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Forums - Nintendo - 3DS is cannibalizing Wii U

Lonely_Dolphin on 26 March 2014
RolStoppable said:
curl-6 said:

1) Many would have you believe that people "just don't want Nintendo games any more" because of the Wii U, but sales of 9.36m for Mario Kart 7, 9.35m for Super Mario 3D Land, 7.37m for New Super Mario Bros 2 show this is blatantly untrue. 3DS's 43m sales also show that "people don't want Nintendo hardware" is false as well.

2) The real problem is, people won't spend $300 USD to get their Nintendo fix when they can get it on 3DS for half the price.

3) Their libraries are too similar; why get a Wii U for 3D World or NSMBU when you can play 3D Land and NSMB2 for less? To the audience for these games, HD is simply not a big enough lure to jusify spending an extra $150.

4) Wii U software needs to differentiate itself from 3DS, to do things impossible on 3DS and be notably different in approach to 3DS's offerings in the same series or genre. For example, make Zelda Wii U nothing like Link Between Worlds.

Let me dissect your post.

1) Good job here. Although you are merely disproving the statements of trolls and idiots, so the bar to succeed was so low that it laid on the floor.

2) Now this is where video game history needs to be taken into account. If your reasoning doesn't hold up through different generations, then it's wrong. Last generation people spent $250 on the Wii (including a game) while the DS was $130, so roughly half the price (yes, this is stretching it a bit); both systems sold really well, so price wasn't an issue. The generation before the GC didn't sell well even after it dropped to $99, making it effectively about as expensive as the successful GBA; once again price wasn't the issue. Therefore the price argument is debunked.

3) But you bring more to the table than just price, so let's look at the libraries. Last generation people bought Wiis to play Mario Kart Wii and NSMB Wii despite Mario Kart DS and NSMB being available on the DS. You also mention graphics as a reason, but the gap between Wii and DS resolution and graphics is similar to the gap between Wii U and 3DS. Similar games didn't lead to a reduction in sales for either system or for individual games, so your hypothesis is incorrect.

4) If we go back to the sixth generation in order to look at another duo of Nintendo systems, the GC had very different games compared to the GBA. Much of that can be attributed to the lack of horsepower of the GBA that prevented it from realizing 3D games, but the reason is irrelevant; what matters is that the libraries of GC and GBA were clearly different. The GC failed to sell regardless, so you are left with nothing. Therefore we can conclude that the 3DS is not cannibalizing the Wii U, because that assertion is contradicted by video game history.



History does not always repeat itself! Just because something was or wasn't a factor before doesn't mean it can't become a factor or non factor now!

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jonathanalis on 26 March 2014

yeah.
Because now its possible a smash game in a handheld for the first time.
mario kart, marios 2d and 3d, DK, a good zelda game, goods JRPGs, all are also in 3DS.
unique to wii U would be W101, but...



zorg1000 on 26 March 2014
Einsam_Delphin said:
RolStoppable said:
curl-6 said:

1) Many would have you believe that people "just don't want Nintendo games any more" because of the Wii U, but sales of 9.36m for Mario Kart 7, 9.35m for Super Mario 3D Land, 7.37m for New Super Mario Bros 2 show this is blatantly untrue. 3DS's 43m sales also show that "people don't want Nintendo hardware" is false as well.

2) The real problem is, people won't spend $300 USD to get their Nintendo fix when they can get it on 3DS for half the price.

3) Their libraries are too similar; why get a Wii U for 3D World or NSMBU when you can play 3D Land and NSMB2 for less? To the audience for these games, HD is simply not a big enough lure to jusify spending an extra $150.

4) Wii U software needs to differentiate itself from 3DS, to do things impossible on 3DS and be notably different in approach to 3DS's offerings in the same series or genre. For example, make Zelda Wii U nothing like Link Between Worlds.

Let me dissect your post.

1) Good job here. Although you are merely disproving the statements of trolls and idiots, so the bar to succeed was so low that it laid on the floor.

2) Now this is where video game history needs to be taken into account. If your reasoning doesn't hold up through different generations, then it's wrong. Last generation people spent $250 on the Wii (including a game) while the DS was $130, so roughly half the price (yes, this is stretching it a bit); both systems sold really well, so price wasn't an issue. The generation before the GC didn't sell well even after it dropped to $99, making it effectively about as expensive as the successful GBA; once again price wasn't the issue. Therefore the price argument is debunked.

3) But you bring more to the table than just price, so let's look at the libraries. Last generation people bought Wiis to play Mario Kart Wii and NSMB Wii despite Mario Kart DS and NSMB being available on the DS. You also mention graphics as a reason, but the gap between Wii and DS resolution and graphics is similar to the gap between Wii U and 3DS. Similar games didn't lead to a reduction in sales for either system or for individual games, so your hypothesis is incorrect.

4) If we go back to the sixth generation in order to look at another duo of Nintendo systems, the GC had very different games compared to the GBA. Much of that can be attributed to the lack of horsepower of the GBA that prevented it from realizing 3D games, but the reason is irrelevant; what matters is that the libraries of GC and GBA were clearly different. The GC failed to sell regardless, so you are left with nothing. Therefore we can conclude that the 3DS is not cannibalizing the Wii U, because that assertion is contradicted by video game history.


History does not always repeat itself! Just because something was or wasn't a factor before doesn't mean it can't become a factor or non factor now!

U say that now but in another thread u told me certain things didnt help Gamecube so they wont help Wii U



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

Soundwave on 26 March 2014
ninetailschris said:
Nintendo is dividing there market for kids. Who can afford both in this day. Therefor its competing against its self.


This is part of the problem. I think Nintendo kinda needs to accept the bitter truth that its not 1991 anymore and you can't sell a game console specifically to kids anymore or even a "kids first" console. Even kids don't want a kids console, they want to play the console their older brother is playing and by the time they get to 11/12 years old you've lost them entirely. 

The home console needs to be targeted at teenagers/college-aged males or you need to have some kind of controller miracle like the Wiimote that opens up other audiences (at least for a while). 



cheshirescat on 26 March 2014
zorg1000 said:
cheshirescat said:
Maybe to a certain extent, but the console and handheld markets don't exactly overlap. I think there are more pressing factors holding the wii u down than just the potential 3ds cannibalization.

Why dont handheld and console markets overlap? I hear people say this all the time but have never heard a legitimate reason why they dont.


I didn't say that they outright don't, only that they don't exactly overlap.  There are some people who only play home consoles, some who are purely pc and some who only play handhelds.  An ex of mine is a prime example as the only video games she player were main series pokemon installments.  Handhelds are also, to some extent, more casual which is indicative of their low attach rates.  Some people, such as myself, view them as supplemental, my 3ds lives in my bathroom and the less said about that the better probably.



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Lonely_Dolphin on 26 March 2014
RolStoppable said:
Einsam_Delphin said:

History does not always repeat itself! Just because something was or wasn't a factor before doesn't mean it can't become a factor or non factor now!

I had to go back only two generations to provide examples that proved curl-6's hypothesis wrong in both directions. All you've got is the hope that it isn't so, but it's much more likely that the Wii U is simply a product that the market doesn't want, just like the GC before it.



Anyone can clearly see the 3DS and Wii U's librarys are very similar. No amount of history is gonna disprove that. As to how much of an effect it's having on Wii U, no one can say for certain, but it's definitely safe to assume it's probably having some impact considering how bad Wii U sales are.

Soundwave on 26 March 2014
RolStoppable said:
Einsam_Delphin said:

Anyone can clearly see the 3DS and Wii U's librarys are very similar. No amount of history is gonna disprove that. As to how much of an effect it's having on Wii U, no one can say for certain, but it's definitely safe to assume it's probably having some effect considering how bad Wii U sales are.

Are they really that similar? Besides, I already pointed out that similar games weren't detrimental to the success of the Wii and DS.


Because Wii had the miracle of being the first mover to the motion gaming fad. That instantly made it completely different, and really honestly a lot of Nintendo's main IP were not on the DS. Mario Kart, yes, but no 3D Mario (other than the Mario 64 port), no Metroid, no 3D Zelda, no Smash Brothers, etc. 

3DS is closing that gap though, it has pretty much all the staple Nintendo IP one would buy a console for in the past except for Metroid (which may be in development) and a proper 3D Zelda. 

Nintendo's sales pitch has effectively become "please pay us $170 to play Mario and Mario Kart and Animal Crossing and Smash Brothers. Now pay us $300 again to play those same franchises on your TV" 



Lonely_Dolphin on 26 March 2014
zorg1000 said:
Einsam_Delphin said:
RolStoppable said:
curl-6 said:

1) Many would have you believe that people "just don't want Nintendo games any more" because of the Wii U, but sales of 9.36m for Mario Kart 7, 9.35m for Super Mario 3D Land, 7.37m for New Super Mario Bros 2 show this is blatantly untrue. 3DS's 43m sales also show that "people don't want Nintendo hardware" is false as well.

2) The real problem is, people won't spend $300 USD to get their Nintendo fix when they can get it on 3DS for half the price.

3) Their libraries are too similar; why get a Wii U for 3D World or NSMBU when you can play 3D Land and NSMB2 for less? To the audience for these games, HD is simply not a big enough lure to jusify spending an extra $150.

4) Wii U software needs to differentiate itself from 3DS, to do things impossible on 3DS and be notably different in approach to 3DS's offerings in the same series or genre. For example, make Zelda Wii U nothing like Link Between Worlds.

Let me dissect your post.

1) Good job here. Although you are merely disproving the statements of trolls and idiots, so the bar to succeed was so low that it laid on the floor.

2) Now this is where video game history needs to be taken into account. If your reasoning doesn't hold up through different generations, then it's wrong. Last generation people spent $250 on the Wii (including a game) while the DS was $130, so roughly half the price (yes, this is stretching it a bit); both systems sold really well, so price wasn't an issue. The generation before the GC didn't sell well even after it dropped to $99, making it effectively about as expensive as the successful GBA; once again price wasn't the issue. Therefore the price argument is debunked.

3) But you bring more to the table than just price, so let's look at the libraries. Last generation people bought Wiis to play Mario Kart Wii and NSMB Wii despite Mario Kart DS and NSMB being available on the DS. You also mention graphics as a reason, but the gap between Wii and DS resolution and graphics is similar to the gap between Wii U and 3DS. Similar games didn't lead to a reduction in sales for either system or for individual games, so your hypothesis is incorrect.

4) If we go back to the sixth generation in order to look at another duo of Nintendo systems, the GC had very different games compared to the GBA. Much of that can be attributed to the lack of horsepower of the GBA that prevented it from realizing 3D games, but the reason is irrelevant; what matters is that the libraries of GC and GBA were clearly different. The GC failed to sell regardless, so you are left with nothing. Therefore we can conclude that the 3DS is not cannibalizing the Wii U, because that assertion is contradicted by video game history.


History does not always repeat itself! Just because something was or wasn't a factor before doesn't mean it can't become a factor or non factor now!

U say that now but in another thread u told me certain things didnt help Gamecube so they wont help Wii U



Yep and that's been true so far! More games, price cuts, etc. have done nothing for the Wii U like Nintendo consoles of the past in terms of helping them outsell their predecessor.

Lonely_Dolphin on 26 March 2014
RolStoppable said:
zorg1000 said:
Einsam_Delphin said:

History does not always repeat itself! Just because something was or wasn't a factor before doesn't mean it can't become a factor or non factor now!

U say that now but in another thread u told me certain things didnt help Gamecube so they wont help Wii U

Interesting. So he disagrees with me out of habit.



Oh get over yourself! I go after anyone and everyone!

FinalFantasyXIII on 26 March 2014

Mario Oversaturation imho. Bad platform design imho. No substantial 3rd Party support imho.

Quite unbelievable considering the success of the Wii, but here we are.