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Iwata: "The Wii U isn't in good shape"

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Nintendo home consoles have been long overdue for a pokemon main series title. I believe the last one we had was Pokemon Battle Revolution on Wii back in 2007. 7 years have passed since then!

You would think they would pay more attention to one of their highest grossing franchises that could potentially be a system seller.

I was thinking about this too. They could experiment by putting their "Z" edition on Wii U hand have it work in some way with X and Y. Or they could do the "XX" and "XY" route and have one on each system.

Or they could put the older pokemon GBA and DS games as Wii U download games and rework them to use that Pokemon bank thing.

It might make the handheld games less special though, which may be part of the reason 3DS owners aren't getting the home console versions of these games. But I don't know what I'm talking about.
 
Things to gather from this statement:

- He will stay, which is good
- Nintendo is buying a big pile of its own stock, which is even better
- Nintendo will scale down their dividends, which they should have 5 years ago
- Additional pricecuts are unlikely since the price is not the problem of the Wii U
- Some kind of reform is on the way as we speak
 

MacNille

Banned
636x460design_01.jpg

The more I hear from Iwata, the more I think that he should get the boot.
 
"Guys, we're producing a dedicated set-top gaming console, which we'll produce videogames for and market to the mainstream and people who love videogames. But we're not competing with those other...things with the same description with largely the same audience. We're competing with someone else."

nintedo competition is only nintendo itself.
 

Mononoke

Banned
It's a matter of timing. If that hypothetical console would've been released around the time the PS4/Xbone hit the market or even a little earlier, numbers would've been sufficient to bring over the 3rd parties I think.

Nintendo's timing is just incredibly bad. The WiiU should've happened 3 years ago in form of a Wii HD without the second screen stuff.

It's hard to say for sure. I'm still not convinced that a super Nintendo console launched along side the other 2 consoles (or a little earlier), would have changed their demographic issue. But maybe I'm wrong. It's pure speculation at this point (i fully admit).

I edited one of my post above. But I think if Nintendo had a console with superior specs, and the best open/platform out of any console (no region lock, no region stores anymore, every game for every country is available, with exception to some specific titles that get banned I guess + a steam like platform where every new Indie release is on it).

One of Nintendo's biggest problems besides the hardware, is the platform/OS. Unless Nintendo can completely clean that up (i'm talking, completely revamping their online system, how their OS works on their devices) - on top of having the best specs. Maybe. But I still think there is something deeper here (demographic issues/ consumers not really wanting Nintendo's hardware). Hope I'm wrong though. I love Nintendo, and want them to succeed.
 

Exile20

Member
So Iwata admits Wii U is such a flop even a price drop won't fix it. Why even develop software for a machine that is such a flop, surely the software sales will flop too. Best thing is for Nintendo to do is cancel Wii U support after Mario Kart and Smash Bros and call it a day. Move Games that are not in their final stages of development like Bayonetta 2, X, Zelda and etc to Nintendo's next system.

What a horrible post. Games that are suppose to come out this year will be moved to a new consoles that will take at least 2 years to release?
 
So Iwata admits Wii U is such a flop even a price drop won't fix it. Why even develop software for a machine that is such a flop, surely the software sales will flop too. Best thing is for Nintendo to do is cancel Wii U support after Mario Kart and Smash Bros and call it a day. Move Games that are not in their final stages of development like Bayonetta 2, X, Zelda and etc to Nintendo's next system.

Bayonetta 2's been in a playable form and present at last year's E3. It's probably close to completion.
 

NandN3DS

Banned
You know, as has already been stated in some threads a price drop would not do much good.Look at what it did for the Wii U in Europe even at very low prices
 

Taker666

Member
Just buy a big 3rd party Iwata. You're never going to get the amount and range of quality content you want/need unless you do..not on Wii U..not on any future home console.
 

Aaron

Member
They can make an underpowered console as long as it has some brilliant gimmick that gets traction (see Wii).
I don't think that works a second time around, especially in the current market. Nintendo didn't have to make a console to match the PS4, but it really needed a little better than the PS3 and easier to port to. They should have consulted outside developers as Microsoft did with the 360, and Sony with the PS4. They knew they had a problem with the lack of third parties with the Wii, but they did nothing to resolve it. I don't know if that's hubris or just incompetence, but even if the Wii U's gimmick had caught the world by storm, it would have fizzled out faster than the Wii, and they would still ended up in the same spot, give or take a couple more million sold.
 

KingSnake

The Birthday Skeleton
Eh, yeah. It seems he now comprehends how not even a deep price cut could change the things so much. Not only that, they can NOT actually do that, due to economies of scale being horrible on Wii U.

2014 is probably going to be the year where Nintendo gives the biggest push, and then they will sensibly decrease their support (with much less relevant titles) already in 2015.

Yeah, this is my feeling too. They can't afford another price cut (gamepad or not) and they know it will not solve the issues anyhow. So they will push out everything this year in terms of software and then they will experiment with it in terms of games and software in preparation for the next hardware (handheld). I still think they can't realistically release a new console until 2016-2017, not without putting in danger the next handheld.
 
Just buy a big 3rd party Iwata. You're never going to get the amount and range of quality content you want/need unless you do..not on Wii U..not on any future home console.
Who should they buy then? And have you considered how much money it would cost them to do so? Because both of these things are huge issues
 

McHuj

Member
I think it hurts Nintendo a little bit that they release all their franchises on both the 3DS and WiiU.

I contemplated getting a WiiU for the new Mario 3D game, but I ended up getting a 3DS instead and got 3Dland there. Its a fantastic game and while I'm sure the WiiU game is better, the 3DS version is good enough for me to fulfill my desire for a new Mario game.
Likewise, I have a new Zelda sitting there waiting for me to play it.

The 3DS does a great job of letting me play great Nintendo franchises, so I really see no need to get a WiiU.
 

Aces&Eights

Member
Those ppl can buy a cheap tablet with a better screen. Wait, that's what they are probably doing...



Off-TV Vita appeals to the same demographic as the Wii U pad, and looking at Vita sales, you can see is a very small demographic.

You can see the Wii U pad as a great pro, but looking at the sales of Wii U, we can say is not exactly a pro, seeing at what cost it comes and the lack of appeal for the larger demographics.


Really. So what tablet do I need to buy to play Mario, Zelda and Donkey Kong on? I use the thing as much as my kid. I also game waaaaay more than her. When she wants to watch Good Luck Charlie I can play SMB 3D on the gamepad.
 
To be honest, If I had all the money in the world and was in charge I have no idea how I could save the U.

The only thing I can think of is to get a competitive system ready for retail ASAP and offer Wii U owners a rebate if they turn in their old system. A lot of people are saying that they are screwed because they can't announce a new system and burn the loyal customers who bought a Wii U. They could appease those loyal customers if they announce a program where you can bring your Wii U into Best Buy or GameStop and you can then buy the new Nintendo box for MSRP less what you paid for the Wii U.

They'd lose a lot of money this way, but they're going to lose money anyway in terms of lost sales. If they can appease the stockholders with high dividends and buybacks, they can appease customers through rebates. Microsoft was in a similar position with RROD, losing millions by extending warranties but that gesture ultimately allowed them to establish the 360 as a viable console.

If you make bad and reckless business decisions, there should be a punitive cost to fix them and discourage further recklessness. It's like pouring alcohol on a wound. It hurts in the short term, but you need to disinfect to properly heal in the long term. Do it Nintendo.
 

HBroward

Member
Well, maybe it's time for an Ambassador program with free N64 and Gamecube games! It worked for the 3DS, although I think it would need a cut to $250 to really work out in light of current competition price points.
 
It's funny that we saw this coming YEARS away. When the Wii was such a commercial success that Nintendo focused marketing and software development on the casual market many of us said this would bite them in the ass when they released the next console. They saw too late in the process that they needed the hardcore back and designed some great software for us, but it was too late for the hardware which was designed for mainstream adoption.

If they want to save the Wii U they need to drop the controller and $100 off the price. Or they can write it off and move on the the next console which would need to have parity with the other consoles for 3rd party support. The days of people buying a home Nintendo console ONLY for Nintendo games is done, unless it's significantly cheaper than the other options.

And then what do they do when THAT market starts shrinking (psst: it's already started) just like the dedicated mobile market is?

Those kids that are playing on their phones right now are not going to suddenly pick up controllers in their teens for no reason. Playing games on TVs is fast becoming a Generation X/Y thing, and it's something Nintendo realized ten years ago.

Nintendo's problem is that recently they haven't done a good job fighting growing disinterest in TV console videogames, not that they should be fleeing upmarket.
 
Just buy a big 3rd party Iwata. You're never going to get the amount and range of quality content you want/need unless you do..not on Wii U..not on any future home console.

Looks more like the money is being spent on buying their own shares rather than a 3rd party.

With regards to plans to acquire ten million of its own shares, Satoru Iwata explained this as a step to compensate for poor sale conditions, and to reward shareholders in any way possible.
 

Biker19

Banned
I'm just lucky to have changed my mind about buying this console when it first launched.

Now I'm thinking about buying a PS4.
 
Things to gather from this statement:

- He will stay, which is good
- Nintendo is buying a big pile of its own stock, which is even better
- Nintendo will scale down their dividends, which they should have 5 years ago
- Additional pricecuts are unlikely since the price is not the problem of the Wii U
- Some kind of reform is on the way as we speak

It is good. If Iwata can sufficiently reform the company into profitability, I'd rather he be the steward of Nintendo's IPs than someone new.

The CEO of Nintendo position is a very unique one.
 

DyTonic

Banned
Just buy a big 3rd party Iwata. You're never going to get the amount and range of quality content you want/need unless you do..not on Wii U..not on any future home console.

Terrible idea, redesign with better functionality. Integrated with more socials apps etc.
 
Iwata it's easy:

- Stop building cheap/underpowered consoles. Make a competitive console.
- Stop charging so much for said machine. Wii U deluxe was $350 up until recently, yet the PS4 is infinitely more powerful (and has a bigger hdd) all for $50 more? Lol....

- Build a sensible unified account system
- Build a universal emulator for classic games that can be ported and maintained on all devices

- HIRE SOME DAMN PROGRAMMERS to build streamlined OS/features sets and some NETWORK ENGINEERS to maintain proper network performance

You would think Nintendo could afford Talent and push software more effectively in this area
 

RibMan

Member
Iwata said:
Further price cuts are unlikely to spark fresh demand for the console.

If a price cut is out of the question then it's time to start thinking of an effective exit strategy. Realistically, there isn't a single announced piece of software or software feature that can make the Wii U a viable platform for content.

Nintendo have to play it smart and rethink both their console and handheld strategy for the future. It's never too late to admit you were wrong and establish partnerships with other companies. If I were an executive at Nintendo, I would seriously consider taking meetings with companies such as Amazon, Google and Samsung.
 
I'm very curious to see how they move going forward. It's not like the Wii U was some sort of huge misread of the market - more than anything, it was a branding issue combined with a lack of support for far too long. There were many missteps, and I'm curious to see if Nintendo will be able to fix any of them significantly before their next home console.

More than anything, though, the sales of each console this generation certainly says... something about the video game consumer base. I'm not entirely sure what it's saying is good for gaming going forward, but I guess we'll see.
 
Q

qizah

Unconfirmed Member
I don't get why people want Nintendo to just do what Sony and Microsoft are doing.

It's already boring having two consoles that are virtually the same, adding a third is even worse. One of the things I like about Nintendo is that they're offering up something different from the competition. Obviously it's not always going to be a success, but I applaud their attempt regardless.
 

HUELEN10

Member
So, is this the current score?

1. The console has been publicly recognized by Nintendo themselves of not being in good shape.

2. It seems obvious dthat Iwata realizes that merely lowering the price wouldn't spike sales for the long or even midterm.

3. We know that if the Gamepad is to be dropped, it would fragment the user base and fragment future developments.

4. We know that the so called casual crowd that bought a Wii has moved onto iPads and such and will most likely not be returning.

5. We also know that the few Nintendo core holdouts that haven't gotten one yet are merely waiting for a few more games. We also know that they number excessively fewer than any old casual fan base.

6. This means that supporters of the system want to see the system continue. Were they to pull a Mulligan and come out with a new system within 16 months from today would be a bad move; those few diehards might feel screwed over and might not get a new console from Nintendo.

7. A console similar to the competition does not equal runaway success regardless of price; see Nintendo sixth generation.

So, if this is the case, what can they do? All I can see them doing it this point is pushing on with weed, making some deals with other developers, and using the handheld market to stay in the game until the ninth Gen at worst current scenario. Am I missing something here?
 

npa189

Member
They totally shit the bed with Wii U, I own 5 games for the system and I've had it since launch, that's a problem. It need games, and they almost need a mid PS3 cycle rebranding, it should have been called Wii 2 from the start because there is clear confusion of the system. Mario, Pikmin and Zelda are the only games actually worth owning. One of those is a HD GCN game. I really don't know what nintendo can do at this point, the 3DS is keeping them alive, but the Wii U is now a trainwreck of grand proportions.
 
Really. So what tablet do I need to buy to play Mario, Zelda and Donkey Kong on? I use the thing as much as my kid. I also game waaaaay more than her. When she wants to watch Good Luck Charlie I can play SMB 3D on the gamepad.

You might want to play all these Nintendo games, but you sure can understand that you're a minority giving the sales of the system, right?

Pretty sure Nintendo games are higher quality that most mobile games, but ppl clearly don't care, for the ppl that might have the necessity of not playing in their TV, probably a tablet they already own or a cheap tablet (cheaper than the Wii U itself like a Nexus 7) fills that hole while offering superior multimedia capabilities, better form factor, portability and much better screen.
 

Shiggy

Member
I don't get why people want Nintendo to just do what Sony and Microsoft are doing.

It's already boring having two consoles that are virtually the same, adding a third is even worse. One of the things I like about Nintendo is that they're offering up something different from the competition. Obviously it's not always going to be a success, but I applaud their attempt regardless.

I think it's better than what we currently have:
Nintendo making a console which is worse in every regard when compared to the competition. Being different by doing everything worse than the competition is nothing to be proud of.
 

Mononoke

Banned
It is good. If Iwata can sufficiently reform the company into profitability, I'd rather he be the steward of Nintendo's IPs than someone new.

The CEO of Nintendo position is a very unique one.

I can see this, from a gamer's perspective. Chances are, if you love Nintendo and what they are doing now (despite their failures on a business level), you wouldn't want a new CEO coming in, and taking the company in a different direction. Even if that direction makes them more money (and is a better business choice), it probably won't be what core gamers (or core Nintendo fans) want.

But at the same time, this is just how things go. The marketplace is constantly evolving, and companies either adapt or they don't. If Nintendo puts out more hardware in the next 3-5 years, and those bomb too (I don't think their next handheld will bomb though tbh), then the inevitable will come. Whether we like it or not.
 

Pyrrhus

Member
Does Nintendo still charge more for licensing and manufacture and so on than its competitors? Maybe they need to stop doing that. And maybe they need to start using x86 instead of old PPC architecture. Comparable x86 hardware, mind you. And use all the modern graphics technology so third parties don't have to rewrite their rendering pipeline for your console? And perhaps take this time to develop a goddamn account system. You know, perhaps.

They could also stand to buy some Western support. I know, I know. They don't do that. It's not the Nintendo way. But how's that working out for them? They're in such a hole that they can't expect people to just come to them because they're the market leader like in the NES days. I don't know what Iwata is planning, but nothing can be really done about Wii U except to have a successor ready by no later than holidays 2016. And I mean ready. Not the "soft launch" they've given from the N64 forward. They need to have several good first and third party games dropping day and date. Is there enough time to do that? I kind of doubt it, but that's what they're going to need in order to regain the audience's confidence.

Basically, rather than worrying about doing the impossible and saving Wii U they need to be ready to blow the doors off the joint with their next attempt. Because otherwise they're pretty much irrelevant.
 
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