The more I try the Wii U, the less appealing it becomes to me. What am I missing?

[Arius Dion]

DevilRising said:

Arius Dion said:
The Wii U isn't resonating with the market at all. That is fact, sales numbers are as close to facts as we can get right now. The reasons are numerous, variables that are controllable and not, but the one thing that is funny to see is the consumers being blamed for not buying a 'luxury' product, or not seeing the value in it. I've found that hardcore Nintendo fans are no different than any other hardcore fan; If you don't like something a company does or how its operating, you are just a hater and not a true fan.

After nearly a year, the Gamepad is still being spoken of as if it is full of 'potential' but there is no concrete game that resonates with the market to illustrate this potential. All games upcoming play better with the Remote Nunchuck combo, or Pro Controller. WSC requires M+. The Gamepad is an albatross, the sooner this is seen, the better off Nintendo will be. This whole system has been a clusterfuck of bad decision making, at the worst possible time as the economy is really struggling.

Amazing how much praise Gamecube receives on forums, meanwhile it was a huge market failure. The problem here isn't gamers like Richard, the problem lies with Nintendo. They've managed to create a system that repulses the majority of gamers to appease a loud minority. So be it, they will enjoy lackluster sales, and become a joke in the market they saved..just like the Gamecube days.

 

 

You really have to love how everything you just said 100% completely ignores the fact that the top reason Wii U has sold so poorly this year is LACK OF SOFTWARE. It's not rocket science. People don't feel like buying a new console that "has no games". Now that it is going to "have games", and now that the price drop exists making it $100 cheaper than the PS4 (WITH a pack in game), and with Mario Kart 8, Smash Bros. and Zelda U looming on the horizon next year, there's pretty much zero chance the Wii U's sales aren't going to drastically improve. Couple that with what they're doing with Wii Fit U and the downloadable Wii Sports gamings coming out in the next couple months, and I think it's not a far stretch to think the Wii U will have sold at least 6 million units by year's end. 5 mil. minimum.

"The internet" likes the Gamecube, as you say, because it had some great games, which it did. It sold poorly because it had the opposite problem of the N64. N64 had great exclusives, but very few multi-console ports. GC had plenty of good ports, but outside of a few third party games, very few exclusives not made by Nintendo. PS2 sold so because of two things: the fact that it was a cheaper DVD player than most on the market at the time, and the fact that GTA III was PS2 exclusive for at least a year or more. If GC had magically (in a Bizzaro universe) gotten GTA III exclusive instead, you can bet your ass the system would have sold much better.

But regardless of all that nonsense, the Wii U, in this day and age, has almost no chance of selling less or even on par with the GC. It will, in fact, very likely outsell the N64 as well. I would say that 50 million lifetime, at least, is guaranteed, just on the fact that brands like Mario Kart, Zelda, and Smash Bros. are more popular now than they were in 2001. So whatever your ultimate point was, I'm sorry, but you're a bit off base.

My ultimate point is that the Wii U's poor performance is due to Nintendo's integrated hardware software philosophy, banking on the Gamepad to differentiate itself (which it has) but isn't resonating with the market..at all. There is still no killer app that shows the Gamepad as anything other than a convenience for those who see value in off tv play. If you don't, well then the Wii U isn't for you.

Secondly, my point is that gamers like Richard, or myself and many others who were big Wii fans, are repulsed by the Wii U, why? We can look at the games you are mentioning, the MK's the Smash Bros (Of which I am a big fan of both) BUT those games also released on the Cube, and still Cube lagged behind even the original Xbox. You can say they are more popular now, but lets examine that for a sec, Double Dash flopped, WW flopped, Smash sold the best at under 8m units. A first party devs job is to move hardware, not the other way around. Did any one ask for two persons per kart? Has anyone asked for anti gravity karts? Did any one ask for cel shaded graphics? Did any one ask for HD cel shaded graphics? Bayonetta flopped on two HD consoles last gen, it's going to move units this gen? W101 is going to move units? WWHD? Where is Wii U's killer app? NSMBU which has to be the laziest Mario installment I've ever seen (couldn't even bother with new music or better asthetics) They are nickel and diming consumers with their WSC 10$ per game.

Ultimately, your point is 'wait for the software' and then go on to name games that will do little to move the hardware. WW will succeed where MARIO BROS didn't? By going after the Gamecube crowd, this is what happens, you get Gamecube like sales. If/when these games do not pull Wii U out of the duldrums, what does Nintendo do then?   

Glad you like the Wii U. But lets be honest here; Does the Wii U feel like a Wii successor, or a continuation of a HD Gamecube? I'm a classic Nintendo fan, I even remember playing Nintendo games on Atari. But I refuse to just sign off on their detrimental decision making, just cause. Gaming is not a neccessity.