Is Wii U the Next 3DS?

After my past article lamenting the financial troubles going on with the Wii U and the future of Nintendo, I figured it would be fun to do a more optimistic sequel of sorts.

[KrisButtar]

"Then the games came out. Fire Emblem: Awakening, Animal Crossing: New Leaf, Pokemon X and Y, The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds, it was incredible. Over the course of a single year, the 3DS arguably became the must-own future after having a rather slow start."

Didn't mention the $100 price drop. If the WiiU did a price drop just before the big guns releases I can see the WiiU flying off the selves like the 3DS.

[wonderfulmonkeyman]

I hate having to remind people of this, but I guess there's no getting around it, so for the umpteenth time...

Online deals.
Online deals are EVERYWHERE right now.
Nintendo themselves are selling Wii U's for $215.
Some other places are doing even better deals depending on where you live.

Price isn't the system's issue; the deals are already out there for those that want the lower price, and the system still isn't flying off the shelves.

What it needs is more advertisement and more game announcements.
That's the brass tax of it.

[ForgottenProphecy]

Does the average consumer easily find $215 Wii U, or do they go to the store and see the $300 price tag and get turned away from it because they think it's an ad-on to their Wii?

[jsslifelike]

I believe most consumers -in this day and age- look at a price tag in a brick-and-mortar store and think, "I wonder if I can find that cheaper online". I'm almost 40 and I would imagine that folks buying a Wii U for kids would be younger than myself and be more savvy to the way things work, cutting out the middleman with online orders.

[wonderfulmonkeyman]

With all the sales that places like Newegg and Amazon and stuff get on a daily basis, you both can't possibly expect me to believe that online shoppers haven't become a much larger market than you two are giving it credit for.
Gamers, especially, are savvy with online shopping, and since the Wii U has lost most of its casual appeal, the majority of Wii U owners, and SEEKERS, are currently gamers who WOULD look for online deals.
That is, if they were serious about owning the system, rather than just wanting to see Nintendo drive itself into a deeper debt hole, by doing what Sony did with the PS3, by selling it at an insane discount and not making a profit out of it for years.

[3-4-5]

* MK8 is the " System Seller ", Super Smash is the game that sells well because the install base has grown because of MK8.

* Both of those games aren't going to turn things around though, they need another 4-5 games to also be good to great.

* So Donkey Kong, Super Smash, Mario Kart 8..........

What else is releasing for sure this year ?

And yes indie counts, Wii U is potentially a great indie platform.

[admiralvic]

I had a long winded version of this, but I will keep it simple.

No the Wii U is not the next 3DS.

Believe it or not, the Wii U started off in a better place (game wise) than the 3DS and had more awesome original titles in the first year than the 3DS. The main reason why the 3DS did so well was a combo of good games releasing, the price dropping $70 dollars and the Vita costing $70 dollars more and required proprietary memory (raising the price by at least $20 dollars).

"The title that the Wii U’s future seems to be banking on right now is Super Smash Bros. "

Also, Nintendo is clearly banking on Mario Kart 8 more than SSB. Their tactic seems to be to release Mario Kart 8 (MK has historically sold better than SSB) for a good number of immediate sales and then release SSB after so it will get a push by also having Mario Kart 8 out.

[DarkZane]

SSB will not be a system seller as much as people believe since it's releasing on 3DS too and it's basically the same game, the only difference is graphics and a few stages exclusive to each versions.

[bass4g]

the 3DS game will focus on single player more and most likely won't have online. The wiiu version will be able to be played on a big screen tv with friends (the way that smash bros games are meant to be played) and will hopefully have a more robust online offering. You'd be a fool to prioretise the 3ds version and if anything I think that version will not sell well at all. I could very much be wrong but we'll see.

[admiralvic]

"SSB will not be a system seller as much as people believe since it's releasing on 3DS too and it's basically the same game"

This logic might work for say Titanfall, but it does not work for Super Smash Bros.

A big selling point of SSB is playing with your friends, which is possible on the 3DS, but works better as a big screen game. In a lot of ways, I think the opposite might happen. People see how awesome the game is on the 3DS and get the itch to play it on the Wii U. In either case, I think you would be a fool to think a portable fighting game will have a big impact on the console release.

[Muffins1223]

Yea to me brawl would be better on the 3DS,always wanted to play it on the go with friends

[jcnba28]

You do realise that the Wii U and 3DS versions will have different stages? The Wii U version will have stages from console games (such as Skyward Sword) while the 3DS version will have stages from portable games, such as Zelda: Spirit Tracks.

[OtakuDJK1NG-Rory]

wrong. They Wii U version is most wanted on Miiverse and Famitsu.

[Paulie_gualtieri]

Yeah not likely.

[Benjaminkno]

We'll see.

Nintendo is reliable, and always delivers.

[Muffins1223]

Yea they where real successful with the Gamecube /s

[Yodagamer]

They still delivered some of their best games and more unique games during the GameCube era. Saying the GameCube wasn't successful is only looking at it from a sales perspective and they still made money from it anyways.

[KonsoruMasuta]

He never said they were always successful. He said they always deliver, and that's true. Despite the GameCube's hardships, it had some really great games. It was also great in the hardware department. It was even stronger than the PS4.

[jcnba28]

Nintendo made a profit from the Gamecube, so yes it was a success.

[OtakuDJK1NG-Rory]

Nintendo pulled a profit with GameCube.

[Benjaminkno]

Seeing how Gamecube made money while the Ps3 and 360 lost billions, I think Gamecube was a success. But that's entirely off topic.

You might want to do some research before you add your 2 cents...

Ps4 the too poor to PC

[RPG_Lover]

Wii U is a fun console but it will be replaced in a few years. have fond memories.

[KonsoruMasuta]

Every console will be replaced by a new one in a few years. It's called the next generation.

[trickman888]

Hell fucking no it isn't. The 3DS managed to get from it's sales slump and it's continuing to sell much more compared to the Vita.

Wii U will still and will always be below the PS4 and xbone.

[bass4g]

While I don't necessarily disagree, I do think the verdict's still out on the xboxone. Remember the wiiu sold a lot of consoles around release but then dropped off to a snails pace. Judging from how easy it is to get one perhaps the same is happening with the xbox.

[LOL_WUT]

The WiiU has already gone through what the 3DS went through, game droughts, price drops and big game releases and Nintendo still hasn't managed to turn the console around. Lets face it, it's been nothing but a failure ;)

[wonderfulmonkeyman]

Not nearly on the same scale as the 3DS.
For the 3DS, the price drop was $70 instead of $50, the big game releases were games like Mario Kart instead of Mario 3D World, and there were third parties still ready and willing to make games for it.

The Wii U has not yet hit its 3DS-style turn around moment.

[Dunban67]

Nintendo as not been able to deliver a consistent flow of games for the Wii u like they I'd the 3ds

Also the Wii u library to date is heavily skewed to platformers so it is not nearly diverse as the 3 ds library either

Wii u game generally cost more and take more time as well - hopefully they will decide to invest in a more diverse library in the future but so far hey don t seem willing to invest the money

[higgins78]

Its funny, people seem to be focused on the future of the Wii U but (for me) who I think will be grateful for this is Microsoft with their Xbox One. I dont see the Xbox One being a particularly bad console, its way too early to say that, however, whether it releases a good/great library of games over the coming year I see its future similar to that of the Sega Dreamcast.

The Wii U and PS4 seem the perfect combination of consoles, Xbox One - with its BIG hardware/software mistakes so early on - has I think left a bad lasting memory in peoples minds, Xbox One isn't to be trusted anymore. I would not be surprised if this was Microsoft's last home console, lets hope it leaves us with some lasting memories.

[Benjaminkno]

I'm still considering an XBox one.

I'm just waiting for a few exclusives and a price drop. I'd like them to stick around, but I would only give them a 30% chance of an XBoxTwo..

[djplonker]

The wii u is pretty much a non portable 2ds for the big screen if they can release some attchment like the ps vita tv to let the wii u read and play 3ds games on the wii u it would make it a much more attractive!

[N4g_null]

They don't need an attachment. The wiiu can run a 3ds game though the e shop or the game pad could gain a cart reader and wireless TV broadcaster if an attachment is needed. The fusion will take place but the next 3ds will be a wiiu portable of some type.

[DanManDantheMan]

Yeeeeeaaaah no. I don't think any console can reach 3DS levels of acclaim.

[Geekman]

Last time I checked the Vita was stronger than the 3DS, yet the 3DS is winning because it has games. The same thing could happen with consoles. I;m not speaking as a fanboy, but as a analyist.

[SageShinigami]

Stronger...what, dude? The Vita LTD is less than the Wii U's. Stronger games? Debatable--would depend on what sort of games you prefer, but the 3DS has no shortage of great titles.

[Geekman]

Possibly. The many 3DS games were enough to get the handheld to make a comeback, and if you ask me, the Wii U has more good games planned than than the 3DS did back then, and the 3DS has now. It's possible that people would still opt not to buy one since consoles are pricier than handhelds, which you cannot deny, which is why I urge Nintendo to at least consider another 50 dollar price drop at the release of MK8 or another big game.

[RosweeSon]

Ps4/vita and a wii U/3DS all day everyday.
Innovation and quality what more do you want?

[SageShinigami]

Their slate of games this year needs to put them over 10 million consoles sold. Honestly MK8 alone should be able to do that, judging by the amount of interest it's gotten from Japan already and it's track record.

Along with Smash they should be able to comfortably reach 6 million consoles sold this year.

[RosweeSon]

Price cuts while always good for us as gamers won't make a major difference, when you consider the gamepads cost around £80-100 and you normally get a game included £30-40, knock that off and all the other extras you've got a new console for not much more than £100, it's not a bad price and which the mario bundles for around £250 (over a £100 cheaper than a standard ps4 (understandably) which comes with no games I really don't see it as that bad a price sure if they get them below £200 I.e original wii costs (they were £180 in U.K on launch and pretty much forever, good couple of years anyway) but yeah with the selection of games out now for wii u yens admittedly a lot of platformers but it's a nintendo console but there's still plenty of other stuff to play on it and with mario kart and smash bros due soon great time to own a wii u, just got donkey kong which I'll probably rinse through and sell on but I've still yet to play mario 3d world, lego city, pikmin 3, earthbound, zelda hd (might not bother as did the original tho) but due to a massive backlog I've got a sweet selection of wii u games stored up waiting to play and I cannot wait, only just finishing new super mario bros now (started very late) had the console on launch tho as I knew it was Nintendo and saw this whole thing with 3DS, look at it now I'm nearly 25 free games up and the 3DS is better than ever, and yes 25 free games, excitebike3d was free, zelda 4 swords, 20 ambassador games, just got mario tennis GBC for free, got Professor Layton and animal crossing for free through various promotions, get any free games with Microsoft?

[RosweeSon]

I think they will clear 10 million this year once this buzz for PS4/Xbox one dies down more so on Xbox one wii U will be the kids console of choice for chrimbo and with mario kart and smash bros out by that point I don't blame them, having just recently 3 starred everything on mario kart 7 this new one on wii u couldn't come soon enough, looks slick rick, with a bit of Kirby 3DS On the side and yoshi no doubt (might even get round to starting zelda link between worlds and luigis mansion 2 soon) Loving being a Nintendo gamer at the moment and if your not your missing out and I'm not even playing the recent stuff got it all sat their waiting for a rainy week. Can't wait always fresh (yes even the mario platformers hence why all the other competition have come and gone and they can still make mario games) and all the other exciting games
Nintendo are getting my Vote for second place as I fully think ps4 is gonna be the one, good job I got both ;)

[McScroggz]

I feel like there are two types of people: One are those that think the Wii U can not only turn things around, but can still turn out to be a highly successful console. The second type are those I'd like to call reasonable.

[Benjaminkno]

You are aware that last gen consoles lost billions of dollars right?..

Some intellectual honesty would be reasonable.

[McScroggz]

And how does that matter exactly? What does that have to do with the Wii U becoming the next 3DS? The Wii U is on track to sell something like 15 million consoles with things looking worse rather than better.

There is nothing intellectually dishonest about my point. People try so hard to find reasons to excuse the Wii U's performance instead of acknowledging that in almost every way the Wii U has been a disaster.

[Ck1x]

Here's the biggest difference that Nintendo is facing right now. With the 3ds they really don't have much in the way of competition in the handheld market. But with WiiU, Nintendo was not only facing the outgoing 360/PS3 but also the muched hyped PS4 and Xbox One. Nintendo not only needed a similar line up to what turned the 3ds around, but they needed to go above and beyond this by creating games outside of their comfort zones. I think Nintendo should have been very agressive in getting the likes of Bioshock Infinite, GTA5, Crysis 3, FarCry 3 and Tomb Raider onto WiiU. Even if they had to pick up the publishing, it would show a dedicated effort to the pure gamers that they want and support these types of games on the system.

[Geobros]

I don't thin that Wii U will have same sales that 3DS but when Mario Kart 8 and Smash Bros come out, things will chang to the best.