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[radcliff]

Basically, I see a worrying trend of Nintendo putting resources on Wii Fit, Wii Sports Club, Wii Party, Game and Wario, Wii Street, Wii Karaoke, while relegating the core development to remakes like WindWaker or direct sequels with reused assets, mechanics, design (NSMBU, DKC:TF, SM3DW). It's doubling down on the original Wii audience I don't think will pay off, while they slip further into irrelevance with the demos that actually spend their disposable income on, well, videogames.

.

But those particular games have been in development for some time already. I doubt Nintendo would just cancel Wii Sports Club, Wii Party U, and Wii Fit U near the end of development because G&W bombed because they are probably (relatively) cheap to make and they will most likely profit from them. Now, if those games fail to sell well and Nintendo then continues to make these types of games, then I would agree Nintendo has a problem reading and responding to market trends.

Off Topic: I forgot Wii Party U was a thing. Kinda wish they'd just devoted resources to more Nintendo Land attractions, that game was like a Wii Party that actually worked.

Well, those are by 2 different development teams within 2 different development divisions. Additional Nintendo Land attractions would most likely come from EAD 2 (team Nintendo Land, Animal Crossing, and Wii Sports), while Wii Party is made from a division within SPD comprised of mostly former Hudson developers. So development of Wii Party does not preclude the possibility of NL DLC from being worked on.

 

[sackferret]

Damn, these bundles are all right.

 

[Diddy Kong]

Awesome bundles!

 

[schuelma]

Really aggressive move by Nintendo- a price cut is still the ideal solution, but in the alternative this is a nice first step. Also Wii Sports Club will be available for download the day before.

Shrug. Still need a date for SM3DW, but you can see their strategy for the holiday season.

 

[Taker666]

They are good value bundles..

...but I can't help but think they'd be better off dropping the price of the machines and pre-installing/promoting all the freebies you can get....rather than bundling a bunch of extra stuff and charging more. It's also a little odd they are revealing them now...as it'll basically stall sales even more for the next 5 weeks.

 

[Somnid]

They are good value bundles..

...but I can't help but think they'd be better off dropping the price of the machines and pre-installing/promoting all the freebies you can get....rather than bundling a bunch of extra stuff and charging more.

There's an obvious strategy here, and it's the same reason why they are more or less giving away Wii Fit U in America. They want people with Wii Us to own games, specifically the type of party game Wii did very well with. Wii U, far more than Wii, needs some (for lack of a better word) intimate play to really understand, I don't think a demo can do it. So I think the idea is load up people with these games and try to fan some viral takeoff. It's not full-proof but this is how game systems have taken off traditionally and so if they can get more people exposed through friends and family the hope is they can kick off a sales trend.

 

[evilromero]

That is a great bundle. Damn.

 

[Bullza2o]

What a bundle! If this doesn't turn things around I don't know what's wrong with people.

 

[Lexxism]

Now I think of it, I wouldn't feel so bad if this bundle comes to NA priced $300 after buying WiiU WW bundle considering I got the bundle for $240 + $45 Wii Party U. I got mine $15 cheaper

 

[L~A]

They are good value bundles..

...but I can't help but think they'd be better off dropping the price of the machines and pre-installing/promoting all the freebies you can get....rather than bundling a bunch of extra stuff and charging more. It's also a little odd they are revealing them now...as it'll basically stall sales even more for the next 5 weeks.

As people have already pointed out, the Wii U is already quite cheap in Japan compared to the West. For example, the Wii Fit bundle costs ~260€... that's 39€ less than the regular Premium Pack in Europe (minus the 2nd game, the Wii Fit Meter, the Wiimote Plus and longer Karaoke trial)... and that's AFTER the price drop in EU.

This bundle is not only a very nice deal (lots of stuff for cheap), but you also get great games and useful accessories (like the Wiimote).

 

[StAidan]

Wow, now that's a bundle. Don't think I'd buy one since I prefer having the physical discs, but for those digital library folks, it seems like a must-buy.

 

[Vandole]

Excellent strategy for going after all those families who bought the Wii for just the Wii titles. Hopefully they'll figure out a way to reach those people and make them aware of it.

 

[schuelma]

Excellent strategy for going after all those families who bought the Wii for just the Wii titles. Hopefully they'll figure out a way to reach those people and make them aware of it.

Yup. Plus Wii Sports Club comes out digitally the day before. All out push to try and consolidate the Wii owners this holiday.

 

[LOCK]

For those that say they should have cut the price, I doubt that would help as much without system sellers and it really didn't help other consoles all that much in Japan.

 

[sörine]

Yup. Plus Wii Sports Club comes out digitally the day before. All out push to try and consolidate the Wii owners this holiday.

I think we'll also see a retail release for Wii Sports Club, probably in December to help fill things out with the MMOs.

 

[Fabrik]

What? How did I miss the Wii Sports Club announcement?
Wii Sports Tennis Online? Day One!

 

[Sinistral]

Was planning to buy a Wii U around Christmas, hope these bundles or similar make it to Canada.

2014 seems to be a great year for the Wii U.

 

[Mariolee]

If they released this in America, I would buy this in a heartbeat.

 

[Pancakes R Us]

They are good value bundles..

...but I can't help but think they'd be better off dropping the price of the machines and pre-installing/promoting all the freebies you can get....rather than bundling a bunch of extra stuff and charging more. It's also a little odd they are revealing them now...as it'll basically stall sales even more for the next 5 weeks.

You mean stall the current, pathetic sales numbers? At the rate the system is selling, I don't think it matters.

 

[Ludicrous Speed]

They really should be doing this in the US. With the PS4 not being released until 2014 in Japan they need not be in a hurry to do a fire sale. They should offer a similar deal in the US where there are two new consoles coming out in a month's time. Wind Waker is not going to sell hardware. This might.

 

[D-e-f-]

They really should be doing this in the US. With the PS4 not being released until 2014 in Japan they need not be in a hurry to do a fire sale. They should offer a similar deal in the US where there are two new consoles coming out in a month's time. Wind Waker is not going to sell hardware. This might.

Disagree. Going by all the anecdotal evidence on here, I'm quite positive it will get a nice bump. And not just because it's Wind waker but because it's a Wind Waker bundle with a price drop.

 

[Ridley327]

At the very least this should come to the us as a black friday bundle

Doesn't it seem more likely that the NSMBU+NSLU bundle that Europe is getting would be the one the US gets, as well?

 

[D-e-f-]

Doesn't it seem more likely that the NSMBU+NSLU bundle that Europe is getting would be the one the US gets, as well?

whynotboth.gif

 

[MegalonJJ]

...It's also a little odd they are revealing them now...as it'll basically stall sales even more for the next 5 weeks.

I don't think it's odd.

Remember Pokemon is early-mid October and I believe that Zelda:Link Between Worlds is 2014 for Japan, which allows for an aggressive Wii U push from the end of October onwards.

 

[SporeCrawler]

So does anybody thinkthese bundles will have any impact on the current wiiu sales in japan.. Sub 3000 is beyond abysmal..

 

[BadWolf]

So does anybody thinkthese bundles will have any impact on the current wiiu sales in japan.. Sub 3000 is beyond abysmal..

Nothing but a temporary bump.

 

[Penguin]

So does anybody thinkthese bundles will have any impact on the current wiiu sales in japan.. Sub 3000 is beyond abysmal..

I thought it was because of this bundle why so low

Why announce such a value pack nearly 6 weeks before release is beyond me.

 

[SporeCrawler]

so... any idea if this sold?

it looks like another bomb, no?

 

[Outtrigger888]

Wii Fit U, but no balance board?

Isn't that like if MS bundled Dance Central 4 with Xbox One, but did not include Kinect?

The balance board is big and heavy. Thatd be quite the box to be carrying.

 

[Taker666]

so... any idea if this sold?

it looks like another bomb, no?

I noticed a few of the bundles did get into the top 40 at Amazon Japan for a few days..but they have dropped to outside the top 100 now. They might manage to sell 20-30k this week...but only this week.

They need a ￥25,000 Super Mario 3D World premium bundle if want a chance at selling IMO.

 

[plank]

so... any idea if this sold?

it looks like another bomb, no?

Check the Japan sales thread Tomarrow.

 

[VAPitts]

I noticed a few of the bundles did get into the top 40 at Amazon Japan for a few days..but they have dropped to outside the top 100 now. They might manage to sell 20-30k this week...but only this week.

They need a ￥25,000 Super Mario 3D World premium bundle if want a chance at selling IMO.

so they need a bundle that's way cheaper than the current bundles and the basic set?

 

[SporeCrawler]

I noticed a few of the bundles did get into the top 40 at Amazon Japan for a few days..but they have dropped to outside the top 100 now. They might manage to sell 20-30k this week...but only this week.

They need a ￥25,000 Super Mario 3D World premium bundle if want a chance at selling IMO.

so they do a mad price drop release a game that sold 2 million units and still cant even break a good number and get a temporary bump?

man 3k per week is bad but this may even be more hilarious.

 

[Yanikun]

so they do a mad price drop release a game that sold 2 million units and still cant even break a good number and get a temporary bump?

man 3k per week is bad but this may even be more hilarious.

There was no price drop in Japan.