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

[-Metal Sonic-]

Airport Terminal: Flight 404 has taken off.

Family: We missed our flight! At least we got to play Super Mario though !

 

Good Guy Nintendo: Sees that your flight is delayed... Gives you a free Wii U to play when you get home.

 

Luigi has a train...

 

Now Mario has a plane!

[Carbo]

The point is that's not poor.

It's poor. There is no defending these numbers and I don't see why people are beating around the bush about this; it is a legitimately poor debut for what was Wii U's killer app that sold only a fraction more in 4 days than Pikmin 3 did in two days. The same goes for Lightning Returns. The most shocking part is that it only boosted Wii U's sales by 6k units, and this is including the fact that Taiko debuted during the same week. It is the lowest a Mario game has ever debuted, even lower than Super Mario 64 DS of all things. These numbers instill zero confidence in the Wii U.

Any chance of this console reaching Gamecube numbers are dead in the water. Nintendo dropped the ball completely and have done too little too late. Kart 8 is literally the only chance they have left at proving that the previous performances the titles had wasn't just cause of the 3DS.

[Candescence]

Well, the Wii U is at least selling some number in Japan, as opposed to the Microsoft consoles, which are selling virtually nothing there, and I imagine the same will apply to the XBone... When Microsoft bothers to release it there. Zing!

 

Still sucks, though 3D Mario always sells badly in Japan. Japanese gamers just don't seem to like Mario in 3D, period.

[canderson]

Yeah, 100,000 is really terrible, and the fact that it barely bumped the Wii U really worries me.

Definitely not the game's fault though. It's simply on a console that no one has any interest in.

 

Eh, sadly I don't see the next installment of Mario Kart and Super Smash Bros helping that much, especially the latter. 

These two upcoming games will most likely end up as the lowest selling game in their respective series unfortunately.

 

I'd LOVE to be proven wrong though.

[Chaos Warp]

I'm sure the game's sales numbers will look better when we see NA and EU sales. I mean, console that not many own+Japan disliking 3d Mario will create sales numbers like that. I'm sure it'll move more consoles in the other 2 regions. 

 

Besides, we've got Mario Kart and Smash coming, and even if those don't sell as many systems as they should and probably will (especially Mario kart), we still have no idea what will come to the Wii-U in 2015, or 2016, or 2017. The Wii-U has plenty of time to "save" itself, I literally have no doubt in my mind that we'll reach GameCube level sales eventually. 

[Solkia]

http://www.gonintendo.com/?mode=viewstory&id=217867

 

Teku Studios discusses Candle's Wii U features

 

Off Play

1080p, 60fps

PC and Wii U "are virtually the same"

"We love Nintendo, we got devkits for free"

"Development was very easy"

 

Oh, remember how people made a big deal about them taking resources to port Direct X 11? Well, guess how long it took them?

 

"We only had to adapt a bunch of our DirectX shaders to WiiU's environment, but we had them up and running in a matteru of days."

 

I'm going to assume this means archetecture or something.

[PSI Wind]

It's poor. There is no defending these numbers and I don't see why people are beating around the bush about this; it is a legitimately poor debut for what was Wii U's killer app that sold only a fraction more in 4 days than Pikmin 3 did in two days. The same goes for Lightning Returns. The most shocking part is that it only boosted Wii U's sales by 6k units, and this is including the fact that Taiko debuted during the same week. It is the lowest a Mario game has ever debuted, even lower than Super Mario 64 DS of all things. These numbers instill zero confidence in the Wii U.

Any chance of this console reaching Gamecube numbers are dead in the water. Nintendo dropped the ball completely and have done too little too late. Kart 8 is literally the only chance they have left at proving that the previous performances the titles had wasn't just cause of the 3DS.

If being one of the best selling games of the week in only 3 days in a country that generally doesn't even care for Mario means its poor, then I got nothing.

[Carbo]

If being one of the best selling games of the week in only 3 days in a country that generally doesn't even care for Mario means its poor, then I got nothing.

NSMB2 is one of the best selling 3DS games in Japan. Luigi's Mansion 2 completely exploded upon launch. NSMBU occasionally climbs back into the top 20. Sunshine, 3D Land and the Galaxy games are games that would debut at around 300,000 and more.

This excuse is weak. The series has almost always done well with even Super Mario 64 DS having evergreen sales to the point that it pushed passed a million. The problem is the Wii U is so poisonous at this point that no one wants the thing and it's practically beyond saving unless something other than a bunch of games that only appeal to the core base can light it on fire.

[PSI Wind]

NSMB2 is one of the best selling 3DS games in Japan. Luigi's Mansion 2 completely exploded upon launch. NSMBU occasionally climbs back into the top 20. Sunshine, 3D Land and the Galaxy games are games that would debut at around 300,000 and more.

This excuse is weak. The series has almost always done well with even Super Mario 64 DS having evergreen sales to the point that it pushed passed a million. The problem is the Wii U is so poisonous at this point that no one wants the thing and it's practically beyond saving unless something other than a bunch of games that only appeal to the core base can light it on fire.

But can't SM3DW sell millions? Mario, as you just proved with NSMBU, has long legs.

[Carbo]

But can't SM3DW sell millions? Mario, as you just proved with NSMBU, has long legs.

I would not expect an LTD higher than a million in Japan and that is an incredibly optimistic estimate. With only Kart 8 left, the most significant software catering to Japan has come out. Smash Bros is too dubious to consider at this point because there is no clear launch window for it and it's also launching on 3DS which will likely be the better selling version. 64 DS is the only historical example of a Mario game launching low yet breaking the million but even that was mostly because the console itself was lightning in a bottle that would not stop selling no matter what. NSMBU's legs are not that significant compared to most Mario games and it only pops up in charts whenever there's a Wii U sales spike. Despite 2D Mario being the far more popular enterprise, it has not reached a million sold units in Japan yet.

Worldwide is possibly a different story but I still wouldn't put too much stake in this. The problem isn't even 3D World performing less than the other consoles, the problem is it isn't moving Wii Us.

[RisingForever]

Here is a chart of the Japanese first week sales and LTD sales of the 3D Mario Platformers. I am going to guess 3D World will have a similar sales trajectory to Sunshine, which would point to sales of 300,000 copies, which is abysmal. Even if it has a similar trajectory to Super Mario Galaxy, it would only have about 430,000 copies sold.

[Sami]

If being one of the best selling games of the week in only 3 days in a country that generally doesn't even care for Mario means its poor, then I got nothing.

 

What else came out this week? It's like winning third place in a race between three people.

[PSI Wind]

What else came out this week? It's like winning third place in a race between three people.

Final Fantasy came out as well.

[Junko]

What else came out this week? It's like winning third place in a race between three people.

 

 

Final Fantasy came out as well.

Yeah, Lightning Returns is a pretty big one. Dynasty Warriors 8 re-release.

[SilentDoom]

Any chance of this console reaching Gamecube numbers are dead in the water. Nintendo dropped the ball completely and have done too little too late. Kart 8 is literally the only chance they have left at proving that the previous performances the titles had wasn't just cause of the 3DS.

 

Smash 4 would like to have a word with you.  Though yeah it isn't looking particularly good at the moment.

[Ming Ming Hatsune]

Smash 4 would like to have a word with you.  Though yeah it isn't looking particularly good at the moment.

 

No, I don't think Smash 4 is going to save the Wii U. I'm not hyped for it like I was for Brawl. The fact that you need to buy 3rd party hardware to use Gamecube controllers (and Nintendo can block it with an update) is a sting because NGC controller is best for SSB hands down.

 

The Wii U is a terrible designed console, end of. It has good games for it, but the console is so bad the games aren't going to save it. 3D World Land is one of THE killer apps for the console, that failed.

 

The Wii U tablet is IMO ridiculous, it's too wide for me I get easily distracted on what's happening on the tablet screen if something's moving there and if it breaks/gets faulty you are in deep trouble. Your Wii U is then useless since you can only control the menus with your tablet. That flaw stings me so hard, considering I have children over for Bible study who would play Nintendo games and definitely want to play on the Wii U if I have one. Which is why I'm not getting the console until late.

[Thigolf]

You can control the menues with a Wiimote.

[Ming Ming Hatsune]

You can control the menues with a Wiimote.

 

Can you? Is this from an update?

[Chooch]

No, I don't think Smash 4 is going to save the Wii U. I'm not hyped for it like I was for Brawl. The fact that you need to buy 3rd party hardware to use Gamecube controllers (and Nintendo can block it with an update) is a sting because NGC controller is best for SSB hands down.

 

The Wii U is a terrible designed console, end of. It has good games for it, but the console is so bad the games aren't going to save it. 3D World Land is one of THE killer apps for the console, that failed.

I think GameCube controllers are shit, so any point about lack of support in regards to Smash Bros. is laughable to me. Especially given all of the alternatives such as the Wii classic controller, the Wii U pro controller and even the fucking GamePad itself which, while a little on the heavy side, is plenty comfortable on its own.

 

I also don't agree that the Wii U is a bad console. The Wii is a shitty console that was only justified by its library of games. My only real issue with the Wii U is that it's the console that should have came out in 2006 rather than in 2012. It also has a really, really stupid name.

 

Off-TV play is a great feature and easily my favorite thing about it, games look great visually on it and it has far better online functionality than the fucking outdated Wii console. There are a number of issues surrounding the Wii U including but not limited to Nintendo's ignorance but that doesn't really have anything to do with the console itself.

[canderson]

Can you? Is this from an update?

Yup, it's been there from the very beginning. You can use the Classic Controller and Controller Pro as well to navigate the home menu.

[Thigolf]

@Ming Ming Hatsune: I don't know, but I don't think so, I used it like December last year. You activate the wiimote and point and click, like you would normally. Granted, I dont think you can use it everywhere, but the major parts should be accessible with the Wiimote.

[Mando-Whirl-Wind]

Yeah, only place that absolutely reqires the gamepad is the e-shop, and thats for quicker typing

[Autosaver]

Since when was the Wii U ever considered a bad console? The complaints toward it have nothing to do with the console itself and more of the failed marketing and crappy support at launch.

 

3D World in Japan shouldn't really be the main factor here. Judging the console based on 4 days of sales in a country that barely plays consoles anymore might be jumping shark too early.

[Candescence]

Yeah, the system itself and the gamepad aren't among the Wii U's problems. The gamepad itself may not seem immediately 'innovative' as motion controls, but it's leagues more worthwhile than the bloody Kinect, which is mostly one big piece of crap.

[SilentDoom]

No, I don't think Smash 4 is going to save the Wii U. I'm not hyped for it like I was for Brawl. The fact that you need to buy 3rd party hardware to use Gamecube controllers (and Nintendo can block it with an update) is a sting because NGC controller is best for SSB hands down.

 

A Smash game is a Smash game.  It's still early days in terms of the hype and development of the game and there are so many potential big reveals left for the game.  Look at Mario 3D World.  People were skeptical about that game around E3.  Come October (i.e. a month prior to the release) and people were crazy hyped for it right up until release.