The Holiday Season That Dictates the Future

So with the rather lack of games we’ve been getting lately, the next question is when will Microsoft and Sony pony up and release their next generation of consoles? As of now neither has really officially hinted at a certain release date, although for certain the rumors are flying everywhere. The truth is, and they won’t admit it, the launch dates for both consoles depends on one element:


The WiiU Launch.


Never in gaming has a company had such a head start towards the next generation---unless you count the Dreamcast which came out at the worst possible time. To this day the Sega folks still kicks themselves for not releasing it a year later. Alright, back to Nintendo. Nintendo’s head start is at least one year, and could quite possibly be 2-3 years---which gives them the entire market to themselves for quite some time. If there is an opportunity for some new IPs and some highly-anticipated exclusives, the time would definitely be the 2012 Holiday Season/2013 Spring timeframe.

Nintendo’s head start could whether be good news or devastating news. It is as simple as this: if the WiiU can have a crazy successful Wii-like launch, then expect those two companies to roll over their systems the very next holiday season if not extremely early 2014. If the WiiU were to launch well, then expect them to try to kill the momentum before they wind up six feet under. Expect them to crash E3 2013 with their new stuff and just play catch up.

And trust me, Sony does not ever want to play catch up ever again—the Playstation 3 is the best-selling system amongst the consoles within the last two years but you would never know that. Nobody would ever know that as Sony to this day is losing money from the way they flopped during their launch.

But if Nintendo’s WiiU would pull a 3DS and take off on an extremely slow start, then expect Sony and Microsoft to take their sweet time and aim for a 2014 release, while still keeping their current systems prevalent with their sequels and strong third-party support. They can watch Nintendo squirm for an audience while building a marketing drive and convince gamers to wait around a little bit longer for their eighth generation appearance.

Bottom Line: Don’t take any of my dates as fact, but I predict that depending on what the WiiU does this holiday season determines the set date of the competitors. You are foolish if you think Sony and Microsoft don’t have the next machine in the backburner, waiting patiently to be unleashed. Arguably one of the most important holiday seasons in a business standpoint for the gaming industry, the WiiU will set out to see if the world of gaming still has some life in it and if Nintendo can repeat the mammoth starter success of the Wii---which led to them winning the Seventh Generation war. Only time will tell of Nintendo’s success---and when we will see the other new systems.

The 2-D Revolution That Never Happened

There was this nifty game called New Super Mario Bros. Wii that came out a couple years ago, perhaps you’ve heard of it, right? It sold over 25 million copies, is the fastest-selling single-system game in history, remains one of the best-selling video games ever, and virtually proved to the entire world that 2-D gaming is not only still alive and could remain prevalent, but can also push a gajillion copies with the right effort and right marketing.

The recipe was simple: mix nostalgia with some new-school gaming, and throw in some multi-player mayhem. Mario Bros. Wii was by no means a complicated work of art—--it moved and breathed like previous Mario games without the envelope-pushing. So…with all that being said, where in earth is the 2-D revolution? Super Mario busted open the doors for some serious competitors and copycats. Smash Brothers is being copied, so why not 2-D gaming?

2-D Mega Man for the big screen, where are you?

2-D Castlevania sequel, where are you?

2-D Final Fight HD part 3, where are you?

2-D Metroid, where are you? And nobody DARE say Metroid: Other M.....

2-D Double Dragon HD, where are you? 2-D Ghouls n’ Ghosts HD, where are you?

And worst of all, Yoshi’s Island 3, where the heck did you go?!?!?!?!!??

Gaming industry, the mobile phones and IPods are cutting into your sales because of your inability to see the potential in bringing all the 80s/90s classic to a new generation. 2-D games are not as complex to make as others, and lets add the extensive improvement in technology and hardware in recent years. No excuse. Now get to work.

Seriously, Mega Man HD has not happened yet, this is ridiculous.

Why is Nintendo Sports missing??

Every gamer on this planet knows that Nintendo’s third-party support has been lagging since….well, the mid 1990s. Starting with the N64 days, third-party companies had been dodging Nintendo, arguing with Nintendo, and half-assing product for Nintendo. In a rather ho-hum sense of irony, third-parties actually thrived best on the Nintendo Wii this recent generation with Just Dance, Rock Band, Guitar Hero, Lego, and others selling predominantly better for the Wii than for the PS3 and Xbox 360.

Nonetheless, there’s still little third-party love for Ninty. So with that, Nintendo has to turn to their first-party and second-party games to produce the hits and produce the numbers. And this is how Nintendo has run its successful campaign, with a heavy dosage of first-party hits and classics. The 14 best-selling games on the Wii are first-party titles. The 9 best-selling games on the Gamecube were first-party games.

But there is a genre of gaming that Nintendo has not covered in recent years: the sports genre.



Yes, every so often we’ll see a sports game on the Wii like Wii Sports or Punch-Out but the sports simulators themselves are severely lacking—beginning with baseball and continuing with tennis, basketball, golf, etc. What really makes this baffling is that there used to be a cluster of games known as Nintendo Sports in the N64 days that produced some of the biggest hits and the greatest sports games of all-time. So why not bring it back Nintendo?The next generation is around the corner, why not for old times' sakes try to re-enter the sports/extreme sports realm when the WiiU comes out?

Sports is the last frontier for first-party gaming. Next Level Games, Camelot, Intelligent Systems, and Monster Games are all companies under the Nintendo barrier that are capable of making great sports games. And with the only licensing issue being the football video games, what’s preventing Nintendo from unleashing the Nintendo Sports moniker? And it’s not like the sales weren’t there, with Nintendo Sports in the N64 days creating 8 million-sellers. And it’s not like sports games don’t sell, with the Madden, NBA 2K, and FIFA brands selling millions on a yearly basis.



So with sports games usually being a million-seller off the gate, and even with Nintendo earning some million-sellers (Mario Strikers Charged, Punch-Out, Wii Sports, Wii Sports Resort) , it’s a no-brainer for Nintendo Sports to make a comeback to counter the heavy sports/Fantasy League audience that the United States has become.



Right?

Post-E3 Requirements: Nintendo's WiiU

So now that E3 is over and the disappointment has dissipated somewhat, the three companies are gathering the reactions and news and moving on from the massive event. Each of the three big competitors are in very different financial and success statuses and have different aspects that require improvement and more focus. E3 revealed these flaws, and unless they can fix the issues before the big and extremely important winter holiday season, we are going to be in for an interesting financial season in gaming. I have compiled what I believe all three companies should do to try to survive the next fiscal year.


Nintendo: WiiU


The only one even attempting to enter the eighth generation of gaming, Nintendo had plenty of potential to steal the show and truly reveal what the new machine can accomplish. Sadly though, it left most of us unconvinced. But in a case of history repeating itself, none of us had faith in the Wii and look how much it sold. Largely this can be attributed to the fact that the Wii was available immediately with a video game. With Wii Sports, you got a good look at how the Wii controls work, and in which direction the system was heading. It is now the best-selling video game of all-time, and helped the Wii become the most successful Nintendo system ever.

Nintendo, you want to duplicate this?



Make Nintendo Land an inclusion with every WiiU purchase.

It is so simple. Allow for this game to create the buzz necessary to make the WiiU a success from the getgo like the Wii, and not an undisputed launch flop like the 3DS. Nintendo Land's series of mini-games and activities is the perfect way to introduce gamers to what the WiiU pad can do in connection with the other players. I bet most of the gaming world outside the hardcore crowd realize that the WiiU can support up to five players at one point if necessary.

Nintendo would be absolutely and positively foolish to the nth degree if they release this as a separate title. The NES launched very well with Mario Bros., the SNES launched well with Super Mario World, the Game Boy launched extremely well with Tetris----so what's the drawback with launching the WiiU with a game? What's the drawback with re-introducing gamers to classic Nintendo franchises while at the same time show just what the machine can do? Unlike the others, there's hope here.

Don't blow it.