Support NeoGAF

[zerokoolpsx]

Nintendo needs some must have games on their console. They won't go third party, but their sales will continue to suffer until there is a price drop. That Gamepad isn't really helping with the experience. They will be last place compared to the other two next gen consoles.

 

[Sulik2]

Nintendo made a huge mistake releasing a current gen console when people are craving new consoles after 8 years. A non multi-touch screen and zero games for six months after launch don't help either. Especially now with the PS4 launch showing just how old fashioned the Wii U is and building the next-gen Hype-o-Meter. I think they can financially whether the storm. But in 2016 they better have true next gen console or they are gonna be software only on home consoles and making handhelds.

 

[Effect]

No way they're gonna full out fail but I think theirs a good chance they will be third. The Wii was unique and that made people look past the terrible hardware. To most people the Wii U is just more wii + an iPad with buttons, to the other casuals its just a tablet controller. It lost that "it" factor that made the Wii so successful. Their best chance is to hold out until their 1st party games hit, price drop, and pray the hardcore come back and save them(they most likely will).

I don't think we should start assigning any positions yet. Certainly not based on power. History tells us that isn't the deciding factor and never has been. We don't know what game prices are going to be like. We don't know how much both the Sony and Microsoft are locking behind their paywalls. All genres have their bubbles burst and next up for that is the FPS genre as it has been riding very high and that is what drove a lot of the success the PS3 and 360 (more the 360) had this generation. That will not last. It didn't for platformers, RPGS, etc. There are still a LOT of variables out and we won't have a clear picture of who things might go until sometime in 2015 as we head toward that year's holiday season.

 

[Tenki]

You do realize why the scenarios are different, right?

The PS3 bombed at launch because of price. It was correctable over time by lowering the price and Sony never lost 3rd party support.

The Wii U is bombing worse at a much lower price point, and third parties are jumping ship.

The fact is that Sony lost a fuckton of money and Nintendo is not. So why should Nintendo go third party when they earn money and not Sony, who has been bleeding money all the gen?

 

[x-Lundz-x]

Tell that to the Criterion guy, Treyarch/Activision, Ubisoft, etc...

If what you said was true, there'd be no Watch_Dogs for the Wii U, no Assassin's Creed IV, no Need for Speed, etc...

Oh, you mean like the other third party games that were announced for the Wii U and subsequently cancelled recently? Guess we will find out later this year.

 

[TheGreatMightyPoo]

A poorly functioning touch screen

I must have got the good one.

 

[XenodudeX]

Agreed, and given how apathetic people were at the PS3's price point, there's no real reason to believe they'll be priced that high at all. If anything we'll see very competitive pricing for both.

Just because YOU think isn't pricey, DOES NOT mean OTHER people don't think it's pricey.

 

[Pie and Beans]

The fact is that Sony lost a fuckton of money and Nintendo is not. So why should Nintendo go third party when they earn money and not Sony, who has been bleeding money all the gen?

Anyone that says Nintendo should go third party is an idiot. The truth is, Nintendo no longer has any purchase on the home console market and thus their effort is dying. Sony also seemingly no longer has any purchase on the handheld market. Its like a mutual suicide pact. Sony will probably not make another handheld, Nintendo probably won't put out another home box. They both didnt do enough to grow their established userbases and markets on those platforms to continue on to the next match ups.

 

[Akey]

Do these people think that ps4 is going to do great right out the gate with a most likely higher price tag then Wii U? Most people do not have that kind of money to spend on their kids. They might have it to spend on their self for a new ipad because a 4 year ad campaign has told them its the best thing ever to have but consoles not so much.

I'm certain of one thing that Nintendo will have a lot of support for the Wii U in the next few years and will not give up on it this fast. I wish more people would focus on writing about what that will be rather then doom and gloom its all over stuff.

 

[javac]

Metroid - not mass market
Starfox - not mass market
Mario Kart - mass market!
3D Mario - not as mass market as you'd think without the userbase already there. Gamecube and Sunshine calling.

Mario Kart is about the only one that would definitely move hardware, but even then we'd have said the same about a NSMB too.

They can be mass market in every sense of the word. Unless you think the millions of people who purchase these games are only the hardcore fans exclusively. A lot of people who weren't fans of starfox purchased it on the 3DS for example. Pretty much every Nintendo game outside of the JRPG's have the potential to be mass market if... marketed properly. A lot of none Zelda fans bought ocarina on the 3DS and skyward sword on the Wii.

I'm sure a lot of none fire emblem fans are buying awaking too. It helps that Nintendo games are made for all ages for the most part and are for the most part critically acclaimed.

 

[Maxim726X]

The fact is that Sony lost a fuckton of money and Nintendo is not. So why should Nintendo go third party when they earn money and not Sony, who has been bleeding money all the gen?

Nintendo has lost a lot of the money they made withe the Wii... So yes, they're losing a lot of money too. Not nearly as bad as Sony, but not pretty.

 

[Ninja Scooter]

Do these people think that ps4 is going to do great right out the gate with a most likely higher price tag then Wii U? Most people do not have that kind of money to spend on their kids. They might have it to spend on their self for a new ipad because a 4 year ad campaign has told them its the best thing ever to have but consoles not so much.

I'm certain of one thing that Nintendo will have a lot of support for the Wii U in the next few years and will not give up on it this fast. I wish more people would focus on writing about what that will be rather then doom and gloom its all over stuff.

And there lies the difference, plenty of adults play Xbox and Playstation. You aren't just relying on parents buying games for their kids or soccer mom's buying the next fad product they saw Kathy Lee use on the Today Show. The Wii U has nothing that will make inroads with that 18-34 audience that has carried the 360 and PS3 for the last 7-8 years.

 

[Tobor]

The fact is that Sony lost a fuckton of money and Nintendo is not. So why should Nintendo go third party when they earn money and not Sony, who has been bleeding money all the gen?

If the PS4 flops, Sony might very well bow out.

 

[Piers]

Ding. It's not even worth their time to port over games to it. It doesn't matter how or what they say, they have clearly kicked it to the curb.

Yeah, the fact that the ports aren't happening for titles even now is worrying considering that's typically what occurs with new systems afaik. In fact, that was really suppose to be WiiU's USP in the early stages of its lifespan; the WiiU's version would win consumers over with the additional pad gimmicks compared to the PS360's vanilla controls. Except not now.

I agree when people say that the pad just wasn't easy to understand like the Wii remotes were, and the fact it has its own screen throws people off on what WiiU actually is.

 

[Robin64]

People care about that shit after all, because after the novelty of whatever your gimmick is wears off, you're just playing a game with previous gen graphics.

That's okay, I haven't played a 3D Mario, Zelda or Smash Bros. with previous gen graphics yet. Bring it on.

 

[RurouniZel]

Doomed since 1889.

 

[Mael]

Nintendo has lost a lot of the money they made withe the Wii... So yes, they're losing a lot of money too. Not nearly as bad as Sony, but not pretty.

 

[Ocaso]

Just because YOU think isn't pricey, DOES NOT mean OTHER people don't think it's pricey.

I didn't even name a price! For all we know the next Xbox could launch at $199 with an Xbox Live contract.

 

[Kyoufu]

I must have got the good one.

You must have. Mine is very unresponsive if I use my finger. Not a fan of the touchscreen at all.

 

[big youth]

That game won't ever happen, because the Gamepad isn't a compelling enough experience.

That should have been the red flag for Nintendo. When the best they could come up with was Nintendo Land, they should have shut it down and started over.

I agree there may not be a single game that makes things click with consumers. It's the overall package that could sell the gamepad, and ultimately the console. I think Nintendo should be advertising the gamepad and console much like Apple originally showed the iPad (with hands coming from off screen to grab the tablet as a transition). In quick succession, show someone using it as a universal remote, browsing Netflix (as a movie plays on the TV), sketching Mario or Zelda, 2 people playing chess, google street view, asymmetrical gameplay, a karaoke screen, and various other applications. show 10 or more within a 30 second TV spot and the possibilities will seem endless.

almost all of Nintendo's problems lately can be traced back to poor marketing. I'd wager most Americans don't even know what the Wii U is yet.

 

[Pie and Beans]

They can be mass market in every sense of the word. Unless you think the millions of people who purchase these games are only the hardcore fans exclusively. A lot of people who weren't fans of starfox purchased it on the 3DS for example. Pretty much every Nintendo game outside of the JRPG's have the potential to be mass market if... marketed properly. A lot of none Zelda fans bought ocarina on the 3DS and skyward sword on the Wii.

I'm sure a lot of none fire emblem fans are buying awaking too. It helps that Nintendo games are made for all ages for the most part and are for the most part critically acclaimed.

I'm not sure how aware you are of how Nintendo games sell. Mario Kart, NSMB, Pokemon? Mass market. Zelda, Metroid, Star Fox? Nope. When talking mass-market we're talking COD, Fifa, Halo, GTA, AC. That 4-5 million zone and far beyond.

 

[Sulik2]

I must have got the good one.

Fixed it. Meant that to be about not having multi-touch.

 

[Sephzilla]

People seem to forget how much money the DS and Wii made them (and the 3DS too, I guess). They can eat Wii-U's losses for a good while.

 

[thesuperfunk]

Doom, doom, dooooom [for Nintendo atleast].

 

[-COOLIO-]

the overall consensus regarding next gen graphics was not "wow", but "meh". Graphical horsepower is not Nintendo's problem. Its incredibly poor marketing coupled with the high cost of their 'new way to play' controller this time around.

Graphics definitely play a huge part. Also the reaction to deep down has been pretty fuuuuuuuuuu

 

[Phoenician_Viking]

Nintendo, doomed since 1889.

Seriously, Nintendo has the least to worry about. But I can see them moving on to something like home console/handheld console hybrid in the future (because the home console market as it currently is kinda fucked up for everyone). Think about Wii U but with a controller that actually works as portable console.

That has been proven false, at least in the UK. PS360 are not much down in the UK YOY, while Nintendo hardware is down big time.

 

[Mael]

I'm not sure how aware you are of how Nintendo games sell. Mario Kart, NSMB, Pokemon? Mass market. Zelda, Metroid, Star Fox? Nope. When talking mass-market we're talking COD, Fifa, Halo, GTA, AC. That 4-5 million zone and up.

Even Skyward Sword sold more than 4Mil last year.
And that didn't light any fire.
If your bar is 4Mil, Zelda is in.

That has been proven false, at least in the UK. PS360 are not much down in the UK YOY, while Nintendo hardware is down big time.

Coincidentally the UK is the only market where the xbox is not selling like a GMO shit cake on steroid.
For example in France, 360 sold less than Wii last year.
And since we know that the continental market in Europe usually perform closer to each others than the UK...

 

[DICKS AHOY]

No doubt. I guess they thought they could catch lightning in a bottle again.

The main thing that gets me is I don't even really see why they felt the need to have another 'innovative' game mechanic to base their system around. It made sense coming off the GCN; it seemed pointless and at this point damaging after the Wii was highly-successful and flaws which could have been easily fixed with a more traditional successor.

 

[dacuk]

Who is this Sess guy,and why should I take his opinions seriously?

 

[XenodudeX]

Graphics definitely play a huge part. Also the reaction to deep down has been pretty fuuuuuuuuuu

Too bad you actually get those visuals when the game releases.

 

[evilernLeGG]

He's pretty right in my eyes. I picked up one at launch with 4 titles. I've played them all. This was in fucking November. It's now March. I want to use my Wii U, but there's literally NOTHING for it. There are times when I go to a store and even though I keep up with gaming news, browse the Wii U section to make sure I just didn't overlook a release because I really want something for this system. The potential is there, but it's really hard not to feel like I wasted some serious money here.

 

[big youth]

If the PS4 flops, Sony might very well bow out.

Bow out probably isn't the right term. just as Sessler said about Nintendo, I expect Sony will need to be forced out.

 

[TheGreatMightyPoo]

The main thing that gets me is I don't even really see why they felt the need to have another 'innovative' game mechanic to base their system around. It made sense coming off the GCN; it seemed pointless and at this point damaging after the Wii was highly-successful and flaws which could have been easily fixed with a more traditional successor.

It'd probably be boring to them.

 

[BlackJace]

That has been proven false, at least in the UK. PS360 are not much down in the UK YOY, while Nintendo hardware is down big time.

That has most definitely not been proven false.

 

[hwy_61]

He's pretty right in my eyes. I picked up one at launch with 4 titles. I've played them all. This was in fucking November. It's now March. I want to use my Wii U, but there's literally NOTHING for it. There are times when I go to a store and even though I keep up with gaming news, browse the Wii U section to make sure I just didn't overlook a release because I really want something for this system. The potential is there, but it's really hard not to feel like I wasted some serious money here.

Runner 2 is pretty cool, dude.

 

[DICKS AHOY]

I didn't even name a price! For all we know the next Xbox could launch at $199 with an Xbox Live contract.

kill me

It'd probably be boring to them.

I guess the Wii U's bad sales so far have been anything but, so touché.

 

[Mael]

Runner 2 is pretty cool, dude.

What is Runner 2?

 

[kitsuneyo]

Make fun of the analysis all you want, but Nintendo needs to do something fast about people's perception and word of mouth.

It's true, people either don't know Wii U exists or they think it's a last gen machine with a "tablet" tacked on. Shit, maybe they're right about the latter but it's still a good system with a ton of potential.

 

[Tobor]

Bow out probably isn't the right term. just as Sessler said about Nintendo, I expect Sony will need to be forced out.

It's the right term. You can be forced to resign, for example.

 

[anotherVegan]

Nintendo is far from doomed. What Nintendo realizes with the Wii U is that home consoles are evolving. Once they show their ace at E3, all will be well.

Plus the 3DS and 3DS games are doing extremely well. There's no way "Nintendo is doomed" or "Nintendo should go third party" or "Nintendo should bow out". Anyone remember the PS2's first year? It was abysmal.

 

[Deband]

Gonna be funny at the end of the year watching all these so-called commentators eat their words.

 

[hwy_61]

What is Runner 2?

Bit.Trip.Runner 2. Its on the eshop, and its $15 well spent.

 

[M.D]

Nintendo is far from doomed. What Nintendo realizes with the Wii U is that home consoles are evolving. Once they show their ace at E3, all will be well.

Plus the 3DS and 3DS games are doing extremely well. There's no way "Nintendo is doomed" or "Nintendo should go third party" or "Nintendo should bow out". Anyone remember the PS2's first year? It was abysmal.

What is their ace exactly?

 

[ElectricKaibutsu]

I don't know what to tell you except they disregard the importance of graphical horsepower at their own peril. Every generation there are heated debates about which console has superior graphics. SNES/Genesis.. Saturn/PS1, Xbox/PS2, etc. That shit matters to people, even non enthusiast gamers.

Yes there isn't that leap from SD to HD like there was in the current gen but the average consumer can still tell if there has been a leap in graphics.

It's sad that there are people out there that defend Nintendo's poor decisions when deciding specs.

I hope that wasn't directed at me.

If the Wii U does badly it won't be because of the graphics. Yes, people obviously argue about graphics all the time but that has ZERO to do with how well a console sells. Right? I mean, the most powerful console has NEVER sold the most so how could anyone say that graphics is the end all be all to how well a console sells? I'm not talking about the Wii U but just every video game system in general. People buy video game systems for games and that's all (mostly). If someone goes to the store and see's a Wii U kiosk, a 720 kiosk, and a PS4 kiosk, does that person automatically buy the PS4 because it is inarguably the most powerful? No he buys the Xbox if he likes Halo, or he buys the Wii U if he likes Zelda, or he buys the PS4 for The Last Guardian. Nice graphics are certainly a bonus and more power allows developers to do more, but no normal person cares. They just want good games.

How about Nintendo pushing the Nintendo 64? 64 bits! Double the bits! No one cared. People would argue about it on the playground but when they went home everyone just played Metal Gear Solid and FF7.

I can't believe people still think graphics sell systems when they never have before.

 

[evangd007]

Nintendo's financial muscle is too large. Do these commentators understand the real money involved, or are they nothing more than knee-jerk stock amateurs? The only thing that will make Nintendo leave the console sphere is if consoles themselves become the dinosaurs they truly are.

It's like they think that the Sega dropped out only because the Dreamcast had low sales as opposed to that coupled with the numerous other circumstances that contributed to their fall: the collapse of the arcade business, SoA and SoJ working against each other, the fact that the Dreamcast was a joint venture with Microsoft that Microsoft was using to get experience for the Xbox launch, the list goes on.

Even then, it took 2 consoles with disastrous, sub-20-million worldwide sales for Sega to quit. And they didn't have enough liquid cash for them to absorb losses like they've been having for 20 years.

 

[Tobor]

Nintendo is far from doomed. What Nintendo realizes with the Wii U is that home consoles are evolving. Once they show their ace at E3, all will be well.

Plus the 3DS and 3DS games are doing extremely well. There's no way "Nintendo is doomed" or "Nintendo should go third party" or "Nintendo should bow out". Anyone remember the PS2's first year? It was abysmal.

3DS and 3DS software are underperforming everywhere except Japan.

Also, lol @ "ace at E3".

 

[Krilekk]

I still can't believe people think power is why Nintendo is struggling.

Because it is. People don't buy new consoles that offer less power for twice as much money than seven year old consoles. At least that is the public reception of the Wii U. That and the name sucks. And the Wii brand itself is probably burnt by now. It struggles to find an audience because there are no games, the casual crowd that once was attracted by Wii has long moved on to iPads and iPhones and won't come back, the core crowd remembers how software support on Gamecube and Wii was: Abysmal at best. Third parties are already quitting Wii U and/or removing exclusives from the platform.

 

[XenodudeX]

I didn't even name a price! For all we know the next Xbox could launch at $199 with an Xbox Live contract.

I can see that happening.

 

[Mael]

Bit.Trip.Runner 2. Its on the eshop, and its $15 well spent.

Thanks, will check.

3DS and 3DS software are underperforming everywhere except Japan.

Also, lol @ "ace at E3".

As Nintendo's last report showed, it's massively underperforming in UK/USA and doing rather encouragingly in Europe.
There's a thread here look it up.
It's certainly not in the same ballpark as WiiU, not even close.

 

[-COOLIO-]

Too bad you actually get those visuals when the game releases.

Ya I guess we'll see man