Is the Wii U truly dead?

[Fleach]

I guess I'll weigh in on this again.

In addition to my "to early to tell what Nintendo's future is" point I will say that I don't think the Wii U is dead and Nintendo won't fail or flop in the games industry. Give the Wii U some time and we'll see more clearly what lie ahead. After Bioneta 2 and X (or whatever is ends up being called) people will being very excited about Nintendo again. If a new Zelda game with a new story comes out this topic will be less popular.

I think it's a bit unfortunate that Nintendo isn't targeting older demographics more. So it's cool and fun to call the Wii U a kiddie console. The conversation extends to calling Nintendo irrelevant in a gaming scene with guns, violence, explosions and fast cars.

Michael Pachter, who seems to like to trash talk Nintendo, is a sensationalist. I don't know why how he's a credible industry analyst.

[cverz2]

I hope it does not die out any time soon.  Although I don't play it much.  My kids love it.  They love Disney infinity, New Super Mario Bros./Luigi Bros., and 3D world.  Hopefully Nintendo can continue to make Mario/Luigi/Wario/Princess type games and also put out a Zelda game for the Wii U.  It's definitely not going to attract the "GAMER" crowd, like PS4 and Xbox One.  But for the casual gamer it is worth buying at the 249.99 with the Mario/Luigi pack in.

[Raidou]

But for the casual gamer it is worth buying at the 249.99 with the Mario/Luigi pack in.

I had to pay over AU$400 for mine .

BTW people comparing the Wii U to the Dreamcast or Saturn really need to stop.  The only real comparison is that EA have disavowed both consoles at some stage.

[techwizard]

But for the casual gamer it is worth buying at the 249.99 with the Mario/Luigi pack in.

I had to pay over AU$400 for mine .

BTW people comparing the Wii U to the Dreamcast or Saturn really need to stop.  The only real comparison is that EA have disavowed both consoles at some stage.

i compare it because of it being released a year before anything else and doing poorly compared to the competition didn't know about the EA thing for the dreamcast. but i don't really believe it'll go that route, i just think that's the closest comparison at the moment when trying to compare it to something in the past.

[Fleach]

Just read a great article about how Nintendo's poor communication to consumers and developers has hurt the Wii U.

http://www.gamasutra.com/...ng_with_Nintendo_WiiU.php

The gist is that when the Wii U was announced no one knew if this was an add-on for the Wii or a new console, and consumers are confused by all the various DS iterations. Opinions on how Nintendo can reinvigorate the system are offered too.

[Crabmaster2000]

As cool as some of the models of Nintendo handheld are they would probably do a lot better just sticking to one option. Lots of data shows that people like having options, but are significantly more likely to buy something if very few options are available to them.

[Shadow Kisuragi]

As cool as some of the models of Nintendo handheld are they would probably do a lot better just sticking to one option. Lots of data shows that people like having options, but are significantly more likely to buy something if very few options are available to them.

Nice to know you've done your research, Crabby. It's something that seems counter-intuitive, but holds true - more options is likely to attract more attention, but less options = more purchases.

[Crabmaster2000]

As cool as some of the models of Nintendo handheld are they would probably do a lot better just sticking to one option. Lots of data shows that people like having options, but are significantly more likely to buy something if very few options are available to them.

Nice to know you've done your research, Crabby. It's something that seems counter-intuitive, but holds true - more options is likely to attract more attention, but less options = more purchases.

Its important for me to know this stuff now so that I can manipulate people into sales...... MWA HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!

[Izret101]

Reshelling the consoles isn't a real problem. There are plenty of non-collectors who will repurchase a system to get the new hotness or that cool new design.

Having a standard, XLite, Lite, XL, XXL, and neutered version of every system definitely seems more problematic. And as that has been the trend in the past i suppose i could see where there might have been some consumer confusion. But seriously i don't understand how they feel there was enough level of confusion to cause that kind of major impact...

It sounds like people assume that all the people who would/should have bought a Wii U but didn't were so inept that over the last 1.5-2 years they were never able to figure out that it was a brand new system and not some redesign.

[GrayGhost81]

Will this help?

http://www.nintendo.co.jp...ary/events/140130/02.html

Prospect to overcome technical hurdles in order to realize the virtual console of Nintendo DS also arrived.
We will in the Nintendo DS that features a touch screen and two screens, because there is a software lineup very rich, the lineup of the virtual console of the future, will successively added also the title of the Nintendo DS.

DS games on the Virtual Console. I've seen people talking about this on multiple forums and discussing it on various podcasts forever.

HT:neogaf

[Link41]

The only thing that blew me away from their announcements, is that they are finally working on seperating the Nintendo Network accounts from being tied to a system. I am hoping this opens up the opportunity for cross buy games on VC/eShop.

[Tynstar]

http://games.yahoo.com/ne...ofit-dives-104753497.html

[blcklblskt]

Just read a great article about how Nintendo's poor communication to consumers and developers has hurt the Wii U.

http://www.gamasutra.com/...ng_with_Nintendo_WiiU.php

The gist is that when the Wii U was announced no one knew if this was an add-on for the Wii or a new console, and consumers are confused by all the various DS iterations. Opinions on how Nintendo can reinvigorate the system are offered too.

Having worked in retail, I can confirm this.  I can't count how many times people asked me what the Wii U did that their current Wii didn't, and which 3D games would play on the DS.  Nintendo made a huge mistake by naming the Wii U and 3DS so incredibly similar to their predecessors; many customers assumed they were minor updates like usual.  By redesigning the DS model 3 times, many consumers assumed the 3DS was simply another revision.  The same goes for Wii U.  It looks similar, it plays Wii games, and it even uses Wii remotes and nunchucks.  Nintendo needs to do a much better job of differentiating their products and conveying to customers how much they "need" a NEW generation of hardware, not simply a revision of something they already own.

As unimaginative as Sony's PlayStation(insert number here) naming scheme is, it conveys to the customer that it is a new generation of hardware.  The "Slim" and "SuperSlim" monikers also clearly identify it as a simple revision.

I see the Microsoft situation a little differently.  Although I think the Xbox One name is confusing for those who owned and remembered the Xbox, Microsoft has been doing a pretty effective marketing campaign advertising the benefits and the "need" consumers have for this all-in-one entertainment center.  If Nintendo can follow a similar page to Microsoft and focus on letting the consumer know that the Wii U is a brand new, next generation machine, sales should increase.  Although they've had pretty disappointing sales numbers, it has only been just over a year since launch.  I don't see Nintendo achieving Wii sales numbers, but they're certainly capable of surpassing the GameCube.

[Izret101]

http://games.yahoo.com/ne...ofit-dives-104753497.html

Doing things right.

Also doing things right here:
http://gonintendo.com/?mo...e=viewstory&id=221453

Thanks so much for your support of Batman: Arkham Origins on Wii U.

We are contacting you today because you purchased the Batman: Arkham Origins Season Pass for Wii U. We hope you’ve been enjoying the content that has been delivered thus far. Based on demand for Downloadable Content on the system, Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment has made the decision to remove its offering of the upcoming new story campaign for Wii U. As a result, we will be crediting the entire $19.99+tax cost of the Season Pass back to your Nintendo eShop account. You will still be able to enjoy the content already released thus far.

We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause and thank you for your support of the game.

Sincerely,
Nintendo of America Inc.

But that is ANOTHER drop in support from a major 3rd party player. Even if it seems minor.

[wildbil52]

Yes.