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[MikeE21286]

I think the Vita's main problem is that most of the potential audience isn't interested in carrying around a bulky (when compared to phones) dedicated gaming machine.

That's a very very bad problem. The people you made it for dont want it....well shit.

It's a device that solves a problem for nobody.

 

[Drago]

We're still missing PS3 and 3DS numbers right? (and to a lesser extent Wii)

Where are ya creamsugar?

 

[Aquamarine]

We're still missing PS3 and 3DS numbers right?

Where are ya creamsugar?

Probably silenced by the man.

 

[randomkid]

Wii U's tanking is really masking how this is the least info we've ever had in an NPD thread. I wonder if Wii beat Wii U, or how the 3DS did, or if Ni no Kuni > 75K.

 

[Freezie KO]

As a Wii U owner, these sales are deserved. I love a lot of Nintendo franchises. The Wii U will eventually be worth it for me. But for others? There's very little appealing about it.

You can even look at my own situation. I love platformers, and Mario is among my favorite franchises. I didn't even buy NSMBU and I own the system. I just bought NSMB2 months ago, and it completely underwhelmed.

So while I wait for Pikmin 3, my big selling point was playing Black Ops 2 with pointer aiming. While I love pointer aiming and hate dual analog, I can readily admit that most players are not on the same page as I am. They're more than happy playing Call of Duty a week earlier, with all the DLC, with their friends, on the other platforms.

I guessed before the console released that due to a lack of innovative dual screen games on DS/3DS, that Nintendo had run out of ideas for a two-screen set-up. And from what they're showing, they've done nothing gameplay-wise to prove the necessity of this new controller. Miiverse is great with the controller, but nobody is going to buy a console because of Miiverse.

 

[Lambda Pie]

haha @ DmC. kill the series, we have the HD collection and 4 is dirty cheap.

 

[Nekofrog]

We know very little about Nintendo's Wii U 2nd half 2013 schedule. Way too early to be thinking he's gonna be gone by years end. I feel like this is 3DS all over again with the early doom mongering

He's dead, Jim.

 

[jmizzal]

Never

But if it did happen, it would probably single handedly force me to import and learn Japanese. I'd be missing out on too much

I think next Nintendo system will be a console handheld hybrid

 

[mujun]

That's a very very bad problem. The people you made it for dont want it....well shit.

It's a device that solves a problem for nobody.

Pretty much. Seems that the Wii U has a similar problem.

Looks like it'll sell to those who can't live without the Nintendo staples but everyone else will make do with what is out now or is getting ready to move on to the hardware hitting later this year.

 

[The Technomancer]

Goddamn I blame the WiiU stuff almost entirely on marketing. Bad name, bad image, bad commercials. Fun system.

Literally all you have to do to sell a WiiU to five people is sit them down and have them play NintendoLand for three hours.

 

[Haint]

If I was Nintendo, I would be focusing my research on VR headsets. I think Oculus Rift has demonstrated that the technology a good VR headset is finally maturing. I would see how feasible it is to release PS4-level console with a VR headset in about 4 years. I would also start aggressively expanding the number of Nintendo-owned development studios, especially in the west. If Nintendo wants to be competitive again in the console scene, they need feature parity with the other consoles, but they also need more than that. VR is an immediately intuitive and sellable innovation in the same way that motion controls were. Right now that's the only path I can see for Nintendo to take; there may be others but I haven't thought of any yet.

In today's Nintendo Direct, it was funny hearing Miyamoto talk about how he's always liked 3D cause it's closer to being in the game. I thought, well, you kind of just passed up an opportunity to literally be in the game. Oculus Rift was the kind of innovation I would have expected out of Nintendo coming off the Wii, even if it were just an optional accessory to a Super Wii with an improved Wiimote. Instead we got a Fisher Price tablet that Chinese knockoffs put to shame and even Nintendo themselves seems to be struggling to come up with truly compelling uses for.

 

[DR2K]

Perhaps Sony would be "fucking themselves over" by NOT saving a handheld.
You do know that Sony is a Japanese company, right?
And that the Japanese, by and large, have abandoned console gaming for handhelds, right?

Here's a hard fact... Sony sells more portable game systems on a weekly basis than they do PS3s in Japan.
It just so happens that most of those portable systems are PSPs... NOT Vitas.

Provided that Sony is able to migrate those PSP purchasers over to the Vita... with aggressive marketing, pricing and software development... the Vita will begin to outsell the PS3 in Japan. And, undoubtedly the PS4 as well.

Problem is those people are buying 3DS's because almost every major seller has shifted to that platform.

 

[kswiston]

Do you guys think, Nintendo might go with a japan only handheld for the next generation?

Why would they do that?

3DS is not setting the western world on fire, but Japan only accounts for 34% of the total hardware shipments of the handheld. Super Mario 3D Land has shipped 8 million units, and out of those only 2 million were to Japan. The numbers are similar for Mario Kart 7. Why would they give up two thirds of their market?

 

[Nekofrog]

Honestly, people using the "NINTENDO AM DOOOOOMED" defense to deflect any and all actual discussion away from Nintendo's poor performance should be a bannable offense at this point.

but then I guess most of Nintendo gaf would be gone if that were the case :T

 

[Scum]

I think that ultimately Nintendo's survival in the modern age will not be solely dictated by pushing the envelope in hardware or by eye-catching gimmicks of the Wii. It will determined by how much they work towards improving relationships with developers, regardless of the changes that will entail internally.

If Nintendo has to give their western branches the freedom and authority to construct relationships with western third-party publishers and developers? Do it.

If Nintendo has to loosen up their publishing and licensing standards? Go for it.

As the Wii U is demonstrating right now, Nintendo can't hope for a lightning in a bottle to strike like the Wii did. What Nintendo can do however, is make sure that they're not completely left out in the cold.

This will probably be the best thing for NCL to do. Let NoA and NoE get a studio or two to help out. Be it established third parties, indie devs or having to set up their own.

 

[GitarooMan]

I think next Nintendo system will be a console handheld hybrid

Absolutely, I'd be surprised if it wasn't.

 

[Freezie KO]

Pretty much. Seems that the Wii U has a similar problem.

It's the opposite problem. The Vita definitely had a targeted market. That market doesn't want it. The Wii U is supposed to be for everyone. Instead, it's a jumbled mess of ideas for no one.

 

[Aquamarine]

We know very little about Nintendo's Wii U 2nd half 2013 schedule. Way too early to be thinking he's gonna be gone by years end. I feel like this is 3DS all over again with the early doom mongering

The sales of the 3DS (with a worse lineup) were 97k in its 3rd month.

The sales of the Wii U (with a better lineup) are 56k in its 3rd month.

Yeah, I think we should be doom mongering. This is SERIOUSLY disturbing.

 

[InsaneZero]

The 3DS isn't exactly embraced by western developers either, but the line up has become really impressive. So I don't think that is the main problem.

The 3DS has more leeway because it was always assumed to be the leader of the handheld pack in Japan. It's also naturally easier to develop for, considering that it is less resource demanding than say, a current console. But Nintendo has no room to assume that this state of affairs will remain for the next handheld, considering the dramatic shift that tablets and smartphones have brought about.

 

[Painraze]

Goddamn I blame the WiiU stuff almost entirely on marketing. Bad name, bad image, bad commercials. Fun system.

I agree with this. I would go so far to say the name "Wii U" destroyed a lot of it's sales potential right out the gate. It confused the fuck out of people who don't follow video games on a normal basis (ie Wii owners).

 

[Chuck]

ikr?! 3DO was BOSS

 

[Branduil]

They could do a VR peripheral for Wii U. It can already stream video to the controller with the off TV feature, so I guess it could stream to a VR headset too.

Might be better to save it for another console, but it might be an option.

I agree that VR is about to take off in a big way and totally change gaming forever.

If there's one saving grace for the Wii U it's that Nintendo now has experience making extremely low-latency streaming devices. Both motion controls and streaming will be necessary for any VR console, and Nintendo has the knowhow to do both.

i agree about the oculus rift. that tech also opens more doors to other virtual reality things the wii had dipped its toes into. if the or is extremely well-received, it won't have that cool-shiny-new effect the wii remote had. sort of a double-edged sword

I think Oculus Rift could be popular but not beyond the hardcore crowd. It has the problems of many PC peripherals, it's expensive and it won't work with every game. Nintendo would have a big advantage as the first VR console, because you know it would work with every game and there would be no fussing with drivers or mods or anything like that. That's big if you want the casual crowd.

i think japan is the problem. if america and europe had some say, they would suggest dropping the wii name, or at least not calling it the wii u. japan's also holding the purse strings on advertisement and interaction with third-parties. there's also continuing issues with regards to how games are pressed, the royalties developers receive, and how long the submission process can take. these are all things nintendo could have fixed in the last ten years, and still can, but haven't. it's one thing to play nice with atlus and get a fe x smt crossover in exchange for smt iv. it's another to have them do it without bribery.

An empowered NoA would sure be better than what we have now.

 

[teh_pwn]

Secret MS and Sony employees: Gamers aren't biting the waggle and low end hardware. Tell Balmer/Kaz to hit the turbo button.

 

[jj984jj]

People still bought 280k 360s and at least 150k PS3s (Wii + PS3 should be somewhere around 250k units combined based on Microsoft's market share number and the console numbers we have). It's not like no one is interested in console gaming anymore when over 500k units of 6-7 year old consoles were purchased in the United States last month. They are just not interested in the Wii U or Vita for various reasons.

The market will shrink though, unless PS4/Nextbox are more successful than their predecessors.

 

[Bsigg12]

haha @ DmC. kill the series, we have the HD collection and 4 is dirty cheap.

Why would anyone be happy about this? If DmC actually kills the series, then I doubt Capcom ever goes back to the well for Devil May Cry period. It just shows that that genre of games isn't really as popular as it used to be, and its a bad financial decision to ever put another game out.

 

[apana]

Nothing will change, Nintendo will continue to make consoles. For the record I never agreed with the Wii U idea. The 3DS was a good idea, just cost too much. Wii 2 with advanced motion would have made much more sense. Unfortunately Nintendo doesn't listen to me. Otherwise we would have cel shaded Metroid by now.

 

[dreamer3kx]

I love the system and the thing has some huge potential and some nice games coming out but man I have to say something must happen here, I dont know what, they need to do something bold with these iconic franchises they have but I dont think thats going to happen.

 

[ezekial45]

Why would anyone be happy about this? If DmC actually kills the series, then I doubt Capcom ever goes back to the well for Devil May Cry period. It just shows that that genre of games isn't really as popular as it used to be, and its a bad financial decision to ever put another game out.

Because people have a deep and pathological hatred for the game.

 

[Kusagari]

Why is everyone jumping on the 200k number? Do we have this confirmed or is this just a rumor, since the poster said he didn't want to link the forum he found it on?

It's not like that number will be off by much, even if it is incorrect. The game is sixth in a dead month of notoriously low sales and this year is worse than ever.

The game is a bomb.

 

[Narpas Sword0]

I love the system and the thing has some huge potential and some nice games coming out but man I have to say something must happen here, I dont know what, they need to do something bold with these iconic franchises they have but I dont think thats going to happen.

Mario DDR2 will save the Wii U

 

[evangd007]

Well, a least there is some good news for this NPD: DmC bombed.

 

[Roman]

Nothing will change, Nintendo will continue to make consoles. For the record I never agreed with the Wii U idea. The 3DS was a good idea, just cost too much. Wii 2 with advanced motion would have made much more sense. Unfortunately Nintendo doesn't listen to me. Otherwise we would have cel shaded Metroid by now.

I thought 3D was a terrible idea and wasn't against the Wii U concept until I saw the name, price and box.

 

[Averon]

Another Ninja Theory game completely bombs. Surprise. Surprise

Why does that studio continue to get work? Three failed games from three different publishers (Sony, Namco, and now Capcom). Much better developers died doing far better commercially. How NT still sucker big publishing houses to give them AAA projects is, by far, their greatest accomplishment.

 

[Nekofrog]

And yet Nintendo will likely be fine. They have a lot of work to do, but I'll wait until their first party lineup and another holiday rolls around before I etch their gravestone. This isn't a Sega situation where they are out of money. At least yet.

if NSMB couldn't drive sales, Mario Kart/Smash Bros/Zelda won't either.

Goddamn I blame the WiiU stuff almost entirely on marketing. Bad name, bad image, bad commercials. Fun system.

Literally all you have to do to sell a WiiU to five people is sit them down and have them play NintendoLand for three hours.

damn, it's a good thing you're not in charge of nintendo. sales would be sub 20k.

 

[SlipperyMoose]

Tablets dominate.

fixed

 

[SapientWolf]

Because people have a deep and pathological hatred for the game.

I don't hate DmC. I just like DMC more.

 

[Striek]

People still bought 280k 360s and at least 150k PS3s (Wii + PS3 should be somewhere around 250k units combined based on Microsoft's market share number and the console numbers we have). It's not like no one is interested in console gaming anymore when over 500k units of 6-7 year old consoles were purchased in the United States last month. They are just not interested in the Wii U or Vita for various reasons.

Presuming MS figure is units not revenue, and presuming they're including the Wii U, the PS3+Wii actually did around 300k between them.

 

[Coolwhip]

How do you guys think Nintendo should have followed the Wii up? I hear a lot of reasons why the Wii U is failing, but not many suggestions or ideas what -would- work for Nintendo.

Personally I think the Wii 2 should have been a cheap, family oriented console, with improved motion controls and optional traditional controls. So no expensive Gamepad. Ignoring the 'mature' market, no half assed ps360 ports for example. And with all the gametypes that people seem to like currently. Like Minecraft and simple iOS type games, but then on your tv with online functionality.

 

[Admiral Bone to Pick]

It's not a great sign for the 8th generation that every system is DOA in at least one territory. Of the five main systems of the 7th generation, each one has sold at least 70 million units. I don't see the Vita doing that, and the Wii U's situation isn't looking good right now (although it's bound to improve). Sony and Microsoft have a lot of marketshare to grab if they can price their systems reasonably and offer appealing software/features.

 

[Bsigg12]

Because people have a deep and pathological hatred for the game.

Which is just asinine. The series was already falling , and if people really wanted to see the end of Devil May Cry, there's a pretty solid chance its here.

Edit: As pointed out by others, DMC 4 did 2.7 million units to date between the PS3 and 360 versions. How many units has Ninja Gaiden 3 moved? I'm trying to get a bearing for the hack and slash with combo systems genre to see if they are remaining relevant.

Also, I'm not defending DmC like its a GOTY potential game. I found it fun especially on the harder difficulties but again, not amazing.

So thank you for tearing me a new asshole, I deserved it.

 

[Clear]

I should have asked you if you were a CEO

The Vita is salvageable in my opinion. It needs a price-cut and better software.

Assassin's Creed: Liberation has apparently shifted 600k units, that's not too shabby.

 

[Sandfox]

The Vita is salvageable in my opinion. It needs a price-cut and better software.

Assassin's Creed: Liberation has apparently shifted 600k units, that's not too shabby.

How many people would've bought the game without the bundle?

 

[Azure J]

Why would anyone be happy about this? If DmC actually kills the series, then I doubt Capcom ever goes back to the well for Devil May Cry period. It just shows that that genre of games isn't really as popular as it used to be, and its a bad financial decision to ever put another game out.

If Capcom doesn't try to accept that maybe, just maybe, something was wrong with DmC and their expectations for it and instead chooses to plug their ears and go "LALALALALA genre not popular", it's entirely on them especially in the face of the facts regarding DMC4's acceptance in a similar time frame.

 

[toastyToast]

Since Capcom was so intent on rebranding DMC and chasing a new audience, why was most of the effort put towards sating the old fans? At least if they managed to expand the audience, I'd understand but they rolled the dice with the old fans and did diddly to attract new ones. DmC is a pretty good game (beaten out by less than a handful) and even though it is what it is, I don't want to see a pillar of the action game franchise disappear.

Such a failure

 

[famfrit]

Unfortunately Nintendo doesn't listen to me. Otherwise we would have cel shaded Metroid by now.

Please Nintendo, hire apana for the good of cell shaded metroid !

 

[Schnozberry]

if NSMB couldn't drive sales, Mario Kart/Smash Bros/Zelda won't either.

I don't know why you're so certain of that. I think a good holiday bundle at the right price would sell well. There is no silver bullet, but software is the main problem with the system.

 

[RM8]

if NSMB couldn't drive sales, Mario Kart/Smash Bros/Zelda won't either.

I think NSMBU got affected by being released so close to NSMB2. The last Smash game was released in 2008, and even for the GameCube Melee was a decent system seller. It honestly needs all the help it can get.

 

[Kusagari]

Which is just asinine. The series was already falling, and if people really wanted to see the end of Devil May Cry, there's a pretty solid chance its here.

DMC4 was the best selling game in the franchise.

The series was not failing and this asinine rewriting of history that DMC4 left the franchise dead is getting REALLY old.

 

[Haint]

I have a hard time believing all you guys shitting on DMC and cheering it's apparent failure have actually played it. It's a straight up incredible action game, the best of the entire generation IMO--if not of all time.

 

[metalslimer]

Which is just asinine. The series was already falling, and if people really wanted to see the end of Devil May Cry, there's a pretty solid chance its here.

Stop with this horrendous bullshit. DMC4 sold the best in the series.