WIRED: Wii U isn't bombing because of the name...

They can still make it right. Must get third party support for that though. And like another poster said before, invest more on marketing.

I don't think the comparisons to Xbox and PlayStation, when it comes to branding, are fair. The difference here, is that Nintendo has a longer history in gaming, and a traditional lack of rationale with its naming. There's no continuity with their branding, as there is with Xbox and PlayStation. Nintendo isn't afraid to go from Nintendo 64 to Gamecube; in which case, it's not surprising that a consumer would be confused when the branding isn't drastically changed as it usually is with a Nintendo platform. And if I'm remembering correctly, Nintendo had simliar problems when it introduced 3DS -- people thought it was just a DS with 3D capability.

Maybe the Wii U name isn't the whole problem, but it is part of it. (And I really hate the black-or-white answers people try to come up with, anyway -- there's a lot of grey area here.)

The Wii U is bombing because of a combination of several factors. Archaic OS, slow hardware, Gamepad too big and clunky. Nintendo's first party games also aren't very compelling. They're pretty mediocre, in fact, I don't get all the praise about their games at all. If you want go down the nostalgia highway, go fire up a N64 or SNES. Give us games that's worthy of 2010s please. We have had enough of mediocre Japanese games trapped in the 1990s.

Oh for Pete's sake...

Well, the name sure didn't do it any favors.

@farrell2k: The Wii, like the PS4, had a clear message. While the PS4's message is built on lies and screwing up the least, the Wii showcased seniors playing tennis in the living room.

If it weren't for the Uncharted series, Valkyria Chronicles, and The Last of Us, I really would see no reason for anyone to get a PS3 last gen. Luckily, those games existed.

Three huge issue with the Wii U for me.

Tablet controller cost way too much to replace if it were to break.

Online sucks.

Lack of third party support.

Big game droughts.

@nintendoboy16: There are alternatives, which is why I mentioned them. They are already selling on other consoles, so if Nintendo brought over Mario Kart or the next 3D platformer, they would sell on PS4 or X1. I wouldn't buy them, but some would.

People go Nintendo for their first party games ,they screwed up the start of this gen by not delivering. Where's metroid? Where's star fox? And even when they do the advertising sucks cause they have the best selection out so far but there's hardly any exposure besides mariokart. And in this age of recycling old games why don't they open the floodgates of all their classics. They need to embrace fps somehow too. If they made a team fortress style game with Nintendo characters it would awesome, which mp gamer wouldn't want that.

The only people who are hating on the Wii U are those too broke to buy a PC to get the third parties in 1080p 60 FPS

But if interest in these IP's are pretty much dying, how in the world would they succeed elsewhere if they are barely going anywhere on their own platforms?

@nintendoboy16: I contend they are not enough to sell consoles on their own any more, but would sell enough to make a profit on a different console.

Larger audience, potentially new audience.

At some common sense is suppose to kick in.

what about people want the most powerful console and are bored of last gen. Not to mention it launched as the best bang for the buck

@xxgunslingerxx: And as usual the Nintendo fan forgot to take into account people buy consoles to last them the whole gen and they know the third party is coming to PS4 so eventually the library is 100% going to be huge even if it currently isn't.

So you have: Most powerful console, best value, no real drawbacks, Sony's from birth to death support, and a huge library. That's why I bought one, and I'm not impatient enough to overreact to a slow first year because I've seen a lot of them in my time.

I think it's because of the lack of 3rd party support and the fact they are yet again not gonna get the likes of Arkham Knight,MGS5,Far Cry 4,The Evil Within,Destiny,The next Tomb Raider and of course Assassins Creed Unity.

I mean I would only really get it for Zelda thats all because the Metroid series looks like not getting a new game anytime soon and Smash well Melee was better than Brawl and they will struggle to topple the Mario Galaxy games.

Well yeah but I think it is the name as well, I know its a turn off for me. A new system, and they decide to just call it Wii again with just a U added in? Definitely feels like the decision for that was pretty weak and not very well thought through.

Again, I have a hard time buying these. Just because the audience is bigger doesn't mean success (How did those third party do on the Wii again? You know, the ones that weren't Sonic, Guitar Hero III, and LEGO). That, and refer to my most recent comment to Chubbyguy.

Third party with limiting marketing and low standard of quality vs what Nintendo makes with Nintendo resources.

Your comparison is shit.

The NOBODY likes what it offers is a stretch. If that were true, it would have NO consoles sold. But I think I understand. The majority of the console buying market wants something that will bring great first party games, I'm sure. But they want their console to play Madden, COD, Arkham, Elder Scrolls etc as well. And this is where Nintendo hurts themselves by not trying to be in the same ballpark as the other two. Nobody says you need to be the most powerful, except rabid fanboys who think they will get a place at the corporate Christmas party. But in the same area so making a game can be comfortably done on Nintendo's as well as the other two. I remember when WiiU was announced and they bragged about Arkham Armored edition and touted getting the third party support. How much longer did Nintendo think the 360/PS3 were going to go at that point?

@DocSanchez: Very stupid reasoning, mind you. It is a reasoning, none the less, but expecting a console to last an entire generation by buying it at launch is a very dumb endeavour.

Why? Unless you stream videos on YouTube or Twitch, you are dealing with a product that by it's very nature, depreciate in value in a matter of months. Add in the usual hiccups of dealing with post launch droughts, the only reason why you would buy one is to play Sports games, which can be done on the ps360 ( you're stuck with ps3 if you like baseball).

Nevermind the fact that even good third party games have bombed there too? Did limited marketing and "low standard quality" stop third parties from abandoning the Wii?

Well only if there are other businesses in the same industry. If you were the ONLY one doing or offering something, there is no competition. But in Nintendo's case, I agree with you. Whether they want to believe it or not, they are competing for consumers', that are going out tomorrow to buy a console, money. Now I may love me some Zelda, and Metroid, but I may not be a gaming forum guy who buys more than one console. So when I know that Halo 5, COD, Madden, Arkham are available on X1, or Uncharted 4, COD, Madden etc are available on PS4, but when I look at WiiU and wonder why there is no mention of Madden, Arkham, and I am not sure about COD, its a problem. They need to understand that they are in a retail industry that majority want the most that they can get for one console.

The name and what it had to offer was just a poor combination I think. Nintendo staff and fans alike argue for a game dedicated device that only appeals to a smaller population as opposed to an Xbox One or a PS4 who try to appeal to people who prefer media and games together. I think it is pretty backwards to root for a game dedicated device if you're going to release a console with new features. You can only release so many consoles before you run out of features that makes it a gaming only device.

Doesn't make it a good decision. I learnt that the hard way.

See buying for this reason is getting one just for the sake of it. You're still getting a console with no games when everything is at its most expensive and you end up beta testing it while they work out the kinks and the developers get used to it. You get like one decent exclusive every six months.

'The most powerful console' will still be there a year down the line after release, however the price might have lowered a bit, and this when games start to get a consistent release.

@hiphops_savior: How is it stupid?

1. I had the money for it. I'm planning on keeping it, it's not an investment like a house where I need to sell it later. I might not have the money later when it drops in price. It's not likely to drop in price by a lot, and any cross gen game I buy on it is likely to be better. As has proved in the games I've bought so far.

2. It will get the third party, so it will last the whole generation. I will bet you it will. It's a certainty. So whether I buy it now or not is irrelevant to the games, I'll have it when they come out. Also, Sony have a track record of supporting consoles right up until the end.

So how is it stupid? It's selling now so it's not likely to get a price drop any time soon, and I'll likely be waiting a long time for one. Do I have to wait until the absolute end of the gen to get my best out of the investment? Not going to happen for me or any gamer.

Nintendo isn't going third party, ever. Stop having these.

@Bigboi500: No pipe dreams from me, I made it clear I was happy with that, I was just saying it wouldn't necessarily work against them like others thought it would.

When you have 3rd party support the ps4 does NOT need as many exclusives. All the wii u has is exclusives and if Nintendo does not carry the platform you have nothing to play. That is if you even like the exclusives on the wii u.

On the 360 and ps3 you get all the heavy hitters and the ps4 and xflop also. So for 100 bucks more you get a next gen console with good 3rd party support and good online play. Sony depending on who you ask has the best 1st party or at least ties Nintendo. So the value of the wii u is pretty low IMO vs other consoles.

You know how backwards you sound? Exclusives was the whole point in buying a video game console not who has the slightly higher resolution out of a 3rd party game. Exclusives is one of the reasons why Sony was popular as it had Final Fantasy, Tekken, Metal Gear Solid and Devil May Cry.

Pretty much. This is what irks me so....Nintendo seems to assume their place in this industry is a given. They place far too much stock in what they offer. Not to say their games aren't quality, but the thing being, it basically comes down to this: Nintendo's 1st party against Sony and MS's 1st party.....AND all 3rd party games in addition.....AND better online with a more established userbase. With more power, and despite what many forum goers like to say, power is relevant to Joe Blow consumer.

For them to think that consumers will forgo all of that value just to be able to play their franchises--which are quickly growing redundant and stale--is the height of arrogance.

I bought PS4 on launch, which is something I rarely do. It's been sitting mostly unused, mostly up until TLoUR dropped I was using it solely for a Netflix/Resogun box.

Besides the point. I bought the PS4 because, like you said, I know Sony will follow through. Just as they have each gen previous. Nintendo, I don't believe anything they say until I see it in action, and I am almost always proven correct in this. They are the boy who cries wolf, and they've done so far too many times. They say they'll have accounts. Where are they? They say 3rd parties will come back. Where are they? They say they'll put more games on the VC. Where are they? They say they've learned from this and that, over and over and over. They haven't. Talk, talk, talk.

I'm really sick and tired of their continual bullshit. Either they're intentionally lying, or they can't do what they say. And on and on it goes. What confounds me is people just seem to view the small picture-they look at Nintendo now, the games available now. Never in their mind does it occur to pull back and look at the larger scope of this company, and ask themselves, "what other reasons should I be giving my money to them?" Sony gives me plenty, based largely on past performance. Nintendo doesn't.

They'll never have third party support on their consoles, not Western third party support anyways. The only thing they can do is continue to release first and second party titles, attract third party niche Japanese titles, and as you said, invest more in marketing.

The good news is they don't depend on high sales and third party Western title support to turn in a profit, unlike the other console makers.

It isn't that no one cares for Nintendo at all to begin with, it's that few want to buy an expensive piece of hardware Just to play their games.

Mario Kart Wii 35 million

Wii Sports Resort 32 million

New Super Mario Bros. Wii 27 million

Super Mario Galaxy 12 million

Super Smash Bros. Brawl 12 million

Each is a mega-hit, and just a sampling of what Nintendo did with a sizable install base. The Wii gave us a hint about just how well popular Nintendo franchises could sell with an install base only going multiplatform could reliably provide. Hell, Nintendo was selling huge numbers on a machine that almost no one else could make a buck on. Even with the average ok-to-poor selling Nintendos we've seen for most of the past couple decades Nintendo has had famously high attach rates.

When people have hardware around that can play Nintendo games they tend to buy them. In Masses. It's just that Nintendo consoles generally don't sell very well.

If your audience isn't willing to come to you, why not go to them?

Pride? Pshhhh.

Not enough Ninty games from launch

Crappy hardware scared 3rd parties away

I sincerely hope they have the follow up ready by 2016. They need to get off the backwards compatibility train (unless they can implement it in a useful manner) and actually release some kind of hardware that is within firing range of the Xbone at least. Something like 4x AMD Beema cores running at 2.4 GHz + 512 or more Stream Processors @ 800+ MHz with full HSA support, 32 MB of eDRAM and 4 GB of GDDR5 on a 128 bit bus.

The difference is, those were hits... LAST GEN, when the Wii was at a bit of a better state. Look at their IP's now on the Wii U and 3DS and tell me how they compared to the gen before. That confirms that, for this gen at least, that interest in Nintendo IP's has docked massively (which is what Kohler and Malstrom have been saying). If interest in them is THIS low, how can you expect jumping ship to other people's systems to spark it again.

It won't, because audiences have found newer interests and the sales charts on what's selling on the rival systems prove it.

I think its really difficult to explain where the problem lies it could be more than 3 or 4 problems but the lack of 3rd party support and online service that Sony and Microsoft can give you is a big thing.

Plus I think it's also because certain people are now wanting more adult type games like their Mass Effect,Far Cry,MGS,Assassins Creed etc. Nintendo haven't got many of those and some of them have jumped ship lately.

The name is definitely part of the problem, then the hardware, then the game selection. It has a lot stacked up against it without a doubt.

I never said that the ps4 would have a low amount of exclusives, only that it was not as critical. If Nintendo pushes back games sheep have no games. If Sony pushes back games you still have indies and 3rd parties and psn plus games to play.

I agree that pc is the best choice of that I have zero doubt.

I think it has more to do with the fact that people are tired of Nintendo franchises being the ONLY things that Nintendo home consoles have to offer. That's definitely the reason I stopped buying Nintendo systems. Not everyone wants to invest hundreds of dollars into a system just so they can play games from 1 single game developer.

I grew up a Nintendo fanboy from NES to Gamecube but I got sick and tired of seeing my friends playing so many great 3rd party games that I never got to play because they never got released on the N64 or Gamecube(or they got a watered down port). Soooo many 3rd party developers just dropped their support for Nintendo consoles completely and released all of these great games for the Playstation 2 and Xbox. It really got sickening knowing I was missing out on all of these great 3rd party games just because of Nintendo's garbage ass hardware so I went out and bought a PS2, my first ever non-Nintendo console. Getting that PS2 was honestly the best thing I ever did gaming-wise.

I love Nintendo first party games, but being limited to almost nothing but them really sucks. and I don't have any interest in owning multiple consoles unless I get one for basically free. When the Wii and Wii U were announced it was pretty easy for me to decide immediately I wasn't ever going to get them. They had awful last-gen hardware(as usual), tiny amounts of built-in storage space, awkward gimmicky controllers, terribad internet support and just so many things wrong with them that was obviously going to turn 3rd party developers away AGAIN from making good games for them. Nintendo made their same old mistakes when it came to the hardware. You'd think they would have learned by now, right?

It's almost as if Nintendo DOESN'T WANT 3rd party developers to make good games for their consoles, because the decisions they make are so fucking stupid and obvious that I can't believe that they're not doing this garbage on purpose... How do they not learn from their mistakes after making them so many times in a row?