But Nintendo gave it Gamecube/Wii/Wii U-level support? A console consisting entirely of Nintendo exclusives, at the rate of 7-9 per year, with the occasional VC release and eShop original?

Just curious. If you knew that, say, the Wii U would have absolutely ZERO third-party support, would you still buy it/have bought it, knowing that?

URL to share (right click and copy)

System would have to cost a lot less. My favorite Wii, DS, 3DS, and even early Wii U games tend to be third party. It's just typically the kind of third party games not found on other platforms.

But, in my opinion, there is just as little reason for Nintendo to go "all 1st party" as it was for them to go "all 3rd party".

Zero said:

@GameDadGrant I think at the end of the day though most people buy Nintendo platforms for the library. The Nintendo games may be the primary appeal, but it's not the only factor in the decision for most people.

I imagine.

Yeah, agreed. That's pretty much what I was getting at.

@Zero
Portillo's salads are almost worth it, though (+ $4 for a chocolate cake shake!).

@GameDadGrant
I'd say that American third-party support is definitely a problem for Nintendo handhelds, as well. Handhelds, in general, really. And now mobile in Japan is starting to eat into dedicated handheld support, as well.

@NinSage
I don't think a Nintendo console with no third-party support is anyone's ideal. It's just a hypothetical to see whether the console would still be worth buying, in your opinion.

@Anand

You...*want* American third-party support?

@GameDadGrant
Henry Hatsworth!!

I still have to actually play that...

I think I actually have more third-party games for all my systems than first-party, but it's due only to statistics. Third-parties as a general term have released a lot more games than Nintendo, as just one company. The only systems where I might have more Nintendo games are the Game Boys, since I have few games for them and stuck with mostly Nintendo's stuff.

@Anand

Sure, but man. Have you played what that same company has produced since? I mean, Monster Tale was okay - good, even, I suppose. But man they kinda messed up Epic Mickey: Power of Illusion. Of course, Epic Mickey wasn't all that great to begin with...

I'm trying to think of what American-made games I really like. And not "Americans make a Japanese game" but an actual "all-American" video game. I can't think of many.

If the GCN only had Metroid Prime and Wind Waker it would have been worth it, so yes, if there were games of that caliber.

@GameDadGrant
WayForward. But they're still kind of onboard.

Power of Illusion was indeed pretty crappy. Both pretty and crappy, really.

@Anand

WayForward pretty much makes Japanese games. Shantae is basically Metroid (same with ALIENS: Infestation). They made a Contra game, which is Japanese course, and they recently just straight-up remade DuckTales.

Renegade Kid does good work though - and the only "Japanese" game I can think of that's by them is Bomb Monkey, which is essentially Puyo Puyo.

I sure would. I pretty much already buy every Nintendo system for Nintendo games. The third party gems that slip through are a bonus.

Nintendo makes the most fun games in the world for my time and money.

Someday I'll get a Wii U, and I'd be surprised if I buy a single third party game over its life (excluding indies).

Anand said:

Damn, a unanimous YES so far? So what are you guys always complaining about, then?

Kidding!

You gotta make a distinction between what we're willing to accept and what we actually want. You guys like to act like anyone who isn't happy with where the Wii U is headed is acting like a spoiled brat, but we paid our hard-earned money for this stuff. It's okay in that situation to, you know, have some preferences on how the future of the platform goes.

Or, in other words, you could reword the roundtable: Should Nintendo console owners see any third party game as simply a bonus?

I suspect that one wouldn't be answered unanimously.

@kriswright

Who is "you guys"? I have a feeling I'm being implicated here, but you only quoted Anand's joke.

Probably. I'm not buying that other stuff!

Most of my games are Nintendo-published anyway, I think.

@Jargon

I didn't have a list of specific people on my mind when I said that. But, sure, you and I have had that conversation before. So the shoe fits, I guess. I'm not obscuring my motives, here.

I'm not picking a fight, either. I'm just reacting to what Anand said, which implies that people who are unhappy with the state of the Wii U should just keep their mouth shut and enjoy whatever Nintendo gives us. I know he's just joking, and I'm not a humorless ass, but I wanted to clarify the difference between that interpretation and how I see it.

@Mr_Mustache

He's saying your icon is terrible.

@kriswright

Well I don't think it's fair to say I fit that shoe at all. I don't have time to address these allegations in full, but I will note the difference between:

a person being happy with the Wii U and wanting that happiness to be acknowledged and respected

and

a person impugning anyone who isn't happy with the Wii U themselves.

If they're genre defining games, yes.