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Poor Wii U sales send Nintendo back into red

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I think many would buy a Wii U if it had the games people would expect. Many people love Nintendo games, but they need to step it up at this point. Make a pokemon mmo, people are crazy about pokemon. More online support. More zelda, smash, get some third party support. Star wars games, fps.. this is why friendship with foreign developers is important for someone like Nintendo. They can't do everything by themselves.

8 ( +9 / -1 )

It could be time for poor old Mario and Luigi to be pensioned off to a nice retirement home. They sure have earned enough for Nintendo to deserve it!

0 ( +3 / -3 )

I think this is a face thing: if they try and revamp, executives may believe that they've given in and "lost"

It's important to innovate and grow with changing demand and trends, and Nintendo has done that in the past; weird how they're adamantly plowing forward with old formulas that other companies have invalidated recently.

1 ( +2 / -1 )

It is a shame, the Wii U is, even maybe less powerfull, a great console and the games are amazing :)

0 ( +1 / -1 )

The Wii U was probably the wrong device and about 2 years too late.

-2 ( +1 / -3 )

I guess this is yet another Japanese company which has not seen profits double, or is sitting on piles of cash...

-1 ( +2 / -3 )

Wii: a breath of fresh air in the console world. A novel interface. Instead of sitting on the couch - get up and move. Sports simulators, shooting games, music making games.

Wii U: "kids like screens. let's make Wii with a screen."

0 ( +1 / -1 )

Considerably outdated console technology and a lack of popular titles... No surprise that Nintendo has fallen behind. It's a pity. My favorite console when I was younger.

0 ( +2 / -2 )

I really like Wii and wish they would've stayed with and improved on that.

Many people enjoy being interactive with their games by physically standing and moving around.

This is what what wowed most people when it came out and it's still what separates it from their competitors.

"All good things don't have to come to an end - prematurely."

0 ( +0 / -0 )

I'm still new to gaming, sorry if I sound dumb asking a lot of questions. @Speed you are saying Wii stopped making games? I just bought one for my kid? So now what? Also what's the difference between that and the Wii U?

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Lacklustre demand for the unit saw the firm move 2.72 million units globally during the year, less than a third of its earlier prediction for 9 million and dealing a blow to hopes it would match the blockbuster success of the original Wii.

Only delivering less than 1/3 of the projected number of sales would mean a wholesale house-cleaning of management anywhere else but Japan. There they get away with just cutting their salaries -- for five months. Management in Japan is a joke.

-1 ( +1 / -2 )

The Wii U still uses the same 'nunchuck' controllers the Wii used. They just also added the game pad. The game pad is actually genius, in that the necessity of the tv is removed, so that kids can still play while their parents watch tv. The problem with the Wii U comes down to a lack of games. If they had more games, they would be doing a lot better.

-2 ( +1 / -3 )

@bass4funk: Wii don't make the games, Nintendo and various developers do. There aren't any Nintendo developed games being released for the Wii anymore, only games by Third Party Developers. Even those are going out though. The Wii U was supposed to be a revolution in Augmented Reality gaming, but the concept is actually a little outdated now. The main point about it was that you could use the Wii U Pad in a completely different room to the actual console, but not all games can play through the whole way just on the Pad. The ones that do tend to be pretty lacklustre at best. It seems to have stepped back on the Motion Control gaming a bit as well, which was the best part about the Wii.

The Wii U's biggest problems as far as I can see are: A concept that became outdated before the console was even finished, the fact that switching between motion control and augmented reality is a pain in the caboose, but the biggest problem: a severe lack of Main Title games at launch. No Mario, no Zelda, no Donkey Kong, no Pokemon. Just the basics, and Third Party games. The "biggest" title was Raving Rabids I believe, but that series has lost its mojo some time ago. It went downhill after Raving Rabids 2.

Reversing this loss is going to be quite the challenge. Mario Kart 8 (I believe) is out in Japan and the US at the moment, and that is expected to bring in revenue. HOWEVER, Mario Kart is 20 years old now, and while each generation brings in new courses and new features, they still have the flawed "catch-up logic" that has been present since Super Mario Kart (The "logic" that dictates that the moment you take pole position, you get absolutely bombarded by shells, bananas and bombs, resulting in you dropping from 1st to 5th before you've finished cursing the game). I get that it is supposed to make the game challenging, but it doesn't actually work that way. It only frustrates and annoys.

Super Smash Bros is returning for its 4th iteration this year, and things are quite different. A much broader variety of characters from a wider range of games, all new levels and items, and of course: it is being released on both the Wii U and the 3DS. Smash Bros going portable is bound to be a big selling point. The 3DS only features will be an added bonus; unique worlds and an altered gameplay for example. Smash Bros 4 is expected to sell very well, with some believing it could become the best selling of the series. There's also a new Zelda game coming out, though I haven't heard much about it. The gameplay is supposed to be very different though. More combat oriented, less Temple exploration. That could be quite interesting as well.

Really, what Nintendo needs to do is stop focusing on gimmicks, and start focusing on improving their core titles. The Mario, Zelda, Pokemon, Donkey Kong and Metroid series' are their biggest and oldest franchises. They should build upon these rather than add in more features than people really need or even care about. They should also expand on their motion control technology to get gamers more physically involved in the game. Have games that combine the remote with the Wii Jog, so that their leg movements become a part of the game as well (there are any number of fitness and dancing games that could benefit from this, as well as martial arts and sports).

2 ( +3 / -1 )

All three companies are having to fight off a trend toward cheap—or sometimes free—downloadable games for smartphones and other mobile devices.

This is part of the problem, as people are growing less and less interested in console gaming in favor of quick, easy and addictive cell phone games. Game makers have little reason to pour their heart and soul into their work as they did in the past, because...well, people don't care anymore. It's way easier to make money with what really boils down to a game that some college kid could have made in a day using Java.

Also, take a look at many of the popular console games that have come out recently: They're more like movies than games, with little replay value(but they look really pretty). The rest are first person shooters.

It seems to have stepped back on the Motion Control gaming a bit as well, which was the best part about the Wii.

Really? I felt like that alienated actual gamers, in favor of the more casual crowd. Seriously, so many games in the Wii's library were basically shovelware that used the motion control gimmick. It was great from a merketing perspective, but most people I know who were fiercely loyal to Nintendo consoles have, since the Wii, switched to the 3DS due to its amazing library. For consoles, they've moved on to playstation and xbox.

Call me old-fashioned, but the gamecube version of Twilight princess was, in my opinion, far superior to the Wii version. Barring Skyward Sword, since I never played it very much (but heard it was a great game), it was the best Zelda game in the series. I wanted to play SS, but...I dunno, the motion control just seemed so cumbersome. I'll take hitting the B button over waving my wrist around.

The problem with the Wii U comes down to a lack of games. If they had more games, they would be doing a lot better.

This would seem to be the problem, yes. As of now, there are no games that would merit me purchasing a WiiU.

1 ( +1 / -0 )

RIP Nintendo, you had a great run and will forever live in our hearts.

0 ( +1 / -1 )

RIP Nintendo, you had a great run and will forever live in our hearts.

They're not done yet. The 3DS is still crushing the handheld market worldwide.

0 ( +2 / -2 )

I love my 3DS XL, and have been toying with the idea of getting a Wii U for a while as me and my wife are both "casual" gamers, and the overall feel of the console just speaks to me more than the Sony and Microsoft counterparts.

Speaking of my 3DS XL, the online-only game Nintendo Pocket Football is fantastic. It reminds me of my favourite ever football game, Sensible World Of Soccer. It's a 'manager-lite' with cutesy graphics and it's challenging yet addictive. Games like that, at £7 a go (around the same as a decent game on the iOS app store) are a great idea and hopefully put some money in their pockets.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

@bfg4987 The only people it alienated are the "hardcore" gamers and the couch potatoes really. Most people prefer the motion control, as it involves the player in the game more. It's more gratifying to sink a hole-in-one with a carefully measured swing, rather than a well timed press of the button. Mostly, motion control is only a gimmick in the third party games, and there are some others where it is unneccesary, but for the most part, motion control is a great improvement. The House of the Dead games are a good example. Those were immensely popular, as was Red Steel and Mario Kart Wii. Smash Bros Brawl doesn't use Motion control, thankfully. It is unneccesary anyway. There's still a lot of potential in motion gaming, if only Nintendo would develop it. At the same time though, they should also release games suited for the hardcore gamers who aren't looking for motion control, just button mashing.

-1 ( +0 / -1 )

The only people it alienated are the "hardcore" gamers and the couch potatoes really

Not really hardcore gamers, just people who were loyal to the nintendo franchise. I don't think it's fair to label them as couch potatoes, either, since the face of the "gamer" has changed drastically since the days of the iconic world of warcraft playing obese basement dweller.

Most people prefer the motion control, as it involves the player in the game more

I know, that's what I was saying. From a commercial perspective, the transition to motion-control was fantastic. I don't deny that the Wii was loved by many people, as its commercial success speaks for itself. It became an open door to the elderly, children, parents, families, etc. I just feel that in exchange for that, it lost the Nintendo feeling. For me, and for many more gamers, much more satisfaction is derived from successfully coordinated button presses.

Perhaps Twilight Princess is a bad example for this, since it was, essentially, an upwards port to the Wii, but the gamecube version is far more enjoyable. The constant hand-waving required to play the Wii version was just mind-numbing. Not to mention, the mere fact that the motion control wasn't perfected meant that that the bow and other weapon controls were somewhat frequently unpredictable. Other factors, such as your distance from the television, your height, the height of the television, other objects in the room, also could come into play and become frustrating, to have to find that one spot where the controls work just right.

I suppose, if motion control were perfect, it would be enjoyable, but perhaps its just nostalgia that keeps me tied to a regular controller rather than motion control. I think nintendo realized this, too, since they released the classic controller, and many of the greatest games released late in the Wii's lifetime (Last Story, Xenoblade Chronicles) were designed around using the classic controller, and even made that an advertising point on the box.

The House of the Dead games are a good example.

That's kinda different, since those games were built off the arcade model which always was accompanied by a gun, anyway. The only thing that changed with this generation of HotD games was that the extra light gun became unnecessary.

Mario Kart Wii

Was VASTLY inferior to Double Dash, which will likely remain the best game in the series for a long time.

At the same time though, they should also release games suited for the hardcore gamers who aren't looking for motion control, just button mashing.

I don't really think that's doable, if you have a console that's designed to have full functionality of motion control, it would just be considered cumbersome and a waste of time by many game manufacturers to put their games on it that aren't based on motion control, and Nintendo would once again be limited to nearly only the Nintendo all-stars (mario, zelda, metroid, etc.) and not be looked into by the many third parties who have made very successful games for the playstation and xbox.

-1 ( +0 / -1 )

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