220°

Nintendo Should Scrap the Wii U

It's pretty much a given these days that every Nintendo earnings announcement will be accompanied by an apology of some kind from the company's helm. Sometimes they're punctuated by symbolic gestures like the senior executive pay cuts that were meant to represent an atonement for its ugly third-quarter financial statement in January.

Read Full Story >>
thestreet.com
NYC_Gamer3565d ago

Why should Nintendo scrap a machine that fans are enjoying?

thorstein3565d ago (Edited 3565d ago )

...and is currently in 2nd in terms of consoles sold through to customers?

Damn... approved before I could report the obvious clicky flamebait.

XiNarutoUzumaki3564d ago

Some journalist just want Nintendo to do the same mistake Sega did.

b163o13564d ago

I thought the WiiU was starting to do a lot better then I did when it first came out? This article has a BS aroma to it...

Are_The_MaDNess3564d ago

i would be lying if i said that i didnt want my Mario and Zelda games on my gaming PC rig. but i really dont want them to fail. i enjoy my Wii U ATM, ofc it needs more games. but they are almost here.

only thing they need to get a hold of is the Emulation downloads on the Wii U Shop. we need all the old games to be available to download!

an official PC emulator released on steam could also bring in alot of money for them IMO

Kingthrash3603564d ago

Flame bait...mk8 got wiiu a 200%+ boost compared to last year. YES the wiiu needs more games but when they do Come out they sell systems. Zelda..metriod...smash has yet to come and all are known system sellers. Shiiid they can release Mario RPG too. I admit they squandered and made huge mistakes with the wiiu. They are taking too long to release games and had a years head start but in no way should they scrap the wiiu.

ichizon3564d ago

Why would you report this as clickbait? Granted, the headline may seem like it, but the article does an in-depth analysis, and at the core it's about Nintendo's losses and why they should scrap the Wii U and focus on something else.

Smartphone markets are [probably] stealing their casual userbase, while only the old Nintendo-fans are holding onto the console for new iterations of Mario and Zelda games. Smash Bros., MK8 and possibly Bayonetta, with some oddball Mario and Donkey Kong platformers, which could just as well have been released on the old Wii, are keeping fans positive, but I think the successful release of PS4 [and Xbox One] have finally started getting to even that core. The PlayStation team are doing well in getting indie-like games to their system, and their AAA lineup engulfs Wii U's lineup easily.

Furthermore, PS4 now decided to go with the Vita as an optional screen much like Nintendo's required screen. Most of Wii U's interface architecture is designed around the screen, even though most of the popular games do not require it to be used. It's just in the way, and should've been optional from the start, even though users claim it to be a good controller to use despite its looks.

They should've waited and released a more powerful console rather than trying to be the earlybird which made Xbox into a success. I also think the Xbox may have rushed a bit, seeing as it fails at delivering full HD right off the bat. Games will only become more demanding from this point on. People have adopted 1080p on a large scale now, and that's what people wanted to update their consoles for. It's not that the old consoles aren't fun to play today, and why go next-gen (i.e. current-gen) if it's all the same?

I think the best bet for Nintendo is to somehow make a new console similar to Wii U, that allows for some kind of compatibility with the Wii U to not alienate their core fans completely. Although, I doubt that they will do this. They will continue to do their own thing, as they have never really listened to their fans. They have been the oddball since the days of the GameBoy, but this time it didn't pan out as expected.

As a final note, I have both a Wii U and a 3DS XL, and while I do love the 3DS and think it's a great system, I find myself playing my PS3 a lot more than Wii U lately. Sure, if you didn't have a Wii, the Wii U lets you play the old library as well, but if you did play the Wii, there's nothing new out on the Wii U yet. Nintendo has a lot of money to go on, but how much of a loss should they take for the sake of their own honour? They care more about their honour and not calling the system a failure than what their fans might think if they abandoned it.

</rant>

blitz06233564d ago

This journalist should scrap his career

XiSasukeUchiha3564d ago

@Naruto

As least it still second and still beating 1 though, the fight shall continue on the next episode of Clickbaits!

Theyellowflash303564d ago

The Successful launch of the Xbox One? LOL what? As they lay-off thousands of staff, drop the price and Kinect because nobody was buying it, and have a severe lack of quality first party titles.

No he doesn't make solid points, and he fails to compare what is going on with other console makers. He seems clueless to be honest, and regurgitates the same bullshit COUNTLESS other idiot writers have said.

He ignores the fact that the Wii U is actually profitable now. He ignores the fact that Wii U sales are drastically up in all regions from 2013. He ignores the fact that Mario Kart 8 is one of the best if not the best selling next gen exclusive right now, and he ignores the fact that Nitnendo has invested a huge amount of money into the Amiibo line, scaping the system right now would be the WORST thing to do.

It would KILL consumer confidence in your product. Nintendo just had some great NPD results, a great E3, Hyrule Warriors, Bayonetta 2, and Smash Bros are coming this year.

This is an idiot writer with a bunch of tired rehashed points looking for hits. This article should have been written a year ago.

choujij3564d ago

@XiNarutoUzumaki

Exactly. Sega learned the hard way that simply scrapping your machine is not the way to build consumer trust.

Concertoine3564d ago (Edited 3564d ago )

I don't think theyre keeping the system out of "honor". I think they're keeping it because if they scrapped it, EVERY game in development for it now and the millions invested in them willl all be for naught. Also, to abandon close to 7 million customers is suicide (see Sega), then to release a new console, competitive power or not, several years into the generation when the Xbox One and PS4 now share 100% of the audience? I know i speak for a lot of people when i say i would not buy a successor system if Nintendo dropped me, a loyal customer and Wii U owner, in the grease.

They aren't doing it out of honor, they're doing it because they can't afford to shit on their customers and cancel dozens of games, and in that sense they don't have much of a choice. The system is no doubt making them money now that they arent selling for a loss and MK8 just came out... so why now of all times anyway?

@your second comment.

I feel like you're mistaken when you say they won't admit it. Iwata has said numerous times that he feels at fault, bigwigs from the company like Reggie and Miyamoto will regularly admit that they f***ed up as a company. I think you're mistaking support for a product they know they cant abandon with not admitting failure, because really they're doing both and working to change the latter. Also you say they are operating at a loss, but logic dictates that since the Wii U has been selling both well and for a profit for the first time in years, that they will be making money for the first time in years, too. I find it strange you are someone who bought the system for 300 bucks, yet you want them to shaft you and release a successor console destined for failure as well.

ichizon3564d ago (Edited 3564d ago )

@Theyellowflash30#1.1.8

You seemed to be replying to me, so here goes.

I was indicating that the PS4 had a successful launch and threw the Xbox One in there in parentheses because they are selling a lot more than the Wii U according to VGCharts, and it hasn't been released across all markets yet. They backtracked on their DRM and Kinect stuff, which is why they faced issues in the first place, but at least they did backtrack on these issues instead of sticking to it, which might very well have saved the console. I mentioned that I think it's suspect that the console does not handle 1080p that well.

The writer mentions the loss reported in May of this year, so I don't know how he would've written this article a year ago, although the same pessimism has been around for a long time, yes. None of this is news per se, but this was posted as an opinion article. A lot of articles on N4G are not news articles.

Arguing for MK8 and their 1st party exclusives as system sellers just verifies what was written. They should focus on software and not hardware. Not that I personally agree on that sentiment - I like having Nintendo around for both their handhelds and consoles - but they are operating at a loss because of the poor Wii U performance. People are hoping it will pick up like the 3DS did, but time is passing by, and the PS4 is already engulfing the Wii U. Many Wii U owners will probably have a PS4 in addition, keeping the Wii U around for the exclusives. I doubt that there are any console gamers that only have a Wii U in front of their TV.

Commenting on the statement made by XiNarutoUzumaki#1.1.1

Sega is at least seeing profits right now even though it has made some janky games in recent years. I doubt that Andrea Tse is sitting there and thinking: "Hey, I have this great idea! Nintendo should just stop making consoles since the Wii U has been selling poorly recently." She reports on a very simple market analysis and statements made by Nintendo right now, not looking specifically at MK8 sales and future potential for upcoming titles.

Tech analyst Richard Windsor shares his personal opinion of the current situation, that Nintendo makes awesome games, but perhaps their latest console venture was not very successful. And Nintendo won't admit it. He also mentions Japan's traditional corporate ways near the end, which is all true.

I don't get why so many people are so upset by this article. It's objective from the reporter's standpoint, but shares the subjective views of analysts. Does the negative outlook surprise anyone at this point?

Editing my comment for Concertoine#1.1.10

I think it's a mix of both. They are still investing a lot in the Wii U and 3DS, with upcoming features and exclusive games. They don't want to admit that it's a failure outright, but have been reporting bad sales and trying to fix it by using more money rather than abandoning it. They don't have to spend all that money, but it would seem they feel obligated to. No one is asking them to stop selling the Wii U and just scrap all ongoing projects for it, but they are taking a risk in producing new projects for the system. MK8 would sell well on any system, not just the Wii U. It sells systems because people love the game, and people are now having a positive outlook on the system's future. Perhaps it manages to pick itself up, but it's running on borrowed time.

ichizon3564d ago

@Concertoine#1.1.10 again for the new edit, as I reached my character limit.

I don't want them to shaft me. I am arguing from an objective standpoint for Nintendo and commenting on what was written in the article. Personally, gamers don't want them to fail. Just look at these very comments and votes. Any article discussing the profitability of a console they bought, there will be a bunch of wishful thinking. Perhaps they will turn a profit this year, perhaps not.

I don't think they should release a separate successor console, because it won't sell in the light of the Wii U situation. I was mentioning that something along the lines of 3DS XL to the original 3DS would be a good move, abandoning the screen as a necessary peripheral and possibly supporting higher hardware requirements for certain titles, while less demanding titles would be available for both consoles. Anyway, this is just my own suggestion made in hindsight. It's not like it's going to happen, and it was supposed to be a minor digression in my comment.

Neither Miyamoto or Reggie admit that they messed up with the Wii U. They are always staying positive, asking people to wait for the next big title. The bigwigs in Japan took a symbolic pay cut because Nintendo as a company has been doing bad, and this is common to do in Japan. They are only apologetic for the delays in getting their promised software out when it comes to the Wii U, and this was the case for the 3DS as well, which caused them to launch the ambassador program.

randomass1713564d ago (Edited 3564d ago )

@ichizon Actually Miyamoto did talk a bit about Wii U's low performance. I did a google search and this came up. http://mynintendonews.com/2...
Reggie is kind of overly corporate. I think his job is basically to paint Nintendo in a positive light no matter what the situation is. But you are right, more work needs to be done to make Wii U at least relevant and profitable and IMO they are releasing enough games to entice people. E3 definitely helped them out as well.

Theyellowflash303564d ago (Edited 3564d ago )

@ichizon

Nintendo has admitted multiple times they had issues and problems with Wii U.

And just like the idiot writer, you seem to be igorning my points, in order to regurgiate your BS.

1. THE WII U IS PROFITABLE

2. THE WII U SALES HAVE DRASICALLY IMPROVED FROM 2013.

3. SOFTWARE SALES ARE UP 300% FROM LAST YEAR

CAN YOU AND OTHER IDIOT WRITERS NOT COMPREHEND THIS?

New systems take years and money to make. Nintendo can't just DITCH a product that is making MONEY for them. They have a whole product line of Amiibo coming out. Games have been in development for years on the system. It is the TOP 8 gen home console in Japan, WHY would they KILL it? THEY ARE a FU**ing Japanese company.

YOU are wrong, plain and simple, you and this idiot writer do not understand business. You let he media sway your OPINION and don't look at NINTENDO's forecast for THIS YEAR.

Its about PROFIT, not OVERALL console sales, and this year NINTENDO WILL PROFIT and fans are buying Wii U games like crazy on the eShop.

Smash, Bayonetta 2, Hyrule Warriors, and more to come. NINTNENDO would be IDIOTIC to "scrap" the Wii U at this point. It would KILL consumer confidence.

Seriously, I'm glad idiot writers and N4G users don't run Nintendo.

+ Show (11) more repliesLast reply 3564d ago
thezeldadoth3564d ago

yeah scrap the console with the most exclusives and highest rated exclusives. gamers are destroying their own hobby

deafdani3564d ago

This article wasn't written by a gamer, though. Just someone writing under a purely business point of view (which is still wrong on many levels).

:P

BullyMangler3564d ago

awwww . .sounds like the author of this article is butthurt/envious at the FACT that a wiiU offer higher quality, more challenging games than a ps4 and xB1 combined.

it must suck to be a sony and microsoft fanpie in Nintendos world. :(:

Beastforlifenoob3564d ago

Whatever makes you sleep at night mate.

Magicite3564d ago

Nintendo wont scrap WiiU thats for certain.
Its gonna probably sell somewhere between NES and SNES.
And Im pretty sure Nintendo will enter next-gen first.

I dont defend them and Ive never owned their systems, but they are doing a good job, lets see how they fare next year, when the true battle for current gen will begin.

+ Show (1) more replyLast reply 3564d ago
theizzzeee3565d ago

The internet should scrap so called journalists like this.

MadLad3564d ago

I honestly tried to give it a chance. Figured they might raise a number of interesting points to at least justify such an opinion.
Wasn't the case though. The thing is filled with logical fallacies and either bias-driven, or simply misinformed reasoning.
Such as insisting that it can't cater to the casual market because it isn't cheap enough (well, what was the Wii then?), as well as saying it can't cater to the hardcore simply because of its performance. I mean, really?

MadLad3564d ago

Why?
It's the only platform with a worthwhile list of exclusives. As a PC gamer specifically, it's really the only current-gen console I'm sticking with for the next few years.

crusf3564d ago (Edited 3564d ago )

Nintendo has already saved the Wii U with what they showed at E3 and Mk8 sales. These articles are no longer needed on this site and serve no purpose but to get ad revenue from users like LOL_WUT.
EDIT:And Killzoner99 apparently.

Show all comments (76)
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?"

purple10110d 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.

shinoff21839d 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.

Profchaos9d 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 9d ago
isarai10d 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.

mkis0079d ago (Edited 9d ago )

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

Einhander197210d 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.

10d ago Replies(3)
Einhander197210d ago

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

10d ago
10d 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.

shinoff21839d ago

Yay steam

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

Tacoboto9d 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 9d ago
Hofstaderman10d 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.

Xeofate9d ago (Edited 9d 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

FinalFantasyFanatic9d 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)
90°

Nintendo's War Against Player-Made Content Will Hurt The Company In The End

Danish from eXputer: "Nintendo has historically gone against player-made content and emulation of its games. This has done much to harm the company's image."

XiNatsuDragnel16d ago

I agree nintendo hire some these folks to help in your games it'll help imo.

banger8816d ago

They need to stop announcing these mods and fan remakes until they're finished. Finish it, upload it, and then if Nintendo dmca's it tough shit. Once it's online, people can share it around, even if the original download gets taken down.

Jingsing15d ago

True, but most modders need constant admiration during the process to motivate them.

PRIMORDUS15d ago

Yup, once it's a torrent nothing can be done Nintendo is helpless at that point. But it would be wise if they just had a site on the dark web, it's also easy to use with Tor and no one will bother you.

mastershredder15d ago

This is all coming from the mouth of short-sighted fandom and grifting madness.
No.... it wont. There is a clear defined reason why they don't. This is nothing new. Make your own shi7 from your own original ideas especially if you are trying to capitalize of it it. Duh.

Yeah, hire people that have zero respect or understanding for an established process. Wow. Yep. Totally makes sense.

shinoff218315d ago

Those guys that made that sonic game got a gig from sega or something along those lines and that game was dope as hell. One of the best sonics as of late.