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

[Marcello]

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

 

It stands for "Strike Team Eliminating the Alien Menace"

 

And remember this could lead to nothing.

 

 

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.

 

Yeah, it's too early for them to do anything significant. Best they can do is ride it out, hope the QOL takes off and come back and try and compete with the PS5 and Xbox 4.

[Sami]

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.

 

Want to make it a bet?

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.

 

"Blowing more resources on major risks" sounds exactly like what they've been doing for years now and have to stop.

 

March 2010: 13.49B

March 2011: 14.21B

March 2012: 11.65B

March 2013: 9.59B

 

This is the "war chest". Almost a third of it has been wasted on Wii U and 3DS. Do you really think that continuing to sink money into this system is a financially feasible path to take? They'll be wasting time and resources developing games that are shackled to a system hardly anyone cares about.

 

They're not going to publicly announce its discontinuation, but expecting them to pump unreasonable amounts of money and resources into a system that has up to this point proven to be a black hole is just silly.

[azoo]

Gosh diddly dang doodle it, Discoid, why do you think people do not care about the console? You act like there's some kind of magical spell put over it that magically makes it shit and that there's no cure for the disease Nintendo hath spread, woe are we buy a PS4 etc.

 

More games will do anything but hurt Wii U sales, but increasing the intensity of the Nintendo Game Dev Sweatshop, recalling millions of non-purchased consoles, doing refunds for the Wii U, purchasing all new tech to build a new console, starting an all-new marketing campaign, and then all the manufacturing to go with it and then making it all within the apex of the PS4 and Xbone's success is going to be less of a blow on them than that?

 

I wanna see a Nintendo console be a powerhouse like Sony and Microsoft's too but you're just not being realistic at this point. No matter what statistics you blow up into the air, it can't really convince me building more games for Wii U is going to be more of a loss than what you're proposing.

[Willsy]

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

HALF LIFE 3 CONFIRMED! Frostbite were telling the truth!

[PSI Wind]

Want to make it a bet?

You know for a goddamn fact part of the reason SEGA had to leave the console market was because of discontinuing the Saturn suddenly. 

[Indigo Rush]

Guys.

 

Could we not?

[Sami]

Gosh diddly dang doodle it, Discoid, why do you think people do not care about the console? You act like there's some kind of magical spell put over it that magically makes it shit and that there's no cure for the disease Nintendo hath spread, woe are we buy a PS4 etc.

 

More games will do anything but hurt Wii U sales, but increasing the intensity of the Nintendo Game Dev Sweatshop, recalling millions of non-purchased consoles, doing refunds for the Wii U, purchasing all new tech to build a new console, starting an all-new marketing campaign, and then all the manufacturing to go with it and then making it all within the apex of the PS4 and Xbone's success is going to be less of a blow on them than that?

 

I wanna see a Nintendo console be a powerhouse like Sony and Microsoft's too but you're just not being realistic at this point. No matter what statistics you blow up into the air, it can't really convince me building more games for Wii U is going to be more of a loss than what you're proposing.

 

The prime difference that you don't seem to be acknowledging, however, is the use that these investments put towards the future. Yes, investing in a new platform will cost money. That's how this business works - it's cyclical. 

 

There is already plenty of evidence that tells us all we need to know about the profitability of Wii U as a platform for new games. The much hyped remake of a critically acclaimed legacy game came and went. The first and only HD version of Monster Hunter (available outside of Japan) came and went. A major 3D Mario game, Nintendo's best selling flagship IP, came and went. Regardless of all of this, the Wii U is still the butt of every joke to be made about the games industry. Games have not helped the Wii U in the past, and there is literally no reason to believe that it will help in the foreseeable future. Games did not "save" the Dreamcast or the GameCube, both of which performed better than the Wii U has up to this point.

 

If you want to wait until Mario Kart and Smash come and go, be my guest. 

 

The Wii U is a black hole. Nintendo has always made most of their money from hardware rather than software revenue, and nothing they have done up to this point, including a critically acclaimed, award winning new release in their flagship IP, has done anything to change the path the Wii U has been going down since launch.

 

They will "ride it out", yes. By 2016 they will have (hopefully) more marketable ventures either late in development or already on the market. Don't expect any major Wii U announcements in 2016.

 

 

You know for a goddamn fact part of the reason SEGA had to leave the console market was because of discontinuing the Saturn suddenly. 

 

Want to make it a bet?

[PSI Wind]

 The first and only HD version of Monster Hunter came and went. 

COUGHMONSTERHUNTERPORTABLE3RDHDCOUGH

[Sami]

COUGHMONSTERHUNTERPORTABLE3RDHDCOUGH

 

*anywhere outside Japan.

 

Happy? :u

[PSI Wind]

Yes, that's better. To be fair on that one though, Japan has always been shown to prefer Monster Hunter on portables than consoles. MH was basically the reason the PSP became so big in Japan.

[azoo]

 

The prime difference that you don't seem to be acknowledging, however, is the use that these investments put towards the future. Yes, investing in a new platform will cost money. That's how this business works - it's cyclical. 

 

Of course. And that's where you wait to use it wisely.. when everyone else is doing next gen.

 

 

There is already plenty of evidence that tells us all we need to know about the profitability of Wii U as a platform for new games. The much hyped remake of a critically acclaimed legacy game came and went. The first and only HD version of Monster Hunter (available outside of Japan) came and went.

 

Because ports sell consoles, right?

 

 

 A major 3D Mario game, Nintendo's best selling flagship IP, came and went. Regardless of all of this, the Wii U is still the butt of every joke to be made about the games industry. Games have not helped the Wii U in the past, and there is literally no reason to believe that it will help in the foreseeable future. Games did not "save" the Dreamcast or the GameCube, both of which performed better than the Wii U has up to this point. 

 

Because that's one out of.. what. Three original first party games (one which doesn't sell anywhere nearly well anyways (Pikmin))? The Wii U hasn't sold because there's been no reason for it to. One game people know they'll have a good time with doesn't mean they're gonna go out of their way to buy a console for it.

 

That's why Kart 8, Smash, Zelda U, any hope for Metroid or the less likely exists. Because people would be invested in buying consoles if they knew they were in for a good time. PS4 and Xbones were bought instantly because people knew there'd be good games for it just like what they experienced last gen. Wii U didn't get that because all people expected was casual shit related to the Gamepad, and are getting very little of what they wanted!

 

Once again, you'd rather preach about it being a black hole where nothing will sell it, when the honest truth is that they should scrim and save whatever they got for the next gen while they continue developing games. Sure, it won't get them to be as successful as PS4 or XB1 are, but whenever Nintendo could be consistently delivering the best of what they can give while gathering in the background for something much bigger in the future, who gives three little business-model sized pooplets?

[Sami]

Because they'll be bleeding millions of dollars along the way for no discernable reason and without actually putting it toward a feasible investment.

 

Whatever, I'll be here to say the same shit when Smash and Kart do fuck-all for the console's prospects and we're having the same conversation in 2015.

[azoo]

And even if they don't it's not like adding that nice coating of doom and gloom to the discussion is gonna help anybody feel better, or do anything for the fun in discussing the games that come out, or even change Nintendo's mind! It's just gonna more of a cyclical dropkick fest where you can't have fun if you're playing dead consoles!

 

Business is fun to talk about sometimes. But whenever you let it completely shroud any discussion about games then what's the point of games anyways? I didn't know Nintendo was a stock exchange company! :V

[Sami]

Disney Dork asked if any of us thought Nintendo would discontinue the system due to poor sales, and I posted in response to that. Earlier this morning, Alice Twilight asked if we thought anything could "save" it, and also wanted advice on whether or not it was a good purchase if she wasn't interested in Nintendo's first party offerings. Again, I merely provided my opinion in response to the questions being asked.

 

Have fun with your console all you want, but if you're not interested in talking about business, then don't talk about business. I'm sorry my opinion upsets you.

[PSI Wind]

The problem with that is that there's proof in the downsides to discontinuing mid-gen. Would you rather lose money but still keep the fans around with quality games and regain that money next gen, or do you quit mid-gen and make ANYONE doubtful of your next console?

[Sami]

The problem with that is that there's proof in the downsides to discontinuing mid-gen. Would you rather lose money but still keep the fans around with quality games and regain that money next gen, or do you quit mid-gen and make ANYONE doubtful of your next console?

 

People will be doubtful of their console regardless. Besides that, how do you suppose they will be able to keep stockholders pleased during several years of continual losses without any proper investments being made to minimize them in the foreseeable future?

 

Complacency is toxic to any major company. The longer they wait, the more people will doubt, and the more their losses will increase. They don't need to discontinue the system, but they need to minimize losses as soon as possible. The QoL platform and the eventual 3DS successor will likely come within the next two years to divert attention away from Wii U, allowing them to quietly sweep it under the rug.

[azoo]

Your opinion doesn't upset me as much as I find it unreasonable.

 

And how can I ignore the talks about all that and be happy in here whenever most of the discussion in here is business? Not to mention the jabs of doom and gloom any time lots of people try to be positive for once. I get being realistic when it comes to expectations and discussion, but sheesh.

[Sami]

I don't know what to tell you, man. I'm passionate about Nintendo and I don't like the path they're going down, nor do I think what you're suggesting is a reasonable or financially feasible path to take.

 

Agree to disagree. 

[Conando]

I do think you do need to take a step back and think about what you're saying too, Discoid. You're telling people to ignore what you're saying and just enjoy their Wii U, but every page is you repeating your same opinion on the business side of Nintendo, rather than you know, the video games. Some people CAN ignore that, but expecting everyone to just suck it up and not come at you when you do it seems a bit naive.

[Agie]

I believe the Wii U still has a chance, but I think the major titles coming out for it will be its make-or-break point.

[azoo]

I don't know what to tell you, man. I'm passionate about Nintendo and I don't like the path they're going down, nor do I think what you're suggesting is a reasonable or financially feasible path to take.

 

Agree to disagree. 

 

No. That's far beyond the point I was making. I agreed to disagree a long time ago.

 

The point is that no matter how many times I come in here expecting to hear some news about the console, to hear any announcements made about patches of software fixes, hopes for upcoming games and hype for anything to come, it will be shot down almost instantaneously! People go to the statuses to talk about how obnoxious this topic gets due to it feeling like there's no room for positive discussion without extreme cynicism and statistics as to why this is shit oozing from every crevice. 

 

It gets old, man! People just want to talk about Wii U and have a good time. Nintendo made mistakes, terrible ones, yes! People understand that, and we know what's wrong with this console. You're not wrong about that. We just want to get over that and move on.

[Sami]

I do think you do need to take a step back and think about what you're saying too, Discoid. You're telling people to ignore what you're saying and just enjoy their Wii U, but every page is you repeating your same opinion on the business side of Nintendo, rather than you know, the video games. Some people CAN ignore that, but expecting everyone to just suck it up and not come at you when you do it seems a bit naive.

That's not my problem, then. Come at me all you like - I'm willing to debate these points. If you don't want to talk about it, don't. If you're not physically capable of ignoring a discussion you have no interest in, then I don't know how to help you.

No. That's far beyond the point I was making. I agreed to disagree a long time ago.

 

The point is that no matter how many times I come in here expecting to hear some news about the console, to hear any announcements made about patches of software fixes, hopes for upcoming games and hype for anything to come, it will be shot down almost instantaneously! People go to the statuses to talk about how obnoxious this topic gets due to it feeling like there's no room for positive discussion without extreme cynicism and statistics as to why this is shit oozing from every crevice. 

 

It gets old, man! People just want to talk about Wii U and have a good time. Nintendo made mistakes, terrible ones, yes! People understand that, and we know what's wrong with this console. You're not wrong about that. We just want to get over that and move on.

Someone literally asked if anyone thought Nintendo was going to discontinue the system. Excuse me for replying.

[Conando]

You're seriously going to respond that way after what I said? You don't care at all that you're making certain members visibly upset? I guess I can say I don't know to help you with that, then.

[azoo]

Did you even see what I said? I wasn't just talking to you. I was talking about anyone who posts about the business thing in general or the scathing negativity. It's not like I'm condemning ever seeing the discussion again even, I'm just asking for people to lighten up and allow people to talk about something else.

 

Don't turn this into me victimizing you. :T

[Komodin]

If I may interrupt this riveting discussion for a split second, I would just like to inform you all that the Wii U Virtual Console port of Super Mario World is now available at Club Nintendo (at least, in the States) for 200 coins until May 11. If you want to be able to play it entirely on your Wii U GamePad essentially for free, well, that chance is now there for you.