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Forums - Nintendo Discussion - Both 3DS And Wii U Are Performing Poorly In The US. What Can Be Done?

Incubi on 13 September 2014

I wonder if Nintendo will ditch the Gumpei Yokoi hardware strategy after this gen is over. I feel like they kinda have to. As Miyamoto implied; They will now change focus as they no longer see themselves as obligated to expand gaming as they did in past generations - seeing as smart devices is doing that job now.

This should mean that they will now focus on providing gaming experiences for those who aren't satisfied with gaming on smart devices, and wants something more. What that "more" is remains to be seen.



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archbrix on 13 September 2014
Soundwave said:
I think this kinda hammers it home too, looking at corresponding sales periods

NPD US Sales Comparision:

Jan-Aug 2014 (Wii U + 3DS combined)

= 1.55 million combined hardware

Jan-August 2003 (GBA + GCN combined)

= 4.7 million combined hardware

So basically the narrative that this gen is basically the GBA + GCN is fairly false. Wii U + 3DS are selling nowhere close to the GCN + GBA in North America.

Regarding the Gamecube to WiiU comparison, I honestly think price is a bigger factor than some people realize.  The WiiU is still $100 more than the Gamecube launched at.  While WiiU is $299 now in September of its second year, the GC was $99 in September 2003.  That's a big difference for a console that has to rely on "second system" status for a lot of its sales.

This is where the Gamepad really makes it a difficult situation for Nintendo, unless they want to take some pretty major losses again, which ain't happening.  I think their best bet is to balance profits and price drops accordingly - ride out the holidays with their big titles (Smash along with Kart's evergreen appeal) and the introduction of amiibo, then drop to $249 in the first half of next year when they can afford to do so with zero loss, preferably with a Mario Maker bundle.  Maybe it's just me but I think that game has more potential for mass-market appeal than a Wii Sports or Wii Fit is going to have today.



tak13 on 13 September 2014

nintendo has already done something...a new 3ds/xl!...



noname2200 on 13 September 2014
Incubi said:
I wonder if Nintendo will ditch the Gumpei Yokoi hardware strategy after this gen is over.

Probably. They've been doing lots of stupid things lately, after all.



Soundwave on 13 September 2014
archbrix said:
Soundwave said:
I think this kinda hammers it home too, looking at corresponding sales periods

NPD US Sales Comparision:

Jan-Aug 2014 (Wii U + 3DS combined)

= 1.55 million combined hardware

Jan-August 2003 (GBA + GCN combined)

= 4.7 million combined hardware

So basically the narrative that this gen is basically the GBA + GCN is fairly false. Wii U + 3DS are selling nowhere close to the GCN + GBA in North America.

Regarding the Gamecube to WiiU comparison, I honestly think price is a bigger factor than some people realize.  The WiiU is still $100 more than the Gamecube launched at.  While WiiU is $299 now in September of its second year, the GC was $99 in September 2003.  That's a big difference for a console that has to rely on "second system" status for a lot of its sales.

This is where the Gamepad really makes it a difficult situation for Nintendo, unless they want to take some pretty major losses again, which ain't happening.  I think their best bet is to balance profits and price drops accordingly - ride out the holidays with their big titles (Smash along with Kart's evergreen appeal) and the introduction of amiibo, then drop to $249 in the first half of next year when they can afford to do so with zero loss, preferably with a Mario Maker bundle.  Maybe it's just me but I think that game has more potential for mass-market appeal than a Wii Sports or Wii Fit is going to have today.


Well no one is really putting a gun to Nintendo's head forcing them to continue pushing the Gamepad. They could have dropped it like MS did with Kinect for a lower price point. 

That notwithstanding what people actually don't realize either is the GBA was a monster in sales in North America too, they only look at 80 million LTD but don't realize that that LTD was severely crippled by having to hand over the baton to the DS 3 1/2 years into its lifecycle. It would be like Nintendo phasing out the 3DS this year for 4DS/Fusion already, 3DS probably would finish at 55 mill LTD. 



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zorg1000 on 13 September 2014
Soundwave said:
zorg1000 said:
Soundwave said:
Gammalad said:
Before Professor Layton vs. Phoenix Wright, the last 3DS game released in the US was Tomodachi Life so there is your answer for the 3DS too much of a games drought. Wii U just needs more advertisement.


3DS has a mature library and shouldn't need huge games every month and this point of its lifecycle. 

It has NSMB2, Mario 3D Land, Mario Kart 7, Animal Crossing, Pokemon X/Y, Nintendogs + cats, Fire Emblem, Kid Icarus Uprising, Luigi's Mansion 2, Zelda: OoT 3D, Zelda: Link Between Worlds, Mario & Luigi, Pilotwings, Paper Mario, Mario Tennis, Donkey Kong Country Returns, Mario Party, Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate, Kingdom Hearts, Super Street Fighter IV, Tekken, Ridge Racer, Bravely Default, Resident Evil, Shin Megami Tensei, Sonic, Metal Gear Solid 3, LEGO City, Angry Birds, LEGO various, etc. etc. already. 

For people who say the DS had big games every month ... wrong. Nintendo's notable 2008 DS output:

Advance Wars: Days of Ruin

Kirby Super Star Ultra

Pokemon Mystery Dungeon

Pokemon Ranger

Crosswords DS

And not much else. 3DS' Nintendo output at this stage of the game is fairly typical for what previous Nintendo platforms have had after their third holiday season. 


by this point everybody knows 3DS is no DS in terms of sales/popularity so it does in fact still need new big releases in order to maintain momentum.

it doesnt necessarily need a big game every month but it hasnt recieved anything major since Tomodachi Life in early June and doesnt have anything major until Smash Bros in early October, thats 4 months.


All platforms have similar periods, the DS and GBA sure as heck did. 

A handheld platform in general doesn't tend to need major releases evey 1-2 months anyway, that's more of a console thing. 

Even then in the 8 months this year, Nintendo's published 6 3DS titles in North America -- Tomodachi Life (which has shown to have good legs), Yoshi's New Island, Kirby Triple Deluxe, Mario Golf, Professor Layton x Ace Attorney, and a Disney game on top of several eShop titles (Kirby Fighters, Steel Diver Sub Wars, Rusty's Baseball Challenge). Tomodachi Life has only been out for 3 months in the relevant NPD figures and seems to have good legs too. 

So it's not like they've published nothing this year. It's a fairly standard release schedule given the point of the 3DS' lifecycle, Nintendo has already released most of their major IP on the system. 

If you have to work so hard to maintain even an ok sales baseline so late in the lifecycle it indicates something is wrong with the platform. It would be like being married for three years but still having to buy your wife an expensive gift every month to keep her from losing interest in you ... if you haven't "hooked" her by then, it suggests something is fairly wrong in the relationship. 

yes from Jan-June 3DS was supported relatively well but that doesnt change the fact that there is a 4 month gap between Tomodachi & Smash. i dont care how strong a console/handhelds existing library is, if they go 1/3 the year without a big game sales will fall.

no u shouldnt have to buy ur wife expensive gifts every month but u cant go 3-4 months without spending any quality with ur wife and expect her to be happy.



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

ExplodingBlock on 13 September 2014

3DS should rise with Pokemon and Smash Bros, hopefully Amiibos can help both the 3DS and the Wii U. I think most people are waiting to buy the new 3DS



tak13 on 13 September 2014

as for wii u, a price cut in this year and another in 2016(price cut doubled gc sales..., is the reason that dominates the wii u!In the same time frame gc was costing 99$,nintedo firstly cut the price in 2002 by 49$ and then,made another price cut of 50$ in 2003!



marley on 13 September 2014

Games - specifically games that most westerners actually want.



amak11 on 13 September 2014
Soundwave said:
WhiteEaglePL said:
I think because of the New 3DS......Nintendo wants at least 2 more years for the 3DS.


I get the New 3DS from the POV of Japan, especially where Monster Hunter is very popular and the second stick revision makes some sense ... but from North America ... I dunno. If people aren't buying the system anymore, I don't know if a second analog nub + a faster web browser on a screen that's lower resolution than even $99 tablet is going to be all that appealling. And yeah, Xenoblade, but a port of a 4 year old Wii JRPG not named Final Fantasy probably isn't lighting the US on fire either. 

Clearly they were hoping the 2DS would cause a big uptick in sales too, but that hasn't taken either. 


2DS was only a low cost, non-3D option entry console. Which I personally bought for better ergonomics.