RolStoppable said:
I remember your "OSes are the future of consoles" thread and told you that you are setting yourself up for an "I was wrong all along..." thread. I stand by that.
You are right about one thing: Consumers have certain expectations when it comes to certain products and companies (begin to) fail when they don't meet these expectations. Consumers do not expect the same things from every dedicated video game system, just like they do not expect the very same things from every car. So while I don't disagree with your assertion that people expect a dumbed down PC as a Microsoft video game console, I sure don't believe that this is what people want from Nintendo. What people expect from Nintendo:
1. Quality, durability and affordability, for both the hardware and software.
2. Games that are easy to learn, but hard to master.
3. A good gift/product for kids. Something that can be bought safely.
4. A sense of continuity, i.e. strengths of one system being carried over to the next and improved upon.
There are other things you could add (like long battery life for handhelds), but the things above universally apply to home consoles and handhelds. Now if Nintendo manages to meet all of the above requirements and their video game systems still don't sell, then you can start to look for other reasons, like the OS stuff this thread is about. But let's see how well the 3DS did at launch:
1. Expensive hardware ($250), game prices went up, lack of quality software for many, many months.
2. Lack of software means that this wasn't fulfilled by default.
3. Stereoscopic 3D can damage the eyes of children aged 6 or younger. Huge red flag right there. 3D can be disabled with parental controls, but if you, superchunk, weren't aware of this, we can't really expect the average consumer to know about this.
4. Lack of software also hurted immensely here.
5. Battery life took a nosedive.
In summary, the 3DS launch was a recipe for disaster. Some of these issues have been fixed by now, but others will most likely exist for the entire lifecycle. The 3DS would have struggled even in an environment without Sony handhelds and smartphone games, simply because it wasn't a compelling product. Now let's move on the Wii U:
1. Expensive hardware ($350 with a game), game prices went up, lack of quality software for many, many months. Or at least that's how the latter looks, because Nintendo has refused to announce games.
2. Nintendo Land and NSMBU fulfill this, but the price of the hardware is too much of a hurdle; also see point 4.
3. The thing is notably more expensive than previous Nintendo home consoles which topped out at $250, including a game.
4. This is potentially the biggest red flag for the Wii U, because it has no clear message. Will Nintendo improve upon the Wii? It's hard to say, because nobody knows which games will launch when; and what is there is no progress at all, the system uses the same Wiimotes and Nunchuks as the Wii. The Gamepad is an improvement over the conventional controller, but knowing that the GameCube left people cold, this isn't going to make people buy the system.
There is a lot of uncertainty surrounding the Wii U and a console is an investment for several years. People would like to know what they can expect before they commit to a purchase, but Nintendo doesn't tell anybody. People can wait until Nintendo puts their cards on the table, so for the time being the Wii U won't sell well at all. Will Nintendo make this a better Wii or are they trying to bait people into buying a console that is more like the GameCube?
There is a common problem between the 3DS and Wii U: Nintendo invested in technology that consumers do not value (stereoscopic 3D and Gamepad). The hardware prices went up completely unnecessary. Is this is a problem that could be fixed with a good operating system and multimedia applications? Of course not. It's all about the games and dropping the price of the hardware to an acceptable level.
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