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[Orbis]

Basic model was a mistake, lack of games 4 months after launch was an even bigger mistake. Love the console, the controller, but you can't have a product sitting on shelves for this long without at least a couple of compelling titles.

Game situation in Europe hasn't been helped by the botched Scribblenauts launch; this game, originally a launch title, is still not out on Wii U or 3DS due to Nintendo (the Europe publisher) recalling it at the last second last month (literally last second; some people received copies). Meanwhile the Warner Bros. published versions elsewhere in the world, and on PC in Europe, have been out for some time.

I am eagerly waiting for the high quality 1st party titles, but it's a shame that 3rd party support could collapse and the console ultimately fail to live up to expectations. It would end up dying young and could impact Nintendo's future plans in hardware negatively. Looking forward to E3; they'll have to absolutely blitz it this year, which can only be a good thing.

 

[Brickhunt]

Dear Nintendo, you better make a hell of E3 presentation and present some games that people actually care. Because you are definitively going to need it.

 

[Father_Brain]

Anyway, I gave Vita one full + big titles + holiday before going completely bearish on it. I will give the WiiU similar leeway. If MK,3D Mario, new Zelda, Pokemon don't get it out of its funk, then.....

This is reasonable enough. It's fairly certain at this point that there aren't going to be any third-party megatons or lightning-in-a-bottle massive new first-party IP announced at or by E3, so the test will be this holiday and the games that we actually know are coming.

For now, I'd say N64 numbers (~33m) are the best-case scenario for eventual LTD, and even that might be too optimistic.

 

[Herb Alpert]

Yeah. Every time I go into a Nintendo thread my ignore list always acts up with the usual suspects. It's doing its job here too

Nintendo historically hasn't done that well in the UK, so I'm not that alarmed. Mainland Europe sales (especially in Germany, France, and Spain) remain strong, so that's good. I am curious to learn about this strategy that Nintendo UK is going to unveil to retailers. It could have implications for this market too if this is coming from NCL.

I see I am not alone.

 

[metalslimer]

If you go back to that post, I wrote holiday 2014... so January 2015 financial report is for end of holiday 2014. Don't be confused.. All these threads are too funny

Yeah Nintendo losing money is hilarious....

 

[Agent Icebeezy]

Gamecube 2.0.

If this were the Gamecube 2.0, most owners would be happy with the product. GC was fucking awesome for its time.

 

[Anth0ny]

price drop incoming

10 N64 and GC games for ambassadors

do the right thing nintendo

 

[DSXBoy]

Is that why the Wii is the second best selling console here of all time? (Soon to be third but you get the point)

The success was due to the appeal of Wii Remote/WiiSports and an impulse buy price of £179 in 2006. It was perfect for the casual gamer.
Nintendo (Iwata & Miyamoto) decided to abandon a successful concept and try to win back the hardcore gamer with Wii U. It was bound to fail as the XBox, PS3 fans are not interested in Nintendo consoles/games.

 

[NeonZ]

But a price cut alongside the release of Pikmin 3 and Wonderful 101 would most definitely not be!

Yes, it would. Those games won't move hardware significantly at all. IMO, that's the main reason for their delay. Releasing them in the first half of 2013 would have been just sending them to die considering the Wii U's current situation.

They need a make a consistent release schedule, and that's where those games can come in. By themselves, they're pointless.

Nintendo (Iwata & Miyamoto) decided to abandon a successful concept and try to win back the hardcore gamer with Wii U. It was bound to fail as the XBox, PS3 fans are not interested in Nintendo consoles/games.

What? If anything the Wii U is suffering because they tried to recreate the Wii. Underpowered physically small hardware with focus on a single "new" feature. The problem this time is that the "feature" was much more expensive and didn't get people's attention, with Nintendo Land completely failing at being their new Wii Sports, and the physical similarity to the Wii just created marketing problems. That would always be an impossible game anyway. At best, if everything ahd gone along like they expected, they'd only match Wii's numbers again, which seems kind of unintuitive to a business that's supposed to grow.

 

[DragonSworne]

Cool, I wonder when Nintendo will share those plans to the rest of us.

Nintendo's silence is pure incompetence.

 

[casablanca]

If you go back to that post, I wrote holiday 2014... so January 2015 financial report is for end of holiday 2014. Don't be confused.. All these threads are too funny

You are funny , because you don't know what will happen in 2014 or 2015 not even late 2013.
Of course nintendo can save the WII-U but it's not absolutely certain.

 

[Pie and Beans]

Yeah its a great future. Vita isn't there unfortunately bless his cotton socks.

Streaming PS4 games will probably be of more worth in that glorious era than a 3 year long stillborn console but with Google Street View

You know certain NeoGAF subsets are getting rattled when they feel obliged to mention Ignore lists. Tumbling down, tumbling down...

 

[SmokyDave]

I see I am not alone.

Wah wah wah, I want the safety of an echo chamber!

You can't read this, so all is well

 

[Somnid]

price drop incoming

10 N64 and GC games for ambassadors

do the right thing nintendo

This thread was created because data indicates a pricedrop would do nothing.

 

[maverick40]

Nintendo are a joke. This is unbelievable!

 

[Aquamarine]

Basic model was a mistake, lack of games 4 months after launch was an even bigger mistake. Love the console, the controller, but you can't have a product sitting on shelves for this long without at least a couple of compelling titles.

Game situation in Europe hasn't been helped by the botched Scribblenauts launch; this game is still not out on Wii U or 3DS due to Nintendo (the Europe publisher) recalling it at the last second (literally last second; some people received copies). Meanwhile the Warner Bros. published versions elsewhere in the world, and on PC in Europe, have been out for some time.

I am eagerly waiting for the high quality 1st party titles, but it's a shame that 3rd party support could collapse and the console ultimately fail to live up to expectations. It would end up dying young and could impact Nintendo's future plans in hardware negatively. Looking forward to E3; they'll have to absolutely blitz it this year, which can only be a good thing.

So far we have like ~90 titles for the Wii U planned for the first 13 months.

GameCube third-party support in Europe:

First 10 months - 138 titles
Second year - 116 titles
Third year - 69 titles
Fourth year - 56 titles
Fifth year - 26 titles
Sixth year - 1 title
(discontinued)

Supposing the Wii U is on a similar track to the GameCube, its third-party support should be relatively front-loaded.

2013 + 2014 will define the future of the Wii U. If it can't surpass the GameCube...might as well just discontinue it while you're ahead.

 

[Linkstrikesback]

But a price cut alongside the release of Pikmin 3 and Wonderful 101 would most definitely not be!

I have preorders down both W101 and Pikmin 3, but I seriously doubt either of them have the ability to move consoles.

 

[metalslimer]

Cool, I wonder when Nintendo will share those plans to the rest of us.

Nintendo's silence is pure incompetence.

You dont understand, 3rd party NDA, all part of the plan, greatest launch of all time, etc. etc.

Wah wah wah, I want the safety of an echo chamber!

You can't read this, so all is well ;

Reminds me of vita threads

 

[deviljho]

You are funny , because you don't know what will happen in 2014 or 2015 not even late 2013.
Of course nintendo can save the WII-U but it's not absolutely certain.

oh right.. no one on this board makes predictions of any kind but me. so the "wii u clusterfuck clique" and "iwata is out of touch" folks can have their fun for now. the launch sucks. that's about it.

Yeah Nintendo losing money is hilarious....

right. so the results after holiday 2014 (which are end of january 2015) it is then! bookmark whatever posts you'd like

 

[prwxv3]

You dont understand, 3rd party NDA, all part of the plan, greatest launch of all time, etc. etc.

I cant believe that this is still being thrown around.

 

[maverick40]

I see I am not alone.

Cant hack the truth?

 

[Red UFO]

If it can't surpass the GameCube...might as well just discontinue it while you're ahead.

Ridiculous. It can still make money without surpassing the GameCube.

 

[Recall]

If this were the Gamecube 2.0, most owners would be happy with the product. GC was fucking awesome for its time.

But didn't only a small amount of people purchase a GameCube and its game library became more desired after the fact? People look back fondly now, like hindsight or something, right? I suppose I need to go look up how well the GameCube sold.

 

[Durante]

It's not even worth it at 100 right now. Not enough games now or on the horizon.

I'd buy one for 150€ just to play NSMBU.

 

[DragonSworne]

Wasting time and money on games like pikmin 3 and w101 is going to cost Nintendo huge. These game will be great, but they are second tier sellers meant to fill out your lineup, not define it.

 

[Plinko]

Again, if Mario Kart comes out and doesn't drive sales, THEN it is panic mode time.

 

[pieatorium]

Nintendo historically hasn't done that well in the UK, so I'm not that alarmed. Mainland Europe sales (especially in Germany, France, and Spain) remain strong, so that's good. I am curious to learn about this strategy that Nintendo UK is going to unveil to retailers. It could have implications for this market too if this is coming from NCL.

From Nintendo's own report last quater these are the market percentages for WiiU

France: 4.20%
UK: 3.08%
Germany: 3.08%
Netherlands: 2.24%
Belgium: 1.96%
Italy: 1.68%
Spain: 1.12%

 

[Aquamarine]

Ridiculous. It can still make money without surpassing the GameCube.

That's a BIG "maybe," especially in today's markets.

 

[ChimpanzeeThat]

I can't speak for the retailers in the OP, but the company i work for (it's an entertainment distribution firm in the UK, we work with two large retail outlets) is being asked by Nintendo for more shelf space for both Wii and Wii U. Problem is that we don't want to give them the space for two platforms when neither is doing very well and are pushing to reduce it to just Wii U.

I started working for these guys when Blu-Ray first came out, and the uptake in Blu-Ray was enough to justify increasing the space we gave it from 4 shelves to its own dedicated section. It's just not happening with the Wii U right now.

 

[10k]

According to http://vgsales.wikia.com/wiki/Price_cuts

Nintendo has a pattern of price cutting slowly selling systems after six months. N64 was released September 1996 for $199 was cut by $50 in March 1997. GameCube was released November 2001, it was cut by $50 in May 2002. 3DS was released March 2011, it was cut by $80 in August 2011.

Usually a major game was released within the same quarter as the price cut.

The N64 saw Mario Kart 64 and Turok come out weeks before the price cut.

The GameCube had Smash release in Europe, Resident Evil REmake, and Sonic Adventure 2 ported. The same quarter saw super monkey ball 2 and Super Mario Sunshine.

The 3DS is the most notable and it had StarFox 64 3D, Mario Kart 7, and Super Mario 3D Land all arrive within 3 months of the price cut.

So if there is a Wii U price cut, it will most likely occur in May, and Pikmin 3 is for sure going to be their title to push, along with possibly the Wonderful 101.

 

[Father_Brain]

I cant believe that this is still being thrown around.

Well, there were third-party NDAs at one point. They just weren't covering up anything that particularly mattered.

 

[metalslimer]

oh right.. no one on this board makes predictions of any kind but me. so the "wii u clusterfuck clique" and "iwata is out of touch" folks can have their fun for now. the launch sucks. that's about it.

It would be one thing if the launch just sucked. The numbers wiiu are pulling now are historically awful, 3rd party support is terrible, and Nintendo cant put out a consistent release schedule. The 3ds was a case where the launch just sucked

Again, if Mario Kart comes out and doesn't drive sales, THEN it is panic mode time.

If NSMBU was too much of the same what do people expect from a rushed out the door mk8.

 

[liger05]

But didn't only a small amount of people purchase a GameCube and its game library became more desired after the fact? People look back fondly now, like hindsight or something, right? I suppose I need to go look up how well the GameCube sold.

Yes they do. I loved my Gamecube but I remember only one of my friends owned one and I also remember the droughts!!

 

[radioheadrule83]

It's not even worth it at 100 right now. Not enough games now or on the horizon.

To be honest, the premium should be cheaper, but what you're saying here is absolutely ridiculous. It'd be insanely good value at 100 pounds. The premium needs to get as close to 200 quid as possible. Discounting the basic model is almost a pointless exercise.

 

[Pie and Beans]

Again, if Mario Kart comes out and doesn't drive sales, THEN it is panic mode time.

When realistically do you expect MK8 to come out? July, August, September? Retailers meanwhile have April, May, June, and potentially more to muddle through with this unwanted stock. All as the new nextgen warships' cast great shadows on any turnaround and fight for mindshare.

 

[kittens]

If this were the Gamecube 2.0, most owners would be happy with the product. GC was fucking awesome for its time.

Now that all's said and done, the Gamecube library is amazing, but I had to endure some serious droughts at the time. It was barely a step up from the N64 in that regard. But the games were amazing once they finally did release. If the Wii U can match that quality, I'll be happy.

But matching the Gamecube in hardware sales? That's nothing to brag about, lol.

 

[DashReindeer]

Wasting time and money on games like pikmin 3 and w101 us going to cost Nintendo huge. These game will be great, but they are second tier sellerd meant to fill out your lineup, not define it.

True dat. It's why those games were aimed for "launch window" where they would have actually been pretty strong titles I think. If Pikmin 3 had come in December and Wonderful 101 in January, they would have done a whole lot to make people happy with their Wii U purchases.

I suppose they could still be solid Summer titles though, as the usual droughts should be happening. Unfortunately, we haven't seen anything new from either of those games really in quite a while, and we still have no release dates in sight.

 

[Biggzy]

I can't speak for the retailers in the OP, but the company i work for (it's an entertainment distribution firm in the UK, we work with two large retail outlets) is being asked by Nintendo for more shelf space for both Wii and Wii U. Problem is that we don't want to give them the space for two platforms when neither is doing very well and are pushing to reduce it to just Wii U.

I started working for these guys when Blu-Ray first came out, and the uptake in Blu-Ray was enough to justify increasing the space we gave it from 4 shelves to its own dedicated section. It's just not happening with the Wii U right now.

And the situation is only going to get more tight when Durango and PS4 get released.

 

[liger05]

I can't speak for the retailers in the OP, but the company i work for (it's an entertainment distribution firm in the UK, we work with two large retail outlets) is being asked by Nintendo for more shelf space for both Wii and Wii U. Problem is that we don't want to give them the space for two platforms when neither is doing very well and are pushing to reduce it to just Wii U.

I started working for these guys when Blu-Ray first came out, and the uptake in Blu-Ray was enough to justify increasing the space we gave it from 4 shelves to its own dedicated section. It's just not happening with the Wii U right now.

More shelf space for the Wii. Fuck that!!

 

[Nibel]

Stop this Vita VS Wii U nonsense, both sides act fucking pathetic

Two cool platforms are selling bad and most of you have nothing better in mind than trying to provoke each other until names fade into gray; it's annoying

 

[DragonSworne]

Nintendo has failed to realize you sell consoles on future titles and promises.

Focusing on launch window games which consists of majority of old ports and refusing to reveal release dates and future game is going to cost Nintendo.

 

[deviljho]

It would be one thing if the launch just sucked. The numbers wiiu are pulling now are historically awful, 3rd party support is terrible, and Nintendo cant put out a consistent release schedule. The 3ds was a case where the launch just sucked

what part of "wait until the holiday 2014 results" don't you understand, man? slimer, i like you, but i'm not playing these market analysis games on a day to day basis every time a piece of data or news comes out right now. you can all talk about what you'd like, but all i'm saying is people will see. you can't quote me and expect to draw me into a discussion of current launch performance.

 

[Aquamarine]

I can't speak for the retailers in the OP, but the company i work for (it's an entertainment distribution firm in the UK, we work with two large retail outlets) is being asked by Nintendo for more shelf space for both Wii and Wii U. Problem is that we don't want to give them the space for two platforms when neither is doing very well and are pushing to reduce it to just Wii U.

I started working for these guys when Blu-Ray first came out, and the uptake in Blu-Ray was enough to justify increasing the space we gave it from 4 shelves to its own dedicated section. It's just not happening with the Wii U right now.

A classic negative feedback loop. Sales don't do well = retailers stop supporting Nintendo as much = Sales continue to decline because of retailer actions = retailers drop support even more.

 

[radioheadrule83]

Nintendo has a pattern of price cutting slowly selling systems after six months. N64 was released September 1996 for $199 was cut by $50 in March 1997. GameCube was released November 2001, it was cut by $50 in May 2002. 3DS was released March 2011, it was cut by $80 in August 2011.

Microsoft price cut the 360 around 10 months in, August after their launch... I don't think it would make too much of a material difference now to Nintendo to cut the price a little earlier than that. When we know a price for PS4 and the new Xbox, shortly after that is when I expect the first price cut.

 

[LegoArmo]

I might buy it when the Premium is £150, and it has more unique exclusive games.

 

[RumblingRosco]

My plan all along has been to purchase a Deluxe set (here in the US) in May or June. Basically, hoping to hear some good news just before, during, or after E3 to help me make that purchase a bit easier.

 

[Mpl90]

Stop this Vita VS Wii U nonsense, both sides act fucking pathetic

Two cool platforms are selling bad and most of you have nothing better in mind than trying to provoke each other until names fade into gray; it's annoying

Quoting this with the power of one thousand suns.

 

[prwxv3]

Pikmin and W101 should have been at or near launch. Those games would have benefited from launch sales and it would have given launch buyers something to play.

 

[SolsticeZero]

Stop this Vita VS Wii U nonsense, both sides act fucking pathetic

Two cool platforms are selling bad and most of you have nothing better in mind than trying to provoke each other until names fade into gray; it's annoying

Truth.

 

[maquiladora]

UK folks always hate Nintendo consoles.

There are no Wii U titles in the latest Japan top 20. It's not just a UK problem.

Also, Wii was fucking huge in the UK.