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[Claus Grimhildyr]

Indeed. But I hate all this talk about Nintendo not being able to compete or put out good games just because it’s a weaker system. Damn things got more classics under it’s belt than the Xbox in a much shorter space of time. I hardly think they are shit tier like some here suggest.

The Wii was the weaker system, yet it sold amazing. The SNES was a weaker system, yet it performed better than its counterparts. If it was high end graphics that sell, then PC gaming would be the go-to for every gamer.

 

[Torrent of Pork]

If by AAA you mean shitty business practices and utter incompetence, then no, and thank God for that.

 

[Alebrije]

its the oldest AAA company of all.

 

[FStubbs]

Yes and No.
Games like Smash, Breath of the Wild or Mario Odyssey feel absolutely AAA to me.
Stuff like Splatoon, Arms, what we have seen of Pokemon, Fire Emblem, etc don't IMO.

Doesn't really matter as long as they are fun, though personally I'd love if at least some of them dropped in price at a more comparable rate to the rest of the industry.


I'm not sure if there even is any right definition because no one outside of gaming boards really gives a shit about this, but it's basically:

AAA is a high budget "Blockbuster" type of game: Breath of the Wild, God of War, Red Dead 2, Assassins Creed, etc. Games that cost a lot to make and generally have high sales expectations too
AA is basically mid tier, games you can generally tell had a lower budget: Yakuza, Nier Automata, Tales Of (at least after Vesperia), etc. Since they didn't cost as much they aren't expected to sell multiple millions to be profitable

And most people will refer to everything else as "indie" regardless of it actually being independently made or not

I made a topic about this a few weeks ago. I think Breath of the Wild is the only AAA game Nintendo has ever made and they're basically kings of the AA tier.

I also think huge budget GaaS "super"-games like Anthem and Destiny should be considered AAAA because in terms of budget, marketing, etc they're clearly on a different level from Red Dead, God of War, or Assassin's creed

 

[FStubbs]

The Wii was the weaker system, yet it sold amazing. The SNES was a weaker system, yet it performed better than its counterparts. If it was high end graphics that sell, then PC gaming would be the go-to for every gamer.

It's debatable if the SNES was weaker than Genesis. There were things it did better than Genesis IIRC. And it was definitely stronger than TurboGrafx16.

NES was weaker than Master System but I'm not sure how the Atari 7800 compared.

 

[Platinumstorm]

Every day for years there is a thread that questions the validity of Nintendo as a company, or as a market leader. I am continually amazed at how people can question that.

 

[petran79]

Games like GTA arent AAA but more like XXX

 

[daveonezero]

They are the ones who set the bar on triple a first party and dominated the market with their own development for almost a decade.

They then started to release less powerful hardware and still competitive

 

[ph33rknot]

yes point dot period

 

[Spukc]

AAA stands for fuck it release it we will fix it later game.

 

[Guilhermegrg]

They probably are the only ones making real AAA games. Few bugs, very polished and "just works"

Unlike the usual crappy open world fps buggy as hell launch now fix later that people perceive as AAA.

 

[ethomaz]

Let me illustrate the absurdity of the marketing term 'AAA'.

Michael Bay's Transformers = $200 million budget, huge scope, thousands of people involved in production and marketing (AAA)

The Godfather = $3 million budget, small scope, tens of people involved in production and marketing (not AAA)

kek, MUH NIPPLE A

LEt's get even more relevant;

Anthem: Took years to make, $100+ million production and marketing, hundreds of people involved, scope consists of shooting things in a bunch of levels, piece of shit game = Nipple A

Prison Architect: Took years to make, 1 person involved, production budget in the thousands of dollars, scope consists of simulating an entire, player crafted prison complex, amazing game = Not Nipple A.

I don’t see any issue here.

AAA is not about quality but budget.

AAA games can have good or bad quality like any other game.

But if you are working in an AAA game you have more money to make it better and have more quality.

 

[LucidFeuer]

The Nintendo Switch hardware is crap and that's going to be detrimental to Nintendo.

However I'd go as far as saying that had Zelda BOTW, Mario Odyssey and...that's pretty much it for now, if they were release on modern hardware and has any form of continuous online aspect, would be AAAA given how the craft quality of big Nintendo game hasn't change and is still far above crap industrial production corporation like Activision, EA or Ubisoft.

 

[Chairman Tickles]

The Nintendo Switch hardware is crap and that's going to be detrimental to Nintendo.

However I'd go as far as saying that had Zelda BOTW, Mario Odyssey and...that's pretty much it for now, if they were release on modern hardware and has any form of continuous online aspect, would be AAAA given how the craft quality of big Nintendo game hasn't change and is still far above crap industrial production corporation like Activision, EA or Ubisoft.

Or...wait for it...they would fall into the same trap of shininess over creativity, and BOTW would have suffered as a result. The only detriment that thew switch had on BOTW was 30fps, and that's been addressed via emulation on PC, 4k 60fps if you so please. Mario Odyssey meanwhile is 60fps. It suffered in absolutely no way whatsoever.

 

[zenspider]

As a big fan of Nintendo's output, I'm with OP.

The term just doesn't make sense for what they're doing. 'AAA' is really about budget, marketing, and project scope - for better and for worse.

 

[Meowzers]

Super Mario and whatever bollocks they release on any of their systems is a no-go for me, but I do respect Nintendo for staying in the game for so long.
I've always preferred more mature games, but SNES was my first ever system and playing California Games will also give me nostalgia.

Nintendo are AAA, but for me, I don't feel that way whenever I see any new games.

 

[AeonGaidenRaiden]

My problem with Nintendo is that there arent enough exclusives per system and the ones they have are the same characters used for the past 30+ years. Just to be clear I own a Switch, owned a WiiU and a 3DS XL, to cut the "ps4 fanboy" argument right away.

PlayStation for me was always my main. So I kind of got nostalgic for some Nintendo games and bought the 3ds xl because everyone said it has billions of games. Yeah it does if you want 200 jrpgs, 300 waifu simulators and 500 visual novels. So in the end I had like 6 exclusives and sold it after some time because I found more games and fun on the Vita which everyone said it has way less. Less sure but to me at least its more quality games and not 17 versions of the same title.

Now I own a Switch and am really enjoying it. I think its a perfect home for indies as they usually dont look to sharp or are going for the 8bit look and its way better looking on a smaller handheld screen then blown up on my 60" 4K. Mario Odyssey was AMAZING. I haven't got a chance to start BOTW yet. But again 30-40 years later its still the same exclusives....mario, zelda, yoshi, smash, mario kart. They are always extremely polished but they still have mechanics from the old times. The only way to extend their games is to put a ton of collectables, story is always minimalistic, most first arty characters still mumble....its 2019 and still no voice over lol. I checked Zelda...the enemies are the same design as they are from Wind Waker...like..can you guys just make something brand new already? They still jump around the same way, still hearts are your health...this is a mechanic 30 years old!

I like their games but since im not a hardcore fan I feel like I can look at them with a more honest observation. Say what you will about WiiU sales but Nintendo is really taking their fans for a ride by re-releasing titles on the Switch for full price 4 years later. Thats...bad! And even worse the reason they are doing it is because they obviously dont have a new mario kart, donkey kong or super mario bros release on the horizon. Im sure they will be new ones on the Switch but they prob thought oh well we cant go 4 years without not having a mainline exclusive so we will just port the old ones because maybe a lot of people didnt play them. Thats pure marketing BS. I think Nintendo makes real AAA games and are extremely polished but man.....get out of the 80s already, mechanics wise, modernize your games a bit and dont rehash and recycle all the time.

Smash Bros Ultimate...awesome, awesome untill you realize it has only 4 new stages out of 96. Yes its insane to have 96 stages but its a new game, put brand new content instead of going by fan favorite and just up the rez.

 

[Jubenhimer]

Now I own a Switch and am really enjoying it. I think its a perfect home for indies as they usually dont look to sharp or are going for the 8bit look and its way better looking on a smaller handheld screen then blown up on my 60" 4K. Mario Odyssey was AMAZING. I haven't got a chance to start BOTW yet. But again 30-40 years later its still the same exclusives....mario, zelda, yoshi, smash, mario kart. They are always extremely polished but they still have mechanics from the old times. The only way to extend their games is to put a ton of collectables, story is always minimalistic, most first arty characters still mumble....its 2019 and still no voice over lol. I checked Zelda...the enemies are the same design as they are from Wind Waker...like..can you guys just make something brand new already? They still jump around the same way, still hearts are your health...this is a mechanic 30 years old!

Splatoon, 1-2 Switch, Snipperclips, ARMS, Nintendo Labo, Sushi Striker, Astral Chain.

 

[AeonGaidenRaiden]

Besides Splatoon which I still find like a poor kids arena shooter, the rest are bargain bin purchases at best. Just because its an exclusive doesnt mean its a good one. Same as PS4 and Knack. I can tell someone its a PS4 only title, but its not something I would boast about calling it AAA. I dont consider any of those games you mentioned AAA and again, they are more party games with non existent story, gameplay at its most simple form to play with your grandparents. Sushi Striker...I mean do you want me to list 10 other mobile games that are 5 years ahead of this Fruit Ninja copy?

 

[Jubenhimer]

Besides Splatoon which I still find like a poor kids arena shooter, the rest are bargain bin purchases at best. Just because its an exclusive doesnt mean its a good one. Same as PS4 and Knack. I can tell someone its a PS4 only title, but its not something I would boast about calling it AAA. I dont consider any of those games you mentioned AAA and again, they are more party games with non existent story, gameplay at its most simple form to play with your grandparents. Sushi Striker...I mean do you want me to list 10 other mobile games that are 5 years ahead of this Fruit Ninja copy?

Hey, you asked for new ideas, and I gave you examples.

 

[betrayal]

Nintendo constantly provides some of the best games you can play on any console available on the market...for the last 25 years. So of course they are "AAA".

AAA is just a marketing term. If you have the money, you can release an AAA game. It's not about fun or the experience. Just because games have huge budgets it doesn't mean they are good or better in any way.