ultratruman
Banned
Yup, E3 2013 and doubling down on Nintendo Directs in lew of traditional media is another example of Iwata refusing to expose himself to criticism.
Satoru is as Machiavellian as they come.
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Nintendo lowers forecast from ¥55B profit to ¥25B loss [3DS 18M->13.5; WiiU 9M->2.8M]
- Thread starter mackaveli
- Start date
Yup, E3 2013 and doubling down on Nintendo Directs in lew of traditional media is another example of Iwata refusing to expose himself to criticism.
Satoru is as Machiavellian as they come.
Graphics Horse
Member
It only seems so ridiculous because they refused to change it earlier. It was clear 4 months ago that it wasn't going to happen, and already seemed unrealistic before that.
On the Wii.
Relaxed Muscle
Member
"Sorry for disturbing you while playing DQ VIII, but did you know our new Kirby game is out right now and only for 4x more the price you paid for many of the games on your phone?!"
ultratruman
Banned
Consider what valve said about their own reasons for dropping a touchscreen controller, 'the least used feature shouldn't be the most expensive'.
Relaxed Muscle
Member
That's awful. Probably means they won't be able to drop the price any time soon. Also how it can be so expensive still?
Blaming the Gamepad is such a fruitless argument. Ask anyone who owns a Wii U and most will say they love the Gamepad. If Nintendo had done a better marketing job, secured better third party support and named the damn thing Wii 2, they would be in a very different boat right now. However they got lazy, arrogant and self absorbed. Now they are paying the price.
Can Crusher
Banned
If this doesn't tell Nintendo it's time to rethink their strategy, I don't know what will.
Interfectum
Member
I don't know if I'd want shareholders controlling anything. All they'll do is force Nintendo on iOS, get a decent surge in stock value and sell before it all comes tumbling down.
BruceLeeRoy
Banned
The best thing about the console is Mario World and it has nothing at all to do with the gamepad.
Spot on
I own a wii u and I like it a lot. But I agree with this. I love the gamepad, but it's done nothing to justify its own existence and certainly nothing to justify them not having developed a split controllor wii mote 2.0 with dual analogue integrated.
MEsoJD
Banned
People keep using this distinguish bs with the gamepad, but it should be the games/system. Not this gimmicky crap. I've had time with the system and I can't help, but think they tried to have another wii moment (which is now dead btw). They see the whole tablet craze and think casuals will just jump on it. Casuals are a bad bet (it doesn't last). Anyway, a modern console should have good games, a practical controller (pro controller, 360, dual shock, etc), a fast/functional OS, and a robust network (IMO). I haven't seen any of that with the WiiU except a few gems in the games department. The amount of money they invested in the gamepad and it's technology could have been used to in making a more powerful/functional/practical system. You think the majority of MS/Sony console sales are from the appeal of their gimmicks (kinect,eye, light bar, t.v., remote play, etc)? Hell No. The gamepad and miverse are doing shit for sales. Nintendo needs new blood... new leadership... a new philosophy.
TheGreatMightyPoo
Banned
That's only the third best game for it though.
That's great, and you are welcome to keep your GamePad (hey, I love it too), but the best thing about the console for Nintendo is selling a shit ton more units, whatever it takes, and making the Pad optional is not ideal for early adopters but, if feasible, it would be a course of action to consider.
Selling Pads separately does not mean killing Miiverse. In fact once a consumer has a Wii U they could be directly advertised/informed about the Pad and Miiverse as a great extra to invest in.
Either way, selling no more Wii Us will kill off Miiverse faster.
What's upsetting is that people in the building clearly saw that is was a mistake, as they heavily considered dropping it from the console right before the reveal. But I reckon Iwata and the higher-ups were terrified of launch a last-gen console without a 'gimmick' and an easy marketing angle, so the gamepad stayed.
I'm assuming a big price drop.
Wolfgunblood Garopa
Member
They went with the gamepad at the expense of the console itself. It was a huge risk that was taken for no good reason.
The console was designed to make room for the cost of the gamepad. Nintendo needed to have a console that performed on the level of the PS4. It would have been a slam dunk- it would be much more appealing to the console audience which is mostly in the west, and 3rd parties would not shun the console. Instead, they went with the gimmick and hoped for another first party phenomenon like Wii Sports to carry them again.
Price cut or spending the money on a more powerful machine.
A big price drop, however some people in the know have suggested it's not feasible considering their retailer predicament. Which I would love to read more info about personally!
Note: I love the GamePad but we're at a last resort scenario here.
Oh well at least they warned their investors quickly.... still it's a disaster on all fronts....Wii U going from 9m to 2.8m, 3DS from 18m to 13.5m and overall losses for the company.
Their products are performing much lower than their expectations, even the 3DS.
It's time to rethink their strategy.
The best thing to do in my opinion is to focus their efforts on a 3DS successor with the ability to play its games on a TV so that they can put all their strength and support behind it while trying to cover the disaster of the Wii U in the home console market, at the same time they should start experimenting with their back catalogue on iOS/Android.
Their products are performing much lower than their expectations, even the 3DS.
It's time to rethink their strategy.
The best thing to do in my opinion is to focus their efforts on a 3DS successor with the ability to play its games on a TV so that they can put all their strength and support behind it while trying to cover the disaster of the Wii U in the home console market, at the same time they should start experimenting with their back catalogue on iOS/Android.
It seem that's your wish.
metalslimer
Member
There will be no big price drop with a gamepad drop. The point would be to get to profitable. Maybe they would add a game to the package.
Anyway, people need to accept that no one gives a shit about Miiverse in the general public, and the mainstream doesn't care about a shitty tablet controller.
Anyway, people need to accept that no one gives a shit about Miiverse in the general public, and the mainstream doesn't care about a shitty tablet controller.
outunderthestars
Banned
It would have allowed for a dramatically less expensive, or more powerful system. Both of these would have increased third party support.
Neither one would matter if they still did a shit job marketing and with third party software. It's not the Gamepad people.
TreasureHunterG
Banned
You are not alone into this, Aquamarine. Iwata really blew it and drove Nintendo into this situation, among with Miyamoto and Takeda. He didn't managed to keep the Wii momentum intact, he had the opportunity to actually lead the industry TWO TIMES in 2006 and 2010/2011 if he didn't left the spec/tech race and didn't got himself into the "we can't compete" paranoia. He totally mislead the gaming market's trends by believing hardware power, graphics and long games were no longer relevant in the GC days, ignored the online market, shut down Nintendo's western arm autonomy and disassembled their internal studios and second-parties, didn't properly prepared the company for the HD development (circa the numerous delays for WiiU), didn't learn anything from the 3DS name confusion and the overprice which led to a massive price cut which drove the company to bleed money in the first time in their history, a mistake they repeated with WiiU. Third-parties all but left and Iwata made several quotes in the past that he doesn't give a shit about them, so this won't change while he's still there.
Yes, he needs to leave and the company needs to change it's mentality ASAP.
Well yes, but what timeframe are we talking about? Short term profit from a price drop would not be possible, but long term if there is a gradual uptick in HW adoption, and hence more software purchases, profit can be made through software (which is more or less Nintendo's general philosophy anyway).
Do you know how much money they charge for a separate gamepad? $150, for a single, one, controller.
outunderthestars
Banned
I think Nintendo need to either find some way to drop the Wii U price by $100 or to quickly get a console to market that will replace the Wii U. It has clearly failed.
Interfectum
Member
The gamepad is too expensive to make and the idea of making a gamer look away from the main screen action for some gimmick on the controller is not really compelling to most people. Remote play is neat but Nintendo already has a fantastic portable too so... basically the entire idea of the gamepad is flawed at best.
TheGreatMightyPoo
Banned
Nothing like a rushed console to fix everything.
1. It would have been cheaper
2. If not cheaper, it would have been more powerful
3. Either of the above 2 reasons would have led to better 3rd party titles and potentially more suport
4. It would not have confused the shit out of casual gamers looking at the ads
5. It could have built on the motion controls Nintendo had become famous for and successful with
Nicktendo86
Member
I'm not even mad anymore, just sad.
Kazuma Kiryu
Member
Pretty much as expected really.
3DS continues to be down year after year, but still, a very good performance.
The Wii U really is shaping up to be one of gaming's worst performing consoles and I very much doubt it can be salvageable.
Where they go next is going to be interesting.
3DS continues to be down year after year, but still, a very good performance.
The Wii U really is shaping up to be one of gaming's worst performing consoles and I very much doubt it can be salvageable.
Where they go next is going to be interesting.
The shop doesnt work without the game pad either and most games use the touchpad for some functionality. Nintendos would have to redo the whole system and patch a lot of games if they cut the gamepad. It will not happen.
Advanced Wiimote+Nunchuk combo FTW. 2 more buttons, a couple of analog triggers and motion + on both. Could have done that and called it a day.
metalslimer
Member
There is no way to drop the price by 100 dollars without huge losses even with a gamepad drop. There is also no way to get a system out quickly without cutting off software for the 3DS and their next handheld. Nintendo has to wait it out while taking these losses and maybe slightly profiting over the next few years. Iwata is an idiot though and has to go if he even believes 1/5 of the bullshit he spouts.
Yes but its too late to change it now.
Didnt people think it would go to around 5 mil?
Regardless of how much people may or may not love the gamepad, it has led to a jacked up console price that is not attractive to people. It's almost certainly the biggest obstacle in cutting Wii U's price down to a level most people consider worth their money. It's not THE issue, as Wii U is plagued with a multitude of issues, but it's definately one of them.
Additionally, it's doing Nintendo no favors when they release almost nothing but games that can make practically no use of the touch screen, i.e. platforming games, the upcoming mario kart and smash etc. I'm fairly sure Zombi U has outdone any 1st party attempt at doing something innovative with the pad, party games notwithstanding.
edit: as an aside, isn't there an upcoming investor's meeting or somesuch? Anyone know the date?
RurouniZel
Asks questions so Ezalc doesn't have to
Fixed for agreement. :3
chaosblade
Unconfirmed Member
If the problem with third party support is Nintendo's own developer relations and support, then having a system similar to the other two still wouldn't have made a difference.
Nintendo's problems seem to go a lot deeper than misreading the market and launching an "underpowered" system. It honestly seems like their entire corporate culture needs an overhaul, get some people in charge that will take things beyond Japan's borders into consideration.
Triggerhappytel
Member
I don't understand your point. Kaz has only been CEO of Sony for, what, a couple of years, he's already made some great moves (as some have said, began consolidating the disparate parts of the business, closing down unprofitable divisions or selling unnecessary buildings) and despite his absence the PS division still has excellent leadership and a clear vision. I mean, Stringer was really bad news for Sony and should have been replaced much sooner, but based on his first short while as CEO it looks like Kazuo-san is making the right moves.
I'm going to be one of those guys who throws their hat into the "Nintendo must go third party" ring. Nobody buys a Nintendo system for the hardware. (You could argue Wii, but the remote gimmick wore off quickly, and is the main reason I was not interested in Skyward Sword).
I would love to play Zelda and Mario on a PS4 and would happily pay £40 each for them. But those games are not worth the entry fee of a whole new console (and don't argue, the sales numbers agree with me!)
They make no profit on their hardware sales currently as well. Why stick with your unprofitable Wii U with a small install base when you can have a huge PS4 and Xbox One crowd and sell your software on those as well (which is where Ninty makes their money). I seriously do not understand the argument against it.
My two cents.
I would love to play Zelda and Mario on a PS4 and would happily pay £40 each for them. But those games are not worth the entry fee of a whole new console (and don't argue, the sales numbers agree with me!)
They make no profit on their hardware sales currently as well. Why stick with your unprofitable Wii U with a small install base when you can have a huge PS4 and Xbox One crowd and sell your software on those as well (which is where Ninty makes their money). I seriously do not understand the argument against it.
My two cents.
It didn't help. Nintendo didn't just fuck up with one thing with the Wii U, they fucked up everything possible.