14 DAY TRIAL // The Wii U is still struggling to find a solid audience in the gaming world and it seems that some of the issues it is facing might be linked to how unfamiliar the team working on new hardware at Nintendo was with services like Xbox Live from Microsoft and the PlayStation Network from Sony.
An anonymous source is quoted by Eurogamer as saying that many executives needed extensive explanations before they understood the kind of infrastructure that they needed to create for their own new device.
He says, “The discussion started off well enough and covered off our experiences with the hardware and (slow) toolchain and then we steered them towards discussing when the online features might be available. We were told that the features, and the OS updates to support them, would be available before the hardware launch, but only just.”
Traditionally, Nintendo has focused on single-player titles and on local cooperative play and has placed restrictions on the kind of experiences that players can share online.
The source adds, “This was surprising to hear, as we would have thought that they had plenty of time to work on these features as it had been announced months before, so we probed a little deeper and asked how certain scenarios might work with the Mii friends and networking, all the time referencing how Xbox Live and PSN achieve the same thing.”
The third-party developer believes that the Wii U will continue to have a tough time in the marketplace and that there are precious little changes that Nintendo can currently make to improve its chances besides significantly cutting its price.
The Japanese company says that it will continue to launch high-profile games for its home consoles, including Super Smash Bros., in 2014 and that gamers will understand the unique experience that it can offer.