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Nintendo plans to save the U
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Topic by: Cookiejesus
Posted: Apr 24, 13 - 1:56 PM
Last Reply: Jun 1, 13 - 7:13 AM
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Author Nintendo plans to save the U
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Paleo Wannabe
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Or go down fighting.

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He Leg
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Yeah I'm not convinced.

It never appeared to me to be a device that had anywhere near the same level of appeal that the original Wii had on release. It's just not revolutionary in the same way (or at all, really).

I expect they'll be able to turn a profit in time, but I am left wondering what they have planned after this. With Microsoft and Sony moving towards more PC-like architecture, and handheld gaming now becoming the domain of phones and tablets, it puts Nintendo in a very precarious position indeed.

Unless something amazing happens I think they will go the way of SEGA by the end of the decade. Their game IP will be their main source of income, and we'll be seeing Mario on many other platforms.

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In Reply To #2

Just read that while falling short of the Wii's launch sales, the U is selling just about what the PS3 & the 360 sold at their launch. So at least GamesRadar believes we're a year short on pronouncing it dead.

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He Leg
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In Reply To #3

I don't think the Wii U is a failure in itself, I think it's just a sign of Nintendo running out of options for innovation, and that could be the start of a gradual decline. The Wii U is certainly no Saturn, nor even a Dreamcast. One link away from that article is a mention of the original Wii outselling the Wii U by half a million units in the same quarter.

Now, you could say the same thing happened with Sony when you look at sales. The PS2 outsold the PS3 for ages. However I think there are fundamental differences in consumer expectations between the two. When a new PS or Xbox comes out, people expect "mostly the same as previous offerings but better", and that's what they usually get - sometimes with a surprise thrown in later like Kinect.

I suppose Nintendo used to be like that too, but then with the original Wii they gave themselves a super hard act to follow. The main new selling feature of the Wii U is... different to (but I'd argue not necessarily better than) a Wiimote. The Wii U can do everything the Wii can do plus more, but I don't think most people care about the "more" enough to put down the extra cash over the regular Wii.

I think that it'll end up being viewed a bit like the GameCube. Not a failure, not really known for being a success either. The difference is that previously their hand-held dominance was not under threat at all, whereas now they have iOS and Android to worry about there too. It seems to me that to maintain a successful hardware division, they will need to come out with something as revolutionary as the original Wii within the next few years.

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Paleo Wannabe
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In Reply To #4

Could it be that Nintendo is simply failing at pitching its system?

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He Leg
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In Reply To #5

Maybe? The Wii pretty much sold itself as soon as people saw it in action, so I could see how their marketing department would become complacent with something like that.

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Could be.

Let's say you're an ordinary parent looking for a family entertainment system. You check out the flyer for your local electronics store and see images like this:

Image Image

Hmm. That does not look like a family entertainment system. That looks like a handheld. You're not looking for a handheld.

Same flyer, different page, you see this image next to a Kinect:

Image

What do you see here? A family having fun. Precisely what you're looking for.


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Paleo Wannabe
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In Reply To #7

A great point.

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He Leg
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Well, this is a bit interesting. Do you think people were hanging out to see what the competition was offering before committing to a purchase?

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Paleo Wannabe
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In Reply To #9

A very reasonable approach.

Warren Spector chimes in for Big N.

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Nintendo plans to save the U
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Topic by: Cookiejesus
Posted: Apr 24, 13 - 1:56 PM
Last Reply: Jun 1, 13 - 7:13 AM
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Posts: 10
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