This One Mistake Could Cost Nintendo Dearly This Holiday

Hardcore Gamer: Earlier this year Satoru Iwata promised us all of these games by the year’s end with Super Smash Bros. and a new Zelda somewhere on the horizon. What we have now is Nintendo once again shooting themselves in the foot. Another lack of marketing, several exclusives sent out to die and a console that continues to slip into irrelevancy now that the PS4 and Xbox One are out.

[XXXL]

Good article. What pisses me off the most is Nintendo's nonchalant attitude with the Wii U VC. A robust library with gamepad play could've really helped tide Nintendo owners over until the AAA titles come in. Instead Nintendo releases a handful of titles some which are a complete joke. Wtf were they thinking?

[dedicatedtogamers]

Nintendo is still very much behind the times when it comes to digital account systems. Sony and Microsoft (not to mention Steam and GoG.com on PC) do a great job of letting you buy a game under your account name and then pretty much go from there. Sony is particularly good about this: you could buy a PS1 game one time and play it across your PSP, PS3, PS4, and Vita with the ability to move your save file between those, to boot.

[DarkBlood]

so you mean i could be playing what i already purchased for ps1 games via gaikai on the ps4 when it happens?

[BullyMangler]

lol, a wiiU has better higher quality games ober a ps4 and x1, also the wiiU OUT SOLD the ps4 this past week << fACTOID

[Angeljuice]

From article;
"The Japanese sales are in and Super Mario 3D World has only sold about 100,000 units in its first week making it the worse debut of a 3D Mario game ever. Worst yet is that Wii U sales only increased by 5,000 units, terrible for a game that is supposed to be the savior of a platform."

Whoops!

[Pogmathoin]

Hehe, you repeated the article, yet you get the disagrees... You have an posse of mario fanboys??

[mikeslemonade]

The article says Mario Kart could be the savior. Just SMH what do people really see in Mario Kart. I don't play local coop so that's maybe why. Just racing in general is lame.

[DeadMansHand]

@mikes. I respectfully disagree. I love just playing the SP mode. I'm 40 and I love just racing around trying to get 3 stars in all races to unlock the bowser car. Something about it I guess....the maps, the music and the characters. MK8 looks sweet. 1080p, anti gravity, hanggliders...gonna be a hoot.

Granted, my WiiU is my secondary/lay in bed while I play console. Ps4 is my bread and butter.

Also, I hate regular racing games. Never could get into GT or any other racers. Usually I play Oblivion, Fallout, Infamous, Assassins Creed type of stuff.

[Kevlar009]

The WiiU sold about 274,000 units globally a week ago, and 3D World about 380,000 (according to vgcharts http://www.vgchartz.com/#Th...

Considering the WiiU sold around 1 million over 8 months (March to November) the WiiU had a pretty good week around the time of 3D World. While the sales aren't astronomical for a Black Friday week, the WiiU pulled some pretty good numbers in the US (the largest game market)

And yes I do realize it's just from one week. However it shows with a good deal and a major game the WiiU can thrive

[Theallplatformer]

That's 100k copies sold out of an estimate 175K shipped physical games. Also the total number of Digital sales are unknown. Basicly the game was in short supply, so those looking for a physical copy have a hard time finding one.
Newest Japanese sales charts show Wii U placing in 2nd only under the 3DS.

[miyamoto]

How many"wi u saviors" has gone by already?

[Ol_G]

ugh

[zalanis]

Not sure what he means by lack of compelling software, splinter cell, ac4, batman ao, all are also available on wiiu. Deus ex and cod ghosts are also available.so no ryse,and no killzone. So, 360/ps3 dont have those games either

[Heisenburger]

Wii U is the console Ninty is using in the competition against PlayStation 4 and Xbox One, and you know that.

Wii U was the first of this newest generation, by definition, to launch. Again, you know that

[Welshy]

To people who own and enjoy the Wii U, all the more power to you, i don't wish anyone a bad time with their consoles, i'm a gamer after all.

But as a gamer who does his best to own all platforms and get the benefits of all sides, outwith Mario and Zelda, the Wii U has absolutely no relevance to me.

It's moderately more powerful than PS360, sure, but at what cost? A Wii U here in Scotland costs £229 for a base unit, while i can pick up a PS3/360 for £130, have pretty much the same graphics, a substantially larger back catalogue of games that cost buttons in comparison to "new" titles on the Wii U that i played anywhere up t 2 years ago. Not to mention a massive online community where i'll easily a find an online match in any even semi-popular title, an area where the Wii U already struggles with even it's most recent game (COD less than 10,000 players on Wii U, COD on PS3/360 with hundreds of thousands of players).

And if the 2nd screen support is your thing, PS4 just outdone them with Vita support there too, but with the advantage of the Vita being an independent device with its own set of games you can take anywhere.

It doesn't have the horsepower to either massively outshine PS3/360 or hold a candle to PS4/Xbone. it has a much smaller install base, less games, less third party support... just... meh... what is it for?

Unless you hold a strong allegiance with Mario/Zelda to the tune of £200+ and the sacrifice on tonnes of games and dev support, as an all round gamer, the purpose of the machine is just completely lost on me.

It's essentially in gaming limbo.

[Welshy]

Would any of the disagrees like to expand on why they disagree?

Not being a d*ck, just genuinely curious what your reasoning is when i've put mines down.

[DeadMansHand]

You nailed it. I cut my teeth on gaming on the acrade Mario brothers at 7-11 stores back in the 80s so I will always have a soft spot for them. I'm not rich but 250 bucks or so for a secondary console that allows me to not only play all my old time favorite games AND get a sweet tablet (gamepad) is a no brainer.

I have friends that will spend 300 on a weekend of beer, steaks and jet ski rentals. I'm a homebody. All my disposable income goes into my electronics.

[XisThatKid]

What is meant is enough compelling software exclusively or console purchase worthy titleS. Yea some mediocre ports could be considered compelling software but Nintendo has segregated it's consumers. A horde of people saying "we don't need those 3rd party games give me the 1st party titles I bought my console for" and the legion of consumers wanting some of those 1st party games and want an equal experience everyone else is getting in todays videogame industry so you don't have own multiple consoles for different experiences. Ninty has not catered to either of these factions successfully realistically. These sales show me this. along with some horrible ports of games that have better resolutions and smoother gameplay without as many if not no programing errors little reason not to buy any version over the Wii U version.

[310dodo]

a very well written article.

I have been getting sick of all this Nintendo is doomed talk because I do not think they are "doomed" at all.
The Wii U is a flop. Thats all.

The Wii concept never took off with me so I stayed away.
I fell in love with my PS3 and 360.
Wii U just isnt compelling enough ATM...

but a realistic open world Zelda RPG just might make me spend $$$ on a Nintendo console these days.

[worldwidegaming]

It makes them feel better that the other guys tool is smaller. Nintendo is doomed! Lemme get some hits!!

[PSnation4]

i only got the Wii U for my nephews and neice..they love the wii u.. they love rayman, super mario 3d world.. all the other mario games.. nintendo land..zelda.. sonic... me personally theres only 1 game im hoping will arrive soon..mario kart 8!!!

2 mistakes they did recently was releasing Mario and Sonic at the Sochi 2014 Olympic Winter Games exactly the same date as the PS4.. and releasing super mario 3d world the same day as the release of the xbox one..

[Yep]

I think the logic in this article is flawed.

Whereas when the 3DS released it's slew of system sellers in a close in proximity time span, it didn't, however, release them when 2 other competitors were launching. The 3DS also marketed all of it's flagship titles.

In other words, the performance of Super Mario 3D World and prior quality releases, depending on how you look at it, is not an accurate performance of how they will continue to sell and how future titles will sell.

There was no way any game on a recently released console is going to sell as much as a game on a newly launched console. It does not ever work like that.

[DarkZane]

If Mario Kart 8 and Super Smash Bros U don't make the WiiU sell, it's over, there won't be any coming back.

Considering that the 3DS is getting Super Smash too and it's basically the same game as the WiiU version, I don't see people going out of their way to get a WiiU for it when they can get it for 3DS (and 3DS games are cheaper too).

That only leave Mario Kart 8 to save it. A new Zelda might be able to do it too, but it's so far away from release that by that time, no one will care anymore.

Bet SEGA are regretting doing Bayonetta 2 exclusively on WiiU, since it's the sequel of a game that really didn't sell well on 2 platforms who had both a much larger install base than the WiiU.

[KonsoruMasuta]

SEGA really can't regret Bayonetta 2 being exclusive because they were never going to bother with the series again. The only reason why Bayonetta 2 is being made is because Nintendo is funding part of development and publishing it.

SEGA had no interest in Bayonetta and did not care about Bayonetta. I doubt they regret much since the first game didn't sell massive numbers either.

[truechainz]

Have you played smash before? The circle pad is just plain not the best way to play that game when the wii u will have control sticks. Anyone who buys only the 3DS version (I will be getting both) will figure that out soon enough. It is great they spread the love and that the two games will work together, but the definitive version by far will be the wii u version. Kid Icuras was a great game, but also a great example of how much better that game could be with two control sticks on the wii u.

[wonderfulmonkeyman]

Sega didn't have much of a choice for Bayonetta 2.
Everyone else turned them down, but Nintendo gave them a chance.
You sound salty about it, though.

[kratos_TheGoat]

one reason 3ds all the great games is on the handheld is no reason to get a wii u for now

[KonsoruMasuta]

I agree. Part of the reason the WiiU is not doing well is because Nintendo has been putting most of it's attention into the 3DS. They keep pumping out games for the 3DS while the WiiU is left to starve in a dark corner.

[kratos_TheGoat]

next year you can get mario kart and super smash bros on 3ds confusing the consumers why not only wii u exclusive

[RPG_Lover]

This article is pure nonsense.

"Well it looks like this Holiday is going to be painful for Nintendo’s latest home console" Sold more than PS4 in US 2 weeks in a row.

I can tell your trolling Nintendo for not even mentioning wii u sales this week in Japan. number 1 console in the region

[Ac7iVe]

This article is Sooo misinformed, pikmin sold 500k which isn't a failure, Mario only got out sold in the UK and Mario sold 380-400k the first week and that's just physical copies. The Wii u is currently selling a lot better since Mario came out. Wii u was selling about 80k a week then spiked to 111k and now at 275k this week. This author is soo anti Ninty its bad. According to multiple articles the Wii u is sold out at many major retailers .

[Angeljuice]

" According to multiple articles the Wii u is sold out at many major retailers ."

According to multiple other articles it's been removed from the shelves in many others.
Just adding a little balance here.