Hardware The financial and sales statistics generation

[the_randomizer]

They're not going to fix the hardware flaws, but they can address them.

• The Wii U has almost no built-in storage and last time I checked, it's 2014 and we're in the age of Digital Distribution. Your average mom and pops doesn't know what an HDD enclosure is or how to set one up - they want a Nintendo-branded accessory that will give them storage. Can Nintendo give them that? So that they know they can pick up a hard drive for their system and it will work Plug and Play? Yes, they can. Both Microsoft and Sony sell their own HDD's, to great effect I might add
• Nintendo Network s*cks donkeys in a variety of areas. Nintendo nailed the Social aspect with MiiVerse, it's working perfectly fine, but the store is appaling. It offers practically no sales, it doesn't support Gifting items (which is something that WAS supported on the Wii) and is generally underwhelming. It needs a revamp. Step the game up, Big N... oh, and while you're at it, fire half of your MiiVerse moderators. Not everything you find "offensive" is in fact "offensive" - if you're hosting a social network, let people socialize in peace instead of dishing out bans and suspensions for minute offenses
• Microsoft has "Games for Gold", Sony has "PlayStation Plus Instant Collection", Nintendo has no equivalent service. I know they're not keen on supporting subscription-based services, but unless they're also not keen on success for their systems, they should come up with an equivalent service
• Start releasing games with Cross-platform content. There's a sea of 3DS owners who would be greatly interested in owning a Wii U if it meant additional content for their favorite games. It's not rocket science, take advantage of the fact that you have two platforms

Here, four problems tackled.

I agree on the Miiverse moderation, it's pretty damn pathetic and is run by butt-hurt speech Nazis. In fact, I don't even go there anymore because of the overcautious moderation. The HDD issue however, shouldn't be an issue at all, but if it must be addressed, then the whole "digital-downloads-being-tied-to-a-console" issue should be tied to that. I'll never be able to trust downloading a full retail game on the Wii U. I want it to be tied to an account so I can re-download like I would with Steam, but no, they had to tie it to the console. I don't feel safe doing that at all. As for HDDs themselves, I'd rather pay $40 to get a 250 GB than some overpriced propriety HDD, but that's just me.

The eShop is indeed lacking, the sales are nonexistent, the Virtual Console is shit compared to the Wii's (and that's not saying much), that to needs revamp.

So yeah, when you put it that way, well, then the criticism is well-justified

 

[Gahars]

Because nothing flares up the persecution complexes more.

Honestly, people take this stuff way too personally, as if criticism of their favorite company was criticism of them. If you're seriously asking people to stop being mean to Nintendo (or Sony, or Microsoft, etc.), you need to take a step back.

 

[Foxi4]

I agree on the Miiverse moderation, it's pretty damn pathetic and is run by butt-hurt speech Nazis. In fact, I don't even go there anymore because of the overcautious moderation.

You and thousands of other users - MiiVerse sort of became a meme as of late.

The HDD issue however, shouldn't be an issue at all, but if it must be addressed, then the whole "digital-downloads-being-tied-to-a-console" issue should be tied to that. I'll never be able to trust downloading a full retail game on the Wii U. I want it to be tied to an account so I can re-download like I would with Steam, but no, they had to tie it to the console. I don't feel safe doing that at all.

Hardware is prone to failure - online accounts are not, or at least not as much. The purchases should indeed be tied to the account and I sincerely hope that the introduction of NNID will sort this problem out eventually.

As for HDDs themselves, I'd rather pay $40 to get a 250 GB than some overpriced propriety HDD, but that's just me.

You? Yes, because you know what you're doing. Mom and pops? Not necessarly. A kid? Not necessarly.

The eShop is indeed lacking, the sales are nonexistent, the Virtual Console is shit compared to the Wii's (and that's not saying much), that to needs revamp.

All it takes is a massive sale every now and then and the customers stay interested. Nintendo kind of treats the eShop like a bastard child when they should push it as much as humanly possible because digital copies actually cut down on their expenses - you don't have to manufacture, package and ship Digital copies - you just host them.

So yeah, when you put it that way, well, then the criticism is well-justified

Glad to hear that we agree.

Trust me, I really want to "like" the Wii U and I find the vision endearing, but the execution needs some work.

 

[trumpet-205]

Last time I checked Wii U doesn't allow game to have data cached in HDD. It has a faster disc drive than PS4/X1 but unlike former two it doesn't allow game data to be installed onto HDD. Drive reliability is a concern for Wii U and you can't just swap the faulty drive since Nintendo finally use unique drive key. Your only means is to buy games from eShop but eShop tends to be more expensive than retail disc price.

Since it encrypts external HDD there is no easy solution to backup contents. No means to have portable save files.

 

[matt1tude]

@Foxi you do have some valid points however Nintendo did have quite a few sales over christmas. they had about 15 games on sale for 7.99 cheaper than buying retail and preowned at that.

 

[Foxi4]

@Foxi you do have some valid points however Nintendo did have quite a few sales over christmas. they had about 15 games on sale for 7.99 cheaper than buying retail and preowned at that.

Thank god for that, and good for them - that's a step forwards. I'm acknowledging what Nintendo's doing, I'm just saying that there's a whole lot more to do. Like I said earlier, differentiate between bashing and creative criticism which are two entirely different things.

 

[matt1tude]

They do have a sale almost every week and it's mostly 50% - 70% off

I also don't have a problem with Miiverse as long as you think before you post. It's nice to have a clean forum. I did have a post removed but it was a Jimmy Savile joke so yeah I can understand why it was removed.

 

[Dork]

Because nothing flares up the persecution complexes more.

Honestly, people take this stuff way too personally, as if criticism of their favorite company was criticism of them.

That's what happens when you live in a world where people see video games, or any other hobby for that matter, as an extension of themselves.

 

[pyromaniac123]

Yay for Wii U

 

[osirisjem]

You know every time I visit the site I always visit the Wii U section and I always seem to see a new thread throwing the negativity stick at Nintendo, babbling on about financial and sales statistics. Since when did the business aspect of the gaming world become a gamers interest?

Because software developers work the hardest for successful hardware platforms.
Why make a Wii U game when Lifetime console sales are going to be horrible ?

I've followed the Wii U sales from Day 1 mostly because I was shocked how horrible the concept was of the Wii U. I use the bad sales as an objective measure of how lame the Wii U is.

I love the Wii ... but the Wii U is not a worthy successor. I might buy one just to play Mario Kart 8, but I still am pissed Nintendo screwed up so bad It should have been obvious.

 

[Qtis]

But what would it do to the consoles already out? Nothing. The difference is that was said before the Xbox one was released, but the Wii U is already out. Is Nintendo going to just recall the Wii Us and fix them? What of those who already own one? Being vocal about the Wii U now isn't going to do a damn thing about the Wii U. But if I'm wrong, I'm wrong. I'm just saying pointing out the Wii U's flaws isn't going to fix the Wii U.

It is possible to alter a product after it has launched. While the Xbox One wasn't out when they made the decision to remove the online DRM, all units shipped with original firmware without the update. In this case, the units were "altered" after manufacturing.

Sales statistics and financials don't mean a thing that much, but if the console doesn't sell and something else takes its place, then it may be a problem. Regardless of the opinions of people, companies want to develop for a large crowd. For example, if your game always sells around 20% of the user base, it's better to have a user base of 10 million compared to 1 million. The problem isn't the current situation, but the future. If the number is close to 1 million and another console is at the 10 million mark, it may be more profitable to just make the 10 million version. Hopefully this doesn't happen though.. I'll end up buying the WiiU once a good enough offer comes up, but many of my friends already have a WiiU. This makes it a less likely purchase at the current time since there are only a few games I want to play..

 

[Dork]

I use the bad sales as an objective measure of how lame the Wii U is.

You can't be serious.

 

[the_randomizer]

I use the bad sales as an objective measure of how lame the Wii U is.

You've gotta be shitting me. I can easily do the same thing to the Vita or Ouya. They're not exactly selling like hotcakes either, so I can just as easily say they're lame, too.

 

[mightymuffy]

Blimey, another one! And the OP lives just down the road from me too.... Oo-er missus!

I'm both a massive Nintendo fan, and a big fan of my Wii U - I think it's a fabulous little machine! - but the problems it has are staring us right in the face, and no amount of blind fanboyism is gonna hide that... the recent figures of a £153million loss for 2013 = not good for a business, and it doesn't matter if there's $10billion or however much in the bank, shareholders are not gonna shrug off a loss like that... Looking at the Wii U as a gamer, great year coming up (especially for those of us who have other consoles too of course), but from a business point of view it's looking rather soddin bleak.... like I said on the last topic, MK8 might shift a million copies, but if it were a multiformat game you could probably quadruple that figure easily, and Nins shareholders will know that.

Guild & Foxi do get on my tits too, but Foxi in particular makes some valid comments, mostly! (Plus seeing him use the italic feature at least 10 times on every post he makes never ceases to amuse me - it's like an addiction for the poor lad! ). Maybe neither have or want a Wii U, but I do (and love the machine), yet can still see their point...

 

[osirisjem]

You've gotta be shitting me. I can easily do the same thing to the Vita or Ouya. They're not exactly selling like hotcakes either, so I can just as easily say they're lame, too.

What's another objective method ?

The Vita outsold the Wii last week.

The first day the Wii U was announced ... I said it would be a failure. I felt the overall plan wasn't going to work. The tablet controller seemed very odd.

How else would I measure the success of the Wii U ?

 

[the_randomizer]

What's another objective method ?

The Vita outsold the Wii last week.

The first day the Wii U was announced ... I said it would be a failure. I felt the overall plan wasn't going to work. The tablet controller seemed very odd.

How else would I measure the success of the Wii U ?

Maybe by actually enjoying games on the system? Gee, that's a novel idea. Whether the Wii U fails or not, that's not going to make Nintendo go under or go third party, though, I'm pretty confident you're hoping for that though.

 

[TobiasAmaranth]

The foxes are fighting. *stares* o.o

 

[matt1tude]

I don't see how the tablet is odd. This is the age of the tablet, so why not jump on that bandwagon. I personally couldn't go back to having just a regular controller to play as on option. With the Wii U I can pick and choose depending on mood whether to sit in front of the tv with the pro controller or to sit back, put something on the tv and play with the tablet. It's an incredibley novel concept. So much so Sony has jumped on Nintendos bandwagon like they all do with off-screen play with the Vita.

 

[Bladexdsl]

we already have 2 other fucking threads like this why did you make another op?