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Nintendo lowers forecast from ¥55B profit to ¥25B loss [3DS 18M->13.5; WiiU 9M->2.8M]

AzaK

Member
I agree. And not only the Virtual Boy, but Nintendo released two handhelds (Game Boy Color and Game Boy Advance) with incredibly short, three-year lifespans until their successor was released.

Hardcore Nintendo fans had no problem with the Nintendo DS releasing in 2004 despite the Game Boy Advance releasing in 2001, so I don't see why the successor to the Wii U can't be released in 2015.

As I said earlier, if I was in a management position at Nintendo I'd only continue to support Wii U with the tentpole projects announced for the system (Zelda U, Mario Kart 8, Smash Bros. U, and the other projects Nintendo has in development).

Nothing major would get greenlit at this point.

Due to Nintendo's excessive inventory of manufactured Wii U consoles, I would halt production for the time being. In territories where Wii U has flatlined (the UK / Australia for example) I would stop paying retailers to keep Wii U on the shelf and retreat from physical retail at those markets. At the end of the day, those markets are just losing money.

In markets with at least a glimmer of promise (France, USA, Japan), I would release the tentpole projects to those territories.

Essentially, the goal is to squeeze whatever life Wii U has out of it before discarding it and moving on.

To that end, I would stay far away from an official Dreamcast-esque discontinuation. Like Nintendo did with the Virtual Boy back in 1996, I would continue to pledge support for the system but wind down 1st-party support through early 2015 before silently discontinuing it.

Who knows? In 2015 Nintendo could even invest in some small, indie-style first party projects like Pushmo on the Wii U to sustain the illusion that Wii U is still being supported.

So all of that expansion Nintendo EAD has undergone? I would invest their energies towards what's coming next, not to try and prop up a dead console.

What you say does make a certain amount of sense and I can see them doing something like that.

However there are some unknowns that could affect the whole thing.

1) If they want to bring their console features set up to par with the competition they would need more work on their network infrastructure and OS feature set. That takes time.

2) If we are talking something along the PS4/XBO level of power does a PPC based system cut it? If not that's a massive change to not only their production but also their toolchains etc.

3) If they are looking for something "real different" like their own Nintendo holodeck, that takes R&D money and time too.

I'm not sure 3 years is enough for all this to come together.
 

royalan

Member
This is nonsense.

Oh really? Do you see the Wii U getting increased 3rd party support from here on out?

I see a future where the Wii U becomes increasingly reliant on the games Nintendo releases for it. And Nintendo has already released most of their heavy hitters, or will do so in the very near future.
 
Those are the same people who didn't think the Wii was a "current gen" machine. Look up what that sold.

Frankly, Nintendo doesn't need you, and speaking personally as a Wii U owner who has really enjoyed the system and many of its games? I don't want you. Go away and play your AAA brown and grey games. Good riddance to all the bad rubbish. Take your worthless opinions of what they should do along with you. You wouldn't buy their system regardless of what it was capable of in the first place.

This is what makes the whole business of what Nintendo should or shouldn't do so maddening. Most of the people who want them to change don't want them around in the first place because they represent everything they don't want gaming to be anymore. They want the kids and families to go away so they can sit on their high horses playing Call of Duty and The Last of Us while proclaiming their maturity.

You know nothing about me you obnoxious, ignorant imbecile. I want Nintendo to do well, flying off the handle like you have making ridiculous claims about me has nothing to do with the point made. Get a grip and get over yourself.
 

Guevara

Member
Iwata is all about trying to follow the next fad to make a quick buck, so look for him to try to do vr in their next console.

Here's the new virtual boy and powerglove combo

virtual-reality-helmet.jpg

I can't wait to see how awful $300 worth of console+VR looks (sold for $400, of course).
 

Sneds

Member
Those are the same people who didn't think the Wii was a "current gen" machine. Look up what that sold.

Frankly, Nintendo doesn't need you, and speaking personally as a Wii U owner who has really enjoyed the system and many of its games? I don't want you. Go away and play your AAA brown and grey games. Good riddance to all the bad rubbish. Take your worthless opinions of what they should do along with you. You wouldn't buy their system regardless of what it was capable of in the first place.

This is what makes the whole business of what Nintendo should or shouldn't do so maddening. Most of the people who want them to change don't want them around in the first place because they represent everything they don't want gaming to be anymore. They want the kids and families to go away so they can sit on their high horses playing Call of Duty and The Last of Us while proclaiming their maturity.

This is one of the worst posts I've seen on gaf. So many baseless assumptions.

It is possible to both enjoy Nintendo games and still wish that the console was more powerful.

You seem way way way too invested in this multinational corporation.

If you think that Nintendo are fine the way they are and that they don't need to appeal to a diverse audience then you're in for a rude awakening.
 

numble

Member
There's a large difference between releasing break even products, and living off your reserves for two years with no income.
What indicates that this will be a break even product, given the higher cost of development and low hardware and software sales? And if they do so while simultaneously spending 2 years of R&D on new hardware and development of next gen launch titles that should also cost more? There's a difference between living off your reserves for two years, or continuing with 2 more years of losses to total half a decade of losses.
 

Kimawolf

Member
You know nothing about me you obnoxious, ignorant imbecile. I want Nintendo to do well, flying off the handle like you have making ridiculous claims about me has nothing to do with the point made. Get a grip and get over yourself.

Wow, you got a bit angry there. Best be careful, i been banned for saying far less,

Either way next week we'll know for sure what their "grand plan" is for the immediate future.
 
They would have nothing ready for the next consle, add no BC and you have something as bad if not worse than the first 9 moths of the Wii U.

Nintendo isn't going 3rd party, but I fear that all this negative talk about them might br making people not buy the Wii U or whatever Nintendo.

I really hope Nintendo announces some Wii U games soon so people stop thinking they are dropping it.

With third party titles and cross gen releases and even a few up-ports it would not have a significant drought.

The reason the Wii U had such a poor start is because third parties weren't there. With PS4/Bone the first wave of third party titles is about to arrive some are filler titles, but that's what they need right now, filler. Nintendo didn't realise that people want to play stuff in between their marquee releases and they paid for it.

The Wii U is also a piece of crap which doesn't help. People feel like they are getting a good deal with the PS4 and Bone, I didn't get that sense with Wii U. People didn't buy it because they were being asked to pay $349 for an odd combination of a 360 and a crummy iPad.
 
Oh really? Do you see the Wii U getting increased 3rd party support from here on out?

I see a future where the Wii U becomes increasingly reliant on the games Nintendo releases for it. And Nintendo has already released most of their heavy hitters, or will do so in the very near future.

This isn't true at all, all we have had on WiiU so far is Mario and Pikmin. We have yet to have a new Zelda, Metroid, Kart, Smash and DKC, those are Nintendo's 'heavy hitters' outside of the 2D and 3D Mario games. Add in Mario Galaxy 3, Miyamoto's new IP, X, Yoshi's Yarn and Bayo 2 and the WiiU will have a very strong 2014/5 from an exclusive standpoint.

I do think they will dump it after 2015 though and announce the new home console at E3 2016 for release that Winter.
 

Neff

Member
Oh really? Do you see the Wii U getting increased 3rd party support from here on out?

Naturally yes, considering that there's next to none right now, but I wasn't even factoring that into my statement. The first party stuff for 2014 trumps that released last year in terms of quantity and anticipation.
 
Naturally yes, considering that there's next to none right now, but I wasn't even factoring that into my statement. The first party stuff for 2014 trumps that released last year in terms of quantity and anticipation.

Do you realize how much worse it can get? People are already saying that Watch Dogs might be cancelled. This year we will likely get no CoD, no AC, no Batman, no NFS. It will be all Lego and Skylanders from here on out, dude.
 
Wow, you got a bit angry there. Best be careful, i been banned for saying far less,

Either way next week we'll know for sure what their "grand plan" is for the immediate future.

What about what he said to me ? Baseless ranting about me personally just because I didn't class Wii U as next gen which is just an opinion.
 

royalan

Member
With third party titles and cross gen releases and even a few up-ports it would not have a significant drought.

The reason the Wii U had such a poor start is because third parties weren't there. With PS4/Bone the first wave of third party titles is about to arrive some are filler titles, but that's what they need right now, filler. Nintendo didn't realise that people want to play stuff in between their marquee releases and they paid for it.

The Wii U is also a piece of crap which doesn't help. People feel like they are getting a good deal with the PS4 and Bone, I didn't get that sense with Wii U. People didn't buy it because they were being asked to pay $349 for an odd combination of a 360 and a crummy iPad.

Exactly.

Something I often see posted on GAF is praise for Nintendo for making hardware that "only plays games." I think people need to realize that the age of people wanting to pay $300+ for a box that "only plays games" is long, LONG gone. A games-only machine just isn't valuable to people in 2014, unless it's absolutely dirt cheap.

Besides quality games, if Nintendo wants to get the casual gamer's attention again, they're going to have to devote a significant amount of resources to beefing up their network services. No more half-assed slapping on Netflix and a browser and calling it a day.
 

royalan

Member
Do you realize how much worse it can get? People are already saying that Watch Dogs might be cancelled. This year we will likely get no CoD, no AC, no Batman, no NFS. It will be all Lego and Skylanders from here on out, dude.

Not only that, but historically, 3rd party support decreases for Nintendo consoles over time, not the opposite.

EDIT: Oops, sorry about the DP.
 

Kimawolf

Member
What about what he said to me ? Baseless ranting about me personally just because I didn't class Wii U as next gen which is just an opinion.

Hey I know, but I am trying to help you out is all, trust me it's best to never respond to those kind of personal attacks. It always ends badly for both parties.

anyhow I won't derail anymore.
 

Sneds

Member
This isn't true at all, all we have had on WiiU so far is Mario and Pikmin. We have yet to have a new Zelda, Metroid, Kart, Smash and DKC, those are Nintendo's 'heavy hitters' outside of the 2D and 3D Mario games. Add in Mario Galaxy 3, Miyamoto's new IP, X, Yoshi's Yarn and Bayo 2 and the WiiU will have a very strong 2014/5 from an exclusive standpoint.

I do think they will dump it after 2015 though and announce the new home console at E3 2016 for release that Winter.

Mario Galaxy 3? Metroid?
 

kswiston

Member
This isn't true at all, all we have had on WiiU so far is Mario and Pikmin. We have yet to have a new Zelda, Metroid, Kart, Smash and DKC, those are Nintendo's 'heavy hitters' outside of the 2D and 3D Mario games. Add in Mario Galaxy 3, Miyamoto's new IP, X, Yoshi's Yarn and Bayo 2 and the WiiU will have a very strong 2014/5 from an exclusive standpoint.

I do think they will dump it after 2015 though and announce the new home console at E3 2016 for release that Winter.

Metroid isn't that much better a seller than Fire Emblem.
 

Tenki

Member
Oh really? Do you see the Wii U getting increased 3rd party support from here on out?

I see a future where the Wii U becomes increasingly reliant on the games Nintendo releases for it. And Nintendo has already released most of their heavy hitters, or will do so in the very near future.

If by most you mean only Mario, then yes.
 
Those are the same people who didn't think the Wii was a "current gen" machine. Look up what that sold.

Frankly, Nintendo doesn't need you, and speaking personally as a Wii U owner who has really enjoyed the system and many of its games? I don't want you. Go away and play your AAA brown and grey games. Good riddance to all the bad rubbish. Take your worthless opinions of what they should do along with you. You wouldn't buy their system regardless of what it was capable of in the first place.

This is what makes the whole business of what Nintendo should or shouldn't do so maddening. Most of the people who want them to change don't want them around in the first place because they represent everything they don't want gaming to be anymore. They want the kids and families to go away so they can sit on their high horses playing Call of Duty and The Last of Us while proclaiming their maturity.

There's alot of people doing just that. "Right" or "wrong", that's what's happening by the millions. Like I mentioned in the GOTY results thread, it was after one of Nintendo's most stellar software years. And it did nothing.

They are vulnerable to the years-old "from the frying pan into the fire" ideas I too find short-sighted and self-serving, and they grow more defenseless by the month to combat that. When their greatest strength (kick-ass software) isn't enough to get people throwing their wallets at them, they are in serious trouble.

sneds said:
This is one of the worst posts I've seen on gaf. So many baseless assumptions.

It is possible to both enjoy Nintendo games and still wish that the console was more powerful.

You seem way way way too invested in this multinational corporation.

If you think that Nintendo are fine the way they are and that they don't need to appeal to a diverse audience then you're in for a rude awakening.

If there's going to be meltdowns on here, I'd like to think his are the some of the few that are "ok" to have. Alot of shit is in jeopardy here, good things. it's understandable.

edit: that answers that.
 
This isn't true at all, all we have had on WiiU so far is Mario and Pikmin. We have yet to have a new Zelda, Metroid, Kart, Smash and DKC, those are Nintendo's 'heavy hitters' outside of the 2D and 3D Mario games. Add in Mario Galaxy 3, Miyamoto's new IP, X, Yoshi's Yarn and Bayo 2 and the WiiU will have a very strong 2014/5 from an exclusive standpoint.

I do think they will dump it after 2015 though and announce the new home console at E3 2016 for release that Winter.

It's sad when you have to add in games that don't even exist.

DKC, Mario Kart, and Smash will certainly be bigger sellers than almost everything that released last year combined.

2015 is going to be a dead year unless they delay half the games they have announced to 2015.
 

10k

Banned
This is most likely bullshit, but I thought I'd put this in the thread for the sake of discussion. What's everyone's opinion on the specs behind this rumor (not the rumor itself)?

http://www.nintendonews.com/2014/01/nintendo-fusion-could-be-nintendos-next-gen-hardware-name/
I almost started a thread for it but it's took fake. It's still not that great. DDR4 being faster and more efficient doesn't mean you can have half the RAM of the PS4. You still need memory to hold textures and such, especially if 4k gaming takes off by next gen.
 

Sneds

Member
If there's going to be meltdowns on here, I'd like to think his are the some of the few that are "ok" to have. Alot of shit is in jeopardy here, good things. it's understandable.

It's not understandable to throw insulting baseless accusations at other posters.

I'm getting really tired of the idea that if you don't like the Wii U then you must hate Nintendo and only be interested in AAA brown, violent shooters. It's absolute nonsense but I've seen it posted multiple times.
 
It's not understandable to throw insulting baseless accusations at other posters.

I'm getting really tired of the idea that if you don't like the Wii U then you must hate Nintendo and only be interested in AAA brown, violent shooters. It's absolute nonsense but I've seen it posted multiple times.

All I said was I don't personally believe the system is current gen and I have seen many say the same, it's just an opinion. If I had insulted the man I would understand the reaction.

Time to bail out of the thread, had enough
 

kswiston

Member
if anything, the franchises are also going on opposite directions too

It's hard to tell since one is primarily console-based and the other has done best on handhelds. However, Metroid belongs with Fire Emblem, F-Zero, Star Fox, and others in Nintendo's B-Tier (sales not quality) line up. Mario/Mario Kart, Smash, Pokemon, Animal Crossing are their heavy hitters. Kirby, Zelda, and maybe Donkey Kong are somewhere in between.
 

Taker666

Member
With third party titles and cross gen releases and even a few up-ports it would not have a significant drought.

The reason the Wii U had such a poor start is because third parties weren't there. With PS4/Bone the first wave of third party titles is about to arrive some are filler titles, but that's what they need right now, filler. Nintendo didn't realise that people want to play stuff in between their marquee releases and they paid for it.

The Wii U is also a piece of crap which doesn't help. People feel like they are getting a good deal with the PS4 and Bone, I didn't get that sense with Wii U. People didn't buy it because they were being asked to pay $349 for an odd combination of a 360 and a crummy iPad.

Nintendo's really should have included some hidden costs like the others. People only pay attention to the initial cost..you can get away with the rest.

They shouldn't have let people use last gens controllers..force them to spend another $180 if people want a 4 player game like PS4/Xbone.

Put everything behind a paywall..they could have gone in at half the fee of PS4 and Xbone...that's another $150+ for the generation. Don't allow it to be backwards compatible either..they could have sold a $50 add-on for that since the others don't offer it anyway.

They could have easily screwed an average of $150 more out of every consumer over a few years. They should have launched the hardware for $100 less and then milked consumers for the rest. There's no point in Nintendo including stuff that the consumers don't notice.
 
Nintendo's really should have included some hidden costs like the others. People only pay attention to the initial cost..you can get away with the rest.

They shouldn't have let people use last gens controllers..force them to spend another $180 if people want a 4 player game like PS4/Xbone.

Put everything behind a paywall..they could have gone in at half the fee of PS4 and Xbone...that's another $150+ for the generation. Don't allow it to be backwards compatible either..they could have sold a $50 add-on for that since the others don't offer it anyway.

They could have easily screwed an average of $150 more out of every consumer over a few years. They should have launched the hardware for $100 less and then milked consumers for the rest. There's no point in Nintendo including stuff that the consumers don't notice.

If this is how they played the Wii U, then there literally wouldn't be any customers in the first place.
 

Tenki

Member
Nintendo's really should have included some hidden costs like the others. People only pay attention to the initial cost..you can get away with the rest.

They shouldn't have let people use last gens controllers..force them to spend another $180 if people want a 4 player game like PS4/Xbone.

Put everything behind a paywall..they could have gone in at half the fee of PS4 and Xbone...that's another $150+ for the generation. Don't allow it to be backwards compatible either..they could have sold a $50 add-on for that since the others don't offer it anyway.

They could have easily screwed an average of $150 more out of every consumer over a few years. They should have launched the hardware for $100 less and then milked consumers for the rest. There's no point in Nintendo including stuff that the consumers don't notice.

I know most of you are speaking from a financial point of view but ugh, this sounds awful. All this screw the customers for more profits.
 

leroidys

Member
What indicates that this will be a break even product, given the higher cost of development and low hardware and software sales? And if they do so while simultaneously spending 2 years of R&D on new hardware and development of next gen launch titles that should also cost more? There's a difference between living off your reserves for two years, or continuing with 2 more years of losses to total half a decade of losses.

It's irrelevant to my argument. If you are foregoing profits, you are going to be losing even more money than you would otherwise.
 

Biker19

Banned
Iwata is all about trying to follow the next fad to make a quick buck, so look for him to try to do vr in their next console.

Here's the new virtual boy and powerglove combo

virtual-reality-helmet.jpg

Isn't Sony trying to bring out VR now with PS4?

If all we're talking about is another cheap Nintendo designed handheld, then they might as well shut it down and go third party. It's now or never, they have to really nail this next platform.

So just like every other Nintendo handheld? Should Nintendo have gone third party when they launched the Game Boy, the Game Boy Advance or the DS?

There's no point of making a high-end and more expensive handheld, especially when they have to compete with smartphones, something everyone has. What makes you think they would have sold more if the 3DS had better specs (and possibly a bigger price/lower profit)?

IMO, Nintendo should easily bring out a handheld that will run circles around PS Vita in graphics & power at a lower cost, considering that mobile technology has been advancing at a much faster rate than ever before.
 

Terrell

Member
I saw a bunch of people tossing around no BC as a deal breaker.

... for who? All those people not buying a Wii U? If they wanted the games, they'd have a Wii U, it's that simple.

If anything, this would be the perfect time to abandon hardware backwards compatibility, while the userbase is at a low point.

So many statements in this thread not making sense.
 

numble

Member
It's irrelevant to my argument. If you are foregoing profits, you are going to be losing even more money than you would otherwise.
So you agree that if the Wii U cannot break even over the next 2 years, it's better to just put the focus on the next console, rather than lose money over 2 years while also spending substantial money developing the next platform and it's launch titles?
 
Isn't Sony trying to bring out VR now with PS4?





IMO, Nintendo should easily bring out a handheld that will run circles on PS Vita in graphics & power at a lower cost, considering that mobile technology has been advancing at a much faster rate than ever before.

Yep, it's rumored. The difference is Nintendo forces things on you and Sony doesn't. If I want to buy an optional vr headset I can. If I don't? I don't have too.
 

Terrell

Member
Yep, it's rumored. The difference is Nintendo forces things on you and Sony doesn't. If I want to buy an optional vr headset I can. If I don't? I don't have too.
And I'm sure the handful of games made usable for it that wouldn't justify the expense of it would be fantastic.
 

Hsieh

Member
The market has clearly indicated that it prefers lower prices to hardware backwards compatibility. The PS3 released at $599 with full hardware backwards compatibility and it bombed. Sony removed the backwards compatibility from the PS3 and gave it a large price cut and the PS3 became successful.
 

leroidys

Member
So you agree that if the Wii U cannot break even over the next 2 years, it's better to just put the focus on the next console, rather than lose money over 2 years while also spending substantial money developing the next platform and it's launch titles?

No, this doesn't all exist in a vacuum. Iwata's immediate goal is to make the company profitable in the near term. If nintendo shifts everything to next gen development, they're going to be looking at ~2 years without a profitable quarter, which will make them hemorrhage investors even worse than they are now. Games that are fairly far along in development (which may or may not be a superset of those announced) should be pushed out on the Wii U. This would mean lower near term losses, more consumer confidence, and the continued good word of mouth that we finally saw this past holiday season.

A good CEO should be looking at what unique opportunities arise from Wii-U-gate. A couple off the top of my head:

- Push digital hard on Wii U. You're not getting shelfspace anyway, so give as much incentive as you can to the hardcore ~4 million Wii U owners to buy digital, at much higher margins for nintendo.

-You have a hardcore audience that will almost certainly be starved for software. Use the opportunity to introduce some new IPs and interesting game mechanics, or push lapsed, lower budget IPs.

-Continue the foray into the indie community, with an eye towards quality and building publishing relationships. Less competing AAA games on the platform means greater opportunity for indies (c.f. playstation vita).



Essentially I agree with people here that nintendo needs to drop the Wii U as soon as possible (sadly - I love mine), but most here are suggesting that they drop it sooner than possible, which would only damage the company further.
 

Log4Girlz

Member
Those are the same people who didn't think the Wii was a "current gen" machine. Look up what that sold.

Frankly, Nintendo doesn't need you, and speaking personally as a Wii U owner who has really enjoyed the system and many of its games? I don't want you. Go away and play your AAA brown and grey games. Good riddance to all the bad rubbish. Take your worthless opinions of what they should do along with you. You wouldn't buy their system regardless of what it was capable of in the first place.

This is what makes the whole business of what Nintendo should or shouldn't do so maddening. Most of the people who want them to change don't want them around in the first place because they represent everything they don't want gaming to be anymore. They want the kids and families to go away so they can sit on their high horses playing Call of Duty and The Last of Us while proclaiming their maturity.

I know yer banned and what not, but this is a point that gets brought up a lot and I don't get it. Why can't I want the perfect console? Why can't I want a reasonably priced, technologically proficient console that features a slew of third party games, with markedly better graphics compared to last generation, and fucking Nintendo games as icing on a delicious cake?
 
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