Why is the Wii U not succeeding?

[AzrealMaximillion]

But then...That whole Bayonetta 2 fiasco which everyone complained about even though Nintendo was probably the only company willing to save the franchise...Just shows some people ask for something and then become hypocrites when they get it.

Bayonetta had no plans to become a franchise until Nintendo desperately needed a name of a core title attached to the Wii U. After the first Bayonetta came out its director said that they had no plans for a sequel. There seems to be some notion that Bayonetta was to be a multiple game franchise when that wasn't the case.

Have you played the game? It ends. No cliffhanger or any leads to a sequel. Platinum Games fulfilled a multi-game contract with Sega and the collective sales of the 5 games made lost Sega money.

Bayonetta 2 isn't the result of Nintendo saving a franchise, its the result of Nintendo trying to gain a core audience for the Wii U. Bayonetta 2 will more than likely flop when it comes out due to the fact that it was a niche multiplatform sleeper hit.

 

[MaAlGon3]

Perhaps if Nintendo wasn't trying to force unnecessary innovation down our throats, developing third party for the WiiU would be more tangible. This would lead to more third party titles and hopefully more variety.

 

[ShinyCharizard]

Currently has fuck all games worth getting basically. I do however plan on buying one when Bayonetta 2 comes out

 

[faefrost]

It's not doing well for a few reasons

As other have said, lack of games is a big one. But really that is more of a symptom. The problem is that it is no longer cheap to develop for. Nintendo placed themselves in an untenable place with this console. The Wii suceeded in part because of its low cost hardware and low tech approach, it didn't go for high graphical fidelity. It meant they could make good games cheap. But they never really learned how to deal with the costs of higher graphic development. and they are enormous. Well now they released a high graphics console. Which means they have all of the extra development costs and extended development time and delays piled on as a result. But they brought it up to last generations performance and hardware standards, not the next's. So they raised development costs to make last years games on a glorified X360 or PS3. They may get some people upgrading their older Wii's to the new hardware (those that use the things and don't have them gathering dust behind the TV). But this isn't going to recapture any new sales from the other consoles. Basically they blocked them into a consumer base of only a fraction of their previous base, but with no direction of growth potential.

and it gets worse. The stupid gimmicky controller. It confuses the game buying public. What is it? A poor mans iPad to use with a last generation console? But I already have an iPad! I use it for gaming all the time. They put out great tech, but the consumers aren't seeing any real benefit or purpose to it. Further that gimmick means that developers have to make games for it and just for it. It complicates any hope of multi system ports. And given that the next gen of the competition is all running on pretty much the same hardware platform, it leaves the WiiU standing out in the cold.

Finally it has been completely schizophrenic and target-less about who it is meant for. Who is the consumer audience for a WiiU? For the Wii they targeted the more casual and family oriented gamer and thrived. The same for the DS or 3DS. But the WiiU they attempted to branch into the hardcore crowd, but didn't do it far enough, while at the same time pricing and feature creeping themselves out of that more casual or family market. Leaving them where exactly? Standing next to the Sega Saturn and the Atari Jaguar?

 

[InsanityRequiem]

Perhaps if Nintendo wasn't trying to force unnecessary innovation down our throats, developing third party for the WiiU would be more tangible. This would lead to more third party titles and hopefully more variety.

Then explain why the PS4 and Xbox One have outside tablet support? Where you have to buy an extra multi-hundred dollar item to play a game that requires 'tablet support'? I know EA is doing that with a few of their games that they are putting on the PS4/Xbone/PC. Seems like the 'forced unnecessary innovation' you're talking about is even worse with Microsoft and Sony.

And seriously, don't blame Nintendo for third party publishers backstabbing them. EA, Ubisoft, Acti-Blizz, and others had at least two years, two freaking years, to make games for the Wii U. That is more than enough time to get a start on how the Wii U works. Making a small game to learn the system is easier than starting off with ports/large scale mega games.

Now why is the Wii U not succeeding? Unsuccessful marketing and releasing at least six months too early. I highly suspect that was because of mainly Ubisoft pushing for such an early release.

 

[Roxas1359]

And seriously, don't blame Nintendo for third party publishers backstabbing them. EA, Ubisoft, Acti-Blizz, and others had at least two years, two freaking years, to make games for the Wii U. That is more than enough time to get a start on how the Wii U works. Making a small game to learn the system is easier than starting off with ports/large scale mega games.

While this is completely true look at the PS3 for an example, it has been out for years and still many developers besides the first party ones actually know how to use it. Bethesda games are a huge example for this when it comes to that because any Bethesda game running on a PS3 was usually filled with even more bugs than normal, and always crashed the system. You can give the developers dev kits as much as you want, but at the end of the day not all of them can make a game around it. It's stupid yes, but that's how it is. As for UbiSoft, they have made a game for the Wii U, ZombieU, Assassin's Creed 3, and technically Rayman Legends (although they've been retarded when it comes to releasing it >.>), Acti-Blizz is busy with WoW and doesn't make the games, but straight on Activision brought Black Ops II to the Wii U no? As for EA I ask does anyone take what they say seriously anymore?

While the Wii U needs more third-party support, there are some companies that have tried to make it work, but then there are those that avoid the console, possibly due to past failures when trying to sell on Nintendo home consoles (Square Enix, back then SquareSoft supported the GameCube for 3 years and lost major profits because of that support if you remember).

Really things will pick up eventually, as many are holding out due to not many Wii U units shipping to warrant them to want to go full on out. While it is dumb from a practical sense, from a business sense it is not, and in this day and age I take any "promise" from a huge game developer/publisher with a giant vat of salt.

Plus, Nintendo wouldn't release a console early because of another publisher, but I do agree that the Wii U feels like it was shoved out the door before it could even brush it's teeth and as a result has been torn to shreds by many people.

 

[laggyteabag]

Theres very few games so not many people buy it, and because very few people buy it, it results in not many developers willing to develop for it. It really is a vicious circle, and one that Nintendo is going to be very hard pressed to get out out of, of course Nintendo are going to bring out and dust off their usual titles like Mario, Zelda, Metroid etc, but not many AAA publishers are willing to risk making or porting a game over too it.

Another side of it is that the next-gen consoles are coming out fairly soon, so why drop the £300 for a WiiU when you can get a much more powerful PS4 that is pretty much guaranteed to be supported with a ton of games for only £50 extra?

 

[Shadow-Phoenix]

Another side of it is that the next-gen consoles are coming out fairly soon, so why drop the £300 for a WiiU when you can get a much more powerful PS4 that is pretty much guaranteed to be supported with a ton of games for only £50 extra?

Because some people may still want to buy a Nintendo console for Nintendo related games?, I know I still want to get myself a Wii U and eventually a PS4 down the road and hardware power has got nothing to do with my purchase decisions.

 

[Strain42]

Because despite applauding what it is, what it does, and what it can do, people just aren't buying it.

Don't worry, sales will pick up in the next year or two once it gets some more Mario titles and a Zelda and stuff.

I keep hearing people saying "Oh, the Wii U has no games on it!!!" but for me the Wii U has quite a few games out that I want, and even more upcoming.

I'm currently more excited for upcoming Wii U games than I am by any of the announced XBO or PS4 games.

Up coming games are nice and all , but why would i buy a WiiU now for games that are comming out in 6 month-1 year time? While i'm sure in about 1-2 years the sales are going to multiply , there is little incentive to buy one now . That's the only think preventing me from buying it . When i buy a console i want to be able to play games back to back , not wait 2-3 months for a new tittle . Also the starting line up of games was pretty terrible .

All this is my personal opinion of course

Oh yes, of course, that's totally understandable. I personally have a rule that I don't buy a console until it has at least 10 games I want, and at least 5 must be exclusives (I broke this rule for the 3DS because I knew it would get there, and it has...I think this year alone has released/announced more than 10 that I want lol)

But yeah, that's basically why the system isn't selling right now. Because guys like me, guys like you, guys like that jerk Steve from Tallahassee...we're just holding out for those titles that make us really want it.

When/If those titles come along, super, the Wii U will probably become quite the grand console in terms of sales.

But for right now, like many consoles tend to do, it's just sorta coasting on future potential.

 

[regalphantom]

Realistically the only reason the console is struggling is because there aren't enough titles for it. Quite literally that is it. I went into a local EBGames (Gamestop in Canada) about a month ago and was torn between picking up a WiiU or a cheap PS3 to use as a Blu-Ray/Cheap Exclusive player. I ended up with the PS3 since there were exactly two games I wanted to pick up for the WiiU. Had I been able to grab 3 or 4 games that I wanted for it, I would have taken it over the PS3, although it looks like we won't hit that point for a while (In all seriousness, now that Pikmin 3 is out, all it will take is one decent title and I will grab one. Heck, if the Wind Waker remake is reasonably priced that would be enough). As is, however, I am leaving it waiting on the shelf.

 

[Nimcha]

Simple answer. It's called the Wii U. Emphasizes on WII. Most people just think its the same thing as the old 360 and the black 360, or the PS3 slim. They should have changed the name or called it Wii 2 to make it clear that it's a new system. Otherwise people will go I already own a Wii, why would I get the same system with some new gadgets? That's like basic marketing.

I would say I agree with this. I'm usually not that interested in Nintendo so didn't really follow the marketing well. This led to me not knowing it was actually a completely new console and not just some controller addon like Kinect for the 360. Until one of my friends bought the thing a few weeks ago I literally had no clue.

I am not a console gamer in the least but by now I already know more about the PS4 and Xbox One than the Wii U. That can't be good.

 

[Aiddon_v1legacy]

Mostly because of lack of titles, which can be attributed to 3rd parties once again doing their generational Nintendo backstab. Nintendo plays nice by holding back their own product in order to give 3rd parties a chance to sell...only for 3rd parties to squander that time and make sloppy, slipshod product that any intelligent person would pass up followed by 3rd parties bitching and moaning like spoiled brats when they realize consumers aren't that dumb. Seriously, how many 3rd parties pulled 3DS support and then basically got humiliated when the system took off like nobody's business? The Wii U will bounce back, but I can't help but feel 3rd parties will sulk in a corner when it does, realizing they fucked up by not putting any actual effort into stuff.

 

[AzrealMaximillion]

Perhaps if Nintendo wasn't trying to force unnecessary innovation down our throats, developing third party for the WiiU would be more tangible. This would lead to more third party titles and hopefully more variety.

Then explain why the PS4 and Xbox One have outside tablet support? Where you have to buy an extra multi-hundred dollar item to play a game that requires 'tablet support'? I know EA is doing that with a few of their games that they are putting on the PS4/Xbone/PC. Seems like the 'forced unnecessary innovation' you're talking about is even worse with Microsoft and Sony.

And seriously, don't blame Nintendo for third party publishers backstabbing them. EA, Ubisoft, Acti-Blizz, and others had at least two years, two freaking years, to make games for the Wii U. That is more than enough time to get a start on how the Wii U works. Making a small game to learn the system is easier than starting off with ports/large scale mega games.

Now why is the Wii U not succeeding? Unsuccessful marketing and releasing at least six months too early. I highly suspect that was because of mainly Ubisoft pushing for such an early release.

There are no games announced where the tablet is require for the PS4 or Xbone. Tablets are just compatible with those 2 consoles. Not required for them like the Wii U. And that's the major difference. How many Wii games by the end of its run have been using ANY of the motion features of the Wii Mote if at all? That number is now. Really low. The last games to actually require motion use on the Wii was Skyward Sword and some argue that the game suffered because of it. Otherwise most well received Wii games did not force motion controls.

It'll be the same on the Wii U.The best games on it won't even bother using the Tablet controller for more than a way to show inventories in games. The problem with the Wii U is that you don't get a choice with whether or not you have to use the gimmick peripheral.

And I'm going to be honest hear, the publishers not filling the void with WiiU games aren't backstabbing Nintendo. Nintendo's own boneheaded attitude towards the 3rd party is finally coming to bite them in the ass. Nintendo made things so damn hard for 3rd party devs to sell games on the Wii and now those devs are avoiding the WiiU, and more power to them. Nintendo marketed and sold a console to a market that was either very new to video games or die hard Nintendo fans. The two options to succeed on the Wii were either be a Nintendo employee or make your game specifically for the casual market. Otherwise you flopped. And there are way too many examples of games that flopped on the Wii due to the Wii not having the audience to sell core games to. People just wanted a decent core gaming experience from the Wii and didn't get a lot of chances to have it.

And that's another reason that WiiU sales are so low that people seem to ignore. Gamers that feel they got screwed. The people who bought a Wii on day one and didn't really care about all things first party Nintendo. The guys who though No More Heroes was the kind of Wii game that was going to happen often.



Instead when they went to the shelf of their gaming store's Nintendo section that got this:

 

[Another]

Two reasons in my mind. One is a lack of system selling games, and bad timing.

The Wii U basically had a one year head start on XBone and PS4. One year to get out some really good games and push the system. And then every big name game for it got pushed back. Heck, Pikman 3 was supposed to be a lunch title and it came out this week! Now Nintendo gets to compete against two systems with potentially strong line-ups.

I don't think the system is doomed though. I think that once a few Nintendo exclusives get rolling we could see some bounce back. There is also potential to secure some niche market with SMT X FE and Bayonetta 2. I think that the bounce back of the 3DS shows that a few good games can really push a system. Of course unlike the Xbone and PS4, the Vita didn't compete very hard it seems.

 

[Casual Shinji]

Like I said, the Wii U is Nintendo's PS3, it'll sell eventually, but they'll be taking huge hits before it starts taking off.

I don't know, the major set back against the PS3 was its pricing. Everyone, even the non-gamer crowd, knew that this was going to be the next big thing for Sony. They knew this was going to be "the next big leap for consoles". But the ridiculous price and the image that it created for the PS3 left most people cold for the longest time.

With the Wii-U it really seems that people aren't buying it because they just don't know what to make of the system. Not even the developers. The Wii alienated third party developers with its comparably different hardware, but it was such a money making gadget that it didn't matter. The Wii-U still has that alienating hardware, but completely lacks the popularity of its predecessor. And I don't know if that's going to change anytime soon if at all.

 

[Chaos Isaac]

Because the Wii U sucks.

I'd prefer they go the Sega route and just make games, well, at least stop making consoles. (Keep those handhelds though.) I mean, i'd rather have my PS3 and Xbox being able to play Nintendo games, then having a console that i'm only interested in about five games for.

 

[Murgen]

Because it is seventh generation console pretending to be new gen...

 

[zefichan]

but for me the Wii U has quite a few games out.

The problem is that, for most people, it just doesn't.

If it had, people would buy it. As simple as that.

It's not the name, it's not the pad, it's not the price. It's games and always was.

I'd prefer they go the Sega route and just make games, well, at least stop making consoles. (Keep those handhelds though.) I mean, i'd rather have my PS3 and Xbox being able to play Nintendo games, then having a console that i'm only interested in about five games for.

Of course you do. Too bad you're not getting what you want. The industry is better for it, too: An industry without Nintendo as a major player with their own console would be a poorer industry.

get a much more powerful PS4

Complete rubbish. Nobody sane buys a console for specs. It's games, games, games.
Look at the history of the industry. Most "generation winners" were behind in tech, sometimes significantly.

Nobody in their right mind bases a console purchase on specs. Nobody.

 

[bjj hero]

I also suspect that they could have done a better job marketing it. Someone mentioned that people weren't sure if it was a new controller or a new system, personally never had that problem, but I won't rule that out as a factor (changing the name could have prevented that confusion I guess). I can't say that it has seen a whole lot of marketing though.

I'm sure the board members over at Nintendo would've called you crazy if you suggested to leave 'Wii' out of the name. But it seems to be biting them in the ass now. Trying to capitalize on the Wii brand has likely instead caused confusion among potential customers whether it's just the same console with a peripheral, like the Wii balance board.

They really should've gone for a totally fresh sounding name, like the Nintendo Gulf, or the Nintendo Salto or something. Just put 'Nintendo' infront of bouncy, happy word and people are bound to get a bit excited.

They also should've probably spent more time focusing on how to make HD games when they decided to make an HD console.

Id buy a nintendo salto in a heartbeat!

I dont have one as theres nothing i want to play on there.

 

[Saika Renegade]

I figure some of it banks on the fact that the system seems to be some kind of hybrid that neither marketing nor consumers know quite how to approach. It has a controller that looks like the sort of peripheral great for wandering away from the console if desired, but my friend who owns one complains of transmission problems from just the next room over. As in terms of power, it doesn't quite have the oomph to bring all that much more to the table than the Wii did, from the looks of things. Finally, the controller with integrated screen is a feature looking for an application. It has uses, certainly, but the question becomes, what can it do with that controller that no other system can offer? The Wii, at least, introduced us to motion controls with the Wiimote--despite the flaws in its operation, it still offered something that Sony tried to copy and Microsoft tried to one-up, to little avail for either competitor in the long run (I'm looking at you, Heavy Armor).

So... what can the WiiU offer, and what can it do? That's the question a lot of prospective customers are asking, including myself, and to be honest, I have yet to find an answer that can motivate me to make a purchase. It may end up banking on the Smash crowd, but while it's popular, it's also hardly an assurance. Without being able to offer a short and solid answer to the common consumer asking 'why buy,' it's just not going to thrive.