14 DAY TRIAL // Nintendo is reluctant to add the equivalent of a "share button" or "Xbox record" functionality to the Wii U, as opposed to how their two main rivals did with the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One next-gen consoles.
With the recent integration of Twitch directly on next-gen consoles, sharing gameplay moments has become an integral part of the gaming experience.
Nintendo isn't eager to jump on the bandwagon though, as President of Nintendo of America, Reggie Fils-Aime, has mentioned that the company will not add direct Twitch support to their consoles as they do not perceive unedited gameplay to be any fun to watch.
The Twitch service was a big hit on the PlayStation 4, with Sony struggling to meet demand for their peripheral cameras that can be employed during streaming. It was adopted several months later on the Xbox One, just in time for the launch of Respawn's massively popular shooter, Titanfall, and Twitch has reported that over 25 percent of all their streaming comes from the two consoles.
Nintendo has refrained from becoming intimate with direct gameplay streaming and from commenting on whether or not it intends to add some sort of streaming service support straight from its consoles, until now.
"We don't think streaming 30 minutes of gameplay by itself is a lot of fun," Fils-Aime says during an interview with Polygon, pointing out that it's not because of animosity toward Twitch that the Wii U will not get integration, but because of the company's commitment to providing fun experiences.
"We're looking to do a lot of great things with Twitch. The Nintendo Treehouse Live at E3 that we're executing through Twitch is doing fantastic numbers," he explains.
He says that putting Nintendo-related videos on the Internet can result in some fun content, but that the entire process needs to be much more focused and curated, offering the example of Mario Kart 8's inclusion of Mario Kart TV, a feature that allows players to watch replays of their races and then create and edit a highlight reel which they can then upload to YouTube.
"Kart is fun because its a highlight of the race. You can make some choices as to what parts are going to be shared. We think that makes it interesting, and obviously the meme of the Luigi death stare is wonderful when that comes out of that type of experience. But in the end we've got to make sure that it's fun," Fils-Aime notes.
Nintendo seems committed to offering something more than just bare-bones gameplay streams, which could end up being a great choice, but they need to move fast if they want to catch up, as the party has already been rolling for quite some time now.