Gaming Nintendo Confirms Wii U Has Flopped, Slashes Sales Forecast By ~70%

[Foxi4]

In my opinion, almost everything that's happened is Nintendo's fault. Horrible marketing (I still have to tell people that the Wii U isn't just a Gamepad peripheral for the Wii) and poor launch titles are a huge part of it. People keep pointing fingers at third-party companies, but it's not their job to keep a system afloat. I still think that there's more to the story with the whole E.A. debacle (I wouldn't be surprised if the Origin vs Nintendo Network thing was true) because they have actually gone out of their way to put down sales (mostly badmouthing, but they also cancelled a fully-running version of Crysis 3), but other companies just did what they felt was necessary. Supporting the Wii U is a gamble.

I fully agree with you there - a lot has gone wrong with the Wii U, from the very beginning of the development process through the shoddy presentations that focused on the gamepad and didn't actually show the new system to finally the marketing strategies. You're right in saying that this is not solely a problem of the third-parties - nobody's really putting the blame on them either. It's Nintendo's job to get them on-board and if they don't see a reason to develop games for a system, they won't. A lot has to be improved before the Wii U kicks off in full swing and it worries me that so little was done in that regard over the period of two years.

 

[JoostinOnline]

I fully agree with you there - a lot has gone wrong with the Wii U, from the very beginning of the development process through the shoddy presentations that focused on the gamepad and didn't actually show the new system to finally the marketing strategies. You're right in saying that this is not solely a problem of the third-parties - nobody's really putting the blame on them either. It's Nintendo's job to get them on-board and if they don't see a reason to develop games for a system, they won't. A lot has to be improved before the Wii U kicks off in full swing and it worries me that so little was done in that regard over the period of two years.

Lol, I'm guessing you've never been to the Miiverse page of a game that is lacking in DLC.

 

[chavosaur]

Let's be honest now. Reading Miiverse in General is Not recommended by scientists who say that Reading even one page will lower your brain capacity by 60%

 

[osirisjem]

Hardware sales doesn't always translate to software sales. Nintendo sold a lot of Wii's because the motion controls attracted a lot of new customers. It brought in "casual" gamers who liked to play Wii Sports and the like. But after the gimmick wore off, they moved on to other things and never bought a lot of the other games third party game makers made. If they did still use their Wii, they were content with the games they did buy and never really bought new games except for maybe the first party titles like the Mario games.

The Wii became known as the dust collector. Not all Wii's suffered this fate. I'm sure quite a few normal gamers and Nintendo fans who bought into it. But for the most part a majority of the people who bought it, didn't buy most of the third party games.

Good points.

Here's the Top 31 Selling Wii games: (mostly Nintendo).

 

[Foxi4]

Lol, I'm guessing you've never been to the Miiverse page of a game that is lacking in DLC.

I meant this thread, but I see your point. Hell, I've seen drama over a pushed release date, I can only imagine what cancelled ones look like.

 

[westdog]

nintendo is dumb if they produce hack for wii u to play wii u games they sale out now case closed be best system free games tell nintendo the plan now for a big big sale out

 

[Foxi4]

nintendo is dumb if they produce hack for wii u to play wii u games they sale out now case closed be best system free games tell nintendo the plan now for a big big sale out

Piracy does not substantially influence sales, it's been established a number of times in the past... at least I think that's the point you're trying to convey.

 

[osirisjem]

Wii Software sales
430.8 Million Total Units (of Top 40 selling games)
92.84 = Third Party 21.56%
337.96 = Nintendo 78.44%
Of the Top 40 games:
18/40 Third Party
22/40 Nintendo
[source]

Note of the 92.84 million third party units sold, 36.11 8.38% is Ubisoft's Just Dance 1-4.

 

[Gahars]

nintendo is dumb if they produce hack for wii u to play wii u games they sale out now case closed be best system free games tell nintendo the plan now for a big big sale out

I cannot fathom why you are not in charge yet.

 

[JoostinOnline]

I cannot fathom why you are not in charge yet.

This may be the best post ever written.

 

[osirisjem]

Haven't you heard? That's Nintendo's Wii U marketing strategy.

"Let's release this on 3DS, then put a more expensive version of what is essentially the same game with different levels on the console that nobody has! Then they'll have no other choice to buy both of them! Mwahahahaha! Oh, wait it didn't work. Let's try it again!"

Case in point:

Donkey Kong Country Returns 3D - Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze
Mario Kart 7 - Mario Kart 8
Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate (3DS) - The exact same game (Wii U)
New Super Mario Bros. 2 - New Super Mario Bros. U
Pokemon Rumble Blast - Pokemon Rumble U
Super Mario 3D Land - Super Mario 3D World
Super Smash Bros. 3DS - Super Smash Bros. U
Yoshi's New Island - Yarn Yoshi



There are probably more that follow this same pattern.

Good point.
Not even Nintendo suports the Wii U.

 

[Foxi4]

Good point.
Not even Nintendo suports the Wii U.

That's not a good point - that's a terrible point. Only one of the listed games is a port (MH3U, and this is arguably a good thing due to cross-platform functionality, plus the Wii U one has online multiplayer), the rest are original games and some have little in common aside from the name, like Yoshi's Island and Yarn Toshi.

 

[osirisjem]

Well mariofanatic64's assertion "Why buy a Wii U, when you can just play it on the 3DS" is a very valid argument.

 

[Foxi4]

Well mariofanatic64's assertion "Why buy a Wii U, when you can just play it on the 3DS" is a very valid argument.

Again, no, it's not because apart from MH3U you can't.

I'm beginning to think that this thread has ran its course - everything that could've been said has been said, now it's a matter of waiting to see if the situation improves over time.

 

[FAST6191]

Well mariofanatic64's assertion "Why buy a Wii U, when you can just play it on the 3DS" is a very valid argument.

If you mean why buy it when I can my mario/mario kart/smash/whatever fix from the 3ds then I could entertain that; I have heard more than a few people say that with 3ds smash and kart there is not great reason to do a Wii U before it is dead.

 

[laudern]

If you mean why buy it when I can my mario/mario kart/smash/whatever fix from the 3ds then I could entertain that; I have heard more than a few people say that with 3ds smash and kart there is not great reason to do a Wii U before it is dead.

Hummm I do see the side of the argument you are proposing. If you can already play mario kart on the 3ds, why bother on the wii u?

I guess that argument could have been true for the gba/gcn, the wii/DS. Admittedly, the gap is now even closer with the 3ds/wii u. I guess it just comes down the the experience you want to have. I have a 3ds and a wii u. I tend to enjoy games more on the tv than the portables. I enjoy the larger screen, better graphics and more complete package of a game* (*this is becoming smaller in difference with the 3ds/wii u).

Different strokes for different folks.

 

[osirisjem]

Gamepad (tablet like controller) exists for Wii U mostly because Wii U was designed for Japanese gamers in mind. In Japan most people live in an apartment with only one TV. Nintendo therefore introduced the idea of Gamepad to allow gaming without TV.

Agreed.

If you look back you'll also realize that 3DS is designed with Japanese gamers in mind. Streetpass works in Japan because most people commute on public transportation, and the street is crowded everyday. Outside of Japan Streetpass simply doesn't work.

Good point !

I personally think that's a problem with Nintendo, they take very little into account of western gamers.

I personally think that's a problem with Nintendo, they take very little into account of third party developers

I personally think that's a problem with Nintendo, they take very little into account of staffing to make HD games

I personally think that's a problem with Nintendo, they take very little into account of realizing Nintendo fanboy Let's Play Gamers are their allies, not enemies.

I personally think that's a problem with Nintendo, they take very little into account of way too much stuff to be successful

Nintendo.

 

[blaisedinsd]

I still think Nintendo, minus the virtual boy most likely, has made profit on every video game system. The N64 and the Gamecube included.

The Wii U may not be doing well right now, and it will be in the same category as the N64 and Gamecube, but I think in the end it will turn out profitable.

Sony made money on PS1, and PS2 and lost money on PS3. They made money on PSP and I think they are losing money on Vita.

MS lost money on the Xbox but ended up turning the 360 profitable.

The real issue is the 360 and PS3 were both causing massive losses initially and only the 360 was able to turn it around. In my understanding looking up numbers on the internet the profits on the 360 do not overcome the losses on the original Xbox. Sustainability people......the mainstream gaming machines are risky and not making much money for MS or Sony. Nintendo will be fine considering they can squeeze profit out of consoles that are thought to have flopped like the N64 and Gamecube while the PS3 was pretty good and cost Sony their first born son.

 

[pwsincd]

since the launch of wiiu , as a social housing electrician i have been in approx 3-4000 houses across several towns in the UK , just last week i did actually see with my own eyes , i fuck you not , another wiiu owner .. i was seriously fukkin stunned its only the second wiiu i have ever seen ... kinda sums it up really.

 

[FAST6191]

since the launch of wiiu , as a social housing electrician i have been in approx 3-4000 houses across several towns in the UK , just last week i did actually see with my own eyes , i fuck you not , another wiiu owner .. i was seriously fukkin stunned its only the second wiiu i have ever seen ... kinda sums it up really.

I think you might have a biased samples, I mean why would you have a dull Wii U displaying things on your massive plasma tellie?