150°

A Slow Death for the Wii U?

It's been almost six months... hey do you remember the Wii U was released?

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yugovega3995d ago

more doom and gloom. us wiiu owners are loving the system. and as far as a price cut? it doesn't need one. you get a lot for the money and 300 isn't high at all for a next gen system. no one sees the ps4 or nextbox releasing anywhere close to that price. it's the same price as a vita is. and all the complaints about no Mario is stupid. if they had the new Mario was out these same sites would be screaming rehash! rehash! rehash!

shikamaroooo3995d ago

It's like the 3DS all over again, and now look at it, it's selling big time.

arbitor3653995d ago

you are incredibly delusional if you think that the wii u has any of the same market appeal as the 3DS.

nintendo's position in the console market is not comparable to their position in handheld market. the gamecube sold a little over 20 million units while the gameboy advance, at the same time, sold 90 million.

nirwanda3995d ago

@arbitor and the virtual boy sold badly and far worse than the gamecube so I can't see how you can say the Nintendo only has mass market appeal with handhelds.

It doesn't matter what you think of a console the reality is that consoles only have mass market appeal at certain price points, the wii proved that as have every console ever released when they have reached sub £150.

3-4-53995d ago

Doom & Gloom writers are the least intelligent of the "journalists". They aren't open minded and well they just spew whatever is popular to say so they can get hits.

They've been saying this about Nintendo since the N64.....probably even before.

Think of the 20 best Nintendo games ever made.

There are "writers" out there who consider those games Not Good or Bad, or they " don't get them" or whatever else it is.

You should have to qualify yearly, to gain a license to even write about video games.

+ Show (1) more replyLast reply 3995d ago
RobertofSweden3995d ago

Soo whats the problem then, if you get so much for the money?

yugovega3995d ago

the problem without a doubt is marketing. Nintendo only markets at Christmas. they decide it's the parents that make them the money and they buy around holidays. and as far as delayed games? 2. that's all that's been delayed. one is rayman which we got the challenge app that will be the games only selling point anyway for free until September, and the second is pikmin. and pikmin isn't a system seller. it's not like they delayed smash bros or Mario kart. they give most their love to 3ds because it's quicker to make games for it. you don't get the same value with Mario 3d as you do galaxy.

Parapraxis3995d ago

"the problem without a doubt is marketing."
Not at all, the problem is a lack of games.

jsslifelike3995d ago (Edited 3995d ago )

There's no denying that the WiiU is in a precarious position. I bought mine at launch, really enjoyed it, then unhooked it to take to a friend's place and subsequently left it sit... until a few days ago. I finished the latter half of ZombiU and forgot HOW MUCH I LOVED A SECOND SCREEN. Splitting your concentration between them in addition to deliberate gameplay(a la Dark Souls) gives me hope for Nintendo's hardware. Actually, I DON'T WANT a lot of the third-party multiplats because there's no developer in their right mind that would(or should) really leverage the platform when it's easier to have vanilla parity between all systems. Give me indie/episodic games that really make the WiiU shine.

And, if you're bitching about having nothing to play on WiiU, try Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate. I had over 500 hours on Tri and loved every minute of it. It'll last until the big N franchises land.

grassyknoll3995d ago

As a WiiU owner, I'm really not loving the system. Multiple delays of titles promised for the "launch window", expensive hardware relatively (I got mine in a HMV flash sale thankfully) & terrible, dated OS. I think it's gonna have great, original titles over it's lifetime: but recommend getting it at the end of the generation. Nintendo gives all it's love to the 3DS.

quantae063995d ago (Edited 3995d ago )

@gammajooki I know! I'm enjoying my Wii U personally. I'm playing my Wii U games more then my PS3 games right now.

+ Show (1) more replyLast reply 3995d ago
arbitor3653995d ago

just in case people dont know the numbers, here they are

2013 (rounding to the nearest thousand)
week 1 -- 126K
week 2 -- 49K
week 3 -- 38K
week 4 -- 34K
week 5 -- 37K
week 6 -- 37K
week 7 -- 39K
week 8 -- 36K
week 9 -- 30K
week 10 -- 29K
week 11 -- 29K
week 12 -- 55K
week 13 -- 66K
week 14 -- 45K
week 15 -- 34K
week 16 -- 33K
week 17 -- 31K

lilbroRx3995d ago

I'm pretty sure there was only 1 month where the Wii U sold below 50k.

LOL_WUT3995d ago

With a price cut that number would definitely go up ;)

miyamoto3994d ago

hey arbitor, ever heard of the Ketchup Console?

https://www.youtube.com/wat...

IcyEyes3995d ago

The only games the Nintendo fans wants are Mario and Zelda.

Better if Nintendo will call the next console something like "Wii Mario" or "Wii Link" since Nintendo really need that guys to see more sales.

lilbroRx3995d ago

No, those are the only games that Nintendo bashers want them to want as Nintendo fans know that Mario and Zelda are only character that appear in game, not games themselves... The actual games with those characters are different the majority of the time.

What people who game on Nintendo consoles want are good games that are creative and original. Nintendo fans want things like Xenoblade, The Last Story, Bayonetta 2, Wonderful 101, and so on.

I've bought nearly every Nintendo console, but I never buy the Mario themed games and rarely any Zelda. Not that there are a quarter as many on the consoles as people who try to say that all Nintendo can sell claim to begin with. Last I checked, only 1 of the 3 top selling games on the Wii had Mario in the title and it was a racing game.

IcyEyes3995d ago (Edited 3995d ago )

I agree with you, but there is a large crowd of people who are not like you and really, they buy the new Nintendo console only for 2/3 games (Mario related) and probably Nintendo need those gamers ...

Btw I always hope a new console will sold well .. but we need to face the Wii U have a not so good srart and the future don't look so bright (now)

Realplaya3995d ago

If Nintendo was as worried as people on this site would make us believe they are then why aren't they releasing a half finished mario 3d, Pikmin, Link as you called it, and any other 1st party IP. To be honest them not releasing there games is giving 3rd parties a chance to release something and not be overshadowed by Nintendo.

There are a lot of people on here who are bragging about getting the new system and they just recently bought the systems after price drops. If people think Sony and Microsoft are releasing systems with what they have inside for lower than the Wii U they have lost their damn minds. Sony can not afford to lose money this generation and lets not think they can.

Agent_hitman3995d ago

Inb4 they say that PS3 was doomed, but didn't happen.

Jek_Porkins3995d ago

Is six months a slow death now? I think the Wii U needs games, if they come out with their killer apps and it still doesn't sell, maybe we can talk about this in a couple of years.

Nintendo clearly wasn't ready for launch, they pushed back a lot of their games and the features promised weren't ready at the launch. The Wii U is a quality system though, and I believe we might see similar sales patterns for the next Xbox and PlayStation, great at first while the core gamer's buy them, then a slower burn.

Mark my words, people that bash the Wii U for a slow start, Karma is legit, what goes around comes around, and the game industry is a bit of a parody of itself.

JuleyJules3995d ago

i agree that people think the ps4/720 launches are going to be fantastic (which might happen) but that doesn't mean 2014 will be as smooth once the fans get their systems just as with wiiu. By then wiiu will be selling more and will be less expensive too.

Jek_Porkins3995d ago

Exactly, I'm sure the core will come out and buy the next Xbox and PlayStation during the holidays, but when 2014 rolls around and there is a laps in new games, we could see the same problem, we'll also see developers a little fearful to jump right into next gen with such a small install base to start with.

JuleyJules3995d ago

Jek_Porkins, There have already been a few developers say they are waiting to see how the launch goes for the other next-gen systems before they jump on board. We might see developers jump on board the wii u once it has a larger install base.

Show all comments (57)
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 ☝️

Zeref4d 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.

DarXyde4d 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.

PhillyDonJawn4d ago (Edited 4d 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?

Zeref4d 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.

MrNinosan4d ago

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

mkis0073d ago (Edited 3d 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.

4d ago Replies(3)
Einhander19724d ago

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

4d ago
4d ago
Zeref4d 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.

DarXyde4d 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.

Einhander19724d 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.

Einhander19724d 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.

BehindTheRows4d ago (Edited 4d 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.

Tacoboto3d 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 3d ago
Hofstaderman4d 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.

crazyCoconuts3d 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

FinalFantasyFanatic3d 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."

XiNatsuDragnel11d ago

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

banger8810d 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.

Jingsing10d 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.

mastershredder9d 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.

shinoff21839d 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.