Support NeoGAF

[Barack Lesnar]

It actually does make a better Wii Fit because people like watching TV while they work out, which you can't do on Wii Fit or +.

Explain the logistics of this for me. Put the gamepad with the game running on it next to the TV? because you'd have to be at least 6 feet from the tv so it would be tough to see.

Then if you put the tv feed on the gamepad and the game on the screen, the tv feed will be the same thing, too small to see. This off-tv feature sounds overrated, like an unnecessary luxury a la SmartGlass.

 

[Clear]

It actually does make a better Wii Fit because people like watching TV while they work out, which you can't do on Wii Fit or +.

As far as Wii Sports goes, I'm unconvinced. Showing the lie in Wii Golf isn't really making the game better, it's just slightly interesting.

Is that degree of improvement really sufficient justification to buy the system?
I think not.

 

[Diablos54]

This off-tv feature sounds overrated, like an unnecessary luxury a la SmartGlass.

There's a reason though. A lot of people do multiple things at once, like wiki things when watching a movie, or browsing GAF while watching T.V. My friends are on their iPhones all the time when watching a movie, it's actually annoying. I think where Nintendo's attempt differs from the competition is that it tries to do this as a whole room, rather than just 1 screen per person. If it'll work or not is another matter, but the whole aspect of a second screen seems here to stay for a while at least.

 

[Lyude77]

Explain the logistics of this for me. Put the gamepad with the game running on it next to the TV? because you'd have to be at least 6 feet from the tv so it would be tough to see.

Then if you put the tv feed on the gamepad and the game on the screen, the tv feed will be the same thing, too small to see. This off-tv feature sounds overrated, like an unnecessary luxury a la SmartGlass.

It all depends on what type of exercise you're doing. I don't know all of Wii Fit's exercises because I don't own it, but I think doing pushups with the Gamepad on the floor and the TV on or Yoga type stuff with the screens side to side isn't that outlandish. As far as I remember from playing it once, Wii Fit doesn't display a lot of important information while you're exercising, so you don't have to see that well. A lot of it just has balance bar type stuff. It would probably be better to ask someone who owns Wii Fit + though whether the games are screen intensive.

I kind of agree about off TV play, but that's mainly because I don't have cable. It will be convenient for if my brother wanted to play 360 while I play Mario or something, though. Plus, my TV is old and not great - college student problems, so it's mainly good because it's a better screen than my TV.

Is that degree of improvement really sufficient justification to buy the system?
I think not.

It doesn't have to be the only justification to buy the system. As long as it's appealing to the general public, some of the other stuff like Mario, maybe Nintendo Land, or the new Wii Sports game might be enough to convince them to buy a Wii U, and then they would get Wii Fit U with it.

Basically, it doesn't have to be the system seller like the original Wii Fit was (well, even then I think it was Wii Fit + Wii Sports), it can be one of several.

 

[wsippel]

I guess so. Miiverse is interesting but I'm not sure it's that killer app yet. I use it often but I like discussing stuff and posting in forums. I think devs need to integrate miiverse tightly into their games for it to have any effect on sales. We'll see, though. I think it's an interesting thought.

From what I can tell, Miiverse seems to resemble textboards like 2ch, so that's probably a factor worth considering when talking about Japan. But I agree developers need to actively integrate Miiverse in their titles going forward. I'm still confused why games like Call of Duty or Monster Hunter (which seems to have a very active Miiverse community, actually) offer no Miiverse integration, or even sabotage the feature as Capcom does, disabling screenshots.

 

[shinra-bansho]

The thing is, it's not like 3DS is dominating Japan only because it's replicating DS sales, but because PSV is heavily underperforming; it's quite probable that the whole home console market has shrunk since the PS2 generation [just the opposite of the west].

I'm not sure how much it's shrunken if it has - since Garaph gives huge discrepancy between Famitsu and MC for the LTDs as at the launch of the PS3/Wii in 2006...?

In any event, were the tide to fall, I still see it affecting all ships.

There are still different demographics for each to cater to; particularly since Japanese publishers targetting global audiences will still likely be eyeing the combined Durango and Orbis potential market. And even for the local market, the Wii U presumably still needs to "prove itself" to third parties if the platform is to be the destination for their Tales ofs or Musous or Disgaeas.

 

[OldJadedGamer]

Only one third-party title by my recollection. The same number as on the Wii.

I believe that PS3 has only a single million seller regardless of first or third.

 

[Devilgunman]

So is there any big compelling reason why WiiU won't dominate Japan this gen? How can they mess up with a full year with no competition and Western developers not in the picture along with most in the nation not caring about online.

Could a PS4 with a heavy Western game library gain traction after the WiiU has been established for so long? Will Japanese devs not named Kojima wait for a PS system over the easier WiiU?

So much wrong in OP.

Many 3rd party franchises, other than MH and DQ, are still with Sony console: Dynasty Warrior, Gundam, Anime games, Final Fantasy, Metal Gear series etc to name a few. Those titles' main attraction are improved graphic and more fluid gameplay. With PS4 becomes more dev-friendly and more powerful than WiiU, dev will likely stick with PS brand. We might see a bunch of WiiU/PS4 games at the early cycle of PS4 but the sales of those game will indicate which system will dominate in Japan.

 

[DarkoMaledictus]

What? Last generation alone should show this isn't the case.

Third party attach rate is extremely low... Mainstream wants Mario and first party... not games like assassin creed etc.

 

[donny2112]

Third party attach rate is extremely low...

Monster Hunter is first party now. Great. Or maybe this is just more "these games don't count" nonsense.

Edit:
Wii U's total software tie ratio at launch is right along the historical norms and the higher ends of that. Monster Hunter sold great, but it's not like with most systems having a 1.2 tie ratio at launch that Wii U should've had a 2.5 just to satisfy this "1st party games don't count, oh, and Monster Hunter doesn't count" nonsense.

Edit2:
That said, Wii U isn't coming from a strong base of third-party hits in Japan on Wii. In the U.S., Wii sold a ton of third-party games, but not the same as mainly sold on PS360 (mostly because they weren't even on Wii to buy). In Japan, the ratio was crazily shifted to first-party, though, so Wii U isn't coming from a significant strength for third-party games on Wii. However the offerings on the system are way better this time around than Wii, so that has a good chance of improving on Wii U. It'll take time, if it's to happen, though. In any case, Wii never had a problem selling large amounts of software, and it looks like Wii U is carrying forward that legacy pretty well. Hopefully, third-parties will actually try to get on that train this time around, and Monster Hunter is potentially a good sign of that.

 

[airmangataosenai]

Not judging anyone in this thread, but it's amazing how quickly narratives have changed, in particular as to the quality and selling potential of the launch window games for this system. We've moved from a huge portion of the community seeing the system as a lock for sure success weeks before the launch to suffering from a lack of software at launch today.

NSMBU is the most interesting one. It was such a lock all the way up to even slightly after the system launch.

 

[polyh3dron]

Nice bump.

 

[Napalm_Frank]

Nice bump.

I reckon it won't be the last either.

 

[I'M FINISHED!]

*straightens nonexistent tie* I still think the Wii U will take Japan.

 

[iidesuyo]

Just thought "wtf are you smoking, look at Media Create" until I realized it's old.

 

[?oe?oe]

I was wondering when this thread would pop back up. Gaf never gets it right hahaha.

But you know you have to wait til Christmas. It has been told.

 

[guek]

Not judging anyone in this thread, but it's amazing how quickly narratives have changed, in particular as to the quality and selling potential of the launch window games for this system. We've moved from a huge portion of the community seeing the system as a lock for sure success weeks before the launch to suffering from a lack of software at launch today.

NSMBU is the most interesting one. It was such a lock all the way up to even slightly after the system launch.

NSMBU is still a strong evergreen title and it'll stay that way for years to come. The mistake Nintendo and a lot of people (including myself) made was assuming it'd be more than that, that it'd be a system seller.

At $300/250 (and equivalent in yen) NSMBU may have had a better shot. I know a lot of people disagree and think launch games were the biggest problem but I still think it was the price that was, and still is, all wrong.

 

[Darryl]

*straightens nonexistent tie* I still think the Wii U will take Japan.

i still think so, too. i think it'll do well in the U.S. as well.

 

[Snakeyes]

So glad I held off on posting my prediction ITT

 

[Fourth Storm]

I agree w/ the sentiment that NSMBU is an evergreen title but not a system seller. Unfortunately, Nintendo really need a system seller at this time.

 

[guek]

i still think so, too. i think it'll do well in the U.S. as well.

"Dominate" might not be the best word. Frankly, I don't see how PS4 would pose a threat with its 40,000+ yen price point but I guess it's up to Sony to show us on the 20th.

 

[Sandfox]

I'm still waiting to see how Japanese companies treat it and how Japan as a whole reacts to it next holiday with a nice lineup.

 

[AOC83]

*straightens nonexistent tie* I still think the Wii U will take Japan.

If by take you mean to maybe (and that´s a big maybe) sell somewhere around the Gamecube ballpark then it might be possible.

 

[SmokeMaxX]

NSMBU is still a strong evergreen title and it'll stay that way for years to come. The mistake Nintendo and a lot of people (including myself) made was assuming it'd be more than that, that it'd be a system seller.

At $300/250 (and equivalent in yen) NSMBU may have had a better shot. I know a lot of people disagree and think launch games were the biggest problem but I still think it was the price that was, and still is, all wrong.

Nintendo sold like a billion waggle-focused repackaged Gamecubes at $250. I think they'll be fine as soon as they bring their good stuff.

 

[Lord Ghirahim]

No home console can dominate Japan in the foreseeable future, I believe everyone has realized this.

 

[The_Hitcher89]

Out of genuine interest, what did Pachter think would happen to the WiiU between its launch and now?

 

[AOC83]

Out of genuine interest, what did Pachter think would happen to the WiiU between its launch and now?

Sold out until march.

 

[Neo C.]

I agree w/ the sentiment that NSMBU is an evergreen title but not a system seller. Unfortunately, Nintendo really need a system seller at this time.

I think we must reconsider the worth of system sellers: They don't exist in vacuum, they need the right price (software and hardware) to truly live up their potential. It's obvious now that NSMBU isn't able to move hardware at this price point (of the hardware), neither can Nintendoland.

 

[The_Hitcher89]

Sold out until march.

I'm guessing that came with the caveat 'with decent marketing and games'

I hope so anyway, for his sake

 

[Takao]

Wii U won't be in the sales ghetto forever because Japan just can't say no to Mario, but it's clear that this thing won't dominate much. Maybe dominate an increasingly irrelevant part of the Japanese video game industry, but even that's dicey. I'm sure it'll sell more than Sony's next console does in Japan, but the (as it stands today) absolutely abysmal Japanese third party support for Wii U ensures Sony will have a market there. It's what makes threads like this humorous to relive after the fact. I'm sure someone will dig up the post where I proclaimed victory for Vita in Japan months before launch (and in my defense, prior to 3DS price slash/MH megatonne), but at least that was from my own delusions. I didn't expect 3DS and Wii ports to lead the charge to victory like some of the Wii U camp did.

Wii U's performance thus far in Japan isn't surprising. The controller is obviously not getting the non-NeoGAF audience excited like the Wii's controller did, so it's going to have to sell off of traditional software. The major titles released are New Super Mario Bros. U, and Monster Hunter Tri G HD with the major titles in the wings being Dragon Quest X as well as a myriad of Nintendo software. To the average joe NSMBU probably doesn't look all that different to the previous games in the series, and thus isn't a system seller but rather a game they'll pick up with the system. Monster Hunter Tri G HD, is a port of a 3DS game, itself an expanded port of a Wii game in a franchise that is only a mega system seller on handhelds. Dragon Quest X is a Wii port of an MMO in a series not known for being MMOs. Now, I should say DQX did really well on Wii, but that's 500k on a platform with a considerably larger install base. I suspect DQX HD won't be selling many Wii U units either. As it stands now that's all Wii U has for big third party games, and in that case, it's more so the names than the actual games that are big. We're left with Nintendo first party stuff, and unfortunately for Nintendo, we have sales history for Nintendo platforms that don't get third party support.

 

[farnham]

It depends on Wii Fit U, Wii Party U and Mario Kart U now... if those three titles hit hart (and NSMBU begins to reel people in as well) they will have a good Q3 and Q 4 (with Nintendo FY Q 2 and Q3) and may be able to edge out PS4 (Xbox is going to stay irrelevant)

 

[big youth]

I didn't make any predictions, but just like so many people in this thread I would have been wrong. I expected Wii U to be sold out in Japan through the holiday. this is just a reminder that I don't truly understand the Japanese market. seems to be they are drifting further from home consoles each gen...but again, what do I know?

 

[Psycho_Mantis]

Is there any Reason WiiU will dominate Japan is a better questions at this moment in time.
We will have to see how the PS4 does first.

 

[farnham]

Is there any Reason WiiU will dominate Japan is a better questions at this moment in time.
We will have to see how the PS4 does first.

i dont think we have to wait that long. nintendo needs to create a considerable userbase before PS4 launches. at this points its only possible to do with wii fit and wii party

 

[meta4]

No home console can dominate Japan in the foreseeable future, I believe everyone has realized this.

We shall know once the PS4 comes out. Until then it will be conjecture.

 

[big youth]

also Mario Kart. I'd bet money it's being expedited right now and will launch this year.

 

[AOC83]

i dont think we have to wait that long. nintendo needs to create a considerable userbase before PS4 launches. at this points its only possible to do with wii fit and wii party

Neither of these two has the potential for a huge amount of sales, let alone being a system seller.

 

[Psycho_Mantis]

i dont think we have to wait that long. nintendo needs to create a considerable userbase before PS4 launches. at this points its only possible to do with wii fit and wii party

Depends if the casuals will still flock to it and from the hardware sales that does not seem the case. Also lets not forget that eventhough the wii had a larger user base it still did not receive all the third party support and could not dominate Japan.

Either way we are going to have to wait some time before we can make such a judgement. These questions are always asked too early.

 

[farnham]

Neither of these two has the potential for a huge amount of sales, let alone being a system seller.

yeah sure 3 million units sold and 2 million units sold for the last iterations are not big sellers

great logic there

Depends if the casuals will still flock to it and from the hardware sales that does not seem the case. Also lets not forget that eventhough the wii had a larger user base it still did not receive all the third party support and could not dominate Japan.

Either way we are going to have to wait some time before we can make such a judgement. These questions are always asked too early.

until now they didnt because there was little software for them

 

[michaelius]

Why would Wii Fit owner upgrade to U version ?

 

[big youth]

Why would Wii Fit owner upgrade to U version ?

good advertising

 

[farnham]

Why would Wii Fit owner upgrade to U version ?

i think the two major things are


off tv
online community

 

[guek]

Why would Wii Fit owner upgrade to U version ?

No idea, but around 20 million people upgraded from Wii Fit to Wii Fit+ so evidently there's a reason.

 

[AOC83]

yeah sure 3 million units sold and 2 million units sold for the last iterations are not big sellers

What do the past sales matter? I´m talking about now. The WiiU has pretty much zero casual appeal at this point.

 

[dragonflys545]

No idea, but around 20 million people upgraded from Wii Fit to Wii Fit+ so evidently there's a reason.

They still can't differentiate the systems... Plus I doubt they would buy a new system to play the Wii Fit U.

 

[Sandfox]

They still can't differentiate the systems... Plus I doubt they would buy a new system to play the Wii Fit U.

I may be wrong but I don't think that's as big of a problem in Japan

 

[farnham]

What do the past sales matter? I´m talking about now. The WiiU has pretty much zero casual appeal at this point.

yes thats why wii party and wii fit is comming out.. also if past sales dont matter we can consider GTA and CoD as sales flops until proven otherwise

They still can't differentiate the systems... Plus I doubt they would buy a new system to play the Wii Fit U.

they bought wii and wii fit in the first place.

I may be wrong but I don't think that's as big of a problem in Japan

i think that and the fact that wiiu is 100 dollar to expensive is a big problem in all regions

 

[AOC83]

good advertising

You need amazing advertising to sell people a 300€/$ console just to play the same stuff they already got on their Wii (and probably got tired of years ago).

 

[guek]

They still can't differentiate the systems... Plus I doubt they would buy a new system to play the Wii Fit U.

Hey, I'm not entirely convinced wii fit u is going to do awesome either. Stuff like that is 99% dependent on marketing anyway.

edit: you guys really need to wise up and just put AOC83 on ignore.

 

[AOC83]

yes thats why wii party and wii fit is comming out.. also if past sales dont matter we can consider GTA and CoD as sales flops until proven otherwise

I´m talking about the console itself. And it doesn´t really make sense to compare one hit wonder casual stuff to established franchises with a gigantic fanbase.