Nintendo Won't Abandon the Wii

[Andy Chalk]

Nintendo Won't Abandon the Wii

The Wii U is coming, but Nintendo says the original Wii still has a bright and viable future.

On the off-chance that you're just coming out of a coma, yesterday's big news was all about the Wii U [www.escapistmagazine.com/news/tag/wii u?from_search=1], as Nintendo lifted the lid on its forthcoming new console with an official launch date, pricing and other such information. But speaking in an investors call after the announcement, Reggie Fils-Aime said that for Nintendo, it won't be a matter of "New Console in, Old Console Out."

"We will continue to sell the Wii," the Nintendo of America President said. "In the U.S., the Wii has sold about 40 million units. We believe that there continues to be an opportunity with the Wii."

"I'm responsible for Canada, and Latin America as well. We think there's opportunity in both of those markets, especially Latin America," he added.

Pricing will be a big factor in the Wii's continuing viability, he explained, noting that Nintendo will be able to sell the system at prices "we won't be able to reach with the Wii U." And while he expects the lower price point to drive sales in international markets, particularly Eastern Europe, he also thinks it will help keep the console relevant in the North American market as well. "We do believe there's still opportunity for the Wii, and we will continue to sell the Wii side-by-side for some period of time," he said.

The original Wii is already pretty cheap - typically around $150 when bundled with New Super Mario Bros. - so I'm not sure how much more it could reasonably be expected to drop in the immediate future. Fils-Aime didn't offer any specifics, saying only that it "will drop", "soon."

The Wii U launches in North America on November 18 at two price points: $299 for the basic bundle and $349 for the premium.

Source: Engadget [http://www.engadget.com/2012/09/13/nintendo-wii-latin-america-eastern-europe/]


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[GAunderrated]

I've never abandoned a consol that hasn't already abandoned me.

Except the Wii has abandoned its audience well since maybe beginning of 2011?

 

[Rad Party God]

"I'm responsible for Canada, and Latin America as well.
We think there's opportunity in both of those markets, especially Latin America"

Uhhh... maybe if you were so kind to readjust your ridiculous prices for Latin America (I insist, Mario Galaxy 2 for $74... wtf Ninty?), then maybe you can have an oportunity.

 

[xPixelatedx]

Nintendo says the original Wii still has a bright and viable future.

...I'm sorry, that made me shoot coke zero out my nose. Seriously, I can't stop laughing!

Unless it's possible to resurrect the dead, the wii has no future. People stopped making games for it years ago when grandma got tired of the waggle fad. Even Nintendo said pretty much as much:

"The wii was made for the casual audience, which proved unsustainable. We want the core gaming audience back"

Which is why they've been making so many promises and efforts to bring back that crowd for the wiiU.

 

[mygocarp]

I guess they're doing with the Wii kind of like what Apple is doing with the iPhone.

Keep an older generation still on sale, but at a lower price compared to the newer offering

 

[Sean951]

I've never abandoned a consol that hasn't already abandoned me.

Except the Wii has abandoned its audience well since maybe beginning of 2011?

Except Skyward Sword came out late 2011?

 

[BreakfastMan]

I've never abandoned a consol that hasn't already abandoned me.

This. Hell, I still haven't even abandoned most of my older consoles. I mean, I literally just bought a game for the PS2 yesterday! Hell, I still buy loads of old used games from garage sales and thrift stores and the like. XD But then, I also still watch and purchase VHS movies, so I might not be the best judge of this...

 

[Et3rnalLegend64]

If I remember correctly, didn't they say the same thing about not leaving the GBA and Gamecube behind for the DS and Wii respectively? We know how that worked out.

 

[Sean951]

If I remember correctly, didn't they say the same thing about not leaving the GBA and Gamecube behind for the DS and Wii respectively? We know how that worked out.

Dropping them completely and phasing something out aren't the same. They released some GameCube games for I believe a year into the Wii's lifetime.

 

[Et3rnalLegend64]

If I remember correctly, didn't they say the same thing about not leaving the GBA and Gamecube behind for the DS and Wii respectively? We know how that worked out.

Dropping them completely and phasing something out aren't the same. They released some GameCube games for I believe a year into the Wii's lifetime.

True enough I guess. I somewhat remember that they dropped the old consoles completely once their successors took on a ginormous part of the market share and I don't remember it being quite so long, but point taken nonetheless. I don't have much faith in my ability to tell time anyway lol.

 

[Evil Smurf]

Admirably enough I suppose, I still play the Wii on occasion but I have played almost all I wish to play on it.

Wii U probably won't interest me for a good while.

I am waiting for Zelda. AC looks good on it.

 

[Sean951]

If I remember correctly, didn't they say the same thing about not leaving the GBA and Gamecube behind for the DS and Wii respectively? We know how that worked out.

Dropping them completely and phasing something out aren't the same. They released some GameCube games for I believe a year into the Wii's lifetime.

True enough I guess. I somewhat remember that they dropped the old consoles completely once their successors took on a ginormous part of the market share and I don't remember it being quite so long, but point taken nonetheless. I don't have much faith in my ability to tell time anyway lol.

Oh, I just pulled a time out of my ass, but it seemed likely. I remember TP was released on GC (yes, that was the original plan, but the Wii and all that...) and I still had my GC and nothing else for a while. It helped that the Wii was relatively cheap and played GC games, so people who could afford to swap right away did and they now had 2 consoles worth of games to choose from and Nintendo didn't have to worry about alienating customers.

And that is why having at least 1 gen of backwards compatibility is a good thing. *looks at other companies*

 

[Vault101]

why are people so negative?...my Wii has bright future...

as my Metroid box..because thats all its good for *ba-dum-tsh*

 

[Shadowstar38]

Ehh? Wasnt this thing dying out even without a new Nintendo console coming out? I think new hardware pretty much crushes it out of existence.

 

[shrekfan246]

That's hilarious. Know what Wii games have been/are being released this year?

Battleship,
Ben 10,
Epic Mickey 2,
Disney Princess,
Dragon Quest X Online apparently (but not in the US or Europe),
Everyone Sing,
FIFA 13,
Frogger: Hyper Arcade Edition,
Harley Pasternak's Hollywood Workout,
Ice Age: Arctic Games,
Just Dance 4/Disney Party/Best Of,
Kirby's Dream Collection (all old games being re-released),
Lego Batman 2,
Lego Lord of the Rings,
Madagascar 3: The Game,
Madden '13,
Major League Baseball 2k12,
Mario Party 9,
MIB: Alien Crisis,
NASCAR The Game,
NBA 2k13,
Pro Evolution Soccer 2013,
Project Zero 2: Wii Edition,
Rhythm Heaven Fever,
Rise of the Guardians: The Game,
Skylanders: Giants,
Amazing Spider-Man: Wii Edition,
Hip-Hop Dance Experience,
Transformers Prime: The Game,
Wipeout 3: The Game,
WWE '13 and WWE Brawl,
and Zumba Fitness Core.

Let's just beat down the doors while racing to get all of those wonderful, amazing titles that just can't be missed as Nintendo races to try and keep the system relevant when even their in-house development teams have abandoned it.

EDIT: Regardless of all that previous nonsense, it would be ridiculous for them to stop selling Wiis. Think how stupid it would've been if Sony had just pulled every single PS2 on the market when the PS3 hit stores, that would've just been a monumentally terrible business decision.

 

[Zer0Saber]

I read the title and thought, haven't they already. thrid party games people want, they have to petition for, (in my opinion) most of the non Nintendo games that have come out lately are crap, and the actual nintend games of recent have just been fluff. feel free to point out what I don't know but Skyward Sword is the only recent thing I would consider playing from Nintendo. Plus while I'm raging here the only reason I bought my wii was for the classic console, what a rip. same for the 3DS, do they not want money? put the old pokemon games on for download. I'm pretty sure it won't dappen the market for the new ones. (Remember the story of the non-working pokemn yellow selling for iOS like crazy. You can make some money Nintendo.) I have to stop this could go on forever, I'm not just pissed at Nintendo. Sony, Microsoft, and a list of developers and publishers are all pissing me off too. rage post