130°

Nintendo still trying to re-market the Wii U

Over a year after its initial release, Nintendo still feels the need to clarify exactly what the Wii U console actually is. They may have finally got the message right, but is it too little too late? We discuss where they went wrong, and why the console is still a worthwhile purchase.

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lazygamer.net
iamnsuperman3770d ago (Edited 3770d ago )

It is a bit late to have to clarify what the Wii U is (it has been over a year) but I also think the message is wrong. I don't know why they are clarifying what the Wii U is since people do know what it is. It is understandable around the reveal and launch there would be confusion but consumers are not that stupid. We are stupid in how we believe buzzwords and marketing tricks but not what a product is. The average consumer would Google it (I generally see the "consumer think the Wii U is a peripheral" is a poor excuse and ignores the real problem)

What they need to do is advertise the games right. The problem is the games they have released and how they have advised them has created the issue they are in. I think Smash Bros will appeal to the core Nintendo fan base while Mario Kart will appeal to the masses (seriously this should have come out near launch) but they need to do more. They keep advertising the system as a family device and suitable to children but that market is being attacked by mobile game (and in a way being serviced by the 3DS). They need to start gunning for the early teens and young adult market too (their adverts just don't scream that demographic). Especially the young adult market as they have a larger disposable income

weekev153770d ago

This is one of the most sensible posts I have read regarding Nintendo's marketing, bubs up.

wonderfulmonkeyman3770d ago

Well, to be fair, there are still a lot of people in the casual crowd who haven't seen the Wii U's commercials as something entirely apart from the original Wii, and Nintendo DID state that their efforts towards the core side would begin in earnest in 2014, which is still a few days away.
I'd give them till the middle of Jan or the beginning of Feb before I think they'll start doing commercials oriented towards older gamers.
Right now it's still all about the holiday and families.

Blacklash933770d ago

Even so, the Wii U will benefit from more advertising period. I honestly can't remember the last time I saw a Wii U commercial before this holiday season.

The Wii U has its little corner in stores and a few demo stations, but there has been just a lack of awareness and attention toward it.

3-4-53769d ago

Wii U will be easier to market in 2014 when Mario Kart & Super Smash Brothers are out.

+ Show (1) more replyLast reply 3769d ago
Chrono3770d ago ShowReplies(4)
WilliamH3770d ago

I sold my wii U a few weeks ago, it's just not an interesting console. Cut your losses Nintendo and start again, this thing ain't selling

Klad3770d ago

Here you go...

Media Create Hardware Sales:

3DS LL – 164,078
Wii U – 109.113
3DS – 68,522
Vita – 50,087
PS3 – 24,573
PSP – 9.905
Vita TV – 5,504
Wii – 1,711
Xbox 360 – 763

Famitsu Software Sales:

[3DS] PazuDora Z: Puzzle & Dragons Z – 271,947 (806,729)
[3DS] Pokémon X / Y – 231,112 (3,820,346)
[Wii U] Wii Party U – 128,026 (431,504)
[Wii U] New Super Mario Bros. U – 113,773 (890,663)
[PS3] New Dynasty Warriors: Gundam – 113,493
[PS3] Drakengard 3 – 103,487
[Wii U] Super Mario 3D World – 92,993 (338,882)
[3DS] Monster Hunter 4 – 46,279 (3,252,974)
[PS Vita] New Dynasty Warriors: Gundam – 44,889
[3DS] Animal Crossing: New Leaf – 44,691 (3,979,859)

Famitsu Hardware Sales:

3DS (Both original and LL) – 245,046
Wii U – 119,159
Vita – 49,366 (Both original and Vita TV)
PS3 – 23,493
PSP – 7,697
Wii – 2,444
Xbox 360 – 607

Source: http://www.dualshockers.com...

WilliamH3770d ago (Edited 3770d ago )

The Wii U is worst €350 I have ever spent, such an awkward console. when I first got it, it took SEVEN hours to update it, horrible battery life in the gamepad. Before the Wii/Wii U Nintendo always created cutting edge consoles. Give me a Gamecube 2 any day.

Knushwood Butt3769d ago

Way to go Nintendo! In Japan, where the XBOX One and PS4 have yet to be released, and Nintendo have been advertising the Wii U on TV night and day for the last few weeks.

Let's wait and see what happens after Christmas, after Nintendo have dropped their huge ad campaign, and after the competition has arrived.

Klad3769d ago

I posted my above comment in response to this "this thing ain't selling". even tho i have shown FACT & a link to SOURCE, that Nintendo's product is selling well in Japan RIGHT NOW, people still disagree.

I want PS4 to do well when it arrives in Japan too. Nintendo & Sony are most favourable in my book. Japan isn't Xbox Territory, so we know how that's gonna go. Elsewhere, Xbox One will do well.

Jay70sgamer3770d ago (Edited 3770d ago )

Lol yeah right you never had one lol it did not take 7 hrs you are lying ...so because the gamepad battery life is a few hrs it sucks come on man you never even owned one stop with the falsehoods lol

WilliamH3770d ago

How do you know. Do you really think I would waste my time commenting on this site of all sites just to troll. Also it's no secret during the Wii U's first months on sale that it took hours to download the update.

Jay70sgamer3770d ago

I bought a wii u at launch and it took an hour and a half the most to load ...you are lying about 7 hrs ..so yes I think you would come on here and troll ....and also when the gamepad dies you. Only have to plug it in to a socket to play without any interruption in your game and it charges at the same time ....

BosSSyndrome3770d ago

7 hours? What's your internet speed, 1KB per second?

mhunterjr3770d ago

It looks like the WiiU actually did pretty well this Christmas. But then again I don't know of this is a sign of things to come because so did xb360 and the ps3...

MasterCornholio3770d ago

Hopefully after XMAS sales will continue to be positive for the Wii U instead of flatlining. But it won't be easy for Nintendo since they have some pretty strong competition in the market and very poor 3rd party support.

wonderfulmonkeyman3770d ago (Edited 3770d ago )

Third party devs had the entire launch window, almost entirely free of big name nintendo franchises, to appeal to core gamers on the wii u.
Instead they brought old ports of games with missing content to the system instead of fresh, new core games.
I think its safe to say that nintendo cannot rely on the AAA third parties to save them.
Nintendo needs to work with more small third parties like platinum and more indies, because most of the big wig third parties like Bethesda and rock star and EA aren't willing to go the distance and support the system right.
Maybe ubisoft can make a turnaround, but there isn't much hope for the rest.

Morbius4203769d ago

I just wish the third parties can see the potential of the tablet-controller and develop new IPs to take advantage of it.

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80°

Nintendo's Massacre Of The 3DS And Wii U Is Finally Complete, Regrettably

Hanzala from eXputer: "The cruel hammer of Nintendo has fallen. Farewell, 3DS and Wii U, you surely brightened my life and many others; you won't be forgotten."

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?"

purple1019d 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 ☝️

Zeref9d 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.

DarXyde9d 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.

PhillyDonJawn9d ago (Edited 9d 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.

Einhander19729d 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.

MrBaskerville9d 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.

shinoff21838d 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.

Profchaos8d 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 8d ago
isarai9d ago

Is that why Hellblade 2 is digital only?

Zeref9d 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.

MrNinosan9d ago

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

mkis0078d ago (Edited 8d ago )

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

Einhander19729d 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.

9d ago Replies(3)
Einhander19729d ago

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

9d ago
9d ago
Zeref9d 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.

DarXyde9d 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.

Einhander19729d 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.

Einhander19729d 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.

BehindTheRows9d ago (Edited 9d 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.

Zeref9d ago (Edited 9d 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.

Chevalier9d 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.

Tacoboto9d 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.

shinoff21838d ago

Yay steam

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

Tacoboto8d 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 8d ago
Hofstaderman9d 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?

crazyCoconuts9d 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.

Xeofate8d ago (Edited 8d 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.

crazyCoconuts8d 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

FinalFantasyFanatic8d 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)
80°

Looking Ahead: The Lingering Questions About the Next Mario Kart

VGChartz's Mark Nielsen: "10 years. It’s been almost 10 years since the last mainline release in the Mario Kart series. Mario Kart 8 came out for the Wii U in 2014 and became the best-selling game for the system by a sizeable margin, and later pulled the same magic trick on the Nintendo Switch under the stage name Deluxe. All in all, it's sold nearly 70 million copies over the last decade and is still selling like hot cakes to this day, so it’s no wonder Nintendo has been in no rush to replace it. However, with rumors of a new system being just around the corner, and reports a few years back that a new Mario Kart is indeed under way, it seems the era of 8 might very well be drawing to a close. It’s an exciting prospect to be sure, but after two Nintendo systems with Mario Kart 8 at their heart, a lot of questions remain about how Nintendo will choose to follow it up."

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vgchartz.com
Yi-Long11d ago

I hope they just keep building on Mario Kart 8; Add a track-creation tool, and probably open it up to more Nintendo IPs with new tracks and characters, so Metroid, Punch Out, Starfox, Animal Crossing, etc etc.

gold_drake11d ago

there wont be a new one until the switch 2 comes out.

nintendo needs their bangers early on