Wii U is like "a Dreamcast scenario revisited", claims analyst

Nintendo's problems with the Wii U are reminiscent of Sega's efforts with the Dreamcast, according to games analyst Peter Skerritt.

[sherimae2413]

oh no...another one of this "dreamcast meme"
sometimes i do wonder if the dreamcast really is a dead/failure console...
because until now, its still has some publicity and always on the news lately

but this console has great games that cannot be played else where that some people still clamoring that one day be ported to their favored platforms
(shenmue and skies of arcadia to name a few) ^_^

again the wii u will be fine... what it needs is games and it will come its only 7 months.. my goodness but like the other systems before it (ps3, 3ds, and vita) it will have a very rough times ahead, from critics to fanboys to the bias media all of this must endure by wii u owners and nintendo fans alike ^_^
because as of now im also enduring it with my vita ^_^

[MariaHelFutura]

The big difference is The Dreamcast had amazing software, The Wii U doesn't. Sega was having troubles previously, Nintendo wasn't. Plus, The Dreamcast was comparable to the the systems it was competing with, the Wii U isn't. Not the same at all really.

[Neonridr]

I would disagree with you about the amazing software. While some of the games might be ports of existing titles, that doesn't mean that they aren't AAA software. I never played Arkham City before or ME3, but does that mean that just because they are late arriving to the console (because the console didn't exist at the time these games came out) that they aren't still great games?

Not to mention Nintendo has yet to put their AAA software into the library. Are you saying that once Mario, Mario Kart, Metroid, Zelda, Super Smash Brothers come along, that the system won't be more successful?

It's just way too premature to even consider this system another Dreamcast.

[MariaHelFutura]

Arkham City and ME3 are nice, But they hold nothing against all the exclusive Dreamcast software. PowerStone, Skies Of Arcadia, Ecco, Shenmue, Phantasy Star, the first 2K sports games and so on. Those were some good times I tell you.

[Baka-akaB]

"It's just way too premature to even consider this system another Dreamcast. "

No offense but the dreamcast analogy doesnt work precisely because it had amazing games at launch and through its life .

So far the Wii u has one of the weakest launch offering with the ps3 . None of its titles match any of the exclusive launch dreamcast titles , and it had better port at launch

[camel_toad]

Wow I totally forgot about Skies of Arcadia. That game really was awesome. The airship was a part of my soul!

[mochachino]

People still talk about Dreamcast because it was a once Top Gaming company's last console and signalled their final failure from which they never recovered from.

[Shnazzyone]

What, you don't remember when nintendo added 4 different add on dodads to the gamecube splintering the systems game selection, then released the wii and it sold terribly compared to the gamecube then 2 years later released the wii U?

Also everyone remembers how dreamcast failed and was discontinued after 6 months of everyone on the internet comparing it to the 3D0? right?

[a_bro]

people will disagree with me, but i will say it. The Wii U shouldnt have been underpowered, it should of been a suited up next gen console, as powerful as the ps4 and the impending next-gen xbox.

the fact that 3rd party companies are writing it off is just a sad ordeal. I think that if they had done that, they would still have been in a good, or better position than where they are right now.

[LoveOfTheGame]

But that's the thing with Nintendo, they never about competing with specs. Sure it would be nice for them to have an equally powerful machine but that's not what their system is. Nintendo is primarily 1st party games that never compete graphically, but are almost untouched in level of pure fun. As long as they make their games enjoyable to play they will be fine; unless your Crytek graphics != good game.

[Minato-Namikaze]

Snes, N64, and GC were all pretty powerful machines for their time. It wasn't until the wii that ninty started going the underpowered route. Dont make it seem as nintendo has always had this philosophy.

The wii was an accidental lightening in the bottle for them and before that they were on a downward slope (even if they still made money). With the wii-u they are trying to this time purposely catch lightening in a bottle and its gonna hurt them.

[LoveOfTheGame]

I'm not saying that this was always their philosophy, more just that who they are. Back in the day no one cared how powerful a system was, they just cared if it was fun to play games on. I've been gaming for about 20 yrs and I had just as much fun playing Mario Party 9 in college as I did playing the first 3 in elementary school. Nintendo has always had fun games rather than ones with good or "realistic" graphics and it has always seem to work for them.

[Baka-akaB]

I still feel you are rewriting history .

People couldnt shut up about the marvel and power of the superfx chip for the snes , and how , save the neo geo , it's cartridge system was the closest thing to arcade .

ANd the first thing people were raving about with the n64 were its powerful tech demo for mario and final fantasy , as far back as the Project Reality prototype codename .

People werent shy about the GC's power compared to competitors as well .

The only downfall for those consoles were always the size of media storage . And only with the Wii did we see a pattern of people suddenly claiming power is irrelevant and using the ps2's success as their go to excuse .

[CEOSteveBallmer]

@minato, I agree. Lightning doesn't hit the same place at the same time. They thought they could replicate the success with Wii but I don't think it will happen again. Why?? Because the casuals that propelled them to success is now playing games on Smartphones and Tablets. Why would they pay an expensive amount on a console that they know isn't the most powerful around and with games priced at $60 dollars yet there are games on iOS and Android that are free and gives them satisfaction

[a_bro]

but that's the thing, even if they are never about competing with specs, its coming to bite them in the butt. and on top of that, how can you compete with the other 2 when they have pretty much the same functionality that the wii u has.

i think their only option here is a price cut really, thats probably the only thing that can keep them alive until the first party games come out. maybe that will convice some 3rd party companies to make games on it, cause that will mean more consumers opting in for a wii u.

[MariaHelFutura]

You don't deserve disagrees, you deserve a bubble. +1 Well said.

[AKR]

PS1 - Best selling console of the 5th gen
PS2 - Best selling console of the 6th gen & Best-selling home console of all time
DS - Best selling handheld console of the 7th gen and best selling game system of all time.
Wii - Best selling console of the 7th gen and 2nd best selling home console of all time, as well as 3rd best selling console in all.

- You know what these systems represent? The weakest consoles of their respective generations. But guess what? They all creamed their competition in the sales department. No generation has yet to show that power = Victory. The same can be said or this 8th gen.

The Wii U is the weakest, but nor is it weak. If we were salivating over the visuals of games on the 360 PS3, imagine the Wii U with it's added power? Games like Trine 2, Pikmin 3, Zelda HD Tech Demo, Project 'X', Rayman Legends and Need for Speed Most Wanted U already show just a early fraction of what devs can do with the Wii U's power. Comparisons between the three systems WON'T be as big as Wii vs PS3 & 360.

The graphics road is coming to an end, my friend. We're moving from a generation of HD to a generation of more HD. Not a generation of SD to a generation of HD. Realize that, if you will.

To add ~ The PS4 + Vita , for example, does have similar capabilities to the Wii U and the Gamepad. BUT ~ How much does the Vita cost? Nearly $300 dollars. How much do you think the PS4 will cost? Somewhere around $450 to $500 seems likely, right? That's a whole lot of cash to fork out, don't you agree? Added power is nice, but at least the Wii U's price point is relatively reasonable.

In Conclusion: The system is nothing like the DreamCast. Yes, the DC had some great titles released for it in it's short lifetime, but then it died. The Wii U hasn't gotten any MUST-HAVE games yet, but look what's CONFIRMED to be on the horizon:

- Bayonetta 2
- Assasin's Creed 4: Black Flag
- Batman: Arkham Origins
- Deus EX: Human Revolution
- Pikmin 3
- The Wonderful 101
- Project CARS
- Project 'X'
- Super Smash Bros. 4
- Zelda Wind Waker HD
- New HD Zelda
- New HD Mario
- New HD Mario Kart
- Yarn Yoshi
- Watch_Dogs

. . . The Wii U is in it's infancy. Give it time. The PS3 and 360, didn't have any "MUST-HAVE" titles at the start either ~ NOW look at them? The 3DS launched and fell like a rock. NOW look at it? Even the Vita is starting to find it's voice.

- This isn't ANYTHING NEW people. All consoles go through these early days of pain. WHY must we act like this with EVERY new system that's launched? Are you that brainless? Are you that over-dramatic?

Grow up, shut up ~ Sit, wait and watch - Before screeching the same crap.

[DragoonsScaleLegends]

Wow amazing comment. Completely true too.

[mochachino]

-Saturn was much weaker than PS1 and failed as a result. They only added 3d graphics after they realized the their 2D focus in hardware was a mistake.
-PS2, GC, and Xbox all had comparable power. Sure PS2 was slightly weaker but no one would argue that PS2 wasn't in the same league as GC and Xbox. Wii U is in the same league as 360/PS3, not PS4/Fusion (or whatever its called).
-I agree with Wii as the best selling console of the gen, problem is it appealed to the casual gamer, which we all know has fickle game tastes and predictably has moved onto mobile/tablet/facebook gaming, which I'm sure Nintendo is now painfully aware of.

Seriously though, why would a casual ever pay $50 a game when they can pay 99 cents. They get the same enjoyment from each.

The same casuals that bought and loved Wii think that Wii U is just a Wii with a different controller, or never heard of it. I know a lot of girls and kids with Wii, none of them really know what Wii U is. They're Too busy playing free/99 cent MP social games games on their phones with their friends.

I always said betting on casuals was a short term game but a long term loss. They're are more core console gamers than casual, PS3/PC/360 sales combined destroy Wii. Core play gen after gen, casuals don't.

Despite hating each other for playing on different "inferior" devices, we core do all love games.

[ZainabSaccal]

The Dreamcast was one of the best consoles ever, personally I thought it was better than the PlayStation 2.

[badz149]

and with the amount of support the PS2 had, DC really had no chance and the PS2 shines in the games department thus why it's the most successful console ever made!

the main problem with the Wii U now is GAMES and although it's an undeniable fact that it can achieve more than the 360 and PS3 seeing as its more powerful than those 2 but the fact that it's competing with those 2 is the problem to begin with! Ninty needs to step up their games and release more exclusive games for the Wii U as people are not going to buy the Wii U for multiplats they can play on their existing 360 or PS3!

[ape007]

they said the same thing about the 3DS and look what happened, wiiu need games + price cut and it will SOAR like crazy

and i loved the DreamCast btw, one of a kind console :)

[MontyQ]

wiiU at $199 and games $30 tops that's where Nintendo should be and they would still make millions as there is no way the wiiU costs more then 100 bux to make as its like a 7 year old pc

[Starbucks_Fan]

A $199 Wii U would put them in the red

[badz149]

I call BS! the hardware in the Wii U is ancient compared to latest pc tech and seeing as its just a bit more powerful than both the 360 and PS3, there's no way it cost THAT much! it's just that Nintendo is already selling the Wii U at a profit as they always did with their past products and selling it for less that it's now is not going to drag them into the red, the lack of software/sales is!

[mydyingparadiselost]

Nintendo has already stated they make no money off of the console but from software and stated the wii u almost didn't happen because of how much it cost to make. And if their games are $30 shouldn't PS3 and Xbox games be even cheaper?

[AJBACK2FRAG]

They're actually losing money on every Wii U sold Brainiac. That's why there hasn't been a far reaching price cut.

[Gr81]

The Dreamcast and Wii U are not really comparable. The only thing similar is that Sega/Nintendo released their consoles first in the respective gens.

Wii U has more in common with Gamecube right now than Dreamcast. And that's utterly pathetic as far as I'm concerned. It is unprecedented to go from number 1 in the previous gen and then come out the gate with such an underwhelming console (Maybe Sony with the PS2-3 transition). The transition has been bungled completely. From the name to the decision of software to make is mind boggling. To think a 3D Mario (Which has NEVER been a huge catalyst for pushing hardware) Wind Waker which was the lowest selling Console Zelda before Skyward Sword, Pikmin 3 who has about as many fans as I have fingers, is going to spur sales. Nintendo fans, I've a bridge to sell you if you think any of these games will change any thing.

[thaimasker]

to say that 3D Mario and Mario Kart coming this year will not spur any sales is just ignorance...

Also get your facts right, Wind waker sold more than majora's mask as well and is the 6th best selling zelda ever. so really the only remake they could have done in which the original sold more and that would make sense was twilight princess but that just came out in 06.

[Gr81]

Mario Kart. But ignorance is the wrong word buddy. Insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result. You are insane to think that a 3D Mario which historically is not a huge system seller will change the fortunes of Wii U, It will take much more than that.

Mario Kart is the game with the most sales potential. Wind Waker lol..How many console Zelda's have their been buddy? 8? So out of 8 games it makes it to number 6..Yeah high sales threshold there.

[thaimasker]

Ah so thats why Mario 3D land has sold more than Mario Kart 3DS and have both (along with the price drop) propelled the 3DS to sucess.

and of course you didn't mention mario kart. that and 3D mario coming this year destroys your argument.
and there is also smash bros and a new zelda along with many other games coming next year.

and you could say 6 out of 8 but in reality when you look at sales numbers the only ones that are a few mil above wind waker is OOT, TP, and NES Zelda. The other 2 above it have practically the same sales. And Again 4 million sales is nothing to scoff at. and no one is saying that Wind waker remake will make the wii u successful in the first place. and for a remake the less people that have played it could actually be a good thing...For instance I haven't played it on GC but I will on Wii U Because I have never had the chance to play it in the first place

[Gr81]

Is too disimilar to compare, first off. 4 Million is nothing to scoff at...but 10-20m is even better. Especially lets consider this; Every Nintendo franchise from Mario Kart to Smash Bros benefited greatly and was propelled to the highest sales their respective series have ever enjoyed this past gen..But 3D Mario and 3D Zelda did not. In fact 3D Zelda has seen its worse sales since WW.

You can try and paint WW in a rosy rouge if you want to but facts aren't on your side. WW has been the most polarizing console Zelda ever and for good reason. And that game was not a system seller for Gamecube and it won't be any different for Wii U.

I singled out 3D Mario for a reason. Understand, I am not arguing software will not sell the Wii U. But the right kind of software will see a longer and stronger push for Nintendo's Wii U. The real hardware pushing software at Nintendo's disposal is not 3D Mario, WW Zelda or Pikmin 3. That is what I am arguing. Those games are supplemental. The only games I see pushing hardware that we know of is MK & Smash Bros.

I want Nintendo to succeed. But I won't be a drone and cosign on everything they do just because they are Nintendo. That's silly and dangerous and counterproductive as a fan. If you don't hold their feet to the fire, you get a gamecube. I'd rather an SNES/Wii experience than another Gamecube.

[vikingland1]

Hmmm interesting take.

[TheGamingArt]

One difference, the Dreamcast won't be forgotten and will be missed.

[thaimasker]

Thats what they say about everything that isn't doing great in its first 6 month+ or so....PS3,3DS,Vita, and now Wii U.so really the last 4 pieces of hardware released were all doomed to fail.

Another difference is that the wii u has a future of block buster games on its way.

[Gamer Muzz]

I love things like this written by people who obviously have no idea what happened to the Dreamcast. LOL
Little known fact: The Dreamcast was a record breaking console. It broke all first day hardware and software sales records of it's time.

The dreamcast was not released coming off a generation of gaming in which Sega dominated the market in both console and handheld sales, turning Billions of dollars in profits as Nintendo has in the 7th Generation of gaming.

Though the Wii U has been hacked, it will not be as easy to pirate as the Dreamcast was. The Dreamcast didn't even require modding to pirate games for. it was all done on the disc!

And in the end, it was piracy that killed the Dreamcast. It was already on the way out the door when the PS2 hit store shelves. (they only shared store shelves for about 8 months before sega announced the end of Dreamcast production) Hardware sales had increased (at one point even seeing a 156.5% spike in sales figures) but software sales hit an all time low. This was an obvious sign that Piracy was killing the console.

Lastly, even if the Wii U failed completely, it would not be enough to close Nintendo down. The financial state of Sega at the time of the dreamcast failure was not great. They just came off three other failed consoles (Sega CD, 32X, Saturn) and had never won a generation prior.
In the end, it only took a 750 million dollar loss to put them under.
meanwhile, Nintendo has been reporting Billions in net revenue for the last 7 years.

Yeah, that sounds A LOT like the Wii U. (sarcasm) LOL
This analyst should consider sticking to what he knows. which is obviously not anything to do with the video game industry.

[diepdiep]

People would say that the Wii U is on the road to despair. Once more of its blockbuster games come out, the console will make a U-turn and be back on the road to redemption.

[just-joe]

There were many reasons the Dreamcast failed which many seem to overlook. Before the Dreamcast, Sega had made failure after what with add-ons for the Genesis and doing the bone head move of announcing the Saturn and releasing it the very day they showed it off at E3.They made bad move after bad move and when the got it right with the Dreamcast, it was too late with the PS2 looming and piracy being easy to do with the system.

[jcnba28]

Yeah and the DS, Wii and 3DS were also supposed to be the next Dreamcast LOL

[OC_MurphysLaw]

I suppose you can make an argument that until we see how the PS4 & Next Xbox sell before we can say the WiiU is a failure, but I think its a pretty thin one at best.

WiiU feels like an across the board failure from the get go. It's announcement was mis-handled, its name is a poor marketing choice, software launch line up was poor especially looking at 3rd party games. Even their 1st party support feels thin.

We often hear people talk about MS and Sony having been high in the horse on past success but man it sure feels like Nintendo just assumed the WiiU would sell itself.

[OldSchoolGamer78]

@badz
The hardware in the WIIU not entirely ancient, but you fail to calculate that it is the tablet controller with the NFC ( Near Field Communication) included that is eating up most of the cost.
Without the tablet controller NINTENDO would have been able to bump up the specs even further. They chose to balance power with unique style of playing.
Will it pay off, it is yet to be seen.

[Jek_Porkins]

Those are totally different situations, the Dreamcast was a great console that had a lot of fun games, but the fans had given up on Sega because of past instances where they would make an add on and quickly drop support (Sega CD, 32X).

Nintendo hasn't lost consumer confidence, and in many cases some parents might only be aware of Nintendo because they have been around so long. When I was younger my mom used to say "Stop playing Nintendo" even when I was on Genesis or something else.

Anyway, Nintendo has always managed to make money, even on the Gamecube, and coming off the DS and Wii success, and now the huge success of the 3DS, Nintendo can flounder a bit with the Wii U until they get some games, it's still right about where the PS3/360 were at 6 months, it's way too soon to be comparing it to a Dreamcast system that only sold 10 million in almost 4 years, where as the Wii U is at 5+ in less than half a year.

[gedden7]

Yay another doom and gloom article, YAY.

Sega was already had financial troubles. Nintendo is not, SOOOOOO not the same scenario...

Nintendo could have 2 failed systems in a row and still be kinda ok. Nintendo has a great business moto. They want to make $$ from the system(s) itself as well as the software and now (more profitable in my opinion) Digital Sales aka eshop and the VC. VC games cost pennies to make and develop but most of the values are all profits.

Sega had NONE of those things but the internet service.

Sega MS and SONY never made/makes money on their consoles until they break even at the end of a generation then its time to push another console and start the process all over again.

But this motto also has it draw back like graphical tech. When was the last time Nintendo the graphically superior system, handheld or home console? but no matter Nintendo has a huge fan base and GREAT software.

Nintendo is here to stay sorry haters.

[josephayal]

why dreamcast? the dreamcast actually had games

[megagamer21]

reminder: Nintendo has billions of dollars that sega didn't

[Realplaya]

The Wii U is fine Nintendo knows the key to success is to release games but not just any games due to competition being fierce they have to be high quality games that will set the bar high for all developers. It’s amazing how naive people are to throw stones at the GOAT (greatest of all times). There are a lot of young gamers out there who lack respect because they started gaming in the new HD era and don’t realize the role that Nintendo has been playing in the Gaming Universe. Also us veterans out there who diss this company were no better than most. Now People seem to think just because you happen to be the oldest video game company you can't make mistakes but that's the wrong mindset to have. The good thing for them is they have had more financial gains than losses and although they march to the beat of their own drum they have single handedly sold more 1st party software than other companies put together.
The Nintendo stance on hardware is that they will always release fun affordable durable hardware that families can afford. Us tech geeks might think it’s under powered But think about it like this if they had released a system where the specs murdered the next box PS4 specs then we would say it cost too much for a Nintendo product. The fact is if they manage a lifetime of 50 million plus systems sold they are going to make money by selling millions of Mario games and other 1st party games and the facts speak for themselves look at the attachment rate of the last Mario game that came out.
We see the retail numbers and assume they are moving software but they are moving games via Digital method that’s why you can stack to HDD of 1.5 terabytes. My opinion is Nintendo needs to do them keep cranking out finished high quality software and they will be alright.

[CaulkSlap]

Hold on now. Dreamcast was a state of the art console with innovative features and great games. NOTHING like the WiiU.

If anything the WiiU is their Saturn so even if they produce a Dreamcast next, it will fail.

[ZeekQuattro]

Not surprising. Everything Nintendo released is either destined to be Dreamcasted or Virtual Boyed. lmao Btw I love the comments though where staunch Sega fans claim the Dreamcast was not only better than the Wii U but it was also better than the PS2. I'm still a big fan of Sega to this day but the Dreamcast was a severe letdown after back to back Sega hardware mishaps.

Sega was at its best with the Genesis after that it was kinda like watching a train wreck that only got worse with each new add-on or console release. I'm just happy they still make & publish mostly quality games but their last two console only had a handful of decent games and in the case of the Dreamcast most of those games were ported to either the GCN or PS2. Now if someone were to say the Genesis was better than many consoles that came after it I could kind of see that but not the Dreamcast.