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Rainbird on 12 February 2012
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HappySqurriel said:
Khuutra said:

I reject that reasoning from both of you; based on this generation and others, I have no reason to believe that there's such a thing as carrying over console loyalty for a large crowd. If there was, PS3 wouldn't have taken this long to really get going, and the 360 wouldn't have done as well as it did.

The Wii will not determine the success of the Wii U; the Wii U will determine the success of the Wii U.

I think you both misunderstand what the advantage of having a larger userbase is ... What I'm really talking about is brand loyalty and vendor lock in; and the more generic and interchangeable the products are the more these factors matter.

Regardless of whether you're looking at beverages, vehicles, or household cleaning products people have a demonstrated track record of buying products based on brand loyalty. It can't compensate for releasing a system that is $200 too expensive, or to protect you against a much more exciting and inovative product that has been released to specifically target a large portion of your userbase, but it can sway people to buy your system when all other factors are practically equal.

And my speculation relates to the kind of loyalty Nintento gained from the part of the market the Wii expanded into, people who haven't done much in gaming before. They were attracted to the Wii because of the new ways it allowed you to play, but as the Wii U doesn't seem to offer any "revolutionary" gameplay, why should these people upgrade?

I'm simply speculating that the Wii U won't have the same impact with that crowd as the Wii had, partially because of the lack of revolutionary features and partially because the Wii has their needs covered. That depends on how those game time numbers are interpreted of course. Are people not playing a lot because they don't have the content they want? Or are people not playing a lot because they only take it for occasional use, like Mario Kart when buddies come over, or Wii Fit when you want to get your heartrate going a bit?

@ Khuutra

I completely agree that the Wii U will make its mark based on its own merits. I'm arguing with Squirrel why Wii owners won't be a great help for the Wii U.

If you're referring to my speculation on the PS360, I'll say that it is wildly speculative, but PS360 owners may have more to entice them to go with the same manufacturer again than Wii owners do, through their online accounts. I have no idea if it's the kind of thing that might matter to PS360 owners.