Someone posted the number is 4.85 according to latest reports
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ASDA no longer stocking/selling the Wii U in stores, won't restock this year
- Thread starter Nibel
- Start date
Someone posted the number is 4.85 according to latest reports
cyberheater
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I think it's more likely if WiiU fails that the abandon home consoles entirely and just concentrate on handhelds. But that business is slowly being eroded by smart phones etc...
Nintendo aren't really a company who keeps at the forefront of technology and trends. I really can see if they don't get their act together that in 10 years or so they will be gone.
TheDrowningMan
Member
It's a PlayStation, not an iPhone.
Steve McQueen
Member
Yes, I believe so. I still believe there are still a lot of wii owners out there who are not interested in Xbox and Playstation and just waiting too jump in once the price is right and the familiar titles will appear on the shelves. I'm very eager to know what will happen to WiiU sales once Mario Kart 8 will launch.
Mithos
Member
Sega did on their own what people suggest Nintendo should do, and that killed Sega, TOO MANY CONSOLES in too short time.
If Nintendo were to pull the Wii U from the shelves, THEY ARE DONE, even if they make a console that's more powerful the PS4/Xbox One and can get it out within a year from now.
Metallix87
Member
No chance that they completely abandon consoles. Like I said, they'll merge them somehow as a worst case scenario, having a handheld you can connect to your TV and play like a console. If anything, Wii U could be seen as a stepping stone towards that.
Ninja Scooter
Member
It is hard to stay or get back in the consumer spotlight as time goes on. This is why the first year head start was so important, and why Nintendo should be looking at making major changes for completely blowing it. If the system is only for Nintendo die hards for the first 2 years, it's hard to turn that perception around in year 3 or 4 and get non-Nintendo fans on board.
RobFox64tm
Member
I guess I'm confused, but how exactly will admitting failure and announcing a console 3 or 4 years in advance, and less than a year out from the Wii U's release, help Nintendo? This seems like a scenerio that would kill PR relations for Nintendo indefinately. A sinking console is one thing, and the truth of the matter is that the majority of people don't even realize it exists, but to announce that you give up so early on doesn't exactly instill a lot of faith in the brand. I also don't think Nintendo could get a new console out that quickly, not without cutting some serious corners.
Nintendo took a lot of gambles on Wii U that didn't pay off. Nothing can change that now, but it would be far less damaging to them to continue on the path they've chosen. I don't think anyone is argueing that Wii U will be crowned winner of the console race, but Nintendo has the resources to stick it out for the time being. It also doesn't hurt to have the 3DS as a back-up.
Wii U has Wonderful 101. That's as robust as it gets!
I honestly am at a loss for what Nintendo can really do to change the fate of Wii U as it currently stands. I mean, they can continue franchise whoring, but they always do that anyway and past consoles have demonstrated that's not enough anymore. I hope Nintendo can really get an angle on this whole HD development shit before the gen is done and start really fresh next-gen.
Sadly, I agree with this.
Nintendo is not prepared to position itself more directly in the mobile market. Iwata can barely keep up with MS and Sony, he is NOT prepared to lead Nintendo against Apple and Google.
It's time for new blood, there's just no way around it.
cyberheater
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I've only seen one guy getting banned in this thread and he was clearly over stepping the mark. As WiiU is doomed threads go. This one is pretty civil.
Metallix87
Member
Regardless of what happens, Nintendo definitely needs to make major changes to their strategies and teams and such. Iwata should see what's happened and be working to ensure it never happens again. Whether he is or not, of course, is a mystery. If I were him, though, I'd be looking to mend the bridges with third party publishers, and looking to how to best create new studios and new IPs to appeal to a broader range of consumers. "Nintendo magic" is great and all, but they need to utilize it on new experiences.
Was it ever actually 10? If so, they've burned through half in a few years, and Iwata is still employed. What a world.
That sounds much more feasible. Still a shit ton of cash, but dwindling as you would expect.
Ninja Scooter
Member
He saw it all happen with 3DS and already let it happen again. Same problems. Same brand confusion. Same overpriced hardware. Same lack of software. Same predictable software lineup once games were announced/released. Fool me once...
Metallix87
Member
To be fair, the time between the 3DS launch and the Wii U launch was very short.
Mr_Antimatter
Member
I don't think the wii U is doomed but I don't expect it to sell anymore then the GCN did in the end. It will be profitable though, given most of the games that will sell are all first party, with a scant few third party stand outs.
Whats killing the wii U isn't the games, the wii sucked games wise as well, year 1. It's the lack of creative, and compelling marketing. There is no 'wii would like to play' to move units to folks who don't normally buy consoles. there is no marketing hype leaving us starry eyed over wiipad potential like we had with the wiimote.
Whats killing the wii U isn't the games, the wii sucked games wise as well, year 1. It's the lack of creative, and compelling marketing. There is no 'wii would like to play' to move units to folks who don't normally buy consoles. there is no marketing hype leaving us starry eyed over wiipad potential like we had with the wiimote.
You misunderstood my point, I was saying that in the background they should work right away on next gen. Use the 3DS to be the breadwinner for the company in the meantime. In regards for what to do with the Wii U, publicly still show support for it by getting people excited for the games already announced for the console. Basically pretend it's business as usual until 2015 or 2016 before introducing a new console rather than right away which would burn anyone who bought a Wii U.
cyberheater
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I could see that. And nVidia have recently announced a new mobile GPU which has better capability then what's in the WiiU or PS360 so a powerful handheld might be possible that would push out graphics that would look good on the TV but they'd have to start developing it right now and further fragment their already stretched resources to ensure a decent launch library for that device.
Ninja Scooter
Member
Yes but also to be fair, people were expressing concerns about things like the branding of the hardware and market confusion a good year before the system came out and he did nothing.
Metallix87
Member
True. I'm still shocked they didn't go with "Super Wii" or "Wii 2" for the name.
Nothing1016
Member
It would take a Herculean effort by Nintendo in order for the Wii U to reach 50 million units. They would need to pump out system selling software like every month and would have to find a way to price cut the system without taking huge losses. Plus, they still need that hit piece of software like Wii Sports to get the gears turning. Stuff like the 30% W101 promotion need to be regular occurrences and they also need Summer Sales and discounts on e-Shop software on a monthly basis. A more competent online infrastructure and account system along with more rapid VC releases would also help. No single thing is gonna turn it around, it's gonna take a culmination.
I would say at this point in time, it's looking impossible to turn this around quickly and a better estimate would be between 20-30 million. But if there is one company that could pull it off, it's Nintendo.
DragonSworne
Banned
Having that much cash in reserve shows how poorly Nintendo is leveraged.
With this kind of uncanny timing, this decision is probably based on Pikmin 3's and NSLU's market performance data.
Really wouldn't change the current environment, I'm afraid - all that will do is make the system seem like a current gen system with nothing to differentiate it from the pack, and those other current gen systems have a shitload of game content whereas Wii U, well... you know.
I just think Nintendo is sort of stuck with the Wii U as a concept - consumers don't give a fuck about the GamePad, they never will, and they traded power for that worthless tech (erp... I mean WOW OffTV Play and asynchronous gameplay *rollseyes*), and now if they abandon the GamePad, all you have is current gen system with a tiny bit more power and not even 10% of the quality library.
Exactly. If Iwata were capable of switching gears, we should have seen it with the Wii U.
I think the man is giving us the best he's got. It's just not enough anymore.
I've seen "4M" thrown around a lot. Where does it come from? I doubt it's anywhere close to that. And I'm talking sold, not shipped.
Worse a current gen system which requires devs some effort to port their current gen engines too (Frostbite doesn't just work automagically for example) so they still have to be convinced to spend man hours to get their current gen games working on it.
Nah, they totally could if re-entering the specs race (to some extent) became the plan going forward. By 2017-18, a 10 Tflop GPU would be over a year old, affordable enough to stick inside a console and give it a 10x leap over the PSBone.
Steve McQueen
Member
Without a doubt you're mentioning great names here, but there aren't that many titles who appeal to the masses as, for instance, Mario Kart. I still think there is a major public out there, who own a Wii and might make the jump to WiiU. Most people, who play games now and then, don't have a clue about most launch titles that are launching on the PS4 and X1. They might even not know that X1 and Ps4 are launching this year. I agree that PS4 and X1 will not have a software drought as major as WiiU, but once the WiiU price is cut, and the right games are out is will be very appealing for parents too. If you're in a store, your kids play games now and then, they still own an Wii and you would have the choice between a 249$ WiiU (backward compatible) bundled with Mario Kart 8, or a 499$ bundled with Kinect Sports Rivals or a 399$ PS4 bundled with Knack, what would you chose? For me, the consolewars are not over yet.
RobFox64tm
Member
Back to my original question then: how do we know they're not doing this already? I'm sure Nintendo realizes the situation they're in, and are privy to even more of the numbers than we are. I really don't think they're just sitting back and waiting for things to improve. Nintendo has also stated publicly that it's their common practice to begin developement on new consoles once they've released each one. Surely what's happening now is steering that developement in certain ways. The point is, it's a must that they operate business as usual, as to avoid damaging their brand further.
Pirzolaman
Banned
Hmm I really wanted to buy a Wii U down the line for the coming games, but now...I think it's not a good idea anymore.
I don't want to own a home console just to play 3-5 great games :/
I don't want to own a home console just to play 3-5 great games :/
DragonSworne
Banned
Only thing preventing Nintendo from doing that is Takeda and his love of small systems with low power draw. -_-
He needs to be removed as the general manager of Nintendo's research divsion.
cyberheater
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A couple of ideas:-
1. Really open up the WiiU as a dev machine. Copy the model for IOS machines so you can develop software on your shop bought machine. If you can do it with a iPad there is no reason at all that you can't do it on a WiiU.
2. Once you've done step1. Open up a market place so that devs can freely distribute their software and charge what they want. Have a short review pipeline at Ninty and they take 20% (or whatever).
3. Have a universal account system for handhelds and consoles. Tied to your user name. If you lose either device. You can easily download games from the cloud once you've replaced your device.
Really make it a fantastic home-brew/indie gaming machine with a fantastic control interface.
It would put it at GameCube levels of success, probably.
You know you fucked up when you are looking up to GameCube.
I feel like they're in a better position selling a wii u at a profit at $250 with a pro controller versus $350 at a loss with a gamepad. The gamepad is not appealing at all, not to mention Nintendo doesn't even have any interesting ideas for the thing with regards to their big upcoming games.
Man-is-Obsolete
Member
Me too. I have arguing against the tablet even when it was just a rumor. And that name.......
I know they are probably working on their next console, but I'm saying they need to make it a big priority and shift focus from Wii U over to it. Of course that could be what they are doing right now, but Iwata being adamant about turning Wii U around this holiday doesn't make me think that's the case considering he still hasn't given up on it yet.
Ninja Scooter
Member
The more I think about it, the more I think Nintendo really missed the boat on indies. They cannot compete with Sony and MS on big budget blockbusters. They can't spend $50 million for Titanfall. They cannot spend however many millions Sony spends on TLoU or Uncharted. But you don't need all of those millions to find the next Super Meat boy or Minecraft. That has become an incredibly lucrative segment of the market. And the thing is, a lot of these indie devs seem to hold Nintendo in high regard and really use a lot of old Nintendo action and platform games as inspirations and probably would have been ecstatic to work with Nintendo directly. Unfortunately it's too late for this now. Sony and MS have leapfrogged them in this regard. They really needed to cultivate this environment 2 or 3 years ago.
TheMan
Member
i agree that making another console would be foolhardy. however, that's not what i'm suggesting. I'm suggesting that Nintendo pull the WiiU from the shelves and then publish their IPs on the new, better, sexier platforms.
fastford58
Member
At least it sold more than Virtualboy.
Linkstrikesback
Member
Even if nintendo had the "10x lead over psbone", who is going to develop for it? The mass market will still be with sony/ms and now Nintendo has a system that costs even more to develop their own titles for
FairXchange
Member
I really like my Wii U. I hope Nintendo just double down, stick their fingers in the ears, and make amazing games for their platforms without alienating the existing customers. Make a revolutionary Zelda and make the world pay attention to your home console, despite its weaker hardware and lack of other media features.
DragonSworne
Banned
Like the Xbox, it takes time to gain developer support and loyal customers.
Nintendo has to start from the beginning like the rest of the world. Gimmicks can't be relied on forever, as Wii U as shown.