Plans for Nintendo

Although I don’t think I completely agree with this or this, I definitely fall closer to the Siracusa camp. Here’s the crux of my issue with Gruber’s suggestion to test the iOS waters:

Put the same amount of effort into these games that Nintendo does for their Wii and 3DS games.

I agree that Nintendo could make amazing games for iOS. I agree that I would buy a hypothetical Mario Kart Touch in a second. And I absolutely agree that if Nintendo were to make an iOS game it would be critical that they put the same effort into it that they put into games for their own hardware.

The problem I have with this plan is that the issue with the Wii U isn’t hardware, it is a lack of games.

The Wii U launched in North America on November 18, 2012. I’m writing this in September of 2013. But where is the Wii U exclusive 3D Mario game? The Wii U Mario Kart game? The Wii U Smash Brothers? A new Zelda for Wii U? Shall I go on?

Nintendo can’t afford to put time into their own games for iOS until they sort out their issues with their own games for Wii U. Only when Nintendo can fill the pipeline for the Wii U and the 3DS with a steady stream of must have first party games should they even consider Gruber’s advice to allocate game development resources to iOS.