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

Hermii

Member
Doubt it ever will be a successful console, but hopefully it won't end up like a complete disaster which it has been looking like so far.
 
2.35m across 18 months (which includes launch and holiday season). This thing only has another 20 (end of 2015) - 32 (end of 2016) months before it starts free falling. I doubt very much it's gonna hit 6m in US.

Actually yeah, the more we're discussing this, the more I'm realizing I've completely mixed up my numbers to begin with. That 6 million I was thinking of was total sales. I think it might break 10 worldwide, but 22 million for GameCube is totally unreachable.

I don't own an Xb1, Halo remake climbed to no 1 in amazon preorder chart after E3 announcement. Its a good example.

If it did not hit that general audience sweet spot, then those sales (even anecdotal on Amazon) would not have happened.

Its that simple. I don't have an Xb1 and not a fan of halo, but I can at least see it was a hit and will be for MS.

Consoles are the same story...

Borderlands 2 Vita bundle was way up on Amazon rankings at some point too, I'd hope that's not considered a valuable measure of mindshare.

I think smash will sell well as a game, don't think it will shift WiiU's to make it noticeable in an NPD thread.

MK8 did. The sales weren't good compared to the competition by any means, but it was a significant bump.
 

wsippel

Banned
Joe Sixpack doesn't give two shits about Treehouse or the Reggie eating a fire flower skit. Or any of the other surrounding issues which I feel are clouding certain sections of GAF's perception of this years show.
Of course he doesn't care about those things, but he does care about things like this. And articles like this, in mainstream publications, exist because the guys who write them do give a shit or two.
 

Woo-Fu

Banned
Do you live in an alternate reality where Nintendo stopped making consoles after the NGC and smart phones never existed??

He clearly doesn't live in the alternate reality you do, one in which smart phone games make up a significant portion of Nintendo's revenue and/or smart phone gamers are a viable target demographic for Nintendo's home console.

It is wishful thinking to believe that the slowly changing gaming demographic is great news for Nintendo, particularly when one reviews Nintendo's performance during this change. If it was good news for Nintendo I'd expect Nintendo to be doing better, not worse.

Just as important as the shift in male/female numbers is the shift in age. Think about how that might help/hurt a company like Nintendo who has more of its focus on the younger segment of the market.
 
Don't kid yourself, males make up the vast majority of console gaming. Mobile might be more popular for females which skus those figures.
I'm not sure how you define young but 55% is a majority. Quibbling about how many of those men qualify as "young" during the manchild era is just that, quibbling.
It was a reply to a reply to a reply to this:
on the other, they miss on the opportunity of attracting the mass of consumers who like their annual franchises (COD, Assassins Creed, FIFA...), and would not be content with the Nintendo Universe.
By young I mean young, teens, which are the main target of those franchises, especially COD and FIFA, and considering those statistics they are only a subset of potential gamers that buy games. The point is: Nintendo could thrive even without those male teens that make their parents buy their Xboxes for COD and FIFA. It's not like there aren't other possible demographics and people with different tastes, not everyone has to make most of its products for the lowest common denominator: I don't think this is Nintendo's problem right now.
 

Metallix87

Member
I think that's the point. Smart phones took the wii audience. They arn't coming back to nintendo. Or Microsoft. Or Sony.

There's no proof of this. As I've said before, the reason they're not on Wii U is because Wii U seems designed from the ground up to go against the entire "Wii" ideology. Had Nintendo gone for a "Wii 2" that evolved the Wiimote and continued down that design path (which I think could still happen as a successor to the Wii U), I think the system would have fared a lot better.
 

robjoh

Member
You should be. Japan is already down to 9k for WiiU, what do you think it's going to do in June? It'll be irrelevent.

XB1 has shown it can rise to numbers like 300k+ in the US with marketing/effort (Titanfall). We don't know how people will respond to the $399 bundle be we know it has the potential to do impressive numbers.

And as far as Europe is concerned they'll be on par, they were during UK MK launch week, let along going forward, and UK is a big part of Europe (it'll cancel out any possible WiiU gains in the rest of Europe).

How do you calculate WiiU getting anywhere near XB1 WW numbers during June? It's no contest.

I have problem seeing any console sell 300k+ in the US in June, mayby PS4. It does not mean that XboxOne wont outsell WiiU, but honestly I do not see XboxOne as a powerhouse that in the middle of summer can reach 300k. I would say that XboxOne needs to sell around 140k+ to sell more in June than WiiU.

WiiU USA 50k + EU 50k + Japan 40k.
 

Huff

Banned
I agree that Nintendo should be going after the alternate audiences. Since they can't compete with the other two consoles. Just that these audiences have moved on.

What's the scenario where these people start flocking to nintendo again?
 

Miles X

Member
Care to share your trackers? Beyond amazon in all countries, play.com and fnac.com show Wii U tracking above Xbox One.

http://www.amazon.com/bestsellers/2014-06/videogames#3 - Amazon US 47# and 56# for XB1, WiiU nowhere to be seen?

I saw a post comparing XB1 with PS4 which I'm trying to find, had target, walmart and a few others, with XB1 doing quite well.

Edit - and I will waste a bit of time finding them for you even though I know they're meaningless.
 

Woo-Fu

Banned
By young I mean young, teens, which are the main target of those franchises, especially COD and FIFA, and considering those statistics they are only a subset of potential gamers that buy games.

What? FIFA and CoD appeal to males of all ages. CoD games have an M rating nowadays, don't they?
 

Miles X

Member
I have problem seeing any console sell 300k+ in the US in June, mayby PS4. It does not mean that XboxOne wont outsell WiiU, but honestly I do not see XboxOne as a powerhouse that in the middle of summer can reach 300k. I would say that XboxOne needs to sell around 140k+ to sell more in June than WiiU.

WiiU USA 50k + EU 50k + Japan 40k.

In June? XB1 will do that easily. It just had an awful April (and a worse May incoming) and that was still 115k US alone (60% WW marketshare) so around 185k WW.

June will be 400k+ WW for sure.
 
Who knows

If Nintendo start a strong marketing campaign again and it makes the kids want it, yes it will be saved!

Now the tablet bubble has started to pop it could be the start of succession again

We shall see
 
For the general public absolutely not.

For GAF I think the WiiU has been saved/put into a better light. I will probably pick one up when Smash Bros releases or at least in 2015 when everything comes out.
 
My friend and I are waiting for a smash bundle or a 200 dollar Wii U deal. We have no rush with the delayed smash Bros so maybe black friday will offer a good Wii U deal. If not we'll go for the used Wii U deal.
 

Woo-Fu

Banned
Looks like you live in an alternate reality that's dominated by straw men.
:p
That isn't a straw man, that is me giving you the benefit of the doubt and assuming your point is relevant to Nintendo's business, or at least that you believe it is. I won't do that again. :)
 

Nicktendo86

Member
I think it depends entirely on your definition of 'save'. If you mean enough to compete with the PS4/Xbone, no, not a snowball's chance in hell.

If, however, you mean what I think Nintendo hope which is to get the thing and the company as a whole profitable and be able to ride out this gen before regrouping and preparing for next gen, I think the answer is yes.
 
Historically, has a console ever been tracking where the Wii U has been tracking (or anywhere close to it), and then at some point turned it around to sell more than 20 million units? I assume no.

Nintendo demonstrated their commitment to the system. That will probably sway a (relatively insignificant) number of fence-sitters in the short term.

In the long term, my hope is that once the magnificent first-party library Nintendo has in the works is in place (and it is magnificent, the most exciting Nintendo lineup I can remember), it will give the Wii U a long "tail" in the family market and the "second console" market. As the thing drops to $249 and eventually $199 naturally over the course of years, people will continue to pick it up just to sample from that exclusive library. I don't know if that sort of sales are capable of accounting for ~10 million units, though. Probably ~5 million would be a more realistic hope.
 

thefro

Member
With Nintendo's output and the pretty strong indie support we're seeing it should be a sustainable console.

E3 definitely gave a big morale boost to their fanbase, and at least in the US there's a lot of them who haven't bought a Wii U yet who were waiting for Smash to hit.

http://www.amazon.com/bestsellers/2014-06/videogames#3 - Amazon US 47# and 56# for XB1, WiiU nowhere to be seen?

I saw a post comparing XB1 with PS4 which I'm trying to find, had target, walmart and a few others, with XB1 doing quite well.

Edit - and I will waste a bit of time finding them for you even though I know they're meaningless.

Amazon doesn't directly sell Wii Us since they're still feuding with Nintendo.
 

Laws00

Member
With the way how people receive games nowa days honestly there are plenty of games the thing is once the newest thing comes out people almost surely want something new within the next week/month or so.
 

Miles X

Member
With Nintendo's output and the pretty strong indie support we're seeing it should be a sustainable console.

E3 definitely gave a big morale boost to their fanbase, and at least in the US there's a lot of them who haven't bought a Wii U yet who were waiting for Smash to hit.



Amazon doesn't directly sell Wii Us since they're still feuding with Nintendo.

Fair enough. So basically amazing in Europe and that's it.
 

robjoh

Member
In June? XB1 will do that easily. It just had an awful April (and a worse May incoming) and that was still 115k US alone (60% WW marketshare) so around 185k WW.

June will be 400k+ WW for sure.

So you mean that just because XboxOne dropped the Kinect and 100 USD, it will sell almost 3 times what it did in April in the middle of summer? Do the console sales in the US often increase in June? Have I missed any new game that will be released in June?
 
What's the scenario where these people start flocking to nintendo again?

When they take a page from their own book(Wii/DS) and create a console that is solely aimed at the family/kid/casual market(Cheap hardware prices, cheap software prices, online social media connection, intuitive family friendly games, etc.).
 

robjoh

Member
How many xboxOne and PS4 consoles have been shipped/sold so far? PS4 is the leader WW? WiiU at 6 millions?

Just want something to compare with.
 
No, nothing in the pipeline comes close to mario kart levels and even that wasn't able to save the WiiU.

Like the vita, the wiiu is beyond help.

But at least it's getting some great looking Nintendo games for those who bought it, best console for exclusives by a country mile so far.
 

Miles X

Member
So you mean that just because XboxOne dropped the Kinect and 100 USD, it will sell almost 3 times what it did in April in the middle of summer? Do the console sales in the US often increase in June? Have I missed any new game that will be released in June?

Didn't say it would necessarily hit 300k+ just that it's shown it has the potential to reach those numbers outside of the holiday.

June has an extra week, it's being advertised on TV with that Breaking Bad guy (vs no/little advertisements in April) and people have been waiting for the $399 kinectless bundle.

Couple that with Gamestop announcing it's selling really well. XB1 only has to do like 150k in US (which = 75k elsewhere) to comfortably outsell WiiU this month.
 

dimb

Bjergsen is the greatest midlane in the world
$250 in time for Smash, then continuing throughout 2015 and Zelda U, then down to a 'fuck it, let's just give it away' pricepoint of $200 + game in 2016. A cost-cutting remodel may happen somewhere along the line.
I didn't realize Nintendo were still trying to sell the WiiU for $300 and it makes me feel really out of touch. That price point seems crazy, and even dropping in slowly measured incitements like that isn't necessarily appealing when the competition will be able to start lowering their price as well.
 
That isn't a straw man, that is me giving you the benefit of the doubt and assuming your point is relevant to Nintendo's business, or at least that you believe it is. I won't do that again. :)

Smartphone gamers are comprised of Nintendo's key demographics(kids/families/casuals).
So yeah, it's pretty relevant to the big N's home console business seeing as they managed to let them slip away in the Wii era.
 

MrJoe

Banned
With Nintendo's output and the pretty strong indie support we're seeing it should be a sustainable console.

didn't nintendo post a loss last year or quarter or something?

the question is, will that continue? beyond video games and mascots and franchises, nintendo is a business. the sole purpose for their existence is to make a profit.
 
I don't even care anymore. Wii U rules, and the upcoming lineup totally stole the show. I'm 100% convinced I won't need a PS4 or XBONE for a long while now.

If the upcoming titles can't convince others to jump on board, then I guess it's their loss.

Cheers, Nintendo!!

I feel the same way, play WiiU more than my xbox one.
If you have an xbox one or ps4 you need a WiiU as well, criminal to miss out on some of the most amazing games of this generation. Not many Sony or ms games will come close to the fun I've had on my WiiU and the best part is its all killer, no filler.
 
There's enough to help improve the general perception of the system, which is a start. Everything we currently know about isn't going to miraculously shift the entire trajectory of the console, but it does create an opportunity for Nintendo to renew interest in the system, even among people who had basically dismissed it entirely.
 

Riposte

Member
I think there are difficult barriers between Nintendo's games and their target audiences (which is mainly people who don't watch E3) that greatly diminish how much they can affect their fortunes. Something like Splatoon I could picture being a mega-hit with kids on PC (easy to stream, spread) if they went with the low price/good demo route, but I have no idea what Nintendo plans to do to get kids to be in contact with Wii U to try or even hold their attention for as long it takes to touch a Wii U in the first place. I've got no solutions and it's a problem that gets worse the less successful you are.

Something Luigi's glare in Mario Kart going "viral" probably helps a lot, although I wonder if that's just gamer jokes for gamers.
 

skull kid

Member
There's no proof of this. As I've said before, the reason they're not on Wii U is because Wii U seems designed from the ground up to go against the entire "Wii" ideology. Had Nintendo gone for a "Wii 2" that evolved the Wiimote and continued down that design path (which I think could still happen as a successor to the Wii U), I think the system would have fared a lot better.

what would an evolved wii remote consist of though?
 

Lord Phol

Member
But at least it's getting some great looking Nintendo games for those who bought it, best console for exclusives by a country mile so far.

Which is why I'm getting one today! Wii U just brings a whole other experience I can't get anywhere else. Sure there are some games that I'm missing out on PS4 and Xbox One but I'm getting most out of those genres with my PC anyways.

That being said I can understand why most people aren't getting it, I had no intention of it before this E3.
 

geordiemp

Member
What? FIFA and CoD appeal to males of all ages. CoD games have an M rating nowadays, don't they?

Insert pic of 10 year olds holing their copies of COD at launch day...

I have an 11 year old son. He plays with his school mates online. You would be surprised what games they play - the only cute and cuddly one is minecraft.

kids....How do you think GTA5 sold how many million. That was not to adults....
 

klier

Member
Sales might never recover, and it's a shame, but the Wii U will end up being my favourite Nintendo console of all time.....and I owned every version.
 
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