Topic: Nintendo Cuts Wii U Sales Forecast

[Stratos]

I would be quite disheartened if they discontinued the system. Though the bright spot is that there are/will be enough titles by the end of 2014 to justify the purchase for me, especially of all the games drop to bargain bin prices.


Be interesting if the Wii U becomes the next Dreamcast from a collector's stand point.

[NWR_insanolord]

I don't see how that would be at all feasible. I'm not sure if it's possible at this point, but I think that might make things even more confusing for consumers.

They are already confused by the "Wii" in the console's name. If it was re-named to something more catchy that differentiated it from the Wii then sales might pick up.

They would be more confused by the name change than they are now. I get that people don't like the name and agree that it wasn't a great choice, but it's too late to change it now. They need to focus on fixing their marketing for the system to eliminate the confusion while keeping the current name.

[Kytim89]

Ten years from now people will look upon the Wii as being a modern SNES. All of its games will be considred collector's items. As for the Wii U, if it has about a year or two more of life on the market then it will be looked back upon as a modern equivalent to the Saturn. Not in terms of sales, but the amount of quality titles that while not a whole lot of them exist, they are worth having in someone's collection.

[BlackNMild2k1]

It might help if they relaunched with a new name like it was a new system, but it would have helped more if they just didn't name it Wii U in the beginning like I'm sure so many of us knew was a mistake.
I know some people called that people would mistake the tablet as an add-on for the Wii way back at E3 2011 when it was announced, actually, people were mistaking it for just that back then too.

But a name change at this point may be waaaaay tooooo little waaaaay tooooo late.
At this point though, it might not even matter.

[Ian Sane]

The editorial the NWR put up hypothesizes that the 3DS projection getting lowered may be due to the 2DS not selling.  What would be the main problem with the 2DS?  It's name suggests that it's a different product when it isn't.  It's a 3DS but using a completely different name always ran the risk of market confusion.

So if they change the Wii U name you're going to have existing Wii U owners wondering what this new product, let's call it the N6, is and whether they need to buy it.  Will N6 owners know that old Wii U games will run on their console?  Will Wii U owners realize that these new games with "N6" on the cover run on their Wii U?  I think it would create the misconception that the newly branded Wii U is actually a new console, which means that all the cons of replacing the Wii U at this point are present but none of the pros.  Everyone thinks they abandoned the Wii U early when they didn't while those that know better will know that it's still just the same Wii U that they didn't want to buy.  A different font/logo and chassis redesign for the console itself might help establish the clear separation between Wii and Wii U but that's the most I would do.

What scares me about the smart device comment is that if Nintendo went to smartphones would it be something they actually thought out or just a panic move?  Do they actually realize why the Wii U is flopping or are they clueless and "smart devices" is just them giving in to stockholders because they have no clue what they did wrong in the first place and are just going to wildly shoot in the dark and hope they hit something?  I fear that if Nintendo went smart phone as a kneejerk reaction, it would just sink them further.  They need a real plan, for whatever they do next, and that requires a certain awareness of the situation.  "****, I don't know why the Wii U is bombing.  Let's just try this." is the second worst approach they could take.  The worst would be to ignore the situation and do nothing.

Though naturally I don't want them to make smartphone games because phones are shitty devices for games and the output would just be shitty games.  Nintendo surviving with shitty games is no different to me than them dying off.  Actually it's worse because their IP couldn't even be sold to someone who could do something good with them.

If Nintendo was to develop for hardware that isn't their own the best case scenario from a gamer perspective would be them making third party console games while giving exclusive support in the handheld market to their own handheld.  At least then we'd still get good stuff.

If they go smartphone they'll lose their whole edge with the 3DS.  How buttfucking dumb would they have to be to kill the one thing they have going for them?  If they do that then they really are dumb assholes that fluked their way to success on the Wii.

[Kytim89]

Most of the people that have bought Wii Us are Nintendo loyalists, so it stands to reason that if you rebrand the consoles name only then those layol fans will see that there is no difference and continue supporting the console. The issue is that the vast majoirty of potential buyers are confused by the name. I do not care what anyone says, sales will not pick up until Nintendo dumps the console, or changes its name.

If the Wii U had been named "Super Wii", "Nintendo Stream", or "Nintendo Phantom" then would sales have been as sluggish this past year? As for the 2DS, had Nintendo called it "3DS Lite" then it might have sold better. For example, when the Vita came out every that I know called it "PSP Vita" when in reality it was anew brand of handheld from Sony.

[Oblivion]

Kytim.

[ShyGuy]

I guess if Nintendo closes its doors, I still have Steam for Linux Nintendo isn't closing its doors

[Adrock]

I can't believe the name change suggestion is still a thing. Nintendo had roughly a year and a half to change the name. Once the console launched, they can't change it anymore. What might help is if Nintendo launches a redesigned console.

[Kytim89]

At this point Nintendo has three options with the Wii U. First, they can rename it and hope it sells more units. Second, they could continue as usual and hope to keep the Wii U some  what profitable. Third, they could just declare the Wii U a bust, take it off the market and return to the home console space two years from now with a better game plan. Which of these is likely happen? I want to say the first, but it will most likely be the second option.

[Kytim89]

I can't believe the name change suggestion is still a thing. Nintendo had roughly a year and a half to change the name. Once the console launched, they can't change it anymore. What might help is if Nintendo launches a redesigned console.

Adrock, the name Wii U has been what is dragging this console down from the get go. Even if Nintendo went to every house in the world advertising the Wii U then no one would understand the name difference. All of the marketing and games in the world will not help. A change in name might give it a sales boost.

[BlackNMild2k1]

Even if a name change were to happen, it would need to happen with a console redesign.

New name comes with a new look.
probably should launch with new colors too.

[Kytim89]

If Nintendo had not named the console "Wii U" then it would probably be setting at ten million units. It might still have had the software issue, but that can be alleviated. If the console sales pick up so will its software support. 

[BlackNMild2k1]

That ship has already sailed my friend. The only way to fix that is with a time machine, and if I had one of those, I wouldn't be wasting it on that.

[Adrock]

If Nintendo had not named the console "Wii U" then it would probably be setting at ten million units. It might still have had the software issue, but that can be alleviated. If the console sales pick up so will its software support. 

No, it wouldn't. And the lack of compelling software can be fixed without a name change. I'm baffled that we're even still talking about this. All changing the name after a console launches does is confuse people even more. Nintendo would need to recall and rebrand every single unsold accessory and game. All "Wii U" references in Miiverse the shop would have to be replaced. That sounds like a nightmare.

If Nintendo were to release a redesign, it may be beneficial to also offer some additional benefit that doesn't affect existing users ability to play games like a hard drive or DVD/Blu Ray playback. Neither are necessary (though a case can be made for the former more than the latter), but they could help set the new design apart.

[BigJim]

People aren't buying evergreen titles like Poke a Fake Dog with a Stick anymore? Bummer. Nintendo needed a time like this. They need something to wake them up. It's the market's version of tough love. Heck knows what they were doing for the 2 years the Wii was basically abandoned. (Called that and the game droughts 7-8 years ago, but the young fans here wouldn't hear a word of it.)

Nintendo doesn't have much of a choice when it comes to Wii U. They're gonna soldier through and finish a 5 year cycle, but the next console needs to grow up and Nintendo needs to pop their 20-year-old bubble. Aging IPs, sequelitis, and gimmicks are not the treasure trove they used to be.

[Oblivion]

If Nintendo had not named the console "Wii U" then it would probably be setting at ten million units.

Should I post my facepalm GIF again? I'm not quite sure if it's worth something as stupid as this sentence.

[Kytim89]

If Nintendo had not named the console "Wii U" then it would probably be setting at ten million units.

Should I post my facepalm GIF again? I'm not quite sure if it's worth something as stupid as this sentence.

Is your sarcasm detector broken? I hate the Wii U name.

[smallsharkbigbite]

The 2DS really messed with consumers.  I was at a Toys R Us around the holidays, a couple had the original DS.  They were asking a clerk about one of the 3DS games because it said playable in 2D on the 2DS on the label.  So they thought DS = 2DS and they could play it.  And the clerk didn't know any better.


The Wii U name was a mistake, but I don't think it can be fixed now without a new system.  I think while Adrock is technically correct (Wii U needs games and that is fixable), I don't have faith in Nintendo to keep the release schedule filled and products that bomb rarely catch on even if they fix the reason why they bombed because public perception is difficult to change. 

[BlackNMild2k1]

They should have called the 2DS the 3Dless, that would've helped the common consumer not be confused.

[BlackNMild2k1]

They also should have called the Wii U the Nu Wii, that way everyone would know exactly what they were looking for.... the New Wii.

[Stratos]

Wii Deuce, Wii Nu... Wii Cycle.

[Oblivion]

If Nintendo had not named the console "Wii U" then it would probably be setting at ten million units.

Should I post my facepalm GIF again? I'm not quite sure if it's worth something as stupid as this sentence.

Is your sarcasm detector broken? I hate the Wii U name.

Exactly. Get the **** over it.

[lolmonade]

Who the hell is Nintendo paying to produce their forecasts?  I can't fathom why their projected sales numbers were so inflated.  They may not have known the Wii U would have failed so spectacularly this fiscal year, but nothing they've done this year has given any reason to believe they'd sell this high a number of consoles.


I can't begin to fathom how they dig themselves out of this hole with Wii U.  Certainly they can learn a lot of what the consumer base is clamoring for by simply looking at their competition.  I don't know whether this is a sign that Nintendo has finally had a cold bucket of water poured on their heads, or a sign that Iwata knows he's in serious danger of being ousted, and him admitting he may not be suitable to lead the company moving forward.


Not that I come from any point of authority on this subject, but a few of my thoughts:

• [size=78%]Anyone thinking the name of the console is a primary problem for they system's sales is wrong.  It coupled with zero marketing could be argued for a case, but the name of the system isn't that big an issue, if the name "Xbox One" is any indication.[/size]
• [/size][size=78%]I'm not sure if they'll give up on the console outright, but anyone think they might abandon-ship on the Wii U gamepad? Separate it from the console itself, sell the console as a budget console ($250) with the pro controller, and offer the gamepad as a separate accessory?  That way they could follow-suit with Sony/Microsoft by having a dedicated tablet app for off-tv play & maybe still carve out a decent niche profit to tide them over until next release.[/size]
• [/size][size=78%]I think it's pretty clear the 3rd party ship has sailed.  I don't see Nintendo courting [/size][size=78%][/size]them[size=78%][/size][size=78%] back this generation, but maybe if they go the Sony route they can actively attract and cultivate the indie developers.[/size][size=78%]

[Adrock]

Making the GamePad optional would require Nintendo to rewrite pretty much all code in the system software including the eshop and Miiverse. Additionally, several games wouldn't even work without it and making a once included controller optional complicates things. Wii U IS the GamePad. It's too ingrained in the console's DNA to be sold separately as an optional purchase. Nintendo could make the GamePad optional in a successor. However, I think it's more likely that Nintendo improves upon it and continues making it slimmer and lighter. And no, kytim, they wouldn't make it Vita-sized.