Robert W. Baird analyst believes Nintendo will struggle to generate consumer interest for new console with information about future systems from Microsoft, Sony arriving in 2013.
When the Wii U launches worldwide later this year, it will struggle to generate broad consumer interest, Robert W. Baird analyst Colin Sebastian claimed in a note to investors today. The industry watcher said though the system will be adopted by the Nintendo faithful at launch, news of future consoles from Microsoft and Sony in the first half of 2013 will hurt its sales.
"We remain concerned that Nintendo is missing an opportunity to build greater mindshare ahead of the [supposed] Wii U launch on November 18," he said. "While initial strong sales are likely given the Nintendo fanbase, we believe there may be a narrow window of opportunity to generate broad consumer interest before next-gen Microsoft and Sony platforms are announced in [first half of 2013] and launch in Q4 2013."
Elsewhere in his note, Sebastian said Nintendo is likely to announce a price for the Wii U at the company's media briefing in New York City next month. He estimates the console will sell for $249-$299, which is in line with previous analyst estimates.
Eddie Makuch (Mack-ooh) is a News Editor at GameSpot. He works out of the company's Boston office in Somerville, Mass., and loves extra chunky peanut butter.
Theres a couple of titles I'm interested in but I want to see more tech specs and more first party titles before I buy Wii U. Still, I'm hopeful that Nintendo doesn't make the same mistakes they did with the Wii (for the consumer, not for them of course. They made shit tons off that hunk o' junk).
I plan on getting one during the launch period. I never owned a Wii, and haven't had any Nintendo system (including no Nintendo portables), with the exception of the Super Nintendo (which I traded in many years ago). I like that the Nintendo Wii U will be backwards compatible, If it sells at $250 like the original Wii did, it will have no problems getting sales from the general public. The main thing that Nintendo needs is a new Mascot. How many times do we have to play Mario & Zelda?
@IMDLEGEND To be fair, the second and third most recent 3D Mario games are the second and third best games of all time, on Gamerankings.com, which averages all review scores. Mario and Zelda are far from stale.
1 Like @Tylendal @IMDLEGEND Well, to be honest they are fun games but they are no different from previous titles. But the real problem isn't that Nintendo keeps making Mario and Zelda, its that they don't make anything else (and don't start nitpicking with the little shits they make). I want some new IP to come from Nintendo, not just the same old Mario/Zelda/Samus despite how fun they might be.
many playstation fanboys are hypocrits and the statement i made below this one proves why , for example n64 =more powerful ps1 sold more ,
xbox gc more powerful but again people bought into the less powerful consoles , if any one is to blame for the lower power consoles selling in droves and their consoles power hungry not doing good its the sony fanbase ,
1 Like @dreamfist11 Oh ya then how come people bought playstations and playstation twos when there were more powerful systems on the market-n64 xbox gc ? and with 4 controller ports as well to boot and xbox live -later for xbox , ya like to see you defend that statement you just made where nintendo has the money when sony had more money they couldn't offer me or any one else more powerful hardware at a decent price? look at ps3 , $599.99 or psvita and psp -$250-$300 plus expensive memory cards
tell me genious why sony did the same thing nintendo is doing now and you accepted it then whats the difference now?
ya i didnt think so , if anything gc and xbox should have stomped the ps2 by your logic
He didn't say it, but I don't think the U is going to repeat the kind of market share the Wii had. If it has some AAA titles I may buy it though.
6 Like A lof of you folks forget, Sony and Microsoft got into the game industry because of Nintendo. Nintendo showed that you could make a profitable console that stood the test of time, despite hardware limitations and the video game crash. The NES was NOT Next Generation when it was released. The games looked worse than a Commodore Amiga, but people loved the console because they were fun to play with a large library of third party games and exclusive franchises that were endearing (Mario, Zelda, Metroid, Etc.). I also think it was because the systems were easy to figure out and cheap to replace, unlike a computer. So many pundits back then said, "My computer looks better than this", but the games for computers back then were not compatible with all computers. However, every NES game was compatible with every NES system. Nintendo is the leader for a reason, they know what people ultimately want, and that is to have a good time, with the least amount of drama. Most consumers are not huge gamers who spend every waking moment living video games. They want to be able to sit down, start an adventure, and not have to take a class to learn how to play the damn thing. Once they establish that presence, then they innovate, and with the exception of the Virtual Boy, their innovations have succeeded, and most of the time surpassed expectations. Then the big boys follow and copy what Nintendo has accomplished. If you think about it, the only original idea that any of the other game companies have come up with has been the Kinect, and who's to say Nintendo didn't come up with that one first, and ditched the idea? So here we are, once again, the market has a big question mark over it's head, smart phone apps are dominating sales over the $60 game titles, and Nintendo is poised to make a big impression like it did in 1985, selling a system that's not Next Gen, but has a lot of charm rolled up into a curious little package, and of course, Mario.
@FlakeyCrust And how has Nintendo "made consoles that show they stood the test of time " That is a ridiculous statement, they have showed us exactly the opposite with the Wii, honestly im trying to have a good discussion here with some facts and some good points and you post something you know is completely false!?
@dreamfist11 The NES, the SNES, the N64, are all classic systems which still have value in the collectible market. Even the Sega Genesis/CD. I've thought about getting an N64 just to play some classic games that may not be re-mixed for the consoles, like Conquer's Bad Fur Day, or Banjo Kazooie. Being that their developer, RARE is now owned by Microsoft, any chance of seeing HD version of these games for Nintendo hardware is unlikely.
1 Like @dreamfist11 @FlakeyCrust I have to agree that the Wii did not age well. Sure it sold like hot cakes to the casual audience but most of those people probably use it as a Netflix player or just leave it on the shelf collecting dust. The Wii only has a handful of really great games, most of it is just shovelware to cash in on the casual appeal of motion controls.
Overall i'd say that the Wii has been more detrimental to the gaming industry than most people would like to admit. Sony and Microsoft likely used the Wii's success as an excuse to drag out this generation as long as possible with the mentality that advanced hardware and graphics werent going to push sales as much as motion controllers.
@demonic_85 @dreamfist11 Wii sales have diminished over the year because of anticipation of the Wii U, but the Wii is still a popular system. I worked in electronics last year at a mainstream retailer, and we couldn't keep them in stock, even after the holidays.
3 Like For a console that's like a fraction of the power and capabilities of its competitors to last 5-6 years, yeah the Wii stood the test of time. To add to what FlakeyCrust said, it's not only their consoles, it's also their games too. The fact that people still go back and play many of the classic Mario, Zelda, Metroid, and Kirby titles is a testament to how well they design and create their games. Almost never do their new games render previous ones obsolete.
Love the new Zelda game? Well you'll love the previous ones also. Love the new Mario game? Previous ones are still a blast to play. Like the new Call of Duty? Yeah no one plays the older ones anymore.
1 Like You obviously didn't understand what I said, considering that the Wii was underpowered, it lasted pretty damn long. The 360 and PS3 didn't stand the test of time because they were meant to last that long, now the PS2 most certainly did last much longer than expected.
Yes, they have one franchise that comes out like once every 3 years so now they're all of a sudden like Activison. I was saying how even though you play Nintendo's new games, it doesn't change how awesome their previous games were, unlike games like Call of Duty where each new game pretty much makes the previous game worthless (since the main draw to those titles is online multiplayer and with each new game, the community moves to the new title).
No one was duped, Nintendo put their best foot forward with the Wii's first party titles, the 3rd parties that actually tried to create something awesome also succeeded, don't blame Nintendo for lazy 3rd party developers. Plus again the Wii U already has the attention of many 3rd parties and if it sells well, it'll only gain more support and even when the next XBox and Playstation come out, if the WiI U has a large user base, 3rd parties will in no way abandon it if they know their games will sell well on the Wii U.
@abHS4L88 If its one thing the Wii failed at, and that everyone has pointed out and knows, is that the Wii DID NOT stand the test of time. To say so is just ignorant fanboy talk. Thats like me saying "The Xbox stood the test of time" it didn't, the Xbox 360 and PS3 did, the PS2 certainly did.
And I hate call of duty so I cant really understand your point, where nintendo are headed IS where call of duty is at right now, same games over and over. Super Mario on the SNES was incredible. Super Mario on the Wii? Not so much. Was it fun? Yeah, it was pretty fun. (But it doesn't compare to something like Super Mario on the SNES, that was MAGIC). Would I buy a console just for that one game? No.
And if anything, ive heard most wii owners say they wont be duped into buying a WiiU just for Mario or Zelda again and miss out on all the next gen 3rd party software like what happened with the wii
1 Like @FlakeyCrust 1. In all honesty thats a pretty dumb view of things, you could just as easily say "If it wasn't for Atari showing there was profit in videogames, Nintendo wouldn't be where they are today".
2. Nintendo was just starting out back in the day, they made good use of what they had and went with a nice, simple controller; Nintendo aren't "starting out" today, they are part of the Big Three now, they have CASH, more is to be expected from them, and rightfully so.
Nintendo can just as easily "pioneer new forms of playing" and still at least TRY and future proof there console. When your launching a NEXT GEN console that is on par with 7 year old tech and only a bit better, somethings wrong.
This isn't "Oh poor Ninty, they are some little company that cant afford to launch a console with next gen graphics"
Its "Nintendo, not wanting to invest a little cash in future proofing your console".
1 Like @dreamfist11 Future Proofing? The future is in the games, not the hardware. I don't see smart phone apps dying out because people want higher resolution games on their retina displays. I also see more and more classic 8 and 16 bit games in the E-shops, as well as PS2 titles for download on the PSN. These aren't "next Gen" games but people are buying them. Why? Because the gaming experience is more important than the resolution or speed rendered by the hardware. The console war is a dynamic created by the retailers and fan boys to get you to buy a more expensive machine and appeal to your fears of not having the latest and greatest. But if there are no games for it, it's as good as dead. The Wii U may not be next gen, but at least it's 1.5 gen, with the new gamepad being an ESTABLISHED interface that has been used in the DS line of handhelds, of which a plethora of developers already know how to maximize for fun. So I, and many many other gamers could care less if it is the fastest and most powerful under the hood, because it's all about the games, not the hardware. Besides if I wanted the latest hardware, I would play games on a new PC.
8 Like No matter what 'analysts' think, we cannot dispute the fact that after 6 long years, gamers are READY for another NEW CONSOLE and the WiiU and the 3DSXL will be the hottest consoles this holiday season.
No matter what 'analysts' think, we cannot dispute the fact that NINTENDO is first and foremost a gaming company. They know what they are doing.
No matter what 'analysts' think, we cannot dispute the fact that NINTENDO will have a headstart in the market to build a fanbase before Sony and Microsoft.
No matter what 'analysts' think, we cannot dispute the fact that NINTENDO franchises of Mario and Zelda SELLS!
No matter what 'analysts' think....Well who CARES WHAT THEY THINK!!!
PC/Video games are our hobby and we hope that the WiiU and Sony and Microsoft next consoles will have very good consoles this year and next year..
PLAY ON!!!
2 Like @sacatash Speak for yourself. Not everyone is ready for a new console. I'm perfectly happy with my PS3. The only incentive I can see with the new gen coming up is a decrease in prices for games this gen therefore making it cheaper for me to buy more.
6 Like @Kravyn81 @sacatash I love my PS3 too, but I'm getting tired of similar apps showing up on the Xbox 360 and I have no desire to play the current exclusives for the PS3. Nintendo IS a game company first, that makes their own hardware. They don't also make Cell Phones, Stereos, or MP3 Players, or TV's. They're revenues aren't divided between operating systems, smart phones and game consoles. ALL OF NINTENDO'S WORK GOES TOWARDS GAMES. Even after all these years, how does Super Mario Bros. 2 for the 3DS come out with such high ratings, even though it's kinda the same thing? Because Nintendo worked to make it different, listen to fans, and moved forward. I was personally surprised that they were ready to release the 3DSXL so fast, but people spoke up and said, this would be cooler if it was bigger, and they listened. The Wii U will be big because they will make it big, just like they did with the Wii.
@x_hunter00 @FlakeyCrust @Kravyn81 @sacatash Actually the Nintendo name did help sell A LOT of Wii consoles. There are millions of people out there who were gamers back in the NES and SNES days. A lot of those people quit playing games altogether due to outgrowing it, marriage, kids, careers etc. A large number of those people gave the Wii a shot because of their personal history with the brand and not just because it was unique/different.
@FlakeyCrust @Kravyn81 @sacatash The Wii didn't sell big because it was made by Nintendo. It sold huge numbers because of Wii Fit (which isn't even a game) and titles like Wii sports. These two appealed to a much broader audience who weren't even the target audience of the Wii, which are "gamers". Ask the gaming community which is the best gaming console and the Wii wouldn't even come close to the XBOX or PS3.
3 Like If this is selling for 300 dollars then it will def be the cheapest system on the market when the next xbox and playstation release. Also, before those systems release the WiiU will have plenty of time to build a nice library of games such as Zelda (in HD for the first time), Super Smash Bros., Mario Kart, A Starfox ,and a Metroid game, all of which have some of the biggest and most hardcore followings in video games. This system will sell plain and simple. It will not be the most powerful system on the market nor will it boast ridiculous next gen graphics like its competitors, but when has that ever mattered with Nintendo? They make great games and have a great fan base, and that has got them where they are today.
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