Why Nintendo’s online gaming paranoia could kill the Wii

vashivihan · 03-28-2008, 09:14 AM

Quote:

It’s hardly an industry secret that Nintendo is the most reluctant console manufacturer of “the big three” when it comes to pushing online play on its latest home console. Xbox Live has really set the benchmark when it comes to providing what players now readily expect from a gaming experience that takes them into the wider virtual world outside of their own machine, Sony also seems to want to reach that same wavelength, but Nintendo still appears somewhat cautious about the whole idea - a decision that could potentially harm the chances of the Nintendo Wii in the years to come.

Nintendo has been reserved about the process of online gaming for years now. While Microsoft had the ambition, foresight (and monetary funds) to pursue the idea as far back as the launch of Xbox Live with the firm’s first console, Nintendo seemed somewhat reluctant. While allowing third parties to dabble in Internet gaming on the GameCube (most notably SEGA, who provided the GameCube’s only online title, Phantasy Star Online), George Harrison, vice president of marketing for Nintendo of America stated at the time in May 2002 that it saw online projects as “a very interesting market” and one that would be “very small” for the foreseeable future.

That may have been the case, but Microsoft’s openness to developers keen on the idea helped build Xbox Live into what it is today, a fully fledged service that neither Sony nor Nintendo can claim to rival at present. With the Xbox 360 launching a full year before the Nintendo Wii (and with Xbox Live attracting near 5 million paying subscribers as 2007 and the arrival of the Wii approached), you might think that Nintendo’s head honchos would have nodded at each other agreeably across the boardroom table and started working hard towards something similar for their newest machine. Heck, it probably should have happened at least a few years before.

But no, with gargantuan Wii sales throughout the world in 2007, building a credible online service for the machine was probably the least of Nintendo’s worries. Third parties, meanwhile, were getting a little concerned. SNK’s president, Ben Herman, stated in March last year that “Nintendo is still not letting Wii third-party publishers include online capabilities in their games and it doesn’t look like they will during 2007.” And while the situation did slightly improve (both on the third and first party front) as 2007 unfolded, all told the situation was rather pitiful, with only a handful or releases sporting limited online options.

It’s a problem that continues to affect games on the Nintendo Wii into 2008, particularly multi-format titles in which an online offering is a stable part on rival machines. SEGA Superstars Tennis, Rock Band and Madden NFL 09 (which it appears will lack key online components) are just three notable examples. Nintendo seems to be slowly moving in the right direction with the likes of Super Smash Bros. Brawl and Mario Kart Wii, but the severe server problems many gamers have has in relation to the former’s release proves, somewhat, that Nintendo just weren’t aren’t prepared as they should have been. And without a unified structure such as Xbox Live’s, third parties are also all over the place.

Downloadable content is another issue Nintendo is severely lagging behind with, something that looks to be on the mend with the introduction of Wii Pay and Play in the future. And then there’s the debacle, confusion and restrictiveness of Friend Codes and lack of voice chat, both of which are regularly hotly debated. The huge popularity of Xbox Live, Sony’s ambitious plans with Home and LittleBigPlanet, as well as Nintendo’s success with online gaming on the Nintendo DS, prove that the demand is there from players who want to play online, which makes Nintendo’s current paranoia over the home console situation all the more baffling. Baffling and disappointing in equal measures.

Online gaming is integral part of the industry nowadays. It might not seem a priority to Nintendo with the Wii selling so well right now, but come the time where the PS3 begins to catch up with Xbox Live (all the while improving its online service) and in a market more and more developers cater to an audience attracted to such content, the Wii really can’t afford to be left behind, especially in relation to big mult-format games, just because its online component is lacking.

Nintendo’s relatively poor relation towards third parties over a number of issues has been a major contributing factor to its success (or lack thereof) in previous generations, and we reckon, it is imperative that it doesn’t go isolating itself as far as online gaming is concerned during the life cycle of the Wii. The welcoming and relaxed strategy it has adopted to allowing developers clamber over WiiWare should be its inspiration, letting others lead the way a little instead of being so uptight - just lay the foundations properly and let others take advantage of it. C’mon Nintendo, pull your socks up!

this is very true. nice article. linkage

jackfromcs · 03-28-2008, 09:34 AM

I agree with the article. Why should Nintendo reject good online play because their Japanese customers think it's 'nerdy'. Because a small fraction of people who buy the console won't use it?

Fine, then take online play out of the Japanese products and let everyone else stay in this decade and play online.

Dr Venkman · 03-28-2008, 09:52 AM

its annoying for sure, its a pretty simple reason though, they're marketing wii at families and kids, and its working. they think voice chats gonna make the parents concerned about who their kids are talking to, they wanna keep wii the 'safe, family' option for a console, i cant see them changing any time soon.

HubMonkey · 03-28-2008, 10:29 AM

Will it kill the Wii? NO and it is apparent that it is really not that important to people who want a Wii, if it was there would be tons of them on the shelves and nintendo would die off.

The Wii is NOT about online gaming, it is about the unique controls and what doors of possibility could be opened up with it.

I see lots of the articles criticizing game consoles for every short coming and they are nothing more than hindsight... If these people are so smart, why is there not a 'Perfect" game console out there? I will tell you why, because one cannot be created. It is like having software with zero bugs, will NEVER happen... this is because of the costs associated with with development. R&D is a cost center not a profit center.

Sooo with that said these people who write these articles can jump in the lake because they really have no clue. I hope that people on these forums are smart enough to take those articles with a grain of salt.

Hub

wezeles · 03-28-2008, 11:24 AM

You have to understand it's a huge regional thing aswell. In areas such as Japan,Europe for the most part they are in larger citys and live much closer together than people do in the States. The concept of running next door to your buddys house wouldn't even cross your mind you just do it, simple. Yet here in the states, unless you are in one of the bigger cities the majority of people would be going a few miles to get to the closest friends house to share in a multi player game.

That is why Xbox seized the Online market in the USA. Xbox is for the most part a American console, it does sell in Japan and Europe but not to the same level as Wii/PS3. And when it comes to alot of Americans it's not that its a cool extra to have online, it's a downright necessity to alot of gamers that have no friends that live nearby.

The real question is why are the Japanese consoles "Wii/PS3" not fighting more for the American dollar? America has been the majority of the gaming consumer since gaming began. Why ignore such a popular customer draw? Even if its not a big hit in the other regions to lose any of the large profits you can get from gaming in the States. Just add what the customer wants, it is just smart buisness.
I'll cut Nintendo some slack because they where slow to it, and it's not their only market to focus on. But some nice improvement from both Sony/Nintendo would be nice to see in the near future.

jimbo · 03-28-2008, 12:15 PM

lol xbox live benchmark, thats like saying crysis on very high (which no one can play...NO ONE) is the benchmark in graphics..

is rockband wii, got online...

it wont kill the wii same reason high prices didnt kill the ps3

T3kNi9e · 03-28-2008, 12:33 PM

I dont think you can put Sony in the same category as Nintendo as a Japanese company not trying to take advantage of the american market. They are doing fine, there's nothing wrong with PSN, it's free and it's very good for it's zero price.

The Wii's online is horrible, but I doubt they will completely neglect it for too long. Atleast I think so...

vashivihan · 03-28-2008, 12:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by T3kNi9e

I dont think you can put Sony in the same category as Nintendo as a Japanese company not trying to take advantage of the american market. They are doing fine, there's nothing wrong with PSN, it's free and it's very good for it's zero price.

The Wii's online is horrible, but I doubt they will completely neglect it for too long. Atleast I think so...

oh u bet they will

CantGetAWii · 03-28-2008, 02:59 PM

What would be really nice is having more third party games have online play, rather than just stat tracking or whatever that junk is they do provide.

And Downloadable Content is wishful thinking, first they would need to upgrade the memory of the Wii or at least give us external memory support. Their online will start to improve a bit once voice chat is launched, and I think it will be launched with Animal Crossing (just my guess).

wezeles · 03-28-2008, 03:01 PM

Nintendo's big deal is they do need to make money aswell. Unlike Sony and MS that can handle taking a loss on the gaming division because its a nice advertisment base and a small portion of their overall buisness. Nintendo can't afford to lose this type of money, all they do is gaming. This isn't just a way to get more customer it is their livelihood.
If gaming is all you do you have to balance cost to profit, thats why we have always seen Nintendo seem to work in a different realm "specially the last couple generations" from the new "high end" systems.
They have to pay to setup the free online and in thier mind if your not making money directly because of it, it's a loss. To Sony and Microsoft being so huge they can write it off if it doesn't suceed, Nintendo if they invest into a huge flop they could end up having to close the doors.

Nintendo seemed to look at the online features as a bonus to games at first, maybe get a couple buyers that would be on the fence otherwise like with games like SSBB and Mario Kart because the multiplayer is the key to these games.
Now as they see the sucess of games with these features far more than the predicessor, obviously it will be included and at a higher level.
We already see pay-to-play comming, along with more selection of online games, they have gotten the hint.
Are they going to be the best online provider with the widest selection of games? Probably not! ha ha Wii is known for being the party console. It's the one you bust out with friends in your own living room not so much when your home by yourself and you want to hop online.
Still I'm sure it will improve at the least this will give them a nice jump into the future for next gen of what they do and do not want to do with online.

Free internet service from the Cheepest console on the market, obviously its not going to be the best setup. They can do better but for what we paid for the service "Nothing" it is more of a perk than a necessity when compared to the competing pay service, and the free service offered by the most expensive console on the market.
If anything Nintendo making a more on par online service would simply piss off PS3/360 owners because they pay a premium for the better service. The argument will never be gone it will just change directions as things change.

jl559 · 03-28-2008, 05:25 PM

I would rather much pay for better online than have a terrible free one. Maybe there should be two types of online-one for free, which is like it is now, and another superior online service ala xbox live. But then there would be problems arising from people using the free service asking that why is nintendo making us pay for a better service which, in their opinion, should be free.

vashivihan · 03-28-2008, 05:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jl559

I would rather much pay for better online than have a terrible free one. Maybe there should be two types of online-one for free, which is like it is now, and another superior online service ala xbox live. But then there would be problems arising from people using the free service asking that why is nintendo making us pay for a better service which, in their opinion, should be free.

wait. why would people using the free service ask why ninty is making them pay for online?

also problems would arise from people who are paying trying to play with people who are not paying. features would vary between them

jl559 · 03-28-2008, 05:35 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by vashivihan

wait. why would people using the free service ask why ninty is making them pay for online?

also problems would arise from people who are paying trying to play with people who are not paying. features would vary between them

i meant people using the free service would start to think that they're getting ripped off because they think the features they're not getting, which are in the pay one, should be free. Especially if they look at the Playstation Network which is free yet includes online standards like voice chat, leaderboards, etc.

Subarnu · 03-28-2008, 05:50 PM

It wont kill the Wii, like wezeles said, the Wii is a party console. A lot of people buy the Wii because they can play virtual tennis with their spouse.

RPGMasterTurk91 · 03-28-2008, 05:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by HubMonkey

Will it kill the Wii? NO and it is apparent that it is really not that important to people who want a Wii, if it was there would be tons of them on the shelves and nintendo would die off.

The Wii is NOT about online gaming, it is about the unique controls and what doors of possibility could be opened up with it.

I see lots of the articles criticizing game consoles for every short coming and they are nothing more than hindsight... If these people are so smart, why is there not a 'Perfect" game console out there? I will tell you why, because one cannot be created. It is like having software with zero bugs, will NEVER happen... this is because of the costs associated with with development. R&D is a cost center not a profit center.

Sooo with that said these people who write these articles can jump in the lake because they really have no clue. I hope that people on these forums are smart enough to take those articles with a grain of salt.

Hub

I understand what you're saying, but I agree with the article more. Today's gaming undustry in America favors online play--when was the last time parents looked at the games they buy or their children buy? I guarantee you that half, if not more, of all parents would not have approved of any of the San Andreas games for their children to purchase and play. Adding online capabilities is what people want--kids and not. Normally, parents don't think "wow that console has internet connection, my child is going to use it and talk to people and it will have negative effects on him". It's still all about the money, and people are demanding good online gameplay like never before--literally.

If the Wii does not improve its online play soon, it will be known as a console with bad online capabilties and qualities, as it is already starting to be known as such--and people will cease to buy it.

How many people bought the Wii, for the most part, for its "competitive multiplayer online game for the Wii" (SSBB)? The number wont be in the millions, but even in the thousands is plenty. Trust me online play is basically whats "in" right now and it isn't going to die out any time soon; if this cannot be helped than people will simply "reject" the Wii. The majority of the owners, it seems, would like to see a good online play--games that were once limiting to four people within your household--to broaden to your entire country or even the whole world. And because it's possible and it has been done, and most of all has been a success, people want more of it in general.

vashivihan · 03-28-2008, 05:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Subarnu

It wont kill the Wii, like wezeles said, the Wii is a party console. A lot of people buy the Wii because they can play virtual tennis with their spouse.

well then why are people getting mad about friend codes and lack of voice chat. sure, nintendo may be doing good now but the online (voice chat, dlc, etc) is the future whether u like it or not and nintendo has a lot to catch up to.

Subarnu · 03-28-2008, 05:54 PM

^^ The Wii has sold millions of Wiis and not all of those Wiis went to people looking for dlc and voice chat.

The first thing my mom said when I told her the Wii could access the internet was: Wont we get viruses from it then?

vashivihan · 03-28-2008, 05:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Subarnu

The first thing my mom said when I told her the Wii could access the internet was: Wont we get viruses from it then?

and then there are some people........ lol jk

wezeles · 03-28-2008, 06:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by vashivihan

well then why are people getting mad about friend codes and lack of voice chat. sure, nintendo may be doing good now but the online (voice chat, dlc, etc) is the future whether u like it or not and nintendo has a lot to catch up to.

True they have alot to fix, but honestly they were right, besides probably 10% of its gamers most of Nintendo consumers don't care about online.
And honestly most the games out for Wii really wouldn't be great online aside from a few. Most of them are fun games to play with friends but I couldn't see myself getting half as geeked at playing Wii bowling drunk with a buddy over the net as opposed to in person.

The games that are really going to need the online isn't so much the Nintendo games,aside from a few like animal crossing, but the FPS,MMORPG,Sports games that 3rd party is more well known for and should be pushing onto the Wii with online service.

MOH:H2 is a decent setup, the friends code still kinda sucks but open browsing for rooms to play in is easy and well setup. They simply need to do more games like that becasue that is the games that do great online anyways. They need to just let 3rd party do whatever they want for online, let them worry about the angry parents. Nintendo can improve their own online setup and keep it "userfriendly".

It would have been nice to have more options in SSBB but if they left it open to use whatever options you would have everything form 2 minute to unlimited battles and from 1 to 100 stock. Simply far to many options to choose from and it would end up being a pain when people drop out or just straight up stop to do somethign mid fight. What makes games like that fun is the intesity of it with too many options you can make that appeal fall off when others leave even for a minute.

T3kNi9e · 03-28-2008, 06:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by wezeles

True they have alot to fix, but honestly they were right, besides probably 10% of its gamers most of Nintendo consumers don't care about online.

Yup, the people complaining are the people who come online and follow the game industry. But most people who own the Wii do not follow anything about the Wii. They buy the console and buy games. Most of them probably don't know anything outside of that so they don't give a shit. Wii's demographic is made up of mostly kids and casual gamers. So chances are they couldn't give two shits about Wii's online.

So as long as Wii doesn't overprice their console, I would say they're solid. Do I think they will sell as good next gen? I have no idea and no one else knows either, but im pretty sure they will be okay.

03-28-2008, 09:52 AM	#3
Dr Venkman Geordie Join Date: Nov 2007 Posts: 11 Friends: 0 8547-4973-7586-6781	its annoying for sure, its a pretty simple reason though, they're marketing wii at families and kids, and its working. they think voice chats gonna make the parents concerned about who their kids are talking to, they wanna keep wii the 'safe, family' option for a console, i cant see them changing any time soon. __________________ Wii - 8547 4973 7586 6781 Mario Strikers - 386647 725124 EA Nation - DrVenkman100

03-28-2008, 11:24 AM	#5
wezeles Guru of everything Ninty Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: Michigan, USA Posts: 1,149 Friends: 1 6074-3351-1151-1701	You have to understand it's a huge regional thing aswell. In areas such as Japan,Europe for the most part they are in larger citys and live much closer together than people do in the States. The concept of running next door to your buddys house wouldn't even cross your mind you just do it, simple. Yet here in the states, unless you are in one of the bigger cities the majority of people would be going a few miles to get to the closest friends house to share in a multi player game. That is why Xbox seized the Online market in the USA. Xbox is for the most part a American console, it does sell in Japan and Europe but not to the same level as Wii/PS3. And when it comes to alot of Americans it's not that its a cool extra to have online, it's a downright necessity to alot of gamers that have no friends that live nearby. The real question is why are the Japanese consoles "Wii/PS3" not fighting more for the American dollar? America has been the majority of the gaming consumer since gaming began. Why ignore such a popular customer draw? Even if its not a big hit in the other regions to lose any of the large profits you can get from gaming in the States. Just add what the customer wants, it is just smart buisness. I'll cut Nintendo some slack because they where slow to it, and it's not their only market to focus on. But some nice improvement from both Sony/Nintendo would be nice to see in the near future. __________________

03-28-2008, 12:15 PM	#6
jimbo wii are cool!!!!! Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: glasgow,scotland Posts: 512 Friends: 0	lol xbox live benchmark, thats like saying crysis on very high (which no one can play...NO ONE) is the benchmark in graphics.. is rockband wii, got online... it wont kill the wii same reason high prices didnt kill the ps3 __________________ wii game playing: GH3 wii friend code:1778 9634 2151 5464 gh3 code:502628796471

03-28-2008, 12:33 PM	#7
T3kNi9e Conquistador Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: Augusta, GA Posts: 2,233 Friends: 2	I dont think you can put Sony in the same category as Nintendo as a Japanese company not trying to take advantage of the american market. They are doing fine, there's nothing wrong with PSN, it's free and it's very good for it's zero price. The Wii's online is horrible, but I doubt they will completely neglect it for too long. Atleast I think so... __________________ Mod Edit: Image removed. Some users may find it offensive and inappropriate. SSBB FC: ????-????-???? (New Wii, so I gotta check) Gamertag: T3kNi9e Been playing alot of WarCraft III lately, anyone up for game? Just message me, my account is the same as here and GT.

03-28-2008, 02:59 PM	#9
CantGetAWii Super Moderator Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: WiiChat Posts: 6,498 Friends: 30 3099-0319-5478-2979	What would be really nice is having more third party games have online play, rather than just stat tracking or whatever that junk is they do provide. And Downloadable Content is wishful thinking, first they would need to upgrade the memory of the Wii or at least give us external memory support. Their online will start to improve a bit once voice chat is launched, and I think it will be launched with Animal Crossing (just my guess). __________________ CantGetAWii ProudWii60Owner *'I don't want to go back, I want a new day & age.'* Moderator-[PM] Brawl FC: 4682-8172-0512 [PM for add]


Wii News Wii Forum Wii Friend Codes Wii Groups Wii Blogs Wii Arcade

03-28-2008, 09:34 AM	#2
jackfromcs Junior Member Join Date: Mar 2008 Posts: 1 Friends: 0	I agree with the article. Why should Nintendo reject good online play because their Japanese customers think it's 'nerdy'. Because a small fraction of people who buy the console won't use it? Fine, then take online play out of the Japanese products and let everyone else stay in this decade and play online.

03-28-2008, 10:29 AM	#4
HubMonkey WiiChat Member Join Date: Jan 2008 Posts: 48 Friends: 0	Will it kill the Wii? NO and it is apparent that it is really not that important to people who want a Wii, if it was there would be tons of them on the shelves and nintendo would die off. The Wii is NOT about online gaming, it is about the unique controls and what doors of possibility could be opened up with it. I see lots of the articles criticizing game consoles for every short coming and they are nothing more than hindsight... If these people are so smart, why is there not a 'Perfect" game console out there? I will tell you why, because one cannot be created. It is like having software with zero bugs, will NEVER happen... this is because of the costs associated with with development. R&D is a cost center not a profit center. Sooo with that said these people who write these articles can jump in the lake because they really have no clue. I hope that people on these forums are smart enough to take those articles with a grain of salt. Hub

03-28-2008, 03:01 PM	#10
wezeles Guru of everything Ninty Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: Michigan, USA Posts: 1,149 Friends: 1 6074-3351-1151-1701	Nintendo's big deal is they do need to make money aswell. Unlike Sony and MS that can handle taking a loss on the gaming division because its a nice advertisment base and a small portion of their overall buisness. Nintendo can't afford to lose this type of money, all they do is gaming. This isn't just a way to get more customer it is their livelihood. If gaming is all you do you have to balance cost to profit, thats why we have always seen Nintendo seem to work in a different realm "specially the last couple generations" from the new "high end" systems. They have to pay to setup the free online and in thier mind if your not making money directly because of it, it's a loss. To Sony and Microsoft being so huge they can write it off if it doesn't suceed, Nintendo if they invest into a huge flop they could end up having to close the doors. Nintendo seemed to look at the online features as a bonus to games at first, maybe get a couple buyers that would be on the fence otherwise like with games like SSBB and Mario Kart because the multiplayer is the key to these games. Now as they see the sucess of games with these features far more than the predicessor, obviously it will be included and at a higher level. We already see pay-to-play comming, along with more selection of online games, they have gotten the hint. Are they going to be the best online provider with the widest selection of games? Probably not! ha ha Wii is known for being the party console. It's the one you bust out with friends in your own living room not so much when your home by yourself and you want to hop online. Still I'm sure it will improve at the least this will give them a nice jump into the future for next gen of what they do and do not want to do with online. Free internet service from the Cheepest console on the market, obviously its not going to be the best setup. They can do better but for what we paid for the service "Nothing" it is more of a perk than a necessity when compared to the competing pay service, and the free service offered by the most expensive console on the market. If anything Nintendo making a more on par online service would simply piss off PS3/360 owners because they pay a premium for the better service. The argument will never be gone it will just change directions as things change. __________________ Last edited by wezeles; 03-28-2008 at 03:03 PM.

03-28-2008, 05:25 PM	#11
jl559 WiiChat Member Join Date: Dec 2007 Posts: 55 Friends: 0 8587-1102-6191-9483	I would rather much pay for better online than have a terrible free one. Maybe there should be two types of online-one for free, which is like it is now, and another superior online service ala xbox live. But then there would be problems arising from people using the free service asking that why is nintendo making us pay for a better service which, in their opinion, should be free. __________________ Wii Games: Wii Sports, Twilight Princess, Super Mario Galaxy, Zack & Wiki, Guitar Hero III, Super Smash Bros. Brawl VC Games: Ocarina of Time, Pokémon Snap, Super Mario Bros. 3, Super Mario World, Super Mario Bros. 2, Kirby's Adventure, Link to the Past, Sonic 3D Blast

03-28-2008, 05:50 PM	#14
Subarnu Hand Springs Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: Canada Posts: 636 Friends: 2 7584-1766-4453-7887	It wont kill the Wii, like wezeles said, the Wii is a party console. A lot of people buy the Wii because they can play virtual tennis with their spouse. __________________

03-28-2008, 05:54 PM	#17
Subarnu Hand Springs Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: Canada Posts: 636 Friends: 2 7584-1766-4453-7887	^^ The Wii has sold millions of Wiis and not all of those Wiis went to people looking for dlc and voice chat. The first thing my mom said when I told her the Wii could access the internet was: Wont we get viruses from it then? __________________ Last edited by Subarnu; 03-28-2008 at 05:57 PM.

Currently Active Users Viewing This Thread: 1 (0 members and 1 guests)

Thread Tools
Show Printable Version Email this Page
Display Modes
Linear Mode Switch to Hybrid Mode Switch to Threaded Mode