The gaming world has been abuzz with the cheers and complains in relation to Nintendo's latest bombshell. A cheaper Wii U, a sort of new system, and holiday release dates galore, clans of fans are still divided. Nintendo's been needing a boost for its console power for a while now and a shot in the arm has never been needed more quickly. After its shot heard 'round the gaming world, however, Nintendo seems to have a new, money-hungry gleam in its eye for conquering the family pocket-book. Is its swing gonna miss the mark or cut some serious deadwood off its records?
(Awwww. C'mon Wii U, $50 says to turn that frown upside down! :D)
For the past nine months, Nintendo's Wii U has found itself in quite the odd place. With a gimmicky, confusing name to consumers, low 3rd-party support, and a near cult-following of "failure" meme makers, the Wii U has undoubtedly has played the ugly step-sister to the Cinderella that the 3DS has become according to its sales figures as of late. Despite the inventive off-screen play and "asymmetric gameplay" that it's touch-screen controls that it's touted, its mainstream reception has been lukewarm at best and it would seem that Nintendo's greater attention to handheld gaming shelved the U's momentum, or at least for now. Given the tremendous amount of support that the 3DS has recently picked up, its critics calls for a price-drop may have been heard very well by Nintendo to keep up the pace with its smaller sibling.
The decision comes as an inevitable one, but a quite quick one at that. Some Wii U doubters and critics alike would be quick to call out Nintendo on an admission of defeat, and even with indeed considering the system's obvious struggles, it's the best-timed move to succeed. A $50 price-drop smack dab by late September is all too attractive to early holiday shoppers not wishing to maul each other by November and that combined with its fall and winter game line-up is the picture-esque steal.
It's more alluring to many family shoppers that are looking for new gadgetry and not willing to shell out $100-$200 more. A cheaper console is always the more affordable console for folks, especially Christmas time, and the Wii U is frankly wise to put all of its bets on tempted parents ensnared by the announcement of any sort of price-drop. The X-Box One will to their misfortune look like the bad-guys to people's wallets, being at full-price against a console already marked down.
(All the above: Bright, colorful, family-friendly, has "Mommy buy me this!" written all over it.)
If the Wii U's price-drop was a mere subtle hint at taking a stab at 'ole Santa Clause, then it's Christmas strategy is starkly obvious in its line-up and recent release date swaps. Between its two of its heaviest hitters of Super Mario 3D World and Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze, there's clearly some foresight being made into which is the bigger cash cow. Mario's release by November 22 is the best possible for Black Friday shoppers hungry for Thanksgiving and games to play by the Yule-tide log. By default of its more challenging difficulty, Donkey Kong games have always fallen shorter of most kids markets, but its placement on December 6th and $10 off discount is an equally enticing olive branch towards late winter shoppers.
Across the rest of the board Nintendo's displayed a keen eye towards the wider nature of its market. It'd be a Pulitzer award-winning understatement to say that Nintendo wasn't concerned with being the life of the party-game industry and with Sonic and Mario at the Olympic Winter games and the aptly named Wii U party, games that few would defend as masterpieces but admit that they've always been amusingly worth your dollars for the sake of the group experience. Watch_Dogs and Arkham Origins meanwhile have ensured that Nintendo's has at least some stake in maturer, 3rd-party support and The Windwaker's HD rerelease is in its own way ensuring the introduction of many young fans to both a stellar bit of Nintendo's own history and creating hype for its upcoming original entry.
All of them share one thing in common, though: the power of family entertainment. Nintendo's more than appropriate moniker of the Disney of video-games is well-earned thanks to their monopoly on it. Adult gamers of the X-Box and PS audience may have more money than a 10 yr. old, but their brand loyalty is much more finnicky. Money and hardware is a serious consideration while the tyke beside them can only beg for Mario and Pokemon creatures no matter what the price.
(Who is this for?! Not me, not you: the 7-and-up yr. olds with begging powers )
The strangest bit of news from Nintendo this week's most certainly been devoted towards the oddest duck of them all: The 2DS. While few would claim that the 3DS's been a push-over this year, it struck many a gamer by shock: "WTF--what's a 2DS?!" was one easy choice in my mind. It's maybe that shock from the system that no 3DS owner expected or wanted that's sparked its divisive reception but even its more comically awkward aspects can be heard.
From the get-go, the 2DS invokes a strange myriad of thoughts. "It looks like a dust-pan? Looks like a highway-ramp to shame. . . Isn't the 2DS just, 'The DS?' Errr, *huff* I can't fold this damn thing!"
Its shape, its typically dumb name, and dumbed down bells and whistles aside, the 2DS still calls attention to a winning strategy: the young child market. It's easy to say that there seems to be a thriving market reminiscent of the Leap Frog tablet era between 7 & 10 yr. olds. You're too damn young to justify mommy and daddy buying you a console just yet, and those pesky scientists keep yakking about you rotting out your eyeballs with that darn 3D. The alternative? A doo-dad called the 2DS. Cheap and more durable, it's built to play Pokemon and Mario for you all day long. Worried about kiddos scratching the screen or dumping pudding on it? One could say the same thing about the I-pad that Jimmy had his dog play fetch with.
It's easy to say that the 2DS hardly represents a new, or albeit unsuccessful formula. The Gameboy got a bazillion different versions as do any console eventually, and selling more affordable, casual ones can only lend a company some credit towards accessibility. From that fact alone, it's easy to say that the 2DS will make money, albeit it quietly. It won't make headlines, but it will continue churn the waters for a slow but steady stream of capital that'll line Nintendo's coffers for the triple A development they need.
(Need I say more?. . .)
The argument from many over the 2DS or overuse of flagship franchises, if nothing else, is this: it's unscrupulous copying and recopying everything to death. Another Mario, another handheld? Pffff. Those statements are never more or less untrue indeed, yet it's what every gaming company does. What matters to the player is what they want to experience. Microsoft will continue pumping the Halo series with new entries every new console they make and, god-willing, Sony will be able to keep up its Uncharteds and Gods of Wars as long as it has greatness awaiting it. Repetitive formulas are a no-brainer, but the big brainer comes with keeping fans engaged with them. All of the afore mentioned series still have had their hey-days burned into our hearts, some of them still have kept their A-games as of late. If it's a series or system you still love, it hardly matters.
As Microsoft and Sony both challenge themselves trying to justify the prices and game line-ups of their launch windows, there's an even more important choice to those Christmas shoppers: buy a pricier system with the biggest games that are coming in a year or buy the console that has games now? I myself am excited for Infamous Second Son and Final Fantasy XV, but do I buy a next-gen console just to stare at it for months?
What will the gaming rumble bring this holiday? No one, not even our favorite purple Pikmin CEO knows. What we do know is that Nintendo's brought its guns to the party and someone's gonna be left with a mighty big mark on the balance sheet. Is it gonna be red. . . or black?