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GameStop: Holiday 2013 is Key to Wii U Success!
- Thread starter Malvingt2
- Start date
metalslimer
Member
It seems like there is the idea in nintendo or at least NoA that nintendo fans are getting their mario, dk, zelda, etc. so they should be happy and are continually surprised when the combination of ips fails to meet a huge sales projection. Luckily they seem to be turning around somewhat at least in going after indies
Throwing bodies at a game may get it done faster, but it typically leaves the game bug-ridden, lacking any creative direction and soulless. Look at the annualization of certain Western franchises as an example
As to what they have been doing the past few years? Saving the 3DS.
Nintendo failed to adequately prepare for HD development. This problem was compounded by their goal to keep deep gameplay and polish in their games even when they transitioned to HD (harder than it appears as exemplified by the day one patches, frequent bugs, corridor-centric and QTE inclusions in many modern games)
The_Macho_King
Banned
Nintendo fails to cater to its fan. 3 Mario platformers in one year is not catering to its fans... it's just raping the shit out of a cultural icon.
Party games are not catering to its fans.
Some of the most hardcore gamers are loyal Nintendo fans but Nintendo has forgotten us.
I've been a day 1 Nintendo console owner since the N64 and the Wii U is the first time I feel like Nintendo doesn't care about guys like me.
I'm really debating trading this thing in and I've never gotten rid of a Nintendo console before.
That's because the Deluxe set is essentially $290 + a $60 game and more storage. If you don't care about Nintendoland or whatever else they bundle with it, digital, or color the basic should the best option. They need to offer both in both colors to get rid of that variable.
The_Macho_King
Banned
Nintendo has lost shelf presence. Retailers in Europe have dropped the console altogether. I have no idea how they can recover from that. Sometimes there's no going back.
No price drop and no Mario Kart are the real killer problems, but the indie situation isn't far behind. Nintendo needs to go after indies hard in a similar manner to Sony. Offer to fund ports of the well known indie games, and also offer to help fund new and promising projects (even if they're outside of the traditional Nintendo wheelhouse, like Binding of Isaac). Oh, and offer Mojang whatever they want for a Minecraft port. Indies can fill huge gaps in the Wii U lineup since Nintendo will largely have the high budget segment of titles to themselves.
That is a big generalization. There are plenty of games made by large teams that aren't glitchy or lacking in vision/soul. The notable examples are using people in the hundreds, which I don't think anyone is suggesting. There is a middle ground.
The truth is that Nintendo has way too few teams to competently support two platforms and they probably can't spare people for other projects lest delays come in the future line up. They should have expanded heavily during the Wii/DS days. Their attitude on game design and polish is only a piece of the pie as to why games are taking too long. Nintendo is just too small at the moment, and they are entirely at fault for their problems right now.
plank
Member
My take is that its not enough graphics power and too much kiddies games.
metalslimer
Member
Future 3rd party support, EA support, a better price are just a few things i can think of.
That's not really it. The problem is that it seems there is no real Wiiu target market mainly with that price. For hardcore gamers they will blow their money on buying one of the two next gen systems at launch. The cheap families will go and get a 360/PS3 or even a Wii at dirt cheap prices, likely 150 on BF. Nintendo fans should want to go pick up a Wiiu, but the 3DS is also there and much ceaper with a brand new Zelda and pokemon this holiday. So basically hardcore nintendo fans that will drop 400 dollars for the system and mario/dk is the market, but how big is that market and how many already own Wiius. They are in this weird middle point where they are pretty expensive to get for kids with a 60 dollar game, but isn't powerful enough for the hardcore and techheads going for the other two.
PotionBleue
Member
The general public doesn't give a shit about who is behind games. Not sure why people make a big deal about indies especially when it comes to Nintendo, and anyway they've improved a lot their policies as well. It's just that they don't brag h24 7 days a week about it unlike Sony.
The_Macho_King
Banned
Nintendo doesn't need what its competitors have. Nintendo must differentiate and they have all the tools to do so.
They don't need Madden. They do not need CoD. They don't need GTA.
What Nintendo needs is faith in their own IPs and a good marketing team and new management.
I don't expect the Wii U to compete with what the next-gen twins are much better at. I expect Nintendo to give us the best of what they're capable of.
I want a new Metroid, a new Punchout, FZERO, Wave Race, Earthbound 3, a new Zelda, Fire Emblem, WARS!!!
What I don't want is the cookie cutter tired brands they got coming through until Smash Bros.
If Nintendo brought out its quality classic hardcore brands the majority of this forum would be signing a different tune because they would be far more satisfied with with those instead of Nintendoland or Yarn Yoshi.
And to those who say wait for it... when!?
I guess they need software that defines their platform and not just sequels that look like your Wii and 3DS games in a higher resolution. Quite obviously they cannot count on 3rd parties as (almost) nobody is going to buy a Wii U for games they can play on consoles they already own. So it's Nintendo's turn to show whether they continue to keep it safe or whether they want to release some risky projects that make use of the gamepad.*
*Assumption in the latter case: Nintendo has found some way to make use of the Gamepad and has an idea creating unique gameplay ideas for the device.
Wickerbasket
Member
If anything, the past few years have just shown that they don't have the resources to adequately support two consoles.
Both the 3DS and Wii U managed to have huge launch droughts despite the Wii having being almost dead for the last few years of it's life.
I'm sure they're having problems with HD development, but this is more down to poor management. They could have avoided all these problems if they had learned from the mistakes of developers who made the transition to HD development 7 years prior.
There's honestly no excuse for Nintendo's lack of foresight on HD development, considering the amount of information they had at hand. I'm not sure how much is going to change under the current management; they seem very insular.
Petrae
Member
It makes sense. Shelf space in retail stores is valuable, and if certain items aren't selling, it's counter-productive for the business. That shelf space can be better utilized for more popular items and faster turnaround.
metalslimer
Member
You do know the Wiiu is selling at a loss and no one is talking about them dying.
They console is way overpriced for it's tech, has little to no third party support, has been having major software droughts, has a backwards online system with an antiquated interface (although the Web browser, Miiverse, and eShop are good), has very few media purposes (no bluray or even dvd playback and few apps), has poor marketing with a confusing message, has limited appeal compared to the Wii, has had store space reduced over the course of the year, and the big hits look incredibly similar to prior entries (Mario Kart 8 looks stellar though). There are also major gaps in terms of games that Nintendo isn't addressing at all (no Madden and none of the shooters beyond Watch Dogs are coming).
There are many reasons people are expecting bad results for the Wii U. The 3DS should sell wonderfully though, but probably not up to Nintendo's lofty projections
chaosblade
Unconfirmed Member
Isn't that an enhanced port from the 3DS which was a port from the Wii? I doubt it drew much more interest than the late PS3/360 ports.
Makes me wonder that stuff like exclusive deals to sell Xenoblade and Pokemon: Rumble to Gamestop were deals to help keep shelf space. Small stuff in the long run, but it helps the relationship.
Still, the Wii U section currently is still small as hell, its smaller than the 3DS section at my personal store, and the 3DS section is small too. The HD twins take up more than 3/4th of the store, and I suspect that XBox One and PS4 will take some of that space first before they 'encroach' on Nintendo's space.
NeonZ
Member
It needs software that looks new and makes the Wii U stand out. It needed a new Mario title that changed things visually and gameplay-wise as much as Galaxy, rather than conservative sequels to NSMB and 3d land or even an HD port (Zelda). They also needed a more varied line up, not just sequels to former biggest hits with one or two exceptions. They're trying to build a console userbase, not be a third party.
I think it's silly to look at the Wii U's line up and say that Nintendo's franchises have no selling power, in spite of their results so far. They're just heavily mishandling their overall strategy for this system.
Serious question, can you make a similar powered PC to the Wii U's specs for $350? Lets say you already have a tablet or smartphone that can double as the game pad. I'm curious if a person can with retail parts.
The_Macho_King
Banned
Yea, it's called a PS3 or 360. But it's cheaper.... Kinda joke response but not really.
Second-screen gaming is part of the future. I don't think Nintendo is wrong it's just that they failed miserably at marketing the idea.
Petrae
Member
It's been said already, but I'll repeat it: Nintendo is lacking major third-party support that its competition is getting. Grand Theft Auto V, Madden 25, and FIFA will be three if the year's 10 best-selling games, and none are on WiiU. Activision was coy about CoD: Ghosts until late.
It seems that many third-party announcements seem to combine "no plans" and "WiiU".
This puts Nintendo in the very difficult position of being responsible for providing a severe majority of the platform's games. There are finite resources and Nintendo is still struggling with output. Meanwhile, other consoles see considerable output and more titles to choose from.
We can argue that Nintendo doesn't need third-party support, as I've seen some do, but it becomes a big challenge to sell your platform when the biggest and most-anticipated games aren't going to be on it.
w1gglyjones
Member
I don't understand this "enhanced port" business. Do you keep up with the Monster Hunter community or play the games or understand the difference between versions?
Non-responsive.
Its like that at my gamestops as well. On the other hand, the Wal-Marts and Targets around me have about 60% of their space for Nintendo.
complete unproven theory, but I have 2 guesses:
1. Gamestop loves their pre-owned game sale profits, and most people only return shovelware for nintendo systems
2. MS/Sony are stronger at Gamestop in comparison to their strength at the market at large, while Nintendo does better at traditional big box retailers.
Petrae
Member
I agree. While I don't know what GS has planned for store layouts, I would assume that more dump bins for X360 & PS3 games will be used to make space for our new-gen overlords. Plus there's the Wii section, which should be condensed and eventually blown out. In fact, I'd think that Wii is the next platform up on the "no more trade list"... but that probably wouldn't happen until after this fiscal year ends.
Aaron Strife
Banned
I see it as a trade. Wii always got half-assed EA Sports efforts and decent CoD ports, but little else. Wii U doesn't get the EA games, but CoD is now on par with its HD brethren, and other publishers are bringing games like Arkham Origins, Watch Dogs, Assassin's Creed that would skip the Wii. Still no GTA though
metalslimer
Member
A 350 dollar pc will destroy Wiiu. Hell, a 250 dollar pc would probably be more powerful.
Freezie KO
Banned
I plan on getting Ghosts for Wii U, but even with this game, they're not offering the free pre-order map and the game likely won't get DLC.
I understand not wanting to split the userbase, but when we can't even get the first bonus map, the game is already stigmatized as the inferior version.
chaosblade
Unconfirmed Member
I played Tri for Wii and didn't really like it, that's my only experience with the series. So no, I don't really know anything about it. I thought it was just Tri with some extra content (and in HD, obviously).
The_Macho_King
Banned
Once publishers fully shift their resources to next gen the third party situation for the Wii U is bound to be much worse next year.
Nikodemos
Member
If I'm not horrendously mistaken, so's the 3DS. The parallax-gated screen is rather expensive. The XL version alleviates this somewhat because larger pixels are cheaper (the bigger screen has the same resolution as the original smaller model). However, I remember a GAFfer pointing out that all of Nintendo's profits in their latest financial statement came from exchange rate speculation due to the fallen yen. It's probably why Iwata is reluctant to approve a price cut (at least until Mario Kart comes out).
w1gglyjones
Member
There are quite a few differences in content among all the "3/Tri" versions, and they are on many different platforms - so not everyone got a chance with everything. And on going from Tri to Tri G/3 Ultimate, saying it had "some extra content" is an understatement.
I can understand why you or others wouldn't like the game, but it's not entirely accurate or fair to discount it as an "enhanced port." You could kind of also say that MH4 is an "enhanced port" of Tri G because of new content.
Barry Burton
Member
"Pwned", seriously? The PS4 and XB1 launch lineups aren't exactly Murderer's Row from an exclusives standpoint. The Wii U has a ton of problems, but this isn't one of them.
Out of Working Order
Member
How will the rest of this gen play out for them if it does fail this winter?
Will they drop support for it entirely, or what?
Will they drop support for it entirely, or what?
chaosblade
Unconfirmed Member
No, it will probably just never recover from it's terrible sales rut outside of spikes with games like Smash Bros. Nintendo isn't going to completely abandon the console market for any number of years and try to return though, even if the alternative is minimal presence with an unsuccessful console.
The_Macho_King
Banned
Nintendo is best served to use this generation as a way to build up a comprehensive library of their games available for the eShop and insuring that such content is forward compatible with their next portable and home console. They're sitting on a massive and historically important library of games.
Bill Rizer
Member
Are retailers in the US so strict in sticking to MRSP? WiiU Deluxe has been easily purchasable in Italy (and I think whole Europe) at 249 euro since february, when I bought it. It's currently 279 on Amazon, after having been 249 for months (maybe it's selling something, lately).
gigantor21
Member
Yeah, US retailers are usually much more strict about that, at least from my experience. It's used games/systems where most of the price variance is.
Yea, I'm gonna buy one for when my nephews come up for weekends. Will enjoy playing mario and wwdh with them. I definitely believe there is a place for the Wii u out there.
The Abominable Snowman
Member
The Wii U Has image problems, 3rd party relation problems, 1st party development problems, advertising problems, Problems in relation to how it compares to the competition, a bad value problem, and just tons and tons of problems that will forever hold this poor baby down. I don't think its a completely recoverable situation, but if Nintendo can reel back those motion gaming fans next year (Since nothing big is planned this year aside Wii Party U, a sequel to the game that many bought because it came with a controller) with maybe a Wii Sports U or something similar they will be fine.
For now it looks like a really bad value proposition in comparison to the current gen and next gen consoles.
For now it looks like a really bad value proposition in comparison to the current gen and next gen consoles.
Freezie KO
Banned
They won't abandon it completely. Switching to new hardware, especially if they tried to release something more powerful, would only exacerbate the main problem with Wii U: that Nintendo can't support it with software.
We can only hope a tepid Winter leads to some much needed and long overdue introspection.