Seece said:
Egann said:
Why not? I'll bite.
The X1 and Wii U have opposite problems, but that results in the same end.
The major problem with the Wii U is that Nintendo has done ZERO advertising. If you don't watch Nintendo Direct or visit IGN every other day, you might not know much about the Wii U at all, let alone the games coming up for it.
That's a shame. After the price drop the Wii U is basically asking a fair price for a respectable console, and it's getting torpedoed by utterly inept marketing decisions.
The XBox 1 is the other way around. It has a strong marketing presence, but these days most consumers do a modicum of research before spending $500. Even the least informed gamers know Playstation is in competition with XBox. The consoles look about the same in most regards, but the PS4 is $100 less.
The X1 has a respectable marketing plan, but is ruined by being overpriced compared to the competition.
Now consider that video games are Nintendo's bread and butter. And that Microsoft shareholders want the XBox division gone because it hasn't made money.
The Wii U still can manage second in the generation because Nintendo could, quite easily, advertise the console and fix most of the marketing problems. It's unlikely, but they could do it. Microsoft CANNOT fix the Xbox 1. Even unbundling Kinect, Microsoft has to take a major loss on hardware...which they won't EVER do under shareholder scrutiny.
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Christ, this post ...
A) WiiU's problem is its concept. Stop trying to hide it behind year old excuses like lack of advertising.
B) XB1's price can be remedied. It has a target audience. It doesn't matter if PS4 sells more, the PS360 userbase is huge and there is enough there for XB1 to carve out a respectable userbase.
C) What has videogames being Nintendos bread and butter got to do with anything? They're clearly not doing a good job, look at the facts. MS just reiterated the Xbox division is safe, doesn't reall matter what some investors want. And what's most important is how the xbox division has been doing recently/now. FYI it's making money. the Xbox and early Xbox 360 losses are a sunk cost and not taken into consideration by anyone anymore unless they have an agenda.
D) to your last part, again, it's not an advertising problem. It's not a price problem. It's not a software problem. Console has been out for 16 months and 2 holidays and the sales have been awful. People simply don't want the console.
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I'd actually say the Wii U has a great concept, but it will never sell well as an ordinary console because it's not.
Typically, when you buy consoles you rip out the old one and drop the new one into it's place. There's only one TV screen and one console because they are complementary goods. Together, they make a complete entertainment center.
The Wii U isn't like that. It comes with a second screen. It uses the TV, to be sure, but I can see a Wii U playing Youtube or doing web browsing entirely on the gamepad WHILE another console is running, even if there's only one person using it. Double that if it's in a family entertainment center. The Wii U is a complementary good to an already complete entertainment center.
Thing is, that's a very unusual and complicated sales pitch, particularly for a console. It's definitely more complicated than the PS4/ X1's "same, but upgraded" argument or the Wii's "Shake the controller" schtick.
I mention Nintendo's bread and butter because, compared to Microsoft, it is. Nintendo shareholders expect Nintendo to do whatever they need to to turn around the sales slump. Shareholders at Microsoft are furious for them taking losses on XBox. Most Microsoft money comes from Windows and Office. Compared to those, the XBox is a complete waste of money.
Reading between the lines, when they say XBox is safe, what they really mean is "Bing is the thing which will be cut first." That's not exactly what I want to hear.
