General Nintendo sales/business discussion topic (previously: The Wii U Thread)

[Mr Useful]

And also making it look incredibly boring and sucking all the charm out of the original, yeah.

Well I like the change aside from Ganondorf blending in the with the background. I am sure multiple people wont mind and besides, how many of you display your game cases instead of putting them in a closet, drawer, or cabinet or putting the disc in a binder or something.

[The Kid]

I think it looks cool. It is more colorful than the original Windwaker box art, while still reminding me of it quite a bit.

[Autosaver]

And also making it look incredibly boring and sucking all the charm out of the original, yeah.

Well I mean, there's also this alternative.

 

 

*shudder*

[Sami]

A bad boxart is a bad boxart, I don't really care how shitty it could have been or how much it really matters. It's not a big deal, but nobody's pretending it is. 

 

All people are saying is that they ruined a perfect design. 

 

Which they did.

[Soniman]

I don't think its that bad at all, but whatever.

[Autosaver]

 

A bad boxart is a bad boxart, I don't really care how shitty it could have been or how much it really matters. It's not a big deal, but nobody's pretending it is.

 

 

It's a light-hearted comment which should not be taken seriously. There's no need to have an upset tone.

 

The gold is fine. I would disagree that it ruined the box art. Sure the colors look better, but the gold carries the Zelda tradition. Every Zelda game in North America has used the gold boxart. It makes sense that they didn't break the tradition. It also parallel's Skyward Sword's boxart in where Link is in full color while the background is gold. Overall, the American's box art is simpler and cleaner. It's more elegant while the Japanese one seems more busy and cluttered in comparison.

 

Again, I completely disagree that this box art is anywhere close to bad. Sure I could see why it's disappointing, but I wouldn't call it bad.

 

Edited August 7, 2013 by Autosaver

[Thigolf]

I'm just glad we didn't get a  "prettied up" version of the Windwaker Gamecube cover. That would've been much worse, imo.

[Autosaver]

http://www.gonintendo.com/?mode=viewstory&id=209322

 

Nintendo is going to advertise the Wii U in a cool way.

 

The Chicago train is going to be decorated as a Luigi train with a copy of NSLU at the upper floor of the lobby.

[Nintendoga]

@Autosaver

Oh my god, I never even knew what the JPN Zelda box-arts looked like.

The MM, WW, and SS ones look superb!

Maybe I should start importing Zelda games from now on

If there was no region lock

[Blue Blood]

The Western boxart for WWHD isn't even bad. If Japan had the same one then I wouldn't even see a problem. It's just a bit of a shame that that they made an awesome boxart so much less awesome.

[Autosaver]

http://www.gonintendo.com/?mode=viewstory&id=209373

 

IGN "Why the Wii U matters"

 

"Wii U is a mirror image of 3DS - silence and struggles then blows up"

"3DS was the best system this year"

[Chooch]

It's not a mirror of the 3DS situation until they drop the price.

[Autosaver]

Watch the video and you'll see why they said that.

[Chooch]

I watched the video, but I really think that the major underlying reason the 3DS was able to make such a strong comeback was the significant drop in price that happened quite early in its life.

 

Without that, it's going to be far harder.

[Marcello]

@Autosaver

Oh my god, I never even knew what the JPN Zelda box-arts looked like.

The MM, WW, and SS ones look superb!

Maybe I should start importing Zelda games from now on

If there was no region lock

I only think SS's is better.

 

Though, I believe, like Europe, Japan got the golden one first during the 25th anniversary for the limited edition and switched to this one later. I could be wrong though.

 

The Western boxart for WWHD isn't even bad. If Japan had the same one then I wouldn't even see a problem. It's just a bit of a shame that that they made an awesome boxart so much less awesome.

EU is getting the same as Japan.

[Autosaver]

I watched the video, but I really think that the major underlying reason the 3DS was able to make such a strong comeback was the significant drop in price that happened quite early in its life.

 

Without that, it's going to be far harder.

 

They're pretty much giving away the Wii U in Europe and it's still not selling. Hell, North America has no price drop and somehow has 160x more sales than Europe's measly 10k.

 

A price drop will not do anything if there's no software as said in the video. Just because it's cheaper doesn't mean people will pick it up. I think it's the constant releases of big software that will push the system. Mario, Donkey Kong, Pikmin, Wii Party, Wii Fit, Game & Wario, Super Luigi U, Wonderful101, Sonic Lost World, and Mario & Sonic.

 

The Wii U is losing money on every unit sold. I'm not entirely sure we will see a price drop this year. As IGN stated, they might look to see if it does well during the holidays.

[Blue Blood]

EU is getting the same as Japan.

 

I already posted that in the Zelda topic

[Sami]

This is not and will not be a mirror of the 3DS situation for several reasons:

- The 3DS had no significantly strong competition, unlike the Wii U.

- The 3DS is following a long line of extremely successful and profitable hardware, unlike the Wii U.

- Third party games have always been comfortable and profitable on Nintendo handhelds, unlike the Wii U.

- The 3DS is much cheaper than the Wii U ever will be, and has a completely different market to cater to.

- The 3DS was being sold for profit at launch, meaning it was possible for the price to be slashed quite significantly. Unlike the Wii U.

That's all off the top of my head. Though I'm on my phone and haven't gotten a chance to see the video. If these issues were addressed in the video, feel free to correct me.

[KrazyBean]

EU is getting the same as Japan.

 

HAHA, hell yes! The colours feel so bright! Wait, is it "the colours feel so right" or "the colours feel so bright"? I forget...

Edited August 8, 2013 by KrazyBean

[Autosaver]

- The 3DS had no significantly strong competition, unlike the Wii U.

 

First the 3DS has competition, and now it doesn't?

 

The Mobile market is incredibly strong with competing with the 3DS. The PSVita when launched was also another big competitor. $250 for a Vita or $250 for a 3DS.

 

- The 3DS is following a long line of extremely successful and profitable hardware, unlike the Wii U.

The Gamecube, N64, and Wii were all profitable. The Wii was the most successful and profitable hardware in decades. They were profiting big day one and had millions of units sold. It wasn't sold on a margin or at loss like many consoles do.

 

 

- Third party games have always been comfortable and profitable on Nintendo handhelds, unlike the Wii U.

Third party games on the 3DS are quite rare actually. Many of them weren't exactly profitable. Launch 3DS games did not sell very well so I'm not sure what point you're trying to make. If it was indeed successful, third parties would have saved the 3DS without Nintendo.

 

- The 3DS is much cheaper than the Wii U ever will be, and has a completely different market to cater to.

 

It competes with the mobile market, where many people get their phones free with their contracts. Portables are cheaper than a console obviously. Both Nintendo handhelds and consoles try to add gimmicks to their feature set and sell on them alone. Both the 3DS and Wii U boast touch screen and wireless communicating with Spotpass, Streetpass, and Miiverse.

 

- The 3DS was being sold for profit at launch, meaning it was possible for the price to be slashed quite significantly. Unlike the Wii U.

 

This is true.

 

 

While I agree there is some differences between the two situations, but saying they're completely different is a huge stretch. Both suffered from

 

Name confusion

Was the 3DS a new DS or an upgrade like the DSi? Why won't my DS play 3DS games?

 

 

Poor marketing

Along with the name confusion, the marketing didn't help either. It didn't really show or differentiate the system.

 

 

High Price Point

The price point of both systems may be too high for the general consumer. Many speculate the Wii U to have a price drop. While it may not be this year, it's going to happen sometime in 2014.

 

 

Lack of games/3rd party support

There were a lot of 3rd party games during the launch of both 3DS and Wii U. Unfortunately, most were late/bad ports and they bombed. Lack of software for the rest of the year hurt Nintendo on both Wii U and 3DS accounts.

 

 

And their fixing process

 

The 3DS got fixed. Tons of titles came out for it and a price drop occurred. Nintendo seemed to have solve the name confusion and now it's one of the fastest selling portables of all time.

 

The Wii U is starting to get marketed across the globe. Big hits are coming out 1-by-1 for the Wii U such as Mario 3D World (COUGH: MARIO 3D LAND CAME OUT IN DECEMBER TOO), Pikmin 3, W101, Sonic Lost World, Donkey Kong, Wii Fit, Wii Party.

 

Like IGN said, the 3DS faced troubles and was repaired. The Wii U can face troubles and be repaired too.

Edited August 8, 2013 by Autosaver

[Sami]

First the 3DS has competition, and now it doesn't?

The Mobile market is incredibly strong with competing with the 3DS. The PSVita when launched was also another big competitor. $250 for a Vita or $250 for a 3DS.

The mobile market targets a very different audience, however, as has entirely different appeal. It's like saying the Wii was directly competing with the PS3 or 360. Their sales cut into each others slightly, but generally, different people bought them for different reasons.

The Wii U's relation with the PS4 and Xbox One is very different from that of the 3DS and iPhone.

Also, though the Vita did come off as a threat at first glance, its hype died extremely quickly, to the point that the 3DS had its path made for it. If you honestly believe that both the PS4 and Xbox will tank worse than the Vita (which is still doing better than the Wii U, isn't it?), and that the Wii U will have some glorious postmortem rise into the heavens with nothing standing in its path... well. We'll see.

The Gamecube, N64, and Wii were all profitable. The Wii was the most successful and profitable hardware in decades. They were profiting big day one and had millions of units sold. It wasn't sold on a margin or at loss like many consoles do.

You're misunderstanding. The fact of the matter is that while the Game Boy and DS lines have all been enormously successful and dominated their respective markets, the N64 and Gamecube both underperformed and failed to meet Nintendo's expectations. In addition, third parties have also had exponentially more success on the competing hardware.

The Wii was lightning in a bottle, and third party developers still failed to give it their best effort. Third party games will carry a system to the number one spot, and that is not something you can dispute. When almost every notable Japanese publisher flocked to the Playstation, Nintendo was dethroned. When they stayed with Sony in the generation after, the Gamecube failed to meet expectations again. The DS had their support, and the PSP was destroyed. Same goes for Vita/3DS. The only exception in the history of gaming was the Wii phenomenon, and that is why I call it a fluke.

Third party games on the 3DS are quite rare actually. Many of them weren't exactly profitable. Launch 3DS games did not sell very well so I'm not sure what point you're trying to make. If it was indeed successful, third parties would have saved the 3DS without Nintendo.

Eh? The 3DS has tons of third party support. The only notable issue is that western developers don't like working on handhelds, so most of the support is coming from Japan.

It competes with the mobile market, where many people get their phones free with their contracts. Portables are cheaper than a console obviously. Both Nintendo handhelds and consoles try to add gimmicks to their feature set and sell on them alone. Both the 3DS and Wii U boast touch screen and wireless communicating with Spotpass, Streetpass, and Miiverse.

All you're doing is proving my point. Until mobile phones get buttons and Nintendo's handhelds get multimedia apps, they will work in different realms, with only slight sales overlap.

While I agree there is some differences between the two situations, but saying they're completely different is a huge stretch. Both suffered from

Name confusion

Was the 3DS a new DS or an upgrade like the DSi? Why won't my DS play 3DS games?

Poor marketing

Along with the name confusion, the marketing didn't help either. It didn't really show or differentiate the system.

High Price Point

The price point of both systems may be too high for the general consumer. Many speculate the Wii U to have a price drop. While it may not be this year, it's going to happen sometime in 2014.

Lack of games/3rd party support

There were a lot of 3rd party games during the launch of both 3DS and Wii U. Unfortunately, most were late/bad ports and they bombed. Lack of software for the rest of the year hurt Nintendo on both Wii U and 3DS accounts.

And their fixing process

The 3DS got fixed. Tons of titles came out for it and a price drop occurred. Nintendo seemed to have solve the name confusion and now it's one of the fastest selling portables of all time.

All this proves is that they dealt with similar broad issues. Regardless of that fact, the solution is different for each, and so is their respective environments. The competition is different, the market is different, and the business relations with other companies is different (investing in the successor to a long line of products that have always made you money is different from a line of products that have almost (bar a single fluke) failed to perform as well as the competition). They are different. They will always be different, and to succeed, they need very different strategies.

The Wii U is starting to get marketed across the globe. Big hits are coming out 1-by-1 for the Wii U such as Mario 3D World (COUGH: MARIO 3D LAND CAME OUT IN DECEMBER TOO), Pikmin 3, W101, Sonic Lost World, Donkey Kong, Wii Fit, Wii Party.

Like IGN said, the 3DS faced troubles and was repaired. The Wii U can face troubles and be repaired too.

For it to be a copy of the 3DS situation, it will need to become the best selling console for a year, make its competition completely irrelavent, and become enormously popular and successful in its market.

That will never happen to the Wii U, and I will eat my hat if it does. It might make a profit, but a turnaround that will get it out of third place (let alone first, like the 3DS) is extremely unlikely, and I highly doubt it will happen.

Handheld Nintendo =/= Console Nintendo

Hand held Nintendo > Console Nintendo, profit wise. It has always been like this. Literally always. Even the Game Boy vastly outsold its console brethren.

Edited August 8, 2013 by Discoid

[Autosaver]

Another funny note is that both the 3DS and Wii U have poor battery life,  [had] an unfinished launch OS, and features that weren't available day one.

 

3DS XL and Nyko fixed the battery life while Nintendo is making a new battery for Wii U gamepad, the OS was updated on the 3DS and the Wii U finished OS is coming this fall, features such as the eShop on 3DS came later, while the Wii U had features like TVii added after launch.

 

It's like history repeats itself.

Edited August 8, 2013 by Autosaver

[Sami]

Another funny note is that both the 3DS and Wii U have poor battery life, [had] an unfinished launch OS, and features that weren't available day one.

3DS XL and Nyko fixed the battery life while Nintendo is making a new battery for Wii U gamepad, the OS was updated on the 3DS and the Wii U finished OS is coming this fall, features such as the eShop on 3DS came later, while the Wii U had features like TVii added after launch.

It's like history repeats itself.

You'd think they'd have learned from their mistake.

[Autosaver]

You'd think they'd have learned from their mistake.

Please Understand...

[KrazyBean]

So I just got an e-mail from Shopto.net notifying me about a price change in the UK for Sonic Lost World and Wind Waker HD. You can now get SLW for £32.86 and Wind Waker HD for £39.85 from them.

Sonic Lost World used to cost £37.86 and Wind Waker HD used to cost £42.85.

Edited August 9, 2013 by KrazyBean