How are you feeling about the Wii U future

[Leo_A]

I don't think they'd announce it that early if they were releasing it in the Fall of 2016, a date that I also subscribe to. I'd expect a spring 2016 announcement and perhaps even a return to the old days with a full fledged E3 presentation a few weeks later, along the lines of the timetable both Microsoft and Sony used year for their new systems.

I don't see what they'd gain announcing it next summer well over a year in advance of release. Wii U, 3DS, and Nintendo's balance sheet need all the help they can get and all that would do is encourage folks to wait and see instead of doing things like purchasing Wii U's, Zelda U, and so on. Plus, they need to give the Wii U some semblance of a normal lifespan to not annoy their diehard customers that did support them this generation, which also supports holding off on the announcement (Wii U will only be about two and a half next summer).

And since it's relevant to this thread, I just read that Call of Duty 2015 won't release on the Wii U. Not unexpected, but still unfortunate since Activision was one of the better supporters for Nintendo in recent years. Other than Modern Warfare 2 missing the Wii (Wii belatedly got Call of Duty 4 that Fall in its place), this huge franchise has been there on the Wii and now the Wii U since the start.

I wouldn't of bought it here (Maybe on the PS4 someday years down the road to play through the campaign), but there's no good way to spin that even for those of us that look down upon this franchise.

[Leo_A]

Came across a post I made elsewhere a couple of years ago and thought I'd update it with the past two year's worth of information and post it here.

Nintendo's cash and deposits:
2002: 7.2 billion USD
2003: 6.2 billion USD
2004: 6.9 billion USD
2005: 7.4 billion USD
2006: 5.3 billion USD
2007: 5.8 billion USD
2008: 9.0 billion USD
2009: 7.7 billion USD
2010: 9.5 billion USD
2011: 9.8 billion USD
2012: 5.6 billion USD
2013: 5.1 billion USD
2014: 4.7 billion USD

Not disastrous, but clearly going the wrong way now that they've gone a while since launching new hardware. At this point in year's past, it should now be climbing again. But now, they have less than half of what they had in the bank at the end of the 2011 fiscal year.

Could get pretty darn low before it starts to get better since they're facing another round of heavy investment first before having a prayer of turning their financial picture around.

[Tanooki]

I get your argument hell I'd likely agree with it, but again I got this more or less from developers who worked on the thing and around it in the period. You are right in part though, up front, the first few years it wasn't an issue. Most games until you got into FF10 and GTA3 like stuff in size would have fit fine not dicing it up or scaling it back on a GC disc. As time progressed you can see the fewer ports that happened did have cuts, poorly rendered FMV with artifacting or lower quality audio, and other corner cutting so it became a factor in the back half of its existence. The button issue, admittedly lazy for sure, but it was one for some people so they just didn't bother as a convenient excuse, much like Rockstar and their infantile excuses on Nintendo being a kiddie box, then making GTA for the GBA of all things which other than them (GTA and Max Payne) had no M games! Going their own way has been smart and stupid depending on the approach, and you're right, the DS and earlier era Wii is proof, but as I said, they did the 'disruption' tactic which they got hailed for as it caught anyone by surprised and sucked them in. The WiiU didn't do this, it's just a tablet/controller meld, and the GC didn't either nor did the N64, they just went with a wonky format that didn't line up with the other guys and paid for it.

You know expanding on it. I think you're right, this generation since they appeared on track for it and the timing fit too, had they done the WiiU as the WiiDS or something of the sort, took the groups they merged (and had off paper for a time before publicly saying so), and just did the 3DS+WiiU as one box they'd be in damn better shape right now. The 3DS sales would have driven even further grabbing up console NIntendo lovers too, and technophile types who got wood over stuff like the Ouya, NVidia Shield, and the other me-too boxes we have now or coming. I think it's true, in time, maybe a decade...handheld will be in trouble. While they could sustain one alone as a niche, without big change in that front developers will just say screw them and go with the 99 cent to 15 dollar downloads on tablets as it's more profitable. Nintendo would have to open up to ugly IAP tactics perhaps being allowed and not controlling the prices people sell stuff on their eshop, while still having 3DS like game cards for larger more potent projects better suited not as a download. The answer again to that to me is the handheld-console hybrid box in that $300-350 range WiiU dropped for. They'll I think ignorantly keep going it alone, so this idea is about all they have, merging their packages and doing one war, not two as you put it. Many zealots and tyrants in war have learned that lesson well and to the death like Hitler just 70 years ago. Nintendo needs to learn from history and not be crushed by it doing a bad re-run of stupid tactics.

I think on the reveal front, they won't ditch the WiiU until a minimum of five years, even if the last half of the 5th is like the N64 where it was a trickle of a piss coming out of the thing with a game every few months. I could see them if they were really losing cash and desperate to cut it earlier in 2016 ,but i would not be surprised if they used E3 2016 to show what's coming, then roll it out either in 2017 or speed it up in a panic like those fools have done before to have no games with a launch that holiday year too. The money is definitely vanishing and their cash on hand will keep going as their pokemon play park, toy franchises of that and the rest, and so on can only rake in so much against the damage and looking at them cutting their cash in half between 2011 and 2014 is NOT good.

[Leo_A]

I think on the reveal front, they won't ditch the WiiU until a minimum of five years

They're in a desperate spot here, though.

Wii U isn't selling anywhere even close to the level that the Nintendo 64 and the GameCube did (33 million and 22 million units, respectively). And they were never sold at a loss and Nintendo was always profitable each year during their lifespans without fail.

Wii U on the other hand is happening during a time where Nintendo is bleeding money, has sold less systems to date overall than they initially projected to sell during just the previous fiscal year alone. And it's projected only to get to approximately 10 million by next spring when this current year concludes (Just ~3 million systems projected to be sold over the next three quarters).

I think they're going to decide that 4 years, the same span the GameCube lasted before the Wii was introduced, is close enough to the unwritten 5 year standard for respectability to appease their fans that supported them, then will quietly drop it.

I could see them if they were really losing cash and desperate to cut it earlier in 2016 ,but i would not be surprised if they used E3 2016 to show what's coming, then roll it out either in 2017 or speed it up in a panic like those fools have done before to have no games with a launch that holiday year too.

Don't forget about the 3DS and Nintendo's handheld side in our scenario of a combined Nintendo ecosystem.

Look at how 3DS sales are going. The latest disappointment in what is becoming a steady decline came with their Q1 sales performance; hardware went from 1.4 million in sales last year to 820k and software from 11 million to 8.5 million. I don't know if they can stretch it out as far as late 2017 if our hybrid theory holds true. It's going to be ripe for replacement at this rate by the end of next year and it will be pretty slow going dragging it out to just late 2016.

That timing (When the 3DS is ready for a successor), since it has at least been a mixed success rather than an outright failure, is what I suspect Nintendo is more concerned about getting right with their next generation hardware rather than keeping up appearances with the Wii U to the 5 year mark.

[Tanooki]

4 years on gc to wii? I thought it was 2001 -> 2006(wii) Either way I know Nintendo is desperate but all they can live off now anymore on consoles are the few that actually will buy them for their games and to kill it early would alienate the few that still care and that would possibly be an even worse situation so they're screwed.

I wouldn't call the 3DS a mixed story, just one that had a bad start is all because of the price. Once it was corrected a heap of games have steadily come out from people who ditched Nintendo hardware wise awhile ago along with their usual supporters too. It has been out awhile though so it makes sense that hardware sales would decline as more people have the thing, and against the rising tablet/phone market too. I think the hybrid system is a good bet, problem is I doubt their smarts in taking that route and I'd even dare think them dumb enough to do another niche system again too because they're creative control freaks.

[Leo_A]

You're right, I was thinking 2005 but that was when the Xbox 360 launched. PS3 and Wii came a year later. That said, I still think that 4 years quite likely will be viewed as good enough.

I wouldn't call the 3DS a mixed story, just one that had a bad start is all because of the price.

I would...

*Slow start as you said which required a large and very early price cut to change its momentum.
*It's selling a mere fraction of the DS.
*It isn't going up against a major dedicated gaming handheld like the PSP was for the DS.
*Smartphones are the dominant platform this generation for portable gaming.
*Nintendo is losing bucketloads of cash, 3DS isn't compensating for it like the old days.
*The casuals seem to have flown the coop to their cell phones.
*3rd party publishing has nosedived.
*3DS is regularly failing to meet its sales projections these days.
*Sales have been declining for quite a while despite it not even being 3 and a half years old.
*Nintendo's over eager sales projections of recent years predict stagnant 3DS sales this year.
*Quarter 1's performance is way down casting doubt that they'll meet even that forecast.
*Disappointing 3DS showing at the last E3, just three years into its life, leaving it without a heck of a lot on the horizon at this time other than Super Smash Brothers.

Systems Sold (In Ten Thousands)
Fiscal Year 1 527 DS 361 3DS
Fiscal Year 2 1,146 DS 1,353 3DS
Fiscal Year 3 2,358 DS 1,395 3DS
Fiscal Year 4 3,031 DS 1,224 3DS
Fiscal Year 5 3,118 DS 1,200 3DS (Projection)

Software Sold (In Ten Thousands)
Fiscal Year 1 1,049 DS 943 3DS
Fiscal Year 2 4,995 DS 3,600 3DS
Fiscal Year 3 12,355 DS 4,961 3DS
Fiscal Year 4 18,562 DS 6,789 3DS
Fiscal Year 5 19,731 DS 6,700 3DS (Projection)

Fiscal Year 4 Quarter 1 Results vs. Fiscal Year 5 Quarter 1 Results (In Ten Thousands)
Systems 140 FY4 82 FY5
Software 1,100 FY4 857 FY5

It's well liked, well built, appears to be profitable, and it's chuck full of quality 1st party releases and the occasional 3rd party gem. Definitely not a failure, but compared to Nintendo's past and what it says about its future here, I don't see any other way to describe it besides a mixed success.

I don't think they can get away with a separate dedicated gaming handheld again and make it work. They barely have managed it this time. Not the legacy a runaway success leaves behind when the 3DS is likely the final chapter in a 25 year story. Nintendo won't leave handhelds behind, but no longer will it be something tailored from the ground up specifically for it since the market and Nintendo can't support it any longer.

Mixed success describes it to a tee.

[Tanooki]

I think the WiiU is a good bit of the problem along with asinine projections they should have never made without doing honest (not japanese yes man bootlicking) analysis to project future sales. If the WiiU wasn't cutting them so deep they put out overly hopeful numbers to then have them miss hard that would help. If the WiiU sales weren't so sorry that 3DS is considered the crutch, and the one that can't even make up the gap (not just last year but the one before when it sold like mad against those insanity numbers NCL put up.) I know they've lost third party support to a point but it still has steady solid releases, and the price is cheap enough especially with 2DS it's moving nicely still. Sure not as nice as the DS, but the smart phones quite weren't there yet, and now they are and despite that it still pulls those numbers is kind of amazing. The deck is stacked, yet it does very well all things considered, and if WiiU wasn't leaving a cloud over it no one would even notice as it would just be a number, not an oh damn even the good one isn't quite there type story. 3DS had no chance to catch the DS, just like the GBA wasn't going to catch the GB. Timing, potential, competition from all angles...it was just fated really in the big full picture. The E3 showing this year though, it was notably disturbing. I'm not sure what I"m still going to buy on the thing this year other than Smash Bros since it has so much added to keep it from being boring for a single player. I did pre-pay on that FF Theaterhythm game because of the massive pile of extras for little added coin and that came through a giftcard. I know there's other stuff, just been lazy looking, and I still need to do Kirby and Yoshi which I got in that best buy sale recently for buy one get one a couple months back.

[brainerdrainer]

It's only getting better

[AceAerosmith]

My feeling is it'll become the fanboy collector's item. A sign of failure for everyone else.

Anyone who loves the Mario/Luigi/Donkey Kong will stick with it but people looking for good games that don't involve the same tired old shit Nintendo has been cranking out for years will look elsewhere. I have a Wii U but hate all the same shitty Mario platform/kart/star collecting games. To me, they are just retreads of old ideas. Yeah, he's an icon of their corporation, but how many more fucking games do we need?

I bought the system because I had the impression there would be good games beyond the same repackaged dreck they've always had but I'll be lucky if I ever buy 15 games for it. I think I have 6 now and it would only be 5 if NintendoLand hadn't been a pack-in.

Personally, I think they should stop selling hardware like Sega and just sell software to the other 2 systems.

[ReaXan]

I dont think its strong enough to be an adults primary gaming system. Besides that I feel its great for kids with alot of Wii games already or good if you can snag one around 200 bucks and want to play Mario Kart or the Nintendo exclusives from time to time. I dont think its worth getting over a PS4/ONE however.

I also see Wii U games/accessories on deep liquidation at Toys R Us and its suppose to be a current gen system in its prime. I dont ever remember seeing that with the PS3/360 that early in its lifespan.

I got a Wii U Pro controller thinking I could play some adults titles on it only to find out that you pretty much will have a better experience on the PC or the older PS3 playing FPS games...

This guy pretty sums up most peoples sentiments if you listen to his entire video

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1HUmaPqXfW0

[Bojay1997]

I dont think its strong enough to be an adults primary gaming system. Besides that I feel its great for kids with alot of Wii games already or good if you can snag one around 200 bucks and want to play Mario Kart or the Nintendo exclusives from time to time. I dont think its worth getting over a PS4/ONE however.

I also see Wii U games/accessories on deep liquidation at Toys R Us and its suppose to be a current gen system in its prime. I dont ever remember seeing that with the PS3/360 that early in its lifespan.

I got a Wii U Pro controller thinking I could play some adults titles on it only to find out that you pretty much will have a better experience on the PC or the older PS3 playing FPS games...

This guy pretty sums up most peoples sentiments if you listen to his entire video

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1HUmaPqXfW0

I agree with most of what you've said, but in fairness, a number of the launch Xbox One and PS4 games are already available for bargain prices. Killzone and Knack have both been down as low as $20 in recent weeks and several of the Xbox One titles like Ryse and COD Ghosts have hit similar lows. Retailers are just a lot more impatient now and games tend to get clearanced quick if they don't continue to sell steadily.

[ZeroCool]

I personally enjoy the Wii U. Super Mario 3D World is an amazing game. Mario Kart 8 is great. Super Mario Bros U is great too. But I can see why people don't like it. It'll finish with lowest sales but Nintendo is to prideful to drop it. Hopefully next gen they get smart and make changes.

[T2KFreeker]

My thought is that I am more excited about the WiiU because the One and 4 seem to mainly be releasing lots of FPS or games that play just like them just in 3rd person. The WiiU seems to have more variety right now. I could care less about what's more powerful and what has the better graphics, I just want to play fun games.

[josekortez]

I have one and I hadn't turned it on for several weeks until my free game from the Mario Kart 8 giveaway, which was Zelda: Wind Waker, had to be downloaded before the code expired. Even now, I haven't felt the need to turn it on nor have I actually booted up Wind Waker yet. That said, I will probably buy Bayonetta 2 the first week just to prove to Nintendo that it should continue to release games and that there are still Wii U owners out there that they need to provide content for, but I'm really unhappy with the system in general. I will probably buy Smash Bros for the same reason. I am looking forward to Splatoon, but other than those three games, I can't say there is much that I want to buy for the system.

The Wii U Shop sales are relatively decent, so there's that. I just bought a game called Swords & Soldiers for $1.99, and I plan to try that out because the price was so cheap. I've also gone back and bought a few retro-style WiiWare games (Alien Crush Returns, Arkanoid Plus, Bubble Bobble Plus, Castlevania Rebirth, Contra Rebirth) that I missed the first time around, but I'm really not happy with the system as it stands. Maybe if they release more retro-style games?

[Tanooki]

Don't you find it kind of sad you want to buy a game just to make some point to Nintendo they likely won't take notice of just in the sliver of a chance of getting more third party games they publish or third parties publish for the WiiU? I'm seriously asking that, it's not sarcasm.

I can't remember when I last used it other than to update the firmware. And when I did that when 5.2.0 came out, it bricked my goddamn system. I mailed it off last week and it arrived at the repair center on Friday in NY. Nintendo is paying for it since their system update broke it and as such it gets a new 1yr warranty on it when it comes back to me. I honestly can't remember why I turned it on, maybe I wanted to try out more of the second world of DKC Tropical Freeze. My issue with the system isn't the system itself, it's the lack of support and day in day out perpetual shitting it takes in the public from all sides. It has demotivated my interest out of using it pretty much entirely. I did way Bayonetta1+2 but now I'm just not sure, and same to be said with Hyrule Warriors which is out and I"m not that big on 'warriors' games but it was bordering on a pity purchase for the reason the post above seems to be to get noticed. Project Cars I'm no longer interested in at all, if I do get it it would be on PS4 as WiiU has nothing on it with its release.

At this rate I see almost nothing left to buy on it which is awful. Toad Tracker before Christmas, Xenoblade maybe next year if I decide I'd be into it as it looks solid, and then there's the big maybe on Bayonetta but I'm not really into that style of game. Mario Kart 8 I'd buy, but only if I could find it for $30 as I know I'll get bored of it pretty quick and refuse to take it online so that'll happen eventually. The NES Remix pack looks interesting, but it's so pick up and play and also to be on 3DS I'd get it there (same price too.) I know in 2015 there's Zelda of some form, may buy it or not depending how it turns out.

That's my current state of mind on it. I really don't know what to do.

[LordsOfSkulls]

I hinted at my friends as a gift for me and my wife to just buy us "Wii U" or like just put some money towards it.

=) the hint clicked, they all chiped in about 2/3 of the consoles and i had enough money to get like 4-5 games total with it.

My wife and i we love mario alot so Mario Kart made us feel like okay time to get it, + with everything that poping up in near future. (Open World Zelda For Me)

I feel like Wii U will get replaced or new version of it come out in next 2-4 years.

But in the end i feel like Playstation 4 will be on top, Wii U second, and Xbox One in third spot. (Microsoft shot themselves too many times in the foot, for trying to change gaming world that didnt need changing just leave us gamers and are physical copies alone)

The Wii U is awesome as well. Instead of one of us hogging TV. Either i remote play to my PS Vita my PS4 games (like Destiny) and let my wife play her games on TV.

Or she remote play on tablet on WII U, and even if she goes to are bedroom which is above the gameroom. She still gets the siginal from console and she can play without any issues.

So ya PS4/PS Vita and Wii U/Tablet rock and my marriage a happy place.

[Tanooki]

I'd love to agree with you as I detest MS's entry into consoles as they've done everything just wrong to make things worse for everyone, but they unlike Nintendo get third party support in mass, and unless that changes Nintendo is going to sit dead last.

I agree with the rest of your post, and I too really love the off-screen play as it does save the TV for others.

[Rickstilwell1]

As nice as Smash Bros. for 3DS looks, I believe the 3DS title will really hype up the upcoming console version. It might sell another slew of consoles for people who are into fighters more than they are into racers. Or people who don't jump on board until a console has x number of games they want.

[Tanooki]

Definitely it will, Mario Kart proved that much. Sure there's overlap but each has their rabid base, perhaps Smash even more even if it's a lesser seller than Kart has been. Nintendo has gone far enough with it they're having a USB controller jack with a wannabe gamecube controller to get tournament quality play. You didn't see a first party Mario Kart usb steering wheel.

[ZeroCool]

I have one and I hadn't turned it on for several weeks until my free game from the Mario Kart 8 giveaway, which was Zelda: Wind Waker, had to be downloaded before the code expired.

Ah, damnit. Forgot about that. Ah well the only game I was going to get was Pikmin but that looked boring anyways