Could the Wii U be Nintendo's last console?

[VG_Addict]

I mean, the Wii U is flopping. Could it be their last home console before they go software only like Sega?

[Praetor]

I mean, the Wii U is flopping. Could it be their last home console before they go software only like Sega?

 

hope they don't pull a Sega, i mean see how Sega went because of that...

[Lord Method Man]

You signed up just to regurgitate this tired old topic?

[VG_Addict]

I think Nintendo should give the rights to their games to Microsoft.

[Praetor]

You signed up just to regurgitate this tired old topic?

 

lol

I think Nintendo should give the rights to their games to Microsoft.

 

LOL? why on Earth would they wanted to do that???

[VG_Addict]

But Nintendo consoles have sold less and less every generation.

[Jose_49]

But Nintendo consoles have sold less and less every generation.

Gamecube:

Units sold Worldwide: 21.74 million

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GameCube

 

Wii:

Units sold Worldwide: 100.9 million

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wii_sales

 

.... Yeah they flop less and less every gen.

[VG_Addict]

The Wii was a fluke.

 

I doubt the Wii U will sell more than the Gamecube.

[Lord Method Man]

I think Nintendo should give the rights to their games to Microsoft.

 

I think Microsoft should give the rights to Windows to Amazon.

[Blackhearted]

I was wondering when we were going to have yet another generic "is nintendo doomed?" thread. It had been longer than usual without one around here.

[neoadorable]

Who is this guy? I'm a big Xbox gamer but this is an obvious shill. Seize him!

 

And no, it's not going to be Nintendo's last console, or last anything. And Sega may still get back into hardware. Anything's possible.

[Jason S. Global Moderator]

these threads get tiring. another speculation thread that holds no weight. just b/c <whatever company> hasnt sold 500mil units in 1 month means theyre doomed.

 

remember when everyone was yelling about the demise of the 3DS a couple years ago?

[johnnyq3]

As others have said, Nintendo isn't going down so easily.  Nintendo does need to put more games out but they are small compared to other developers.  They have been moving towards having other developers make games of their Intellectual Properties, see Hyrule Warriors and SMT x Fire Emblem.

[ditoax]

Nintendo have a lot of cash. More than most people realise. Also the 3DS is doing great now. I don't think many people expected the Wii U to be a hit like the Wii was and shift a 100 million units but I don't think people expected it to be quite as low selling as it currently is.

 

Nintendo will be fine in the long run though. They have such amazing first party games that they can survive on just those sales. Zelda, Mario, Smash Bros., Mario Kart, Pokemon, etc. They are all cash cows.

 

I am not too sure what will happen with the Wii U in the long term. I can't see it suddenly becoming the most popular console so maybe we will see Nintendo hit the innovation button in a couple of years and come out with a new console. They could get away with it if they maintain backwards compatibility like they did with the Wii. Bring out a system with about the same power as the PS4/Xbox One. Have a couple of amazing launch games. Is possible although unlikely.

[Brandon H Supervisor]

I think Nintendo should give the rights to their games to Microsoft.

yeah because that went so well with banjo kazooie /s

[HawkMan]

I don't think many people expected the Wii U to be a hit like the Wii was and shift a 100 million units but I don't think people expected it to be quite as low selling as it currently is.

I think Nintendo expected to sell more in one year than the competition did in one month though...

As for the last... Probably not. But to play devils advocate to the people who say how much money Nintendo has. Sure they do. BUT if the shareholders say "hey guys, this business of making console hardware... It's not working out anymore, we're losing money on it. It's be better if we spent our huge hoard of cash on just making games and maybe special controllers for MS and Sonys consoles", well then they have no choice but to do so. But at this point in time I don't think it'll happen. The only real question is what they'll do next, keep faith in the Wii U or ditch it and go next gen with the others.

At this point, and as a Wii U owner, I must say a revival of the Wii U to sales charts seems unlikely. But well see what happens when Mario kart hits the shells it'll be the first real guide on the future of the console, if it can boost sales, then Smash bros is the next. If neither manages to boost sales then it's dead. If they manage to boost sales, then good. But then you have another problem. There's nothing more really on Nintendos roadmap for the Wii U after that... There's rumors of a new Zelda, but... 1-2 games a year won't keep it alive a new Zelda if it's announced at E3 is still at the very least one year away, more like 2.

Nintendo is focusing all to much on new 3DS games while ignoring the Wii U, and this was the case from before the launch, not just a result of the disappointing launch.

[+Eternal Tempest MVC]

No, read an article that talked about Nintendo is sitting on so much cash, it could lose 250 Million a year and survive until 2052.

http://www.gamesradar.com/nintendo-doomed-not-likely-just-take-look-how-much-money-its-got-bank/

[DrunknMunky Veteran]

I think Nintendo expected to sell more in one year than the competition did in one month though...

As for the last... Probably not. But to play devils advocate to the people who say how much money Nintendo has. Sure they do. BUT if the shareholders say "hey guys, this business of making console hardware... It's not working out anymore, we're losing money on it. It's be better if we spent our huge hoard of cash on just making games and maybe special controllers for MS and Sonys consoles", well then they have no choice but to do so. But at this point in time I don't think it'll happen. The only real question is what they'll do next, keep faith in the Wii U or ditch it and go next gen with the others.

At this point, and as a Wii U owner, I must say a revival of the Wii U to sales charts seems unlikely. But well see what happens when Mario kart hits the shells it'll be the first real guide on the future of the console, if it can boost sales, then Smash bros is the next. If neither manages to boost sales then it's dead. If they manage to boost sales, then good. But then you have another problem. There's nothing more really on Nintendos roadmap for the Wii U after that... There's rumors of a new Zelda, but... 1-2 games a year won't keep it alive a new Zelda if it's announced at E3 is still at the very least one year away, more like 2.

Nintendo is focusing all to much on new 3DS games while ignoring the Wii U, and this was the case from before the launch, not just a result of the disappointing launch.

 

Skyward Sword came out in 2011 so assuming they started in 2012 we'd hear about the next title this year and release next year. They've talked about speeding up Zelda development and aiming for 3 year cycles previously.

[Blackhearted]

I think Nintendo expected to sell more in one year than the competition did in one month though...

As for the last... Probably not. But to play devils advocate to the people who say how much money Nintendo has. Sure they do. BUT if the shareholders say "hey guys, this business of making console hardware... It's not working out anymore, we're losing money on it. It's be better if we spent our huge hoard of cash on just making games and maybe special controllers for MS and Sonys consoles", well then they have no choice but to do so. But at this point in time I don't think it'll happen. The only real question is what they'll do next, keep faith in the Wii U or ditch it and go next gen with the others.

At this point, and as a Wii U owner, I must say a revival of the Wii U to sales charts seems unlikely. But well see what happens when Mario kart hits the shells it'll be the first real guide on the future of the console, if it can boost sales, then Smash bros is the next. If neither manages to boost sales then it's dead. If they manage to boost sales, then good. But then you have another problem. There's nothing more really on Nintendos roadmap for the Wii U after that... There's rumors of a new Zelda, but... 1-2 games a year won't keep it alive a new Zelda if it's announced at E3 is still at the very least one year away, more like 2.

Nintendo is focusing all to much on new 3DS games while ignoring the Wii U, and this was the case from before the launch, not just a result of the disappointing launch.

 

I wonder when people will realize that ditching the wii u and releasing a box equal or greater than the PS4 isn't going to magically change things. It's not going to make the anti-nintendo crowd suddenly buy a nintendo box and thus have huge sales. And it's also not going to suddenly change the grudges some third parties have against nintendo either(EA would be one such 3rd party), they'd more than likely just come up with a new excuse. Another thing i wish people would understand is that if they ditched the wii u too soon, it would cause alot more damage to them than it would help them. Think back to the 90's, launching and abandoning hardware quickly did sega no favors.

 

Also, You're still deliberately ignoring any game that doesn't have mario in it when it comes to the wii u's current and future library, aren't you? It's sure seeming like it.

[HawkMan]

Which falls in line with my timeline. Either way, it's getting very late for a console with an extremely skimpy lineup and which only survives off of first party.

If they want the Wii U to survive they need to give it the same attention they give the 3DS. Unfortunately it's a hit later for that, it should have had that attention from before launch, Mario kart and smash brows along with Mario U should have been launch titles or at the very list first quarter.

[HawkMan]

I wonder when people will realize that ditching the wii u and releasing a box equal or greater than the PS4 isn't going to magically change things. It's not going to make the anti-nintendo crowd suddenly buy a nintendo box and thus have huge sales. And it's also not going to suddenly change the grudges some third parties have against nintendo either(EA would be one such 3rd party), they'd more than likely just come up with a new excuse. Another thing i wish people would understand is that if they ditched the wii u too soon, it would cause alot more damage to them than it would help them. Think back to the 90's, launching and abandoning hardware quickly did sega no favors.

Also, You're still deliberately ignoring any game that doesn't have mario in it when it comes to the wii u's current and future library, aren't you? It's sure seeming like it.

At this point it's not so much about magically changing things and such. It's about an image change. The Wii U has none, which is worse than a bad image. A relaunch of new hardware , especially if they go x86 (and maybe throw in a proper online mode this time) could easily change this AND give them better third party support. Easier to develop for enough power for the big studios to co develop games for it along with the One and PS4.

At the moment, it has no image and no third party support. A new hardware launch IF done right, could sort both of these out. Either way new hardware would be years away anyway.

And I'm not ignoring anything, but claiming the Wii U library isn't sorely lacking is putting on some big damn blinders. Loading up the Wii U store is depression made into software.

[DrunknMunky Veteran]

Which falls in line with my timeline. Either way, it's getting very late for a console with an extremely skimpy lineup and which only survives off of first party.

If they want the Wii U to survive they need to give it the same attention they give the 3DS. Unfortunately it's a hit later for that, it should have had that attention from before launch, Mario kart and smash brows along with Mario U should have been launch titles or at the very list first quarter.

 

Considering TP came out in 2006 and SS in 2011 (and TP started development after WW), 3 years is an accomplishment and more than acceptable with the sheer size of the games. These aren't your typical 8 hr adventure games; they're RPGs and making full use of the features of the console in the process. It's not fair to say "it's very late" when the console came out during those 3 years and if it did release any sooner, it would be to their detriment. The other teams at Nintendo obviously worked on the license for 3DS, which AFAIK was a hit with everyone.

 

Swap your argument with a Mario platformer and I'd agree with you though. I guess it depends who has been in control of it and if that's why it slowed them down. Did 3D Land/World take priority? Galaxy 2 was 4 years ago this summer, which is more than enough time to pump out something with a well trodden formula.

 

As for rebooting the console, it's not a problem with the hardware, it's the mentality at Nintendo. If the rumours are to be believed and they don't even know things like PSN/XBL exist that is a much bigger issue. Making changes to their relations and support would do far more good than just releasing a more powerful console. Make developers want to work with you and you'll have their support. Otherwise you'd just be in the same position again with a more expensive console bleeding money that they can't reap $ back on. At least not with a 1st party seller approach like they do now (and with the Wii).

[Torolol]

3DS strength will be gone if its games adopt the tablet/phone's in-game microtransactions models.

i manage to convinces my friends that gaming on 3DS are more fulfilling than playing on microtransactions laden games.

[compl3x]

I think Nintendo should give the rights to their games to Microsoft.

File under: ridiculous things I've read on Neowin

[HawkMan]

Considering TP came out in 2006 and SS in 2011 (and TP started development after WW), 3 years is an accomplishment and more than acceptable with the sheer size of the games. These aren't your typical 8 hr adventure games; they're RPGs and making full use of the features of the console in the process. It's not fair to say "it's very late" when the console came out during those 3 years and if it did release any sooner, it would be to their detriment. The other teams at Nintendo obviously worked on the license for 3DS, which AFAIK was a hit with everyone.

 

Swap your argument with a Mario platformer and I'd agree with you though. I guess it depends who has been in control of it and if that's why it slowed them down. Did 3D Land/World take priority? Galaxy 2 was 4 years ago this summer, which is more than enough time to pump out something with a well trodden formula.

 

As for rebooting the console, it's not a problem with the hardware, it's the mentality at Nintendo. If the rumours are to be believed and they don't even know things like PSN/XBL exist that is a much bigger issue. Making changes to their relations and support would do far more good than just releasing a more powerful console. Make developers want to work with you and you'll have their support. Otherwise you'd just be in the same position again with a more expensive console bleeding money that they can't reap $ back on. At least not with a 1st party seller approach like they do now (and with the Wii).

 

 

At this point there's nothign Nintendo can do to make third parties want to code for the Wii U. it's outclassed in performance, the other two while on majorly different API's and even hardware architecture are both X86 and far easier to code for.Add in the insignificant Wii U userbase and there's just nothing there for them, it's not worth their time. 

 

It "may" not have been that long since the last Zelda game came out, but then they should rather have delayed that till the Wii U launch, or at the very least had a good selection of other games ready for the launch. If they had the Wii U launch would have been at least as succesffull as the PS4 and XO launches, maybe even more, at least if they'd called it Wii 2.