Nintendo's Nightmare: Why Wii U Was Doomed From The Start

TechRadar: ''On the surface, a British retailer dropping the Wii U from its shelves might not seem like that big a deal, but for Nintendo's latest console it's yet another piece of bad news in what has become a litany of misery.''

[yugovega]

yep wiiu is doomed. yet sales are picking up, the flood of high quality games are coming every month. sad to say home console gaming as a whole is what is doomed.

[-Mika-]

Wow, you're in serious denial. Keep ignoring all of the facts that in front of you.

[ChickeyCantor]

Your facts are mere opinions. Bad ones at that.

[guitarded77]

Everyone is getting their doomed articles out before Pikmin 3 gets out. Once it's out Nintendo has good exclusives every month through the end of the year. I'm not saying the Wii U doesn't still have an uphill battle in the sales market, but the "doomed" articles won't have a leg to stand on if Nintendo is successful with their first party exclusive wave.

[herbs]

Derp de derp der Wii U doom der derperdy derpy doo.

[Nevers0ft]

That's a very succinct and accurate analysis of most of these articles, thank you :)

[Anon1974]

So, anyone who actually read the article want to comment on the authors points or offer a counter point? Just curious. I'm not saying the Wii-U is doomed or it isn't, but just as a general rule of thumb, if you're going to refute a statement it usually goes like this: Take the statement that was made. Explain why you don't agree by pointing out a flaw in logic or offer additional information. Perhaps offer a counter point.

Not seeing a lot of people refuting the valid points the author is raising.

[Lord_Sloth]

This is N4G! WE DON'T READ ON N4G!!! What's wrong with you?!

[exfatal]

thinking people are getting tired of reading articles like these there always the same thing. copy and paste response from other gloom and doom articles and im sure they'll be enough to counter their points. only so many times some people can read the same crap and respond to it seriously

[LOL_WUT]

Speak for yourself it doesn't bother me none! Hopefully it gives Nintendo a good wakeup call ;)

[mii-gamer]

he makes no valid point. All he does is say the casual has moved on and the console has a terrible name. Fails to mention the problem which is the lack of key software. This is a terrible article written by something from a high school not a piece expected from a so called journalist

[Anon1974]

Congratulations. You touched on one of his points being the console name and you disagree for some reason. You're halfway there.

Let's have a look at his points. The Wii-U. He thinks it's a bad name. He's not the only one that thinks that's an issue. One of the Wii-U's key problems is brand recognition. The crowd that put the Wii where it is doesn't even realize that the Wii-U is a new console and not an add on. That's a problem that could be addressed with the name. Point for the author.

Let's have a look at the other points. He speculates that people bought into motion controls more than they did the Wii itself. That's a valid point as well. Certainly the Wii showed characteristics of being more of a fad, and the speed at which it faded away also plays into that point. What has the Wii-U done to differentiate itself? It's even using the same Wii-mote controllors on the commercials. Is that not an issue as well? Another point to the author.

Confused messaging was another point. Is it for casuals, is it for families? For the core gamer? The Wii had it's sites set on the families, with apps marketed towards the housewife and grandpa. The Wii-U seems to want the same crowd, but also wants to throw games like Call of Duty and Zombie U at people. Is this not a confused message? Again, good point by the author.

Then the cooperative point. He's right again. The Wii was all about 4 player co-op play. The Wii-U? You've got one, giant uber controller, and only one, and everyone else get's the scraps. Again, what message is this sending to previous Wii owners? Point...author.

"he makes no valid point....This is a terrible article written by something from a high school"

Fair enough. Back it up. How are these points invalid? Make an argument. What about this article strikes you as "terribly written"? You mentioned the Wii-U lacked key software titles. Good point. Does that invalidate all the other points he raised? Discuss.

[thomasmiller]

BILL GATES PLEASE STOP WITH THESE STORIES YOUR WORD PROCESSOR IS GOING TO EXPLODE!!!! wow! how pathetic, oh well, if the trolls want to keep on posting their fantasy garbage... what ever helps them sleep at night, with all the success that nintendo has been having this year,, high stocks, top 4 games are 3ds games of the best selling games in japan, wii u sells 1 million systems in japan, the wii u has sold nearly 4 million systems world wide, pikmin 3 sales are very good, and the wii u is doomed!! TROLLS ARE SO STUPID!! they need to get a life!! oh but if this was microsoft or sony, who was having the exact same sales the wii u is having the microsoft and sony trolls would say:" oh give it time, a new system needs time, wait until next year, and when the big titles start to show up!" YEAH WHAT A BUNCH OF TWO FACE LIARS AND HYPOCRITES!!! GO ahead trolls throw your smart ass comments at me, prove how right I really am!

[TheEvilWithin]

@ Thomasmiller

I'm with you bud! People need to stop with this doom and gloom stuff. There not selling anyone on it but them self's and its getting to a point of being very VERY sad...

Nintendo is having GREAT success this year with both the 3DS AND the Wii U (now). When more big tittles come out more sales will be made for the Wii U.

I love the system! I'm getting the PS4 this holiday as well but I'm only getting a game or two. Where's with the Wii U I'm getting EVERY game Nintendo puts out on the system. Already have pre ordered and paid in full both Pikmin 3 and New Super Luigi U! Plus I just pre ordered Wonderful 101 last night and gearing up for Wind waker HD and Sonice Lost worlds in October.

[TripC50]

I could be mistaken but hasn't there been an article or two about this allready?

[hatzwontfit]

Lol

[josephayal]

A price drop is imminent, $179.99 price range would work

[LOL_WUT]

I'd pick up another one at that price ;)

[fenixm]

A price drop would help a lot.

[buynit]

Yea I think a price drop would be nice should be now instead of waiting for the others to launch.

But I think Nintendo will be alright, none of the real big hitters released yet.

[LOL_WUT]

If they don't do a price drop from now till late November then everything will be lost. Nintendo need to convert as many people as they can before actual next-gen consoles hit the market ;)

[AJBACK2FRAG]

It is my opinion that Nintendo can't really afford to do that quite yet.

[Trago1337]

Gotta get all those doom articles out before the games come I see.

Real classy gaming journos....

[andrewer]

Stop this ffs. Even when PS4 and XBOX1 come, Nintendo still have a strong fan base. Nintendo will survive this generation. Still, there is the 3DS, which gives a great sustain to Nintendo so they can bet all-in with their console :P

[Jagsrock]

All the games this fall will help a lot, coupled with a special Wind waker bundle or limited edition console and all these doom articles will fade away.

[Dakriz]

As a gamer it saddence me that a system is declare dead Eben before it has a chance to fight so all you fan-goats stop adoring so and so company and bow down to the king of power the mighty PC while we the real gamers the once that don't give a flock about who has what and what's got the who worry about what we care and that's the games.

[deafdani]

Voted WTF and No. Dear God, game journalists, change your tune. You've been yapping the same nonsense for about 8 months now, if not more. YOU GOT BORING AGES AGO.

[darkstar18]

oh look another doom article lol well better to get them all out now and have your fun before the Wii u makes a comeback..you know like the 3ds AND ps3 lol class A journalism right here.

[Dunban67]

1) Aprox how many Wii U consoles need to be sold by April 1,2014 in order for it to be considered either A) Successful and/or B) well on the way to a successful product for Nintendo and this generation of home consoles? (that is total consoles sold globally from day 1 launch November 2012) we are at aprox 3.4 million now

2)How many consoles need to be sold during Wii u lifetime for it to be considered successful for Nintendo?

3)Will Nintendo offer specific Wii U sales projections at their next earning call?

I honestly have no idea but my guesstimates are:

1) Minimum 7 million total consoles sold

2) Minimum 55 million sold lifetime

[Gamer Muzz]

you also need to define "success".
For example, The Gamecube sold 2 million units less than the Original Xbox. (least selling contending console of the 6th gen)
However, the original Xbox lost Microsoft 5 billion dollars while the Gamecube turned Nintendo a profit.

Installed base is not always what makes a successful console. In the end, it comes down to profits.
How much does it cost to make the system? When will it be profitable to sell? how long will it take to cover the initial R&D, marketing, ETC.?
Nintendo never puts themselves in the hole like MS and Sony do.
Chances are, Nintendo will not "fail" this gen even if they are out sold by MS and Sony.

[AJBACK2FRAG]

True and don't forget the GBA was selling like crazy meaning Nintendo made a very tidy profit. I'm actually more worried about the Xbone! Who would buy that console after all the dirty tricks Microsoft tried to pull? Definitely gives insight into the plans MS has for the present and future of this industry. Which to me is... Terrifying!
In my opinion as long as Nintendo hangs on to their family friendly image and their trustworthy image they'll be around for a long, long time. Excelsior! Oh wait...

[Dunban67]

Re success for the purpose of my post:

how many do you think they need to sell for Nintendo to feel as though the Wii U is either successful or o their way to success (by 4-1-2014)

Re the example about MSFT and the XBOX- I was not playing games or following the industry at that time so I don t know how MSFT felt about their console or Nintendo for that matter- However, I am sure they planned on losing big $ s to break into the console market (how much I don t know)

Even though Nintendo may have made a profit on the GC- I would bet they were not happy they were outsold by a new upstart in the industry and were not happy to lose that much market share - likewise I think MSFT was probably pretty happy to bypass Nintendo s console with their very fist console introduced to the market- they may have lost more money than they planned- I do not know- but to come in and beat revered Co in gaming w your first effort prob made them feel successful on that level

The Wii has sold more consoles than MSFT's XB360 worldwide in this generation but- I bet MSFT is happy they beat Ninty in the USA and they have probably sold more software than the Wii has if you include digital sales- So both companies had great success last generation but I bet Nintendo was not ok w losing market share in the US again to MSFT

If Ninty could make a profit by selling only 25 million consoles worldwide I bet they would still consider it a huge failure if that is all they sold

[Gamer Muzz]

@Dunban67
My point was that success is relative and cannot be defined by which console sells the most.

To answer your question.
Believe it or not, The Wii U is already successful.
Let me explain why I say that. Currently, Nintendo did not meet their sales forecast thus far with the Wii U, but it has turned Nintendo a profit of $71.3 million.
So, They DID fail in a way by not meeting their forecast, But The biggest failure is to lose money. So they did not fail in that manner.
They sell the console at a loss, but it becomes profitable with the sale of 1 game.
With that in mind, I'm sure with the release of their more popular franchise titles hitting shelves soon, we will see more sales increases for the console and even more profits in the near future.
This is how they have succeeded.

The thing is that people see sales numbers and think that it means a hardware developer "Won". that's a shallow way of thinking. In the end, there's a lot more to it than how many people own the console.

As far as I know, The Xbox 360 is still about 500K units behind the Wii in America. But that doesn't matter.
in terms of profits, once again, MS or Sony will NEVER top what Nintendo did with the Wii in terms of installed base, but more importantly in terms of profit.
Example:
In the first year of the XBox 360 Microsoft reported a loss of $1.8 billion.
In the first year of The PS3, Sony lost $2.3 Billion.
Meanwhile, Nintendo's Wii-related revenue hit $190 million in its first WEEK, and $1.1 billion in net revenue within it's first 9 months.
It profited billions years before The PS3 or 360 ever became profitable. (which took 3-4 years each)And thats not even counting what their handheld sales add to the numbers. (Billions of dollars)

Now, the Wii U has already turned Nintendo a profit and has a 3.4 million unit installed base.
The PS4 and X1 will not be profitable for a few years. Meanwhile Nintendo will be making money and securing their companies future. Sure, They may very likely not be as successful in terms of market share this time around. I expect Sony to take it this Gen, but Nintendo will be secure, and successful overall no matter what place they finish in.

[Gamer Muzz]

From the Article:
"This audience didn't buy into Nintendo but into motion control, they didn't love Mario but Wii Sports, they didn't buy games but they did buy Wii Fit."
Well, that's just not true. First off, Of course people bought into Nintendo. They wouldn't have bought the console at all if it didn't have the Nintendo name on it.
Secondly, no one really bought Wii sports as it was a pack in with the vast majority of Wii consoles sold. Secondly, New Super Mario Bros, Mario Galaxy, and Mario Galaxy 2, sold exceptionally well. How did they not love Mario when they showed their love for it in terms of reviews and sales?
Also, Wii fit is a game. Like any other game on the console. so they did in fact buy games. The shame of it was all the shovelware 3rd party devs were pushing out on it, but the flip side was the fantastic content that Nintendo released VIA their always outstanding, iconic, franchises titles.

Then He says:
"Next up, the Wii was all about group gaming, and yet the Wii U's expensive controller seems to run counter to that."
Wrong again! The console is still about group gaming. The writer here obviously has not played a Wii U or he would know that much. Sure, as on every console, there are games you play alone, but the Wii U also allows for multiple controllers functioning at once, Not just the one game pad. The control pad allows for Isometric Gameplay that other consoles cannot offer. One person on the game pad doing one thing and up to four using pro controllers or Wii remotes doing another.
it's also completely backwards compatible with the Wii and allows for those party games to be played as well.

He also says:
"although interesting, was the addition of touch controls a bridge too far?"
Sony doesn't think so with the claims of Vita compatibility with the PS4. Nor does MS with the smart glass functionality and the X1.
The writer also seems to forget that the Pro controller and Wii remote allow for gameplay without the touch screen. (which is not necessary for all of the Wii U games.)

Lasty:
Yes Asda (no asda locations in America and this is the store that was feeding horse meat to people) stopped carrying the Wii U at their brick and mortar stores, but still sell it online.
But really, how does a problem like this arise anyway? Why would any retailer in their right mind order so many of a console that they couldn't unload them?
When I have something new to sell, I only order a few to see how well it does, then I base future orders off the sales trends set by that initial order.
They don't understand this simple premise? that's how ordering is done. someone failed big time.
This isn't as much about the Wii U, it's about bad management within Asda.

[ZeekQuattro]

Well said. Even though bubbles don't mean a whole lot anymore you get my vote. lol

[jaymart2k]

The lack of Patience is doomed.

Another Wii U is doomed topic, what's new.

[Theyellowflash30]

Here come the dooom articles based off a supermarket that never sold many Wii U units in the first place dropping its stock of the console.....but they don't sell the 3DS either and Pikmin 3 and New Super Luigi U still made the UK sales top ten!

Wii U is just getting started, but I think Wii U doomsday analysts will disappear in a few years like the 3DS one.

[MNGamer-N]

I think most of of agree this doom garbage has to stop. You can help by not clicking the link.

[leemass24]

on the asda thing, they are actually still selling wiiu's just not in store you can order online and pick up in store if you choose to. http://wiiudaily.com/2013/0...

[ritsuka666]

Another negative Wii U/Nintendo article? Don't we have enough of them N4G?