While I expect some knee-jerk comments about me being an overly defensive, delusional fanboy, this is not a post merely defending the Wii U or Nintendo's handling of it, more so an observation and an opinion on the low performance and how it can be rectified.
The Wii U has been out for almost half a year and past its first two months in the market, it hasn't been doing particularly well at all. It is (for the most part) selling just above the Vita, with a small increase in Europe and Japan from the release of Monster Hunter and possibly Dragon Quest (though the validity of the latter is questionable due to reports of its lower than expected sales).
The NPD recently came out and said Wii U sales were down %17, a particularly shaky number for the console. In this respect, even I have to question the Wii U's future right now. The PS4 and Nextbox are not far off and will most likely make off with much of the market share if Nintendo does not provide the Wii U something to make it relevant to the public.
The Wii U is hardly a failure on a fundamental or functional level. It does exactly what it is meant to do; provide dual screen gaming in high definition. In this respect, it is Nintendo's next generation console and will most likely be a secondary console to a person's PS4 or gaming rig over the course of the next five or so years. However this can only happen if momentum picks up.
Nintendo needs to stop relying on third party support that is far too miniscule to catch the public eye. It's great that Monster Hunter and Injustice are releasing Wii U side, but this pales in comparison to the support expected for the new consoles and PC. Part of the reason the 3DS succeeds in this department is because of its immense success as a dedicated handheld gaming console, a sharp contrast to the Vita's performance (mostly in western regions) and the way the iOS market is run. The Wii U was never seen as a top dog of its generation and in this respect Nintendo's otherwise "halfway" approach to 3rd party support and innovation has ultimately resulted in a public that is ignoring the console.
The only thing left at this point is games. Big ones and lots of them. The new Retro game needs to be revealed last month. The new Mario Kart needs to be out before the end of the year. Anything to get this platform moving. Nintendo needs to advertize the crap out of these games. Put trailers for the latest Smash Bros. everywhere; that alone could move hardware quite a bit.
You may wonder why I am not factoring in a price drop and here is why; a price drop only works on a product people are aware of and desire. The Wii U has neither luxury and therefor a price drop is totally irrelevant. With retailers slashing prices on their own accord with minimal success, I question the logic behind anyone who truly believes a price drop is the end all be all of saving graces for a platform with no awareness in the market. When the Wii U gains a larger audience and more games are coming out I think then would be a more appropriate time for Nintendo to price the system more competitively.
I don't see the Wii U as a failure right now. I personally am satisfied with my Wii U as a console. It does what it is meant to do and has potential for future software. But it most certainly can become one in the long term and that potential could never be realized if it doesn't pick up and start making the numbers its handheld brethren is currently making. If it is realized as the cheapest console of the next generation, it may pick up in due time, but as many here have respectfully said, Nintendo needs to up their game and make people want this machine.
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Good blog, and it's nice to read a rational and balanced "defense" (more like an honest observation) of the WiiU. The WiiU is tricky for me. When I look at sales charts, the design philosophy, and the tiny list of upcoming games, I can hear "failure" echoing in my head over and over again. Yet, when I do have the rare opportunity to actually grab the controller and play the system (like at a demo kiosk, or at my friend's house), the system is a lot of fun and it has that pure, polished Nintendo quality found nowhere else. And it's hard to say the system sucks when a game like Project X (Xenoblade 2) is coming out for it. I will buy a WiiU for that game alone...
good post but i dont think its the price or the games. many consoles have come before wii u with next to nothing to play for the first year and still performed well as far as sales are concerned. you only need 1-2 killer apps for the launch and they have mario.
i think the problem lies in 1. market awareness like you said and 2. the past. ill elaborate
1. market awareness: you nailed it here, many people dont even know the wii u is out and the casuals who do, they arent sure if its new or just another version of the wii. a new name or even wii 2 would have helped drastically here.
2. the past: i say this because despite all the solid software that the wii had, and it did have many great games, the console itself was just lacking in so many areas. i bought one and after the whole "omg motion control" wore off, i was left with a console that just couldnt compare to the other 2 i had leaving little reason to play it. after looking at what the wii u has to offer, i see little reason to get it as well. its going to have all the great nintendo games ive loved all my life but at this point in my life, i can live without them and unfortunately i think many people feel the same.
conclusion: i do think the wii u is in trouble. a slight hardware revision and re-branding could possibly bring it back but as negative as it may seem, i think the wii could end up failing by the end of the year unless some heavy marketing, added games, and added features hit it fast. unfortunately im not sure all of that will help it keep up with the competition.
worst case scenario we will just have to kickstart fund nintendos next console lol cant have a world without the big N :P
Nintendo needs to show something to make consumers want the console. People still think the Wii-u (Game pad) is an add-on for the Wii! Looking t the wii-u interface too, it's a little more complicated than the wii. What I mean is that casuals might be over whelmed by the controller and what's on screen. Are Casuals that stupid? Sadly...yeah. There are people out there that still don't know how to run in (NES) Mario!
I got the console for my kids for xmas so im not that personally invested in it but here are my musings.
The battery life on the gamepad is bad clocking in at around 2.5 hrs. Its especially highlighted when you have two kids sharing it which means they might get just over an hour each before it needs recharging.
The lack of a solid release schedule is infuriating. The games i want for my kids are the big Nintendo franchises are these are nowhere in sight. The only suitable decent games so far are Nintendoland, Mario, and Lego City.
Speaking of Lego City - the load times are attriocious. If this is a sign of things to come then im gonna be seriously pissed.
The bottom line with it though is that the kids love it and playing on it is a lot of fun. If there were more good games out then i would be busy lining Nintendo's pockets with cash so they really need to get their shit together if they want my money.
PS: Prior to Lego City coming out my kids were bored with Mario so they started playing Playstation All Stars and Journey on my PS3, and they love it. So Nintendo's lack of action has already starting costing them future customers. Im so proud to see my little girl stomping peoples head in with Kratos :)