Topic: What COULD (have) save(d) the Wii U?

[Soren]

And I'm sure we can all remember all the FPS' Rare developed after the success of those two games.

[NWR_insanolord]

at least Nintendo in the last 15 years has improved on the rpg front. We can give them that.

They did buy a company that was really good at making RPGs, and then eventually let them make one.

By my count, they've made 4: Baten Kaitos:EWATLO; Baten Kaitos Origins; Xenoblade; & Xenoblade X. I've only played 3 of the 4, but they've done fine so far.

Sure, go ahead and ruin my joke about Disaster with your "facts."

[NWR_insanolord]

Ironically the N64 was by far the BEST console for first person shooters at the time.  Then they sold the company that made them.

Pretty much that whole team had left to form Free Radical long before Nintendo sold Rare. That's why they sold them; Rare was the company of old in name only, as most of the talent had moved on.

[broodwars]

at least Nintendo in the last 15 years has improved on the rpg front. We can give them that.

They did buy a company that was really good at making RPGs, and then eventually let them make one.

By my count, they've made 4: Baten Kaitos:EWATLO; Baten Kaitos Origins; Xenoblade; & Xenoblade X. I've only played 3 of the 4, but they've done fine so far.

Sure, go ahead and ruin my joke about Disaster with your "facts."

Well, Disaster's on a whole other tier above those peasants.

[Shaymin]

And most of the people who plopped out those first person games under the Retro name are now Armature Studios (Sucks At Making Games).

[broodwars]

Yeah, Armature's pretty much a porting studio these days. I think they did the PS4 Handsome Collection port of Borderlands 2 I'm playing right now.

[ThePerm]

last story, and that sword game. wasnt perfect dark a flop? didnt it only sell like 200,000 copies? I loved it, but it never seemed like anybody outside a small group got that it was goldeneye 2

and back to Zangeki no Reginleiv, they should release that on wii u in north america with hd graphics. Put team ninja on it. buy tecmo

[broodwars]

They really need to put Disaster on the Wii U VC. Digital distribution is totally the way to sell a game that niche...and awesome. I already own it, but it'd be nice not to have to play it with Homebrew.

[ThePerm]

Cubivore is the type of game that nobody would buy back in the day, but everyone would buy now for their cell phone.

[Mop it up]

Nintendo could have saved the Wii U by buying RockStar.

Or the Xbox division.

[ShyGuy]

Mop it up could have saved Wii U, but she didn't buy enough.

[Evan_B]

Hate to dredge up a whole thread, but I did want to comment on something.

Nintendo's Wii U lineup is looking extremely strong in the next 6-8 months, in my opinion. If Wooly World, Starfox, and Mario Maker land this year with the addition of XCX, Fatal Frame, Devil's Third, Project Treasure, Illusory Revelation, and more before the next E3, I would go as far to say that, starting with Splatoon, the next year could be a massive shift in monentum for Wii U. I don't think it will turn around the system, mind you, but it sure as hell puts it in a very favorable spot in comparison with its contemporaries.

[NWR_insanolord]

It's a strong lineup, but the system already has a pretty amazing lineup of exclusives. I'm not sure more are going to change many people's minds. Nice for the people who already own one, though.

[Luigi Dude]

Well if Nintendo was willing to get the price down to $200 or lower, I think that would cause a lot more people to start buying one.  The hardcore Nintendo fans who can live off a Nintendo only home console have pretty much bought it by now, but there's still millions of other gamers who are at least interested in some of Nintendo's games, or the more casual Nintendo fans who currently own the 3DS but won't buy a Wii U even though it has much of the same kind of games. 

The $300 price tag is still way too much to ask people who want the Wii U as a second console which right now is pretty the rest of the gaming public.  The problem is thanks to the Gamepad, just lowering the price by $50 would probably result in the system taking a loss again, with over $100 being financial suicide for them.

The fact the Wii U is still $300 at this point, shows Nintendo has already accepted the fact it'll be their worst selling home console but would rather have something that sells less then 15 million but still makes a profit, then have a system that sells over 30 million, but takes a huge loss to do so.

[Ian Sane]

A price cut would be good since there are clearly some games I want to play on the Wii U.  It's been hard to go without Pikmin 3 and Xenoblade X is going to make it that much harder.  If Zelda isn't moved to the NX I naturally want that as well.  $300 is too much for me to get for a couple of games.  I intend to get the console at some point when I can get it for a song.  As Luigi Dude is pointing out the price is just too high for it to be a second console and that's really all I would want it as.

The Wii U has some great exclusives but that's all it has.  You buy a Wii U and you get these exclusives INSTEAD of the hundred other games the other consoles both get but the Wii U does not.  Splatoon is cool and all but going with that is a trade-off of like 20 other games.  Maybe Nintendo's exclusives are the best games but they just lose to sheer numbers.  Five 8s is worth twice the value of two 10s.  That's how gamers have seen it since the N64 days.  The "quality vs. quantity" argument makes the big assumption that the other guys have lousy games.  No they have games that are almost as good, sometimes as good and sometimes even better.  Unless you absolutely HAVE to play Nintendo's games the choice is obvious.

Still if they can keep up a decent lineup of exclusives on the Wii U it will allow for a smoother transition to the NX.  That's way better than the Wii-to-Wii U transition where Nintendo seemingly disappeared for a year and they did that despite having the best selling console.

[Evan_B]

I do not agree with the five 8s, two 10s statement. Then again, I have played what many people consider an 8 and I see them as a 6, though...

[Nile Boogie Returns]

Still if they can keep up a decent lineup of exclusives on the Wii U it will allow for a smoother transition to the NX.  That's way better than the Wii-to-Wii U transition where Nintendo seemingly disappeared for a year and they did that despite having the best selling console.

I would not expect the Wii U to xfer to NX as it may not be as powerful as the current console. The path of least resistance is Nintendo getting  the very most out of the current Wii U user-base.  Also, America has been a 2 console gaming country for about 20 years if your an enthusiast. The average gamer can be happy with one console if they have a versatile pallet. Wii U, for all its flaws is a very capable main system. Sony may have the sales but the software is still lagging behind Wii U and Splatoon is quite the boost to steam the library along.

[Ian Sane]

Still if they can keep up a decent lineup of exclusives on the Wii U it will allow for a smoother transition to the NX.  That's way better than the Wii-to-Wii U transition where Nintendo seemingly disappeared for a year and they did that despite having the best selling console.

I would not expect the Wii U to xfer to NX as it may not be as powerful as the current console. The path of least resistance is Nintendo getting  the very most out of the current Wii U user-base.  Also, America has been a 2 console gaming country for about 20 years if your an enthusiast. The average gamer can be happy with one console if they have a versatile pallet. Wii U, for all its flaws is a very capable main system. Sony may have the sales but the software is still lagging behind Wii U and Splatoon is quite the boost to steam the library along.

All I mean by transition is that Nintendo has steady console releases up until the next console is released, nothing to do with the actual platforms themselves.  For the last couple generations they have had a big gap between the last releases of the prior console and the launch of the successor.  Better to have the games keep coming and keep Nintendo "current" in the minds of consumers then for them to disappear for a while.  The Wii seemed like a product that had come and gone by the time the Wii U showed up but the PS3 came across as a current product right up until the PS4 launch.

And if the NX is actually LESS powerful than the Wii U I'm going to be very sceptical about its success.  Unless it's a handheld I guess.

[Phil]

Save the Wii U, you say? It needs a streetwise Hercules... It needs... a hero!

[Nile Boogie Returns]

Even though Nintendo denied the rumors about the NX being Android based I think a 3DS replacement is far more likely than a Wii U replacement.


Wii-U-Next Maybe 2017

[Enner]

In investor Q&A, Iwata has answered how the next Nintendo system will some how absorb the Wii U hardware. I would be surprised if the NX does not have backwards compatibility with the Wii U. I think it is safe to assume that the NX will at least be as powerful as the Wii U.

It's the 3DS and DS compatibility I would be worried about. I feel that the dual screens and the 3D screen will be cut down for Nintendo's next handheld.

[Nile Boogie Returns]

I share in this fear. I want a HDS. 720p 3D, 2screens.

[Evan_B]

I just want to live in a world where Nintendo's newest handheld HAS an HD screen.

[NWR_insanolord]

Even the Vita isn't technically HD. Unless you're going the size of the GamePad or something it's overkill for a handheld.

[Evan_B]

You seem to be implying I don't want to carry around a Wii U Gamepad.