Why is the Wii U not succeeding?

[TallanKhan]

I think there are a host of reasons the WiiU sales have been poor.

First of all the WiiU was a very poor choice of name for the console, Nintendo have never really used any kind of numbering system and each new console has come with a new name. The WiiU is the first time they have moved away from that system and I don't think they did enough around launch to draw a clear line between the Wii and the WiiU, most casual observers assumed it was just a newer version of the Wii rather than a new console.

The launch itself was relativley low key compared to the fanfare that usually surrounds a console launch. I have to admit I actually missed that it had happened for a couple of weeks. Add to that a virtually non-existant launch lineup and I think this constitued a fairly major blow.

The WiiU still doesn't have the line up. Lack of 3rd party development has been hurting Nintendo for some time now. In the past Nintendo has sheltered behind a fairly strong catalogue of Nintendo exclusive IP but as alot of Wii titles showed some of these franchises (Mario, Zelda etc) really seem to be running out of steam. To be honest the only reason I brought a Wii was a certain level of nostalgic affection for Mario and Co and if given the choice again I probably wouldn't have bothered.

The controller. I am not aqgainst innovation and change but I don't think Nintendo's recent controler adaptions have been been positive developments. For me the WiiU controller is still better than the Wii remote but in all honesty all I want is a controller. A controller with joysticks and buttons, no pointless second screen to look at, that is comfortable to hold and where the controlls feel organic. The touchscreen and everything else just feels gimmicky.

And that ladies and gentlemen is what really grinds my gears...

 

[direkiller]

it has no real target audience, Nintendo tried to milk the same market it did with the Wii, but the casual market has moved on to new things. Much like Guitar hero, people lost interest and the sales quickly dropped off and the nostagial of playing Mario is not enough to drive the console anymore.

 

[direkiller]

How can you, in all honesty, tell me that is not competing with PCs? They're not just competing on multiplat titles, they're now overlapping on functionality and architecture.

Also, I think this GIF is rather nice for anyone who still argues the Wii U is outdated in terms of tech:

Spoiler

The PS4 and Xbone can do several times better ...

There is no working around the Wii U's anemic amount of RAM.

I'm sorry, are you not seeing what I'm seeing right there? It looks like a game and probably plays like one too. It seems developers have found a way too work around/with it.

as that's from the E3 trailer it's not hard to tell what they did
here is a hint:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mqnAbRpyqfI
Im holding off judgment, but I have a strong feeling the final product will be missing more then 3d models for those bushes/trees, and a texture pop-in on a rock.

 

[Negatempest]

How can you, in all honesty, tell me that is not competing with PCs? They're not just competing on multiplat titles, they're now overlapping on functionality and architecture.

Also, I think this GIF is rather nice for anyone who still argues the Wii U is outdated in terms of tech:

The PS4 and Xbone can do several times better ...

There is no working around the Wii U's anemic amount of RAM.

I'm sorry, are you not seeing what I'm seeing right there? It looks like a game and probably plays like one too. It seems developers have found a way too work around/with it.

as that's from the E3 trailer it's not hard to tell what they did
here is a hint:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mqnAbRpyqfI
Im holding off judgment, but I have a strong feeling the final product will be missing more then 3d models for those bushes/trees, and a texture pop-in on a rock.

My only argument against that is the same others will make, Nintendo has always focused on the gameplay quality. Nintendo is the one to bet on that when they show you an E3 demonstration, expect the game to be the same way. 3rd parties are always guilty of shining up demonstations.

 

[ThePuzzldPirate]

How can you, in all honesty, tell me that is not competing with PCs? They're not just competing on multiplat titles, they're now overlapping on functionality and architecture.

Also, I think this GIF is rather nice for anyone who still argues the Wii U is outdated in terms of tech:

The PS4 and Xbone can do several times better ...

There is no working around the Wii U's anemic amount of RAM.

I'm sorry, are you not seeing what I'm seeing right there? It looks like a game and probably plays like one too. It seems developers have found a way too work around/with it.

as that's from the E3 trailer it's not hard to tell what they did
here is a hint:

I think it is save to say your wrong as one, you don't have proof of it and two it goes against Nintendo's track record of them rarely(if at all) BullShotting. Sure, it pulls the hollywood cinema camera angles but the gameplay there is most likley real. The bushes are 2.5d with shadow effects, with the rather detailed texture(though by how much is to be seen as we don't really get a good solid shot of them.) The thing to notice however it the sphere around the PC in which the shadows fade out and it isn't that big. The bushes(or the enemies for that matter) have no shadows as far as the rock even from the PC closest frame. Most of the geometry is coming from the mech, what makes this game looks so great is the art direction. What is running here is more than capable of running on the Wii-U.

 

[Dragonbums]

How can you, in all honesty, tell me that is not competing with PCs? They're not just competing on multiplat titles, they're now overlapping on functionality and architecture.

Also, I think this GIF is rather nice for anyone who still argues the Wii U is outdated in terms of tech:

The PS4 and Xbone can do several times better ...

There is no working around the Wii U's anemic amount of RAM.

I'm sorry, are you not seeing what I'm seeing right there? It looks like a game and probably plays like one too. It seems developers have found a way too work around/with it.

as that's from the E3 trailer it's not hard to tell what they did
here is a hint:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mqnAbRpyqfI
Im holding off judgment, but I have a strong feeling the final product will be missing more then 3d models for those bushes/trees, and a texture pop-in on a rock.

I highly doubt it.
Unlike the rest of the game industry that likes to wow people with too big for reality CGI graphics and gameplay specifically meant to wow you at E3, Nintendo has a strong track record of "what you see is what you get"
rarely do they make a huge bravado for a game and then cut it down to half.
I honestly believe that this is actually a gameplay animation of the robot turning into a tank.
Only a few of those clips from the trailer are actually CGI and we all know which ones those are without a doubt.

 

[Dragonbums]

as for the topic at hand, the reason why the Wii U is not succeeding is due to the fact that there is not enough games, and they had poor marketing.

The really need to fix the marketing aspect. Hopefully they are working on it and we will see an ad on tv here and there around the holiday season.

I however plan on getting one in the near future. 101 is shaping up to be an awesome game, and the extended trailer proved that.

 

[Casual Shinji]

Nintendo has a strong track record of "what you see is what you get".

...

They certainly do.

[small]I'm sorry, I couldn't help myself. It is stronger than I am.[/small]

 

[Dragonbums]

Nintendo has a strong track record of "what you see is what you get".

...

They certainly do.

[small]I'm sorry, I couldn't help myself. It is stronger than I am.[/small]

I'm glad I found this.
To be honest, this had to be the "best" worst E3 conference in history. Right next to Konami's. No E3 conference can EVER beat Konami's.

 

[Kittyhawk]

I guess there's still some out there that buy what Nintendo say, word for word. I remember when I used to be like that, because their games are cool and you want be on that Lakitu cloud high, right? The reality, if you look close enough is anything but as rosy as you might think.

The 'what you see is what you get' attitude from Nintendo is a false one and frankly complete nonsense that has been hurting their business for the last few console generations. Its a lazy attitude that saves them money (good for you, not for others), which is why they are okay with it and so long as you get your Mario games, you should be too, right?

For a good example of how Nintendo can be, go read the recent article on Argonaut and Starfox over at Eurogamer. Its a clear example of how Nintendo really are talented, but also very draconian and warped. Perhaps you can also go dig up articles on Rare, from when they used to be part of Nintendo. Its not the bed of roses you might think.

 

[Meg]

There's a lot of reasons. Nintendo came right out and said that they didn't do enough marketing. A lot of people don't realize the Wii U is a brand new system; they think it's an add-on to the Wii.

 

[Dragonbums]

There's a lot of reasons. Nintendo came right out and said that they didn't do enough marketing. A lot of people don't realize the Wii U is a brand new system; they think it's an add-on to the Wii.

Exactly.
Recently Nintendo on Facebook posted a picture of their Wii U tour and a bunch of people on there basically said they had no fucking clue that the Wii U is even a brand new system.

They have the fanbase of the Wii already on their palm.

Now they just need to actually advertise the fucking thing to get a grip on them.

This is coming from someone who has seen and played a Wii U before and still can't really tell you what the console itself looks like.

 

[Kl4pp5tuhl]

The design of the console itself to me isn't very appetizing, but that's IMHO. Credit where credit is due though, I love the look of the Pro Controller.

However, the target audience for the Wii U was the housewive demographic that bought the first yoga-waggle-remote-device, and now they will not buy another yoga-waggle-remote-device any time soon, because they still have the Wii collecting dust at home. Them buying a gaming console was lightning in a bottle, and it won't happen a second time in this case.

So yeah, unless a Wii U Slim with a neat design and incredible launch titles hits stores within the next +6 months, it will just simmer in low sales until christmas time, when all the confused aunts/grandparents buy a Wii U for the little ankle-biters called kids.

 

[QUINTIX]

Before I read through the thread: the choice of paired singles per thread instead of full 4-way SIMD [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SIMD]s, not getting a more up-to-date PowerPC core than the one they put in the Wii (just overclocking and copying it three times across the silicon), and using only a single 64-bit channel [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dual-channel_architecture] to connect to main memory are all asinine design decisions. Lateral application of withered technology is an excellent, though poorly worded, principle that has a huge risk of being dangerously misapplied, and Nintendo did just that with the WiiU's system architecture.

Edit: It is especially unfortunate because the graphics processor they choose: a tweaked mobile Radeon 4650, was an excellent choice. Though it is no where near in the same class as the Xbox One or the PS4, it is head and shoulders above the current gen of consoles and better than most iGPUs in laptops, which is plenty good enough [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/articles/view/columns/experienced-points/6069-Death-to-Good-Graphics], with ample clock headroom if a developer really wants it.

 

[Lightknight]

as for the topic at hand, the reason why the Wii U is not succeeding is due to the fact that there is not enough games, and they had poor marketing.

The really need to fix the marketing aspect. Hopefully they are working on it and we will see an ad on tv here and there around the holiday season.

I'd go with naming it Wii2. Frankly, I'd love to see them drop the tablet and thereby dropping the price of the console by $100 or so. Don't get me wrong, I see that it has value and such, I just don't think it needs to be a mandatory peripheral with how much it likely adds to the cost and how little I'd use it for the Nintendo games I'd want to play.

I however plan on getting one in the near future. 101 is shaping up to be an awesome game, and the extended trailer proved that.

Wait, you've been defending the WiiU nigh viciously all this time and you don't even have one yet? What consoles do you own?

 

[SonOfVoorhees]

Like every Nintendo console, only reason to buy it is for Nintendo games only. There 3rd party stuff are shit. So when those Nintendo games are released then sales will go up.

Also, lightning doesn't strike twice. They should not expect Wii level sales. An from what i remember, the Wii sales were high, but people buying games on the Wii wasn't.

 

[Dragonbums]

I'd go with naming it Wii2. Frankly, I'd love to see them drop the tablet and thereby dropping the price of the console by $100 or so. Don't get me wrong, I see that it has value and such, I just don't think it needs to be a mandatory peripheral with how much it likely adds to the cost and how little I'd use it for the Nintendo games I'd want to play.

Wii2 would of worked perfectly fine. However the tablet is pretty nice and comfy to hold. At the least it would make a great menu screen. Especially for games that tend to suffer from really cluttered single screens.

Wait, you've been defending the WiiU nigh viciously all this time and you don't even have one yet? What consoles do you own?

You got me.
I said this in a thread long dead on the Escapist but I'm always really bad at getting home consoles on time (and by on time I mean less than 2 years). I yearned for a Gamecube for 2 years before finally being able to get one, and I yearned for a Wii for even longer before I got my hands on it.
I was however, was interested in getting a Wii U for a while now. I plan on trading in my Wii to give me some money, and then going ahead and purchasing one about around Christmas time.
I do, however have friends that have the Wii U, and often times my experience with it was great. Like I said- better marketing and a good line up of games and the thing is good to go.

Right now I currently own a DS lite, a 3DS, and a Wii.

 

[freedash22]

The question is self explanatory. I was just wondering why? Maybe a gamer with better knowledge can explain it to me? Is it from lack of games? Bad timing? Or what? Seems to be doing a Dreamcast...

Lack of support from gaming publishers mostly. Fewer and fewer games have been released for the Wii U and companies like EA seem to have dropped it from their radar:

http://www.geek.com/games/ea-not-supporting-wii-u-because-its-an-offline-experience-1561472/

Even developers like Bethesda seem to have withdrawn development:
http://www.fudzilla.com/home/item/32155-bethesda-still-not-looking-at-wii-u

Square Enix has also withheld titles for the Wii U:
http://forums.khinsider.com/kingdom-hearts-iii/177042-square-enix-explains-why-kh3-not-coming-wii-u.html

It's not that the Wii U is a bad console, it's just that there isn't enough market interest in it to justify development and with fewer games; that means less customers. Handheld gamers are just preoccupied with other consoles, mobile gaming and other factors that take away from the Wii U. Plus, in my opinion, handheld gamers just don't behave like hardcore gamers, i.e, when a new technology arrives, they grab it immediately. They were already preoccupied with the PS Vita or Mobile gaming so they just ignored it.

 

[Dragonbums]

The question is self explanatory. I was just wondering why? Maybe a gamer with better knowledge can explain it to me? Is it from lack of games? Bad timing? Or what? Seems to be doing a Dreamcast...

Lack of support from gaming publishers mostly. Fewer and fewer games have been released for the Wii U and companies like EA seem to have dropped it from their radar:

http://www.geek.com/games/ea-not-supporting-wii-u-because-its-an-offline-experience-1561472/

Even developers like Bethesda seem to have withdrawn development:
http://www.fudzilla.com/home/item/32155-bethesda-still-not-looking-at-wii-u

Square Enix has also withheld titles for the Wii U:
http://forums.khinsider.com/kingdom-hearts-iii/177042-square-enix-explains-why-kh3-not-coming-wii-u.html

It's not that the Wii U is a bad console, it's just that there isn't enough market interest in it to justify development and with fewer games; that means less customers. Handheld gamers are just preoccupied with other consoles, mobile gaming and other factors that take away from the Wii U. Plus, in my opinion, handheld gamers just don't behave like hardcore gamers, i.e, when a new technology arrives, they grab it immediately. They were already preoccupied with the PS Vita or Mobile gaming so they just ignored it.

Even developers like Bethesda?

Dude, Bethesda hasn't made a serious game for Nintendo since the SNES/NES era. What they say about the company should hardly be newsworthy.

 

[Kittyhawk]

If you add all the comments made by devs across the Wii U's life cycle, you'll see how many of them are politely negative. Its a shame that Nintendo don't get the message.

On the contrary, there's no point in sugar coating it, Wii U isn't a bad console but a poorly conceived and mediocre marketing one. It was no doubt thrown together and rushed to market, when there was no demand for it and little game support. Nintendo in a post Wii state, could have coasted by on 3DS for a few years, then played their hand for another home console.

Unfortunately, they've blown their wad all over the brides panties before they have even taken them off. Wii U is a disaster that we've not seen since Virtual Boy, which digressing a little had great potential, but Nintendo's meddling turned what was a colour VR system into a red only VR mess. The rest is history.

But hey, doesn't matter. So long as Nintendo are getting rich off of it.

I bet Bethesda and many others would like to work with Nintendo again, but they are making it very difficult with their home consoles.