Will Next-Gen Cripple Nintendo?

"In 2006, Nintendo released a console that many expected to fail and cited the motion control gimmick as a reason as to why. To everyone's surprise, the Wii caught on like a wildfire and retailers couldn't keep them on store shelves..." - Stealthy Box

[iGAM3R-VIII]

I probably will depending on how Nintendo react by E3 and what path MS take for their next console. Since the Wii U can't take a lot of the new engines it could be left behind.

[Wigriff]

Nintendo will undoubtedly still do well, and the WiiU will have some games on it that will move consoles, even if they do turn out to mainly be 1st party titles. Mario, Zelda, Donkey Kong, Metroid, Star Fox... these are titles just like Star Wars and Final Fantasy; fans will always inevitably buy them, and there is only 1 system you will be able to get them on.

I don't own a WiiU yet, and I am going to be getting a PS4 at launch, but I will get a WiiU eventually for sure.

[ijust2good]

Again, Nintendo will have to depend on Nintendo exclusive games. Wii U is gonna be as successful as GameCube and N64 which isn't that great and they both lost by a massive margin.

Mario's, Metroid's the Zelda's are gonna help sell system for sure but it won't be enough to save it. The Wii U is basically a market for Ninty fanboys. Most popular games are multiplatform. Most third party publishers have caste doubts and also threatened to not support the hardware so the biggest and best games such as the next BF, COD, Mass Effect franchises and many more won't see the day of light on nintendo's platform. Making the console irrelevant to the wider consumer.

[Wigriff]

You realize that "best" is subjective, right? Many people consider Nintendo titles to be the "best" games money can buy. Nintendo may be a niche market now, but it isn't dead by a long shot.

[SonyPS4]

How do you know that the Wii U will only sell as much as the Gamecube? Look at the 3DS first year sales and how fanboys on the internet spell doom & gloom but it appears to be an even faster selling handheld than the predecessor.

[SilentNegotiator]

"WiiU will have some games on it that will move consoles... Mario, Zelda, Donkey Kong, Metroid, Star Fox..."

But that leaves them with the Gamecube. It was profitable, but I still doubt Nintendo wants another Gamecube after printing money with the Wii.

[Spoon_]

Release the Ultra Nintendo the powerful successor to the snes now

[Ritsujun]

Wii duUum crushed badly by next-gen engines. =D

[Shnazzyone]

You do know that even with it's losses nintendo has something like 14 billion dollars to fall back on from wii and ds. With that much money they pretty much can fail with wii u, and still be propped up by 3ds until the next gen.

Not to mention Nintendo is king of aces in the hole. If there's even a possibility of wii u failure. Boom, new LOZ, new 3d mario, new metroid, new console pokemon. System is fine again.

Whenever people write these articles they always seem to forget that nintendo spent almost 3 years of the last gen with a system consistently sold out everywhere that was probably selling for 4 times what it costed to produce. Not to mention holding rights to the best selling hardware of the last decade, the ds.

In the end, thinking nintendo will fail is wishful thinking. Which is why i'm always mystified why sony who's been hurting hardest out of the big 3, never is graced with articles like this except for once in a blue moon.

Where's the articles pointing out the possibility that ps4 is so much like a pc possibly so it fails at the gate like ps3 Sony can simply go multiplat with all exclusives with little or no trouble.

[DavePSU]

It's almost like none of you even read the article.

[DavePSU]

It's almost like you didn't even read the article.

[AKR]

Because N4G is Sony fan-boy haven. That and - it seems like there is manufactured hate towards Nintendo. Everything they do is criticized, time and time again. Even though they usually prove the nay-sayers wrong anyway - so I'm not worrying.

Either way ~ You do speak the truth. If it's ANYONE who's the most likely to *fail* it's Sony. They're finances are incredibly rocky, and can collapse at anytime. If the PS4 sells anything like the PS3 (at a loss) - they may not be able to sustain their gaming division.

But of course - all powerful Sony is to royal and beautiful to have gloom-&-doom articles.

[Nilemonitors13]

No company will fail anytime soon.

[jcnba28]

Nintendo will win next gen, again.

[riverstars86]

Nintendo and Microsoft will battle for second place this generation. Sony will be in first for sure.

[SilentNegotiator]

3DS is doing too well for Wii U to really "cripple" them.

[Dj7FairyTail]

Oh so now gaming is all about these things.
Specs
Engines
Power
Graphic
Mature

I sure wished I never joined these gaming sites because gaming back then with N64 and GameCube was peaceful not seeing all this fanboyism, console wars and companies and gamers hating on Nintendo.

[SilentNegotiator]

Actually, a lot of it is about developer support, which is why poor engine adaption is a major problem. Wii U has terrible dev support.

All you did was puke a bunch of tropes that had nothing to do with the comment you were responding to, moaning about "nintendo haters" "specs" "Mature games" etc.

[grimmweisse]

Feel free to leave anytime you want. No one is forcing you to read such articles or through the comments section.

[showtimefolks]

It depends what people count as success or failure, if people expect wiiu to sell as much as wii or even as much as next ps or Xbox than yes it's gonna fail but IMO N64 and GameCube didn't fail even though their respective sales were no where near ps1-2

I think Nintendo is stuck in between last gen and next gen which isn't gonna be good news, when big AAA titles are not releasing on a system ts never a good thing

Nintendo has to do whatever it takes to get the ball rolling 3rd party wise

I will say it again and I know I will be hated for saying this but gamepad is useless, that R&D and money auld have gone towards improving the actual specs of the console, but what's done is done. Nintendo fans are delusional if they within k wiiu will be ale to compete with ps4 or next Xbox. When major engines like unreal 4 aren't gonna run on wiiu you now it's jot net ge

So Nintendo will do the best it can and I see wiiu selling 45-60 million unites lifetime

[Scots]

It will be the most interesting E3 we've had in a few years - that is for sure.

[LordHiggens]

My guess is unfortunately yes, as the new ps4 and xbox realize their potential over the years eventually the Wii U will be left behind.

[SonyPS4]

Nobody really knows that, though. For all we know all three could do similar in success. That would be great for the sake of the entire industry and the gaming community.

[AKR]

Yeah, uh-huh. Because for the last 3 generations ~ It's been the most powerful console that has taken the top spot.

No, sir . . .

Just ask the PS1 (winner of the 5th-gen), PS2 (winner of the 6th-gen and second best selling game console ever), DS (winner of the 7th-gen handheld division and best selling game console ever) and the Wii (winner of the 7th-gen home console division and third best selling game console ever.

[BosSSyndrome]

Don't forget 3ds slamming Vita.

[LordHiggens]

The DS is a handheld gaming console and can not be held on par with the PS2...and the only reason why it beats the PSP and Vita with respect to the 3DS is that it appeals to the causal user...the child, the elderly, the "on the go gamers". PSP and PSVita trumps it in hardware any day of the week. It also trumps it in games...with respect to the hardcore gamer.

[mamotte]

tsch tsch tsch... you cant go on N4G and put real facts. You'll be bited to death, good sir.

[Dj7FairyTail]

LOL same thing was said for what
Wii
3DS
GameCube

[LordHiggens]

Please the gamecube sold less units than the original XBOX...and that...in and of itself is just sad. The Wii only sold so well because of it's appeal to the casual audience...like I said the shovelware, the kids, the elderly, the "on the go family man gamer". The 3DS...well that's a bit of a mystery to me...why it appeals to so many when it is trumped in every detail hardware wise to the Vita is perplexing to me...but in any case. I don't hate Nintendo...far from it. I just wish they'd take their hardware a bit more...seriously.

[Benjaminkno]

I'm sorry, I was just playing the best version of Need for speed and Black Ops II... what were you saying?

[spongeboob]

I was playing the PC version of those games also. Cool!

[Sharingan_no_Kakashi]

they still got the handheld market held pretty tightly. I don't see the wii u getting much more traction... unless it somehow manages to get a really popular third party title as an exclusive..... so yea basically they're screwed.

[NYC_Gamer]

Nintendo will be first to announce a new console again

[lilbroRx]

Nintendo will announce a new console in 5=6 years like they always have.

Whether or not Sony or Microsoft announce one before then is completely irrelevant to Nintendo's business plans and schedules.

So the next Nintendo console will be here in 2017 regardless of anything Sony, Microsoft or anyone else does and Nintendo is not going to stop supporting the Wii U with games until then.

[BitbyDeath]

A good crippling will probably do them some good.
It would be awesome if they took gaming a bit more seriously again.

[jcnba28]

Sounds like you're still butt hurt that they won last gen.

[BitbyDeath]

You kidding? The Wii brought more life back into gaming. Young and old. Why you hating on that?

[Benjaminkno]

so... where's the "it would be awesome if they took gaming more seriously"... nevermind

[BitbyDeath]

3rd parties, Ninty currently has a big head from winning last gen (same as what happened to Sony after winning with the PS2 the gen before). They seem to think everyone will buy it even if they put the littlest of effort in.

Nintendo need to step off their high horse and start reaching out to find out what they can do to get more devs involved.

The only way they'll start to focus on what they should be doing again is after they get crippled. Hence why it would be good for them.

[Mini0510]

lol your tone in this comment and the comment replied to jcnba28 is contradicting

[BitbyDeath]

Thought everyone was on the same page.

[Jek_Porkins]

LOL, no. Nintendo has never been about graphical power, they are more about gameplay and fun. The Wii could have and should have been "crippled" by the 360 and PS3, but it wasn't.

The Wii U is a full HD machine and will put out some impressive games, it is sad that third parties seem to not like the Nintendo consoles, but Nintendo has the first party games to survive. People always knock the Gamecube, but that actually made Nintendo money because it was so cheap to make, so even though they didn't sell a ton of them, they made profit.

We have to remember that Nintendo owns the handheld market, and they are coming off the Wii, they have plenty of time to get things going in the right direction.

[DavePSU]

Did you read the article?

[KrisButtar]

I read the article, it bothers me that the Wii U will likely not get games with those new engines. I like some of Nintendos games, but I like my 3rd party games more, and hearing title after title not coming to the Wii U, Nintendo have lost my sale because when I choose which system I want to get the game on, the Wii U just won't even have a version to choose from.

Edit: I just like getting the better version of the games I like, so I have bought my Bethesda games(fallout/TES) on the 360, AC3,FC3 on ps3(for the extras)and will continue doing the same with the next gen where ever the better version is, but the Wii U just is not getting the games to begin with, so its not going to have the better version

[camel_toad]

Nintendo used to be about graphical capabilities. The SNES crushed the Genesis technically speaking. I think the super Nintendo and n64 may end up being Nintendo's best moments in hardware.

They've just taken a new path now, one that I can't say I'm happy with compared to the good old Nintendo days.

[Jek_Porkins]

I love the Wii U, the possibilities are endless and when they start cranking out HD versions of Metroid, Mario, Zelda and Donkey Kong, everything will be fine.

The bottom line is the Wii U can outperform the PS3, which has some nice graphics in its own right. We just haven't seen them used yet.

[DavePSU]

Outperform the PS3? What does that matter? The PS3 is a last gen console compared to the Wii U. Nintendo shouldn't be aiming to outperform or be on par with a console it should be outright more powerful than.

[GribbleGrunger]

@Jek_Porkins

I often hear people say that there are 'endless possibilities' and I'm not suggesting otherwise, but could you perhaps give me three 'possibilities' off the top of your head?

[BOLO]

Wii U...Now you're playing with POWER!...Not.

[Qrphe]

>Nintendo has never been about graphical power

Did you miss the 5th gen when Nintendo was selling its console based on its 64-bit colors when the Saturn and PS1 could only do 32-bit?
What about Nintendo selling off the Mode 7 and Super FX that allowed the SNES to pull off 3D graphics that the Mega Drive couldn't do?

[Moncole]

He probably started gaming this gen.

[deafdani]

"Nintendo has never been about graphical power, they are more about gameplay and fun."

Where were you when Nintendo released the NES, SNES, N64, and Gamecube?

Because on those consoles, Nintendo focused on gameplay and fun... AND power.

I love my Wii U, and I think it's a fine console, and I think it will do just fine in the long run... but come on, that statement of yours isn't really accurate.

[mochachino]

I think perhaps Wii U but not Nintendo as a whole.

[Silly Mammo]

I think the Wii-U crippled Nintendo.

[LOL_WUT]

agreed ;)

[jcnba28]

I think you wish the Wii U crippled Nintendo.

[HeavenlySnipes]

WiiU = The next Gamecube

Nintendo is going to rely heavily on the DS this gen.

[boybato]

Correct me if I am wrong. GameCube DID receive a LOT of third party support though?

[Soplox]

Why? because the GameCube was way more powerful than the PS2 and just a lil way behind the Xbox.

But this is not the scenario this time. This time the Wii U is WAAY behind the PS4 & XBOX360.

But let me tell you 2 lil Fun Facts:

The PS2 even being the crappiest console of Gen4 was and still the most successful console of all time.

The Wii was and still is the most successful console of this current Gen and the second most successful console of all times.

[boybato]

@MakiManPR

Why? because the GameCube was way more powerful than the PS2 and just a lil way behind the Xbox.

> just wanted to point out that at least Gamecube had THIRD PARTY SUPPORT not a port from their handheld console. (cough * resident evil revelations * cough)

[Qrphe]

It did not. The N64 had the same fate where mostly Nintendo supported the system.

[boybato]

@Qrphe

wait wut? are we talking about the Gamecube or N64. lol

[hollabox]

Nintendo has a long history of alienating third party support. Rather it being cartridge based format like the N64, Disney level of censorship for the SNES, or under powered hardware for the Wii's. Gamcube was the one exception to an certain extent. It was powerful enough to go toe to toe with Sony and Microsoft, good games, great graphics for its time, hell I brought it to play Resident Evil 0/remake, Star Fox, and Star wars games.

[ape007]

Two huge mistakes in your statement

1- still too early to judge wiiu

2- GameCube was AWESOME

[Soplox]

Even I a big fan of Nintendo have to say that if things keeps like this(No UE4, No Frostbite 3, etc, etc) it wont just left behind, it will die.

Nintendo should left the console market to Sony and Microsoft but stay in the Handheld market where they are the leaders. Or even start making Gaming Phones. That would be a big hit for Nintendo.

[lilbroRx]

If you were actually a fan of Nitnendo at all, then none of that would have mattered to you because middle-ware game engines never produce the "best" games.

The games that Nintendo fans generally prefer are unique exclusives that are built on the console hardware from the ground up. They prefer things like Xenoblade, House of the Dead Overkill, No More Heroes, Red Steel 2, The Last Story etc...

Not getting UE4, Frobite 3 or any other big western dev game engine has never effected Nintendo fans. Most of the games they prefer come from Japan.

[V0LT]

I think so to a degree. The other 2 consoles are just way more powerful and I don't think dev's want to put a ton of time having to degrade their games. That and its obvious some devs are skipping out on the Wii U all together anyway. So many people see the Wii U as an addon. In fact, a friend of mine thought that exact same thing. They need to re-market this thing better and get some games. Otherwise it won't be pretty.

[dmonee]

I don't think next-gen will cripple them, but it's not going to help them either. Nintendo shouldn't have worried so much about taking a loss on each Wii unit sold and added some better stuff under the hood. It worked out for them with the Wii, but now people are wise to them and arent going to purchase their new unit, when they know whats right around the corner.

[MysticStrummer]

Cripple? No. Make them re-think their business strategy? Maybe.

[secretcode]

Ehhh... I think it'll be a kick in the dick for them, but I doubt Nintendo will be going anywhere any time soon.

[mcstorm]

Good read and not one sided but I think people are expecting to much from the sales of the ps4 and next Xbox.

Gaming has changed alto over the last 7 years and Nintendo opened up the gaming door to everyone not just gamers with the Wii. Now Tablets have taken over the none core market with there pickup and play games and this will have an impact on all 3 console sales next gen.

As things stand with games like Lego city, mariou, Mario kart ect this will help kids want a Nintendo console as well as the core who can't get enough of the Nintendo games.

Also depending on the price of the ps4 and next Xbox could also help Nintendo over the Xmas sale as alot of parents wont want to spend £400 on a new console.

The other reason why 3rd party games have sold low on the Wiiu is because most people who want cod or batman already have a 360 or ps3 to get this game for so why spend £300 on a console for a £40 game you can get on your current console?.

I don't see the ps4 or next Xbox flying off the shelves this Xmas to esp if games like me3 gt6 and bf4 are in current gen consoles to.

Also there seems to be doom and gloom about every console released now it was the ps3 until the 3ds came out then it was the psv and now the Wiiu. I expect there will be alot for the ps4 and next Xbox when they are out.

I see all 3 selling very well once support for this gen console ends around 18 months after the consoles are released like all the other gens. I also thing the total consoles sold will only have a few million between the best selling and lest selling.

[hollabox]

Nintendo is better off cutting bait at this moment. You can't keep support for system entirely on 1st party games. Sega tried it and it failed with the Dreamcast. You have third party developers pissed off their titles not breaking 100,000 units sold with most of EA games selling under 50,000 units.

As I mentioned in my other post Nintendo needs to clean house in their R&D department, no way in the hell they should have let this system roll off the assembly lines being barely faster than current gen. Come on now, a CPU with the core design dating back to the late 90's? An OS taking 1 Gig of memory? I mean who in the hell puts slow 12 Gbps DDR 3 memory in with an average GPU by 2010 standards? Memory bandwidth is only twice as the first Xbox 6.4 Gbps. Looking at Nintendo recently history is very frustrating, I don't want to see them end up like Sega and Atari releasing crap third party games on foreign systems.

[Heisenburger]

Yeh-yeh yeah! Whatever the hell he just said!

*looks around nervously*

[hollabox]

Just stating facts my friend. Only 1 third party game has sold above 300,000 units with the vast majority selling under 100,000. Nintendo has not shown any new IP or blockbuster title prior to E3. Hardware too weak to support the latest engines,and poor marketing pretty much sums up the Wii U. If Nintendo release new hardware too soon they will alienate some of their loyal fan base, if they wait too late they will alienate third party developers, catch 22 I guess.

[V0LT]

Reggie needs to be tossed IMO as well. He is more than a talking puppet like most ppl thing.

[hollabox]

I like Reggie, its his bosses that's ruining Nintendo. He does the best he can do to make up for Nintendo of Japan short comings. Reggie is handed a bowl of shit by Nintendo of Japan and asked to make brown rice, I think lands somewhere in-between when it comes to marketing the Wii U.

[Ck1x]

You must have started gaming this generation, because Nintendo consoles since the N64 days have primarily survived on 1st party offerings. Yes 3rd party games are very important but anyone that truly buys a Nintendo console buys it for the exclusive games. Your analysis of the WiiU specs are based on pictures of die imaging Neogaf dissected by guessing at what the system is capable of, not actual and factual specs of how the entire system works together. To which a large portion of the GPU was clueless to them as to what they were even looking at. Saying the CPU has its roots dating back to the 90's is like saying the APU in the PS4 has its roots in the 90's because of its x86 design. Yes there maybe traces as to what family line of chips it originated from, but to assume the processor is outdated because of these roots is just an amature way of thinking really. Its such premature B.S. when people keep saying how the WiiU has a memory bandwidth of a certain figure, when it is in fact using the same RAM type as the next Xbox and even the same amounts of Edram in both set-ups. You have to know what A or B are in an equation to find out what C equals, one can't just guess at everything in between and quote it as fact. There are to many variables to prove that your assessment of the system is purly speculative at best!

[hollabox]

@gatlomamasity

OMG what don't you understand about new IP? All the games you listed are reboots, sequel 25, or games not awhole lot of people are talking about. You mentioned Wonderful 101, you call that a block buster? What are you like 12? Pikmin 3 (WTF) Xenoblade 2 looks ok, but nothing I've not seen or played before and I doubt it will be an block buster title.

You might just be 12 calling my comment dumb about the hardware not being powerful enough to run the latest engines. Hell it can barely run current gen DX9 engines, we are talking about DX10 GPU here that would have only been average in 2010.

[THEDON82z1]

I know I am getting a Ps4 however if I was nintendo I would first cut the price to undermine the real next gen systems then I create some good inhouse gpgpu based engines and begin pumping out some good 3d remakes of classics like metroid or some shit secure a good third party game and ride this gen out like they did with gamecube.Cause it looks like nintendo Is going down fast this gen and lauch a real next gen controller atleast fuck that tAblet shit.

[Dgander]

@hollabox "Come on now, a CPU with the core design dating back to the late 90's?"

By that logic PS4 CPU would be inferior since its X86 architecture core design has been around since 1978. Its funny when people who dont know anything about technology try to convince people they do. The year the first processor of its kind has NOTHING to do with how fast or powerful it is.

[Ck1x]

Here's the thing that people must understand! Saying that an engine doesn't support a system and or that a system can't run the engine are two very different things entirely... Not one of the company figure heads said that the WiiU is incapable of running their engines. All that anyone has heard or read them state is that the WiiU is not supported in coding of the engine. Which is why Mark Rein's initial statement on this whole matter makes more sense. (That no the WiiU isn't being supported by them from the outset, but if a developer so chooses to bring their game to the WiiU its up to them if they so choose to do that. Because UE4 is a very scalable platform and many devices will be supported.) The GPU feature set is what determines if a piece of hardware can utilize a graphic engine, not pure processing power.

[jacksheen0000]

I really Feel bad for Nintendo...

But if I were Nintendo I would shave off some of the wii U's internal flash ram and add it to the wii U's 2 gigs of RAM.

[sega gaga]

The PS4/720 could cripple a lot of developers and publisher's if their games fail to sel a certain amount.

[ape007]

100% legit point

[Rageanitus]

hard to say look how well the wii did, but then again alot of ppl have their wii's collecting dust. Maybe they wont make the same mistake ;)

[mav805]

I agree. It's hard to say I believe that Nintendo won this generation with the Wii. The Wii was basically an afterthought for me, that was bought just because it existed and cost 30-50% of the other consoles, so why why not. So I owned the console but never turned it on or bought more than a couple of games for it.

[strigoi814]

wii cripples the wii U already...so next gen will do more damage.

[C-Thunder]

They likely won't sell as many WiiU as wii, but they will be fine. I like playing good games, I assume other people do too. If so, then the system will sell, not to the cod crowd or PC elitist graphics whores, but it will sell to gamers.

[Lucreto]

There hardware will be seriously outdated when the PS4 and the next xbox will be released. That alone will cause problems we are already seeing with lack of third party support.

Nintendo will do what it does best rely on its high quality first party studios.

[Jaqen_Hghar]

A man will get WiiU when he knows he can play Mario Kart and SSB with his friends on it. A man will also be enjoying original Zelda (and WWHD), Mario 3d, and DKC but the other 2 are his main Nintendo appealers.

[Ck1x]

Lol you gotta love it when an idiot like Mark Rein puts his foot in his mouth... This comment comes from the latest interview with Engadget! Classic tool baggery.

(During the presentation the day before, another journalist asked if Unreal Engine 4 would work on Nintendo's Wii U -- a console that straddles the line between next-gen and the current one in terms of horsepower. "Hahahaha, no," he responded, which sent a wave of laughter through the room of journalists. But that's not technically true, he admitted the next day, walking back his gaffe. "You heard the stupid gaffe yesterday about the Wii U," he said. "If someone wants to take Unreal Engine 4 and ship a game on Wii U, they can! If they wanna ship an Unreal Engine 4 game on Xbox 360, they could make it happen." While that game might not look as pretty as it would on a "true" next-gen console, the new engine is scalable to a variety of platforms, including mobile.)

http://www.engadget.com/201...

Not to mention why would anyone in their right mind in his position jeopardize possible future business revenues with Nintendo by making a stupid thoughtless comment? Its like these hardware engineers and developers want the rockstar status so badly, I'm waiting for them to break out snorting a line of coke on stage at E3 to prove how cool they can be...

[Deku-Johnny]

Definitely not, they have enough money in the bank to have a few failed consoles. If the Wii U does flop (which I honestly don't think it will, look at how rocky the PS3's life started out compared to it now) Nintendo could easily pick up the pieces and try again, learning from their mistakes.

[YoungPlex]

You nailed it! What most people don't realize is that Nintendo won't die anytime soon because of that war chest of cash they're sitting on, not including assets, 100% cash! To be completely honest with you I wouldn't be surprised if Nintendo launched a new system that goes back to its roots like SNES or N64, and keep the Wii brand as a secondary product, similarly to the DS family and Gameboy product; both are handhelds but are completely different. I think that they will launch a new system if the Wii U fails to takeoff a couple of years after the PS4 and Xbox come out, but I don't think the Wii U will fail once they have software and a decent price drop after next-gen systems launch.

[Warj]

It is disappointing that third party engines aren't going to be on the system, especially since Unreal 4 is going to be able to be scaled to mobile devices. How it will work for an IPad but not the WiiU confuses me, and having everyone laughing when asked is insulting, but hey, whatever.

What's really frustrating is that third parties continue to blame Nintendo fans for lack of success on Nintendo systems. Now, part of this is based in fact (aka Madworld), but a bigger issue is with the developers themselves.

Bioware and Mass Effect 3 are a perfect example. Instead of releasing the entire ME trilogy like they did on the other two consoles during WiiU launch, they released just ME3 and failed to include any add-on content or even plan to release said content later on. So instead of the entire complete series, Nintendo fans get a year old full-priced port with no hope of getting anywhere near the same of amount of content as it's 360/PS3 counterparts.

Other companies did the same by only supporting the console with old games, and few of the newer titles listed WiiU as a supported console. So with all of that, the publishers go and say "see, no third party games sell on this console. It's junk."

Of course, Nintendo hasn't done itself any favors either. I still haven't picked up a WiiU yet because there just aren't enough games to justify it. Having a dry-spell less than a half a year after launch isn't a confidence booster. And acting like getting year old ports is a great thing, doesn't help matters either. It's too bad, because the system itself has so much potential.

[4lc4pon3]

im sorry but nintendo is junk. Its not even a real gaming console. Its a childs toy with hardly any good games on it. This is just my opinion tho. Nintendo does have ALOT of people to back up the brand.

Its just not for me. Its a kiddie toy with mediocre games that has nothing spec wise going for it. I did not buy the Wii cause I thought it was a POC but I did invest in the Wii U and honestly I took it back was not that great

[Evil_Ryu]

Thats a lot of weight on Nintendo's shoulders to be pumping out 1st party titles non stop because they have no third party support

[RFornillos4]

i don't believe so. will they become no. 1 just like last gen (in terms of sales, Wii is still no. 1 compared to PS3 and Xbox360)? possibly not.

but i'm pretty much certain that once more 1st and 2nd party titles come out and other 3rd party (exclusives or not), sales will pick up. and some of those are already coming soon.

sales will most likely pick up also next holiday season when the PS4 and Xbox 720's probably launched and if they prove to be considerably priced high. at the moment, rumors and speculations suggest that PS4 and the next Xbox will be priced around $400 at least (and probably higher, given the tech Sony announced). given those factors, when you're a parent on a tight budget you'll most likely get the cheaper console. oh, and i'm guessing Nintendo will be dropping the Wii U price by then, making it considerably more attractive to parents who buy console for their kids.

[Jadedz]

An HD Smash Bros. title, with a competent online network (including Miiverse)?

X? Retro Studios? They haven't even started yet.

[MultiConsoleGamer]

Pure fanbait garbage.

[wishingW3L]

flamebait

[just-joe]

You don't stay around for over 100 years (look it up) and learn a few things. The answer is no, let's mover along people.

[jameson12345]

Eh, probably not. As opposed to Sony or Microsoft and most of the industry, Nintendo can afford to have a failed console and then make a second attempt. However, it is probably too soon to say the Wii U will be a failure. Almost none of its games have come out, and it really has not been advertised much to the public yet. Also, the Wii U is kinda in a position to be a second console,it will never conflict with having a PS4 or 720. Besides that, we don't know if the entire industry is just going to jump onto Unreal Engine 4 so quickly. The big developers will, but the increasing costs is gonna make it riskier and riskier for smaller developers to jump in. Some may just stick with 3 or go to a cheaper and different style engine.

[Phil32]

At this stage it's all about being profitable as a company with the Wii U. The idea of being the industry leader once again right now is next to impossible.

[Munnkyman]

I think nintendo well be just fine because they follow a simple business plan. Make sure hardware you sell makes money or lose just a little bit. Make sure console appeals to everyone so it can sell to a bigger market. Make sure games are fun. I cant tell you guys how many times i bring my wii u over other people's houses and they fall in love with it because they can actually use it. And bam they want one. So if games come out on it that people want they will sell, they just need to come out with those games

[profgerbik]

How about you just wait and find out?

[DivineAssault]

They better get some great games out (without being rushed & 1/2 assed) as well as drop the price before PS4 is even shown.. Then they can get peoples attention away from sony & build a comfortable install base... This isnt going to happen but idk.. Theyre trying to do their own thing which is fine by me.. But damn, do something thats attractive.. Not a sub-sub HD single touch gamepad with wii mote compatibility.. Not enough people give a damn about that..

[JeepGamer]

Their portable market is more than enough to carry them through if the Wii U doesn't deliver the gold.

[Rhaigun]

What has crippled Nintendo is the fact that the audience has grown up,and they refuse to recognize that.

[adonisisfree]

Don't we say this every year? Nintendo is here to stay, no matter what ps4 or the next Xbox does.

[_LarZen_]

Do the Playstation Vita cripple the Nintendo 3DS?

The way more advanced graphics in the Vita do in no way cripple the 3DS. This we all know by now.

Nintendo is all about the exclusive games. So the answer is no.

[Sandmano]

Nintendo haven't arrived in next gen!

[jakmckratos]

Depends how good their first part stuff is.

[Wolven]

I still don't get why people hate on Nintendo. According to ign they have 4 games on the top ten games of all time. And last time I checked Sony loves Nintendo's techniques such as the PSMove, a pseudo Miiverse community and totally using Nintendo 's system of Crossplay (remember GC and GB????) And also going with Nintendo-esque types of franchises (come on, it doesnt seem that obvious but look at a few of Sony's platformers). And just saying I don't hate Sony, its just their fanbase I can't stand, and I don't really want to bash on Sony either. And btw I consider myself a gamer, and I had an.Xbox and played a PlayStation often, and I still stuck with a Wii as my main console not cause of Wii Sports (I hate that) no cause of Okami, and Zelda, and.Mario and Metroid and all those titles that are often made fun of by the gaming community, and iI enjoyed them.more ethan Halo or call of duty (every mission is go in kill everyone get out!!!!!!!!) And tell you the funniest part? I'm a thirteen.year old who has been gaming for 7 years and praised the PlayStation in every way until I saw the awesomeness of Nintendo.

[MadLad]

Nope.

[Knightofelemia]

The next gen consoles will run circles around the Wii-U. Nintendo may have a solid first party line up like Zelda, Metroid and Star Fox to name a few. But if you have a big title like say Batman or Tomb Raider and say they are a multiplatform titles. They would look great on the PS4 and the Xbox720 but then who would go out and $60 for that same title and play it on a machine that has the same looks as a PS3 and an Xbox360. And I do have a Wii-U I honestly think Nintendo should have waited to release the Wii-U. And released it the sametime as the PS4 and the Xbox720 I see when PS4 and Xbox720 come to market unless its Nintendos solid first party line up selling I see the Wii-U getting left in the dark. Like the Wii when the PS3 and 360 came out. The Wii was fun and I admit Nintendo did some cool shit with the console. But I see the Wii as a kids console or a gimmick. The Wii did good at first but it had its 15 min of fame. I can't see Nintendo releasing a new machine when the PS4 and the 720 come out they would lose more money scrapping the Wii-U and starting from scratch again. As much as people call the Wii-U a next gen console I don't a next gen console has better graphics and next gen technology in it. I consider the Wii-U as a current gen console with current gen graphics and current gen technology basically a Wii with HD graphics.

Nintendo is going to have to do something quickly with the Wii-U. It could be the console that saves them or it could be the console that kills them. Personally I don't want Nintendo out of the console race I enjoy my NES up to my Wii-U.

[sephx22]

Everybody says that the Wii U will be saved by Nintendo's 1p titles. I don`t like that Nintendo can get away with release low spec console just by releasing a mario or zelda.

Then again Nintendo knows they can get away with it.

[Scots]

I can't deny that the prospect of playing a TRUE next-gen version of Mario or Zelda on the PS4 or 720 is an exciting thought.