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

[Milo]

I think Discoid actually has a point regarding the Dreamcast, it had a great launch in the Western territories and had a steady stream of killer apps before it died-and even that death was kicked off by sheer PS2 launch hype alone steamrolling over all of Sega's later efforts to win back the crowd before deciding to discontinuing the system and go third party. And even then Sega Japan still supported it until the twilight of the sixth generation.

 

Whereas the Wii U post-holiday launch started flopping in sales to the point that sales for the past-gen PS3 and 360 consoles started to consistently outsell it throughout 2013 up until those system's successors launched-which can largely be blamed upon the lack of compelling killer apps, both during and well after the Wii U's launch period.

[Willsy]

Mario Kart would interest me if it didn't look the same old same old. I don't know what to expect out of a kart racing game if they did do something different with the game, but to me, you've played one Mario Kart you've played them all. I like Transformed for being like an arcade game, really hard, challenging and has a great learning curve. It is fair to compare Transformed and Mario Kart right?

I thought a Transformed was amazing, but it didn't feel like a kart racer, more like a full blown racing game.

The only Mario Karts I have are Wii and 7. I gave MK Wii to my sister (who doesn't live with us) because she liked it. I like MK7, but the controls felt really awkward and I kept getting hand cramps from them. So I'm kind of getting MK8 because it's a bit like 7, but with nicer graphics, 60fps, more comfortable control schemes, and local and online multiplayer.

[Sami]

Mario Kart would interest me if it didn't look the same old same old. I don't know what to expect out of a kart racing game if they did do something different with the game, but to me, you've played one Mario Kart you've played them all. I like Transformed for being like an arcade game, really hard, challenging and has a great learning curve. It is fair to compare Transformed and Mario Kart right?

This was my stance on Wii and 7, but I think 8 looks pretty great to be honest. The gravity mechanics look like a lot of fun.

[Indigo Rush]

I think the issue is that while the Wii U has some genuinely fantastic and fun killer apps, the problem still stands: the Wii U was not properly explained or marketed, and because of its lower power compared to its competition, third party support is dried up. 

 

I mean that doesn't make the Wii U a bad console by any means - it's quite capable and has some great games for it, but that doesn't matter if no one's buying it, and that's because of a lack of third party support and poor marketing. 

 

If Nintendo properly marketed the Wii U, then perhaps it would have had better third party support, and therefore a bigger and more diverse library, and therefore more sales. It wouldn't fix the issue of having lower specs, but it would have been a heavy hitter.

 

While I think Nintendo could still make some kind of a comeback with the Wii U, it won't ever be able to reach the hype and sales of the PS4 or Xbone. It won't be the end of Nintendo, but whether we want to admit it or not, Nintendo messed up this generation. True, they didn't mess up fatally, but their marketing ignorance is costing them.

 

 

 

So folks who are pro-Wii U have every right to be - its exclusives are absolutely fantastic, and it's otherwise a fun console to have, not to mention its Virtual Console service and Wii backwards compatability; that's a mammoth-sized back-catalog! And if anything else, it's Nintendo. Whether or not it sells well doesn't diminish its first party quality. 

 

But those who are criticizing Nintendo aren't wrong, either. Nintendo could be doing far better than they are now. They did not market things well, and they didn't invest in current-gen hardware when they should have. Their exclusives may be god-tier, but there aren't as many to keep the system afloat for much longer. Nintendo deserves the criticism for that, and the're paying dearly for their mistakes.

[Kaabiitorori]

I think the issue is that while the Wii U has some genuinely fantastic and fun killer apps, the problem still stands: the Wii U was not properly explained or marketed, and because of its lower power compared to its competition, third party support is dried up. 

 

I mean that doesn't make the Wii U a bad console by any means - it's quite capable and has some great games for it, but that doesn't matter if no one's buying it, and that's because of a lack of third party support and poor marketing. 

 

If Nintendo properly marketed the Wii U, then perhaps it would have had better third party support, and therefore a bigger and more diverse library, and therefore more sales. It wouldn't fix the issue of having lower specs, but it would have been a heavy hitter.

 

While I think Nintendo could still make some kind of a comeback with the Wii U, it won't ever be able to reach the hype and sales of the PS4 or Xbone. It won't be the end of Nintendo, but whether we want to admit it or not, Nintendo messed up this generation. True, they didn't mess up fatally, but their marketing ignorance is costing them.

 

 

 

So folks who are pro-Wii U have every right to be - its exclusives are absolutely fantastic, and it's otherwise a fun console to have, not to mention its Virtual Console service and Wii backwards compatability; that's a mammoth-sized back-catalog! And if anything else, it's Nintendo. Whether or not it sells well doesn't diminish its first party quality. 

 

But those who are criticizing Nintendo aren't wrong, either. Nintendo could be doing far better than they are now. They did not market things well, and they didn't invest in current-gen hardware when they should have. Their exclusives may be god-tier, but there aren't as many to keep the system afloat for much longer. Nintendo deserves the criticism for that, and the're paying dearly for their mistakes.

 

I expressed pretty much the same thoughts in the past. The Wii U is suffering from a messed up marketing plan which failed to deliver its message across the audience, and that's what, on the one hand, is making the system struggle. On the other hand, the bull shit pulled by major third party publishers (EA and Ubisoft, for the most part) didn't help either. All in all, both Nintendo and third parties have their part to blame on this situation, which I think it doesn't deserve at all as a worthy successor of the Wii.

 

Though my point still stands on the Wii U making a recovery throughout its lifespan; not an spectacular recovery, but enough to pull modest numbers and enough for Nintendo to keep themselves in the game. As I said once, a console is not considered a failure until it's dropped early from support, and so far things look like Nintendo will do what it takes to keep their system for as long as they can (well, they HAVE to unless they want to piss their current and future userbase).

 

Most importantly, what I think the console will have at least from my point of view is quality over quantity, so as long as Nintendo and the few third parties here and there deliver really good quality software I'll be happy; I for certain can't wait for Mario Kart 8, Smash Bros, Bayonetta 2, Monolith's X, Hyrule Warriors, Zelda U and more to come. In the end and for we as gamers should care about, games are what shape a console's quality, not lifetime sales, so yeah, for those who keep insisting on Nintendoomed and all that shit, sorry but I am busy here enjoying my games.

[JaidynReiman]

I think the issue is that while the Wii U has some genuinely fantastic and fun killer apps, the problem still stands: the Wii U was not properly explained or marketed, and because of its lower power compared to its competition, third party support is dried up. 

 

I mean that doesn't make the Wii U a bad console by any means - it's quite capable and has some great games for it, but that doesn't matter if no one's buying it, and that's because of a lack of third party support and poor marketing. 

 

If Nintendo properly marketed the Wii U, then perhaps it would have had better third party support, and therefore a bigger and more diverse library, and therefore more sales. It wouldn't fix the issue of having lower specs, but it would have been a heavy hitter.

 

While I think Nintendo could still make some kind of a comeback with the Wii U, it won't ever be able to reach the hype and sales of the PS4 or Xbone. It won't be the end of Nintendo, but whether we want to admit it or not, Nintendo messed up this generation. True, they didn't mess up fatally, but their marketing ignorance is costing them.

 

 

 

So folks who are pro-Wii U have every right to be - its exclusives are absolutely fantastic, and it's otherwise a fun console to have, not to mention its Virtual Console service and Wii backwards compatability; that's a mammoth-sized back-catalog! And if anything else, it's Nintendo. Whether or not it sells well doesn't diminish its first party quality. 

 

But those who are criticizing Nintendo aren't wrong, either. Nintendo could be doing far better than they are now. They did not market things well, and they didn't invest in current-gen hardware when they should have. Their exclusives may be god-tier, but there aren't as many to keep the system afloat for much longer. Nintendo deserves the criticism for that, and the're paying dearly for their mistakes.

 

Basically my stance as well. People hating on the Wii U for being a "bad console" are being ridiculous because the console is just fine. People criticizing Nintendo for not marketing it properly are perfectly fine for doing so. Nintendo screwed up the marketing, plain and simple. The Wii U is a great console, yes its underpowered compared to the other two, but its not bad by any means of the word.

 

Oh, they also screwed up by not having many games ready for it at launch. That's a major problem, too. That's going to soon be rectified with tons of great games coming out soon, and they also need to try and get the attention of other game developers. Indie developers are a great focus as long as its not too complicated to develop games for the console.

[Willsy]

Sometimes consoles that fail still do have great games. I.E The Dreamcast, the Wii U, etc.

At least it's not going down the Virtual Boy route where not only was the system itself bad, but had no good games or at least games worth taking note of. I think the Wii U is more comparable to the GameCube.

I think the system itself is good, but there is a lot of wasted potential and it could have been something much bigger if Nintendo did things differently.

[Indigo Rush]

Oh, right. And a lack of strong Indie support. Steam and Playstation knocked that one out of the park.

[MegasonicZX]

Oh, right. And a lack of strong Indie support. Steam and Playstation knocked that one out of the park.

Is this true though? I know that there are supposed to be a good bit of indie games coming to the wii u but were they cancelled or something?

[Indigo Rush]

It's not that they don't have any Indie support - they do, it's just that in comparison to other platforms, it's almost a non-factor. 

[Junko]

Oh, they also screwed up by not having many games ready for it at launch. That's a major problem, too. That's going to soon be rectified with tons of great games coming out soon, and they also need to try and get the attention of other game developers. Indie developers are a great focus as long as its not too complicated to develop games for the console.

That's a problem with all consoles this gen, albeit the One and PS4's excellent six-month launch window.

[Marcello]

Wii U has good Indie support. Not quite as good as Sony's but still really good.

 

Nintendo just completely misjudged things. "No one" wanted a console that can't keep up with the others that has an overly expensive tablet controller. If they want to use a tablet they'll get one, especially considering Nintendo has yet to show something like Wii Sports that vindicates it. I think only having of them is also a problem since it could confuse some families.

 

I like it myself, but honestly? I'm happy with things like Wind Waker. Just improving the HUD and UI and stuff. But that's not a very good reason to get a console, that is under powered and has a lack of games.

[Junko]

Wii U has good Indie support. Not quite as good as Sony's but still really good.

Not as bad as Microsoft's either.

 

 

Nintendo just completely misjudged things. "No one" wanted a console that can't keep up with the others that has an overly expensive tablet controller. If they want to use a tablet they'll get one, especially considering Nintendo has yet to show something like Wii Sports that vindicates it. I think only having of them is also a problem since it could confuse some families.

How is Wii Sports Club doing? I'd imagine (as far as I've seen) since it's digital only, it can't be doing much.

[JaidynReiman]

Wii U has good Indie support. Not quite as good as Sony's but still really good.

 

Nintendo just completely misjudged things. "No one" wanted a console that can't keep up with the others that has an overly expensive tablet controller. If they want to use a tablet they'll get one, especially considering Nintendo has yet to show something like Wii Sports that vindicates it. I think only having of them is also a problem since it could confuse some families.

 

I like it myself, but honestly? I'm happy with things like Wind Waker. Just improving the HUD and UI and stuff. But that's not a very good reason to get a console, that is under powered and has a lack of games.

Personally, my thought on the tablet in the future is this:

 

Make the next "handheld" DS console the new tablet. It may be more expensive than just having a solo tablet controller, but it'd probably be better in the long run. You'd be able to buy it separately, you could play Wii U games on the console (just a bit downgraded), and it could have its own games as well which might in turn be playable on the Wii U (and the next console).

 

It'll probably be a couple of years before the next handheld is out, but from what I've heard the idea is to make it compatible with Wii U and future consoles, so they're going to try and keep the general infrastructure the same and future consoles will just be upgraded.

[Indigo Rush]

Oh, Wii Sports Club.

 

I would never in my life pay the full price for those games. Ever.

 

They're fun and all, but for crying out loud, they're better off as pack-in games like they were with the original Wii. At the very least $5 a pop. I could deal with that. But $15 each?

 

Screw that. 

[The Disney Dork]

You guys don't think they're gonna discontinue Wii U early or anything due to poor sales, right?

[Doctor MK]

You guys don't think they're gonna discontinue Wii U early or anything due to poor sales, right?

 

The Wii U isn't going to be discontinued any time soon, no. They'll keep on supporting it, even if only in drip feeds, until they're ready to start again with their next console.

 

Cutting off the Wii U while it's still making some money and still has some slim amount of hope left would be unwise, and similarly rushing a new and improved system out of the door in the hope that it will cover up the Wii U's mistakes will just go to show that Nintendo have no faith in their own product, which is hardly a good impression for whatever the next console is (people will think "if they didn't care about the last one and it bombed, what's to stop the same thing happening again?")

 

Instead, the Wii U will continue on, slowly and hidden away in the shadows of the PS4 and Xbox One, spewing out the odd noteworthy release like Mario Kart and Smash Bros to keep the few people who have invested in the console happy, and then hopefully Nintendo will properly get its act together for the next generation.

[Sami]

I don't think they'll ever publically announce a discontinuation, but I doubt we'll see any really major new game reveals in 2016, possibly even 2015. I expect QoL and the 3DS successor to gain all the attention soon, in order for Bintendo to quietly sweep the Wii U under the rug like with the GameCube.

[The Disney Dork]

Well, if you guys had to make a guess...how long do you think the Wii U will last for? Like, about what year do you think it'll make it to?

[azoo]

They won't kill it. Forcing their game dev teams to move their games to a higher up console in mid-development of whatever they're doing plus the mass amount of Wii U recalling from stores would be a massive waste of money, time and resources. Also, it would be ditching whatever userbase that decided to be loyal enough to buy this thing and see the potential in it.

 

And on another note, trying to restart and sell a next-next gen console about halfway or three quarters into this generation would only make for a premature launch and then lead to them being behind on the game again come the release of the PS5 and whatever Xbox does if it's still alive by then.

 

They literally cannot afford to drop the Wii U. You think that with Nintendo's poor position right now that they can really handle any more massive risks? All they can do for now is crank up the production of more titles to redeem various owners' purchases as well as other people's, and then think way ahead for the next machine.

[Doctor MK]

Well, if you guys had to make a guess...how long do you think the Wii U will last for? Like, about what year do you think it'll make it to?

 

Absolutely no idea. It all depends on how much steam the Wii U picks up over the next year or two, and that'll depend on what games come out. Mario Kart and Smash Bros should help give it some momentum in 2014, which Nintendo will need to capitalise on with some more strong releases in 2015 as well.

 

I'd say the Wii U will probably make it to 2016 at the very least, but really it all depends on when the time is right to kick-start a new generation so that Nintendo can be ahead or at least on par with the competition for once rather than lagging behind like with the previous and current generations.

[Sami]

They won't kill it. Forcing their game dev teams to move their games to a higher up console in mid-development of whatever they're doing plus the mass amount of Wii U recalling from stores would be a massive waste of money, time and resources. Also, it would be ditching whatever userbase that decided to be loyal enough to buy this thing and see the potential in it.

 

And on another note, trying to restart and sell a next-next gen console about halfway or three quarters into this generation would only make for a premature launch and then lead to them being behind on the game again come the release of the PS5 and whatever Xbox does if it's still alive by then.

 

They literally cannot afford to drop the Wii U. You think that with Nintendo's poor position right now that they can really handle any more massive risks? All they can do for now is crank up the production of more titles to redeem various owners' purchases as well as other people's, and then think way ahead for the next machine.

 

Releasing several big budget games for a financially toxic console on which they are sure to underperform would be a massive waste of money, time, and resources.

 

This is not without precedent for Nintendo.

 

There is literally no point in continuing to support the Wii U for longer than absolutely necessary.

[PSI Wind]

No, dropping the console would start turning Nintendo into the next SEGA. Let it live under the shadows this gen unless it somehow comes out. Also, don't say that Nintendo won't have any releases for it the next 2 years or little.

[Dejimon11]

So Nintendo trademarks S.T.E.A.M. http://m.ign.com/articles/2014/04/07/nintendo-files-code-name-steam-trademark

[azoo]

Releasing several big budget games for a financially toxic console on which they are sure to underperform would be a massive waste of money, time, and resources.

 

This is not without precedent for Nintendo.

 

There is literally no point in continuing to support the Wii U for longer than absolutely necessary.

 

So instead we expect Nintendo to learn from their mistakes immediately? As well as try to grab anyone's interest in the next-gen from now whenever no one will have any reason to care when PS4 and Xbone are at their apex of productivity? And not only that, but that amount of time between then and the next-gen would give the competitors enough time to make a console that (once again) destroys Nintendo's efforts just so we could do this same old circlejerk of Nintendoomed again?

 

There's no point in making a new console whenever this gen just started. Nintendo fouled up this time, yes. But making the best of a fall while acknowledging your mistakes sounds a lot more honorable than blowing more resources on major risks.