Could the Wii Fail? An Analysis

Gamers are living in interesting times. The latest generation of gaming platforms are either here or on their way, and much has been speculated about who will come out on top. We at QJ are not entirely sure who will eventually rule the consoles, but if there’s one thing companies have to watch out for, it’s failure.

That concern seems to be on the minds of the folks at Nintendo these days, especially with its current president, Satoru Iwata. The Wii is their big gamble in this next generation of consoles, and there are many things hinging on whether the Wii succeeds or fails.

Could the Wii fail? Perhaps, but it depends on how this new Nintendo plays the game.

Sean Colleli over at Gaming Nexus decided to take a keen eye to Nintendo, addressing potential problem spots that the gamemaker has to work on in preparation for the launch of the Wii. His insights are especially noteworthy because of how it analyzes Nintendo’s history in reference to their current preoccupation.

His first assertion is the need to have bigger ideas, instead of bigger budgets. Reactions were mixed at E3 when Nintendo showcased Wii Sports with a somewhat low-tech presentation. It didn’t wow gamers, but it got the attention of the non-gamers, who are the new target market for Nintendo. 

More Wii analysis await after the jump.

Gamers are living in interesting times. The latest generation of gaming platforms are either here or on their way, and much has been speculated about who will come out on top. We at QJ are not entirely sure who will eventually rule the consoles, but if there’s one thing companies have to watch out for, it’s failure.

That concern seems to be on the minds of the folks at Nintendo these days, especially with its current president, Satoru Iwata. The Wii is their big gamble in this next generation of consoles, and there are many things hinging on whether the Wii succeeds or fails.

Could the Wii fail? Perhaps, but it depends on how this new Nintendo plays the game.

Sean Colleli over at Gaming Nexus decided to take a keen eye to Nintendo, addressing potential problem spots that the gamemaker has to work on in preparation for the launch of the Wii. His insights are especially noteworthy because of how it analyzes Nintendo’s history in reference to their current preoccupation.

His first assertion is the need to have bigger ideas, instead of bigger budgets. Reactions were mixed at E3 when Nintendo showcased Wii Sports with a somewhat low-tech presentation. It didn’t wow gamers, but it got the attention of the non-gamers, who are the new target market for Nintendo. 

He says that, for a console to do well, it has to have a good spread of games, from “the low-budget quirk games, the pick-up-and-play titles, and most importantly, the epics.” At the same time, this diversity has to be balanced. Casual gamers will be turned off by high prices for fun, casual games, regardless of how much they like it. If priced the same as masterpiece-type titles, serious gamers would simply walk past something like Wii Sports to get the epic adventure they’ve waited for. Finding an appropriate pricing model will help to create a broad user base for the Wii, and keep both gamers and non-gamers coming back for more.

Colleli’s second point is about making the Wii’s Virtual Console an important draw for everyone. One of the good things about Nintendo is its amazingly large library of first-party games. Proper use of their existing first party games from every previous platform, ensuring that third party software isn’t neglected, and making sure that it remains a viable draw with (again) a proper pricing scheme for these older games: these are the things they have to consider with regard to getting people to love Nintendo’s new console.

There are some other obstacles Nintendo have to get past to make the Virtual Console draw in crowds. One of the hurdles facing this issue are the dearth of third-party developers for previous games. This is even more pronounced with the developers who’ve taken their franchises with them and, thus, can’t be used for the Virtual Console. Nintendo also has to find a controller set-up  that will adapt well to all the previous console versions, and will also need a storage option if people intend to download all of their childhood favorites.

Speaking of third-party support, Nintendo has to learn from their past. According to Colleli, “During Hiroshi YamauchiÂ’s long rule over Nintendo, the company took on a very isolationist strategy.  Developing for Nintendo was considered a privilege, and if a developer didnÂ’t like the strangling restrictions Nintendo put on them, well, they could hit the road.” This strategy drove away a lot of third-party developers, and this is what the new president of Nintendo has to change in the coming months. Developers have to want to work for Nintendo, or the Wii will miss out on a ton of content.

More than any of the above points, however, the greatest potential sources of failure lie in the Wii’s WiFi capabilities and their marketing strategy.

Nintendo’s WiFi play will potentially be hampered most by the stifling of creativity. With sensational articles about the DS being a pedophile’s playground, kid-friendly Nintendo can’t help but be cautious. The result of their caution is their Friend Code system, and it’s a system that forces you to remember the codes of people you want to play against, with a different friend code per game per player.

The Wii has has to change all that. As Colleli writes,

“Nintendo has to streamline this concept, and in a good way, or theyÂ’ll be hurting big time. First of all, friend codes for each individual game should be replaced with a single code, similar to Xbox LiveÂ’s gamertags. That way only one swap is needed, and then you can compete with a person on anything from Red Steel to Excite Truck.”

The Wii also has to address the issue of servers and how to run multiplayer games without killing people from the waiting, or no one will want to go online.

Of course, perhaps the most prolific problem that has plagued Nintendo since its early days has been marketing and horrible ads. Nintendo’s ads might grab attention, but the only way you’re going to sell the idea of the Wii to people is if you get their respect instead of their smirks and yawns. They have to combine the artistry with subtle confidence, and not make ads that make them seem desperate.

In the end, Nintendo’s got to change. “They need to show a wide array of people enjoying the Wii, but in a casual way,” writes Colleli, adding, “the different game tastes should be presented with their appropriate audiences, so the crucial message is sent loud and clear: Wii has something for everyone, NOT just for gamers.” Sage advice for Nintendo; We only hope they pay attention this time because how this game plays out will ultimately be up to them.