Wii U Wii U Wii U: Is it time to call an ambulance for Nintendo's console?

EuroGamer - Nintendo's Wii U is selling terribly, and soon it will face the might of PS4 and Xbox One - can it survive on its own terms, or is it doomed to be another Virtual Boy?

[MNGamer-N]

Exact same doom WiiU article number #3,246. Moving on.

[lilbroRx]

Bias runs heavy in gaming journalism these days. The problem is and always has been hat people will flock to news like this and give the writers hits(=money) where they just completely ignore news that isn't bad.

When good Wii U news starts making more profit than bad news, this will start to stop but I don't see it happening.

When I post on a good article I'm usually the only one who posts. Everyone ignores it, but then complains about these which is exactly what they want.

They don't care what you have to say. Just that you click the link.

[BattleAxe]

Please...what is so hard to understand or hard to take with the fact that the WiiU has been a disaster. I can totally understand that people like Nintendo and are huge fans of their products, and truth be told that Nintendo makes consoles for gamers first, but the reality is that, as it stands today, this console will only sell about as well as the Game Cube. Before you rush to disagree, read what I have to say bellow, because I think things could change for Nintendo for the better in light of recent events.

All of the complaining about the media is pointless, because if Nintendo were putting out a really good product with lots of support, the media would reflect that in their articles. Case and point, look at the PS3 and how badly it got trashed by the media, then fast forward to the PS4 and look at all of the praise it is getting from the media.

The PS4 is getting the praise because Sony is bringing the games, and they have included developers from around the industry during the design process of the PS4. Not only has Nintendo not worked with developers, but they don't really have a fully featured online service, which is just not acceptable in this day and age.

On topic:

I think that the ambulance has possibly already arrived for the WiiU with how poorly the Xbox One showed during its debut. Xbox One is the best thing that could have happened for the WiiU.

I think that strategically Game Stop will promote WiiU and PS4 heavily, and they will de-emphasize the Xbox One. It wouldn't make any sense for Game Stop to support Microsoft, since its obvious that Mircrosoft wants to destroy Game Stop's bread and butter business.

After the recent 19% drop in Game Stop share prices, the CEO needs to think hard and fast as to how they will position themselves going into the next generation, and personally I think Game Stop will be all about PS4, PS Vita, Nintendo 3DS and WiiU. This could change the fortunes of the WiiU in a huge way. Heck, I might even consider the WiiU as a second console once the price comes down a bit.

[Shnazzyone]

it's all about the clicks man, and it's easy to write doom articles about Nintendo. Lazy, shitty journalism with next to no convincing arguments and no concept of history.

Here I'll write an wii U article.

"
[insert poorly photoshopped image here]
Nintendo keeps marketing to casuals. The Hardcore people are sick of zelda and mario. nintendo exploits those franchises. The sales are only at 3 million in 7 months. That is bad. EA is on microsoft's dick right now not nintendo's. EA makes all the good games. Nintendo is doomed"

Can I gets ad revenue now?

[1upgamer99]

I guess the guy that wrote the article did not know that Wii U's sales have jumped since Xbox one's reveal.
http://playeressence.com/am...

Why do the people that write these articles think they are contributing anything. They repeat everything that has already been said 1,000,000 times. It gets really old.

[MysticStrummer]

"I guess the guy that wrote the article did not know that Wii U's sales have jumped since Xbox one's reveal."

Exactly what I was going to say. Never has a console reveal been more helpful to it's competition.

[cyguration]

Agreed.

I was just about to post that link and say how much of an idiot the writer was for not doing basic research and that the Wii U's sales are surging thank to the pathetic unveiling of the Xbox One.

I'm guessing Microsoft promised him a waiver on the used game fee for up to two games and he took the offer.

Fail writer fails hard.

[Theyellowflash30]

Whoever wrote this article is a dumbass, the Wii U's sales have already surpassed the Virtual Boy by well over a million units. And he claims the Wii U is selling terribly and provides no numbers to back up his statement. He's just trying to get hits by beating a dead horse.

Not to mention sales got a bump on Amazon UK due to the horrible Xbox One reveal. Garbage article from a garbage site.

[Prcko]

dumb article -.-

[chestnut1122]

They will announce a new Zelda game, an Hd Zelda game, An "X" game, and many more in the E3 + Nintendo Direct which will focus more on Wii U these coming June 11 ;) I am pretty Sure Wii U will kick Asses! :)

[AWBrawler]

Don't forget FE X SMT. That's what I'm hyped for.

[Ashlen]

I have never been closer to buying a WiiU then I have been this week. If Sony decides to add DRM like MS i'll be a WiiU owner next gen. (not that I might not buy a WiiU down the line anyways)

[SexyGamerDude]

That's my plan too. If all else fails, I'm buying a WiiU.

[josephayal]

The Wii U is by far the best console since PS2

[jc48573]

No no no. It's to rescue the wii u.

[OrionNoctis]

no need to rescue , Xbox One was announced and afterwards Wii U sales went up so...

[Kevlar009]

I have the fever... and the only prescription is more games.

[cleft5]

Before the Xbox One was announced there would be a bunch of people here trashing the WiiU. After the Xbox One was announced people aren't so eager to trash a console that is focused on games. Just goes to show that folks here really aren't fanboys, we are just passionate about gaming. That gaming not TV Microsoft.

[kassler]

It ain't over until the fat lady sings.

[wishingW3L]

Wii U will be fine once the trifecta is out: Mario, Zelda, Metroid. This is one of the last consoles that not only focuses on gaming but that it has no DRM and crap too.

[V0LT]

Someone may want to call an amberlamps for xbox one though.

[XXXL]

I'm actually excited about Wii U's prospects. The next Nintendo direct is huge. Time to put up or shut up. And open the floodgates on the VC games already.

[Williamson]

Being a Wii u owner I will admit not much worth playing on it other than new super Mario bros, and zombie u imo, but it will change within the next couple of weeks when 3d Mario, smash, metroid, and hopefully Zelda Wii u get announced. The console itself is pretty cool, especially the 2nd screen.

[Locksus]

I've got a question for you about the gamepad. How does it feel in your hands despite its big size? Is it comfortable to hold for long periods of time?

[cleft5]

You can usually try out a WiiU at like Bestbuy or Target, not sure about WalMart. It's definitely worth checking out to see how the GamePad feels first hand.

[XXXL]

Tried it out myself at my local target. feels awesome. Very responsive. Gameplay looks great on gamepad also

[Locksus]

@cleft5
You know, I would definitely do that if there were Bestbuys or Targets where I live :/
So it's a bummer that I cannot try it myself, but I'd love to get a Wii U at some point.

[yugovega]

it feels very comfy and once you hold it you almost forget that it isn't a regular controller anyway until you use the touchscreen or play the game off tv. it's not very heavy at all. its heavier in demo units in stores due to that large cord being connected to it. and the demo units os doesn't work nearly the same as it does at home.

I've played lego undercover for like 8 hours straight and never felt awkward with the controller.

[Tong]

It just feel like a regular game controller. Just wider. It's lightweight too.

[Williamson]

It feels light and very comfortable to me, I haven't experienced any cramping with it so far. Much better than I expected.

[kwandar]

You forgot the retro games, which at $0.30 each are well worth playing :)

And Trine 2 is pretty good too. Depends what you like, but Zombi U - yeap that is good :)

[from the beach]

Eurogamer.. who later this year will give 9/10s to Pikmin 3 and Wonderful 101 and a 10/10 to Super Mario U.

[kingmushroom]

after Microsoft's near Apocalyptic week I'm actually considering buying a WiiU instead of it and have it next to my Ps4.

[Theyellowflash30]

No point in having a PS4 and a X-Bone, there going to get the same games. Unless you're huge on Halo, a PS4 Wii U combo is much better.

[kingmushroom]

True, I don't like Halo, and to say the truth i was actually more impressed with the WiiU tablet and how light the tablet was at E3 2012.

idk but shouting commands at the xbox1 is not my thing though the controller looks ok.

It just came to my mind that they dind't show the power cable on the xbox1, that thing better not look like a massive power brick or else the internet will annihilate MS.

[jcnba28]

"Nintendo's figures for the Wii U's first months on sale, from November through to March, are terrible."

The Wii U has now sold over 3.5 million units. To put this into perspective, during the same period in their first 6 months, the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 both sold under 3 million units. So all of this "Wii U is doomed" nonsense is very, very premature.

Yeah these sales are terrible...

[Locksus]

People were saying the exact same thing about 3DS, and look at it now. It's selling by the thousands.

[Grimhammer00]

Oh come on!

I fathom a more perfect storm for Ninny if I tried!
If they decide to drop the price huge and treat the WiiU as the go to kids machine (which is their general motto anyways), they'll eek out a niche.

Make no mistake - WiiU is not Wii. It will never garner that level of sales. With the other 2 consoles around the near corner ....Nintendo is in their worst nightmare.

I'm no hater. I'm wishing them no ill. I'd love me a good machine that brings back those platformer days of yore.

Ninny has tons of cash. While this may seem great - it's how they keep that cash that's worrisome to gamers. They don't invest it in hardware or HD development. They bank on gimmicks and that's never a sound strategy.

Let me ask you....isn't the goal of any company selling a product to try to garner massive sales? Could you think of a more self-destructive way to handle the WiiU?

[yugovega]

gimmicks worked for the wii and as a company why wouldn't you take a chance on that again? oneuping the other systems didn't work for Nintendo as many people point out with the gamecube and n64. if making the system more powerful is what makes them sell then the vita should be crushing the 3ds. it's the experience that sells systems. that's why 360 sold so much. people loved the xblive experience. without live, 360 wouldn't be anywhere close to that many sales.

the issue with wiiu is it's a system that requires you to experience it to get it. wii didn't need that. you saw it you understood. the wiiu takes a few to "get it" but when you do, you can see how good it truly is.