Nintendo: Wii wasn't intended as a casual console

By Fred Dutton Published 1 November, 2011

Failed to "gain adequate consumer understanding."

It was never Nintendo's intention that the Wii and DS be tagged as consoles primarily for casual gamers, the platform holder has explained.

CEO Satoru Iwata admitted to investors last week that it had failed to adequately inform customers that there was much more to both systems.

When asked about Nintendo's current market strategy Iwata explained that it still aimed to pursue "gaming population expansion", but added that releasing games for "casual or light users" isn't the only way to go about it.

"There was a misunderstanding that Nintendo was dedicated to such games at some stage of the lifespans of the Wii and the Nintendo DS," he said.

"We have made efforts to develop video games that are in tune with various consumer tastes; however, we have not been able to gain adequate consumer understanding regarding our intentions, while in the common perception there are no or few core users playing Nintendo platforms, which is not the case."

He went on to insist that Nintendo plans to develop games that "can be accepted by a wide variety of consumers, irrespective of age, gender or past gaming experience."

"As it is natural that Nintendo alone cannot provide every kind of software, we would like to achieve our goal in cooperation with various developers."

Elsewhere in the presentation, Iwata revealed that the pressures of maintaining four separate platforms at once means that it has had to outsource titles that it might normally have developed itself.

"The time always comes when we must prepare for the next platform. When that time comes, rather than trying to do everything by ourselves, we must try to narrow down what we really have to do inside the company and think of how we can best collaborate with people from other companies.

"For example, the teams led by Shigeru Miyamoto of Nintendo's Entertainment Analysis & Development Division have already been cooperating with external developers in order to create titles which would have been developed internally at Nintendo in the past.

"Now that we realise there may be times when we need to take care of four platforms at once, we are initiating these new challenges, and I believe that such a fixed notion as, 'we have to do everything by ourselves,' has faded inside the company to a large degree."

Picture of Fred.

About Fred Dutton

Fred Dutton is Eurogamer's US news editor, based in Washington DC.

Read more articles from Fred by visiting the Fred Dutton archive page.

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Comments (55) Latest comment 7 months ago

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  • schnide #1 7 months ago

    "However, we have not been able to gain adequate consumer understanding regarding our intentions..

    ..which was strange, because we really thought that getting people like Girls Aloud to advertise games such as Nintendogs would be a runaway hit with hardcore audiences."

    ..Iwata didn't go on to say.

  • RevanNL #2 7 months ago

    So, E3 2008 was just one big misunderstanding?

  • Spanky #3 7 months ago

    Bollocks.

  • DAN.E.B #4 7 months ago

    How stange?
    I thought all the "core" grannies loved it!

  • Mildew #5 7 months ago

    er..."Touch Generations" anyone?

  • JahB #6 7 months ago

    Somehow I have the feeling I'm not adequately understanding the Wii u's intentions either

  • itsfuzzy #7 7 months ago

    Now that Mam, Dad, Granny, Grandad have got bored with the Wii it was never intended for them in the 1st place. Nice try. And im still pissed that you deleted all my stars i earned from buying DS and Gamecube titles when you launched the Wii! At least Zelda is coming out, ill get the feather duster to my Wii

  • Ryze #8 7 months ago

    Oh well - they could have done more to get Manhunt 2 out unedited, and then to chase/court Rockstar to make GTA: San Andreas Stories with online modes in 2006-7 ala the work done by Rockstar Leeds on the PSP remakes.

    They also could have fixed their marketing, and implemented a decent online strategy.

    It's all their own fault, as they're inept in the online space, and made some ridiculous blunders with downloadable games and ESPECIALLY insulting people who requested a fix to the Wii's limited storage issue earlier on. This left their highest spending online customers high and dry. I'd not be surprised if after the 'geeks and otaku' scandal, that they all went out and continued their online purchases on the Xbox 360 instead.

    Nintendo did the same thing with the Gamecube, when they announced that online is unimportant. I immediately cancelled my Gamecube plans and looked at buying an Xbox, as they basically announced that they didn't want my business.
    Edited by Ryze at 01/11/11 @ 16:59

  • Cjail #9 7 months ago

    Nintendo working with external developers!
    What's next: cats and dogs living together?!

  • Mister-Wario #10 7 months ago

    He went on to insist that Nintendo plans to develop games that "can be accepted by a wide variety of consumers, irrespective of age, gender or past gaming experience."

    See, this just sounds to me like more Wii Sports-esque games. And while it's true these games can technically be played by anyone, the more experienced gamer will most likely find these games unstimulating and boring. Conceivably we CAN play them, there's nothing stopping us, but it appeals to such a low common denominator we have no desire to.

  • Slikz #11 7 months ago

    I could have sworn I saw Pat in Eastenders playing Wii on the balance board the other night. I really don't watch it... that often.

  • nickthegun #12 7 months ago

    casual is as casual does.

    or something.....

  • Cobalt_Jackal #13 7 months ago

    Hmmm, whats that overpowering, disgusting smell coming from Nintendo's mouth, smell that. It smells like bullshit.

  • Cappy #14 7 months ago

    Perhaps they should have supported the console with a broader array of titles that addressed their 'not just for casuals' intention then.

  • Der_tolle_Emil #15 7 months ago

    I think there was an even bigger misunderstanding on Nintendo's part on what the majority of gamers consider "core"; You know, the whole cutting edge technology side of things? Or having more "proper" games than casual games? Which eventually is the biggest problem. The games available are still the most important thing when it comes to the image and the perception of a console, it's just that for every good ("proper", as much as I hate the term) game there have been 9 casual games of which 8 were properly shit. As soon as you have to dig through masses of party games to get to the "core" your will struggle with your console's image. Which is a shame, because there are lots of great games for the Wii.

  • DrStrangelove #16 7 months ago

    Why did they dumb down most games so awfully then?

  • Bigmac1910 #17 7 months ago

    I didn't misunderstand anything, I just don't care much for the products that you (Nintendo) offer. I still purchased a Wii to check it out, sorry, but you have to do better than that. And the Wiiu, not sure it's for me either.

  • Kamata #18 7 months ago

    I feel sorry for Ninty, theyre clearly between a rock and a hard place right now.
    I doubt 3DS will ever catch on like the DS. The 3D gimmick isnt enough.

    I think theyll have a hard time with the WII U aswell, that gargantuan controller will alienate the hardcore fans, although the capabilities of the console look very impressive.

  • CUTZ-SIX #19 7 months ago

    "you're doing it wrong!"

  • RawNinjaKid #20 7 months ago

    They wanted to broaden their audience and certainly got it.
    Of course they knew what they were doing with stuff like Wii Fit and Just Dance.

    Unfortunately, the casual software overwhelmingly outperformed any "core" software. And as a business, N were right to focus on what's giving their console success. It's not as if Sony and MSFT try to distance themselves from the "casual" crowd either.

    But now it's back to more of a middle ground.

    The wii still has some of the brilliant "core" games. Even if they were few of them.

    And don't forget Skyward Sword coming soon!!
    Edited by RawNinjaKid at 01/11/11 @ 19:53

  • bengaming #21 7 months ago

    Well if it wasn't intended as a casual console, my dear Nintendo, I'd say you should sack your entire hardware development and innovation department, as well as your entire marketing department.

  • BlinkeredAxis #22 7 months ago

    Bringing out a low-def console and expecting devs to write core games on it is a big stretch. Ninty have made a lot of profit from Wii, so they should just enjoy that, and call it a success.

    It's gonna be awful difficult to woo core gamers now though.

  • Dark_Era #23 7 months ago

    I should have gone to specsavers but I can still see bull when I see it.

  • Marshall2008 #24 7 months ago

    Shit graphics, a couple of franchise games and the rest were shit. How they imagined they could sell that crap to anyone other than the casual player highlights how out of touch they are.

  • weebl #25 7 months ago

    @Mister-Wario
    And while it's true these games can technically be played by anyone, the more experienced gamer will most likely find these games unstimulating and boring. Conceivably we CAN play them, there's nothing stopping us
    ...and yet your avatar is Warioware. Now, I'm not saying that hardcore players like yourself haven't lauded Warioware for its refreshing back-to
    -basics gameplay, but I personally find them unstimulating and boring.

  • scouserfuller9 #26 7 months ago

    The wii still has some of the brilliant "core" games. Even if they were few of them.

    Agree! The GameCube has always been looked back at as a poor console too, yet also had some brilliant games. Zelda: WW, Metroid Prime 1 and 2, Mario Sunshine, SSBM and Paper Mario are just a few.

    All Nintendo have to do to send the hardcore gamers to the shops is release a Mario or Zelda title. That is why the 3DS will now no doubt, be heading in the right direction.

  • AnotherIdiot #27 7 months ago

    I don't think they should be so hard on themselves, it could have been worse, just ask sony.

    For me it was mainly the lack of HD, otherwise i may have held on to it.

  • madjim #28 7 months ago

    Yeah, right... They wanted the hardcore position, but they refused to let games like Fatal Frame 4 get released in the West. So... what should I think?

  • Mister-Wario #29 7 months ago

    I got WarioWare as one of my very first Wii games, merely to try out the Wii's capabilities. It's one of about 3 casual games I have for Wii. Before that I got Super Mario Galaxy. I didn't just play Warioware: it was one fun experience out of a variety of many. What's your point?

    In fact, the reason I have Mister-Wario as a username is because I had Son of Mario as a 360 Gamertag, but then it turns out it was a US account, so I made Son of Wario as a UK one. The Mister-Wario name is just for consistency.

  • alcides #30 7 months ago

    I was OK with the DS, thank you.

  • alcides #31 7 months ago

    Agree! The GameCube has always been looked back at as a poor console too, yet also had some brilliant games. Zelda: WW, Metroid Prime 1 and 2, Mario Sunshine, SSBM and Paper Mario are just a few.
    er, Gamecube was NEVER even remotely considered poor. It's the only console to have had all of the main RE series on it, it had Viewtiful Joe, Mario Kart, Wave Race Blue Storm, Star Wars Rogue Leader, Luigi's Mansion, SoulCalibur 2, Pikmin 1/2, Metroid Prime, Ikaruga and Skies of Arcadia from the Dreamcast, Baten Kaitos... It was flush with high quality (timed) exclusives, and did multiplat too.

    Just saying.

  • linksdad #32 7 months ago

    When they were making money on each console it didnt matter to them. A Sale was a sale and a sale equaled profit.
    Now they are having to take it on the chin for each 3ds sold (and probably the Wiiu if they price it right) they will need to sell more than a game to recoup the loss before turning a profit.

  • BJ_Crackers #33 7 months ago

    There seems to be a lot of Principle Skinner syndrome* going round today

    Nintendo: "There was a misunderstanding that Nintendo was dedicated to such [casual] games"
    Capcom re Resident Evil: "we were trying to do different kinds of scary experiences. That's maybe something that's got a little confused in terms of the messaging."

    Yes, it's our fault for not getting it.

    *Principle Skinner: "Am I so out of touch? ...No, it's the children that are wrong"

  • BJ_Crackers #34 7 months ago

    And I apologise for the Principle/Principal faux pas

  • scouserfuller9 #35 7 months ago

    er, Gamecube was NEVER even remotely considered poor. It's the only console to have had all of the main RE series on it, it had Viewtiful Joe, Mario Kart, Wave Race Blue Storm, Star Wars Rogue Leader, Luigi's Mansion, SoulCalibur 2, Pikmin 1/2, Metroid Prime, Ikaruga and Skies of Arcadia from the Dreamcast, Baten Kaitos... It was flush with high quality (timed) exclusives, and did multiplat too.

    When I say the GC was poor I mean it by sales compared to the xbox and PS2. I know many of the games you've mentioned are also great however if you check my previous post again, you'll see I said the ones I mentioned were just a few. I'm a die hard Nintendo fan so would never look back at the GC with disappointment.
    Edited by scouserfuller9 at 01/11/11 @ 22:01

  • ajaxpliskin #36 7 months ago

    Hey Nintendo,

    How about, don't use Ant & Dec slapping each other's bums in adverts for your hardware??

    How about, you put good hardware in your console to attract other developers??

    How about making a good controller and not trying to spoonfeed your audience really innacurate motion control??

    Your piss poor online service makes PSN look like a godsend.

    All of the above are why you've got the Grandma and baby audience, and why all savvy core gamers have migrated away from your company.

    Don't even try to pretend that this wasn't your intention. You turned your back on gamers for PROFIT. That bubble has now clearly burst.

  • malloc #37 7 months ago

    Nintendo have clearly done a lot right with the Wii. However, they consistently burn themselves out about 18 months before moving on to the next console. If they could stagger releases with some help from 3rd parties then they wouldn't make a rod for their own back and have to go about wowing audiences each time they launch a new console.

  • ShiroBen #38 7 months ago

    Well LYING about things isn't going to fix anything!

  • Quak #39 7 months ago

    The very name Wii was supposed to symbolise casual gaming as everyone was supposed to come together and play. Wii = we.

    Nice try rewriting the history books, but unfortunately there are way too many people around who remember E3 2008 for that to work.

    What is WRONG with Nintendo lately?

  • FenderMaster #40 7 months ago

    Protip:

    Wii Music and Animal Crossing City Folk do not a hardcore Christmas make...

    New franchises: Wii Music, Wii Sports, Wii Sports Resort and...

    "Core" gamers like a wide variety of games, from a wide variety of publishers. Third parties couldn't port their games to Wii because Nintendo cheaped out and repackaged the Gamecube to maximise profits. With no third party releases to help nourish the audience, it was all down to Nintendo, and they split their time between Casual stuff, and occasionally throwing out Mario shaped bones.

    Iwata knew what he was doing, he's just trying to claw back consumer trust now he's realised fads and casual audiences aren't the best thing to stake your companies future on.

    I forsee history repeating itself.

    2012 Wii U releases, it gets current gen ports.

    2013 720 is released and the next gen cycle begins.

    2014 alot of people have moved to next gen, PS4 is released. Wii U still gets decent third party support.

    2015 Most gamers and publishers have moved on to the next generatiion, Wii U, which is only 3 years old loses all third party support as developers are not able to port their games to the trelatively weaker hardware.

    To conclude

    Nintendo are mind bogglingly short sighted for a company thats been around for the best part of a century, and in the games biz for over 30 years.
    Edited by FenderMaster at 01/11/11 @ 23:50

  • Darren #41 7 months ago

    Ah well, nevermind eh, Nintendo. Just think that if you'd marketed the Wii as a hardcore system then you might not have sold 80+ million units after five years? The Wii might be a disappointment in terms of games (IMO) but it has undoubtedly been a huge success in terms of hardware sales.

  • metroid455 #42 7 months ago

    well you see Nintendo when you release a weak and underpowerd console alongside your competition which have considerably more powerful platforms then yes IT IS going to be labeled as a casual console, try harder next time Nintendo

  • metroid455 #43 7 months ago

    @EddieMink I agree
    I also love the Wii aswell despite its weak hardware

  • Raiko101 #44 7 months ago

    The problem here is that Nintendo tried something that didn't satisfy the so called 'hardcore' enough. Graphics meant a lot to most gamers, being a generation jump, and so did the online components. Had Nintendo sorted that out, I suspect more people would have enjoyed the Wii. The controller is fine and many games used it really well. It's just people don't like change and wont tolerate it unless their most important interests are satisfied first.

    I hope Nintendo have realised this, but I have respect for what they've tried to do. As it is, the Wii was a success, has many great games and the DS is one of the top 5 games consoles of all time. At least in my opinion. A brilliant console with an amazing number of brilliant titles.

  • Collymilad #45 7 months ago

    No, you should have marketed it as a core console (which you barely did, if at all) and actually made more than 2 core games a year for it.

    If the Wii was a core console and that's what Nintendo intended, someone needs fired in marketing, seriously.

  • Kami #46 7 months ago

    Wow at the amount of spoilt little gamers in here. I mean, seriously.

    The sad thing is most of you probably wouldn't have bought a Wii even if it HAD been a more "hardcore" kind of console. Nintendo hate is so ingrained into the minds of European/UK gamers these days that absolutely nothing Nintendo will ever do will ever be enough. I mean, the celebration and Nintendo-bashing of the announcement of the Chronicles games (which I hesitate to add aren't actually that brilliant. No seriously. I'm being serious here. You will see.) is as good an example of this as anything. Even average stuff when ported from the Wii is gold, right? Right?!

    It's a fantastic double standard. Yes, this Nintendo PR is bullshit - a lot of PR is bullshit damage limitation, deal with it. But we gamers by and large are as guilty of it as Nintendo, because we historically aren't really supporting them in the way we've supported Sony or Microsoft. You do have to, you know, buy the console and games en masse for the devs to want to make more games. They don't do it because they love you. They do it to make money from you. The state of Wii games was because it was well-marketed towards a new audience of gamer who, as a result of us high-and-mighty core gamers leaving the Wii because we felt slighted by this marketing ploy, became the main demographic of that machine. So duh, of course there are fewer "core games" on the Wii. People have been kicking the shit out of it for over four years now. You really think people are going to make games for a demographic that is proportionally tiny on the machine?

    So let us all be careful on this moral high horse. I really wouldn't want anyone to fall off and hurt themselves.

    Until then, those of us who ARE customers can say that whilst the good games on the Wii were actually very VERY good (average ratings are the highest on Wii, quelle surprise!), there was an awful lot of filler shit as well. But this doesn't surprise me. And it shouldn't surprise anyone else either, as many of us core gamers who still have and play their Wii know we're in the minority of the consoles audience.

    So let's see Wii U launch games. That will determine whether or not I am a launch customer. The tech demos from last E3 weren't really enough - Zelda HD was lovely, but everything else was a bit... rushed. I want to see games running on it, I want to see that controller being used properly, and I want to see at least one main Nintendo franchise on it at launch that IS NOT MARIO. Metroid, Zelda, Star Fox, Donkey Kong, Golden Sun, Pikmin, Eternal Darkness, Super Smash Bros. (I don't class this as a Mario game even though it does have Mario in it, yes I am that picky!) - you know, something that says "We were ready for the release this time!". I'd say Metroid or Eternal Darkness would be very good choices as these are very much titles that "Core Gamers" would go for, especially in HD. Golden Sun I'd kill to see on the Wii U in full HD, but it's an RPG. Those traditionally take some years. so as much as I would want it, I suspect like Zelda HD, it won't be a launch title.

    Considering the Wii U is due for sometime next year, I think an E3 reveal would be cutting it... awfully fine. Perhaps a bit TOO fine for my liking... but then, what do I know, eh?

    Clearly I don't stand about moaning about how Nintendo hate me. Therefore I can't possibly be a core gamer.

  • Xboxfanuk #47 7 months ago

    The Wii U will not launch with many if any core games. Why would I leave my friends list on Xbox or PS3 with robust multiplayer offerings to play CoD or any core game on the Wii with little or no multiplayer service?

    Nintendo is only a hit with people who like platformers or classic nintendo games. It really has nothing else to offer.

  • Spunkweazle #48 7 months ago

    nintendo went after the untapped market of "people who dont buy games", now thats all they have

  • Brutal_Zen #49 7 months ago

    I didn't understand Nintendo's intentions correctly. O, right... So that's why I didn't buy this kiddies console... So glad to know now that it was my wrong perception of their intention that caused me not to buy their little fitness/weight losing contraption.

    Thank you for setting me straight.
    Edited by Brutal_Zen at 02/11/11 @ 08:24

  • irve77 #50 7 months ago

    i completely misunderstood your intention to not release any games.

    FFS Nintendo aren't even releasing casual games let alone their traditional ones

  • CatWeazle #51 7 months ago

    Post deleted at 09:51:44 12-12-2011

  • grussbarbar #52 7 months ago

    Personally, I feel alot of the hate here is misdirected. Nintendo did develop games for a lot of different audiences, including "core" gamers. One good example of a recent Nintendo core game would be Xenoblade Chronicles.
    Yes, they have targeted their ads to the mainstream and casual gamers, but I would hope core gamers would be informed enough not to need ads to see the core games Nintendo have provided for us. I'm thinking of games like Metroid Prime 3, Disaster: Day of Crisis, Super Mario Galaxy 1 and 2, Super Smash Bros. Brawl, Donkey Kong Country Returns...
    I think Nintendo itself has done a decent job, especially considering they also have to provide games for their handhelds and develop hardware too. There's only so much one company can do.
    If anything, I would say that third parties have failed to rise to the occasion, mostly pumping out minigame collection after minigame collection.

    We as gamers of course are a big part of the problem. Whenever there's an interesting third party core game coming out for Wii, it almost never fails to get disappointing sales. Epic Mickey, for instance. Third parties won't put in any effort if all we want is seemingly the next Mario, Zelda or Metroid game.
    See also the 3DS. People keep complaiining that there is nothing to play on it but The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3D, roundly ignoring more than excellent 3rd party games like Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon: Shadow Wars and Dead or Alive: Dimensions...

    @FenderMaster
    I don't feel difficulty in porting games to Wii absolves third parties of any responsibility for not bringing enough good games to Wii. If you're serious as a third party developer, then you should make a game to a console's strengths, not try to make easy money with easy ports.

  • Lamb #53 7 months ago

    I can buy it for the DS but the Wii, not a chance.

  • Collymilad #54 7 months ago

    @Kami

    Actually, I bought 2 Wii's at different times and apart from 2-3 games each time, it was not to my taste. To be perfectly honest I think you have it backwards. Core gamers didn't not buy the Wii and that's why there's no core games, it was more like core gamers bought the Wii and then abandoned it when the proportion of core games for it was tiny. Nintendo chose a market and the market they ignored ignored them in return.

    If it had more core games I would have kept it, here's no high horsing or double standards going on. The fact is the good or innovative games that came out of it failed because everyone had lost interest in the console. You don't keep something that you can get your money back on because you might find it useful once in a blue moon, you get rid of it, get the money, go without and get over it - which is exactly what I did. I would've liked a few of the games that have come out since I got rid of the Wii, but I'm not going to spend another £100+ to get them.

    So yeah, if we're talking about double standards maybe don't make sweeping generalisations about people you are accusing of doing exactly the same thing.
    Edited by Collymilad at 02/11/11 @ 19:07

  • cloudskipa #55 7 months ago

    It's funny because I always wonder what people mean by "core" gamers. It seems to mean different things to different people.

    To me, Nintendo offer "core" gaming, maybe more than most companies today. I certainly don't consider COD/FIFA/Uncharted "core" games. Nintendo have released so many quality 2D/3D platformers this gen, and their franchises have never been better. I think you will find it's actually the so called "hardcore"/"core gamers" that turned their back on Nintendo and not the other way around.

    Some gamers just cannot take a game with cartoon gfx seriously, or a machine that's not as powerful as the competition. It's quite clear to me that gameplay isn't their main consideration as they are too wrapped up in realism tehse days, from Military FPS to Virtual football matches,anything else and they turn up their nose. Is THIS a "core" gamer then?? If so I'm glad I'm not one.

    IMHO Nintendo have stayed true to the "Core" elements of gaming (fun > gfx/storyline) more than any other company I can think of (as Sega would of done had they still be around in the same way). Watch all these "core" gamers positively FLOCK to the new Nintendo machine when it's more POWERFUL than their 360/PS3 and features more gory military gun-kill game than you can shake a stick at.