If you were in charge of Nintendo....

[Foxus]

What would you change, what would you keep the game, would criteria would you set for your released games and consoles? The questions go on.

So, if you were given the opportunity of a lifetime to be in charge of everything Nintendo, what would your bucket list be?

 

[finalark]

My absolute number-one priority would be to secure third party support for the NX. Say what you will about how good Nintendo's first party work is, but any given Big N console is basically a dust collector until the next big game comes out.

Aside from that? Probably pull the focus off Mario and focus more efforts into other projects. Granted, Mario is a big money maker for Nintendo so I'm not entire sure if the risk would be worth it.

 

[Heroine of Winds]

Get more third party support and not treat third party developers terribly. You won't sell a console if you don't get third party games on it. First party games aren't enough.

 

[Foxus]

My absolute number-one priority would be to secure third party support for the NX. Say what you will about how good Nintendo's first party work is, but any given Big N console is basically a dust collector until the next big game comes out.

Aside from that? Probably pull the focus off Mario and focus more efforts into other projects. Granted, Mario is a big money maker for Nintendo so I'm not entire sure if the risk would be worth it.

I wouldn't drop Mario altogether. But Mario would need something to keep from getting too cliched.

Here's just a snippet of my ideas. Tell me what you think:
1. Make Super Smash Bros' development more community-involved. Not an open source project by any means, but allow the community to have input on the games development. Given the right price tag, I would buy the rights to SSB from Sakurai (which would allow him to retire quite comfortably). Every couple months during the development process, a hour long live stream on YouTube would be held, where fans can ask questions and give input to the developer in real time.

Almost like a focus group so-to-speak.

2. Push Star Fox forward, beyond N64 days. Do better than SF Zero and create more of a hybrid between SF 64, Assault, and Adventures. Not keep the franchise hostage to those who like SF 64.

3. Reduce the "No Unsolicited Ideas" policy to "Ideas will be considered, but no guarantees." As far as creativity is concerned, there should be no gatekeepers. Nintendo's R&D dept needs new blood anyway.

Just to humor me, how much do you think the rights for Smash would go for, and how much would the rights for SF go for?

 

[MarioMeteor]

My absolute number-one priority would be to secure third party support for the NX. Say what you will about how good Nintendo's first party work is, but any given Big N console is basically a dust collector until the next big game comes out.

Aside from that? Probably pull the focus off Mario and focus more efforts into other projects. Granted, Mario is a big money maker for Nintendo so I'm not entire sure if the risk would be worth it.

I don't think that would be wise. Notice how there hasn't been a mainstream Mario title this year, and how Nintendo hasn't been as booming lately?

First order of business: Sakurai gets an all expenses paid trip to a place of his liking. The man deserves it.
But more related to Nintendo, I would negotiate with Capcom for the rights to Mega Man and revive Mega Man Universe, maybe as a launch title for the NX. Maybe try to seek out Keji Inafune and offer him a spot as developer, maybe even a job.
Speaking of the NX, I would definitely ensure that the launch is nothing short of grand, or at the very least good enough to make up for how ****ty the Wii U's launch was. Zelda U would most definitely be released for the NX and Wii U, and Star Fox Zero would also get an NX release. I would immediately start development for Super Mario Galaxy 3, as well as a compilation of some kind. Maybe a New Super Mario Bros. bundle or something. I'd also try to revive series' that are dead or inactive, such as Punch-Out!!, Golden Sun, Metroid, etc. all of which, of course, would see a release on the NX.
For the real showstopper, Nintendo All-Stars Pack, featuring NX HD remakes of Super Mario Galaxy 2, Skyward Sword, Kirby's Return to Dreamland, Metroid Prime 3, Punch-Out!!, Super Smash Bros. Brawl, Donkey Kong Country Returns, and Fire Emblem: Radiant Dawn.
Also buy the rights to Geno and put him in Smash Bros., and maybe a Mario game sometime down the road. Throw in some gunpowder and plutonium, drop the bomb in a Nintendo Direct at E3, and then proceed to receive innumerable paper cuts from diving in all the money.

 

[Heroine of Winds]

Another thing I want to do is not put region lock on the NX. Why Nintendo still does this is beyond me.

I don't think that would be wise. Notice how there hasn't been a mainstream Mario title this year, and how Nintendo hasn't been as booming lately?

Well, it has been a pretty rough year for them. I can't help but think they might be giving up considering how quiet they've been.

 

[MarioMeteor]

Another thing I want to do is not put region lock on the NX. Why Nintendo still does this is beyond me.



Well, it has been a pretty rough year for them. I can't help but think they might be giving up considering how quiet they've been.

Oh, they're definitely not giving up. They may be going through a bit of a struggle but they're still the most successful video game company out there. They have too much money and too many customers to give up.

 

[Foxus]

I don't think that would be wise. Notice how there hasn't been a mainstream Mario title this year, and how Nintendo hasn't been as booming lately?

First order of business: Sakurai gets an all expenses paid trip to a place of his liking. The man deserves it.
But more related to Nintendo, I would negotiate with Capcom for the rights to Mega Man and revive Mega Man Universe, maybe as a launch title for the NX. Maybe try to seek out Keji Inafune and offer him a spot as developer, maybe even a job.
Speaking of the NX, I would definitely ensure that the launch is nothing short of grand, or at the very least good enough to make up for how ****ty the Wii U's launch was. Zelda U would most definitely be released for the NX and Wii U, and Star Fox Zero would also get an NX release. I would immediately start development for Super Mario Galaxy 3, as well as a compilation of some kind. Maybe a New Super Mario Bros. bundle or something. I'd also try to revive series' that are dead or inactive, such as Punch-Out!!, Golden Sun, Metroid, etc. all of which, of course, would see a release on the NX.
For the real showstopper, Nintendo All-Stars Pack, featuring NX HD remakes of Super Mario Galaxy 2, Skyward Sword, Kirby's Return to Dreamland, Metroid Prime 3, Punch-Out!!, Super Smash Bros. Brawl, Donkey Kong Country Returns, and Fire Emblem: Radiant Dawn.
Also buy the rights to Geno and put him in Smash Bros., and maybe a Mario game sometime down the road. Throw in some gunpowder and plutonium, drop the bomb in a Nintendo Direct at E3, and then proceed to receive innumerable paper cuts from diving in all the money.

I could probably see the whole Smash franchise going for a couple million in USD (I don't know how that would translate over to yen).I don't know if Sakurai is already a millionaire from the royalties, or if Nintendo's sucked it all in, but he would be then.

You're sure you wouldn't want to develop a SF game for the NX, and let Zero be downloadable content?

 

[finalark]

I don't think that would be wise. Notice how there hasn't been a mainstream Mario title this year, and how Nintendo hasn't been as booming lately?

Does Mario Maker not count? Because that's literally an infinite Mario game.

 

[MarioMeteor]

Does Mario Maker not count? Because that's literally an infinite Mario game.

Super Mario Maker wasn't really a mainstream title. It was in a weird gap between mainstream and spin-off. An...experiment.

I could probably see the whole Smash franchise going for a couple million in USD (I don't know how that would translate over to yen).I don't know if Sakurai is already a millionaire from the royalties, or if Nintendo's sucked it all in, but he would be then.

Oh, Smash would probably go for more than that. It may not be their most popular series, but it's sold several million copies. As head developer, I imagine Sakurai's rolling in the deep, but considering he's developed four immensely popular games, one of them partially against his will, I think a paid vacation is the least they could do for him. Let's also not forget he's responsible for one of Nintendo's most popular franchises, as well.

You're sure you wouldn't want to develop a SF game for the NX, and let Zero be downloadable content?

I wouldn't do that for two reasons: #1: it would be a Star Fox overload to develop a game near what could be the end of a console's lifespan, then immediately develop another one for the next console in line. There'd be no time to digest Zero, people would complain. #2: Zero could still be a Virtual Console release, while also being released in retail. Like I said, anything to help the NX's launch. Launch is by far the most important part of a console's lifespan. You **** that up, you **** the whole console up, game over.

 

[Opossum]

1. Secure all kinds of third party support for the NX.

Make the system the juggernaut it should be. We can't just rely on solely first party titles forever.

2. Increase internal storage space on the NX to far beyond Wii U levels.

In this day and age this is a necessity. To paraphrase what someone in another thread said, someone who buys most of their games physically anyway should not have to deal with storage issues or resort to an external hard drive. Make it a powerhouse.

3. Rework how amiibo are sold.

Ideally, it'd be so that certain characters would appear in certain months through a rotation, and not have certain figures never show up while the same ones clog shelves forever. I'd say the ones always in stock would be Mario, Luigi, Peach, Bowser, Yoshi (though the version of these five characters changes each month [Smash, Mario Party, etc]), Link, Pikachu, Isabelle, and the Inklings, while the remainder get very ample stock on a switch-off on a monthly or bimonthly basis. This makes availability a non-issue. In addition, new releases are spaced out more to not saturate the market too quickly.

4. Make the NX launch not suck.

Have a 3D Mario game, Metroid game, Animal Crossing game, Pikmin game, and Punch-Out!! game (I just feel it works well as a launch title). This gives some heavy hitters from the start, which all hit different demographics. Smash and Zelda would likely take a while, and as such not be launch-ready. Possibly Splatoon sequel as well. In addition, have some third party heavy hitters from this generation ported (Rise of the Tomb Raider, Bloodborne, Dark Souls, etc). Make it attractive to consumers.

5. Keep the personable element.

Nintendo, above all else, knows that customer service and fan communication is a plus. Keep this. Things like Directs and such are great.

6. The next Smash Bros. game.

Let Sakurai or whomever his successor is keep doing what they're doing. However, technically being his superior, I'd put in quite the good word for Chrom (and hopefully change his mind on him) and Henry Fleming. Abuse of power? What's that?

7. Keep making games fun.

Ultimately the most important thing, is it not? With everything that would change, let's not fix what isn't broken.

 

[Spak]

My five-phase plan:
1. Make a new F-Zero game.
2. Allow PM because it's free marketing for the Smash Bros series.
3. Make the mechanics of Sm4sh similar to those in Melee.
4. Include Isaac from GS in Sm4sh.
5. Turn over the company to someone else because I wouldn't know what the heck I was doing and the entire Sm4sh community is planning my assassination because their game now has a MUCH higher skill cap.

 

[Schnee117]

Let's see:
- Secure tonnes of third party support. Wii U has had next to nothing notable. It's telling when you don't get CoD or EA's sport games.
- Make sure NX has loads of hard drive space. 32GB is taking the piss, I shouldn't have to manage my storage or get externals.
- Revive some franchises like F-Zero, Advance Wars and Golden Sun.
- Make the NX launch huge. I'm talking stuff like Final Fantasy, Zelda, 3d Mario, Mass Effect (+ Trilogy HD with all DLC), Kingdom Hearts, Star Wars, Dark Souls, Doom, Tomb Raider and Metroid.
- Give Sakurai lots of time off then get him back for Smash and put in a word for some characters like Ridley and Wonder Red. Also give him a more lax time frame to develop the game.
- Get Tecmo Koei to work on a Fire Emblem Warriors game.
- Get Intelligent Systems to make a Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance and Radiant Dawn double pack with new difficulty settings for those that want more of a challenge or for an easier time, updated visuals and adapting the connectivity between them. Maybe throw in some amiibo support for the FE amiibo again.
- Sort out the amiibo problem. Make them more widely available.
- Massively improve the advertising.
- Improve quality control on the eShop.
- Improve the merchandising. This means give LEGO a license to make Nintendo themed sets and make all sorts of things based on a wider variety of franchises. You want Metal Face on your shelf? Go ahead.
- Improve the localisation process.

 

[finalark]

I don't think I'd worry as much about the NX's launch as everyone else in this thread is.

Aside from the Dreamcast, consoles always suck at launch. And that's fine, in your first year all you really need is a good ad campaign to gets people's attention. Once you've secured your player base, you keep them hooked on a steady stream of awesome games over the course of five years or so.

Besides, you really don't want to fire all your big guns at once.

 

[PKFreeze89]

- I'd get KH3 and MGSV on Wii U
- Fund Mother 4 and release on Wii U and 3DS
- Social media apps for both consoles
- Streaming app for Wii U
- New Punch Out game
- New Wave Race game
- New Golden Sun game, in 3D
- Make a Pokemon Bank app
- More characters for Pokken Tournament
- New 2D Metroid for 3DS
- Star Fox Assault HD for Wii U
- Online mode for AC amiibo Festival
- New main Animal Crossing game for Wii U
- New Kirby game for Wii U
- Startropics, Hogan's Alley, Wild Gunmen, Metroid Zero Mission and the Square Enix games on NA VC
- Mysterious Murasame Castle sequel
- GC games on VC
- DLC for Mario Tennis and Star Fox
- Constant discounts and price drop for both consoles

 

[Freduardo]

First off the DS and GBA Virtual Consoles on the Wii U will be able to connect to DS/3DS systems for mutliplayer games. Both also get added to the 3DS eshop itself. A gamecube virtual console is released with the following free game: Four Swords Adventures (But if you want multiplayer you're going to need 3 DS/3DS systems.). Four Swords Anniversary edition is put for free on the eshop for 3DS systems year round rather than one day a year that one time.

I'd buy Hudson off Konami. And make a new WarioLand with the following playable characters: Wario, Waluigi, Mona, and Bomberman.

I'd sneak into domination in production on the next mario and sonic in the olympics game and make the game have a platforming 'mini game' called "Road to the Torch." Robotnik and Bowser steal the torch, the other characters have to get it back. Ultimately it's a reskin of Super Mario Bros. 3 where you play as Sonic and Friends and a reskin of Sonic 2 where you play as Mario and friends. Differences being: Coins in both get turned into rings, everyone uses the ring-life mechanic. All mushrooms are removed from Mario 3, but fire flowers and more advanced suits are replaced by sonic shields. All shields in sonic are replaced by power suits. You start with only Mario and Sonic, and unlock other characters as you beat worlds/levels. Donkey Kong and Yoshi play like their platforming equivalents, but their power ups are changed to mirror them when selected (Donkey Kong gets hearts and that's about it.)

In platforming games, Daisy plays like Luigi with a Peach Float.

I'd make Bounty Hunters: Uprising as a sequel to Kid Icarus: Uprising with playable Samus, Star Fox, and Captain Falcon.

I'd pay Shin'en to make the next sequel to fast racing actually be the next f-zero provided my teams get to design/add music and characters for their cars. And F-Zero characters and cars get added.

I would publish Nintendo Power once more.

A lot of other things. But I'd start here.

 

[Tino]

Bring back Rosalina's old voice actress from the Super Mario Galaxy games and portray her the way she's supposed to be: a calm and motherly person with a tragic background story...and give Rosalina her own game to expand her character further, which would chronicle on how she became who she is now.

Other than that:
-More third party support
-An F-Zero game for both Wii U and 3DS
-A Punch-Out!! game for Wii U
-Restocking the rare amiibos as if they were the common ones
-A Super Mario Sunshine HD remake
-An HD remake of both Super Mario Galaxy and its sequel on one disc
-An actual Kirby platformer game like Dream Land for Wii U
-A music streaming service like Spotify for 3DS
-A main Animal Crossing game for Wii U
-GameCube games for Wii U eShop
-Game Boy Advance games for 3DS eShop (I never understood why they put those on Wii U instead)
-A Wario Land game for Wii U

And that's pretty much it, I think. Actually I do have some more ideas but I'm just gonna leave it at that.

 

[VillageofFitness]

My first move would probably be to make a Pokemon game that is for both 3DS and Wii U, where you could transfer your data between the two, but you'd have the full game on both platforms. I would also give Melee an HD release on Wii U, along with a Fire Emblem Path of Raidience/Radiant Dawn bundle for Wii U. Also maybe do some switching around on the 3DS/Wii U e-shops, so you could play the classic Pokemon games or Gunsmoke on Wii U but then play GBA games on 3DS

 

[Synnett]

Everything above, along with re-releasing more games for digital download, and having real controllers. (You know, like the other consoles use?)

And the most important thing: kick out this incompetent legal team. I mean wtf Nintendo?

Edit: I'd also ask to make fun games for their consoles but it seems complex...

 

[VillageofFitness]

Everything above, along with re-releasing more games for digital download, and having real controllers. (You know, like the other consoles use?)

You can use multiple kinds of controllers that are more akin to more conventional ones. Bought two Gamecube esque controllers for my Wiimotes, they work on pretty much any game that allows Classic Controllers. I also have a pro controller that operates without a Wiimote. Though I do get what you're saying, make those types of controllers more readily available and advertise that you have them, instead of relying on consumers to randomly stumble upon them.

 

[Karter_90]

What would you change, what would you keep the game, would criteria would you set for your released games and consoles? The questions go on.

So, if you were given the opportunity of a lifetime to be in charge of everything Nintendo, what would your bucket list be?

Wii and Wii U would never exist and it'd just be improved upon GameCube which was the last non-gimmicky console Nintendo released so far. Doesn't help that the Wii U GamePad doesn't serve much purpose to most games whereas a small chunk have made good use of it.

I'm glad that the current-new Nintendo president has admitted the Wii U is a failure.

 

[Opossum]

I'm glad that the current-new Nintendo president has admitted the Wii U is a failure.

He never actually said this.

 

[finalark]

Wii and Wii U would never exist and it'd just be improved upon GameCube which was the last non-gimmicky console Nintendo released so far. Doesn't help that the Wii U GamePad doesn't serve much purpose to most games whereas a small chunk have made good use of it.

I'm glad that the current-new Nintendo president has admitted the Wii U is a failure.

Chances are you'd be bankrupt, my friend.

As much as we would all love a GCN 2.0 it's not what Nintendo needed. The Wii saved their asses from becoming another Sega.

The reason why the Wii U is tanking is because of a combination of bad advertising, no third party support and library lacking diversity.

 

[Karter_90]

He never actually said this.

http://venturebeat.com/2015/09/14/nintendos-new-president-predicted-the-wii-u-would-fail/

Chances are you'd be bankrupt, my friend.

As much as we would all love a GCN 2.0 it's not what Nintendo needed. The Wii saved their ***** from becoming another Sega.

The reason why the Wii U is tanking is because of a combination of bad advertising, no third party support and library lacking diversity.

The Wii was mostly filled with shovelware crap and most of its owners were family members and casuals who'd pack their Wii console away and never use it, or, sell it on eBay.

Yes, it was commercially a success but not to gamers.

 

[Opossum]

http://venturebeat.com/2015/09/14/nintendos-new-president-predicted-the-wii-u-would-fail/

He did not say the Wii U would be a failure

A mid-September Nikkei story suggested he did, but Kimishima says he was responding to a life-to-date sales comparison question, and that his answer was misunderstood.

“The Nikkei reporter’s question to me was ‘The Wii U is not selling at this point in its lifetime as well as the Wii was at the same time. Why is that?'” says Kimishima. “And my answer was that the Wii at this point has sold over 100 million units worldwide, and even through there are people saying ‘Hey, since the Wii was so successful, Wii U is also going to be successful and it’s also going to sell like wildfire as well,’ I looked at that global install base and said that it might not sell as well. That was my response. Not that it wouldn’t sell, but that it would be more difficult because of the install base of the Wii itself.”

Source: Time.com


He'd been misunderstood.

 

[Synnett]

Nintendo is so conservative right now, they won't let 3rd party do anything with anything.

- What if they let people do 3DS themes, sell them and simply put a small tax on them?
- Let 3rd party create more 3DS covers, there are like no options, just like the themes - there is nothing.
- Nintendo is so restrictive of adult content, most of the people who own that console are at least teens.
- They don't let 3rd party do much games anymore, and due to the 3d graphics/new graphics technologies, it gets harder to do games anymore. And most of them are realeased in the online store, unnoticed.
- They keep suing everything and everyone just because they barely even mention Nintendo's name. They need to kick out this legal team right now, they are the most damaging thing right now for nintendo.

There is so much wrong with this company... their first step would be to be less restrictive on adult content and annihilate their legal team. I mean, it' obvious now: all of your fans are adults. Heyyy does it ring a bell? Follow your fandom, they are getting older, and miiverse and childish gamesjust doesn't make the cut anymore. The games even gets worse every year and more childish.

 

[finalark]

The Wii was mostly filled with shovelware crap and most of its owners were family members and casuals who'd pack their Wii console away and never use it, or, sell it on eBay.

Yes, it was commercially a success but not to gamers.

Well, if you're in charge of Nintendo then your duty is to turn a profit, not appeal to your personal interests.

I got real tired of the "Wii is nothing but shovelware" argument years ago. If you have any used game stores that still sell old games go check out the NES or PS2 section for example. I'm willing to bet that you can count the worthwhile games there on one hand. The Wii has plenty of great games on it, but people are quick to dismiss it for sometimes unfair reasons.

 

[VillageofFitness]

Also, I would commission a Sm4sh re-release for the NX and 3DS. The NX version would likely be a combination of the Sm4sh for Wii U and 3DS in terms of content, with possibly and exclusive character/corresponding stage. The 3DS version would likely have an exclusive character as well as a number of exclusive stages, make it like Soul Calibur 2 so that you could buy it for either system.