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Financial Post: Why Nintendo’s Wii U and 3DS may be your best bets this holiday

T

Tripon

Member
And, truth be told, I’m fielding as many questions from family and friends — as well as acquaintances, folks on social media, and readers — about whether Wii U is worth buying this holiday as I am about Xbox One and PlayStation 4 combined.

Here’s what I tell them:

It no longer does any good to place Nintendo’s consoles in the same category as Xbox or PlayStation. Starting with the Wii – perhaps going back even further – it’s now readily apparent that Nintendo is intent on forging its own path in the video game industry.

This is evident not just in the Japanese game giant’s hardware, which has become curiously out of step with that of other manufacturers in terms of processing power and interface design, but also — perhaps even especially — in the way it approaches content.

While Microsoft and Sony operate several subsidiary studios and occasionally contract outside developers to produce exclusive content for their consoles, the overwhelming bulk of the software gamers purchase for these machines is multiplatform. By and large, people are playing the same games on Xbox as they are on PlayStation. This places them in direct competition with one another.

Nintendo, on the other hand, is all about exclusive content.

Few people have picked up a Wii U thinking about playing multiplatform blockbusters like Call of Duty: Ghosts, Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag, or Battlefield 4. That last one, along with pretty much every other EA game released this year, isn’t even available for Wii U. Ditto for Grand Theft Auto V, far and away the most popular game of the year.

Instead, they purchased it for games that can only be played on Nintendo machines. The latest Mario and Luigi platformers. Link’s ongoing quests to save Zelda. Those cute little armies of plant-like Pikmin.

These iconic and exclusive licenses – and plenty of others, including Donkey Kong, Pokemon, and Metroid, to name just a few – produce the games that top Nintendo’s software sales charts year after year.

The upshot is that Nintendo can survive even if virtually all of its third-party software partners abandon them – as pretty much happened during the final years of the Wii.

Imagine, on the other hand, what would happen to Xbox or PlayStation’s fortunes if EA or Activision stopped working with them. It would mean their death.

The crux is this: The reason to buy a Nintendo console is to play Nintendo games. It’s that simple.
Click to expand...

http://business.financialpost.com/2...-your-best-bets-this-holiday/?__lsa=f6a0-096b

I think that's a good point to consider, I know there are people on neogaf that wants Nintendo to go 3rd party, but they are probably the one company in the industry that can try to survive by primarily supplying their console with 1st party games. No way Sony or MS can attempt to do that, so they must cater to 3rd parties companies.
 
R

royalan

Member
The point of this article, and the many like it, basically boils down to this question:

Are Nintendo's games, and only Nintendo's games, worth the cost of a launch console?

If the answer is yes, then fucking duh the Wii U is your best bet.

However, it's becoming undeniably apparent that the answer to that question, for most people, is not yes.
 
G

Glorified G

Member
royalan said:
This point of this article, and the many like it, basically boils down to this question:

Are Nintendo's games, and only Nintendo's games, worth the cost of a launch console?

If the answer is yes, the fucking duh the Wii U is your best bet.

However, it's becoming undeniably apparent that the answer to that question, for most people, is not yes.
Click to expand...

/thread. First post does it again
 
B

Barzul

Member
royalan said:
This point of this article, and the many like it, basically boils down to this question:

Are Nintendo's games, and only Nintendo's games, worth the cost of a launch console?

If the answer is yes, the fucking duh the Wii U is your best bet.

However, it's becoming undeniably apparent that the answer to that question, for most people, is not yes.
Click to expand...

Exactly and for me it just isn't. Till Nintendo get online right and third party games. I can't make an excuse for buying their consoles. Just doesn't seem like a good investment.
 
G

gamergirly

Member
royalan said:
This point of this article, and the many like it, basically boils down to this question:

Are Nintendo's games, and only Nintendo's games, worth the cost of a launch console?

If the answer is yes, the fucking duh the Wii U is your best bet.

However, it's becoming undeniably apparent that the answer to that question, for most people, is not yes.
Click to expand...
There's nothing apparent about that, especially with no solid numbers outside of Japan(where 3D Mario games sell over time anyway) and the UK(where Nintendo hasn't sold well for the better part of a decade).
 
pants

pants

Member
royalan said:
The point of this article, and the many like it, basically boils down to this question:

Are Nintendo's games, and only Nintendo's games, worth the cost of a launch console?

If the answer is yes, the fucking duh the Wii U is your best bet.

However, it's becoming undeniably apparent that the answer to that question, for most people, is not yes.
Click to expand...

.
 
Eteric Rice

Eteric Rice

Member
I think the biggest problem is that you have a system with last generation hardware, but with nearly a new generation price.
 
C

cafemomo

Member
I agree that the 3DS is one of the best buys you can get.

And not even during holidays, but any day of the year.
 
R

royalan

Member
gamergirly said:
There's nothing apparent about that, especially with no solid numbers outside of Japan(where 3D Mario games sell over time anyway) and the UK(where Nintendo hasn't sold well for the better part of a decade).
Click to expand...

...I suppose you've missed the part about Wii U not even meeting half its target for the year yet?
 
S

Salex_

Member
Imagine, on the other hand, what would happen to Xbox or PlayStation’s fortunes if EA or Activision stopped working with them. It would mean their death
Click to expand...
Did Sony lose all of their 1st party studios?
 
B

B.O.O.M

Member
gamergirly said:
There's nothing apparent about that, especially with no solid numbers outside of Japan(where 3D Mario games sell over time anyway) and the UK(where Nintendo hasn't sold well for the better part of a decade).
Click to expand...

Don't think you're understanding his point. If more people deemed the nintendo only offerings worth the price of buying the wiiu..then the current abysmal levels of hardware sales wouldn't have occurred. So yes, it's very apparent.

gamergirly said:
You mean the analysts' "predictions"?
Click to expand...

No. Nintendo's hardware forecast. They are going to miss it by a laughable margin
 
B

BigDug13

Member
Nintendo should really be leveraging the fact that they pretty much dominate in couch multiplayer gaming. Nobody else comes close. First party companies aren't even bothering to put split screen in their exclusive PS4/XBO titles anymore.

It's a dying breed and Nintendo is keeping it alive. Though kudos to Blizzard for making Diablo 3 a great couch multiplayer game. Too bad they didn't want to bother with a port to the machine that caters to 4 player couch gaming.
 
D

d[-_-]b

Banned
Salex_;92331595]Did Sony lose all of their 1st party studios?
Click to expand...
If Sony got Nintendo tier 3rd party support would anyone be buying their console? For knack? Imagine no Fifa, no Madden etc...

It's the same reason PS3 sold as it did last gen despite its abysmal sales due that ridiculous price, yet 3rd parties didn't pull out after the first year let alone first couple of months in regards to EA.
 
D

Devilgunman

Member
I'm a bit confused. So the whole point of the article is to state the obvious like this?

The crux is this: The reason to buy a Nintendo console is to play Nintendo games. It’s that simple.
Click to expand...

Doesn't everybody know that?
 
B

B.O.O.M

Member
d[-_-]b;92332063 said:
If Sony got Nintendo tier 3rd party support would anyone be buying their console? For knack? Imagine no Fifa, no Madden etc...
Click to expand...

If they were as screwed on the third party front then they would have just put games like TLOU on the PS4 launch.

But let's be real, this is all lala land talk in the article. There's no reason to even consider such a drastic situation. Sony and MS build their hardware and services with input from major third party pubs. Nintendo doesn't
 
D

Darmik

Member
BigDug13 said:
Nintendo should really be leveraging the fact that they pretty much dominate in couch multiplayer gaming. Nobody else comes close. First party companies aren't even bothering to put split screen in their exclusive PS4/XBO titles anymore.

It's a dying breed and Nintendo is keeping it alive. Though kudos to Blizzard for making Diablo 3 a great couch multiplayer game. Too bad they didn't want to bother with a port to the machine that caters to 4 player couch gaming.
Click to expand...

Agreed. It's something people tend to miss when they say Nintendo should go handheld only as well. I wish it was treated as a bigger deal.
 
S

Speevy

Banned
attachment.php
 
N

nib95

Banned
royalan said:
The point of this article, and the many like it, basically boils down to this question:

Are Nintendo's games, and only Nintendo's games, worth the cost of a launch console?

If the answer is yes, then fucking duh the Wii U is your best bet.

However, it's becoming undeniably apparent that the answer to that question, for most people, is not yes.
Click to expand...

Great first post.
 
S

Salex_

Member
d[-_-]b;92332063 said:
If Sony got Nintendo tier 3rd party support would anyone be buying their console? For knack? Imagine no Fifa, no Madden etc...
Click to expand...

If they didn't have strong 3rd party support don't you think they would have planned to have their big developers to be in the launch lineup? The fact that they can depend on COD, BF4, all the sport titles, AC4, and NFS on launch meant that they could toss out 2 games and relax until January.

You should probably take a look at the Wii U's launch lineup as well. Can you imagine bad the Wii U would have sold without all of those launch title 3rd party games?
It's the same reason PS3 sold as it did last gen despite its abysmal sales due that ridiculous price, yet 3rd parties didn't pull out after the first year let alone first couple of months in regards to EA.
Click to expand...
Think about why they stopped supporting the Wii U. Maybe the games didn't sell on the system? Maybe the hardware sales were worse than the PS3 within the same time frame?
 
M

mantidor

Member
royalan said:
...I suppose you've missed the part about Wii U not even meeting half its target for the year yet?
Click to expand...

This is something we already knew, that "analysis" came from comparing january-september wii-u sales to launch sales of ps4/x1 or in other words, absurd comparison.

I also doubt they'll meet their forecast, but that article (and thread) was completely ridiculous.
 
Z

Zolf

Member
Eteric Rice said:
I think the biggest problem is that you have a system with last generation hardware, but with nearly a new generation price.
Click to expand...

Which also leads to an odd situation where the Wii is essentially off the market, but the Wii U could very well end up 5th in sales behind two generations of both competitors' products.
 
S

Speevy

Banned
I freaking love Nintendo games, but I want them on a console that is not failing and thus crushing the potential of any other good stuff that could possibly come out.
 
T

Tangsta

Banned
Imagine, on the other hand, what would happen to Xbox or PlayStation’s fortunes if EA or Activision stopped working with them. It would mean their death.
Click to expand...

Activision and EA are just as reliant on the console platforms. It would mean their deaths if consoles no longer exist, and I doubt Steam can save them.

The failure of the Wii U is only more proof on what I've always thought of Nintendo management: they are unworthy of such prized franchises. I honestly hope Nintendo fail just so they are forced to sell these franchises off to better managed companies, where they can continue to grow and prosper.
 
B

BigDug13

Member
royalan said:
Well, there's your problem right there.
Click to expand...

I meant the support is a dying breed, not that the couch gamer is a dying breed, though that's probably true as well as we continue to isolate ourselves from direct human contact because of social media, etc.
 
J

jmls1121

Banned
royalan said:
The point of this article, and the many like it, basically boils down to this question:

Are Nintendo's games, and only Nintendo's games, worth the cost of a launch console?

If the answer is yes, then fucking duh the Wii U is your best bet.

However, it's becoming undeniably apparent that the answer to that question, for most people, is not yes.
Click to expand...


Nintendo's first party is the grand marque, but you are going WAAAY overboard here. Rayman Legends and Lego City Undercover were amazing, we are getting 2 incredible Platinum games, Ubisofts stuff for at least 2 years, Sonic Racing is great, Sonic Worlds is pretty cool, Atlus is doing stuff.
 
U

UNCMark

Banned
royalan said:
The point of this article, and the many like it, basically boils down to this question:

Are Nintendo's games, and only Nintendo's games, worth the cost of a launch console?

If the answer is yes, then fucking duh the Wii U is your best bet.

However, it's becoming undeniably apparent that the answer to that question, for most people, is not yes.
Click to expand...

Was a big fat f*cking YES for me this month. I'm single-handedly saving the brand.
 
J

jmls1121

Banned
Eteric Rice said:
I think the biggest problem is that you have a system with last generation hardware, but with nearly a new generation price.
Click to expand...

LOL $300 with a pack-in quality game, free online, and the digital promotion is not even close to next gen price. That being said, I agree that Ninty's sweet spot is $250 max.
 
B

BigDug13

Member
Seriously, it's price. Didn't the Wii become most popular once it got to $200 with Wii Sports? The launched this fucking new one at $350 and didn't even keep the grandma-friendly waggle as primary input and banked on a tablet controller that has pretty much been relegated to a "remote play" feature and some in-game map and inventory functionality.
 
P

pa22word

Member
Unless the Wii U moves a million this holidays I could not in good faith recommend the system to anyone, regardless of how hyped I am for Bayonetta 2 + loved the system's output this year.

When a system has sold less than a million this year on a forecast of 9...yeah...
 
P

PopeReal

Member
Speevy said:
I freaking love Nintendo games, but I want them on a console that is not failing and thus crushing the potential of any other good stuff that could possibly come out.
Click to expand...

So you love Nintendo games, and can buy a console to play them on. What exactly is the problem?
 
R

royalan

Member
jmls1121 said:
Nintendo's first party is the grand marque, but you are going WAAAY overboard here. Rayman Legends and Lego City Undercover were amazing, we are getting 2 incredible Platinum games, Ubisofts stuff for at least 2 years, Sonic Racing is great, Sonic Worlds is pretty cool, Atlus is doing stuff.
Click to expand...

I'm not denying the quality of some of those games, but a handful of titles doesn't a thriving (or even well-rounded) 3rd party ecosystem make. It remains likely that the Wii U will see a great dearth of quality 3rd party support as time goes on, and it will be primarily up to Nintendo to carry their system, perhaps more so than any other console preceding the Wii U. This is a far cry from their competition.
 
G

greg400

Banned
BigDug13 said:
Seriously, it's price. Didn't the Wii become most popular once it got to $200 with Wii Sports? The launched this fucking new one at $350 and didn't even keep the grandma-friendly waggle as primary input and banked on a tablet controller that has pretty much been relegated to a "remote play" feature and some in-game map and inventory functionality.
Click to expand...
Nah, Wii was flying off shelves when it launched at $250 which is essentially what the Wii U is now when subtracting the bundled game.
 
U

UNCMark

Banned
Troubleman1990 said:
It's a shame that I don't gamble at all.
I'll go with my PS4 for my safe bet.
Click to expand...

I did that too, and quickly realized that a console with a crappy collection of games isn't very fun and I can't play specs.. Wii U fills that need. A year into PS4's life will more than likely be the same situation (many great games to play).
 
T

Tripon

Member
Speevy said:
I freaking love Nintendo games, but I want them on a console that is not failing and thus crushing the potential of any other good stuff that could possibly come out.
Click to expand...

That's the thing though. Nintendo's just about the only company that can produce enough software on their own to solely support one console if they had to. They proved it with the 3DS, and they're struggling to do it with the Wii U. But they're going to try dammit, and won't make games for another platform.

The only way you're playing Nintendo games on a non-Nintendo platform is through illegal means.
 
S

Speevy

Banned
UNCMark said:
I did that too, and quickly realized that a console with a crappy collection of games isn't very fun and I can't play specs.. Wii U fills that need. A year into PS4's life will more than likely be the same situation (many great games to play).
Click to expand...

Well, anything is a good bet if you have all the chips in the casino.
 
EventHorizon

EventHorizon

Member
The upshot is that Nintendo can survive even if virtually all of its third-party software partners abandon them – as pretty much happened during the final years of the Wii.

Imagine, on the other hand, what would happen to Xbox or PlayStation’s fortunes if EA or Activision stopped working with them. It would mean their death.
Click to expand...

Umm... excuse me if I missed something, but judging by the Wii U's awful sales numbers, doesn't it also mean the death of the Wii U too?

Nintendo has been losing customers for a while now. In retrospect, the Wii looks like it made most of its sales based on the then-new motion control. With Nintendo's recent gimmicks like the vitality sensor and the gamepad unable to put a significant number of consoles in the home, it looks like the Wii's success based on unique hardware was a onetime thing.

Even if there is another console accessory that could be a hit, the odds are that it will not be an inexpensive addition. Nintendo likes to go its own way, but it doesn't like to spend a lot of money doing it. The next generation Kinect or PS Move like device, or a VR experience isn't going to come from Nintendo. All the low hanging fruit fruit has already been taken.

Nintendo should release another console that has the bare minimum hardware necessary to run Nintendo's games in HD minus the gimmicks. That console should be under $200 but preferably closer to $100. It should have an easily upgradable hard drive so users can hold downloaded digital titles. Market it as the Nintendo Ultimate and get as many historic Nintendo titles to run on it as possible. Make it be the defacto first console that parents think of giving to their children.

Nintendo should release phone and tablet games, and use them as marketing for their new cheaper console. Allow cross platform play between the tablets and phones, and the console. Sell a universal license for games that allows the owner to download the game on any platform that is supported.

Nintendo could do that...or they could keep doing the same thing over and over again, and expecting different results.
 
D

d[-_-]b

Banned
Tangsta said:
Activision and EA are just as reliant on the console platforms. It would mean their deaths if consoles no longer exist, and I doubt Steam can save them.

The failure of the Wii U is only more proof on what I've always thought of Nintendo management: they are unworthy of such prized franchises. I honestly hope Nintendo fail just so they are forced to sell these franchises off to better managed companies, where they can continue to grow and prosper.
Click to expand...
Proper management how? Who are you using as an example for proper management.
 
T

Tripon

Member
jmls1121 said:
Are PS3 and 360 next gen consoles?
Click to expand...

Just pointing out that last gen consoles were still pretty damn expensive way late in their lifespans.

The Wii U at $300 this early into its run can be argued that its inexpensive for a relatively new console.
 
T

Touch

Member
I was personally been on the edge of buying a 3DS for a few weeks now. There are many games I would like to play but I haven't been a handheld type of gamer since like GBA.
 
J

jmls1121

Banned
royalan said:
I'm not denying the quality of some of those games, but a handful of titles doesn't a thriving (or even well-rounded) 3rd party ecosystem make. It remains likely that the Wii U will see a great dearth of quality 3rd party support as time goes on, and it will be primarily up to Nintendo to carry their system, perhaps more so than any other console preceding the Wii U. This is a far cry from their competition.
Click to expand...

I completely agree. Especially if you're primarily a fan of fps or sports simulation games. For dedicated, open-minded gamers that have a lot of time to play, a Nintendo console is at best a secondary console.

But to claim that you only look at first party output when judging the value proposition of a Nintendo console is simply not true, and I'm surprised at how many in this thread agree with that statement.
 
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