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[Mael]

It's not so much any one of those games, but ALL of those games our out and still the system isn't selling.
Also, Nintendo thought Wind Waker would be a system seller or else I doubt they would have bothered with the special bundled edition.

Anyone who thought that was incredibly delluded, it's basically the game the market reacted with the loudest "NO".
It didn't sell the gamecube, a remake wasn't going to do much better.
Heck I played all Zeldas in nearly all their forms barring this one and ALBW (because Bravely Default is more worhty of my time really) you could see this one not selling a mile away.

 

[Robin64]

It's obviously Tesco saying this, which is a bit of a problem when most Tescos don't really stock Nintendo games. Mario Kart 8 can't sell if it's not on the shelves.

 

[Yasumi]

But what about X?

If Nintendo knew how to market to a wider audience (trailers before movies, prime time commercial slots, trailers targeted to different demographics), it might grab some success. As they are now, Nintendo will probably just buy some web ads, make a few banners, and have very little impact outside the existing audience at all.

 

[Pillville]

Anyone who thought that was incredibly delluded

Nintendo thought that...........

 

[gamerforever]

It is a major shame and will be interesting to see what Nintendo does if Mario Kart 8 doesn't kick start some sort of revival.

In all honesty I doubt the Wii U will recover at all now - they failed to take advantage of their one year head start and would be better off producing the odd new title and a bunch of remakes rather than go all out and develop some expensive titles.

Ride the storm for 3 years and then give us a machine we want Nintendo!

 

[NeonZ]

I don't know why anyone would refute that claim, as far as software goes, it's the only game left that is a sequel to games that have gone to sell 30 million units in the Wii/DS era. Bayonetta 2 isn't gonna save it, X isn't, Smash Bros isn't, Donkey Kong isn't.

Exactly because selling 20 millions in the Wii era doesn't seem to translate at all in Wii U success for other games, so the same likely will happen with Mario Kart? It'd be better to look at the GameCube, if anything, at this point, and there Smash Bros performed better than Mario Kart.

 

[Ovek]

Nintendo might as well not have even bothered to release the WiiU in the UK as no retailer took it seriously.

And unless Mario Kart 8 is the best Mario Kart ever and brings tears to anyone that plays it I don't really think it will help.

 

[Taker666]

Mario Kart 8 bundled with a deluxe Wii U SKU for £179.99..backed by a massive ad campaign... is the minimum they need to have a chance.

Visually the game does have the wow factor to make people take notice..provided they actually see it.

For a better chance Nintendo should send out a bundle of the 20 best Wii U games to every retailer on sale or return. A major problem for Nintendo (in the UK especially) is their unwillingness to offer product on sale or return ...which most other publishers(if not all) do. At least let retail have product with no risk..then they might actually put it on the shelves.

Gamepad wise the obvious thing for Mario Kart 8 would be a track editor/ creator....but that was also obvious on the DS and 3DS thanks the the touchscreen (so I doubt Nintendo will do it).

 

[Mael]

Exactly because selling 20 millions in the Wii era doesn't seem to translate at all in Wii U success? It'd be better to look at the GameCube, if anything, at this point, and there Smash Bros performed better than Mario Kart.

Mario Kart is the closest they are to even try to satiate the people who had a Wii to begin with.
Of all their biggest titles they treated Wiisports like a f2p mobile shitgame, WiiFit is barely advertised (thanks for the game btw) and nsmb looked phoned in (it really isn't though) and despite that was the closest to a system seller WiiU had anyway.
If there's a known property they have that have a shot at doing something it's MK.
Now saying that it will (or even can)...

 

[espher]

At this point I don't (personally) care if the WiiU is saved. I've got enough value out of it with my current library (and other announced titles), so as long as I get those, I'll be happy, and I know it won't tank the company, so I don't have SEGA-esque concerns there.

The thing I do care about is the potential of the impact of the WiiU (saved or otherwise) on Nintendo's console plans for the future (in that I hope they stay in the market despite the WiiU).

 

[ultratruman]

Mario Kart 8 bundled with a deluxe Wii U SKU for £179.99..backed by a massive ad campaign... is the minimum they need to have a chance.

Not low enough.

 

[Ricky 7]

I just don't get how Nintendo manages to do this to itself, following the success of the Wii.

Same here, it's like they've done everything possible to make it a failure. >_<

 

[KennyLinder]

Nintendo might as well not have even bothered to release the WiiU in the UK as no retailer took it seriously.

So it's the shops fault then?

 

[Jaded Alyx]

Exactly because selling 20 millions in the Wii era doesn't seem to translate at all in Wii U success? It'd be better to look at the GameCube, if anything, at this point, and there Smash Bros performed better than Mario Kart.

What was the difference between the two, a million? If that? One was a launch window title, the other released a few years later. Looking at it that way, I find MK's performance more impressive.

 

[Taker666]

Not low enough.

If people won't buy it at £179 with Mario Kart..they won't buy it at £129 with Mario Kart. Any lower and nintendo would bankrupt themselves..if the machine started to sell.

Of course the alternative is to release a new bit of hardware with the Wii U GPU/CPU..minus the gamepad, minus the blu-ray, minus the streaming tech, minus any backwards compatibility stuff they can cut... and sell it for £99 and make it digital only with the same games as Wii U.

 

[Spaghetti]

lower the price a bit more, throw some welly into the marketing aspects, maybe mario kart 8 will push the system

but there's already a big precedent of former super hits like wii fit and nsmb not taking off on wii u

 

[ultratruman]

If people won't buy it at £179 with Mario Kart..they won't buy it at £129 with Mario Kart.

They need to be price-competitive with the 360 and PS3.

 

[Screamapillar]

I feel so sorry for Platinum Games.

Why? They got paid by Nintendo to make the games whether they sell or not. They're a developer, not a publisher. Nintendo is the one who loses if Platinum's Wii U titles don't sell, since they paid a sum to have them made, not knowing if they will sell well or not.

 

[DragonSworne]

They need to be price-competitive with the 360 and PS3.

PS3 and Xbox 360 still have a brighter future than Wii U. It needs to be priced less given the circumstances.

 

[Ovek]

So it's the shops fault then?

No but they didn't try and help it either.

 

[Dark Octave]

Has Mario Kart ever been THAT big of a game? Like, system saving big?

I mean, this is what I would expect from a title like CoD if it went exclusive and what MS has hopes for Titanfall. I'm thinking MK would have to be on that level to save the WiiU. I just don't see it.

 

[ultratruman]

PS3 and Xbox 360 still have a brighter future than Wii U. It needs to be priced less given the circumstances.

That's what I mean. £149 or lower.

 

[KennyLinder]

No but they didn't try and help it either.

I.. I don't know what to say about comments like this. They stocked it, they had adverts in there and adverts on their websites, Tesco even had a country-wide leaflet campaign showing the system off before Christmas. Game, HMV, Argos and Amazon and more all had pricing promotions. It's not really their job to promote the console, it's Nintendo who have failed to understand the demands of a western consumer and done an absolutely shit job of advertising it.

Shops can't sell something that nobody wants.


Next you'll be saying that if a bands new album fails you have to blame iTunes and HMV.

 

[allan-bh]

Mario Kart was incredible big on DS and Wii. In 3DS not so much.

Expectations sounds way higher. Mario Kart 8 can't save the Wii U.

 

[Miles Quaritch]

Well it's obviously fucking Tesco.

They've already dropped it, haven't they? My local used to have two shelves of U software/accessories until October last year when it suddenly disappeared...

 

[IdreamofHIME]

Well it's obviously fucking Tesco.

Yup, they've been squeezing Nintendo more and more. If MK bombs, I think they'll just removed Nintendo from stores and make it online only like ASDA.

 

[axisofweevils]

Has Mario Kart ever been THAT big of a game? Like, system saving big?

I mean, this is what I would expect from a title like CoD if it went exclusive and what MS has hopes for Titanfall. I'm thinking MK would have to be on that level to save the WiiU. I just don't see it.

Mario Kart has been in the top 3 best-sellers on the Wii, the DS and the 3DS.

 

[Taker666]

I.. I don't know what to say about comments like this. They stocked it, they had adverts in there and adverts on their websites, Tesco even had a country-wide leaflet campaign showing the system off before Christmas. Game, HMV, Argos and Amazon and more all had pricing promotions. It's not really their job to promote the console, it's Nintendo who have failed to understand the demands of a western consumer and done an absolutely shit job of advertising it.

Shops can't sell something that nobody wants.


Next you'll be saying that if a bands new album fails you have to blame iTunes and HMV.

Not one of my local supermarkets did..not on day one..not since. Most I saw was a 1 ft sign directing you to their website if you wanted one. Half my local supermarkets don't even stock the 3DS..despite being the biggest selling hardware in the UK last year.

 

[Aeriscloud]

Has Mario Kart ever been THAT big of a game? Like, system saving big?

I don't know about system saving, this will be the series second test at doing so, but it is certainly a very important franchise now.

 

[illmatic22]

Has Mario Kart ever been THAT big of a game? Like, system saving big?

I mean, this is what I would expect from a title like CoD if it went exclusive and what MS has hopes for Titanfall. I'm thinking MK would have to be on that level to save the WiiU. I just don't see it.

Mario Kart Wii sold a shit ton. Google it, it was huge. That said, it wasn't being depended upon to sell systems, people already were buying the Wii

 

[JeTmAn81]

Both Mario Kart and Smash are huge sellers. They were the top two games on the Gamecube and both were in the top ten sales for the Wii. So those will move some systems. However, they didn't make the Gamecube a winner and they won't make the WiiU a winner.

 

[Dark_castle]

Doubt it.

 

[plutoknight]

Mario Kart Wii sold a shit ton. Google it, it was huge. That said, it wasn't being depended upon to sell systems, people already were buying the Wii

It was also bundled with the Wii for a large part of it's life (hell, it still is!) It was simply "Hey, we're buying Wii and oh hey there's this...mario kart game with it. That's cool."

I...I don't know about MK8's odds. I know it's one of the top selling franchises of all time thanks to the DS and Wii versions, and it helped signal the turn-around for the 3DS.

But...I guess it's just a crapshoot at this point. It'll definitely give the Wii U a large bump in sales, but will that bump last? Who knows.

Both Mario Kart and Smash are huge sellers. They were the top two games on the Gamecube and both were in the top ten sales for the Wii. So those will move some systems. However, they didn't make the Gamecube a winner and they won't make the WiiU a winner.

I think 'Gamecube' is as close to a winner as the Wii U can get, barring something miraculous.

 

[Dark_castle]

Mario Kart Wii sold a shit ton. Google it, it was huge. That said, it wasn't being depended upon to sell systems, people already were buying the Wii

Mario Kart Wii sold a shit ton because Wii sold a shit ton.

Mario Kart Wii U will sell like shit because Wii U sold like shit.

 

[Pancakes R Us]

Any word on a MK8/console bundle?

£100 with Mario Kart packed in wouldn't save this console now. All it'd get is an initial mini rush and would them be dead again. Referring to the UK here.

 

[cyberheater]

Doubt it.

Doubt what?

 

[Jaded Alyx]

Has Mario Kart ever been THAT big of a game? Like, system saving big?

I mean, this is what I would expect from a title like CoD if it went exclusive and what MS has hopes for Titanfall. I'm thinking MK would have to be on that level to save the WiiU. I just don't see it.

MKWii sold 34 million. CoD barely reaches that.

It was also bundled with the Wii for a large part of it's life (hell, it still is!)

It had already sold around 28M by the time they started bundling it.

 

[JeTmAn81]

Mario Kart Wii might actually be the highest selling console game of all time that wasn't a pack-in. Yes, Mario Kart Wii.

 

[FonkyByNature]

Honestly, at this point, i don't think MK8 will do that much. It will boost sales a little but not as much as people expect it to do...

Mario 3D world was supposed to do that and look what happened. I could easily find Wii U systems during the holiday shopping rush... the system is not doing good at all.

I don't know what can save it, a price cut maybe ? not sure anymore...

 

[JeTmAn81]

Part of me is actually glad the WiiU is doing so poorly, out of the hopes that there will be a significant price cut. When I do eventually get one (and I think I will), I've decided at the very least I should buy a new system rather than going used. Nintendo needs them ducats.

 

[Dark_castle]

Doubt what?

The game that suddenly makes Wii U an attractive console to purchase.

 

[onipex]

Don't care if the game will save the Wii U. The Wii U is as unsavable as the Vita. All I care about is that I'm still enjoying my Wii U and can't wait to play the next Mario Kart on it.

I think another price drop and bundle around the release of Mario Kart is what Nintendo should do. At this point they need to try whatever they can no matter how hopeless it will be.

Also it's funny that we don't hear the same thing about the Vita from retailers. It's been out longer and is still selling like crap outside of a few weeks in Japan. Of course no one that reports these comments will ask about the Vita situation either to compare retailers view of the products.

Frankly the Wii U has no chance.



Fixed. Nintendo's blue ocean strategy was a long term failure, those people have moved on.

There is nothing blue ocean about Wii U.

 

[JeTmAn81]

There is nothing blue ocean about Wii U.

I think that was the point of the original post. Nintendo successfully exploited an untapped market with the Wii, but that market didn't turn into a long-term audience. Casual motion control gaming ultimately proved to be a fad that was wildly popular for a time, but no longer. The imitators (Kinect, PS Move) didn't have great success either.

 

[Currygan]

the U is dead here, and no MK will save it, let's just accept it and move on

and by moving on I mean, I will still enjoy the console even if noone is buying it

 

[Mlatador]

Yes, I agree, UK seems a lost market for the Wii U at this point - just like Japan was for Xbox last gen.

 

[Shahed]

Don't care if the game will save the Wii U. The Wii U is as unsavable as the Vita. All I care about is that I'm still enjoying my Wii U and can't wait to play the next Mario Kart on it.

I think another price drop and bundle around the release of Mario Kart is what Nintendo should do. At this point they need to try whatever they can no matter how hopeless it will be.

Also it's funny that we don't hear the same thing about the Vita from retailers. It's been out longer and is still selling like crap outside of a few weeks in Japan. Of course no one that reports these comments will ask about the Vita situation either to compare retailers view of the products.



There is nothing blue ocean about Wii U.

More people care about consoles compared to handhelds, it's why they are reported more.

Vita pretty much has no presence as well. Games get lumped into the same place as 3DS and DS games at the Asda and Tesco near me. Also it's about inventory space. Vita sells awful, but you could stack several Vita's in the space it would take for one Wii U. More things that can possibly sell in a similar or even smaller area. Also Vita memory cards. They're far too expensive for an item that is necessary, leading to massive margins for both Sony and the retailer. That one small item could arguably make Vita have more worth than Wii U. Why else would retailers not have dropped the Vita already?

 

[cyberheater]

The game that suddenly makes Wii U an attractive console to purchase.

I agree.

 

[MYE]

The biggest >>insert vague company description<< &#8211; talking under the condition of anonymity

This is gonna be a thing from now on isn't it

 

[SmithnCo]

I can't keep up with all those saviors, what's next after it?

Smash.

 

[illmatic22]

Mario Kart Wii sold a shit ton because Wii sold a shit ton.

Mario Kart Wii U will sell like shit because Wii U sold like shit.

I think it won't sell like shit, it should have legs and over time sell decently.

I'm not saying it will save The Wii U either, no one game can fix this mess.