At the very least both Nintendo systems (console and handheld) will get successors.
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Nintendo FY14 Q1: 0.82M 3DS, 0.51M Wii U, MK8 2.82M shipped, 10 billion yen loss
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At the very least both Nintendo systems (console and handheld) will get successors.
Asked and answered? It's how this business works.
biglittleps
Member
Me too, if they can't get profits with MK8 released quarter then they are really in trouble going forward.
kinect successfully appealed to the wii's new audience. it also cost microsoft a lot of money to roll out the advertising campaign for its launch. it wasn't as nearly as organic as the wii's hype or pokemon, although the lasting appeal was there as long as microsoft supported it (mostly what 2011 was).
I think 2ds would have benefited if they positioned it as a tablet for toddlers and just made it one screen
Starwolf_UK
Member
I wonder if it is time for Nintendo to announce sales of eShop exclusive content? The software sales only cover card and disc games (but include download versions of those). But maybe they hold back such info because it is still a minority of their software sales and is at a much lower price point on average.
But it would dramatically rise the tie ratio if you are into those sorts of things
I decided to check out the playing card side of things and the Q1 for the last 4 years has seen a bit of growth. It is still comparing tiny numbers to 20% bigger but still tiny numbers (and has fallen quite a lot since 2010). I suppose full year would be a better outlook on those...
But it would dramatically rise the tie ratio if you are into those sorts of things
I decided to check out the playing card side of things and the Q1 for the last 4 years has seen a bit of growth. It is still comparing tiny numbers to 20% bigger but still tiny numbers (and has fallen quite a lot since 2010). I suppose full year would be a better outlook on those...
Better tablets with an infinitely better screen and lower price are already available, so I doubt that would've made a big difference.
ZSaberLink
Media Create Maven
I have to ask, why did you expect Mario Kart 8 to have a huge launch as opposed to a steady rise and fall? The bolded is what I was more expecting anyways. If anything Mario Kart 8 in the US seems to have actually organically sold to a decent portion of the Wii U fanbase as well as gotten at least some visibility to the console here. Sure in Japan, it didn't seem to have done much, but the traditional gaming industry is having a terrible time in general over there.
1st 2 days of Wii U sales after MK8 were at least 25K, as opposed to the 28K average in June. Could the new 140K new Wii U owners and a good #s of folks who bought Mario Kart 8 now become fairly active users of the console? I think Nintendo needed to invigorate their existing userbase first, and I think MK8 at least gives some hope that's possible. If third parties could sell a good bit of software to a somewhat small userbase, I don't think they would mind that over having a very large, but somewhat inactive userbase. I'm not saying that MK8 sales by themselves imply anything, but it'd be interesting to see whether at least Nintendo can capitalize on this with their first party titles (which unfortunately there is nothing until Hyrule except the mediocre Wii Sports Club).
This is completely anecdotal, but thanks to Mario Kart 8, 3 of my friends bought Wii Us over the weekend. Folks started chatting about it over FB, awareness was built, and thus more friends bought the game to join in on the fun. Being a game you play with others (online too), this could lead to just a general increase in awareness and interest around the console. Sure that could all be gone in 2 days when the MK8 free game deal is over, but we'll see.
Also the 3DS played it way too safe. The experimental titles were out early without any support for traditional titles (Steel Diver, reboot of Pilotwings). Then Nintendo basically had a ton of very traditional but well-polished titles released (Luigi's Mansion 2 and Kid Icarus Uprising are probably some of the more unique ones, and look how well LM2 sold =) ), and now is releasing their smaller known titles (Kirby, Yoshi, etc). More wacky and new titles really needed to be released. Tomodachi, while not new to Japan, is pretty new in the West and I think is the kind of title that might have done well to invigorate the console back in 2012 by bringing in a new/existing audience earlier as opposed to later. It still seems to be doing fairly well so far in Europe from what I see though.
MisterGrey3000
Member
But that's one of the huge benefits that comes from having a unified hardware and software ecosystem.
I imagine some big first party titles might stay exclusive (like Zelda and 3D Mario; the handheld entries aren't necessary) while most of their big system selling titles will be cross platform (Mario Kart, Smash, 2D Mario, etc.)
shinra-bansho
Member
They posted an operating loss; at a basic level the expenses they incur to generate their revenues, exceeded their revenues.
We've discussed this before, but at the risk of derailing this thread...
I'm sure a part of the late generational adoption was at the expense of the Wii, I don't necessarily think that the entirety of the late cycle adoption fueled by the advent of Kinect and family friendly titles is necessarily a "new" phenomenon.
Duxxy3
Member
As long as it doesn't get in the way of announcing a successor within the next year, I don't think it's a problem. It's just a stopgap measure.
I don't know if any revision above $99 is worthwhile though. Somebody mentioned the gameboy in the 90's, and its revival. That happened for a couple reasons - pokemon was enormous, and the system was only $49. That was $20 less than many console games of the same time. There was no serious investment in that system.
Yeah, it ain't 1996 and we ain't in Kansas, Dorothy.
i think the concept of consoles/handhelds is going to be gone when nintendo does their next thing. it will probably be a couple types of portable devices, and maybe one high end enough that it supports/comes with a controller and a tv out - essentially an option for consumers, where a low-end version will be your basic game boy/ds thing with a small screen and longer battery life.
probably no backwards compatability with wii u or 3ds though.
zomgbbqftw
Banned
Nintendo make money on hardware.
it sure seemed different from the low budget appeal of the latter years of the ps2. what made that system family friendly isn't really what made the wii and 360 family friendly. aside from minecraft. kids love them some minecraft.
for what it's worth, i think nintendo appealed generally to some of those late ps2 buyers, and both kinds of family-gaming-audience people wound up on smart phones and tablets anyway when they presented the best value (ps2) and ease of use (wii/360).
What would be the purpose of a unified architecture if that weren't the case. At the very least they will do vc games.
Zelda, Kirby and Yoshi are the last games of the wii u. I don't think Mario kart had the hardware impact they were hoping for. Smash wont move units either.
Nintendo putting stock in amiibo to move hardware is a lost cause without a really good piece of software to sell the figures. If they do have an amiibo game they need to do a direct soon to show it off, along with new 3ds games.
Mmmh...something more like an handheld and a console with bigger specs (so, the games on the portable are displayed at 1080p, 60 fps and more polygons/effects) at the beginning, then other devices (which could be other SKUs of portable and home consoles), then going on like this and I think you're on to something. Yeah, if the plan is what Iwata said, we're probably abandoning the portable/home diversification for Nintendo: it'll become the Nintendo family/environment.
Do you know what the Wii U hardware forecast for this FY is?
Edit: hint, it's not the Wii U that is under-performing this time.
Amazeballs
Member
Being able to use the same engines and assets between consoles.
I don't believe it'll be games being crossplatform, but the ability to share assets, engines etc.
That would be quite bad, it will save some development time for sure, but not as much as they needed. Partially they did that already with NSMB, DKC and Mario 3d series, they don't need a new framework for that. The best outcome from a common framework would be to have scalable games across several different configurations (low price handheld, premium handheld, low price console, premium console for example). Anything else than that means they are putting too much effort into this common framework with less results in the end.
If anything, those numbers show that Nintendo needs to rethink their entire hardware strategy radically.
Not revisions of existing systems - I mean a radical rethinking of everything they are doing right now. Times have changed, and another traditional console/handheld combo won't help.
Nintendo had success with the DS and Wii because they tried something new. Nintendo had big issues with the 3DS and failed with the Wii U because they followed the trends of some years ago with those devices, namely 3D and tablets, instead of setting a trend themselves. Of course that's just the tip of the iceberg of mistakes they've made with those two systems.
They'll stick to them at least until the end of 2015.
Not revisions of existing systems - I mean a radical rethinking of everything they are doing right now. Times have changed, and another traditional console/handheld combo won't help.
Nintendo had success with the DS and Wii because they tried something new. Nintendo had big issues with the 3DS and failed with the Wii U because they followed the trends of some years ago with those devices, namely 3D and tablets, instead of setting a trend themselves. Of course that's just the tip of the iceberg of mistakes they've made with those two systems.
They'll stick to them at least until the end of 2015.
That would result in even more sameish and safe sequels than we got on Wii U. That's probably not too desirable, neither as a gamer nor for Nintendo from a sales perspective.
They need to create something new. That's what made Wii and DS successful and millions of people happy.
But that goes against the entire concept of handheld & console.
Do you know a part of the reason the Vita isn't selling? Because they tried so hard to replicate the home console experience on the portable, which is not why people buy portables. The best selling 3DS games are ones that can be played in bite sized chunks portably while having an overarching story and gameplay that keeps you coming back. Hell, the best Vita games manage this, but the entire concept behind it did not, nor did the initial rush of games on it.
If Nintendo goes the other route of sharing games across both platforms, not only would it impact their bottom line, but in my view, it shows that they deserve to fail as they no longer get the handheld concept.
And having the exact same games across both formats wouldn't do that?? I agree they need to do something new, but not something stupid.
HoodWinked
Gold Member
they lost 100 million in just 1 quarter?
another reason for this sort of thing is if they're going to have their quality of life stuff, they'll be needing to have software teams developing for that (in addition to hardware teams). so it may be that they can't support three different types of things without massive growth, even if one gets relatively minimal support.
Mysterious
Banned
Gameboy? In 2015? Lol.
There will be still games dedicated just for handheld, like Pokemon, I'm sure. Vita failed because Sony provided all the software from their consoles on it? Are you sure about that?
which is twice what it was last year in the same quarter.
That isn't what I said. I said that a part of why the Vita is failing is because it was trying to put the home console experience in a portable. Not that they provided all software from consoles on it.
I agree. Their goal is to have a very similar development environment, to share assets, engines and therefore speed up the process.The result atleast when it comes to their 1st and 2nd party software will be something like the smash 3ds+wiiu version or the sonic 3ds+wiiu version (different content and leveldesign) but much less time-consuming and much more efficient. While 3rd partys will have an easier time and a bigger userbase to port their games to.
Mysterious
Banned
Yup. Goal is to make handheld/console similar to OSX/iOS.
Except the new platform will be centered around their handheld concept because their priority is Japan, cheaper software budgets and houses most of their remaining top sellers. It's the console guys that will feel the impact of a handheld/console merger. It means less emphasis on local multiplayer gaming and fewer 3D adventures like Pikmin. Zelda will probably return to a less story, more puzzelda form after Wii U entry, etc.
Exactly. Hell, didn't Iwata explicitly say that? Still boggles the mind when people think it just means scaleable games
Regardless, it's not happening.
the 3ds has never been doing great.
Unknown One
Member
I doubt that'll happen much. Third parties will not cater to Nintendo, Nintendo have to cater to them.
Seriously?
Yes, and easing up development issues across multiple formats is catering to them...
Yes.
KratosEnergyDrink
Member
Wii U sales on the rise.
3DS sales on decline.
MK8 has incredible sales.
10 Billion Yen (I think that must be about 100 Mio US Dollar or 73 Mio Euro) is not that worrisome. Knowing the fact that Nintendo put a lot of unexpected expenses in there. Will be interesting to see how the Wii U performs this holiday. I think it had the change to outsell both competitors worldwide (only on holiday, after holidays PS4 will be on top again, but Wii U will probably outsell Xbox One continuously) and that MK8 and Smash Bros will be two of the biggest game this holiday.
Gamewise the Wii U will have at least one good year ahead with exclusives like Xenoblade Chronicles X, Devil's Third, Yoshi, Kirby, Zelda, Fatal Frame 5, Mario Party 10 and Splatoon (and probably some unannounced games). At least Nintendo doesn't drop the Wii U like inglorious Sony did with the Vita, but on the other hand the Wii U sales are better than Vita sales.
There is no new Nintendo Handheld needed. 3DS sales decline, software sales are good. Nintendo could easily live with 3DS two years more before releasing a successor.
3DS sales on decline.
MK8 has incredible sales.
10 Billion Yen (I think that must be about 100 Mio US Dollar or 73 Mio Euro) is not that worrisome. Knowing the fact that Nintendo put a lot of unexpected expenses in there. Will be interesting to see how the Wii U performs this holiday. I think it had the change to outsell both competitors worldwide (only on holiday, after holidays PS4 will be on top again, but Wii U will probably outsell Xbox One continuously) and that MK8 and Smash Bros will be two of the biggest game this holiday.
Gamewise the Wii U will have at least one good year ahead with exclusives like Xenoblade Chronicles X, Devil's Third, Yoshi, Kirby, Zelda, Fatal Frame 5, Mario Party 10 and Splatoon (and probably some unannounced games). At least Nintendo doesn't drop the Wii U like inglorious Sony did with the Vita, but on the other hand the Wii U sales are better than Vita sales.
There is no new Nintendo Handheld needed. 3DS sales decline, software sales are good. Nintendo could easily live with 3DS two years more before releasing a successor.
Yeah, because it needs to do NDS numbers to be considered "great", right?
The same could have been said about the Wii at the end of 2010, and look what trying to ride that wave did to the brand's value. Nintendo can't afford doing that again, if they let the 3DS momentum die, they'll have the hardest time of their lives coming. Momentum is everything.
it should probably at least outperform the psp.
1st Course
Member
Sales after 14 quarters
NDS 70.6m
GBA 53.72m
3DS 44.14m
After 18 quarters
NDS 101.78m
GBA 67.77m
3DS ????
DS sales peaked in its 4th-5th year. 3DS is more similar to the GBA (sales peaked in 2nd-3rd year).
NDS 70.6m
GBA 53.72m
3DS 44.14m
After 18 quarters
NDS 101.78m
GBA 67.77m
3DS ????
DS sales peaked in its 4th-5th year. 3DS is more similar to the GBA (sales peaked in 2nd-3rd year).
Seriously, I think there's going to be a 3DS revision this end of the year. Here's the reasons
1) Japan has been two years without a new 3DS model. 3DS XL came out on July 28th, 2012. Two years indeed. This would be usually the right time for a new revision, in order to proprel hardware sales again, especially when...
2)...they're going down. Now, as already said, shipments are still infuenced by the big Holidays overshipping, so much that 3DS sold 200,000+ more in Americas and Japan than what was shipped in those two territories, so you have to count that as well, but sales are still going down. Especially...in Japan, best 3DS territory so far. Which is very similar (not number wise, but % wise) to what happened to DS Lite sales in 2008 compared to 2007. That year, DSi happened.
3) Shipments forecasts being defined as "conservative". Now, let's try to comprehend what could that mean. FY2013 ended with 12,230,000 3DS and 2,900,000 Wii U shipped. This year's forecasts are respectively 12,000,000 and 3,600,000. They seem to basically be based on what happened in FY2013 with some adjustments due to releases, age of the platform and other things. Wii U forecats is extremely low, but higher than 2013, due to having MK8 and Smash Bros., as well as other titles, coming out this year, compared to Super Mario 3D World and Wii Party U. Stronger lineup, thus stronger sales, even if not by that much to call it a turnaround.That's...something that should be reached by Wii U, and it could do higher than that too.
3DS, instead, is slightly lower than last year: end-of-the-year lineup should be not that far from last year (Pokémon remake doesn't have the same power Pokémon main has, but Smash Bros. should be better than Zelda, even in the West), platform aging being considered as well...but, last year, 3DS reached 12 millions also thanks to 2DS's launch. And Iwata himself said that those forecasts have been made conservative because "they're sure they will reach them". Now, of course, we have the evaluation component: last years, they sucked hard at doing forecasts. But this time, they seem to be at least trying to be reasonable: you can't tell me that they've overshoot with Wii U forecast, since it's higher than last year, but still poor at best...and since they applied the same reasoning to 3DS forecasts (conservative, based on last year happenings and what happens this year) , I suppose they won't leave it without a revision this year, at least in order to be as near to their forecast as possible.
1) Japan has been two years without a new 3DS model. 3DS XL came out on July 28th, 2012. Two years indeed. This would be usually the right time for a new revision, in order to proprel hardware sales again, especially when...
2)...they're going down. Now, as already said, shipments are still infuenced by the big Holidays overshipping, so much that 3DS sold 200,000+ more in Americas and Japan than what was shipped in those two territories, so you have to count that as well, but sales are still going down. Especially...in Japan, best 3DS territory so far. Which is very similar (not number wise, but % wise) to what happened to DS Lite sales in 2008 compared to 2007. That year, DSi happened.
3) Shipments forecasts being defined as "conservative". Now, let's try to comprehend what could that mean. FY2013 ended with 12,230,000 3DS and 2,900,000 Wii U shipped. This year's forecasts are respectively 12,000,000 and 3,600,000. They seem to basically be based on what happened in FY2013 with some adjustments due to releases, age of the platform and other things. Wii U forecats is extremely low, but higher than 2013, due to having MK8 and Smash Bros., as well as other titles, coming out this year, compared to Super Mario 3D World and Wii Party U. Stronger lineup, thus stronger sales, even if not by that much to call it a turnaround.That's...something that should be reached by Wii U, and it could do higher than that too.
3DS, instead, is slightly lower than last year: end-of-the-year lineup should be not that far from last year (Pokémon remake doesn't have the same power Pokémon main has, but Smash Bros. should be better than Zelda, even in the West), platform aging being considered as well...but, last year, 3DS reached 12 millions also thanks to 2DS's launch. And Iwata himself said that those forecasts have been made conservative because "they're sure they will reach them". Now, of course, we have the evaluation component: last years, they sucked hard at doing forecasts. But this time, they seem to be at least trying to be reasonable: you can't tell me that they've overshoot with Wii U forecast, since it's higher than last year, but still poor at best...and since they applied the same reasoning to 3DS forecasts (conservative, based on last year happenings and what happens this year) , I suppose they won't leave it without a revision this year, at least in order to be as near to their forecast as possible.