Support NeoGAF

[Stone Ocean]

The original Wii had the same problems and it sold perfectly fine.

And that's totally working for the U, right?

The name is stupid because it's too similar to the Wii, not because it sounds stupid.
And being underpowered wasn't an issue on the Wii because it wasn't trying to hang with the uhh "normal" consoles. Which is not the same case for the U.

 

[Can Crusher]

You know, instead of releasing a new console, they could just do a new Wii U edition. Take the opportunity for re-launching it at the same time. I say, put the hardware in a tablet that can connect to the T.V, launch with a big time 3D open world Pokemon game with heavy MP integration.

Could work.

 

[Lagspike_exe]

The original Wii had the same problems and it sold perfectly fine.

But Wii had an awesome gimmick and it sold to everyone (the Blue Ocean strategy). It aimed at social gaming where performance isn't the key to success (far from it, actually). Wii-U's gimmick sucks and it doesn't unlock access to any key demographics group. Who's it aimed at?

 

[Asd202]

The original Wii had the same problems and it sold perfectly fine.

The difference was that the innovation with the montion controls it carried the wii until the sales have droped like a rock. This game pad is nothing innovative it's just a gimmick. To be fair I would say that the motion controls in Wii were also a gimmick but it worked as a marketing tool even if the experience was far from what was expected.

 

[Air Zombie Meat]

And that's totally working for the U, right?

The name is stupid because it's too similar to the Wii, not because it sounds stupid.
And being underpowered wasn't an issue on the Wii because it wasn't trying to hang with the uhh "normal" consoles. Which is not the same case for the U.

Disagree. The problem is that the differentiator (gamepad) this time has no or limited appeal to most people. I think it's kind of neat and has some occasional good uses but it just wasn't worth it on the whole. Theres too much wrong with it. I feel the same about 3d on the 3ds but that hasn't held it back in the same way.

 

[Log4Girlz]

In Iwata's own words, they are not good at competing. I've never heard of a company making such comments. The only reason anyone owns stock is for the chance to sell it once (in their minds) Nintendo announces full support of smartphones and the stock price shoots up.

 

[LegendofLex]

Some of this stuff isn't even true (sales-wise) or even relevant to the expanded audience.

Quality is not relevant to the expanded audience? I should very much like to meet the people who thought that motion controls were essential to NSMB Wii (so essential that it was not classic controller compatible) and not a detractor from the game's quality. I should also like to meet the people who are still excited to see the same world themes we've seen in the past four NSMB games, and would not rather see Nintendo do something more interesting. And I would definitely like to meet the people who think that the approach of "we will make it easy to get to the end of the game, but challenge experienced players to find all the Star Coins" has resulted in a game experience that is as timelessly enjoyable as those of SMB1, SMB3, and/or SMW.

The "expanded audience" is not just new players. It is also lapsed players such as those who were fans of the NES and SNES Mario games but not the 3D ones.

Your apparent hatred for Aonuma Zelda doesn't even factor in the fact that the series generally did well on the Wii (especially TP).

TP was perceived as correcting some of the things people didn't like about the previous Aonuma-directed Zelda games:

- Art style was realigned with popular medieval fantasy
- Weird game structure ideas like a revolving three-day time limit (MM) and segmented island-based game world (TWW) were abandoned in favor of a more OoT-like game structure
- Exploration and combat were believed to have taken more precedence (as opposed to NPC interactions which rose to importance in MM and TWW)

Those are the big three things that really resonated with people, I'd say. Even outside of gaming forum circles, these three moves made TP more appealing as a fantasy action/RPG/adventure type game. It looked (at least) more like OoT, and I don't think we need to dispute OoT's popularity at the time.

Skyward Sword was seen as moving away from all three of these things. It moved back in the direction of the Wind Waker art style (when did the market indicate that it wanted that?), the way the sky was executed resulted in an even more segmented game world, and while combat and action were indeed emphasized with MotionPlus, the hand-holding dramatically crushed much of the sense of exploration within the game world segments.

This may be anecdotal, but many of the lapsed Zelda players I know who were attracted to Twilight Princess (because it looked like something they could recognize as a modern version of Zelda) were pretty indifferent toward Skyward Sword. I suspect this is because Skyward Sword has too much bloat (which is not "too much stuff" but "too much stuff that gets in the way of what the player really wants to do"). This was a "bad habit" that it carried over from Twilight Princess, but to a much more ridiculous extent with Eiji Aonuma even later admitting that he was wrong about players needing to be guided through the game instead of finding things on their own. Meanwhile, a certain other medieval fantasy franchise which was outsold by Twilight Princess sold circles around Skyward Sword. I do not believe this is a coincidence.

And the complaints about difficulty or whatever are so internet nitpicky it doesn't even represent the family that purchased NSMBU for their 7 year-old, who is sufficiently challenged by his first Mario.

The audience of Super Mario Bros. is not just children, you know. If putting out a Mario game on a Nintendo console was enough to get families to buy them for their children without basing those purchases preconceived notions of what these games are or should be like, why did New Super Mario Bros. resonate so much better with the "families buying games for children" audience than the Mario games on Nintendo 64 or GameCube? The audience who bought NSMB Wii is apparently a discerning enough audience to care about the difference between side-scrolling and 3D Mario. This tells you that they are not uninformed.

Nintendo did plenty to try and win back the Wii crowd. Hell, they front-loaded the first year with as many Wii reprises (Wii Sports+, WiiPlay U, WiiFit U, NSMBU, DKC:TF, Game and Wario, arguably Nintendoland) as they could get away with. The games themselves may have been half-assed or unappealing, but that's because there's no where else to go with that crowd or no new way to spin it.

Why not? They certainly weren't half-assing the original Super Mario Bros. or Donkey Kong Country sequels, and when they gave them due priority and were pushing them as innovative and exciting titles (see: with new and appealing content) they certainly did a good job keeping up their sales, even across generations.

(DK64 even managed to avoid the sharp franchise sales decline suffered by Mario's leap to 3D, probably because Rare was able to position it well among 3D platformers at the time... similar to the original DKC's role on SNES to help Nintendo ward off Sonic.)

 

[Ushojax]

What has damaged the Wii U most severely is the lack of clear marketing combined with the lack of quality software during the first 10 months on the market. Nintendo at the time was simply not able to develop a full slate of titles for both 3DS and Wii U.

It should never have been released in November 2012, they should have waited until Summer 2013 and released with Pikmin and Wii Fit as originally intended. There was no reason for anyone to buy one until August, people already got their NSMB fix with the 3DS game.

 

[LegendofLex]

In Iwata's own words, they are not good at competing. I've never heard of a company making such comments.

I believe you are misreading Iwata's comment. When he says "we are not good at competing," he means that Nintendo is not good at competing with Sony and Microsoft at providing the usual sustaining advancements in performance. By "performance" I of course mean the usual cycle of improvement that new game console technologies follow (better graphics, horsepower, network infrastructure, etc.). This means that Nintendo must find a different kind of performance edge that Sony and Microsoft are not equipped to effectively overturn.

Nintendo's roots are not in technology; they are in entertainment products - specifically, products that revolve around "play." So it makes sense that they would look to the "play" experience to find a new area to compete in.

With Wii, this was motion controls, which offered a simpler, more intuitive, more fun way to play and opened up new possibilities for games that hadn't been delivered before with such high quality. (Of course, motion games had been done before, but never to such effect and never with such widespread acceptance.) Even when Sony and Microsoft introduced their versions of motion controls, it's very clear from the software and hardware sales that they were not accepted as effective competitors in motion controlled gaming. Move and Kinect did not replace Wii, nor did they signal the end for Wii.

With Wii U, it's clear that Nintendo thought their performance edge was going to be this all-in-one controller that can be a handheld version of the TV screen, a tablet-like touch screen, a motion controller, a classic controller, and a dual-analog gamepad all at once. (I guess they got a little ahead of themselves with that idea that they can "make games for everybody" by trying to make a controller that can play every kind of game.) But this wound up overshooting the market as no one was really looking for all that functionality and they certainly weren't willing to pay the asking price for it. Not having any truly exciting, must-have games to give value to that hardware entry price (most third-party contributions were multi-platform type games where the bulk of the libraries were on other platforms already) didn't help.

 

[wildfire]

If the majority of Nintendo investors want them to transition into phones and tablets they don't know what they invested in the first place.

I can see Nintendo launching a new console or buying back their stocks before they sell their console games on portable PCs.

I could see Nintendo making a compromise and creating brand new games to leverage the experience of being on a phone but they won't make games that require the precise control of a game controller.

The problem is the WiiU and how best to dump a failing console without looking like you are going to dump it.

You're just wrong about everything else you stated but this statement I partially agree with.

It wouldn't be so hard to dump the Wii U. Nintendo could either

A. Launch a new console in 2 years with full backwards compatibility to the Wii and Wii U and have a system where a person can use the screen functionality with their own tablet albeit with worse performance.

B. Make a tablet control half the size of the current one and with the savings made from shrinking the display panel knock off another $50.

The equivalent of 2DS'ing the WiiU would be taking out HD capability out of the system. Removing the Gamepad is a completely different beast; it's making N64 games work without an analog stick and making DS games work with just one screen, it's too much a change to be worth it.

Aside from Ubisoft games and Nintendo Land no games require the tablet. Nintendo thought Nintendo Land would be able to act as their flagship title and messed up spectacularly. WHen a third party has come up with more and better reasons for tablet gaming than the first party dev it's safe to say the tablet could be removed especially since that 3rd party is already considering reducing support.

 

[Sammy Samusu]

I honestly can't wait for Nintendo to kill the 3DS and Wii U.

Give me that hybrid realness, don't disappoint me.

 

[JoeM86]

In Iwata's own words, they are not good at competing. I've never heard of a company making such comments. The only reason anyone owns stock is for the chance to sell it once (in their minds) Nintendo announces full support of smartphones and the stock price shoots up.

I'm buying stock in Nintendo this year, and not for that. I'm doing it to support the company I love

I honestly can't wait for Nintendo to kill the 3DS and Wii U.

Give me that hybrid realness, don't disappoint me.

There won't be a hybrid. What they have said will happen is that their next handheld and console will have similar architectures so porting can be easy.

What's best about this is that the emulators they use for Virtual Console games will work on both without editing which means we will finally have our unified systems there Unless they decide to still do it separately with no parity, which I wouldn't put past them.

 

[Neff]

The best and only thing they can do, at least with regard to Wii U, is to keep making good games now that they've finally got the public's attention, and further down the line, slash the price when manufacturing cost comes down, or possibly by revising the machine or eliminating Wii BC. They've invested heavily in Wii U and they need to stick it out without being reckless. 3DS will pretty much take care of itself now.

Anything drastic like 3rd party development or abandoning Wii U entirely will set them back years and do the company serious, serious damage.

 

[LegendofLex]

I'm buying stock in Nintendo this year, and not for that. I'm doing it to support the company I love

That is the incorrect reason to buy stock. You buying Nintendo stock does very little to influence Nintendo's bottom-line, or the value proposition for other shareholders. Unless Nintendo's stock price climbs (which will not happen because of your goodwill investment, I'm afraid), the only thing that is going to happen is that you are going to lose money.

The correct reason to buy stock is that you have a real reason to believe that the company's profitability is going to improve in a way that reflects favorably on the share price. Buying stock doesn't do much good if the stock price is just going to go down anyway.

You are better off buying a game that you might have passed on (that has good reviews/sales), as at least that way you get value for your money and reinforce Nintendo's reputation/actual software direction.

 

[Log4Girlz]

I'm buying stock in Nintendo this year, and not for that. I'm doing it to support the company I love
.

If you are just a bit patient you should be able to buy them at bargain basement prices very soon.

 

[Suzzopher]

Honestly I'm surprised Nintendo haven't done a FTP Pokemon on Wii U. Either download a basic game for free then release figures/cards to boast the game, or buy a deluxe pack at retail with more figures/cards.

 

[KDR_11k]

Now I'm sure it's very hard to get expanded audience gamers to buy a new console (Sony faced the same issue when trying to migrate the Buzz and Singstar audience to the PS3, after all the PS2 already did those games perfectly well) but Nintendo didn't even seem to try. Nintendoland is the closest thing to a game for that audience and even that is more aimed at the hardcore fans who know every character from Nintendo's roster. They did almost a complete 180° in terms of target audience but the Wii U name and the low power strategy still indicate an aim for the Wii audience. So each side gets the signal that this system is aimed at the other guys, not them.

Strategy wise I don't know what Nintendo can do now, they pretty much have to ride the Wii U out regardless of how hard it flops. Anything else would hurt their reputation and that reputation lasts way longer than a single failed console. It'll probably be a fairly short lived system but it shouldn't be killed too fast as that would indicate a Sega-style decline and decrease consumer trust even further. They need to decide who they want to appeal to and gain that group's trust so that at least some consumers trust Nintendo to deliver the games when the next system arrives.

In terms of trust it's probably easier to get the core gamers because those go actively looking for a gaming system, the people who don't pay as much attention to games won't bother buying a system before the software is there and I don't think Nintendo can be confident to pull off another Wii Sports and Wii Fit.

I suppose Nintendo thought Mario would pull enough gamers over to the Wii U, after all NSMB sold as well as Call of Duty but they kinda failed to make the case that even if you have some NSMBs already you still need this one.

No idea what they can do with Mario to capture the Mario Mania again but they are the guys with the world class game designers, not me. I'd guess safe iterations aren't the right approach though. With SMB3 and SMW it only took one look at a screenshot to see a huge change from the previous game, with the modern games you still see idiots claiming that 3D World is a port of 3D Land.

I cannot say anything about a "Mario 64 2" since I lack nostalgia for 64 and just find it janky and not very fun. Sunshine did blow me away when I first played it but of course being a rather weak Mario game it got tedious about 25 shines in. But with all the 3D RPGs Mario has these days I feel less need for a game that explores the mushroom kingdom since no platformer could do that as thoroughly as Paper Mario or Mario & Luigi.

 

[Log4Girlz]

I don't know how long it'll be...but I'm betting Nintendo goes private when all else fails. I will assume if their next system flops they'll go private.

 

[JoeM86]

That is the incorrect reason to buy stock. You buying Nintendo stock does very little to influence Nintendo's bottom-line, or the value proposition for other shareholders. Unless Nintendo's stock price climbs (which will not happen because of your goodwill investment, I'm afraid), the only thing that is going to happen is that you are going to lose money.

The correct reason to buy stock is that you have a real reason to believe that the company's profitability is going to improve in a way that reflects favorably on the share price. Buying stock doesn't do much good if the stock price is just going to go down anyway.

You are better off buying a game that you might have passed on (that has good reviews/sales), as at least that way you get value for your money and reinforce Nintendo's reputation/actual software direction.

Perhaps, though I would like to be financially invested in them. I mean I run arugably the top fansite for one of their top franchises so I really want them to succeed.

I don't know how long it'll be...but I'm betting Nintendo goes private when all else fails. I will assume if their next system flops they'll go private.

Good. That way they don't have to battle the investors who continue to harp on about smartphone games

 

[Like the hat?]

Big problem Nintendo has with wii u is public opinion. The fact that it's selling poorly makes it likely to continue selling poorly. They finally got on the ball this past six months or so, but with ps4 and xb1 so close, people ended up just waiting for those.

 

[Chinner]

I don't know how long it'll be...but I'm betting Nintendo goes private when all else fails. I will assume if their next system flops they'll go private.

what about year of cranky?

 

[daakusedo]

I guess nothing special will happen like always.
IM for 2013 were all uneventful despite the situation and I expect this one to be as dull.
They'll say they have mario kart, smash bros for 2014, some others things et basta!

 

[Captain Smoker]

Thanks Aqua.

But I think you missed to mention that they actually did some restructures / changes:

• Older guys like Miyamoto getting slowly replaced by fresh blood
• New facility for 200.000.000 $ which can host more than 1.500 new employees, faster sharing of resources
• They aquired N.E.R.D. and they're probably important enough that Iwata shares some of the most confidential data with them on time
(and makes an Iwata Asks with them). Back then, they were researching cloud-technologies. This could gives us a hint for their future plans
• Emphasis on the online business (better later than never)
• Using the smartphones market indirectly
• Integrated Research & Development Division for future hardware systems
• Emphasis on exclusive 3rd Party collaborations & crossovers
(• Emphasis on closer worldwide releases)


Most of this are mid- to long-term changes though, which won't affect 3DS & Wii U, aside from the online business & 3rd Party collaborations.

Furthermore, I believe that they're going to design their next hardware like the old systems, profitable from day 1.

 

[Harlequin]

I could imagine them just rebranding the U and drumming up a big marketing campaign for it - as if it were a new product. They've got good games now (from what I've read) and the actual console was never really that much of a problem. Not to mention that there's next-gen hype now thanks to the PS4 and Xbone so I imagine another "new" console would profit from that hype.

 

[StreetsAhead]

Honestly I'm surprised Nintendo haven't done a FTP Pokemon on Wii U. Either download a basic game for free then release figures/cards to boast the game, or buy a deluxe pack at retail with more figures/cards.

Pokemon Rumble U had figures you could buy to activate Pokemon within the game...

 

[JoeM86]

I could imagine them just rebranding the U and drumming up a big marketing campaign for it - as if it were a new product. They've got good games now (from what I've read) and the actual console was never really that much of a problem. Not to mention that there's next-gen hype now thanks to the PS4 and Xbone so I imagine another "new" console would profit from that hype.

I can see that too. PS3 had a major rebrand when it was struggling and it really helped.

If they do it this year, it could help. It won't make it a massive success, but if they release a new model, perhaps with a cheaper re-modelled GamePad so they can lower the price without losing their unique pull and a rebranding to say Nintendo U just to lose the Wii aspect that has held them back a fair bit, or keep it as Wii U but de-emphasise the Wii part and overly emphasise the U.

It has a brilliant line-up now with Mario 3D World (and NSMBU/NSLU), Pikmin, Zelda, Wonderful 101, Sonic etc. plus upcoming releases like Hyrule Warriors, Bayonetta and X, so it's the perfect time to do it.

It's only logical

 

[Jinko]

Outside of mobile gaming what else is that can do, I'm not convince there is much they can to do for Wii-U at this point.

What are the chances of them calling the Wii-U's cycle short and working on a new console ?
If they do wouldn't that system suffer a similar fate ? (no 3rd party support etc)

With more and more focus shifting to mobile gaming each year even the handheld market is becoming less profitable for them.

Even if the Q3 numbers are bad I don't see them making any drastic changes, not enough to make a difference, especially where mobile gaming is concerned.

I've always thought Nintendo are destined to go the way of Sega, they have held on for much longer than I expected to be honest though. (the cracks are certainly showing as of late though)

 

[BigDug13]

The difference was that the innovation with the montion controls it carried the wii until the sales have droped like a rock. This game pad is nothing innovative it's just a gimmick. To be fair I would say that the motion controls in Wii were also a gimmick but it worked as a marketing tool even if the experience was far from what was expected.

Furthermore, I think that if Nintendo had doubled down on the waggle, improved the responsiveness and maybe added their own Kinect-like camera IN Addition To their physical waggle control scheme to further improve the accuracy, the system would at least be different enough to have a purpose. But changing back to a traditional control scheme makes its absence of next gen specs even more apparent.

Right now it is competing more with the PS3 and 360 than it is the PS4 and XBO because of the tech inside. Outside of Nintendo games, that new control scheme that is similar to what the PS4 controller can do isn't bringing anything to the table that is significantly different than everyone else's consoles.

Oh, it has a screen to save you from having to bring up a second menu and also lets you play without TV. That's hardly a game changer.

I own a Wii-U but it has absolutely nothing of value for that grandma or stepdad who liked to Wii-bowl. Nintendo completely abandoned the entire waggle crowd because they thought this Wii-u controller would feel enough like an ipad to get the ipad crowd to buy it, not realizing why iOS and Android devices are popular gaming systems. Hint, it has nothing to do with touch being the control method as their reasoning to love it, and it has everything to do with wanting to own a portable computer environment that does everything including playing some games, something none of the game consoles can offer.

It's the reason why even non-gamers had a gaming device in their home before the smartphone craze, the PC, and why it has continued to exist as a platform. Because people need computers. Now people feel like they need smartphones and tablets. Therefore lots of "gaming systems" are out there.

Wii-U controller trying to capture this crowd was misguided.

Also, Nintendo has never had a console that costed more than $250. $350 was suicide. $300 still isn't priced to sell. I bought it when I was able to get a price match for a navy Exchange flier that had it listed for $199.

 

[sphagnum]

I'm always surprised they don't get more involved in tv/movies and toys. Outside of Pokemon, Zelda at the very least could make a good property, and they have so many other IPs to use as well.

I don't know why their only market has to be video games, or why smartphones have to be their only solution.

 

[wildfire]

I am happier with Nintendo now than I was all of last generation. I don't know what they could really change at this point.

Nintendo is a publicly traded company. Their investors are as much their customers as you are.

The real question is why Nintendo listened to everyone telling them to abandon the unparalleled ambitions they had with Wii and decided to make their next console try to fit in better with the "traditional" console paradigm.

This is a false narrative. The Wii crowd is exactly who they wanted to get. NSMBU is the sequel to NSMBWii, which sold thirty million on Wii and had no Gamecube equivalent. Nintendo Land and Game and Wario are mini-game collections. Then they expanded Wii Fit, remade Wii Sports, and released a sequel to Wii Party.

The narrative that they didn't go after the Wii crowd is bunk. The problem is (a) the GamePad is large and confusing and the console is too expensive for that audience; (b) the software they made isn't compelling enough to draw casual players back to buy another console; and (c) those casual players (who only have a casual interest in games by definition) are much more well-suited to playing games on a device they already own, already carry around with them, and where they can get games for $1.

I agree that this narrative is bunk. I disagree with how they misstepped. They totally pushed motion controls to the back instead of thought on and hard about how they can iterate and add hardware that resolves any deficiencies it had.

So that audience can be convinced to buy $40-$50 games again (the Wii had a high attach rate) but the entry price has to be a lot lower. Starting out a $350 console when lower and middle income earners have less purchasing power than when the Wii came out is a big a turn off.

Moreover OP doesn't really understand Nintendo's priorities - while financially it is important to Nintendo to have a good presence in home consoles in the West - Nintendo always measures the success of their businesses based on their success in Japan first and foremost, because it's their cash-cow market where they have high margins and a competitive advantage to secure development talent.

That's the reason why the N64, despite being quite profitable in the US, was largely considered a failure because they failed to capture the broad audience and mainstream market in Japan.

My predictions: Wii U will miss projections, Nintendo is going to talk about how they plan to position the console in emerging markets like China (probably announce they have acquired the Chinese distribution subsidiary that markets the Q), will talk about how they plan to diversify the lineup, and generally discuss their view that home consoles are a declining market. 3DS will also miss projections but will be a money-maker.

My modeling suggests about a ~60-70% miss in operating profit for the FY, but the return to profitability will be enough to give Nintendo another 2 years leeway despite the big miss and let them play out the Wii U. In any case, none of the major Japanese institutions holding Nintendo stock are eagerly pushing for a strategy shift - they are more concerned about the preservation of long-term value and most are on-board with Nintendo not killing their pricing power by jumping into smartphones.

I also expect a stock buy-back of about 1 billion dollars, partially Yamauchi's shares to cover the inheritance tax, but also open it up more broadly in an effort to reduce the chance of a hostile take-over. My expectation is that we will see a bump in the stock price since the operating business is really undervalued with the current Wii U problems and speculation on a strategy shift. There are some conviction buyers in the market who are gambling on silly theories proposed by the Jefferies analyst (who has zero reputation in equity research for entertainment and games btw).

Well it seems the Wii U is doing decently in Japan but for Iwata's sales goal to be reached the global market matters too much. I would say Nintendo's attitude about territory has changed somewhat after the success of the Wii giving them a taste of unimaginable profits.

China as you say will be a big deal in securing the Wii U's success if they continue to flounder but it would some dumb luck if the Wii U does mediocre because one country lifts a ban on gaming consoles. They should think really hard about how they got so how high and came down so low.

How do you know the majority stakeholders are siding with Nintendo's grand strategy? I don't know why Jeffries says the opposite but only one of you 2 can be right. Since a rep from Jeffries isn't here to explain why they are empahtic about this I hope you don't mind explaining why you are confident this is the mindset of the majority stakeholders.

 

[Captain Smoker]

They can't change much about the Wii U & 3DS anyway, all they can do is heavy (and better) marketing, release a steady pace of high quality games and try to reduce the production costs and increase their overall profitability.


It's more important what their next steps are.
Currently, we see that Iwata prepares the company to be more efficient in creating software & hardware (also more employees) & to be ready for a digital future (while they still have some things to get right in this sector).
And as I already mentioned, I think they're going to create profitable systems in the next generation.

Spoiler

at least, it would be good for them

I still believe that they're going to follow the route "not the strongest hardware" but a special twist to it to make it attractive.

 

[v4gr4nt]

Is it reasonable to expect a stock buyback from Nintendo? Have they done that before? That might be a good strategy to make investors happy and for Nintendo to not be forced to take a short sighted decision while they try to turn things around.

 

[Chindogg]

Nintendo is a publicly traded company. Their investors are as much their customers as you are.

The second the investors show signs of revolting, Nintendo will just buy back the stock and go private.

Nintendo will do their own thing regardless of how much the usual suspects complain in every Nintendo thread. As long as they don't get really crazy they'll have the money to stick around long after MS and Sony have sold their gaming divisions and EA has collapsed under the weight of its own incompetence.

 

[Jackano]

They can't change much about the Wii U & 3DS anyway, all they can do is heavy (and better) marketing, release a steady pace of high quality games and try to reduce the production costs and increase their overall profitability.


It's more important what their next steps are.
Currently, we see that Iwata prepares the company to be more efficient in creating software & hardware (also more employees) & to be ready for a digital future (while they still have some things to get right in this sector).
And as I already mentioned, I think they're going to create profitable systems in the next generation.

I still believe that they're going to follow the route "not the strongest hardware" but a special twist to it to make it attractive.

Agreed. I think they have everything in hands to change but not the willing to (the statement is even valable for Iwata himself only too). Of course, I speak about the next generation, like you said they have to do their best for their profitability but the Wii U is a lost cause in the market competition, like was the GC. They have to prepare the next one. Third party support, first-party offering and online services are big topics and they have many work to do on it.

I will not post a wall of text today but they have to open and think their strategy worldwide and not stay with the same dozen of old japanese executives in their Kyoto ivory tower(s).

 

[Screamapillar]

I would imagine the strategy meeting to see what can be done to turn around Wii U will involved re-designing the GamePad and completely changing the messaging for Wii U. Clearly, the "kids playing with their parents" targeted advertising isn't working especially well. I mean, it worked a little, but not enough to likely satisfy Nintendo's internal expectations over the holiday season.

Making the GamePad smaller, less expensive to produce, and cutting price to $249 would certainly give a boost to games launches such as Mario Kart 8 and Smash Bros. Wii U is not appealing yet to most gamers, as is obvious by the slow sales. Nintendo must find a way to change that perception.

They did it with 3DS, by releasing high-quality franchise sequels one after another for almost two-and-a-half years now. 3DS is now an extremely popular and well-liked machine.

I remember well all of the 3DS doom talk that went on not even two years ago. They were very similar to these Wii U ones. Games games games.

 

[Clefargle]

I honestly can't wait for Nintendo to kill the 3DS and Wii U.

Give me that hybrid realness, don't disappoint me.

Leave the 3DS out of this!

 

[Dr. Feel Good]

I almost wish Nintendo would release a full blown Pokemon RPG on Wii U, just so you people would shut the hell up and laugh when it fails. A game like this will not change their fortunes.

As much as investors can be impatient and quick to change, anyone with logical business knowledge would know iOS and Android is an extremely difficult market to go after with low revenue and tiny margins. As much as Iwata blows he's going to continue to get a pass for what he did because of last generation, so he'll weather the storm for a few years and restratigize for next generation.

Phones devalue the brand and chase a market that abandoned them. Why would Nintendo go after consumers that, in the end, don't care who or what Nintendo is? It doesn't make sense.

 

[Tempy]

I don't think it's possible/wise to drop the WiiU gamepad. They could make it cheaper to produce so that they can drop the price though. But getting 3rd party support and more sales is still going to be hard. Really not sure what else they can do except fast track the next console (what kind of console would that be?).

Their dedicated handheld (3DS) is doing well, so going smartphones is not the solution. Support software such as Miiverse, pokedex etc, sure. But going 3rd party software just wouldn't earn them enough revenue as they have right now.

Releasing smartphone hardware also sounds like a super risky proposition considering there are many other experienced big boys to compete with.

 

[kswiston]

I almost wish Nintendo would release a full blown Pokemon RPG on Wii U, just so you people would shut the hell up and laugh when it fails. A game like this will not change their fortunes.

As much as investors can be impatient and quick to change, anyone with logical business knowledge would know iOS and Android is an extremely difficult market to go after with low revenue and tiny margins. As much as Iwata blows he's going to continue to get a pass for what he did because of last generation, so he'll weather the storm for a few years and restratigize for next generation.

Phones devalue the brand and chase a market that abandoned them. Why would Nintendo go after consumers that, in the end, don't care who or what Nintendo is? It doesn't make sense.

I agree that it doesn't make much sense to release their 3DS software on iOS/Android, but what would be lost by releasing their own NES roms on smart phones (other than their ability to charge $5 for Excitebike)? People pirate those games on their phones already. Seems to me that it would be beneficial to give them a legal way to download older ROMs.

 

[w1gglyjones]

Lots of people are focusing on Wii U what Nintendo should do after 3DS and Wii U. But they have larger, longer term business decisions to , and business problems that can only be solved slowly overtime.

I don't expect any shocking management decisions for the company beyond new forecasts and general guidance. Of course, they will make and implement changes, but its still going to have that old Nintendo flavor. And it will take time for the benefits to be seen and reaped. Nintendo still has some competitive advantages, so is important not to squander those or jump ship from their good practices tofix fixable ones.

 

[QaaQer]

You can't compare the 2DS to the Wii U. 3D isn't mandatory for any game to function on the 3DS. On the other hand, some games cannot be played, at all, without the Wii U gamepad. Still,ditching it and bundling a Pro controller with NSMBU, 3D World or WW HD would be a good idea. Sell it for 199 USD and call it a day. I guess they could say to hell with legacy support. Save the platform at the expense of making a few games incompatible.

Oh, and they should really release more VC games. Dirt cheap. And while they're at, make their own PS+ service. Give subscribers free full games and VC games every month. That would work wonders

Edit.

Call it Nintendo U. Drop the Wii name toend consumer confusion

Yes, having a cheap-o console is attractive to some consumers. But there has to be a wall of cheap-o games to choose from as well. Go into a gamestop and look at the wii-u section. Virtually everything is $59 with a tiny smattering of $49 used games. There are no bargain bins so it won't matter if the Wii-U is $149 or less if there are no $9.99 games. That issue is very real. And that is doubly true in the age of cheap tablets and free/.99cent games.

IMO, what the launch of the WiiU vs PS4 showed was that consumers in general did not see value in a low powered $3-$400 gaming device with expensive games. Some will argue that the PS4 is low powered as well, but that is bullshit because everything is relative and it is a fact that it is the most powerful console ever.

Right now, the thing is selling because enthusiasts are buying them, and they want mo' power and bright shiny games and they will pay the $400 + $60/game. And over the course of 3-4 years the cheap-o parents will be able to buy the sub-$200 ps4-slim and pick up some cheap games from the bargain bin. That's they way it is supposed to work anyway.

I've been trying to think of what kind of gimmick Ninty could slap on their upcoming console and/or handhelds that would give them the ability to sell underpowered and cheap-to-make hardware for a healthy profit so they can return to the ds/wii glory days. I'm stumped.

 

[AusRoachman]

All I hope is that there future does not entail, paid dlc, adverts, ingame currency e.t.c e.t.c , nintendo are pretty much the last ones out there still sticking to what I loved about older gaming, great single player games and no dlc bullshit.

As much as I want nintendo to embrace some online components I hope they don't go to far into adopting the current trends of gaming. Does anyone really want a mario kart with 4 tracks, unlockable tracks , paid skins and leveling up? I sure hope not.

 

[Htown]

Are there really people who think the answer to Nintendo's failing console business is to go mobile and compromise their successful handheld business?

 

[Dr. Feel Good]

Some will argue that the PS4 is low powered as well, but that is bullshit because everything is relative and it is a fact that it is the most powerful console ever..

This is a weird out of place comment.

 

[Kouriozan]

Are there really people who think the answer to Nintendo's failing console business is to go mobile and compromise their successful handheld business?

Investors who seek short term profit, yes.

 

[BumblebeeCody]

I don't think it's funny that Nintendo are in this state. But they only have themselves to blame. They've gotten worse as a company since the release of the Wii. Their games have been irrelevant with the odd third party game being better than most of theirs (No More Heroes, Xenoblade Chronicles, Dokapoon Kingdom), while their own first party games like Skyward Sword are a huge step back from the previous titles or games like New Super Mario Bros have been milked worse than Call of Duty.

I don't know a single person who was hyped for the Wii U and still plays it.






and we still don't have Pokebank!
Nintendo, get yer shit together. I wanna play more of your games.

 

[Captain Smoker]

I don't think it's funny that Nintendo are in this state. But they only have themselves to blame. They've gotten worse as a company since the release of the Wii. Their games have been irrelevant with the odd third party game being better than most of theirs (No More Heroes, Xenoblade Chronicles, Dokapoon Kingdom), while their own first party games like Skyward Sword are a huge step back from the previous titles or games like New Super Mario Bros have been milked worse than Call of Duty.

I don't know a single person who was hyped for the Wii U and still plays it.

and we still don't have Pokebank!
Nintendo, get yer shit together. I wanna play more of your games.

notsureifserious.jpg

 

[Frodo]

What has damaged the Wii U most severely is the lack of clear marketing combined with the lack of quality software during the first 10 months on the market. Nintendo at the time was simply not able to develop a full slate of titles for both 3DS and Wii U.

It should never have been released in November 2012, they should have waited until Summer 2013 and released with Pikmin and Wii Fit as originally intended. There was no reason for anyone to buy one until August, people already got their NSMB fix with the 3DS game.

Yes, this was the biggest problem.

One thing I believe Wii U had against it was that it was also competing with idealisations of what the other, at the time next-gen, systems would be. It was competing with a lot of hype being generated by gaming sites and magazines and the manufactures themselves (remember EDGE and the This Will Be Your Next Console Cover? The trailers making mediocre games look like they were the second coming of the sliced bread and them failing to reach a high Metacritic score after launch? [I know, Metacritic, but...]). Shortly after these consoles launched we saw plenty of editorials revisiting their stance about the little machine, proclaiming Wii U was the machine to get during the festive season. Of course, this is something hard to measure and it will never be nothing but a speculation, but I believe that launching closer to the other 2 competitors and with a better line up would maybe be better than have an year head start with a 8 months drought. On the meantime they could have also ironed out the OS or maybe, more unrealistic, beefed up some specifications or find better deals and be able to manufacture a cheaper Wii U with the current specs.

Anyway, damage is done. And Nintendo will have to work hard if they want to turn the tide.

 

[AusRoachman]

I imagine nintendo can dip there toes into the mobile space with simple companion apps more so the games, I'm constantly seeing Pokemon rip offs appear in the top 10 games on ios, imagine what an official one could do.

 

[WrenchNinja]

Also, Nintendo Network is technically a unified account now. Miis aren't "bullshit" and friend codes are gone, though they cannot be removed from the 3DS. eShop purchases are now linked to it somewhat too as evidenced by seeing eShop activity for both 3DS and Wii U in both 3DS and Wii U now.

You can't view all previous purchases.

Friend codes aren't gone if they're still being used on the 3DS.

They just need to make a way for you to unlink it with one console and link it with another so that your purchases can carry over.

This is a pretty fucking big deal. Their account system is still garbage.