How to Fix Nintendo: I’m Here to Help

Nintendo has always been a company that takes risks.

Sometime, that risk pays off, like going with a Brooklyn Plumber or a group of Pocket Monsters. However for every diamond in the rough, there is also that rough patch that you just can’t fix, like the Virtual Boy. Now, It’s usually more hit than miss with the Big N, but it’s no secret that lately they’ve been struggling. That’s okay – with my help Ninty should be alright when Donkey Kong Country and Mario Kart 8 come out to the masses.

Ready Nintendo? Put these ideas in your “break-in-case-everything’s-terrible” glass case. Then find a hammer. 

First: Learn To Launch

Let’s look at how Nintendo does business.

They have good first party titles, they have decent marketing, and they have the nostalgia factor. However the Wii U, like several other recent Nintendo systems, didn’t have the greatest launch window, game-wise.

That’s not uncommon in this day and age, but how the company comes out of that early slow period can show the fans if the company has a plan. The 3DS didn’t have the best launch window, but most buyers could hold out for the  Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3D even though that didn’t come along right away.

For the Wii U launch, it looked like Nintendo was trying to get the audience that the Wii didn’t appeal to and hook them. Games like ZombiU and Ninja Gaiden were made for the “hardcore” (and I use that term lightly) gamer that wouldn’t even look at a Wii. However, the games weren’t the good enough to entice hardcore gamers to make the switch, and those titles scared away the casual player that the Wii grabbed and didn’t let go.

This minor history lesson just serves as a reminder of what the Wii U was before the likes of Mario 3D World, and The Legend of Zelda: Windwaker brought the system to “just getting by.”

In Theory, the Wii U is an Easy Fix

Step one is to fix/modify the eShop

The eShop should have more classic games on it from the likes of the Game Boy, Game Boy Color, and the N64. It should also have more obscure games as well as classic games from Japan. I know the eShop already has imported games but the classic games would be a welcome addition. Nintendo is always trying to bank on the nostalgia factor and bringing back more classic games is the best way to do that. Nintendo could also do what they have done for quite some time, re-release a game again and again. Pokémon with old school Game Boy graphics and Wi-Fi trading sounds too perfect not to do.

Another idea that could work is an Ambassador-type program for the Wii U

Being creative like this is what Nintendo was known for in the old days

This would work a little differently than the 3DS one. You could have Wii U owners from the beginning/certain period be able to download 5 free games of their choosing and that would be it. It would say on their Miiverse profile that they’re Ambassadors or they could have access to special Miiverse/Ambassador stamps that only Ambassadors would have. Being creative like this is what Nintendo was known for in the old days. If they didn’t, who knows what games we would/wouldn’t have? New intellectual properties are tough to master and rarely are giving the time needed to succeed in the market. A prime example of this is the Wonderful 101, new I.P. that was good but wasn’t giving the time since it was “different.”

Finally: Fix the Marketing

The marketing for the Wii U was terrible.

If people have no idea that the system isn’t just a Wii and a tablet, then the marketing department failed miserably. The main idea should have been that the Wii U is totally different from the Wii. The holiday ad campaign did a little better that people could tell that the Wii U was ‘different’ and the sales were better but you can hang that on the better games that were available during the holiday season.

The launch window, like I mentioned before wasn’t the best for the Wii U but it didn’t have that one breakout game. New Super Mario Brothers U was a great game but it wasn’t different enough to get people to say, I need a Wii U for that game. It also hurt Nintendo that they wanted the system to just be for games and didn’t put a DVD player in it, like the other systems. It kept the price down but it could have brought in more business.

How would you fix Nintendo?

There’s no use denying it, Nintendo isn’t in a great place right now. But gamers have a special place in their hearts for the company, and no one wants to see them on the rocks.