Gaming What should nintendo do to improve wiiu income?

[Taleweaver]

Yeah...I know. This must be the elevenhundredth thread about it, but I haven't seen a thread about it with a poll, so here goes...

In a nutshell: the wiiu isn't selling so well. Luckily, we have about five thousand self-declared experts on this forum who know everything about the games industry, game development, marketing, presentation, R&D and so on...so the solution to this issue should be easy.

Nintendo also has a huge amount of cash reserves. Not only because of the success of the wii but because they're pretty conservative and play things safe and low-risk (the N64 and gamecube weren't the bestselling systems, but the wiiu is actually the first console where they are actually losing money). In addition, nintendo does innovate in the most literal sense. They don't copy the competition. Which is both a good and a bad thing.

Let's leave the situation at that (that's not what the poll is about anyway). For this poll, you are in control of nintendo. Your job: create more money for your firm, given the current situation. This is also why this poll is restricted to ONE vote: going with five or six are more likely to succeed, but will cost most likely way more than is invested in it.


Here are the options (keep note: I don't personally agree with all of them myself. But I will admit they might actually be viable):

1. keep reviving their franchises. This is a bit strange considering how many people want them to create more new IP's, but whenever you ask the community what they want, it's always "new metroid, Zelda, star fox, F-zero, ...". This is nintendo's current strategy, so this vote is more of a "stay the course and things will eventually imrpove".

2. more mature audience. There is no such thing as "games for everyone". The gamer generation was young in the nintendo vs sega war and grew up since then. Nintendo, however, still maintains the target range, which is where the label for kiddy games come from. However, today's children go for smartphones and tablets instead, which leaves the "hardcore" audience for dedicated gaming machines.

3. the blue ocean strategy: tap into a new market and convince people who currently don't game enthusiastic about...whatever it is you're making. There have been hints in this direction (there was this presentation that included a "quality of life" thing...and what to think of that girls channel?).

4. 3rd party support...ninty has always had a bad reputation. And going by those developers, documentation is scarce, coding is clunky and the fact that nintendo doesn't even know the network systems from sony or microsoft isn't giving hope. This needs to be worked on. And hard.

5. the wiiu already sells at a loss, so lowering the price isn't going to increase the income. At least not in the short term (more sold units will have a positive effect in the long run, since the money comes from the games created). But what if there was a unit without a gamepad but with a pro controller? That would lower the
I know the extra screen has more uses than the kinect for xbone, but as it stands, only a handful games really NEED it. And the gamepad could become a nice extra accessory.

6. the marketing department...ugh. I'm kinda wondering if this is a Japanese thing, but even when ignoring the kiddy image nintendo likes to cater to, it's hard to miss the flaws. The wiiu is the only (large) console with free internet but that trump card (nor the cheaper price) is never played out publicly. Reggie often comes out as a puppet to Iwata, and why is Miyamoto always brought up? I know he's a legend in the industry, but if he retires or dies, how do we know his quality remains in the company? And don't get me started on the retarded name of the console...

7. the eshop...I haven't had much experience with other systems (outside steam), but I'm really jealous of what PS+ gamers get pretty much each month. I know it's not that easy to do this on the wiiu since it doesn't have as much games, but c'mon...10 bucks for a 10 year old game? There was this nintendo direct where it was announced that 30 games would cost 30 cents for 30 days...THAT is the sort of thing that would encourage people to play the wiiu. Except that you need a bit of a reputation in that aspect, so just doing it once isn't going to cut it.

8. sony and (especially) microsoft do all these things with their consoles that you wonder if it still plays games. The wiiu doesn't even play blue-ray discs. The extra screen has some really cool potential (watch 2 channels at the same time, to name one), but it's never played out. Yet. I know this isn't all as easy as it sounds, but with some research and investment, some things should really be possible (it says something that I'm more interested in what Delroth can do with the console than anything nintendo did on E3).

9. Clean slate option number 1. Since third party development improvement can only go so far, building a new console that caters more to today's standards may regain the trust of third parties. Keep in mind that this may take some years, so it's in no way a solution for the wiiu situation.

10. Clean slate option number 2. No more consoles. It seems that every time rumours pop up of a nintendo franchise coming to a different console, their market ratings go up. It's also hinted that the options are being explored, but there are no indications that nintendo is going to be another sega.

11. I think I named every option, but I'm not sure. If you have a serious suggestion (or what passes for serious on this forum), please let us know.

 

[Oxybelis]

Their only option is to try to create Wii Sports like software - megahit which driving console sales. Otherwise they are stuck with miserable sales for another 2-3 years until next console comes.

 

[McHaggis]

It's hard to choose between most of those things, since they need to do quite a few of them. I guess marketing is the most productive option of them of them all the turnaround would be quicker and the results would likely be better than all the other options. Also, boosting sales will boost developer interest, making some of the other options moot.

I'd also like to see them put some money behind more third parties (let's face it, there's plenty to go around), or at least try and make some deals or guarantees to convince them to make games for the system. Something along the lines of "Fair enough, you're worried about sales. How about we let you off the hook for licensing fees for the first n months after your game launches?". Sure, they'd lose out on a lot of licensing fees, but they wouldn't have gotten them in the first place anyway.

 

[Gahars]

I feel like I've written this all down a hundred times before, so let's just go with the Cliff Notes version.
-Gamepad. Offer a version without the gamepad. They could sell the console super cheap and still earn a profit off of every unit sold. Just try to get the console into as many households as possible and sell the gamepad later.
-Marketing. From the system's name to the lack of clear, effective advertisements, Nintendo has been fumbling here every step of the way. Fix that. You can't sell a product if you can't convince people it's worth buying.
-Games. Nintendo games and Nintendo games alone do not a successful console make. A mix of first and third party support is always necessary. Nintendo needs to make nice with third parties and pay for exclusives (timed or otherwise) if it wants them. Start actually building a relationship now before the next generation comes around (like Sony did during the PS3's life). Third parties don't owe you anything. You'll have to convince developers it's worth their while to develop for your system (and no, "For the privilege" doesn't count).
-Online. Nintendo hasn't taken "online" seriously, and it shows. Nintendo is still painfully behind the competition. Like it or not, consumers like it, so the least you can do is make something competitive.
-Money. Throw some my way.
-Stay the course. Abandoning the Wii U would be a disastrous move all around; Nintendo would lose a good deal of money and people would lose confidence in Nintendo. The best they can do right now is try to sell whatever consoles they can and keep the console on life support until the end of the generation. Last I checked, projections are that Nintendo will sell 20-25 million Wii Us (Gamecube numbers, basically); that's pretty bad, but at least that's survivable for a company with a strong handheld division and some money saved up.
-Time to go mobile. It's a wide market and Nintendo could easily take advantage. Offer a small portion of Virtual Console titles to mobile phone users to regular users, while Nintendo customers (people who own 3DS and/or Wii U) can access a wider library. It'd be a taste - just enough to make people hungry for more. It could provide even more incentive for someone looking for reasons to go Nintendo, and even if the person doesn't end up making the leap, Nintendo still makes money on every sale.

 

[FireGrey]

I think they actually need more 1st party studios.
They push out enough quality first party games and people will start getting it, just like with the 3DS, the DS and the Wii.

 

[slingblade1170]

In my opinion the system is fine its just marketing technique, games and online infrastructure. They need to remove all confusing ads about the Wii U and be much more clear on what it does, also ads for it need to be everywhere like the Wii was. We all know Nintendo needs to get some games in their library by reviving some of their hits such as Metroid, Starfox, etc along with getting some support from third party devs. Nintendo mentioned they had plans on buying some studios to get some work done which I believe to be a fantastic idea. Now, their online infrastructure has potential but its jacked up at the moment. Miiverse, I believe is a great app and needs to stay but needs less of grip on the rules and restrictions. Friend codes, they are headed in the right direction to being rid of them but it still too annoying to message/voice chat/friend a user, but this could be an easy fix for Nintendo. With the Wii U hardware alone even though it may be underpowered is very capable of doing everything Nintendo needs to be successful.

With all said it done much of miss the way Nintendo use to be and maybe this console failing will give Nintendo the kick they need to change to a more modern business and keep their integrity. Also, this is just my opinions seeing as how I've never ran a massive gaming company and or sold consoles/handhelds.

 

[tbgtbg]

This poll has a huge flaw, in that you can only select one option. Nintendo should do several of these things.

should: lower the price (though with a cheaper gamepad, not no gamepad at all) , get some sort of 3DS compatibility going, find a way to get 3rd parties interested, milk existing franchises, look for mature and different audiences

shouldn't: dump the wiiu for a new console or no console

 

[Taleweaver]

I know the 'choose one option' is limiting, but the reason is in the OP: it's about the most important thing they could do to improve their situation. If there was an option to limit people to just two or perhaps three choices, I would've taken it, but if I just allowed multiple votings, it would become an exercise in clicking the boxes. Besides...if nintendo wants to make more sales, they're going to have to attract people who don't currently follow what they're doing. So one radical change will be better than multiple small ones (and keep in mind: their budget is fixed, so going for AND more own games AND lobby for 3rd party AND changing the marketing AND improve the eshop is just going to water down the effect of each).

My own vote goes to the 3rd party developers, by the way. If there's one thing that IMO really needs to go, it's ninty's attitude of "we can survive without you, guys".

 

[trumpet-205]

1. Get rid of current Nintendo management personnel, this includes Iwata, Miyamoto, Reggie, etc. Not firing them, but leave them out of management post.
2. Discontinue the production of Wii and WIi Mini. Make serious effort on Wii U marketing.
3. Major overhaul on online infrastructure. This includes making sure system does not go down like in the last X'mas, unified virtual console between Wii and WIi U, cloud save storage, NNID account policy, etc.
4. Open development process for individual/small time group developers. Sony for example, charges no fee for becoming registered developers and requesting dev-kit. In addition, both Sony and Microsoft have fast turnaround time for technical support than Nintendo.
5. Entering mobile / Android market. This is a market flooded with many impulse buy, wide audience, and potentially innovated indie games. For Nintendo who constantly prides itself with innovation, not tapping this market is a mistake.
6. Diversified first party lineup. Mario, Zelda, and Donkey Kong are all great franchise, but like others have said, "no such thing as games for everyone". Give gamers wide range of options.

 

[Ericzander]

2. Discontinue the production of Wii and WIi Mini. Make serious effort on Wii U marketing.

I thought that they already did this.

I think that they need a new IP. And a much bigger team in my opinion. They rely too much on first party titles as well and should start to do things to entertain the idea of more third parties getting involved.

 

[MarioFanatic64]

Start listening to what their fans actually want would be nice.

 

[fischermasamune]

Do what they think it's right and not what complete amateurs in videogame business, like us, suggest.

 

[Guild McCommunist]

Start listening to what their fans actually want would be nice.

Worst possible idea. Fans are a combination of awful, stupid, and lacking any knowledge of how to run a business.

 

[Ericzander]

Worst possible idea. Fans are a combination of awful, stupid, and lacking any knowledge of how to run a business.

No we aren't! All I ask of Nintendo is that all the games should be free. They should also be good. Also, the system should be 100 dollars. And I want free online. And Nintendo should start making halo games. And they should give us rewards for doing stuff in game, like more free games or something.

 

[XDel]

They should rob banks.

 

[osirisjem]

I think they should steal ad money from "Let's play" You Tubers. /facepalm

My feeling is the Wii U is dead, and absolutely nothing will help.

If possible, I would ditch the failed Tablet Controller (aka Gamepad) and get the price of the console as low as acceptable.

I don't see the Wii U as a marketing failure. It's a design failure and a failure to attract developers.

Marketing would be expensive and not change the end game: the Wii U will never sell well.

 

[Dork]

Nintendo needs to release their own damn games. Nintendo has the advantage of having a plethora of huge gaming IPs and it seems they aren't using it as of now.

As for third-party support, Nintendo should try to do more like they did with Bayonetta 2 and The Wonderful 101. Trying to get original exclusive third-party games that aren't multiplats available on every other platform.

 

[Rayder]

Beg retailers to at least continue carrying their product. I was in Wal-Mart last night, grocery shopping, and wandered into the electronics section just to browse around. The Wii U section was cleared out. There was NOTHING there, just empty shelves where the Wii U stuff was supposed to be. It still said Wii U in that section, but there was no product.

I wasn't actually looking for any Nintendo stuff (I'm into PS3 at the moment) and there's a possibility that I'm mistaken and it was a section for the regular Wii, not 100% sure, but it was completely devoid of anything. It wasn't like that last week.

Guess they learned the hard way that casual gamers aren't a loyal enough demographic to sustain them. And much of the regular Nintendo fanbase is apparently also abandoning them. Nintendo has to be crapping their pants right about now, especially if even the retailers are abandoning them. 3rd-party developers certainly have abandoned them already.

During the DSlite heyday, I always did say the they lacked balance in the types of games they offered. But nobody ever listens. The general consensus in most gaming communities is that Nintendo makes kiddie systems and games. That label is now biting them in the ass, obviously.

I don't know what the answer might be for Nintendo, but I'll guess that given we're talking about Nintendo, whatever they try will be completely out of left field compared to what most people think they SHOULD do. That seems to be the Nintendo way.

 

[Foxi4]

I think the poll should be a multi answers one because there's no miracle cure to be had, they need to do a variety of things, which is why I haven't voted. Here's what I think they should do:

• Mom, pops, little Johnny and the average console gamer don't know the difference between a USB drive and a toaster. We live in the 21st century and people are taking advantage of great digital distribution deals, but on the Wii U that's hindered because the internal storage is pitiful. Nintendo needs to release a branded HDD add-on, a standard enclosure with their name on it that will allow users to expand in a plug and play fashion without worrying about anything. Compatibility issues, HDD versus SDD, read speeds, write speeds and other such issues concern PC users, not console users. Consoles are all about ease of use and accessibility and a branded accessory like this will always be desirable for a customer who doesn't know his way around technology
• The Wii U is priced just fine, competitively with the PS3 and the XBox 360, which is great, but there are opportunities to be taken advantage of in the budget sector. The Wii U Gamepad has proven to be necessary only in a handful of games and even in those, compatibility issues could be covered with a patch. There's a whole market out there eager to buy a circa $160-180 console that's, all things considered, superior to the PS3 and the XBox 360 in terms of raw specs. Releasing a gamepad-less SKU with the option to expand as a "Core" system is not a bad idea at all. Such an SKU would be cheaper than the PS3 and the 360 and more future-proof at the same time, which is double the bang for the buck, and people like good value
• History has proven time and time again that living off of first-party content is the equivalent of being on life support - Nintendo needs to secure deals with third-party developers and make sure that their system is supplied with exclusive games and content. Where they can't match the PS4 and the XBox One in performance, they can overtake them in sheer content
• Nintendo's been fooling around with handheld-to-home console connectivity for ages now. Ever since the Super Nintendo, they were trying to make the two intermingle, first with the Super Game Boy, then the Nintendo 64's Transfer Pak, the Game Boy Advance-to-Gamecube connectivity, the Game Boy Player and finally DS-to-Wii connectivity, but none of these were really definitive reasons to own both the portable and the home console at the same time. There's an army of 3DS owners and a handful of Wii U owners - you have a Nintendo fanbase you can tap into, you just have to entice them with features and games that really take advantage of inter-console communication. Look at the PS Vita and the PS3/4 - you've got Remote Play, Cross-platform bundles, a unified account system, that's an example to follow. Make owning a Wii U "worth it" to 3DS owners and a portion of them will consider getting one
• Overhaul your entire Online infrastructure because it's a mess. I expected Friend Codes to become a thing of the past after NNID's were introduced and I expected games to be tied to the NNID, not to the console - none of that happened. I can't believe that in this day and age the safety of my digital purchases is directly affected by the safety of my device - c'mon, Nintendo - step up your digital distribution game! Take a good look at PSN and XBox Live, take notes and then do the exact same thing - it's really not that difficult

 

[zeello]

Nintendo should release a model revision of the WiiU that doesn't use power bricks.

The PS3 Slim doesn't even have a power brick at all. But WiiU has one not only for the system but also for the tablet gamepad. Everything Nintendo is doing is emanating the message to consumers that Nintendo products are clunky doodads.

Tablet gamepad should be charged by USB using the system or using the wall, like the tablet I'm using to post this message.

Another problem is that Nintendo users are asked to make two accounts: one is NNID, the other for Club Nintendo. Did it ever occur to Nintendo to just use their existing Club Nintendo as the WiiU account system instead of making a new one?