Does Nintendo listen?

[MetalMario]

Does Nintendo listen and does it read through Nintendo forums for constructive feedback? If they no longer have an official forum should one assume they just don't care about user ideas and wants?

 

[Bloom]

I would not be surprised if they had employees that would do research in reading what people are looking for through forums, YouTube blogs, Facebook or Twitter tags, and more. It's actually much cheaper and less of a hassle than to start an official forum for users to join. I think not having a forum is considered positive. I mean, instead of focusing on the complaints and wants from a forum that's highly populated, they are working on newer and bigger things through various information that a small handful of researchers have conjured up. To me, it looks a lot more positive and that they do car and they are willing to spend money in better places.

 

[MetalMario]

Does anything know about the new system? With the exceptions of Mario Kart 8, the Zelda Game (which they didn't bother to make HD), and to some degree smash bros I haven't enjoyed the WiiU that much. I should have kept my Wii. Will the next system be formidable or at the very least very hardware upgradeable?

 

[joshposh]

I'm sure they have focus groups that are brought in to give their perspective and opinions on things. But history has shown us that even with a public outcry the executives will do what they think is prudent. There are a lot of factors that go into the decision making process. Money is the main component. That is the driving force behind everything. Can they pull things off and make the budget? The public wants to see this happen but can we fit it in the budget when already spent the R&D on this project?

 

[MetalMario]

I just hope they compete technologically with the front runner systems. It killed me to see Mortal Kombat not be carried. The WiiU sold like 1/4 as many as even they projected. Clearly something must change.

 

[2MooglesGaming]

Yeah, it is pretty weird that they don't have official forums for fan discussions. More and more it feels like Nintendo is getting kind of distant from fans, though they obviously do listen about certain things. Also, as @joshposh said, they totally run tons of focus groups to test out concepts and game ideas. They probably just want to avoid having another centralized location for people to hate on them

 

[Damien Lee]

I don't think so. Perhaps they listen to their Japanese audience but I don't think they're so switched on about western audiences want. They still remain a very Japan-centric company, which isn't entirely a bad thing. But they are definitely not making the types of consoles and games that most western gamers want. I know plenty of hardcore gamers that haven't touched a Nintendo console since the N64 days.