WHY is Nintendo so good right now? How will it sustain this?

[IchigoSharingan]

Phil Spencer was the face associated with a turnaround at Microsoft.
We knew the faces associated with a turnaround at Sony: Shu, Andrew, Kaz, etc.

But Nintendo?

Nintendo went from the WiiU era to beast mode Nintendo we know today, but for the life in me I can't piece together who is responsible for this. We now have a Nintendo that is as beast as SNES era Nintendo with the humility of pre-Wii era Nintendo.

Why should we know who is responsible? Because then we can forecast how long this can last.

PS Rest well, Iwata. The new crew is carrying your torch well.

What do you think will contribute now to Nintendo's future success?

1. I think 3rd parties will forcibly create a 'better than the PS2 era' for the Switch and not by choice, as the sheer success of the Switch will push 3rd parties to support the platform better than the Wii.
2. Labo will be a huge hit initially for its innovation, but its self propellant will be the Youtube/Twitter audience. Nintendo will need to update policy on their Nintendo Creators Program to be more flexible or sustained growth in this endeavor will flat-line quickly. People will have great ideas to add to Labo and they will rightfully want to monetize some of those ideas, especially given how complex/deep this Switch extension will turn out to be.
3. Lack of successful innovation from competition. Nintendo has mostly lived by its mantra of "better specs aren't enough" and the Switch's position in the market is relatively safe given that everyone else just has better specs with their hardware. Nintendo bet against VR and this bet is currently paying off. I thought VR would fly. In other words, noone has a response to Switch and that means market dominance for another few years.

 

[ReitStuff]

Koizumi

 

[violent]

The abrupt failure of the Wii U after the resounding success of the Wii left Nintendo fans hungry.

 

[Mory Dunz]

uhh

 

[Deleted member 9486]

They just realized their remaining strength was in handhelds and that by making a hybrid they could also keep the console only players like me on board.

Very strong first year line up helped as well. 2018 is super underwhelming for me so far though, I'll begrudingly by Smash (kind of meh on the series) to have something else to play on it, but nothing else announced so far has an appeal to me. It's still selling well, so that's just me as I've never been much into Nintendo's B series stuff like Kirby and Yoshi etc.

 

[Zalman]

Koizumi

Click to shrink...

You're close minded if you think this is all Koizumi. Even Takahashi has a bigger role than him.

 

[deussupreme]

Nintendo has always been good. The Wii U was just half baked and the Switch is the full realization of what they really wanted to do.

 

[Boiled Goose]

New (younger) people finally making their ideas come to reality.

The old guard (aka Miyamoto) had been holding them back with outdated ideas, focus on gimmicks, and narrow design philosophies.

 

[LegendofLex]

It's a combination of factors:

- Extremely high quality first-party lineup
- Healthy relationships with content creators who are building games that are a good fit for Switch
- New, younger hardware and software development leadership
- Embracing external trends in game development / genre evolution
- Compelling use case / price point for their hardware
- Continued focus on audiences / needs / genres that aren't priorities for their competition

And most importantly:

- Nintendo has always dominated in handhelds, even while their stronger software has typically been on consoles, and now mobility is a core value proposition for every single one of their games

How they can not screw it up:

- Keep up the level of quality seen in the Year One titles
- Keep encouraging developers to bring retro and other "Nintendo-like" games to Switch
- Reward younger developers for coming up with creative new ideas
- Continue to look at what's popular now and adopting "Nintendo-like" approaches to those trends
- Don't make off-the-wall decisions that fuck up cash cow franchises (see: 2D Mario, Metroid, Zelda prior to BotW, etc.)
- Continue producing new ideas like Labo that create new genres for new audiences

 

[Deleted member 3017]

They just realized their remaining strength was in handhelds and that by making a hybrid they could also keep the console only players like me on board.

Click to shrink...

This is a big part of it. They're playing to their strengths. Commercially, their handhelds are the most successful, but their biggest console games command the most mindshare. Combining these things was the smartest move Nintendo has made in a very long time.

 

[IchigoSharingan]

Koizumi

Click to shrink...

In 4-5 years, absolutely. Right now? Too soon to say that since they just recently released the shackles of creative freedom on him.

 

[GDGF]

Iwata's List

 

[Neptonic]

They had to prove themselves after the Wii U and also keep Iwata's legacy alive, so they had plenty of motivation to succeed.

 

[Zoph]

Nintendo goes through cycles of crushing it and coasting. They're in a crushing it phase right now, and will assuredly start to coast again in another year or two.

 

[LightKiosk]

Didn't a higher up say they're letting the young team members make a lot of game design decisions now? I guess that is helping bring fresh new ideas that people are reacting kindly to.

If I recall from an older interview, Splatoon was primarily comprised of a younger team and it brought about a crazy twist on the TPS genre that people enjoyed and is now a big IP.

 

[Luchashaq]

For me it's 100% the hardware. I haven't enjoyed any switch first part games.

However it being a portable without gimped control options or awful visuals like the 3ds makes it my #1 option for any game that could run on it even halfway decently.

 

[Deleted member 4093]

The abrupt failure of the Wii U after the resounding success of the Wii left Nintendo fans hungry.

Click to shrink...

And they were starving...

 

[Mysterio79]

Like hunters, the entire company used the Wii U dark ages to collaboratively accumulate resources, and execute a surgically precise plan to become the beast known as Slaytendo :p

 

[Cybersai]

I'd argue their Wii-U output in the first year was better than the Switch (if you don't count Breath of the Wild as a Switch game), but otherwise its been all good.

 

[EloquentM]

Nintendo never stopped being good at what they have always been doing and will continue to do. I don't believe their success dictates how good they are as a publisher and dev house. In my opinion their hardware has never been a staple of how "good" they are

 

[Fruit&Nut]

Well somehow its become an indie machine, and those games are selling like crazy. Sure, Nintendo has the first party games too, although there are few of those.

Its eshop is excellent. And people are buying up those games. Its extremely exciting. Why did this happen? I guess the form factor of the Switch is unexpectedly something a lot of us love. The execution of the Switch has also been excellent from a hardware point of view.

 

[Coolduderedux]

Fans like us contribute to Nintendo's success. The die hard and the old school, nostalgia-driven fans. Sure, we aren't the main contributing factor, but it certainly helps.

Spoiler

My money is in the new developers doing great things with old IP's and Nintendo's actually willingness to allow experimentation with their IPs for once.

 

[Bear]

It's because they have a new leadership team that seems like they're finally taking cues from the positive things their competitors are doing.

Nintendo feels far less Nintendo-y lately in terms of policies, which is a great thing.

 

[MonadL]

Nintendo has always been this good on the software side. In terms of hardware I feel like the Switch is what Nintendo wanted the Wii U to be but the tech wasn't there.

 

[violent]

And they were starving...

Click to shrink...

Yup. I attest that to be the biggest factor, personally.

 

[Pancakes R Us]

Who is responsible? Nintendo is responsible.

Never count Nintendo out.*

*I have done so numerous times.

 

[Amnixia]

Nintendo went full Super Saiyan.

 

[LetsRock]

Because they left WiiU to her death and move all their projects to Nintendo switch.

 

[requiem]

The biggest difference I've noticed is finally understanding who their primary audience is: people who grew up with Nintendo. The Wii U era always felt like Nintendo were trying to convince themselves they were still the kids console of choice, but that audience is too busy playing Minecraft to care about what Nintendo is doing.

Labo obviously shows they still want that audience, but it's not their primary target anymore.

 

[Mysterio79]

Nintendo goes through cycles of crushing it and coasting. They're in a crushing it phase right now, and will assuredly start to coast again in another year or two.

Click to shrink...

See, I really don't think so. I mean, sure they will have their slower periods in software output like early this year, but I feel the Switch is the sum total of all their efforts and will be a very strong product line for them moving forward for many years to come, one that they continue to evolve that will thrive with the help of Nvidia.

I believe "Switch Nintendo" will reign for a very, very long time.

 

[Mysterio79]

double post

 

[Heromanz]

Good?
I'm incredibly disappointed in there first party out put this year.

 

[Jaded Alyx]

The biggest difference I've noticed is finally understanding who their primary audience is: people who grew up with Nintendo. The Wii U era always felt like Nintendo were trying to convince themselves they were still the kids console of choice, but that audience is too busy playing Minecraft to care about what Nintendo is doing.

Labo obviously shows they still want that audience, but it's not their primary target anymore.

Click to shrink...

... This... Is a good post.

 

[GamerJM]

Their games are always good at any point in time, it's their release schedules that can be the problem. Right now it seems like the stars aligned for all of their development teams to get stuff done efficiently, which will hopefully be sustained. It likely has to do with the details of how the development teams at Nintendo function which of course we'll never know the whole picture of.

 

[Plinko]

1. Nintendo was overconfident after the Wii. They thought people would flock to them instantly, and that arrogance cost them. Showed them what really matters when it comes to console development, and they've made the appropriate changes.

2. The HD shift was a huge problem for them--moreso than people probably realize. They really, really struggled in that phase, and the software droughts showed it. Now, those droughts are gone, and they're successfully providing a steady stream of first-party software along with some key third-party stuff to keep people happy.

 

[Dremorak]

They managed to make a console that despite not being the most powerful out there by far, is my most played since launch.
I loved my wiiu, and I played a lot of it, but still not as much as PC.

The last PC game I played through was Hitman 2016, and the last PS4 game I played was MadMax (and it was the second game I've ever played on it lol)

 

[iswasdoes]

Nintendo goes through cycles of crushing it and coasting. They're in a crushing it phase right now, and will assuredly start to coast again in another year or two.

Click to shrink...

I dont think they coast. Theyre an experimental company, and sometimes their experiment works and sometimes it doesnt. But every generation they pile on effort and love, and there is always something brilliant that comes out of it, just not always the hardware decisions

 

[Skittzo]

They doubled down on their bread and butter- handhelds. That and they're letting younger developers start taking the reigns a bit. I think the emergence of Splatoon was really the start to Nintendo's new era of software.

The abrupt failure of the Wii U after the resounding success of the Wii left Nintendo fans hungry.

Click to shrink...

No matter how many times I see this argument it's always the most nonsensical notion. So Nintendo fans were so hungry after the Wii but not hungry enough for the Wii U, yet somehow them not buying the Wii U left them even more hungry?

In what kind of world does that make sense?

 

[BananasAreMyLife]

Focus on one platform instead of two. Yes I'm not counting 3DS as an active platform any more.

 

[Cranster]

They basically abandoned the Wii U when it was dead in the water and focused on the Switch.

 

[BlandrewYT]

Because of the hybrid nature of Switch and combining both console and handheld teams on one platform. It's why I was against releasing a traditional console like PS4/XBOX ONE. Just imagine how awesome the Wii U would've been if they took the approach they're doing now, where 3DS' library and Wii U's were to pretty much just combine.

 

[TheMisterManGuy]

With the failure of the Wii U, Nintendo had realized that they just weren't relevant like they were in the late 2000s, and if they ever wanted to reach the heights of the Wii/DS again, they needed to go through some changes. With the Switch, Younger staff at Nintendo were put in charge of its design and concept, making it the most modern piece of hardware Nintendo has put out in years. More importantly, the Switch is also the most western friendly piece of hardware Nintendo has put out in years as well. If you look at the design choices made with the Switch, many of them were designed with modern gaming trends that emerged from the west in mind. The PC-like Terga SoC to make porting from PC easy, the portability for the mobile gaming audience, the overall premium feel of the product, and even the capture features for sharing on social media. But it still has the right amount of Nintendo quirk with the Joy-Con and the Toy-like tactility of the hardware. For once we finally have a console from Nintendo that doesn't feel like it's trying to pander to Japanese audiences at the expense of everyone else.

Another reason is the games. Let's face it, the Wii U was a creative low-point for Nintendo. Most of its games were just uninspired rehashes of Wii/DS/3DS concepts. But with the Switch we getting some fresh new ideas and takes on IP. Breath of the Wild and Mario Odyssey turned Nintendo's top-dogs completely on their heads, and New faces like ARMS, 1-2 Switch, and Nintendo Labo are making a name for themselves.

 

[Ryouji Gunblade]

Smash hype will sustain me for quite some time.

I don't mind more ports, especially of ones I haven't played yet.

 

[Deleted member 3017]

The biggest difference I've noticed is finally understanding who their primary audience is: people who grew up with Nintendo. The Wii U era always felt like Nintendo were trying to convince themselves they were still the kids console of choice, but that audience is too busy playing Minecraft to care about what Nintendo is doing.

Labo obviously shows they still want that audience, but it's not their primary target anymore.

Click to shrink...

Yeah, you pretty much nailed it. Nintendo's handling of Labo has really driven this home.

 

[Tibarn]

The hardware is interesting and provides a huge leap from 3DS, offering a portable system with good-looking games and interesting ideas like the multiplayer using single JoyCons.
But the real star here is the games, IMO Nintendo is the best developer out there by a huge margin, and they focused on having a really good first year for Switch while abandoning WiiU a little bit earlier than they use to.

The system has a big potential both for people who like handheld gaming and people who likes to play on their TV, it has covered the two worlds and that's amazing.
It depens for every player, but I always felt that 3DS games where limited by the low-res , small screen, and Switch provides me the option to play all the games in a big screen and a comfy controller, even if they not look as sharp as Ps4/XBX/PC games.

 

[Bandage]

Nintendo Magic

 

[Titik]

I think the Wii U might be looked upon as an anomaly. Nintendo really got its groove back when the DS and Wii launched. Even in the Wii U days, the 3DS was humming along, albeit slightly with some speed bump. The Switch is basically just a return to form during the renaissance started in the DS and Wii days.

 

[violent]

No matter how many times I see this argument it's always the most nonsensical notion. So Nintendo fans were so hungry after the Wii but not hungry enough for the Wii U, yet somehow them not buying the Wii U left them even more hungry?

In what kind of world does that make sense?

Click to shrink...

Even Nintendo fans didn't invest a great deal in the Wii U. I think you underestimate the severity of that notion. It's really not difficult to understand how fans received a taste of something special and then received trash immediately after. It was a jarring evolution that left many longing for what they felt with the Wii. And that longing lasted years. By the time the Switch came out, they got back what they had a taste for and should be rightfully happy.

It's not some crazy notion. It's expectation, disappointment, and resolution.

 

[Falconbox]

The biggest difference I've noticed is finally understanding who their primary audience is: people who grew up with Nintendo. The Wii U era always felt like Nintendo were trying to convince themselves they were still the kids console of choice, but that audience is too busy playing Minecraft to care about what Nintendo is doing.

Labo obviously shows they still want that audience, but it's not their primary target anymore.

Click to shrink...

I grew up with Nintendo, owning SNES, N64, and multiple Game Boys, but I guess most of their offerings just don't appeal to me that much anymore.

Give me more stuff like Bayonetta 3 and Xenoblade Chronicles.

 

[ElectricBlanketFire]

The biggest difference I've noticed is finally understanding who their primary audience is: people who grew up with Nintendo. The Wii U era always felt like Nintendo were trying to convince themselves they were still the kids console of choice, but that audience is too busy playing Minecraft to care about what Nintendo is doing.

Labo obviously shows they still want that audience, but it's not their primary target anymore.

Click to shrink...

And by targeting those who grew up with Nintendo (like me), they'll get the kids into it as well.