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[Barry Burton]

Fixed.

I'm not saying it's going to put up huge numbers (FWIW, I agree with you on its chances of matching GCN LTD numbers -- that actually seems optimistic at this point), but obviously it'll get out of the cellar. The Wii U library isn't even that attractive to Nintendo fans at the moment, for Pete's sake!

 

[metalslimer]

What I meant by my post is how many articles were talking of how Nintendo was "doomed" because the 3DS was not selling well not because the 3DS situation itself.

3DS had a rough start and got unfair criticism saying it was dead 2 months in. 9 months into the 3DS lifespan it had turned around and wiiu is getting worse. Nintendo quickly reacted to save themselves with the 3DS. The Wiiu looks like a big prank they decided to pull on the industry. Basically nintendo deserves every DOOM article they get at this point

 

[Busty]

Really bleak time for Nintendo but I still think they'll pull through. Doubt they'll come up on top or anywhere near Wii numbers.

DOUBT?! You believe there is room for doubt?! I'd have thought it was a stone cold certainty at this point.

Wii hardly knew U

Ahhh you son of a bitch that's a great line.

 

[Oppo]

I'm starting to think that Nintendo should have gone a whole other direction and create a next gen VR device.

I'd change one letter. A next gen AR device. Something you can play in a park or backyard, with others. It was the natural extension of the Wii in my opinion.

 

[Comet]

This is the 3DS all over again -_-

The 3DS didn't have to worry about the impending release of the PS4 and Xbox One which gets the majority of third party's attention. Totally different situations.

 

[Agent Icebeezy]

Everything that they've done in recent memory has led to this point. Running against the grain about so many things and changes in the gaming sphere, and as a whole, electronics sphere has led Nintendo to become the company that they are now. A company that has gone to the Mario well far too many times and does not seem to have their priorities in order. The runaway success of the Wii was the worst thing that could have happened to this because that emboldened them on this path of looking for a hook or a gadget to sell their system. Painful to see what they've become. My most fond childhood memories were on Nintendo consoles, usually with Nintendo made games. Now? I view them as a caricature of what they used to be. Games are still great, but soulless. I want to see them step out of their comfort zone instead of going for the big names. Those second tier franchises on consoles, I want to see those again. I bought my Wii for Zelda, but on launch day, we played Excite Truck the most. They are doing a poor job as a platform leader so it's easy to see why most are dropping this console.

 

[Coloress_Kafka]

Time to turn this dead horse into glue! Announce Wii U game streaming on 3DS and a 3DS emulator for Wii U!

 

[Starfish Hero]

Its much easier for nintendo to save a flagging handheld with nearly no direct competition than a console with very very strong competition.

Nope. PS4 and X1 are coming out soon.

The 3DS didn't have to worry about the impending release of the PS4 and Xbox One which gets the majority of third party's attention. Totally different situations.

What revisionist history are we telling that doesn't say the Vita's price announcement at E3 'doomed" the 3DS a couple years ago? It sounds silly in retrospect but this time two years ago just about everyone thought Sony cornered Nintendo at E3 and the 3DS was fucked. I'm not saying the Wii U isn't doing worse than the 3DS was, but it's not because of the PS4 and X1.

 

[Jimnymebob]

But what about people like me who have the console? Why would I want to buy another console from them so soon/why should I trust them again to put money down for a new console?
They sound like they want Nintendo to just sweep it under the rug and pretend it never happened.

 

[Kazuma Kiryu]

This is the 3DS all over again -_-

Nintendo wishes the WiiU was in the same situation as the 3DS was a few years ago. Unfortunately for them, it's not.

 

[tuffy]

If Nintendo can't even get software out the door for the Wii U on time, releasing a whole new console isn't going to help at all.

 

[JoeInky]

I'd rather they didn't relaunch until I atleast have DKC and Smash Bros.

I'd not buy the new console out of spite if they did and just stick to PC only from then on.

 

[mantidor]

"WiiU is failing"


"because the encroaching of the new mobile and smartphone market"

wow, games journalism, filtering all the way up to the BBC.

EGN.com... indeed lol.

 

[DR2K]

This is the 3DS all over again -_-

Yeah sure. . .

 

[NeonZ]

Make it on-par with the Xbox One/PS4 and sell it at $299-350 and they have another chance.

They can survive the failure thanks to the name.

That would never work. Smaller userbase than the established consoles at the time, meaning ports would still sell worse, which would lead to everyone abandoning the console besides Nintendo itself again, which yet again wouldn't be able to support it by themselves. Add to that all the people who would be burned by the Wii U just being dropped like that, the same people who'd likely buy their console day one otherwise but probably wouldn't buy that new console. Launching a console mid generation would be suicide.

What they could try would be to reduce price and make a sku without gamepad, with a different name and a system update, that go back to the remote as main controller. It'd be a radical attitude, but they need something big at this point.

 

[BGBW]

Poor BBC. They need a quote from a games outlet and all they got was an irrelevant comment about handhelds.

 

[JoeFenix]

Give it until next year atleast, the games are coming, if it fails to sell after they come out then start worrying.

 

[Exterminieren]

But what about people like me who have the console? Why would I want to buy another console from them so soon/why should I trust them again to put money down for a new console?
They sound like they want Nintendo to just sweep it under the rug and pretend it never happened.

Statistically speaking, you and I are mere blips on the radar. We invested and we got burned. Eh, it happens.

If there genuinely is no future for the device (certainly true in the UK, but more debatable elsewhere), then it is right for Nintendo to try and go back to the drawing board.

 

[redcrayon]

Its much easier for nintendo to save a flagging handheld with nearly no direct competition than a console with very very strong competition.

But I thought smartphones were very much direct competition, at least they were the most common reason given for the 3DS slump out of the gates? Hell, it's not even just phones any more, 3DS and Vita have to fight off everything from MP3 players and e-readers to tablets as well, pretty much any portable device with an online store which is virtually all of them. Considering that market didn't even exist when the PSP and DS launched, it's no surprise 3DS has struggled to match it's predecessor despite an awesome games line-up compared to the first 30-odd months on DS. I'm surprised its done as well as it has.

I agree a 3DS turnaround was much easier than the job Nintendo is facing now, even taking all of that into account. Their handheld business has been rock solid for 24 years, people have faith in it and the exclusive games that are designed specifically for it like Pokemon, animal crossing etc etc.

WiiU has simultaneously lost the casual market that shaping a controller like a remote with three buttons gained, while also hasn't had seven years of cultivating support for HD action games from third parties.

3DS is fairly traditional as far as hardware goes- it looks like a logical upgrade from a DS, the 3D is non-essential, and it's kept a touch screen, stylus, d-pad and gyro. All it needed was games and support from third parties, and it has the bonus of the games being quite quite cheap to make.

WiiU has many different problems in that it needs to prove that the game pad actually adds something, plus the third party support has been a problem on their home consoles for a while, even for the wildly successful Wii. Plus the new consoles have settled on broadly similar architecture, making it the least likely machine to get multiplatform games. 3DS was pretty much guaranteed to get a shitload of support as a Nintendo handheld, WiiU, not so much.

To Nintendo's credit there isn't a developer in the world that puts out as ridiculously prolific an amount of critically and commercially successful games as them, but they can't prop up the WiiU almost entirely by themselves, no one can, variety is the spice of life. I'm going to give it until Mario Kart releases next spring, and if it still looks bleak then, after what looks like the best line-up they could muster as a rescue plan, I'm not buying into it.

 

[Regiruler]

Isn't it doing better in the US?

EDIT: In comparison to UK.

 

[Gartooth]

Fans, third parties, and retailers are seeing what is going on with Wii U and collectively losing their shit, and Nintendo really needs to intervene and discuss a change in strategy for the system or how they are planning on fixing it. Instead of trying to regain confidence from these parties though, Nintendo is taking a pretty arrogant approach by ignoring the system's failures via their internal expectations for the system staying exactly the same despite the quarterly results, as well as ignoring viable threats to the system such as competition that is racing to market. They really need to come out and talk about what went wrong and where to take the system next similar to 3DS, but they haven't done it yet and just are letting it sink off shelves with no attempts to try and correct their messaging.

 

[SolarPowered]

One good thing about the Wii U is the name. The name is a big problem why the system failed but it's also a good excuse that Nintendo can recover from.

If the sales continue to suffer, Nintendo can basically pull a Virtual Boy and pull the plug. It's also similar to Coca Cola and New Coke.

Nintendo could vow to support the Wii U and relaunch a new console with a couple of years and call it Wii 2. Immediately people know it's the sequel to the original Wii and all Nintendo has to do is include an updated Wii Remote and pack in the Pro Controller.

Make it on-par with the Xbox One/PS4 and sell it at $299-350 and they have another chance.

They can survive the failure thanks to the name.

This should have been the Wii U.

 

[PhoenixDark]

Games aren't going to save this thing. The Gamecube had Zelda, SB, Mario etc and still underperformed; the WiiU is already on pace to do worse. The console is aimed at a demographic that moved away from console gaming years ago, and isn't coming back. And the lack of a decent online gaming infrastructure and lack of third party support ensure the "hardcore" audience will have little to no interest in it either.

TLDR: women and older people are playing iOS games, kids are playing CoD with their friends.

 

[heyf00L]

What revisionist history are we telling that doesn't say the Vita's price announcement at E3 'doomed" the 3DS a couple years ago? It sounds silly in retrospect but this time two years ago just about everyone thought Sony cornered Nintendo at E3 and the 3DS was fucked. I'm not saying the Wii U isn't doing worse than the 3DS was, but it's not because of the PS4 and X1.

Don't forget the "smart phones are killing the handheld market" talk.

 

[timcsavage]

Some retail stores dropped it by £100, and I, along with many others would have gladly bought it at that price.

But the games just aren't there... yet.

I am one of those that bought it before the price started dropping in the UK. I am annoyed but I hope that the upcoming games do something to help the console and we see Wii U is great threads like we do with 3DS now, after the doom passed for Nintendo's handheld.

 

[jmls1121]

And with that....,

Farewell to the WiiU. We hardly knew ye'.

Yes, in 10 years, when people look back on the WiiU, they will cite this BBC UK article as the reason for the failure.

 

[GolazoDan]

Always knew the BBC was in on the great third party conspiracy. DCI John Luther, Sherlock and the Doctor combining to hold Ninty down.

 

[Starfish Hero]

Don't forget the "smart phones are killing the handheld market" talk.

Damn, how could I? It's still happening.

 

[rahmz]

I think the root of all the Wii U's problems begins with its name. The concept, hardware, games, I mean that doesn't even matter if the general public thinks the tablet is an add-on...

They really are flogging a dead horse, if the horse was a Wii...

 

[Kintaro]

Hopefully the coming onslaught of games turn things around. I really don't understand why Nintendo released the console when they did. There's been literally nothing decent at retail since launch except Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate which is a port and Lego City. It's been a barren wasteland of the likes I haven't seen.

Lots of stuff coming out now though so I'm hopeful.

I'm sorry. It has some good looking stuff on the way but "onslaught?" If that is an onslaught, this system is dead.

 

[ymmv]

Wii U has tons of problems. One is that consumers don't understand what the fuck it is. Retailers don't even understand what the fuck it is.

And the system itself is confusing. It supports WAY too many different kinds of controllers. You should not NEED to support so many different controllers.

Absolutely true. When you see a promotional image for the new Mario game like this one:

It just enforces the idea that the tablet controller is indeed an addon for the Wii. It must be since one of those kids is playing with a Wiimote. So they must be playing on a Wii!

 

[jamesinclair]

Maybe if theyd released a game between 2009 and 2013 they wouldnt be having this problem

 

[Morts]

I'm sorry. It has some good looking stuff on the way but "onslaught?" If that is an onslaught, this system is dead.

I don't know, I'm someone who's been bummed about the Wii U since I last bought a game for it in December, but starting this month it has at least one exclusive I'm interested in every month through the end of the year. I can't currently say that about any other console.

 

[Rush2thestart]

Not only did the topic creator take the quote out of context, he also managed to atach the wrong party to the quote. Par for the course for Wii U news reports I guess.

 

[Whiskeymatt]

I absolutely love my Wii U, but it's future sales-wise is looking beyond bleak at this point. They need to come out with something along the lines of a $300 bundle with SM3DW + Nintendo Land + Pro Controller and market the living hell out of it this holiday. Even starting off the commercials with a logo that says Wii 2, where the 2 quickly morphs into a U could help clarify the message.

 

[Kater]

I'm sorry. It has some good looking stuff on the way but "onslaught?" If that is an onslaught, this system is dead.

It's going to be the Chapter One of the Chronicles of Wii U, basically. What we experienced until this point was just the Prologue. At least that is what I hope for as a Wii U owner.

 

[BGBW]

Not only did the topic creator take the quote out of context, he also managed to atach the wrong party to the quote. Par for the course for Wii U news reports I guess.

To be fair, writing "Gaming Expert" in the title would have made this thread seem like a joke topic.

 

[Linkstrikesback]

32m worldwide sales later and they're still peddling this line?

To be fair, something has taken a huge piece of the handheld pie (Compare 3DS vs DS sales at this point), and it sure isn't the vita.

 

[Thaumaturgic Tomato]

Would be funny if within 1.3 years Nintendo kills WiiU and comes out with an affordable, traditional gaming machine that is as powerful as Nvidia Titan and decimates PS4/X in all tech categories. Would be interesting to see that play out. Won't happen though

 

[jmls1121]

The 3DS didn't have to worry about the impending release of the PS4 and Xbox One which gets the majority of third party's attention. Totally different situations.

You're right, they only had to worry about iOS. No big deal.

 

[Minions]

To be honest it is no just the Wii-U in the UK. Pretty much all gaming purchases have been down pretty substantially. I'll be really interested to see how badly the Nextbox and PS4 sell after their first launch months. I think it will be a hard sale as the launch games are really not a large departure from what we're currently seeing on the 360 and PS3.

 

[Starfish Hero]

Would be funny if within 1.3 years Nintendo kills WiiU and comes out with an affordable, traditional gaming machine that is as powerful as Nvidia Titan and decimates PS4/X in all tech categories. Would be interesting to see that play out. Won't happen though

It would fail. Pretty hard. I don't know about you, but I sure as hell am not buying a console when its predecessor just set the precedent that it may only be supported for 1-2 years, no matter how good it looks on paper. Nintendo better stick with Wii U for at least 4 years if they don't want to flush consumer confidence (which has already been fragile since the 3DS price cut) down the toilet.

 

[Keyouta]

Absolutely true. When you see a promotional image for the new Mario game like this one:

It just enforces the idea that the tablet controller is indeed an addon for the Wii. It must be since one of those kids is playing with a Wiimote. So they must be playing on a Wii!

Yeah, the branding and marketing, the system design and Wii support all make it a horrible sell. This picture doesn't help reinforce this is a new console at all.

 

[redcrayon]

Would be funny if within 1.3 years Nintendo kills WiiU and comes out with an affordable, traditional gaming machine that is as powerful as Nvidia Titan and decimates PS4/X in all tech categories. Would be interesting to see that play out. Won't happen though

That wouldn't help. Their value is in differentiation and brand recognition, but done well- fighting smarter, not harder, and letting everyone know about it. Coming up with 'better' hardware than PS4 sold at a loss would be foolish, they lack the experience to make the most of it compared to the tech-centric approach of Sony and MS engineers, not to mention they are years behind in online etc. Plus it would be abandoning the kids audience for cheap console/Skylanders/Disney/marvel/lego/licensed tat/safer online that is one of their other advantageous markets, and a very lucrative one.

The WiiU is a confused attempt to apply their strengths to what they imagine a 'core' gamer to be, but they really messed up both in terms of branding and choice of hardware difference.

 

[Social]

It really hit me hard during my playtime with Pikmin 3 that this console will never be understood by anyone else but the hardcore Nintendo fan. I am playing with a remote, that has a motion+ attachment and a nunchuck while holding a gamepad that shows me a map that might as well be on the tv screen.

Meh, it's an overcomplicated useless way of playing games. The sad part is that the games are actually great and the gamepad just gets in the way of them.

 

[Jimnymebob]

Statistically speaking, you and I are mere blips on the radar. We invested and we got burned. Eh, it happens.

Yeah, I get you, but even though we're just mere blips how many of us (Wii U owners) would be totally fine to put our faith and money in nintendo hardware after the Wii U gets theoretically cancelled?
It just seems like they'd split their fanbase even more that way, or at the very least risk losing their Wii U userbase; which albeit not a substantial number they were the ones who were showing faith in Nintendo, so risking alienating them would be potentially disasterous.
I know personally I wouldn't buy another console from them this gen if they were to drop the console.

 

[Wickerbasket]

You're right, they only had to worry about iOS. No big deal.

I play games on my iPhone as much as the next person, but you must be joking if you think the gaming experience available there is comparable to a handheld console.

It might be enough for some people, but the level of competition is not comparable to the amount of competition the Wii U is facing from the next gen consoles.

 

[Wynnebeck]

This is the 3DS all over again -_-

Edit: okay, it seems like people have miss interpreted my post, let me make it clearer. What I meant by my post is how many articles were talking of how Nintendo was "doomed" because the 3DS was not selling well not because the 3DS situation itself.

Can we finally put this idea to rest? The Wii U/3DS comparison is nowhere near comparable and I don't think you realize just how dire of a situation Nintendo actually is in with the Wii U.

 

[Vorundor]

Price drop and pack in some indie games! Something creative!

 

[redcrayon]

It would fail. Pretty hard. I don't know about you, but I sure as hell am not buying a console when its predecessor just set the precedent that it may only be supported for 1-2 years, no matter how good it looks on paper. Nintendo better stick with Wii U for at least 4 years if they don't want to flush consumer confidence (which has already been fragile since the 3DS price cut) down the toilet.

Yeah, this. Nintendos best bet is to loyally sit this out, support the console for a full-ish 5-year cycle, take it in the shorts financially, let 3DS take some of the strain, watch, learn and spend the time making sure that they get it right next time. I would certainly expect a new Nintendo console far, far sooner than the PS4 successor though.