Wii U

[Strangelove]

I think the last time someone DIDN'T say that about a new system was the PS2. That was over a decade ago.

 

People suck.

[Faiblesse Des Sens]

I think the last time someone DIDN'T say that about a new system was the PS2. That was over a decade ago.

 

People suck.

 

Well this is just a modification of the old PS3 one...

[Strangelove]

Anybody wanna take a guess as to when this thing gets an "official" price cut?

I figure if they dont have a REAL Mario game or a new Zelda game, we'll get a price cut this year.

 

On another note, why is it so expensive anyways? Im sure the technology they use they didnt even develop because it already existed and the gamepad has crappy resolution, so that cant be it. It really should be $200 bucks for the basic set. Or maybe $250 with 2 or 3 downloaded games.

[TheFlyingGerbil]

they said they're making a small loss on the basic unit so it's not like they're gouging people like they did on the 3DS.

 

I would say an official price cut won't happen this year, just more bundles, maybe a new colour. Also, definitely not a new zelda game this year as last I read (at the end of last year) they are still just in the ideas stage so I'd say a couple of years away at least. I haven't read anything about a 3D Mario game but hopefully we'll get a nice surprise at their e3 conference. You never know with Nintendo.

[Mr. GOH!]

Nintendo released the Wii U sales figures so far and they're not very good. http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-04-22/nintendo-ceo-seen-missing-profit-target-as-wii-u-founders.html

 

Nintendo did earn a profit, though it's attributable in significant part to a weak yen. 

 

Edit: Nintendo also posted an operating loss, which essentially means it's not doing so hot despite running a profit.

Edited April 24, 2013 by Mr. GOH!

[TheMightyEthan]

Nintendo really botched this launch.  I understand wanting to get out ahead of MS and Sony, but that strategy only works if you actually have games.

[Mr. GOH!]

I think the poor economy for 80% of the public and the much larger field of entertainment options for most non-hardcore gamers also stacks the deck against Nintendo. I expect the PS4 and the NextBox will also have sluggish sales compared to previous console generations' launches.

[deanb]

Stupid Japanese company not having a clue on how to come up with realistic targets!!

 

I think fucking up marketing accounts for most of the issue. Also the Wii capturing an audience of people where "meh, current one is good enough". They're the people who buy a vacuum cleaner, watch the new Dyson Ball adverts and maybe if the current vacuum breaks they'll upgrade. And even then they might just end up buying the old model again.

 

Ps4 should (price dependant) fare a bit better since it targets a different type of market, and on top of that is clearly the new model because it's for "4" on the end not "U".

[TCP]

Nintendo hopes to sell 9 million Wii U's this year? lololol ok then

[deanb]

Nintendo won't be doing their usual full scale E3 presentation this year, seem to be happy with their Nintendo Directs as an alternative. People are noting this might be a continuation of financial woes befalling them this year, it's certainly cheaper to stick Iwata in front of a camera than it is to set up a big ass stage n bring in a hundred lasses with 3DS' strapped to them and such. The problem with skimping on E3 is all eyes are on E3 for gaming, and if they've not got a strong presence the eyes will drift elsewhere. The only people that watch Nintendo Direct are people that are already Nintendo fans. But with E3 the Sony/Nintendo/Xbox/PC fanboys have eyes on the Sony/MS/Nintendo/EA/Ubisoft briefings, and now those eyes will have one less thing to care about.

 

http://uk.gamespot.com/news/nintendo-some-believe-wii-u-is-just-wii-with-a-pad-for-games-6407527

Also they're still struggling with the whole "U" thing and marketing it as a new console and not a tablet for the Wii.

[TheMightyEthan]

You'd think they would have gone "hey, maybe we should work on our branding" after they announced the thing and the fucking games press wasn't sure if it was a new console or not.

[Strangelove]

They really should just call all their consoles after the Gamecube, the "Zelda-Mario Machine". Except the Wii U is the "Zelda-Mario Machine HD."

[Saturnine Tenshi]

The WiiU feels like this generation's Sega Saturn.

[TCP]

Exactly. When you announce a console 18 months before it's released, and everyone, universally, tells you the name is bad, and you don't change it, you have no one to blame but yourself. I understand wanting to keep the Wii brand, but Wii 2/Wii HD/etc would have worked so much better.

Skipping out of E3, when the rest of your competitors are showing off new consoles, is a bad idea. Especially when you have a struggling console. Prepare to be forgotten about!!

[FMW]

Everyone (being enthusiasts on the internet), universally, told Nintendo that the name Wii was bad too.

 

Point is, they always do their own thing regardless of public opinion.  When they're wrong everyone's all "I told you so" and when they're right they get to be smug as fuck.

[TCP]

Ok, true, but even so, in June 2011 when game journalists and the hardcore gaming community couldn't figure if it was a new console or not, that should have been a concern for Nintendo at that point. 

[TheMightyEthan]

Wii 2 would have been perfectly acceptable, but I think Wii HD would have created similar confusion to what we're seeing now.

 

*Edit* - I also think there's a difference between public opinion being "this is a bad name because it sounds stupid", which is obviously just a taste thing, and "this is a bad name because it has created and is going to continue to create consumer confusion", which is somewhat more grounded in objective reality.

 

*Edit 2* - Also, the fact that the console itself looks so similar to the Wii is not helping either.  It's more akin to the difference between the 360 and the 360 S than the difference between the Xbox and 360.

Edited April 25, 2013 by TheMightyEthan

[Saturnine Tenshi]

It's all a damn shame because that controller is actually pretty neat.

[Mr. GOH!]

Since marketing is all about understanding and shaping public opinion, I find the assertion that Nintendo does its own thing regardless of public opinion to be less than convincing. 

 

The Nintendo marketing folks who approved of the name "Wii U" and of the awfully ambiguous marketing of the machine should be fired. It's a stupid strategy. I have no fucking clue what they were thinking.

[TheMightyEthan]

That controller is fucking fantastic and if Microsoft doesn't have something like it for the Xbox Infinity I will punch them right in their stupid faces.  Through the internet.  And Glass doesn't count.

[deanb]

Yeah the "Wii U is a confusing name" isn't the same as the "Wii sounds like urine" complaints of '05.

[FMW]

Since marketing is all about understanding and shaping public opinion, I find the assertion that Nintendo does its own thing regardless of public opinion to be less than convincing. 

 

The Nintendo marketing folks who approved of the name "Wii U" and of the awfully ambiguous marketing of the machine should be fired. It's a stupid strategy. I have no fucking clue what they were thinking.

You're point is well taken.  I rephrase my statement to "Nintendo rarely, if ever, shows evidence that the considerations of the sort of core gamer who hangs out on websites like this are a priority for them."  So the notion Cowboy presented that Nintendo really should have been paying closer attention to what was being said about their hardware on the internet struck me as incredibly unlikely to ever happen.

 

I certainly didn't mean to defend the marketing campaign they're running specifically.  Not only am I not qualified to speak of such matters (yet) but clearly the results haven't been positive.

[deanb]

Surely the many journalists, both in enthusiast and mainstream press, are worth listening to? (Though I find it hard to believe that any company, especially that of the size, scope and customer base of Nintendo, to be wholly dismissive of online commentary too)

[Strangelove]

Japanese companies are stubborn assholes. US companies like Bioware will bend over and stretch out their butthole for their whiny online "community" and waste thousands of dollars to change a fucking ending, but you still have to buy about 10 versions of Capcom fighting games to get the best one. And people complain about Capcom just as much, but they never change. They just dont give a fuck.

I dont agree with it, but at least I still respect it. Capcom that is.

Nintendo fucked up.

[FMW]

Surely the many journalists, both in enthusiast and mainstream press, are worth listening to? (Though I find it hard to believe that any company, especially that of the size, scope and customer base of Nintendo, to be wholly dismissive of online commentary too)

Nintendo always ignores commentary.  They don't pander to fans the way Capcom does, they don't try to manipulate coverage the way EA does, they don't make sequels to games that didn't sell well but found a niche the way Square Enix does.  They, as an organization, are incredibly arrogant in their belief that they have the employees both on the creative and business side that are so good that they don't need to play by anyone else's rules.  They can do their own hardware, release games at their own price structure, and delay their games as long as they damn well please.  Just recently they've decided that they don't need to do the whole mainstream E3 press thing.  They want to do their product messaging their own way through their own productions, so they're separating from tradeshows more and more.

 

So how do we feel about this?  Journalists and fans seem to think that Nintendo should listen to journalists and fans more.  There are clear and obvious weaknesses in Nintendo's current business, and whenever those rear their heads the internet shudders with a chorus of "I told you so!" as these demographics claim that if only they had been catered to more specifically and their desires pandered to, this would not have happened.

 

And they aren't always wrong.  Indeed, I'm sure folks will be more than happy to list ALL the ways that Nintendo has messed up when straying from the desires of this corner of the internet.  There are quite a few.

 

However, Nintendo is not dying a slow death because they ignore conventional wisdom.  Just as their mistakes come from ignoring obvious paths forward, so too do their successes.  And it should be remembered that they are shockingly successful.  They're the single biggest video game software developer AND publisher in the world.  Their games sell very well, continue to be held in high esteem internationally, and despite the internet crying out that Nintendo is just rehashing sequels nobody wants... the sales clearly show that these are sequels that people DO want.  Millions of people.  They've survived, thrived, and expanded this past hardware generation during a period when so many other companies in the market went out of business.  This previous fiscal year where they didn't make money was the first time they didn't make money in a fiscal year in decades.  This year they made money again.

 

Does the peanut gallery really know so much better than these guys?  Do we, internet dwellers, really assume the knowledge to make this company even bigger and more successful than it has been and is?  Do we not look back at the launch of the Nintendo DS, the Nintendo Wii, and the Nintendo 3DS and remember how all three of those hardware launches similarly signaled the end times for the company?

 

I think it's incredibly arrogant to look at the scale of achievement Nintendo has found through ignoring journalists, enthusiasts, and fans and say "But no, this time we really DO know better".

 

I think if Nintendo's staff and management is just left to do their thing and continue ignoring outsiders, they'll continue to make obvious mistakes and make really weird decisions and continue to be super duper successful.  Just like always.