Would you at least agree that the gamepad is a good idea, but a bad idea to bank on that should have never been the main focus of the system? I feel like Nintendo could've done better by taking it seriously as a peripheral and not bundling it with the main system.
The GamePad could easily have been a peripheral, and lowered the cost of the system (if we base it on the repair costs receipt, by about $150). But, if it had been a peripheral, it's less likely that developers would make games using it's features because the attach rate would be significantly lower.
For me, the GamePad is/was a selling feature of the Wii U (having a little one that enjoys Mario games, NSMBU was a selling feature as well...which he received at Christmas).
The Wii was cheap and out dated tech (plus innovative control) with a cheap price to match. The Wii U is cheap tech (plus game pad) for an expensive price.
I don't argue the price being an issue for why the Wii U might not be selling well (depends what we are comparing it with), but I do think Nintendo might be in a good spot with the Wii U when the NextBox and PS4 release, if their prices are above $300 (which rumors are saying they will be).
Do you remember what the PS2 was priced and when it released compared to the GameCube and Xbox? It was $299.99 and released a year before those systems. About 6 months after the GameCube (priced at $199.99) and Xbox (priced at $299.99) released, Sony slashed the price of the PS2 down to $199.99.
I think it will be interesting to see what happens with prices moving forward, and I do think Microsoft will have a subscription model at launch which could make things very interesting (and competitive).
Are you suggesting nursing homes and whatnot would have bought this $350 system had it come bundled with a game that allowed them to bowl and play tennis (again)?
Not necessarily at $350, as I already stated I think one of the biggest reasons the Wii sold as well as it did, was its lower price compared to the other consoles.
I think a big feature that could have helped and been advertised (and maybe can be if they release a sequel) is online play. Online bowling leagues? With how WiFi has expanded and is many places these days, I imagine some of the nursing homes/retirement centers have WiFi. Price is a big factor though.
As for the "(again)" part, I don't think Wii Sports really has the sequelitis problems of some other franchises. I was hoping for a "board game" game at launch though, with things like checkers/chess, etc. Still surprised that hasn't happened. Digital pieces are a lot easier to "pick up" than real pieces....