140°

Is the Wii U Nintendo’s Dreamcast?

Carl Daniel of TheKoalition writes:
Let’s not sugar coat it – the Wii U is struggling at the moment. So far both hardware and software sales haven’t met expectations and with new consoles from Sony and Microsoft just around the corner, Nintendo’s future as a console manufacture appears to be in jeopardy. The recent loss of Rayman Legends as a Wii U exclusive is a clear sign that third parties have no faith in the system but what can Nintendo do to change that perception? Let’s discuss…

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Patashnik4075d ago

The issue with WiiU is Nintendo's inability to communicate it's core difference and value elegantly.

As a result - the only hope it has now is in delivering first-party product, so exceptional that people jump on board.

It's crucial Nintendo deliver at E3.

rbailey4075d ago

Yeah I think Nintendo will deliver at E3 for sure. Smash Brothers and news of Zelda will excite fans overall but basically yeah they need to have a show 10 times better then last year's horrible one and I think they will.

AsimLeonheart4075d ago (Edited 4075d ago )

I do not think Nintendo is going the way of the Dreamcast. One bad generation cannot kill a company that is just coming from their most successful generation. Nintendo has a lot of money after the Wii so they can easily survive a couple of generations if their consoles underperformed. HOWEVER, it is likely that Nintendo may suffer because of lack of third party support or inferior third party ports. Third parties possess some of the biggest franchise and without their support it is impossible to compete on an equal footing with MS and Sony especially when the Wii U hardware is inferior as well. The Wii was able to accomplish this feat BUT only with the support of casual gamers. Even after Nintendo releases quality first party games, their sales cannot compete with Sony and MS consoles without third party support as there are only so many people who are interested in Mario, Zelda, Monster Hunter, Dragon Quest and Pikmin.

Army_of_Darkness4075d ago

The dreamcast was an amazing system and ahead of it's time.. the wiiU however, not so much.

4074d ago
BattleAxe4074d ago

"Is the Wii U Nintendo’s Dreamcast?"

In short, yes it is.

+ Show (1) more replyLast reply 4074d ago
guitarded774075d ago

It's also Nintendo's inability to listen to the development community about their wants and needs, and just building hardware that developers have to work around. Sony did that with the PS3, and it took them a lot of investment to get devs on board with the cell processor. I am in no way bad mouthing Nintendo or Sony, I love both products, but looking at the architecture of the Wii U, and looking at what Sony plans to do with the PS4 architecture are night and day... Sony learned their lesson, and it was expensive (even though the PS3 was a success, Sony learned a lesson in architecture). Nintendo will eventually turn a profit with the Wii U, but I don't think it will have the success that Wii had. I also think Nintendo will reconsider what feedback is most important when developing their next console. However, I DO NOT think Wii U will have such a negative impact on Nintendo to take them out of the console market the way Dreamcast did with SEGA.

PopRocks3594075d ago

"It's also Nintendo's inability to listen to the development community about their wants and needs"

The whole reason the controller has clickable sticks is because Nintendo listened to developer input.

And I agree, to suggest the Wii U will lose Nintendo the colossal amount of money Sega lost on the Dreamcast is ludicrous. Nintendo is barely losing more than $20 - $30 on each Wii U sold and any Nintendo game sold with it makes the thing profitable.

Furthermore, it's the most expensive hardware on the market right now and has only had a few months to be sold. With more games the sales will pick up. Simple as that.

Eyeco4075d ago (Edited 4075d ago )

No , you cant compare the two the Dreamcast was screwed from the get go, some reasons for the Dreamcasts failure can even be attributed to the lame 32x/ CD add ons for the Genesis, to the failure of the Saturn and the easy piracy of Dreamcast heck you could arguably attribute some of it to Shenmue and it's monstrous budget cost, Nintendo isn't on the same boat as that,

Patashnik's is pretty much spot on, and to add to that ,the problem with the Wii-U is that as of right now its a console that only really appeals to the die-hards similar to the GC, can they turn it around ? most definitely but as of right now...you see my point.

I'm so bored of these daily doom and gloom Wii-U/ Vita articles there almost as redundant and stale as the PS3 ones years ago.

Temporary4075d ago

Dreamcast was ahead of its time. WiiU is the opposite.

user39158004074d ago

They are insulting innovation with retro gaming. Dreamcast was the it factor, the greatest console made during its time and the price point kill them. Dreamcast was a superior machine that we are still using some of its technology today, Dreamcast moved us forward. while wiiu drive us backwards in time, nothing new with wiiu its nothing more than a challenge to 360 and ps3 and a 7 year too late.

Next gen consoles are PS4 AND 720, wiiu its obsolete hardware thats not selling and will go down in the gaming history as the great dissapoinments of nintendos console.

+ Show (2) more repliesLast reply 4074d ago
MNGamer-N4075d ago

No it is not the dreamcast. They have billions in the bank and are not going anywhere anytime soon.

Link0794075d ago (Edited 4075d ago )

Try this much money.

Nintendo has enough money to be safe for a long...long time
Mar 13, 2012 by RawmeatCowboy
Wondering just how much bank Nintendo has? Here's a snippet from Nintendo-Gamer that shows that the Big N is going to be just fine for many years to come.

"Buried in reams of financial data is the revelation that Nintendo have 812.8 billion Yen (£6.7/$10.5 billion) in the bank - enough for it to take a 20 billion Yen loss (£163/$257 million) every year until 2052. Then there's almost 469 billion Yen (£3.8/$6.0 billion) held in premises, equipment and investments. When that runs out - we're in the year 2075 by this point - they've got some of the most valuable intellectual property in gaming to sell off before the company goes out of business."

If there were ever a single paragraph and image that you could share with Nintendo haters out there, this would be it. Hard to say the company would be doomed with this kind of cash backing them up.

Here's the link

http://www.gonintendo.com/?...

IcicleTrepan4075d ago

you are right, but nintendo is also a publicly traded company. This means that as soon as they start losing money and their shares lose value, the investors start pitching a giant fit. They're simply not going to sit back and say, hey lets agree to lose money for 20 years. price drops in shares cause companies to do some desperate things, like axe products that are losing money. Or roll out yet another console ASAP and try to pretend the old one never existed.

I doubt either of those things will happen, but it's not like Nintendo can just sit there and lose money hand over fist until people start buying their stuff again. never forget Nintendo's primary function as a business is to make money. If they started bleeding money everywhere you'd see big changes quickly.

Neonridr4075d ago (Edited 4075d ago )

Look, Nintendo has always relied on their strong 1st party lineup to carry their systems. It has been that way since the N64 really, since so many developers jumped on the CD bandwagon and abandoned the cartridge format in favour of CD's. The Wii U at least has gotten more support that the Wii has in terms of getting some of the larger AAA studios to develop new games or at least get ports of existing PS360 AAA games.

Obviously it will come down to whether or not the Wii U can handle scaled down versions of PS4/720 games. If it is unable to, then it may suffer the same fate as the Wii.

However, with such a strong handheld market, the financial success of the Wii and years of gaming experience, I would never count out Nintendo. They will make another console, the question remains will they have to make it sooner than they planned... Time will tell.

Once Nintendo shows off the 3D Mario, Zelda, Smash Brothers, Whatever game Retro is working on, I am sure we will see many more adopters who were waiting for those AAA Nintendo games to show up. Not everyone is keen to be an early adopter as it usually is pretty slim pickings immediately after a launch, with a drought of titles. Things will pick up for sure. But Nintendo better bring it this E3 since you know for Sony and MS it will all be about their new machines, so Nintendo needs to ensure the public still remembers that they are in the game too.

Link0794075d ago (Edited 4075d ago )

Please lets just go of what we can see the ps4 had no nextgen looking games except Capcoms game which is coming to wiiu and 720 more than likely so as far as i can see NFS U is basically like high/Ultra on pc with superior night time graphics,X looks better than anything out there the draw distance just isnt possible on ps3 or the detail ect then we have Beyonetta2 what looks to have huge scope massive worlds that you can use transport to get around and that snippet at the end of the trailer was real time graphics right out of the game,so for me WiiU is the best graphically until i see something with my own eyes on ps4 or coming to ps4 that is as good,Project Cars looks better than Driving Club ps4 ect,please beyond the Capcom game what looked NEXTGEN.

stuna14075d ago

You really need your eyes checked! Why so bitter?

mcstorm4075d ago

Link079 I am a big fan of the WiiU and love mine but did you not see the Killzone Demo? That was impressive. The rest looked very good but Killzone stood out as the bench mark.

The biggest issue Nintendo have at the mo is its getting ports not games made of the console from 3rd partys. NFS looks amazing on the WiiU and is showing what can be done with it but its not got any games that make you go wow at the moment.

Im expecting this from Zelda at e3 though and I also want to see a Starfox and 3D Mario in the mix.

Nintendo will be fine this gen. I think one of the biggest things at the start of the gen will be the Price and If Nintendo lower the price of the WiiU to £250 the next xbox is £300 and the PS4 is £400 then they will have a slow start but if they are all around the same price then I think the WiiU could be the one to lose out.

No one knows what will happen with this new gen and I don't really look at sales anyway I tend to buy all the consoles and play the games I want on them but I cant wait for E3 now its going to be epic from all 3.

Brucis4075d ago

>the Wii U is struggling at the moment. So far both hardware and software sales haven’t met expectations

It's been out for three months and there were no games last month. Shit will start picking up when March comes.

>The recent loss of Rayman Legends as a Wii U exclusive is a clear sign that third parties have no faith in the system

They have plenty of third party support. Have these guys seen the list of confirmed games?

>In a year or 2 when developers shift their focus to the next generation platforms,

It is next gen.

>the Wii U will have a harder time than ever trying to remain relevant.

No, they won't.

>Nintendo can’t rely on the same 5 franchises to save them forever unless they are willing to make some drastic changes to their tried and tested formula.

Confirmed for retarded. They have more than 5 franchises and they do make changes almost constantly. Tell me Mario Party, Mario Kart, Super Mario Galaxy, and New Super Mario Bros are the exact same game. And that's one franchise.

>it really is “innovate or die” for the makers of Mario.

Considering they have enough bank to last through two bad generations, not it isn't. But they will anyway.

admiralvic4075d ago

Seriously, when did 1 game become a precedent? I don't think ANYONE expected Rayman Legends to stay exclusive to the Wii U and there was probably some big reason for the change. For all we know the choice was the simple fact it cost Ubisoft more to make it, than they expected to make back from the Wii U. So someone at some point decided to make it a universal release for some reason. While a lot of people cite M$'s policies, it could easily just be a case of "we didn't want other consoles to feel shafted". Whatever the case might be, unless it happens to Monster Hunter (which makes more sense Sony side than Nintendo side) or another big game... it's an isolated issue.

wiium644075d ago ShowReplies(3)
Show all comments (54)
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."

280°

Xbox's Preservation Step Sets A Much-Needed Example, Especially For Nintendo

Hanzla from eXputer inquires: "If Xbox can care about preserving its games and legacy, what exactly is wrong with Nintendo, trying to kill game preservation single-handedly?"

purple1015d ago

Ahh yes the good old game preservation of saving all your games to a removable hhd on the Xbox 360, taking it round your mates house, setting up multiple tvs to
Be met with “save data corrupted, please re download”

Or how about removing 360 games
From the store
, download them now or else, and, better hope to god that save data doesn’t corrupt, or it’s lost for ever

Nice one ☝️

Zeref5d ago

It's better than what Nintendo and Playstation is doing. It might not be perfect but at least they are TRYING. Unlike the others.

DarXyde5d ago

Trying? Take off the blinders for a moment, mate.

1. A failure to preserve games is just that: a failure to preserve games. Don't try to sugarcoat it: NO ONE is doing it properly. Better than awful is nothing to write home about.

2. At the time of this comment, isn't it the case that you need an internet connection to play Xbox games even if you buy physical discs that are hardly in circulation anymore? I don't have a Series X and I can't verify, but I think that is correct. I'm fairly certain you can at least play PS5 games at version 1.0 (not much of a win really when many games require day one patches). I think Microsoft's all digital, licensing approach is by far more aggressive than anyone else's. They really try to push you to game pass where you lose your entire library by umm.... Skipping a month of payments.

I don't think anyone is doing it right whatsoever. Don't get me started on Nintendo, who goes after anyone looking to preserve their games better than they ever would with extreme litigation.

Don't be a simp for any of these companies. Get it together.

PhillyDonJawn5d ago (Edited 5d ago )

@DarX never speak on Xbox again. You lost all credibility with your internet connection comment. Smh you have 0 clue and misinformed yet speaking on something you don't no squat about.

Einhander19724d ago

What has Sony done exactly? You guys keep deflecting to Sony but I am not actually seeing any results, and ai am certain nothing that you can come up with even comes close to what Microsoft has done and what they have tried and failed to do, like tie all your disks to your account on xbone.

Microsoft removed their whole indie section when they moved to the xbone because they were going to only allow games on the service that came from a publisher, id@xbox started after xbone launched and it only exists because Sony embraced indie and Microsoft was forced to cancel their plans and reverse course.

And every single game that was part of games for windows live including disk games (I have gta 4 on disk that won't work) so hundreds of games that use that DRM no longer work unless the company themselves patched it out which of course very few did.

MrBaskerville4d ago

Not trying. Tried. they killed of the backcomp program years ago. They set something up again, but sounds like it's more of an attempt to save the current library on whatever they are planning next. With luck they save everything and more, but let's see. I could see them killing off parts of the OG xbox and 360 libraries. Can't imagine that they would allow us to play Forza 5-7 in the future.

With that said, I do like what they've done and really wish they could have done more.

shinoff21834d ago

Zeref

So killing off physical media is trying what exactly. Ms don't really give a fk if you think they do your kidding yourself.

Profchaos4d ago

They are not trying this team is established for forward compatability the team is. It interested in preserving Xbox or 360 games.

+ Show (3) more repliesLast reply 4d ago
isarai5d ago

Is that why Hellblade 2 is digital only?

Zeref5d ago

Just because it's digital only doesn't mean you can't preserve it. Just put it on an external and you have the exact same functionality of what a disc does.

MrNinosan5d ago

Guess you're trolling, but if you actually think that's how it works, I'd recommend buying some braincells.

mkis0074d ago (Edited 4d ago )

Volitile vs nonvolitile data. A disc will not corrupt either. A drive can be corrupted.

Einhander19725d ago

This is just a scammy PR move to distract from the fact they are going digital only and trying to push streaming and subscriptions only.

No gaming company has pushed harder to remove ownership than Microsoft.

Without discs there is no preservation, preservation can't be done by the rights holders it can only be done by the consumers, anything else is a lie.

5d ago Replies(3)
Einhander19725d ago

Anyone remember xblig which Microsoft removed their whole 360 indie section removing hundreds of games from people?

5d ago
5d ago
Zeref5d ago

Do you know you can put your games on an external and preserve them that way? There are no benefits to discs. ZERO. Idk why some of you are still obsessed with them.

DarXyde5d ago

Because games like Persona 5 exist. It's STILL V1.00. On Playstation, that's a win because 1.00 is installed on the disc—no need to download anything.

If a game does not require any updates, it's all on the disc.

Extremely low bar in the modern era, of course. It's not much of a win by any stretch.

But for now, physical media does have a purpose, at least on Playstation.

Einhander19725d ago

That is factually not how game licensing works, try plugging your hard drive into someone else xbox, It's not going to work, and it won't work if the licensing servers ever go down.

Einhander19725d ago

Anyone remember games for windows live.

I have around a dozen games, some on Steam itself that will not work because Microsoft shut off the licensing servers.

BehindTheRows5d ago (Edited 5d ago )

I do. I STILL have games (Gears of War being the big one) I cannot access because Games for Windows LIVE is total garbage and no one has held Microsoft accountable.

Zeref4d ago (Edited 4d ago )

You don't have an Xbox apparently. Because you can 100 percent plug in your external and play games from it on any Xbox console lol. You just have to be logged in to prove ownership.

Chevalier4d ago

"You don't have an Xbox apparently. Because you can 100 percent plug in your external and play games from it on any Xbox console lol. You just have to be logged in to prove ownership."

Damn how many times do people got to explain your idiocy to you? You can take a copy of Persona 5 like someone used as an example and play that game on ANY console WITHOUT logging in which means I can lend the game to a friend without internet and they can play my game. Can you lend your hard drive to anyone without logging in for them to play? NOPE. That is a huge difference and if you think otherwise then sorry you're an idiot.

Tacoboto4d ago

"No gaming company has pushed harder to remove ownership than Microsoft."

Ubisoft is literally erasing games people bought from their libraries... My PS1-3 discs are useless on modern hardware. Nintendo's re-published and resold almost their entire Wii U library, and the eShop is completely dead with no BC mechanism in the Switch software. Microsoft publishes everything they make today day one on Steam and Xbox/Windows. Sony only brings to PC the titles they think you might want some years later and Nintendo won't even design a functional long-lasting joystick.

You're absolutely trolling and not serious if you think Microsoft today is the worst offender.

shinoff21834d ago

Yay steam

Not everyone fks with computers though. The disc is still the best way as a console player. Period.

Tacoboto4d ago

How do Sony and Nintendo feel about these discs from 2001-2013?

Don't be stupid, you know Xbox is the best at this today.

+ Show (3) more repliesLast reply 4d ago
Hofstaderman5d ago

Nobody wants this. Sales or the lack of it in the case of XBOX is very telling. I wonder how the adorably all digital series X will fare. Adorably dismal perhaps?

crazyCoconuts4d ago

Only time will tell, but for from someone like me suspecting that Xbox is trying to gracefully exit the console market, that "forward compatibility" team is trying to get Xbox games playing on Windows PCs. I mean, it's nice that they're not planning on exiting with a "enjoy your games while the hardware still works" message, so that's nice. They still have a brand to protect via Microsoft so probably feel obligated to have a better exit strategy.

Xeofate4d ago (Edited 4d ago )

That is not their plan, their plan is to transfer users accounts to the cloud.

Phil Spencer himself said as much a few months back, plans could have changed but I think people are reading way too much into one statement where Phil said he would allow Epic on xbox because he wants to be able to sell xbox games directly on other platforms. Aka, instead of selling Sea of Thives through PSN he wants to have an xbox store to sell his games on PlayStation without giving PlayStation any money.

Again, it's extremely unlikely that Phil plans to put PC on xbox and licensing would prevent them from just giving out other publishers games purchased on xbox copies of thier games on PC, Microsoft does not own their games.

crazyCoconuts4d ago

The thing that doesn't align with the cloud strategy is the giving up on exclusives. You'd still need strong exclusives for cloud streaming - it's still a "platform" , just with a lower upfront hardware investment. I feel like they've learned what PS learned with PSNow long ago. We're not ready to stream games and it's only gonna lose them money to try at this point

FinalFantasyFanatic4d ago

I would love that, I'd buy up some of the Xbox games if they could run on PC, like the Rare Replay, Lost Odyssey and Dead or Alive Ultimate, probably a pipe dream though.

Show all comments (43)
90°

Nintendo's War Against Player-Made Content Will Hurt The Company In The End

Danish from eXputer: "Nintendo has historically gone against player-made content and emulation of its games. This has done much to harm the company's image."

XiNatsuDragnel12d ago

I agree nintendo hire some these folks to help in your games it'll help imo.

banger8811d ago

They need to stop announcing these mods and fan remakes until they're finished. Finish it, upload it, and then if Nintendo dmca's it tough shit. Once it's online, people can share it around, even if the original download gets taken down.

Jingsing11d ago

True, but most modders need constant admiration during the process to motivate them.

PRIMORDUS10d ago

Yup, once it's a torrent nothing can be done Nintendo is helpless at that point. But it would be wise if they just had a site on the dark web, it's also easy to use with Tor and no one will bother you.

mastershredder10d ago

This is all coming from the mouth of short-sighted fandom and grifting madness.
No.... it wont. There is a clear defined reason why they don't. This is nothing new. Make your own shi7 from your own original ideas especially if you are trying to capitalize of it it. Duh.

Yeah, hire people that have zero respect or understanding for an established process. Wow. Yep. Totally makes sense.

shinoff218310d ago

Those guys that made that sonic game got a gig from sega or something along those lines and that game was dope as hell. One of the best sonics as of late.