Jump to content
IGNORED

Nintendo Wii U

Not Thread Owner

By Not Thread Owner
in Discussion

 Share

Recommended Posts

Steven

Steven

Posted
Posted

But the 3DS still managed to outsell the DS in its first year, giving developers somewhere they wanted to release their games.

http://www.nintendolife.com/news/2013/04/dragon_quest_x_posts_poor_sales_figures_in_japan

Dragon Quest selling 33,000 copies in its first week on the Wii U - Guess where DQXI isn't going to appear when it arrives? (If SE can manage to not fuck themselves before that). Look at the 3DS software sales in the same week - a western-developed Luigi game out selling DQ in Japan? (A non-MMO title would have been more palatable perhaps, but it's still a poor showing)

I own a Wii U and hope they don't fuck around come E3, but as a company, it seems like a lot of shit to go through when you have something that clearly works already.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Major Britten

Major Britten

Posted
Posted

No NHL 14 for Wii U. I'm not a fan of EA and its practices, but as I think it's now clear that we've seen the last of the company's Wii U support, I'll be disappointed not to get future Criterion racers and, despite FIFA 13 being a shoddy effort, nothing that exploits the potential of the GamePad as far as football games go.

EA is in a right mess as a whole, Im sure once theyve restructured and the Wii U sales have improved theyll be back on board.
Link to comment
Share on other sites
Major Britten

Major Britten

Posted
Posted

But the 3DS still managed to outsell the DS in its first year, giving developers somewhere they wanted to release their games.

http://www.nintendolife.com/news/2013/04/dragon_quest_x_posts_poor_sales_figures_in_japan

Dragon Quest selling 33,000 copies in its first week on the Wii U - Guess where DQXI isn't going to appear when it arrives? (If SE can manage to not fuck themselves before that). Look at the 3DS software sales in the same week - a western-developed Luigi game out selling DQ in Japan? (A non-MMO title would have been more palatable perhaps, but it's still a poor showing)

I own a Wii U and hope they don't fuck around come E3, but as a company, it seems like a lot of shit to go through when you have something that clearly works already.

3DS support is still much poorer than the original DS. Western devs make their handheld games for mobile phones instead and half the stuff that the Japanese devs make never leaves Japan. Even though the 3DS is selling really well and there is money to be made on the system (Gunman Clive for example made more money on the eShop than the App Store and google play combined) publishers simply cant be bothered.

History is repeating with the Wii U but this time Japanese dev support is even worse than the west.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Harsin

Harsin

Posted
Posted

remember when everyone was saying the 3DS was going to fail and it was all LOL 3DS has no games etc..

Last time I checked they were right. It lead to Nintendo having to take emergency measures, make a drastic price-cut and offer compensatory games to existing owners by way of apology to turn in order to turn its fortunes around. I'm sure it was mentioned on one or two gaming sites.
7
Link to comment
Share on other sites
scottcr

scottcr

Posted
Posted

the thing with Nintendo... there is, and always will be, a huge amount of 6-12 year old gamers... along with their parents who are now gamers too. This is the key market for Nintendo. The PS4 and next Xbox isn't the natural home for those gamers - aimed more at the teenage-30 somethings. A lot of those kids are currently still playing Just Dance on their Wii's and with mum and dads iPads.

Right now, they're selling to the Nintendo hardcore (some are already parents) - and there's a finite amount of those. A lot of them are a bit jaded with the Wii and are doing a 'wait and see' - they'll know that, and will be lining up stuff like Smash Bros to target them. They don't have the critical mass of software (Mario Kart!) and price point to get a lot of the current Wii owners to move on yet - and I think they are being deliberately quiet on that front for the time being to save their marketing spend for when they'll need it most - towards the end of this year.

I imagine they're currently lining things up and making sure they can launch to this market with a bang. They get one shot at this and have to get it right. They can go a couple of quarters being propped up by the 3DS and the negative news doesn't really do much harm in the wider world - because, hey, no one has seen a WiiU on a supermarket shelf yet so no one knows it really exists.

They're also trying to sell a 'social' console that is really *properly* family oriented, to an anti-social crowd. I got rampant negs for saying I enjoyed playing Arkham City on the gamepad. That speaks volumes. A lot of the enthusiast gamer crowd don't see the point, appeal or need for such a feature - but me as Mr Gamer Dad really does. Some recent marketing has shown dads playing games along with their kids - this is a huge market and, when Wii Fit U comes out as well, they'll look to very aggresively target the 'healthy family' - one who spends time together, shares the same space together, games together on the same screen etc...

A bit of a ramble - but - that's where I think they're going and why they are deliberately quiet just now.



Last time I checked they were right. It lead to Nintendo having to take emergency measures, make a drastic price-cut and offer compensatory games to existing owners by way of apology to turn in order to turn its fortunes around. I'm sure it was mentioned on one or two gaming sites.

looking forward to the WiiU Ambassador Programme!

1
Link to comment
Share on other sites
rgraves

rgraves

Posted
Posted

Dragon Quest selling 33,000 copies in its first week on the Wii U - Guess where DQXI isn't going to appear when it arrives?

Well, there are two points here:

1) DQXI will go to the 3DS, they've always been clear about it [the franchise] heading for the system with the largest install base. For DQX that was the wii, for the next one it'll be the 3DS unless something seriously changes.

2) DQX selling 33,000 copies on the Wii U in week 1 is not the full stroy really is it - it's a port of a game that originally came out on Wii very recently, and was offered to previous buyers of the Wii version at a 50% discount via the eShop - so anybody taking that offer up (which I would suspect would be a bigger number than those coming at it totally fresh) would have downloaded it and not been included in that number.

There is plenty going wrong for the Wii U right now without having to create other spurious tales of woe.

<insert dull as dishwater old joke about dust or something here to attract a curious number of +1s>

1
Link to comment
Share on other sites
Steven

Steven

Posted
Posted

I know it goes to the console with the largest install base, but 33,000 in a week is not what SE or Nintendo were banking on, I'd imagine. Anything with DQ on it Japan usually sells like hotcakes.

Why the personal dig? lighten up!

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Sprite Machine

Sprite Machine

Posted
Posted

They're also trying to sell a 'social' console that is really *properly* family oriented, to an anti-social crowd. I got rampant negs for saying I enjoyed playing Arkham City on the gamepad. That speaks volumes. A lot of the enthusiast gamer crowd don't see the point, appeal or need for such a feature - but me as Mr Gamer Dad really does.

I think you got negs then for repeating the same insubstantial fluff that makes you sound like a Nintendo PR machine, rather than any objection to the content itself.

I don't have a Wii U, but I think transferring a game to a locally connected handheld is a great idea.

7
Link to comment
Share on other sites
Shimmyhill

Shimmyhill

Posted
Posted

It really is, i was playing a game on it in bed (i dont know what the range is) and often when the telly is on i play on the pad - its really such a good idea you wonder why it hasnt been done before! It is also brilliant for MP - those awkward 3 player games work so much better with 2 on the telly and one on the pad.

1
Link to comment
Share on other sites
rgraves

rgraves

Posted
Posted

I don't have a Wii U

Oh Sprite! Come on in, the water's lovely (well, it's tepid, but the management have hinted that they are going to to turn the thermostat up at least a little bit shortly so as long as you keep your shoulders under for a bit it'll be fine).
2
Link to comment
Share on other sites
Sprite Machine

Sprite Machine

Posted
Posted

Oh Sprite! Come on in, the water's lovely (well, it's tepid, but the management have hinted that they are going to to turn the thermostat up at least a little bit shortly so as long as you keep your shoulders under for a bit it'll be fine).

I'd love one eventually, but it's hardly worth it at the moment and I couldn't really afford it anyway.
Link to comment
Share on other sites
joffocakes

joffocakes

Posted
Posted

I'm jealous of you lot playing the games in bed. I can't even play the games on the gamepad if I dare venture around the corner in my living room it drops the signal. I took it into the kitchen and sat at the table which is basically about five foot away but with a wall between and got absolutely nothing there either. Sadness.

1
Link to comment
Share on other sites
Not Thread Owner

Not Thread Owner

Posted
  • Author
Posted

I'm jealous of you lot playing the games in bed. I can't even play the games on the gamepad if I dare venture around the corner in my living room it drops the signal. I took it into the kitchen and sat at the table which is basically about five foot away but with a wall between and got absolutely nothing there either. Sadness.

Same here :(

Mine is in a cabinet though, so that might affect it.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Uzi

Uzi

Posted
Posted

When Nintendo was doing well, scottcr was that jovial, bouncy annoying but kinda lovable fanboy. Now a lot of your posts have a slight bitter edge to them and you seem to mind getting negged over two sentence posts that don't really have any real substance when before you would embrace it a little and make empire jokes.

I appreciate it is a lot harder to champion Nintendo right now and this isn't attacking you just something I noticed, but cheer up man!

2
Link to comment
Share on other sites
TheSlugFormerlyKnownAsNap

TheSlugFormerlyKnownAsNap

Posted
Posted

In the meanwhile:

Wii U Sales Plummet in March

Nintendo (OTC: NTDOY [FREE Stock Trend Analysis]) may have sold a depressingly low number of Wii U consoles last month.

According to sales estimates from Wedbush analyst Michael Pachter, only 55,000 Wii U consoles were sold domestically in March. This is down from 66,000 units in February, 57,000 units in January, 463,000 units in December and 425,000 units in November.

This is not good news for Nintendo, which was previously forced to reduce its sales expectations for the new console.

"Last month, hardware sales were significantly above our expectations, but down from February 2012, due in part to the debut of Sony's (NYSE: SNE) PlayStation Vita last year," Pachter wrote in his report. "The only key hardware device to underperform our expectations was the Wii U, and its fortunes appear unlikely to improve for several months, even if Nintendo decides to drop [the] price, as there are an insufficient number of core titles that are generating interest in the console."

Pachter thinks that "core gamers" will turn their attention to PlayStation 4 and the next Xbox, both of which are due for release this fall.

He might be right. More than eight million people watched Sony's live unveiling of PlayStation 4, making it one of the most successful online videos of the year. Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) has not officially unveiled the next Xbox yet, but it is expected to do so on May 21.

"…[We] believe that the long-term appeal of the Wii U will be severely limited by the perception that the PS4 and next Xbox will be much more powerful with greater online integration and multimedia functionality," Pachter added in his report. "Should the new consoles from Sony and Microsoft be price competitive, we think that Wii U sales may continue to stagnate.

"Combined Wii U and Wii unit sales were down 27% last month, while combined 3DS and DS unit sales were also down 27% compared to last February, and have not shown positive growth since October 2011."

While Pachter's forward-looking statements are purely speculative, it would be difficult for even the most ardent Nintendo fan to deny the challenges ahead.

Wii U's biggest problem could be its lack of first-year sales momentum. Excluding March sales (which have not yet been announced), Nintendo has sold just over one million units in the United States.

This might sound like an impressive number, but it pales in comparison to the original Wii, which sold more than 2.8 million units during its first eight months at retail. In order for Wii U to match those sales, it will need to sell another 1.8 million units by the end of June 2013. Nintendo's own internal projections suggest that will not happen.

While the original Wii was released one year after Xbox 360 (and days before PlayStation 3), Wii U arrived one full year ahead of PlayStation 4 and the next Xbox. If consumers are not interested in Wii U now -- when no other next-gen consoles are available -- it is hard to imagine that this picture will improve when the competition intensifies.

Nintendo may try to turn things around by adding to its slate of Internet connectivity options. According to DisplaySearch, more consumers use game consoles to connect their TVs to the Internet than any other device.

This should have come as no surprise to Microsoft. Last year the Windows maker discovered that its latest console, Xbox 360, is used more for online entertainment than for gaming.

Nintendo may also find salvation within its summer, fall and winter game lineup. The company said that it will introduce several key sequels at this year's Electronic Entertainment Expo. Those games could be what Nintendo needs to spark new interest in the console.

However, there are no guarantees that any of those titles -- a new Mario adventure game, a new Mario Kart and a new Smash Bros., to mane a few -- will arrive in 2013. Nintendo may choose to spread out the releases and save some of its biggest games for 2014 and beyond.

This strategy is not unprecedented, but it is far from effective. While Nintendo released a significant number of DS and Wii titles during their first 12 months at retail, the company held back releases for Nintendo 64 and GameCube, creating a drought of fresh software.

According to VGChartz, Nintendo 64 sold roughly 33 million units worldwide before it was retired. GameCube sold 21.7 million units. Wii, on the other hand, sold more than 99 million units. Nintendo DS, the most successful game system of all time, sold more than 154 million units.

It is not yet known which strategy Nintendo will employ with Wii U -- one with many games or one with releases that are few and far between.

For better or worse, the company has currently taken the latter route. Nintendo has not released any prominent Wii U games in America since November 2012.

Pikmin 3 was one of a handful of games unveiled at last year's Electronic Entertainment Expo. At the time, Nintendo said that it would be a "launch window" item, meaning that it would be released within three months of Wii U's release.

By January, Nintendo had delayed the game until March. By March, the game had been delayed until the end of June. Now Nintendo has updated its official website with a new release date: "To be determined."

Meanwhile, IGN has deleted its release date listing (June 30) and replaced it with a vague listing for "Q2 2013."

http://www.benzinga.com/analyst-ratings/analyst-color/13/04/3501143/wii-u-sales-plummet-in-march
1
Link to comment
Share on other sites
Shimmyhill

Shimmyhill

Posted
Posted

Will be a shame if they do as no one else is interested in innovation and i would suggest consoles are doomed, we wil be playing on pc boxes under the telly - there is more room for Nintendo hardware than there is more Sony/Xbox hardware in the pc future :(

Still over a million units in the US doesnt seem like a disaster, the Wii was exceptional - what did the ps3/360 do in the first few months??

This gen id does feel like the wii u will be a companion machine for either a PS4 or Xbox 720 as apposed to the other way round last gen, all speculation of course as the machine does need some genuine quality Nintendo games - its got a couple of gems but they need to hit home with some more.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
 Share
Go to topic listing

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

We have placed cookies on your device to help make this website better. You can adjust your cookie settings, otherwise we'll assume you're okay to continue. Use of this website is subject to our Privacy Policy, Terms of Use, and Guidelines.

  I accept