200°

Nintendo Wii U: Why the Console Isn't Selling

IBTimes UK - "Again, it's a case of big numbers on paper actually meaning low sales in reality. When you consider that 20 billion apps were downloaded from the App Store in 2012, more than one billion people now have Facebook accounts, and in March 2012, Apple was able to sell 3 million iPads in 3 days, it's easy to believe that an exploitable market exists for apps, social networking and tablet-based gaming. But the point that Nintendo seems to be missing with its reheated Wii U is that large figures like these don't necessarily mean people want these things - they mean people already have these things."

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ibtimes.co.uk
iamnsuperman4093d ago (Edited 4093d ago )

I say (from a mass market perspective):

1. Name and marketing. Wii U sounds and has been advertised as if it is an add on for the Wii. Bad idea

2. The controller. It is in direct competition with tablets now (from a mass market perspective) and these consumers would rather have a fully fledged tablet than an extremely limiting one. I personally do not see this controller as a killer app which is how it has been advertised.

3. Games. The big sellers are coming but not out yet. Interesting to know when as no release dates have been given

4.The port problem. A lot of third parties are just straight ports from last gen consoles (that is right I called the PS3 and 360 last gen as we should be now with the PS4 and next xbox on the horizon) which a huge amount of people already own. You could link that with the poor third party sales on the Wii U as they just bought the 360 or PS3 version

5. The port problem brings nicely into the next generation problem. A lot of consumers are waiting and seeing what the other two are doing before jumping into one of the camps especially when these consumers have achievements and account specific content already tying them down. EA, recently, hasn't exactly said anything nice to help Nintendo.

dedicatedtogamers4093d ago

I think the name backfired on Nintendo. They likely thought "hey, we can cram Wii into the name and all our previous Wii owners will buy it". But as we saw at the WiiU's E3 reveal, a lot of people were confused if it was actually a new system or just a new tablet controller.

The other problem is Nintendo's focus. With the Wii, Nintendo was so amped up to change gaming, to revolutionize the livingroom, to include everyone in gaming, to make gaming fun again. With the WiiU, there is none of that passion. They're just like "here is a console, with a tablet! Cool, huh? Buy it, please".

lilbroRx4092d ago

Huh? But the console is selling. it sold 3 million in less than 2 months. How many other consoles did that?

If that is not selling, then what is?

I do not understand this news.

G-cis4093d ago

i think because its very similar to wii
from the looks,the name,and many other things bar the controller

thats make people think it;s just an overpriced wii with a tablet controllet

KrisButtar4093d ago

Those are some solid reasons(bubble up) I would like to add the price as I have some friends waiting for the price drop to happen like it did with the 3DS before they buy.

MasterCornholio4093d ago

They could have just called it a Wii 2 and everyone would be able to tell just by the name that its a new console.

ElectricKaibutsu4093d ago

Wii 2 sounds like a good name to me. As long as they don't use Roman numerals.

Gothdom4093d ago

lol, Wii II, or the "weehee"

metroid324092d ago (Edited 4092d ago )

This is rubbish talk everyone i know nows its a new console and plan to get one.

WiiU is genius.
Wii2 is boring and un original.

Old McGroin4092d ago

The guys commenting in the article itself are saying that the Wii U is selling better than the PS3 and 360 did when they first launched, is this true? If so, why are people saying the Wii U isn't doing well?

Fierce Musashi4092d ago (Edited 4092d ago )

Well, that's because there are people out there who actually want it to fail, whether they'll admit it or not. So much even, that facts such as that will only skip their ass. (^-^ )

Hicken4091d ago

It IS doing better than the PS3 and 360 did at the same time. Or was.

I don't know whether Nintendo's like Sony, where they have a range, and the Wii U is selling at the lower end of the range, but it seems that, according to Nintendo, the system isn't selling as they'd hoped.

And then there's the comparison to the Wii. I don't think it's doing as well compared to its predecessor, which isn't all that fair.

danny8184092d ago

Nintendo is stupid. At e3 people were confused about it being an add on. And ten they had te bright idea of calling it WiiU.

lfclee4092d ago

You will not notice the difference according too leaked spec's here !
Name Wii U neXtBox PS4 or "Omni"
Project Cafe Durango Orbis
CPU
PowerPC Type 750
3 cores @ 1.25GHz
For reference:
Wii - 1 core @ 729MHz 750CL
GC - 1 core @ 485MHz 750CXe
So WiiU = same architecture, but faster with three times the cores.
AMD APU Fusion "Jaguar CPU"
8 cores @ 1.6GHz
x64 base
This is technically a "cluster" of two 4-core CPUs. Each quad-core cluster will contain:
32x32 L1 cache
2MB L2 cache
AMD APU Fusion "Jaguar CPU"
8 cores @ 1.6GHz
x64 base
This is technically a "cluster" of two 4-core CPUs. Each quad-core cluster will contain:
32x32 L1 cache
2MB L2 cache
GPU
550MHz AMD HD series
~RV770 OR HD6770 OR E6760
800MHz AMD HD series
4 x "Move Engines" (rumored to assist with moving data)
"Southern Island" tech in APU
~HD7XXXM processor
800MHz AMD HD series
"Southern Island" tech in APU
~HD7XXXM processor
Memory
2GB RAM(DDR3 - 17GB/s)
(1GB for OS)
32MB eDRAM (on GPU)
8GB RAM (DDR3 - 68GB/s)
(1GB to 3GB for OS/Kinect)
32MB eSRAM (on GPU)
4GB RAM (GDDR5 - ~192GB/s)
(512MB to 1GB for OS)
Storage
Int. 8GB / 32GB Flash
Ext. USB2 HDD (<2TB)
SD Card (just for BC)
XXXGB HDD (SATA2.0)
500GB HDD
OS Custom Nintendo UI
App integration
MiiVerse
Nintendo Network 
Nintendo TVii
Video/Voice/text chat w/ gamepad Windows 8 core
App integration
Live
Video/Voice/text chat w/ Kinect2/phone/tablets/kb Custo m Sony UI
App integration
PSN
Video/Voice/text chat w/ eye/phone/tablets/kb
Media
Proprietary 25GB Disc
Wii Discs
Bluray
Bluray
Display (games)
up to 1080p
Various connectors up to 1080p
Various connectors up to 1080p
Various connectors
Controllers 2 Gamepad controllers
4 Pro controllers
4 Wiimotes and all Wii accessories Variant of 360 controller
Kinect 2.0
SmartGlass Variants of Dual Shock and Move
Integration with tablets/phones?
Other 4 USB 2.0
Fully b/c with Wii
Wi-Fi (802.11n)
USB
B/C with 360
Wi-Fi (802.11n)
USB
B/C with PS3
Wi-Fi (802.11n)
Launch NA: Nov 18th, 2012
EU/AU: Nov 30th, 2012
JP: Dec 8, 2012 Q4 2013?

+ Show (5) more repliesLast reply 4091d ago
LOGICWINS4093d ago

"...Apple was able to sell 3 million iPads in 3 days, it's easy to believe that an exploitable market exists for apps, social networking and tablet-based gaming. But the point that Nintendo seems to be missing with its reheated Wii U is that large figures like these don't necessarily mean people want these things - they mean people already have these things."

Well said! Nintendo wants the Apple crowd, not realizing that they never had a ghost of a chance to get them.

StrongMan4093d ago

Because lightning don't strike twice. The gimmick didn't catch on this time.

G-cis4093d ago

actually ,it strike thrice

DS,wii,3DS lmao

360ICE4092d ago

PS1, PS2 at least.
Both outsold their competition.

Also, every Nintendo handheld ever, except Game Boy Micro.

4093d ago
RAMHAMMERSPAMMER4093d ago

omg!!!!!! ive never seen so many negative article more than wii u? wtf!? N4G is not a good place for people to mouth off about things like this. what about having fun and not bashing 90% of the times omg!! its getting real stupid now.u give people a voice and this what they do...make a hundread million post about things they dont like who cares really? grab ur pacifiers and go cry to ur mommy about it for christ sake,dont come on here expecting people to support ur crying.

Ck1x4093d ago

Not to mention that what the article states in the headline wasn't exactly said on twitter by the EA representative. This has happened way to many times now here on n4g,, so this is no surprise actually!

Thatguy-3104093d ago

Thought I don't like Nintendo I would have to agree lol these past few days it has all been doom and gloom for the wii u. But not surprised though. Most new consoles go through this.

Karpetburnz4093d ago

The same thing happened to the PS3, Infact It may have been worse, Now look at it, Its doing really well. I think the Wii U will see an Increase in sales when the price lowers and better games are released (which their are better games on the way)

perfectCarbonara4093d ago

The problem with that is by then actual next gen consoles will have come out in the form of 720 and PS4. Fully supported by the likes of EA and Ubisoft.

Then who's gonna look at a Wii U ? not Mii, how bout U ?

mcstorm4092d ago

@RAMHAMMERSPAMMER its like anything that come out. We had it with Android when it 1st came out and now its around about Windows Phone. It was the same with Android tablets and its now being said about Windows 8.

People just like to jump over anything and don't look at the bigger picture. What people do see is the products that are selling the most are the ones who are picked up by the masses and not from a technical point of view. Look at HD TV's or Bluray. They had a slow start and are now becoming the norm. It was the same with MP3 players I had an MP3 player back in 1999 I think it was and it was a Diamond Multimedia Rio PMP300 and everyone told me it would never take off then a few years later everyone wanted an MP3 player in the IPod.

The WiiU has sold 3 million consoles in 3ish months and I don't think that is a bad number as it the 1st of the next gen and everyone is still enjoying there Wii, PS3 and 360 and waiting to see what the other two do before moving to there next console as there are still big name games Like COD, NFS ect still being made for the other consoles.

I have said since the beginning that I think next gen will not have a run away console as I see them all being more or less the same in terms of what they offer and they will be around about the same price to. It will be bought on who has what games that people want to play.

Also Nintendo has not had any of its big hitting names on the WiiU yet and the PS3 was the same when it came out once the Big names land sales will get higher to.

Bronxs154092d ago

"Also Nintendo has not had any of its big hitting names on the WiiU yet"

That's not true. There biggest hitting name Mario is on there. And it's a dam good Mario game too. And 2d Mario's sell a lot more than 3d ones. Whatever new super Mario bros u sells dont expect the 3d mario to sell more.

+ Show (1) more replyLast reply 4092d ago
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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?"

purple1012d 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 ☝️

Zeref1d 22h 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.

DarXyde1d 20h 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.

PhillyDonJawn1d 20h ago (Edited 1d 20h 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.

Einhander19721d 19h 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.

MrBaskerville1d 18h 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.

shinoff21831d 10h 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.

Profchaos1d 9h 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 1d 9h ago
isarai2d ago

Is that why Hellblade 2 is digital only?

Zeref1d 22h 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.

MrNinosan1d 21h ago

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

mkis0071d 1h ago (Edited 1d 1h ago )

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

Einhander19722d 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.

2d ago Replies(3)
Einhander19722d ago

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

2d ago
2d ago
Zeref1d 22h 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.

DarXyde1d 20h 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.

Einhander19721d 20h 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.

Einhander19721d 20h 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.

BehindTheRows1d 19h ago (Edited 1d 19h 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.

Zeref1d 18h ago (Edited 1d 18h 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.

Chevalier1d 17h 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.

Tacoboto1d 18h 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.

shinoff21831d 10h ago

Yay steam

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

Tacoboto1d 8h 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 1d 8h ago
Hofstaderman1d 23h 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?

crazyCoconuts1d 19h 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.

Xeofate1d 15h ago (Edited 1d 15h 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.

crazyCoconuts20h 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

FinalFantasyFanatic1d 4h 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."

XiNatsuDragnel8d ago

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

banger888d 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.

Jingsing7d ago

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

PRIMORDUS7d 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.

mastershredder7d 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.

shinoff21837d 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.

80°

The Nintendo Partner Spotlight Sale Is The Perfect Excuse To Get These 6 Gems

Huzaifa from eXputer: "The Nintendo Partner Spotlight sale event has discounted a number of worthy titles on the Switch. Here are 6 of them you should check out."