Pachter: Why Would Anyone Buy A Wii U?

[TrevHead]

Sure Nintendo has really dropped the ball with the WiiU but it's the only next gen console I plan on buying for the moment, the upcoming E3 titles are more to my tastes than most of the titles Sony or MS showed.

I think its more of a question of what parents of children are worried about.

Chances are they didn't watch or care about E3 footage, and I've seen maybe a couple Nintendo game commercials telling me what is coming out for the WiiU. Parents probably have little to no idea when the U is going to get more/enough games and people like Pratcher are highlighting why the console isn't doing so great on major news stations. The easy answer is to spend 50 more bucks for a console that people claim will have an advantage of more games, and hope that the sheer volume of games will guarantee a relatively long lifetime.

Whats worse for nintento is that many parents already do have a wii, and many that hear about upcoming titles are going to be saying "Already got mario kart, already got smash bros, already got mario world, already got kirby, already got..." and so on and so forth. I work in an office with a few families, most of whom own a wii, and not a single one care that the wiiU exists.

I don't doubt that the WiiU is in trouble but Nintendo seemed to be able to pull it off with the 3DS which also is just an upgrade with many of the same core Nintendo games. The problem has been that while Nintendo has been busy with the 3DS they've been slacking with the WiiU and are now only just getting the ball rolling by increasing their dev teams to cope with the extra work.

I don't think we are quite there yet to announce the WiiU's death, I think we won't know for another year or two yet. However when they finally do get those core titles out they do need to market the damn thing and get some display models in shops so ppl especially kids can try it out. It wouldn't surprise me if none of your office co-workers know the WiiU is backwards compatible and would make a good upgrade when they throw away that CRT their kids have been using for years.

 

[shiajun]

Stupid question here, and I am honestly not trying to be snarky, but how often is Pachter actually right in his predictions? I just ask because I see his name pop up a lot, but it always seems to be in weird controversial ways. Do his predictions ever actually pan out? Can we see the logic and historical path to them? How does one become a highly quoted video games analyst?

I'd like to know that too. What really bothers me is I bet he tons of money handed to him for his "expert" opinion that's no better than a random dude. He's raking in the money by bullshitting. I'm just so tired of that happening everywhere.

 

[Jorec]

A Nintendo only console? Well yeah isn't that why most people buy the console for? For the games that only ever come out on Nintendo systems. Animal Crossing, Harvest Moon, Mario, Metroid, Zelda, Donkey Kong, Smash Bros, Pikmin, Pokemon, etc. I mean yeah I've played great third party games on Nintendo consoles but that's not the reason I buy the system in the first place.

 

[nibblesthecat]

Nintendo fundamental problem is demographic's, it has relied on the fact it was pretty much the only option in the late 80's, early 90's, therefore there is a lot of nostalgia with key title's. the problem is that demographic which was 10-15, is now 40, they have less time to play game after game.
The kid's of today have far more choice and mario, zelda etc which still played by the kid's will have less of a monopoly then it did 30 20 years ago. Someone mentioned the title's (Pikmin 3, Wonderful 101, Wind Waker HD, Sonic Lost World, Donkey Kong Country Tropical Freeze, Game And Wario, and Mario 3D World), to be honest i don't care for any of them, i'd rather play GTA5, Destiny and a new Red dead, title's which will not be on the WiiU.
Nintendo is not as important to the youth of today as it once was and it cannot forever trade of rehash of title's from the 8 bit era, tech has moved on.

 

[EvilRoy]

Sure Nintendo has really dropped the ball with the WiiU but it's the only next gen console I plan on buying for the moment, the upcoming E3 titles are more to my tastes than most of the titles Sony or MS showed.

I think its more of a question of what parents of children are worried about.

Chances are they didn't watch or care about E3 footage, and I've seen maybe a couple Nintendo game commercials telling me what is coming out for the WiiU. Parents probably have little to no idea when the U is going to get more/enough games and people like Pratcher are highlighting why the console isn't doing so great on major news stations. The easy answer is to spend 50 more bucks for a console that people claim will have an advantage of more games, and hope that the sheer volume of games will guarantee a relatively long lifetime.

Whats worse for nintento is that many parents already do have a wii, and many that hear about upcoming titles are going to be saying "Already got mario kart, already got smash bros, already got mario world, already got kirby, already got..." and so on and so forth. I work in an office with a few families, most of whom own a wii, and not a single one care that the wiiU exists.

I don't doubt that the WiiU is in trouble but Nintendo seemed to be able to pull it off with the 3DS which also is just an upgrade with many of the same core Nintendo games. The problem has been that while Nintendo has been busy with the 3DS they've been slacking with the WiiU and are now only just getting the ball rolling by increasing their dev teams to cope with the extra work.

I don't think we are quite there yet to announce the WiiU's death, I think we won't know for another year or two yet. However when they finally do get those core titles out they do need to market the damn thing and get some display models in shops so ppl especially kids can try it out. It wouldn't surprise me if none of your office co-workers know the WiiU is backwards compatible and would make a good upgrade when they throw away that CRT their kids have been using for years.

I think as far as handhelds go, Nintendo has a pretty easy ride based on a lack of competition as well as name and quality recognition. Everybody knows what a gameboy is, piles of games are available for any iteration of them and they have good battery life and controls.

I'm not saying the WiiU is going to die here or kill Nintendo or whatever, but there are reasons why it isn't doing great even with zero next gen competition and I agree that poor game and console marketing a pretty big part of it. They keep trying to appeal to hardcore gamers, and in so doing neglect the family groups that made up their primary consumer base last generation.

I'll have to ask about the back compatibility knowledge the next time it comes up, but I'm guessing the response will be more along the lines of "so I should have just waited and bought the WiiU instead?" You never throw away a CRT though, waste not right? Those things last for decades.

 

[Doom972]

Nintendo isn't going bankrupt anytime soon, due to the popularity of the yearly remakes of their old games. The WiiU is popular enough to be profitable, but it'll never be a competitor of the PS4 and Xbone because many (most?) multiplatform games won't be released for it due to hardware limitations.

 

[Covarr]

I can think of one or two good reasons

Spoiler: Bayonetta 2

http://www.gamerdome.net/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/bayo.jpg

I still find it unsexy that Bayonetta got a haircut.

OT: As usual, Pachter has no clue what he's talking about. Being a Nintendo-only console is absolutely not a recipe for failure. As it is, the biggest thing the Wii U has against it is a lack of sufficiently engaging first-party games. As Nintendo grows their first-party library, the console will succeed; that's been the case with the past few consoles in a row (except the N64, which succeeded quite early, even before it had a decent first-party library, purely by merit of the quality of Super Mario 64, Mario Kart 64, and Star Fox 64).

Will it "win" the console war? Maybe, maybe not. Probably not, even. But that doesn't mean it'll fail, either. As it is, it's looking like the only console that many PC gamers will buy; the vast majority of what's on the 360 and PS3, and what will be on the Xbone and PS4, is also on PC, to buy any console but a Wii U would for many people be redundant. I know for myself, the only thing that'll convince me to get a PS4 is if Metal Gear Solid 5 doesn't come to PC (and let's face it, it probably won't).

But when it comes right down to it, all of that is far more thought out than it needs to be. The simple fact that Pachter thinks it'll fail should probably be encouraging to Nintendo and its shareholders. The man's track record is bad enough that it's usually safe to bet against him.

P.S. Thanks

 

[Paragon Fury]

Why am I going to buy a Wii U when I get the scratch to?

Bayonetta 2
That thing Monolith is working on
Pikmin 3
Donkey Kong Country
Smash Bros. Wii U
Monster Hunter Tri Ultimate
New Zelda
New Mario
$50 cheaper than PS3
Backwards Compat.
Only company that wasn't trying to screw its customers from the get-go
Better track record than both of the other companies; Nintendo generally had a good run with a couple of missteps. Playstation 3 was a long, ongoing failure with only an occasional bright moment - generally followed by a colossal screw-up. Microsoft.....we see where they wound up, don't we?

 

[Hades]

I can't say I trust anything this guy says about Nintendo. Has he said anything even remotely positive about Nintendo in his entire career, because I doubt it.

 

[Merlark]

To play monster hunter online duh! Does there need to be any other reason?

 

[Chester Rabbit]

Because and I am well aware of how naive and unrealistic what I am about to say will sound but...god damn it with the way things are today they are the fucking good guys of gaming!

Things are just getting way to severe both in the industry and just with games today. You know, with EA money schemes. Anti-consumer campaigns. Boycotting, wallet voting. Gritty shooters, blood spatter getting better and better, are games art ect *takes a breath*.

I'm just getting to a point where I want to pull my nose out of it all and just enjoy the lightheartness of Nintendo again. I want the colors, the art styles. I want the mushrooms and my god that Sonic game looks great!

Yes I know how that all sounded...
(childishly idealistic, uninformed, disjointed, inarticulate)

 

[The White Hunter]

I want it for Shin Megami Tensei X Fire Emblem...

I will get other things too but...come on, Shin Megami Tensei X Fire Emblem...

Also, does anyone really pay attention to what Pachter says about Nintendo? He seems to think Nintendo will fall any day now...

I remember all the doom he spewed about the 3DS too.

I dor espect Pachter and take on board what he says and he does have valid points on this; I also hate Nintendo's marketing strategy for the Wii U because WHERE THE FUCK IS IT!? I haven't seen a single damn commercial for the bloody thing. Same issue the Vita has: shit marketing.

Btw Tizzy I wubs my Vita, gonna get P4G next week :3

 

[Daystar Clarion]

Sorry Patcher, I can't hear you over the sound of awesome.

Platinum games, saving Nintendo one game at a time.

Does anyone actually listen to Patcher any more?

 

[Alfador_VII]

Please Escapist, stop reporting on every stupid thing this idiot says.

Just because somehow Pachter is being paid for his "analysis" doesn't make it any more accurate. Just ignore him and hope he goes away

 

[BramblinTheGnome]

As an almost exclusively PC gamer I'm sure my opinion of consoles doesn't really count, especially when summing up numbers to figure out which console will and won't win the next generation. However, when I finally do get a new console, I'm split between if it will be a 3DS or a Wii U, as getting a PS4 or Xbox One just feels redundant since there are very few games I would want to play that won't just come out for the PC at the same time or a little later. Every new system for Xbox/PS has felt more and more like a specialized computer, and while Nintendo's systems are really no different, they feel different. They feel like a game in the way a board game or card game feels like a game, while Xbox/PS feel like big beastly computers that can't do half of the stuff I like using computers for. Long story short: I will get a Nintendo system (probably), I will not get either of the other systems.

 

[Charli]

...Who is this clown? I mean I'm not GETTING a wii U, nothing draws ME to the console but I can think of quite a few handful of reasons it'll sell and Nintendo will cope just fine.

1. Smash Bros
2. Sonic (Pocketing Sega Sonic Team Exclusivity was a bold but brilliant move, no matter how dead gamers proclaim him Sonic games sell. They sell well. He's like a fucking boss zombie that will never die)
3. Bayonetta 2
4. Families actually enjoy Nintendo's franchises and Nintendo supports it's key franchises with more support than any other competing consoles. Exclusivity it what keeps Nintendo consoles selling.
5. For all you lot moaning about gimmick controllers and crud, kids... they eat that stuff up. Kids are far from being completely stupid but they will be entertained by the most idiom of things at times, and a drawing tablet where they can scribble crap to their friends is pretty high on there.



All this doom-saying based on 'lol it ain't competing hardware wize, and iz for hipsttars and kiddiez' etc etc is pointless in the face of everyone of those chucklefucks forgetting that first and foremost a games console... has to have the promise of games. And Nintendo has scooped up the exclusives first prize as far as the next few years go. Hell maybe the appearance of Megaman in SSB will make Capcom just admit they've got no idea what to do with the character, ham-handed cretins that they are, and just let Nintendo take him for a joy ride.

I'm not a Nintendo fan at the moment, far from it, if I HAD to get a console rather than sticking with my PC snobbery, I'd be picking up a PS4. But... Come on. No really I've never heard of this guy before, is what he's saying supposed to hold any weight?