Influential publication TIME doesn’t think that there’s a possibility that Nintendo can save its struggling Wii U console. The piece was written after Nintendo announced today that overall net sales fell from last year’s 635.4 billion yen (£3.6bn) to this year’s 571.7 billion yen (£3.3bn). The company posted a 23.2B yen loss. Here’s what the publication has to say.
“Nintendo’s Wii U, in contrast, lacks compelling specs, a sweetheart price or a historical PlayStation 2-equivalent to build on. It’s in the same ballpark as the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360, oomph-wise, but that’s not what gamers who’ve lived with Sony and Microsoft’s systems for the past six or seven years were looking for in November 2012, nor what seems to be moving them now. The Wii U’s price hasn’t helped matters: $350 at launch, for the only version you’d care to own, the sticker probably forced up by Nintendo’s pricey pseudo-tablet pack-in. The message Nintendo seemed to be sending was this: spend more than you would for an Xbox 360 or PlayStation 3—each of those systems sporting massive libraries flush with acclaimed titles—on a backwards-looking system without a game-changing system-seller. The Wii U has yet to find its Super Mario 64 or Wii Sports.”
“Nintendo’s problem is that it’s in that deadliest of platform catch-22s, where you need a slew of standout, signature games to make your case, leveraged by third-party support for all of the triple-A multi-platform titles. The company has too few of the former and a shrinking dearth of the latter at this point. Third parties have either abandoned the system or failed to sign up for duty in the first place, their worries doubtless confirmed for the second cycle running with these latest fiscal results.”
“And that’s why people aren’t buying the Wii U. Enthusiasts view it as anemic, casual gamers see it as overpriced and there simply aren’t enough diehards loyal to the beloved Nintendo brand to make up those deficiencies. The proof is in those figures.”
Thanks, Simply G
and they are right
The Wii U will fail because Nintendo fans are too cheap. Sony fans don’t even need games to play on their PS4.
Well um there absolutely right. Much truth in what Time stated. Doesn’t change the fact Wii U is still fun to play
They can probably increase sales alot with Smash Bros and Mario Kart, we can only hope
While Hoenn is making it rain for the 3DS
it doesn’t help that they are making like a billion games for the 3ds, and like 3 for the wii u
Seriously. The new Pokemon remakes for the 3DS could have been a good *new* Pokemon RPG for the Wii U. They need to stop treating it like the black sheep.
Dont worry. Pokken Fighters is coming.
Agreed
portable / system games … this model is outdated and nintendo is likely going to merge them very soon
all games should be on both systems … flexible graphics and gameplay depending on your method of play.
Hoenns gonna put 3ds back on steroids(like x and y did)
I heard Nintendo is going to replace the WiiU with a new console named NES2. It will support 4K graphics and you can even use a mouse in FPS and RTS games. The online service will be called NES Online. Nintendo will require all online multiplayer games to support dedicated servers. Once a month you can get a free NES, SNES, or N64 game, it also comes with Netflix. One of the marketing lines is the old slogan “Now you’re playing with power!” Release date seems to be late 2016.
Lmfao.
Thanks for the good laugh, champ.
…. I …. would…. buy….. that.
They should make a Pokemon Stadium 3
Well, if there’s anyone that knows about falling into irrelevancy, it’s TIME.
I was thinking the same!!!! Lol!
Lmao…too true!
xD
Really, I don’t think I can put much faith or care in TIME’s words in general due to recent really huge screwups on their end as a whole. Hard to care about or trust their word.
You don’t have to take their WORD for it; just listen to what they’re saying (all of which is basically true) and do so with Nintendo’s anemic sales/huge losses in mind.
It doesn’t take a bloody genius to realize the Wii U is Nintendo’s Sega Saturn/Dreamcast.
I think they’ll sell 2 more millions Wiiu’s this year, because of Smash/Mario Kart/Zelda. Maybe Bayoneta…
I think their official forecast is something like 3.9 million. Pretty low expectations from them. ;/
Shoot low, and when they beat the low numbers they avoid the crap press, which is what has hurt them the most with the Wii U, cause you can’t go to any site without seeing a negative Nintendo article and its been that way since the before 3DS.
Funny thing if you break numbers by region the only number that is actually seriously low is the Americas region, same with the 3DS.
DOOOOOOOOOM! DOOOOOOOOOM!
Seriously this should be called My Nintendoom News.
That’s a sad and pathetic reality. Nintendo doesn’t need to “save” the Wii U, they need to keep delivering great games and make more partnerships for exclusivities. I love my Wii U, but it’s a fact now, the Wii U is a nichie console.
damage control 101
Says the guy who tried to make Mario Kart 8 which is 1080p/60FPS last gen.
naruto is emo
:-l
Yeah I got an idea on Wii U in Japan. Pretty much an average of 8k a month. When a big tittle arrives 5 weeks it will increase then back between 5k to 8k. The big Wii U software tittle at launch will be no. 2 then each week it’ll get closer to the bottom.
I don’t think using “save” fits the situations. They don’t either fail or succeed. While the Wii U probably never can reach the heights they want, they can make the best out of it, and at the same time start addressing some of the flaws in their strategy. SSB, MK8, SM3DW, Zelda. All of these will sell consoles (in SM3DW’s case, continue to sell consoles), and the Wii U will probably hit somewhere in between 15 and 30 million consoles in its lifetime.
I agree. I love DK and Nintendoland. I own the latter, even if I don’t have a Wii U yet but I already played it at my friend’s and it is some fun! Hugs!
SSB won’t sell as many consoles as people seem to expect. Nintendo made huge, HUGE mistakes with it. They should have released it exclusively on the WiiU. Bringing it on the 3DS as well just gave people reasons to NOT buy a WiiU. And giving the 3DS version an earlier release date isn’t helping the situation at all either. The hype for the game will decrease significantly, and people won’t care about the game nearly as much anymore as they do right now 4-6 months after the release of the 3DS version.
Long story short, bringing SSB on both the 3DS and WiiU was a huge mistake, in financial terms.
I thought so too, but if they play it right now, they can make it even better! Release the 3DS version this summer, showing a lot of people how the new SSB is. Then advertise the Wii U version a lot, with better graphics, many other modes, better online…
What’s strange is PS4 can’t keep software tittles in top ten after 3-5 weeks like Nintendo. Only difference is the Sony hardware still selling hard. Strange.
hype
Generally that’s all it is right now and I’m thinking it might come back and hurt Sony if they don’t deliver.
A lot of these new PS4 owners are individuals who never had Sony systems pr never purchased a system near launch and they just jumped on the hype train. Now a lot of them are having a bit of buyer’s remorse because, really… there aren’t any compelling games on the system yet. Not that this is uncommon for a system’s launch, but a lot of these people (common consumer) never got a system at launch and didn’t know what they were in for. So now they may abandon the PS4 thinking it was a waste and move on to another system.
This could be where the Wii U has the advantage IF Nintendo gets their crap together. They could pull in all of those possible consumers who are disappointed with their PS4 purchase.
it’s just all over with WiiU. But still it can be not bad thing if they remake some games, and announce something at E3. But i give you 90% chance that this E3 Nintendo will suck, especially with WiiU. When you have ps4 ready to announce games for it’s succesful console that’s selling and 6 months still out of stock even when it has barely got any games.. is not going to be easy for the weaku.
Yeah PS4 proved me wrong…software does not always sell hardware. Hype sells consoles.
This is true, i bought the next gen consoles because of hype. Wii U is the best choice right now. My PS4 and Xbox are collecting dust, i won’t make the same mistake again. They look nice on my entertainment center though!
Same, next gen sucks, its sad many downplay the wii u, as it is actually the best one out there.
but wii u is not next gen.
You’re right it’s current gen as well as the PS4 and Xbox One.
This bastard keeps spamming without thinking. Nice comeback
it’s current gen lol
As Nintendofan64 said, you’re right. It’s current gen just like the PS4 & Xbone.
“Collecting dust”, huh… Well, I play on my PS4 a lot and it’s still collecting dust. It’s not like playing on your gaming console will prevent it from collecting dust. Regardless of it being turned on or off, it’s still sitting in the same position. It ain’t cleaning itself either, so… I’m sure your WiiU is collecting some dust too, just like your Xbox and PS are.
You know damn well what I meant.
lmao
I do indeed. What I was trying to show is that the expression “collecting dust” doesn’t make much sense.
Pass them to me then. I’ll make good use of that PS4. :)
Good marketing does. This is something I have always said. If you can market a product well, you can sell it well. It doesn’t even matter what the product is.
Nintendo knows how to do this – they did it with the Wii, DS, and are currently doing it with the 3DS; they just haven’t been doing it with the Wii U.
“It doesn’t even matter what the product is” What about the New Coke back in the 80′? That was heavily advertised and it didn’t do so well.
Heavy =/= Good. You can market something a lot but if the marketing isn’t appealing and good, then it will not sell.
My point exactly ;)
alot of products were fairly adverised and sold like shet.
*see other reply*
You should have been more specific.
Exactly. If the Wii U gets better marketing this year than last year, it will definitely do better than what it’s doing now. If the PS4 & Xbox One can still sell on mostly hype & what few games they have with marketing, the Wii U can do it, too.
I heard Nintendo is going to replace the WiiU with a new console named NES2. It will support 4K graphics and you can even use a mouse in FPS and RTS games. The online service will be called NES Online. Nintendo will require all online multiplayer games to support dedicated servers. Once a month you can get a free NES, SNES, or N64 game, it also comes with Netflix. One of the marketing lines is the old slogan “Now you’re playing with power!” Release date seems to be late 2016.
wii u doesn’t even surpport usb 3.0 at all. last gen confirmed.
naruto is shit
Lacks evidence to prove claim. Sasori confirmed fraud.
If Nintendo comes out with a new model of the Wii U this year, maybe one with larger internal storage and some other new bells and whistles, they can use it as a bit of a relaunch. People will be looking to buy Mario Kart 8 and Super Smash Bros for sure, so they can take advantage of that, *if* they really care about making it improve.
Also: More games and ads. Lots and lots of ads.
It has to be GOOD ads at that.
This is an interesting idea. I think if they release a 128gb, or a 256gb model, maybe they could Relaunch with enough advertisement and at the same time Mario Kart 8! and Smash bundles, too.
But there are MK8 bundles right now, so.. Maybe for Christmas?
Yeah, I was thinking more along the lines of the holiday season or at least by Fall when consumers are buying more.
Hope they bring something new to WiiU at this E3, i think your idea will be better but with a new design, too; it’s too soon i know, but they need to change the face of failure, redesign it, and add a second gamepad, keep the retro-comp, and add a few new features, for the same suggested price $299. Add a few new game announcements, and consumers will see some value; and maybe they could reach more than 3million units for the next fiscal years. Will be a total of maybe 10million wiiu’s sold in 2.5years. Sounds like a good number for third partys. More like the Ouya, i guess.
and add usb 3.0 with a costumize able hard drive
The custom hhd is already there
Yes, indeed!
If Mario couldn’t save the Wii U… nothing will, and he failed TWICE!
You say the same shit all the time.
Because it’s the same shit every time.
Can it you dont have a Wii U i bet.
If you’re saying that I don’t own a Wii U, you are right. But I fail to see how me not owning one would have to do with it selling like shit…
But how do you know it’s the same thing every time.
What I mean by the “same shit” is because most negative news that regards the Wii U has to do with the same idea(s).
Also, if I’m annoying you with my trolling, I’ll stop.
Haha no, please proceed :D
Yesssss! lol You are definitely my favorite person on this site :)
Wow really!!! Sweet thanks :)
Ya’welcome :D
And once I buy my Wii U, could I add you?
Sure, i would love to beat you at Mario Kart!
lol!
We’ll see about that >:)
he will fail the third time.
turd time to you
A. K. A:
http://www.generadormemes.com/meme/r1ryeg
But you will fail more.
Mario didn’t fail though. It did get the console to 78k in Japan before. Now imagine what back to back Meteoid and Starfox dropping every 2 months after MK8-SSB U? It wouldn’t be going down.
Sadly, they might be right. It’s almost 2 years into the Wii U’s life cycle, not a single game released for it so far has been a massive system seller, and there are just too few games in the first place. Yes, we’re getting Mario Kart 8 in 3 weeks or so and Smash Bros. in winter, but it might be too little, too late. They’re putting way too much more focus on the 3DS which is still doing well and not enough towards Wii U. At this point, we’ve gotten more VC games on the Wii U than new games made exclusively for it, and I can’t help but think that’s ass-backwards. They’re also not marketing it well- it’s better than nothing but it’s still bad (remember the Mario 3D World commercial? Blehhhh, cringe-worthy).
The Wii U needs better marketing, more NEW games, maybe a new app that really shows off the gamepad’s true abilities, and they can’t keep relying on Mario and Zelda to sell consoles- those two only get you so far. Nintendo has more than a dozen franchises it should be using/making games for but they simply aren’t (anyone remember the last time we got a new Star Fox,a new F-Zero, or a Metroid game that didn’t suck?).
They CAN turn things around and make things better/less bleak, but unless they actually put in the effort, it will never happen.
I am so fucking sick and tired of hearing about these kinds of Articles about the WiiU’s sales.
The thing i notice with all the “Iwata’s statements, is that they’re too proud of themselves. I think they need to listen the fans, the core fans. It’s no so hard.
There’s has to be a way to directly reach Iwata, or some high nintendo employer, there’s not twitter. Noa has one, but it’s a general news twitter. I would love to scream at Iwata, to DO SOMETHING, to give us the games WE want. StarFox, Metroid, old IP’s, NEW Ip’s. Damn.. so many games and they don’t Listen!
It really is sad how the Wii U is selling. It deserves more respect. It has amazing games, but people overlook them just to go play the next Call of Duty game. I think I saw the Advanced Warfare trailer had over 10 million views or something already (or maybe it was 1? jesus christ if it’s 10 million, damn o_O) I’ll stick by Nintendo’s side as long as they stay in the gaming business and deliver great games. Wii U might not sell as well as I want it to, but I hope it can pull through. :( It’s my favorite console I’ve ever played.
@HollowGrapeJ, next to GCN and i really hope nintendo brings the GCN to the wii u vc soon, it would help the sales and people wont buy expensive gcn games, seriously, $300 for f-zero gx? good thing i still oww it, i still have most of the games i wanted but im missing a few
nah the wii u deseveres no respect. did nintendo even try to gain any respect from causals and core gamers nope.
i didn’t have any sign of respect towards you lol
Then I wonder why a “PC elitist” like me is giving it respect. In reality, you deserve no respect.
Sasori exposed.
SAY THAT after 2014 and IF things are bad.
Things are bad, *but* you’re right, they shouldn’t write it off yet. This year is a pivotal year and we should wait until after it’s up. The fact that Nintendo doesn’t have high expectations for the system this year is not a good thing though.
sometimes its key to listen to fans and its also key to not listen to fans, in this case nintendo needs to listen to fans, like how everyone wanted a remake of ruby and sapphire and now we get one, though i wish they listened to us about adding pokemon following you like in yellow ver.
I’m pretty sure they aren’t “listening” to fans about remakes. They are going to keep making remakes of all the pokemon games in order, so you know what games are next after ruby and sapphire.
Cool story TIME.
Im impressed with your originality.
ahhh no need to repeat my self today but lets restate for nintenyearolds and nintendrones.
http://www.generadormemes.com/meme/ekzlvm
I’m looking forward to the day Nintendo dishes out “THE” game that will shut the haters of Wii U up. They might even mstake it for a PC game =p Idk about that but I stand by on what I said. Hugs for everybody!
Let’s hope Mario Kart 8 is THE game to shut them up.
Umm.. 571.7 billion yen is still a LOT of money. I don’t know if I would consider that failure.. and that’s net, no where Near failure or bankruptcy..
There is no “Saving” the Wii U, there is simply dragging it along. Sure they wont “kill” the Wii U off, but Nintendo have only themselves to blame over the Wii U’s poor sales. And no a price cut and better specs wouldn’t do shit.
hard to disagree with this. although the wiiu is not out just yet. lets wait and see how nintendo acts at e3.
I to do not think Nintendo can save it, it is not in the same situation the 3DS was and while I think hammer it with games (in the same way they did with the 3DS) could help, it seem like Nintendo is neglecting the Wii U in favor of the 3DS in that regard an they do not seem to be in plans to change that.
So, I think Nintendo will keep supporting the Wii U, but it will be a generation they will regreat for ever for entering it with more pride that with games, not ready to tackle the HD, the account system, region free, PR with the public in general and 3rd parties.
And for the sake of the industry, Nintendo and their fans, this time they will learn their lesson.
what exactly is TIME’s qualification for such a statement?
wii u has only sold 6 million even the ps3 at this point had sold 12 million.
when will people under stand N wants the N gamers back hd versions of Zelda Metroid and Mario single player games will get consoles sold mk8 and smash will also party games like those are always magnificent I wont be playing anything besides mk8 til smash hits im passing on the 3ds smash until its out on wii u or I may buy and not touch it now those are games wii know wii are getting mii personally i dont really play a alot of sports games oh but i do mario golf which I know just came out on the 3ds but in time a hd motion control mario golf will happen a hd strikers hd mario tennis hd mario baseball some of the best times to be had is in mario sports games with friends ad f zero starfox 1080° waverace pilot wings kirby battalion wars animal crossing and mario party in that mix units will move magnificent games just dont happen they takes years look at tf2 and kirbys return to dreamland both of those games took over 9 years to finally be finished and I consider them both 2 be master pieces N isnt trying to capture the casual market again or the average gamer that just wants realistic looking first person shooters and sports games N is basically saying fuck those people and im glad fuck them all per order dlc map season packs pass exclusive limited addition weapon skin xp boostin nubs… anyway give it time.. see what I did there? Time Magazine derp derp derp
Honestly, I think the Wii u is going to be the next gamecube. Its an amazing console with great games, but it won’t be the the smash hit. I see Nintendo making games for the fans, and making the best of the situation. Just wait, nintendo always pulls through.
I think the Wii u is gonna be the next gamecube: an amazing console with spectacular games, but not a worldwide smash hit. And that’s okay. Honestly, games are about having fun. Nintendo’s the best in that respect (imo). I see Nintendo making great games for those who own the Wii u, and making the best of the situation. Nintendo always pulls through, and I can’t wait for the greatness to come.
I’ll be perfectly fine with this. I loved the Gamecube era.
Sorry for,the double post
How is the Xbone doing time? The WiiU has 5 nintendo games above 1million sold that are not called Mario Kart. Times made this article before reading all the news today I see :).
Reblogged this on MMA, Wrestling, Comic and Gaming News.
Nintendo won’t even advertise the console because they’re too cheap. Why? Just do it. Mario Kart 8 deserves to be played by millions & not only 3 people. I’m happy they’re failing, hope they go 3rd party.
Stop getting mad because you can’t play Nintendo exclusives and you don’t want to buy the console. Your loss.
Stoop! I hate nintendo fanboys! I own a WII U, & just because I say shit to them doesn’t mean I don’t like them or play their games.
I apologize for my short-sighted comment then.
Fuck wrong person.
xD People like you would love that, wouldn’t ya? It’d give you a chance to be just like some, if not most, 3rd parties: cheap.
Of course they can’t.. it’s not exactly a great prediction. Mario Kart 8 sales will be pretty good and the Wii U will bump up to maybe 25,000 sales max for the weekend Mario Kart 8 is released in Japan and it will slowly decline from there and will barely push 8,000 a week as usual a month after MK8 is released.
Same thing will happen for SSB4, but not to the extent that we get 25,000 sold. It’ll be more like 16,000. It’ll only double the typical amount of Wii U’s sold in a week.
“a backwards-looking system without a game-changing system-seller”
I don’t even own a Wii U yet, but what is so “game-changing” about the PS4 or the Xbox One that the Wii U isn’t? Anyway, all of this is just more doom(which I fail to see for a rich ass company like Nintendo) because of their reported. Which I’m definitely not saying it’s not their fault, they’ve really handled it poorly up until recently, but they have a shit ton of exclusives coming that I can only get on Wii U and if they market those games and the Wii U as good as they’re going to market Mario Kart 8, then I say they CAN save the Wii U.
Exactly. Like alot of other people, Time is sorely underestimating Nintendo’s 1st party titles & their 3rd party exclusives. If the Gamecube could be successful on just those alone, the Wii U can do the same. And yes. I consider the Gamecube a success since it damn sure kept me pretty entertained & busy with what few games I did play. It wasn’t a big success but it was a success for the Nintendo faithful that stayed with Nintendo to enjoy the great games they offered during that era.
Wonder if they will say the same thing about the Xbox One come fall when it still hasn’t sold 5 million. Sure they shipped that many but store shelves are littered with the things. Nobody cares. PS4 sales are declining too. It’s an industry wide problem. But let’s single Nintendo out lol.
At TIMEs like these, I can’t help but feel that there is some kind of conspiracy against Nintendo.
ESPECIALLY in the west.
Time also named Enrique Peña Nieto, a dictator who entered the government through the stupidest and most obvious electoral fraud ever made, “Mexico’s savior”.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/02/17/enrique-pena-nieto-time_n_4803677.html
I want a special SSBU Wii U bundle with some cool design and I will buy it. I would also buy a special SSB 3DS edition too. Nintendo should make a special 3D fighter Pokemon game with RPG elements and statutes that save the data.
This is old news and a troll bait at that. I’m surprised to see Time magazine stoop so low as to join the Nintendoom bandwagon with an obvious rehash of ideas. Does the writer even played with a Wii U to even call the Gamepad a “pseudo-tablet”?
Obviously as the Tecmo-Koei news implied, Nintendo is not yet giving up on the Wii U by mentioning another collaboration, then so should we. For now look at it this way, Nintendo will always have the games others want to play in their beloved consoles because they don’t want the world to know they ARE Nintendrones at heart.
This is Nintnedo’s problem, Sony has their money woes and MS has XBOne… that’s just how it is.
Put RPGs on the Wii U. No one else has them right now, right? Honestly I’m asking because I’m not that familiar with PS4/Vita. But it seems like the 3DS is a trend in getting good RPGs going for it, akin to the SNES back in it’s hey-day.
Bravely Default did amazing on the 3DS…can some of those ideas go to the Wii U and make it a RPG monster? Basically the same ideas for mechanics can go from the 3DS to the Wii U, so why not?
X is one such RPG game coming to the Wii U. And I think that Fire Emblem/Shin Megami Tensei crossover is also coming to the Wii U.
to be honest most of the stuff can be say for xbox one and in some extend PS4. The only thing which save xbox one is the support of third party cause they console have the same specs as PS4.
Now we all know Nintendo need to work hard in order to get more “casual” gamer. It’s seems the well orchestrated leak seems to create a good feeling that a lot of good things will comes. But again I see those companies as being xbox bias even if what they say make sense and logic.
I refer you to this
That’s awesome! lol
Of course the Wii U can be saved. It’s a next gen system, albeit not as powerful. There are two problems. Nintendo, and you, the gamer. Nintendo’s problem is they need to attract all the third-party companies back to the system. But the bigger problem is the gamer. The gamers are more stubborn than even the Big N themselves, even though they say they want innovation, they really don’t. That’s why Activision keeps selling Call of Duty annually, that’s why EA does the same thing all the time. They know where the money’s at, and they’ll stay there until the gamer actually becomes different, so they’ll keep selling their crap and change literally nothing about their business until the money starts disappearing.
How is price an issue when it’s the cheapest one of the current gen, no one is having a problem spending 400 dollars on a PS4 or even 500 on a Xbox One, but people don’t wanna spend 300 dollars on the Wii U? I know the specs are lower but it has a different controller, Nintendo exlcusives and so much more. And more powerful than the Wii. All they need is games that sell it. The Wii sold because of games.
Time? I wield Time and Space, I use it to my advantage, I live it, I own it, I watch it. It’s a concept, a form of science and nature. It doesn’t have thoughts….
? Oh the magazine…