Pachter: ‘Difficult To Predict A Hugely Successful Launch’ For Wii U

50 responses to “Pachter: ‘Difficult To Predict A Hugely Successful Launch’ For Wii U”

1. 

   Hiero

   October 10, 2011 at 10:40 am

   Doesn’t Ubisoft have 3 third-party exclusives in development for Wii U? (with 3 more non-exclusives also in development)
   EA seem to also be very interested in it. In terms of exclusives, I wouldn’t count out Nintendo themselves to offer the very best games on the console.

   Reply
2. 

   Ruen

   October 10, 2011 at 10:41 am

   I think Nintendo has intentionally made it difficult to gauge what to expect when it comes to the Wii U. If I remember correctly other than reveal the controller and console at E3 they displayed little more than tech demos of what the console was capable of producing. Also I heard precious little regarding Nintendo at this years TGS and the conference they held before it was dedicated solely to the 3DS.

   That being said. If all is to be believed Nintendo still have another E3 to go before they launch the Wii U, maybe they’ll have something with a little bit more substance regarding Wii U and its launch line up come next year’s E3. Let’s just hope they’ve learned from the catastrophic 3DS launch.

   Reply
   1. 

      Slacker

      October 10, 2011 at 10:27 pm

      the Wii U will have plunty of exclsiv games a new no more heroes game and more the indursty don’t know what thay are talking about Wii U is more than 50% better than Ps4 to thay hope to get rid of Nintendo shoot the graphics card is more than that it’s self and then rhetoric prosser is a power7 wow

      Reply
3. 

   PiMan

   October 10, 2011 at 10:43 am

   Pachter also predicted the imminent failure of the Wii every year since 2006. He’s not really the wisest analyst when it comes to Nintendo.

   Reply
   1. 

      al

      October 10, 2011 at 11:17 am

      Hes never predicted it to fail.. all he has said is that Nintendo should of released a Wii HD, which imo would of been a good business strategy and seeing how easily the games can be upscaled in a emulator. It really wouldnt be that difficult for them to do

      Reply
      1. 

         Richard

         October 10, 2011 at 3:25 pm

         It’s difficult to guarantee that the games will run smoothly at a higher resolution, and making a more capable console would potentially inspire developers to make games (or ports) for it and segregate the audience.

         Reply
      2. 

         Terrak

         October 18, 2011 at 12:22 am

         Um yes al he did think the Wii would fail –

         Michael Pachter of Wedbush Morgan Securities released a 188-page 2006 analysis for the interactive entertainment industry full of graphs, stats, predictions, etc. Xbox 360 is expected to take significant market share away from Sony.

         Here are the unit sales predictions (Micheal Patchers).

         Total Lifetime Sales (US)
         PS3 – 41 million
         PS2 – 40 million
         Xbox 360 – 32 million
         Xbox – 15 million
         Wii – 15 million <—LOOK HERE
         GameCube – 13 million
         Total Last Gen – 68 million
         Total Next Gen – 88 million

         He predicted Wii Dead last = Wii Failing (according to this so called Analyst) and ps3 First = Success

         So yeah he was wrong. Not even in the ballpark, no make that planet, no make that universe. His prediction was worse then Chance. Completely wrong (in terms of market position). Why should we take anything he says seriously. Get some dice with your choices and get a better idea of the future then this clown.

         Reply
4. 

   Cameron

   October 10, 2011 at 10:45 am

   My prediction is the price will kill the Wii U. Those controllers can’t be cheap, getting enough of them for a family or even kids to make sue of the console will be a hassle financially, unlike the current Wii which has always been priced below the 360 and PS3.

   Reply
   1. 

      Effluvium Boy

      October 10, 2011 at 11:24 am

      Those special controllers are only 1 per console.

      Reply
      1. 

         Batguy

         October 10, 2011 at 12:02 pm

         I know they hinted at that, but I really hope not. The ability for each player to have their own private screen for, for example, board games is one feature that really excites me about it. Settlers of Catan is a games that can’t currently work in local multiplayer because the gameplay is dependent upon the secrecy of what the player has in their hand. Extend that out to other types of games and you have a winner.

         I can understand that 4 simultaneously might be a stretch, but it really needs to support 2 if it is to open up useful new gameplay opportunities.

         Reply
5. 

   Luke

   October 10, 2011 at 10:45 am

   Launch titles Nintendo, they must learn this, have good launch titles and have a successful launch.

   Whats the point of playing $500+ for a game console with no decent games?

   Also, is having games that fully utilise what the console is capable of, meaning for the Wii U is properly using the touch features and not having them as a cheap gimmick, how many Wii games quote “motion controls” but mean wii remote waggle?

   Reply
6. 

   Chuloopa

   October 10, 2011 at 10:46 am

   Short and simple – i think the Wii U will flop miserably.

   Mainly for a few reasons

   1. it’s pricey
   2. you need 2 units to play multiplayer (if i have read correctly in the past)
   3.The Wii was very child friendly and durable. Think about it, what parent in their right mind would give a young kid a tablet-style controller to play on? It would be broken quicker than you can say “wii u is a stupid name for a console”

   Nothing against kids – kids can be really great with electronics – just from my experience they REALLY aren’t to gentle with touchscreens and don’t get that you only need to barely touch the screen for it to respond – they are usually quite heavy-handed.

   wow – that wasn’t as short as i thought… sorry

   Reply
   1. 

      Rocketman

      October 10, 2011 at 10:58 am

      while i believe the Wii U will flop more than a fat kid at a local pool. I think you don’t need two consoles for MP. also what is nintendo thinking with the touchscreens for kids, its like giving them money to rip up!

      Reply
      1. 

         Chuloopa

         October 10, 2011 at 11:00 am

         Let me correct myself – you need 2 systems if you want to play with 2 screens

         Otherwise, multiplayer is done with 1 screen and other people using wii controllers

         Reply
   2. 

      The Cracks

      October 10, 2011 at 11:02 am

      Despite the similar name, the Wii U isn’t the kid/family-friendly console that the Wii was/is. It’s supposedly being billed as a ‘proper’ console that’s closer to the Xbox and Playstation design than the Wii.

      Reply
      1. 

         Chuloopa

         October 10, 2011 at 11:08 am

         See, the problem is that i, and many others, see it as something in between – it’s not kid-friendly and it’s not serious… it’s just.. i don’t know.. it falls somewhere between the cracks.

         Reply
   3. 

      Chaoticlism

      October 10, 2011 at 11:10 am

      I’d have to agree with the cracks. I don’t believe this console is aimed at kids, I think this is their chance at bringing back some hardcore gamers. From what I’ve heard so far, the WiiU is going to really compete price-wise and their target audience is those PS3/360 users who buy their consoles and just stick to one controller because they’ll play peeps online.

      Reply
      1. 

         Braaains

         October 10, 2011 at 12:08 pm

         I suspect after the Wii they’ve lost a lot of the hardcore gamers, though. And I’d expect Sony and/or MS to announce a new console at E3 next year, a good 6 months ahead of the Wii U’s launch. So by the time Wii U launches, there are going to be 2 newer, more powerful consoles on the horizon.

         With no shortage of good games still in the pipeline for PS3 and 360 to tide people over until their successors arrive, I don’t think there will be a huge rush from “core” gamers to get the Wii U. They’ve certainly lost me – my Wii has been the least-used machine I’ve ever bought in my life, and I’ve been gaming for 30 years. I won’t be falling for it again.

         So with most of the core gamers likely to be focussed on bigger and better things, and plumetting sales of the Wii suggesting the casual gaming fad may be in decline (plus the likely higher price of the Wii U probably making it less appealing to the casual market than the Wii was at launch) I think this may end up failing to appeal to either camp.

         Reply
         1. 

            Terrak

            October 18, 2011 at 12:56 am

            Lost the hardcore gamers? They lost them as far back as N64. People were flocking the ps1 and ps2 and xbox, so it comes as no surprise that Nintendo had to change strategy to remain a force in the industry. Or face extinction. They could have made a more hardcore oriented console, but after past experience, it was hardly a success, look at the Gamecube, and as you said a console that you prefer over the Wii, understandably so, thanks to its more core gamer oriented games. That failed (last = fail). The Wii was a changing in corprate strategy. No more go for the Core gamers that abandoned Nintendo for many years, they went for new gamers. And it worked. Of course you get alot of so called core gamers bitching and moaning about Nintendo no longer catering for them, but reality is it was the core gamer that deserted Nintendo. Nintendo did what it had to do to survive – and succeeded, your petty core gamer argument is insignificant to Nintendo compared to its survival. Success is survival.

            The Wii served its purpose, established Nintendo as the No1 selling console. Kept Nintendo as a viable force & company in console market, Created a strong brand name, and most importantly made them solid profits from which to create a successor – The Wii U

            YOu talk about successors to the ps3 and 360, that great but what are they going to do to sell these new consoles. Better graphics? The standard now and for the forseeable future is 1080p. The Wii U should easily do that. So how will the ps4 and xbox720 significantly better 1080p? Have you thought about that? Whats better? anti aliasing? anistropic filtering? Tesselation? Ask your average console gamer if they actually notice those features. 9 times out of ten (im guessing here but i think its pretty good estimate) would not know or care about the extra graphical features, as long as it runs 1080p.
            Also xbox720 and ps4 wont ever compete with PCs, that battle is already lost. There is no way console can pack 16 core CPU 24gigs RAM and 4 GPUs in a small consumer size case (or care to run on 2-6 TVs like eyefinity. Its just not going to happen. So the ps4 and 720 will look slightly better then the Wii U (but most people wont notice or care) and has no chance in beating the PC for the graphics crown, it may have versions of their current motion control but why buy a new console when you already can buy it now. So what will the new playstation and xbox have that will make it a must buy? The Wii U already has its trump card, the Wii U contoller. Nothing out there can do what it does. If the Wii U gets the kind of support the ps3 and 360 enjoy now watch out. Thats the only thing holding Nintendo back. Nintendo has clawed its way back to the top. Got a strong recognized brand in the Wii and has the Wii U controller that seperates it from the pack. All it needs is third party support and you have a winner, and from what we know at the moment the support is way better then the original Wii ever had. Thats a good start. When the games are there, the gamers follow. Thats how it happens. There is no brand loyalty, gamers go to where the games are (The went from Nintendo in NES SNES, to playstation ps1 & 2 to xbox 360). Thats the truth of the matter.

            Reply
   4. 

      syvRaen

      October 10, 2011 at 11:40 am

      I can’t say the WiiU tablet felt particularly fragile when I held it. It wasn’t of the same quality as an iPad.

      The tablet is reminiscent of the Wii’s current controllers. Lots of white, formed plastic. And the screen is probably best compared to the touch screens found on the DS/3DS, not iDevices.

      I understand that plenty of children use DSs without destroying them, and I believe that the WiiU controller will be much the same.

      Also, I wouldn’t focus solely on the touch screen controller. I think the Wiimote is still supposed to be a fairly prominent method of controlling the device. And if they go ahead with only a single touch screen device per WiiU unit, then I would assume you will continue to see support for the Wiimote in multiplayer games.

      Reply
   5. 

      Terrak

      October 18, 2011 at 12:06 am

      whats the price Chupoola? Since you know it, because you said the Wii U is too ‘pricey’ why not tell us. Oh you dont know, well why bring up this as a point in your argument?

      Your second point is obvously wrong so no need to comment, and your third is an arguement you can put to any electronic device.

      You already said the Wii U will fail based on hardly any substance based argument?

      Reply
7. 

   JAZ

   October 10, 2011 at 10:49 am

   Fudamentally they need to get online right, easy to use interface with multiplayer, party chat and better online store. other than that they need to do somthing that we havent seen before. The wii shoud not have been a success, it had last generation visuals no hard drive and pityful online support, but its controller and interface had a wow factor that menet that the other stuff didnt matter coupled with some great first party games it became a must buy, also they need to do the third party as well as xbox 360 and ps3. I have a young cousin who loved Wii but as he got older the coolness factor in the play ground of games like black ops ment that as soon as he saved up his pocket mony he graduated to a 360 and let his Wii gather dust. Nitendo need to hold on to their kids as they go into teens and they will be set

   Reply
8. 

   Leigh

   October 10, 2011 at 10:55 am

   Not having a go, but an article like this moves the goalposts more than once.

   Achieving ‘success’, achieving a ‘successful’ launch, or achieving a ‘hugely successful’ launch. Which one is it?

   Nintendo do need to tread carefully but whatever the Wii U does in its early weeks will be viewed differently by different people, that much is for certain.

   Reply
9. 

   Lone Wolf

   October 10, 2011 at 10:57 am

   At this stage, Nintendo may not have the right game to demonstrate what makes the WiiU great. They’re courting developers to try and take chances, while hopefully putting their own game together.

   Nintendo are generally good at taking chances and making them work and ensuring compatibility with existing controlers should help things.

   I want this to succeed and if it was anyone but Nintendo I would be sceptical, but they seem to work best when they are shaking things up.

   My money is on the table, but I haven’t lifted my hand yet.

   Reply
10. 

    Matthew K

    October 10, 2011 at 11:03 am

    I gave up on Nintedo after my Wii gathered dust for two years.

    I think the Wii U will be a flop.

    Michael Pachter and I agree for a change, though this is one of those obvious ones everyone seems to have predicted. I wonder if we could all be wrong.

    Reply
11. 

    TheLastQuestion

    October 10, 2011 at 11:09 am

    I find myself being more and more cynical when it comes to Nintendo. I loved the 64, loved the Gamecube, loved the Wii when it was first released, but it’s gathered more dust than my action figure collection lately.

    But the 3DS debacle has just left a really bad taste in my mouth… The WiiU’s controller looks interesting, but with the announcement that the console can only support one touch controller, and the others must be Wii Remotes… that’s just a massive WTF moment for me.

    I think I’ll steer clear of the Wii U until the initial reports come in. Unless there’s a killer app for the system that become irresistable.

    Reply
12. 

    Chaoticlism

    October 10, 2011 at 11:16 am

    I just wanna know why everyone keeps going to Pachter for information?! He either doesn’t seem to get the chance or doesn’t really try at properly analysing market trends. Everything he mentions sounds like an on the spot answer, and you can usually bet against his response, although in this instance…

    Reply
13. 

    moloko

    October 10, 2011 at 11:20 am

    I think it will do alright if they have some games at release and it isn’t priced too high. But it’s Nintendo and they are getting pretty crap at the whole bringing out games thing like with the 3DS. It will also be launched before Microsoft and Sony bring out their next Gen so it will have a head start like the Wii did.

    Reply
    1. 

       Jake

       October 10, 2011 at 11:29 am

       Its currently looking like they’re all going to be released at the same time, with an unveil for both consoles at E3.

       So Nintendo wont have a headstart.

       Source? ~ Kotaku, so blame them if I’m wrong lol.

       Reply
14. 

    Powalen

    October 10, 2011 at 11:22 am

    I still think that Nintendo has a good chance at having a successful Wii U launch. I would like to think that they have learnt from the 3DS launch and will launch either a Wii U Mario game/other first-party title or pack-in a new Mii game which explores the uses of the touchscreen controller (like Wii Sports did with motion control), or better yet: both.

    I am very excited to learn more about this console, but as it stands now I probably wouldn’t get one at launch day. If the price and the games are right then I might change my mind. Hopefully next years E3 will be good to the WiiU.

    Reply
15. 

    Jake

    October 10, 2011 at 11:28 am

    I think it’s going to flop. It’ll be expensive, so families won’t bother, and with 90% of nintendo’s income being shovelware for the normal Wii, it just won’t cut it.

    It’s gonna do worse than the 3DS.

    Reply
16. 

    Quirkhall

    October 10, 2011 at 11:31 am

    I can’t say one way or the other, but I have no intention of buying it at least. Nintendo are coming to the HD table far too late in the game to be relevant anymore.

    Reply
17. 

    Stevorooni

    October 10, 2011 at 11:42 am

    It needs killer apps – at launch, and not just PS3 ports with the map moved to the touchscreen.

    I’ll end up getting one eventually for the Marios and Zeldas but right now I’m not excited for it at all.

    Reply
18. 

    dmag87

    October 10, 2011 at 11:44 am

    Kind of funny how this article states how you can’t predict the fate of this thing without more information, before asking us to make the very same predictions.

    Reply
19. 

    syvRaen

    October 10, 2011 at 12:04 pm

    I think Nintendo will be starting on the back foot with this one. There are a number of factors that are against them.

    With the Wii, they have caught the ire of many gamers, so this foray into HD probably isn’t enough to cleanse their reputation on its own. They do need to attract a series of exclusive blockbusters onto the device, which in turn might attract this demographic. They will also need to adopt a strong online strategy.

    To make matters worse, their choice of branding for this new device will probably be quite confusing to the average consumer. Is this just a touch screen controller for their Wii? And they will once again need an iconic piece of software, like WiiSports or WiiFit, to get these customers enquiring about the WiiU at their local store.

    I feel like they still have a bit of time to surprise and impress us with their software line-up. Hopefully they have learnt their lesson, with dwindling Wii sales and poor uptake of the 3DS, and are working on getting quality titles on the device for launch.

    Reply
20. 

    the_shag_king

    October 10, 2011 at 1:48 pm

    Guys, I have to say I have always been a Nintendo fan and after staying up for the E3 Nintendo press conference this year, I too was disapointed.

    However, consider the following:

    1. Most likely we will see a new Sony PS4 or Xbox console late 2013. If we get Wii U next year Nintendo have roughly 18 months head start of the next Generation. Sure the sceptics said the no HD in the Wii was a bad move, but with 75+ million runs on the board who are we to argue.
    2. Nintendo are the innovators. We all know that there will be something simply amazing that will entice us to buy this device.
    3. Its not all about gaming, it has been proven that the experience behind the gaming is just as important.
    4. Nintendo IP is the best in the business and like it or not we all like something of what they have. We all have fond memories of the early consoles etc

    All in all, Nintendo have had a very good run this generation. They redeemed themselves after the Gamecube fiasco and to a lesser extent the N64 one too. It is hard for a company to be the best continually and remain competitive when everybody seems to be a critic and want things their way.

    Will the Wii U as we know it be sucessful?? I tend to beleive we only know what they want us to know. E3 for Nintendo was a test of the marketplace to see how we reacted as consumers. If anything nobody can stop talking about it, so who are the fools? Us or Nintendo. We are playing right into their hands nicely. You watch, the console from E3 may not resemble anything of what the final version is!!!

    Reply
    1. 

       Braaains

       October 10, 2011 at 2:19 pm

       When you say they “redeemed” themselves with the Wii after the GC and N64, what do you mean? Redeemed themselves with who? They certainly sold better, but as a gamer I’d take the games catalogue of both the N64 and the GC long before I’d take the Wii’s. The Wii has been great if you’re a Nintendo shareholder, but not so great if you’re just a gamer.

       1. Nintendo won’t have an 18 month headstart on the next generation, they’ll have 18 months of the tail end of this generation before their hardware gets left behind.

       2. That’s what I thought with the Wii which is why I bought it. Never came close to justifying its purchase.

       3. It’s a games console. Yes, there are other things beyond gaming such as movie/media functionality, online services, etc. But so far Nintendo haven’t exactly set the world on fire in that department and they haven’t showed or said anything so far to suggest that’s going to change significantly.

       4. Nintendo’s IP haven’t been the best in the business for quite some time, simply because they seem to have stopped creating new IP. Instead it’s more Zelda, more Mario, more Metroid – have they actually created a new IP of any note this generation apart from casual-oriented stuff like Wii Sports, Wii Fit, Wii Music etc? They just continue to milk their established core franchises while devoting their internal resources to creating casual fluff. Compare that to, say, Sony who have continued to maintain their existing franchises (GT, Killzone, God of War etc) while also investing a lot in significant new IP’s (Uncharted, Resistance, Infamous, LittleBigPlanet etc). While obviously not all of them will appeal to everybody (Resistance, for one, leaves me absolutely cold), they’ve produced enough of them that there’s going to be something that will appeal to just about everybody. Don’t get me wrong, I like a bit of Mario as much as the next man, but the days when that’s going to be enough to make me want their console are long gone.

       Reply
       1. 

          the_shag_king

          October 10, 2011 at 2:56 pm

          Firstly, I would like to start by saying you make some valid comments.

          Ok, 1st point was the 18month head start. You make a point of competing with the current generation in terms of Hardware specs, but as we all know Hardware Specs hasn’t sold consoles this generation at all otherwise the most powerful of them all the PS3 would have sold the most, but they have sold the least. Black and white figures show that.
          2nd point: Nintendo’s IP is very good. Every other Vendor in the marketplace is flogging the same wares over and over and over. Sony, Microsoft etc all have been guilty of this. However many people are complaining that Nintendo are not giving them enough of the 1st party stuff. I agree with the comment about not a lot of new IP in the Wii’s life, but the Wii Sports etc have really captured the market for this console.
          As a Hardcore gamer which it is obvious you are, you appreciate what other developers are doing for you with content etc. At the end of the day the rest of the population are happy with whatever is told to them is popular. People are sheep and will buy what they are told. Gamers who play everyday have an opinion, but these days you guys are the minority. The rise of the casual gamers is more evident than ever. So you will continue to see the so called “crapware” as dubbed by the hardcore community, but that is what this type of gamer wants.
          Nintendo have done something that others couldn’t and get everybody to game. All ages and have fun. At the end of the day it doesn’t matter who buys it as long as they buy it.

          Nintendo = Everybody
          Sony + Microsoft likes to think they appeal to everybody but their market is a lot less in percentage than they think!!!

          I don’t hate anyone, I support all three and have all of their consoles for each ever made.

          Don’t get me wrong, Nintendo’s next move is being scrutinized by everyone, but the thing they have on their side is we are all still are talking about it and feeding them info.

          If you could have your type of Console that you would want from Nintendo with anything you want etc, what would that be???

          Reply
          1. 

             Braaains

             October 10, 2011 at 3:55 pm

             Yeah, but I guess ultimately I don’t care that much about sales figures, because like I said before – I don’t derive any benefit from them since I don’t have any shares in any of these companies. As long as whatever console I buy sells enough to warrant support from developers/publishers (which all three have done this generation) then I’m happy. There’s some curiosity as to who sells more, but ultimately I don’t really care who sold 50,000,000 and who sold 100,000,000, because I only bought 1. I don’t win or lose anything if my chosen console ranks first or last, as long as it sells enough to get the games I want to play.

             Well yes, I’m a hardcore gamer – I’d suggest the vast majority of readers of this site are. But the collapse in sales of the Wii over the past year or two suggests that the endless torrent of shovelware it has received has, indeed, turned off much of the buying public. Something similar (but much more severe) was seen back in the days of the Atari 2600. Hugely successful console, massive mainstream success, resulting in heaps of cheap, poor quality software getting churned out to cash in on an undiscriminating public who eventually got sick of the garbage getting served up and gave up on it altogether. Next thing you know you’re looking at the 1980’s video game crash.

             Nintendo DOESN’T appeal to everybody, that’s what I’m getting it – they now appeal to a casual audience (although a shrinking one if Wii sales figures are any indicator). Most “core” console gamers have turned to Sony or MS due to Nintendo’s neglect of their traditional users in the pursuit of the new casual market. I’d be curious to know how many regular readers of a site like this one regard the Wii as their primary gaming platform, as opposed to the PS3, 360 or PC.

             “Nintendo have done something that others couldn’t and get everybody to game. All ages and have fun. At the end of the day it doesn’t matter who buys it as long as they buy it.” That’s the whole problem – that’s Nintendo’s attitude, and I understand it from their point of view. They’re a business, business exists to make money, so if they make money out of it that’s great. But as a customer I’m more interested in the quality of what they put out, not how many it sells. It’s like saying Avatar is the greatest movie of all time. If I was an executive or shareholder of 20th Century Fox then I’d probably say yes, it is, because it made me the most money. But as somebody who just loves watching movies and bought a ticket to see it, I’d say no – it was a decent enough diversion for a couple of hours, but I wouldn’t rate it anywhere near the greatest movie of all time, even though the ones that would be vying for that title probably all made much, much less money.

             Reply
             1. 

                Braaains

                October 10, 2011 at 4:00 pm

                Damn, that was a longer post than I thought… sorry! 😛

             2. 

                the_shag_king

                October 10, 2011 at 7:03 pm

                Lots of long posts today.

                Ok, I understand your point of view. You used to support Nintendo because they used to give you what you wanted. Your tastes have changed. You have grown a new pallet for games as many others have as well.

                The point is, Nintendo are trying to meet the demands for people like you and the people who just want to play Wii Sports or Mario for 10 mins. That is the whole point of Wii U. I wouldn’t count Nintendo out of the game just yet, they are sure to have a few tricks up their sleeve. They have learned a lot from the 3DS which is still not performing as oer their predictions. Throw in the 1st party software in a month and a half and you have a different story.

                For me I would like to see a console that can play some of the things I love like Mario and in HD would be cool, but at the same time give me the option to play a Gears 3 or G.O.W. etc

                Is this too much to ask? No, that is exactly what they are doing. However like many things, it doesn’t always go according to plan.

                I also don’t agree with your totally with your Atari 2600 comparison. Yes I get the point, but the PS1 and PS2 had 90% crap 10% good titles. I think the Wii has a much better % of good than Crap.

                We can speculate until the cows come home, but at the end of the day we can only speculate what is going to happen. I hope that the Hardcore here would give it an actual shot before writing it off as “another” Nintendo disaster.

       2. 

          braunman

          October 10, 2011 at 3:38 pm

          Point 1 is interesting regarding the early launch compared to its rivals. At what point does an early launch become too early? 18 months would give them a lead in terms of market share, but mean the hardware will be horribly outdated when the next Xbox/PS come out. If they’re not careful Nintendo could be creating the next Dreamcast…

          Reply
21. 

    MrBS

    October 10, 2011 at 1:52 pm

    I’ll say the same thing about the Wii U as I did about the 3DS.

    ‘I look forward to playing the few quality third party exclusives in the first one to two years of operation and then watch it fade into obscurity. Just like the wii.’

    The way things are going I might not even get that out of the 3DS. Oh and before you start listing the upteen mario games in developement remember, I did say third party.

    Reply
22. 

    James

    October 10, 2011 at 3:41 pm

    Remember how Nintendo was cool in the 90s and now they just try to hard. Ever since the Gamecube, Nintendo’s been a failure in the gaming industry. If they keep it up they will end up just like Sega.

    Reply
23. 

    Atone

    October 10, 2011 at 3:50 pm

    Hahahah everybody is playing right into Nintendo’s hands on this one. It’s a flashback to the wii’s launch. I have one question for everybody who is saying Nintendo has lost their relevancy to them, why are you worried about the success of their next console if try are irrelevant? Seriously, there is no way to now how a console would do if it launched a month from now let alone a year from now, so why even make a case for something you literally know nothing about.

    Reply
24. 

    djmcbell

    October 10, 2011 at 5:28 pm

    Meh. So far there’s obviously no games announced for it and I don’t see anything that interesting about the tablet-ness of it. To be honest, I think I’m more interested in the 3DS (which I do want, but mainly because the battery in my DS doesn’t last long and Mario 3D Land looks ace).

    Reply
25. 

    Max

    October 10, 2011 at 6:42 pm

    While we all speculate on why the Wii U is a destined failure, Nintendo and other developers are still developing games for the system, HD, or the tablet isn’t really the selling point for the system, but a next generation console is, by the time the other systems come out, Nintendo will have a head start, it may not be massive, but it will still be earlier than the other systems.

    Hardware in the console is also substantially more powerful than the Wii. In reality the Wii was more or less 2.5 times the power of the cube, an while they have done reasonably well to do some sort of gypsie magic with the system graphics and processor (700mhz processor and something like a 350mhz graphics processor) as most of you know it did age rather rapidly. Wii U has a rumoured IBM triple core processor running at 3200mhz, with a R700 ati graphics chip with a gig of ram on it, this makes it easily 5 times more powerful than the previous generation, really asserting that Nintendo is indeed trying to bring back the core market, its also been stated that Nintendo would not release this console until it was affordable, so the tablet in my opinion should not be pricey, and in the generation just past 600 dollars for a console would be considered reasonable.

    In regards to titles on the system you would think that Nintendo would have a few aces up there sleeve, I would hope that ever delayed Pikmin 3 will possibly be a flagship title for the system as it has been in development for a long long time, Assasins Creed, Dirt, Tekken will also help boost things along, but I too really hope and have faith that the controller simply won’t act as a map screen as the GameBoy has done in the past when linking to the Nintendo system.

    I believe that Nintendo’s original planned release date of the system was this year, so the fact that it has been severly delayed implys its either going through development issues, which is rumoured and/or they are building up a bigger catalogue of games at launch, which I believe certainly to be the case the 3DS suffered greatly, I think they have learned their lesson as pay grades of the higher up Nintendo officials have been cut in half in order to rak up profit to make up for the failed launch, and the drop on the 3DS has improved sales greatly.

    I also would agree that Nintendo is indeed “testing the water” and this has resonated among the pond of companys, spawning more rumours about the 720 and PS4, Microsoft and Sony are no doubt waiting for Nintendos next move.

    Reply
26. 

    Schprocky

    October 10, 2011 at 9:22 pm

    Just want to take to task a couple of comments regarding the Wii U’s projected costs.

    Au$500 may sound a lot if you’re thinking it’s just a HD Wii, which it isn’t – you might argue it’s what the Wii should have been but that’s anotehr issue 🙂

    However you can’t compare the cost of a new console to the selling price of four-year-old consoles.

    Knowing that Nintendo aren’t in the habit of making consoles into the lounge-room equivalent of a smartphone (because they have said so), it should be comparatively cheaper than the current-gen “HD lounge-room smartphones”.

    When I say “comparatively”, consider also that by the time the Wii U is released, even if it is around Au$500, when you allow for inflation this is comparable to a 2007 value of around Au$300.

    Compare this ‘new release console” cost to that of the 60Gb PS3, released in Oz at a cost nearly $1000 retail (which in 2011 equates to around Au$1500.) So that’s $300 vs $1000, or $500 vs $1500 – both new consoles but guess which one is just a games console?
    (Yes, I too bought a $1000 PS3 – I’m just making a point about pricing 🙂 )

    Also remember that the 360 “lost” the “HD format wars” to Blu-Ray, so effectively any perceived HD disk-based entertainment-centre went out the window for that platform. That said, it still shines as a game console.

    Is 500 bucks an issue? Not if Nintendo demonstrates it’s learnt from it’s mistakes as well as it’s successes… we shall see… 🙂

    Reply
27. 

    The Dude

    October 10, 2011 at 9:23 pm

    I think what Movie Bob said more or less sums up what’s going to happen (Note, this was before the WiiU official reveal):

    “It’s probably going to be priced and designed to turn a profit right out of the gate, built around some controller or interface that encourages exclusivity, and not be as powerful as hardcore techheads want it to be. There will be much pissing and moaning about all of this, snarky blog posts and lots of quote unquote “leaked” whining from 3rd party developers… And NONE of it’s gonna register or matter, because they’re gonna make a Mario game, a Zelda game, a Metroid game, a Kirby game, a revival of something classic we haven’t seen in a decade, and probably another Smash Bros. game, and thus continue to loom large and ominous over the medium for another generation or so. Because, that’s the way it is.”

    Reply
28. 

    david

    October 17, 2011 at 5:32 am

    make it play gamecube games and then i will upgrade. in a second.

    if it cant play gamecube games then its just giving me less. now i will have a wii sitting in my drawer… and then a wii u on my desk.. and a 3ds on the counter… wtf.

    too much

    Reply