VideoGameAccountant said:
You mention that the Wii U could have done better if the concept was realized. But, going back to something Rol said, the Wii U had it's "Proof of concept" game and it was Nintendo Land. That showed everything Nintendo could have done with the Wii U and it was even bundled in with the system. But it never created the same effect the Wii had. If anything, the Wii U's initial sales were all on the back of New Super Mario Bros U which had a 60% attach rate. Customers were never interested in the gamepad. This also ignores the other problems it brought that wouldn't have been there had the Gamepad been there. It would have driven the cost down as they didn't have to have the tablet controller. Also, developers may have been more willing to port games as they didn't have to worry about the Gamepad. Even if the system had games that realized it's potential (if it had any at all), it doesn't account for the fact that it created new problems that a Wii HD wouldn't have had. This is an aside, but it was clear that Nintendo didn't plan to try and "realize the potential." Nintendo had a bad habit of making a few games with the concept and then letting developers figure the rest out. Latter Wii games didn't require motion control. The Wii Motion Plus was only used for Wii Sports Resort and Skyward Sword (not even a Star Fox game which made the most sense). The DS had this problem as well but it was helped by the fact the 3DS was a direct successor to the DS and used the same gimmick. Most likely Nintendo would have made the Gamepad and then let third parties do the rest. Problem was they weren't interested. This is why Miyamoto had to be told to make games that use it despite to anyone on the outside it would be obvious (why made a stupid tablet if you weren't going to use it). I think trying to blame it on other things (such as marketing) is trying to make excuses for the obvious problem (which is why Rol is saying you sound like an apologist). Think of it this way. The XBox One was considered a failure and it sold about 40 million units. The Wii U sold only 13 million. Even had better games came early in the system's lifespan and tripled sales, it would still be sitting at only 39 million. And, as anyone in this thread expects, these changes would have never tripled sales. The Wii U was endemic of the rot within Nintendo at the time and a lot of that centers around the Gamepad. It was a bad idea and it tainted the console in more ways then one. It was never going to be salvaged. |
Couple of problems with this...
First off, Nintendo Land didn't show off everything that could be done with the system. No one game is going to show everything that the system can do. It showed off the basics, and served as an intro to how to use the controller.
Secondly, if I recall correctly it wasn't exactly bundled with the system. I'm pretty sure it only game with the Deluxe version of the system. So, for 50 extra dollars, you could get the game and 24 extra GB of memory. It wasn't the same as Wii Sports where every person who got the system (at least in the US in the early years) was going to get the game and try it out. Of course, it also just wasn't as strong as a concept as the Wii-mote was. Also, New Super Mario Bros U was bundled for a lot of the Wii U's lifespan.
Even with the DS and the Wii, there were at least a few titles showing off the system's premise. Nintendogs, Kirby Canvas Curse, Wario Ware, Prime Hunters, Brain Age for example on the DS, and Wario Ware, Mario Kart (a lot of people played with tilt controls), Metroid Prime 3, Wii Sports, Wii Fit, Wii Play, Wii Sports Resort, Mario Party, and even Twilight Princess for the Wii. Motion Plus was an add on which is a whole different issue. Add ons are very rarely useful outside of a few games, and they fracture the audience.
The question is whether there were no real games using the Wii U concept because the Gamepad concept just sucked, or because there was some miscommunication, or if the concept was introduced to developers too late in the cycle, or whatever else. I wasn't there so I don't know. Personally, when the Wii U came out I thought up a lot of cool ideas that I hoped materialized and never really did, or did too late. So, I'm inclined to think that if things were managed better they could have come up with more games that supported the Gamepad well. But, that's just my opinion.
As for the rest, I'm pretty sure I never said that the Gamepad was an amazing idea that would have certainly sold 100 million if done right. I just think it could have done a lot better. If you think 40 million is a failure, then sure it probably would have been a failure regardless. All I've been saying is that it I think it could have done significantly better than it did.
