Wii U has been a major flop (sales-wise)

[ManaMan]

By far their worst selling console, selling half as many as even the Game Cube. I had no idea the Wii was the best-selling. I would've thought it was the NES or SNES.

[Eric]

Yep, a year after it came out people were saying it wasn't even gonna hit Gamecube numbers.

Current Rumor is their next system, the NX is some weird Handheld/Console hybrid of some sort. Should be announced between now and E3, if not directly announced at e3.

Wonder what Nintendo's gimmick is going to be this time around. I doubt they try to compete in power with the Xbox One or PS4.

[ManaMan]

They were trying to cash-in on the Wii's success by naming it "Wii-U" but I think this backfired. I suspect that many people just thought of it as an upgrade or peripheral for their Wii (with a hand-held device like Wii Fit with it's balance board) and simply skipped it. "I'm good, I've got a Wii with Wii Sports!".

[Don]

Comparison to earlier systems probably isn't quite fair because the gaming market overall was smaller back then. We obviously have more total gamers right now compared to the days of NES/SNES.

[Zeus]

Oh yeah, they fucked up with the name for sure. Created unnecessary confusion in the market (you have no idea how many times I heard "is that the same Wii" from people either asking me or overhearing at my bud's EB) and, by basically foregoing even the hint of entering the arms race, became a first-party only system without a stupid hit like Wii Sports to push sales to the point where they needed to care. It wasn't by accident that Ubisoft had a launch title to go and shelved it.

And the Gamepad......yeah. Not a bad idea as a second controller (Pro Controller shoulda been standard) but it was just too unwieldy to be a standard. Coulda been a neat DS-like thing but was hardly used like that (speaking of the DS, where's my first-party emulator?). Became nothing more than a way to play your games without needing a TV which the vast majority didn't care about. Even Nintendo always kept the other controller options open for all their games. That sure as shit didn't help.

And Nintendo has certainly noticed the sales trends. You may see copies of their games everywhere, but it's one or two here or there, not 150 per store on launch day like you get with CoD or Assassin's Greed (not a typo). They do much smaller batches to test out the market. Games like Kirby's Rainbow Curse and Captain Toad have disappeared and reappeared on shelves many times as they do new production runs because they're deathly afraid of over-producing (we won't even talk about the frist 9 months of Amiibos). And many of the lesser titles (anything worth having is first-party) have much smaller production runs than we're used to seeing (Devil's Third ain't included). They just announced Bayonetta 2 is getting a re-release without the original included as it was in the entire first run. It's pretty hard to find nowadays, guess there was enough demand from their vendors to do another run. I wonder if Pikmin 3 will get the same treatment?

But you know what? It has some of the best games Nintendo has ever released on it. In a lot of ways, it's like their Dreamcast. Arguably their best work but all at the wrong time and no one cared or barely noticed, just like Sega 15 years ago. And with Nintendo ruling the majority of the retro market, you can not only enjoy the games now if you're able to get it for a good price (I see them on Kijiji for a decent price all the time) but the games will hold their value relatively well too. Just most won't care and it's too bad.

[Julius Seeker]

I always thought it was the poor software support that caused the Wii U to flop. The console won't even be receiving it's first signature flagship title after 4 years of release, with Zelda U.

By contrast, the Wii had dual signature flagships on launch day: Zelda: Twilight Princess and Wii Sports bundled in; and Super Mario Galaxy, a third flagship joining the battle, by the end of the first year. Along with 16 other titles including Smooth Moves, Metroid Prime 3, Fire Emblem Radiant Dawn. The Wii also had an interesting, fresh, and intuitive interface. Say what you will about the Wii, but Nintendo never hit so hard and fast as they did with the console in that first year and half (Mario Kart, Wii Fit, Smash came in the first half of year 2); the Wii U was relatively slow and weak by comparison.


Nintendo probably the Wii U a long time ago. They coasted through by spreading out the initial wave of software development, along with derivative franchise software, ports, and publishing third party software. Their dev capacity has been mostly silent since year 1 of the Wii U launch. Probably because they're developing software for Nintendo's upcoming console codenamed The NX (Nintendo Cross).

Around two years ago, the first probable NX details leaked - http://nintendonews.com/news/general/ni ... ware-name/ I argue probable, because all details that Nintendo has officially released have supported this concept. The NX should be unveiled in the next few months, and speculation is high that we'll be seeing it released by the end of this year.

[Replay]

I have this dream that Nintendo from 1992 wakes up one day through a time portal to find out it has modern-day Nintendo resources and the financial clout of Pokemon on it. And that they recruit really good third-party developers like Square again.

But it is only a dream. Square ditched them as soon as they started making decisions to keep console cost and power down...those same decisions seem to have them in the "casual" market to stay these days, despite some gems like the Xeno series..."hardcore Nintendo" may never rise again. They may be too far behind on online and console power research.

Sad thought though, I still think Big N puts out more fun per gigaflop than anyone else around when it's trying. I'd love to see them head in a Sega direction and make games for other consoles, but that was not a winning formula for Sega, for sure...

[ManaMan]

Square ditched them as soon as they started making decisions to keep console cost and power down...those same decisions seem to have them in the "casual" market to stay these days, despite some gems like the Xeno series..."hardcore Nintendo" may never rise again.

Pretty much. I read a history of Nintendo a few years ago (forgot the name). They laid out their philosophy: use existing, inexpensive technology and make fun games for that technology. With the possible exception of the SNES that's what they've done. They're never cutting edge. That's against their corporate philosophy. They call it "Kareta Gijutsu no Suihei Shikō" or "Lateral Thinking With Withered Technology".

[Julius Seeker]

We'll see what happens with the NX. I am less interested in current Square (unless they are looking to port FF7 Remake), and more interested in Level 5, Monolithsoft, and EAD.

From Nintendo, I want to see them hit the NX year 1.5 as heavily as they hit the Wii: Super Mario Galaxy, Metroid, Legend of Zelda, Mario Kart, Smash, Paper Mario, and Fire Emblem; along with 20 other titles and a revamped EShop and Miiverse.

[Blotus]

I got one a month ago. Used off kijiji for $250 (or $177US)

System
MK8
SM3DW
Nintendo Land
Rayman
Smash
Mario Maker
NSMBWU+L (ha)
Two pro controllers

Hell of a deal. I love it. Mostly just play MK8 and SM3DW so far, but will likely pick up Bayonetta 2 on its re-release, then Zelda, and that's probably it. Might sell Smash and MM because I don't know when I'll get the time for them. So far it's re-energized our living room and, for me personally, been a refreshing shift away from all the srs bsns open-world games I've been playing for the past couple of years.

[Julius Seeker]

Then I won't recommend Xenoblade or this year's Zelda title.

[Blotus]

I will definitely get Zelda. It will have been a decade since I last played one (TP).

[Zeus]

I will definitely get Zelda. It will have been a decade since I last played one (TP).

You can get the two HD remakes, too :-)

The system is a blast. Do yourself a favour and at least try out Smash and MM before you sell them. And try and get to NSMBU, it's awesome too.

And don't be a pussy when it comes to SM3DW, you have to beat every level in the game, including Crown-Crown. Otherwise this will turn into your new Crazy Taxi and you will always be in second place :-)

[Blotus]

Otherwise this will turn into your new Crazy Taxi and you will always be in second place :-)

The memory on this motherfucker!

[Zeus]

Otherwise this will turn into your new Crazy Taxi and you will always be in second place :-)

The memory on this motherfucker!

That was an epic battle. The fact I came out on top made it that much more treasured a memory :-)