Iwata Admits Nintendo Did Not Try Hard Enough To Make Wii U Success

Saturo Iwata has admitted that Nintendo has failed to create sufficient momentum for both 3DS and Wii U.

[Sandmano]

Was unexpected TBH Nintendo seemed unstoppable its up to Sony or MS to take up the mantle now...

[ChickeyCantor]

Eh...Nothing is set in stone yet.

[g2gshow]

i got a bright idea nintendo how about next time try starting off by making a next gen console a not just a next console

[darthv72]

they need to focus on the wii games library as a selling point for the wii-u. Find a way to encourage people to trade up the hardware while keeping the software and accessories.

nintendo could have done a trade in program for like $50 off the price of a wii-u with the trade in of just the wii deck only. Maybe that wouldnt have done anything...then again maybe it would.

3DS can play all of the ds titles and so it was a better option between the two. wii-u can play all the wii games and wiiware games so it too is a better option between the two.

i tell people to get the wii-u if they are in the market for a wii. It is just a better system and the huge existing library of good fun wii games is nothing to be ashamed of in spite of low wii-u titles available.

The system will get the games but the first step is to get the system into the hands of those who already have a wii.

Hell, even the super nintendo struggled when it first came out. I dont think it ever outsold the nes but it certainly did get the games and with it the user base that would keep nintendo going through the n64 and gamecube days.

Times are different now. console are more approachable in that they are doing more than just playing games but its the games aspect that really compels a consumer to buy. I really dont knwo what nintendo was thinking when it came to marketing this thing. Its good, it really is but you cant get word of mouth success for the wii-u like they did the wii anymore.

[LOL_WUT]

Seriously Nintendo should've axed the guy, he clearly is not competent enough to run the company. He has messed up on so many occasions that I don't even know how he manages to keep his job. ;)

[n4f]

@lol-wut
so you want to axe a guy that help wii sold console more than ps3+360 and slash his salary when the 3ds was bad and now the 3ds is steadily picking up steam?
lol, what?

[DragonKnight]

@n4f: Iwata had nothing to do with how much the Wii sold. The Wii's success is due to price and celebrity endorsement. The Wii was, for the longest time, the main console to give away in prizes because of its family friendly focus and cheap cost. The Wii's success has little to do with it being a great gaming system and more to do with Apple like sheep mentality. People follow the "next big thing" like it's their last "big thing."

[lilbroRx]

What's makes you think Sony and Microsoft will fair any better with there new console?

Every hurdle Nintendo has to jump, they will have to jump as well.

[3-4-5]

So much to learn.....

Nintendo IS the video game industry weather you want to admit it or not.

They have also indicated in the past year their future plans for both handheld and Console but nobody seems be paying attention.

* They are already working on/ beginning dev stages for their next Handheld, where 3D either won't be a feature or a minor feature...so back to somewhat norm for them there.

* For Wii U, they have indicated they will be switching the "pacing" of their consoles.

After this gen it's not going to be 3 consoles a gen anymore.

EX:

2012 = Wii U

2013 = PS4 + Xbox 720

2017-2018 = New Nintendo Console + New handheld

2021-2022 = Microsoft + Sony console

[DwightOwen]

30 million 3DS units sold is not "sufficient momentum"?

[eagle21]

I know right. But they want to sell 18 million 3DS's this calendar year.

[NBT91]

"“In the US and in Europe we were unable to create sufficient momentum of the Nintendo 3DS system during the holiday season, and so the situation was not looking good at the beginning of the year,” he told investors."

He is talking about the holiday 2012 - early 2013 period, not lifetime sales. The article title fails to mention that of course, good ol' N4G for ya!

Still looks like they realized their mistake (branding crisis along with lack of games) and are promising to fix both which is... Promising, I guess?

[Erimgard]

It's selling like nuts in Japan, but it hasn't produced the numbers they want in the US yet, and the US is their biggest market right now. That's why they've announced that their biggest focus this year is making the 3DS popular in the West.

[g2gshow]

WOW who are the fan boy's to disagree with the president ... dam dam dam

[ps3_pwns]

i been saying this as well as lot of other gamers that nintendo wasnt doing anything or trying and the fanboys said they were trying and the games they released was good enough to get the console lol. how does it feel to be suckered into buying a wii u at full price when nintendo wasnt even trying. i feel nintedo does this with a lot fo there games and online stuff. they just dont try and there fanboys let them get away with it with no critisizm. nintendo is not the same nintendo only fanboys who are blind turn a blind eye to the lack of quality becuase of nostalgia and because games on other consoles are to hard for them and stresful lol. casua gamers want the easy peezy games nintendo puts out.

[g2gshow]

so your saying nintendo players are easy game playing suckers......lol a dont kill the messager people im just saying what he said ...... (cleans the dirt off his hands)

[sway_z]

Nintendo should galvanize themselves now. There is an opportunity for a Wii U re-launch Sept, just in time to catch some more customers prior to PS4 launch and poss. Xbox over the holiday period.

No time for regrets now Nintendo, sell that Wii U....Ads, TV Spots, Billboard, Radio, Print ....line up those games!

[mcstorm]

I agree but for me Nintendo have made the same mistake as they did with the 3ds with the wiiu. That was by giving the 3rd party games a chance to take centre stage. No one was going to buy a wiiu for mfsmw, or ac3 or even batman as they can get games like this on consoles they already own.
Look at the numbers on the top wiiu games and mariou has sold 2.4 million on a 3 million fan base. That says it all. Im expecting Nintendo to hit this Christmas period hard with big name gamea like Mario kart, Zelda, super smash bros and lots of adverts to show off what the wiiu can do.
Even though there are not to many games out for the wiiu I can’t get enough of mariou, zombie, tekken tag, sonic all stars and lego city on my wiiu.
Yes the wiiu has not got the power the ps4 will have and I expect the next xbox to have more power to but since when has a games consoles been about power? It’s about the gamea and we all know Nintendo games are always good games and if they add mp, and miiverse onto their own games then they can make the wiiu stand out against the ps4 and next xbox as there is room for all 3 as we have seen this gen.

[2v1]

and who are they going to fool?

[Th4Freak]

No one noticed it Iwata...

[I_LOVE_MYSELF]

I'm a Ninty fan, but I just don't see the need in getting a Wii-U. I am regretting my 3DS now too since Nintendo never drop the price of their games either. I was in a store yesterday and saw Mario 64 for the standard DS (which was a launch title for the original DS) and it was still priced at £30. WTF?!

I could have a Vita right now, be getting amazing value from my PS+ and enjoying some games which have dropped in price.

Nintendo isn't offering me much lately and it does seem they have gotten lazy.

[yesmynameissumo]

I am disappointed and kinda angry at myself for getting a Wii U. After the newness wore off, I was left (and to this day) with a Mario Bros U and ZombiU playing Netflix/Amazon streamer. That's slow. Like the PS3 says to the Wii U "You need to speed things up!". That's a damn shame. Hell, I made a Vine about it - https://t.co/8a5r2uaqYf

[I_LOVE_MYSELF]

I was considering getting a WiiU at launch for my GF. We love Super Mario Bros. I must say I am glad I didn't.

[BigBoss3]

"Some have the misunderstanding that Wii U is just Wii with a pad for games, and others even consider Wii U GamePad as a peripheral device connectable to Wii"

"We initially hoped that Wii U would be showing more of a presence in the market by now, but the current situation shows that we need to spend more time on and put much effort into recreating the momentum."

the ignorance....kills me he is basically saying they focused on recreating the momentum by "marketing" (implyed) but obviously didnt do a good enough job if hes saying people confuse the wiiu as an peripheral

also no games

[jukins]

Nintendo basically pulled a Sony thinking since its previous console was such a success to same would automatically apply for the Wii u. Luckily there's still time for nintendo

[GreenRanger]

It looks like having 'Wii' in the name is doing some damage.
They should just rebrand it while it's still early in its life.

[Gamer-Z]

Drop the price of the Wii U to $200, rebrand, and relaunch it.

[nevin1]

How would you rebrand it, a name change?

[Root]

Change the name, add some new features, bundle the new console with a normal pro controller or a new Gamecube like controler and change the colour of it. Make the Game Pad what the Wii balance board was to the Wii

Problem solved

[maniacmayhem]

They need to give a reason for developers to start making games for the system. The second screen is a nice added feature but where are the meaty functions or hardware that gets the devs excited to come on board and start making games. Nintendo needs to also court the gamers back to their side like the good 'ol SNES days.

The pronlem I see with the Nintendo is they keep doing things their own way and it is not appealing to everyone except them. We saw that with the N64 and their controller that was best used with their 1st party games, plus the cartridge format they went with because they were too scared of piracy. Then we had the GC and they still refused to adopt the DVD format and again they made a controller that was best fitted for their own games.

And to an extent we saw this with the Wii. They refuse to add DVD playback (not a big deal tho), they refuse to build a stable unified online network in comparison to PSN/XBL. They refuse to have basic no brainer features like an easy way to add friends or an internal hard drive.

Nintendo is definitely fitting the stereotype that Japanese game makers are not innovating fast enough with the rest of the world.

[youndamie]

Nintendo should relaunch the console to capture the casuals like they did last time with the Wii. They should release the Wii Too and showcase some revolutionary way of playing games with multiple people.

[Bathyj]

The name WiiU was a mistake. Obviously they were just trying to carry on the success of the Wii by keeping the Wii name (Nintendo have never carried a name over on a console before) but because its not a huge upgrade to start with, all it did was just confuse people leaving them to think WiiU is just a tablet for your Wii.

With this and the E3 announcement, I just have this mental picture of Nintendo dusting their hands and holding their palms out.

[darthv72]

NES was the Nintendo entertainment system
SNES was the 'Super' Nintendo entertainment system
N64 was the Nintendo 64

Even though it is often abbreviated as NGC for Nintendo GameCube it goes by the moniker of just simply GameCube.

so yes...they have carried over the name before but would alter the reference slightly.

Wii-U is to Wii what SNES was to NES.

[opinska]

Stop staying retarded and focus on the present and future. Wii U needs to do better, and it has a chance to do so by releasing new unique games for the console. Which they say are coming.

[SpiralTear]

Iwata and Nintendo should quit apologizing and just fix these problems.

[iNFAMOUZ1]

poor nintendo :( but oh well, Xbox 360 took first place this gen and left them behind, the problem is they started off great with the wii sales, but the lack of real ips just fizzled it off.

[TheRacingX]

What?? LOL XB360 in 1st place??? maybe in the US not worldwide....last time I seen the Wii sold upwards in the mid 90M's in consoles both Xbox and PS3 were are low 70M's....both have a way to go to catch it....the Wii U needs GAMES, and more GAMES...thats whats killing it. Cool stuff to play on it = people want it

[mochachino]

All they needed was one or two AAA Nintendo exclusives to have done well, a 3D Mario/Zelda and a Metroid game and Wii U would have capitalized on it's head start.

There's literally nothing really worth playing on it, word of mouth has spread that it's unappealing and underpowered and true next-gen consoles are launching in a matter of months.

Nintendo couldn't have messed up the Wii U launch any worse.

[YourFlyness]

Please Understand..

[danny818]

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[sephx22]

I personally want Nintendo to remake the Wii u with updated specs so that the Wii U can compete directly with the PS4 and X720. I would love that

[skyrimer]

So to change that, we're going to skip the most important E3 in the last decade.

[o-Sunny-o]

Wii U will be more on their feet in fall/winter but PS4/Xbox720 may put a pretty good dent in them. Assuming everything comes out this year.