Nintendo Makes Major Reductions in Wii U, 3DS Sales Projections

[Dragonbums]

So, that's three consecutive years of losses. It's time for Nintendo to go third party.

I believe that's two.

Also, you conveniently ignore the booming success of the 3DS.

But the sites say three consecutive years.

And how long has the Wii U been out?
This is going to be the consoles second year. Three if you are seriously going to count 17 days since New years. However the console has only been out for 2 years.

 

[VG_Addict]

So, that's three consecutive years of losses. It's time for Nintendo to go third party.

I believe that's two.

Also, you conveniently ignore the booming success of the 3DS.

But the sites say three consecutive years.

And how long has the Wii U been out?
This is going to be the consoles second year. Three if you are seriously going to count 17 days since New years. However the console has only been out for 2 years.

They posted a loss in 2011.

Though, Wii U had its best month in December.

 

[Dragonbums]

So, that's three consecutive years of losses. It's time for Nintendo to go third party.

I believe that's two.

Also, you conveniently ignore the booming success of the 3DS.

They had to revise 3DS sales down by 5 million. Saying that I agree, I'm pretty sure if Nintendo didn't have a Wii U then the 3DS would be giving them a comfortable profit now.

Nintendo as just a handhold developer would actually be pretty interesting. Imagine all of Nintendo's dev teams purely focusing on making 3DS games. I can't imagine Nintendo are going to cut the Wii U loose but I think if a dispassionate executive took Nintendo over, it would probably be a smart move. It's just capital and time being thrown after good money, when they still have other avenues that would benefit more.


But I can't imagine Nintendo doing that and whilst these numbers are much worse than they've ever been before, they might be able to claw back Gamecube numbers or maybe find some way to attract Wii fans. If they manage that though, we'll have to fall down and worship Nintendo's genius. One of the great things about the Wii is that anyone using it looks a little bit silly, so it's a naturally fun console to play with friends. Having a guy poke at a tablet doesn't do that so much and the casuals probably aren't interested enough to care about better graphics or cool asymmetric games.

Nintendo as just a handheld developer wouldn't be interesting. It would just be the same as always, only that they don't make consoles anymore. And considering how the console scene itself is more or less the same thing with the only thing differing between the two is brand title, price points, and exclusives- that would be a pretty boring era indeed. What Nintendo needs to do now is finish up whatever games they are making for the 3DS, and put a huge chunk of that team over to the Wii U. It's clear that in terms of games development, Nintendo put a lot of horse power to make sure the struggling becomes a success. This resulted in the current neglect of the Wii U. Now that the 3DS is doing stellar- they need to give the Wii U the preferential special treatment the 3DS has been getting. That and they need to rerun that overview Wii U commercial ad over and over again so the masses will finally get the fact that it's a new console. Just advertising the games isn't going to cut it.

 

[Dragonbums]

So, that's three consecutive years of losses. It's time for Nintendo to go third party.

I believe that's two.

Also, you conveniently ignore the booming success of the 3DS.

But the sites say three consecutive years.

And how long has the Wii U been out?
This is going to be the consoles second year. Three if you are seriously going to count 17 days since New years. However the console has only been out for 2 years.

They posted a loss in 2011.

Though, Wii U had its best month in December.

That's hardly specific. Why don't you actually flesh out your comments instead of making me have to fill in the gaps of what you mean.

"Nintendo posted a loss in 2011" 2011 of what month? Day? They could of posted a loss in 2011 on December 31st. Come on now.

 

[VG_Addict]

So, that's three consecutive years of losses. It's time for Nintendo to go third party.

I believe that's two.

Also, you conveniently ignore the booming success of the 3DS.

But the sites say three consecutive years.

And how long has the Wii U been out?
This is going to be the consoles second year. Three if you are seriously going to count 17 days since New years. However the console has only been out for 2 years.

They posted a loss in 2011.

Though, Wii U had its best month in December.

That's hardly specific. Why don't you actually flesh out your comments instead of making me have to fill in the gaps of what you mean.

"Nintendo posted a loss in 2011" 2011 of what month? Day? They could of posted a loss in 2011 on December 31st. Come on now.

The Wii U sold more than 460k units in December, so it was their highest month yet.

Here's the source:

http://www.engadget.com/2011/10/27/nintendo-posts-first-half-loss-in-earnings-report-slashes-forec/

 

[Dragonbums]

So, that's three consecutive years of losses. It's time for Nintendo to go third party.

I believe that's two.

Also, you conveniently ignore the booming success of the 3DS.

But the sites say three consecutive years.

And how long has the Wii U been out?
This is going to be the consoles second year. Three if you are seriously going to count 17 days since New years. However the console has only been out for 2 years.

They posted a loss in 2011.

Though, Wii U had its best month in December.

That's hardly specific. Why don't you actually flesh out your comments instead of making me have to fill in the gaps of what you mean.

"Nintendo posted a loss in 2011" 2011 of what month? Day? They could of posted a loss in 2011 on December 31st. Come on now.

The Wii U sold more than 460k units in December, so it was their highest month yet.

Here's the source:

http://www.engadget.com/2011/10/27/nintendo-posts-first-half-loss-in-earnings-report-slashes-forec/

That doesn't address your 2011 post. Like at all. If your going to keep being disjointed, then I think it would be best if we just end the conversation right here.

 

[BrotherRool]

Nintendo as just a handheld developer wouldn't be interesting. It would just be the same as always, only that they don't make consoles anymore. And considering how the console scene itself is more or less the same thing with the only thing differing between the two is brand title, price points, and exclusives- that would be a pretty boring era indeed. What Nintendo needs to do now is finish up whatever games they are making for the 3DS, and put a huge chunk of that team over to the Wii U. It's clear that in terms of games development, Nintendo put a lot of horse power to make sure the struggling becomes a success. This resulted in the current neglect of the Wii U. Now that the 3DS is doing stellar- they need to give the Wii U the preferential special treatment the 3DS has been getting. That and they need to rerun that overview Wii U commercial ad over and over again so the masses will finally get the fact that it's a new console. Just advertising the games isn't going to cut it.

I think doubling down would be a bad idea. Whilst the 3DS has sold well, it sold 33% less devices than they thought it was going to this year. That's not totally stellar. It sold the average amount of pieces of hardware that a non-failing console sells and the DS in it's prime sold 300% more than the 3DS is selling now.

This is the second year of the 3DS and in that year it's going to sell around 10 million less units than the DS sold in it's second year. In fact, it's only selling exactly as well as the PSP sold.


The 3DS is selling well, but it's not selling as nearly as well as Nintendo hoped, nor is it reaching it's full potential. Whereas the Wii U is at best going to be a gamecube at the moment. They're not going to get third-party support when they've had the worst first year of any console in the past 20 years that wasn't made by Sega. If they invest even more in the 3DS then they can push up whats on track to be an 80 million console into a 110 million console (and if they actually ditch the Wii U entirely they could probably making it the bets selling handheld ever). If they focus on the Wii U, they can push up a 10-15 million console into a 25-30 million one.

With poor software sales. I'd put all my money on the 3DS right now

 

[Redlin5_v1legacy]

I do think Nintendo's next console needs to be a home run. We all have high expectations for the company and its reflected in the numbers that nobody was too impressed with the Wii U.

Also I'm loving my 3DS and when I have money I'm going to be looking for more games.

 

[Lightknight]

Well, Nintendo made a lot of mistakes. This is the result of that so I can't feel sorry for them. But I hope it motivates them to revise how they do their market research (both research of consumers and competitors) going forward. They can't keep behaving like they're the only game in town just because that was true with the Wii and the truly innovative WiiMote at the time.

They alienated large sections of their target market with price and control difficulty while simultaneously failing to provide almost any competitive advantage over the other companies besides being launched early.

I'll give it until the end of the fiscal year to really make up my mind about the success or failure of the system but all signs currently point to failure. Unless they sell around 4 million copies by November then they'll have sold fewer units than the Dreamcast did over the same time period.

 

[VG_Addict]

How likely is it that this is Nintendo's last console gen?

 

[EvilRoy]

Well, Nintendo made a lot of mistakes. This is the result of that so I can't feel sorry for them. But I hope it motivates them to revise how they do their market research (both research of consumers and competitors) going forward. They can't keep behaving like they're the only game in town just because that was true with the Wii and the truly innovative WiiMote at the time.

They alienated large sections of their target market with price and control difficulty while simultaneously failing to provide almost any competitive advantage over the other companies besides being launched early.

I'll give it until the end of the fiscal year to really make up my mind about the success or failure of the system but all signs correctly point to failure. Unless they sell around 4 million copies by November then they'll have sold fewer units than the Dreamcast did.

As much as it might be deserved, this is uniquely depressing considering the bump they got from China opening. The five day stock trend looks like a profile of the continental shelf. Iwata must be under huge pressure right now to do something about it, since he decided not to step down.

 

[Vivi22]

Put it this way. In a year of release (With 2 Christmas seasons mind you) the WiiU sold just under 3 million units. That's for the first YEAR. PS4 and XBox One each broke 3 million within 2-3 WEEKS of launch.

Indeed. I'm not sure some of the Nintendo defenders realize just how bad the Wii U has been doing. And the supposedly good titles that people expect to turn it around aren't doing anything. I honestly believe it's part of the problem you run into when your previous console relied heavily on an audience that's found smartphones and tablets now, and really couldn't care about a new console.

 

[Olas]

I think Nintendo needs to try and seek out and recruit indie developers and try to market itself as the indie console the Ouya tried to be, backed up of course by it's own high quality first party titles. It can't compete with the other consoles in power or performance and thus has already failed the triple-A scene that it seemed to be shooting for, but it can try to market itself as a different kind of console, one less expensive and more focused on creative low budget titles. Nintendo's sensibilities have always been more in line with an indie developer anyway, just with a much higher budget.

 

[Lightknight]

How likely is it that this is Nintendo's last console gen?

Extremely unlikely. They've got something like $50 billion in cash to wade through any storm they want to. Hopefully this is the last console they rely on peripherals and little software to carry though.

As much as it might be deserved, this is uniquely depressing considering the bump they got from China opening. The five day stock trend looks like a profile of the continental shelf. Iwata must be under huge pressure right now to do something about it, since he decided not to step down.

Yes, I don't like seeing Nintendo fall like this. But I don't feel sorry because they have all the means to spring back from this. They need this kind of black eye to wake up from the isolationist "we're not really competing with the other consoles" bullshit that was only true for the Wii.

I'm pissed that they likely wasted a generation of excellent Nintendo games on the worst console move they could have made. Years behind the other guys.

Either way, cause and effect is quite the ***** in this case.

 

[Aiddon_v1legacy]

I believe that's two.

Also, you conveniently ignore the booming success of the 3DS.

The West in general seems to only acknowledge handhelds begrudgingly. Admitting Nintendo is basically slaughtering their competition with the 3DS is a bit embarrassing because handhelds just aren't as sexy as the bloated console scene. Like I've said though, people need to get their licks in on Nintendo while they can because then reality sinks then: that Nintendo is still around and that they actually know how to make games properly. And there is NOTHING that screws with a wish-fulfillment fantasy more than a fact like that.

 

[VG_Addict]

But Iwata said they're thinking about a new business structure. It could mean they're going third party.

 

[SonOfVoorhees]

Nintendo consoles seem only marketed at the Nintendo faithful. When ever a Nintendo console is doing badly the same comments appear "wait till (enter either Zelda, Mario etc) title, it will sell more then". An thats the problem, those 1st party games are the only ones worth playing and there is nothing to get new people to buy the console. They just dont have the games to get non nintendo gamers, those that dont care about Mario etc, to join. If your not interested in the 1st party games, what else is there? Atleast with PS/Xbox and PC there are loads of titles to play and enjoy if you dont like a specific type of game style.

I think the only thing they messed up with is thinking a large percentage of those that bought the Wii would by a WiiU. This isnt the case.

 

[EvilRoy]

I believe that's two.

Also, you conveniently ignore the booming success of the 3DS.

The West in general seems to only acknowledge handhelds begrudgingly. Admitting Nintendo is basically slaughtering their competition with the 3DS is a bit embarrassing because handhelds just aren't as sexy as the bloated console scene. Like I've said though, people need to get their licks in on Nintendo while they can because then reality sinks then: that Nintendo is still around and that they actually know how to make games properly. And there is NOTHING that screws with a wish-fulfillment fantasy more than a fact like that.

Well there are also those of us that would like to see their investments appreciate, and despite apparently 'basically slaughtering' their competition, they don't seem to be making a whole lot of money. If I was certain going third party would improve their profitability, I would be silently praying for the changeover every night.

As it stands, both pieces of hardware have been failing to impress - the WiiU is turning into a lead weight, and the 3DS has only managed to defeat an opponent nobody thought was going to win anyway despite not even approaching the success of the DS.

 

[faefrost]

I think Nintendo needs to try and seek out and recruit indie developers and try to market itself as the indie console the Ouya tried to be, backed up of course by it's own high quality first party titles. It can't compete with the other consoles in power or performance and thus has already failed the triple-A scene that it seemed to be shooting for, but it can try to market itself as a different kind of console, one less expensive and more focused on creative low budget titles. Nintendo's sensibilities have always been more in line with an indie developer anyway, just with a much higher budget.

why would an Indie Developer go within a thousand feet of a WiiU? They get far better return everywhere else. They either develop for the tablet and phone market, which gives them an potential installed user base of hundreds of millions (granted with low per sale numbers being made up for in volume) or they target the other two consoles and PC's. Given the new gen architectures for XBox and PS it is pretty much a 3'fer. Do core development for one and fairly easily port into the other two. Far more bang for the buck of development time.

Whereas the WiiU fails in every way possible for attracting Indie or small scale developers. Strange system architecture and specs. Odd unique tablet interface controller. Disturbingly small installed user base. Historically uncooperative 3rd party support history. Lousy and comparatively unrefined online mechanism for delivery and play. I'm not sure Nintendo could throw enough money at a developer at this point to get them to take up the challenge. And even if they did, good luck finding that 1 in a million killer app that would actually cause people to buy a WiiU. Because thats the root problem right now. People who own Nintendo Consoles will buy lots of Nintendo's A list product. But that product is not enough in and of itself to drive the sales of the Consoles. So people who have 3dS's will buy Mario and Zelda. But at this point the general public is not buying a 3dS or WiiU just to play Mario and Zelda. They are buying an XBox to play Call of Duty.