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Forums - Sales Discussion - Wii U beaten by the Dreamcast - what now?

SanAndreasX on 15 December 2014
DevilRising said:
ps4tw said:

Looking at the sales figures, the Dreamcast, a console widely seen as a failure and the downfall of Sega, sold better than the Wii U to date. As Nintendo has the cash assest to survive a failed console, where will they go from here? It seems that they do not want to adapt to the demands of the modern gamer, and their core user base is smaller than ever. This being said, will this force Nintendo's hand out of the console business just as the Dreamcast did to Sega? How can Nintendo repair the publicity damage the Wii U has done to them in the eyes of gamers? 


This is ignoring the fact that the Dreamcast sold really well for it's first year or two, and then totally dropped off.

Wii U sold decently it's launch window, and then dropped off.....and then gradually picked back up in late 2013, and then dipped a bit, and then has gradually been on an upward trend for over half of 2014. That is directly tied to more and more big games finally coming out on it. Wii U will last longer on the market than Dreamcast did, and Nintendo won't jump ship and abandon it the way Sega did.

 

So the comparison is honestly somewhat moot. Wii U will have outsold DC lifetime by the time all is said and done, by a considerable margin I'd guess. This isn't the first thread started that muses "Will Nintendo go the way of Sega", and it won't be the last. People were talking about this back in the GC days. Nintendo isn't going anywhere, because aside from stumbling with Wii U, they are far more business smart (and have far more money in the bank) than Sega was. Sega failed for a lot of reasons, but the biggest of which was that they lost consumer/fan confidence by repeatedly failing to stick with/support their own consoles. Nintendo hasn't done that, and won't do that.

This all the way. Sega was in such terrible shape by the time they pulled the plug on the Dreamcast that the president of their parent company, Isao Okawa, donated $695 million USD of his own money to keep them from going under.



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ICStats on 15 December 2014
RolStoppable said:
Nintendo will still be alive and kicking. Despite an atrocious eighth gen showing, they've mostly eliminated Sony from the handheld space already.

Additionally, their financials are on the rise again, so it isn't even up for consideration to bow out of the home console space. And due to the unique characteristics of the video game business (new system means a reset of perception), the Wii U's failure doesn't dent Nintendo's image all that much.

Oh, so it's Nintendo that eliminated Sony from handheld space?  What has eliminated two thirds of Nintendo's handheld space?

OT, I don't think the comparison to Dreamcast is relevant.  The Wii U's doing bad, but Nintendo is still in strong financial shape.  They should be able to carry on business as usual throughout Gen 8.  I'm more concerned about how they will get a foothold in Gen 9, especially keeping users on handhelds will be important.



My 8th gen collection

curl-6 on 15 December 2014
DevilRising said:
ps4tw said:

Looking at the sales figures, the Dreamcast, a console widely seen as a failure and the downfall of Sega, sold better than the Wii U to date. As Nintendo has the cash assest to survive a failed console, where will they go from here? It seems that they do not want to adapt to the demands of the modern gamer, and their core user base is smaller than ever. This being said, will this force Nintendo's hand out of the console business just as the Dreamcast did to Sega? How can Nintendo repair the publicity damage the Wii U has done to them in the eyes of gamers? 


This is ignoring the fact that the Dreamcast sold really well for it's first year or two, and then totally dropped off.

Wii U sold decently it's launch window, and then dropped off.....and then gradually picked back up in late 2013, and then dipped a bit, and then has gradually been on an upward trend for over half of 2014. That is directly tied to more and more big games finally coming out on it. Wii U will last longer on the market than Dreamcast did, and Nintendo won't jump ship and abandon it the way Sega did.

 

So the comparison is honestly somewhat moot. Wii U will have outsold DC lifetime by the time all is said and done, by a considerable margin I'd guess. This isn't the first thread started that muses "Will Nintendo go the way of Sega", and it won't be the last. People were talking about this back in the GC days. Nintendo isn't going anywhere, because aside from stumbling with Wii U, they are far more business smart (and have far more money in the bank) than Sega was. Sega failed for a lot of reasons, but the biggest of which was that they lost consumer/fan confidence by repeatedly failing to stick with/support their own consoles. Nintendo hasn't done that, and won't do that.

He won't listen, the OP is pretty much the non-graphics version of ninjablade, his presence on VGChartz has been pretty much dedicated to bashing Nintendo.



TheJimbo1234 on 15 December 2014
RolStoppable said:
Nintendo will still be alive and kicking. Despite an atrocious eighth gen showing, they've mostly eliminated Sony from the handheld space already.

Additionally, their financials are on the rise again, so it isn't even up for consideration to bow out of the home console space. And due to the unique characteristics of the video game business (new system means a reset of perception), the Wii U's failure doesn't dent Nintendo's image all that much.


The handheld space though is a poor market. It only really exists in Japan, is losing ground to mobiles and tablets, and has never grossed as much as consoles. If they focus on handhelds, they will be an unknown brand to new gamers come 2020.

Actually new gamers now are not dealing with Nintendo, and a large part of their market base has been from young fans who continue to support them as they grow up. Missing this demographic for Nintendo will cripple them in a few years.



tbone51 on 15 December 2014
ICStats said:
RolStoppable said:
Nintendo will still be alive and kicking. Despite an atrocious eighth gen showing, they've mostly eliminated Sony from the handheld space already.

Additionally, their financials are on the rise again, so it isn't even up for consideration to bow out of the home console space. And due to the unique characteristics of the video game business (new system means a reset of perception), the Wii U's failure doesn't dent Nintendo's image all that much.

Oh, so it's Nintendo that eliminated Sony from handheld space?

What has eliminated two thirds of Nintendo's handheld space?


They did eliminate them though (well hurt them greatly is better words)

 

⇒ DS vs PSP = Great Healthy Generation ⇒ Mobiles Destroys most of the HH market ⇒ 3DS vs PSV (Both Take Major Hits).

 

This is wat your probably thinking↑ Which is true no doubt, but then 3DS Did the Rest! How?

 

~3DS Ton of 1st Party Support: Slow Start Year 1, but picked up and especially in Year 3 (2013)

~3DS Price vs Vita Price: $170 (and $199) vs $250 + Memory Card $$$

~3DS Third Party: In Japan Takes Sony HH #1 Title. Also aquired Medium-Big Third Party Franchises. Resident Evil/Kingdom Hearts/MetalGear Solid/etc

~3DS Has Access to All Customers (All ages, srry dont know right words for this lol): Self Explainable!

 

Also the final nail that makes vita where its at is Sony themselves

~No Marketing

~Little to No Exclusives after 2013, especially 2014 that appeal outside of Japan

~1st Party Almost Non Existent

Well i dont need to add anymore.

 

Point is Mobile/Tablet/etc Market did do the most damage, but 3ds is a huge part of Vita's Downfall.



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Nate4Drake on 15 December 2014

Nintendo should be a Sony 1st Party Developer.



”Every great dream begins with a dreamer. Always remember, you have within you the strength, the patience, and the passion to reach for the stars to change the world.”

Harriet Tubman.

SanAndreasX on 15 December 2014
curl-6 said:

He won't listen, the OP is pretty much the non-graphics version of ninjablade, his presence on VGChartz has been pretty much dedicated to bashing Nintendo.


Ah, another one of the "show us on this doll where Nintendo touched you" crowd. I mean the OP, not you. :)



tbone51 on 15 December 2014
Nate4Drake said:
Sony should be a Nintendo 1st Party Developer.


I agree with this^



Sentient_Nebula on 15 December 2014

I liked the Dreamcast though...



"Never argue with stupid people. They will drag you down to their level and then beat you with experience."

-Samuel Clemens

ICStats on 15 December 2014
tbone51 said:
ICStats said:
RolStoppable said:
Nintendo will still be alive and kicking. Despite an atrocious eighth gen showing, they've mostly eliminated Sony from the handheld space already.

Additionally, their financials are on the rise again, so it isn't even up for consideration to bow out of the home console space. And due to the unique characteristics of the video game business (new system means a reset of perception), the Wii U's failure doesn't dent Nintendo's image all that much.

Oh, so it's Nintendo that eliminated Sony from handheld space?

What has eliminated two thirds of Nintendo's handheld space?


They did eliminate them though (well hurt them greatly is better words)

 

⇒ DS vs PSP = Great Healthy Generation ⇒ Mobiles Destroys most of the HH market ⇒ 3DS vs PSV (Both Take Major Hits).

 

This is wat your probably thinking↑ Which is true no doubt, but then 3DS Did the Rest! How?

 

~3DS Ton of 1st Party Support: Slow Start Year 1, but picked up and especially in Year 3 (2013)

~3DS Price vs Vita Price: $170 (and $199) vs $250 + Memory Card $$$

~3DS Third Party: In Japan Takes Sony HH #1 Title. Also aquired Medium-Big Third Party Franchises. Resident Evil/Kingdom Hearts/MetalGear Solid/etc

~3DS Has Access to All Customers (All ages, srry dont know right words for this lol): Self Explainable!

 

Also the final nail that makes vita where its at is Sony themselves

~No Marketing

~Little to No Exclusives after 2013, especially 2014 that appeal outside of Japan

~1st Party Almost Non Existent

Well i dont need to add anymore.

 

Point is Mobile/Tablet/etc Market did do the most damage, but 3ds is a huge part of Vita's Downfall.

To me Vita was pretty DOA.  Wasn't well positioned, and it's userbase grew so slowly that nobody wants to support it, not even Sony.  It's sales are so low that it is unsustainable.  3DS sales are also massively down from DS, but still at a level that developers supporting it makes sense.

Sony relies on 3rd party a lot more than Nintendo, and Monster Hunter moving to 3DS probably cemented Vita's fate.  I will give you that, 3DS did the rest.



My 8th gen collection