00:00Enter the unique world of virtual gameplay with Nintendo Virtual Boy.
00:05Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we are counting down our picks for the biggest blunders Nintendo
00:10has made throughout its history of producing video games, whether they drew hatred from
00:16fans or led to financial disappointment.
00:19How about a kiss?
00:20For luck.
00:21You've got to be kidding.
00:24Number 10.
00:25The 3DS Launch In 2011, Nintendo gave its own spin on 3D
00:41with its follow-up to the incredibly successful DS.
00:45And while the glasses-free technology was a novelty, it was also an expensive one.
00:51The 3DS launched at way too high a price point, 25,000 yen in Japan and $250 in the US.
01:07Most felt that was too much for a handheld, though it didn't help that the launch lineup
01:12left a lot to be desired.
01:15The 3DS got off to a horrible financial start, causing Nintendo to cut the price by a third
01:21just six months later.
01:23This definitely helped its chances, but it would still take some time before it became
01:28a worthy investment for players.
01:30This isn't something that is unique to Nintendo.
01:53It's a problem with many publishers.
01:55However, for a company that's been around as long as Nintendo has, it's far more evident.
02:01And it's a huge bummer.
02:03With every passing generation, there are still fans who hold out hope for a return of long-dormant
02:08franchises.
02:09Star Fox, once a central pillar of Nintendo, hasn't gotten a new game since 2016.
02:22F-Zero got a Battle Royale spinoff that used SNES assets in 2023, but hasn't had a full
02:29new release since 2004.
02:31Kid Icarus has been gone since 2012, Punch-Out since 2009, and Mother since 2006.
02:39There's still a lot of love behind these names, and it seems disappointment grows within their
02:53fanbases each passing year.
02:55Number 8.
02:57Online functionality.
02:59Allow us to introduce five features included with your membership.
03:05Ever since online aspects were introduced in video games, Nintendo has struggled to keep
03:10up with the times.
03:12Beginning with the DS and the Wii, the Nintendo Wi-Fi connection utilized lengthy friend codes,
03:18which were a hassle.
03:20Then there was a lack of stable connectivity, no way for Nintendo to patch bugs, and no voice
03:26chat.
03:27We would like to play.
03:31Players enjoyed all of these things on Xbox and PlayStation.
03:35Nintendo has obviously followed suit with new consoles, but it has never been on the same
03:40level as its competitors, even releasing a phone app for Switch's online play rather
03:46than traditional voice chat.
03:47While their games are great, this pattern has made them less prominent than they could be
03:52in the online multiplayer space, whether competitively or cooperatively.
03:57More games, more features, more fun.
04:04Nintendo Switch Online.
04:06Number 7.
04:07Attacking Content Creators.
04:09Nintendo's legal team tends to draw a lot of hate from its playerbase, and for good reason.
04:23For a long time, Nintendo has gone after independent creators, often huge Nintendo fans themselves.
04:30Multiple fan-made games, even those that are completely free, have been hit with cease and
04:35desist orders.
04:43YouTube channels that simply post music from their favorite Nintendo IPs have been struck
04:48down with copyright claims.
04:50The most baffling of these pursuits has been against streamers, which you might think of
04:55as free promotion.
04:57But if a streamer showcases a game in a way Nintendo deems inappropriate, like an older, more obscure
05:02title through emulation, they better buckle up.
05:06These types of decisions have wrecked Nintendo's public image for many.
05:17Number 6.
05:19The Live Action Mario Movie.
05:31Nintendo had no creative control over 1993's Super Mario Bros.
05:37Outside of merchandising, it willingly handed the reins over to the filmmakers.
05:41And everyone familiar with the movie knows how monumental a mistake that was.
05:47Multiple people who worked on the film have spoken about how messy the production was, including
05:52stars Bob Hoskins and John Leguizamo.
06:02It had little to do with the actual games, instead being a mish-mash of ideas that was
06:07neither for kids or adults.
06:10Critics tore it apart, and it bombed at the box office, failing to make back its budget.
06:16It's still considered one of the worst video game adaptations of all time, and Nintendo
06:21wouldn't let another studio near Mario until Illumination's animated feature in 2023.
06:27Number 5.
06:32Letting Microsoft Buy Rare.
06:43Throughout the 90s and early 2000s, Rare developed some incredible games for Nintendo's platforms.
06:49The Donkey Kong Country and Banjo-Kazooie series, GoldenEye 007, and Perfect Dark are beloved
06:57to this day.
06:58Yet, Nintendo never made a move to make Rare a first-party developer, until it was too late.
07:08With development costs inflating, Rare needed a buyer to continue functioning.
07:15While Nintendo and Microsoft reportedly entered a bidding war, it was the latter who walked
07:20away victorious after shelling out $375 million.
07:25Nintendo should have tried to bring Rare into the fold long before this, something that co-founder
07:31Tim Stamper has expressed confusion over.
07:34Instead, it lost a trusted team to Microsoft.
07:46Number 4.
07:47Sticking with Cartridges
07:49Nintendo brings you new player's toys titles for $39.95.
07:57Despite the gaming industry moving forward with CDs in the 90s, Nintendo decided to stick
08:02with Cartridges for the N64.
08:04Its reasoning was that Cartridges were harder to pirate, and allowed for faster load times.
08:10But the negatives far outweighed the positives, and that quickly became obvious.
08:15Not only did Cartridges take longer to produce, they were much more expensive, which hurt both
08:21the consumer and the companies producing the games.
08:33They also couldn't hold nearly as much data as a CD.
08:37Since games were growing more complex, it was an easy decision to produce a game for PlayStation,
08:43rather than N64.
08:45Naturally, this led to a decline in third-party support, with some games, like Final Fantasy VII,
08:51even switching platforms.
08:53You can play till it hurts.
08:56Thank you for shopping for Nintendo!
08:58Number 3.
08:59The Wii U's Marketing
09:01From the very beginning, the Wii U was doomed.
09:14It was revealed at E3 2011, but Nintendo focused mostly on the gamepad controller.
09:20This along with its name caused confusion in the general public over whether it was a brand
09:25new console or just an add-on for the Wii.
09:28Nintendo's stock fell 10% following the reveal.
09:32And after release, both the system and its games sold poorly, causing third-party support
09:38to dry up.
09:39When your TV is in use, the gamepad becomes your TV, so you can keep playing anywhere nearby.
09:47Nintendo issued a $50 price cut within a year, which did help a bit, but the Wii U never fully
09:54recovered.
09:55It became one of Nintendo's biggest commercial flops, only selling 13.56 million units.
10:01Well, at least it led to the Switch.
10:04Wii U is all about unique experiences you can't have anywhere else.
10:09Number 2.
10:10The Virtual Boy
10:20Even bigger of a failure than the Wii U is Nintendo's Virtual Boy.
10:25Released in 1995, it was a somewhat portable console that displayed stereoscopic 3D graphics
10:32through an eyepiece.
10:343D gaming back then sounded like the future, but this was a nightmare.
10:38The first three-dimensional stereo immersive 32-bit video game system ever.
10:44Games were only in red and black, the eyepiece was clumsy to use, and the visuals actually
10:49caused health issues like headaches, eye pain, and nausea.
10:54Nintendo also reallocated a lot of resources during development to the N64, which didn't
11:00help ensure the technology was safe or of high quality.
11:04Unsurprisingly, the Virtual Boy sold less than a million units and was discontinued in
11:09a year, with only 22 games ever released.
11:12Before we continue, be sure to subscribe to our channel and ring the bell to get notified
11:23about our latest videos.
11:25You have the option to be notified for occasional videos, or all of them.
11:29If you're on your phone, make sure to go into your settings and switch on notifications.
11:35Number 1.
11:36Backstabbing Sony
11:37When you decide to get serious, there's only one place to come, the games of Super Nintendo.
11:45In 1988, Nintendo entered a partnership with Sony.
11:48It would have produced a disc-based add-on for the Super NES, as well as a standalone console
11:53from Sony that played both the SNES carts and new disc games.
11:59However, at this point, Nintendo was enjoying its domination on the console market, and seemingly
12:05wanted to put Sony in its place.
12:08It backed out of the deal at the last second, instead taking a different deal with Philips.
12:13Gee, it sure is boring around here.
12:17This led to some infamously terrible Mario and Zelda games on the Philips CD-i, which Nintendo
12:23had no part in.
12:25More importantly, Sony didn't just accept defeat.
12:29It went on to use its disc-based technology in its own console, the PlayStation.
12:34Nintendo's ego created one of its biggest competitors.
12:45What do you think is the biggest mistake Nintendo has ever made?
12:48Share your thoughts in the comments.
12:51Did you enjoy this video?
12:57Check out these other clips from WatchMojo, and be sure to subscribe and ring the bell to
13:02be notified about our latest videos.
Comments