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34,000 pieces of Wii U software were sold in the UK in January (incl. NintyLand)

T

Trevelyan9999

Banned
I think we're going to be hearing the same story this time next year with the Xbox 3 & PS4. This is a common occurrence with new console launches. Lackluster January/Feburary sales and "where are the games" comments will be everywhere. Even if Microsoft and Sony have a few games in each of those months, sales will still be down overall. The Wii U has been out nearly 3 months, it did pretty good in November/December but January/February has been a graveyard with no games worth getting on the system. Wii U a failure? It honestly can't in good reason be called that yet, its just way too soon.
 
B

Burai

shitonmychest57
Trevelyan9999 said:
I think we're going to be hearing the same story this time next year with the Xbox 3 & PS4. This is a common occurrence with new console launches. Lackluster January/Feburary sales and "where are the games" comments will be everywhere. Even if Microsoft and Sony have a few games in each of those months, sales will still be down overall. The Wii U has been out nearly 3 months, it did pretty good in November/December but January/February has been a graveyard with no games worth getting on the system. Wii U a failure? It honestly can't in good reason be called that yet, its just way too soon.
Click to expand...

There will be a huge, huge difference in the shape of a comprehensive third party release schedule. You'll accept a drought at launch if you know there's something great in the pipeline. And I mean confirmed games.
 
P

Phoenician_Viking

Banned
Mario said:
At DICE, nobody has been talking about the new Wii U projects they have started, only the Wii U projects that have just been cancelled.

Platform is in serious trouble.
Click to expand...

Wow, so it´s what everyone else thought of the WiiU, it´s just confirmed now. Very little to no third party support for the WiiU.

Thanks for the insider info Mario.
 
A

AgentOtaku

Member
This is just ...just amazing

I've tried to convince myself that buying a Wii U is a good idea ....and I just fucking can't. Like, really at no point this year at all, does it seem like a good investment. Especially with PS4 about to drop and soo much good shit coming out on handhelds.
I mean, my 3DSXL has pretty much been my defacto Nintendo system that I'm looking up to this coming Gen. I love that damn thing. I mean, who would have thought that it would be my savior =/
 
R

royalan

Member
Trevelyan9999 said:
I think we're going to be hearing the same story this time next year with the Xbox 3 & PS4. This is a common occurrence with new console launches. Lackluster January/Feburary sales and "where are the games" comments will be everywhere. Even if Microsoft and Sony have a few games in each of those months, sales will still be down overall. The Wii U has been out nearly 3 months, it did pretty good in November/December but January/February has been a graveyard with no games worth getting on the system. Wii U a failure? It honestly can't in good reason be called that yet, its just way too soon.
Click to expand...

The thing is, with the 360 (and even the PS3) the strength of 3rd party was never in question. So while there was an initial period of "Where are da gamez?" (Especially the PS3), it was obvious that they'd eventually come. And, even then, the big drama with PS3 was losing exclusives, not games period.

Not at all the case with Wii U. Not only is there the "Where are da gamez?" question,t here's genuine concern that they're never actually going to come. And, considering Nintendo's relationship with 3rd parties, it's becoming more and more likely that they won't come.

So the Wii U's situation isn't at all comparable to early PS360.

People really need to stop trying to compare the Wii U's launch to the PS360's. There's so much context that's just missing here. It's doesn't make sense at all.
 
A

Anth0ny

Member
Foffy said:
Nintendo has basically repeated the 3DS at this point in time. What makes this rather troublesome is Nintendo claimed they learned from that mistake. It's quite clear they didn't.
Click to expand...

Their idea of learning from their mistake was "launching with Mario".

Because everyone wants to spend $400 on a game that looks fucking identical to the Mario game they already own on their Wii...
 
F

Fatalmephisto

Member
I'm getting my Wii U at the end of April and i cannot wait to get my hands on it. Nintendo is going to bounce back for sure and it will start the show over the next few months with there Nintendo Directs and also with E3 lingering not to far off. Yes it's a rocky start for them but an easy fix for them to achieve. Gamer's just need to hang in there a little bit long, you will start to see what they have to show along with what 3rd parties have to show as well. Expect some big titles and nice exclusives to come into the mix of as well. Also by what they talked about during there investors meeting a few weeks ago. Seems like Nintendo has finally woken up and now understands the issues that need to be corrected.
 
F

Foffy

Banned
Anth0ny said:
Their idea of learning from their mistake was "launching with Mario".

Because everyone wants to spend $400 on a game that looks fucking identical to the Mario game they already own on their Wii...
Click to expand...

That's only half of it. Their Mario title on Wii U came barely three months after another New Super Mario Bros game launched in North America. It probably didn't help that NSMB2 was one of, if not the laziest mainline Mario game to date, and you can sap away interest in a new platform for another game that looks far too samey to such a title. Hopefully this is a lesson to Nintendo that the New Super Mario Bros series of games need far more variety between games, especially if you're pumping them out only months apart from another.

I for one didn't jump into Wii U precisely because NSMBU looks so similar to NSMB2, and that was one of my regrettable purchases last year. I wasn't going to buy a new console for what I consider to be a lazy series of games. I was going to do it for Rayman Legends, but now I have no fucking clue what I'll jump on board for. Pikmin? Wind Waker?
 
P

Phoenician_Viking

Banned
Fatalmephisto said:
I'm getting my Wii U at the end of April and i cannot wait to get my hands on it. Nintendo is going to bounce back for sure and it will start the show over the next few months with there Nintendo Directs and also with E3 lingering not to far off. Yes it's a rocky start for them but an easy fix for them to achieve. Gamer's just need to hang in there a little bit long, you will start to see what they have to show along with what 3rd parties have to show as well. Expect some big titles and nice exclusives to come into the mix of as well. Also by what they talked about during there investors meeting a few weeks ago. Seems like Nintendo has finally woken up and now understands the issues that need to be corrected.
Click to expand...

Nintendo and the WiiU will be massively overshadowed by Durango and Orbis. People like shiny new things. Teh press and people woill be talking about megatones and graphics of the Orbis and Durango. Besides the third party support for Durango and Orbis, and the lack thereof for the WiiU might/will be one of the biggest headlines.
 
?

?oe?oe

Member
Just finished reading this thread.

34596797.jpg
 
B

BGBW

Maturity, bitches.
Nirolak said:
If they saw the kinds of titles they make sell too little at launch, they might have been decided to back away from the platform.
Click to expand...
Dodgey late ports? I kid.

AgentOtaku said:
It's been quiet tonight work so I've been watching a 1080p Playthrough of New Super Mario Bros U[/url]

...Blown up, the clarity of the art is initially striking. Then, a few minutes in, holy fuck, what a BLAAAAND showpiece for your system
Click to expand...
Wasn't the showpiece Nintendoland? That game does look rather nice. But what they want to show off is the controller not necessarily the graphics. Wii Sports wasn't the best lookinh game of the time.
 
I

iMerc

Member
I think people need to stop expecting good third party support for nintendo home consoles, period.

They've had what, 3 generations of consoles with little to no industry backing.
It's been at least 15 years, guys.
If your primary reason for buying Nintendo home hardware is NOT for nintendo 1st party games and the occasional quality 3rd party exclusive here and there -then you're doing it wrong.
Nintendo has to prove to everyone that their home systems are healthy markets for the majority of 3rd party publishers' serious efforts. Nintendo and it's fans shouldn't simply expect that support 'just because'.
Microsoft has earned the benefit of the doubt in this area. so too have sony. and so too, will nintendo have to prove themselves.

That said, i disagree completely with the notion that this is somehow a bad thing. Having the ability to sustain your own platform on the strength of your own internal efforts ALONE, is an absolutely HUGE ability to have as a hardware manufacturer.
The Nintendo 64 sold over 36 million units while it was on the market on the backs of nintendo's (and rare's) games alone. The Gamecube (their lowest selling home console) sold over 23 million WW because of nintendo developed games, and the wii over 90 million.
Yes they took advantage of the motion control boom with that last one, but they sold that concept with nintendo developed games. They sold that concept so well, that everybody else followed suit to some degree.

I have serious doubts Microsoft & Sony could replicate those numbers on the back of their own internally developed titles alone. Can anyone here even imagine what an xbox or playstation home system would be like without the 3rd party support they currently receive?

That's not to say they don't make incredible games. Sony for example, have an amazing 1st party dev team. However their games don't sell playstations the way nintendo games sell nintendo hardware.

That said, Nintendo will never be able to sell as many consoles as Microsoft or Sony without the 3rd party backing that they they get, but still... a minimum of 23 million on the strength of internally developed games -of which aren't even consistently released throughout the lifespan of a system. I think that's pretty impressive.
 
J

Joni

Member
I'm curious what February will bring. The European line-up has been completely beheaded with the delay of Rayman Legends and Scribblenauts Unlimited.
 
C

CaptainGyro

Banned
Tricky I Shadow said:
Ig6NM.gif
Click to expand...

Maybe I am silly but this gif really cracked me up, particularly the girl covering her mouth

edit-Though when I made this post I hadn't even seen the kazifications gifs yet, and I would have highlighted some of those instead. The Schwarzenneger one made me crack up even harder


Anyways... these low sales really make me sad. I love you Nintendo....please don't die buddy
 
F

Foffy

Banned
iMerc said:
I have serious doubts Microsoft & Sony could replicate those numbers on the back of their own internally developed titles alone. Can anyone here even imagine what an xbox or playstation home system would be like without the 3rd party support they currently receive?
Click to expand...

You can see how Sony would be by looking at the Vita. Microsoft and Sony need third parties to garner more interest to their platforms than Nintendo does, and that's a testament to how important Nintendo software is to their hardware. It's a shame Nintendo lacks third parties compared to their competition, but a lot of decisions they make for their hardware, with their software in mind, is not easily applicable to most third party developers. I think most third party developers in the console sphere want to work on a toolset they're familiar with, and Nintendo's consoles seem to have a very unique toolset to them, which almost always pushes away these companies. Nintendo is able to define that toolset with their games, but other companies can only come to that, at best. I think Nintendo's attempts at creativity with their hardware is almost always a gate to some company, preventing them from really embracing it. It's a beautiful thing to see a company keep trying to make things interesting instead of more of the same with a better coat of paint to it, but a lot of the third parties are currently content with prettier more of the same. There's nothing wrong with that, but that is precisely why it becomes such a hard sell for most third parties. So many franchises would have to be rethought to work with motion controls, or two screens, and I think the only ones that can make such a "fit" in the first place could be Nintendos.
 
J

JoshuaJSlone

Member
So much surprise at its software sales being below Vita's. Will everyone be shocked if Wii U's software sales are above Durango's next January?
 
S

Sky Chief

Member
iMerc said:
I think people need to stop expecting good third party support for nintendo home consoles, period.

They've had what, 3 generations of consoles with little to no industry backing.
It's been at least 15 years, guys.
If your primary reason for buying Nintendo home hardware is NOT for nintendo 1st party games and the occasional quality 3rd party exclusive here and there -then you're doing it wrong.
Nintendo has to prove to everyone that their home systems are healthy markets for the majority of 3rd party publishers' serious efforts. Nintendo and it's fans shouldn't simply expect that support 'just because'.
Microsoft has earned the benefit of the doubt in this area. so too have sony. and so too, will nintendo have to prove themselves.

That said, i disagree completely with the notion that this is somehow a bad thing. Having the ability to sustain your own platform on the strength of your own internal efforts ALONE, is an absolutely HUGE ability to have as a hardware manufacturer.
The Nintendo 64 sold over 36 million units while it was on the market on the backs of nintendo's (and rare's) games alone. The Gamecube (their lowest selling home console) sold over 23 million WW because of nintendo developed games, and the wii over 90 million.
Yes they took advantage of the motion control boom with that last one, but they sold that concept with nintendo developed games. They sold that concept so well, that everybody else followed suit to some degree.

I have serious doubts Microsoft & Sony could replicate those numbers on the back of their own internally developed titles alone. Can anyone here even imagine what an xbox or playstation home system would be like without the 3rd party support they currently receive?

That's not to say they don't make incredible games. Sony for example, have an amazing 1st party dev team. However their games don't sell playstations the way nintendo games sell nintendo hardware.

That said, Nintendo will never be able to sell as many consoles as Microsoft or Sony without the 3rd party backing that they they get, but still... a minimum of 23 million on the strength of internally developed games -of which aren't even consistently released throughout the lifespan of a system. I think that's pretty impressive.
Click to expand...

The problem is, I look back at the Wii now and realize that I could have waited until it hit a much lower price to play all the great Nintendo and thrid party games and then I wouldn't have had to go through the agonizing droughts. On PS360 there were good games released almost every month. I am sure Nintendo Wii U games will be amazing but I see no reason to buy for at least a few years because there will doubtless be many droughts without strong third party support.
 
S

Spiegel

Member
JoshuaJSlone said:
So much surprise at its software sales being below Vita's. Will everyone be shocked if Wii U's software sales are above Durango's next January?
Click to expand...

No one will be shocked if the WiiU software sales are decent/good. But if they are awful, like <10-15k per week awful (Vita), people will be shocked just like they are now.
 
V

Visualante2

Member
Nirolak said:
Well, I mean, for context on that we would also need to know how many people actually attend DICE.
Click to expand...
Not really if he personally spoke to a few people who said WiiU titles got cancelled, not so susprising. If he talked to more than a few.. it's a little more worrying. It's just a straw poll not an exact science.
 
B

BoboBrazil

Member
Best time to buy a Nintendo console is 3-4 years after launch. That way you have a decent backlog of maybe 5-10 Nintendo games that you can play and also get the system at a much better price. I have a feeling Nintendo is going to bail out early on this system though. I wouldn't be surprised if they have a new system ready by the end of 2015 or 2016 at the latest. The Wii U will have a short lifespan for them. Shit, they gave up on the Wii within 4 years and that sold a ton of units. What do you think is going to happen to this?
 
K

krizzx

Junior Member
?oe?oe said:
Just finished reading this thread.

34596797.jpg
Click to expand...

That's the reason threads like this are made. People generally don't single out negative things with a microscope for positive discussion. At least not where I'm from.

I have to wonder though. When the the U.K., and I mean just the U.K. alone, become so important to focus on console sales out of all of the places in the rest of the world?
 
H

H_Prestige

Banned
BoboBrazil said:
Best time to buy a Nintendo console is 3-4 years after launch. That way you have a decent backlog of maybe 5-10 Nintendo games that you can play and also get the system at a much better price. I have a feeling Nintendo is going to bail out early on this system though. I wouldn't be surprised if they have a new system ready by the end of 2015 or 2016 at the latest. The Wii U will have a short lifespan for them. Shit, they gave up on the Wii within 4 years and that sold a ton of units. What do you think is going to happen to this?
Click to expand...

Definitely wouldn't be surprised. There needs to a be a shake up over at Nintendo HQ.
 
C

CrunchinJelly

formerly cjelly
krizzx said:
That's the reason threads like this are made. People generally don't single out negative things with a microscope for positive discussion. At least not where I'm from.

I have to wonder though. When the the U.K., and I mean just the U.K. alone, become so important to focus on console sales out of all of the places in the rest of the world?
Click to expand...

Give me a break. This thread was created because we have total software numbers for the Wii U. They are awful. There is a discussion to be had.

If you have any similar numbers for other countries then by all means.
 
Jackben

Jackben

bitch I'm taking calls.
I do believe that UK specific problems like the GAME and HMV bankruptcy could contribute to these kinds of numbers. But I'm also not naive enough to assume they are the sole cause. Once we have more international data there will be a clear picture of what we are dealing with and I strongly believe it will show the UK numbers as a trend overall rather than an outlier.
 
B

Baconsammy

Banned
krizzx said:
That's the reason threads like this are made. People generally don't single out negative things with a microscope for positive discussion. At least not where I'm from.

I have to wonder though. When the the U.K., and I mean just the U.K. alone, become so important to focus on console sales out of all of the places in the rest of the world?
Click to expand...

Because they release numbers every week and they're just about the largest audience in Europe(Germany may be larger now, not entirely sure). Why do people focus on Japan? Same reason. Don't worry, the focus will shift to American Wii U sales numbers next Thursday. And it's not like the news will be any better. The console is floundering all around the world, and will continue to do so for many months. People expecting it to continue to flop around as long as the Vita has will most likely leave disappointed. Your whining about perceived fanboys says more about you than it does this thread. No amount of finger-putting-in-ears is going to help the sales situation. Unless you want to accuse Mario of being anti-Nintendo as well for relating his stories from developers at DICE.
 
J

javac

Member
These threads are always so depressing to read. There is a lot of genuine criticism, but there is also a fine amount of silly talk and trolling going on at times, like genuine spite or something. But what can you do.
 
J

javac

Member
Foffy said:
Are you implying that Nintendo will steer course, or that Wii U has a bigger chance of being unplugged compared to Vita?
Click to expand...

More to do with the fact that it has games coming down the line that have the ability to move units. These titles are guaranteed to come out, it's just a matter of when. Mind, no one knows it these titles will match sales of the Wii and 3DS counterparts, but they will sell very well regardless, even if it's just to the Nintendo fan base.
 
P

Phoenician_Viking

Banned
javac said:
These threads are always so depressing to read. There is a lot of genuine criticism, but there is also a fine amount of silly talk and trolling going on at times, like genuine spite or something. But what can you do.
Click to expand...

Just a friendly advice, don´t be so attached to a gaming company, or any other company for that matter. That´s how you don´t get depressed over news that has the slightest, if any, effect on you.
 
J

javac

Member
Phoenician_Viking said:
Just a friendly advice, don´t be so attached to a gaming company, or any other company for that matter. That´s how you don´t get depressed over news that has the slightest, if any, effect on you.
Click to expand...

I know, I just love Nintendo, and it gets hard hearing people shit over the company you love and which makes you so happy. It sounds ridiculous, they just want my money at the end of the day. But they make me so happy and I can feel the passion and love crafted into
most
of their games. It sounds stupid, weird and dumb but, when feeling depressed and sad, turning on a Nintendo game always lightens my day. maybe I'm just too emotional :(
 
D

donny2112

Member
-Pyromaniac- said:
just insane. It was either Zombi U or COD for sheezy. Probably COD because "millions" and it had the most potential to sell.
Click to expand...

Zombi U could've never been expected to sell millions, and we already know it's sold > 100K just in the U.S. I can't imagine a situation where it's not Assassin's Creed III. Ubisoft, one of the biggest early supporter of Wii and Wii U, almost totally backing off the platform is a smoking gun. Western third-party support is seemingly dead, at this point, for Wii U.

JoeM86 said:
I seriously don't see why developers are dropping at such an early juncture.
Click to expand...

It's Nintendo. First sign of weakness, flee the system. Pretty much the mantra of Nintendo platforms from last generation, too. DS in Japan was a monster (Western support was never really there in large amounts). Abandoned for PSP in 2009 due to Monster Hunter Portable. Wii was a monster worldwide. Put a few throwaway "core" games on the platform in order to have data points for justification of their already made plans.

Wii U is a monster nowhere. Easy decision this time.
 
N

netBuff

Member
javac said:
I know, I just love Nintendo, and it gets hard hearing people shit over the company you love and which makes you so happy. It sounds ridiculous, they just want my money at the end of the day. But they make me so happy and I can feel the passion and love crafted into
most
of their games. It sounds stupid, weird and dumb but, when feeling depressed and sad, turning on a Nintendo game always lightens my day. maybe I'm just too emotional :(
Click to expand...

wah wah

I feel the same way about Procter & Gamble!

donny2112 said:
Zombi U could've never been expected to sell millions, and we already know it's sold > 100K just in the U.S. I can't imagine a situation where it's not Assassin's Creed III. Ubisoft, one of the biggest early supporter of Wii and Wii U, almost totally backing off the platform is a smoking gun. Western third-party support is seemingly dead, at this point, for Wii U.
Click to expand...

CoD BlOps 2, Skylanders Giants or Assassin's Creed 3 are the most likely options.
 
N

number47

Member
It had a nice holiday release. But with no great first party multiplayer games. Has blood 2 but hell if I'm buying it again. This is the ps3 release all over again. Nintendo better start making up with third parties again to survive the holidays. Mario kart and another Mario isn't going to save Nintendo this time.
 
Q

QaaQer

Member
Phoenician_Viking said:
Just a friendly advice, don´t be so attached to a gaming company, or any other company for that matter. That´s how you don´t get depressed over news that has the slightest, if any, effect on you.
Click to expand...

+1. Sometimes it's fun supporting a team or a company, but when your self worth or identity start to depend on the performance of a team or company, you need to reassess. And for god sake, don't let yourself be used by a company or a political party. They love banner waving fans who are so heavily invested in their 'team' that they will support them no matter what and drown out legitimate criticism.

In the world of computing and games consoles, it would be best for consumers if there was a single open platform standard that was not owned by anyone. This would allow software to stand on it's own two feet, and for storefronts to have to compete to get an audience. Proprietary hardware and closed ecosystems lead to less choice and higher prices.

So if you want to support a team and identify with something that might actually be good for people in general, go with Linux or possibly steambox. You'll probably always be on the 'losing' team, but losing builds character.
 
E

Effect

Member
Mario said:
At DICE, nobody has been talking about the new Wii U projects they have started, only the Wii U projects that have just been cancelled.

Platform is in serious trouble.
Click to expand...

This sucks. I honestly never expected anything at all from DICE or EA. If I wanted to play BF4 the PC was going to be my own option. However I hope this has the added benefit of really lighting the fires under Nintendo something fierce. They have to accepted that they never will get the amount of support they want. Mainly because they are a pure games company and Sony and Microsoft are gaming divisions of larger conglomerates. They can afford to sink the amount of money they do into their hardware. Nintendo and Sega never could. As a result the compromises Nintendo has to make and feels they have to make will never make these companies happy. Especially when the other two are willing to go into the red to achieve their ultimate goals. Control over the living room so their other divisions can have new markets and enjoy the benefits.

Nintendo has to speed up localization once games are done. They have to do world wide releases if at all possible. They need to put their own studios into overdrive and continue to embrace the indie market and smaller studios the way they have.
 
I

Infinite Justice

Member
Effect said:
This sucks. I honestly never expected anything at all from DICE or EA. If I wanted to play BF4 the PC was going to be my own option. However I hope this has the added benefit of really lighting the fires under Nintendo something fierce. They have to accepted that they never will get the amount of support they want. Mainly because they are a pure games company and Sony and Microsoft are gaming divisions of larger conglomerates. They can afford to sink the amount of money they do into their hardware. Nintendo and Sega never could. As a result the compromises Nintendo has to make and feels they have to make will never make these companies happy. Especially when the other two are willing to go into the red to achieve their ultimate goals. Control over the living room so their other divisions can have new markets and enjoy the benefits.

Nintendo has to speed up localization once games are done. They have to do world wide releases if at all possible. They need to put their own studios into overdrive and continue to embrace the indie market and smaller studios the way they have.
Click to expand...

DICE in Mario's post is reffering to the summit and not the company.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/D.I.C.E._Summit


But its still bad (worse actually) since its different devs echoing those thoughts, plus EA themselves already seemed uninterested way before that (that "unpresedented partnership" went up in smoke i guess)
 
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