Tag Archives: pachter

Pachter Says He ‘Would Never Ever Question Nintendo’s Software Strategy’

3DS, eShop, Nintendo, Wii U, , , ,

zelda_windwaker_reborn_enviroment

Famed video game industry analyst Michael Pachter has finally had some good words to say about Nintendo on the latest edition of his show, Pach-Attack. In the latest episode of the show Pachter discusses the HD remake of The Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker as well as the Nintendo eShop. Here’s what Pachter had to say.

PDantas: “Mr.Pachter, do you think Nintendo is expanding their eShop services for countries outside the US anytime soon? I’m in Brazil and I fear I won’t be able to download the new Wind Waker HD when it comes out.”

MP : “Yeah I think so, I think Nintendo is very late to the party with the eShop. But so far what I’ve seen it actually works quite well, you know, I think in typical Nintendo fashion they did it right, they just did it late. So I think it’s their intention that any place you can download their games, they’re happy to sell them to you.”

Marc42: “What do you think of Nintendo re-releasing Wind Waker? No mention of Mario, Metroid etc. Creative troubles?”

MP: “Urm, I think Nintendo is an enigma wrapped up in a question mark. I have no idea what motivates Nintendo to release the games they release. I think you can safely assume that if Nintendo thinks they can make money re-releasing a game, they’re going to re-release the game. I certainly wouldn’t diss them at all for bringing back Wind Waker, and I would not rule out that because today there is no mention of any other game they’re not going to do that. I think that pretty much anything that is Mario or Zelda is under Miyamoto’s control and I think that Miyamoto is given complete freedom to pick and choose what he wants to work on, what he wants his studios to work on. I think that he decided that Wind Waker would just look great in HD. The demos we saw it looks pretty great in HD. It’s a big big franchise and I think they will sell a lot of units. The only constraint to selling units of Wind Waker is the amount of Wii Us out there. So far not very many, but in time there is going to be 10, 15, 25 million and I when there are they are going to get a very high attach rate. That audience is super loyal to the Zelda franchise, of course they’re also loyal to Mario but you’re going to get a new Mario title, probably more of these retro titles later on in the Wii U’s life cycle, but again I’m at a complete loss to explain what motivates Nintendo to do anything, they have their own method, it has worked for them for a long time. I would never ever question their software strategy, I think they do a great job on software, I consistently question their hardware strategy but not software, I think they know what they’re doing.”

Thanks, Dusklurker

Pachter Says “The Handheld Market Sucks” And “Vita Is A Joke”

3DS, PS Vita, , , , , ,

nintendo_3ds_light_blue

Famed Wedbush Morgan analyst Michael Pachter has attacked the handheld market in the latest edition of his show, Pach-Attack. Pachter admits that Nintendo owns the handheld market and that’s one of the reasons why Microsoft hasn’t released a handheld gaming device. Pachter also says that while the PlayStation Vita is a great piece of hardware he believes that the device is a bit of a joke as third-party developers just aren’t supporting the system.

“The reason is that the handheld market sucks, and to the extend there is a handheld market and Nintendo owns it.”

“The Vita is a joke. It’s a wonderful, wonderful, wonderful piece of hardware and nobody owns one. The reason nobody owns one is It’s too good, It does too much. Developers aren’t making games for it because the market is too small.”

“You’re not going to get a big install base with the Vita at this price, and even though It’s a really slick device, if there is not a lot of people who own it, you’re not going to get a lot of sotfware. And It’s a vicious cycle, if you don’t have software, you’re not going to buy the Vita. If you don’t have Vitas, you’re not going to get software. So, the Vita sucks, Sony has no prayer of making money on the Vita.”

“The handheld market is not as big as It used to be. With the 3DS I think Nintendo is probably going to continue to do ok, 15 million a year, that’s a nice market for handhelds. With the Vita on the market, they (Sony) are going to make 5 million a year, why do we need a third (handheld)? All that would happened is that demand of 20 million handhelds will get split three ways instead of two. Nobody makes money selling five millions units a year.”

Pachter Says Nintendo Only Sold 80,000 Wii U Consoles In US During February

Wii U, , , , , ,

wii_u_zombi_u_bundle

Wedbush Morgan analyst Michael Pachter believes that Nintendo only managed to sell 80,000 Wii U consoles in the United States during the month of February. Pachter says that the original Wii console sold the same amount as its successor during February. Pachter points out that Wii U’s sales were around half of the 165,000 PlayStation 3 units sold last month and were miles behind the Xbox 360, which sold 225,000 units. The official NPD numbers should be coming sometime later this week.

“The Wii sold nearly double our estimate as the Wii U vastly underperformed our expectations, likely due to a relatively thin release slate and an unusual number of returns. It is difficult to envision a turnaround in Wii U hardware sales without a price cut or until more compelling software becomes available, but we think that weekly sales of 20,000 units is likely. We think that the long-term appeal of the console will be severely limited by the perception that the next consoles from Microsoft and Sony will be much more powerful with greater online integration and multimedia functionality.”

Pachter Says Wii U Is A Mistake Nintendo Can’t Recover From

3DS, Nintendo, Wii U, , ,

wii_u_zombi_u_bundle

Famed industry analyst Michael Pachter believes that the Wii U is a mistake that Nintendo can’t recover from. Pachter says that the gameplay on Wii U just isn’t unique enough from other current generation consoles, and its predecessor, the Wii. He went on to say that he thinks Nintendo has made an extremely costly mistake with Wii U. He also said that the handheld division just can’t cope against the growing rise of smartphones and tablet devices in the home.

“I think they misfired on the Wii U. It’s just not that different from the other two [existing] consoles, and the gameplay isn’t as unique as the Wii. They made a mistake, it’s something they probably can’t recover from.”

“I think they have made a costly mistake. And their handheld business can’t save them in the face of cannibalization from smartphones and tablets.”

Pachter Says ‘The Only Thing That Will Get Wii U Moving Is A Price Cut’

Nintendo, Wii U, , , , ,

wii_u_zelda_tv

Famed Wedbush Morgan analyst Michael Pachter has commented on Nintendo’s third quarter financial results and says that Nintendo cutting the Wii U forecast is further evidence that Wii U doesn’t capture the imagination of the Wii. Pachter went on to say that the only thing that will get the Wii U moving off store shelves is a much needed price cut. Here’s what he had to say.

“I always thought Nintendo’s Wii U software forecast made no sense.”

“They initially guided 24 million, are taking that down to 16 million, which is a 4:1 software attach rate. That’s reasonable, especially given that the installed base is 3 million hardware units now and the guidance implies they need to ship only 4.31 million more software units.”

“The hardware guidance is disappointing, and there isn’t really anything that will get hardware moving other than a price cut. I think they got it wrong with this console, it just doesn’t capture the imagination the way that the Wii did.”

“The Wii U is not going to be very competitive if Sony and Microsoft launch comparable consoles at comparable prices. The early weakness will cause many third party publishers to re-think support for the Wii U, and we might not see much support at holiday 2013.”

Pachter Claims ‘Everything Nintendo Decides To Do Is Years Too Late’

3DS, Nintendo, Wii, Wii U, , , , ,

wii_mini_box

Famed Wedbush Morgan industry analyst Michael Pachter believes that Nintendo are a few years late in everything they decide to do. Speaking during his Pach Attack show Pachter said that the Wii U was released three years too late, and is simply an HD version of the original Wii console. He then went on to say that the eShop is seven or eight years too late, and online multiplayer for Nintendo is seven or eight years too late. Here’s what he had to say.

“I just think Nintendo’s a few years late. So, the Wii U is the Wii HD, it’s coming three years too late. The Wii Mini was a great idea back in 2008/2009, they probably should have brought it out then – they’re way too late.”

“Poor Nintendo, I think they try way too hard to get things right and it takes a long time. “The eShop is seven or eight years too late, online multiplayer for Nintendo is seven or eight years too late.”

“Nintendo has got great ideas, it’s just that they’re great ideas from the last decade. The Wii Mini is one of them.”

Pachter Talks About Wii U Supply And Demand

Nintendo, Wii U, , , ,

wii_u_packaging

Famed Wedbush Morgan industry analyst Michael Pachter was asked on the latest edition of Pach Attack why there are so many Wii U units on the shelves in certain areas of North America. Pachter believes that it’s simply been a case of Nintendo mismanaging its inventory. Some markets are being shipped too many Wii U units, and some just not enough. If sales are low then Pachter says all Nintendo needs to do is ramp up the advertising – which they can do anytime they want.

Wii Mini: Pachter Says Wii Isn’t Quite Dead Yet

Wii, , ,

Famed Wedbush Morgan analyst Michael Pachter says that it’s a good move by Nintendo to release Wii Mini as the original console is still selling good numbers. Many people have questioned the timing of the release considering Nintendo has just released its successor Stateside. We heard earlier this week that Nintendo managed to sell 300,000 Wii consoles last week globally

“That is the first I’ve heard of it. I agree that it may have been better to bring it out when the Wii was still popular, but Nintendo might have a strategy to keep the Wii alive. They apparently sold 300,000 Wiis last week globally, so the console isn’t quite dead yet.”

 

Pachter Says Nintendo’s Wii U Numbers Are Unrealistic And Disappointing

Nintendo, Wii U, , ,

Industry analyst Michael Pachter has looked at todays financial reports that were provided by Nintendo and unsurprisingly he doesn’t agree with them. Pachter says that the projected Wii U hardware figures were disappointing and that the Wii U software guidance is simply unrealistic.

“Nintendo has guided to Wii U hardware sales of only 5.5 million units in FY:13, below the 6 – 7 million that we had previously expected. In addition, guidance for 24 million Wii U software units in FY:13 implies an attach rate of over four games, which we view as highly unrealistic given pricing and release slate. Wii U will fight for holiday wallet share with the existing consoles (which have the bulk of their most compelling releases in the December quarter), Amazon’s Kindle Fire HD, and Apple’s iPad Mini, among a slew of other devices.”

“The launch schedule is better than we had initially expected, with notable launch day titles including Activision Blizzard’s Call of Duty: Black Ops II, EA Sports’ FIFA Soccer 13, Nintendo’s New Super Mario Bros. U and Nintendo Land, and Ubisoft’s Assassin’s Creed III and ZombiU. However, demand will probably wane once Nintendo’s core fan base has purchased the first 5 – 6 million units, negatively impacting long-term hardware and software sales as well.”

Pachter Says He Will Buy A Wii U Just To Play Bayonetta 2

Wii U, , , ,

Famed industry analyst Michael Pachter has revealed on the latest edition of Pach Attack that he would buy a Wii U to play Bayonetta 2. Pachter has always maintained that he adores Nintendo’s first party content, but the thought of playing Bayonetta 2 on the console will ultimately push him over the edge to invest in a Wii U console. Pachter thinks that Bayonetta 2 alone could account for 1 million extra Wii U consoles sold.

“I’m gonna buy a Wii U just to play Bayonetta 2. I like Nintendo first party content, but I love Bayonetta”