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Forums - Sales Discussion - Is the Wii U Really Doing Bad? My Viewpoint

oniyide on 13 October 2014
RolStoppable said:
oniyide said:
RolStoppable said:
oniyide said:

RolStoppable said:

 There's simply no good reason for someone who disliked the GC and liked the Wii to buy a Wii U, because the latter embodies and emphasizes everything that was wrong with the GC.

 

I imagine if someone likes Nintendo games they are going to buy the system regardless of what it embodies at the time.

And that's relevant how?


you stated that if one didnt like GC and liked the Wii they wouldnt buy Wii U. Thats not neccearsily true. As if you like Ninty games enough you are going to buy all three regardless of how you feel about the HW. I was just disagreeing with you. But we are getting a bit off topic anyway.



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SJReiter on 13 October 2014

I may be mistaken, but is it really fair to compare sales of the N64, GC, Wii, and Wii U? I just feel like it's unfair to compare sales from the mid to late 1990s to the early to mid 2010s. I believe console sales should be compared to their immediate competition, and not past generations.



oniyide on 13 October 2014
SJReiter said:
I may be mistaken, but is it really fair to compare sales of the N64, GC, Wii, and Wii U? I just feel like it's unfair to compare sales from the mid to late 1990s to the early to mid 2010s. I believe console sales should be compared to their immediate competition, and not past generations.


Even if we were to do that. It doesnt make Wii U look better. It looks just as bad if not worse



SJReiter on 13 October 2014
oniyide said:
SJReiter said:
I may be mistaken, but is it really fair to compare sales of the N64, GC, Wii, and Wii U? I just feel like it's unfair to compare sales from the mid to late 1990s to the early to mid 2010s. I believe console sales should be compared to their immediate competition, and not past generations.


Even if we were to do that. It doesnt make Wii U look better. It looks just as bad if not worse


You're totally right, but I think that is a more interesting discussion worth having. I may be missing something here but I just don't see the point in comparing Wii U sales to N64 sales. I just feel like the two are completely unrelated.



CosmicSex on 13 October 2014
SJReiter said:
oniyide said:
SJReiter said:
I may be mistaken, but is it really fair to compare sales of the N64, GC, Wii, and Wii U? I just feel like it's unfair to compare sales from the mid to late 1990s to the early to mid 2010s. I believe console sales should be compared to their immediate competition, and not past generations.


Even if we were to do that. It doesnt make Wii U look better. It looks just as bad if not worse


You're totally right, but I think that is a more interesting discussion worth having. I may be missing something here but I just don't see the point in comparing Wii U sales to N64 sales. I just feel like the two are completely unrelated.


You bring up an interesting point... I mean after all, no console can be doing well if we compare it to the PS2.  The point I was trying to make is that the Wii should not be directly compared to the Wii U, because its performance was unusual and unlikely to be repeated.  Comparing the Wii U to the Xbox One and PS4 is more appropiate yes.  However, when determining if the Wii U is doing good or not, its performance should be compared to Nintendo's average performance. 



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DanneSandin on 13 October 2014
RolStoppable said:
DanneSandin said:
Yes, Wii U is doing poorly - even compared with GC! And that's not good at all. With the success of the Wii I think it's quite fair to say that Nintendo should have gotten more fans than they had in the GC days, but that doesn't seem to be the case.

If you just consider Nintendo's first four consoles (so NES to GC), then it's clear that there was a decline up to the point that you could safely conclude that the market didn't want what Nintendo made (GC was $99 quickly and still didn't sell). Then came the Wii; while the hardcore threw a fit because it was so different from Nintendo's previous trajectory, the market embraced it. What was Nintendo's response? An evolution of the GC that goes by the name of the Wii U; while the hardcore were confused because of the name, the market saw right through it and stayed clear of it. There's simply no good reason for someone who disliked the GC and liked the Wii to buy a Wii U, because the latter embodies and emphasizes everything that was wrong with the GC.

I completely agree; I don't think there's a place for Nintendo in todays gaming industry - at least not a Nintendo home console. They need to find another market segment, like they did with the Wii. I'm not sure what this would be and I'm not sure the "casuals" are the answer either. The casuals have all but disappeared from console gaming and left for iOS/android, so I'm not sure those can be lured back again. Maybe with VR or something else along those lines.

Nintendo needs to evolve one way or another or become a 3rd party supporter, while still maintaining their handhelds for as long as those are profitable.



I'm on Twitter @DanneSandin!

Furthermore, I think VGChartz should add a "Like"-button.

TheJimbo1234 on 13 October 2014
CosmicSex said:

Without getting to deep or indepth, I don't believe that the Wii U is really doing as poorly as people think it is.  I believe that it is actually returning to is normal sales.  Its hard to disconnect the Wii from the Wii U and think of it as a seperate system, but it is.  Was the performance of the Wii really normal?  Or was it an outliner.  Being at the right place at the right time launching alongside the terribily expensive PS3 while enjoying the gifts bestowed by mass market appeal?

I submit (for your consideration) that the Wii U should not be compared to the Wii as it was basically a freak of nature.  The sales success of the Wii  should be considered an outliner in Nintendo's console history, and that we should be comparing it to the Gamecube.  If we acccept that the Wii was an outliner, the current performance of the Wii U really doesn't look that bad.  In fact, I think it is likely to pass the Gamecube in lifetime sales. 

Heck, even I want the Wii U to play Xenoblade!

There seems to be this disconnect between what made the Wii an insase success and what should be considered normal for the Nintendo brand.   It became a fad.  And thats okay because in the end a sale is a sale.   Nintendo has a group of fans which are probably more loyal than any other gaming brand.  They make great games that are always polished and enjoyable for what they are.   I believe that reaching the Gamecube's level of sales (or passing it) will show that Nintendo's core support is in place. 

Do you consider the Wii U sales to be poor?  If so are you comparing it to the Wii and do you have a clear grasp on what made the Wii unusual? 

It is historically one of the worst selling consoles. The Dreamcast was scrubbed by this stage and had sold more. How selling far less than your competitors isn't bad is beyond me. Actually, define what would be bad sales in your opinion.

 

The wii sold well due to being the first console to hit the casual market in such a large way. People saw it as something new and different, and parents were happy to buy it for their kids as it was advertised as a multiplayer console. Sadly, such a market is saturated very quickly.



NintendoPie on 13 October 2014

The Wii U is an abomination inside and out and sales-wise. There's no flipping it, there's no sugarcoating it, and there's no light in the future for the Wii U. The market doesn't want what Nintendo is putting out, it's too niche.



Welfare on 13 October 2014

The Wii U is doing very poorly in sales, no matter who you compare with. I would not be surprised if it is doing worse weekly numbers than what VGC already has.



Won bet with t3mporary_126 - I correctly predicted that the Wii U's LTD at the end of 2014 would be closer to 9 million than 10 million. http://gamrconnect.vgchartz.com/post.php?id=6673287

CosmicSex on 13 October 2014
DanneSandin said:
RolStoppable said:
DanneSandin said:
Yes, Wii U is doing poorly - even compared with GC! And that's not good at all. With the success of the Wii I think it's quite fair to say that Nintendo should have gotten more fans than they had in the GC days, but that doesn't seem to be the case.

If you just consider Nintendo's first four consoles (so NES to GC), then it's clear that there was a decline up to the point that you could safely conclude that the market didn't want what Nintendo made (GC was $99 quickly and still didn't sell). Then came the Wii; while the hardcore threw a fit because it was so different from Nintendo's previous trajectory, the market embraced it. What was Nintendo's response? An evolution of the GC that goes by the name of the Wii U; while the hardcore were confused because of the name, the market saw right through it and stayed clear of it. There's simply no good reason for someone who disliked the GC and liked the Wii to buy a Wii U, because the latter embodies and emphasizes everything that was wrong with the GC.

I completely agree; I don't think there's a place for Nintendo in todays gaming industry - at least not a Nintendo home console. They need to find another market segment, like they did with the Wii. I'm not sure what this would be and I'm not sure the "casuals" are the answer either. The casuals have all but disappeared from console gaming and left for iOS/android, so I'm not sure those can be lured back again. Maybe with VR or something else along those lines.

Nintendo needs to evolve one way or another or become a 3rd party supporter, while still maintaining their handhelds for as long as those are profitable.

The Wii U has sold more than the Xbox One to date.  Yes it was out a year before, but there is no reason why the Wii U should be throwing in the towel when it is STILL in second place despite all the critisisms and its failures to match the Wii.