Did the Wii U launch fall flat on its face?

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Originally Posted by JCU

They are still "old" systems though. Of course the base is much higher than the Wii U. Nintendo has huge name recognition and once they can get the ball rolling and start with a consistent release schedule of quality games I think we'll see a different outcome than the predictions made from a mere two months on sale.

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The only issue with that is that the 360/PS3 are not significantly underpowered compared to the Wii u. All three are functionally similar spec wise, only the wii tablet controller really sets it apart from the other two. There's very little value added on a wii u port of a game that has been on the 360/PS3 for months (or longer). They can't make it look much better as the system isn't a huge spec bump, and the tablet may or may not have much use to a game that is ported over.


Now, back OT. I don't see the wii u as a failed launch, it's just simply... OK. Coming down from the wii it looks horrible, but the wii was a very different beast. This is problematic for the system unless it gains a lot of momentum because as soon as the next ps3/360 come out, they will destroy it spec wise, and thus make it once again a case of "make games for Sony/MS both" or "Only make games for Nintendo" for most 3rd parties.

Nintendo needs to build up a really good base of consumers AND 3rd party devs before those launch, then keep them afterwards... otherwise they will wind up beign a system carried by great first party titles, a handfull of decent/good 3rd party ones... and loads of shovelware... again.

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Originally Posted by EclecticGroove

The only issue with that is that the 360/PS3 are not significantly underpowered compared to the Wii u. All three are functionally similar spec wise, only the wii tablet controller really sets it apart from the other two. There's very little value added on a wii u port of a game that has been on the 360/PS3 for months (or longer). They can't make it look much better as the system isn't a huge spec bump, and the tablet may or may not have much use to a game that is ported over.



Now, back OT. I don't see the wii u as a failed launch, it's just simply... OK. Coming down from the wii it looks horrible, but the wii was a very different beast. This is problematic for the system unless it gains a lot of momentum because as soon as the ps3/360 come out, they will destroy it spec wise, and thus make it once again a case of "make games for Sony/MS both" or "Only make games for Nintendo" for most 3rd parties.

Nintendo needs to build up a really good base of consumers AND 3rd party devs before those launch, then keep them afterwards... otherwise they will wind up beign a system carried by great first party titles, a handfull of decent/good 3rd party ones... and loads of shovelware... again.

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The "Xbox Next" has been set for a March unveil. Time is running out for Nintendo.

SEGA also has alot of "announcements" to make next month.

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Originally Posted by MrSega

SEGA also has alot of "announcements" to make next month.

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If Sega makes no major announcements next month can we have your word that you will shut the hell up about all this Orbi bullshit and never spew patent diarrhea again?

Here's the January 2013 NPD sales Report for Wii U:

http://www.gamespot.com/news/wii-u-j...report-6403982


57,000?


Yeah, I reiterate my OP, Wii U's launch DID fall flat on its face.


There's no way to spin this folks. That figure is abysmal.

I'd like to see the original source of that figure to be honest. People keep posting it but no one seems to actually link back to the primary source of it. It all links back to an estimation.

Honestly I find that number rather sketchy considering in Japan the system sold ~118k for the month of January.

But considering no new major games came out this month and the delays of anticipated titles, it doesn't surprise me that it's in a slump. Wait until the end of this year when some of the more anticipated titles come out, if it doesn't show the slightest hint of bouncing back after those games come out, then they are truly in trouble.

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Originally Posted by TrekkiesUnite118

I'd like to see the original source of that figure to be honest. People keep posting it but no one seems to actually link back to the primary source of it. It all links back to an estimation.

Honestly I find that number rather sketchy considering in Japan the system sold ~118k for the month of January.

But considering no new major games came out this month and the delays of anticipated titles, it doesn't surprise me that it's in a slump.

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All the major game sites are reporting that Nintendo didn't release figures but Gamasutra rounded them up.

So its almost definitely true. Figures aren't always made up.

This figure has no primary source though. The Gamasutra source is still an estimation.

Also, it depends on how you look at the data:

http://www.gonintendo.com/content/up...-totals-v2.png

Yeah compared to the Wii it's bad, compared to current console sales it's bad. But compared to the average for the first three months a console is on the market, it's about on par with the 360, PS3, and even the PS2.

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Originally Posted by TrekkiesUnite118

This figure has no primary source though. The Gamasutra source is still an estimation.

Also, it depends on how you look at the data:

http://www.gonintendo.com/content/up...-totals-v2.png

Yeah compared to the Wii it's bad, compared to current console sales it's bad. But compared to the average for the first three months a console is on the market, it's about on par with the 360, PS3, and even the PS2.

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You keep forgetting that these systems had supply issues.

Actually 57,000 is worse than Gamecube's 2003 monthly figures.


The number can't be spun. Wii U's launch was a disaster.

The only truly bad month was January, and that's the one month we don't have a solid number on for the US.

And the PS3 shortage really was only an issue at the first month of launch, after that while Sony Continued to talk about a shortage, PS3's continued to sit unsold on store shelves. When Sony was still claiming a shortage around January and February most gaming news sites were joking about it saying "What mirror universe is this press release from?" So no, the PS3's shortage issue isn't relevant here, as it didn't have an effect after the first few weeks. The 360 shortages didn't persist long enough either to have a relevant effect like you are implying. You could still get them around December and January.

Is the Wii U selling under Nintendo's expectations? Absolutely. Is it doing badly for a newly launched console? Highly debatable. If after major titles come out later this year there's no improvement, then it's time to worry. The same kind of crap was said about the 3DS, and look at it now.

I haven't seen a commercial for Wii U yet on tv. Seems like this system will be swept under the rug.

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Originally Posted by TrekkiesUnite118

The same kind of crap was said about the 3DS, and look at it now.

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That did take a slew of high profile games and a pretty early price drop to get it moving however. The 3DS is also comparable to to it's kin in terms of capabilities.

Good games will certainly help the wii-u.
A price drop + that would be even better.

But it's always going to be the "underpowered system" as soon as MS and Sony release their systems. They need to get the wii-u ingrained in the public mindset as well as developers as a system to do business with, otherwise it's going to wind up with lots of shovelware and only token 3rd party support.

I can say that at least in netherlands and germany the wii u is dropping very hard. the wii outsells it...

Here in Australia the Wii U is practically non-existent. It's sad but Nintendo have really failed to generate excitement like they did with the Wii. They don't have a killer game that shows off this system and it's unique hardware, pair that with performance similar to the 360/PS3 and it's not a good position to be in.

I've been thinking of getting one since launch (never missed a Nintendo console ever) but nothing has swayed me so far and it's recent poor sales are making me hold off, at least until I know it's future is secure.

Not that it means a great deal since South Africa is one of the smaller markets in terms of system sales, but here the Wii U is doing terribly.
It's obviously still very early in it's life-cycle but I can't recall the last time a major gaming console having tons of units sitting on shelves untouched.

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Originally Posted by Thierry Henry

Not that it means a great deal since South Africa is one of the smaller markets in terms of system sales, but here the Wii U is doing terribly.
It's obviously still very early in it's life-cycle but I can't recall the last time a major gaming console having tons of units sitting on shelves untouched.

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Maybe Nintendo forgot to let the people there know that touching is good.