530°

Nintendo’s Wii U problems turn into a crisis

No matter how weak the Wii U sales are now, they are likely to get worse. The launch dates of key games seem to be slipping from March quarter to June quarter, including the important Pikmin, Wario and Wii Fit franchises. The Wii U now must depend on Rayman and Lego City in coming months.

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news.yahoo.com
Akuma-4108d ago (Edited 4108d ago )

the wii u is like other nes consoles where gamers have to wait months and on for games so fanatics should be use to nintendos antics.

with the rumoured specs of ps4 which makes it like 12 times the power of the wii u and the imminent announcement of ps4 the wii u crisis will get worse and not like the crytek games which i like on pc. wii u is rubbish and finished

aceitman4108d ago

so im going to have to wait till june for the game I really wanted at lauch that made me want to get it , im pissed.

WeAreLegion4108d ago

What game are you talking about? I have one and there isn't a single game that could have possibly lasted you until now... Honestly, I don't have a whole lot of free time and I'm completely out of Wii U games to play. Lego City Undercover is coming out soon, but then what? I have to wait another year for Super Smash Bros? I might not even like that. Battle Royale totally outdid SSB for me. What do I have to look forward to?

FriedGoat4108d ago

This just sounds like my 3DS experience. The severe lack of games in the first year really put me off the system and it is now collecting dust. Loving the hell outta my Vita though :D

mochachino4107d ago

Why didn't you just wait until the game came out before you bought a Wii U?

dirthurts4108d ago

How can anyone agree with a guy who can't use capitalization or punctuation?
I can overlook a typo here and there...but man.

cooperdnizzle4108d ago

Yea nobody cares, except snobs like you!

MEsoJD4107d ago

Getting the point across is all I care about.

dirthurts4107d ago

It's hard to get a point across when the message is so incoherent and poorly devised.

FamilyGuy4108d ago

Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate has my attention and it's out in March so this article is trash to me. I plan on getting a PS4 but the damn thing hasn't even been officially announced yet. I see no doom in the Wii U future as long as they hold exclusivity over a few must have franchises.

clrlite4108d ago

I agree. VERY strong exclusives and Nintendo's excellent marketing team pretty much guarantee some level of success for this console.

Though I am not buying one right away, imaging what the future holds for this system will probably lead me to buy one at some point in the near future.

zerocrossing4108d ago

The new Legend of Zelda will be enough reason to buy the Wii U, even the worst of the home console Zelda game are system sellers.

There's no doom here just the usually blind hate towards Nintendo...

BattleAxe4107d ago (Edited 4107d ago )

I would like people to come back to this comment a year from now....

I am accurately predicting the fall of Nintendo's Home Console production. There is only one console that Nintendo has produced that has beat their original NES sales of 62 million, that console being the Wii, which has sold roughly 97 million.

The Wii was a phenomenon with the casual market. Motion controls brought something new and fresh to the gaming scene that really took everyone by surprise. There were viral videos of women playing the Wii in their underwear, there were old people buying the Wii to play Bowling, there were people who really weren't gamers at all who bought the Wii for entertainment at parties, there were parents who bought the Wii for their kids, and then there were the hardcore Mario/Metroid/Zelda fans who also bought the Wii.

The WiiU however is in a completely different situation from its Wii counterpart. This time the WiiU has been released a year earlier than the PS4 and the Xbox 720. There are currently not many games available for the WiiU, with key game franchises being delayed for the system. The WiiU tablet has not taken the masses by storm like the WiiMote and Nunchuck controllers did. The electronics market has been saturated with tablets for the past 3 years, and therefore the Wiiu tablet controller does not stand out as a must have item to the general public.

The WiiU's hardware, while slightly more powerful than the PS3 and Xbox 360, has not shown itself to be anything more than a current generation console. Meanwhile there is a large amount of hype in the gaming industry regarding the imminent release of the PS4 and Xbox 720. People are focused with anticipation on the higher capabilities of Sony and Microsoft's next consoles which most consumers will see as the true next generation console experiences.

Nintendo relies on game franchises that have been around for almost 30 years, and while I love and still own my original NES from when I was a kid, Nintendo has not grown up with me. Sony on the other hand has come out with numerous different franchises over the last two console generations which has caused the Playstation platform to boast the most diverse customer base in gaming today. Sony is also unifying all of their assets to create a shared ecosystem between the PS VITA, PS4, Bravia TVs, Smart Phones and Tablets. The most interesting of Sony's assets is GaiKai, which I personally believe will be the lynch pin to an explosion of market capitalization. Sony is about to change the gaming business, and they are about to change music and video entertainment, which I believe will be a huge threat to Apple in the coming years.

Microsoft on the other hand really only has three major exclusive games such as Halo/Gears of War/Forza, and has shown a self propelled momentum of around Warp 8(In Star Trek terms) moving them more towards the casual gamer and farther and farther away from their traditional core gaming audience. They are creating their own ecosystem across Smart Phones, Tablets, PCs and their Xbox Consoles, which puts them heads and tails above Nintendo when it comes to capabilities and overall appeal to the consumer.

I predict that when E3 comes around, that any excitement for the WiiU will be all but gone. Sony and Microsoft will steal the show at E3, laying the foundation for strong holiday sales, and a buzz for the gaming industry that hasn't been seen since the PS2 first entered the market. Of course the hardcore Nintendo fans will still be buying Nintendo's core games like Mario/Zelda/Metroid, but I don't believe the WiiU will last for more than 3 years at most.

I might have to start a blog since I could't fit everything I wanted to say into my comment :D

kupomogli4107d ago (Edited 4107d ago )

Monster Hunter really isn't a strong or must have unless you're either from Japan or you're one of the very few diehard fans outside of Japan.

Besides. Monster Hunter Ultimate 3rd is only exclusive here in the US. Most die hard Monster Hunter fans have already imported or, even though I'm not a fan of piracy, downloaded Monster Hunter Portable 3rd for the PSP which is the exact same game. Not the exact same. 3G is a very very very slight upgrade. Capcom is well known for releasing the same game with subtle changes.

Unless they already own a 3DS, I wouldn't think those that have Portable 3rd would spend $170 to purchase the 3DS and a game they already own or already have access to. Although I'm sure they'd buy a 3DS for Monster Hunter 4's release.

ScubbaSteve4107d ago

I don't keep up with monster hunter games very much, but i played monster hunter something on my psp years ago. Is this the same game as that? Not sure what the difference between freedom, unite, tri and 3 is suppose to be, but the screenshots kinda looked similar.

This is one of those instances where the naming of the game is making me hesitant to buy it. I didn't really enjoy handheld controls for a monster hunter game but wouldn't mind trying it on an actual console with an internet connection.

nosferatuzodd4107d ago

I concur and that, these people just like to talk crap..

+ Show (4) more repliesLast reply 4107d ago
Blastoise4108d ago

The Wii U will be fine. Whilst I'm not exactly impressed with the machine (Massive updates, Small GB sizes & a lame cheap looking "Pro" controller) once all the big games come out it will sell more.

We all know this. Metroid, Zelda, F-Zero, Smash bro's...you know the list...

The Wii U will be fine. *Yawn*

Anon19744108d ago

Not the first time we've seen articles moaning about poor sales when the console has only been on the market a couple of months. Is it too much to ask to give it time before we start writing it off? I guess so. When the Wii hit, it was $250 and by far the cheapest console offering of the next gen while the other consoles were slugging it out at hundreds more. The Wii-U is pricier than the Wii and contending with two established consoles with a few years left under their belts. No one could have honestly believed we'd see a wii-like repeat.

It'll find it's audience. You have to give it more than a couple of months.

WiiUsauce4108d ago

GO AWAY. you are the most annoying troll, and you'll only look utterly stupid when Wii U sales pick up just like the 3DS did. Look at how bad the 3DS did in its first few months. Look at it now. shut your mouth and if the system is still not doing well after a year, then talk.

kneon4107d ago

So are you saying the Wii U is going to have a big price cut soon? Because that is what caused the 3DS sales to pick up.

Kingthrash3604107d ago

@kneon - my thoughts exactly.
that said I don't think any console will die early like dreamcast did( which I loved btw) ps2 had a DVD player and sega had financial problems, because of these issues sega had the risk was too high to continue production. Dream cast was ahead of its time too looking at the controller of the wiiU and dreamcast they are kinda similar. Nintendo isn't in too much trouble financially but unless we see a huge price cut like the 3ds I don't see the wiiU selling as much as the wii or 3ds. Let ps4/720 come out with a similar price of the wiiU the wiiU will sell like the 64. I wouldn't buy a wiiU if I had a choice between ps4/720 at the same price...fanboy feelings aside answer honestly..... Would you?

miyamoto4108d ago

Yahoo is a Microsoft partner you know...

medziarz4108d ago

At last, it's another console getting the loom, gloom and doom, and NOT SONY. /relief

fatstarr4108d ago

12 times my dude?

"The Xbox 720 will use an IBM PowerPC CPU and a custom version of AMD's 6670 GPU,

while the PlayStation 4 will have an AMD A8-series APU and HD 7670 GPU"

the wiiu is a tri core + a 5000/6000 series amd gpu updated with some new features

similar to the ps2-xbox-gc generation the wiiu will be able to keep up graphically on some levels.

badz1494108d ago

how about HD7970M like stated in this article

http://n4g.com/news/1157525...

hivycox4108d ago (Edited 4108d ago )

@badz149

check out this vid from ReviewTechUSA: http://www.youtube.com/watc...

the evidence is hardening..and furthermore= a 7970m cost them 200 bucks...lets do the math...this console wouldn't cost less than minimum 500$ if you add cpu, storage and memory costs...there is no way for sony to pull something like this off...and with most recent rumours claiming sony to abandon the dualshock and going the Nintendo route I just can't see a powerful console being made for a reasonable price...

like fatstarr already posted...these rumours with the 7970m are bullshit

Persistantthug4108d ago

And especially when it's backed up by a You Tuber.

I mean, obviously REVIEWTECHUSA Youtuber > eurogamer.

Yeah....
You're lucky I'm only able to give you 1 disagree.

WetN00dle694108d ago

Not according to Digital Foundry, The Xbox 720's GPU is still unconfirmed BUT according to an Ex-Ms staff the system will pack 2 Graphic related modules.

megamanX24107d ago (Edited 4107d ago )

lol these idiots on here dont know anything when it comes to technology, and if one of these systems were 12 times the power it would lead well into the next gen.

the WiiU will sell
"People are seriously underestimating the power of the WII U, I hope you're enjoying your last Nintendo console"

lol i think u better recheck your statement unless you like looking like an idiot.

+ Show (3) more repliesLast reply 4107d ago
hivycox4108d ago

12 times??? where do you got the info from ?! stop joking around ;)

Studio-YaMi4108d ago (Edited 4108d ago )

double post .. sorry

Studio-YaMi4108d ago

You make Sony fans look bad .. fanboy ! the Wii U is short on games,yes that's correct(I have a WiiU) but games are coming up,just like my PSVita is waiting for great games coming this year .. just go away,your fanboyish smell is reeking !

landog4108d ago (Edited 4108d ago )

@akuma

"with the rumoured specs of ps4 which makes it like 12 times the power of the wii u and the imminent announcement of ps4 the wii u crisis will get worse and not like the crytek games which i like on pc. wii u is rubbish and finished "

i would NOT count on ps4 or nextbox being anywhere near as much as 12x the wii u, maybe, MAYBE 2x if we are lucky, they will both be using laptop gpu's and low clocked 1.6ghz 8 core cpu with 4gb ram, basically they will be akin to a good gaming laptop

nowhere in the realm of 12x anything, heck, they won't even be 12x the vita, let alone 12x the wii u

ps4/nextbox will be great, and surely a step above the wii u, but, in the most likely scenerio, they will be about on par with a nice quality gaming laptop, able to deliver 1080p gaming, with crisp, anti aliased edges, a rock solid 30fps with no screen tearing and most of the high end effects enabled, a huge leap over what we get with last gen ps3/360

fatstarr4106d ago

a top of the line CPU and 4x top of the line GPUS and the ram to match, running in a perfect environment doesn't even = 12x the power....

and even if it was, no devs made anything to even tap into 10% of that power.

josephayal4108d ago

People are seriously underestimating the power of the WII U, I hope you're enjoying your last Nintendo console

ahronith4107d ago

Your comment makes no sense at all...

AJBACK2FRAG4107d ago (Edited 4107d ago )

You dream. When the triple A's start coming nothing is gonna be able to stop the WiiU train. F zero hd done, the eighth generation home video game console war is over. Legend of Zelda hd. done. A new three d Mario game in hd. b' bye. A new Mario Kart in hd. Game over the good guys win again!
The fact that the PS3 is "super powered" is why it's battling the 360 for last place. Difficult and extremely expensive to produce soft ware for. Why do a lot of ports that run in sixty frames per on the Xbox 360 run at 30 fames per on the PS3. Why does Black Ops 2 run the worst on the PS3? Difficult and extremely expensive to develop for.
This "rumored" twelve times more powerful than the WiiU PS4 today might as well be an illusion. I don't think it exists but say it did... who is going to be able to afford to develop games for it? I don't know. The WiiU is a great system and in a year or so it'll probably be the least expensive and easy to develop for. That's why the good guys win again. A beautifully designed video game console with a amazing new controller. Vastly improved online set up. Incredible new way to interact with your entertainment center. Indestructable hardware, the best first party software in the business period.
At least you'll be able to console yourselves with the fact that, "There's nothing wrong with silver!"

zerocrossing4107d ago

Not sure it was your intention but your coming across anti Nintendo.

Isn't it true though that the Wii U is selling far better than the PS3 and 360 did at launch? I don't see how anyone can realistically state it's in a "crisis".

ConstipatedGorilla4107d ago (Edited 4107d ago )

Wii U is going to be just fine once the first party franchise games start rolling out. PS4 will be an overall better experience for me personally, but that doesn't mean I can't own both (which I will). Wii U will probably see sales similar to the GameCube IMO.

AJBACK2FRAG4105d ago (Edited 4105d ago )

Lol! Times five! I can't wait to pre order GTA5 for my brand spankin' new WiiU!

Murad4107d ago

I'm actually waiting for the price to drop a 100 or 200 bucks before I buy.

Run_bare4107d ago

The same situation with the Wii is happening for Wii U. I bought a Wii and I waited for Fatal Frame Mask of the Lunar Eclipse which never come to the Western Shores.

In total only 4 games I bought for Wii, it'a a waste of money. I will not make that mistake with Wii U.

Shnazzyone4107d ago (Edited 4107d ago )

It still has the head start. this article is terribly short sighted and is failing to look at the history of the game industry. playstation 2 had simiar issues out of the gate as did the 360. only to later become the perferred console reguardless of power. seems like whatever everyone is looking at they aren't looking at anything outside of numbers for wii u for a week by week basis. Not to mention worldwide sales are completely ignored these are only japan numbers right here. Numbers historically not indicative of any significance.

It still is selling considerably better than ps3's launch and graphics don't matter to the video game market as proven by ds, playstation, ps2, and wii.

Think this is just more of the same from "games journalists". Sony does bad it means nothing, microsoft does bad it means nothing, Nintendo does bad, IT'S A CRISIS!(just like the 3ds right?)

jmc88884107d ago

12x more power my butt.

Dual GTX 690's with a six core i7 @ 5ghz can't do that. So put down the crack pipe. It's an asinine rumor.

Once again another poster who doesn't know squat about business or remember the start of the last generation.

Don't you remember back when the 360 and PS3 came out....great games came out on what???? The PS2/xbox and NOT the 360/PS3.

Now....what did Crytek do? Oh it's the same thing. Want to know why? Because developers need to make money....that's why they make games in the first place.

Crysis 2 LOST money. If Crysis 3 doesn't MAKE MONEY, there probably won't be a Crysis 4. EA might shutter Crytek.

So what does this have to do with the Wii U...you might be asking... Simple just like devs didn't make games for the 360/PS3 when they only had sold a few million consoles, the Wii U is now in the same boat, and thus won't get some games simply because of that.

Oh and the same will happen to PS4/720...though I doubt you'll say they are DOOMED because of it. Because, they aren't....it's NATURAL.

Nintendo is doomed, ha.

Wii U isn't rubbish, your opinion is, and flies in the face of all history, facts, and common sense

+ Show (18) more repliesLast reply 4105d ago
PopRocks3594108d ago (Edited 4108d ago )

I don't know what's more sad; that ANOTHER negative article is getting a lot more buzz than any of the more open or positive articles or that Akuma is getting agrees for another one of his crappy troll comments.

CouldHaveYelledUiiW4108d ago

@PopRocks

No, what is saddest is that all of these "WiiU/Nintendo is doomed" articles are passed off as objective journalism.

rainslacker4108d ago

Welcome to the world of a Sony fan.:) Or rather a fan of every system ever released really, just more prevalent since this last gen started.

AsimLeonheart4108d ago (Edited 4108d ago )

The article is by yahoo news and not by some Playstation or XBOX fanboy blog. I think they are a lot more credible than Nintendo fanboy articles who only see a rosy future for their beloved console based on just wishful thinking. The sales are a clear indication of lack of consumer interest. Wii U is in trouble and they need to get their act together if they want to compete in the hardcore arena this generation.

4108d ago
palaeomerus4108d ago (Edited 4108d ago )

Rainslacker, Sony fans are but pale imitations of Nintendo fans from the Gamecube period who were themselves somehow only a a little worse than Sega fans during the Dreamcast period. Sony fans were pretty mellow and reasonable during the PSX and PS2 era. The PS3 era is when Sony fans started drooling and freaking out and making gamers everywhere sad with their idiotic paranoia and rage. The $599 and 360 being about the same when they were promised cell miracles really made the Sony guys flip their wigs and become the sad obsessed pathetic freaks of the gaming world.

rainslacker4107d ago (Edited 4107d ago )

@palaeomerus

Couldn't that interpretation be extended to all fan boys of any system though. All sides seem to have their extremes this gen.

Prior gens the internet wasn't anything like it's been since the mid-PS2 days, so while fanboys and trolls were around, they were much less noticeable, and believe it or not, often ignored...strange concept, I know.

A fan boy...as you describe them...are an annoyance to all. There's nothing wrong with being a fan of a system, but when it's taken to extremes, like we often see, it makes everyone look bad, not just on their respective "sides", but on the whole gaming community in general.

It's bad enough we have console wars like we do now, we shouldn't also have troll and fan boy wars as well...ie.who's the worst.

+ Show (2) more repliesLast reply 4107d ago
kenshiro1004107d ago

So you excuse 360 fans for doing the exact same thing?

Newsflash, all fanboys do the same thing.

Question_Mark4107d ago

Not to mention he also got a 'Well Said' mark on his comment. This site is just disgusting sometimes.

tate5664108d ago

I just wanna play Bayonetta!

DEATHxTHExKIDx4108d ago

I want you to know u are not alone in that statement.

jjb19814108d ago

I almost bought one today.... I paid for pre-order GTA V for ps3 and turned around and walked out..

FanMan4108d ago

ya i never got a wii and ill probably never get a wii u

hivycox4108d ago

you should have bought it...its a nex gen console...soon big games will be announced for it...just wait and see

Rage_S904107d ago

Technically it's current gen. Think about it.

Chard4108d ago (Edited 4108d ago )

I would like to see Nintendo show more hunger for 3rd party support. There seem to be a lot of big games due in the coming months that really should have a Wii U version but don't.
Alternatively, if they think they can rely on their own games, then show them to us!

Show all comments (156)
80°

Nintendo's Massacre Of The 3DS And Wii U Is Finally Complete, Regrettably

Hanzala from eXputer: "The cruel hammer of Nintendo has fallen. Farewell, 3DS and Wii U, you surely brightened my life and many others; you won't be forgotten."

60°

8 of the most useless amiibo figures ever released

A new list goes over eight of the the most useless amiibo, ranging from the Shadow Mewtwo card to the Qbby figure.

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nintendoeverything.com
80°

Looking Ahead: The Lingering Questions About the Next Mario Kart

VGChartz's Mark Nielsen: "10 years. It’s been almost 10 years since the last mainline release in the Mario Kart series. Mario Kart 8 came out for the Wii U in 2014 and became the best-selling game for the system by a sizeable margin, and later pulled the same magic trick on the Nintendo Switch under the stage name Deluxe. All in all, it's sold nearly 70 million copies over the last decade and is still selling like hot cakes to this day, so it’s no wonder Nintendo has been in no rush to replace it. However, with rumors of a new system being just around the corner, and reports a few years back that a new Mario Kart is indeed under way, it seems the era of 8 might very well be drawing to a close. It’s an exciting prospect to be sure, but after two Nintendo systems with Mario Kart 8 at their heart, a lot of questions remain about how Nintendo will choose to follow it up."

Read Full Story >>
vgchartz.com
Yi-Long7d ago

I hope they just keep building on Mario Kart 8; Add a track-creation tool, and probably open it up to more Nintendo IPs with new tracks and characters, so Metroid, Punch Out, Starfox, Animal Crossing, etc etc.

gold_drake7d ago

there wont be a new one until the switch 2 comes out.

nintendo needs their bangers early on