In my opinion, they should have forgotten the Wii brand altogether. Naming it after the DS would have done a better job of explaining to people what the thing was about, and the DS brand is far less toxic to most people. DS Home perhaps?
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UK Sales - Wii U game sales just 25k in February, Vita just 35k, Nintendo down by 49%
- Thread starter zomgbbqftw
- Start date
In my opinion, they should have forgotten the Wii brand altogether. Naming it after the DS would have done a better job of explaining to people what the thing was about, and the DS brand is far less toxic to most people. DS Home perhaps?
The 360 is taking care of business in the UK and NA.
I think it helps a lot the the UK's and the US gamers' tastes are similar - minus sport games obviously.
Visualante2
Member
Can't call the Wii a fad until WiiU hits Wii level pricing for hardware and ideally software. You're writing off an entire audience who might simply be priced out. If they do a price drop before Christmas and it still fails to launch then we can start drawing such conclusions.
m.i.s.
Banned
DeFiBkIlLeR
Banned
I think it's a bigger problem than many think...potential casual purchasers turn to people they know and ask them what they think of it and whether it's worth buying, and I bet I know what the majority of people in the know are advising them.
Not to mention that upgrade is already been ported to the main consoles of PS3 and 360 (main consoles as thats where the series is mainly on) and it meant have more stable framerate so in the end nintendo got really shafted by that
zomgbbqftw
Banned
As in digital delivery. Chart-track don't release a list of which retailers they get data from, but I'm pretty sure Amazon and The Hut Group are included. It's usually smaller retail players that they can't get reliable info from.
Pie and Beans
Look for me on the local news, I'll be the guy arrested for trying to burn down a Nintendo exec's house.
There have been multiple price-drops across various retailers. Short of the absolute maximum £100 drop, its simply not doing anything.
Also people were buying Wii's at any price. It was an absolute must have. The market you're talking about there is "its so low, why not eh" ambivalence. Thats like the back end of a generation, not the start.
The problem with the Wii U gamepad is that it's intimidating compared to the Wii Remote. It has a screen, a full map of buttons (including four shoulder buttons!), and it's outright massive. The Wii Remote, by contrast, anyone can pick up and play with it with almost zero learning curve.
It won't appeal to the family who plays Wii Sports Resort once a week, nor will it appeal to the "hardcore" with its awkwardness and lack of proven utility in enhancing the gaming experience. Nintendo are trying to appeal to everyone at once, but will end up driving the message home to no one.
It doesn't seem like they were listening to their advice then.
That would also confuse people, since the games aren't DS games.
Here's NSMB on the Wii:
and here's NSMB on the Wii U:
Most gamers, who are interested in this game, know the difference between the two, but outside of the slightly better graphics in NSMBU, what difference do you see? I know the small sized screenshot does the Wii U game a disservice, but this is what your average casual gamer sees when they view the screenshot on IGN or whatever.
Put yourself in the shoes of the average Wii buyer, is NSMBU really worth upgrading to a $300+(or in this case, £250+) console for?
The Vita didn't have many games out either.
Persona 4 and EDF are the only ones I can think of, and I don't think EDF got a retail release.
Jezbollah
Member
I remember my mate's family buying and setting up their Wii for the first time - I went over there and saw his in-laws (60 somethings) fighting over who wanted to play Wii Sports tennis.
Their entire family are completely indifferent about the Wii U. They just dont want it. My mate's other half however knew about and was interested in the PS4 before the Sony conference a few weeks back..
Their entire family are completely indifferent about the Wii U. They just dont want it. My mate's other half however knew about and was interested in the PS4 before the Sony conference a few weeks back..
DeFiBkIlLeR
Banned
Hmm, I'm going to assume you were being sarcastic.
Majmun
Member
Can't believe this is the Nintendo that had huge success with the Wii.
It's baffling how bad they've managed their success. The Wii has been dead since 2010. It's 2013 now - the Wii U has been released almost six months ago and the console is performing really bad WW. They didn't prepare well enough. They had enough time to do so.
What where they doing during 2010-2012? Just counting their money?
It's baffling how bad they've managed their success. The Wii has been dead since 2010. It's 2013 now - the Wii U has been released almost six months ago and the console is performing really bad WW. They didn't prepare well enough. They had enough time to do so.
What where they doing during 2010-2012? Just counting their money?
DeFiBkIlLeR
Banned
Reinventing the wheel.
it years of fun filling up a swimming pool with money then swimming in it
Casuals didn't listen to their friends' "advice" when it came to the Wii if that advice were negative.
Maybe you have a point with the Wii U, which I guess is what you meant to refer to.
I think most here agree that the next Nintendo console (handheld or home...or homeled!) will need a Mario at launch, sure, but a 3D Mario, right? It'd be the perfect choice: attracting both loyal fans since it's the 3D iteration and "casual" fans since it's still a main Mario, despite not 2D. If made similar to 3D Land gameplay-wise, it would be much better.
I think a good first party retail launch lineup can even consists of only three releases, but they need to be like this
1)A big release of a very well-known franchise, in order to attract both kind of customers...so, a "bridge title"
2)A more casual oriented release for that market, especially if your console is priced not too highly (new IP/known IP)
3)A brand new IP that uses the platform's features as much as possible for being a launch title and catered towards core users
There can certainly be other first party releases through digital stores (i.e. The Witness for PS4), but I think three retail titles like these would be enough.
I think a good first party retail launch lineup can even consists of only three releases, but they need to be like this
1)A big release of a very well-known franchise, in order to attract both kind of customers...so, a "bridge title"
2)A more casual oriented release for that market, especially if your console is priced not too highly (new IP/known IP)
3)A brand new IP that uses the platform's features as much as possible for being a launch title and catered towards core users
There can certainly be other first party releases through digital stores (i.e. The Witness for PS4), but I think three retail titles like these would be enough.
Maybe, just maybe, the UK isn't really in Nintendo's picture anymore. They are driven by market research that probably yielded unfavorable "opportunity cost" in comparison to mainland Europe (France, Germany, Italy et al). Just sayin...
zomgbbqftw
Banned
Biggest gaming market in Europe, even with their failure. Investors would be up in arms if they just decided to leave the UK.
That's true, but Vita has more than two dozen games by now, so there's a lot more older stuff for people to pick up (the best selling Vita games on Amazon are all older, discounted releases, but at least there are quite a few of those). Wii U had no big new releases, and it has an extremely weak back catalogue.
Even if you own a Vita there's no reason to buy any games for it if you have PS+, if the memory cards weren't so expensive I'm sure more people would buy the console for that reason alone.
I also think people have seen the pattern of price-cuts and hardware redesigns enough times to realise that you usually get a better deal by waiting.
I also think people have seen the pattern of price-cuts and hardware redesigns enough times to realise that you usually get a better deal by waiting.
DeFiBkIlLeR
Banned
The original Wii was given the benefit of the doubt by the hardcore because even they were intrigued by the new control possibilities, so there wasn't the groundswell of negative opinion surrounding it to dissuade casual buyers.
That's obviously not the case this time around.
grimshawish
Banned
UK will probably fall behind this year; question is whether or not next gen will see it lead again.
michaelius
Banned
Where have you been for most of this generation ?
Here's NSMB on the Wii:
and here's NSMB on the Wii U:
Most gamers, who are interested in this game, know the difference between the two, but outside of the slightly better graphics in NSMBU, what difference do you see? I know the small sized screenshot does the Wii U game a disservice, but this is what your average casual gamer sees when they view the screenshot on IGN or whatever.
Put yourself in the shoes of the average Wii buyer, is NSMBU really worth upgrading to a $300+(or in this case, £250+) console for?
The only question I have in my head is if Nintendo knew that NSMBU wouldn't move units, but it was all they could get ready in time for launch, OR if they genuinely thought that NSMBU was going to get people lining up at launch for the Wii U. Certainly in interviews they exuded the latter, as you had Reggie constantly saying, "We've got Mario at launch. Game, set, match. Bullseye." Whenever someone suggested that people didn't want ANOTHER 2d Mario, and 2d Mario wasn't what people were talking about when they said Mario at launch, you'd hear either Nintendo or Nintendo fans saying "Look at NSMB sales! Are you crazy?"
Anyway, all of this to say, obviously I think you're right, and I am extremely curious to see what Nintendo whips out for 3d Mario. I think that's going to determine whether the Wii U performs (comparatively) at Nintendo 64 levels or Gamecube levels.
A strong clear-cut leader? I've been hearing the UK being called "Sony Land" for a while now.
Nintendo have much bigger problems for the next gen than ensuring they have a highly appealing Mario game ready on day 1.
Making the new launch Mario 3D won't solve the problem. Despite the constant whining, the NSMB series has been a massive success, so theoretically Wii U should have performed much better. The Wii launched with a last-minute port of a Zelda game, which arguably lacks the wide appeal of a Mario game, yet the Wii outperformed the Wii U anyway.
Wii U has issues at a more fundamental level.
It's the wrongest thing you've ever heard. It's true that UK is historically a though territory for Nintendo, but since 2005/2006 until 2011 they had amazing sales; so much that they've expanded greatly the market...and now the biggest part of the decline is theirs. Right now UK is Microsoft land, even more than USA relatively. Certainly not Sony: 3DS outsold PS3 hardware wise in 2012.
You have been misinformed.
For clarification UK != Europe.
Pai Pai Master
Banned
Weak numbers, but can we fully judge Vita sales just by retail software? PS+ and PSN sales are becoming major factors when it comes to software sales on the platform.
Obviously there are many other problems to address for their next launch, but certainly having the right launch lineup is quite a start. I mean: having big ads but bad launch lineup can generate good first week sales, but then they fastly decrease; having big ads and good launch lineup can generate good sales well over its first week, no?
Air Zombie Meat
Member
I think Mario Kart would be the title Nintendo need most for the UK. That usually does insanely well over here.
frankie_baby
Member
have you been in a coma since 2006?
By revenue? By units? Consoles, PC or all-in?
I'd have thought it should be Germany with its far greater domestic market.
Seriously: could you/anybody point me to reliable numbers/sources?
m.i.s.
Banned
Wii motion control capturing the imagination of the masses and no tablets and no smart phones in 2006.
Nintendo over-estimated their own brand [Wii name, 2D Mario, Nintendoland IP] and under-estimated the competition. A £300 machine, whose predecessor's main demographic was casuals and the Nintendo faithful, just isn't going to fly in today's market.
The usual Nintendo arrogance.
Dave Meltzer
Banned
Everybody saw this coming as soon as the controller was revealed.
Wii U appeals to nobody except Nintendo fans. It's a terrible concept and anybody with a brain knew it.
Wii U appeals to nobody except Nintendo fans. It's a terrible concept and anybody with a brain knew it.
NSMB was a massive success, but it's not a system seller - it's just a game with a high attach rate, something almost every platform owner picks up sooner or later. But it's not a game people buy a system for. NSMB doesn't generate much hype and that warm and fuzzy "day one" feeling the way 3D Mario or new mainline Zelda titles do.
pieatorium
Member
By total revenue, it was still on top last year iirc but Germany was closer. Go back a couple of years and UK was way ahead.
radioheadrule83
Banned
I've opined on this elsewhere, but I think it has a lot to do with the competition.
When Nintendo had next to no confidence that the Wii was going to succeed, they always said that they "weren't competing" with Microsoft and Sony. The truth is -- these guys are ALWAYS in competition with each other. Money is money. Microsoft, Sony, Apple, Google -- they're all taking it from each other when they complete a sale.
So as much as Nintendo might have wanted to believe they are a step removed from what the others are doing, and that they could prosper in this mid-generation role, providing more affordable fun for everyone, they have also had to have one eye on what the competition is doing. Unfortunately for Nintendo, Sony and Microsoft haven't followed the same bell curve as Nintendo. Nintendo's audience were ready for next generation long before MS and Sony's audiences were. Those guys have seen their success and momentum come later, as a result of falling prices and new slim-line models. If Nintendo had released the Wii's successor in 2010, they still would have had to contend with the more affordable slim consoles, and they would have had to show their hand a full 3/4 years before the other guys. This years next-gen hype would have been even more damaging.
The problem is that Nintendo ceased working on software for the original Wii at around that time, and shifted to 3DS/Wii-U. They either haven't made progress, or they are reluctant to show it. I think it's the latter. They seem to be waiting on certain big titles, probably to try and steal exposure from next-gen console reveals when those arrive.
Firstly - I think its questionable as to how effective that will be, and secondly - every day that passes without us having more reasons to buy this console is damaging for its future. Thirdly? They have priced the machine at a level above PS360, and way above the level where Wii saw success. The unit sales 'winner' in every generation has always been the most affordable. The reason PS360 are doing so well at the moment is that they have rich back catalogues and - after 6 years - they are finally reaching the mass market pricepoints that the Wii previously occupied.
Their best hope is honestly this: publishers trying to push the new consoles shift resources to PS4/720, making PS360 less attractive for new buyers. The new consoles launch at a high price, and Wii U starts to look like a good deal. Developing for PS360/Wii-U becomes the new affordable end of the market for developers, a la Wii this generation.
That scenario only works for them if they have bold new games to sell themselves. They need to start showing them. Soon. Nobody else is going to step up and justify the existence of the console for them. They have to do it.
GarthVaderUK
Banned
I wonder how it'll look when the new PS and Xbox arrive. Maybe those will boost UK numbers more, as Germany apparently loves PC while consoles seem more popular here than in Germany.
That's a good point.
Please excuse the derail, but I'm really interested in actual numbers now
Doing a quick search I found this one, but it's from the gtai, read: probably biased.
Do you have a reliable report?
The Dreamcast and GameCube were both cheaper than the PS2.
PhoenixDark
Banned
Yup. This may be the worst major launch ever and it's not over: this will continue until November when every system gets a boost due to the holidays. The WiiU is effectively finished, you can't fix mindshare and negative customer perception quickly...and by the time it evens out the next gen systems will be out.