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What is the Game that will change Wii U sell direction?

Dragonzord said:
It's the marketing. The name is terrible. People still think it's an accessory for the Wii.
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I used to not think this was a big deal but 2 days ago I had a really good friend call me up who was interested in "buying a wii" and wanted to know "what mario game to buy." That does not sound that weird but this friend, who is a casual gamer that plays COD on his 360, had played the Wii U at my house on multiple times, leading his wife and him to want to get the console for themselves.

When I asked if he wanted a Wii or a Wii U, he was dumbfounded and had no idea what the difference was. Standing in the store with his wife holding a copy of Mario Wii U and an original Wii system, they were about to purchase them both only to go home super disappointed.

This friend of mine, represents the average gaming public in America perfectly. It's still so crazy to me because he had played the Wii U on multiple occasions and really liked the gamepad interaction, not only in games, but for surfing the web and what not. Yet he still thought the original Wii was the system he needed to buy and then buy a gamepad.
 
There is a lot going on already. While not any one of the games this fall can give a definite argument for buying the system, they make a strong case for the Wii U together. I would argue that by the end of the year, there are at least a dozen Wii U games that are both exclusive and more than worth owning.

The big pushes are going to come from 2014's big releases. Games like Mario Kart and Smash are system sellers by every definition of the word. And then there's always the smaller titles like X, Yarn Yoshi and whatever new IP Myamoto's currently working on.

Zelda U should do some real good as well.

Edit: Tbh though, games were never any issue to me. The whole point of buying a system early is that you trust that exclusives are going to come out eventually. But if Nintendo want to really profit from their holiday lineup, they have to start marketing a lot more aggressively. Both Sony and Microsoft are bound to pour out loads of cash to maximise coverage for their upcoming systems, so Nintendo need to get their messaging straight and make people see what is so great about their system if they want to keep up. The general consensus is that people like the Wii U once they get to use it, but aren't really tempted to pick it up that first time. I loved the Gamecube and the niche role it played, and could live with the Wii U being a relative commercial failure with great exclusive software, but I want the system to be a success for Nintendo.
 
^^ Not only does Wii sound like WiiU, the fonts and colors of the box designs are nearly identical. It's like Nintendo wanted to confuse the public on purpose. I could very easily see even an experienced gamer accidentally picking up a WiiU game for the Wii or vice versa.
 
Well, so far there isn't a single announced game that will get me to buy a Wii U, so it's gonna take something really, really special to make me even blink.
 
Master Nairb said:
I used to not think this was a big deal but 2 days ago I had a really good friend call me up who was interested in "buying a wii" and wanted to know "what mario game to buy." That does not sound that weird but this friend, who is a casual gamer that plays COD on his 360, had played the Wii U at my house on multiple times, leading his wife and him to want to get the console for themselves.

When I asked if he wanted a Wii or a Wii U, he was dumbfounded and had no idea what the difference was. Standing in the store with his wife holding a copy of Mario Wii U and an original Wii system, they were about to purchase them both only to go home super disappointed.

This friend of mine, represents the average gaming public in America perfectly. It's still so crazy to me because he had played the Wii U on multiple occasions and really liked the gamepad interaction, not only in games, but for surfing the web and what not. Yet he still thought the original Wii was the system he needed to buy and then buy a gamepad.
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This is a situation that simply doesn't need to take place either. It's something Nintendo can easily address and fix. Supply stores with posters that say "The brand new Wii U. The hardware successor to the popular Wii system. More powerful, brand new games, and capable of playing all original Wii system games". Or something similar to that. They need to simply say that in advertising. Something they never did when the Wii U launched in the piss poor limited ads they did run.

It's like Nintendo is completely incapable of explaining the simplest aspects of the console.
 
There is no single game - it's a consistent support from third-party developers with big ass titles imo.

Which was suppose to be the case with WiiU. The gamepad's unique features would mean the WiiU's version becomes the funnest and unique. Sadly the shithouse 2006 hardware architecture has thoroughly frightened off the majority of Western developers and Nintendo still can't get the clue that competitive hardware is longterm investment in the console market.
 
There's been confusing messaging and marketing ever since the damn thing was revealed, when they chose to focus completely on the Gamepad like it was some kind of innovative revolution. And it doesn't help that, like mentioned, the Wii U console itself is similarly designed to the Wii. Nintendo need to sort out the advertising before anything else. A few games will help its status, like Mario 3D Land, Mario Kart, Smash Bros., but I think it needs more games which will specifically appeal to Western consumers but most important of all is the damn thing's advertising. The did so well in the DS & Wii's early days, so I don't know why they've screwed up so badly now. Kind of like Sony going from the PS2 to PS3 era, I suppose.
 
This gritty DK reboot would save the Wii U

abstract alien said:
Donkey Kong

The base work is kinda their with it's dark colors and atmospheric visual style. I don't believe it should be dark and gritty like Gears of War where the gore is so "apparent", but just a really unsettling dark take and perspective. There can be blood and whatnot, but I think the theme and story should carry the weight of it, as will the art direction. Having Donkey Kong use slightly more realistic ape sounds would probably help too. Make him sound more concerned or apprehensive depending on what is happening.

I'm getting way to into this...
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Spring-Loaded said:
It could be an origin story of sorts. Have the main villain be some hunter who's initials are "D.K." and after the final boss when Donkey Kong rips the guy's head off, he takes the hunter's custom tie and, having gained some vague understanding of the hunter's notion of taking trophies (since by this point, he's already seen the hunter's trophy room with the stuffed remains of Rambi, Enguarde and Expresso), he then pulls it over his own head, tightening it around his neck.
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Bryan Newman said:
Anything in this thread other than Mario Kart 8 is wrong.

Mario Kart for wii sold 33 million units.

That shit has wheels. Pun nintended.

:)
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New Super Mario Bros. on Wii also did huge numbers, but on Wii U it didn't really cause systems to fly off the shelves. Part of what fueled Mario Kart and Mario Bros. to huge numbers on Wii was the casual audience, the casual audience who has passed on Wii U. Wii U won't ever get anywhere near 33 million units shipped LTD, let alone having a single game sell that many copies.
 
I want new and different games. I think more Wonderful 101 and games that aren't multiplat would be best for me. Any multiplat game I get for my xbox.
 
Mario Kart has the best shot. Personally, I'm surprised they didn't push to get that out by this holiday. Must be quality issues.

Mario 3D World will do -relatively to the current market landscape - really well though.
 
If there is one game right now, it would be Smash Bros. Who knows with Nintendo though...they might have some things cooking.

Not convinced it will ever happen though.
 
Best bet is a Mario Kart bundle.
Once MK and Smash are out I see a great many finally picking the WiiU up.

Not too many other system sellers on the horizon.
 
Ninja Scooter said:
New Super Mario Bros. on Wii also did huge numbers, but on Wii U it didn't really cause systems to fly off the shelves. Part of what fueled Mario Kart and Mario Bros. to huge numbers on Wii was the casual audience, the casual audience who has passed on Wii U. Wii U won't ever get anywhere near 33 million units shipped LTD, let alone having a single game sell that many copies.
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I have more faith in Mario Kart, considering that it actually not only looks like a new game (unlike the rest of the lineup until then) but also pretty impressive at that.
 
Off the top of my head, I would have to say a new Zelda or Super Smash Bros. Or maybe a new IP that hasn't been announced yet.

Am I correct that Miyamoto may be working on a new game? I can't remember where I heard that
 
Honestly, I don't think any singular game can turn the Wii U's fortunes again.

I don't think any three games could turn the Wii U's fortunes around.

I think it'd take six or eight, "extremely," compelling titles to really truely put the Wii U back in competition with the PS4 and X1.

The problem is, at this point, that few consumers have confidence that the platform is going to provide a reasonably steady supply of must have titles. Most consumers expect the Nintendo 1st party titles to be good, but Nintendo struggled to be to main content provider on the Wii, and now that Nintendo's jumped to HD development, that's only going to become more difficult.

That said.

Mario Kart will help, Super Mario 3D World will help, and Smash Bro's will help. The question is, what Nintendo has planned beyond these titles, and whether they'll be able to get these titles out fast enough to make a difference.

A brand new Zelda for example would help immensely, but not if the game didn't release until late 2015.

X might help, but only if it truly is a good game, and Nintendo puts some effort into promoting it.

And so on, and so forth.

It isn't that Nintendo cannot make good games, or that the platform is incapable of good visuals, or good game play, or anything like that. The problem is, that Nintendo's complete inability to court the 3rd party, has put them into a position where they have to carry the platform entirely. In the HD era, where game development can take several years, that's an unenviable position.
 
Wind Waker HD - I think this will be the first Wii U game this year to provide a significant hardware sales boost to Wii U due to the combined factors of Wind Waker's appeal, official console price cut, and bundle offers. Unfortunately, I don't expect it will have long legs to keep up the pace, but it will perform well enough for the holiday season.

DKC: Tropical Freeze - DKC Returns sold very well, but it also helped that it was on a platform with a huge install base + the significance of the franchise's revival that contributed to its hype. I expect the sequel will sell around 250k copies at best in the US during its first month. Japan also loves DKC, and it certainly helps that PS4 isn't coming out this year to deliver a big kick to the face to Nintendo's potential Fall sales. Of course, since the console has only sold a million units in Japan so far, it's probably won't even perform half as well as DKC: Returns did in its first month of release.

Super Mario 3D World - I'm sure this will sell better than either Wind Waker and Donkey Kong, but the question is does Mario have what it takes to really turn the tables around for Wii U this year ? With the local multiplayer feature being the highlight of this game's focus, it will obviously depend on how much Nintendo fans value it in a 3D game this time around. Like some of the other games, 3D Land will perform well during its first month, but I question if it can last long on the NPD chart to make a big enough impact on Wii U's hardware sales going into 2014.

Mario Kart 8 - Perhaps the first Wii U title that will unquestionably sell better than the any other Wii U exclusive so far. Problem is, unlike with MK Wii, MK8 doesn't have the massive expanded audience on the console to serve as a monstrous evergreen system-seller compared to the sales performance of Mario Kart Wii.

Smash Bros - Yes, this is going to be a natural system-seller, probably push as much as a million copies in its first week, but then sales will drop to around 200-300k afterward. For the record, Brawl lasted for 3 months on the top 10 NPD charts in the US, but it did go on to outsell Melee in the long run, obviously due to the console's bigger install base.
 
Faaip said:
Off the top of my head, I would have to say a new Zelda or Super Smash Bros. Or maybe a new IP that hasn't been announced yet.

Am I correct that Miyamoto may be working on a new game? I can't remember where I heard that
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He said he wanted to do a FPS game. Maybe just a first person perspective game. I don't really know it's been awhile.
 
A new sales direction would entail an initial jump in sales along with a long term normalization of sales notably above where they stand today.

I don't think any one game is capable of that that Nintendo has lined up. I do think if Nintendo can manage to put together a string of popular hit titles and a few surprise hits over a good span of time, coupled with a revamped marketing strategy, Nintendo could raise sales month over month for a good while.

However I think at this point even reaching gamecube numbers in the next 3-4 years is a pipe dream. At my most merciful it might be the wiiU's ceiling and if they scratch it they won't beat it by much. And that would be a miracle.
 
It will take a lot more than one game to turn around those lagging sales. It's not going to come from what little third party support they can get so perhaps they can tap into their massive back catalog for something people will care about. Mario Kart 8 and Smash Bros. is a start.
 
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