Nintendo drops Wii U $50 due to poor sales (1 Viewer)

[Bryan^H]

I've been holding off on buying the Wii U, mostly because it didn't really seem different than the Wii.

And that is the problem. To me the Wii U isn't that different. It feels like a Wii with updated graphics for the HD crowd(welcome to 2007 Nintendo). So far I am not impressed. The controller has a very limited battery life 3-4 hours, so I'm constantly recharging it. You can plug it into an outlet without the worry of battery life diminishing, but you have to be plugged into a frikkin outlet to use the controller. No problem, I'll just buy another one so I'll have one charging while using the other. Oh that's right they aren't available to purchase individually??
I bought it for one reason: Super Mario Brothers U! I love the Mario games, and 2-D Mario is great except....It feels so close to the New Super Mario Brothers for the Wii that it could almost be the same game. Same game engine, and few tweaks here, and there. Different levels, better graphics for sure, but the music is much of the same(seriously they couldn't change the dungeon music?).
Sorry about the rant, but It is my own fault for being an early adopter. Talk to me next year with the new Mario Cart, and Zelda, and I'll probably be singing an entirely different tune.

 

[Morgan Jolley]

There are battery packs you can buy and Nintendo has a longer life battery but its not out in the US yet.The battery thing sucks but it depends on the game. Personally, it's only been an issue once or so, which is about the same amount as the issues I've had with other consoles.

 

[Northgun]

Do to a pokemon game (pokemon rumble) and rumors of another one my wife's interest in the system has grown. I'm liking the idea of the price drop. It has brought the system into consideration for me. I think the WII U maybe a welcome change since I do not own a WII. I do believe, however, that if I did own a WII I wouldn't be considering an upgrade.

 

[Sam Posten]

Despite a set of good games, Nintendo is in serious trouble:
http://www.engadget.com/2014/01/17/nintendo-sales-forecast-wii-u/

 

[DaveF]

I should've known Mr Posten would get that link up before me http://feedly.com/k/1cBZ7jZ$240M loss. Broad implications made about reconsidering making apps for mobile devices. The more I think about it, the more interested I get in a few Wii games. I'd like to buy a play a new Nintendo game. I've been playing "angry" xbox games for a few years now, and something bright and happy would be a good change. But I don't want to spend the $300 entrance price to buy the $60 Pikmin game. I really want to play Pikmin or Mario on my existing xbox or even iPad. I know how ridiculous that is, but that's where I'm at. We'll see what develops is year.

 

[Keith Cobby]

My wife and I have no interest in computer games but our 6 year old son had been playing the Wii at his friends houses and we had convinced him that he might receive one for his 7th birthday. He couldn't believe it when he found the Wii U and several games under the tree on Christmas morning. He has been playing Donkey Kong Country Returns every day. Worth every penny.

 

[Morgan Jolley]

Once Nintendo gets the Wii U Virtual Console up to par (though, to be fair, the Wii's full VC is available, so its not "really" missing anything) and gets the new Smash Bros., Mario Kart, and Zelda, I can see Nintendo's fortunes turning. They've run into significant issues with HD game development and are taking way too long to release games.

I'm a little surprised they haven't tried to do more HD ports like Zelda: Wind Waker. They said the entire porting of that took 6 months and they developed a program that automatically transferred the code from the GameCube to the Wii U, with only some changes to the game and up-rezzing of textures left.

 

[mattCR]

Despite a set of good games, Nintendo is in serious trouble:http://www.engadget.com/2014/01/17/nintendo-sales-forecast-wii-u/

while Nintendo posted a lss that quarter, Sam, they have more cash on hand than Sony and are debt free. Those are not minor things.

 

[DaveF]

Once Nintendo gets the Wii U Virtual Console up to par (though, to be fair, the Wii's full VC is available, so its not "really" missing anything) and gets the new Smash Bros., Mario Kart, and Zelda, I can see Nintendo's fortunes turning. They've run into significant issues with HD game development and are taking way too long to release games.

Why? They've had a VC running, and hasn't turned their fortunes. They've got best-of breed games out, with Pikmin 3 and Super Mario World, and it hasn't turned their fortunes. They've done a Zelda re-release. Why will a little more of the same change their trajectory?

 

[Morgan Jolley]

The thing is, the new Mario game is virtually indistinguishable from the last 5 or 6 Mario games they've released between the DS, 3DS, Wii, and Wii U. Yes, it is different, but to the public it kind of isn't. It's also not worth $300+ and the public overwhelmingly still thinks the Wii U is a tablet controller for the 8 year old Wii.

The Wind Waker HD was aimed at hardcore gamers, which means gamers who also are really familiar with the console and were either already going to buy it (and have) or never will (because they know what to expect from Nintendo and aren't interested). A brand new Zelda would go much further than an HD remake.

The VC isn't really that great on the Wii U. If they had every single Nintendo game that was made before the 2001 launch of the GameCube already on the VC and marketed the Wii U as the be-all Nintendo system, then it would sell better than it is. It does have all of the Wii VC games available, but its actually quite a pain to go through the process of playing the Wii VC on the Wii U.

A new Zelda, the new Smash Bros., and the new Mario Kart are Nintendo's last hopes for the Wii U. I'm really curious how multiplayer will work with Smash Bros. because the Wii Remote sucked for Brawl and the pro controllers aren't cheap. They also may have shot themselves in the foot by making Smash Bros. for 3DS and Wii U, because I can see a lot of people buying the 3DS version only.

 

[DaveF]

A new Zelda, the new Smash Bros., and the new Mario Kart are Nintendo's last hopes for the Wii U. I'm really curious how multiplayer will work with Smash Bros. because the Wii Remote sucked for Brawl and the pro controllers aren't cheap. They also may have shot themselves in the foot by making Smash Bros. for 3DS and Wii U, because I can see a lot of people buying the 3DS version only.

That makes a lot of sense to me. And refines my internal reaction to it. My perception of the Wii U is it has two or three really good games, games I'd really enjoy, but that's it. Not enough to spend $300 on. It's a feeling that games would effectively cost me $160 each on the Wii U.Whereas on the Xbox or PS, I see that it has scads of pretty good games, and a few great ones, none of which are available on the a Wii U. And the 360 / PS3 have a deep library of cheap, easy to get classics. My view is the Wii U has a scattered library of lo-def (pixels scraping my eyeballs) Wii games and 16 bit and 8 bit classics buried behind a terrible online system.My perceptions may be wildly wrong. But after the GameCube (which I owned), the SD Wii (which I've played and bought a 360 instead), I feel that Nintendo has failed to plain the Wii U to me, or show enough games that show it's a system worth 'investing' in.And, bifurcating to a point we've talked about, I've got a library of interesting games on my iPad to play when traveling or in bed, to counter full-on console games. That is, I think iPad is a competitor to the Wii U because it is for me. The irony is that I'm time limited, not money limited. I've had a three day weekend and haven't turned on the 360. That suggests I should buy a Wii to maximize my gaming time with best-of games. But then I get stuck with my perceptions that the Wii U doesn't quite make sense against the new standard-bearers.

 

[Sam Posten]

while Nintendo posted a lss that quarter, Sam, they have more cash on hand than Sony and are debt free. Those are not minor things.

Blackberry had a pretty sizeable war chest at one point too. Having cash in the bank does not guarantee a plan to turn things around. We'll see.

 

[DaveF]

Large cash holdings, strong brand name, and falling stock price ... are they a target for hostile acquisition in Japan? Does that sort of thing happen in the Japanese business market?

 

[mattCR]

Blackberry had a pretty sizeable war chest at one point too. Having cash in the bank does not guarantee a plan to turn things around. We'll see.

Kind of a significant difference, though.. Nintendo still has the #1 selling gaming device (3DS) and it's not even close. I mean, not remotely close. (http://www.vgchartz.com/ )

And then there are these factors:

The ten top selling games of December 2013? Nintendo has 5 of them. Sony has 3, MS 2. (none are XB1 or PS4)
Since Nintendo tends to own most of it's own games, it's not getting just a licensing fee, it make a profit on everything it sells.

As far as 'likely for a takeover'.. it's unlikely.

Outside of the fact that after a decline, Nintendo is still worth more money in Stock then Sony, Nintendo also has an ace up it's sleeve..

http://www.cinemablend.com/games/Wii-U-Sells-119-000-One-Week-Dominates-Japanese-Sales-Charts-61243.html

While sales in the US and Europe have been 'eh', sales in Japan have been quite good the last few months. This somewhat mirrors the 3DS, which had a very rough first year (selling only 4.2M units) before going on to the blockbuster it became (now over 44M units).
The WiiU is unlikely to accomplish that.. but Nintendo's ace is that it's the only console ready fit with Chinese language games out the gate that is set to go into full distribution in China now that the embargo on gaming has been dropped.

This has led some investors to be more than hopeful. But here's the real difference: Nintendo doesn't need tens of millions of console sales/etc in the same way that Sony & Microsoft do. Both of those are losing money on every console they sell. Nintendo claims a profit on every unit it sells. So, while their profit prospectus isn't what they want, it's also not 'OMG the sky is falling'

This was blackberry's problem. Blackberry had a huge cash warchest, yes, Sam.. but blackberry designed really only two portions: a server side client and the hardware. Nintendo has the licensing and patent portfolio on a games library that is worth more than anyone else in the business that remains wildly profitable. So, they aren't in quite the same boat.

People echoed the same thoughts with Gamecube. "Oh, Nintendo is screwed, they will go the way of SEGA".. but, like I said.. I just don't see them having any real incentive for it to happen. The echoed again today that they have 'no plans' and absolutely 'will not' port their games to a non-Nintendo mobile platform.

 

[Morgan Jolley]

Nintendo could make 4 failing consoles in a row and they'd still be worth more, as a brand, than Sony or MS could dream of (in gaming).

In fact, the NES outsold the SNES and N64 and GameCube (not counting the Virtual Boy). The Wii is the only Nintendo console to outsell its predecessor.

I refuse to buy the argument that Apple products are competing with Nintendo. Everyone that I know who owns a videogame console also owns a smartphone and a tablet. They would all completely agree that the console experience cannot be replaced by a mobile device, as much as the PS Vita and 3DS would like you believe. Also, there are no games on Apple platforms that can possibly compete against the best games on consoles. Graphically, its getting closer, but there's also a more significant cost barrier (a powerful tablet is less powerful than a console but costs as much or more; add in a data plan if necessary) and usability issues (name 1 good mobile gaming controller that is better than the Vita and 3DS).

Even if you look at the Wii U as being a huge investment to play just a few games, that idea will change within the next year. There are a couple great games that launched (ZombiU, Mario/Luigi U, NintendoLand), a few that came out last year (Rayman Origins, Pikmin 3, Wonderful 101, Mario 3D Land), and more coming soon (DK, Smash Bros., Zelda, Mario Kart, Bayonetta 2). Add in the Wii functionality and the full Wii Virtual Console then the $300 barrier for entry doesn't seem as bad. You can get Wii games for nothing now, most VC games are $7 or less, and bundles include a couple games already. For $500, you can get more 1080p 60FPS games on Wii U than the PS4 and XB1 even have.

Nintendo just really sucks at getting this message across for some reason.

 

[DaveF]

Good comments, Matt and Morgan. Ben Kuchera at polygon also expands on the problems and possible solutions. http://www.polygon.com/2014/1/17/5319016/nintendo-wii-u-symptom-of-a-larger-disease-needs-to-adapt

 

[mattCR]

This article sums up most of my thoughts:

http://www.wired.com/gamelife/2014/01/nintendo-mobile/

If I was working my ass off making mobile games, I’d take the “Nintendo should put Mario on iOS and make tons of money” idea as an insult. Not only does it slight the hard work being put into great mobile games, it’s an outdated strategy. Clunky ports of old games might have had early success, but you have to scroll deeply into the Top Grossing Apps list these days to find an old game. The only ones I saw were various versions of Grand Theft Auto, but they aren’t quick and cheap ports — they have high-definition graphic updates and customized touch controls.

Speaking of which, that’s an issue, too: Super Mario Bros. 3 is an amazing game, but would it be as much fun on a touch screen with virtual buttons? No, it would not. And before you argue, but you can hook up a Bluetooth gamepad to your phone, think about how that changes the situation. If Nintendo is designing mobile games for the tiny number of people who go to the trouble of using an external controller with their mobile device, it’s no longer going after the millions upon millions of casual consumers that presumably are the entire reason it would go mobile in the first place.

FYI, Wired's answer.. put every damn NES/SNES/etc. game in the eShop and do it at premium discounts or on a subscription like PS+ is, for me, the real solution to any Nintendo problem

 

[Morgan Jolley]

Matt - I completely agree. Pushing Nintendo to release their games on mobile is absolutely not going to work and would seriously undercut the focus of their business: hardware that is driven by software.

 

[Edwin-S]

How do you figure that Nintendo's business is hardware driven by software? Their hardware is a generation behind their competitors.

 

[Morgan Jolley]

What I mean is that sales of their hardware is based on their software being exclusive to their hardware. You buy a PlayStation OR Xbox to play, say, Metal Gear Solid V. But you buy a Wii U to play Mario, Zelda, etc. I'm not sure what the power of their hardware has to do with it.