A representative for Nintendo has attempted to explain why both the Nintendo 3DS and Wii U have had slow starts in Japan. The Nintendo 3DS was released in Japan on February 26th, 2011 – approximately two weeks before the Great East Japan Earthquake had struck the country. According to the representative, initial sales of the Nintendo 3DS were strong until the high-impact earthquake hit.
Throughout the rest of 2011, Nintendo slashed the price of the handheld and increased development of Nintendo 3DS software. Because Nintendo was mainly focusing on its newly released hand-held console at the time, the company had fewer developers working on software for Wii U. Read what the Nintendo representative had to say below:
We launched the Nintendo 3DS on February 2011 and sales were strong. Two weeks later we were hit by the Great East Japan Earthquake and that stopped the momentum. In August of the same year we lowered the price from the initial 25,000 Yen to 15,000 Yen, and enhanced software development at the same time, to enrich the game line-up.
That paid off and we regained momentum in Japan, but due to that we could not spare many developers for the Wii U (released in November 2012), and that led to the slow start of the console.
Sony had a similar problem.
They Vita has not recovered. As for the PSN hack please don’t blame the earth quake.
No….. Sony lost factories and other buildings in the earthquake.
http://business.time.com/2011/05/23/sonys-earthquake-writeoff-brings-net-loss-to-3-2-billion/
Sony on the otherhand already had stock piled PS3s. So their excuse holds less water.
Uh, what excuse and what stockpile?
I’m pretty sure that says NINTENDO not sony
They were already bleeding money left and right, that loss was even worse.
Do you even research bro?
right, now they are blaming the earthquake. they can’t blame the consumer and they can’t blame themselves anymore and risk making themselves look worse, so they will blame an earthquake and perhaps even god’s judgement on the horrible wii u sales.
Pathetic
Pathetic? Dude, fucking thousands of people died in that earthquake and if Nintendo brings out the earthquake as an excuse for not bringing a couple of games out, they’re pathetic??
What the fuck, the only pathetic being here is you.
An earthquake? Oh, no–what a tragedy! …Well, at least the anime, manga & kawaii desu video games are okay, eh? It’s really too bad that corpses can’t purchase anything though, or else the Wii U would’ve been off the charts in sales there!
That’s a low troll. You know you’re a failure when you have to lower your own morals for the sake of a joke.
Sarcasm =/= Joke
Learn the difference.
I’m starting to think that was a worldwide earthquake, LOL.
Nintendo makes all of their products, except for the ones sold in china, in japan
Way to completely sidestep the point by trying to bring up something that does nothing but guilt trip.
It kind of makes sense, as this WAS a large-scale incident. By no means would I give them shit for this, if it’s true. However, if it’s not, then WTF?!
It makes sense, but this is a really bizarre excuse. I’m not sure I buy it
not sure either
nintendo has used earthquakes as excuse more often..
it is also one of their excuses for using cartridges @ n64
(oh no guys earthquake, all ram is gone guys we can only go cartridge…in the meanwhile psx releases…-_-)
Really, Nintendo…? Wow, just wow.
Lol It’s one persons opinion not nintendo it self!
It could be a reason but the Wi U needs more great games. At least WW HD ans Sonic Lost World are coming in October
The WiiU is understandable but the 3DS ehhh….not really…
For the wiiu is not the scuse but for the 3ds it is.
That’s ridiculous, both cases have something in common: lack of games at launch and confusing naming/message.
The 3DS is out of the hot water, but I have friends who still don’t know the Wii U isn’t just a controller.
http://www.vooks.net/we-are-to-blame-for-lagging-wii-u-sales-iwata/
How about you make up your mind Nintendo?
Yknow different people in a comany have different thoughts. One representative or person does not speak for what the CEO or whole company says.
…….You do realize a representative is suppose to speak on behalf of the company right?
I am nintendo as nintendo comes, but I only buy the 3DS excuse. That one is true, for the WiiU nintendo could have used Retro studios or Next level games to boost their WiiU software production.
Agreed, the Wii U one is not an excuse as it wasn’t even out then…
Nintendo Commander, I am happy nintendo had a bump with the WiiU. It only makes them greater and more dangerous. The worst mistake their competition did was to call out nintendo and say the WiiU was not doing well. Well the PS4 only gives 4.5 Gb of ram to developers. Thats standard, not the 5.5 the have to squeeze out. Hmmm the PS4 and xboxdone seem to be not as ultra powerful as the were leading us to believe :).
Well I’m sure the PS4 will be fine no matter what aswell as the Wii U…
I couldn’t care at all about Xboxes…
There wasn’t any official statememt of how much RAM the OS of the PS4 uses. 3.5GBs is an unusual number considering that it is way more than a full blown Windows and GDDR5 has a lot more bandwith with LESS latency than normal DDR3 memory.
http://www.thesixthaxis.com/2013/07/28/ps4-ram-rumours-absolutely-false-according-to-developer/
Say “The PS4 OS takes up 3.5GBs of RAM” and,tell,me,if you even believe that yourself.
I actually have no official opinion about Wii U, PS4 or Xbox Done specs in any way…
I only care about what they provide game wise and creativity wise…
The commemt was originally directed at the one above yours but this is a strange comment system.
I see, no harm no foul then…
lol?
first off, what you say about ps4 is not true,ultimately there can be more then 5Gb cleared, and to say 4,5GB is “standard” for consoles…you show you really don’t seem to understand hardware lol.
wiiu has 1GB of ram to dev with, why you making this sad comparison anyway?
” and say the WiiU was not doing well.”
its still not doing well.
One comment from you I can agree on.
The reason for the delay in all of the Wii U launch titles is because of this Earthquake. That’s basically what this guy is saying, also not having
past experience on developing HD games didn’t help, either (like Miyamoto said). So I think it is a multitude of problems that caused the disaster debut of the Wii U. 💋
Bait title. Move along.
Sony had a similar problem.They just shut the VITA down and focus on the PS4.
The only reason why the WiiU isn’t selling is because people are not interested in it as much as Nintendo wished. Blaming the earthquakes does nothing but make them look pathetic, in my opinion. Especially in the case of the WiiU, it’s just a ridiculous excuse Nintendo tries to justify the bad sales with. I’m disappointed in you, Nintendo. I didn’t think they were like this.
Stop lying.
He’s not. The marketing has been terrible and people are just not interested. A lot still don’t realize it is an entirely new console. As much as I love my Wii U, Nintendo need to pull there heads out of their butts and start marketing.
Fact! The only reason my family and friends know what it is it’s because I brought it over. They thought it was an add-on.
*she
And thank you, exactly my thoughts.
Did you ever stop to think that the marketing suffered from the earthquake as well? Everything probably suffered from this Earthquake, it just hurt Nintendo all around. 💋
You’re being desperate if you think the marketing suffered due to the Earthquake.
I could comprehend that, but Iwata already confronted that by saying it’s their own fault. I think this Nintendo representative is talking a bunch of baloney.
Either that or Mr. Iwata is too hard on himself…
Probably a little of both. I don’t think you can blame the Wii U’s launch on one single matter. 💋
it makes sense when u think about it. The wii u was still under development and so where games at the time. The earthquake probably cut time and money out of development. 8(
Money wouldn’t be a problem for Nintendo and Tokyo was outside of the crisis area.
Just because they weren’t in peril doesn’t mean it didn’t hurt the company. I am sure their were many Nintendo employees who knew people in crysis areas that had to leave work early. Maybe they couldn’t return for a while. 💋
I want some 100% proof ot this article because this sounds like some ol’ bull
Nintendo really loves pointing fingers. I rarely see them say, “This was our fault because of this, or that.” They always blame something else. That’s not to say I’ve never seen a Nintendo rep take blame for one of their mistakes, but those instances are far and few between. Still, This excuse makes sense, so I suppose they get a pass. But there’s no denying that WiiU didn’t take off because Nintendo failed to release great software on it on a regular basis. There were good games, and a couple great ones, but still nothing mind blowing, and all those were too far apart to really make an impact. Even if this is the fault of the earthquake, Nintendo really should take responsibility.
Tell us Johnny when they have point finger to someone else? no, really tell me, because before this new I have NEVER EVER have read and article saying that Nintendo blame someone else when something go wrong on NintendoLand.
> http://mynintendonews.com/2013/07/14/miyamoto-says-japanese-gamers-are-quitters-and-dont-enjoy-hard-games/
(If you had any basic reading comprehension, this article states Miyamoto blaming Japanese gamers being quitters on game sales declining in Jap.)
That is not Nintendo blaming japanese gamers for nothing, that is Miyamoto opinion, and even if we could stretch that to say that Miyamoto is speaking in behalf of Nintendo, they still are not blaming anyone for anything, they will only be saying, at most, that there are some japanese people that rage quit at the first spike of difficulty. (Which is weird in so many level that I will not discus it here)
Oh, and by the way, in response for the news you put down there, please stop swallowing the title of sensationalist web news (even mynintendonews use sometime that kind of titles) and read all the article, that or do not misconstruct what is actually happen in the article:
“The thing I am seeing is that many gamers do not have many friends and therefore do not see the appeal of the Wii U.” It is areally stupid thing to say, but in no way they are saying “WE BLAMES POOR WII U SALES ON GAMERS HAVING NO FRIENDS”.
“.. whenever you show information, the perspective is: ‘Thank you, but I want more. Thank you, but give me more.” IS NOT “Nintendo’s Reggie Fils-Aime blames you for being unimpressed at E3”.
That’s an accusation more than it is an opion. Put two & two together: “S. Miyamoto recently sat down w/ 4Gamer & openly dissused the Japanese market” (+) “Japanese gamers (this is a generalization BTW) can’t overcome the same level of difficulty found…
…in western action games&therefore they no longer want to play them”(=)sales drop in the Japanese market due to quitter Japs (according to your god Miyamoto)(=)”Why u no be more like da stoopid westerners&buy more of mah games, ya pussy quitters!”
I really don’t see how you can confuse this one: “In an interview with Fox News, NoA president Reggie Fils-Aime says that Wii U sales are not as strong as they could be because most gamers do not have any friends. (it’s NOT title sensationalism)”
He–Reggie–(to anyone w/ a single brain cell) BLAMES poor Wii U sales on the losers of the gaming world; and therefore, by no means is the title misleading. And lastly, Reggie called gamers “insatiable”, meaning incapable of being satisfied.
So, “Thank you, but I want more. Thank you, but give me more” attitude is the reason he blames you (gamers) for being unimpressed at E3. What most companies wish to hear from their fans, he seems repulsed by.
Our Empire has basically never blamed anyone else other than themselves so you are wrong…
Too lazy to post a link, but research:
•Reggie Fils Aime Blames Poor Wii U Sales On Gamers Having No Friends
and
•Reggie Fils Aime Blames You For Being Unimpressed At E3
I also remember a Nintendo poster on this site having specific, detailed, written & drawn-out reasons why the Wii U was different & not a mere Wii upgrade. Nintendo blamed peoples’ stupidity for lack of Wii U sales. Gotta love ’em!
Those gamers are mostly non Nintendo fans anyway…
It’s good that you know so well what kinds of games they play, seeing as how that’s the only surefire way to know what kind of fans they really are. Otherwise you’re just talking out of your ass.
…wut?
Then you haven’t read the article where Iwata takes the blame for the Wii U’s bad start. Nintendo isn’t saying the Earthquake was the sole reason for the Wii U’s bad begining, they are just giving us an example of ways the Wii U got a bad start from reason’s outside the companie’s control. Believe it or not with all the money Nintendo has, they still can’t prevent earthquakes. 💋
15000 Japanese Yen equals
99.7200 British Pound Sterling
Priced a bit low for a 3ds
I paid £180 before the mainmprice drop happened.
Any excuse will do, ayy Nintendo?
Yes unlike DRM and playing for xboxlive for 12 years lol.
*paying*
Damage control. Typical drone.
Says the Xbot slave defending a Human Rights violations company in a Nintendominated site…
Troll dominated site you mean
Actually, I’ve only ever played on Nintendo and Sony systems. I hate Microsoft with a passion.
Stop assuming Nintendork.
What exactly makes you think he’s an “Xbot” ? He literally wrote only 4 words in his comment, saying nothing about his opinion towards Microsoft or any other company. And you can’t refer to any other of his comments because he’s an anonymous poster.
You are the perfect example for people who make me dislike the Nintendo fanbase. I’m ashamed to be in the same fanbase as idiots like you.
And I shall take notes from an Anonymous one?…
There are like atleast 6 of you called the same I don’t care about your opinions…
And XOXO is an Xbot so yes my statement is valid in that sense..
I’d like to know how you can count ANONYMOUS people by hand. You must be omniscient.
…
Well the fact about that person kept saying “nintendo is fail” in 2/3 most of the time along with 6 to 7 other fools, yeah, he’s got some rights but I’m not going to point out fingers just yet since I’m in more control over myself than I was last night.
You’re pretty much anonymous too. It’s not like your picture and name suddenly makes you more obvious than the next anonymous dude. You’re hiding behind your name just as much as the others.
I was talking about everyone who calls themselves Anonymous with the exact same picture…
In part, yeah, makes sense, that earthquake was a complete disaster for Japan, and both Nintendo and Sony suffered a lot of economic losses during that event.
yeah….. this is still nintendo blaming something else to try to cover up their mess ups.
They’re cleary talking about JAPANESE sales, which could contribute to the slow sales of 3DS in the country. Wii U was partly affected because all attention was on 3DS. i buy it. Not like the rep said Worldwide sales.
Yes but they blamed the Wii U status on the earthquake aswell which is clearly not the case…
When you put … after every phrase you use, I imagine you have a deep, sorta evil voice. xD
Well I wouldn’t call it evil…
But dark it is…
accually it does make sense, because they put a focus on the 3ds to fix it they did not have all hands on the Wii U delaying all projects. Because they put the focus onto the 3ds they will need to take games that will have a quick turn around time like Mario and the pikmin game that was already in development to cover their development hole. This shows that it was their fault, they are admitting to badly managing during a time of crisis.
Doesn’t this go against their excuse of the difficulty about transmitting into HD?…
I remember an article a while ago where Lord Miyamoto said that a big factor was the time it took to “learn” HD capabilites or something along those lines…
And while they learned how to use HD BAM!!! an earthquake hit them /s
But seriously I don’t blame them, it’s expected that the 3ds sales will get lowered, the people did have to use their money on something useful other than games…
It could be both, focusing on 3DS surely slowed down the learnin of HD development.
So to sum up all aspects, it’s basically the lack of employees…
nintendo sure loves making excuses lately.
I blame the fart I had today on the War in Iraq
Republicou isso em Curiosidades na internet.
It was tragic and it makes sense. If i remember correctly they wanted to make people forget the tragic events with super mario 3d land, i read an interview from somewhere which i couldnt find now using google, but im sure i readed it somewhere in near the release of Mario 3d land.
I blamed my mother she always looking out the attick window all day telling me how im a dip shit nintendo fanboy and everyone is laffing at me laffing at me laffing at me
So I went to game dressed as a woman and took a poop on my wiiu pad then sucked off a wii remote
Thinking it would help me make freinds with dualshock queers but it didnt im in a cell with tyron a huge black guy iv become his bitch my butt is his move controller holder and he plays ps3 whilst I handlr his joysyick my mothers momified remains have been burried
Iwata does vidit me but said im no longer his fan bitch as tyron has ruined my wii remote hole
I wish now I never got hucked on that nintendo its leathal shit look what its done to my A Hole
I blame next doors dog its always shitting on my grass HOW IT GETS IN MY HOUSE GOES TO MY STASH AND OPENS THE. Tin I DONT KNOW BUT FUCK THAT DOG MAN
I also blame you guys comming here to my site ITS SHIT I prefer pooplick. Com
blame that….. next time you will blame people for not buying wii u, next time you will say fuck you. does it matter what the problem could have been, no…. because the real problem is you nintendo!!!!!!
They are partially right…
You can’t deny that the Earthquake probably hurt Nintendo as a company. Nintendo already took the blame when THE PRESIDENT, Iwata told us that it was HIS fault. The Earthquake is just an added somthin somthin that didn’t help the Wii U. Nintendo wants to let everyone know that there are outside factors to take into consideration before blaming everything on Nintendo. 💋
Makes sense. I guess some people,woild not understand if they haven’t experience this kind of catastrophy or something similar…
THAT WAS IN JAPAN. WHAT ABOUT REST OF THE WORLD????????
Think about it. If your home base is in disarray than that will affect all those that answer to the home base. Nintendo of Japan IS THE HOME BASE!
💋
I don’t think they are pointing fingers. I think you guys are misunderstanding that much. As for the earthquake, understandable. Reason why is because even though nintendo did state that they are at fault for the wii u, the 3ds could have been effected more and which now I see it, did happen. I can’t say much for the wii u but it may not just been Wii U’s development of lacking games. Several other companies that could have been impacted just as much due to death tolls. Though I still don’t understand why many developers who are back on their feet at the time (EA, Ubisoft, Activision…I’m looking at you and your poor excuses) didn’t make games good or at all. Too me, the Wii U did suffer this as gamers (Icezemma’s claims to nintendo’s great vaccums) had nothing to play. Capcom did release a upgraded version to Monster Hunter 3, but I feel they are not going to be that supportive sence no Street Fighter is coming back. I prey to those unfortunate people who died in that earthquake, it really is a shame so many were killed…rest in peace you all.
I vowed to never hear this song ever again but its my curse as a gamer and I will have to one day…rest in peace Uncle as I pass this song to at least over 500 other people, Song of healing…
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XDX4ZwUeOok
Memorial in honor memory of Paul Thompson, my uncle. September 26, 1939 to September 8, 2008.
It’s been 6 years since I heard this song, and I did hear it a few other times 2 years ago by other people. He died by cancer, but was told also by a heart attack. I miss him dearly because he was like a father to me since my real father died when I was 7 by a heart illness.
So, now I know…I will set this memorial to those several hundred people…gamer style.
R.I.P, people of Japan.
*a tears runs down my cheek*…Indeed, Rest in Peace…uncle.
oops, mispelled his name too, “iceazeama”. There we go, sorry about that.
My dearest Nintendo, hahahahahahah…
…*gives you a serious look with anger*…
Sorry, this was meant to someone else who I have completely forgotten…
¬.¬ ok, accepted.
Some people in the comments literally make me shake my head.. They’re not saying that the 3DS wasn’t selling because of the people who died in the earthquake but because it affected the economy… Still, I don’t think it’s a valid excuse for the lack of Wii U games.
Well fair play.
All jap businesses were affected by the event
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Oh great, another article people are going to stupidly overreact at. Then forget about it the next day. Next!
True story bruh lol
Well, ok, but if you knew you had a problem being over extended, why didn’t Nintendo hire more developers or acquire new developers by buying Sega, and/or Tecmo, Namco, Square-Enix, Konami, Capcom?.
If Nintendo can not support 2 systems, then Nintendo needs to buy more developers, Nintendo should buy Sega and Tecmo and Atlus and make exclusive contracts with Namco, Capcom, Konami, and Square-Enix.
My friend thought the Wii U was a add on, when I showed him what the Wii U is and that it’s backwards compatible, he is getting one now.
Hey commander, look at 7:00 of this video, one of out own sprite solders is nailingbit to a few rivals. *snickers and giggles at their failure in the hack*
No wonder this site gets called “MyTrollBaitNews”. Nintendo just cited the earthquake as a FACTOR in the delays. There’s a difference between recognizing something as contributing to a problem and actually BLAMING it for the problem. Jesus…
*Insert comment complaining about the excuse or whatever*
That’s understandable… earthquakes do tend to cause problems…
^ my comment
The Wii U still looks like a modern version of the trusty Sega Game gear… Only the Wii U has the tech to make it actually viable…
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This is almost as funny as the fact that Cashcom blamed the earthquake for the creation of Ultimate Marvel vs. Cacpom 3.
what will they blame next ?
This makes perfect sense… but its time to move on.
*facepalm*