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The Wii U Debacle: Should Nintendo Abandon the Wii U Game Pad?

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The Wii U is just a tarted up Wii, or a Wii 2.0 as it were, Nintendo though aren't about to jack it all in the control pad is the distinguishing feature of the console..your not going to get an upturn in fortune just by abandoning the controlle

What Nintendo NEED to do is go on a marketing blitz, splash the cash go on a "charm offensive" to the big third-party publishers, basically pull out all the stops if they want the console to be competitive in the market...

In the long run it'll need more than S.M 3D world, Mario Kart, Smash Bros, Bayonetta 2, and Link HD for the console to stay afloat in the long-run..
 
No. The gamepad isn't a problem. The problem has always been Nintendo's marketing and coming out with enough games to justify the controller. They're refusal to say "brand new console from Nintendo. The successor to the Wii" after picking such a bad name as Wii U is more of a problem.
 
royalan said:
Are people still believing this after a year on the market?

If a multibillion dollar company like Nintendo can't create market awareness for their flagship product after having it on the market for a year, then jesus there's bigger problems afoot here than anyone wants to acknowledge.
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I meant they aren't aware that it's a new generation system separate from the Wii. Also, I know many middle school aged kids who have never heard of it. It seems like the only people I personally know that know what a Wii U is all about are those who keep up with gaming news and such. We're talking about the AVERAGE consumer here.
 
Spieler Eins said:
Wii was a good and succesful console with a thought out concept.

WiiU is an overpriced joke, without idendity but with a redundant ass controller only ZombiU uses properly so far and a couple of worthless minigame collections.
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Wii U is an "overpriced joke" that costs $100 less than the competition and has the best next-gen console game and library this holiday season.
 
Green Slime said:
The Wii didn't struggle like this, and Nintendo actually provided games that made the Wiimote worthwhile. I'm a huge Nintendo fan, but I can't ignore reality. They had a year to get consumers on board, and they failed.
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The Pro controller or Wii Remotes aren't going to get consumers on board either. They would be selling consoles at relatively the same rate while making less money from each sale. How is this a good idea?
 
The vast majority of owners on Gaf really appreciate the Gamepad.
It really seems to be one of those "need to try it" type of things. Abandoning the Gamepad will make the Wii U nothing more than a years late PS360. With the Gamepad, it can be something more special.
 
The problem is marketing and some things just can't be marketed because they are genuinely flawed products or bad ideas.

Wii U falls into both.
 
El Sabroso said:
My question to OP, do you have a Wii U? being an owner for this system will make you have the same answer as these guys.

also my answer is a HELL NO, controller is more comfortable than expected to be and offscreen feature is a good feature believe it or not
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Yes, I have a Wii U. I bought a Deluxe on Day 1. I love the controller, but I love Nintendo even more, so if it needs to be dropped from the hardware bundles and be turned into an optional accessory, so be it.
 
Is it possible a mod can merge all these "WiiU is tanking", WiiU without GamePad", "Wiiu2 in 2015?" and "Nintendo is so uberdoomed" - threads into one? It's a waste of the frontpage and indeed quite untrue. Yes the WiiU isn't the succes it should be or could be at the moment, but hopefully Mario 3D and other upcoming titles will change that. Only time will tell of course. By the way, isn't the 3DS the hottest console of 2013? In hardware and software? Nintendo ain't doomed in the slightest.

- I think that 2012 Japanese "Super Wii" ad was quite clear in it's message. Unfortunately they stopped using the name. Dropping the GamePad is impossible. You don't have to be a very smart to understand that.
 
Yes drop the pad.
Now is the best time.
Now when all companies are making games with companion apps, and tablet apps etc.
Drop it now when Sony is pushing the 2nd screen thing. /s

These topics are really gamefaqs lvl stuff, of all the things wrong with the Wiiu, the Pad is really way down the list.
Go play Wind waker and come back, heck any game.
Playing on big screen and switching with the push of a button is refreshing, I like that feature a lot.
 
szaromir said:
Yes, they should. Ditch the controller and sell the console for $199.
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Yeah. I truly believe at this point, a $199 gamepad-less Wii U model would sell a lot better than the current model.

Hell, if they could shave some more pennies off somewhere and offer it for $179 I'd say the thing would fly off shelves.
 
*Buys a Wii U amidst all the doom news.

I literally purchased one yesterday, and think it's totally sweet. I don't think it's anywhere near the same as the other platforms, but it's different, has different exclusives (upon which it admittedly relies), and I like the tablet. Shit's fun.
 
So what the OP is saying is that Nintendo should drop the 2nd screen of the 3DS as well as the 3D for the next iteration of the 3DS?
 
royalan said:
Yeah. I truly believe at this point, a $199 gamepad-less Wii U model would sell a lot better than the current model.

Hell, if they could shave some more pennies off somewhere and offer it for $179 I'd say the thing would fly off shelves.
Click to expand...

But it still doesn't have any system selling hardware really. Software sells systems, not price tags. Sure, the price is an important factor, but a cheap console with no "EVERYONE SHOULD BE PLAYING THIS GAME" software will only sell a bit more than one that costs a bit more.

I should add that I think the Wii U has some fantastic games, but nothing popular enough to reach system seller status. At least not until Mario Kart or Smash Bros.
 
The Mana Legend said:
Wii U is an "overpriced joke" that costs $100 less than the competition and has the best next-gen console game and library this holiday season.
Click to expand...

The competition offers hardware that justifies the price, the WiiU offers a redundant controller not even they use properly for games but they want an extra 100 for it. The library is complete shit if you already have a 3DS, Wii or both and aren't willing to pay 300bucks for two or three niche titles and a half baked Mario title (whose equivalent is again also on 3DS). Just because the other console launches are equally underwhelming doesn't make this mess any better though.

Though looking at that, abandoning the controller really isn't the right solution. Shelving the whole disaster of a system and all higher ups at Nintendo is what must be done. Then find someone who can launch a proper console in 2016, don't even bother to waste your teams to do more than one WiiU title.
 
Things will certainly get better for the Wii U over the next year. We've got SM3DW coming next week, which I think will be pretty huge, and then next year there's Mario Kart 8 and SSB which have always been big games for Nintendo. Not to mention titles like X and Bayonetta 2.
 
Thatonemoor said:
Anyone that has a WiiU knows that's not possible with how the UI is set up.
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Absolutely not true. I often just use the wiimote to navigate the channels, which is far more intuitive to me. That Mii screen with all the Miis huddled around different apps is utterly useless. Does anyone actually use that?
 
Green Slime said:
Yes, I have a Wii U. I bought a Deluxe on Day 1. I love the controller, but I love Nintendo even more, so if it needs to be dropped from the hardware bundles and be turned into an optional accessory, so be it.
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It doesn't need to be, this is just a stupid idea, just like the idea that Nintendo going 3rd party means "Same company, just releasing games on PS470".

That's naive, childish thinking.


In my eyes:

All these threads are hypocritical attempts to solve complex "mathematical problems"* with "1+1=2"ish approaches*, most of the posts contributed by users who aren't really interested in (the wealth of) the Wii U at all.

*this is a metaphor


I remember my "Why I think the mobile market is overhyped" thread, it had 3 pages after all, this thread has 3 pages after 5 minutes, think why:
http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=483938&highlight=
 
royalan said:
Yeah. I truly believe at this point, a $199 gamepad-less Wii U model would sell a lot better than the current model.

Hell, if they could shave some more pennies off somewhere and offer it for $179 I'd say the thing would fly off shelves.
Click to expand...

Except when the Wii U was firesaled at that price (and lower) in certain areas, it STILL didn't move.

Wii U's issue is public perception, not the price.
 
SaintMadeOfPlaster said:
I meant they aren't aware that it's a new generation system separate from the Wii. Also, I know many middle school aged kids who have never heard of it. It seems like the only people I personally know that know what a Wii U is all about are those who keep up with gaming news and such. We're talking about the AVERAGE consumer here.
Click to expand...

Then my point still stands. If people still think the Wii U (Nintendo's flagship home console) is suffering from brand awareness after being on the market for a year, then Nintendo's got much bigger problems than anyone could guess at.
 
Green Slime said:
How are the situations even comparable?
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Because you're asking Nintendo to get rid of the defining characteristic of the console. It's a perfect comparison.

royalan said:
Then my point still stands. If people still think the Wii U (Nintendo's flagship home console) is suffering from brand awareness after being on the market for a year, then Nintendo's got much bigger problems than anyone could guess at.
Click to expand...

I agree with you there. How Nintendo managed to fuck up this up as bad as they have is beyond me. It's like they thought the "Wii" name would do all the work for them.
 
The Gaf Debacle: Should I make a WiiU doomed thread that has probably been done already this week? :P

Seriously though, I love the gamepad. I don't want it gone.
 
Let's pretend for a minute it's an idea worth pursuing. (this is hard)

Now we've got a year's worth of back catalog to patch so that it clearly and cleanly works without an attached Pad, not to mention the OS itself. New crippled systems would realistically have to ship with these patches all preloaded, meaning they need to be done before it ships, so that games bought off shelves don't, y'know, not work. Teams working on actual games will get pulled off their work to do this, and we're even taking a leap that third parties will even want to do this at all. Work in progress will be delayed to rethink interfaces.

And at the end of all this, we still have a console with exactly the same library as before. Well, smaller, actually.

And this is passed off as a "solution" for a console that's already wounded.
 
Spieler Eins said:
The competition offers hardware that justifies the price, the WiiU offers a redundant controller not even they use properly for games but they want an extra 100 for it. The library is complete shit if you already have a 3DS, Wii or both and aren't willing to pay 300bucks for two or three niche titles and a half baked Mario title (whose equivalent is again also on 3DS). Just because the other console launches are equally underwhelming doesn't make this mess any better though.

Though looking at that, abandoning the controller really isn't the right solution. Shelving the whole disaster of a system and all higher ups at Nintendo is what must be done. Then find someone who can launch a proper console in 2016, don't even bother to waste your teams to do more than one WiiU title.
Click to expand...

Holy shit, you've really gotten angrier since that 3D World review came out. I can't believe you're still calling it "half-baked" after all of the videos and impressions have come out for it, hahaha. I'd think you'd let the truth sink in eventually.
 
MasterBalls said:
However pathetic you might think they look right now, how pathetic would they look if they then abandoned the core concept of the console they've been pushing for two years, leaving you with a mangled, incomplete, standard controlled console that has even less motivation for third parties support, simultaneously pissing off current Wii U owners as Gamepad focus they may have enjoyed takes a big old backseat. So alienating or making new consumers indifferent whilst also making the console worse for people who've supported it thus far.

Never, ever consider a career in marketing. You have no clue. Either they'll continue supporting the Wii U, or they won't (and the latter won't happen for a while regardless of anything, games are too far into R&D). What they won't do is leave the Wii U as some mangled, boring system on the off-chance it maybe, just perhaps might drag in some mystery crowd who would buy such a mess.
Click to expand...

What is the Nintendo 2DS?
 
royalan said:
Yeah. I truly believe at this point, a $199 gamepad-less Wii U model would sell a lot better than the current model.

Hell, if they could shave some more pennies off somewhere and offer it for $179 I'd say the thing would fly off shelves.
Click to expand...

Why would it? Who would buy a $199 WiiU over a similarly priced PS3, or an even cheaper 360? Both have vastly better libraries, better online services, and aren't too inferior from a tech perspective (that the average consumer doesn't care about).

You can say "Nintendo games" but you could have said the same thing about the $99 Gamecube against the $200 PS2, and it still didn't sell.
 
The gamepad isnt the real problem, it's just the cause of the real problem. No 3rd party support is the problem. Nintendo went cheap on power again and it bit them in the ass this time. Dropping the controller now wont fix that.
 
PdotMichael said:
What is the Nintendo 2DS?
Click to expand...
A device that works the same way as a 3DS but removes a feature that does not affect the actual functioning of games.

If the 2DS didn't have a touch screen, you might have a point. But that system could never be released, so…
 
I want a Wii U because of the gamepad. Its a neat feature and I've really enjoyed off screen play. Maybe I'm part of the 1% who cares about it?
 
If they want to reach the $150-$200 bargain price at which Gamecube managed to survive at least a few years on the market with as a 2nd console and thus eek out a living to 15-16 million units sold, yes it would seem they have to.

If they want to call time on their home console arm entirely they can keep it in and crawl around the 10-12 million mark, potentially making more big losses on software to "shouldnt have bothered" status in kind, and just go all in on a hybrid portable in 2015-16.

What is clear however is what a monumental failure the entire GamePad thing has been from first party software not driving it and that Takeda needs to retire and be replaced with a new "on the ball" hardware manager.
 
RAIDEN1 said:
The Wii U is just a tarted up Wii, or a Wii 2.0 as it were, Nintendo though aren't about to jack it all in the control pad is the distinguishing feature of the console..your not going to get an upturn in fortune just by abandoning the controlle

What Nintendo NEED to do is go on a marketing blitz, splash the cash go on a "charm offensive" to the big third-party publishers, basically pull out all the stops if they want the console to be competitive in the market...

In the long run it'll need more than S.M 3D world, Mario Kart, Smash Bros, Bayonetta 2, and Link HD for the console to stay afloat in the long-run..
Click to expand...

Aren't all consoles just 'tarted up' previous consoles though?

Seems like a weird way to describe the WiiU.
 
The Mana Legend said:
Holy shit, you've really gotten angrier since that 3D World review came out. I can't believe you're still calling it "half-baked" after all of the videos and impressions have come out for it, hahaha. I'd think you'd let the truth sink in eventually.
Click to expand...

I never doubted a 3DLand 2 can be great. Yet a 3DLand 2 will always be half baked compared to Galaxy, 64, SMW, Sunshine, etc

Not really the point of the post and the topic though. If anything, it's just one more game that does jackshit to justify the 100$ gamepad (and it's for many the only game worth buying right now). I don't think anyone would miss ,,scratch the screen to get coins from the block'' lol (unlike the 3D effect in 3D Land)
 
Green Slime said:
So what? The dual screens were proven successful by the previous system. The 3D was the defining feature. Let's not play stupid here.
Click to expand...

You're asking me not to play stupid in a thread you made about NIntendo ditching the Gamepad for the Wii U.

That's it, this thread has officially become too ridiculous for me. I'm out of here.
 
When we get a lot of duplicate threads, by far the best way to combat them is to reply hundreds of times with "NOT THIS THREAD AGAIN ARGGHHH" that way it keeps the thread active and pinned at the top of the forum. It makes for great reading, too.
 
chaosblade said:
Why would it? Who would buy a $199 WiiU over a similarly priced PS3, or an even cheaper 360? Both have vastly better libraries, better online services, and aren't too inferior from a tech perspective (that the average consumer doesn't care about).

You can say "Nintendo games" but you could have said the same thing about the $99 Gamecube against the $200 PS2, and it still didn't sell.
Click to expand...

Because, honestly? I think the Wii U is as dead as any Nintendo console could possibly get. I think Nintendo needs to start doing whatever it can to make the system as attractive as possible. And I think a substantially lowered pricepoint is a lot more attractive than the gamepad right now (and for the foreseeable future, if we're being honest).

Will doing that suddenly make the Wii U competitive? Probably not. But it's not like a Wii U with the gamepad is competitive, either. And I think Nintendo needs to start thinking about what cards it has left to play.
 
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