Wii U vs Xbox One Sales Numbers: Is The Wii U Really A Failure?

[ExHaseo]

I was looking up info on the Wii U, and I found this comment/article in one of the articles. I thought it was an interesting point, so I thought I'd share and see if anyone else has any thoughts.
 

 

There is a whole lot of talk of how horrible the sales numbers have been for the Wii U, and a lot of talk about the Nintendo being doomed. I won't be going into how doomed or not doomed Nintendo is. But I will quickly touch on the hardware sales for consoles between Nintendo and Microsoft for there newest systems to offer a comparison of figures. The Wii U was released in November of 2012, with the actual release dates across the globe spanning the 18th of November to the 8th of December. While the Xbox One had a release in November of 2013, pretty much across the globe on the 22nd of November, while planning to hit a few countries later on in 2014. Regardless of the structure that either company decided to use in the release countries and dates for their respective consoles, it all comes down to the numbers for many people. Both companies of course released their systems in the demographics that would represent the best sales, so the argument that Microsoft did not release the Xbox One in Japan yet, if it happens at all, does not matter, they know they would not have the huge initial sales they wanted in that country, so it was skipped for the time being and is not an argument for this comparison.

The funniest aspect regarding the critics behind the Wii U's supposed failure to sell, is that they assume that the competition has been selling so much better. Without going into all of the offerings by any of the video game giants, going into political or financial discussions, hardware performance, or anything else...strictly looking at the hardware sales we see they are very similar. The Wii U had a release date in November 2012 and sold 3.06 million units by the end of that year. The Xbox One had a release date in November 2013 and sold 3 million units by the end of that year. The actual specific number is unknown and is probably just over the 3 million mark, probably between the 3 million to 3.06 million of the Wii U. Okay, so the first adopters picked up their consoles and the Christmas gifts are accounted for. So technically the Wii U had been outselling the Xbox One in the similar period. How about since then?

Well, unfortunately the actual numbers for January 2014 Xbox One sales are not known since Microsoft has decided not to divulge that information. And in all honesty, they were definitely better than the Wii U the January after its launch which only sold between 45,000 - 59,000 consoles in January 2013. Looking through the data, it appears that the Xbox One more than likely sold around 300,000 consoles in January 2014, give or take 20,000 units. Which, like I said, is quite a bit more than the Wii U's comparison for the same time in its lifecycle. Of course now I am looking at the hardware sales for this past week for a comparison. According to VGChartz.com, from February 1st to the 8th, the Xbox One had global sales of 53,670 which I will round up to 54,000 for this argument. While the Wii U had global sales of 36,033 which I will round down to 36,000. The fact of the matter is that the Xbox One outsold the Wii U by a large margin during this time period. It does not matter why, only that it did. So how well are the systems going to really sell in comparison to each other?

The Wii U was released November 2012 and as of 8 February 2014 it has sold 5.7 million units according to VGChartz. Without breaking up the days and nickel and diming the time period we will keep it very simple. From November 2012 to February 2014 the Wii U sold 5.7 million units. So in order to do the same, the Xbox One has to sell 5.7 million units from November 2013 to February 2015. Currently the Xbox One is sitting at 3.4 million units, so they must sell 2.3 million units within one year. Which is quite possible and likely to happen. Breaking the 2.3 million units down, Microsoft will only need to sell approximately 191,670 each month. If they continue selling at the same pace as this past week with around 50,000 sold, then they would be a bit over that number. But how would that actually look?

If the Wii U is a "failure" and supposedly not worth developing games for, then why is the Xbox One not included in that category? Of course Nintendo does not pay millions upon millions of dollars to developers to make games for its hardware, and they insist on much higher quality control and better service for its consumers too. Yes Microsoft has a more powerful console in a technical perspective and since it is structured more toward pc architecture and the PS4, that helps developers also to a degree. Without pointing fingers at one console or the other regardless of my own personal opinions on each of them, the facts speak for themselves. If the Wii U is a "failure" then so is the Xbox One. Using the excuse that the install base is not large enough for a reason to not develop games for the Wii U is not good enough and a downright lie if being used as the sole reason. How about developers give the actual reasons why...just be honest. You don't want to because of a number of other reasons: The game will not sell the same on the Wii U, the cost of development compared to just porting to another console is higher, or whatever the reason is. But those of you that have put down the Wii U for its sale numbers need to think again. If you compare the Wii U to the Xbox One sales numbers, then you will understand they are more alike than different.

 

 

And here's the article the comment came from. http://www.fool.com/investing/general/2014/02/16/the-5-games-launching-on-wii-u-in-the-first-quarte.aspx

 

 

[vV_PaRaSiTe_Vv]

Interesting read. Thanks for posting it.

[Crisis001]

Very interesting!  I actually didn't know all this!

[BooneJusticius]

Some interesting points but pretty much every article on Motley Fool is written by an idiot. (I'm not saying what the OP quoted is as I know it's a comment in response to the article, no article I've seen on Motley Fool has ever been that thought out) They're always saying something is doomed and it's usually the same few writers who do it, be it for a console or a TV show. Trust me, it's pretty much never worth wasting your time on that drivel.

 

VGChartz is also not a very reliable source to get sales data from since they just ask a few retailers and then "extrapolate" what everyone else is doing based on that. So in other words, they get a little data and then guess. http://www.vgchartz.com/article/629/where-do-vg-chartz-north-american-numbers-come-from/

Edited February 18, 2014 by BooneJusticius

[Goekie]

These numbers are pretty much meaningless. Nintendo loses money on every Wii U sold, added the fact you need an external HDD which only increases the total costs. Xbone on the other hand makes a modest profit for each unit sold. In the game industry it is fairly normal for console manufacturers to take a loss on their system, if they would charge the actual production costs that would lead to a less appealing console for game developers as less people will buy the console. Profit is made by how much games you sell, not how much consoles you've sold.

[PREDRAG-K]

I understand what he was trying to say, but it's pretty dumb. You can't compare the sales records and say Xbone is failure because it's selling less than WiiU. The WiiU has been out for over a year, and only sold 5.7 million units. The PS4 has been out for 4 months and already sold 5.3 million, and the last time I checked Xbone isn't far behind (maybe by 1 million units). So within a few months, both PS4 and Xbone will outsell the WiiU.

Now if you were a developer, would you spend money making your game for WiiU? The PS4 and Xbone are selling in record numbers. So why spend time and money putting your game on WiiU, when more people are buying the PS4 and Xbone?

Also, how many of those 5.3 million WiiU owners also own a PS3, 360, PS4, Xbone, or PC? I'd guess around 80-90% I don't see a reason any Dev would port their game to WiiU, unless they had an idea for the tablet thing.

The WiiU is a failure for Nintendo. They need to either make a console that doesn't focus on stupid motion gimmicks, or just focus on handhelds (where they dominate).

Edited February 18, 2014 by PREDRAG-K

[Dr_Mayus]

Pretty much what Predrag said but I will add on to it. Like he said most Wii/Wii-U owners own a playstation or xbox as well. On the other hand people will buy a ps4/xbox1 and not buy a Wii.

 

Second The wii-u launched against no one and was only able to sell that much while the xbox one launched against the VERY hot ps4 and was able to sell the same numbers.

 

Third-3rd party developers have been burnt by Nintendo going as far back as the N64 (Really Rare saved that system) so they have comfortable working relationships with sony/ms and see no reason to change that,

 

Fourth-Why port your game over to a system that is barely selling and you will have to do a lot more work for and will barely have any sales. This is why that stupid tablet controller was a mistake (which I have been saying since it was shown at E3) because for the amount of extra work it would take to use that effectively it is easier just to ignore the Wii-U.

 

The Wii-U is a COMPLETE failure because they are already so far behind. I don't know what they can do to save their system but a price drop, mario kart and smash bros would be a start (although that isn't enough to get me to buy one)

[Goekie]

The WiiU is a failure for Nintendo. They need to either make a console that doesn't focus on stupid motion gimmicks, or just focus on handhelds (where they dominate).

 

Nintendo is contemplating on getting into the smartphone industry. I think that would be a very wise call. You gotta do what you do best which is making handhelds in Nintendo's case.

[Dr_Mayus]

Nintendo is contemplating on getting into the smartphone industry. I think that would be a very wise call. You gotta do what you do best which is making handhelds in Nintendo's case.

Which brings me back to a point I made a few weeks ago.

 

Nintendo and Sony team up with Sony on consoles and Nintendo on Handhelds and then THE WORLD

[Goekie]

Which brings me back to a point I made a few weeks ago.

 

Nintendo and Sony team up with Sony on consoles and Nintendo on Handhelds and then THE WORLD

 

Why not Xbox with Nintendo, they could defo use some help

[Dr_Mayus]

Why not Xbox with Nintendo, they could defo use some help

For a couple of reasons

 

1. Xbox doesn't know how to use properties well once they obtain them. Just look at RARE once MS got them they ran them into the ground.

 

2. Xbox SUCKS in Japan which is why they would love to have Nintendo but Nintendo wouldn't want to have them. Sony and Nintendo are both Japanese companies so a bond between them would make a lot more sense.

 

3. MS franchises tend to go for a more mature demographic (or to a bunch of 8 year olds who think they are HARDCORE ) Which is your Halos, Gears, RYSE, Dead Rising etc. Sony goes for a more All Ages demographics which fits into Nintendo's mind set a lot better.

 

But of course this is just fantasy booking so none of it really matters, but trust me if this fantasy became a reality Nintendo would go with Sony over MS in a heartbeat

[Goekie]

For a couple of reasons

 

1. Xbox doesn't know how to use properties well once they obtain them. Just look at RARE once MS got them they ran them into the ground.

 

2. Xbox SUCKS in Japan which is why they would love to have Nintendo but Nintendo wouldn't want to have them. Sony and Nintendo are both Japanese companies so a bond between them would make a lot more sense.

 

3. MS franchises tend to go for a more mature demographic (or to a bunch of 8 year olds who think they are HARDCORE ) Which is your Halos, Gears, RYSE, Dead Rising etc. Sony goes for a more All Ages demographics which fits into Nintendo's mind set a lot better.

 

But of course this is just fantasy booking so none of it really matters, but trust me if this fantasy became a reality Nintendo would go with Sony over MS in a heartbeat

 

1 You mean like what EA does to Mass Effect and Dead Space? You are right, bigger isn't always better.

 

2 I believe there are about 5000 xboxes in Japan

 

3 Isn't Microsoft trying to become more family friendly? I'm talking about Kinect.

 

You know a couple of years ago I never would have thought Sega would be willing to develop games for Nintendo or Sony. Sega had set aside their pride and nowadays they are doing fairly well as a game developer. Who would have thought? It saddens me as a Nintendo fan but the way they are running their company, making poor judgement calls and refusing to get with the times, abandoning their hardcore fans could very well lead to their own downfaill someday. If it weren't for the DS, if it weren't for Pokemon Ninty would have drowned a long time ago and they only have themselves to blame. Despite selling absurd amounts of Pokemon games they are still struggling to keep their head above water. That fantasy of yours might one day become reality, you just never know!

[Dr_Mayus]

1 You mean like what EA does to Mass Effect and Dead Space? You are right, bigger isn't always better.

 

I don't get that one? I was talking about RARE and MS. Rare was key in the N64 success (almost as much as Nintendo) and then MS piddled them away until they were a nothing company. That wouldn't have happened if Sony had bought them up.

 

I know a lot of people think I hate Nintendo (despite me having one of their mascots as my avatar and sig ) but the truth is I just want them to stop treading water and become a great gaming console again.

 

Look at the past NES 3 Mario titles, SNES 2 Mario Titles, N64 1 Mario title, Gamecube (including Luigi's Mansion) 2 Mario Titles, The Wii had 3 mario titles as well ( Now I am counting just straight mario games and not Mario party etc)

 

Now look at the Wii-U It has 3 Mario titles ALREADY. It has only been out a year and it already has 3 mario titles That is just inexcusable. Then couple that with the fact that the 3DS also has 3 mario titles already (4 if you include the new luigi's mansion)

[Memnoch]

you can get figures to say anything these days. Fact is the Wii U had 1 christmas release to itself, xbox managed the same amount with the ps4 release at the same time.

 

I still don't know who they are targeting except for Zelda/mario fans - I wish they had another genius moment like with the Wii. But it was not to be.

 

They can now pull their heads out, or slowly fade away in the console market - ball is in their camp

Edited February 18, 2014 by Memnoch

[Goekie]

I don't get that one? I was talking about RARE and MS. Rare was key in the N64 success (almost as much as Nintendo) and then MS piddled them away until they were a nothing company. That wouldn't have happened if Sony had bought them up.

 

I know a lot of people think I hate Nintendo (despite me having one of their mascots as my avatar and sig ) but the truth is I just want them to stop treading water and become a great gaming console again.

 

Look at the past NES 3 Mario titles, SNES 2 Mario Titles, N64 1 Mario title, Gamecube (including Luigi's Mansion) 2 Mario Titles, The Wii had 3 mario titles as well ( Now I am counting just straight mario games and not Mario party etc)

 

Now look at the Wii-U It has 3 Mario titles ALREADY. It has only been out a year and it already has 3 mario titles That is just inexcusable. Then couple that with the fact that the 3DS also has 3 mario titles already (4 if you include the new luigi's mansion)

 

Sorry I should have been more clear. What I mean is that big publishers too often meddle in their developer's games which isn't always in the game's best interest. Mass Effect 3 was cut short due to EA pushing Bioware for a quick and hasty release. Microsoft and Rare was a bad marriage right from the start.

 

Couldn't agree more on the Ninty games, its downright pathetic. Nintendo abandonded all their hardcore fans during the Wii era, they traded them in for casual gamers who didn't buy many other games besides Wii Sports and the odd Mario game. The lack of 3rd party titles and most of all new 1st party games is downright shocking.

[Dr_Mayus]

Sorry I should have been more clear. What I mean is that big publishers too often meddle in their developer's games which isn't always in the game's best interest. Mass Effect 3 was cut short due to EA pushing Bioware for a quick and hasty release. Microsoft and Rare was a bad marriage right from the start.

 

Couldn't agree more on the Ninty games, its downright pathetic. Nintendo abandonded all their hardcore fans during the Wii era, they traded them in for casual gamers who didn't buy many other games besides Wii Sports and the odd Mario game. The lack of 3rd party titles and most of all new 1st party games is downright shocking.

Oh I see now

 

Yeah I looked at my Wii games recently and I own 4 third party games and the rest are 1st party. That sums up a Nintendo console perfectly

[Parker]

The Wii U had a "next gen" launch completely to itself after being the best selling last gen system, if it was truly a good piece of hardware like the PS4 or Xbone then it would have flown off the shelves. But Nintendo, yet again, wanted to have a ridiculous gimmick and instead of making a powerful system that third party developers would want to develop for they made a system as powerful as the current generation consoles, consoles that had been out for almost 7 years already. 

 

That is why the Wii U is a failure. Not because the sales numbers are bad but because they fucked their core audience over. I loved Nintendo and want them to be like the were in the NES, SNES and 64 days, if they made hardware that is comparable to the Sony and Microsoft consoles then third party developers would work with the system and they wouldn't have completely alienated themselves from the gaming community. 

 

Right now I wish Nintendo would stop making consoles and stick to making just games and Sega would make a Dreamcast 2.

 

 

Parker 

[Goekie]

 

Right now I wish Nintendo would stop making consoles and stick to making just games and Sega would make a Dreamcast 2.

 

 

And Shenmue 3 for chrissake!

 

Nintendo didn't have many 3rd party games ever since the GameCube. A decade later we are still having the same discussion about nintendo's lack of 3rd party games. Stubborn!

[ExHaseo]

As if to prove the point made in the comment, I found this article. It's no surprise that the X1 isn't selling well. The really hardcore Microsoft fanboys bought the console at launch, but that's about it. It hasn't been selling very well since. It's in the same situation as the Wii U. It had a fairly solid start, but isn't keeping sales up. Likely because of the inferior hardware and lack of games. Of course, in Microsoft's case, it's likely also because of their constant policy changes.

http://www.fool.com/investing/general/2014/02/19/microsoft-corporations-xbox-one-is-selling-so-poor.aspx

[antithesis]

As if to prove the point made in the comment, I found this article. It's no surprise that the X1 isn't selling well. The really hardcore Microsoft fanboys bought the console at launch, but that's about it. It hasn't been selling very well since. It's in the same situation as the Wii U. It had a fairly solid start, but isn't keeping sales up. Likely because of the inferior hardware and lack of games. Of course, in Microsoft's case, it's likely also because of their constant policy changes.

http://www.fool.com/investing/general/2014/02/19/microsoft-corporations-xbox-one-is-selling-so-poor.aspx

 

Software sells hardware. Titanfall on XB1. Enough said. Watch the Halo and CoD fanboys come a'flocking.

 

The Wii U on the other hand has done nothing but drip-feed second-rate content to date. Where's Mario Kart 8? Zelda Wii U? Super Smash Brothers? We've had some nice titles like Pikmin 3, The Wonderful 101 and Super Mario 3D World, but they're not exactly setting the world on fire.

 

Couple that with atrocious third-party support on Wii U, which is not a problem for XB1, and Nintendo is entirely reliant on first-party franchises to drive console sales. Nintendo did not release any AAA titles to tempt gamers to the Wii U in the relatively short window between their console launch and the real next-gen hitting the ground, and they're paying for it now.

Edited February 20, 2014 by ant1th3s1s

[ExHaseo]

Software sells hardware. Titanfall on XB1. Enough said. Watch the Halo and CoD fanboys come a'flocking.

 

The Wii U on the other hand has done nothing but drip-feed second-rate content to date. Where's Mario Kart 8? Zelda Wii U? Super Smash Brothers? We've had some nice titles like Pikmin 3, The Wonderful 101 and Super Mario 3D World, but they're not exactly setting the world on fire.

 

Couple that with atrocious third-party support on Wii U, which is not a problem for XB1, and Nintendo is entirely reliant on first-party franchises to drive console sales. Nintendo did not release any AAA titles to tempt gamers to the Wii U in the relatively short window between their console launch and the real next-gen hitting the ground, and they're paying for it now.

Except the part where Titanfall will also be on 360 and PC, which will definitely pull away from sales significantly. The type of person that obsesses over Halo and CoD are usually pretty cheap, and probably won't be willing to shell out $500 to play it. I know I'm not, I'm just getting it on PC.

 

The first year or so of game releases on any console is bleak. The PS4 doesn't exactly have a lot coming out this year. Wii U games should be picking up this year actually. It's getting Mario Kart 8, Smash, Bayonetta 2, X, and whatever else will be coming that they haven't announced yet. Which I'm guessing will be Zelda towards the end of the year.

 

The 3rd party isn't that great on Wii U, but anyone that owns a Nintendo console knows that it doesn't matter. Nintendo consoles have been that way since the 64. People buy Nintendo consoles for Nintendo games. The X1 has 3rd party support, but they have a weak 1st party lineup, and the 3rd party games run noticeably worse than they do on PS4. Since the X1 is also the most expensive, I'd say there's far less of a reason to buy an X1 than a Wii U. You can just get a PS4 instead of an X1, play all the 3rd party games, and also save $100.

I also didn't realize that Mario 3D world, Luigi U, Pikmin 3, Wonderful 101, Donkey Kong Tropical Freeze, Assassin's Creed IV, Black Ops II, Ghosts, and Wind Waker didn't count as AAA Wii U titles. There are quite a few on there, but people don't care enough to pay attention, because they're stuck in the "The Wii U has nothing to play" mindset. Just like how people are still stuck in the "The Vita has nothing to play" mindset. There are reasons to buy a Wii U, people just don't pay attention to them and instead ignore it completely. Meanwhile, there's no reason to buy a PS4, but people don't pay attention to that and buy one anyway. The key is marketing, not software or hardware.

[antithesis]

Mario 3D world, Luigi U, Pikmin 3, Wonderful 101, Donkey Kong Tropical Freeze, Assassin's Creed IV, Black Ops II, Ghosts, and Wind Waker didn't count as AAA Wii U titles.

 

Bog-standard platformer, cheap rehash platformer, third-party underperformer, third-party underperformer, horribly outdated platformer, the worst version of a third-party game, ditto, ditto, HD rehash....none of them are system sellers and only one is a new IP. Titanfall is both and it comes with a mountain of hype to drive XB1 sales. 

 

 

The 3rd party isn't that great on Wii U, but anyone that owns a Nintendo console knows that it doesn't matter. 

 

Whilst true, if Nintendo launched with Zelda Wii U, they'd have doubled or tripled console sales in the first year and hit the ground running. God knows they had enough lead-time (the Wii died in the arse 3 years earlier), but they sat on their hands, have done sweet fuck all to address the lacklustre catalogue in the intervening 15 months and now they're going to seriously struggle to meet the sales targets required to make their first-party titles viable.

 

By the time Mario Kart (guaranteed hit), Smash (guaranteed hit), Bayonetta (sales will bomb) etc hit the shelves, they'll have lost all momentum and it's already too late....7 years too late. They had a year to beat Sony and MS to the punch and royally fucked it up with weak, last-gen hardware, a tablet controller nobody wants and no AAA first-party titles to play!

 

It doesn't matter that Titanfall is on 360 and PC, there's an incentive for 360 gamers to upgrade to XB1 and many will. PC gamers weren't going to get it on XB1 anyway, so that argument is largely moot. Titanfall fits the bill for the Halo and CoD Xbox dudebros who only buy one or two games year and it will sell XB1s by the truckload. Wait and see - the XB1 has the strongest launch line-up of the three consoles and it'll pay dividends by year's end. I'd be somewhat surprised if the XB1 doesn't pull even with the PS4 by Christmas. 

 

The PS4 is clearly the best console hardware, but there's nothing in their release schedule that even remotely qualifies as a system seller. It holds the best promise for core gamers, but there's not a single game I'll be dropping my coin on any time soon. Infamous Second Son looks great and it's appealing to fans of the series, but it's not going to sell PS4s. Third-party titles certainly perform better on PS4, however gamers buy systems predominately for their first-party catalogues. Improved PS4 performance is simply a bonus, it's not going to make a heavy impact on XB1 sales for MS's core target audience if they can't get their Halo fix or supposed "superior online MP experience" on PlayStation.

 

As far as marketing goes -

 

Sony has done a brilliant job to date, buy ONLY because they're giving we, the core gamers, what we want. They have however left casual gamers and media centre users out in the dark. MS on the other hand is targeting them with Kinect and "TV TV TV" and will doubtless pick up some sales on that front once the market settles down and both consoles become widely available at retail.

 

Nintendo has done a god-awful job of marketing the Wii U, but that's largely because the product is crap. Yes, it's their best hardware to date, but casual gamers have moved onto mobile devices and, as mentioned, Nintendo is 7 years too late to tempt the core gamer crowd with low-spec hardware, a goofy controller and antiquated online.

 

For the record, I own a PS4, XB1, Wii U and 360, and none of them get anywhere near the face time of my PS3. Why, you ask? It's all about the games baby!

Edited February 20, 2014 by ant1th3s1s

[Dr_Mayus]

Except the part where Titanfall will also be on 360 and PC, which will definitely pull away from sales significantly. The type of person that obsesses over Halo and CoD are usually pretty cheap, and probably won't be willing to shell out $500 to play it. I know I'm not, I'm just getting it on PC.

 

The first year or so of game releases on any console is bleak. The PS4 doesn't exactly have a lot coming out this year. Wii U games should be picking up this year actually. It's getting Mario Kart 8, Smash, Bayonetta 2, X, and whatever else will be coming that they haven't announced yet. Which I'm guessing will be Zelda towards the end of the year.

 

The 3rd party isn't that great on Wii U, but anyone that owns a Nintendo console knows that it doesn't matter. Nintendo consoles have been that way since the 64. People buy Nintendo consoles for Nintendo games. The X1 has 3rd party support, but they have a weak 1st party lineup, and the 3rd party games run noticeably worse than they do on PS4. Since the X1 is also the most expensive, I'd say there's far less of a reason to buy an X1 than a Wii U. You can just get a PS4 instead of an X1, play all the 3rd party games, and also save $100.

I also didn't realize that Mario 3D world, Luigi U, Pikmin 3, Wonderful 101, Donkey Kong Tropical Freeze, Assassin's Creed IV, Black Ops II, Ghosts, and Wind Waker didn't count as AAA Wii U titles. There are quite a few on there, but people don't care enough to pay attention, because they're stuck in the "The Wii U has nothing to play" mindset. Just like how people are still stuck in the "The Vita has nothing to play" mindset. There are reasons to buy a Wii U, people just don't pay attention to them and instead ignore it completely. Meanwhile, there's no reason to buy a PS4, but people don't pay attention to that and buy one anyway. The key is marketing, not software or hardware.

I think that is a big part of the problem though. If Nintendo had better 3rd party support they wouldn't feel the need to keep pumping out mario and zelda games. As it sits right now the only games worth a damn are 1st party games so Nintendo has to keep shovelling out games to keep their system selling.

 

MS or Sony on the other hand can release an Uncharted or Halo every 2 or so years and still sell their system because they also have COD, Assassin's Creed, Battlefield etc. and all their other 1st party games.

 

It is a lose lose situation for Nintendo because more and more people will turn away from them as their brand becomes diluted. For example I used to buy every Mario game at launch and then I got sick of Nintendo's garbage and won't buy their systems anymore

[Memnoch]

I also didn't realize that Mario 3D world, Luigi U, Pikmin 3, Wonderful 101, Donkey Kong Tropical Freeze, Assassin's Creed IV, Black Ops II, Ghosts, and Wind Waker didn't count as AAA Wii U titles. There are quite a few on there, but people don't care enough to pay attention, because they're stuck in the "The Wii U has nothing to play" mindset. Just like how people are still stuck in the "The Vita has nothing to play" mindset. There are reasons to buy a Wii U, people just don't pay attention to them and instead ignore it completely. Meanwhile, there's no reason to buy a PS4, but people don't pay attention to that and buy one anyway. The key is marketing, not software or hardware

 

 

Oh well, you answered your own questions really. End of the day, most gamers don't want a Wii U, they want next gen products.

 

Also what this article fails to say is that Nintendo expected Wii U to do as well as the Wii, and that is what is now costing them a lot, because well, you fit budgets on approximate sales, if those budgets are under 80% of what you expected, you are in trouble. I'm going to guess they are.

 

Oh and marketing can't sell a dead horse, except to those who want to close their eyes and pretend it's actually still standing. Most 'casual' gamers (in this I mean the people that want to just pick up a mario game from time to time, etc and that don't spend their time on this kind of forum) actually don't see the point in the Wii U either. Those were the people that made Nintendo last gen successfull.

Edited February 20, 2014 by Memnoch

[ExHaseo]

As much fun as it is being ganged up on by the same two people all the time who, only spout overly biased opinions without any real research done, I'm done here. I'm entirely too lazy to point out everything wrong with the things that have been said, and you guys wouldn't listen anyway.