Well, the Wii U's only a little over 2 years old. I would hope at this point that the company who made the ****ing thing would still have games in the work for it, in spite of how little interest they show in it compared to the 3DS.  Nintendo better bring in some heavy hitters, though, because they're the only Wii U developers left. Nintendo's "shipped" 9 million Wii U's in its 2 years on the market, but Sony's sold over 18 million PS4s in half the time and Microsoft's gaining ground on them.  The Wii U may not be "over" (and it has several upcoming titles I'm looking forward to, like Yoshi's Wooly World; Splatoon; and Zelda), but its future is not strong with seemingly every developer having abandoned the platform for ones that are not diseased & dying.

f zero u

t h i s  i s  t h e  y e a r

"diseased & dying"


Always with the melodrama  :P:


I think the Xbox One already has more than 10 million units out there. Of course, Microsoft wouldn't be stupid to put out a press release about it's #2 status.

Really, what else is he supposed to say? "Yep, the Wii U's dead, a complete flop, don't bother paying attention to it." I'm not saying he's wrong, and I'm not saying he doesn't believe it, but there's nothing else he could say in that situation.

Can you think of a better way to describe a console that has no 3rd party support for the foreseeable future and is limping along with 1 Nintendo 1st party title every 2 months, while its competitors are at worst matching its sales in half the time and at best doubling them? I don't regret my Wii U purchase, but the system is an industry-wide joke and has been for quite some time. Calling it "diseased and dying" is me being charitable, because it implies the Wii U ever had life at all.

Well, he COULD just go on-stage and do this:

http://art.penny-arcade.com/photos/903426984_Tg2it/0/1050x10000/903426984_Tg2it-1050x10000.jpg

;)

Iwata said what he had to say, but as the old saying goes: "Talk is cheap." He can talk about the magical wonderland of mystery Wii U games all he wants. Until he actually shows something and puts a date on it, that's all it is: talk.

A game system with games. Doesn't have nearly as many games as its competitors.

I meant "Always with the melodrama" jokingly previously, not so much now. To refrain from words that I personally feel are uncomfortably close to ad hominem, all I can say is that I don't care to wallow and scoff at obvious deficiencies of a video game platform or to inscribe or infer a narrative from those deficiencies. I do recognize them, but I choose to fully focus my passion on upcoming release for the platform.

It seems to make reality feel better that way.

Then we'll have SHIN MEGAMI TENSEI X FIRE EMBLEM and the Vaporware Rangers :p

And yet, the Wii U is actually making a profit.  When was the last time Sony made a profit again?  Those 18 millions PS4 won't mean shit when Sony's force to declare bankruptcy and sell the Playstation brand.  Oh and I'm sure the shareholder at Microsoft who already feel the company spends too much are going to be very pleased at the amount they keep wasting on the One, only to have it eventually sell half of what the 360 did which is very likely to happen.


You love to declare doom on Nintendo, and yet the Wii U is the system most likely to get a successor despite much lower sales.

what the hell does Wii U making a profit have to do with companies making games for it? Nintendo can't make a profit if the 3DS tanks or software sales dry up. They had ONE good quarter in 2 years, that is not a trend that is a bump.

Sony could be in real financial trouble but they will NOT be selling the Playstation division if anything they will sell off their fat and refocus on their most successful brand.

Microsoft might suck at doing Xbox but they aren't going anywhere the world still runs on Office that will never change. Not in our lifetime.

Gotta love how you are comparing profits from a single product (the Wii U) to profits of an entire multi-division company (Sony). Christ, if that isn't an Apple & Oranges comparison if I ever saw one.

As for your overall attempt at a point, Sony's made it pretty clear that their future is PlayStation. The PlayStation division is one of the few at Sony right now that isn't a complete disaster, and if I remember correctly they are selling the PS4 at a profit right now. If your doomsday scenario happened, I think Sony would sell off everything except the PlayStation Division and re-brand as a gaming-only company.

And for the record, I don't "love to declare doom on Nintendo." I criticize the Wii U, specifically, and it alone of their 2 modern devices because the Wii U failed for a number of reasons and it doesn't feel like Nintendo's learned a ****ing thing from any one of them. I chide the Wii U for being the colossal failure that it is because I don't want to see the Wii U's mistakes repeated. Nintendo simply having the money to coast through their ****-ups isn't good enough, especially since said coasting due to arrogance and wealth is the very thing that caused the Wii U to be what it is.

There are games I enjoy on my Wii U. As I said, as big a screw-up as the Wii U is, I don't regret my purchase. But it could have been so much more than it is, and its successor could be so much more. For that to happen, though, Iwata needs to show that he has learned from his mistakes. "Please Understand."

You know, it's funny...I actually never intended to get into a full-scale rant on Nintendo & Iwata in this particular thread. My original post was more of a "put up or shut up, Iwata" comment, as Nintendo really needs to "bring it" on the Wii U since no one else is coming to shoulder the load. Just the way these things go, I guess. Oh well.

Difference between you and me: I gave up. I saw no reason or benefit to fight or argue anymore. Nor to believe, to hope, to wish, or to dream.

Through this retreat I found peace. With regards to Nintendo.

So while I may not like it all the time, I respect that chose the harder path.

Victory through apathy, huh? Not my style since I'm more inclined to passion & foolish idealism, but whatever floats your boat.

This is standard PR talk, the safest of safe answers. It's straightforward without being overly optimistic. At the basest level, Iwata is saying, "We're still making games for Wii U." If anything, this is an unimportant quote masquerading as something bigger on a slow news day.

Or talk for investors.  In all honesty, as a company, if Nintendo is making profits and not losses from the existence and support of the WiiU its a success.  They just have to do a good job of managing expectations.  Which puts them in the middle of their two direct competitors. 

Microsoft is losing money on its games division last I checked. 
Sony is making money on there game division last I checked.

The biggest problem that Nintendo has is that it isn't growing.

I'm amazed every time I hear people say "there's no games on the Wii U" either y'all have way more free time than I do or you're crazy.
I own 17 fully fledged games in Wii U (games like Wonderful 101, Mario Kart, & NBA 2K and that doesn't include some of the newer ones like Hyrule Warriors that I'm going to buy very soon)
And that doesn't even include my 6 smaller Retail games l didn't include like Mario & Sonic at the Olympics or Duck Tales or Lego Marvel.
I then own 2 Wii downloaded games (it'll be 3 tonight)
9 downloadable or Indie games
And 21 virtual console games (no that doesn't include what I have in Wii mode) yes a few of those are worthless games I only bought because they were only 30 cents, but most of them are great games.
So I continue to say there are quite a few games on Wii U and I'm happy with it.
Now if you're saying you think it would sell more with more games you're probably right, but don't say it doesn't have any games

If you feel you have to spell out that it is "not over yet" then it's over.  Is there any other Nintendo besides the Virtual Boy that would require the head of Nintendo to make such a statement (and with the VB the statement was "it's over")?

So the Wii U makes a profit.  Well does that excuse Nintendo on all there mistakes?  Is there any Wii U owner alive that considers the virtually non-existent third party support to be a good thing that should be repeated in future Nintendo generations?  They fucked up and they need to learn from that.  Oh don't worry they have lots of money so they can fuck things up for decades to come?  What is this something you're okay with?

An important part of all this is what kind of brand power is a Nintendo console going to have when the Wii U successor comes out.  In theory the Gamecube sure seemed to be a more capable console for its time than the N64 was but the N64 was more successful.  I think a big part of that is because a lot of people bought the N64 based on the SNES's rep but were overall displeased with it's poor third party support so they decided to not go with Nintendo again.  I contributed to the Wii's sales figures but I was never pleased with it.  I still bought games for it because I already had the system but my interest in Nintendo was being eroded away the whole time.  I decided I would not support Nintendo if they released another console like the Wii and they did so I haven't bought it.  Most Wii owners were obviously not thrilled enough with it to buy its successor despite it being one of the highest selling videogame systems of all time.

Someone can be a Wii U owner and will buy the major titles released for it all while generally being displeased with their purchase.  Don't assume that every Wii U owner is cool with the horrible third party support and resulting infrequent releases.  Some of those Wii U owners are probably pissed off enough by that situation that they're not buying the next Nintendo console because they don't want to go through this nonsense again.  With each Nintendo console that they fail to address major issues that have been around for decades the amount of customers that will put with their nonsense decreases and eventually that will shrink to a point where Nintendo won't make a profit.  Having your customerbase shrink is not a sound business strategy.  The Wii only saw an increase in customers because Nintendo targeted a new audience.  So them just bouncing along forever and ever is a fairy tale.  If they don't shape up this will all bite them in the ass eventually.

Until Nintendo actually admits their own mistakes and addresses them they ARE doomed, it's just been a slow death.

I'm not usually on the same page as Ian and Broodwars, but I agree with them here. I love my Wii U, I have tons of games for it that I really enjoy, but there are lessons Nintendo really has to learn from how it has gone so far.

i seriously don't know what mistakes Nintendo made this generation. I've purchased more games this generation than last. The games seem better and more fun. The variety  I have is better. I don't think Nintendo has done anything wrong. From the sounds of it its just people treating Nintendo back how they did in the Gamecube era. Third parties are in love with Sony and Microsoft. No matter how good the platform would be there would still be this shunning it seems. Nintendo is however in a pretty good position for the future. Their position in the timeline of console releases puts them in a good position for the top next generation.

They could just release a console that is marginally better than ps4 and xbox one when the time comes. I think they should stick to the wii and wii u controllers this time. I think they should play it safe for control methods. What they have now works, and will still be underutilized next generation.

dude most of those are over a year old, there aren't any new games, Dreamcast had 300 games on it but it still doesn't have anything new worth playing. Also you named a bunch of games that have superior versions on inferior consoles, if Wii U is *your* only console it makes sense to get those games for it, but if you own any other console and a Wii U, it does not make sense to get games on Wii U that are available elsewhere.

I agree.  The Wii U is much more enticing if you only owned a Wii last gen.  But otherwise a huge chunk of the initial third party games were titles that were already available on another console you've probably already owned for years.  Hell the PS3 and Xbox 360 can still be bought brand new for LESS money than the Wii U.  Come pay a premium for LESS games?  Where's the pizzazz?  What is there to grab someone's attention?  It's basically just a touchscreen controller and Nintendo first party games with graphics from at least five years ago.

That's terribly reductive. If you want to play that game, you can do so with PS4 and Xbox One as well.

"It's basically the same console from eight/nine years ago with better graphics but still worse graphics than most PCs today. Also, Destiny/Titanfall are overrated."

Not really a fair assessment of those consoles, is it? Wii U is far, far, far (far) from a perfect console, but it isn't without its merits. "Oh, it just has Nintendo first party games. Pfffffftttttt....." Except that's the entire point. They're well-known, highly regarded, and you can't get them anywhere else. Trying to downplay that just makes you sound desperate. And the fact that you're still harping on the graphics in 2015 is just sad. Let it go, Elsa.

The market for which "Nintendo games and that's it" is a selling point is, well, the Wii U userbase and that's it.  That's not sustainable.  Sorry, people want graphics that are actually comparable to competing consoles and they want games to be released on somewhat of a regular basis and actually want games made by companies other than Nintendo.  This concept of some additional system purchase to get your Nintendo games is a recent concept.  The company's legacy was built on consoles that actually had contemporary hardware and third party support.  In 2015, "it has Nintendo games" means jack shit, particularly when it means compromising everything else.  Nintendo is so inept at consoles now that the presence of their own games is the only selling point it has.  Plus what a "fuck you" to their fans.  "Hey our product is almost completely worthless but it has the Nintendo games you can't live without so put up with all this other bullshit to get your precious Mario!"  Nintendo is cutting corners because they arrogantly think that "it has Nintendo games" is enough of a selling point to make up for everything else.  That didn't work with the Gamecube, which was more competent of a console than the Wii U, and it is failing hard here.

And if I want Nintendo games that make no effort to use up-to-date hardware.. I have the 3DS and it has third party support and everything.  I don't need to put up with the frustration of owning a Wii U while still getting my Nintendo fix.

If I bought a Wii U at launch then I would have considered it a mistake, but at the point which I got one it was pretty clear where it was headed and I knew what I was getting into. The system actually had a pretty successful launch month and a selection of third-party games in series that the Wii didn't get, so the future showed some promise. But that's why I don't buy systems at launch, and wait until the games I want are actually out or close to release. I knew it was just Nintendo titles and there were enough to make it worthwhile for me.

That said, the system is really disappointing as a followup of the Wii. Despite its reputation the Wii actually had a good selection of fun and quirky third-party titles, and the Wii U isn't even getting those kinds of games. And Nintendo's own output doesn't feel as strong as the Wii either; they've released less games and I don't feel they are as good as what was on Wii. With Nintendo being the sole supporter now, they should release more games than its predecessor, not less.

I hope Nintendo have learned their lessons but at the same time, some of their issues have been evident for a while and should have already been fixed with Wii U. There are still some signs that Nintendo are improving, but I'm not convinced they even fully understand all the reasons the Wii U is a failure. Even if I don't regret getting a Wii U, I don't think I'll be on board for the next system if it's the same thing.

I'm not sure how much this relates to Iwata's comment as much as the discussion in the comments, but, uh, yeah, I don't think they really have a choice but to stick with Wii U for now. They can't afford to rush into a new system to replace it, they need to take their time and make sure they not only make a good next system but also have quality games available at and near launch. And so even if they do realise the mistakes with Wii U, they can't talk about them yet because they're still trying to sell the thing and make some money on it as they plan out what they will do next. They're in a tough spot, but I feel this is the best course of action.

Why is the 3DS that much better? It also is mostly Nintendo's games. It's also got worse graphics than its competitor (vita) it also has new releases coming at a trickle yet you don't complain about it. I think they aren't that different. Personally I enjoy both. I also own a PlayStation, but the truth is 90%of the game I buy are in 1 of those 2 systems. Sometimes (like with NBA 2K or Lego Marvel) I could get a version with better graphics on PS4; however, for those 2 games specifically I choose Wii U because of off-tv play (on NBA 2K) and to avoid split screen when playing co-op (on Lego Marvel). So me those are a bigger deal than the graphics, to others the graphics is more important. I buy a few PlayStation games and mostly Wii U/3DS games because I buy games I think I'll really enjoy and this appeal to me more often. Others are different. Nintendo could have given the Wii U graphics on par with PS4 and Xbone, but they would have had to either drop the GamePad or be the most expensive console and they chose to be different and a little bit cheaper and I'm OK with that. If you're not then but one of the other 2 and do both . yes the NES and SNES had great 3rd party support while the Wii U only gets 1st, 2nd party and some Indie support. I still have lots of fun with it.

Shovel Knight and Bayonetta 2 makes everything okay. I'm serious. Some of you guys are missing the point, well at least to me.  I remember years ago in the Gamecube days, I used to crush Nintendo on the very same boards for not having their shit together. But I don't feel this is the same thing.  My biggest problem with Nintendo this gen is not being ready for HD, That was inexcusable and a huge violation. However I have bought more Nintendo games in the last 3 years then I have at any other time in history. More disposable income? Marginally, but its nowhere enough to make up for the sheer volume of games I've bought for the Wii U. This system is a BEAST and if you allow yourselves some time with it, you may fuck around and have some fun with it.


"There may come a day when the mistakes of the Wii U overtake its outstanding library of titles but it is not this day. "

First the 3DS is a handheld, to many people portability *is* a selling point in and of itself so if you can't see that then really you are part of the problem. This attitude is why Nintendo is in the shit mess they are, fans who do buy everything they make and don't question it.

Nintendo cannot compete with the big boys they NEVER COULD. Nintendo is a toy company that got lucky with NES fumbled around a couple decades blindly got lucky again with Wii and now they are back to their fumbling around.


NES (famicom) was made using severely outdated technology for the time so I disagree with the Nintendo needs to be on par with its competition to a certain degree. They just need to get their shit together and make friends with 3rd parties. Wii U is probably the most powerful console they could make they don't have the resources the other tech giants do and they know that, they even openly admitted that repeatedly.

People tend to forget that SNES was not the dominant console either Genesis kicked it ass up to the point Sega killed it, stupidly, to focus on Saturn. From there Nintendo kept plugging along and in the end sold more SNES units but only because Sega walked away from that market and hey look what Nintendo did they doubled down on outdated tech when everyone else was moving on, sound familiar? IT has always been their strategy, do the least amount of effort for the most amount of profit they really are in this mess because they are stupid and don't realize how lucky the were. In the 16 bit days aside from the RPG's, which mostly came slower and latter anyways, Sega got all the big 3rd party titles either first or exclusive, SNES had to fight to get many and part of that was Nintendo acting like they were they only name in town when it comes to video games. They got lucky with GameBoy and somehow don't even know why it worked, nor do we to be honest because every scenario you run should have had Game Boy bombing in the time it took to kill its competitors.

I don't think anyone at Nintendo knows why people buy their shit other than Mario so they see that no matter what they do the only constant is people buy Mario games, it will NOT be another generation before their shareholds figure that out and just put Mario games one everything else. Nintendo cannot afford to lose money for ever, they can bleed money but their shareholders are tightwads now, wait till they can't give away consoles they will go 3rd party or die out entirely. I used to think them going 3rd party would never happen but that was before seeing the mess Wii U is in now and with 3DS slipping its clear they are well past their prime.

These are all still very reductive (and repetitive) points which is why I can't take them seriously. Too much negativity, too much melodrama. You talk up PS4 often, but it isn't good enough to inspire you to buy one. I still can't make sense of that. You shit on Wii U so frequently, constantly declaring your defiance in avoiding it yet the competition you laud so much still isn't worth purchasing either. That's weird.

Thanks, Mop it up. I agree. Wii U isn't a great console, but I think it's good enough to carry the company to a hopefully much better successor.