The Irony of Yesteryear’s “Nintendo should go 3rd party” Narrative

Back in the GameCube, Wii, and Wii U days, there was a ton of talk—among developers, publishers, gaming forums, and even some industry analysts—that Nintendo should ditch hardware and go third-party, just like—Sega did after the Dreamcast.

The GameCube struggled against the PS2 and Xbox, which had people questioning Nintendo’s place in the console race at the time. Then came the Wii—a huge success, but its underpowered hardware made some argue still that Nintendo should just focus on making software instead of consoles. And the Wii U? Well, that system’s horrendous sales and complete lack of third party support really cranked up the "Nintendo should go third party" chorus to its highest volume ever.

Gaming forums were full of debates on this topic. Threads like “Imagine if Nintendo ACTUALLY went third party after the Wii U” and “Nintendo should go the way of Sega” show how widespread this sentiment was (and still is with the latter). This sentiment was seemingly everywhere in the gaming press and message board forums.

Of course, we all know how this all turned out. Nintendo stuck to their guns, launched the Switch, and completely flipped the script. Now, no one’s talking about Nintendo going third party anymore. If anything, they’ve proven that their hardware-software approach is what makes them *Nintendo* in the first place.

This perspective was influenced by various factors, including the hardware sales performance (sans Wii) and the evolving gaming landscape. The Wii specifically was a massive success, but I distinctly remember so many folks being very UPSET about Nintendo games like Wii Fit and Wii Play dominating the NPD top ten (back in the good old days when NPD used to actually give us sales numbers).

During the GameCube, Wii, and Wii U eras, these discussions emerged among developers, publishers, competitors, and many in the enthusiast gaming community about Nintendo potentially transitioning into a third party game developer.

GameCube Era: In the early 2000s, the GameCube faced stiff competition from Sony's PlayStation 2 and Microsoft's Xbox, leading to debates about Nintendo's position in the console market. The GameCube's struggle to secure robust third party support was a massive concern during this period—often Gamecube owners were left out of multiplatform releases. Discussions on various message boards highlighted these challenges, with many users noting Nintendo's history of strained relationships with third party developers.

Wii Era: The Wii, despite its initial and overall success, was often criticized for its hardware limitations compared to its contemporaries (the PS3 and XBox 360). This prompted debates about whether Nintendo's strengths lay more in software development than in producing consoles. Industry voices felt that Nintendo's unique game design philosophy would thrive on other platforms without the hardware constraints of their own hardware. This is also the zenith of casual vs hardcore gamer discourse—the Wii alone galvanized that conversation.

Wii U Era: The severe under-performance of the Wii U further fueled discussions on Nintendo becoming 3rd party. Its terrible sales figures and very limited third party support led many people—fans and industry insiders alike—to question Nintendo's hardware strategy. The Wii U performed so poorly that Satoru Iwata slashed his own salary (as opposed to laying people off—a real boss move from based Iwata). Articles from industry publications and banter on gaming forums during this time suggested that Nintendo should consider exiting the console market, arguing that focusing solely on software could be more beneficial for the company.

Fast-forward to Present Day

Despite all these discussions, Nintendo restructured and committed to a new hardware/software integrated approach. The launch of the Nintendo Switch marked a significant turnaround for them, blending home and portable gaming into a single device. Its success not only revitalized Nintendo's position in the console market but also created an ecosystem where third party development absolutely thrived.

So now, instead of Nintendo going third party, we have things like this happening:

And now, Sony’s getting in on all the 3rd party action too…

Now would you look at that…!!!

The major irony in all this is that Microsoft and Sony are now allowing many of their IP to be on Nintendo’s platform—after a whole decade of many in the industry demanding Nintendo drop out of the console business and become a software developer exclusively.

Now, PlayStation and XBox exclusives are no longer so and coming the Switch. The irony is killing me! And there’s more:

Switch 2 will be receiving games from Microsoft as well.

Of Nintendo’s two competitors in the console gaming space, XBox is the one most leaning into 3rd party publishing. Microsoft seems very much on track to be a 3rd party software company at the moment but we’ll see how things play out. I’ll take Game Pass on Switch 2, Microsoft!

Sony, also, is now launching their IP on multiple platforms.

Nintendo is keeping their IP on their own platform—the only true first party developer left!

We have come a long, long way from NINTENDOOMED!!