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Is there enough in the pipeline to save the Wii U?

Teletraan1

Banned
I haven't read the thread but I figure that there is definitely enough for this system to be your #2 system possibly #1 in the immediate future. I just picked one up and I already own more games and have played it for much longer than my launch PS4. I expect PS4 will pick up but right now I have more games coming out in the next year or so for the Wii U that I am interested in than PC and PS4 combined.
 
I haven't read the thread but I figure that there is definitely enough for this system to be your #2 system possibly #1 in the immediate future. I just picked one up and I already own more games and have played it for much longer than my launch PS4. I expect PS4 will pick up but right now I have more games coming out in the next year or so for the Wii U that I am interested in than PC and PS4 combined.

Number 1? As in your personal number one or the market leader number 1?

Edited for clarification I think i misunderstood your post.
 

Y2Kev

TLG Fan Caretaker Est. 2009
After this E3 and Mario Kart, Nintendo had a revived sort of confidence. I'm not sure however if this E3 puts the speculation of it being a dead console to rest as a similar sort of confidence in their platform was displayed in the earlier years of the 3DS's launch issues.

Do you guys think this E3 will result in a turnaround of sales or is this merely a mirage?

Nothing about this post makes me think you have the right perspective on this at all.

I don't think you've established a link between a good E3 and sales momentum or even between a "revived sort of confidence" and sales momentum. E3 does not put to rest the speculation that it is a dead console; to me it confirmed that the only releases the platform will see are Nintendo releases. They will be of typical Nintendo quality and will largely represent sales troughs for each respective franchise (but not necessarily all). The WIi U is so far beyond where the 3DS was at the same point in its life cycle (which is already decaying very significantly) that you can't compare the two.

There is no mirage. This was a fun E3 with a lot of great titles shown. That's it.
 

Riposte

Member
Seeing the (surprising and excellent) Bayonetta port to Wii U got me thinking that Nintendo could use/could have used a developer studio dedicated to porting a select handful of major third party titles to the platform just to have that bare minimum of third party support (although technically a first party effort). I'm talking about a studio like those dedicated to making good PC ports for various third parties (like the one's Capcom used for RE6, DmC, whatever the name is). Perhaps titles like GTAV, MGSV, DaS I/II, MH4U, FF Type-0 (examples aimed at Japanese market for no particular reason). Actually, it's pretty silly Minecraft in particular hasn't been brought over, although I say they go the extra mile for that one and try to add unique content.

Of course, I'm not saying it would "save" the Wii U or even make a significant impact, but I think as far as I can understand their strategy, however hopeless, it would make the trade-off people make by buying a Wii U for Nintendo exclusives a little easier to swallow when the bare minimum of big hits are covered. In the cases of some franchises (Monster Hunter) it may be a case of keeping the fanbase there as sequels move away, however small. I'm thinking the time for this approach is over though, as the cross-gen era is slowly coming to a close.
 

Log4Girlz

Member
They should just finish up what they have and not green-light any new big budget titles. If its not already started, don't bother.
 

Teletraan1

Banned
Number 1? As in your personal number one or the market leader number 1?

Edited for clarification I think i misunderstood your post.

Oh its not winning any sales battles. It will finish third barring a miracle. But for now I am playing it more than my other systems because I have had a backlog of games I have never played since I was a late adopter. I do see it as an excellent complementary system to XB1/PS4. (whichever floats your boat) I have never really dug MS exclusives so for me it was an easy choice of PC/PS4/WiiU.
 

III-V

Member
If by save you mean that they will continue producing them. If by save you mean turn some Wii numbers, no, I don't think so.

A late start is better than no start, but they need 1st party games to continue the momentum, not a once a generation big titles in each franchise.
 

Ulysses 31

Member
They should just finish up what they have and not green-light any new big budget titles. If its not already started, don't bother.

You talking as a business suit or as a someone who likes to play (big budget) games? If the game is good/fun, why wouldn't you want it play on available system(s).
 
Nothing will 'save the Wii U' from being the worst selling console Nintendo have released. This E3 showed that Nintendo are still going to release compelling software for it, that will sell systems (as they just did with Mario Kart 8). And, from a software perspective at least, while I don't think they can expect to sell the numbers they did on the Wii, they're going to have multiple games that sell millions of copies.

So I think Nintendo will be able to ride the Wii U out, until they can release new hardware that will hopefully ensure that the company is making money again. As software publishers, you really don't need too many games that perform like Mario Kart 8 or perform like Smash is going to perform to rightfully claim you had a great year.

Treading water while they work on their next console and portable hardware is good enough for right now, so long as that next hardware is a lot more compelling to gamers and a wider mainstream audience. And whatever they need to do to get third parties on board, they REALLY need to do.

But it's nice to see Nintendo realize that the people who own the Wii U already, probably fall more into the gamer camp. That software lineup was a lot more core gamer focused than we've seen from them recently I feel.
 

Meh3D

Member
I've been trying to hunt down a Mario Kart Wii U bundle but they're all sold out in my area + Ft lauderdale and South (Homestead.) Not that Id drive that far , just checked out the inventory out of curiously. The Mario and Luigi bundle is also not in sight.


Going to try ordering online though I was hoping to buy it on the weekend and play it right away.


This may not mean much as retailers may just keep low stock on these items anyway because they believe it's a not a hot seller. Tigerdirect, target, and Walmart have lame 399 $ Sky Landers + some game I don't care about ("Sing it"?) + some random figuring crap I don't care about either.


So at least th install base should grow by a healthy amount this month. :)
 
yes. this is the turning point. people have such short memories. 3ds was likewise labelled a failure. until mariokart 7. that was the hingepoint. i call mariokart 8 the hngghpoint.

sure 3ds had luigis mansion 2, pokemon x and y, fire emblem awakening, kid icarus etc.

wii u will have even better games. pokemon x and y though was a huge factor and added a separate snowball to an already growing snowball.
 

pestul

Member
I fear that this year may be the peak of the Wii-U's sales, especially now that PS4 and X1 are picking up momentum (I know, I know, different target demographics and all that...).
I see it as exactly the opposite actually. It feels like (and at least for 2014) the XB1/PS4 were akin to heavily front-loaded big budget movies. There is a little buzz created by E3, but I believe we're going to see these two systems slip down quite a lot until the Christmas frenzy hits due to weak lineups. I see them being easily passed by other systems launch-aligned in short order. I could be wrong, but I'm still fully in the doom and gloom home console club. Wii U will get a healthy bump with its lineup, but probably a decent amount below GC LTDs.
 
So you think WiiU will only sell 12 million (22m - 10?)

I'd say 15-18 is more realistic if it keeps it's current pace, with a chance on reaching GC numbers if they can truly turn the sales around and keep the console relevant until 2017.

I meant that it will be more than Gamecube minus 10M. I said less but it was a typo.
 
I see it as exactly the opposite actually. It feels like (and at least for 2014) the XB1/PS4 were akin to heavily front-loaded big budget movies. There is a little buzz created by E3, but I believe we're going to see these two systems slip down quite a lot until the Christmas frenzy hits due to weak lineups. I see them being easily passed by other systems launch-aligned in short order. I could be wrong, but I'm still fully in the doom and gloom home console club. Wii U will get a healthy bump with its lineup, but probably a decent amount below GC LTDs.

feel similarly 2014 looks really meek at least for PS4. i dont know about xbone as i dont have one and therefore didnt pay too much attention.
 
Nothing will 'save the Wii U' from being the worst selling console Nintendo have released.

yeah but xboxone and ps4 not having a great lineup in the first year could create a starving environment, one where gamers will latch onto the first big next gen game - mario kart 8 is it.

dont get me wrong x1 and ps4 will have big yars ahead of them especially ps4 when uncharted 4 and bb comes out.
 
Being succesful as in having good games and bringing in money for Nintendo is all I hope it have to be.

It would be good if they can find someway for 3rd party developers to be on the platform, but it should be in a different way then just ordinary multiplatform games.
 
heck im just glad nintendo is looking like they will survive. i mean i was legitimately afraid they would turn into a sega or worse cease to exist as a game making entity. the talk in these forums, internet and general public was overwhelmingly negative nintendo couldnt do anything right and wii u would be their demise despite 3ds. so im just happy that wii u wont be their dreamcast. i cant wait for the next console hopefully it has a better name that best describes that tbey infact have a NEW HOME CONSOLE. Not merely an add on. Ultra Nintendo works for me. also hope they come out with one platform next gen, a hybrid home portable console. so that the game development will be streamlined. Wii U is a great step in this direction. you dont wanna know how frequently i just pkug it in in walmart cofee shops to get some offscreen play time. plus i have no tv.
 

mechphree

Member
If you definition of "Saving" is some how the Wii U starts selling more systems monthly then the ps4 or xbox one or maybe even the Wii then of course not. Mario Kart and Smash are definitely system sellers, but they won't push the system in a stratosphere of success like some of you are suggesting.

I feel like a new system should be in order. The Wii-U is pretty much done. Nintendo should continue to trickle out games to it's fans but start development on a new system and push it for a 2016 or 2017 release date. Make the system on par with ps4/xbox one or even more powerful. The more money they sink into that dying console the less money they will have in the long run

Personally, I don't think i'll jump for a Wii U until it's at a price point under $200. I think think this will happen until 2015 so thats probably when I might consider one. Nintendo gambled on the tablet game pad taking off and it was a bad gamble, they lost. It's time to move on now and focus on something new.
 

GenericUser

Member
I think Nintendo really delivered with its E3 conference. Now, all of the announced games have to release (curious to see starfox!), nintendo has to do a panic price drop to 99€ and then I'll bite. It's the gamecube scenario once again.
 

z0m3le

Banned
If "save Wii U" = competing with PS4/XB1, that is almost certainly not going to happen.
If it meant becoming profitable, and restoring interest in the platform, I think that these continued titles will do just that.

We don't know what the future holds for the Wii U, we do know that perception was a big issue for Wii U, MK8 and E3 did change that as a whole. That probably didn't change sales numbers drastically, but considering that Gamecube fell off a cliff sales wise at this point in it's life, and Wii U's has already started to pick up following MK8 (japan's market is interesting to look at, but doesn't reflect gaming on a world wide scale) shows that Wii U isn't going to have the same type of drop off. Gamecube at this point in it's life was ~9.5m consoles sold, while Wii U is closer to 6.5m

http://vgsales.wikia.com/wiki/Nintendo_GameCube
Code:
GameCube sales figures (based on official financial reports)[4]
Date ending	Quarterly                                    sales	 Total 
6 months           (Apr01-Sep01)	                         0.51	         0.51	(2 weeks on market)
6 months           (Oct01-Mar02)	                         3.29	         3.80	

2002 fiscal year sales (ending Mar 31, 2002)	 3.80	         3.80	
6 months (Apr02-Sep02)	                                 2.88	         6.68	
6 months (Oct02-Mar03)	                                 2.87	         9.55	

2003 fiscal year sales (ending Mar 31, 2003)	 5.76          9.55	 
June 30, 2003	                                                 0.08	         9.63(~Wii U current point)
Sept 30, 2003	                                                 0.81	        10.45	
December 31, 2003	                                         3.50	        13.94	
March 31, 2004	                                                 0.63	        14.57	

2004 fiscal year sales (ending Mar 31, 2004)	 5.02	        14.57	
June 30, 2004	                                                 0.65	        15.22	
Sept 30, 2004	                                                 0.75 	15.97	
December 31, 2004	                                         2.06 	18.03	
March 31, 2005	                                                 0.47	        18.50	

2005 fiscal year sales (ending Mar 31, 2005)	 3.92 	18.50	
June 30, 2005	                                                 0.26 	18.76	
Sept 30, 2005	                                                 0.55 	19.31	
December 31, 2005	                                         1.30 	20.61	
March 31, 2006                                            	 0.23 	20.85	

2006 fiscal year sales (ending Mar 31, 2006)	 2.35 	20.85	
June 30, 2006	                                                 0.15 	21.00	
September 30, 2006	                                         0.2   	21.20	
December 31, 2006	                                         0.31 	21.52	
March 31, 2007	                                                 0.07 	21.59	

2007 fiscal year sales (ending Mar 31, 2007)	 0.73 	21.59	
June 30, 2007	                                                 0.04 	21.63	
September 30, 2007	                                         0.04 	21.66	
December 31, 2007	                                       ~0.06 	21.72	
March 31, 2008	                                               ~0.02 	21.74

Gamecube sells fairly bad from this point on in it's life, plenty of chance for Wii U to catch up. Remember the market is bigger now, especially for Nintendo, and a game can sell hardware, if you look at N64, it was looking to sell worse than the gamecube until 007 came out and became an absolute must have for a new audience. Nintendo's never had an open world game, so Zelda has potential to bring in a new audience, same with Splatoon and 3rd party exclusives that are coming. Not to mention that PS4 and XB1 are redundant for most of their software, so anyone buying a new console that already owns one of those or a gaming PC could find more potential excitement in Wii U than one of those platforms as they all share a majority of their "hardware selling" software.

On top of those things, there is the future and what Nintendo has planned to do, they could easily "save" Wii U by turning it into their next handheld in 2016.

Hardware speculation:
Looking at AMD mullins shows that Wii U's level of performance can be shrunk down into a handheld beyond 2015, (2016 release) this could be Nintendo's goal all along, and the successor to 3DS could simply be a handheld Wii U, which would grow off of the 15-20m Wii U users, allow titles scheduled for the Wii U to continue being made into 2022. And grow that platform's total userbase beyond 50m easily. It's up to what Nintendo does, but if they make Wii U into a handheld, they would easily reach a much larger market.

Nintendo releasing a new console in 2017 that expands on Wii U's architecture with hardware that measures up favorably to PS4, would also be cheap and a great move for Nintendo as developers could start targeting both Nintendo platforms with 1 dev kit and even release 1 title across all 3 devices. Which is honestly Nintendo's best chance of bringing 3rd party developers back to their platform (not saying this is full proof at all)
 

lefantome

Member
If mk8 won't boost sales, i doubt anything will.
Smash could be relatively big in the us but it hasn't the same appeal of mk.
 
heck im just glad nintendo is looking like they will survive. i mean i was legitimately afraid they would turn into a sega or worse cease to exist as a game making entity. the talk in these forums, internet and general public was overwhelmingly negative nintendo couldnt do anything right and wii u would be their demise despite 3ds. so im just happy that wii u wont be their dreamcast. i cant wait for the next console hopefully it has a better name that best describes that tbey infact have a NEW HOME CONSOLE. Not merely an add on. Ultra Nintendo works for me. also hope they come out with one platform next gen, a hybrid home portable console. so that the game development will be streamlined. Wii U is a great step in this direction. you dont wanna know how frequently i just pkug it in in walmart cofee shops to get some offscreen play time. plus i have no tv.

Not saying that they will crash but how does E3 offer any condolence when they are still bleeding money. I think worries will stop as soon as nintendo starts making a profit again even if it might be a small one.
 
Not saying that they will crash but how does E3 offer any condolence when they are still bleeding money. I think worries will stop as soon as nintendo starts making a profit again even if it might be a small one.

I think its a given that their next earnings report has them back in black.
- no one off tech payment
- no currency adjustment
- no inventory writeoff
 
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