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Forums - Gaming - Did Nintendo Miss Their Opportunity By Undercooking the Wii U's Specs?

JGarret on 24 November 2012
Gamerace said:
Making the WiiU more powerful would hurt it's sales even more. They could have the most powerful system out there, 3rd parties will never give it the love it deserves because Nintendo systems sell mainly Nintendo games.
Without massive 3rd party support, the core market will not adopt it in sufficient numbers. Even if they had the entire core market, chasing that market is a fool's gambit. It's self-destructing with cost of development > profits for anything but the biggest games.

Worse, a higher price would hurt their sales with the casual and semi-core crowd. This is the money crowd.

As is, WiiU's biggest problem isn't 360 or PS3, it's iPads and Android tablets. More little kids (and lots more adults) wanting an ipad than a WiiU. It goes like this iPad>>Android Tablet>>>WiiU>>360>PS3.


WiiU's problem is compared to an iPad, despite being cheaper, it's too limited and the games too expensive. If they should have spent more money anywhere, it would have been in making the Gamepad a true tablet with Android (iOS or Window RT not likely options). If people could play Android AND Nintendo games with WiiU - those 8gb units would be scarcer than watermelons in the desert. Especially if they could travel anywhere with the gamepad like a real tablet.

MS will also be chasing the casual/semi-core crowd like crazy with it's next system but much more aggressively than Nintendo (man, that DOES sound wierd). Sony? I don't know what the f--- Sony is doing. Determined to go out of business from the looks of PS4 so far.

Remember it wasn´t always like this, the NES and SNES had plenty of major 3rd party games...hell the NES had it all due to the circumstances, but nowadays the truth is..as long as MS and Sony are around, 3rd parties (especially Western ones) will never give Nintendo the love the other two get.That´s why I (and others) keep saying a very good option is for them to try and get more 2nd party studios.

@second bolded...do we even know anything about the PS4?



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DaRev on 24 November 2012
pokoko said:
You know, honestly, people talk about Microsoft and Sony being "big business" but I think Nintendo might be the most cutthroat of the pack. They want to make a profit right from the start, no matter what. If that means the Wii U bottoms out in three years then they'll just stop making games for it and focus on another console. The abandonment and death of the Wii showed that they'll cut bait and move on without a moment's hesitation. Contrast that with Sony, which is releasing some huge titles in what is probably the PS3's last year and Microsoft, which just released Halo 4 and a Forza game. Nintendo, I think, knows that as long as they have Mario and the other franchises, their die-hard fans will forgive them for anything.

Good points.

I'll forgive Nintendo, so long as I can get Mario, Zelda, and Metroid in succcessive years (with some other unexpected 1st and 3rd part jems throwing in for good measure)



Nintendo Network ID: DaRevren

I love My Wii U, and the potential it brings to gaming.

Gamerace on 24 November 2012
kitler53 said:
Kenology said:
kitler53 said:


?

let me rephrase a bit.  nintendo probably came up with some sort of target price: $350.  with that buget in mind they had to make decisions about where to put that money.  into cpu?  into ram?  into the gamepad?  into some other sort of control input?

sony can probably get a way with releasing a purely game machine: just a cheap standard style controller.   nintendo probably couldn't.  they would be critized far more than MSony if they had a console without some sort of gimmick.  ..thus making the decisions about design (that have already been made) all the harder.

wiiU isn't a "leap" over ps360 in raw power.  but could they even afford to do that?  both a leap and a gamepad would have been a very expensive console.

 

this has nothing to do with it only being out a week.  sales performance isn't what i was trying to talk about.

Why would Sony get away with a standard controller but Nintendo wouldn't?  I don't know what you're trying to say here.  And you're saying Nintendo needs a gimmick or they'll be criticized?  That's very ironic.

I don't think it's a question of affordability, it's more a in-house philosophy of why even do it.


because move was a failure.  you honestly think nintendo could have launch a "traditional" console as a follow-up to the wii and not been slammed in the press and by the consumers that loved the wii for breaking away from the traditional?!?  if you think that you are being naive.  it's not ironic...it's market expectations.  nintendo has built themselves a reputation with the wii/ds and it is the sword they'll live or die on.

I think they've impaled themselves already on that sword with the return to dual analog. 

People who bought Wii for Wii Sports / Wii Fit and/or Just Dance are not going to buy a WiiU when it forces them to use a controller option that they simply don't want to invest the hours it takes to get good with.  



 

thranx on 24 November 2012
Gamerace said:
kitler53 said:
Kenology said:
kitler53 said:


?

let me rephrase a bit.  nintendo probably came up with some sort of target price: $350.  with that buget in mind they had to make decisions about where to put that money.  into cpu?  into ram?  into the gamepad?  into some other sort of control input?

sony can probably get a way with releasing a purely game machine: just a cheap standard style controller.   nintendo probably couldn't.  they would be critized far more than MSony if they had a console without some sort of gimmick.  ..thus making the decisions about design (that have already been made) all the harder.

wiiU isn't a "leap" over ps360 in raw power.  but could they even afford to do that?  both a leap and a gamepad would have been a very expensive console.

 

this has nothing to do with it only being out a week.  sales performance isn't what i was trying to talk about.

Why would Sony get away with a standard controller but Nintendo wouldn't?  I don't know what you're trying to say here.  And you're saying Nintendo needs a gimmick or they'll be criticized?  That's very ironic.

I don't think it's a question of affordability, it's more a in-house philosophy of why even do it.


because move was a failure.  you honestly think nintendo could have launch a "traditional" console as a follow-up to the wii and not been slammed in the press and by the consumers that loved the wii for breaking away from the traditional?!?  if you think that you are being naive.  it's not ironic...it's market expectations.  nintendo has built themselves a reputation with the wii/ds and it is the sword they'll live or die on.

I think they've impaled themselves already on that sword with the return to dual analog. 

People who bought Wii for Wii Sports / Wii Fit and/or Just Dance are not going to buy a WiiU when it forces them to use a controller option that they simply don't want to invest the hours it takes to get good with.  

they can still use the wii motes can't they?



Gamerace on 24 November 2012
JGarret said:
Gamerace said:
Making the WiiU more powerful would hurt it's sales even more. They could have the most powerful system out there, 3rd parties will never give it the love it deserves because Nintendo systems sell mainly Nintendo games.
Without massive 3rd party support, the core market will not adopt it in sufficient numbers. Even if they had the entire core market, chasing that market is a fool's gambit. It's self-destructing with cost of development > profits for anything but the biggest games.

Worse, a higher price would hurt their sales with the casual and semi-core crowd. This is the money crowd.

As is, WiiU's biggest problem isn't 360 or PS3, it's iPads and Android tablets. More little kids (and lots more adults) wanting an ipad than a WiiU. It goes like this iPad>>Android Tablet>>>WiiU>>360>PS3.


WiiU's problem is compared to an iPad, despite being cheaper, it's too limited and the games too expensive. If they should have spent more money anywhere, it would have been in making the Gamepad a true tablet with Android (iOS or Window RT not likely options). If people could play Android AND Nintendo games with WiiU - those 8gb units would be scarcer than watermelons in the desert. Especially if they could travel anywhere with the gamepad like a real tablet.

MS will also be chasing the casual/semi-core crowd like crazy with it's next system but much more aggressively than Nintendo (man, that DOES sound wierd). Sony? I don't know what the f--- Sony is doing. Determined to go out of business from the looks of PS4 so far.

Remember it wasn´t always like this, the NES and SNES had plenty of major 3rd party games...hell the NES had it all due to the circumstances, but nowadays the truth is..as long as MS and Sony are around, 3rd parties (especially Western ones) will never give Nintendo the love the other two get.That´s why I (and others) keep saying a very good option is for them to try and get more 2nd party studios.

@second bolded...do we even know anything about the PS4?

There was no other option to the NES and Sega was too new and too small too gamble on versus SNES.  Once Sony entered the market, the 3rd parties started abandoning Nintendo (and Sega).

We don't 'know' anything as nothing's annouced.   From all rumours MS is set to go very aggressively after the mass market while still delivering for it's core base.  All we know of PS4 is that it's a lot more powerful than PS3.  If PS4 is a home equvilant of Vita tech-wise, it will also follow Vita sales-wise.  Sony has apparently lost touch with the mass market it once owned with PS2.



 

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Veknoid_Outcast on 24 November 2012
Lostplanet22 said:
Roma said:
honestly it doesn't matter what Nintendo does. people and devs will always find thing to complain about. lets wait and see the sales and what it can do further down the road.


That is not totally true..They had some respect during N64/ ps one generation.  Sure most owned a PSone but if you owned a N64 only you were also okay because it had fucking Golden eye/Perfect Dark/Killer instinct/Conker, lot of great nintendo games..

The Wii was to much 'Nintendo' games only...  Ocourse their was a Xenoblade and a mad world but overall was pretty lacking compared to the other two...  bayonetta 2 is a good beginning..

Unfortunately, it is true. There has been a stigma surrounding Nintendo since the SNES. There was a very famous survey conducted during the 1990s that demonstrated a large number of teenage video game players wouldn't admit to owning a SNES because of its "kiddy" image.



Gamerace on 24 November 2012
thranx said:
Gamerace said:
kitler53 said:
Kenology said:
kitler53 said:


?

let me rephrase a bit.  nintendo probably came up with some sort of target price: $350.  with that buget in mind they had to make decisions about where to put that money.  into cpu?  into ram?  into the gamepad?  into some other sort of control input?

sony can probably get a way with releasing a purely game machine: just a cheap standard style controller.   nintendo probably couldn't.  they would be critized far more than MSony if they had a console without some sort of gimmick.  ..thus making the decisions about design (that have already been made) all the harder.

wiiU isn't a "leap" over ps360 in raw power.  but could they even afford to do that?  both a leap and a gamepad would have been a very expensive console.

 

this has nothing to do with it only being out a week.  sales performance isn't what i was trying to talk about.

Why would Sony get away with a standard controller but Nintendo wouldn't?  I don't know what you're trying to say here.  And you're saying Nintendo needs a gimmick or they'll be criticized?  That's very ironic.

I don't think it's a question of affordability, it's more a in-house philosophy of why even do it.


because move was a failure.  you honestly think nintendo could have launch a "traditional" console as a follow-up to the wii and not been slammed in the press and by the consumers that loved the wii for breaking away from the traditional?!?  if you think that you are being naive.  it's not ironic...it's market expectations.  nintendo has built themselves a reputation with the wii/ds and it is the sword they'll live or die on.

I think they've impaled themselves already on that sword with the return to dual analog. 

People who bought Wii for Wii Sports / Wii Fit and/or Just Dance are not going to buy a WiiU when it forces them to use a controller option that they simply don't want to invest the hours it takes to get good with.  

they can still use the wii motes can't they?

Nope.   Aside from Pikmin 3 and CoD:BO2 I don't know of any WiiU games that can be played with Wiimote/nunchuk only.

Heck, I'd have bought a WiiU if I could have played AC3, ME3, and Batman:AC with wiimote/nunchuk.  But that's me.  Most people want the next Wii Sports - which is currently Angry Birds.   Simple, fun, accessible gameplay.   WiiU is not accessible for non-gamers, tablets are.



 

runqvist on 24 November 2012

Nintendo had a chance to actually have something good with Wii U, but with those specs I can only see Wii U as a in between-console. Not really part of either generation, getting some ps360 multiplatforms and forgotten about when Microsoft releases their console.



osed125 on 24 November 2012

If Nintendo would have made a console more powerful at a high price people will go like: "That price it's too high, Nintendo is for kids lets wait for the real next gen consoles, I'm a hardcore gamer bla bla". It wouldn't matter in long run. Third parties wouldn't have made the games either, the mainstream gaming media have this weird thought that Nintendo is for kids, and that kind of thinking won't change anytime soon.



Nintendo and PC gamer

JGarret on 24 November 2012
Gamerace said:
JGarret said:
Gamerace said:
Making the WiiU more powerful would hurt it's sales even more. They could have the most powerful system out there, 3rd parties will never give it the love it deserves because Nintendo systems sell mainly Nintendo games.
Without massive 3rd party support, the core market will not adopt it in sufficient numbers. Even if they had the entire core market, chasing that market is a fool's gambit. It's self-destructing with cost of development > profits for anything but the biggest games.

Worse, a higher price would hurt their sales with the casual and semi-core crowd. This is the money crowd.

As is, WiiU's biggest problem isn't 360 or PS3, it's iPads and Android tablets. More little kids (and lots more adults) wanting an ipad than a WiiU. It goes like this iPad>>Android Tablet>>>WiiU>>360>PS3.


WiiU's problem is compared to an iPad, despite being cheaper, it's too limited and the games too expensive. If they should have spent more money anywhere, it would have been in making the Gamepad a true tablet with Android (iOS or Window RT not likely options). If people could play Android AND Nintendo games with WiiU - those 8gb units would be scarcer than watermelons in the desert. Especially if they could travel anywhere with the gamepad like a real tablet.

MS will also be chasing the casual/semi-core crowd like crazy with it's next system but much more aggressively than Nintendo (man, that DOES sound wierd). Sony? I don't know what the f--- Sony is doing. Determined to go out of business from the looks of PS4 so far.

Remember it wasn´t always like this, the NES and SNES had plenty of major 3rd party games...hell the NES had it all due to the circumstances, but nowadays the truth is..as long as MS and Sony are around, 3rd parties (especially Western ones) will never give Nintendo the love the other two get.That´s why I (and others) keep saying a very good option is for them to try and get more 2nd party studios.

@second bolded...do we even know anything about the PS4?

There was no other option to the NES and Sega was too new and too small too gamble on versus SNES.  Once Sony entered the market, the 3rd parties started abandoning Nintendo (and Sega).

We don't 'know' anything as nothing's annouced.   From all rumours MS is set to go very aggressively after the mass market while still delivering for it's core base.  All we know of PS4 is that it's a lot more powerful than PS3.  If PS4 is a home equvilant of Vita tech-wise, it will also follow Vita sales-wise.  Sony has apparently lost touch with the mass market it once owned with PS2.

You mean versus the NES (with the Master System), right?...because the Genesis gave the SNES a run for its money, and I think, unlike some say, the biggest blow to the SNES wasn´t Sonic, it was sports games moving to the Genesis...there was when you saw some of the first evidence Nintendo wasn´t really 'held in high regard', and Sega, with their 1st party games, was never a threat to 3rd parties.