• The closing ceremony for TBT's Farewell to New Leaf event has been posted! View the winning entries and other closing announcements here. Thanks for joining in on the fun and nostalgia. We'll see you this Friday night for the start of our annual Easter Egg Hunt!

amiibo Festival You can imagine a full Animal Crossing WiiU version while playing Amiibo Festival!

i feel like part of the reason nintendo released amiibo party before any announcement of a wii u title for the main series was to guage fan reactions to the look/feel of the graphics. i don't own the game myself but after seeing 1080p resolution gameplay of amiibo party at a clean 60 frames per second... i think my mouth literally watered a little bit and that's pretty embarrassing to admit.

i just want animal crossing wii u to be a thing. as long as it isn't as boring and tedious as city folk and they let us choose skin color i think i'll be good.
 
They could always re use the engine from this game. Maybe an Animal Crossing game is in development already but to keep the fans happy they developed this game with the same engine to keep fans happy (to a certain degree since the game is bad imo).
That's true, but it will still make me angry because I literally just got my Wii U in July, and seeing as it's already been out for three years, I doubt it will have a very long lifespan. Getting new consoles is always a hassle for me.
 
This will explain why Wii U will have a long life & why NX is not Wii U's replacement



It'd certainly be nice, the only thing making me think otherwise is that the Wii U didn't do great, they know it didn't do great, and are already working on their next console anyway (which I believe we can expect to hear more about next year).

If it isn't happening on the Wii U, it'll certainly be happening on their next console.

I want him to be right, too. But I kinda doubt that all of what he says will happen. Towns are a little too small to drive cars around, I think. Though idk about bikes.

I also strongly doubt the Wii U will have a long life cycle, because of Nintendo working on the NX. In fact, the way he's shown that AC games are usually released at the start of a console/handheld's cycle only makes me doubt even more that we'll get a Wii U AC. It's been three years since the Wii U came out, and like I said earlier, Nintendo is working on the NX already.

Agreed. I think they fully intended for an AC on WiiU... Until it flopped.

Ha. I knew I would get these kind of responses. :)
Kaioin, SuperStar2361, ashjaed, & all other readers listen to this.

To understand why I'm so sure about not only Animal Crossing being on Wii U but also Wii U having a long life AND NX not being Wii U's replacement, I will have to tell you about some gaming history.
You have never heard anyone else speak on these kind of things in this way before.
It's the story the gaming media does not tell. Most gamers have no clue on how this industry is really designed.

I'm gonna start from the present & then reference the past to tell of this future.
Hang in there with me, it's a long read but I promise it'll be good.

What Wii U Is About

Why did the Wii U come out in 2012?
Nintendo produced the Wii U to correct what had been done to the Wii.
"What had been done? What?"
Yes, the Wii was PIGEONHOLED by the 3rd Party developers into the image of the "Casual Console".
But Nintendo never intended Wii to be the "Casual Console".
Wii was supposed to be EVERYBODY'S Console.
Rewatch this promo from September 2005 when they debuted the Revolution Remote, the Wii Remote at the Tokyo Game Show.


In that decade-old video, you see all kinds of games & all kinds of audiences.
There's shooters, party games, platformers, sports games, music games, fishing games, cooking games, survival horror games, & action-adventure games.
The name Wii signified the WE in its market approach.
Instead of nonsense like "kiddie & hardcore" & its descendant "casual & hardcore", Nintendo was aiming to UNIFY both the gaming audience & the gaming developers in this Gaming Revolution the late Satoru Iwata promised.

Reggie Fils-Aim? said these words at E3 2005:
"The key here are two little words. The word OR. The word AND.
Nintendo is NOT an OR company...with games devoted just to this group OR that group.
We're an AND company. Games for this group AND that group AND for groups that don't even call themselves gamers yet."


That is a key statement on what Nintendo stands for & what they were trying to achieve through Wii & DS.
And they were successful. VERY successful. VERY VERY successful.
DS & Wii were Twin Dragons breaking records & defying expectations for the entire 7th Generation of Videogame Consoles.
Record sales & a breakthrough in expanding the audience for the videogame medium.
But somebody wasn't happy with Nintendo's success.

The 3rd Parties have harbored a GRUDGE against Nintendo for over 30 years now.
The 3rd Parties have been in REBELLION against Nintendo for over 20 years now.
They refused to join this Revolution in any meaningful way because they were more concerned in trying to run the industry.
And joining Nintendo during that time would absolutely ruin that mission.

See, you gotta understand that Nintendo isn't just a Member of this Videogame Industry...
...Nintendo isn't just a Player in this Videogame Industry...
Nintendo is THE BOSS of the Videogame Industry.
And they have been THE BOSS ever since 1985 when the Nintendo Family Computer came to the United States as the Nintendo Entertainment System.

So when the major 3rd Parties held out on Nintendo & the smaller 3rd Parties flooded the Wii with cash-in products, Wii got its reputation as the "Casual Console".
Game Party, Family Party: 30 Great Games, & Ninjabread Man & so on.
In truth, the First-Person Shooter should have been defined on Wii not XBox 360 that generation.
The Wiimote is BETTER for shooters than dual analog is.
Metroid Prime 3: Corruption gives you a taste of what could have been.
In truth, many games released on XBox 360 & PlayStation 3 should have had a Wii edition too.
Did you know that the first Rock Band was originally not going to show up on Wii even though Wii was the best-selling home console?
The PlayStation 2 edition of Rock Band launched along with the PlayStation 3 & XBox 360 version in 2007 while the Wii edition didn't come out until the middle of 2008.
If Street Fighter IV can show up on the 3DS which is about the power of a Gamecube, how come it didn't show up on Wii which is stronger than a Gamecube?

How can the best-selling console keep getting the cold shoulder for game releases?
It's not because of horsepower because that certainly didn't stop the Sega Genesis, Sony PlayStation & Sony PlayStation 2 from getting the games. They were the among the weakest of their generations.
No, it has NEVER been about hardware power.
It's about POLITICS. Political power.


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Understand this equation I'm about to show you:
1st Party + 2nd Party + 3rd Party = Nintendo's Party.
If the 3rd Party gets square behind Nintendo with support, they lose their political sway in this industry.
They don't get to play BOSS anymore. They go back to the way it was in the NES days.
When they were just SUPPLIERS to a platform not BOSSES of a platform.

PlayStation & XBox were ALWAYS the 3rd Party's Puppets.
Without the 3rd Parties, PlayStations & XBoxes can't sell & the 3rds know this.
Sony & Microsoft entered this business for the benefit of their overall corporate plans.
But it turns out that in this gaming field Sony & Microsoft take orders from their game suppliers, the 3rd Parties.
Sony & Microsoft are weak 1st Parties & the 3rds don't want to see a strong 1st Party like Nintendo in the business.
You can't boss around the guys who have Mario, Zelda, Pok?mon, Super Smash Bros. & Animal Crossing.

The 3rds have been in REBELLION against Nintendo ever since the Sony PlayStation showed up in 1994.
They keep Nintendo away from their games in an effort to starve Nintendo out of this business.
They want Nintendo to end up like Sega & go 3rd Party.
They want Nintendo to lose their Leadership of the industry.
Only with Nintendo gone can they truly be THE BOSS.

So despite Wii's success, Nintendo was frustrated.
They invited the 3rd Parties with open arms hoping to end this GRUDGE-fueled REBELLION for the good of gaming's future.
And they were largely refused.
The Revolution was apparent when Sony & Microsoft played Follow The Leader & introduced PlayStation Move & Kinect with its Mii-like Avatars.
Nintendo's competition had lost BILLIONS in this escalating race for HD horsepower that the 3rd Parties demanded.
Now they were mimicking the console they once mocked.
Sony & Microsoft were whipped. They were defeated. Nintendo's vision won the argument.

So when the gaming media suddenly declared that the Kinect & XBox 360 (with new woman's waist on the console body—XBox 360 S) would defeat Wii for the 2010 Holiday Season & the year of 2010...
...then got silenced as Nintendo simply painted the Wii red winning those holidays & winning that year...
...Nintendo knew that there was nothing left to prove for the 7th Generation.
There was no need to keep flogging the PS3 & 360 year after year after year.
Nintendo wanted to get back to that EVERYBODY'S Console vision that Wii was intended to embody.

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They knew that the only way to do this is to remove the 3rd Party's Puppets once & for all.
If the 3rds won't come willingly, we'll FORCE them out.
Nintendo recreated the Wii in ways that recognizes the changed landscape of the gaming field.
TV was declining as the Internet was rising.
Apple had finally popularized the Tablet Computer & now has treaded on Nintendo's gaming turf through the Tablet Computers known as the iPhone & the iPad.
The idea of EVERYBODY'S Console had taken on new meaning but Nintendo was STILL on this plan to UNIFY the gaming world once again.

They named this new Wii, the Wii U.
The U stands for UNITY.

It was NOT a mistake to name it this way.
The U was EMPHASIS on the original Wii mission.
Wii means WE. WE means US TOGETHER.
Wii U = WE YOU = WE UNITY = WE UNITED = US TOGETHER UNITED = REUNITED.


Nintendo planned to end the Console Wars once & for all.
The 8th Generation would be the last time anybody fought head-to-head against Nintendo's consoles.
To introduce Wii U, they had to kill the still red-hot Wii.
After Wii embarrassed the gaming press beating the wannabe XBox 360 with a simple red paint job & headed into 2011, it was easy for Wii to keep up its record success.
A gold paint job on the upcoming The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword would have similar results.
But Nintendo didn't want original Wii overshadowing the NEW Wii so they dried support for it hoping to hasten its decline.
The truth is Wii would have outsold the PlayStation 2 if Nintendo didn't short-circuit its life.
It broke every single record PS2 put up & the lifetime sales were a sure shot.
The fact that the Wii versions of Just Dance 2014 & Just Dance 2015 STILL break into the Worldwide Top 10 of game sales but the other versions do not (including Wii U's) shows that Wii's life was prematurely cut short.

Nintendo was not going to wait out Wii's natural lifecycle.
For the first time since the Nintendo Famicom/NES started the 3rd Generation in 1983, Nintendo would start a new generation in Home Consoles with Wii U in 2012. The 8th Generation.
Nintendo had ALWAYS gone last or virtually last ever since starting the 3rd Generation.
The purpose of starting this generation early is to force Sony & Microsoft into a crunch where they would be struggling to recoup their losses from the 7th Generation PS3 & 360 while spending R&D money rushing out new consoles to keep Nintendo from being the only one in the 8th Generation.
This also forces them to fight each other for the favor of the 3rd Parties in a mutually destructive War of Attrition.
A War of Attrition that would lead to the AAA Market Crash—the market the 3rd Parties uphold.
Nintendo set a trap for Sony & Microsoft that would force them to exit the videogame business.
And with them gone, the 3rd Parties would have no choice but to return to Nintendo's House.
The Console Wars would finally be over & UNITY would be restored once again.

Before Nintendo went full-fledged with this plan, they gave the 3rd Parties one last chance to come willingly.
Notice the general color scheme of original Wii with its laundry commercial-like White & Sky Blue.
It's like an open window & a brisk springtime breeze flowing through it.
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Remember that the Basic Set of Wii U had this same color scheme—White & Blue.
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Then the 3rd Parties played their political games & tried their best to sabotage Wii U in 2013.
They denied Nintendo once again. So be it. The White & Blue Wii U was withdrawn.
Now Wii U only comes in the colors of Black & Blue.
They're gonna beat the REBELLION down until its Black & Blue.
No more Mr. Nice Guy. Nintendo will scorch the earth until there's nothing left.
Wii was the Olive Branch. Wii U is the Nuclear Warhead.
This industry will UNITE whether the 3rd Parties want it or not because WII said so.
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**************************************************

"OK John, cool story bro. But Wii U's selling like garbage.
How in the world do you expect all of this to happen on a console like that?
And why do you think Nintendo NX is not its replacement?
Wii U's not selling so they have to do something!"


Ah, hold on my friends. There's more. Stay with me.
These next sections explain both Wii U AND NX.

**************************************************

The Hierarchy of Markets

There's a hierarchy of markets?? Yes there is.
There has been a hierarchy ever since the beginning of this Videogame Industry 43 years ago in 1972.
Let me explain what it used to be & what it is now.

From 1972 to 1985, the Hierarchy of Markets went like this:
#1 America. #2 Japan. #3 Europe and the rest of the world.
Why was it like this? Very simple.

The Videogame Industry started in America in 1972 from 2 entities:
1 - Atari Incorporated by Nolan Bushnell & his partner Ted Dabney—The Videogame Arcade (PONG).
2 - Magnavox Odyssey by Ralph Baer—The Videogame Console.


In 1973 not long after Atari started, Atari made a Japanese branch called Atari Japan.
Fitting since the word 'atari' itself is a term from the Japanese game Go (originally Chinese but anyway).
By the way, Atari Japan had connections with a Japanese company called the Nakamura Amusement Machine Manufacturing Company better known to you as NAMCO.

In 1971, cardmaker/toymaker/gamemaker Nintendo struck a deal with the Magnavox Odyssey to provide their new Beam Gun (a light gun) to use in an Odyssey game called Shooting Gallery.
This deal led to Nintendo becoming the Japanese distributor for the very first videogame console, the Magnavox Odyssey.
Yes, Nintendo was involved in this videogame business from Generation 1.

So since the Americans started the videogame industry, the American market was #1 on the hierarchy.
And since the Americans included the Japanese in the foundations of this industry, the Japanese market became #2 on the hierarchy.
The other parts of the world including Europe were NOT included in this foundation so they became #3 on the hierarchy.

What the hierarchy is about is INFLUENCE not necessarily population size.
Add Europe & the rest of the world together and you have a population bigger than anything America & Japan has put together.
It's not about population size.
In the 1970's what was done in America in this videogame field influenced & swayed all other regions after them.
The influence rolls downhill or tumbles over like a domino effect.

So if you win the #1 Market in the hierarchy, you win all other Markets by default.
The #1 Market is the Capital of the Videogame Industry that all others follow.

And in the 1970's & early 1980's the United States of America was that capital.
Nintendo's first videogame console, the Color TV Game 6 of 1977 shows this pecking order.

latest


It resembles the Atari PONG's layout & carries the Magnavox Odyssey's turnknob control standard.

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But the Japanese were quick students & by the end of the 1970's, they were catching up in INFLUENCE power to the Americans.
1978's Space Invaders from Taito was the first signal of this shift.
The Americans would soon get short-sighted & greedy in regards to the Videogame Industry they founded.
Nolan Bushnell sold his company to Warner Communications (now known as Time Warner) in 1976 in order to fund the Atari 2600's production.
The new greedy bean-counting executives rewarded Nolan by kicking him out of the company he co-founded at the end of 1978.
Businessmen with no appreciation for the art & craft of videogame making ran the business with a 'money-first, money-only' mentality.

Under Warner Bros., Atari went from being a company in debt in 1977 to becoming 33% of Warner's ENTIRE REVENUE by 1980. One Third.
Atari had become the Fastest Growing Company in American History.

No, not just Videogame History. AMERICAN History.
With all the money opportunities presented, a swarm of companies tried to get a piece of this pie.
It was a gold rush atmosphere like California in the 1840's & 1850's.
Fly-by-night operations, rank amateurs started flooding the store shelves looking at games as a way to get rich quick.
Quaker Oats of all companies even tried making games under their U.S. Games label!
Too many consoles were in competition at the same time causing chaos in the market.
The American market had become a free-for-all which damaged the health of the industry.

Meanwhile the Japanese were building their businesses on stronger foundations.
Whereas before the most influential arcades were American ones, by the early 1980's there was a rough 50/50 split between American-made arcades & Japanese-made arcades.
For every Berzerk, Asteroids, Lunar Lander, Missile Command, Centipede, Defender, Robotron 2084, Joust, Spy Hunter, & Q*Bert from America...
...there was a Space Invaders, Pac-Man, Donkey Kong, Galaga, Zaxxon, Frogger, Burgertime, Dig Dug, Pole Position, Mario Bros., 1942, Karate Champ & Punch-Out!! from Japan.

The Japanese knew to make identifiable mascots to make the games more resonant & memorable.
That's why the 1983 Saturday morning cartoon Saturday Supercade featured Frogger, Donkey Kong, Donkey Kong Jr., Mario, & Kangaroo from Japan with only Pitfall Harry, Q*Bert, & Space Ace being American representatives.
By 1984, the most memorable arcades were pretty much coming from Japan.

Remember that Atari that brought in 33% of Warner's Revenue in 1980?
In 1983, Atari was losing $2 million a day.

The #1 American Market was CRASHING.
And that 1983 Crash changed things FOREVER in the Hierarchy of Markets.
The irresponsibility of the Americans had finally caught up to them & now the opportunity was ripe for another leader to take control of the Capital.

As America crashed, Japanese Nintendo saw their opportunity.
The Nintendo Family Computer released on July 15, 1983 showed that the shift from America to Japan was complete.
Its revolutionary controller based off of its Game & Watch handheld design transformed the way we play games.
No more Odyssey knobs. No more Atari Joysticks. No more Intellivision phone pads.
A rectangular controller with a plus-sign shaped Control Pad that could be simply played by the thumbs is all we would need.

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Another console launched on the same exact day as the Famicom.
The Sega SG-1000 with its controller reminiscent of 1982's Atari 5200.
After the Famicom's Revolution was apparent, Sega followed the new leader in their SG-1000 Mark II & Mark III revisions (AKA the Sega Master System).

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In 1984, Atari was dropped by Warner in the aftermath of the Crash & Atari Inc. was split into 2 weaker companies: Atari Corporation & Atari Games Corporation.
All of the gold rushers dropped out because there was no more gold left to be had.
Many companies went out of business entirely or shifted their company's focus at the very least.
It was so bad that even Toys 'R' Us didn't want to stock videogames thinking it was a fad that had passed.
America was a wasteland for making a living in videogames.
But somebody would single-handedly change that & the future of videogames forever.

Nintendo was determined to bring their Famicom to America & revive this dead market.
The Nintendo Entertainment System as it was now called in the U.S. brought videogaming back to power.
In the process, Nintendo became the New Leader of the Videogame Industry & the Hierarchy of Markets was permanently changed into this:
#1 Japan. #2 America. #3 Europe and the rest of the world.
This is the way it has been ever since 1985. Even still today.
Maybe it was destiny that Japan took control of this industry since the name 'Atari' is a Japanese word from a Japanese game.

The company which once helped distribute the first Videogame Console became the company which carried the torches of both originators of the industry.
Ralph Baer's Vision for interactive television that the whole family can enjoy was carried out by this little cardmaker from Kyoto.
Nolan Bushnell's Law that games are best when they are easy to learn & hard to master was carried out by this little company from Japan.
Nintendo brought discipline to the cowboy atmosphere that had been going on.
They put down Order to check the Chaos & the industry revived & thrived.
Now you know why Nintendo is THE BOSS.

**************************************************

So what does this long backstory have to do with today?
Well, for one it determines Wii U's future. And for two, it tells you why NX is being made.
Ever since 1985, you don't win the World Market if you don't win the Japanese Market.
Remember what I told you about the INFLUENCE of the #1 Market?
Remember what I told you about the #1 Market being the Capital of the Videogame Industry?

The Capital has been in Japan ever since Nintendo put it there in 1985.
Follow this:
NES won Japan. NES won The World.
Game Boy won Japan. Game Boy won The World.
SNES won Japan. SNES won The World.
PlayStation won Japan. PlayStation won The World.
PlayStation 2 won Japan. PlayStation 2 won The World.
Game Boy Advance won Japan. Game Boy Advance won The World.
DS won Japan. DS won The World.
Wii won Japan. Wii won The World.
3DS is winning Japan. 3DS is winning The World.


Wii U still wins Japan. Wii U will win The World.

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The only market you need to keep your eye on is the Japanese market if you want to determine the future of the Wii U.
There is no Microsoft there worth speaking of. There is only Nintendo & Sony in the console race.
And Sony is losing.
Because you don't win Japan with Home Consoles anymore.
You win Japan with Handheld Consoles.
And Nintendo is the one responsible for making this reality.
It started in the GBA era & was solidified in the DS era.
That's why Nintendo didn't run home crying to mama when 3DS initially struggled.
They pushed the 3DS until it became successful because handhelds are of utmost importance to the Japanese audience & that filters into the World audiences.

But Sony is now focused on "The West" (thanks to Microsoft's plan to return the Capital to America).
They're not paying proper attention to their hometown market going instead for pure population size.
But remember how much I told you how population size isn't the most important. INFLUENCE is.
Sony has publicly quit on the Vita handheld because it doesn't sell well in "The West".
Sony's PlayStation 4 sales are most driven by Europe over all regions.
What rank is Europe in the Hierarchy of Markets? #3, right?

Football AKA Soccer is pretty popular in Europe, right? They have soccer riots & everything, right?
Who makes their soccer games? Electronic Arts, an American company (FIFA).
Also Konami, a Japanese company (Pro Evolution/Winning Eleven).
Rockstar Games is the most successful European developer in history.
Who owns Rockstar Games? Take-Two Interactive, an American company.
How many European consoles have you ever seen? Zero.

So how is Sony gonna win the World if they're doing everything to go against Japan?
Nintendo ALWAYS starts their plans with the Japanese market in mind FIRST & FOREMOST.
There's a reason why Wii U is THE ONLY Handheld Home Console on the market.
The only Home Console that can be played ENTIRELY without a TV set.
There's a reason why Sony dropped the price of the PS4 recently.
Microsoft needs America to keep the XBox alive or it's toast.
Microsoft has the MONEY but they don't have the MARKETS.
Sony has the MARKETS but they don't have the MONEY. MONEY will win out.
Nintendo's Wii U is not quite being squashed out by PS4 in Japan.
Nintendo will push Sony out of Japan bit by bit as Sony gets caught in the War of Attrition with Microsoft in "The West".
See that crunch I told you about?

As soon as Nintendo UNIFIES the Japanese 3rd Parties, this contest is over.
The GRUDGE is much less severe on the Japanese side than it is on the "Western" side.
Ohhhhhhhhh! So THAT'S why Cloud is in Smash Bros.!!
The U in Wii U is becoming more clear everyday.

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The Japanese GRUDGE comes from a resentment of losing their arcade control to Nintendo in the 1980's.
They were 1st Parties on their arcade machines but had to be 3rd Parties on Nintendo's machine.
They resented Nintendo's market control policies which were put in place BECAUSE of the 1983 Crash (licensing fees for permission to develop on Nintendo's platform, controlling cartridge access, limiting developers to 5 games a year in order to increase QUALITY over QUANTITY).
They also resented Nintendo for having this leadership wishing they were the ones in charge.
Namco especially if you remember their history with Atari.

The "Western" GRUDGE comes from the bitterness at seeing the Home Computer game market destroyed by the NES in the 1980s & being forced to work for the console revived in Nintendo's Japanese image.
In 1988, the market for Nintendo cartridges was larger than for ALL HOME COMPUTER SOFTWARE COMBINED.
Not just gaming software. ALL software.
In 1988 alone Nintendo sold 7 million NES's which was about the same amount Commodore 64 sold in its FIRST FIVE YEARS.
In the 1988 Holiday Season, Nintendo's popularity caused many Home Computer gamemakers to go into financial straits because NES games overshadowed their games sales-wise.
Between the end of the 1980's & the beginning of the 1990's, most if not all home computer game developers started making games partially or entirely for the consoles.
By 1990, 30% of American households had an NES compared to 23% for ALL HOME COMPUTERS COMBINED.
All your Apples, all your Amigas, all that.
The "Western" GRUDGE is everything the Japanese GRUDGE is ALONG WITH all of this other resentment.
That's why you don't see many "Western" games on the successful 3DS.

The "Western" 3rd Parties will fight Nintendo to the very end until it's like Custer's Last Stand.
They ultimately resent the Hierarchy Nintendo established 30 years ago & more than any other group want to see Nintendo dethroned & removed from this industry.
They want the original hierarchy & the cowboy Wild West chaos that came with it to return.
But why? Now we're getting into why NX exists.

**************************************************

The Console vs. The All-In-One Device

The Americans & the Europeans who followed them ("The West") looked toward the Home Computer as the future of the Videogame Business as the Crash was going on.
Apple was the one who kickstarted the Home Computer Revolution in 1977 with the Apple II.
Apple co-founder Steve Jobs was an Atari employee, by the way, & offered to have Atari distribute the Apple II but Nolan Bushnell refused the offer.
Nolan probably kicks himself daily when he thinks about it.
Why just have this gaming appliance known as a Videogame Console around when I can play games, write novels, balance my budget, & do so many other things with my Home Computer?
Home Computers are the perfect All-In-One Device.

The Videogame Console was supposed to die with the 1983 Crash.
And it WOULD have and it SHOULD have...if Nintendo didn't get involved with the NES.
Nintendo is the ROOT REASON why the Videogame Console still exists.
Through the sheer power of their games with the ease of use & accessibility of their platform, Nintendo was able to shut down the gaming market on the Home Computers shrinking them into niche status.
That's why to this day, retail console games are held behind glass or behind the clerk's shelf while retail computer games don't have these kinds of protections.
Why GameStop has walls of console games but a turnstile of computer games.
Why Rockstar Games (formerly DMA Design, an Amiga developer) put out Grand Theft Auto on PC 2 MONTHS BEFORE they put it on PlayStation in 1997...
...but why they put Grand Theft Auto V on PC 2 YEARS AFTER they put it on PlayStation 3 (& XBox 360) in 2013.
Why most developers from the Computer world—Electronic Arts, DICE, BioWare, Bethesda, Codemasters, Crytek—put more focus on console than they do for the computers they originally came from.
Why PC being the most powerful platform by default somehow gets all these broken versions of games as if PC is an afterthought.

Nintendo created the model that keeps console gaming consistently financially viable yet these guys resent them.
They realize that they have lost their intended Home Computer, Personal Computer paradise so second best option would be to make Consoles become more like PCs.
You saw it first in 1993 with the 3DO made by Electronic Arts founder Trip Hawkins.
Weak 1st Parties like Sony & Microsoft allow them to do this to their platforms but Nintendo stays true to what a console is supposed to be.
Nintendo's just too strong to push around so the resentment gets deeper & deeper with time.
For example, Nintendo chose to use Power PC architecture in Wii U for efficiency reasons instead of the x86 architecture "Western" 3rd Parties demanded (x86 makes it easier to port from PC's).
Because the "Western" 3rds couldn't bend Nintendo like they did Sony & Microsoft, they shunned them.

Nintendo ultimately knows that the closer a console gets to a PC, the more obsolete it becomes.
Consoles must be DIFFERENT than those All-In-One Devices in order to remain a viable product.
This mindset is what allowed the Videogame Console to survive the Home Computers, the Personal Computers all these decades.
These All-In-One Devices.
It's why the NES uprooted the Home Computer gaming market in the 1980's laying the foundation for all of Nintendo's new competitors to jump into this once-again lucrative console field (which FURTHERS console's dominance over the PC).
That's why Nintendo is constantly changing the controller in order to change the games.
And that's why Nintendo's changes influence everybody else in the gaming field even BEYOND consoles.

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In the wake of Nintendo upholding the Videogame Console through NES, the PC game market split into 2 distinct directions in the 1990's.
One direction was Boutique—Expensive & Niche.
One direction was Bargain—Cheap & Common.

The Boutique PC game market is the one that's pushing the graphical cutting edge forcing players to spend thousands of dollars building their gaming-oriented PC's, their gaming rigs.
Games like Unreal Tournament, Warhammer 40,000, & Crysis represent this market.
The Bargain PC game market is the one that aims for the lowest common denominator in PC performance so that more people can play without having to become a tech-head.
Games like 500,000 Games, Mystery Case Files, & The Sims represent this market.

Many of the Boutique PC gamemakers went over to consoles because the PC market alone wouldn't cover the costs that comes with those bleeding-edge visuals (Valve's Steam kept this market from falling through the floor).
But the Bargain PC gamemakers found new life as the Internet pushed the Personal Computer into more people's homes than ever before.
Many of this Bargain group started making Web Browser games under the Java & Flash standards.
PopCap's series of games including Bejeweled, Alchemy, Bookworm, Zuma along with games like Text Twist, Word Mojo, Cake Mania & any of those random millions of games you get on those game portals.
Companies like Zynga arose from this area of PC gaming as they embedded themselves into Facebook.
This Bargain PC group on the browsers would soon evolve as a NEW form of PC made its debut.

While Nintendo was in the midst of its DS & Wii Revolution, Apple looked to them to regain their prominence in the computer world.
Remember that Apple was the one who started all this Home Computer stuff in the first place.
But when Steve Jobs was pushed out of Apple in 1985 by the Board of Directors, Microsoft filled the void & took over Home Computers.
Apple wanted owners to use an Apple mouse, an Apple keyboard, an Apple monitor, an Apple everything while Microsoft was like "I don't care what you use so long as you put my Windows on it".
By the time Steve Jobs came back in 1997, Apple's MacIntoshes would only make up a small percentage of the market in comparison to Microsoft's Windows PC's.
Steve was angling on getting Apple back to the forefront in Computers & would come in quietly through the back door to do it.
2001's iPod was just Apple's MP3 player, right? Sony's Walkman didn't see it coming & neither did many of us.

Apple took a page out of Nintendo's book & made use of the touchscreens DS's popularized.
They also took a look at the rounded rectangular screens on the Wii Menu & used that graphical interface for their new device.
This device was called the iPhone & Apple would use gaming along with music to take back their throne.
What the iPhone was is a Tablet Computer marketed as a "smartphone".
A Tablet Personal Computer. A Tablet PC.
A HANDHELD Tablet PC. A HANDHELD All-In-One Device.


It originally came in 2 variants: the iPhone & the phone-less iPod Touch.
Whereas before iPods had those trackwheels now this iPod Touch & iPhone have these touchscreens.
Whereas before iPods had those text menus now this iPod Touch & iPhone have these rounded rectangular icons.
The DS came out in 2004. The Wii came out in 2006. The iPhone came out in 2007.

1296501088ipod-classic.jpeg

iphone.png

Wiimen.png


Nintendo was unprepared for Apple's intrusion on their gaming turf much like Sony was unprepared for Apple's intrusion on their music turf.
Unlike Sony, Nintendo was more competent in holding off this intruder & prepared to protect their Handheld Console at all costs.
Remember Nintendo is the only reason the Console exists & that included Handheld Consoles as well.
At first Nintendo did a half step adapting their existing DS to Apple's iDevices.
That's one reason why they called it the DSi. It's so obvious really.
But that was not enough.
They had to go the full step to keep Apple from eating up their business like they did to Sony. They had to keep Apple's All-In-One Computers from eating up Nintendo's Consoles.
This is why the 3DS was made, this is why DSi was cut short, & this is ALSO why the 3DS was rushed out before its games could catch up.
Nintendo couldn't wait for them to be finished because this was an Emergency that threatened the heart of their business.
They were prepared to take the short-term damage in order to ensure long-term success.

Remember those Bargain PC browser game makers?
Now they have evolved into APP game makers making Apps for Apple's iStore.
Apps for Apple. So appropriate.
But keep in mind this is STILL "The West" after all. The Wild Wild West.
And what has happened in this "Western"-led Tablet PC market known as "Mobile"?
THE EXACT SAME THING that happened over 30 years ago in the Warner Bros.-owned Atari era.
A gold rush atmosphere with a glut of games on the market made by fly-by-night amateur operations with a greedy money-first, money-only mentality. A chaotic free-for-all.
PC is still PC & remember that "The West" still resents the Console now run by Japanese Nintendo.
They have been trying to return to the era before Nintendo took over ever since Nintendo took over.
Why do you think Minecraft somehow skips Nintendo platforms? It comes from the PC world of "The West".

One part of the PC market, the Boutique ones, are trying to turn consoles INTO PC's.
The other part of the PC market, the Bargain ones, are living out that intended PC market paradise.
But there's a reason why the PC market got destroyed by the NES & why it hasn't been a strong enough marketplace for gaming ever since.
The Boutique guys miss the point with this horsepower lust because it puts gaming out of reach for the mass market.
Most people don't want to build expensive gaming rigs just to play a game.
The Bargain guys miss the point by devaluing their products & not exercising proper market controls.
Free-for-alls don't end up well in the end. Copycats, exploiters, & hustlers show up in free-for-all environments.

flappy2_2810882b.jpg


I read a 2013 GamesIndustry.biz article "Game devs ditching mobile in favor of PC, console" where a mobile game developer actually said that there needs to be LICENSING FEES to control the crap in the market & reduce the glut of games.
Um, this is EXACTLY what Nintendo did 30 years ago with the NES! Hahahahahaha!! :p
That very thing is what caused the 3rd Party GRUDGE!!
But that very thing is ALSO what caused the Videogame Market to thrive & survive.
It's why the Console Market became such a powerful market over all others in the first place.

But "The West" wants its way regardless of the consequences & now Apple's iPhone full of these "Western" 3rd Parties are making inroads in Japan, Nintendo's home base.
You remember that hierarchy, right?
What happens when Apple's iPhones overshadow Nintendo's handhelds in Japan?
You don't win The World if you don't win the Capital. And the Capital is in Japan.

Many Japanese 3rd Parties so dedicated to their REBELLION against Nintendo followed "The West's" lead last generation to their detriment.
They followed Microsoft & "Westernized" Sony & declined in the process.
It's why Capcom was so low in funds, why Konami eroded so badly, why Sega's craft fell apart, why Square-Enix dropped the ball on making Final Fantasy XIV forcing a do-over.
Those who joined forces with Nintendo like Level-5 & Atlus got stronger.
Those who went against Nintendo got weaker.
And Mobile is filled with a host of Japanese 3rd Parties still trying to find a way out of Nintendo's reach.
But there's a reason why Japanese mobile game developer DeNA struck that deal with Nintendo this year.
There's a reason why Gung-Ho put Puzzle & Dragons on the 3DS even though mobile devices far outnumber handheld consoles.
Maybe these guys see the writing on the wall & realize that it's the time to UNITE.

Nintendo is watching their REAL competition: The All-In-One Device promoted primarily by Apple & Google.
Apple wants you to buy an iThis & an iThat to use their iStuff while Google is like Microsoft & says "I don't care WHAT you do so long as you put my Android on it" but both of these companies promote that All-In-One Device over Nintendo's Handheld Consoles.
Nintendo has already protected the Handheld Console from mobile's Freemium through 3DS.
Nintendo is addressing mobile's impact as they seek to create EVERYBODY's Console through Home Console Wii U.
But they need one more ingredient to guarantee that these intruders stay off of Nintendo's gaming turf.

THAT is what NX is for.

NX is not a Home Console. NX is not a Handheld Console.
NX is a 3rd Gaming Line designed to invade Mobile AKA the Tablet PC DIRECTLY.

To guarantee that the All-In-One Device can no longer disrupt Nintendo's Consoles.
Because the All-In-One Device not only threatens Handheld Consoles but Home Consoles as well.
NX has NOTHING to do with the PS4 or XBOne.
ALSO, NX does NOT replace either Wii U OR 3DS. It coexists alongside them.
Nintendo is restoring a 3rd Gaming Line like they had in the 1980s through Home Console NES, Handheld Console Game & Watch, & Arcades...
...and like they briefly had in the 1990s though Home Console SNES, Handheld Console Game Boy, & "Virtual Console" Virtual Boy.
This picture proves it. Notice how it's in its own category.

nintendo_nx_slide.jpg


Nintendo must ALWAYS create their own machines in order for their games to be the best in the business.
Nintendo must ALWAYS remain a 1st Party which means that they make the games AND the platform.
Nintendo must ALWAYS remain THE BOSS to keep this Videogame Industry alive.

They carry the torches of both of the industry's founders & they must keep them holding the flame.

Unlike 30 years ago, Nintendo is not content on fighting the All-In-One Device from their own Console grounds.
Nintendo is planning on being the most prominent face on mobile devices.
Remember all that talk of "aggressive use of IP's"?
They're aiming to suck all the attention out of the room while that Wild West Atari-like atmosphere eventually collapses on itself.
Yes, this mobile market will crash soon.
Nintendo is invading. Nintendo is intruding. They plan on hooking mobile users back into Nintendo's world.
That's why NX was announced on the same day as the deal with mobile developer DeNA.
NX is simply one more part of Nintendo's ultimate plan for UNITY in this 8th Generation.

America followed by Europe, "The West", is trying to take back the Capital in multiple ways & Nintendo plans on keeping the Capital in Japan.
Currently Nintendo is fighting 4 Giants at the same time:
Sony, the once-King of Electronics; Microsoft, the King of Computers;
Apple, the OTHER King of Computers; Google, the King of the World Wide Web.


And they're about to win it all.
Sony has publicly dropped out of Mobile (Xperia Play, PlayStation Mobile) & Handheld Consoles (Vita) guaranteeing they can't win the Capital Japan.
Microsoft won't even try to make a gaming handheld or competitive mobile device so they can't even access the Capital Japan.
And both Apple & Google have Atari-era-like markets on their tablets which they don't properly cultivate.
ALSO Nintendo makes gaming the MAIN function of their devices while Apple & Google make gaming the SIDE function of their devices.
Jack Of All Trades can't beat the Master Of One.

Only the biggest companies in the world dare to compete against Nintendo in this gaming field.
Two of them Sony & Microsoft have lost BILLIONS trying to compete.
The other two Apple & Google won't even fight Nintendo directly.
After Nintendo fulfills their UNITY plan & shrugs off all their challengers, who will be left to try to compete?
The last time actual gamemakers competed against Nintendo was the late 1990's.
SNK NeoGeo Pocket of 1998 & Sega Dreamcast of 1998.
Since then non-gamemakers have been playing around in this field Nintendo harvested.
What happens when little cardmaker/toymaker/gamemaker Nintendo finishes off these outsiders?
Who is big enough & funded enough to challenge Nintendo in this gaming field?
The only one left is Samsung & I don't think they're that stupid.

This industry is about to return to an NES-like state.
1st Party + 2nd Party + 3rd Party = Nintendo's Party is about to be the equation once again.
Nintendo will end the Console Wars in this generation & they will begin eroding the Tablet PC gaming market very shortly.
Miitomo is just the first step.
NOW you understand why I say that Wii U will have a long life & why NX is not Wii U's replacement.
And most on-topic WHY Animal Crossing will have a mainline game on Wii U.

Wii U will be around for the rest of this decade & 2016 will show how powerful their UNITY plan really is.
You haven't seen NOTHING yet.

John Lucas
 
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Well that was a painfully empty message written in 7000 words.
 
And what we have just seen, ladies and gentlemen, is a history of the economics of the global video game industry, and the position Nintendo has within that industry.

It is a history lesson and an op-ed piece all in one.

I truly enjoyed this lesson. I used to know someone who easily could have majored in the history of video games, so I was aware of some of the information provided in this article but I had never looked at the industry as a whole from this particular perspective.

So many users here on the boards are moaning that they are not getting Animal Crossing for the WiiU...but perhaps the best is yet to come.

Nintendo has plans behind the scenes that none of us know about right now.
Animal Crossing: Happy Home Designer and Animal Crossing: Amiibo Festival are hinting as to what is to come.
And the Amiibo cards and figures are just getting stronger and stronger - the collectors are out there!

It is my hope that Nintendo is listening to the active, passionate fans of Animal Crossing and are programming the next game to deliver the many things we all want!

*But my point still stands - you can totally imagine a full Animal Crossing on the WiiU while playing Amiibo Festival!*
 
Um you expect that i am going to read all that? Forget it, far too lazy.

- - - Post Merge - - -

Well that was a painfully empty message written in 7000 words.

Omg it is so sad but you are right...
 
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For those who don't want to read the long post, here's a TLDR for you. It's a very short paragraph, so bear with me.

TL;DR: Historically, Nintendo is the top dog of the gaming industry and still is. The Wii U didn't fail and the NX isn't its replacement. Instead, the upcoming NX is going to introduce a SEPARATE line of videogames. In particular, mobile and tablet games in order to compete with Google, Microsoft, Sony, and Apple. Because of this, the Wii U will still stick around and live a long lifespan, so Animal Crossing: Wii U WILL happen. With the Wii U and NX popping out new games together, we'll have a new golden age of gaming in the near future, just like how it was during the NES era.
 
And what we have just seen, ladies and gentlemen, is a history of the economics of the global video game industry, and the position Nintendo has within that industry.

It is a history lesson and an op-ed piece all in one.

I truly enjoyed this lesson. I used to know someone who easily could have majored in the history of video games, so I was aware of some of the information provided in this article but I had never looked at the industry as a whole from this particular perspective.

So many users here on the boards are moaning that they are not getting Animal Crossing for the WiiU...but perhaps the best is yet to come.

Nintendo has plans behind the scenes that none of us know about right now.
Animal Crossing: Happy Home Designer and Animal Crossing: Amiibo Festival are hinting as to what is to come.
And the Amiibo cards and figures are just getting stronger and stronger - the collectors are out there!

It is my hope that Nintendo is listening to the active, passionate fans of Animal Crossing and are programming the next game to deliver the many things we all want!

*But my point still stands - you can totally imagine a full Animal Crossing on the WiiU while playing Amiibo Festival!*

HHoney, thank you so much for the compliments. :)
I know it was a lot to read but I thank you for listening to what I had to say.
And I thank you for absorbing the message I was conveying.

I just joined this board out of excitement for amiibo Festival & I saw your post.
YES, just like you I see inklings of what they're gonna do in the mainline Wii U Animal Crossing when I play amiibo Festival AND Happy Home Designer.
After I read a few pessimistic posts on there being a mainline Animal Crossing on Wii U, I decided to post that timeline of Animal Crossing releases to reassure them.
After some were not quite assured, I decided to go all out & explain in EXCRUCIATING detail why I was so 100% sure that Wii U will get main Animal Crossing.

If I just posted a piece of this knowledge, they would still have questions & they would still doubt.
So I had to just break it all down so that they understand that Nintendo is not weak & neither is Wii U.
The common narrative that goes around in gaming communities is that Nintendo is barely hanging on & they're one step away from having to put their games on other platforms like Sega.
The gaming media loves to keep this narrative going because in truth it's hard to root for The Man™.
It's hard to root for the OVERDOG. It's hard to cheer on The Boss.

Even Nintendo fans get sucked into this type of thinking so I put history in highlight for them so that they fully understand the current situation.
I tried my best to break up the walls of text with pictures & spiced it up with colors.
Anything I could do to make the reading as bearable as I can, I did my best to do it.

So thanks again for enjoying my history lesson & industry analysis.
I KNOW it's coming & I can't wait.
I'll keep playing amiibo Festival AND Happy Home Designer until the big dog comes!
You really CAN see the Wii U game through them.

Nintendo's treating the Animal Crossing series like their top-tier franchises now.
Animal Crossing is now on the level with Mario, Zelda, & Pok?mon.
You saw that beautiful Mario Kart 8 Animal Crossing stage.
I like the direction they're going & I can't wait to see THE BIG GAME on Wii U!

John Lucas

- - - Post Merge - - -

For those who don't want to read the long post, here's a TLDR for you. It's a very short paragraph, so bear with me.

TL;DR: Historically, Nintendo is the top dog of the gaming industry and still is. The Wii U didn't fail and the NX isn't its replacement. Instead, the upcoming NX is going to introduce a SEPARATE line of videogames. In particular, mobile and tablet games in order to compete with Google, Microsoft, Sony, and Apple. Because of this, the Wii U will still stick around and live a long lifespan, so Animal Crossing: Wii U WILL happen. With the Wii U and NX popping out new games together, we'll have a new golden age of gaming in the near future, just like how it was during the NES era.

You got it TheSundae! That's it!
The Abridged Version & you didn't even need Team Four Star's help.
(by the way, come ooooon Episode 51!)
Hahahahahaha!
Thank you for reading my essay. I hope you enjoyed my message.
John Lucas
 
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