maybe it's wiser to look to other experiences. There are a lot of games out there with great stories or storytelling, with polished gameplay to boot. But if you want to play it as a mute, slightly effiminate boy with a green hat - there's unfortunately not many options left but play Zelda. And it's still an amazing series by any standards.

Comment by justonesp00lturn, on 28.09.2012 at 18:17

I disagree. I don't see Nintendo's higher-ups as moneymongers. Look at Satoru Iwata, he paid for a 3DS price cut by cutting his own salary in half.

I think as far as Zelda goes, it goes back to a quote from Miyamoto (maybe I'll try to find the exact words later) that basically they start with the control scheme and work the game around that. That's what they're doing backwards. They don't care about story anymore, so we get the same story wrapped around slightly different gameplay mechanics and it takes half a decade for them to finish it. I think most of their fans care less about how "immersive" the control scheme is and more about a great story. On a mechanical level, Majora's Mask played pretty much exactly like Ocarina of Time, it was more than anything the story that makes it a fan favorite. And it took them less than two years to make it.

I do admit that when it comes to the Wii, Nintendo was one of very few companies to use the controller to actually enhance gameplay rather than pour out shovelware. Skyward Sword seems to be hit or miss, with half the fans regarding it as the high point of the controller's existence and the other half trying their hardest not to hate the game because of how sloppy it was.

The Wii U seems like it offers a lot less in the way of control scheme changes; it's almost like if the DS were a console. Most companies will use the Wii U controller for inventory and map management, which is what it'll be best at, and Nintendo will probably use the gyroscope and camera tech in some of their games, but on the whole I think the system offers a chance for Nintendo to return to form with the Zelda series; that is, to make a new game because they have new ideas, not because they have new technology they want to put a green hat on.

Buuuuuuuuut I digress. Sorry for derailing the comments section, guys.

Comment by God, on 28.09.2012 at 17:34

I don't think you should expect to keep enjoying a hobby for more than 15 years. There's a lot of people saying Nintendo needs to change...from highly experienced Nintendo fans. I think if you can make lists of your top three favourite Zelda games, you've probably seen enough - and it is time for a change. As long as Nintendo keeps swimming in money, I don't think it's them who need to change; as unfortunate that may be for the fans.

Comment by justonesp00lturn, on 28.09.2012 at 02:19

Skyward Sword would've been one of my top three Zeldas I think if I didn't have to fight the motionplus the whole time. Like I said, they do the same things over and over and change very little, but enough for to keep me interested thus far. I'm just not sure how much longer they can keep me and other fans if they continue this model. It wasn't always like this (look at Zelda II vs. the first Zelda, Majora's Mask vs. Ocarina of Time etc.). Somewhere along the way Nintendo became afraid of change, and I just wish they'd change things up a little.

Comment by God, on 27.09.2012 at 22:03

And all the nintendo fans gobble it up year after year...can't really blame nintendo then. I've got better things to with my time too then sit in my office working overtime so I can sell 7% more. Why bother. Didn't one of those highly respected game magazines give perfect scores for the latest Zelda? I mean, it seemed like Twilight Princess with handicapped flying to me too - but it was this incredible game according to the ehm 'game journalists' as they like to call themselves.

So Nintendo's efforts really do make a lot of sense. They don't have to prove themselves by pumping out revolutionary and super polished games year after year - they just need one game that changes things up every generation of consoles and some yearly updates of mario, pokemon, zelda etc. I'd do the same, really. They've got facebook and youtube too you know. ;)

Comment by justonesp00lturn, on 27.09.2012 at 21:04

Nintendo is one of the largest game developers in the world. Other, smaller companies make games in as little as a half to a third of the time it takes Nintendo, and their games usually involve more change, not just re-hashing of the same thing over and over again. Nintendo tends to change the visual style and one or two mechanics (wolf in TP, flying in SS etc.) and not much else. They're heading in the right direction for sure, but it's taking forever to get there, and part of that is because they spend so much time on things like Wii Fit and Nintendo Land and fifteen New Super Mario Bros. games that are all basically the same thing.

None of the games you listed are Nintendo IPs, all of them were developed by other companies and published by Nintendo. Not at all what I was talking about.

Not trying to be a Debbie Downer over here, I just think Nintendo could be managing their time and effort a lot better.

Comment by Darkflame, on 27.09.2012 at 18:17

Well, its because they are very hard games to make. You dont just stick the player in a leveling loop like most games, each puzzle and item needs custom coding.

Also, remember they split their efforts between consoles and portables.
The DS Zeldas wernt very good imho - but they still take significant effort to develop.

Excitatruck,Another Code, Endless Ocean, Disaster....they create new IP all the time, just they are normally ignored. (except WiiSports, which is dismissed )