After a solid launch and a reasonably successful holiday season, Wii U sales have declined dramatically in the early months of 2013. The steep drop-off forced Nintendo to lower its sales projections for fiscal 2012 (which ends March 31, 2013), which in turn prompted President Satoru Iwata to preemptively declare that Wii U will not be receiving a 3DS-style price cut anytime soon.
Nevertheless, the hardware’s ongoing struggle in the marketplace – which has been exacerbated by a catastrophic lack of compelling games during January and February – has led some in the industry to suggest that a Wii U price cut might still be Nintendo’s best path forward. Most recently, Alain Corre, Ubisoft’s executive director for EMEA territories, has endorsed the idea. Nintendo, apparently, has other plans, and curiously enough, they focus on the GamePad’s Near Field Communication (NFC) capabilities.
At Wii U’s launch, Ubisoft was responsible for more software than any other third-party, and the publisher’s ZombiU (read our review) proved to be one of the system’s few breakout hits – successful enough to subsequently warrant its own hardware bundle. Despite delaying former Wii U exclusive Rayman Legends for seven months so that Xbox 360 and PS3 versions of the game can be readied (and infuriating fans in the process), Ubisoft continues to support the system, having announced that both of its year-end, tent-pole releases, Watch_Dogs and Assassin’s Creed 4: Black Flag, will appear on Wii U (and Splinter Cell: Blacklist might, as well).
Still, as Ubisoft sees it, there is a simple equation at work: if Nintendo sells more Wii U systems, Ubi can sell more Wii U games, and the easiest way to ramp-up Wii U sales may well be a price drop. Ubisoft’s Corre makes the point clearly in an interview with Edge.
“We always want the hardware to be at a low price because we want as many fans as possible to afford to buy our games, so that’s for sure. We think that Wii U will find its public at some point. Some were expecting sales to be quicker but we are optimistic.”
“I think Nintendo has said that the Wii U sales in general were below expectations originally and the software tie-in ratio is also stable, so I think that when less machines sell, less games sell.”
It’s hard to fault Corre’s logic. Take Sony’s PlayStation Vita as an example: after flailing at retail for a solid year, the system’s sales quadrupled in Japan in the weeks following its recent price cut (which does beg the question of why Sony resolutely refuses to drop the hardware’s price in North America). Unfortunately, a Wii U price cut is, for now, a moot point. Nintendo is already selling the system below cost, and is enormously unlikely to undercut itself further.
Instead, Nintendo is focused on, in Iwata’s words, fully communicating ”the value of our product.” Right now, that means the company’s focus is on GamePad’s NFC features. Near Field Communication is the technology that powers Activision’s uber-profitable Skylanders franchise, and it’s also at work in Disney Interactive’s upcoming Disney Infinity. Wii U’s GamePad has the technology built right in, but so far, nothing has been done with it. Expect that to change. Speaking with Polygon, Shigeru Miyamoto teases… something.
“With NFC, that’s a feature that everyone that owns a Wii U can take advantage of. So that’s what we’re putting our priorities right now. We’re hoping that in the near future we’ll be able to show you something that will take advantage of the NFC on Wii U and people will be able to enjoy that.”
Does this mean that one of Nintendo’s unannounced Wii U games is some kind of Mario-themed Skylanders clone? Anything’s possible, though it’s unlike Nintendo to directly copy a competitor’s product, and both Skylanders Swap Force and Disney Infinity are already slated for Wii U, anyway.
That said, the focus on NFC makes it very likely that Nintendo plans on selling something physical to use with the technology, which could potentially generate significant revenue for the company, but will that be enough to demonstrate “the value” of Wii U and, in turn, sell more systems? What if it turns out to be Pokemon that trainers have to buy instead of catch? Does the Wii U need a price cut? Let us know what you think in the comments below.
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Follow me on Twitter @HakenGaken.
Source: Edge, GameSpot, Polygon
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A price drop won’t really solve the Wii U’s problems right now. It will certainly entice more buyers but that surge in sales will taper down really fast when people realize the console doesn’t have much to offer for the time being and Nintendo would start bleeding even more money on every console they sell.
First of all, Nintendo needs to do a much better job at getting the word out. Their early adoption crowd came and went. Now they need to make sure everyone else knows and so far they’ve done a terrible job.
Then they need to get some games out and right now third-parties are not going to be what saves them. A lot of these third-party titles people were excited to see coming to the Wii U have either been delayed or were planned from the beginning to not release until Sony and Microsoft get their consoles out the door. So, the Wii U won’t have the luxury of being the first and/or only console to find these games on.
In addition, there continue to be old third-party games being ported to the console such as Need for Speed Most Wanted (the newer one) which isn’t helping the Wii U’s current image as a late edition to the current party instead of the beginning of a new one and you know you’re in trouble when you hear people say, “Don’t worry! The new Monster Hunter is coming out!”. The previous one on the Wii may have found some success but Monster Hunter games don’t have a history of success nor have they ever been system sellers.
I don’t know what Nintendo thinks they’re going to do with the gamepad that is going to get people excited but if hardware functionality of a device you hold in your hands was all it took the PS Vita would be selling crap loads of devices right now. Whatever they plan on doing had better involve convincing third-parties that it’s worth bringing games to the system. They would also do well to stress the importance of online gaming.
Unfortunately since the Wii U is very underpowered compared to its upcoming competition and touchscreen gaming is not innovative (certainly not exciting people the way motion controls did) they’re once again going to have to rely on their old franchises to take the burden. My recommendation? Come up with a new franchise already.
Without a much lower price point than the competition and no novelty to drive it home the Wii U just won’t repeat the success of the Wii. In this new generation it brought some of the Wii’s faults with it, hasn’t taken seriously the areas it finally made up in (HD and online), and doesn’t have the big strengths that its predecessor entered the fray with. The Wii U isn’t doomed. It just has a much more difficult road ahead and people who expect Wii-like sales of the console had better reduce their expectations.
You should write editorials. Well said on everything…
Thank you! ^.^
Well written. Agree with you 100%. I really hope Nintendo does come up with some new, innovative IP’s. While Mario and Zelda have done them good in the past, you can’t always dip into the nostalgia well.
One more HUGE problem … I have yet to see written anywhere (except my posts) what I consider to be the glaringly obvious – Nintendo has lost the mothers. WHY did Kinect sales go thru the roof? I posit it was mothers giddy with the prospect of no more broken, lost, underfoot, stepped on and used as a bludgeon on sisters/brothers/friends controllers. Just that simple.
What the Wii Y does is ADD a very expensive, glass screened (DANGEROUSLY breakable), one per console ‘master’ controller GUARANTEED to be hard fought over any time there are two or more playing to the existing controller array.
Disaster!!
The Wii Y is a dead console walking.
One more HUGE problem … I have yet to see written anywhere (except my posts) what I consider to be the glaringly obvious – Nintendo has lost the mothers. WHY did Kinect sales go thru the roof? I posit it was mothers giddy with the prospect of no more broken, lost, underfoot, stepped on and used as a bludgeon on sisters/brothers/friends controllers. Just that simple.
What the Wii Y does is ADD a very expensive, glass screened (DANGEROUSLY breakable), one per console ‘master’ controller GUARANTEED to be hard fought over any time there are two or more playing to the existing controller array.
Hardcore gamers will NEVER have an interest.
The massive temporary Wii wand casual gamer surge has moved on – forever.
That leaves the hardcore Nindendo fan demo.
Last week of February worldwide sales were 28K.
Disaster!! The Wii Y will be lucky to break 20M lifetime sales.
The Wii Y is a dead console walking.
This man needs an award.
I don’t think they ever called for a price cut.
But, let’s assume that is what they’re expecting… they’ll be in for a rude shock come PlayStation 4.
Everyone needs to cool down a little. A console is on the market for 5 years. Who cares if it doesn’t sell 90 billion units in the first few months? Nintendo’s financial year ends on March 31, it makes sense that they would wait to unleash their big guns until after April, that way they can boast about “double digit growth” next year.
It’s not the price itself that’s the problem. It’s the fact that even at a $350 price tag the console still experienced the worst month in sales of any console launched in the last 10 years and if the early reports for February are any indication that month wasn’t much better. When you go from a highly successful holiday launch to face planting immediately after it raises some eyebrows. Add onto that the fact that the Wii only a few months prior held the title of worst sales month for the current generation.
The confidence of third-parties to develop on a Nintendo platform is already low considering the low hardware specs and an atypical control scheme for the second generation in a row. Now when they see the console not mirroring the wild initial success of the Wii and instead following the trend of the last couple years of Nintendo console hardware struggling to sell outside of the holidays it makes them even less likely to develop for the Wii U. Both Ubisoft and EA have expressed concerns about what Nintendo has done with this new console and, love them or hate them, you don’t want two of the biggest third-party publishers dismissing your hardware.
As far as Nintendo’s ‘big guns’ the only title they have coming right now that anyone has any real information on, and that could be considered a weapon in any way, is Pikmin 3 and last time I checked there is no solid release date for it. This is even assuming the games ends up being any good. If Nintendo has any such guns waiting to be unleashed they had better do it soon. Waiting until E3 to show us anything pretty much means we’ll have jacksquat until Sony and Microsoft already have their consoles out the door.
At that point Nintendo is pretty much stuck at convincing people to pay $400 (cost of game included) to play Zelda or Metroid yet again on another underpowered machine with a controller that is not tickling fancies the same way the motion controls of the Wii did.
Sorry for the long reply. I just like to be precise on what I’m trying to say and sometimes I don’t realize I’ve already said too much. >.<
Agree with everything you stated.
I read in a few places, the tablet controller cost just as much as the console itself to manufacture .
S0 basically the hardware got cut down to make the tablet, No ethernet port and no Hard Drive. Weak CPU, low Ram.
To me the Wii U, will eventually sell but if Nintendo is expecting
( Wii) type sales, there in for a big let down.
Specially here in North America, pretty much everybody is waiting for the PS4 and next xbox.
When Sony announced there hardware specs, i instantly said to myself the Wii U is in trouble as far 3rd party support.
When I saw the PS4, I was not worried for nintendo, I was more worried for gamers. The power given to the developers that the PS4 will have will cause games to suffer in the end. Companies will aim high with their games and ultimately, strive for too much and the gameplay will suffer. Also, if they focus on the graphical capabilities, we will end up with another MGS4, but with even less gameplay and even more movie. The Wii U has enough power for developers to make some truly fun and amazing games, but not too much to allow them to get distracted by shiny things.
I know what you mean, as I get a little long winded too. Great “article” you wrote in the comments section. I agree with almost every piece of it, but will add my two cents. First it’s a little subjective to say that the touch screen is not innovative. Of course it is! They proved much of its potential with great DS titles that truly augmented the experience in unexpected as well as functional ways. The potential is great, even if the Zombie U gimmicks fail to impress you. Perception and quality products must work in Nintendo’s favor for the new controller to demonstrate its strengths, but it’s not in keeping with your overall journalistic integrity to simply say its not innovative.
Also, you didn’t mention another problem they are having: late ports, even the ones that have new exclusive features added, are mostly considered inferior! Darksiders 2 is the exception I am aware of, and it uses the tablet in cool ways so far. Even when the game is nearly identical, there can be a meaningful loss attached to the tablet version. COD BO2 is less comfy to play with the tablet, and the online infrastructure of the Xbox is totally absent, so the extra screen resource isn’t worth enough to comnsate for the loss.
Finally though I would say that we may have eft the worst of the last generation behind. Yes, the Nintendo system is still presumably far behind the next systems, but not only have we hit upon arguably the generation of tech that LEAST needs to be replaced right now, but they finally caught up on the biggest stumbling technology issues by going HD and adding network functionality. If the next Zelda looks as good as the best modern games, then it won’t matter as much that the other systems start up the next generation. The offensiveness of going back to low def was much worse. Furthermore the biggest lesson I hope was learned with the Wii is that making dozens of crappy mini game discs for dummies and their grandmas is a weak way to compete or please your truest fans. Most of the Wii stuff actually looks WORSE than GameCube games, which is just astonishingly lame. If they have turned a corner on the casual game deluge then the future is getting brighter.
As for the games, the idea that a new Pokemon with figures or some such NF gimmick for kids is going to turn all the problems around is absurd. Clearly they need one thing more than all others, and it s the same thing that makes Nintendo matter at all: exclusives. On this matter your thought about needing a new one is solid, but if they aren’t 90% done with a new IP already then that too is n solution for their console woes. What is needed most glaringly of all, as usual with these guys, is the release of top of the line installments in all the main franchises. Since that will take a while to make happen, and they already missed the launch window, we don’t knw how long it will take. Even hard core Nintendo fans may be waiting to buy until they see the system sellers that will inevitably arrive for this system and NO OTHERS. This is their golden goose now, no doubt, we just need her to start laying eggs! In the meantime, any news, screenshots or hype they can give us on core franchise installments should build confidence and excitement if not immediate hardware sales. I have already adopted because I find it exciting to be an early adopter, and because I have no doubt in my mind that many of my favorite games will only be developed for this system. I am ready for the next Zelda, 3D Mario and especially Metroid. Some acknowledgement that they are gestating happily would be nice, and couldn’t hurt sales!
Good info/breakdown/insight! I’d love to have you visit my own little game site and offer thoughts on any topic or review. All are welcome, but especially smart people who have insightful comments to add! Click on my name if you want to see it. Otherwise, cheers.
It’s not really subjective at all to say that the touchscreen is not innovative. Innovation is doing something that really hasn’t been done before. Touchscreens are everywhere. Smartphones, tablets, the DS, the Vita, etc. It’s very dishonest to call a touchscreen controller innovative. The only innovative thing about it is that it’s the first time it has ever been done for a console controller. It is in no way an innovation along the same lines as motion controls were for the Wii. Not even close. Which is the point I was making. Nintendo’s rabid fanbase keeps touting this controller as innovative in the same way motion controls were from the last generation. THAT is showing a lack of integrity. It is embarrassingly inaccurate. I understand that the touchscreen controller will allow for unique things to be done for Wii U games but the same could be said for the touchpad on the Dual Shock 4 controller but I don’t think anyone would dare to call that innovation at this point.
If you think I failed to mention the late port-overs then you completely missed my first comment on this topic. Other than that I agree with your points on them.
Nintendo finally getting into the HD and unified online network battle is certainly a good thing but at the same time they don’t seem to be taking seriously how important it was for them to do so. You’re right, some Wii games looked hideous and it was inexcusable. Considering that the 360 and the PS3 are struggling to run the latest games, even ones that are not visually considered top tier, is a decent indication of trouble the Wii U will have soon. It’s not simply about how the games will look because you’re correct in saying that we seem to be hitting a point where it’s more and more difficult to tell the difference. It will be an issue, however, when third-parties want to push the envelope with a great game but won’t be able to do so on the Wii U because it’s underpowered. So they’ll most likely do what they did with the last generation which is opt to NOT make a lesser Wii U version and just focus resources on making one version that can easily be split between the other two consoles.
I agree completely with your assessment on their lack of Nintendo games and any hype for them in addition to the idea that pushing some new controller functionality that will see limited use is not going to help them much. They do indeed need to start telling their fans about upcoming first-party titles since it’s obvious third-party offerings are going to be shaky. The window to do that and generate interest in the non-Nintendo fan crowd is rapidly shrinking and I have a feeling that Nintendo may end up getting its nose completely bloodied in the holiday sales this year.
It’s nice to see someone else who isn’t afraid to go into a lengthy discussion/explanation! :]
Ubisoft wants a Wii U price cut, I want Rayman Legends. Sucks to be both of us.
I played the demo at a Gamestop. It was neat but I spent about 90% of the time looking at the controller instead of the HDTV. I really hope future Wii U titles don’t force us to spend so much time looking at the small touchscreen.
I think another issue that the gaming industry, but particularly Nintendo will be facing going forward is that there is an increasing number of parents that are themselves gamers. It used to be that you could throw together a lazy game and put puppies on the cover, or claim that it was “educational” and clueless parents would pick it up for their kids. Now more parents are a little more game savvy and are less likely to pick up a title only based on the ESRB rating.
I do research on every game I get for my kids because I want to make sure they’re getting good value out of it. Nintendo being the reigning kings of shovelware, I wonder if they’ll be able to adapt to the growing wave of parents “in the know”.
i don’t think nintendo needs a price cut. price it fine with me.
Big N needs Big Good Games…and that they do not have !
Like stated before,they have a new Console but the games that come out for it are ports mostly and old ! So if nothing new or better on this system,why buy it ?
Its a shame,cause Nintendo could be so much more !
personally i think they would get more sales if they just stop with a special gimmick with each new console….gamecube-mini disc, wii-remote+nunchuck, wiiu- tablet…..the way i see it, it just seems like people are getting less excited about each new console as it comes out when it comes to nintendo, i mean sure there are huge sale numberes at first but like with the wii i saw nothing good coming out close to the last year or 2 of its life cycle…i think nintendo needs to focus on the games and internal hardware next time instead of finding a new gimick for their controlers
The Wii U doesn’t need a price cut – it needs a better strategy.
What is the Wii U strategy? Market to the hardcore, niche gamers lost with the release of the Wii? Market to the large casual audience gained (and then lost) with the Wii?
I think Nintendo wanted both; and in doing so they are falling short at both.
The hardcore, niche gamer crowd mostly plays 3rd party games on their system of choice. For every Forza, Gears of War, Uncharted, or Gran Turismo there are literally a dozen 3rd Party AAA Titles. Nintendo NEEDS a piece of that enormous pie to succeed with the Wii U. They may be getting AC4: Black Flag but will they get AC5: The Search for a Coherent Narrative? If they do, will it not be a clearly inferior version of that which will be available on the PS4 & Next Box?
To re-emphasize: the 3rd party doldrums for Nintendo are real and they are going to get worse.
Now, the casual crowd is a fickle one; to capture that crowd twice in a decade would be quite a feat. What would do it? I do not think a touch-screen controller, akin to the phone most everyone has in their pockets, has the Wow factor to do it.
NFC? This is not new; they’ve been beat to the punch by years – Skylanders is THE NFC video game. I’d be very surprised if Disney’s version gains even a portion of the sales that Skylanders has seen, much less Nintendo’s way-too-late-to-the-party entry.
A price cut doesn’t fix their strategy, which I think, clearly needs fixing.
Exactly. Unfortunately for Nintendo I think the only thing they will be able to accomplish at this point is not being left in the dust this time and even that will take some work. I really feel like everything they just tried to do with the Wii U put them in a corner that they can’t get out of now. Nintendo’s only real shot at this point to be a relevant competitor in the console market for this generation is for both Sony and Microsoft to blow it but right now it looks like Sony learned from its mistakes and Microsoft will likely stay the course they set with the 360. Of course, I could always end up being proven completely wrong.
I have yet to see written anywhere (except my posts) what I consider to be the glaringly obvious – Nintendo has lost the mothers. WHY did Kinect sales go thru the roof? I posit it was mothers giddy with the prospect of no more broken, lost, underfoot, stepped on and used as a bludgeon on sisters/brothers/friends controllers. Just that simple.
What the Wii Y does is ADD a very expensive, glass screened (DANGEROUSLY breakable), one per console ‘master’ controller GUARANTEED to be hard fought over any time there are two or more playing to the existing controller array.
Disaster!!
The Wii Y is a dead console walking.
You all choking on baloney. Nintendo is fine. Fastest selling console in its first 3 months. Win. But it is their fault no games in Jan and Feb, THATs the reason for low sales, not all that other specs and gimmicks outcry…
You guys honestly think that regular people are gonna rush out and buy that $500+ dollar ps4 and nextbox? You gona be in for a rude awakening. Even suppose ‘gamer’ friends of mine are gona wait, cus we just can’t afford it,..
Nintendo should focus on games? Dude, all their first party games are among the highest rated ever…
Please stop Nintendo bashing and pick up that killer gamepad at your local GameStop and give it a try, it’s will make those dual shocks and Xbox controllers feel small and inadequate.,,
The Wii U selling well during the holidays was not a surprise. It was the first new console in six years and there were plenty of Nintendo fans and early adopters ready to go. What you’re not looking at is that right after a very successful holiday the console tanked worse than the $600 PlayStation 3 ever did. You can dismiss the criticisms as much as you like but specs and gimmicks are actually very impactful.
We have no idea what the prices of the next consoles are going to be but the PlayStation 3 already proved that even with a $600 pricetag it could still move millions of units and did not have any months as bad as the Wii U just had.
Yes, some of Nintendo’s first-party titles are among the highest rated. They’ve also had their fair share of absolute flops, too. A handful of great first-party Nintendo games are not going to save a console that is not below the standard price for a console, is underpowered, and offers a clunky controller they’re trying to pass off as innovative.
Most of us here are not Nintendo bashing and are, in fact, approaching this from a very objective intent. Perhaps you’re just a blind fan? As far as that controller goes… no. The gamepad for the Wii U is cumbersome and after trying to use it I was so glad to feel a Dual Shock or 360 controller in my hand. To me the Wii U’s controller felt like one of the most unfriendly controllers to use for console games.
I think that the controller has some particular strengths and versatility that have been barely tested, so it is easier to see that it is cumbersome and not as comfy as others. It DOES have a place, and something to offer, but the best news is the part you aren’t mentioning: all the old controllers work, and hopefully the XBox doppelgänger controller will be similar in quality to the Microsoft offering. It looks really solid, but I haven’t held one yet. Plausibly it makes the controller a non issue between the modern three systems, but of course it doesn’t come with the console… We may find that games are nearly identical on all systems with the use of that controller, evening out that particular difference.
The reason I don’t bother mentioning the old controllers is because while that’s definitely good for people who already own a Wii, that is the only crowd it helps. Those who don’t own a Wii or never did won’t benefit from that. It won’t mean much for pretty much any developers either because if they want to develop a game for the Wii U they have to assume that the only controller a Wii U player has is the touchscreen pad. That makes it all the more difficult for Nintendo to secure third-party support for the Wii U since the bundled control scheme is so different from the ‘norm’. If the developer wanted to create a cross-platform title they’d have to make a different version just for the Wii U to support its unorthodox control scheme on top of dealing with less power under the hood. Nintendo MIGHT catch a break in that regard depending on what Microsoft does.
it seems like your arguements are running thin.
do not discredit the factual added benifits of being able to reuse old controllers,on the basis that you assume it fails to aid you. It saving ANY body ANY money, is something that Nintendo did right, even though it pains some people to admit it. If thats not looking out for your customers i dont know what is. That being said, if you were ever swayed towards Nintendos vision,which i highly doubt,you could find millions of these wiimotes and nunchucks discounted second hand after market,which then in fact would help you.
and again,you are stating assumptions that devs dont want to develop ‘because’ of these awkward controllers…yet,nintendo developed the pro-controller which is very much very similar to those dual shocks and xbox controllers you hold so dearly to your heart.
My opinion, devs are just getting lazy.map the same game with same button configs in new packaging.Do not innovate.
imagine playing playstations new cart racers or the most unlikely Playstation All-stars 2 on that beast machine ps4.Have fun buying 3 more $60 controllers for local play.Where as, fingers crossed,5 players can play the next Smash Brothers and be able to use old controllers with the gamepad, no extra cost
so developing for a gamepad that comes with a system is not as innovative or cost effective as say, trying to push crossplay with the ps4 and vita? or how about, rumored, smart glass for Nextbox? or are you gona reiterate ‘old tech and gimmicks’ again. If so, ill reiterate…too expensive to buy ps4 and Vita.
I am curious and way more excited to see what nintendo does with the 3ds/wiiu combo play, then that of the ps4/vita. duno what the heck micro is doing yet.
Here is Nintendo, giving you the developer the tools of 3 controller schemes. Versatility.
Underpowered? the day Nintendo releases, and takes huge losses on a high powered gaming machine, I will see that as Ninty’s last straw, its’ Swan Song…….kinda like Sony now
My arguments are not running thin but my patience with a dense fanboy has never been very high.
I’m not saying that Nintendo is wrong for what they did in regards to allowing those controllers to carry over. I already said it was good for people who already owned them, didn’t I? What I did say, and I know it might be hard for you but please try to take a break long enough from your Nintendo-fan rants to understand, is that it won’t matter to those who never or currently do not own any Wii controllers nor will developers in general care because they develop games based on bundled hardware. A couple MIGHT go out of their way. Most won’t. Being able to use old controllers is a very minor selling point that won’t really bring the games which is what any console needs to succeed.
Again, a majority (and I do mean a vast majority) of multiplayer games on PS3 and 360 were played online… NOT with 4 people in the same living room. That whole unified network thing that Nintendo didn’t really do in the last generation. Having to potentially purchase additional controllers down the road has never been an issue stressed as ‘the difference’. It’s a little silly to even continue talking about it as if it’s a big deal.
As far as the Vita and PS4 cross play I’ll let you in on a little secret. Try not to have a heart attack or anything but… *leans in and whispers*… I rolled my eyes when they touted it. SURPRISE! I didn’t like it and think it’s just a joke! Like when they tried to make the same claims about PSP and PS3. I think the Vita is worthless right now because it really doesn’t have any games for it even a year after it launched. I’m not going to pay $250 for something that can’t stand on its own simply because I could play on my PS4 in the same way that the Wii U’s gamepad can do for it.
Have I shown you my objective point of view yet? I’m not bashing your baby here. I’m giving unbiased criticism and making sure that the conversation sticks to the facts.
Nintendo is already losing money on every console they sell thanks to that controller. So basically it came down to a very unorthodox control scheme claimed to be some kind of innovation (which it is not) or making sure it had some power under the hood. They went with the controller and made sure that by doing so they painted themselves into a corner twice over with third-party developers. So is your swan singing now?
I want Nintendo to do well because I think a three way struggle in the market makes for healthy competition but I’m not going to take your stance that everything Nintendo does is golden and any competitors are crap for whatever they do. People like you are hypocrites. Fanboys are the worst. Their preferred company could nuke a village of orphans and they’d say those kids deserved it because they were just a drain on society. The other companies do it and they’re scum that we need to rid the world of for attacking innocent children. It’s pretty ridiculous.
the ps3 struggled mightily with that $600 dollar price tag, dont fool yourself or talk yourself into believing they did well. the xbox 360 had a year head start and a $100 dollar difference in price. I waited a year to buy my ps3, JUST COULD NOT AFFORD.
and controllers, exactly correct, wiiu lets you use old controllers and ‘games’. saving people even more money. ps4 none of that in sight. so whatever the price the console is, just add $60 bucks on top of that…
talk’n bout controllers, i see no one mentioning the pro’controller nintendo developed just to appease certain irate gamers. Still didnt help sway customers nor developers did it?
look, the gamepad has a huge potential, new way to game. but games can be developed with just the pro-controller in mind…but here we are again, getting devs on board.
xbox and sony are very similar in the way people game, and this next gen is gonna prove that even more.
but we talk’n bout money here and price cutting. so, just tag those power machines reasonably, with DOZENS of AAA games at launch (cus god forbid there only be a few launch titles these days) and we are all on board. as for WiiU…price is fair, could be better ( cus who doesnt want extreme discounts, eh?) but fair
I’m personally not a fan of that pro controller. The buttons are in the wrong place. The Wii U gamepad has the same flaw. Heavily used buttons are placed above the thumbstick for a reason because that’s the way a thumb naturally bends. Nintendo has it’s buttons upside down. The original xbox controller had the same problem with the black and white buttons which were a huge pain to use often, so they smartly got rid of them. Nintendo has always had innovation in mind… comfort, not so much.
I haven’t tried the Pro controller yet, but do suspect that it is mostly the same as the Xbox, if not quite as ideal, and that the tablet controller is essentially the same in layout so that default control schemes should work fine for all systems and not require some huge new effort to work on the Nintendo. Also they didn’t exactly get rid of the black and white buttons, they just moved them and renamed them. If you ever play an old game on the new controllers they are remapped. Same number of buttons though.
The fact that the PlayStation 3 survived with a $600 pricetag at all when the history of the industry showed that not a single console survived a pricetag higher than $400 is enough. The fact that the PlayStation 3 went on to sell 80 million consoles and counting speaks for itself.
I’m not sure what point you’re trying to make about the 360 but its top package was actually $200 cheaper than that of the PS3 which recently surpassed it in worldwide sales. That means that despite the 360 being considerably cheaper for the first few years and releasing a year early it is now losing to the PS3. Seems that high initial price point didn’t lead to the PS3′s demise like many people thought. It is currently the 4th highest selling console of all time and it may surpass the original PlayStation before it’s discontinued to take 3rd place.
You will only need to add 50 or 60 dollars to your PS4 purchase if you want to have another Dual Shock 4 controller since the system comes bundled with one in addition to the new camera. Considering that owners of Sony and Microsoft consoles played the majority of multiplayer games over their online networks I’m pretty sure both companies aren’t too concerned about making sure their old controllers carry over.
The Wiimotes carrying over to the Wii U are pretty much necessary for multiplayer gaming on one screen since the Wii U doesn’t really support more than one touchscreen controller and Nintendo didn’t try to provide any new motion controls for the console. Nintendo claims it could support two touchscreens but last time I checked they didn’t have much desire to see that become a reality.
As far as the Pro Controller is concerned the reason that controller is a moot point is because it’s separate from the package. You have to purchase it in addition to the console. When developers create games for a console they assume the audience of one console will only be using the controller the system comes bundled with. Developing the game with only the Pro Controller in mind will limit the audience because you’ll basically force people to purchase the game and shell out cash for the controller just to be able to play it ‘the right way’.
I definitely agree with you in regards to good launch lineups. Quite frankly it seems that none of the companies can manage to give us good selections across the board. They all seem to give us one or two, MAYBE three, good games and the rest are garbage.
Do I WANT to pay potentially $500 for the PS4? No, of course not. However, if I want it early on that may be what I have to pay and considering that Sony and Microsoft both satisfied me greatly with their overall performance this last generation (despite both having a rough start an account of pricing for Sony and dead consoles for Microsoft) I will reinvest in both of them. I’m confident in both of them to end up giving me great experiences.
you see, I own a wiiu, and I own a ps3. so calling me a ‘fanboy’, go ahead. cus i AM a fan…of both companies. but here I am argueing for and against both competing entities. Bias clouded opinion for Nintendo? I guess…
I assume you haven’t spent more then that 10 seconds with the WiiU since that trip to the game store. So your opinion is solely based on things youve read without having much gameplay to support.
Where as both our opinions of the ps4 comes there also from speculations and articles we’ve read, until the system is released…
back to the point of the article…let me clear my throat…’WiiU needs no price cut’, even if it happens to get one early, because of all the points presented in this comments section in Nintendos favor.
Its too early to crown Ps4 like some of you have, cus of reasons (assumptions, yes) that a heavy price tag might hurt the system selling. Because going from the rumored 4gigs to an excessive 8gigs, thats gonna put a dent n your wallet. Being way expensive and late hurt them in the ps3 generation. and ive already told you, ps3 was only ‘profitable’ 5 years into its lifecycle. all those consoles you say they were selling, sure its a lot, but selling at a loss….can you grasp that. Nintendo made money from the start of the sale of the wii.
hey, I am hoping Sony succeeds, but they dont always come trough with what they promise do they?
as for swan songs….really? you hear Nintendos? 3DS doing gangbusters, so that department is locked. WiiU just needs to pick up steam.
Sony’s financial woes? it hurts me to say, but they have problems. And ‘IF’ the ps4 fails along side the vita, where do you think they will be? yeah, with the fat lady singing…
this power machine NEEDS to succeed, I will support, just has to be priced affordably…
A fanboy is someone who adamantly praises a particular company’s decisions no matter what, does not allow for criticism, and gives little to no credit to that company’s rivals. That pretty much sums you up, bud. A friend of mine is a huge Microsoft fanboy but he bought a PS3 also just because he really wanted some of their exclusives. He still insists that Sony is garbage. That you own a PS3 is irrelevant when you are acting the way you are.
Nope. My brother-in-law bought one and I had plenty of time to try it.
See the problem here is that people like you turn these conversations into a war of the systems. There was no reason to even bring Sony or Microsoft into the conversation. The opinions being expressed were those about how we think Nintendo isn’t doing so well right now and why that is the case. Then someone like you has to jump in and scream, “Yeah?! Well [insert company name here] sucks!”. You may try to do it in a not so overt way but you still do it.
If you want to get on someone’s case for mindlessly promoting a rival company on a topic that should be about Nintendo that’s fine. However, people like you don’t do that because you can’t stand criticism of your favorite company so you’ll go to any length to defend them even if it means taking another company you can at least tolerate and try to toss them to the wolves.
Speculation about the PS4 has actually hardly happened and when it has it’s been on your end. I just figure that if I’m going to have to listen to you (read) attempt to use Sony as a dart board I might as well remind you that you haven’t hit any of your targets yet and you’re simply succeeding at putting holes in the wall.
I’ve done no such crowning of Sony or Microsoft but the ball is, in fact, in their court right now. It’s out of Nintendo’s hands. They have put themselves in a position where if the other two come out with guns blazing then Nintendo is in a world of hurt.
I’m quite aware that Sony was losing money on the PS3 sales. I’m also aware that Sony has taken steps for this generation to not cost them nearly as much per console as what it did last time. Even further aware that their massive install base has allowed them to recoup losses from the software they sold. The expense of PS3 was indeed steep and it did hurt but that was also during the recession when people were freaking out yet somehow the system still sold.
I know Nintendo will be fine financially. It was a snide remark to your dramatic one. Try to keep up.
Sony is most definitely having financial troubles. When has Sony NOT had financial troubles? The company is forever banking on their next couple of moves to pay off in the long run. Like I said before this whole conversation is ridiculous because it went from talking about what Nintendo may very well end up finding out it did wrong to “…yeah but Sony can’t handle money”.
So, unless you have something to bring to the table that doesn’t involve trying to misdirect the topic of conversation and tries to stay on the topic of whether or not the console needs a pricecut and why it may be experiencing its current slump and what it needs to do to make sure that doesn’t continue, then we’re done here.
I agree with you but would like to add my own thoughts and I believe this is something that hasn’t been mentioned but is extremely significant. The Wii U was NOT SOLD OUT during the holidays.
Why is this important you might be wondering? Because that means that the Wii U MET DEMAND. In other words, everyone that wanted one at that price point bought one and they had units left over. It’s no wonder Wii U sales are falling off a cliff, they’ve already saturated the market at the current price point and with the current games lineup.
If someone didn’t buy the console during the holidays for 350, why would they go out and do it now? For the original Wii the answer was, “Because I couldn’t find it in stores”. Not so with the Wii U.
Does the Wii U need a price drop? YES!
The Wii U doesn’t need a price drop, it needs games.
You all choking on baloney. Nintendo is fine. Fastest selling console in its first 3 months. Win. But it is their fault no games in Jan and Feb, THATs the reason for low sales, not all that other specs and gimmicks outcry…
You guys honestly think that regular people are gonna rush out and buy that $500+ dollar ps4 and nextbox? You gona be in for a rude awakening. Even suppose ‘gamer’ friends of mine are gona wait, cus we just can’t afford it,..
Nintendo should focus on games? Dude, all their first party games are among the highest rated ever…
Please stop Nintendo bashing and pick up that killer gamepad at your local GameStop and give it a try, it’s will make those dual shocks and Xbox controllers feel small and inadequate.
Well I hope you have tons of fun playing next to none of the next gen on your Wii U. Perhaps inferior ports are your thing though?
No one here thinks that Nintendo titles won’t eventually sell, but what is the system seller for the foreseeable future? Pikmin?!???
Listen, 3rd Party games ARE the market (there are loads of articles about the decreasing relevance of exclusive and first party titles) How quickly does Nintendo get those core franchises out there? If history is any indication – not very.
The waning interest of 3rd party developers in the Wii U is evident to all of us gamers and is an awful sign for any wishing to take their Wii U into the true next gen (arriving this fall btw).
True Nintendo will be ok with Mario, Link, & Samus but a few core franchises don’t define a successful console – not any more. Especially not when you have to compare those franchises to true next-gen 3rd party offerings that will be immensely more impressive than even a new Zelda – especially when new Zelda is played on old tech.
That’s funny, lots of 3rd party support and tons of ip for the ps3 did what or them? C’mon, tell me???yeah, get them near death. Xbox does what? Makes u buy 3 of their systems due to red ringing. Genius on their part. You tell your buddies and all their buddies to buy 3 ps4′s each at $500+….
3rd party is the market? You sure about that? Last I heard, 1st party does a lot o work , halo gears for Xbox. Uncharted GT for ps….Mario Zelda for Nintendo. 3rd party is just the toppings. But even if Nintendo can just capture a small portion of that market back, couple it with their own stuff, and they in great shape.
And did you not see the refurbished GameCube nicknamed the wii….whoop both ps and micro? Tech is getting to a point where it’s unnoticeable. People don’t care about that too much, they care about their pocket books…
Again, tell me, how many people you think gonna run out and buy those $500+ dollar power machines? I hope more than 3 million in 3 months….but I doubt it…
Actually the PlayStation 3 has sold 80 million consoles making it a very successful console when you look at the history of the industry. Actually, all three consoles from this generation can be declared a success. Metal Gear Solid 4 is actually believed to have saved the PlayStation 3 though. That was a third-party game.
First-party titles are definitely important but third-party titles are the market. Why? Because third-party titles make up the vast majority of games. Nintendo tried to do what you’re suggesting with the Gamecube and that console was outsold by the PlayStation 2 by about 120 million consoles before Nintendo finally discontinued it.
Considering that the Nintendo 64 and the Gamecube were outsold by Sony consoles during their generations by about 70 million and 120 million respectively, I don’t think the Wii beating the PlayStation 3 or the Xbox 360 by 20 million can be called a “whooping”. It was the weakest victory in console gaming by a percentage since the Super Nintendo beat the Sega Genesis. Not to mention the Wii’s lead was cut in half in the last couple years. Wii sales began to seriously decline around 2010 while PS3 and 360 continued to sell steadily.
Again, you’re assuming what the prices of the next Sony and Microsoft consoles are going to be but if Sony could sell millions of the PlayStation 3 in the worst years of the recession at a $600 pricetag then they can sell the PS4 at $400 or $500 provided they give us something good. If Microsoft launches another console that tops out at $400 like the 360 did what will your excuse be then?
I think I win an award for using “actually” three times in one paragraph.
Whoop? You mean the machine with an attach rate so low that 3rd party developers actually had to be paid extra just to develop shovelware for it? Red Rings? Never seen one on my 1st Generation PS3 – which is still working just great.
Seriously man, you got your fanboy blinders on. The GamePad is a silly old resistive single touch screen embedded in a poorly designed controller – that isn’t revolutionary.
The console itself is barely on par with a PS3, and a PS4 will make it look like what it is, a relic that Nintendo should have brought out years ago. Doesn’t matter what a PS4 costs, as the PS3 has taught us all, it can easily become the best selling console over time.
“The GamePad is a silly old resistive single touch screen embedded in a poorly designed controller – that isn’t revolutionary.”
I don’t know if you’ve actually sat down and played one, but the GamePad is one of the finest controllers I’ve ever used.
Fanboy alert? What makes you think people are bashing Nintendo? They’re expressing opinions on the “gimmicks”. Nintendo IS NOT FINE in terms of Wii U sales. I understand that people purchased the machine during the holidays and don’t want to see a $50 price drop a few months later but that doesn’t mean that it won’t happen. In a week or two Target is supposed to be giving out a $50 gift card with purchase. My guess is we’ll see the price drop next month. The giftcards for the 3DS happened in March of ’12 and the price drop hit in April.
you are late to the battle…
red ring is on the xbox dude. ps3 gets ylod.
the article is about price cutting. so when has it ever been good business to sell your product at a lost? 4 months in and you guys asking for a price drop, stating ‘old tech and gimmicks’? the machine is only $350, with a game and an hdmi cord. i sure hope the nextbox n ps4 comes with that much. 8 gigs of top notch ram, that machine needs to be at $400, then it may do well. again, sell 3 million in 3 months, you guys think so?PS3 barely been making profit like 5 years into its life cycle. selling ‘old tech’ as you guys put it, and making bank on it like the Wii did…thats a win guys, whether u like to admit it or not. its an ‘ego’ whoop’n. Dont get me started on the old tech in the 3ds vs that monster Vita.and you do know that the Cube and 64 were more powerful then its competition at the time, right?and it still suffured what you have pointed out.It seems like some opinions Nintendo can do no right.
nintendo is a gaming company focused on gaming with new ways to game. Just embrace it guys, whether then bash. 3 successful gaming companies is great to have, gimmicks and all.
i hope Sony succeeds, but i just dont see a lot of people buying, if it so happens to be, a very expensive gaming machine. if no one supports the ps4, like soooo many Sony fans didnt support the Vita, we all gona be demanding a Sony price cut as well.
i dont like xbox at all, but congrats on finishing strong. but talk about gimmicks, maybe none of u guys have seen the leaked nextbox schematics, but we will wait for that conference.
the price of the WiiU is fair, the system feels well worth more than what I payed for it. just needs games. and yes, Pikmin is a system seller, so is Mario Zelda….and especially Smash Brothers. get those games out, capture some 3rd party, and WiiU is good…
price cut will come holiday season dudes, who knows maybe a bit sooner, to battle those to be newly released power machines, good business Nintendo…
This is probably the best Wii U discussion in a Gaming sites Comments section out there. Great discussions/ideas people. The GR Staff should get in on this..
The Tablet Controller is innovative in the fact that no Home Console has really done it on this level. The Dreamcast had the VMU which was like a Tamogochi. The Game Pad allows full real-time interactions in the game world from a different portal or view. Being able to look around you in a game may not be new to fans of VR but, it is a blast when implamented correctly. I just hope some developers take the time to think outside the box and don’t just put out more simple FPSs.
It’s not a matter of what the controller could do. It’s whether or not Nintendo can successfully market it as something cool to the general populace. In 2006, saying ‘motion controls’ was mind blowing. In 2013, saying ‘touch screen’ makes people look at their iPhones or Androids and shrug.
but there are things inside the box that are truly innovative, and you have no clue. Miiverse is as innovative and creative and fun as you can get. but you wouldnt know having not experienced any of it.
lets not compare consoles to phones. because PS4 and the Nextbox will be face with the same foe fighting for that mighty dollar.
Question is, out of the 3 newest consoles, which presents even a glimmer of innovation? Ask yourself that.
and ‘nuking children’, really? I mean, when analogies like that get thrown about, I think the discussion needs to end, so i bid you adieu…
you sir do in fact ‘deserve an award’…
I experienced it and was not impressed. Miiverse is not what I’ve been hearing Nintendo-fans giggle like school girls about. It’s been about the controller and for what little marketing Nintendo has attempted… it’s been about the controller. Don’t tell me not to compare and instead try telling that to the general population that hears ‘touch screen’ and doesn’t get excited because they’ve already seen plenty of devices that already do that.
Innovation, even a glimmer of it, is not necessarily a measure of success. If the innovation was poorly timed, marketed, or mis/under-used then it won’t count for much. Virtual Boy was innovative. That thing died a quick death.
I made that analogy to get the point across, son. That’s how silly people like you get over this stuff.
dude, listen to yourself, lol
do you not think the system is priced correctly, gimmicks and all? Thats what the article is about…
you bring up the populace, do you not think that same populace will shun the next two machines if they are not comparatively priced?
People were responding to your first post, declaring you the messiah of WiiU knowledge,when you dont even own the machine.
me bringing up ps4 and Nextbox, is because it was in direct response to OTHER peoples remarks…I know you want to be center of attention, but my focus was thourough.
I have not put the ps4 machine down, never have i said it was ‘underpowered’ or ‘gimmicks and old tech’….so whos spewing fanboy rage now? i said embrace the qualities of the wiiu whatever it brings too the table.
ever heard the saying ‘Do what you can with what you got’…this is Nintendo, if it wasnt for motion control boom. Kinect and Move would be nonexistant. So would that touch screen dual shock 4, but you fail to acknowledge Nintendo pioneering such ‘gimmicks’.
you say nintendo gets old ports, but some of those ports have ‘exclusive’new content. Ever play Hitachi in a Bowser suit? how about a rage mode for Batman?
it is not for Nintendo’s lack of trying to not get 3rd party support. Patched relations with Namco Bandai if you’d heard. Ubisoft is still on board. Activision as well…so are you saying they are not trying? Bayonetta 2?
Nintendo direct like all the time dude. They need more promotings u say?
Miiverse is great…even if you groaned like a grandpa and we screamed with little girls as you so colorfully phrased. Still innovative, lets hear you say it..
I stick up for Nintendo and their ‘underpowered’ machine because gaming is all they got. and if the power in this machine should suffice,so be it. can as much fun and excitement be had on a ‘underpowered’ toy as those beast machines….i think so, with maybe a little less emphasis on how real and spectacular hair is modeled and rendered.
What makes the “tablet” (gamepad) a problem is that there’s only 1 and that kids will fight over it and break it. Also, it’s useless away from the Wii U which makes it fairly crappy in terms of being a “tablet”. If they wanted to pack in a $200 tablet they should have just got together with Samsung and stuck a Samsung built Android tablet in there. That would have sold some consoles.
The GamePad is not a tablet. It is a controller that has a screen in it.
I never said it wasn’t priced correctly. My comments prior to this whole conversation were about pointing out the likely reasons why the Wii U is suffering very low sales and will probably continue to for the forseeable future. Apparently you couldn’t stand that. Not just from me but from anyone else who held similar views.
The general populace has already shown in the past that they will buy a console even if it’s highly priced based on a number of factors and despite economic hardships. When you try to impress the general populace with tech that is really nothing new overall, in this case a touch screen, you’re really not going to get very far. You need to stop arguing with me about price points because I never said a damn thing about the Wii U not being priced fairly. You want to debate with someone who did? Fine.
I see someone is frustrated that so many people agreed with me. Your claim that I know nothing of the console is ignorant and an immature way to try and discredit me. Nice try though.
A majority of your time here has been spent responding directly to me so I did so in kind. I’m not going to waste my time trying to figure out who you’re responding to in each sentence you write. I’m not going to re-read all of these comments just to find out who you’re directing it at. So when enough of your replies involve responses to me I’ll just assume it’s all at me.
Your very first comments here were to mockingly ask people if they thought people were going to buy the next consoles from Sony and Microsoft for 500+ dollars, that their current controllers are small and inadequate, and you have continuously attempted to use comparisons of both the previous generation and the upcoming one as some type of valid argument for… what exactly? The only thing I’ve really done in regards to Sony and Microsoft is clarify context and information where you kept going wrong. So, yeah, you did start that crap. People can read the comments, bud. You’re really making yourself look foolish right now.
If my being objectively critical of a gimmick or low tech is what you consider fanboy rage then I can only laugh at you. I really don’t know how to respond to someone who is so obtuse.
Nintendo does indeed pioneer but perhaps you seem to think that I believe all of Nintendo’s innovations were garbage simply because it was done by Nintendo. Not the case. Just because I think they made a bad move this time does not mean I completely disregard everything Nintendo has done in the past. Talking about where I think Nintendo went wrong in this generation does not require me to also acknowledge what they’ve innovated before. What purpose does that serve? None.
Yes, Nintendo is getting ports of games that have been around for months or even a year prior to the system’s launch. Adding in a couple little things here and there for a game many people already played is not going to suddenly get the people lining up. Certainly not the ones who already played the crap out of the game and are not interested in spending another 50 to 60 dollars on it. They wanted something new and fresh. They got a handful of port-overs, another Super Mario side scroller (which I admit was kinda fun), and the rest of the games didn’t seem to be anything many people wanted to pay full price for.
I understand that Nintendo’s third-party woes are not just their own fault and I’m aware that for now they do have some support but they also had plenty of companies who said that during the Wii and yet they seemed to forget about the console despite its roaring sales. I would love to see developers take more chances than they do these days and be willing to develop for the Wii U. I’m tired of this crap where they’re all playing it safe. Unfortunately it’s the current nature of the industry. So, when I talk about third-parties I’m not talking about what they SHOULD do… I’m talking about what they WILL LIKELY do if the past is any indication.
I was definitely impressed that Nintendo snagged Bayonetta 2 but last I checked Nintendo is publishing that game. So it’s not exactly third-party now. It was on the verge of being another game lost to development hell. If nothing else I hope Nintendo absorbs it as a new franchise for them. Having her in the crowd might shake things up. Would be kinda of hard to accuse Nintendo of catering to the ‘E for Everyone’ crowd with the most objectified woman in recent games standing there with Mario and Link blushing.
Yes, Nintendo does need to promote more. They haven’t been. I’m not the only one who feels that way. You can surf the web all over and find plenty of people (columnists, bloggers, forumgoers, etc) who feel that Nintendo has not done nearly enough promoting. They have $11 billion cash sitting in a bank somewhere. Time to put that money to work so it can make more for them. I should be seeing Wii U advertisements to the point where I may puke if I see another one.
I can see the potential for Miiverse but it just didn’t ring with me. I don’t know why. I felt like I should like it. For some reason I just didn’t. Again though, Miiverse isn’t what people really talk about when the Wii U comes out. All I hear is, “touchscreen, touchscreen, touchscreen”. As well, like I said before, something that is innovative is not automatically something good. Innovation is not synonymous with success.
The Wii U can certainly end up proving amazing. I personally just don’t think it’s going to be easy for Nintendo this time. I think they’re going to have to work twice as hard this time to even do half as well as they did with the Wii.
This can go on til the end of this next gaming generation…*sigh*
well then, seems we have come to an agreement, WiiU price is fine. And the machine has potential.
‘It only does everything’-Sony
‘How U will play next’-Nintendo
well, dunno if Xbox ever had a slogan, but I guess…’Microsofts ugly offspring’ might work…
long live gaming…
Disagree. The price is not fine. The machine’s potential is for proprietary games that utilize the gamepad otherwise why bother? It’s going to be a console for Nintendo exclusives so unless you plan on playing Mario 1 billion, Zelda 88, Mario Kart 9 (this one is sadly the real number), etc then there’s no point in buying it.
I’ve always enjoyed Nintendo’s franchises but think they need to give them a rest for a while. It would be nice to slate of new titles. People complain about a 4th Gears of War game, Halo 4, Kill Zone 3, and others for going on too long but somehow Nintendo has been immune to these complaints. They put out very few new game franchises. I have Xenoblade Chronicles and that’s a breath of fresh air (though the SD graphics are pretty hard to look at). We need MORE fresh IP’s and PLEASE give us something mature. I’m not asking for all shooters and I realize that Nintendo is known as the kiddie game system but come on.
The next Mario Kart in the series will be Mario Kart 8, not 9. You also have to take into consideration that is over 5 Console and 3 handheld generations.
The deluxe set comes with a game, hdmi cord, charging station, a gamepad holding tray, the console, the gamepad, the sensor bar, and some perks in the nintendo eshop, and a bit more HD space.
everything besides the console and gamepad runs roughly $90+ msrp. So theoretically, you are paying about $250 for the machine. I think the price is fine.
Mario has been around a lot, true, but he is one old son-of-a-gun if you haven’t noticed. Hope you can last that long when you’re his age.
New ips? Well Xenoblade was kinda new. And now ‘X’. Plus it’s rumored Mr Miyamoto is working on something new.
Yes, more guts and gore and headshots…for the true hardcore gamers…now go try ZombiU, and buy Bayonetta 2 when it arrives.
As for nintendo, they have indeed sold ‘mature’ products and services since the companies inception…but lets not subject Princess Peach to Nude scenes, or have Mario betray his brother with a bloody head shot(blue shelled nonetheless)
Nintendo welcomes ‘How U will play next’
Well this is all strictly opinion on my part:
I think it could use a good $50 price cut but that’s only because of the price of an accompanying game for me. Throw Black Ops 2 or Mario in there and I would pry the wallet open.
For me, Wii U has had terrible advertising or lack there of. I see no ads for it anywhere and until I accidentaly ran into a display at Target really had no idea how cool it was. Before that I was biased against it by some terrible video released last year that left me with the idea it was expensive, confusing and played only kiddie games. I ignored and dismissed it ever since, and went home to my PS3.
However, after seeing the display, playing with the cool gamepad and finding out it has 1080P and HD with games like BO2 and AC3 I quickly changed my mind.
I know, what is the point when I have plenty of games on PS3 and Steam? Why not wait for the WELL hyped PS4 or it’s little brother 720? Well simply put, it’s kind of getting old. I mean if I want a little better graphics of the exact same type of FPS games I DO have a computer. The point is we don’t really NEED graphics to get much better than a Crysis 3, what we need is NEW types of games and innovation. That is exactly what Nintendo seems to be aiming at with their last 2 systems. If you think adult gamers will keep pumping out $60 bucks for the declining gameplay time FPS with slightly better graphics then you will eventually be wrong.
I love a lot of these games but it IS getting old. As far as games not selling systems goes, that’s pretty far off the mark imo. Without Halo and later acquiring GTA, Xbox would be a distant memory by now, as would PS3 without it’s saving grace-”I can get a bonus blu-ray player I don’t have, so I’ll fork out the extra hundred”, thanks to it being way late to the market behind the 360.
I mean come on, I watched all game systems come and going during my life so far. There were quite a variety along the way. Get to the next level of FUN and innovation already. If I want to watch an animated movie I’ll do that when I’m done playing my GAME. Let’s face it the only times are really fun is when it’s all new.
I would also hope that companies like Nintendo still consider hardware ad ons like, well all those ports in Gamecube that we never got to actually use.
Want to keep up with the next gen? Sell an ad-on unit to boost power/performance/storage. I mean why would you not? People are into building their own gaming computers so what makes these companies think a guy wouldn’t go drop some cash on a unit to jack up his console? It sure beats waiting 8 years for the next gen.
Anyway, for now drop the price just a little or throw a game in there that’s better than Nintendoland,even for the 8GB.
and geez get some more ads out there.
nicely stated, sir…
hi there i dont care as long as gam pads become the norm