The Wii U is dead in its current form, admits Nintendo. But what now?

[poofyhairguy]

Why not? I think you could buy a WiiU and throw that pad away and play pretty much all games. Any games that "need" the pad can be patched to run without it.

I just don't understand the thinking behind the Wii U controller at all.

I mean, the Wii succeeded on its controller. Nintendo ALREADY created a more advanced Wii controller with the Wii Remote Plus. Why not just pull a Sony, refine that a little bit, and make that the Wii U controller?

I mean, I know the Wii U works with Wiimotes but one didn't come in the box so that is a dead end. I just can't believe they abandoned the legacy and momentum of the Wiimote for an iPad stuck in a controller. What the hell were they thinking?

If the console actually can work without the tablet controller, and they release a version without one for like $150, then suddenly for the first time I would consider this console.

 

[dguy6789]

The Wii U sales were poor because Nintendo failed at marketing it as a machine that was meant to appeal to and had games for Nintendo fans and 360 dude bros alike.

Half this forum(people who tend to do a little research) doesn't even know that the Wii U has games like CoD Ghosts, Assassin's Creed 4, Tekken/Injustice, or that Watch Dogs is coming out for it. So if this sort of group is unaware, then the everyday layman isn't going to know anything aside from some TV commercials. This is Nintendo's biggest mistake.

 

[Tom]

What would be the point of Nintendo making a console like a Playstation or xbox ?

Well ?

Here's the deal..for years you could go to a store and buy a Wii for little money and play a lot of cool games. Now you can buy a Wii U for not much money and play a lot of cool games.

Games you can't play otherwise. If you don't want to play the games, don't buy it. If you do, buy it.

What is it you think you as a person are going to "win" if people buy more PS4s or xbox ones ?

 

[zerocool84]

The Wii U sales were poor because Nintendo failed at marketing it as a machine that was meant to appeal to and had games for Nintendo fans and 360 dude bros alike.

Half this forum(people who tend to do a little research) doesn't even know that the Wii U has games like CoD Ghosts, Assassin's Creed 4, Tekken/Injustice, or that Watch Dogs is coming out for it. So if this sort of group is unaware, then the everyday layman isn't going to know anything aside from some TV commercials. This is Nintendo's biggest mistake.

Actually we are aware but no one is going to buy the WiiU version of those games because they are always inferior, missing DLC, multiplayer, features, etc etc. If you like those types of games, the WiiU is NOT the platform to buy them on.

 

[Tom]

Actually we are aware but no one is going to buy the WiiU version of those games because they are always inferior, missing DLC, multiplayer, features, etc etc. If you like those types of games, the WiiU is NOT the platform to buy them on.

It is if you want to play them and Super Mario 3d too.

Do you really think it matters if you have the ultimate version of Assassin's Creed ?

 

[poofyhairguy]

Do you really think it matters if you have the ultimate version of Assassin's Creed ?

I think it does for the segment of the market that likes Assassin's Creed. I think that is pretty obvious now given the failure of the Wii U.

Nintendo had two chances with success for the Wii U:

1. Change even less from the Wii. Add in some new gimmick like a leg band or something that tracks your running pace and take on this whole health technology craze.

2. Make it cheap (aka take out the tablet), and launch at $200 with a library of children's titles and nostalgia titles (ala the 3DS strategy).

Nintendo will never again make a console that appeals to hardcore gamers. They simply can't afford to. If that means they no longer can charge $60 for titles too bad.

 

[drbrock]

Again...

Gimmick != innovation

Wii is a GameCube with a waggle stick.

Most games worth having a Wii for play best on Pro controller.

I loathe having to shake my controller in a masturbating fashion to MAYBE jump or MAYBE fall in the hole and die if it doesn't quite register.

Innovation is not a new video card either. The Wii changed the game and was great for what it was. It brought back gaming in the general household. It brought simplicity back.

If anything I think PS4 and Xbone are kinda crappy. The are beefy don't get me wrong but they don't excite me that much. I was watching the big bang theory last night and I found Sheldon's problem is the same one I have. First you don't know which console will win. And there are winners (Wii won for sheer popularity but Xbox won the hardcore gamers). They are severely limited outside of games. Xbone does have some features that work with the cable box. A PC can do everything that they do but better and IMHO cheaper.

PS3 had a top notch blu ray player that was way cheaper than anything else around. Xbox had incredible online infrastructure. This generation added better graphics. Big deal...

Wii U does need to take out the tablet to make it cheap for people to buy. For 150 the system is a no brainer. For 250 you are getting into PS4 territory. A shame Nintendo did not implement the system the tablet well. Either way Nintendo still has the best games period. It will be a long time before anyone can take that away from them. My biggest complaint is that it takes too long on the development cycle for the Wii U.

 

[cmdrdredd]

You actually made my point for me there at then end when you said "those same people now are gaming on their iPads."

I am not trying to claim that the Wii is still an often used console, we all know that isn't the case. I am also not saying it was a gateway drug for new hardcore gamers- the number of titles people bought for the console really doesn't matter.

Instead it was, along with the DS really, the first piece of major gaming hardware since the Atari 2600 meant to directly target the casual gaming segment that succeeded.

The Wii proved these people exist, proved that the casual market was larger than the hardcore market, and that legacy of the casual gamer lives on in the mobile world today.

Prior to the Wii (and honestly Farmville), no one thought you could make a living cranking out casual games. The closest gaming got to mainstream was normal people playing the AAA of the nerdy franchises like Halo, GTA and WOW.

Now Wii Sports, Wii Fit, Angry Birds, Fruit Ninja, etc. are household names, and sequels to these mobile games sell WAY more copies than COD 8 or GTA 10 or whatever we are up to.

That is the legacy of the Wii- the hard cores, much to their chagrin, no longer run the show.

I think that is why the Wii (and mobile gaming) attracts so much hate online. Many hard core gamers prefered it when the whole market was basically a boys club.

The Wii did NOT prove that casuals rule. It proved that a popular item will sell. The casuals didn't buy games. Game sales numbers outside the token Mario and such were some of the worst. So it doesn't matter how many consoles sold when the games sat and rotted on the shelf and 99 out of 100 Wii consoles were dust rugs.

The ps4 and xb1 sales prove everything you said is false. They broke sales records and continue to sell and nobody outside the so called "hardcore" market is buying them right now.

 

[Imaginer]

If only the Wii U was not held to the same form factor PRIMARY design considerations of the Wii, then much more capable hardware can be place inside while maintaining reliability of cooling.

That is the main problem. If Nintendo doubled the volume of the Wii U, this would not be a problem at all.

Another point is that the other two players in the market (Microsoft and Sony) weened gamers (and championed by developers) on the power marketing strategy for quite some time (and raising price points that go unnoticed - Nintendo is still overall cheaper when it comes to end solution gaming, even if you count the fact that initially the consoles had not had bundled games or accessories).

The Wii U is a good system for gaming, but I do notice the computational limits. Loading being one of them and transitions from their menus.

 

[poofyhairguy]

The Wii did NOT prove that casuals rule. It proved that a popular item will sell. The casuals didn't buy games.

Where are you pulling this concept from that "the casuals didn't buy games?"

Of the top selling games of the 7th generation, the Wii had 5 out of the top 5 and 7 of the top 10. The PS4 didn't have a single game make the top 10.

The Wii had 8 games that had more than 4 million in sales. Comparatively the 360 had 5 such games and the PS3 had 4.

The Wii had 6 games that had more than 8 million in sales. The PS3 had 0 and the 360 had only 1 in Halo 3. And Halo barely made it with 8.1 million, Wii Fit sold over twice that.

The Wii might not have had as long of life compared to the 360 or PS4 (which who cares, it wasn't made to be a "10 year console"), but to say it didn't move software in its prime is completely false:

http://vgsales.wikia.com/wiki/Best_selling_games_(seventh_generation)

Game sales numbers outside the token Mario and such were some of the worst.

Of the top five selling games for the Wii (which again are the top five selling games for the whole generation), the top three had NOTHING to do with Mario and one of the fourth was only partially his game (Brawl). Only one of the top 10 selling Wii games was a traditional Mario platformer.

Sure the third parties did not have a lot of sales on the Wii, but that is a different issue that honestly matters only to those companies and not to consumers. The key point is the Wii sold games and it wasn't just the bundled Wii Sports.

The ps4 and xb1 sales prove everything you said is false. They broke sales records and continue to sell and nobody outside the so called "hardcore" market is buying them right now.

Breaking sales records because you are selling an almost generic x86 computer with less supply constraints than ever before (after a longer gap than ever for a new generation) isn't that impressive. We will see either the PS4 or the Xbone pass the 100 million units sold mark like the PS1, PS2 and Wii? I would bet not.

Meanwhile there are hundreds of millions of iOS and Android devices in the world, and some of those games have sold over 10 million copies:

http://www.gamespot.com/articles/minecraft-pocket-edition-sales-reach-10-million/1100-6407847/

Oh and competitors like Amazon's Fire TV are going after the casual gamer that the major consoles have left behind.

The only thing the current market shows is that many of the traditional game developers and much of the hardcore market have their heads stuck in the sand about the general direction of gaming's future.

 

[cmdrdredd]

Where are you pulling this concept from that "the casuals didn't buy games?"

Of the top selling games of the 7th generation, the Wii had 5 out of the top 5 and 7 of the top 10. The PS4 didn't have a single game make the top 10.

The Wii had 8 games that had more than 4 million in sales. Comparatively the 360 had 5 such games and the PS3 had 4.

The Wii had 6 games that had more than 8 million in sales. The PS3 had 0 and the 360 had only 1 in Halo 3. And Halo barely made it with 8.1 million, Wii Fit sold over twice that.

The Wii might not have had as long of life compared to the 360 or PS4 (which who cares, it wasn't made to be a "10 year console"), but to say it didn't move software in its prime is completely false:

http://vgsales.wikia.com/wiki/Best_selling_games_(seventh_generation)



Of the top five selling games for the Wii (which again are the top five selling games for the whole generation), the top three had NOTHING to do with Mario and one of the fourth was only partially his game (Brawl). Only one of the top 10 selling Wii games was a traditional Mario platformer.

Sure the third parties did not have a lot of sales on the Wii, but that is a different issue that honestly matters only to those companies and not to consumers. The key point is the Wii sold games and it wasn't just the bundled Wii Sports.



Breaking sales records because you are selling an almost generic x86 computer with less supply constraints than ever before (after a longer gap than ever for a new generation) isn't that impressive. We will see either the PS4 or the Xbone pass the 100 million units sold mark like the PS1, PS2 and Wii? I would bet not.

Meanwhile there are hundreds of millions of iOS and Android devices in the world, and some of those games have sold over 10 million copies:

http://www.gamespot.com/articles/minecraft-pocket-edition-sales-reach-10-million/1100-6407847/

Oh and competitors like Amazon's Fire TV are going after the casual gamer that the major consoles have left behind.

The only thing the current market shows is that many of the traditional game developers and much of the hardcore market have their heads stuck in the sand about the general direction of gaming's future.

The Ouya tried the same thing Amazon did...failed miserably. Amazon will only do well by selling it as a cheaper than roku option.

You're so full of crap...the Wii games in the top are all PACK IN GAMES that came with the console by default or with a bundle of some sort except for Smash Bros, Mario Party and Galaxy. Gaming's future? The numbers are skewed because of this which is why nobody takes VG Chartz seriously. Are you absolutely blind to the fact that there are 10million combined PS4 and XB1 consoles sold to the "hardcore" market? The future is totally casual only...that's gotta be it. The one with their head in the sand is Nintendo and anyone who thinks gaming is going to die thanks to Amazon and mobile/waggle/gimmick of the day garbage. The argument is so tired at this point and at no time are signs pointing to core gaming going away, in fact it is bigger than ever and setting sales records all the time. You think selling 10million copies of a $6.99 app is impressive? Tell me when they can make a billion dollar profit in less than a week like GTA5.

People are predicting the PS4 and XB1 to surpass 100million in their lifetime. Maybe some research is in order.
http://www.pushsquare.com/news/2014...l_surpass_100_million_over_the_next_six_years
http://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2014-02-11-ps4-xbox-one-will-both-reach-100m-units-dfc

 

[Aikouka]

Breaking sales records because you are selling an almost generic x86 computer with less supply constraints than ever before (after a longer gap than ever for a new generation) isn't that impressive. We will see either the PS4 or the Xbone pass the 100 million units sold mark like the PS1, PS2 and Wii? I would bet not.

Why does the CPU architecture really matter in regard to this? The original XBOX also used x86 (Celeron). The SoCs in the PS4 and X1 are fairly custom, and it's a bit unfair to think that just because they're x86-based, Microsoft and Sony can just walk into Best Buy to pick up parts for their console. The only negative aspect for Nintendo is that they're stuck using NEC to manufacture their SoCs.

 

[purbeast0]

lol @ saying games that are pack-in games are the same as stand alone sales.

hexen hd must be the top selling 360 game of all time!

 

[HeXen]

A PC can do everything that they do but better and IMHO cheaper.
.

If you build it and maybe not include the cost of the OS. They do everything but different is more like it, it's not as streamlined of an experience and to set one up good requires a lot of custom scripts. And the XBMC community btw can lick my balls! "hey look what my custom HTPC can do now, oh you want one setup just like it too? Well too bad i'm not sharing" /snob

 

[poofyhairguy]

The Ouya tried the same thing Amazon did...failed miserably. Amazon will only do well by selling it as a cheaper than roku option.

Maybe maybe not. They did build a game studio. The Ouya was a kickstarter.

You're so full of crap...the Wii games in the top are all PACK IN GAMES that came with the console by default or with a bundle of some sort except for Smash Bros, Mario Party and Galaxy. Gaming's future?

Well no, they are now in the past. Angry Birds is the future. But Wii Sports was the beginning of the explosion of casual gaming.

Are you absolutely blind to the fact that there are 10million combined PS4 and XB1 consoles sold to the "hardcore" market?

Are you blind to the fact that 10 million is nothing in the new casual gaming space? Apple will sell more iPhone 6's than that in a month. Google activates 1.5 million Android devices a day.

The future is totally casual only...that's gotta be it. The one with their head in the sand is Nintendo and anyone who thinks gaming is going to die thanks to Amazon and mobile/waggle/gimmick of the day garbage. The argument is so tired at this point and at no time are signs pointing to core gaming going away, in fact it is bigger than ever and setting sales records all the time.

No, I never said the future is only casual gaming or that hard core gaming is going to die. All I am saying is that the future is the majority of gamers are and will be casual gamers. First the Wii, then in 2011 the number of US mobile gamers passed 100 million.

Hardcore will always have a niche but not drive the entire market.

You think selling 10million copies of a $6.99 app is impressive? Tell me when they can make a billion dollar profit in less than a week like GTA5.

Yeah but there are only a few franchises like GTA. Only a few guarantee pay back their big budgets, the rest are risky investments. Casual platforms like mobile offer smaller reward for smaller risk. There is room for both.

People are predicting the PS4 and XB1 to surpass 100million in their lifetime. Maybe some research is in order.
http://www.pushsquare.com/news/2014...l_surpass_100_million_over_the_next_six_years
http://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2014-02-11-ps4-xbox-one-will-both-reach-100m-units-dfc

OK I will admit I might be wrong there. Especially if one of the two wins then clearly the winner will pass the 100 million line. But neither combined with the most optimistic outlook possible will sell more than high-end mobile, and maybe even set top boxes will pass them soon.

 

[ImpulsE69]

LMAO they are basing those #'s off the large launch THOSE were the hardcore gamers you are talking who were starved for a new console and many of those don't want them either. The sales have steeply declined since then. I know no one with either console personally (or Wii -U for that matter..but that is less surprising). They are either still playing 360/PS3 or moved on to PC. I predict this gen won't outsell last gen, and definitely not the gen before. There will be pick ups here and there as must have games come out and pricedrops happen, but I just don't see them breaking any records.

 

[poofyhairguy]

Why does the CPU architecture really matter in regard to this? The original XBOX also used x86 (Celeron). The SoCs in the PS4 and X1 are fairly custom, and it's a bit unfair to think that just because they're x86-based, Microsoft and Sony can just walk into Best Buy to pick up parts for their console. The only negative aspect for Nintendo is that they're stuck using NEC to manufacture their SoCs.

Good point.

 

[HeXen]

I think the problem with enthusiasts trying to solve the gaming industry riddle might lie in the fact that everyone wants to stereotype gamers and group people into a small few categories when in fact you can't put gamers simple categories like that, it individually varies way too much.
Yesterdays "casual" gamer may be a weekend warrior or next months hard core gamer then back again and everything in between.
I know and old man that play BF 2 competitively then drop out completely for a year, get into Angry Birds then buys a PC, plays Metro and BF4 where it recently got sold on Craigslist because it started collecting dust. Knowing him he'll buy an Xbox in 2 years and do it all over again.

Theres so many gamers like that, there are more than just casual or hardcore categories because it varies for each individual and can change from one year to the next, buy heavy then sell, months or even years later does it again. Maybe it's because of kids/family or a time issue. Thats why games like GTA and COD sell so high and rapidly, for the few games that every type of gamer outside of categories will come together and buy...then go back to Angrybirds a month later lol.

 

[Lil Frier]

It is if you want to play them and Super Mario 3d too.

Do you really think it matters if you have the ultimate version of Assassin's Creed ?

Most who are on here don't have just a Wii U though. We all either have a second console, a PC, or both. The third-party games are all superior on those platforms, really. Assassin's Creed might be the exception because it sells based almost solely on its single-player experience, but I'd take the 360 version of Ghostsover the Wii U version, seeing as it means I get a legitimate multiplayer experience through LIVE.

Unless you're strictly a Nintendo junkie, the third-party options are pointless.

 

[essential]

Will Nintendo ever go the way of Sega and be a game developer for other systems? I want Mario/Zelda/Mario Kart for XBOne and PS4. Imagine the entire back catalog being sold as downloads in the PS Store and XBox Live. $19.99 for an HD multi-player enabled Mario Kart 64 on the PS4 network? New Mario and Zelda games in 1080p? Sign me up. If Nintendo focused on it's older fans, those of us who grew up loving their systems and games, they'd find a market I don't think they understand exists.

I'm sure many of you still buy and enjoy the Wii and Wii U for what it is, I just have no interest. If Nintendo becomes more of a developer, they can maintain their high quality and expose themselves to an enormous large group of people who just aren't interested in what they are selling when they are locked to the current Nintendo console.

It probably won't happen, but I hope it does, eventually. Sega might not be the best example, but I think Nintendo could make bank going that way.

 

[dguy6789]

If Nintendo focused on it's older fans, those of us who grew up loving their systems and games, they'd find a market I don't think they understand exists

It's called virtual console.

 

[sxr7171]

One other thing about the WiiU isn't this the first time they have sold a unit of hardware at a loss? That pad was a horrible idea.

I think Nintendo would need 2-3 back to back failed consoles before they become a developer only. I think the odds of 2-3 back to back failed consoles is pretty slim. Sega somehow did it by screwing over it's best fans. Then when they released a total winner in the Dreamcast those fans didn't care.

Nintendo could easily keep making $200 consoles for its exclusive content. One may fail every 3rd generation but I doubt they would have 3 failures in a row. They just need to know not to overcharge for useless gimmicks. If they truly believed that their pad was innovative they could should have released a game that showed their vision for it. I think I can safely say they have no real vision for it. It was a way to throw something at us to see if it sticks. The Wiimote was a gimmick that happened to stick. It was cheap. It wasn't a huge burden to a gamer that just wanted the system for a mario game and a zelda game.

 

[cmdrdredd]

It's called virtual console.

Too bad that many games are unplayable due to input lag but that's not what he was saying, not even close.

 

[desura]

I dunno, I'm considering a Wii U right now. It is significantly cheaper than the big 2, and of the big 2 they don't have games that seem to appealing to me right now. Also, my old wii died recently and the wii U is backwards compatible. And it has the only GC game I care about: windwaker.

What N really needs to do is to make hardware release cycles faster. Shave like a year or two off of them.

Seriously.

Like, the Wii sold awesomely at first, but IMO it stayed on the market for too long and the final years it really dropped.

With cheaper hardware, they could make it happen too.

It would make more sense to release like 3 consoles during the PS4's 10 year life cycle.

 

[desura]

I also think that theoretically, the Wii U is likely significantly better than the PS3/360 and could probably run games comparably on the PS4/XB1.

Reason is that it supports DX11-esque shaders. that is more important.

I bet that if someone put the effort into it, they could get like most PS4 games running okay on the Wii U. The internal rendering resolution would have to be lower, but it would be comparable.