Well he's not entirely wrong though.
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Analyst: Nintendo sold 55,000 Wii Us in March, 85,000 Wiis
- Thread starter ClovingWestbrook
- Start date
Well he's not entirely wrong though.
Night_Trekker
Member
How is Wii Sports going to work with the tablet controller? Wii Sports was a hit because anybody could see someone playing it (or have it described to them) and instantly understand how to play it and what kind of, at the time, unique experience it was going to give you.
The WiiU controller is not built for a game like Wii Sports. Like or hate motion controls, Wii Sports was sold through a combination of novel motion controls--which seemed less intimidating and more intuitive/simple to the non-gamer crowd--coupled with a game that simulated socially acceptable, popular, and familiar games people know and are comfortable with.
I can't begin to guess how Nintendo could ever sell the tablet controller to the sort of non-gamer crowd they sold the Wii to. I am starting to think they just won't.
I agree with the bolded: they gave up the entire idea of a "hook" that sold the Wii in the first place.
Obviously they had to go in some other direction after the Wii, with Sony and MS getting into the motion control game. But it's like Nintendo is going for some sort of weird hybrid approach that tries to appeal to everybody and pleases nobody. Way to squander the brand recognition you earned with the Wii, Nintendo.
They should name it Wii P pronounced as one word.
KennyLinder
Member
Where am Pikmin.
Blake'sGrave
Member
if the lack of sales means retailers drop the price to try and shift some units then i'm stoked, cheap wii u baby
Unknown One
Member
Probably only for Nintendo.
Phoenician_Viking
Banned
WiiD
Slogan: Time to take the 'High' road
Ken Masters
Banned
I haven't bought a game since NSMBU at lunch and don't see any game I want till fall
Deserving sales for Nintendo
Deserving sales for Nintendo
TheMagician
Member
It's been said a million times but the name and console design decisions are a disgrace. Even Playstation 2 would have struggled under these circumstances.
Imagine the successor to the Playstation was named Playstation U and the console itself looked 95% the same as the original Playstation as well.
The demos to show off this new Playstation U for the first time used original Playstation graphics and one of the first games was a 2D game which looked exactly like its predecessor but sharper.
Imagine the successor to the Playstation was named Playstation U and the console itself looked 95% the same as the original Playstation as well.
The demos to show off this new Playstation U for the first time used original Playstation graphics and one of the first games was a 2D game which looked exactly like its predecessor but sharper.
i dunno i personally think the wind waker port is just as easy of a sell. ocarina of time had a lot of work put into it but because it didn't radically alter it, a lot of the older audience felt that they could pass. the graphical differences are really obvious with wind waker. the game has enough to both attract new and old. both it and majora's mask have had a cult following building since they released, so the audiences have significantly expanded.
it's a natural evolution of the Wii controller for stuff like this. did you see the intro video to the wii u? they had a guy putting the wii u tablet on the floor and playing golf on it. it is absolutely easy for newcomers to understand. it presents the old alongside a new piece of novelty technology.
Lambda Pie
Banned
pull the plug on this thing, if titans like LEGO and Monster Hunter don't move units, nothing will.
yet, instead of showing that, nintendo decided it was better to make twelve minigames that had none of the accessibility of wii sports.
us is the best market. it goes us > japan > eu, with probably 2m sold worldwide. it's not pretty.
the 3ds is in bad shape in the us too. i wonder if it'll sell 150k this month.
Coulomb_Barrier
Member
It's not a huge disaster considering the lack of games and price.
Both of those things leave scope for the sales to improve by quite a lot with the right moves.
Both of those things leave scope for the sales to improve by quite a lot with the right moves.
RoombaDance
Member
Lego City
Monster Hunter 3 again
Need for Speed U
maybe a couple of other games no one really cared about like
The Amazing Spiderman
Walking Dead
Oops few more thread pages than I realized.
Still I think Pachter estimates are not really any better then no numbers.
OmnipotentO
Member
Launched way too early and has a shitty, confusing as fuck name :/
There are a bunch of potential customers that fall somewhere between soccer moms and what you call tech fetishists. People that I think do care about graphics and specs to a reasonable degree.
fortunately there's literally a dozen games between now and september. wii u saved.
KennyLinder
Member
Speaks the truth.
I bought a Wii U on launch day and I don't know who it's for.
Core gamers who like Uncharted, Halo, GTA and Call of Duty?
Fail. Two consoles already have these games, are significantly cheaper with a much larger library of games.
Casual gamers who bought a Wii?
Fail. This console confuses them with the complex looking controller and more complex games. It doesn't matter anyway, these guys have moved onto iPads which can do much more than play casual games, can be cheaper, much cheaper games, portable etc.
Nintendo fans?
Hmm.. Where are the games then? Launching with NintendoLand, another 2D Mario and a promise of a Wii-ported Pikmin sequel in "launch window"?
Maybe the price and games selection are the main issue for potential customers, but maybe, just maybe, there is not many Nintendo fans that are interested in a Nintendo home console anymore? The GC proved this and it had some awesome Nintendo games on it. You can't really compare Wii U to Wii, it's for a totally different audience.
Pokemon MMO.
1st Course
Member
Great post, thank you. The truth is that the Wii U is just very expensive for what it offers imo, Nintendo should drop the price fast, especially now that next gen consoles are around the corner.
Which is exactly the reason why I expect them not to make that game, because Nintendo is allergic to leveraging the Zelda franchise in a way that fans expect.
....man, when you put it like that...
perfectchaos007
Member
Is it time to align the sales trajectory with the GCN? Who's winning the Wii U vs. GCN trending war?
gamecube, easily. this is more of a sega saturn thing now.
Mikey Jr.
Member
If it is another 55k disaster, then I have no hope for this console. If you are doing 55k a month in a console that is less than half a year old and priced at $299, then you have fucking major problems.
This console needs to hit atleast 100k. Thats not fantastic, but atleast it shows some signs of life.
The ultimate slap in the face would be if the Wii outsells it. A console that, for all intents and purposes, has been dead for the past 2 years.
This console needs to hit atleast 100k. Thats not fantastic, but atleast it shows some signs of life.
The ultimate slap in the face would be if the Wii outsells it. A console that, for all intents and purposes, has been dead for the past 2 years.
Here's Nintendo's official numbers for GameCube:
http://www.nintendo.co.jp/ir/library/historical_data/pdf/consolidated_sales_e1212.pdf
At the end of the first five months in March 31, 2002,, the GameCube was at 3.80 million worldwide.
Basileus777
Member
If Iwata wants to hit that 100 billion yen mark, he needs to throw everything behind the 3DS and pray for a miracle, because I don't see any hope for the WiiU. Even the price-cut it badly needs would just undercut its profitability this year.
trudderham
Member
They should have called it the Wii 2. It has two screens, and it's a new Wii.
New Mario and Zelda games would have helped too. It's what stopped me buying a console at launch.
I'm stating the obvious though, and have the benefit of hindsight.
New Mario and Zelda games would have helped too. It's what stopped me buying a console at launch.
I'm stating the obvious though, and have the benefit of hindsight.
shinra-bansho
Member
It is the tech. In the sense that:
a) no one* cares about the touchscreen tech
b) it doesn't provide an upgrade for PS3/360 gamers so why should they upgrade, and...
c) by corollary, as it doesn't provide an upgrade, it's essentially competing for the same market currently buying PS3s and 360s.
(*Yes, I'm sure some people care. And I'm sure they'll point out they do. It's an expression and it refers to the general consumer.)
Aquamarine
Member
Stiflers Mom
Banned
Name and Design of the Wii U are too similar to the Wii.
That's what everybody said after the E3.
Nintendo didn''t listen.
They somehow were under the wrong assumption, that people liked the Wii so much, because it was what it was... So they thought they should clone it with a new gimmick.
In reality people liked the Wii, because it was something completeley fresh and new, new name, new design, new controllers, new concept.
The Wii U is the complete opposite of this.
That's what everybody said after the E3.
Nintendo didn''t listen.
They somehow were under the wrong assumption, that people liked the Wii so much, because it was what it was... So they thought they should clone it with a new gimmick.
In reality people liked the Wii, because it was something completeley fresh and new, new name, new design, new controllers, new concept.
The Wii U is the complete opposite of this.
perfectchaos007
Member
yikes. If indeed WiiU sold ~55K this month, this would be by far the largest % disparity between the two consoles aligned with WiiU selling roughly half the units GCN did during the same point in its life.
No, you got the U Draw pad for Wii, not the Wii U with pad. BIG DIFFERENCE!
trudderham
Member
http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/digitalfoundry-new-super-mario-bros-u-analysis
Digital Foundry comparison for those who haven't seen it. It's still shocking that SMB U uses the same graphical assets as its earlier Wii sibling.
That's part of the problem...barely anyone wants the $299 version (it might as well not exist).
..while $350 is too much for the mass market (in regards to a Nintendo product).
Plus you can hardly say that either Lego City of Monster Hunter had blanket advertising in the way Lego games usually do or how Monster Hunter Wii did.
Even if they have some strong releases..they're still going to get sub 55k months up until November unless they are backed with strong tv and instore marketing.
michaelius
Banned
To be fair Gamecube had some big release back then didn't it? And Wii U had well we know what it had
0_0 yikes. For some reason I thought the wiiu had the upper hand during the launch months..guess not
Chris23235
Banned
When did Monster Hunter became a titan anywhere outside japan, must have missed something.
They are literally big guns. After the cameras go off and the stream has finished Nintendo will keep everyone in the hall hostage at gun point. They will force them to write the scathing reviews on Sony and Microsoft's showings while praising Nintendo as the true saviour of gaming.
When the cameras turn back of to Geoff Keighley we will see he is wearing a new pair of trousers and sitting next to Reggie for an interview. We will notice the usually playful banter has turn to nervous laughter are the usual snarky comments have disappeared completely. "Where are the games for the core gamers?" replaced with "why do think only Nintendo is catering to the core?"
And while people may have seen the conferences with their own eyes they will still take the words of journalists as gospel so despite what they may have seen they will believe that Microsoft's only aim is to kill you in your sleep and Sony tests all their games on animals.
Bringing more smiles to more faces.
You're supposed to Duck tape them together.
I'm beginning to think it is too late for the Wii U.
I just can't see how Nintendo will compete with the two new consoles this year. Iwata needs to act now. If the conferences follow the traditional pattern, then in 8 weeks we will all be waiting for the Nintendo and Sony conference. If Iwata waits until E3 then it will be difficult to shine sandwiched between MS and Sony.
The question is what can he announce at E3 to reverse the fortunes? A price cut? A Mario game at Christmas? As much as I want a new Mario game we are long past the time when the name of "Mario" will be the clincher for buying a new console.
As it stands the Wii U is an embarrassment. No games, no excitement just consumer apathy. I'm not sure about the US but Nintendo managed to even fuck up Monster Hunter here. Entered the UK chart at a decent position, only for Nintendo to apologise due to there being no stock available. Three weeks later still nothing. Nintendo's incompetence has killed the game here. The game managed to chart in the top 40 for one week.
I just can't see how Nintendo will compete with the two new consoles this year. Iwata needs to act now. If the conferences follow the traditional pattern, then in 8 weeks we will all be waiting for the Nintendo and Sony conference. If Iwata waits until E3 then it will be difficult to shine sandwiched between MS and Sony.
The question is what can he announce at E3 to reverse the fortunes? A price cut? A Mario game at Christmas? As much as I want a new Mario game we are long past the time when the name of "Mario" will be the clincher for buying a new console.
As it stands the Wii U is an embarrassment. No games, no excitement just consumer apathy. I'm not sure about the US but Nintendo managed to even fuck up Monster Hunter here. Entered the UK chart at a decent position, only for Nintendo to apologise due to there being no stock available. Three weeks later still nothing. Nintendo's incompetence has killed the game here. The game managed to chart in the top 40 for one week.
Duck tape, obviously!
The thing is in the last 2 months his said a figure which has ended up being too high so it could be even lower.
It's a crisis and I'm starting to think its too late. The big hitters will come but I'm thinking the market just has no interest or desire to use the Gamepad (tablet style controller).
It's a crisis and I'm starting to think its too late. The big hitters will come but I'm thinking the market just has no interest or desire to use the Gamepad (tablet style controller).
I'm pretty sure it kinda proves it was all for piracy (only Nintendo licensed games) and that the load times was what they used as an argument for consumers. N64 carts where more expensive and usually had less than 1/20 the capacity of a CD. Thinking about 32MB carts, 64 was rare and 128 was only RE2 I think. 4-8-16 where all over the place. It's hard to defend that when a CD has over 600MB and is cheaper and still pretty reliable (no dust ^^).
