Why does Nintendo treat the American audience like garbage?

[IanTheGamer]

We were mostly ignored in the roster selection for Smash, We aren't given anything uniquely tailored to the American market, Nintendo refuses to allow NoA to tap into American tastes for games, Nintendo thinks we are stupid by handholding throughout a good portion of their library, and making some of their games too easy.

 

[finalark]

Because Nintendo is a Japanese company and by default would rather appeal to their homeland the same way that Microsoft is an American company and would rather make games tailored to Americans? Not to mention that they got exclusive rights to Sonic (for now) a series that is significantly more popular in the US than it ever was in Japan, so you can't really say that they're not trying.

The hand holding features in some of the newer Nintendo games are in all versions of their games and was not made exclusively for Americans. Not only that, but it's completely optional. And I'm not sure where you're getting this "some of their games are too easy" nonsense. Have you even played Topical Freeze? That's seriously one of the most challenging non-indie platformers I have played in years.

 

[IanTheGamer]

Because Nintendo is a Japanese company and by default would rather appeal to their homeland the same way that Microsoft is an American company and would rather make games tailored to Americans? Not to mention that they got exclusive rights to Sonic (for now) a series that is significantly more popular in the US than it ever was in Japan, so you can't really say that they're not trying.

The hand holding features in some of the newer Nintendo games are in all versions of their games and was not made exclusively for Americans. Not only that, but it's completely optional. And I'm not sure where you're getting this "some of their games are too easy" nonsense. Have you even played Topical Freeze? That's seriously one of the most challenging non-indie platformers I have played in years.

If you die three times in NSMB you get a wingsuit that makes it impossible to die, They don't do proper market research like what Sony did, they hold Retro Studios back, even when Retro is their most talented developer, I am not looking for Nintendo to completely abandon Japan, but to give NoA more autonomy

 

[finalark]

Why is making Donkey Kong games holding them back? Just because they aren't working on Metroid anymore doesn't automatically mean that they're keeping them from greatness. The new DKC games are very high quality platformers and are some of the best games Nintendo has out right now.

I can understand why they don't give NoA too long of a leash. I assume that they're afraid that they'll end up like SEGA, who gave SoA complete control over the US branch which is part of what caused the company to fall about due to a number of communication breakdowns. Although it would be nice to see more Japan exclusive games get localized. Granted, that seems to be less and less of a problem these days.

I didn't know about the wing suit, so you got me there. Although I've been seeing this features less and less of late.

 

[Tattles]

New Super Mario Bros. is a game that appeals to children and adults. (now, i don't own a copy of any of the japanese versions of these games, but i'm sure they have the same feature.)

You don't have to take the invincibility power-ups (as far as I know). If you want to keep trying to beat something that you're clearly struggling with (you died 3 times in a row) the way it was intended, then simply don't take it. For a child, some puzzles or bosses or stages seem insurmountable, and odds are, they don't particularly care about beating the game the 100% honest way.

This is drastically different compared to games in the NES days, which would downscale the entire game's difficulty, or remove a harder difficulty option altogether (which makes so little sense that I can't believe who the hell thought it was a good idea to ever do that to a game).

that said, the only game that i know you don't have to take the invincibility is in Super Mario 3D Land; and i'm going to assume it's the same for every other game.

I think this recurring argument is an over-exaggeration of an issue that doesn't exist anymore.

 

[SilentBob]

Nintendo keeps a firm grip on all of their games because they want definite control over the final polish of every game. That's why out of all the companies out there, Nintendo is pretty damn consistent when it comes to the quality of their games. You talk about how games have gotten easier and how Nintendo ignores the american audience yet the only reason why their games have gotten easier is due to the american audience. Also your NSMB argument is flawed. Sure the game gives you a suit but it's in a block at the beginning of the stage and you don't have to pick it up. It's there for the people who really do need it. I don't see how this is a bad thing. Though I will say that I'll never acknowledge the existence of Skyward Sword due to how the game was just a long tutorial but Nintendo seems to have took a step back on that and only includes hand-holding in their more casual titles.

Say what you want but most gamers in America want their quick fix of "pew pew" or play a game of Madden to release some tension. What most people don't seem to understand is that the vast majority of gamers don't visit gaming forums, don't post in news articles and don't even read video game news.They buy that big game everyone knows about and that is massively advertised. These people aren't interested in more difficult games that require a lot of investment. They want a game that they can pick up, play for 20 minutes and put it back down. That's why despite all the things EA has done as well as being named worst company of the year twice their sales haven't gone down at all, Day 1 DLC still sells like crazy and microtransactions still exist.

That being said, you talk about wanting games tailored for american audiences. What do you mean by that? Do you mean more cinematic games? More "mature" games with guns and stuff? More shooters? If that's your line of thought, have you ever sat down and thought about why Nintendo isn't doing that? Nintendo doesn't want to compete. They're doing their own thing. Instead of making super expensive AAA games that offer a cinematic experience, they're making games that are for what games are supposed to offer at their core which is having fun. Nintendo wouldn't benefit at all to make a game like The Last of Us or Call of Duty. Why would they even bother trying anyway? Playstation and Xbox already have tons of games of that genre that are already established. Nintendo wants to offer games that appeal to both kids and adults. Games that you can pick up and have tons of fun without having to remember a story or having to read dialog to progress. They want you to have a memorable experience of the gameplay rather than the emotions and story of a game.

Nintendo isn't for everyone that's for sure. If you're looking for more "mature" games, which is ironic considering the main home console demographic for Nintendo is people in their 20s-30s that grew up with them while games like Call of Duty are filled with 12 year olds, then yeah Nintendo probably isn't for you. You want Nintendo to change for you while you can just look to the side and see that you can get a PS4 or Xbox One to get exactly what you want.

 

[the8thark]

Why does Nintendo treat the American audience like garbage?
Because they don't want to treat the NA audience like ultra garbage as they do the Australian audience.

Seriously though, this feels like a first world problem. NA gets it better than EU and Aus for everything Nintendo but still feel the need to complain about it. Try living a year as an EU/Aus Nintendo fan then you will know what being on the short end of the Nintendo stick really is.

 

[Heroine of Winds]

Why does Nintendo treat the American audience like garbage?
Because they don't want to treat the NA audience like ultra garbage as they do the Australian audience.

Seriously though, this feels like a first world problem. NA gets it better than EU and Aus for everything Nintendo but still feel the need to complain about it. Try living a year as an EU/Aus Nintendo fan then you will know what being on the short end of the Nintendo stick really is.

^This. EU/AUS fans get far worse treatment than NA/JP fans. I guess you forgot how long it took Brawl to come out over in EU then.

 

[Tonzura Koite]

We were mostly ignored in the roster selection for Smash, We aren't given anything uniquely tailored to the American market, Nintendo refuses to allow NoA to tap into American tastes for games, Nintendo thinks we are stupid by handholding throughout a good portion of their library, and making some of their games too easy.

What? Have you looked up Japanese reactions to Little Mac? He was included because Americans love him.
Not to mention Mario's stars and stripes threads. I know it's from a game, but it was included for a reason.

Guess which game isn't out in Japan yet?