Time will of course tell whether or not the WiiU launch has been successful. It’s barely been 24 hours, and there isn’t anything close to actual data in terms of availability, sales numbers, attach rates, etc. However, in reading a lot of the anecdotal reports from other journalists as well as consumers, it seems as though Nintendo has made some missteps along the way. They have also, however, seemingly done some things right. For better or for worse, these are the 5 things that Sony and Microsoft can learn from the launch of the WiiU.
One of the founding members of the Xbox team has questioned Microsoft’s multiplatform gaming strategy, and said they believe the Xbox hardware business is effectively “dead"
Replies(3)Think that rumor that they'll still make a new console but at a profit at $1000 will be true though. The series consoles will remain their cheap alternative throughout next gen I would say. Keep in mind that game pass and pretty much going 3rd party is their main focus. They want to bring xbox everywhere.
If they don't maintain some kind of console presence, I think they will lose gamepass subscribers and just become a 3rd party publisher who eventually sells everything off
Xbox games are releasing on all platforms. Who needs this hardware? PS or PC is all you need
Even if they could get it down to $800 for a box that can run with comparable performance to a PS6 (at, say $200 cheaper) the population of people willing to buy such a thing would be so limited.
It would be the worst of both worlds.
TNS: Based on its most recent ESG data, Nintendo boasts a remarkably low staff turnover rate of just 1.9%, with virtually no reported layoffs.
It’s unreal that people are downvoting this when they consistently have the best scoring games on metacritic.
Well it doesn’t surprise me. As much money as they make and how they value their employees. It’s a great company in that regard.
Replies(1)Well, when your games remain full price many years after release.
And you make profit off of outdated hardware.
I would be shocked if they couldn't afford to retain their staff.
I didn't want to say anything but drivxr is right.
Nintendo always sells at a profit because they purposely use tech that's always 5 or more years behind. And it's also true their games hardly ever get price decreases.
Don't get me wrong, it's great they kept most of their workforce, but making a point to have your tech specs behind everyone else affords that luxury.
I don’t think it’s their purpose to use old tech. It’s their purpose to make value of software and know their value. Nobody makes games like them that’s for sure. I just don’t appreciate their customer unfriendly policy.
It’s not impossible to take their status. Companies need to have a selection of 8-bit and 16-bit. Now imagine a split screen for 8 player game for SNES Mario kart and selling at $9.99. The problem is that it doesn’t make profit. So many companies won’t invest in “old” technology. Everyone guns for triple AAA modern technology software but honestly we can enjoy modernized 16-bit creative ideas that allows 8-player mayhem. It’s a pipe dream, possible but impossible.
If they ended up kicking people out after all of that stated above, it would be truly shameful.
Microsoft, Google, Amazon, Tesla and Meta are all trillion dollar companies yet they are laying people off in large numbers.
I believe the reason Nintendo layoffs off less workers may be a result of their culture. It seems Japanese companies believe in giving their workers long term or life long employment opportunities and will exhaust all options before laying off workers. This is something we don't see much of in the west unfortunately.
might be something to do with the fact all those companies hire more than 20x the employees than Nintendo
What the hell are you talking about? It has nothing to do with how profitable they are. Its completely cultural, MS and Sony make stacks of cash and still lay folks off. Nintendo chose not to lay off staff for the same reason their execs took pay cuts to increase staff pay instead; because they value their staff and view them as colleagues, and respect them as such.
If Sony weren't so US centric I fancy they'd fare better too, they should get shot of US and European leadership and go back to when Japanese execs were running the show if you ask me!
Even as the company sets out to overhaul the very definition of Xbox, cuts at its studios risk creating a negative image reminiscent of EA's worst era
I appreciate the article but this guy must be living in a delayed universe, The reputation was ruined 10+ years ago and hasn't recovered since. As such people have voted with their wallets and stopped buying Xbox products in large amounts.
Their reputation was lost way before that. From the moment Microsoft said they entering the console business, we all knew it would be a downgrade.
That's not true at all the OG Xbox had drive and they had hunger and they wanted to accomplish something. It was a great console.
they didn't quite reach their goals and they gave up prematurely because they couldn't win. It was halfway through the Xbox 360 when kinect released and that was when they lost their way and we're a rudderless ship ever since
In all fairness, Xbox had some great games with online play, Xbox 360 even better. Xbox consoles started to die with the Xbox One. Ditch consoles for the PC and PS.
@Bathyj hard to compute ay. Xbox was never better than a PC and that's all they ever were. A demo box. Doesn't get more true than that.
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Rumors of Turn 10 being either shut down or hit with massive lay offs is on the horizon.
The issue is MS will do something right only to do something very, very wrong. And they do this what seems calculative at this point. Doesn't matter what they do the Investors and leadership want more and more money an endless bottomless pit of purr insatiable greed. A company that acts like it's broke or hurting is what really, really infuriates me. They've surpassed apple again well over 3 trillion who acts like they're a million dollar company is fk stupid. Pivots and changes for no reason and can't do things for more than a year with out a pivot or changing their metrics.
That would be really bad since Phil just hyped up next year as a big Forza year at Summer Game Fest.
Isn't the point that it's irrelevant how profitable MS is, the suits have decided it's time that the Xbox division started making them money. Hence the layoffs, the pivots.
That wouldn't surprise me, as motorsport has been heading down hill since the great number 4. Where as playground have consistently put out better games. I think the two studios will be merged under playground games banner.
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If the Wii U is successful, it might motivate Sony and MS not to make the next consoles much of a jump from current gen.
So i guess if Wii U makes good sales, with a cheap system Sony and MS will probably follow suit. Both of them are probably tired taking initial losses. The will instead design cheap cost effective hardware, so they may profit day one.
Sony is a Boss. Wait and see!
Sony on the technical side of things have been showing the competition how to build a console from the get go, almost every iteration of their consoles we get!
They don't need to learn anything. Microsoft and Sony launched their 7th generation consoles 7 and 6 years ago. If anything Nintendo didn't learn anything from them.
NO BUILT IN HARD DRIVE?
The 8gb basic console only has around 3gbs of useable space. That is almost worse than the Core 360 but at least you could get the normal hard drive (at extortionate prices though) separate and connect it as a real hard drive and not through a USB port and this was in 2005.
Holy crap they fucked up big time. And this has to last the next 5 to 6 years? Developers are screwed having to design their games on a console they have to assume has no room for caching info on locally.
Okay they can learn something, don't have a 5gb download day 1. Day 1 when everybody is trying to get such a massive update all at once on your brand new service.
It's been confirmed by MS themselves that the 720 leak was legit. So the new Xbox will be 8gb of ram! And not slow DDR like wiiu crapfest of a console!
So tell me. How is ninny going to compete? With 1gb of useable ram! And the price for 720 has also been confirmed. $299
Ninny is screwed.