Has Nintendo ever made a bad system?

[ReaganYouth]

For what it's worth, I don't think the greatness of a console (at least a Nintendo console) should be defined by the size of the library. Rather, for me it's about how many truly memorable experiences I've had with it. In that regard, N64 takes the top spot for me, but that position will likely be usurped by SNES once I get a hold of the rest of the classics.

In my opinion, the closest they came to making a bad system was with the GC. And even that was worthwhile in the end, imo. What about you?

[MAX]

define 'bad'

[ReaganYouth]

Bad meaning that you regret buying it.

[Tanooki]

Hmm...as much as I liked what I had, in the end the cost didn't justify it considering the bastards pulled the plug in under 2 years so the Virtual Boy is the only one I know that qualifies the 'Bad' stamp of disapproval.

[ReaganYouth]

I honestly wasn't even thinking about Virtual Boy. I was talking about home systems.

But let's just forget VB ever happened, k?

[Tanooki]

I can't. I paid $170 for it in the day and bought like 4 games at around $20-30 a pop.

I less than a week ago paid $170, got a new slim psp daxter set and stocked up 12 games in that chunk of change too thanks to a small pile of gba trade-ins. I've had more fun and more games with the same pay out. VB can suck it. It gets the win on this thread. If anything that could come near it, go research the Pokemon Mini. :)

[thegamecubist]

Eh, not really, but then again by that definition most mainstream systems are good-they can all provide some sort of memorable experience.

If I were to say one right now, I'd probably say the DS, but that's probably because I don't really play it that much. If I played it more I'm pretty sure I'd like it alot more :) I mean, it has RPGs coming out the ass.

[Smokey]

But if a console plays ****, wouldn't that mean that the console is ****, too?

I never regretted buying a Nintendo console that I own. Of the ones I have owned, I'd say the NES, but that's really based on my own experience with it.

[MAX]

I'm going to say no, since the systems did what they were built to do.

[Smokey]

Yeah, I don't think any of Nintedo's systems were really bad by themselves (except maybe the VB, can't comment on that). I just personally don't have many happy memories with the NES.

[Z.E.I.D.A.N]

I've regretted buying the N64 sometimes... I don't think it's a "bad" system but I do consider it a failure. If that makes any sense at all.

Oh, and Gamecube too.

[Smokey]

No it doesn't make sense. Are you saying it was bad itself or that you yourself didn't have a good experience with it?

[Z.E.I.D.A.N]

I mean that it's not a low quality system but it failed to live up to its potential, and it didn't meet my expectations as a buyer.

[Coral]

SNES, as I bought it the week the N64 came out not knowing what the 64 was.


Dont take this the wrong way people, but in terms of hardware and accessories, and the OS for the system, i think the Wii fails. A lot of features that are showing up via homebrew could have been included officially from Nintnedo but they decided not to.

[ReaganYouth]

I'm not counting the Wii right now, since it's still got a few years ahead of it if not more (or less).

[MR EPIC]

Well I don't regret buying a Wii per se, but of all of the Nintendo Consoles I've owned it is the least played and the biggest disappoint to me in terms of software satisfaction.

[ReaganYouth]

OK, can we please leave the Wii out of this? I don't find it fair to compare a system that's only been out for a little under 2 years, to systems that have already had 5 years to build a library.

But at the moment, yeah the Wii is a tad disappointing. Not only is 3rd party support still bad, but 1st party support is suckish too.

[MR EPIC]

Sorry Reagan. I just read the OP and then decided to give my opinion. So then I guess the Virtual Boy would be the glaringly weak system in terms of commercial success that Nintendo's put out.

[ReaganYouth]

^It's not about how much commercial success it has either. GC, SNES, N64, and NES (and in a few years, the Wii) are the only systems that count.

[Monkeylord]

I still want a Virtual Boy, mainly because I've never ever seen one - just pictures.

It was never released in Europe :(

[blokeymon]

You know, its unfair to ask the question you have, and then say to leave the Wii out of it cos its "still new".

The first two years is MORE than enough time to show a machine's potential. So far, out of all the Nintendo consoles, the Wii has proven weakest.

The NES proved it was a fantastic machine within its first year. The SNES had a similar start. The N64 had some cracking games in its first year, only to die off later in life. The 'Cube was given a great start and regular greats in its short life.

But the Wii.... out of ALL the Nintendo systems, its first two years have been worse than ANY of the others (with the exception of the Virtual Boy) for delivering both memorable experiences and great games.

Were it not for Guitar Hero III, I would never touch my Wii.

But hey, given your reply to Mr Epic there, its plain to see that our own take on the question you asked don't count for much unless its what you yourself would say.

[ReaganYouth]

You know, its unfair to ask the question you have, and then say to leave the Wii out of it cos its "still new".

The first two years is MORE than enough time to show a machine's potential. So far, out of all the Nintendo consoles, the Wii has proven weakest.

The NES proved it was a fantastic machine within its first year. The SNES had a similar start. The N64 had some cracking games in its first year, only to die off later in life. The 'Cube was given a great start and regular greats in its short life.

But the Wii.... out of ALL the Nintendo systems, its first two years have been worse than ANY of the others (with the exception of the Virtual Boy) for delivering both memorable experiences and great games.

Were it not for Guitar Hero III, I would never touch my Wii.

But hey, given your reply to Mr Epic there, its plain to see that our own take on the question you asked don't count for much unless its what you yourself would say.


Hello? I just admitted a few posts above that the Wii was a disappointment. However, I opted not to include the Wii in this because it's not dead yet, and it MIGHT redeem itself. It's unlikely it will improve by that much, but it's possible.

[MR EPIC]

This thread has too many restrictions. It's almost as if you're leading us in a certain direction designated by yourself. I've said I'll I can say, think I'm done now.

[blokeymon]

Your question is "Have Nintendo ever made a bad system".

According to my sources, Nintendo made the Wii.

You made no comment about the systems you're talking about being current or previous gen.

Also, I have far better things to do than bait trolls.

This thread has too many restrictions. It's almost as if you're leading us in a certain direction designated by yourself. I've said I'll I can say, think I'm done now.

I ****ing love you.

[ReaganYouth]

This thread has too many restrictions. It's almost as if you're leading us in a certain direction designated by yourself. I've said I'll I can say, think I'm done now.

I'll clarify what I originally meant by editing my OP then. Fair enough?

On second thought, I'll include the Wii so this thread doesn't become derailed any further. But I'm still excluding handhelds. Happy?

[MAX]

I don't think the Wii is a bad console. Not reaching somethings potential, doesn't make it 'bad'.

[ReaganYouth]

Yeah, I was a little bit drunk for the past few hours or so. Why, in my inebriated state, do I keep coming here?

[MR EPIC]

Because it helps you tolerate us jackasses a little bit? :)

[ReaganYouth]

I guess drinking brings out the true fanboy in me, lawl. I'm usually respectful of other's opinions.

[Tanooki]

I never thought to include the Wii as I assumed you meant in the past...oh well. I do agree with Max though just because it's late to have potential showing truly on it doesn't instantly mean crap. It's a fault thing of both Nintendo 1/3 to 3rd parties bullcrap 2/3 fault as I see it. Nintendo tried to get everyone on board while also going all ape about sucking in the non-gamer/casual iPod type crowds on it which didn't help. 3rd parties looked and laughed as it wasn't some HD beast and was behind the other two in that department and just sheer processing power, so it got B-F level team crap releases 90% of the time up until about when Metroid and MOH Heroes 2 popped up so it had nearly a year of pure suck. Had Wii been accepted day one out of the gate like the previous 4 systems I don't think the whole drought/high yield crap pile would exist.

Also Nintendo was never 100% on the VB either as one day it was a portable(but never a handheld) but also a system too (but not directly called a console.) It's just one red glowing bastard child really and I nailed it with the worst tag just because they killed it quick, 1/2 the games of the 3 dozen or so it ever had were crap, and those that were good, few were truly great.

I suppose if you had to just stick with consoles I'd have to give it probably to the N64 as much as I'd rather not just because while 1st/2nd party did their best, getting something out of them every 3-4months wasn't enough as 95% of the limited 3rd party stuff they had was crap because 3rd parties drank the kool-aid and gave it crap up until the end of 99 into 2000 when it was too damn late to matter.

[MR EPIC]

Well in response to your original post (now that we can mention Wii) I still had way more memorable experiences on the GC than I did on Wii. As a matter of fact, Order Up is probably the only memorable experience I've had on the console thus far.

For me the GC had Tony Hawk 3, THUG, Tales of Symphonia, Super Mario Sunshine, Wind Waker, Metroid Prime, Resident Evil 4, and even some of the lesser launch titles like Dave Mirra's BMX and Batman: Vengeance. Hell, if anybody remembers the Game Boy Player, I used that as my main source of FFTA fun (300+ hours).

[Tanooki]

I played the hell out of the GB Player off and on as it really did make the enjoyment value of a few games go up just because they were a tad too busy for such a small screen. Other games though had really sweet tracks and the GC brought out the best of that over the stereo. I sold that unit off probably 6mo ago if that, and I think it's still in the store as I swore I saw it the other day in the case. :P Apparently they're worth a decent chunk of change which is kind of surprising.

[ReaganYouth]

The way it's looking right now, Wii is the worst console Nintendo ever put out. Perhaps with their next system, they'll come crawling back to us. They'll have to eventually, right?

[MR EPIC]

No, not unless they want to shell out a ton of money to garner exclusive 3rd party support and lose a ton of money on expensive hardware for the first few years.

[ReaganYouth]

I don't see what's wrong with them trying to secure 3rd party exclusives. And next generation will probably see Sony and MS trying to copy Wii's success, so they might have the same architecture as their current systems too.

Just a guess.

[MR EPIC]

There's nothing wrong with it, but Nintendo simply won't do it. They are very tight-fisted with their money Reagan and they're very proud. They feel it's an honor for developers to be able to create games for their console, not a necessity.

[ReaganYouth]

I thought maybe that attitude would have gone away once Iwata took over. Oh well.

[HGW XX/7]

Virtual Boy. It's a failure in the same way the SEGA 32X was a failure. Except the 32X didn't make you go blind.

The 64DD, as that was hyped by every Nintendo fan I know as being some huge revolution, only to never be released in the US, or do anything anywhere else.

The Nintendo 64 , as the controller is terrible and there's only a very choice few games I'd ever like to play/see again for it.

I know you don't want handhelds, but the Gameboy Advanced SP is terrible. The flip design was neat, but it was absolutely a pain to play. The most uncomfortable handheld ever.

[ReaganYouth]

^I'm surprised you didn't list Gamecube.

[HGW XX/7]

^Why? I had fun with the Gamecube. I didn't buy one until about 7 months pre-Wii launch. But it was a much better effort than the N64.

[ReaganYouth]

^Why? I had fun with the Gamecube. I didn't buy one until about 7 months pre-Wii launch. But it was a much better effort than the N64.

I just feel Nintendo's games were lower quality than their SNES/N64 predecessors. And aren't Nintendo games the main reason people buy Nintendo hardware anyway?

[Tanooki]

Hmm...Wii isn't a failure that's for sure no matter what some with other interests would like to convince some to believe. That said though, going into the next gen all I know is that Nintendo is going to do the same damn thing again but go a bit higher up the totem pole with more depth into control. I just get this from my brother who hears crap in those internal pipes of communication. All I know that's assumed or whatever is that think a bit over the 360 combined with wiimotion 1:1 and something a bit beyond that not to be expected. Figure them going higher in cost, but not much and then breaking even, none of this $50+ profit out of the gate stuff, but they're not likely to sell for a loss as EPIC and most have said and know, it's not their style as they've been burned for too long to take that bite.

Would someone here have an issue if a Wii 2 (maybe call it Us? - hah) were nominally more powerful than the 360 pushing more up against the PS3 level of depth combined with current Wii control+wii motion in one and then perhaps some other thing like that Head Tracking demo we saw or perhaps something more tacticle ranging in that $300 area?



...by the way HGW yah the N64 controller was semi-horrible as some hands couldn't fit it, and you couldn't get at all the buttons/controls at the same time I do agree. BUT, I will say it makes one hell of a very kickass PC gaming pad. Emulators benefit from the 6 on the face and 2 buttons on top with that fine d-pad, and in the case of space shooters/flight that stick and trigger is awesome.

[ReaganYouth]

The bigger question is, will Sony and Microsoft adopt the same approach next-generation.

[HGW XX/7]

I just feel Nintendo's games were lower quality than their SNES/N64 predecessors. And aren't Nintendo games the main reason people buy Nintendo hardware anyway?

You don't know me very well, do you?

[ReaganYouth]

^Why did you buy Gamecube then? I'm not denying that it had a nice library or anything, but I feel Nintendo's games are always the selling point of Nintendo hardware. Different strokes I guess.

[HGW XX/7]

I bought5 a Gamecube for Resident Evil 4, Skies of Arcadia Legends, The Resident Evil remakes, Super Monkey Ball, Evolution Worlds, and Pac-Man Versus (Note: Mainly Pac-Man Versus).

Yeah, I may have rented Mario Sunshine or Wind Waker, but I just don't care for 'em.

[Tanooki]

Hmm nice choices there HGW. MOH Frontline and European Assault were fantastic on there too among a few others. I bought mine as much for 3rd party as 1st party stuff as it got a good deal of the portable stuff the others did just minus the online which was a no-care for me which is good as the GC version usually was superior depending on the 3rd party making the game online not being factored in.

[ReaganYouth]

Having smaller libraries makes it easier for me to play all the essentials anyway. :P My pile of shame on PS2 (and GC) is embarassingly huge.

[Tanooki]

You know I agree with that sick but true piece of logic. Sometimes more isn't always better, but having enough to do stuff with is best too. With all the crap the Wii and DS get hit with now that is worth grabbing during certain times of the year which the GC and N64 were not victim of it's depressing having to make those choices, but at the same time it's nice to have that too as you can always come back months or years later(and for less price.)

[ReaganYouth]

N64 had the smallest and "weakest" libraries of all Nintendo systems, and yet it's my favorite system of all time. Go figure.

[Tanooki]

Well perhaps it's a bit of a mix of nostalgia and fact. Nintendo due to the slime tactics used that swept away most support for nearly 3 years left them in a bad spot. They along with Rare had to champ on and go well above and beyond with quality on titles to make sure they sold in mass to keep things profitable. Also, it was a Nintendo first with a true 3D system so a lot of it that was handled great like Mario and the first Zelda end up being very memorable in the same way when they were firsts on NES.

[MR EPIC]

I think the N64 had one of the best libraries, if not the best. Not in terms of quantity, but definitely of quality.

[ReaganYouth]

I think the N64 had one of the best libraries, if not the best. Not in terms of quantity, but definitely of quality.

At last, we agree on something. --~

[DEATHSTAR]

Outside of windwaker and metroid, I hardly owned any Nintendo games for the Gamecube. So I'm in the same boat as HG.

[Smokey]

I bought5 a Gamecube for Resident Evil 4, Skies of Arcadia Legends, The Resident Evil remakes, Super Monkey Ball, Evolution Worlds, and Pac-Man Versus (Note: Mainly Pac-Man Versus).

Yeah, I may have rented Mario Sunshine or Wind Waker, but I just don't care for 'em.

Do you still have it? If so, I'd definitely buy Tales of Symphonia, or at least rent it.

Also, I still own my GBA:SP. Granted, I don't play it often, as I've lost or sold most of the games I had for it (which weren't many to start with), and the only game I really play on it anymore is FFTA. When I do play it, though, I don't have any problems with the grip or holding it in general. I think I know what you're talking about, though, as I can play the thing with one hand.

[HGW XX/7]

I've never been all that interested in the Tales series. Abyss was highly recommended to me, so might check that out. I'll see if I can snag Symphonia.

Vesperia will be a first day purchase I think. That game looks like my kinda thing.

[Smokey]

Symphonia was my first Tales game, but all that I've heard says that it's better than your average Tales game, so I think you should definitely check it out at least.

[MR EPIC]

Abyss was the best, Symphonia was second best, the rest don't matter.

[MAX]

i hated Symphonia. the christian overtone was annoying.

[blokeymon]

In terms of market sales, the Wii is a success. But as has already been said, the fact that Nintendo simply will not invest in 3rd party titles is the main reason for their downfall.

In the NES days, there was no competition, and every developer and their dog made games for the NES.

With the SNES, it only had one competitor, the MegaDrive/Genesis, and even then, most games were made multiplatform.

The N64 came out at a time when CDs were being embraced, and with Sony's machine being so much easier to make games for, the N64 was doomed from the start.

With the GameCube came the move to CD, albeit MiniCD, and it worked. Many developers made some seriously kickass games for it, but again, the popularity of the PS2 meant it never really stood a great chance.

With the Wii, it had quite a serious start. Red Steel may not have been as good as it could have been, but it was still a grown up game. Excite Truck required skill, to some extent. Even Zelda:TP had dark undertones. But then Nintendo started promoting its "casual" side, and developers started shying away, for they knew in their hearts that if the casual market took hold, the sales of casual games would outweigh the sales of grown up games.

Resident Evil 4 Wii sold well, but many other games outsold, mainly casual ones, and mostly crap ones. And so it went on.

No More Heroes.
Okami.
Zack And Wiki.
Godfather.

Just a few of the games that SHOULD have sold shedloads, but instead sold poorly, while games like High School Musical, Carnival Games, and EA Playground sold loads despite being pap.

Then there's the canned projects. Project HAMMER hasn't been spoken of for some time. Disaster Day Of Crisis is, from memory, only rumoured to be released, but no mention of when. Several other releases that were all lined up and ready to roll, but then ported to other machines or cancelled altogether.

In a time when Microsoft and Sony are putting money into third party exclusives, Nintendo are doing themselves no favours.

I guess what I'm saying is that the Wii isn't a bad machine per se, but it has been made a bad platform choice for developers by Nintendo themselves. There's a lot of potential tucked up inside that little white box, but devs are too scared to waste money trying to use it.

[Rensa]

Ah, I only got part way through Symphonia. I used to play it with a couple of mates and it was a blast, but then I went overseas. We didn't pick it back up when I got back, and the game's no where near as fun on your own.

[Blackout]

Bad? No. Complete let down? Yes. See N64-Wii. In my opinion the Nintendo home console hasn't been able to keep up with their competitor since the SNES days. Looking at the PS1, PS2, 360/PS3, why would I only want to own just a Nintendo home console? You are missing out on so many great games.

On the handheld side, no way. I thought the GBA wouldn't be topped, but the DS is an amazing system. So many quality games.

[ReaganYouth]

Bad? No. Complete let down? Yes. See N64-Wii. In my opinion the Nintendo home console hasn't been able to keep up with their competitor since the SNES days. Looking at the PS1, PS2, 360/PS3, why would I only want to own just a Nintendo home console? You are missing out on so many great games.

On the handheld side, no way. I thought the GBA wouldn't be topped, but the DS is an amazing system. So many quality games.

First, welcome to the boards. :) Second, an answer to the bolded question, in the form of a quote.

Having smaller libraries makes it easier for me to play all the essentials anyway. :P My pile of shame on PS2 (and GC) is embarassingly huge.

I am not a rich man. Even with my job I can barely afford to buy all the Wii60 games as it is. And I still have to get a PS3 too. :P

[Smokey]

Ah, I only got part way through Symphonia. I used to play it with a couple of mates and it was a blast, but then I went overseas. We didn't pick it back up when I got back, and the game's no where near as fun on your own.

Really? I had a ton of fun playing on my own (barely avoided posting something of a dual nature there:P). In fact, I've only played multiplayer once, and that was when my friend was nearing the end and I had no idea what the hell was going on, not even how to control my character. Maybe in ToS 2 I'll get into the multiplayer aspect of it a little quicker (and better).

[MR EPIC]

Looking at the PS1, PS2, 360/PS3, why would I only want to own just a Nintendo home console? You are missing out on so many great games.

Your point is an excellent one, and welcome to the Kombo Kommunity. :)

[Blackout]

First, welcome to the boards. :) Second, an answer to the bolded question, in the form of a quote.



I am not a rich man. Even with my job I can barely afford to buy all the Wii60 games as it is. And I still have to get a PS3 too. :P

Thanks for the welcome. I understand what you are saying. Just comparing PS2 to Gamecube, if you only owned a Gamecube, you would have missed out on the Grand Theft Auto Series, Metal Gear Solid, God of War, Ratchet, Sly, Cooper, etc. So many great franchises. Having a small library is fine, but I think that reflects poorly on the system (comparing this gen). You can't play COD4, Assassins Creed, Orange Box, Bioshock, Grand Theft Auto 4, etc. Even when the Wii gets versions of games that the other systems have, they seem gimped (see new sports series coming out on the Wii from EA). If you love to play online games, there is no way you are going to the Wii for that. You are most likely gaming on a 360. Once Nintendo makes a home console that makes you *only* need that one, then I think they will have a pretty big accomplishment. They haven't been able to do that in recent memory.

Of course, there is no way anyone could afford to buy all these 50-60 dollar games day one launch. I can't. I usually buy the ones I have to play, then wait for a drop on the rest. Nintendo has a small library of solid games, but when looking at say, the PS2, the PS2 smoked it in terms of quality and quantity. That's not to say the Gamecube was a bad system, just sort of a let down.