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[CoffeeJanitor]

And this is the beginning of the end of traditional gaming.

This post basically sums up the general public's opinion on games. Why buy a game for full price when I can wait for the firesale on Steam in a couple of months? Why buy a handheld when I can play Candy Crush on my phone?

Budgets have exploded but game prices have fallen like stones. This isn't how economics works. I'm not judging this post but its easy to see that something has to change in the traditional gaming sense or all consoles and AAA games are on very short lifespans

I mean, I'm not too worried. There are still a lot of people who buy day 1 regardless. There will always be people looking for the best deals, like me. And these companies will react and change their strategies accordingly. I don't think F2P everything is something that's going to happen at all...

Anyways, I wouldn't look at consumers expecting lower prices as a bad thing. The past few years have been absolutely amazing for me as a gamer--getting great titles for dirt cheap. But I see where you're coming from.

 

[kingkaiser]

Big props for Iwata for having the cojones to stay during this mess and show some responsibility, instead of running away like a coward.

Sure, all the internet wannabe analysts, who actually have no idea how to manage a company, will be pissed, but well...what do they even matter.

 

[SmokyDave]

Anyone in their early 30s with friends who have kids or who commutes on a train as I do can tell you that this is more a probability than possibility. There's no doubt in my mind that that's what's happening.

Me neither. I've mentioned it a few times, but people think I'm trolling. There are no hard numbers to back up the hunch though.

 

[Griss]

I'd just like an Apple tv-like device dedicated to playing NES/SNES/N64 games. It should include some kind of subscription service (like Netflix), with access to their entire games library. I'm probably not the first to suggest this.

It wouldn't solve their current problem, but I don't know how any price cuts or a possible new console could. Such a device would be pretty cheap to manufacture and at least make them SOME money.

I have thought that an $99 'Virtual Console' that runs Netflix and what have you is their best stopgap measure post-Wii U.

To do that though you need to have all the games from NES-N64 ready to go at launch. And can Nintendo do that? The VC says otherwise.

 

[Chindogg]

Is Six Flags a theme park? UK-GAF here.

My point was that I think most people are happy with one system, and they don't want to fork out £200+ for a console just to play Nintendo games (under the TV).

Oh sorry. I'll try to make a better metaphor.

You don't go to Thorpe Park to ride Pirates of the Caribbean.

Does that work out better?

 

[spekkeh]

They could definitely apply their design thinking into analog devices or go back to making high-end toys or something I suppose. I mean, it's going to be tough to keep generating the kind of revenue they are used to. The problem with these novelty products is that all these industries are also in terminal decline. They'd have to invent a bunch of low-cost devices and keep experimenting in the toy space to see if they could be successful with anything.

The serious games market is not in decline though, it's expanding rapidly, and there's no big player at all. It's also not terminally ill technically, because the corporate training industry massively eclipses the entertainment industry, and isn't going anywhere, but is interested in making people more motivated. Nintendo is a brand name regular people trust. They can do playful without the foul taste of gamification. They will not make the big money as they used to, but it's a pretty stable market. I usually tell my students who want to go into the games industry to try a serious games company. It's what I would do probably. Sure it's less exciting, but you get decent working hours and pretty good job security.

I should probably create a separate thread for this though. (although we'll be the only ones reading it, because Nintendo certainly won't)

 

[Busty]

Much like TV networks that announce the final season of a series before it airs Nintendo should just announce that the WiiU will be their last 'traditional' home console. At this point they might as well play nostalgia card and try and lure back all those that played the N64 and Gamecube (such as myself) before abandoning Nintendo for Sony & MS.

At this point I have no doubt in my mind that Nintendo's next platform will be part of a GaiKai/OnLive style streaming service. As others have said it just makes no sense for Nintendo to jump back a tech 'cold war' with Sony and MS given that they struggled with transitioning from Wii to WiiU in terms of development never mind the horrendous third party support.

A Playstation Now style set up for Nintendo (they could even partner with someone like Intel and simply provide the software rather than the network) is what they need given how the WiiU is now just an embarrassment.

A leaner, meaner Nintendo cold thrive in the future.

Any little bandwagon shit sarcastically mouthing "nintendoooooooomed" can now eat the fact-pie and get all silent with fierce indigestion.

I love this sentence. It's as if it's been translated from English to Chinese and then back to English again.

 

[KennyLinder]

I'd just like an Apple tv-like device dedicated to playing NES/SNES/N64 games. It should include some kind of subscription service (like Netflix), with access to their entire games library. I'm probably not the first to suggest this.

It wouldn't solve their current problem, but I don't know how any price cuts or a possible new console could. Such a device would be pretty cheap to manufacture and at least make them SOME money.

I cannot believe, I CANNOT BELIEVE that Nintendo fuck up Virtual Console on such an epic scale. They have the best and biggest back catalog in the history of videogames and the only way to play (pretty much most of) them now without original hardware is illegally. It boggles the mind how much of a fuck up that alone is. Netflix model for Nintendo games? Fucking awesome idea!

 

[Psycho_Mantis]

Yep, look at that 5% increased hardware sales in december.

Collapse of Wii, DS, 360 and PS3 led to that. PS4 is also supply constrained.

I am looking and I'm seeing bugger and all.

Your seeing some of the biggest launches in gaming history.

You are forgetting Vita which is probably doing worse worldwide than Wii U (except Japan)

Vita represents very little of the industry lol.

 

[SmokedMeat]

Sony neither, that´s why they bought out Gaikai.

That requires spending money, so it's out of the question for Nintendo. Aw who are kidding, the only cloud Nintendo knows is the one with the smiley face Lakitu rides.

 

[Cheerilee]

I think some of you guys are missing the point about all this - there really isn't much Iwata could have done - really - he had the option of turning the company into a F2P/mobile company four years ago and embracing that business model like many Japanese publishers did - or to take a risk and try to stay in the packaged software business and spending tremendous resources scaling Nintendo's capabilities to meet the bar of high-end software development without overextending themselves.

At that time people were questioning whether Sony was going to make a new console as the company was nearly bankrupt (and still is almost bankrupt - it's basically a zombie firm with a ridiculous amount of debt), and Microsoft had pretty much abandoned Japan (the source of 30% of Nintendo's gross profits). It isn't as if Nintendo could even have gone third-party - the only real options were to embrace the iPad and iPhone which were nascent platforms in Japan and had a style of games that Nintendo had never made.

Four years ago, the Wii was selling 20 million hardware units in a year. Iwata had done the impossible, and regained the lead in the console industry. You're right, he shouldn't have planned a move to cell phones or planned to go third party, he should've considered how to stay on top. Any other industry should be an expansion, a third pillar, not a replacement.

And he decided to stay on top by ignoring the requests of the industry, and gambling on another controller innovation. IMO, if Nintendo had taken everything they put into the gamepad and put that into a next-gen console, they would've taken the wind out of PS4/Xbone's sails, and done a whole lot better than they're doing now.

Iwata says that Nintendo is "bad at competing", but if he had taken the fight to Sony, we might be looking at Sony's grave right now. Instead of people calling for Iwata's head, people might be calling Iwata the most feared CEO in the world.

 

[Dascu]

Cut out the Gamepad, cut down the price, cut down software prices and boost up indie and eShop releases. Do whatever you can to market this re-branded WiiU as a secondary and complementary console. Cheap enough for parents to buy this for their kids, cheap enough for gamers to buy this is an extra small console in addition to their PS4/Xbone/PC. This further allows you to keep development costs low by creating a profile that is less about direct competition with next-gen, does not involve a hasty attempt to bring out PS4-level hardware in the near future and just cuts off any utterly fruitless attempt for 3rd party support that goes beyond Just Dance and kids games. Low costs further help Nintendo to increase its 1st party output in breadth and variety. Regular releases of $20-30 (and $10-20 eShop/indie), further increasing the chances of there being some kind of blockbuster hit among them.

The Ouya failed for a lot of reasons, but I don't think its base concept of cheap hardware/software console is inherently wrong. Nintendo has the strength to make such an idea succeed and it strikes me as a lot more reasonable and financially feasible than trying to hash together a console that has the power, OS functionality and 3rd party support as Xbone/PS4. That market is already deadlocked into its account systems, and likely shrinking alltogether. Supplement this market with a cheap and quick-to-play gaming console that offers them those high-grade Mario and Zelda games that reviewers are raving about. And even if this market doesn't bite, kids/casuals would be much more susceptible to buying this rather than ignoring the WiiU because they get their gaming fix on their mobile/tablets already.

 

[Xater]

I cannot believe, I CANNOT BELIEVE that Nintendo fuck up Virtual Console on such an epic scale. They have the best and biggest back catalog in the history of videogames and the only way to play (pretty much most of) them now without original hardware is illegally. It boggles the mind how much of a fuck up that alone is. Netflix model for Nintendo games? Fucking awesome idea!

No trickling out one game a week is clearly the better solution. Also selling them for 5€ a piece and per system.

 

[DragonSworne]

Given how PS3 and 360 have absolutely tanked in sales since the start pf next gen, who in their right mind will continue to support Wii U?

Without the current gen propping up the little support Wii U does have, dropping the gamepad will do nothing for Wii U.

 

[CoffeeJanitor]

Me neither. I've mentioned it a few times, but people think I'm trolling. There are no hard numbers to back up the hunch though.

I can also put in that I know off the top of my head three 30's couples that have given their kids phones/tablets. These kids don't give two shits about DS/3DS, that is old hat.

 

[Sneds]

Is Six Flags a theme park? UK-GAF here.

My point was that I think most people are happy with one system, and they don't want to fork out £200+ for a console just to play Nintendo games (under the TV).

Exactly. As good as Nintendo's games are, they're not enough to make up for the almost complete lack of third party support. But Nintendo would need to make major changes to gain that third party support and I just don't see them doing that.

 

[Maxrunner]

And this is the beginning of the end of traditional gaming.

This post basically sums up the general public's opinion on games. Why buy a game for full price when I can wait for the firesale on Steam in a couple of months? Why buy a handheld when I can play Candy Crush on my phone?

Budgets have exploded but game prices have fallen like stones. This isn't how economics works. I'm not judging this post but its easy to see that something has to change in the traditional gaming sense or all consoles and AAA games are on very short lifespans.

Well charging 8€ for their Snes games is ridiculous as an example, you can't expect a game that is already payed itself centuries ago to go with that price. I'ts a near 100% profit guarantee investment, yeah they talk about that they don't want to devalue their games...but c'mon really???

 

[Harlock]

I was thinking between bying a Wii U or PS4 (in the long run I will have both). The fucked thing with Wii U is that is expensive be a Nintendo gamer. The hardware is not that cheap, and the main games dont have price fall. No online discounts or sales. In the end, is cheaper be a PS4 gamer.

 

[zomgbbqftw]

Looking at the numbers, Nintendo forecasting 2.8m for the year means they expect to sell 2.34m over the second half of the year, that puts their best case Q3 performance at around 2m units, but considering that MK8 is planned for Q4, I would say their Q3 performance is closer to 1.6m, pitiful.

For 3DS, they have sold 3.89m for the year so far, leaving 9.61m units to meet their forecast. With 3DS down YoY in Japan, and likely down YoY in the US for the quarter it's going to be difficult for them to make it. I could see them missing the 13.5m forecast.

The next set of 3DS forecasts for 2014/15 is going to be very interesting. Nintendo have run out of system selling software for it, and I don't know where they go from here to boost hardware sales to grow the base. I could see a 3DS forecast for next year of around 11m units.

 

[SolarPowered]

I'm fine but to disregard the numbers across the board while relating to current trends is just being delusional. Despite the great launches hardware is still only up 5%. Meanwhile software sales are still down. Where's the attach rate for the new consoles? Not one new console exclusive cracked the top 10. Not one. That's not good at all.

You are talking about delusion and using anecdotal evidence and steam/PSN+ as proof that console software is doomed. Your tone was just a bit alarmist.

Can you elaborate on this? I have read the thread, but I would be interested to read more about this retailer predicament, and why it's not feasible to rebrand the Wii U. So you're saying retailers would simply absolutely not stock a cheap GamePad-less Wii U? Or are you saying it wouldn't be profitable enough thus kill Nintendo?

Okay, fair enough. Thanks.

Stores might stock it, but how will Nintendo magically make up for that gaping $150 drop? How many pieces of software would they have to sell just to make profit on the system (erasing software profits in the process)? I don't understand your math or your perception of the gamepad's manufacturing costs. Either the pad costs over $100 to manufacture or Nintendo is on the verge of some amazing die shrinks that no one else has heard of. Cutting the pad is not enough and the system is not made of simple off the shelf parts.

http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showpost.php?p=97425638&postcount=591

Maybe you missed it.

 

[SmokyDave]

I can also put in that I know off the top of my head three 30's couples that have given their kids phones/tablets. These kids don't give two shits about DS/3DS, that is old hat.

It kinda makes sense though. Phones and tablets have a much broader range of software for kids, and can do far more than just play games.

Also, for all the whinging by the hardcore, I reckon touchscreens are far more intuitive for young 'uns than any game controller or handheld.

I know our kid will inherit one of my old iPads and I don't expect her to give a shit about the 3DS' or the Vitas in the house.

 

[T-0800]

I hope things pickup as the Wii U is my favourite Nintendo console.

 

[LoveCake]

If anything, the appalling tie-rate and software sales prove that parents are buying it for their kids, then baulking at the software prices and just handing their kid their phone when they want a different game to play.
Its nothing short of disastrous.

I think this is a very real possibility.

Most parents now have been brought up playing games themselves & these parents with the mortgages & bills to pay, they also like to play games like CoD & FIFA online, so when their children want to play some games the parents just buy similar games like Nintendo make for the PlayStation/Xbox they already own, Little Big Planet or Sonic Racing for example, the people that grew up playing Nintendo have grown up & moved on, they won't spend £300 for a Playstation/Xbox for themselves & then another £300 for a Nintendo console for their children.

 

[Chindogg]

Well charging 8€ for their Snes games is ridiculous as an example, you can't expect a game that is already payed itself centuries ago to go with that price. I'ts a near 100% profit guarantee investment, yeah they talk about that they don't want to devalue their games...but c'mon really???

Yeah it's a bit much to charge $8 for a SNES game, especially something like Vegas Stakes (although I love that game.)

They really do need to refine their VC pricing but for physical games they have to be more rigid. It's probably still a bit early to launch a greatest hits version for Wii U

Spoiler

inb4whatgreatesthitsjoke

but I hope that they do eventually. I still can't believe people are still sleeping on W101. They really need to expose more people to such an amazing game and I do feel that a better price would be a real help for even its small install base.

You are talking about delusion and using anecdotal evidence and steam/PSN+ as proof that console software is doomed. Your tone was just a bit alarmist.

I never said doomed but there are some serious issues that need to be addressed when it comes to pricing vs budgets. When Tomb Raider sells 3 million and still falls below expectations, you know there's a problem.

 

[Graphics Horse]

For 3DS, they have sold 3.89m for the year so far, leaving 9.61m units to meet their forecast. With 3DS down YoY in Japan, and likely down YoY in the US for the quarter it's going to be difficult for them to make it. I could see them missing the 13.5m forecast.

Possible. They might launch 2ds and Mario Party or whatever it was they haven't released in Japan yet to bump up the numbers.
But when was the last time they met their forecasts? 2010? These ones sound achievable at least.

 

[SmokedMeat]

I don't think they should, I've been saying they should go third party in the home console area for almost a year. I just think that they WILL, and if they do they need to be ready.

Well, if they were to just release another system with more power, it would tell me they're clueless.

 

[Prince Vultan]

Bububut Nintendo never lose money!

That is some hardcore lowering right there. Wii U the millstone around Nintendo's neck.

 

[narton]

So if I'm reading this correctly, they've lost money overall? Not even foreign currency games helped them?

 

[Deku Tree]

I didn't think they're going to cut the forecast THAT much

 

[djplaeskool]

Man, both of those revisions are a LOT more intense than I expected. Damn.

 

[jelly]

Nintendo just need to ride it out for a year or two, release a couple of games so people aren't completely pissed and then forget about the WiiU.

I could see Nintendo merging the DS and console platform into one. An iPad/DS device that can be docked with your TV for use with a standard controller. I think the Playstation/Xbox ship has sailed and Nintendo will continue to not care. Leveraging app store games and the Nintendo back catalog along with new exclusives and experiences is the ideal direction now.

 

[SmokedMeat]

I can also put in that I know off the top of my head three 30's couples that have given their kids phones/tablets. These kids don't give two shits about DS/3DS, that is old hat.

It's anecdotal, but I see it all the time. Parents dropping their kids off to a youth sports practice, and the younger brother/sister is passing time by playing on a tablet or phone. I rarely see kids playing on dedicated gaming devices.

 

[RukusProvider]

I didn't think they're going to cut the forecast THAT much

It's not by choice. Let's see if they can even hit these.

 

[Delio]

It's anecdotal, but I see it all the time. Parents dropping their kids off to a youth sports practice, and the younger brother/sister is passing time by playing on a tablet or phone. I rarely see kids playing on dedicated gaming devices.

Well I did see a kid in Target with a 2DS right after xmas. Not that it takes away from what you said lol.

 

[ymmv]

Yes, this has been happening for ages and it's a massive issue. People just aren't willing to pay for games any more. I don't know why. People obviously don't understand what it takes in terms of money, talent and time to build a great game. But as time goes on, there is a bigger and bigger catalogue of excellent old games that are cheap, and new games don't seem to be innovative enough to compete with them.

Once the paying public realise that paying for items in F2P games is a mug's choice then it could pretty much be all over. The perceived value of software could hardly get any lower. To think that people are reduced to giving away AAA games and then hoping players will buy some useless digital tat when they're in the game, like it was Disneyland but without an entrance fee... it boggles my mind.

Good points. The race to the bottom is why Android/iPhone games can't have realistic price points because consumers expect a $0.99 price tag or FTP. Prices for PC games are eroded by Steam sales and Humble Bundles, console prices are under fire by internet stores cutting prices by 50% after only a few weeks and Sony giving away "free" games each month to PS+ subscribers. All of those things condition gamers to stop buying full price games.

 

[popeutlal]

Nintendo sure had a lot of faith in Mario. I'll bet they'll miss the 2.8 million forecast again...by about 2 million.

 

[jelly]

It kinda makes sense though. Phones and tablets have a much broader range of software for kids, and can do far more than just play games.

Also, for all the whinging by the hardcore, I reckon touchscreens are far more intuitive for young 'uns than any game controller or handheld.

I know our kid will inherit one of my old iPads and I don't expect her to give a shit about the 3DS' or the Vitas in the house.

It's amazing how good kids are with touchscreen devices.

 

[zomgbbqftw]

Finally, before I go to lunch and then magically end up on the way home...

It is still not clear that Nintendo are profiting from 3DS/2DS hardware. There is no way that negative Wii U margins are enough to wipe out the operating profit from 3DS/2DS hardware, 3DS software and Wii U software. On just 2.8m Wii U units sold for the year, a $350m loss implies loss making territory for 3DS/2DS hardware. There is no other way to account for such a big operating loss. There is no way that Nintendo are losing more than $100 per unit on the Wii U, which means they have to be losing money elsewhere.

 

[BikoBiko]

I have thought that an $99 'Virtual Console' that runs Netflix and what have you is their best stopgap measure post-Wii U.

To do that though you need to have all the games from NES-N64 ready to go at launch. And can Nintendo do that? The VC says otherwise.

They probably can't do it. Otherwise they probably would have done it for the Wii U launch. They built up this awesome library on the Wii VC only to start all over again with the launch of the new console. I just don't get that.

 

[Sneds]

Most parents now have been brought up playing games themselves & these parents with the mortgages & bills to pay, they also like to play games like CoD & FIFA online, so when their children want to play some games the parents just buy similar games like Nintendo make for the PlayStation/Xbox they already own, Little Big Planet or Sonic Racing for example, the people that grew up playing Nintendo have grown up & moved on, they won't spend £300 for a Playstation/Xbox for themselves & then another £300 for a Nintendo console for their children.

Which is why Sony sensibly invest in series like LIttle Big Planet as well as their first party shooters. Nintendo's philosophy that it's impossible to make family-friendly games and 'mature' games has been slowly killing them.

 

[Griss]

Four years ago, the Wii was selling 20 million hardware units in a year. Iwata had done the impossible, and regained the lead in the console industry. You're right, he shouldn't have planned a move to cell phones or planned to go third party, he should've considered how to stay on top. Any other industry should be an expansion, a third pillar, not a replacement.

And he decided to stay on top by ignoring the requests of the industry, and gambling on another controller innovation. IMO, if Nintendo had taken everything they put into the gamepad and put that into a next-gen console, they would've taken the wind out of PS4/Xbone's sails, and done a whole lot better than they're doing now.

Iwata says that Nintendo is "bad at competing", but if he had taken the fight to Sony, we might be looking at Sony's grave right now. Instead of people calling for Iwata's head, people might be calling Iwata the most feared CEO in the world.

Great post. I hate when people look to the past and say 'It was always going to happen this way / It had to happen this way.' There are always options, and in Iwata's case there were very obviously better options. GAF knew from the moment of the Wii U's reveal that it was in trouble and potentially a very bad idea. A year later at E3 2012 GAF was pretty much ready to write it off before launch - the anger in that thread at the poor decisions made was INCREDIBLE.

If this stuff was so obvious to us on first view, why wasn't it obvious to Iwata? Why didn't it show up in focus testing? Clueless, clueless, clueless.

 

[Graphics Horse]

Good points. The race to the bottom is why Android/iPhone games can't have realistic price points because consumers expect a $0.99 price tag or FTP. Prices for PC games are eroded by Steam sales and Humble Bundles, console prices are under fire by internet stores cutting prices by 50% after only a few weeks and Sony giving away "free" games each month to PS+ subscribers. All of those things condition gamers to stop buying full price games.

Squareenix don't seem to do so bad.

 

[gogogow]

Finally, before I go to lunch and then magically end up on the way home...

It is still not clear that Nintendo are profiting from 3DS/2DS hardware. There is no way that negative Wii U margins are enough to wipe out the operating profit from 3DS/2DS hardware, 3DS software and Wii U software. On just 2.8m Wii U units sold for the year, a $350m loss implies loss making territory for 3DS/2DS hardware. There is no other way to account for such a big operating loss. There is no way that Nintendo are losing more than $100 per unit on the Wii U, which means they have to be losing money elsewhere.

Weren't Nintendo losing around $50 per unit? With the $50 pricecut that would be $100.

 

[BowieZ]

You are talking about delusion and using anecdotal evidence and steam/PSN+ as proof that console software is doomed. Your tone was just a bit alarmist.

Stores might stock it, but how will Nintendo magically make up for that gaping $150 drop? How many pieces of software would they have to sell just to make profit on the system (erasing software profits in the process)? I don't understand your math or your perception of the gamepad's manufacturing costs. Either the pad costs over $100 to manufacture or Nintendo is on the verge of some amazing die shrinks that no one else has heard of. Cutting the pad is not enough and the system is not made of simple off the shelf parts.

http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showpost.php?p=97425638&postcount=591

Maybe you missed it.

I read it but would just like more information on the relevant part and how/why it impacts a potential new SKU.

2. Nintendo bled money at retail trying to push hardware - far more than anyone expected - they must be eating close to a $100+ loss per Wii U sold right now or more - not just because of manufacturing cost - but because they are literally having to compensate retailers to provide them with shelf space and having to eat the price drop at the same time. This is horrible - because even if they take that much of a loss - the low gross margins on their own first-party games isn't sufficient to help them break even.


And yes, I was under the impression the GamePad was expensive. Nintendo sells replacements for US$140, and I've read other accounts saying it costs somewhere around the $80-100 mark to manufacture, of course this may be incorrect.

 

[Kimawolf]

Im not sure why there is jubilation over one of the last pure gameplay companies faltering so badly. Nintendi let this be your sobering moment, now its time to regroup. They added a lot to their R and D budget so obviously they realize the situation, but they need to make games that appeal to todays modern gamer. I.e. cinematic games. And if they cant they need to find someone who will. They could also look into acquiring a few 3rd parties to help build games most westerners want.

Time to work with Samsung on thr next portable and Nvidia on the next console to be released in 2016.

 

[CouldBeWorse]

Finally, before I go to lunch and then magically end up on the way home...

It is still not clear that Nintendo are profiting from 3DS/2DS hardware. There is no way that negative Wii U margins are enough to wipe out the operating profit from 3DS/2DS hardware, 3DS software and Wii U software. On just 2.8m Wii U units sold for the year, a $350m loss implies loss making territory for 3DS/2DS hardware. There is no other way to account for such a big operating loss. There is no way that Nintendo are losing more than $100 per unit on the Wii U, which means they have to be losing money elsewhere.

I came here to post this. Margins on their big 3DS software have to be insane so that points the finger squarely at 2DS/3DS hardware, which his surprising consider how aged the tech is.

That, or they're spending more on Wii U software development than we'd expect?

 

[SolarPowered]

I never said doomed but there are some serious issues that need to be addressed when it comes to pricing vs budgets. When Tomb Raider sells 3 million and still falls below expectations, you know there's a problem.

That is an entirely different matter.

The problem there was an insane budget and expectations on the part of Square Enix in that particular incident. Over three million people bought Tomb Raider. PSN+ and Steam didn't kill nothing there. If you've got proof of systematic sales damage to major AAA $60 franchises then you can bring it and blame the gamers, but Tomb Raider is most certainly not an example of people not buying games or software collapse.

I read it but would just like more information on the relevant part and how/why it impacts a potential new SKU.

2. Nintendo bled money at retail trying to push hardware - far more than anyone expected - they must be eating close to a $100+ loss per Wii U sold right now or more - not just because of manufacturing cost - but because they are literally having to compensate retailers to provide them with shelf space and having to eat the price drop at the same time. This is horrible - because even if they take that much of a loss - the low gross margins on their own first-party games isn't sufficient to help them break even.


And yes, I was under the impression the GamePad was expensive. Nintendo sells replacements for US$140, and I've read other accounts saying it costs somewhere around the $80-100 mark to manufacture, of course this may be incorrect.

I'm not an insider so I wouldn't have any more info on this than your average layman. I just don't see how the numbers add up for a $149 SKU that doesn't have Nintendo bleeding cash. Please help me understand.

 

[gogogow]

Time to work with Samsung on thr next portable and Nvidia on the next console to be released in 2016.

Why does Nintendo needs to work with Samsung and Nvidia?

Samsung just uses off the shelf parts for their phones, Snapdragon SOCs.

Nvidia, they are expensive, and Nintendo has been working with AMD since the GC.

 

[Opus Angelorum]

The forecast revisions are harsh but in the main realistic.

One has to assume the Wii U will receive a price drop in the coming months, considering the success of the PS4 and Xbox One.

 

[zomgbbqftw]

Weren't Nintendo losing around $50 per unit? With the $50 pricecut that would be $100.

One would hope they have had some cost cutting measures since then. The implied loss per unit taking into account operating profitability for the other three major Nintendo sectors and corporate eliminations is around $210 per unit by my back of the envelope calculation. That doesn't make sense. Putting 3DS hardware into loss making territory yields a figure of under $100, which does make sense.