FIXED - Wii U sales 2014 vs 2015 - Week by week.

[zorg1000]

RolStoppable said:

Bofferbrauer said:

I don't think Nintendo will release the NX already this year. Nintendo always showed their next console (well, mostly a mockup thereof, but still) around 1 year and a half in advance, be it Wii U, Wii or Gamecube. This hasn't happened yet. Also, Nintendo just said they won't rush the system out, so I really wonder why sobmany are still hellbent on a 2016 release.

@bolded: Oh, so you know what else is coming this year which hasn't been announced yet?

The 3DS was first shown at E3 2010 and launched in February 2011. Given that there is no advantage in having a 1.5 year long gap between reveal and launch, there's no good reason why Nintendo shouldn't change the timing this time around. The gap between reveal and launch certainly didn't help the Wii U because Sony and Microsoft had plenty of time to downplay everything. As for the games, the release schedule of the past and the upcoming months for both the Wii U and 3DS should serve as a good hint that at this point all Nintendo is doing is bridging the gap until their new hardware launches.

There are doubts about the exact meaning of Kimishima's recent statements because the translation was questionable. But more importantly, the available pieces of information point towards a 2016 launch:

1. NX will have a (for the most part) shared library and different form factors for the hardware.
2. The 3DS is already five years old and in need of a successor.
3. The Wii U is far from a healthy platform and should be replaced rather sooner than later.
4. The current release schedules for both systems are largely devoid of EAD games and those are the first teams that make software for new hardware.

If NX launches in 2017, then only because Nintendo couldn't get it ready as planned.

 

Don't forget that in May 2014 Iwata said that they would revolutionize gaming in about two years, that is a pretty damn good sign that new hardware is releasing in 2016.