Slow Wii U sales?

[Words iManifest]

My family chipped in and bought me one for Christmas, the three hours of updates only to be quicky bored with Nintendoland didn't bode well for my initial excitement. Things picked up with Mario and ZombieU is quite fun despite all the negativity thrown it's way. I skipped the Wii so being backward compatible is a big plus and the tablet works well and feels decent enough to hold for more than an hour or so. Nintendo really does need some AAA titles fast though, I can see this ship sinking sooner rather than later with their terrible marketing, ridiculous identical naming and boxing to the Wii and sporting those cutting edge seven year old graphics. We need a brand new side scrolling Metroid HD, top down Legend of Zelda HD and forget the virtual console...New Eartbound HD, stat !

Also, for the love of all that is holy Nintendo, revise your pro controller so I can actually plug my headset into it and not the tablet that I have to leave sitting on the couch next to me draining precious battery. Who on Earth though that was a solid idea ? I always look at Nintendo not as the kid in school who is truly different but the kid who obnoxiously goes out of his way to be...No ethernet port ? You have to buy a seperate usb dongle that actually slows the connection and makes wi-fi faster ? Ugh.

I'm on board WiiU but the clock's ticking.

[BricatSegaFan]

You know I just realized that Nintendo never made a console that could play music CDs...including the Wii U and excluding the Panasonic Q.

That being said I just wish Sega would come back and make a new console to keep Nintendo, Microsoft and Sony on their toes.

The Wii U just seems....eh.

[Graham Mitchell]

My family chipped in and bought me one for Christmas, the three hours of updates only to be quicky bored with Nintendoland didn't bode well for my initial excitement. Things picked up with Mario and ZombieU is quite fun despite all the negativity thrown it's way. I skipped the Wii so being backward compatible is a big plus and the tablet works well and feels decent enough to hold for more than an hour or so. Nintendo really does need some AAA titles fast though, I can see this ship sinking sooner rather than later with their terrible marketing, ridiculous identical naming and boxing to the Wii and sporting those cutting edge seven year old graphics. We need a brand new side scrolling Metroid HD, top down Legend of Zelda HD and forget the virtual console...New Eartbound HD, stat !

Also, for the love of all that is holy Nintendo, revise your pro controller so I can actually plug my headset into it and not the tablet that I have to leave sitting on the couch next to me draining precious battery. Who on Earth though that was a solid idea ? I always look at Nintendo not as the kid in school who is truly different but the kid who obnoxiously goes out of his way to be...No ethernet port ? You have to buy a seperate usb dongle that actually slows the connection and makes wi-fi faster ? Ugh.

I'm on board WiiU but the clock's ticking.

I agree. I'm enjoying it, but it's time for something with some depth.

[wiggyx]

I was in a local Best Buy today, and they had around 30 black Wii U systems for sale out on the floor, as well as another 30 white Wii U's. They were all stacked in a pile on top of each other. Seems pretty odd to see a brand new video game system during Christmas time in such plentiful numbers. In fact, every store I've gone into lately has had plenty of Wii U's in stock. Either Nintendo released more than enough systems to go around this time, or the sales for the system are really slow. Does anyone here know which it is? Maybe it's both?

The Wii fad has faded. Casual gamers won't see a need to buy another console when they can bowl on their old Wii just fine and us more serious gamers most likely feel burned by the original Wii (I know I do).

I picked my Wii up 3 days before Xmas. TRU had plenty of 'em, which sorta shocked me too. Hopefully Nintendo will begin catering to the "real" gamer again...

[IHatedSega]

Hopefully Nintendo will begin catering to the "real" gamer again...

I thought that was the point of the console? Screwattack made a video where they loved Nintendo for going back to focusing on real gamers with the console, then they trashed the name. It has great titles already and Bayonetta 2 is coming out soon. :)

[wiggyx]

We'll see is my point. They can blah blah all they want, but I won't believe it until I'm playing these promised games.

[IHatedSega]

We'll see is my point. They can blah blah all they want, but I won't believe it until I'm playing these promised games.

Im betting the PS4 and 720 will be too expensive to develop for. So a lot of exclusives will be on the U, and hopefully itll be games like Journey and Braid. Games that focus on story and game play more than "my graphics are the best".

[kupomogli]

Im betting the PS4 and 720 will be too expensive to develop for. So a lot of exclusives will be on the U, and hopefully itll be games like Journey and Braid. Games that focus on story and game play more than "my graphics are the best".

This isn't really true. Development costs should be the same for the most part because with more powerful hardware, developers are going to be using higher quality textures. Outside of CG/FMV/cinematics, better graphics doesn't mean it's going to cost more. Costs of development are mostly the amount of people developing the game, voice actors, stunt actors, purchase rights for all the tech that's used, advertising, and time that goes into developing the game, etc. Diablo 2 cost $10 million back when it was made, while Uncharted 1 and 2 cost $20 million each. Most games don't cost near that much.

I don't know how much it cost Runic Games to develop Torchlight, but given that it was developed in less than a year by only 30 people, I would assume it's not even close to the cost Diablo 2 was. I'd guess it's $100,000+ but less than a million. Does anyone know what Torchlight actually cost?

[Bojay1997]

This isn't really true. Development costs should be the same for the most part because with more powerful hardware, developers are going to be using higher quality textures. Outside of CG/FMV/cinematics, better graphics doesn't mean it's going to cost more. Costs of development are mostly the amount of people developing the game, voice actors, stunt actors, purchase rights for all the tech that's used, advertising, and time that goes into developing the game, etc. Diablo 2 cost $10 million back when it was made, while Uncharted 1 and 2 cost $20 million each. Most games don't cost near that much.

I don't know how much it cost Runic Games to develop Torchlight, but given that it was developed in less than a year by only 30 people, I would assume it's not even close to the cost Diablo 2 was. I'd guess it's $100,000+ but less than a million. Does anyone know what Torchlight actually cost?

I think you would be shocked at how much even smaller games cost to develop. A full-time experienced programmer starts at $70-$80K not including benefits and many more seasoned programmers can get over $100K. Creative Directors, Producers and other higher level management people can easily make over $100K per year or more. A 30 person team working full-time probably has an average salary of $50K per person (averaging lower end people like QC and technicians with higher end management and programmers) so that's $1.5 million a year just in salaries. That doesn't include rent, equipment, utilities, other overhead, etc...that can easily run hundreds of thousands more.

Having said all that, I agree that simply being on the PS4 or Xbox 720 isn't necessarily going to result in massive cost increases over the WiiU.

[Tupin]

Im betting the PS4 and 720 will be too expensive to develop for. So a lot of exclusives will be on the U, and hopefully itll be games like Journey and Braid. Games that focus on story and game play more than "my graphics are the best".

This might not be a good thing. Indie developers tend to talk a big game but never deliver, and the whole "retro inspired platformer" thing has gotten very old.

I'm all for smaller game studios and more creativity in games, don't get me wrong. I just hope that we have more Daisuke Amaya types and less people like Phil Fish or Peter Molyneux.

[treismac]

That being said I just wish Sega would come back and make a new console to keep Nintendo, Microsoft and Sony on their toes.

I'm not terribly enthralled with the idea of there only being Nintendo, Microsoft, and Sony video game systems to choose from each new generation, either, but it is hard to imagine another party joining into the fray.

[Gamevet]

I'm not terribly enthralled with the idea of there only being Nintendo, Microsoft, and Sony video game systems to choose from each new generation, either, but it is hard to imagine another party joining into the fray.

Steam or Apple could make a run at it.

[treismac]

Steam or Apple could make a run at it.

You're probably right. Apple certainly has the resources to make themselves a contender. Of course, being Apple, they'd price their Chinese slave manufactured hardware much higher than their competition. Foxconn's suicide nets don't come cheap, after all.

[kedawa]

Apple's console is an iPad dock.

[wiggyx]

Im betting the PS4 and 720 will be too expensive to develop for. So a lot of exclusives will be on the U, and hopefully itll be games like Journey and Braid. Games that focus on story and game play more than "my graphics are the best".

Says who? Microsoft has always worked hard to be developer friendly. As far as Sony goes, you're like 1500% correct. Developers seem to loath Sony machines for their steep learning curve with regards to developing.

[Tupin]

You're probably right. Apple certainly has the resources to make themselves a contender. Of course, being Apple, they'd price their Chinese slave manufactured hardware much higher than their competition. Foxconn's suicide nets don't come cheap, after all.

Apple, Sony, Microsoft, Nintendo, Samsung, LG, and most other companies all use the same kind of labor. If you really want to go deep, it's these companies that are indirectly or directly causing everything from civil war in the Congo over the mining of coltan to the near-slavery conditions of Foxconn factories to the cancer-inducing "recyclers" that people send their electronics when they're done with them.

Everyone has blood on their hands, including the consumer. Some just have less blood than others.

[Gamevet]

Apple, Sony, Microsoft, Nintendo, Samsung, LG, and most other companies all use the same kind of labor. If you really want to go deep, it's these companies that are indirectly or directly causing everything from civil war in the Congo over the mining of coltan to the near-slavery conditions of Foxconn factories to the cancer-inducing "recyclers" that people send their electronics when they're done with them.

Everyone has blood on their hands, including the consumer. Some just have less blood than others.

I'd like to thank the little Asian kid that assembled my tennis shoes.

[treismac]

Everyone has blood on their hands, including the consumer. Some just have less blood than others.

In this world I suppose that is the best we can hope for.

[BricatSegaFan]

Steam or Apple could make a run at it.

I really think Nintendo has hold on the soccer mom fitness casual game market. If apple made a console it would only be used to play angry birds....lord knows we have wayyyy too many ways to play that.

Steam? Some people, mainly console gamers like physical media. Unless steam would make discs or something for their system why not stick to pc digital distribution?

[Bojay1997]

I really think Nintendo has hold on the soccer mom fitness casual game market. If apple made a console it would only be used to play angry birds....lord knows we have wayyyy too many ways to play that.

Steam? Some people, mainly console gamers like physical media. Unless steam would make discs or something for their system why not stick to pc digital distribution?

For better or worse, Apple has become the greatest content provider on the planet for video and audio. It wouldn't be hard for them to completely dominate the soccer mom market for video games. Heck, iPads and iPods are already killing the Vita and 3DS. Whether or not they will enter that market in more than a passive manner is a whole other question.