One Game Will Not Save The Wii U

One writer explains why Mario Kart 8, Super Smash Bros. and the other big Wii U games aren’t going to singlehandedly save the system.

[Metallox]

The good lineup that is receiving this year will push it, and although it won't "save" it either, I'm expecting better numbers for the console beggining with the launch of Mario Kart 8.

[aceitman]

that's what was said about Monster Hunter 3 (tri-)G HD ,Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze, pikmin and the Mario games . it will sell some units but it wont keep wiiu sales up. and its sad that there losing third party support . maybe they'll come out with a smaller screen controller. and even so there 1st party games have been delayed for long periods of time, they need to come out with more 1st party games and keep them close on release dates .

[Neonridr]

Mario 3D World sold over 2 million units, NSMBU has sold over 4 million. Their First party software is still selling, and they have legs so they continue to sell.

Mario Kart WILL sell, no question about that, but nobody says that it will suddenly have more consoles out than the PS4.

One game can't save the Wii U, but many games can help ensure it's success.

[Metallox]

So you expected that much from a Wii port of 2007, a 2D sidescroller, a niche series and one of the worst eye appealing Mario games of all time? 3D World even moved some units, but X, Smash and of course Mario Kart 8 are another thing.

I understand what you say but those games aren't exactly what Wii U needed to start moving units.

[aceitman]

while the software sold the hardware didn't . and that is where im getting at .

[randomass171]

I don't know who the heck you were talking to, but I don't know anyone who said Monster Hunter (which is ultra niche and an HD remake of a fairly recent Wii game) would make a significant impact on Wii U sales.

edit: Just want to clarify that Monster Hunter is a great series IMO. I just acknowledge that right now it's not especially popular in the west.

[aceitman]

@randomass171- it was supposed to move wiiu units in japan but didn't make a dent. usa is not the only country that sells gaming systems , so I don't know who u been talking to but the west is not the only place wiiu is selling bad . some people are blind to the truth , I am not putting the wiiu down , but we all know its not selling well , or am I reading nothing but lies. I have a wiiu and I love 1st party games , my opinion its being made like im bashing it. and maybe u don't read other websites and or n4g more often u will see how people even websites say certain games should have helped the wiiu with sale but didn't . even mk8 is being question if it will sell units. thats what this article is about, and here is another . http://seattle.cbslocal.com...
and only 5 games sold over a million http://www.vgchartz.com/gam...
and where only 1st party titles , but the truth is all 3rd party games sold terrible , and it has always been that way except for wii and that was better times for third party's . and like the title says one game will not save the wiiu. I agree strongly. why would anyone pick it up, to get one 1st party game every 3-6 months no , while the Nintendo supporters have one already like me, how many will go for it. Nintendo needs do something to pull in third party support and have there games launch with ps4 and X1 and keep the support for the games that are sold on wiiu. some games leave things out and that's not right for Nintendo or there fans and that doesn't help someone's choice to buy wiiu. I love for Nintendo to get back where they need to be ,but it worries me if they will jump ship and rush out another system to stay afloat.bad enough I was pissed that they screwed me on the wii motion plus .

[Metallox]

I get it, I get it. But I still think the Wii U didn't get the "right" games, and it with right I'm meaning appealing for the audiences.

1) Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate is a Wii port, come on, a proper MH game would have sold much better.

2) Donkey Kong Country Tropical Freeze, the worst decision that Retro could have done in it's history. Some interviews clearly clarify they decided to work with DK again and the result, well, it's just bad. I also barely saw people on Internet who said: "I'm buying a Wii U so I can play Tropical Freeze". No, 2D sidescrollers don't do those kinds of miracles anymore.

3) Pikmin 3 is the first entry in nine years of a series which best selling game doesn't surpass the two million units.

4) Mario it's they only real disappointment here, and he stil could sell some consoles.

And the Wii U hasn't sold well even in the long term due to the horrible marketing.

[Neonridr]

Donkey Kong has still sold over 500k copies (not including digitally). Sure that's not incredible, but it's far from terrible.

[randomass171]

I doubt it will ever come to that. Wii U is pretty much confirmed not to be an ultra seller at this point. THAT would take a miracle. But I still think it can sell a few tens of millions of units. Nintendo just needs to generate the exciting content to do it. I think now that they're being backed into a corner, they have to.

[ritsuka666]

WII U can make a turn around as long as they start putting out games, and marketing the hell out of it.

[XiSasukeUchiha]

Mario Kart 8 will help the Wii U, but saving it will take a miracle!

[NatureOfLogic_]

WiiU is already a flop, but these so-called savior games will only satisfy the current owners and a few who are interested in WiiU like me. A small boost from mediocre sales won't do much for WiiU. If one of the greatest games of all time couldn't save the N64(Zelda OoT), what makes Nintendo fans think these games will do it. Truth is, Nintendo best games are when their desperate for more sales. I'm hoping that the next Zelda will be the best in the series(not likely). With that said, just enjoy the great games that Nintendo continues to deliver and let Nintendo worry about the sales.

[randomass171]

I disagree. I wouldn't see Wii U as a flop unless Nintendo dropped support right after Smash Bros. The bottom line is this game will definitely give Wii U a big boost and this momentum will only increase with the other titles hitting Wii U this year. By how much I'm not sure.

[BattleAxe]

"I wouldn't see Wii U as a flop unless Nintendo dropped support right after Smash Bros"

Well, you see, this is the difference between people like me, who can see the WiiU's failure coming a mile away, and people like you who refuse to believe that the WiiU is a commercial failure until the last minute when Nintendo pulls the plug. This is the problem when people get so emotionally invested in a brand that they love.

[Variant]

BattleAxe.

The Wii U is no longer being sold at a loss giving remarkable encouragement to believe that it will be supported for a regular length of time (in terms of video game consoles).

I never believed Nintendo would drop its support for the Wii U soon after its release nor do I believe it will be dropped soon after the announced games are released; looking ahead from now, it seems similar to the GameCube.

edit: spelling

[coltlokk]

@BattleAxe

That sounds really arrogant of you. It's obvious that the Wii U isn't selling well, but it's not a commercial failure if Nintendo makes money off of the Wii U, and that is still certainly possible (look at the Gamecube for example)

Nintendo will have to keep supporting the wii u until they are ready for their next console which won't be until 2016 or 2017. This is because of how much money they have spent on it already, and how much they are still spending now, on NFC, on new games coming, on whatever. They will rely on the money they make from software sales and the little hardware sales and just wait it out.

I believe you're persepctive a little too skewed on the side that the Wii U is a complete and total fail. They are not just gonna "pull the plug" and screw over 6 million people who have the Wii U. Try to understand both sides, look at both sides, think from both sides.

Wii U = bad selling, but Nintendo is trying hard to at least make it so that they are not losing money off of it. If they make a little money, from their perspective at least, it was OK.

And this is kinda off topic but, I just really dislike gamers who think in terms of business. Sure, it's important to know what you are investing in, but sometimes gamers focus too much on it. If any console has games that appeal to you personally, and you feel that there are enough games to justify a purchase, then the console was worth it, regardless of the number of hardware sales or other games, since you already determined that there were enough games to warrant a purchase.

That's why day-1 buys are so risky for something like game consoles.

[Benjaminkno]

@BattleAxe

I don't mean to pile on, but the Playstation 3, XBox 360, and Vita were all "commercial failures", as they lost billions of dollars. Yet GameCube made lots of profit. So "success" is a broad term.

This isn't a productive discussion for you, as you seem "emotionally invested."

[Grilla]

I have a sneaky suspicion they'll start dropping support for the Wii U after Zelda releases. The next big games will be on the Fusion.

[randomass171]

@BattleAxe Actually, I think the real difference between us is that I don't pretend I know everything, wheras you make Pachter-like predictions and attack others for disagreeing with them.

edit: And by the way, I'm more of a Sony guy. I just happen to like and appreciate Nintendo a lot, as they got me into gaming.

[videgamenext1]

WiiU will offer great titles throught it's life span. While it will lack major third party support it will still offer a fun innovative way to play the games built for it. It is better to own a Nintendo console and either PlayStation or xbox or everything if you got the cash to do so. I for one have the wiiu/ps4/3ds combo soon to add a vita to keep me cool with whatever i want to play. The WiiU is a great game console i've enjoyed it since 11/18/12 and i will enjoy it till they kill support for it.

[BattleAxe]

videgamenext1 + 20m ago
"i've enjoyed it since 11/18/12 and i will enjoy it till they kill support for it"

Which probably wont be too far down the road.

[videgamenext1]

Let's wait and see my friend. They could blow our minds with announcements next month at e3. Let's just wait and see

[young7yang]

You are right one game will not save the system. But a shit tone will!

X
Bayonetta 2
Zelda Musou
Zelda
Sonic boom
Mario Kart
Smash Brothers
Child of Light
One Piece
A but load of Digital games
Star Fox
Many many more

[AnteCash]

Nintendo did this to himself, 2 year on market and no Zelda, Pokemon , Metroid etc. to get the console selling, they were in great position and they blew it.

[OtakuDJK1NG-Rory]

November 18, 2012 to May 21, 2014 isn't TWO YEARS.

[AnteCash]

There wont be any games above that i mentioned that will release this year, so it will be 2 years with no games.
Get over it.
R.I.P Wii U

[coltlokk]

Mario Kart is coming out before the 2 year mark, and that outsells Zelda, Pokemon, and Metroid...

They also put a Donkey Kong Country game on the system, and the previous one outsold all 3 Metroid Prime games combined.

They put Zelda Wind Waker on the console, an HD remake yes, but considering the current development cycle of a Zelda game, the earliest the new Zelda would come out is in 2015, so at least they put a Zelda game. And they are pushing out a Zelda spinoff.

Pokemon...Pokken Fighters? Might be coming out the 2 year mark, who knows? Pokemon on home consoles isn't much of a system seller anyway.

Again, Metroid is no system seller...It's a great franchise though!

There's also some great Mario games on the system...and Mario games sell well too.

Smash Bros is still on the horizon and will come out shortly after the 2 year mark.

I don't think this is entirely Nintendo's fault, people fail to see that Nintendo home consoles were ALREADY on a decline since the NES with the ONE exception of the Wii. I didn't expect the Wii U to continue on with Wii-level sales, but with Gamecube level ones.

I also have no idea why you said "they were in great position"...cuz they weren't...The Wii had been dead for at least 1-2 years already, the 3DS wasn't doing so well in 2012, Nintendo was NOT in a great position.

The position Nintendo is in is due to a vareity of factors. Business is a complex issue, there's the changing market, the competition, maybe they took the wrong risks...

It's not an easy answer. "no Zelda, Pokemon, Metroid, omg no wonder"...Well, the Gamecube had all of those things near launch and it didn't sell so hot either.

[thehobbyist]

LMAOOOOO
You honestly think Zelda Pokemon and Metroid are the only games that sell Nintendo consoles? Lol what an idiot.
Other 2014 Wii U games yet to be released that will sell:
Super Smash Bros (Competitive community alone will buy into it which is over 100,000 guaranteed day one sales. Nevermind the millions of people who've been playing the series since 64)
Bayonetta 2( A small but rabid fanbase of over 100,000)
Hyrule Warriors (Warriors games tend to sell over half a million in recent entries. Can't imagine how high it'll be with Zelda slapped on the cover)
Mario Kart 8 (This series sells more than Call of Duty. Need I say more?)
That's four game that will sell.
BTW, they're still in a great position. They only fail if their E3 is god awful. Which is impossible on the merit of Smash Bros and the confirmed reveal of Zelda U.

[randomass171]

@AnteCash Nintendo is not a person. Zelda Wind Waker HD came out in the first year. Pokken Fighters is set to announce at E3. Your comment was almost filled completely with inaccuracies.

[Variant]

Mario Kart 8 has definitely added to the temptation of many to buy a Wii U and Nintendo's Digital Event during next month's Electronic Entertainment Expo will likely contribute to the appeal as well.

[spoonard]

That is a retarded headline. No single game "saves" a console, it's about the lineup as a whole. So no, Mario Kart alone won't do it, neither will Smash Brothers, but Both of those along with the other 1st party games might.

[Sincere0121]

Title should state, "you hope that one game won't turn things around for the Wii u" I don't know y all the hate patrol are so scared of Mario kart 8 being released.

[Benjaminkno]

You should just start another account and get some more bubbles.

[DualWielding]

One game can turn around but it won't be Mario Kart or SSB and Zelda, people knew from the moment the Wii U was announced that those games would come to the Wii U and those games are well accounted on on every Meh reaction to the Wii U and every doom prophecy....... nobody who is not interested in the Wii U would suddenly become interested once those games launch..... people who are interested in those games already have a Wii U or have already made their minds about getting one once the games launch.....

could a new IP game out of anywhere and change peoples mind about the Wii U.... yes but I can't imagine what that new IP may be....... out of Nintendo existent IP the only thing that I could really see turning things for the Wii U would be a Pokemon MMO

[Benjaminkno]

Meat for the herd.

[BoneBone]

Let's just invent other ridiculous headlines:

"Big Mac and fries will not save the Wii U"

"The Queen of England will not save the Wii U (but she did think about it)"

"Trees will not save the Wii U"

"8 Gigs of GDDR RAM will not save the Wii U"

"Kidnapping one Wii U and holding it for ransom - did not save all the other Wii Us so I shot it and now there are no Wii Us (they're all dead)"

"Wii U sacrifice on top of Mt Fuji to the late spirit of Hiroshi Yamauchi seen slight but negligible sales rise"

One thing that might help the Wii U is if N4G or these pathetic articles that get published on it, get fired into space. Idiots.

[thehobbyist]

Funny how everyone was saying the opposite thing about Titanfall. How that'd propel Xbox's hardware sales past PS4 and save the console from a doomed fate of second place.
And we all remember how wrong they were. Now those same people are telling us that Mario Kart 8. Which it's bundle already sold out in most locations it's available, Won't save the Wii U. Que laughter.

[InTheLab]

Is that really how people view the Xbox One? Second place despite being 3 million behind both Sony and Nintendo?...and a massive price adjustment?

[Picnic]

The WiiU's sales have been achieved in a far lengthier range of time- it's as if part of the sales are part of last gen's competition.
The WiiU's sales have been half what Dreamcast achieved in the same time- it's been a disaster.
The casuals have been shown to be so fickle that they won't buy it. Anyone even mildy hardcore rightly finds the Wii name a bit of a joke. Despite some nice quirky stuff like ZombiU we can't get over how tacky and lazily populist the original Wii was. Cooking with mama? And even if the WiiU is OK in its own right, it's currently too expensive to be a second console choice for many people. That handheld controller is a real cost drain. It's arguably worse than the Kinect in terms of how it's perceived to push up the price. Lastly, their franchises play it safe too much. It's becoming almost like Groundhog Day. Only nobody ever learns about how to lastingly appeal outside of the real die hard Nintendo fans.

If the WiiU had been released in 2006, it might not have been the runaway success that the original Wii was. But, on the other hand, it would have been competing in HD at the start of HD, not a few years down the line. There would be a greater core still interested in Nintendo.

It could be argued that the Xbox One would be in first place if it was being sold in more countries at the moment like the PS4 is. And that wouldn't be the PS4's fault. It's not even necessarily Sony's gameplan that the PS4 starts off in first place- if it was, they wouldn't have supported the PS3 quite so well. Sony always make their console a slow burn after the happy buyers of their previous console are all ready to buy a new one. The really huge sales success tends to come 2 years down the line when the games and the price point are in a nice unison.

[Picnic]

All of the 'big' names that a very vocal number are so excited about are doing nothing more than preaching to the already converted.

Now if they'd announced Luigi's Mansion 2 for the WiiU accompanied with a price cut, that would be more serious about trying to appeal to any people who left Nintendo after the Gamecube because the tech and games were becoming predictable at best, an embarassment at worst. I wonder how many more people there are like me who did that?

[snake_charmer]

It could "save" the wii U but will it? honestly I doubt it, a game like mk8 wont bring a swarm of new players like halo did for the original xbox. the mk8 bundle willl definetly sell.