Nintendo’s Wii U Is Costing It Billions

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I know this argument comes up all the time but maybe this time things are different. What do you guys think?

Unlike video game publisher Take-Two Interactive or Activision-Blizzard, Nintendo only releases games for the consoles it makes, a strategy reiterated earlier this week by Nintendo of America's President Reggie Fils-Aime. In an interview with KING 5 News, Fils-Aime defended his company's policy, stressing that Nintendo will not be bringing Super Mario to Apple's iOS platform anytime soon.
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Wait this is wrong, this article is taking into consideration previous gen consoles.

Very few first party games are made for current and last gen consoles.

You can't just compare sales like that.
 
The WiiU failed because they decided to double the cost of $150 gaming console because they felt innovation would be to add a tablet as a controller.
 
Actually, you can compare sales pretty easily. The article clearly pointed out the problem lies with the number of people that can actually play the game. Knack outselling super mario 3d world , not because knack is a better game(it actually looks a bit shit, fairly generic, recycled enemy AI resulting on only maybe 5 types of enemies re-skinned, etc.), but because Nintendo doesn't have anyone to sell their games to.

Also as the article points out, In 8 days Nintendo only managed to sell 215,000 copies of sm3dw, compared to GTA 5's 11 million in 24 hours. It's not that GTA is a better game, or sm3dw is crap, it's that Nintendo simply doesn't have anyone to sell their games to. I wouldn't expect Nintendo to pull off 11 million copies sold on day 1 if they had made their latest mario game a cross platform title, but they certainly could have done a hell of a lot better than 215k in 8 days. Even with supposedly 4.5 million Wii-U's sold, not everyone with a Wii-U wants to play a mario game. However, there are more people who don't have a Wii-U who would probably love to play a mario game, but won't buy a console for 1-2 titles.

Any company run by people with more than just a couple of braincells should be looking at growth. Nintendo cannot grow(as in their revenue) if they don't have enough of a market(wii-u owners) to sell their games to.

Of course they've still got a pretty large share of the handled market(ignoring mobile phone games, which primarily suck) compared to Sony with their PSP. Nintendo isn't just going to give up and become a third party publisher just because of the Wii-U. Anyone thinking that Nintendo would abandon ship just because of the Wii-U's poor marketshare is an idiot.
 
Merc1138 said:
Actually, you can compare sales pretty easily. The article clearly pointed out the problem lies with the number of people that can actually play the game. Knack outselling super mario 3d world , not because knack is a better game(it actually looks a bit shit, fairly generic, recycled enemy AI resulting on only maybe 5 types of enemies re-skinned, etc.), but because Nintendo doesn't have anyone to sell their games to.

Also as the article points out, In 8 days Nintendo only managed to sell 215,000 copies of sm3dw, compared to GTA 5's 11 million in 24 hours. It's not that GTA is a better game, or sm3dw is crap, it's that Nintendo simply doesn't have anyone to sell their games to. I wouldn't expect Nintendo to pull off 11 million copies sold on day 1 if they had made their latest mario game a cross platform title, but they certainly could have done a hell of a lot better than 215k in 8 days. Even with supposedly 4.5 million Wii-U's sold, not everyone with a Wii-U wants to play a mario game. However, there are more people who don't have a Wii-U who would probably love to play a mario game, but won't buy a console for 1-2 titles.

Any company run by people with more than just a couple of braincells should be looking at growth. Nintendo cannot grow(as in their revenue) if they don't have enough of a market(wii-u owners) to sell their games to.

Of course they've still got a pretty large share of the handled market(ignoring mobile phone games, which primarily suck) compared to Sony with their PSP. Nintendo isn't just going to give up and become a third party publisher just because of the Wii-U. Anyone thinking that Nintendo would abandon ship just because of the Wii-U's poor marketshare is an idiot.
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How many of those 11million sales were on say the PS4, as that is all that matters, you can't compare 1 current gen console to the sales of all the current and last gen consoles.
 
sfsuphysics said:
The WiiU failed because they decided to double the cost of $150 gaming console because they felt innovation would be to add a tablet as a controller.
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i know, in hindsight this is a valid point, but when the wii launched, people said the same thing. it was underpowered and had motion controls that noone thought that there would be a market for it. today we know the wii was super successful - for the wrong reasons, yes, a lot of hardware units were sold to a casual audience. maybe that same audience would have considered the tablet a cool thing, but this time it didn't work. as a business you need to take risks, but i wish they'd adapt faster to bad decisions. i think the lack of cpu power of the hardware is a bigger problem than the tablet. you can still use other input devices, but you can't fix the lame hardware.

their communication sucks balls too. reggie and iwata are as boring as a human being could possibly be. the nintendo direct is a great idea to communicate what nintendo is working on, but holy cow, mr iwata is terrible in that role. his english makes my ears bleed (and i'm not even a native english speaker), he talks way too slow and his clothing doesn't appeal the target audience.
 
Would be a mistake since if Mario/Zelda/Metroid/etc. is on IOS or some alternative platform there will be no need to purchase the Wii U or any other Nintendo console. The platform needed a bunch of killer games at release and it didn't have it. Nintendo isn't sweating because besides the 3DS keeping things profitable they have billions of dollars in cash on hand and time to turn things around with expanded library/console price cut/manufacturing cost decrease/etc.
 
But how long will that cash pile last when you have been in last place two console generations?
 
temujin987 said:
i know, in hindsight this is a valid point, but when the wii launched, people said the same thing. it was underpowered and had motion controls that noone thought that there would be a market for it. today we know the wii was super successful - for the wrong reasons, yes, a lot of hardware units were sold to a casual audience. maybe that same audience would have considered the tablet a cool thing, but this time it didn't work. as a business you need to take risks, but i wish they'd adapt faster to bad decisions. i think the lack of cpu power of the hardware is a bigger problem than the tablet. you can still use other input devices, but you can't fix the lame hardware.
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The difference though is the Wii-mote didn't nearly double the price of the console, yeah you only got one controller but if you wanted another it ran you another $40-50 or so. From the beginning you could see them selling the WiiU tablet controller in Japan for somewhere on the order of $180US. That is a major price hike on a system, which as you said is underpowered in the console wars, but it's market is a different demographic, if they released the WiiU for $199, and simply made it a more powerful Wii with HD graphics they probably would have sold a ton more.

Not every console needs innovation, hell the history of consoles shows just the opposite, newer consoles have historically just been more powerful versions that have better graphics and that's basically the selling point right there. The fact they have an analog stick didn't help sell a console, a bluray player MAY have helped sell PS3s early on (before you could get a BDplayer for $50) but that was hardly innovation. The Wii, WiiU, and the XboxOne are the only ones that decide to tie some specialty hardware as part of the gaming experience, in the case of the XBox One it added another $100 to the price of the system, but that only increased the price by about 25%, in the WiiU's case it increased the price on the order of 100%.
 
Spazturtle said:
Almost twice as fast as the PS3 isn't real hardware?
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If people want good hardware, they're going to buy a PS4 or One.

If people want a casual system but aren't really gamers, they're only going to drop $99 on a Wii.

Wii-U is stuck in an intermediate state. It's too much for casual gamers and not good enough for hard core gamers.

The reality is Nintendo is stuck in their ways. Since they had more money that Sega, they lasted longer, but the reality is Nintendo and Sega have a very similar hardware and software style. Look what happened to Sega. I think Nintendo is next.
 
bigdogchris said:
If people want good hardware, they're going to buy a PS4 or One.

If people want a casual system but aren't really gamers, they're only going to drop $99 on a Wii.

Wii-U is stuck in an intermediate state. It's too much for casual gamers and not good enough for hard core gamers.

The reality is Nintendo is stuck in their ways. Since they had more money that Sega, they lasted longer, but the reality is Nintendo and Sega have a very similar hardware and software style. Look what happened to Sega. I think Nintendo is next.
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If people wanted good hardware they would have got a PC.
 
Wait, the Wii U is twice as fast (powerful?) as PS3 but its games still look worse? No wonder no one wants it.
 
You don't need a business degree to figure out that selling on 4+ platforms is better than selling on one. I'm sure if Nintendo every gets to a point where they are hurting for money, you will start seeing Mario/Zelda/Pokemon/etc. on everything from PCs to smart refrigerators.
 
Megalith said:
Wait, the Wii U is twice as fast (powerful?) as PS3 but its games still look worse? No wonder no one wants it.
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so no one would buy the new 2014 mustang if it was out paced by a 2014 toyota camry? lol
 
Darunion said:
so no one would buy the new 2014 mustang if it was out paced by a 2014 toyota camry? lol
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Nonsensical analogy, because the only similarity you might be able to come up with is cost, but the Wii-U is really not that much cheaper than any of the other current-gen consoles.

Wii-U needs to be about $150 cheaper given the current library of games and the competition.
 
i am still adamant that all their problems are because of the Wii's success and the Wii's demise.

So many people went out and got a Wii, played it for like a month and then it just sat on the shelf collecting dust. They may have sold tons of them but the real 'fan base' was really really small.

They banked on the Wiis numbers but all those who bought a wii and had it collect dust have no want to get another "Wii" console and have it sit and collect dust again, those people have moved on from social gaming. All they were left with were the "fan boys" who can't keep the system afloat.

Price of the system is not the problem, again, it is those casual/social gamers that left their Wii to rot a month after they bought it. No first party games are going to being them back.
 
Naming it the Wii U was probably a huge mistake, as casuals probably assume it's a minor revision to the original hardware with an added tablet controller. Oh wait, it actually kind of is...
 
That site is always full of nonsensical doom and gloom BS. They also spelled the end of PC's, the end of Microsoft, and apple.. they're all morons on that site.

Nintendo's WiiU is of course failing, but they're raking in profit hand over fist with it's handheld monopoly.
 
fdiaz78 said:
But how long will that cash pile last when you have been in last place two console generations?
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Uhh, they got first last generation.

Heck it is easy to argue that they were the only ones that actually got a proper profit last generation, so, are you gonna predict them a fail for the next generation too?
 
nintendo has released a console since the wii? and its called a wii u?

eek
 
Good for Nintendo. I am sick of watered down poor experiences on iOS when publishers bring big name titles to iOS.

Super Madio 3D World is an incredible game. If Nintendo tried anything like that on a smartphone or tablet, it would be a total mess and not up to the typical Mario standard.

Even if they brought games like Mario Party over, people would just quickly realize those games just aren't very fun unless you are in the same room with other people.
 
Seems all too many are missing the point of the article. The article is lamenting Nintendo's choice to only sell it's games to its own hardware platform... losing out on the billions it could have made by selling the games on the xbox and ps platforms too.

Sure the side jab is aimed at a floundering wii u platform. But the main knock out punch is aimed at nintendo's refusal to embrace other platforms with it's software.
 
I got a Wii U today... $257.49 and a $25 gift card. It came with New Super Mario Bros. U and New Luigi U. Sure there aren't a ton of games yet, but I wanted an HDMI connected Wii so things will look better.

I also plan to use it for Netflix instead of my PS3 or Blu-Ray player as the Blu-Ray is just plain slow and the fat PS3 eats gobs of power. The included tablet/controller seems like it's going to be really awesome for Netflix and can even act as the TV remote (I didn't know this, they should advertise that better). At $300 I wouldn't have bought it, but getting it for just over $230 after subtracting the free gift card that's for a store I shop at anyway I felt like it was time to get one. Depending on how much Netflix I watch on it I might even save a bit of money on my power bill vs. watching on my PS3 ;)
 
Meant to mention I am not sure Ninty is leaving billions on the table. They make a ton of licensing fees even off the shovelware some 3rd party companies put out. I'm not sure they could sell enough of their A-list games to make up for that.
 
Bigbacon said:
i am still adamant that all their problems are because of the Wii's success and the Wii's demise.

So many people went out and got a Wii, played it for like a month and then it just sat on the shelf collecting dust. They may have sold tons of them but the real 'fan base' was really really small.

They banked on the Wiis numbers but all those who bought a wii and had it collect dust have no want to get another "Wii" console and have it sit and collect dust again, those people have moved on from social gaming. All they were left with were the "fan boys" who can't keep the system afloat.

Price of the system is not the problem, again, it is those casual/social gamers that left their Wii to rot a month after they bought it. No first party games are going to being them back.
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I bought a Wii for my nephews and nieces while I was raising them and they LOVED it.
I loved Zelda and Metroid on it.
Problem is, once I beat Zelda and Metroid, there was nothing else for me, I stopped playing. As soon as a shiny Xbox 360 with REAL graphics and a large library of games made it into the house, NO ONE played the Wii anymore and it got boxed up and put on a shelf because everyone was tired of Wii Sports, Metroid and Zelda and there was nothing else to play on it.
Wii was damned because there was a serious lack of games for it with no triple A titles being released for it, it was kept on life support by first party games few and far between. WiiU didn't have any real first party games we wanted to play for the FIRST 9 MONTHS! Here we are a year after release and just got the first Mario title. No Zelda, No Metroid, No real 3rd party support, No chance.
 
I think Nintendo's problem is that it still doesn't understand this new social gaming centered market, management is can't wrap their heads around the concept of an online connected console yet, they're way behind Sony and MS in this area, and now that the casual market has evaporated because of tablets and smartphones they're struggling to cater to both gaming segments, only thing they have left is the much smaller Mario/Zelda/Metroid fans niche.
 
Megalith said:
Wait, the Wii U is twice as fast (powerful?) as PS3 but its games still look worse? No wonder no one wants it.
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I own both... Almost every game on the PS3 runs a 720p. Most Wii U games run at 1080p. The games look good as any and graphics don't mean shit. Gameplay is what makes a game. I will play a cheap indie game on the PC any day over over-hyped shit on most consoles.

The Wii U has fun games the problem is they don't have enough games. My wife wanted the console to play Mario and Zelda games. For me that wouldn't have been a good enough selling point. Do I play it? Yes, but it has gotten months of down time between worthy tittles. The other issue with the Wii U is that they aren't discounting games fast enough. They need to be out-competing Sony and MS on prices. People aren't going to buy a Wii U to play a handful of games with graphics marginally better than a XB360 and PS4, have to deal with a smaller library, and pay $60 per game. Nintendo needs to start making their first party titles something like $40 and offering better incentives to third parties to develop for their system. Lower the price of Virtual console games (otherwise people will just emulate on their PCs and Android devices.) Then they need to consider making digital downloads cheaper than boxed games. Nintendo also needs to include a Wiimote with the Wii U because you can't play your old games with the Wii U "tablet."

In order to save this platform Nintendo needs to do way more than what they have done. However, with the massive amount of cash they keep in the bank I think they will just pull a bonehead move and release another console in a year or so.
 
If Nintendo really cared about profitability, they should really consider making their games and franchises multiplatform, but instead they refuse to and hoping people will buy their game only available to their console. Their loss really.

So are they going to blame pirates or whatever next for their low sales and profitability?
 
The Wii U is most certainly not almost 2x faster than a PS3, it's CPU is actually quite a bit more weak. In fact recently digital foundry found that the Wii U version of Assassins Creed IV was the worse of ALL versions iirc. It has a better GPU but the entire console shares parity with the 360/PS3 and not the PS4 or One.

Nintendo games don't usually need a beefy CPU which is their issue with the Wii U (at least from a hardware standpoint), they design every single system around whatever Shigeru Miyamoto wants. They honestly do not give a damn about what third parties want and it has been historically hurting them.

With the exception of the Wii they have sold dramatically less and less consoles each generation. Nintendo will never go third party because they are too prideful and still riding the coattails of the original Wii where they were selling 30+ million copies of all of their first party games and close to a 100 million consoles.

IMO once Iwata (and Reggie) are fired we will see a turn around in the short term where we "might" see sales catch up to Gamecube levels but long term they need a better strategy. They could certainly learn a lot from watching this video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xHXrBnipHyA
 
Nintendo has billions in the bank and they still own the handheld (non-smartphone) console market. If they flub with the Wii U they have more than enough to weather the storm.

The idea of them going multiplatform is asinine. Nintendo is all about the marriage between hardware and software. The d-pad, shoulder buttons, rumble, trigger button, analog stick, motion, all popularized by Nintendo.

Super Mario 64 was made in tandem with the hardware. The model of third person platforming (tilting the analog stick by varying degrees to control movement speed within 3D space) was literally invented in SM64. It works so well it is still being followed almost 20 years later.

Like the power of their hardware or not, but the entire gaming industry needs a 100% gaming focused company like Nintendo where hardware and game development happens inside the same building.

As it stands, the Wii U has become a great console. Super Mario 3D World is one of the best games this year, Pikmin 3 is superb, and Wind Waker HD is amazing. Even if it doesn't sell so well, as long as Nintendo keeps delivering great games then I'm happy.
 
MostComfortable said:
Nintendo has billions in the bank and they still own the handheld (non-smartphone) console market. If they flub with the Wii U they have more than enough to weather the storm.

The idea of them going multiplatform is asinine. Nintendo is all about the marriage between hardware and software. The d-pad, shoulder buttons, rumble, trigger button, analog stick, motion, all popularized by Nintendo.

Super Mario 64 was made in tandem with the hardware. The model of third person platforming (tilting the analog stick by varying degrees to control movement speed within 3D space) was literally invented in SM64. It works so well it is still being followed almost 20 years later.

Like the power of their hardware or not, but the entire gaming industry needs a 100% gaming focused company like Nintendo where hardware and game development happens inside the same building.

As it stands, the Wii U has become a great console. Super Mario 3D World is one of the best games this year, Pikmin 3 is superb, and Wind Waker HD is amazing. Even if it doesn't sell so well, as long as Nintendo keeps delivering great games then I'm happy.
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Dont forget, even Injustice: God's Among Us (awesome game) actually had the best iteration on the WiiU other than on the PS3 or Xbox 360.
 
FrEaKy said:
Dont forget, even Injustice: God's Among Us (awesome game) actually had the best iteration on the WiiU other than on the PS3 or Xbox 360.
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Oh, and I heard Gotham City: Armored Edition was pretty slamming on the WiiU as well.
 
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