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[Azure Phoenix]

The vast majority of the blame for the Wii U's weak performance is squarely at Nintendo's feet, but the UK's biggest retailers have barely been pushing the hardware at all. The shelf space mentioned in the article is for Nintendo products in general. Go into any supermarket and you will see the Wii U stuff jumbled in with everything else. This does much more harm in terms of consumer confusion, just as it did with the 3DS.

Not to mention that the software actually available in shops that aren't Game Group is poor as anything. The Sainsbury's I shop at regularly has a Wii U top ten that consists of Nintendo Land, NSMBU and Zombi U. There is literally nothing else on the shelf.

That space needs to be used in a much better manner. Is it true that Nintendo usually guide the retailer in this aspect, or do all companies simply leave the retailers to display however they want?

Why would the retailers waste space (and cash buying stock) on a product that isn't selling though? It isn't their responsibility to dedicate valuable floor space on a system which is selling abysmally, the only way it'd make financial sense to do that would be if Nintendo were specifically paying the company for that shelf space.

The store I work at hasn't even been selling any copies of the so-called system sellers (NSMBU, Zombi U) for months and interest in the system is non-existent despite a large area dedicated to the system and a demo station. With conditions like that it is hardly surprising that tiny releases don't get stocked and shelf space is downsized.

Regarding customer confusion, the fact that we still get far too many people buying 3DS titles for their old DS systems and then trying to return them when they don't work is proof enough. Both of Nintendo's current systems have not been marketed anywhere near well enough to distinguish them as entirely new experiences to the mass market.

 

[pelican]

I'm just not seeing the U competing with the new consoles.

It isn't mate. We all expect and hope that Sony and MS bring their A game to E3. No matter which of the two has the better outcome the Wii U will struggle to make an form of impact.

Nintendo can show us a new Mario, Zelda, and Metroid but without dates it is nothing but empty promises to compete with the next gen. Last year there were a handful of 3rd parties on the stage with Reggie talking about Wii U love. I doubt very much there will be any this year

 

[AHA-Lambda]

Below the GameCube, UK retailers. It's charting BELOW the GameCube, with fewer retail space than the GameCube, fewer third-party support, lower lifetime sales, and a shorter lifespan.

Wow just f*cking wow

Can I also stipulate that price isn't the prime issue here (although it is obviously one) when the majority of consoles sold are premium units? And let's face it the difference between both of them ain't worth it (well at least IMO)

 

[Enter The 36 Chambers]

Qaulity

Delusion. That type of game could never pull big numbers

 

[ChimpanzeeThat]

Or simply been 100% clear as to what the damn Wii U was. The advertising they have done never fully explain what it was in simple terms. The spent to much time on just getting the name out there and trying to make it seem cool which was beyond stupid. The damn system needs an infomercial to undo the damage that was done. Clear marketing material explaining the difference between the Wii and Wii U. That's not complicated at all.

The general lack of interest in the system I think can be solved by games. Not ports but new games. Games that are properly advertised and backed. Some games have to take Nintendo out of their comfortable zone because they will not be supplied by anyone else. It sucks but this is why whatever is coming from Retro Studios is so damn important. Why Monolith Soft's X must deliver as well. Why those companies must be capable of developing more then one major game at a time.

I've been hoping that E3 will be treated as a relaunch of the system. Whatever they need to do they must do it around that time.

You're right, because the people who do understand the Wii U are people who have a vested interest in gaming, which in fairness is not the demographic of the Wii. They really could have done better to explain this console, i think the name added to the confusion.

In terms of advertising i don't think i've ever seen a Wii U commercial on UK TV, not even for a game.

 

[Sandfox]

What do you think it is?

New Skylanders type game(or if they're smart the start of a series of retail games that can all use the figures) that will use the popularity of Nintendo exclusives like Mario and Pokemon, Wii U tech(which would allow a cheaper base game due to the lack of a need for a portal), and a larger target audience to beat out the competition.

Yeah, why be massively successful and have ambition to be number one when you can settle for just being barely profitable...

Its nice to be number one but they aren't exactly in the position to do that unless something interesting happens.

 

[VGChampion]

10 N64 and 10 GC games?

If they do that I say bring that price down today as a day one buyer. They'd get a billion sales just from all the people taking advantage of the grace window like the 3DS.

 

[Majmun]

Qaulity

Yeah, you're right. Look at the top 10 lists. I can only detect quality.

 

[Anth0ny]

Exactly, I should be playing Smash 4 by now if Wii U was GameCube 2.0

Basically. People say they remember droughts like this during the Gamecube era... I don't. I played Melee during those droughts. I have nothing to play on my Wii U right now.

 

[Skyzard]

£150. I bet they'd still make a profit.

 

[ChimpanzeeThat]

Why would the retailers waste space (and cash buying stock) on a product that isn't selling though? It isn't their responsibility to dedicate valuable floor space on a system which is selling abysmally, the only way it'd make financial sense to do that would be if Nintendo were specifically paying the company for that shelf space.

The store I work at hasn't even been selling any copies of the so-called system sellers (NSMBU, Zombi U) for months and interest in the system is non-existent despite a large area dedicated to the system and a demo station. With conditions like that it is hardly surprising that tiny releases don't get stocked and shelf space is downsized.

Regarding customer confusion, the fact that we still get far too many people buying 3DS titles for their old DS systems and then trying to return them when they don't work is proof enough. Both of Nintendo's current systems have not been marketed anywhere near well enough to distinguish them as entirely new experiences to the mass market.

This is the situation the people i work for are finding themselves in.

My manager was told by a Nintendo rep that they could reduce the space for Xbox Live Gold, MS Points etc. for Wii U, but the counter simply was that we are selling a crap load of those things, so why would we stop?

It's not down to the retailer to push out these products, it's down to Nintendo. If they give us something that will sell, we will dedicate space to it, that's how it works.

 

[Miles Quaritch]

This unofficial price drop, how unofficial would such a price drop be so soon after release? Basically, would Shopto, etc really be willing to take a loss on each unit sold?

 

[Raynes]

Nintendo am cry. They need to gtfo of the console market and go third party. Too bad they can afford to stay in, and there are too many traditional asshats in Nintendo Japan controlling everything. Meaning they will continue to make shitty consoles for decades until they feel any significant loss.

 

[Biggzy]

£150. I bet they'd still make a profit.

nope. They would then be making a substantial loss.

 

[AniHawk]

i think rhindle made a point in the npd thread that the public might not be aware of the wii u. nintendo hoped they could just let word of mouth sell the console- and maybe because of the poor performance of the 3ds, they were wary of a huge, money-sucking marketing campaign. that apparently did not work, so now they're on even-footing with the other two companies despite their head start. nintendo's only hope at this point is if microsoft and sony both fail to ignite the market in a big way and the wii u starts getting a steady stream of games people want.

it'll be very clear in june where this system's headed. i don't think nintendo has the goods. i know i keep comparing it to the sega saturn, but that's what it feels like: confused, rushed, and forgotten.

Basically. People say they remember droughts like this during the Gamecube era... I don't. I played Melee during those droughts. I have nothing to play on my Wii U right now.

it's not my thing, but there are multiplayer games from nintendo on the machine right now. gamecube had a similar period where it went from january to may without a major release, unless you count sonic adventure 2 as a major release.

although, i forget that may was when the gamecube launched in europe. there was probably already a backlog of games built up at that point.

 

[KillerMan91]

That's the exception though. The NES and SNES were only moderately successful in the UK. Never mind the N64 or Gamecube.

Consoles really didn't sell anywhere in Europe before PS1 came. We played with our Amigas and PCs.

 

[TheNatural]

The Wii Mini comes out over there like today or tomorrow I read. Nintendo needs some revenue, and pushing a budget line is a good idea right now.

 

[bakedpony]

I don't know why people keep saying this. This is worse than the Cube right now.

Saturn 2.0?
Dreamcast 2.0? Dreamcast had lots of good games though.

 

[jimi_dini]

Why would anyone buy one, even after the unofficial price cuts?

Can't wait to buy a late port, plug my pad in to recharge three times whilst it slowly downloads, experience hard locks, miss out on DLC and probably the sequel, all the while watching the older, cheaper platforms getting all the other games I want to play!

It just isn't a tempting proposition.

+ no S/PDIF out (720 is going to have it and PS4 will have it for sure, unless they drop BluRay movie playback). And no dual HDMI + AV out.
+ slow as ass system software (I'm used to PS3 firmware, but Wii U system stuff is even slower than that)
+ no ability to backup saved games


Nintendo, fix those issues. If those wouldn't have happened, I would have bought it day 1. But you blew it. Price doesn't matter. Quality matters though. And I expected more from you.

 

[Raist]

The Wii U ranks twice / three times as good on the german amazon than at the beginning of the year, but this doesn't give you clicks like these "The Sun - headlines".

I don't think taking a country where WiiU titles have never charted apart from launch week as an example is going to help your case...

 

[jvm]

it'll be very clear in june where this system's headed. i don't think nintendo has the goods. i know i keep comparing it to the sega saturn, but that's what it feels like: confused, rushed, and forgotten.

Saturn comparison is brutal. Perhaps on target, but still brutal.

And referring to my dear Saturn as "confused, rushed, and forgotten" really makes me tear up. I loved that system. I wish I still had an easy way to play Virtua Cop 1 & 2, House of the Dead, Necronomicon Pinball, Bust-a-Move 2: Arcade Edition, and many others.

 

[JennyTablina]

The main problem is that Nintendo oddly didn't care to push the system all that hard, with the Wii, the uk pre-launch roadshow went EVERYWHERE. The Wii U one did a bunch of cons and malls but that was kind of it.

There was clearly some buzz, at Eurogamer there were plenty queues to play and enjoy ZombiU + the range of titles. The problem is people look at the range of titles and go "well I can play this on my PS3/Xbox so whats the point?" And promptly brought the titles they wanted on the systems they already owned - ZombiU got a level of interest but was otherwise wasn't enough of a system seller really. People didn't really get Nintendoland but I don't think it helped that earlier events on Nintendo's list only showed off about 4-5 of the "attractions"

I see MORE shelf space for Vita than Wii U now. My local Asda and Sainsbury's have a single shelf for Vita, but good luck finding a single Wii U game in their entertainment sections! The Tesco I work at stocked a few of the "best sellers" but none of them ever shifted and have since been sent back to Nintendo (as they suddenly were gone just the other day). That's depressing when you consider that Nintendo tried harder to give the Wii U the launch it needed, while Sony has been very back-seat with Vita.

I think more people would of brought the system for Rayman had it actually launched in February like it should of done. People were pretty excited for it, but once again it's now being ported to every device under the sun anyway.

The problem is what do you do in a market where it's almost considered suicidal to limit a title release to one system for most developers and things like loyalty to the first party only means something if you are brought to be second party? Nintendo need more means to trump the other systems and somehow look good next to the new ones somehow but I fear Nintendo will dilly dally on this problem till it gets to a crisis point

 

[gamergirly]

I don't know why people keep saying this. This is worse than the Cube right now.

Not in the least. Wii U hasn't had 5 years on the market or multiple big releases. I would say that you're way past jumping the gun if you believe that Wii U is Gamecube 2.0 after only 3 months

 

[farnham]

Nintendo am cry. They need to gtfo of the console market and go third party. Too bad they can afford to stay in, and there are too many traditional asshats in Nintendo Japan controlling everything. Meaning they will continue to make shitty consoles for decades until they feel any significant loss.

The wiiu isnt really the way to maintain nintendos business but loosing the position of a console manufacturer would mean a huge dent in their sales.

 

[Dave Meltzer]

Rayman isn't a system seller. It's barely a seller.

 

[nordique]

I understand the Wii U is not doing too hot, at all, anywhere

but it is really doing a level worse in the UK

specifically regarding that market, there must be some other factor that is being overlooked (how do retailers treat the system? how is the market in general there? Nintendo console history in the market? Nintendo public perception? Wii U perception/awareness? etc...)

or a combination of all the above.

 

[Aquamarine]

Saturn 2.0?
Dreamcast 2.0? Dreamcast had lots of good games though.

78 games came out for the Saturn in Europe. 243 games for the Dreamcast in its short lifespan. 453 for the GameCube.

The Wii U has like ~90 games by December 2013 if they don't announce any new games. If the Wii U continues on its projected sales trajectory without any major, fundamental overhauls, I can definitely see Dreamcast-esque totals in terms of number of games released in Europe.

(The Wii got ~1,213 games in Europe if you want to compare it to successful consoles. )

 

[DSN2K]

Nintendo are missing the point as usual, its not the retailers they have to bridge with its the consumers with more games and content. That will in part gives people a reason to buy a WiiU over waiting for a PS4/720.

 

[Lunar15]

We are looking to reduce slightly but must admit their silence on strategy is deafening at the moment.

This. Nintendo looks really lost, and they're not updating anyone on their strategy. Spoke with an advertiser a week ago and they said that they're generally in the dark about Nintendo's stuff until a few weeks before. Problem is, they reach out to NOA, and NOA doesn't have any info either, so all they can do is shrug. It's great that NoE is reaching out to retailers, but if they're not getting updates on strategy from NCL, there's no point.

Get it together. If you're going to run a huge company in a global market, all of your departments have to be talking. It sounds like that's not happening here and it's maddening. It's the same issue Sony was having for years (and most likely still has).

 

[Bulzeeb]

Price cuts do nothing without games. It's easy to see why retailers are dissatisfied with the hardware.



10 N64 and 10 GC games?

that alone will make me to rush for a Wii U

 

[gngf123]

I understand the Wii U is not doing too hot, at all, anywhere

but it is really doing a level worse in the UK

specifically regarding that market, there must be some other factor that is being overlooked (how do retailers treat the system? how is the market in general there? Nintendo console history in the market? Nintendo public perception? Wii U perception/awareness? etc...)

or a combination of all the above.

I think a combination. On the whole, as a country we just don't seem to be interested in what Nintendo has to offer outside of Mario and the casual titles the Wii had. On top of that, the Wii U is virtually unknown here, it gets a tiny amount of shelf space. Outside of GAME stores, it was barely even stocked at all the last time I looked. Then there is the absolute lack of games - which is a global thing.

It's honestly kind of sad, and I really hope Nintendo do something about it. There are a number of titles that interest me in the future, but absolutely nothing in the meantime. We need an ambassador program or something to fill in the gap.

 

[Bony Manifesto]

The main problem is that Nintendo oddly didn't care to push the system all that hard, with the Wii, the uk pre-launch roadshow went EVERYWHERE. The Wii U one did a bunch of cons and malls but that was kind of it.

That might have something to do with Nintendo upending their UK PR table months before launch...

http://www.prweek.com/uk/news/1141541/

Edit: Haha, and looking into it a bit further, it seems they lost their minds during the bidding process and ended up launching the Wii U without an external PR agency, because they thought they could handle everything in-house. That explains a lot!

http://www.prweek.com/uk/news/1158499/Nintendo-makes-U-turn-retained-agency-Cake/

 

[Danny 117]

"Everything will be okay, just give us more time!"

What's needed is a huge software push for the holiday season, heavy hitters.

 

[Sho_Nuff82]

I think having launch dates for games that were supposed to be in the launch window is a pretty important thing. When someone walks into the store and sees an empty shelf and an empty coming soon section and an empty preorder list, what are they supposed to think? It's embarrassing that Pikmin and Wii Fit don't have dates yet.

 

[Dave Meltzer]

I understand the Wii U is not doing too hot, at all, anywhere

but it is really doing a level worse in the UK

specifically regarding that market, there must be some other factor that is being overlooked (how do retailers treat the system? how is the market in general there? Nintendo console history in the market? Nintendo public perception? Wii U perception/awareness? etc...)

or a combination of all the above.

Savvy customers maybe.

 

[Soriku]

Nintendo am cry. They need to gtfo of the console market and go third party. Too bad they can afford to stay in, and there are too many traditional asshats in Nintendo Japan controlling everything. Meaning they will continue to make shitty consoles for decades until they feel any significant loss.

Pink Link am cry

Anyway, there's no reason to get a Wii U now. Library is just filled with ports for the most part. Unfortunately the Wii U will continue to be unattractive until the holiday season where they'll be releasing whatever they announce at E3. Nintendo needs to bring it then, although the introduction of the PS4/Nextbox will make things tough.

They just need a steady stream of games across the year...but I'm willing to bet that's not going to happen. Not with how they make their release schedules (focused on the beginning and end of the year and not so much in the middle) and if third parties will ditch them for PS4/Nextbox games.

 

[Vane_MagicCity]

that alone will make me to rush for a Wii U

Which is just sad. The best games on the system would be N64 and Gamecube games. Much like my opinion of the Wii, the best games were VC titles and of course Gamecube games.

 

[farnham]

Nintendo are missing the point as usual, its not the retailers they have to bridge with its the consumers with more games and content. That will in part gives people a reason to buy a WiiU over waiting for a PS4/720.

Of course its the consumers they need to convince ultimately but talking to retailers will surely help them getting a better picture of the consumer feedback so far and offering a better price

 

[dc89]

I understand the Wii U is not doing too hot, at all, anywhere

but it is really doing a level worse in the UK

specifically regarding that market, there must be some other factor that is being overlooked (how do retailers treat the system? how is the market in general there? Nintendo console history in the market? Nintendo public perception? Wii U perception/awareness? etc...)

or a combination of all the above.

Put it this way.

My local Sainsburys (big supermarket) sell 3 Wii U games. Nintendoland, NSMBU, ZombiU.

They have a top 5 chart for WiiU:

1. NSMBU
2. NSMBU
3. Nintendo Land
4. Nintendo Land
5. ZombiU

They have one row dedicated to Wii U on the shelf, and it's right in the middle of the Wii stuff. No point of sale, no marketing at all, not even at launch. Have Nintendo sent them POS? Who knows. I did have a picture once, let me see if I can find it.

 

[Miles Quaritch]

I understand the Wii U is not doing too hot, at all, anywhere

but it is really doing a level worse in the UK

specifically regarding that market, there must be some other factor that is being overlooked (how do retailers treat the system? how is the market in general there? Nintendo console history in the market? Nintendo public perception? Wii U perception/awareness? etc...)

or a combination of all the above.

The unseemly way they let the Wii die is probably why they aren't seeing any success with with the U.

 

[Schnozberry]

Nintendo has a lot of work ahead of them to gain market share. I've been pretty happy with my PC/Wii U combo thus far, but the system needs more original software. SMBU is good, and Nintendo land is great with my wife and kids. Lego City has been a hit in my house thus far too, but the rest of the announced first party launch window games are nowhere to be found. It's pretty bizarre that it hasn't been resolved, and Nintendo's lack of communication with both customers and retailers is frustrating. I think the long term outlook on Wii U will get better once Nintendo gets it's shit together, but if it doesn't happen soon it may be too little too late.

 

[Visualante2]

Maybe Nintendo can use the threat of digital Animal Crossing sales as leverage against retailers. Doesn't feel like they're going to be offering retail anything they didn't know already.

I can see them getting out the cheque book to get it into stores that aren't already stocking it.

 

[Anth0ny]

In some Canadian flyers, Wii U isn't even advertised. The vanilla Wii is.

I wonder how bad sales are in Canada, specifically.

 

[farnham]

The unseemly way they let the Wii die is probably why they aren't seeing any success with with the U.

I think the way wii was left to die was a bad idea in itself but the wiiu launch with two games and half a year without a single first party release (lego, monster hunter is nintendo published but not nintendo developed) is just baffling. Wii had zelda, wii sports, wii play, wario ware, excite truck within its first few month of release

 

[metalslimer]

The unseemly way they let the Wii die is probably why they aren't seeing any success with with the U.

This is a big factor that gets overlooked. Nintendo was already going to have a tough time getting the mainstream audience back, but they actually gave credence to the idea of throwing the dusty wiis in the closet. Who is going to buy a Wiiu after how nintendo handled the wii.

When someone walks into the store and sees an empty shelf and an empty coming soon section and an empty preorder list, what are they supposed to think? It's embarrassing that Pikmin and Wii Fit don't have dates yet.

Just shows what a disorganized mess nintendo is in

 

[Sohter.Nura]

The more I think about it, the more I start thinking Iwata really will step down as CEO next year. It's a shame cause some of the products he has delivered are brilliant, even the Wii U IMO (I love it ). But this time Nintendo is in real trouble, and I don't think they can do the half-turn-around they did with the 3DS.

 

[Miles Quaritch]

I think the way wii was left to die was a bad idea in itself but the wiiu launch with two games and half a year without a single first party release (lego, monster hunter is nintendo published but not nintendo developed) is just baffling. Wii had zelda, wii sports, wii play, wario ware, excite truck within its first few month of release

This is very true. Nintendo consoles tend to live or die by their first party offerings. Saying that, I wonder how much of a draw Zelda, Mario, etc will be on the U if they aren't drastically different from past entries.

This is a big factor that gets overlooked. Nintendo was already going to have a tough time getting the mainstream audience back, but they actually gave credence to the idea of throwing the dusty wiis in the closet. Who is going to buy a Wiiu after how nintendo handled the wii.

Indeed, the last couple of years were absolutely dreadful in terms of support. You reap what you sow though, Nintendo made the mistake of both announcing the Wii U too soon and all but abandoning the Wii after the U announcement.

 

[Jamix012]

It doesn't have good games though. The launch lineup and the future lineup are probably the worst on the market and we haven't even seen the other consoles yet. When you add that to the flaws in hardware and services and the overarching mediocrity of the device from a 'next-gen' standpoint, it just isn't worth buying. Maybe in six months, maybe in a year. Right now though, I just don't see a price cut making any difference at all.

Christ Smoky, what happened? Even though I could see you personally cradling your Vita in many of your posts, they always followed a smart logic that led to an apt defense of the console. This is just garbage, for someone who constantly defended the Vita's library based on "personal preference" it's extremely poor of you to bash someone else's personal preference by saying the Wii U doesn't have good games: especially since it's future line up is not even poor by sales standards.

 

[AniHawk]

In some Canadian flyers, Wii U isn't even advertised. The vanilla Wii is.

I wonder how bad sales are in Canada, specifically.

back in the n64/gamecube days, nintendo was pretty popular. i wonder with the wii mini being canada-exclusive if that's continued.

 

[Barack Lesnar]

You could see this coming a million miles away. This was never going to be the Wii again. Everything about it, even the market confusion about what the Wii U even was was nothing short of a disaster.

It really was plain as day. Anybody not living in a deluded fantasy world could see this coming from miles away. It's not going to be a case of "scared Nintendo is best Nintendo" either... this thing is fucked, let's be real.

Just up until some days ago there were guys saying how the launch sales are "higher than the 360/PS3 sales during their launches!"... just completely delusional.