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Forums - Nintendo - Is Donkey Kong a system seller?

Soundwave on 20 June 2013
curl-6 said:
Soundwave said:

Waiting until April 2014 to make a strong push is way too late IMO, people will already have made up their mind that this is a lame duck console. That perception gets stronger every month actually, the more Nintendo just sits there and twiddles their thumbs doing nothing but waiting for Mario 3D World in December. 

Nintendo's thumb-twiddling for the first half of 2013 already caused heavy damage, very bad management that was.

To be honest I don't think this situation is really all that suspensful, really what remains to be seen is whether the Wii U is more like the GameCube (21-23 million sold-ish) or N64 (33-35 million sold-ish). Right now its selling below both of them.

To go beyond that they need something huge outside of Mario/Mario Kart/Smash/Zelda IMO, like the Wii had with Wii Sports/Wii Fit, but it has to be something new, and I don't think it can be aimed at casuals because that market is moving away from consoles.



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zorg1000 on 20 June 2013
Soundwave said:
zorg1000 said:
curl-6 said:
RolStoppable said:
milkyjoe said:

February 2014: "Mario Kart comes out in two months. Wait for that."

You could be right. If someone looks hard enough, they'll find excuses for why each and every 2013 game couldn't change the fortunes for the Wii U.

You're probably going to reply to this with "case in point" or something along those lines, but seriously, it's plain to see why none of Wii U's 2013 games are big hardware movers; Pikmin 3 and Wonderful 101 are niche, DKC:TF is one of a surplus of platformers, 3D World is the 4th Mario platformer in 2 years and looks plain uninspired. 

That said, you really don't think their combined power will improve Wii U's situation? I find that hard to believe. They're not going to turn it into the Wii, but they'll definitely boosts its sales out of Vita territory.

Thats how I see it, none of these games individually will be huge hardware boosters but theres about 10 quality exclusives and about 10 AAA multiplats (not late ports) coming from Aug-Dec plus a new marketing campaign and plenty of holiday deals/bundles should give it a strong holiday season. A price cut in April alongside Mario Kart 8 will surely cause a big boost then Smash Bros a few months later. I see Wii U holding its own very well for the next few years.


Waiting until April 2014 to make a strong push is way too late IMO, people will already have made up their mind that this is a lame duck console. That perception gets stronger every month actually, the more Nintendo just sits there and twiddles their thumbs doing nothing but waiting for Mario 3D World in December. 

How is 10 exclusives in the span of 5 months waiting until April?



When the herd loses its way, the shepard must kill the bull that leads them astray.

curl-6 on 20 June 2013
zorg1000 said:
Soundwave said:

Waiting until April 2014 to make a strong push is way too late IMO, people will already have made up their mind that this is a lame duck console. That perception gets stronger every month actually, the more Nintendo just sits there and twiddles their thumbs doing nothing but waiting for Mario 3D World in December. 

How is 10 exclusives in the span of 5 months waiting until April?

I think I fall between the two of you.

I think Soundwave has a point about Wii U's image getting worse and worse and Nintendo sits and does nothing, like they have been doing, but I also think that Pikmin 3, Wonderful 101, Sonic, DK, Mario, and Wind Waker HD combined will significantly improve Wii U's situation. 



Soundwave on 20 June 2013
zorg1000 said:
Soundwave said:
zorg1000 said:
curl-6 said:
RolStoppable said:
milkyjoe said:

February 2014: "Mario Kart comes out in two months. Wait for that."

You could be right. If someone looks hard enough, they'll find excuses for why each and every 2013 game couldn't change the fortunes for the Wii U.

You're probably going to reply to this with "case in point" or something along those lines, but seriously, it's plain to see why none of Wii U's 2013 games are big hardware movers; Pikmin 3 and Wonderful 101 are niche, DKC:TF is one of a surplus of platformers, 3D World is the 4th Mario platformer in 2 years and looks plain uninspired. 

That said, you really don't think their combined power will improve Wii U's situation? I find that hard to believe. They're not going to turn it into the Wii, but they'll definitely boosts its sales out of Vita territory.

Thats how I see it, none of these games individually will be huge hardware boosters but theres about 10 quality exclusives and about 10 AAA multiplats (not late ports) coming from Aug-Dec plus a new marketing campaign and plenty of holiday deals/bundles should give it a strong holiday season. A price cut in April alongside Mario Kart 8 will surely cause a big boost then Smash Bros a few months later. I see Wii U holding its own very well for the next few years.


Waiting until April 2014 to make a strong push is way too late IMO, people will already have made up their mind that this is a lame duck console. That perception gets stronger every month actually, the more Nintendo just sits there and twiddles their thumbs doing nothing but waiting for Mario 3D World in December. 

How is 10 exclusives in the span of 5 months waiting until April?

When only two of them are likely to move any hardware and many of them are redundant (read: way too may platformers, they need much better variety). I also think the WWHD thing is way overrated by some Nintendo fans. The original game couldn't sell GameCubes at $150, now the same game 10 years later with HD graphics is somehow going to move Wii Us at $300+? I don't think so.

They needed Mario Kart 8 this holiday season. They already have a Mario platformer on the system and its not moving consoles.



POE on 21 June 2013

yes it is



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zorg1000 on 21 June 2013
Soundwave said:
zorg1000 said:
Soundwave said:
zorg1000 said:
curl-6 said:
RolStoppable said:
milkyjoe said:

February 2014: "Mario Kart comes out in two months. Wait for that."

You could be right. If someone looks hard enough, they'll find excuses for why each and every 2013 game couldn't change the fortunes for the Wii U.

You're probably going to reply to this with "case in point" or something along those lines, but seriously, it's plain to see why none of Wii U's 2013 games are big hardware movers; Pikmin 3 and Wonderful 101 are niche, DKC:TF is one of a surplus of platformers, 3D World is the 4th Mario platformer in 2 years and looks plain uninspired. 

That said, you really don't think their combined power will improve Wii U's situation? I find that hard to believe. They're not going to turn it into the Wii, but they'll definitely boosts its sales out of Vita territory.

Thats how I see it, none of these games individually will be huge hardware boosters but theres about 10 quality exclusives and about 10 AAA multiplats (not late ports) coming from Aug-Dec plus a new marketing campaign and plenty of holiday deals/bundles should give it a strong holiday season. A price cut in April alongside Mario Kart 8 will surely cause a big boost then Smash Bros a few months later. I see Wii U holding its own very well for the next few years.


Waiting until April 2014 to make a strong push is way too late IMO, people will already have made up their mind that this is a lame duck console. That perception gets stronger every month actually, the more Nintendo just sits there and twiddles their thumbs doing nothing but waiting for Mario 3D World in December. 

How is 10 exclusives in the span of 5 months waiting until April?

When only two of them are likely to move any hardware and many of them are redundant (read: way too may platformers, they need much better variety). I also think the WWHD thing is way overrated by some Nintendo fans. The original game couldn't sell GameCubes at $150, now the same game 10 years later with HD graphics is somehow going to move Wii Us at $300+? I don't think so.

They needed Mario Kart 8 this holiday season. They already have a Mario platformer on the system and its not moving consoles.

Well 3D World, DKC, Fit U all have potential to be 5m sellers or more if bundled. W101, Party U, Sonic, Pikmin, Luigi U, Wind Waker HD all have potwntial to sell 1-3m. Im not saying Wii U will sell like mad this holiday but I think its enough to stay relevant and to get it out of the funk its currently in.

I agree that its a bit too platformer heavy but those kind of games have wide appeal, its not like having Mario Kart plus a price cut is going to stop PS4/One from selling this holiday since most of the people that get those this year will be hardcore fans of said consoles. Mario Kart plus price cut early next year when hype for those systems dies down makes mpre sense and can give it very strong momentum as those systems sales start to stabilize.



When the herd loses its way, the shepard must kill the bull that leads them astray.

EricFabian on 21 June 2013

quote trees....



zorg1000 on 21 June 2013
EricFabian said:
quote trees....


Lol sorry ill trim it next time



When the herd loses its way, the shepard must kill the bull that leads them astray.

NoirSon on 21 June 2013

Donkey Kong is a system seller provided they make sure it is advertised properly. The character has a number of fans and many in the US remain Donkey Kong Country fans to this day so if they can recapture or improve on the magic of the last release, combined with the king of system sellers (Mario Kart) the Wii U should do a lot better in the back end of the season.

Enough to stall the other systems, time will tell, they should have pricing working in their favor.



JWeinCom on 21 June 2013

Ok. I had a big sarcastic response to this threat typed up, but I'll try some common sense.

Most people do not buy a system for one game. There are of course exceptions, but in general, people wait until there are multiple games they want for a system before they buy it. One game may be especially enticing, but there are almost always other considerations.

Think about how you buy your systems. Is there one game you buy them for? For me, no. I bought my XBox 360 because I wanted to play Bio Shock, Mass Effect, Dead Rising, and Devil May Cry 4. I bought my PS3 because of Heavy Rain, Infamous, Uncharted, Street Fighter IV (my friends played it on PS3), and others.

Few people are going to pay 360-410 for Donkey Kong Country, or Wii Party, or Mario 3D Land, or even Mario Kart. But a lot of people (about 6 million) played DKCR and I would assume a good deal of those players liked it. When they see a commercial with DKCTF they'll say "oh cool a new Donkey Kong game". Then, they're more interested in the Wii U. They look into it a bit more, and they say "hey that four player Mario looks really fun" and "oh there's going to be a new Mario Kart for this" and "oh a new Wii Fit. I need to get back in shape..." and so on. Then eventually, assuming they liked those Wii games, have the money, etc, they'll buy the system.

So, to answer the question, it depends what you mean by system seller. If you mean system seller in the sense that people are going to pay 350-400 dollars just to play DKCR, no. I'm sure that somewhere there is someone who loves DK that much, but those people are few and far between.

On the other hand, if you mean,"will DKC factor into the decision to buy a Wii U for many people", then the answer is yes. Just like all of the other sequels to franchises that people enjoyed on the Wii will factor into the decision to buy the console.