At E3 2011, Nintendo outlined its vision for the future. An hour-long presentation spoke to its ambitions for the Nintendo 3DS, its fledgling new portable, and the Wii U, a new home console designed to not only attract casual consumers but "core" gamers as well.
The language was very telling, and Nintendo's focus was clear – regain the core, retain the casual. One group, however, seemed to be ignored, one that doesn't necessarily fit into "core" or "casual" categories. Outside of a brief trailer for The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword (dropping later this year), Nintendo seemed to be telling its existing home console customers, its most loyal and dedicated fans, that it was focusing on 2012, not 2011. The show floor didn't prove much better, revealing only a handful of party games and licensed software for Wii. Significant, deep experiences like The Last Story or Xenoblade were nowhere to be seen, and while the games had already been released in Japan and were seemingly coming out in Europe, Nintendo was apparently content to ignore its largest market in America.
So it's lights out, Wii owners. That system that you waited overnight for in 2006? That system you advocated to your casual family and friends? That system you supported through thick and thin, and purchased a dozen-plus titles for? Done. Move along. There's really nothing more for you here. Wait a year or so and everything will be fine… if you invest several hundred dollars in a new console.
Who exactly is supposed to benefit from this scenario? No doubt Nintendo, eager to draw attention to the 3DS and Wii U in the coming year, will do nicely. Additionally, expensive localization efforts are avoided, focus can be shifted to marketing a new portable, and development for a powerful new system can continue. But in the process Nintendo is cavalierly disregarding its fans, both in action and language. It's so focused on pursuing core gamers and wooing casual players that it is paying no attention to those who evangelize its products to both of those groups. Unintentional? Probably. Devastating? Certainly.
Those Nintendo fans have not been happy. Less than a month after Nintendo's E3 2011 press conference, the focus has turned from the excitement of Wii U to absolute frustration that Wii is more or less being abandoned. This isn't necessarily about any one game that is or isn't being localized. The kind of anger that's being displayed would never be based on something so simple. This is about Nintendo's attitude towards its most passionate customers.
The story now isn't about whether Xenoblade made it to North America, but the fact that Nintendo couldn't be bothered to explain why it wouldn't bring the game to its largest market. No doubt the company has its reasons. No doubt said reasons are sound and have been thoroughly discussed in meetings. This isn't a company that reacts quickly – to anything. Yet for all its ponderings and ruminations, no one seems to remember that some transparency is needed to at least let fans know they're not irrelevant in this equation.
From puzzlers and shooters to RPGs and party games, the Nint...