Is the Wii U a serious contender for the 8th gen of consoles?

[SpaceTiger]

And they manage to do so without the backing of technological diversity - Microsoft has Windows and Gateway and such. Sony has stereos, dvds, and whatever else. I mean Nintendo is just gaming.

I've said this for awhile and in a way I believe it works in Nintendo (and whatever other competitor would be left, I'm saying Sony). As you said, Nintendo just does gaming, no smartphones, no TV, no wearable tech, no living room boxes, just pure gaming. A more diverse company that has its fingers in different pots, would have the departments and products offset losing money. In the case that either A. another department that has been reliable for the longest starts losing money or B. they want ALL departments to make money or not bleed as much, they would look at divisions to start shaving.

To the original question: Nintendo does its own thang, man. It does it's own thang. I don't see it competing in the immediate time, but consoles that pretty much knock itself out of actual competition have come back. The PS3 put itself out of competition out of the gate with the luxury price for awhile, but it put it's head down, lurched forward, and finally began bulldozing in sales with some price drops.

 

[gandalfsauce]

1st party Mario games always have and always will be worth owning a Nintendo system for, even if they are few and far between. The near-perfect reviews of A Link Between Worlds and Super Mario 3D World are proof. : )

 

[Plunkd]

I've owned a Wii U for almost a year now, if it hasn't been exactly a year. Can't remember what the release date was.

There's a few fun "party" games like Just Dance 4, but aside from that I've barely played it. There's absolutely no titles right now. Pikmin 3 was a massive disappointment.

Nintendoland, kind of like Wii Sports, the game included with the console is probably what I've logged the most hours on so far. When Super Smash Bros and Mario Kart come out I will get them, but until then it's going to shit on the shelf while I play my PS4.

 

[SpiralArchitect]

I've owned a Wii U for almost a year now, if it hasn't been exactly a year. Can't remember what the release date was.

There's a few fun "party" games like Just Dance 4, but aside from that I've barely played it. There's absolutely no titles right now. Pikmin 3 was a massive disappointment.

Nintendoland, kind of like Wii Sports, the game included with the console is probably what I've logged the most hours on so far. When Super Smash Bros and Mario Kart come out I will get them, but until then it's going to shit on the shelf while I play my PS4.

...and that is exactly what the trouble with U is. Its not a bad console as such but with little games to chose from right now, it is suffering. People who have bought it aren't too happy and the general sentiment is that it is a failure (even though it statistically might not be). That general sentiment might hurt is even more when more games come out.

 

[SpiralArchitect]

... This is really a rather tired subject and a moot point as well. I mean 57,000 units sold a month is apparently a failure...

Here's the thing those numbers are much lower than what Nintendo had projected, so yeah 57k is definitely a failure seeing that it came just 2 months after the release. The original Wii was selling 6-7 times that number. It required a $50 cut and the release of the Wind Maker game for Wii U to be competitive and even then it was being sold at a loss. An year on and with the numbers for PS4 much better and even X1 looking slightly stronger, I don't think it is a serious contender.

 

[Plunkd]

...and that is exactly what the trouble with U is. Its not a bad console as such but with little games to chose from right now, it is suffering. People who have bought it aren't too happy and the general sentiment is that it is a failure (even though it statistically might not be). That general sentiment might hurt is even more when more games come out.

Yeah. And the WiiPad thing is pretty cool, but it's annoying to play games with. Although, it's between that and a WiiMote and Nunchuk. I would love to just play the Wii U games with an Xbox or PS controller.

Edit: I suppose there's the Wii Pro controllers or whatever those are called. I should actually get one. I think it looks a lot like the Xbox controller.

 

[DrRipley]

I may be wrong, but I think Nintendo's market has gotten a lot more niche over the years, and by now I don't think they are in competition with the other two consoles anymore - therefore not really needing to be a contender. In my opinion, they will continue to exist and to profit from the market they've established for themselves, their fans are hardcore ones and they will probably keep the brand alive for years to come regardless of the competition.

 

[SpiralArchitect]

I may be wrong, but I think Nintendo's market has gotten a lot more niche over the years, and by now I don't think they are in competition with the other two consoles anymore - therefore not really needing to be a contender. In my opinion, they will continue to exist and to profit from the market they've established for themselves, their fans are hardcore ones and they will probably keep the brand alive for years to come regardless of the competition.

I am not too sure of that. I mean the original Wii sold like crazy and the 3DS has been selling really well, so its not like only a particular kind of gaming fan buys their consoles. The U is just not a good enough upgrade over Wii for it to sell a lot.

 

[mauricioq]

In my opinion, no.
Sure, it's a fun console but it's more aimed at children, while Xbox One or Playstation4 can be played by everyone. That's just me, I can't find good games to play on the Wii U, maybe that's a factor to take into consideration. It fells more like a "party" console.

 

[Dame6089]

No it isn't, but it doesn't have to be. Nintendo consoles operate in a different space than the other two consoles. You can't get Mario, Zelda, etc. on other consoles. For a lot of people this means that they own either the Xbox One or PS$ and also own the WiiU to play those other games.

And let's be honest, Super Mario 3D World is the best game released this holiday. They have that going for them.

 

[Kosh]

I have to agree with the 'No, but...' sentiment.

The Wii U isn't aimed at the same target audience as PS4/XO. It's for more casual gamers. I own a Wii U, and I would only get classic Nintendo-only titles like Mario, Zelda, etc...

If I want to do more serious, high graphic gaming I will use my Playstation (although I do not consider my Wii U my primary console). I do agree the Wii U is more for kids, or for the older gamer wanting to re-live those old-type Mario/etc.. games.

 

[Wing]

I don't think so... But yes it's a different market. Wii U still has the posibility of attracting contemporary gamers though, like I would honestly get one only for Bayonetta 2.

 

[corporatenoun]

Nintendo will be fine. The WiiU isn't looking to be a contender, and will be losing even more ground when the Steam Machine hits the shelf. They have to do what they've done best for years -- innovate on their IPs. I feel the 2014 lineup will be strong but they will still be buried deep underneath Microsoft and Sony.

 

[Dame6089]

It is nice to see that most of you understand that the Wii U operates in a different space from the competitors. Once the first party games start pumping out, the Wii U will pick up steam. It is looking much better now with Mario 3D worlds, Wind Wkaer HD, and Pikmin 3.

 

[SpiralArchitect]

The WiiU isn't looking to be a contender,

Yeah. This is the impression I get as well but it confuses me. As I said, Nintendo is more than capable of competing, they proved as much with Wii but their approach with U confused me a bit. It's as if they actually want to go for a niche market this time.

 

[sillylucy]

I agree that Nintendo is pretty much a niche brand right now that is geared towards nostalgia. I think it lives on for those gamers who are loyal to the brand, but in all seriousness it can not compete with Playstation and Xbox. There is no way that they are going to see some of that money that Microsoft and Sony are pulling in.

 

[SpaceTiger]

It is nice to see that most of you understand that the Wii U operates in a different space from the competitors. Once the first party games start pumping out, the Wii U will pick up steam. It is looking much better now with Mario 3D worlds, Wind Wkaer HD, and Pikmin 3.

That was the problem with the Wii U early on (and the 3DS at first). Iwata said that they would be holding back their first party to give third party a go this time. That resulted in a good roster of launch titles--the better set I've seen of the big three--but everyone knows that Nintendo is supposed to put out their stuff out the gate and early in that first year. Stuff picked up for the 3DS when they finally put out the first party stuff and dropped the price (which shouldn't have been that high given the janky launch titles they had).

That said, Nintendo has never actively or aggressively competed with generation rivals--like via jabs, commercials, etc. They just did their thing and if they just so happened to beat Sega in most locations or unleashed the Fit along the way, then that's just great.

 

[Joker99352]

I think Nintendo needs to stop trying to reinvent every single little thing and stick to what works. Look at how little has changed between the Xbox 360 and Xbox One and between the PS3 and PS4, relatively speaking. Aside from the new features, hardly anything has changed about the hardware (particularly the controllers). Nintendo's controllers have constantly been changing dramatically between systems to the fact that there's no familiarity between systems like you get with Sony and Microsoft consoles.

 

[Stuck_X_Button]

Nintendo tends to come back from behind when people least expect it. The Wii U is struggling now, but the 3DS was struggling for most of its first year with a salty line up. The Wii U had the best launch line up, but its launch window didn't have the Nintendo exclusives people were really waiting for. I can see Wii U easing in to be a contender, but a laid back (not serious) one.

 

[Derri]

Nintendo tends to come back from behind when people least expect it. The Wii U is struggling now, but the 3DS was struggling for most of its first year with a salty line up. The Wii U had the best launch line up, but its launch window didn't have the Nintendo exclusives people were really waiting for. I can see Wii U easing in to be a contender, but a laid back (not serious) one.

This actually summed up my thoughts perfectly. I have to admit Nintendo haven't had it easy with the WII U.