When it comes to console releases, timing appears to be everything. Take for example the launch of the Xbox 360, which took place a full year before its biggest competition, the PS3. That yearlong wait for a console, while insignificant in the grand scheme of things, is believed to be the reason why the Xbox 360 still outperforms the PS3 to this day.
Now, as we enter a new console generation, there is another console taking the big leap into the market before anyone else, the Wii U, but its publisher, Nintendo, doesn’t make much of the early release, in fact they find it insignificant. For Nintendo President Satoru Iwata, it’s more important that they find the right price for the Wii U.
When the 3DS released last year it was met with some criticism for both its price and lack of launch content. This of course steamrolled into Nintendo being forced to drop the 3DS’ price and offer a goodwill gesture towards those early adopters. Obviously Nintendo doesn’t want the same situation to happen with the Wii U, especially since it resulted in Nintendo recording a loss for the first time since going public.
So, it’s pretty easy to see why Iwata is less concerned with launching first, and more pre-occupied with finding the right price point. He wants his company not to record a loss two years in a row, and the only way to really do so is to make the Wii U profitable.
“Being first in the next generation race is not important at all. One of the reasons we believe this is the time for Nintendo to launch the Wii U is it’s going to be important for the world…The pricing of Wii U is going to be one of the most important elements when it is going to be launched. The environment is different. Wii U is going to be launching in a different environment than when the Wii was launched. Also, the involvement surrounding [mobile and social] businesses is different than several years ago.”
It almost seems like Iwata is more concerned with the mobile market, which is dominated by the likes of Android and iOS devices. Its not an outright admission, but we wouldn’t be surprised if Nintendo looks to the pricing of devices like the iPad as their baseline. They want to be competitive, clearly, but they also want to be competitive.
Whether that profitability comes from a stellar launch line-up or an affordable price point is unclear based on Iwata’s statements, but clearly they are not concerned with that important “head start.” In all reality, since the Wii U isn’t all that different from the current generation of consoles, it’s actually getting into the market at dead last, and will have to play catch up for the good part of a year.
This leaves plenty of time for the next wave of consoles to swoop in with their outrageous price tags and crazy graphics processing power and dominate the market once again. But you never can underestimate the power of being first out of the gate.
Do you think that Nintendo should be capitalizing on an affordable price tag or releasing first? What will convince you that the console is worth picking up?
Nintendo’s Wii U is targeting a Holiday release.
Source: Gamasutra
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Price tag is definitely a bigger deal, but the release date isn’t “insignificant.” Especially with the console being underpowered (next-gen-wise). I know Nintendo sees itself as being in its own generation, so release date is irrelevant in that way, but a time cushion would definitely help them get a few buyers that would probably opt for one of the other two consoles if they all released simultaneously. Consumers’ money is finite, after all. But yeah, the price point and the launch lineup are overall more important than the console’s release date.
This sounds like an explanation for a delay; I hope it’s just a philosophical statement.
What basis do you have to say the console is underpowered?
I mean relative to the competition, of course. Everything I’ve read on the subject says the WiiU’s gonna be about as powerful as an Xbox 360, give or take a few… power units. So it’ll be even with the competition for the year or so leading up to Sony and Microsoft’s next consoles, but those will obviously eclipse the current Sony and Microsoft consoles in power, and thus also eclipse the WiiU.
it’s technically impossible for WiiU to be that weak. Nintendo can’t get tech that weak or old. WiiU is likely 2-3 times the power 4 hopefully, but 2 lowest
I see some journalists are still under the illusion that Wii U will be so very underpowered compared to the other next gen consoles.
It most certainly will be, considering the power it takes to run UE4, an engine that many third party titles will run on. If rumors are to be believed that the Wii U is only about twice as powerful as the 360, then it’ll definitely be behind in the next gen.
Youbknow it’s already been confirmed that UE4 runs on WiiU. Also it’s probably going to be closer to 4 times 360. Also you’re just guessing about the power of the other next gen consoles.
I love when people just outright lie to make a point.
UE4 is only confirmed for high-end PC rigs. Period.
We’ll run on mobile phones and on a wide variety of things, so if a customer decides they want to port an Unreal Engine 4 game to Wii U, they could. But Unreal Engine 3 is a really good fit for that platform.”
We’ll run on mobile phones and on a wide variety of things, so if a customer decides they want to port an Unreal Engine 4 game to Wii U, they could. But Unreal Engine 3 is a really good fit for that platform.” sounds like WiiU can do UE4
Man your fanboy glasses must allow you to read things that just aren’t there.
“beyond the PC, we haven’t confirmed any other platforms for Unreal Engine 4.”
Seriously fanboy, take off your blinders.
Technically you’re both right. Marc Rein said that the Wii U will be capable of running UE4, though he also said that Epic games has no intention of porting the engine to the Wii U themselves.(I bet it’s about money) However, if a another developer chooses to port UE4 developed games to the Wii U they will be able to do so. PR guy Dana Cowley then added “beyond the PC, we haven’t confirmed any other platforms for Unreal Engine 4.”
http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/news/31117
Honestly, I don’t see what the big deal is. It’s just one engine out of many and what really matters is what developers do with said engine. All UE4 is is a toolset for developing games, it’s like UE3 was a box of crayons and UE4 is a a set of colored pencils. That’s it. It’s not some magic device that developers plug in and it automatically makes super awesome games. I saw their “Lava Knight” Demo and I, personally, wasn’t very impressed. Not to say it wasn’t pretty, but with all the hype I would have expected something…more. I actually preferred their “The Samaritan” UE3 demo better.
Plus, I just read somewhere the other day that even the Xbox 720 will only be running UE3 at it’s launch. So even if that is capable, we probably won’t see ANY console games using UE4 until probably 2015. I just don’t think UE4 is THAT important. That is all.
Sorry, worded badly, WiiU is capable of UE4
@EastOfTheAunduin
Me too! I got trolled because I didn’t think UE4 was that amazing and that Samaritan wowed me more. I told me I was some kind of Nihty fanboy who couldn’t judge graphics even though I game in PS3 and am getting a PC. The lighting and rain effect in Samaritan were amazing.
I didn’t pay for the gamecube, the wii, nor will I pay for the Wii U. Maybe when Nintendo does something else besides recycle content like Mario, Zelda, Metroid for the 1000th time with the exact same stories I will. They always release consoles that are behind in technology. The touted motion control was total BS which didn’t require much more then a simple flick of the wrist. The few time I tried I wanted a regular controller.
So you’re one of those guys… Nintendo has been inventing new series. 75 since 2000. Not all are as popular as the big ones. Also if you think that games like Skyward Sword and Super Mario Galaxy and Metroid are exactly the same… Well let’s just say your missing out. I’ll get WiiU not only for those but also for great 3rd parties.
Skyward sword was horrible. I tried playing it at a friends. The game seems like it was made for 5 year olds it holds your hand the entire duration. Oh look at that locked door with a gem above it… I’ll shoot that… huh what ? Blue genie pops up.. “Hey maybe you should shoot that gem.” Ok whatever f–off how do i turn that stupid thing off.. oh wait no option to turn it off. Walk up to door whats this oh its a sign in the grass telling me to shoot the gem to open the way… wtf ?
Figure hey its the starter dungeon. Nope its like that the entire game lol.
If you want a decent Zelda like experience play Darksiders.
Dude, just stop. All it takes it a brief look at you comments to see you haven’t played Nintendo games in years. No here for a second believes you played through a 50 Zelda game with all the hate spewing out of your mouth. SS holds your hand for the first hour and a half by the time your 5 hrs in, it gets very hard fast. Also you obviously know nothing about the art style, yes Wii was weak, but they made the best of it with SS
Maybe if more people like you had paid for the Gamecube, which was not at all “behind in technology,” then Nintendo wouldn’t have gone with the motion control and outdated graphics hardware. You leave them behind and then act resentful when they leave you behind. It’s funny.
Nintendo “recycles” content because that’s what sells. They have released a lot new IPs in the past, but nobody buys them. People want Mario, Zelda and Metroid, so that’s what they give them. Gamers aren’t clamoring for Ninty to release a new franchise, they’re asking/demanding “Where’s Zelda HD!?”
While many of the games share a common protagonist or theme, to say they have “the exact same stories” is just silly. It’s like comparing Metroid: Prime to *shudders* Metroid: Other M or New Super Mario Bros Wii to Super Mario Galaxy or Grape-Nuts to Grapes. They are completely different things that happen to share similar names. But, if you actually play video games, any video games, I should not have to explain this to you.
Ninty’s first and only console that was underpowered, so to speak, by generational standards was the Wii. So to say “They always release consoles that are behind in technology.”, is contextually false. I feel the Wii was a fair and accurate progression from the GameCube. People say “Well, it’s just two GameCubes taped together.” Which is true, it basically was. But that’s true with any generation that came before it. 8 to 16-bit, 64 to 128-bit. It’s just Nintendos way of doing things. They don’t need to release “599 US Dollar” behemoths to stay relevant, which is obvious by their hardware domination of this generation. They release progressive consoles with fair price-points and are better for it IMHO.
Viva Nintendo! Now, where’s Zelda HD!?
Awesome post, I agree 100%
Yeah Nintendo is so awesome thats why they posted a 250 million dollar loss this year.
You failed to mention that it was Nintendo’s first loss in 30 years. You also left out the part where Microsoft posted a net loss of $492 million in the fourth quarter of 2011 and Sony has been in the red the PAST 4 YEARS!
I hope nintendo will have original titles at launch. Some of the titles they had as their E3 lineup, I already have for other systems. The one that I liked was lego city undercover and hmm.. that’s it. oh well..
I can’t wait to see the awesome Wii U titles that are year old hand me downs from other systems ! That and Zelda, Metroid, Mario, etc with the exact same stories but in HD graphics… what 5+ years after everyone else had them. LOL.
It’s ok, your desperate for attention, we see that. It’s only getting year old games as launch titles. Then it’s getting injustice, aliens, metro, blk ops 2 and ac3. If you want to hate, then hate but thier are millions of people who have been waiting 5 years for a Zelda with Uncharted level graphics. You may not know that Mario Galaxy has a different plot then NSMB or that all the Zelda stories are on different points in a timeline. Like SS which was up for GoTY, is the original Zelda story, which all others follow. Also the great site called IGN, named Nintendo EAS the best game developer of all time. I agree, because made Skyward Sword which one of my 3 most favorite games along with Uncharted 2 and Kid Icarus. That’s practically a new ip, it’s been gone for 20 years and was reinvented into a 3rd person action adventure shooter.