Nintendo Urges Wii Owners to Please, Please Upgrade

[Andy Chalk]

Nintendo Urges Wii Owners to Please, Please Upgrade

[tweet t=https://twitter.com/StarfireTurtle/status/329440237661085698]​

Nintendo would like to remind everyone that the Wii U is actually a brand new console that's vastly improved and not at all the same as the original Wii, so maybe you should think about buying one.

"Wii" is a silly name for a console, but nobody seemed to mind - certainly not the bazillions of people who lined up to buy the thing. "Wii U," on the other hand, tips into the realm of flat-out awfulness, and not, it would seem, just because it sounds ridiculous when you say it out loud. Based on the message Nintendo put out on the Wii message board last night, there's some concern that many Wii owners don't understand what exactly the Wii U is, or why they should buy one.

Entitled "It's time to discover Wii U," it reads, "Wii U is the all-new home console from Nintendo. It's not just an upgrade - it's an entirely new system that will change the way you and your family experience games and entertainment."

So let there be no misunderstanding: The Wii U is new, get it? And it's better, right? And you should buy one, okay? There's nothing inherently wrong with console manufacturers pimping their new hardware but the Wii U has been out for six months, which as far as catching fire with consumers goes is very definitely pushing the envelope of "new."

More worryingly for Nintendo in the big picture is the old political adage, "If you're explaining, you're losing." I think that applies rather aptly here, too.

Source: Twitter (@StarfireTurtle) [https://twitter.com/StarfireTurtle/status/329440237661085698]


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[Sansha]

It's honestly not worth upgrading. The screen, to me, doesn't add a whole lot of new stuff that makes something as (bear with me here) casual and simple fun as the Wii in need of a whole new package of hardware.

I've played Wii-U. I didn't enjoy it. I enjoy the Wii-mote waggle more than the bulky controller/extra screen which is used exclusively for the most deliciously ancillary bullshit they could think of.

I'm happy with my Wii. I don't see myself "upgrading", short or long term.

 

[AzrealMaximillion]

This seems really desperate.

On one hand, I get why Nintendo isn't doing E3 this year(as much of a ballsy move as that is). On the other hand, if the best they can do while there are no games coming down the WiiU pipeline is to send messages to Wiis, there's trouble.

This is what happens when you market something to the casual market so rigorously. You find out that they aren't repeat consumers when you release a successor.

 

[Something Amyss]

This seems really desperate.

Personally, I find their begging to be quite endearing. >.>

 

[laurenhiya21]

I will when I have money and there is a must have game for me on it :l
Either that or my bf will get it when the Fire Emblem x Shin Megami Tensei game comes out XD Whichever comes first I guess.

 

[ellers07]

The article yesterday explained why there were so few launch games. Why would I buy a system that has yet to release some promising games? I will be more than happy to consider an upgrade once Nintendo shows us something good.

While their at it, I could also use a few good games for the Wii. My Wii library is a little small and I'm still kind of waiting for that investment to pay off.

It's not going to happen is it?

 

[Talaris]

Oh dear. This is what good PR is supposed to be for (incidentally I used to work for a PR agency for which Nintendo was one of its biggest clients), advertising a brand new product and emphasizing its advantages over previous hardware. But now have ship has sailed, and the focus should be on new games, particularly the casual focus ones that will win over the Wii demographic back. Calling it a Wii U and not a new name to begin with (Wii 2 making the exception) leads people to think its a 1.5 product, and not a true successor. It's early release and ports of current generation games only reinforces this mindset.

Seriously, spamming upgrade messages just seems desperate and unprofessional.

 

[JediMB]

I'm not a pony, Nintendo. Stop riding me.

I'll get the Wii U once you start releasing some games that make the purchase worth it. Until then, I have an old Wii with at least 8 retail games I haven't finished yet. (Total retail game count: 22)

EDIT: I suppose I should eventually get Pandora's Tower and Monster Hunter Tri for the Wii. I think those are the big ones I'm still missing.

 

[Callate]

It might have been better to give it a name that wasn't derivative of the original and have to explain the backwards compatibility than to have the derivative name and have to explain the whole reason for the thing's existence.

A bit sad that Nintendo is now, in essence, competing with itself, but I can't say this turn of events was entirely unpredictable. There won't be full turn-over from Wii players to Wii-U players by any means, guys- get some unique games out there, plop the "only for Wii-U" label on 'em, and make people drool over what they could be playing if only they had that brand-spankin'-new- Wii-U thing. Until then, you're treading water at best.

 

[IndomitableSam]

As I keep saying: Put DS (and maybe even 3DS) games in the store and let me play them on the console, since I play with my partner watching, and I can't sit for hours cramped up beside a person with a handheld. If you do that, Nintendo, I will buy a WiiU.

I'll wait until after E3, but it may end up being the WiiU that's my console purchase for this generation. I'm enjoying light-hearted games more as I get older... and I have a computer for other games.

If they release more games and meet my one demand, they'll get my money.

 

[[email protected]]

The WiiU just doesn't have anything that wows me at the moment. Nintendoland looks fun, but it's just their version of Wii Sports or Wii Play. Fun and engaging, but not worth the price of admission.

I'm intending to spend the 75 bucks to replace the laser in my own Wii (mostly because I don't like the idea of simply trashing it and buying a cheaper used Wii off amazon; seems wasteful) and playing with or expanding my collection with cheap used WII games over the next year.

At which point I'll invest in a 3DS, because those games wow me.

 

[Trishbot]

Well, the problem for ME is I just bought a Wii a year ago... and there's a huge library of games for it that I haven't gotten around to yet. And most of the games on Wii U I would want I can get on 360 or PS3.

I'm sure ZombiU is fantastic, and Lego City looks like fun, and a new Mario game is guaranteed quality... but there's no big "system seller" on it like there is for the competition.

Even the 3DS had a poor line-up at first, but once it got Super Mario 3D Land, Kid Icarus, Fire Emblem, Luigi's Mansion, Ocarina of Time 3D, Mario Kart 7, and games like Resident Evil Revelations, Kingdom Hearts: Dream Drop Distance, Mighty Switch Force, Pushmo, and Cave Story, it became a system no sane gamer would want to be without.

 

[shadowmagus]

News Flash Nintendo. The type of people who bought the Wii aren't generally the type of people to require buy continual hardware upgrades. Never mind the fact that the platform lacks titles, grandma and aunt susan don't see the need to buy the new hardware because "I just bought this one a few years ago."

You reaped the benefits of tapping that crowd before, now you deal with the problem that they don't have the need or particular WANT to upgrade.

 

[AdamG3691]

EDIT: I suppose I should eventually get Pandora's Tower and Monster Hunter Tri for the Wii. I think those are the big ones I'm still missing.

bad idea, capcom just shut tri's servers down yesterday, taking 2/3 of the game's content with it

 

[Nowhere Man]

This is what happens when you market something to the casual market so rigorously. You find out that they aren't repeat consumers when you release a successor.

You pretty much ninja'd me on this. These kind of consumers already moved on to the next fad with their tablets and angry birds or whatever so their pretty much a lost cause IMHO. Meanwhile the rest of us gamers are just wondering "yeah that extra screen is ok... I guess.. but where the hell is Pikmin 3??"

 

[Owyn_Merrilin]

I know in my case the Wii was played with (by the whole family, even) a few times until the novelty wore off, and then left alone until it got a new lease on life as a homebrew box that could be used as a media player on a standard def TV. That's pretty much all I use it for. I know there's great games out there, but they're mostly first party Nintendo games, which don't drop in price until the system is about to be replaced. I'll be damned if I'm gonna pay $50 for an old game. I don't even buy new releases when they cost that much, let alone back catalog titles.

So please tell me, Nintendo, why I should by its successor.

 

[fix-the-spade]

Not going to work Nintendo.

With the Wii they hit a fashion trend, I see Wii's kicking around in the houses of people who 'don't play videogames' and even though it's usually sat gathering dust, they did spend their money on it.

None of those people are interested in the Wii U, they already have a Wii, no point buying another one. They don't care that's it's a Wii Mk2, they don't know or care what a Zelda is, they view the Wii in much the same light as a toaster, already got one, don't need another.

Unfortunately for Nintendo they seem to have failed to grasp this, give up on the casual market for now (now the fashion is apps, not motion controls) and give me my damn Metroid Prime 4. Good news for my wallet though.

 

[ZakCanard]

Drop the price, upgrade my VC titles for free and have all content tied to my account rather than the console, then I might consider it Nintendo. Oh who am I kidding, you'll never do anything as reasonable as all that!

 

[Owyn_Merrilin]

Not going to work Nintendo.

With the Wii they hit a fashion trend, I see Wii's kicking around in the houses of people who 'don't play videogames' and even though it's usually sat gathering dust, they did spend their money on it.

None of those people are interested in the Wii U, they already have a Wii, no point buying another one. They don't care that's it's a Wii Mk2, they don't know or care what a Zelda is, they view the Wii in much the same light as a toaster, already got one, don't need another.

Unfortunately for Nintendo they seem to have failed to grasp this, give up on the casual market for now (now the fashion is apps, not motion controls) and give me my damn Metroid Prime 4. Good news for my wallet though.

This reminds me of the way parents apparently complained about the launch of the SNES. They saw it as an appliance back then, too, and were positively /pissed/ that a new system was coming out that had games that didn't work on the old system.


http://kotaku.com/5829631/feel-the-fury-of-the-super-nintendo-launch-as-told-by-the-local-news

 

[VoidWanderer]

Is anyone else surprised by this?

Anyone?

Didn't think so.