Posted on 01/29/2014 3:11:54 PM PST by Extremely Extreme Extremist
TOKYO — Nintendo said on Wednesday that poor sales of the Wii U game console had caused a big drop in revenue in the first nine months of its financial year, adding pressure on the company to execute a strategic turnaround.
Nintendo has resisted the advance of the smartphone, an increasingly popular platform for video game players, refusing to license popular games like the Mario franchise for mobile use. Instead, it has stuck to console systems, seeking to integrate its own hardware with video game software.
(Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com ...
I think the Wii itself was fairly user friendly ... basically point at whatever you want to do on the menu and click :-). The controllers were brilliant for the time.
Three things did it in though.
The first was the piles of shovelware released for that system. During the last 3 years of that system’s run, the titles released were complete garbage for the most part.
The second was the decade old hardware it was based on. It was acceptable around 2006 when the system was released. However, by 2008, HDTVs were everywhere ... the Wii only supports a widescreen version of 480p. The graphics were terrible compared to PS3 and Xbox360.
The third was the terrible Nintendo network interface (maybe that’s what you meant by user interface). You needed something akin to a pair of phone numbers to find your friends online.
They screwed up with the WiiU in that they didn’t migrate to the x86 based systems the new PS4 and Xbox1 consoles are using. They had to have known where the industry was going. Had they made that simple decision, they would have gained a lot of market share as they would have been the first “next gen” console on the market by a year!
Also, while that new controller is interesting, there really isn’t much of a demand for something like that.
All in all, when they hit clearance prices, I’ll pick one up and place it next to my Nintendo Virtual Boy (what a silly name) console :-).
I have a Wii U and its a good console, just not enough games to make people want to go out and buy one..same issue with the PS4, I have one and its just collecting dust right now, great system but game quality just isn’t there right now
I always theught the name “Wii U” made it sound like it was having an identity crisis.
Wii U sounds like a college for gamers.
It does have an identity crisis. Nintendo made the console very tough to develop on, and they marketed it very poorly.
That said, there are some amazing first party games coming out soon like Mario kart 8 that should boost sales.
they slashed their sales forcast by 2/3rds
That is just flirting with the console graveyard
They were the first on the market and it yawned
I'm playing Wii Tennis, and I don't want my character looking like one of the chicks from the "Power Puff Girls" or "Dexter Laboratory" cartoons.
And yes, I tried streaming Netflix and Hulu on Wii and I would have had better success using an old Commodore computer.
Traditionally what makes or breaks a system is software content. The Original Wii had a weak processor and mostly kids games and sold a ton. I was 29 when I bought one to play Zelda and some of the original Nintendo ROMS. The WiiU has been out for some time and I can’t think of a single title that would induce me to buy a WiiU.
“I can’t think of a single title that would induce me to buy a WiiU.”
I’m a Pikmin addict and I think Pikmin 3 is available. I’m just not *that* addicted to waste $300+ for a single game :-).
The ONLY other title that would interest me is a new PunchOut title ... that’s not going to happen though.
“same issue with the PS4, I have one and its just collecting dust right now,”
There was nothing at launch that looked appealing to me ... maybe Killzone ... but that game is not worth it overall :-).
If a new Warhawk would have launched with the PS4 that was as good as the PS3 one, I would have been one of those lunatics in line waiting for one on launch day :-).
When I got my PS4 package from Dell, it came with Killzone, Knack, and a second controller(I have to get a PS4 charger eventually its a pain in the butt to charge it while plugged into the system) my system was DOA blue screen of death, took it to the Sony store and got a replacement, that one is fine but really no games to play right now..maybe Infamous Second Son that game looks good, Thief looks good, but that wont be coming out til March. I would like to get the XBOX ONE eventually, once the bugs are taken care of. I know people call that the NSA spying box but heck can’t even play Angry Birds without being spied on so what the heck
Microsoft has a great anti Nintendo ad campaign going... publishing the same article in every blog and newspaper selling article space out there. The tip off is the use of propaganda and sophistry techniques sprinkled into every article. Up until now all the articles said “Nintendo lost money” but guess what... they didn’t! Nintendo didn’t lose money on the Wii U. And also, its a pretty good system.
Poor Microsoft!!!
They’re just trying to distract from the real problem... XBOX one is getting trounced by Sony PS4! That’s the problem Mr. Softy has.
We have Pikmin 3, Mario 3d World. Also we play Lego City Undercover... which is like Grand Theft Auto in Legoland. Love it.
I think you are right on everything. And I really do think tablets and mobile phones are hurting the old consoles to the point there won’t be room for the Big 3 and it might go down to a two system race or even one. Tablets and phones have really killed the portable game market too.
I see so many kids playing games like Minecraft or Candy Crush that it tells me it’s changed for good and it’s never coming back. There are a lot of junky games on mobile for sure, but once you find that hidden gem, there’s limitless replay value for very low cost compared to a 60 dollar console game.
There is also another (Andriod based) console entering the fold. https://www.ouya.tv/
I wonder what impact it will have, or not. At 99 bucks I think it’s a great buy, unless it’s of poor quality.
I have an irrational hatred of the Xbox line of products, so my reviews of that system are completely worthless ;-).
I’ll probably sit out the console stuff this generation. Most of the games I want to get in the near future are PC exclusives ... mainly Star Citizen and the Wasteland sequel (both were Kickstarter projects).
If I do get a PS4, it’ll be coincident with the next Fallout release (yeah, I know, that’s also a PC release, but it’s a lot more fun to annoy my wife playing that in the living room).
I remember when the PS4 came out everyone said how difficult it would be to get one and people were paying double, triple the amount..now you can find them EVERYWHERE..all of my local gamestops have them in stock and best Buy has had them in stock for the past week so the rush to get these systems die down..Im not really a PC Gamer, some are but I never got into it, besides, my PC isnt strong enough to handle the big time graphic games, some of them yes but games like Thief I doubt it..GTA 5 will come out for the PC eventually I can imagine how much graphics are going to be required for that
Wii is nothing more that a fancy 70s arcade game
I remember when it was Atari vs. Intellivision vs. Colecovision. B-)
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