BlazingDarkness
Member
Price cut won't help it, it's already dirt cheap in the UK and still sells like shit.
It needs games.
It needs games.
Avalanche (Just Cause) - Wii U dev kits collecting dust, Nintendo is hard to reach
- Thread starter Flightmare
- Start date
Both are needed. You're right in UK it's cheap already but that's not the case everywhere.
shinra-bansho
Member
A price cut will help it compete better against the PS3 and 360, the systems its really competing with in the marketplace, unless and until Sony or Microsoft slash the price of those soon-to-be legacy systems.
metalslimer
Member
Well you are the one who said to use checkers to sell Wii U, but no at the current rate they will not sell another 1.5 million by November because there is already a crap ton rotting on the shelves. This summer is going to be abysmal in every region do unless there is massive price drop and huge game before then no.People seriously expecting Pikmin 3 to do much for Wii U clearly overestimate the appeal of that franchise.
ElectricKaibutsu
Member
Didn't he just get a promotion? I doubt he'd step down so soon.
Hot Coldman
Banned
lwilliams3
Member
America plays an important part for Iwata keeping that commitment. Since both the 3DS and Wii U seems to be struggling more in the US in sales and third-party support, becoming CEO of America will allow him better ability to oversee and fix what is going wrong here.
GravityMan
Member
This is ridiculous, but not surprising (I had a bad feeling about the Wii U the instant it was first announced).
The Wii U is approaching Jaguar and 3DO levels of bad. Worse in some ways since Nintendo is a well-known name.
The Wii U is approaching Jaguar and 3DO levels of bad. Worse in some ways since Nintendo is a well-known name.
pieatorium
Member
30k a week in the next couple of months is on the optimistic side, it's probably fallen below that already, certainly below 10k in both EU and JP (golden week bump will be for this one week alone).
maabus1999
Member
Not going to lie. The Wii U could be priced at $99 right now and I still wouldn't pick it up as there is nothing of interest for me to play at this moment. And with the non-stop news like this thread coming out, I just don't see Nintendo games alone as a compelling reason.
Maybe Nintendo and Sega should do a join venture and make a new console called the Super Genesis with all the titles that made them both famous
That might be interest me, especially if there was a shining force or phantasy star out there! Ha! I'm dreaming....
Maybe Nintendo and Sega should do a join venture and make a new console called the Super Genesis with all the titles that made them both famous
That might be interest me, especially if there was a shining force or phantasy star out there! Ha! I'm dreaming....Catchpenny
Member
With the exception of the Wii, Nintendo has primarily been a handheld company in recent times. It doesn't excuse the failure of the Wii U, but I don't think they'll go to the same extremes as they did with 3DS to get it turned around. As for Vita not being nearly as important, I can't see that being the case in Japan. PSP was very successful late in its lifespan there, and not taking advantage of that is a disaster for Sony. Saying a handheld is not very important to Sony is essentially saying Sony doesn't really care about selling games in their home country, and that's hard to swallow.
To put it another way, a floundering console and fairly successful handheld > a floundering handheld and uncertain console future after the mediocrity of PS3. Especially when the floundering handheld has been out almost a year longer and has received a price cut in Japan. What's Playstation as a gaming brand really worth, if it isn't #1 in mindshare in any market, console or handheld, at home or abroad?
It's amazing that although the system appears to be fully capable of handling straight current-gen ports, even that is deemed too risky.
ClovingWestbrook
Banned
POWERSPHERE
Member
Yeah, it's a total bummer.
ElectricKaibutsu
Member
The Jaguar sold that few? I feel kind of privileged to have played one.
POWERSPHERE
Member
Not going to lie. The Wii U could be priced at $99 right now and I still wouldn't pick it up as there is nothing of interest for me to play at this moment. And with the non-stop news like this thread coming out, I just don't see Nintendo games alone as a compelling reason.
Maybe Nintendo and Sega should do a join venture and make a new console called the Super Genesis with all the titles that made them both famous
My friend uses his as a media player, works prettty well.
It probably sold even less. Now if you've played the Jaguar CD add-on, that'd be a real privelege. They only shipped around 20,000 or so of those.
DarkoMaledictus
Tier Whore
To be honest they could cut the price of the Wii U in the US by $50-$75 and not be losing any more than they were at launch.
30,000 yen = around $370 when WiiU launched..now it's around $302.
Cutting the Premium from $349 to $279 would lose them no more now than $349 did at launch..and that doesn't even factor in any reductions in manufacturing costs (the same is also true for Europe)..
Flightmare
Member
Doesn't help that production cost are lower when you still have the old units on shelves ;P
It's going to be get discontinued already??? Just kidding
Your late for that. It didn't work either.
I'm pretty sure he is referring to the Wii U's main issue. Lack of system seller titles.
prag16
Banned
Awfully emotional. And yes, Nintendo fans are the ONLY ones acting at ALL condescending. Right.
Yeah, that's not happening. The only claim with a worse chance of success than that is the idea of PS4 selling 16 million units in FY2013.
This is a great point that I hadn't thought of, and I hadn't seen brought up yet. The yen has weakened considerably since launch. A $50 price cut in the U.S. is probably something that can easily be handled.
I think we could see Standard/Premium at $250/300 later this year for the same bundles possibly with an extra game thrown in (Wii Sports U?).
With some luck they can have a steady stream of notable releases for a while which will create momentum and attract 3rd party support.
Thunder Monkey
Banned
Nintendo would be in the same relative position 3rd party relations wise if they did not focus on the Upad.
The hardware would likely be more or less identical to what was released. They do not design hardware for anyone else but their own developers and profitability. You'd still have GAFers posting "Lawl 7 year old hardware." It just might not have strayed far from the $249 Wii price point. At the absolute best the hardware would have more memory.
The hardware would likely be more or less identical to what was released. They do not design hardware for anyone else but their own developers and profitability. You'd still have GAFers posting "Lawl 7 year old hardware." It just might not have strayed far from the $249 Wii price point. At the absolute best the hardware would have more memory.
I haven't been able to read the whole thread since I'm on my phone, but has anyone pointed out how baffling is for a developer to say their dev kits are collecting dust? Dev kits aren't things you get in a store, and in order to get one you need more than just money (and they are expensive), to get one only to leave it untouched to me reads as incompetence, its almost embarrasing to be honest, although I'm not surprised devs acting like fanboys.
diffusionx
Gold Member
In terms of businesses deciding where to invest, no, they're not expensive.
Warm Machine
Member
The problem for you is that Mario and Sonic games are not made for you. They are made for 6-12 year olds as the target demographic. They also serve to be many children's first foray into video games so their controls and difficulty are tailored to that age range. That doesn't mean older people can't or don't enjoy the games just that Nintendo are not targeting the older gamer.
Rebooting Mario would serve no purpose. It is like trying to reboot Mickey Mouse to get 40 year olds in on the action. It wouldn't work.
DragonSworne
Banned
They want the yen to be cheaper at the point of sale. If anything, they can't afford a price cut now because the yen is stronger now.
Flightmare
Member
huh? The yen is weaker
It depends on their size of course, but I know what you mean. However, it is still pretty dumb to go through all the hurdles to get a WiiU dev kit only to leave it there. If they were waiting to see how WiiU performed is even more dumb.
H_Prestige
Banned
PS4 will have plenty of japanese games, just like the PS3.
diffusionx
Gold Member
I just don't see why it is dumb. Just because you get a development kit doesn't mean you're going to build a game.
Given the lack of documentation early on, they wouldn't have known how weak or powerful it was until they started to use it.
Warm Machine
Member
EA had many Dreamcast dev kits back in the day. Never made a game on them.
Maybe I'm understimating Avalanche's size then? I didn't expect they were that big.
velvet_nitemare
Member
Hilarious, some of the antics in here
marc you really predicted the Wii U's current situation? WOW that's amazing. I'd love to see that post if you can dig it out of the giant pile of Nintendo boosterism.
Heh
yes, it's certainly in the realm of possibility. It'll depend on the impact of Wii Fit, Pikmin 3, W101, Rayman, and some combination of Super Luigi, Mario 3D, Mario Kart, Retro's game, etc. More important is the huge advertising push we've been told is coming.
They sold ~2.5M in 6 months, including the holiday season. You now expect them to sell over 7.5 in the same period of time, which is usually the slowest for sales?
Warm Machine
Member
It wasn't a comment on size of the organization, just that larger development houses usually have kits that never end up getting used. They are for R&D and written off as such.
Most times though, a publisher buys the kits and gives them to you to use. After the project they are boxed up and sent back.
With Avalanche, their tech scales. Remember that the original Just Cause was also on PS2. I don't think a WiiU version of anything they are doing would be out of the question if the business numbers added up.
Crimsonclaw111
Member
I haven't laughed this hard at a gif since the EA money gif. Well done.
ClovingWestbrook
Banned
And its possible for the PS3 to sell 20 million this year. See, I can do what ifs too that arent based on reality. The Wii U WILL NOT sell 10 million by the launch of the others. It won't reach 8 million. I will make you a wager that it won't reach 10 million.
SuperEpicGuy
Banned
Excellent news. Genuinely happy. About time to fall of the nostalgia train they have been riding.
why would I make a wager on my high end estimate?
To show your confidence in your prediction. To show that you stick by your posts you make.
ClovingWestbrook
Banned
Dont make a claim, call people out who think your estimate is crazy, and then refuse to defend your statement. If you are confident then take my wager.
diffusionx
Gold Member
According to Wiki they ave "200+" employees. They've also been expanding lately. They're not huge but they also aren't small.
....or you could learn to read. I said Wii U could have 10 million sold before Sony or Microsoft even launch their consoles. I didn't say they will, nor did I say probably will.
I am confident in my claim because it's extremely reasonable, and just depends on when the next gen consoles release, what games Nintendo releases before then, and how effective their ad campaign is.
ClovingWestbrook
Banned
Ok. Sony could sell 30 million Vitas before the Wii U sells 10 million.