Iwata: Wii U/3DS will cater to core gamers first, mass market second

[amp316]

happydolphin said:

amp316 said:

happydolphin said:

amp316 said:

No pouty face for me.  As long as I get my Nintendo games I will buy it. 

I just think that their strategy isn't wise for printing money and that is what business is about.

But the reason you gave doesn't hold. The mass will see the value in the WiiU come E3, there will be headlines about it, much more than an industry press release, that's for sure! E3 is huge, much bigger than this, and will get much more exposure.

Don't be worried! What other concerns do you have other than that?

Why does my reason not hold?  I think that it does.

Here's my concern and I think that it's a legit one:  Ninty just posted their first loss ever and they plan on using the same strategy.  What makes you think that this couldn't result in more losses?

Sorry, I was away from my computer.

This is a legitimate concern, but it's got a few holes to fill. For one, the sales of the 3DS are fine, it's the profits that are hurt. The reason the profits are hurt have little to do with the games, Nintendo does not easily sell handhelds for more than 200$. What happened is that Nintendo included features in the hardware (3D) which the consumers weren' willing to pay for. They had to absorb the costs in a contingency measure. Pretty simple.

The strategy is the same with the WiiU, so sales should be fine, so long as the pricepoint is sound. Now you'll argue that the 3DS strategy was lacking since it didn't include NSMB2. Let's say for a second that I conceded that point (I don't, but let's say). Well, the WiiU is almost without a shadow of a doubt getting  NSMBU for launch.

So what are you worried about?

Please read my above statement again.

Ninty posted their first loss EVER and they plan on continuing with the exact same strategy.  It doesn't take a rocket scientist to realize the fundamental flaws with this. 

Games, by the way, were part of the problem with the 3DS (not just the price) initially since it didn't have any first party games but Pilotwings and Nintendogs if my memory serves me correctly.  They said that letting 3rd parties take the lead and releasing core games for the system was going to be a key to their success and would get core gamers to buy the handheld.  This did not happen, and the same strategy will not work by releasing things like Ninja Gaiden 3 at launch.  :p