Wii U will be 50% less successful than the wii.

[DiscostewSM]

Outspoken game designer David Jaffe doesn't think that Nintendo is going to be able to match the success it had with the Wii. He thinks that the "perfect storm" that allowed Nintendo to claim the number one spot in this console generation has passed, and the Wii U will only do around half as well.

Jaffe felt that a significant portion of the Wii's install base had purchased it as something other than a gamer device. Moreover, he didn't think that Nintendo had been able to convert enough of these people into gamers to make them go out and buy a new console. He said that the current craze was for devices like Apple's iPad and iPhone, and that the people who traditionally might have been interested in Nintendo's products beyond core gamers were now getting their gaming fix elsewhere. [/p]

50% less successful. Hmm..... I hope I'm not the only one who was thinking he took the opposite stance of the "50% more powerful than the PS3" comment.

 

[DSGamer64]

And the PS3 has been 50% less successful then the PS2, so his logic is flawed. Despite being astronomically more powerful then the PS2, the PS3 failed because of price point and launch game options as well as lack of initial developer interest. Those are the things Nintendo has to avoid with release of the Wii U if they want it to be successful and I think what they need to do is take a small hit to put the price point at 250 dollars for a console.

 

[FluffyLunamoth]

Personally, I don't think it will either. Gaming has...just hit it's...highest notch. You can't really do much more except REALLY innovate like crazy, adding new stuff. And whether people like it or not...graphics sell to the general populace. And they've gotten about as good as they'll get.

That's not my point, though. Look at the 3DS. It's getting too EXPENSIVE. Gaming is getting to the point where it's pricier then ever. In a global economy that just can't support it. The next gen will probably have games at 70, 80, 90 dollars just to make a bit of profit. It's already happening with this gen, after all. Though I do blame that on developers being greedy as hell.

 

[Nathan Drake]

Developers could sell games at $20 each and still profit. Intellectual property seems to be experiencing the same inflation as everything else. Hell, at $20 a game, they could sell millions more copies, and most likely walk away with more profit. Instead you have people waiting for used copies to crop up, for 50% off sales and the like in order to get a game at a price that they are able to afford, and are willing to pay.

 

[DiscostewSM]

Personally, I don't think it will either. Gaming has...just hit it's...highest notch. You can't really do much more except REALLY innovate like crazy, adding new stuff. And whether people like it or not...graphics sell to the general populace. And they've gotten about as good as they'll get.

That's not my point, though. Look at the 3DS. It's getting too EXPENSIVE. Gaming is getting to the point where it's pricier then ever. In a global economy that just can't support it. The next gen will probably have games at 70, 80, 90 dollars just to make a bit of profit. It's already happening with this gen, after all. Though I do blame that on developers being greedy as hell.

I remember getting Chrono Trigger for the SNES back in the day for the going retail price of $80.

 

[Nathan Drake]

Personally, I don't think it will either. Gaming has...just hit it's...highest notch. You can't really do much more except REALLY innovate like crazy, adding new stuff. And whether people like it or not...graphics sell to the general populace. And they've gotten about as good as they'll get.

That's not my point, though. Look at the 3DS. It's getting too EXPENSIVE. Gaming is getting to the point where it's pricier then ever. In a global economy that just can't support it. The next gen will probably have games at 70, 80, 90 dollars just to make a bit of profit. It's already happening with this gen, after all. Though I do blame that on developers being greedy as hell.

I remember getting Chrono Trigger for the SNES back in the day for the going retail price of $80.

That was demand (funny how it doesn't go for nearly that much anymore due to the likes of the VC and remakes). Prices these days are based off the fact that developers can charge the price, and thousands of people will still buy the game day one.

 

[DiscostewSM]

Personally, I don't think it will either. Gaming has...just hit it's...highest notch. You can't really do much more except REALLY innovate like crazy, adding new stuff. And whether people like it or not...graphics sell to the general populace. And they've gotten about as good as they'll get.

That's not my point, though. Look at the 3DS. It's getting too EXPENSIVE. Gaming is getting to the point where it's pricier then ever. In a global economy that just can't support it. The next gen will probably have games at 70, 80, 90 dollars just to make a bit of profit. It's already happening with this gen, after all. Though I do blame that on developers being greedy as hell.

I remember getting Chrono Trigger for the SNES back in the day for the going retail price of $80.

That was demand (funny how it doesn't go for nearly that much anymore due to the likes of the VC and remakes). Prices these days are based off the fact that developers can charge the price, and thousands of people will still buy the game day one.

I don't doubt demand had some influence, but part of it was also because of the price for manufacturing those cartridges. A 32Mb (4MB) memory chip of that type was not cheap back then.

 

[TheDarkSeed]

Nothing but speculation. No one can tell exactly how it will do. I'd treat this news just as I would a rumor.

Remember the rumor that the WiiU would be 2x stronger than the ps3 and 360?

 

[doyama]

50% less successful than the Wii just means it would be essentially 'on par' with existing console numbers. So yes 'regression to the mean' would allow you to conclude that the WiiU will probably not be as successful as the Wii. Since the Wii is pretty much 1.5-2x more units shipped in numbers globally compared to the x360/ps3 then yes, 50% is probably a likely reduction. Also within the context of the 3DS launch, and the current global economy every sector is hurting bad.

Not a particularly surprising remark when taken in that context. Fanbois can debate all they want about it I suppose though.