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[Manmademan]

RE didn't do shit for GC numbers

Really? you're telling me the insanely critically acclaimed Resident Evil 4 and REmake did NOTHING to appeal to gamers outside of nintendo's core demo? This I find hard to believe. All indications are that GC sales would have been even WORSE without these games.

Nintendo's first party will do much more for the Wii U than it did for the Gamecube, after what it did for the Wii, sure it won't do Wii numbers, but its certainly gonna help them much more than it ever did during the GC days. There's no PS2 to dominate this generation, the Wii U will put up a much better fight.

Nintendo's first party is always there. Mario, Zelda, Smash bros, etc. These are assumed to be coming to the system by anyone that cares. it's high profile games outside of these (like RE4, or Eternal darkness, or Ikaruga) that draw in gamers outside of that Core demo.

 

[catstronaut]

Everyone I know: "I'm gonna buy a WiiU when Smash comes out."

 

[scoobs]

Can they do much better? Definitely. Does much better save the console from anything but a distant 3rd place.... I'm not convinced. I struggle to see how they could pull themselves out of this rut, but I've been proven wrong before.

 

[ElementalMage]

Yes, it might not be first, but it will be profitable. This topic is an over reaction.

 

[DaBoss]

Third party has always been a nonfactor, or have you forgotten the Gamecube was barely supported? Its all about Nintendo's first party, and I think it alone will push it past 20M in five years easily.

Again, saying it is a non-factor is bullshit. There are games being released, no matter how big or small at retail for the GCN. The Wii U and PSV which are arguably doing really poor don't have a consistent release schedule. Nintendo's first-party software (and possibly 3rd-party exclusives) are the ones that are going to move hardware, but giving support is going to likely going to make the console relevant.

 

[Terrell]

I find it interesting that your chart doesn't include the holiday period for both consoles, OP. I'm sure you could have found one that did.

 

[Orpheus Telos]

I still think they can turn it around somewhat once MK and Smash bros. come out, but there's no denying that they blew it for this holiday. I love DKCR, but it is certainly not a system seller.

 

[Shalashaska161]

I think it will recover, but it will never reach Wii levels. 50 million lifetime isn't out of the question though. They just need to keep the momentum going and try to not have as many massive lulls. If they can keep from going over 2 months without a major release, then I think they will end up doing alright.

 

[Zombie James]

That's a bleak-looking chart. Doesn't look good at all.

 

[DMeisterJ]

Will it be able to turnaround like the PS3 was after a extremely slow start? No, but it will clearly be doing better than it is currently once the price drops $100 bucks and the 'system-selling' software is out.

 

[King Boo]

they can wiith u turn

Spoiler

lol sorry

 

[TheLastCandle]

I hope they can pull off a 3DSesque turnaround, and I think they can. However, I could see it selling GC numbers, too. Get them games out, Ninty!

 

[IrishNinja]

they're already doing the 3DS strategy: inevitable pricecut, new big mario game + kart and stuff...itll happen, i feel confident saying it'll pass GC & N64 #'s but will it break half what the wii did? it could, but from where we stand now, i don't know

Maybe the next CEO will have some ideas.

No, the guy who will replace Iwata when they fire him.

tired broken record is mad tired
the man's very clearly not going anwyhere, time to let this go or stick to apple threads dude

 

[BishopLamont]

Really? you're telling me the insanely critically acclaimed Resident Evil 4 and REmake did NOTHING to appeal to gamers outside of nintendo's core demo? This I find hard to believe. All indications are that GC sales would have been even WORSE without these games.



Nintendo's first party is always there. Mario, Zelda, Smash bros, etc. These are assumed to be coming to the system by anyone that cares. it's high profile games outside of these (like RE4, or Eternal darkness, or Ikaruga) that draw in gamers outside of that Core demo.

You telling me RE sold millions of Gamecubes?

Again, saying it is a non-factor is bullshit. There are games being released, no matter how big or small at retail for the GCN. The Wii U and PSV which are arguably doing really poor don't have a consistent release schedule. Nintendo's first-party software (and possibly 3rd-party exclusives) are the ones that are going to move hardware, but giving support is going to likely going to make the console relevant.

A consistent lineup of games that don't even sell the system is a non factor, and that is exactly what the Gamecube's first year's lineup was. Ofcourse a consistent lineup of good games will sell systems, but we're comparing the Wii U's to the Gamecube's and they're both lacking, but at least the Wii U will have alot more system sellers than the Gamecube's when the first year ends.

You're acting like the Gamecube's first year had this great lineup of consistent support from third parties, it didn't, otherwise the console wouldn't have flopped as hard as it did.

 

[AZ Greg]

No

 

[Manmademan]

Again, saying it is a non-factor is bullshit. There are games being released, no matter how big or small at retail for the GCN. The Wii U and PSV which are arguably doing really poor don't have a consistent release schedule. Nintendo's first-party software (and possibly 3rd-party exclusives) are the ones that are going to move hardware, but giving support is going to likely going to make the console relevant.

Yeah, this is confusing. Nintendo had the weakest third party offering with the GC and suffered greatly for it. The Xbox managed to match it's sales with no previous brand recognition, a far weaker first party offering and being nonexistent in Japan- but it had plenty of third party support to carry it.

 

[future_pinoy]

I think Nintendo can turn things around for the WiiU. Look at latest NPD, the 3DS is now the top gaming device, before we always hear such shit like, Nintendo is doomed, Nintendo should go 3rd party, Nintendo is dying ... well Nintendo 3DS is leading the NPD sales, its highly possible that it could happen to WiiU too.

 

[Roo]

I still think they can turn it around somewhat once MK and Smash bros. come out, but there's no denying that they blew it for this holiday. I love DKCR, but it is certainly not a system seller.

Wut?

 

[Tallshortman]

They're slotted for third place unless Xbone (I think they'll sell much less than sony world wide but still decent numbers) completely falls flat and PS4 becomes the new PS2. I think they make compelling arguments with their handhelds but there just seems to be a real market apathy for nintendo home consoles now, it's been like that since the Wii fad died down.

 

[WheelHoss1]

These threads are getting old. Very old. Nintendo is doing fine and doesn't need your approval.

 

[Hero]

Sony turned around the PS3, no reason to believe Nintendo couldn't.

Price drop and the games coming out this holiday season will help but the question is how much will it help.

 

[popeutlal]

Nope, they still don't have a killer app yet, and MK8 is coming next year. And no 3rd party support.

With no BF4 and no possible COD this winter, and a not so epic Mario game...Wii U is not coming back.

 

[BishopLamont]

Yeah, this is confusing. Nintendo had the weakest third party offering with the GC and suffered greatly for it. The Xbox managed to match it's sales with no previous brand recognition, a far weaker first party offering and being nonexistent in Japan- but it had plenty of third party support to carry it.

The point is that consistent lineup didn't push systems, would u rather 40 games that didn't push systems or 10 games that do push systems?

 

[kuroshiki]

20 million in five years? You're really lowballing Nintendo.


Did you even read the list of games? Wii U's first year lineup easily outshines Gamecube's.

If this continues 20 million in 5 years seems very, very generous. Let's see what happens next year. This year WiiU is pretty much finished.

 

[faridmon]

They did turn things around with 3DS, haven't they? I say drop the price £100 (that is a huge pricedrop, but its needed) and release some games for it.

 

[Manmademan]

You telling me RE sold millions of Gamecubes?

from IGN:

Combined sales of the original Resident Evil and the Director's Cut for PlayStation 1 total almost 2 million units in the US alone. The follow-up, Resident Evil 2, sold 1.7 million copies in America. Even Resident Evil 3: Nemesis sold more than 1 million copies on the system. (Of course, by this point the PlayStation's installed base had skyrocketed to massive numbers and the franchise had a nearly-unequaled audience of adult players.)

http://www.ign.com/articles/2004/01/17/graphs-resident-evil-gcn-sales

Do you think Resident Evil, or Resident Evil 2 sold Playstation consoles? You'd be insane to suggest otherwise. Taking that into account:

RE4 sold 1.6 million copies on Gamecube (per wikipedia) and marginally more copies (about 2.2 million) on PS2- despite the PS2 having a userbase about 7 times larger.

So yes, I think people who otherwise would not have bought the gamecube bought it for RE4, which was an extremely high profile critically acclaimed game in a popular franchise that was assumed to be exclusive to the console- and REmake NEVER showed up anywhere else. Both games moved systems to a fanbase which had up to that point been exclusively on playstation. NONE of Nintendo's first party can claim this, and GC sales would have been lower without it.

 

[teh_pwn]

No.

It didn't get the mainstream appeal, and it doesn't have comparable core content to Gamecube. It also has COGS issues compared to Gamecube. Nintendo will be lucky if they match Gamecube's lifetime sales.

 

[hatchx]

I think it will recover, but it will never reach Wii levels. 50 million lifetime isn't out of the question though. They just need to keep the momentum going and try to not have as many massive lulls. If they can keep from going over 2 months without a major release, then I think they will end up doing alright.

Hopefully they have a strong Q1 2014 without needing to delay anything. Squeezing Mario Kart for March would help.

But to be honest, I really see the momentum drying up again in the first half of 2014. They have Mario Kart in the spring (April-June), but who knows what else. It doesn't seem like X or Smash Bros. will be ready until the 2014 holiday, and it doesn't sound like Yoshi is nearing completion whatsoever.

They did announce a F2P game in this fiscal year....

Honestly who the fuck knows.

 

[Elija2]

I really don't think they'll be able to turn it around. It'll probably do even worse than the Gamecube and be even less profitable. I think the 3DS will do well enough to mitigate a good chunk of their losses, but they'll really have to step it up for their next console.

 

[Chinpoko_Master]

Whats being not generous then? 10M? 15M? in 5 years? You can't possibly think this.

I don't think the Wii U will even be around for 5 years.

 

[Currygan]

No.

It didn't get the mainstream appeal, and it doesn't have comparable core content to Gamecube. It also has COGS issues compared to Gamecube. Nintendo will be lucky if they match Gamecube's lifetime sales.

you're talking as if its lifetime is already over. it has just started, man

 

[kuroshiki]

They did turn things around with 3DS, haven't they? I say drop the price £100 (that is a huge pricedrop, but its needed) and release some games for it.

You can already get the WiiU for $100 cheaper in many places. basic price has been $250 for long time. It still doesn't sell.

Unless it becomes $199 there is absolutely no point in price reduction.

 

[Ein Bear]

I believe they can turn it around, but I'm absolutely dumbfounded that they're not releasing Mario Kart until early 2014. Getting that out in time for Christmas would play a huge role in revitalising the system. Delay DKC and draft Retro in to help again if you have to, Mario Kart is probably the biggest franchise Nintendo have, and having it in time for the holidays should be their number one priority at the minute.

 

[BishopLamont]

from IGN:

http://www.ign.com/articles/2004/01/17/graphs-resident-evil-gcn-sales

Do you think Resident Evil, or Resident Evil 2 sold Playstation consoles? You'd be insane to suggest otherwise. Taking that into account:

RE4 sold 1.6 million copies on Gamecube (per wikipedia) and marginally more copies (about 2.2 million) on PS2- despite the PS2 having a userbase about 7 times larger.

So yes, I think people who otherwise would not have bought the gamecube bought it for RE4, which was an extremely high profile critically acclaimed game in a popular franchise that was assumed to be exclusive to the console- and REmake NEVER showed up anywhere else. Both games moved systems to a fanbase which had up to that point been exclusively on playstation. NONE of Nintendo's first party can claim this, and GC sales would have been lower without it.

Right, a game that sold 1.6M pushed millions of consoles. I'm not denying that it sold systems, but it was a nonfactor to the system's total in the grand scheme of things, in the end it was Nintendo's first party that mattered.

 

[antonz]

You can already get the WiiU for $100 cheaper in many places. basic price has been $250 for long time. It still doesn't sell.

Unless it becomes $199 there is absolutely no point in price reduction.

The Basic doesn't exist anymore. The idea people think a new device should be cheaper than old stuff is hilarious as well and borderline trolling

 

[Rubius]

The Ps2 was a glorified DVD player until GTA 3 came along. When the hits hit, we will see a boost.

 

[gogojira]

Never say never, but I'm finding it very easy to want to these days. Very, very easy.

 

[Crash Station]

#1 rule of the game industry: don't count Nintendo out.

 

[wsippel]

Way too early to make a call. We know Nintendo was aware of the issue, and they did nothing to counter it - hardly any marketing in the first half of the year, and they delayed games to have a more steady stream of releases in the second half. So what's happening right now shouldn't be surprising, and certainly isn't surprising Nintendo. Do they actually have the means to turn things around? Maybe, maybe not. We'll see.

 

[markot]

3ds is turning into the best console Eva, and it was announced DOA.

 

[popeutlal]

The Basic doesn't exist anymore. The idea people think a new device should be cheaper than old stuff is hilarious as well and borderline trolling

What?

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/Nintend...p02-138?id=1218685702571&skuId=5709727&st=wii u&cp=1&lp=1
http://www.gamestop.com/wii-u/consoles/nintendo-wii-u-8gb-basic-set/104795

 

[teh_pwn]

you're talking as if its lifetime is already over. it has just started, man

Mainstream is hit or miss. It missed. It's in the past.

Controller COGS and lack of software is fundamentally lacking. There simply isn't the content that Gamecube had. Gamecube came out with Smash Bros, Luigi's Mansion, Rogue Leader, Pikmin. 3rd party support is certainly weaker, and will continue to be because porting games requires way more work than it did between PS2/GC/Xbox. Those systems were roughly the same, with Gamecube and moreso Xbox being higher end. Gamecube had Resident Evil games, EA, and Wii U has...Ubisoft?

 

[BishopLamont]

If this continues 20 million in 5 years seems very, very generous. Let's see what happens next year. This year WiiU is pretty much finished.

How's it finished when this year's games aren't even out?

 

[Manmademan]

Right, a game that sold 1.6M pushed millions of consoles.

So you agree with me. Great!

Keep in mind those 1.6 million are retail sales that do not include sales of used games, rentals, or the sales of Resident Evil Zero (1.2 million...which was exclusive, never went anywhere else) or REmake (about 1.3 million..also exclusive, never went anywhere else).

If you deny that RE4 sold consoles, you also have to deny that ANY resident evil game sold consoles- since RE4 holds the title of most critically acclaimed RE *AND* the best selling RE.

Is it Halo? no. but it's definitely more important to the success of the gamecube than something like mario sunshine, since the fans it brought in were those that did not typically buy a nintendo console, as the series was exclusive to other platforms (RE2: N64 aside) previously.

 

[Randolph Freelander]

Right, a game that sold 1.6M pushed millions of consoles. I'm not denying that it sold systems, but it was a nonfactor to the system's total in the grand scheme of things, in the end it was Nintendo's first party that mattered.

What do you think the baseline for consumers that care about first party Nintendo titles is? In this thread, it's being posited that we have one currently known historical floor for that number: GameCube.

Take Smash Brothers, Mario Kart, Mario, Zelda, Metroid, Pikmin, sprinkle in some iterations here and there. GameCube had all that. And it sold ~25 million consoles.

Wii broke beyond that. It had Wii Sports, Wii Fit, Wii Play. It soared high (and later plummeted). You take the former list, add that to Wii U, you have GameCube. Wii U needs the next break out phenomenon. It needs what Wii Sports was to the Wii. Keep pounding that Nintendo first party drum. If it's the traditional titles, I think you're going to find out that the Nintendo faithful will thank you but the massive sales are in another castle.

So in one sense, I agree with you. It will be on the back of first party titles that Wii U rebounds, if it does. Where I differ is that I hold that we have no idea what those first parties will be. It will not be something we know about.

 

[lwilliams3]

Ask again in 6 months.

This is my answer as well.

 

[BishopLamont]

So you agree with me. Great!

Keep in mind those 1.6 million are retail sales that do not include sales of used games, rentals, or the sales of Resident Evil Zero (which was exclusive, never went anywhere else) or REmake (also exclusive, never went anywhere else).

If you deny that RE4 sold consoles, you also have to deny that ANY resident evil game sold consoles- since RE4 holds the title of most critically acclaimed RE *AND* the best selling RE.

Is it Halo? no. but it's definitely more important to the success of the gamecube than something like mario sunshine, since the fans it brought in were those that did not typically buy a nintendo console, as the series was exclusive to other platforms (RE2: N64 aside) previously.

Ok so lets say RE sold 1.6M consoles, out of the 20M consoles, is it Nintendo or Resident Evil that sold the majority of the consoles? Like I said, third parties were a non factor.

What do you think the baseline for consumers that care about first party Nintendo titles is? In this thread, it's being posited that we have one currently known historical floor for that number: GameCube.

Take Smash Brothers, Mario Kart, Mario, Zelda, Metroid, Pikmin, sprinkle in some iterations here and there. GameCube had all that. And it sold ~25 million consoles.

Wii broke beyond that. It had Wii Sports, Wii Fit, Wii Play. It soared high (and later plummeted). You take the former list, add that to Wii U, you have GameCube. Wii U needs the next break out phenomenon. It needs what Wii Sports was to the Wii.

Keep pounding that Nintendo first party drum. If it's the traditional titles, I think you're going to find out that the Nintendo faithful will thank you but the massive sales are in another castle.

When did I ever say its gonna sell like the Wii?

 

[LiveFromKyoto]

They're Nintendo. Of course they can. People thought the DS was dead before Nintendogs. People thought the whole company was dead before waggle. They always have the potential to come up with another Pokemon or Zelda like franchise and change everything.

 

[H_Prestige]

If Nintendo works hard, it may end up at 25 million LTD.

They're Nintendo. Of course they can. People thought the DS was dead before Nintendogs. People thought the whole company was dead before waggle. They always have the potential to come up with another Pokemon or Zelda like franchise and change everything.

No, they don't "always" come up with a saving throw. They've had two failed consoles before, and so far wii u is on track to perform even worse. If Nintendo had secret console reviving magic, they would have used it on the n64 and gc. They would be using it right now.

 

[Randolph Freelander]

When did I ever say its gonna sell like the Wii?

I updated that answer a bit. But right now, we're trying to find reasons it will recover enough to overtake GameCube. I take it as a given that it will never match Wii.