Destructoid Blog: "Is Wii U's Touch Screen Controller a Red Herring Hiding a Deeper Strategy?"

[DanneSandin]

DaRev said:

RolStoppable said:
That's a lot of optimism coupled with ignoring reality. Based on Nintendo's financials it's pretty clear that Nintendo doesn't have much of a strategy. The THQ failure also shows that third parties would rather go bankrupt than reconsider their stance regarding game development on a Nintendo home console.

The blog post also tries its best to link the Wii and Wii U, but where this comparison crumbles is that the Wii was a hit while the Wii U is not. Additionally, Nintendo didn't bet the farm on the Wii. If the Wii struggled out of the gate, they had plenty of room to make a price cut. The Wii U, on the other hand, was a huge gamble.

What a load of rubbish, you can't be serious, and must be pulling the dude's leg,...right? But if you aren't:

1) How can yo honestly say Nintendo doesn't have a strategy after coming out first this new console generation, incorporating a fairly non-standrd controller, teaming up with 3rd parties, having cross over titles like Fire Emblem and Shin Megami Tensei, embrassing online and HD convensions, etc.

2) The WiiU has been out just 3 months and is performing better than all but the Wii did at lauunch, so how can you say its not a hit?

3) The Wii was much more of a gamble than the WiiU because almost no one but Nintendo thought that a console focused solely on casual gaming, a term that almost didn't event exist until 2006, could survive or event beat the more powerful and conventional 360 and PS4. Now Nintendo and everybody else knows there is a casual maket which you can thrive on, just ask Apple. The Wii U is banking on that same casual market while extending its bet, a rather safe one, on the hardcore market. So I fail to see how the Wii U is this huge gamble.

1) Nintendo has a strategy, and it's apparently a bad one since Wii U is performing very bad at the moment. Looking at the weekly sales tells us there really is a low interest in the product. Is that what Nintendo was hoping for before launching the console?

2) Wii U did well upon it's initial launch, but the sales of 2013 has been VERY disappointing. Both Xbox360 and PS3 did much better numbers during their first January on the market. There's no way you can spin that.

3) The first point you're making is very true. Wii was something of a gamble, and it paid off. Wii U isn't. It's not a phenomenon that has captured the interest of the casual market, and I very much doubt it ever will.