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Forums - Nintendo Discussion - How the Wii U could make a comeback

EdHieron on 28 July 2014

It would help if graphics, the ultimate cause of the downfall of Wii, would stop mattering, but they already do in this gen.



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McDonaldsGuy on 28 July 2014
padib said:

You don't understand what I'm talking about with Smash and Amiibos because you haven't thought it through. The amiibos for Smash will allow a player to evolve a character in smash bros and improve its stats, much like an RPG. Then, two players could compete amiibo to amiibo. It becomes like an RPG.

As for cartoon Zelda, we don't know if cartoon Zelda is what causes sales to drop. That may just be correlation and not causation. One thing we do know is that TP also released on the cube and sold very little there (1.6m) compared to Wind Waker (4.6m). Also, the Wind Waker sold as much as A Link to the Past and Adventures of Link, far from segmenting the fanbase. We can explain low sales for WW as compared to OoT by the low adoption rates for the cube as compared to the N64. Also, Majora's Mask had the same graphics template as OoT, yet it sold 3.36M (4M less than OoT's 7.60M), so what happened there, was it the art style that fragmented the fanbase?? Imho what happened to Skyward Sword is the same thing that happened for Majora's Mask. It released during a dead period for both consoles. That is similar to Goldeneye's 8m compared to Perfect Dark's 2.5m.

All in all the idea that cartoon Zelda fragments the Zelda fanbase is not at all supported by the sales data.


Do you have like a link (no, not that one lol!) or something about these amiibos? I saw a video a while back, and all I saw was the fighters fighting against each other. It didn't look interesting at all and nothing screamed "Buy me!" I mean most people just play Smash Bros. to unlock characters and stuff. I think 90% of people will be fine playing Smash without amiibos.

NFC characters simply don't work for fighting games I think. The Pokemon amiibos on the other hand are the biggest DUH in the entire world.

I wouldn't compare Twilight Princess on the GameCube to the Wind Waker because even though TP was intended as a GC game, it became a Wii game. 

Think of it this way - first of all there's a huge documentation of the backlash against the Wind Waker, and Nintendo even admitted they went with the "realistic" graphics for Twilight Princess because of the reaction against the Wind Waker. But here's the kicker: The Wind Waker's HD remake sold pretty poorly. Ocarina of Time remake has sold over 3 and a half million, while the Wind Waker has barely passed a million. Your argument may be that the 3DS has sold more than the WIi U but remember the 3DS was selling poorly as well when OOT came out (even less than the Wii U!).

Majora's Mask required an expansion back no one had and also was just too weird for people (too dark, not many dungeons, the 3 day time cycle, the focus on masks that change Link, etc. etc.)

The art style fracturing the fanbase is well documented sadly. Nintendo NEEDS to release a Zelda with these graphics: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u_fyOkrteqM

That would be a HUGE system seller.



McDonaldsGuy on 28 July 2014
EdHieron said:
It would help if graphics, the ultimate cause of the downfall of Wii, would stop mattering, but they already do in this gen.


Graphics have always mattered though. Even during the NES days. Bad example but remember the first (American) Zelda commercial the first thing the kid says was like "Woah look at those graphics!"

Graphics will always matter. The Wii got away with last gen graphics because it was a new way to play games. The Wiimote was good enough on its own to sell consoles. But the Gamepad on the other hand is a different story. It's not enough to sell consoles on its own.

But you are right one of the reasons for the Wii falling off in popularity was the rise in HD TV sales.



QuintonMcLeod on 28 July 2014
McDonaldsGuy said:
QuintonMcLeod said:
McDonaldsGuy said:

The Wii did something no other console was able to do before: attract female (I will use "female" as it's easier to type than women and girls) gamers by the millions. Although this is old data, 80% of console gamers last generation were Wii owners. This was before the Kinect, but I doubt this percentage changed much. About 8-10% of PS3 and 360 players were female, while 30% of Wii players were female. Once again, these stats are pre-Kinect, which did attract many non-gamers but probably not enough to be really significant (at the most, 15% of 360 gamers).

The DS is the same way, but surprisingly, the 3DS is also the same. One of the reasons the 3DS has made such a comeback was because it attracted female gamers. 31% of 3DS owners are female.  This is evidence that even though mobile games have taken a lot of this demographic, there is still a lot of them who would buy a dedicated gaming system.Animal Crossing: New Leaf, for example, is a HUGE hit with girls - 56% of players are girls. Look up Let's Plays or Unboxing of it on YouTube and many are girls.

If I was the head of the Wii U right now my strategy would change entirely. Male gamers have pretty much rejected the Wii U - it's selling worse than even the Dreamcast did during the same time frame (and the DC was Japan-only for almost a year). Their big franchises aren't doing what they should be doing - selling units. Super Mario 3D World was rejected for looking just like the 3DS game (and rightfully so - with the new HD consoles we should've got something amazing like Mario 64 2 or a Galaxy game at least), the new Zelda art style is once again going to fracture the fanbase, and too few first party titles being released anyway. Donkey Kong Country: TF failed to even register on the radar as well as Pikmin 3. Mario Kart 8 was a little spike but not good enough. I doubt Smash Bros. is gonna do much as well.

So Nintendo should change focus, and try and get female gamers now. The GamePad is actually GREAT for those type of games. Popular games for girls on the 3DS include Disney Magic World, Animal Crossing, Tomadachi Life, Style Savvy, Professor Layton, Nintendogs, Cooking Mama, Imagine series, and then Nintendo could add dance games, fitness games, etc. etc. A lot of these games would be perfect for the GamePad as well, so it could be a major selling point.

The Wii U - like the 3DS - could then make a comeback and start selling more.

And hell if that doesn't work then just do a Pokemon RPG. The Amiibos make NO sense to me... because what are they used for? In Smash Bros., why would I need one? On the other hand, Amiibo Pokemon would be HUGE. And it makes sense (Gotta collect them all!). A Pokemon RPG with amiibos could save the Wii U no doubt. Also, Nintendo should have Retro Studios make the next big FPS game! Nintendo used to be known for being the first person shooter console (Goldeneye, Perfect Dark, Turok, Doom 64, Quake 64, etc. etc.) and Retro Studios can obviously make a good first person shooter... so why not have them make a killer app to compete with Destiny, Titanfall, Halo, Gears, etc. etc.?

What do you guys think? What would YOU do if your job was to make sure the Wii U could make a comeback?

TL;DR Version: Females were able to help foster the 3DS comeback, and they can do the same for the Wii U


If one is to ignore the facts, then I could see how a person would draw the conclusions you have. However, without ignoring facts, then the perspective you've concluded to would be totally misguided.

1) Mario Kart 8 helped turn the system completely around. The Wii U is now consistently outselling the Xbone.

2) The Dreamcast was actually a commercial success. I don't know why people keep comparing the Wii U to the Dreamcast. The Dreamcast died because Sega went bankrupt. Not because the Dreamcast sold poorly.

3) Nintendo has already had strategies in place to attract female gamers. What you're suggesting is something that's already being done: https://www.youtube.com/user/NintendoGirlsClub/videos

4) Nintendo needs FPS? The market is flooded with FPS games. What the market needs is innovation, not more of the same. Nintendo doesn't need to jump into the "Me too!" market. However, admittedly, they appear to be somewhat trying to appeal to those types of gamers with Splatoon.

1. Mario Kart is doing OK but can only sustain it for so long. Mario Kart isn't lighting the world on fire too. It needs more than Mario Kart to do so. Smash BRos. is being released on 3DS and I think it can kinda do what Mario Kart is doing but it's not enough. The Wii U is still selling poorly.

2. No, PS2 hype killed the Dreamcast. The Dreamcast had a super strong start, but by the mid-2000s it wasn't selling. You are right, the Dreamcast was discontinued because Sega had no money but it still doesn't change the fact that the benchmark for failed consoles (Dreamcast) creams the Wii U in sales.

3. Um did you not see the videos? Those are almost all 3DS. The 3DS is hugely popular with girls which is why I said the Wii U should mimic it. Read my OP again.

4. Yes, Nintendo needs FPS. Because that's what truly sells consoles these days. And no, Splatoon doesn't appeal to them all that much.

And Nintendo and FPS isn't exactly an oxymoron. Remember, the N64 had Goldeneye, Turok, Perfect Dark, Quake 64, Doom 64, Duke Nukem 64, etc. etc.


1) Mario Kart 8 has been in the Top 10 worldwide for 2 months now. That's _worldwide_ mind you - meaning MK8 has been in the top 10 in every region for 2 months. No one is saying Mario Kart 8 is all Nintendo needs from here on out. However, to pretend Mario Kart 8 isn't doing anything for the Wii U, let alone Nintendo themselves, is very short sighted. You also claim the Wii U is selling poorly. I'd say, in this present time, the Wii U is finally selling at acceptable numbers. So, it's no longer selling poorly. It's selling better than the Xbone.

2) You're very confused. The PS2 hype didn't kill the Dreamcast at all. The Dreamcast was still a commercial success. Sega simply went out of business. The Jaguar is a failed console. The Virtual Boy is a failed console. The 3D0 is a failed console. The Dreamcast is NOT a failed console. 

3) The point of the link was to show you that Nintendo's female-centric strategy is already active. Will Animal Crossing come to the Wii U? Of course it will. Will other female-centric games from Nintendo hit the Wii U? Eventually. To assume Nintendo isn't going target the female market is just silly - especially after Nintendo has already shown their plans to do so.

4) The only FPS I've seen that pushed consoles was Halo. A large library of FPS could potentionally push consoles, but outside of Halo, this is certainly not the case.

5) Goldeneye and Perfect Dark were the only FPS from Nintendo. Turok was from Acclaim and the rest are old PC ports. The Xbox and the X360 had way more FPS than what the N64 had. 

A lot of what you're saying is based on wild assumptions and misinformed opinions. You should honestly research some of the stuff you're saying so you can get an idea of whats really going on.



Raziel123 on 28 July 2014

Hum. Depends on what you mean by comeback
it's going (already is) to sell more yes
It's not going to come close to touching PS4 in a million years though
Its battle is with the XB1



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NickK on 28 July 2014

It is doing its come-back!!!!



zorg1000 on 28 July 2014
NickK said:
It is doing its come-back!!!!


Not really

Sales were up in June in the US but it was still worse than Gamecube in June 2003 which didnt have a major game just release.

Also in Japan the baseline is already under 10k once again and I believe its still down from last year.

It had a reletively good month due to Mario Kart but its still not selling all that well.



When the herd loses its way, the shepard must kill the bull that leads them astray.

BeElite on 28 July 2014
QuintonMcLeod said:


1) Mario Kart 8 has been in the Top 10 worldwide for 2 months now. That's _worldwide_ mind you - meaning MK8 has been in the top 10 in every region for 2 months. No one is saying Mario Kart 8 is all Nintendo needs from here on out. However, to pretend Mario Kart 8 isn't doing anything for the Wii U, let alone Nintendo themselves, is very short sighted. You also claim the Wii U is selling poorly. I'd say, in this present time, the Wii U is finally selling at acceptable numbers. So, it's no longer selling poorly. It's selling better than the Xbone.

2) You're very confused. The PS2 hype didn't kill the Dreamcast at all. The Dreamcast was still a commercial success. Sega simply went out of business. The Jaguar is a failed console. The Virtual Boy is a failed console. The 3D0 is a failed console. The Dreamcast is NOT a failed console. 

3) The point of the link was to show you that Nintendo's female-centric strategy is already active. Will Animal Crossing come to the Wii U? Of course it will. Will other female-centric games from Nintendo hit the Wii U? Eventually. To assume Nintendo isn't going target the female market is just silly - especially after Nintendo has already shown their plans to do so.

4) The only FPS I've seen that pushed consoles was Halo. A large library of FPS could potentionally push consoles, but outside of Halo, this is certainly not the case.

5) Goldeneye and Perfect Dark were the only FPS from Nintendo. Turok was from Acclaim and the rest are old PC ports. The Xbox and the X360 had way more FPS than what the N64 had. 

A lot of what you're saying is based on wild assumptions and misinformed opinions. You should honestly research some of the stuff you're saying so you can get an idea of whats really going on.

Wiiu is doing good only untill you factor in things like its already established library being the cheapest console and it being its second year. Even after the Kart bump its sales are poor considering.  

Issue with the female centric strategy is was the wiiu was designed as that ?.  they may bring the games but will the target audience see the U as something for them is another story.



amp316 on 28 July 2014

In order for something to make a comeback it had to be popular at one time.



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XanderXT on 28 July 2014

Why would they do a Pokémon RPG with amiboos? I know lots of preople that would be pissed off because of that. That's basically microtransactions. Also Pokémon is Pocket Monsters. The Wii U isn't very portable. That's why Gamefreak says it won't do a home console game.