WiiU

[Sephex]

With the sales as they are buying a WiiU is a great way to piss away money on a console that's going to soon be abandoned.

Everyone says something like this about a Nintendo console ever since the N64, and yet, this never happens.

[Madame Adequate]

Yeah the N64 and GC were rampaging successes that smashed all sales figures

Anyway it's not that the WiiU has weak sales, it has catastrophically terrible sales. I'm not saying third-party devs will abandon the WiiU, I'm saying Nintendo might have to. Y'all really aren't grasping how goddamn atrocious the situation is for them, so here:

BBC News - Nintendo Wii U 'flogging a dead horse' - Gaming expert

See that 160,000? If you watch the video you'll learn that this isn't just British sales or anything. When I thought that was UK sales I thought that was bad. When I thought that was European sales I thought it was disastrous. It's global sales. Want to know what the Europe (and Australian) sales for the WiiU were in the three months to June? Ten thousand. Two months after release the Wii sold about 435,000 in the US. Two months after release the WiiU sold 57,000 units in the US - barely 13% of its predecessor. In the same month the 360 sold around 281,000 consoles. You can go into the whys and wherefores of this however much you want, the fact is that a brand new console two months out of the gate should not be getting beaten fivefold in sales by a console that came out seven years earlier. Christ it was probably outsold by second-hand PS2s.

Asda - second-largest supermarket chain in the UK and owned by Wal*Mart - aren't even stocking the console. I can go into Asda and buy consoles released seven or eight years ago, but not one released nine months ago. Nintendo's original projection for sales in their fiscal year 2013 was 5.5 million; they revised that down to 4 million, turned out to be 3.5 million. Their original game sales projection was 24 million, which got cut by a full smurfing third to 16 million.

Look I'm not saying this is the death knell of Nintendo as a whole or anything like that, and I'm not talking about the actual quality of the games on the thing, but even with big names coming up the WiiU needed to gain a smurf of a lot more ground before the XBone and PS4 hit. It's failing to compete with the last generation, how the hell is it going to compete with the new one? Criticizing the commercial situation of the WiiU is not actually an attack on Nintendo and may not warrant five seperate posts jumping to their defense, but Nintendo fanboys are bad even by this industry's standards.

[Sephex]

Whoa, slow down, dude. I was just saying that Nintendo has been in hot water before, so this is business as usual as far as I am concerned. I wasn't exactly disagreeing with you. I just think it's tiring that every generation there is an exaggeration of how bad Nintendo is. And yes, this is the worst they have seen it. However, like last time Nintendo was in a bad place, their handheld market kept them afloat. While the 3DS had a bad start, it is doing fantastic now, so again their current handheld saved the day.

It's kind of how the whole PS3 has no games thing got old real fast.

Also, I guess I am a pretty crappy Nintendo fan boy since I own all three major consoles and mostly play video games on my PC. You know me better than some average dude on the internet, man. Don't jump to conclusions, please.

[Evastio]

Look I'm not saying this is the death knell of Nintendo as a whole or anything like that, and I'm not talking about the actual quality of the games on the thing, but even with big names coming up the WiiU needed to gain a smurf of a lot more ground before the XBone and PS4 hit. It's failing to compete with the last generation, how the hell is it going to compete with the new one? Criticizing the commercial situation of the WiiU is not actually an attack on Nintendo and may not warrant five seperate posts jumping to their defense, but Nintendo fanboys are bad even by this industry's standards.

This is probably a bad move saying this to a CK, but I really wouldn't be calling out the "Nintendo fanboys" that are supporting, believing, and hoping the Wii U situation will improve, even if it may seem like a lost cause to you (and it's not like we're bashing on the other gaming consoles with our posts in this thread, so I don't see why our optimistic, hopeful comments about the Wii U warranted a comment like "Nintendo fanboys are bad even by this industry's standards"). Every fanbase has its bad apples, and PC, Sony, and Microsoft are definitely no exceptions. I know you personally (to put it nicely without starting a flame war) aren't very fond of and don't have much faith in platforms that aren't PC or Microsoft. If the XBox One were to do poorly during its first half year, you probably wouldn't like it if people were rubbing the poor console sales and game retailers not stocking on it in your face, especially if you knew that there were some games coming out later on that would help fix the situation.

Anyways, yes, the Wii U situation is bad, especially in the UK. But Europe is the area where the Wii U is doing the worst in. In America, the Wii U is doing significantly better there, and in Asia, it's doing a lot better there, especially in Asia where Wii U sales have shot up from Pikmin 3's release recently. The 3DS was in a similar situation, until Super Mario 3D Land (the best selling 3DS game so far) and Mario Kart 7 boosted up 3DS sales. With games like Super Mario 3D World (which will likely shoot up sales like 3D Land did for the 3DS, plus 3D World has 4 player co-op which'll really help sell it, especially since it's a first for a 3D Mainstream Mario), DKC: Tropical Freeze (DKC games have always had good sales, right after Mario, Pokemon, and Zelda), The Wonderful 101, Zelda: Wind Waker HD (which has been confirmed to have Wii U bundles with the game included) on the horizon, I'm sure the Wii U sales will improve. Sure, the sales likely won't be astronomical like the Wii or PS2, but it'll likely be enough to keep the console afloat, like the Gamecube's sale amount.

Also, yes, the Wii U will have to compete with the PS4 and XBox One for the 2013 holidays. The thing is, the PS4 and XBox One library won't be as big as the Wii U's library by the holidays. The PS4 and XBox One also won't have the big next gen system sellers on their consoles (like Final Fantasy XV and Kingdom Hearts 3) by the end of 2013 and most of the games that will be out by the 2013 Holidays will also be available on PS3 and XBox 360 (CoD: Ghosts, Watch Dogs, AC IV), so a good portion of people likely won't be going next gen with Sony and Microsoft yet. I'm not bashing on Sony or Microsoft by any means by saying that. I'm just saying that PS4 and XBox One likely won't sell like hotcakes during the first couple of months of its release.

[Del Murder]

There's nothing wrong with being loyal to a company that has provided you with so many years of quality entertainment. Also, we have Pikachu.

Those numbers are pretty bad, but WiiU really has no great games out for it yet. As soon as a major Zelda or Metroid title is announced then the sales will pick up. This might actually be a good thing for a Nintendo game fan, because with such crappy sales then Nintendo will have to try all that much harder to make great games to justify ownership.

[Bolivar]

, so a good portion of people likely won't be going next gen with Sony and Microsoft yet. I'm just saying that PS4 and XBox One likely won't sell like hotcakes during the first couple of months of its release.

I think that possibility has come and gone. These consoles have probably the most robust launch lineups ever and their demand is also unprecedented. The PS4 already has over a million pre-orders and it's not even fall yet.

Yes, the major western publishers are already in the process of abandoning the platform and absent some unforeseen circumstance, I don't see that reversing, even after Nintendo's heavy hitters start showing. But I do think their first party will be enough to keep it afloat, along with some help from Atlus, Sega, Namco, and Square. They're already making this an amazing year for the Nintendo 3DS and 9 times out of 10 I'll take them over EA, Ubisoft and Activision.

[Flaming Ice]

, so a good portion of people likely won't be going next gen with Sony and Microsoft yet. I'm just saying that PS4 and XBox One likely won't sell like hotcakes during the first couple of months of its release.

I think that possibility has come and gone. These consoles have probably the most robust launch lineups ever and their demand is also unprecedented. The PS4 already has over a million pre-orders and it's not even fall yet.

Yes, the major western publishers are already in the process of abandoning the platform and absent some unforeseen circumstance, I don't see that reversing, even after Nintendo's heavy hitters start showing. But I do think their first party will be enough to keep it afloat, along with some help from Atlus, Sega, Namco, and Square. They're already making this an amazing year for the Nintendo 3DS and 9 times out of 10 I'll take them over EA, Ubisoft and Activision.

Don't forget monolith soft they have really good games too.

[Flaming Ice]

There's nothing wrong with being loyal to a company that has provided you with so many years of quality entertainment. Also, we have Pikachu.

Those numbers are pretty bad, but WiiU really has no great games out for it yet. As soon as a major Zelda or Metroid title is announced then the sales will pick up. This might actually be a good thing for a Nintendo game fan, because with such crappy sales then Nintendo will have to try all that much harder to make great games to justify ownership.

Last Zelda didn't seem so great though......they need to make it more open what you can do...pretty much it's "use this to defeat this enemy, use that to defeat this enemy"....there's not much variation.


It would be more fun if you could do things like trip enemies with your whip, shield bash to make enemies stagger, and different things like that. Plus none of the puzzles made sense...zelda travels through them and doesn't fight any bosses...and if ghiraham is doing all that than he's pretty pervy. (plus he'd have to magic enemies out of nowhere).

[ljkkjlcm9]

Bolivar that may be true based on their pre-orders, but factually the Wii U didnt sell bad at launch either.

I feel this trend will be across all 3 companies this generation. Early adopters/fanboys buy "in mass" then sales fall off dramatically til more meaningful releases come.

I love nintendo games and want a Wii U but no game has pushed me there yet. Same with a PS4, nothing exclusive that sells it to me, cause honestly the biggest games this fall are still coming to PS3 and 360.

THE JACKEL

[Flaming Ice]

Bolivar that may be true based on their pre-orders, but factually the Wii U didnt sell bad at launch either.

I feel this trend will be across all 3 companies this generation. Early adopters/fanboys buy "in mass" then sales fall off dramatically til more meaningful releases come.

I love nintendo games and want a Wii U but no game has pushed me there yet. Same with a PS4, nothing exclusive that sells it to me, cause honestly the biggest games this fall are still coming to PS3 and 360.

THE JACKEL

Yeah, a lot of the good games hit later or can be found on an existing console when they release new games (like twilight princess was for both gamecube and wii).

[Madame Adequate]

Whoa, slow down, dude. I was just saying that Nintendo has been in hot water before, so this is business as usual as far as I am concerned. I wasn't exactly disagreeing with you. I just think it's tiring that every generation there is an exaggeration of how bad Nintendo is. And yes, this is the worst they have seen it. However, like last time Nintendo was in a bad place, their handheld market kept them afloat. While the 3DS had a bad start, it is doing fantastic now, so again their current handheld saved the day.

Well sure, that's exactly why I said I'm not saying Nintendo is doomed or anything. They've got the handheld market on lock and even though it's a bit weaker than they'd like, they're not going to lose that anytime soon. And SEGA came through worse without even having a second market they dominate - if it came down to it, Nintendo has a hell of a stable they can put onto other consoles if they exited the console game. But these figures aren't indicative of a slow start, they're indicative of a monumental failure that's only a couple steps above the 32X. And no matter how good the console might look when bigger titles start arriving for it, if it's not got any momentum and people aren't even stocking it it is going to be a massive uphill battle to even be in a position to try for market share.

It's kind of how the whole PS3 has no games thing got old real fast.

I agree, you'd think they'd have made some games for it after awhile but here we are.

[Del Murder]

Nintendo giving up consoles and making games for PS4 would actually be a dream come true for me. Imagine a Nintendo vs. Sony SSB type game!

[Evastio]

Ugh, the "Nintendo should go 3rd party" argument again? Such a selfish way of thinking (I mean, Sony and Microsoft fans wouldn't like it if their favourite companies went third party).

Nintendo going third party wouldn't be a good idea, as good as you think it'd sound at first. Seeing how they know the hardware they work on inside and out when it comes to making software, having them work on hardware they're not used to will result in the game quality lowering. We know how that went with Sega, with the Sonic Dreamcast games being good, but with the games afterwards being of... significantly lower in quality. I mean, you really want Nintendo to make games that have Sonic 2006 quality?

Even if Nintendo did go third party and all Nintendo games were available on home consoles, competing consoles would only be about power and exclusives (and Sony and Microsoft fans will probably start wishing the other went third party, and once it actually does happens, you can kiss console variety goodbye, and the remaining console can be as greedy and restrictive as they want to be without rival companies holding them back), and there'd be no more variety or lateral innovations with consoles since Nintendo is the one that led in that regard (whether it's touch screens, motion controllers, or tablet controllers).

Also, I'm really sure Nintendo will stick with the Wii U. They got more than enough money to support it (as it stands, they have the money to afford launching 2 more poor selling consoles before they'd be in financial trouble, and that's without accounting for the money they'll make from portables during that time), they've got plenty of games in the works for the Wii U (all the 2013 games I mentioned, plus Mario Kart 8, SSB4, Yarn Yoshi, SMT x FE, the new Zelda, X, and others), and they're the kind of people that wouldn't ditch a current gen console and let down all the people that bought it (besides the Virtual Boy, and that was a very niche, undefined, experimental console).

I'm sorry if you think me sticking up for and defending a company I like when someone else is saying negative things about it is being a rabid fanboy, but I've seen nothing but negative comments and distrust in Nintendo everywhere I go, I'm sick of it, and I'm wanting to bring up the positives about Nintendo when very few people are. Everyone is always focusing on all the bad Nintendo does, and there's hardly as much bad press for other poor selling consoles like the PS3 (back in the day), PS Vita, and the Ouya.

[Pike]

I've been thinking Nintendo should go the software route for a while now. The Wii was a neat experiment and if sales are any indication then it worked, but that Wii market that they had on lock is now turning towards smartphone and tablet games. Nintendo is stubborn as a mule, though.

In before you guys show up and label me as some sort of ~PC Elitist~ or something. I was raised on fecking Nintendo and I will always love Nintendo. I think they made some of the greatest games and systems of all time. But as Hux was saying, the numbers don't lie, and the WiiU is currently in a dire spot. Maybe they can pull out of it, but it will probably take a bit of a miracle.

[Slothy]

Ugh, the "Nintendo should go 3rd party" argument again? Such a selfish way of thinking (I mean, Sony and Microsoft fans wouldn't like it if their favourite companies went third party).

It's selfish to want people to be able to play more games without spending a few hundred extra dollars?

Nintendo going third party wouldn't be a good idea, as good as you think it'd sound at first. Seeing how they know the hardware they work on inside and out when it comes to making software, having them work on hardware they're not used to will result in the game quality lowering. We know how that went with Sega, with the Sonic Dreamcast games being good, but with the games afterwards being of... significantly lower in quality. I mean, you really want Nintendo to make games that have Sonic 2006 quality?

Honestly not convinced since there's a plethora of well made development tools available for the other platforms that, well, aren't really there on Nintendo hardware. Also, Sega is a pretty bad example since the biggest issues with their games post-Dreamcast have almost never been technical issues. Their games just really smurfing sucked.

and once it actually does happens, you can kiss console variety goodbye

Take a look at the PS3 and 360 and the PS4 and XBone now. We waved goodbye to console variety almost a decade ago. Hell, we pretty much waved goodbye to consoles since these things are trying to be more and more like PC's everyday.

Everyone is always focusing on all the bad Nintendo does, and there's hardly as much bad press for other poor selling consoles like the PS3 (back in the day), PS Vita, and the Ouya.

What god damn console launches were you following because there was a lot of criticism of the PS3 in the first few years (which didn't seem to really end until it finally passed the 360 in sales and people finally noticed that the talk of it selling poorly kind of stopped being true a while back), the Vita gets tons of flack for poor sales, and the Ouya has gotten a lot of flack for everything from hardware issues and a lack of decent games to poor game monetization rates. I'm not sure what sort of selective attention one would have to exercise to not notice that those platforms got literally shat on by the press for a long time/still are right now.