Return to The BaDlands #8 - I Don't Have Faith In A Nintendo-Free Console Market

On 02/08/2014 at 06:58 PM by gigantor21

Linked to Article Series: Blog a Day (BaD) 2014

Hey guys, remember when we had that big #NoWiiUDRM campaign around E3? When Nintendo worked to push the WiiU as a general multimedia box with always online DRM, and the camera on the Gamepad could never be disconnected or completely turned off? I'm not the least bit surprised that Nintendo, whose consoles have always been positioned as "Trojan Horses" for non-gaming features, thought this was a good idea; I'm still surprised they had the balls to do it. Good thing we were loud in our demands to keep the WiiU a games console first, right?

Obviously I'm being facetious here. But looking back, that whole episode with the Xone's DRM does disturb me for a different reason.

We were all screaming bloody murder over Microsoft's absurd vision of the future. We tweeted, blogged, ranted and posted whatever we could to ensure that Sony wouldn't go down the same road. Yet unlike Sony, there was never any fear that Nintendo would go down the same route. The notion that they'd reveal their console and then not shut up about TV the whole time is equally absurd. Yet the same people who were furious about MS's plans gave no credit to Nintendo for not taking that road; it did absolutely nothing for them in terms of gaining market share, or at least some modicum of respect.

That, among other things, is why I feel that a console market without Nintendo would be a much lesser place. With Sega's hardware dead and buried (RIP Dreamcast), Nintendo is the last hardware maker who is a games company first. Sony is pulled in just as many directions as MS when it comes to how they approach their consoles; hence their pushing Music Unlimited over MP3 support, or their committment to exclusive video content through Sony Pictures (something that MS was mocked for), and so forth. For all the WiiU's glaring deficiencies, Nintendo doesn't have to remind us that it's primarily a games console.

See, I don't trust either Sony or MS enough to be the only standard bearers for consoles long term. MS has said outright they don't think there was anything wrong with their initial approach. They're sure it was just bad messaging or bad timing, and people will see things their way over time. Sony, meanwhile, is using PSNow as a Trojan Horse to wean people off physical media entirely, just as they pulled people into paying for online with PS+. This is a far more insidious approach than MS took to DRM, and goes even farther than they were willing to.

And with both companies far more beholden to third-parties, a Nintendo-free console market will have no refuge for the worst excesses that the industry has pushed on us over the past 8 years. There will be no area in gaming that the likes of EA and Activision won't have major influence. If nothing else, a successful Nintendo provides a refuge from the toxic groupthink that is driving much of the industry's bad business practices. It shows that gaming doesn't have to depend on stupid shit like online passes or always-on DRM in order to be fun or profitable. And considering how we're ready to rip heads off over such things, that should be appreciated even if you have no interest in buying Nintendo products.

I swear, the Wii was probably the worst thing to happen to the console space. Not only did it lead to the bifurcation of the marketplace into sharply distinct "casual" and "core" markets, but Nintendo's attempts to replicate its success may well validate Jason Rubin's claim that Nintendo is now irrelevant as a hardware maker. And I'm confident that the game industry will be a lesser place for it.

Why people are cheerleading for Nintendo going third-party or mobile is beyond me.

jgusw

02/08/2014 at 08:00 PM

Sounds like a good arguement to me.

gigantor21

02/08/2014 at 11:54 PM

Thanks. :)

Super Step Contributing Writer

02/08/2014 at 09:48 PM

I honestly want them to create a new gimmicky console, but one that has the power of their competitors or more, and call it the Revolution because why would you NOT use that awesome name for a console, dammit?!

Seriously don't get why they've never used that title.

And yeah, if it had similar specs to a PS4 AND the Gamepad, it would avoid the weight of being too weak hanging on it's neck right now. It'd probably be $500 too, though, and I doubt they'd have the stomach for that.

Matt Snee Staff Writer

02/09/2014 at 06:00 AM

greta blog. I completely agree, and never even thought of it this way. We NEED Nintendo, despite their flaws, they are still the standard bearers of what games can be: fun.

02/09/2014 at 09:17 AM

To be honest, it's something that only came to me when talking about it on Twitter a few weeks ago. I was one of those who completely glossed over it while Sony was curbstomping Microsoft at E3.

Vice's Assistant

02/09/2014 at 07:49 AM

Most people fail to realize that both Msoft and Sony are noth in great shape. Sony is still underpeforming and is planning to sale their computer division. Meanwhile, Msoft just appointed a new CEO after an emparring experience with Windows 8. As companies, neither side is at optium streight. Gaming parts of those companies that do make money but all it takes it a critically awful fiscial year, and they can be up on the chopping block too.

02/09/2014 at 09:22 AM

I know Sony lost something like $1 billion and had to cut thousands of jobs recently. That's on top of the job cuts they've already done in the past few years, alongside sales of assets (including their own building), just to stop bleeding money. Their market performance has been pretty miserable since the 90's; Emily Rogers did a great write-up on it at the Not Enough Shaders blog.

But yeah. It's funny how people say, "oh, Nintendo can't compete as a games only company", while their competitors struggle to deal with all the juggling they have to do. These losses are a very recent problem in Nintendo's history.

KnightDriver

02/10/2014 at 04:14 AM

Somehow I don't see Nintendo ditching their console. They want to control their first party IPs on their own hardware and make them exclusive to it. People will always want a Mario or Zelda or Metroid game and they're only going to get it on Nintendo devices. They make most of their money off these IPs. They don't need to diversify like MS and Sony because they have their core franchises that are such huge cash cows for them. They may seem about to become irrelevant, but those key franchises will keep them afloat every time... if Mario and Zelda become irrelevant, I don't want to be a gamer anymore.

02/10/2014 at 08:35 AM

I don't see that happening either. At worst I expect them to go the hybrid console/handheld route--but even that would end up slicing their total market share in half, if not more, since they wouldn't have money coming in from two different sources.

And I'm not super worried about their franchises becomign irrelevant. People have loved Mario and Zelda games for several decades now. Nintendo games have the most staying power in the whole industry.

02/11/2014 at 02:28 AM

Phew. For a second there. I thought I'd have to quit gaming.

NSonic79

03/14/2014 at 01:40 PM

The answer is simple: People are stupid.

You proved that yourself with people vilifying MS for the DRM (and rightly so) yet others say Nintendo should've done the same to be more releveant.

Though I woudln't call the use of PSNow and PS+ a back door attempt to getting us to paying more for less services. the use of PS+ to justify paying for online access seemed like an eventual given how the calls for XBL to be free have died off and it seems most have come to terms of paying for online pay in that function.

PSNow just sounds like another method to see about having another means to play games "immediately" instead of going thru thte trouble of trying to find copies of these games. oddly its harder and harder to find these titles in retro stores without them costing more than the digital offering. I'm shocked to see RE2 and 3 for the PS1 going for over $20 in some retro stores when you can get this game for 5.99 on PSN!

Though those services have opened my eyes to other gaming possiblites, I wouldn't say they've helped me to pull away from physical titles. I'm still trying to find physical copies ofr my Games with Gold on XBL yet still find myself buying Fatal Frame I-III off PSN if only to protect my physical copies of the game.

PixlBit