Nintendo of America president Reggie Fils-Aime has explained to Spanish publication La Tercera why the Wii U failed to ignite the interest of consumers when it was launched back in 2012. However, Reggie says that despite the lack of success that Nintendo has had with the console he is still pleased that it has some of the best reviewed exclusives on any current platform.
“When we launched Wii U, we missed the opportunity to be clear on the concept, to show off its capabilities and what the users could do. And that hurt us. Sales were also hurt, during the beginning of its lifespan, by the lack of games. And although we’ve sold 13 million consoles, against 20 and 40 million from the competition (Microsoft and Sony, respectively), what pleases us the most is that Wii U has the games with the best reviews and ratings from fans.”
Shouldn’t have included wii in its name.
The Wii U failed because you wanted to ride on the Wii’s success for the second time, and put decade ol’ hardware in a next gen system.
true and the games did not help the sales even though the games were amazing, a few 3rd party games also hurt the sales but of those few were awesome 3rd party games like bayonetta 2.
||[Lack of games]||
||High Command has acknowledged the flaws, the NX will be our true weapon against the Xbot infection…||
||The First Order will soon rise and purge the disease off the face of gaming…||
I love you, Nintendo First Order Commander Quadraxis.
||Your praise has been registered puny human, hallowed is Nintendo…||
la tercera is a chilean news outlet, not spanish
For any non-spanish speaking web site, any news in Latin America is a spanish speaking outlet.
Shouldn’t have used 5 year old specs and go for more power so people can actually play GTA,Call of Duty, Street Fighter and so forth,
Some of the best reviewed games that could have actually been even better with more power. Why make a game that gets a 9 when you can get a 10+
Been supporting this company for 31 years but i’m really done with them its just disappointment after disappointment for the past 14 years
Gamecube had power. Did you play GTA on that? Power doesn’t equal Third Party support. There are things behind the scene that we don’t understand. Wii which wasn’t powerful received Godfather and Scareface but didn’t receive GTA. Nintendo cannot force third parties to make games for them. You want third parties on a Nintendo console then write, commute with third parties your displeasure. The same that is happening to Nintendo happened to Sega and could easily happen to Sony and Microsoft with or without powerful hardware.
Said machine could’ve used more storage on its discs, though. That was a huge blow to Gamecube support.
2 Disc Sets was done in those days. It wasn’t on there because they didn’t want it to be on there.
For a total of 21 North American releases (a couple more and one less for Europe).
But they did happen. They didn’t want to put the game on the Gamecube. It has never been on a Nintendo home console and if they wanted it on one and Nintendo allowed it then there would have been one.
Good answer Reggie! At least they know what went wrong so hopefully they can avoid the same thing happening next time.
Terrible answer, sounds like a politician, completely dismisses the real issues, then spins talking points to Segway to the NX but wont own up to what customers or tue industry asked for.
The major flaws with the Wii U were the marketing and lack of games. He clearly says both.
he dident even address third party support, or lack of age range in games (especialy from first party, not one M rated first party game)
and a number of other things
1) the name
2) power pc, not x86 (not even x64)
3) no first party M rated games
4)few first party T rated games
5) little advertising
6) too exclusive to port games
7) little AAA support (big reason)
8) digital triggers
9) not multi touch screen
10) amiibo delayed to long
11) mobile games delayed to long
12) games delayed to long.
13) missing media features
14) system updates just stopped happening.
15) virtual console should have a Netflix like option
16) should of had updated remotes
17) no new balance board
18) should of had other fitness devices
19) still no QOL devices (which would boost attraction to Nintendo franchises
20) characters should be in media more (shows, YouTube videos, movies)
21) Nintendo game developers not listening to fans. (paper Mario was perfect the way it was, quite trying to reinvent the wheel. We wanted a mario RPG )
22) no Metroid at all
And. Flood of more little reasons.
maybe don’t name it wii? Confused everyone.
1) the name
2) power pc, not x86 (not even x64)
3) no first party M rated games
4)few first party T rated games
5) little advertising
6) too exclusive to port games
7) little AAA support (big reason)
8) digital triggers
9) not multi touch screen
10) amiibo delayed to long
11) mobile games delayed to long
12) games delayed to long.
13) missing media features
14) system updates just stopped happening.
15) virtual console should have a Netflix like option
16) should of had updated remotes
17) no new balance board
18) should of had other fitness devices
19) still no QOL devices (which would boost attraction to Nintendo franchises
20) characters should be in media more (shows, YouTube videos, movies)
21) Nintendo game developers not listening to fans. (paper Mario was perfect the way it was, quite trying to reinvent the wheel. We wanted a mario RPG )
22) no Metroid at all
And. Flood of more little reasons.
||Points 3,4,8,9,10,11,12,13,15,16,17,18,19 have absolutely no relevance nor logic in any way regarding the failure of the Wii U…||
3, 4, 8, 12, and 13 are all valid.
||No, it doens’t matter whether what they are rated as, the lack of marketing makes both points 3 and 4 irrelevant…||
||Digital triggers are optional and not vital, specially not for the Wii U, point 12 was a glitch so yes that one is valid, point 13 is irrelevant to gaming and a corrupt system introduced by the Sonyans and expanded by the Xbots for cheap gimmicks that has zero gaming relevance and further more not vital to the success of the wii U…||
13 dues matter because clearly it was something missing from what customers wanted. you may not care about it, but most customers do.
||Media features is not a key component in the failure of the Wii U otherwise most instead of just a part the so called hardcore gamers would complain about it…||
it dues matter what they were rated, because the contents of the game is what determents the rating. THUS with no first party M rated games, their was less attraction (being that those M rated games would be exclusive) so when customers want to buy a system with such content. they can clearly see Nintendo is focused on children and family content. thus they move on to systems that do have such content….again sale umbers of such games show i am right.
AND
since those customers do not come to Nintendo, then third party developers passed on porting M rated games to the wii U. this was stated by several companies including ubisoft, capcom, and nether realm
||Lack of games and delays makes ratings irrelevant, and if rated games were so important, N64 and GCN should have sold twice as much…||
||Not to mention the lack of marketing…||
Point 2 is ridiculous in a way, since it implies x64 is lesser than x86, when it is actually an extension of x86.
i meant that it was another option they did not go with
I know a lot of things about consumer psychology. The naming was the ONLY problem.
The name may have been the biggest reason, but it was not the only reason. Its marketing was a disaster, it was last gen, and it had almost no 3rd party support. Those were major factors.
The Wii U might have the games with the best reviews, but only because there weren’t enough bad games to lower the average review score. For E3 2017, I don’t want to be shouting “where are the games!?” at my screen like I was in 2015.
My peeves:
1. The latest: LEGO DIMENSIONS REQUIRES A FUCKIN’ TOYPAD that only comes with the giant set. Sucks if you only care about a certain character rather than the Legos themselves.
2. Only 32 GB in storage space, and certain digital titles and update/DLC data take up chunks of that space.
3. A majority of the Wii U’s library are weak spin-off titles like Super Mario Maker, AC: Amiibo Festival, Kirby Rainbow Curse, Mario Party 10, Mario Tennis: Ultra Smash, etc.
4. Wii Sports Club is not only NOT bundled with the system, but is a freemium title.
5. No way to exploit whatever capabilities the systwm has over the Wii, no homebrew, no Gecko codes, no 32X emulator, no Sega Saturn emulator, no Dreamcast emulator, no PSX emulator, no PS2 emulator, no Xbox (Blinx and Voodoo Vince) emulator
6. No Action Replay for the Wii U.
7. Too much emphasis on DLC and Amiibo, excluding Smash, since DLC was the only way for cut characters/content to see the light of day.
8. It’s fat heavy obnoxious gamepad. If anything happens to this thing, you are screwed.
9. Sonic Lost World was bullshit!
10. Yet another NSMB game
11. Ice Climbers got cut from Smash, but Dr. Mario got in. Even in the era of Smash DLC, Wolf and Solo Popo got shafted in favor of Corrin and Bayonetta.
12. Hyrule Warriors is a repetitive Dynasty Warriors grindfest.
13. Splatoon’s content is ONLY relevant to online multiplayer mode. 1-player/Octo Valley is not only subdued, but practically barren. King Octarian is impossible to beat. This game is not fun.
14. No Adobe Flash or webm support.
What makes you think that it should have a psx or ps2 emulator? Sony owns the PlayStation brand so it’s almost impossible that the wii u could have/ can have one. Same for Xbox. And too much DLC? Have you looked at xbone or ps4 lately?
||Point 5 is so illogical and just plain stupid that it renders your entire list invalid by default…||
King Octarian wasn’t impossible to beat, you n00b. Squid up.
1. That’s a problem on all systems. It’s not the Wii U’s fault.
3. Super Mario Maker is not weak. Anyway, what about Splatoon, Super Smash Bros. U, Pokken Tournament, Xenoblade Chronicles X and Mario Kart 8?
5. Are you saying that Nintendo should have intentionally allowed people to run homebrew stuff on the Wii U? Also, the Wii U does have homebrew.
6. Again, it’s not Nintendo’s fault that a third party company didn’t release a cheating device for their system.
8. The Gamepad is my favourite controller of this generation. The other two are too small and the control sticks are horrible. I would have liked for Nintendo to sell extra Gamepads, though.
9. Nintendo didn’t make the game.
10. One NSMB game per console isn’t a bad thing. I’d rather have that than one every year.
11. Ice Climbers were cut because the pair wouldn’t work on the 3DS. If you wanted Wolf, you should have voted for him. Lucina is the character you should be complaining about.
13. If you find King Octarian impossible, you’re clearly using twin stick controls. Everyone using motion controls has managed to beat him.
14. What did you need them for? Use a computer if you’re going to be doing stuff like that. And make sure you’ve got a box of tissues.
I beat Octarian with twin sticks
http://www.femoticons.net/images/posts/cool_sunglasses_emoticon.jpg
Yeah right. Just let go of the Wii name and never come back with it.
Just because it worked once doesn’t meant it would work again. They just need to get it through their thick skulls.
Wasn’t this already reported on?
I thought so as well. A few months ago I thought.
Could it be that the game pad is not for purchase separate from console package. (#1 reason) You think parents are not savvy enough to check if you can buy extra game pads in case their little kid breaks the pad or they want another. Could it be the games are mostly geared toward small children and the game pad is way too big and heavy for little hands. Also to add to little hands, the buttons are spaced out way too far for the fingers to move around. Most parents wouldn’t buy something like this for kids since brother or sister wouldn’t have a game pad too. You think parents want to listen to their kids fight all day and night about who has the game pad? So, if games have been geared toward small kids or young teens…. why would adults buy the system when they already are satisfied with adult games on PS4 or xbox one and can buy kid games too? Why would most people want to hold a huge game pad to play on the tv, and if they are going to go with another controller why would they pay extra for one regular controller? Those are my reasons the console did not sell to more people. Seems like NIntendo did this on purpose for some reason, Nintendo is too smart for this move. Yeah and the name Wii U is stupid. As soon as Reggie announced the name and system I was very let down and screamed at my monitor. I was a little excited for the reveal and all for that moment of disgust. IMO Pikmin 3 is enough to forgive all (basically Reggie’s point). Learn to love the Wii U, for the system will likely remain the home console for years to come and NX will be a portable system that plays Wii U games. Enjoy life if you can.
well I have a lots of reason why the wii U failed but here my 10 out of my head.
1) Naming (like people mentioned).
2) Marketing (well the lack of it, especially black Friday 2014 and 2015), and no international strategy (point 5 is an example).
3) the way the wii U was marketed (showing only the gamepad) which confused the general public.
4) few support from Nintendo on the wii U but tons on the 3DS.
5) Half baked idea like Wii TV which was not available in Europe.
6) The reason why PS3 and PS4 were successful is that console can also play Blu-Ray so for a lot of people it was a way to buy a blu-Ray player while being able to play video game.
7) Storage Capacity, yes adding an external HDD was a a decent idea but having left room in the console to add an internal one as easy as the PS3 or PS4 would have been a way better idea.
8) Not having exploited the gamepad functionality.funny enough I do believe Ubisoft is the company who exploited it the best.
9) Fitting shitty battery on the gamepad (3 or 4 hours you gotta be kidding!!!).
10) Games released, no just the lack of it but the timing (latest one is zelda wii U).
I kind of have to agree. The Xbox One was our first choice of console this generation because Halo has always been our go-to game. However, both the Master Chief Collection and Halo 5 are complete and utter trash.
I regret that the Xbox One was our console of this generation. However, seeing as none of the competition is much better off, maybe it didn’t make much of a difference.
However, I must admit that I wish we ended up with a Wii U instead. Do I think the Wii U is a good console and worth the money? No, of course not. However, it’s definitely a better purchase than an Xbox One or a PS4.
I did criticise the failure of the wii U but if the NX has some home console capability, then I would strongly to has a 2.5″ SSD storage [500 GB or 1 TB compatible] capability and 32 GB SDHC memory card reader for game. This will help with the power consumption (and the thermal dissipation) while giving enough speed. HDMI 1.4 and AVI connection and Bluethooth 4.0 for controllers and gamepad.
The console need to be able to do like the wii and wii U did. Nintendo channel and direct access to Nintendo youtube or twitch will be a good idea. Nintendo need to move away from Mii and propose a character customisation like Xbox 360 (i know people will hate me for that).
Nintendo need to offer achievement system (please not that I am not a fan of it) even if they decided not to implement in their games.
Personally I don’t want to see online multiplayer capability for 2 reasons, when the server will cease to exist the replay value will go down the drain(like Splatoon). The 2nd reasons is that having multi-player online means it will penalise a lot of countries where internet is not good (it’s alright Jack for the like of Japan,India, USA and some part of Europe but what about the rest of the world????)
Games looked nothing like that Zelda tech demo.
To sell the NX Nintendo should ride off the success of Pokemon Go. Like make a game that can give bonuses to Pokemon Go players and visa versa. Stadium 3 would be a good choice since a lot of Pokemon Go players are getting Sun/Moon and a new Pokemon Snap might appeal to people who like the photo function of Go.
People buy Nintendo consoles first and foremost to play Nintendo games. Nintendo dicked around so long with the Wii, not investing in learning how to make HD software, so the WiiU was abandoned by Nintendo do for nearly 2 years. Everyone made games for the system at launch except Nintendo.
Without a solid Starfox, Metroid or Zelda, support fizzled. People bought competitor consoles, and by the time Nintendo started trying to make HD games, it was too late, everyone had moved on.
1. Wii shouldn’t have been in the title. Most parents and people out of the loop thought “oh, my kid already has a Wii..” The fact that the “U” made a big difference in terms of performance and graphic resolution was lost on consumers.
2. There were few games during roll out. The only thing the system had going for it during its first year was the SMB Wii U game and Nintendo Land, which was really a bunch of mini games that was only fun if you had people over to play with you.
3. No third party games. Nintendo did so well in the 80s and 90s because it carried a ton of 3rd party games. DuckTales, Street Fighter, Mortal Combat.. It was silly for Nintendo to think that they alone could push a system with only their in-house games. While there own games are excellent, they just don’t have the resources to roll out enough content to keep Nintendo fans happy.
4. No Zelda title. Skyward Sword should have been a dual release for the Wii, and the Wii U.
To summarize: If Nintendo called this system something else (anything else, like Nintendo HD, or Nintendo Touch) and rolled out Skyward Sword with launch, and had 3rd party involvement on games like GTA, this platform would have been unstoppable. Instead they confused the average consumer with the system’s title, and left Nintendo faithfuls with few games to enjoy.
I’m hoping they learned all of this with the NX, ’cause I love Nintendo, and they make great games.
Oops, I meant their own games are excellent, not there.
***hangs head in shame***
… No comment… and I think others have said more than enough for why this console is a failure.
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