4. Accept Third Party Support
Nintendo has fantastic first party titles and always has done. They remain the only games company to completely hold on to their first party creations over the years and continue to release top quality games. Sony have taken a leaf out of Nintendo's book and developed their own phenomenal titles, realising that these exclusive games are a vital component of making a console "must have." While Mario and Zelda games will always sell in large numbers, Nintendo must realise that it is probably not enough. Although well loved by die-hard fans, the rest of Nintendo's characters probably don't sell enough on their own for the company to rely on first party alone anymore. Metroid, Star Fox and Kirby all have their dedicated following but it's growing increasingly unlikely that gamers are willing to shell out money for just a handful of games on a console. Having top-notch first party titles is all well and good but when a console doesn't have the back up of quality third party support it can be a major turn off for gamers. Nintendo might maintain that they are not in direct competition with Microsoft and Sony but the fact is they are. Most major games are now available on both Xbox and PlayStation, meaning that gamers are much more likely to go for one of those options with a wealth of choice rather than the Nintendo console which is for mainly JUST Nintendo games. When only one of the three consoles available doesn't offer the same as the others, it's an instant strike against that console. What's important for Nintendo is to strike the right balance between honouring their own history and style and integrating new third party support to let them move with the times.