Weak sales for Wii U

[ElPolloDiabl]

I was reading the article over at ars technica:
http://arstechnica.com/gaming/2013/07/why-third-party-publishers-still-arent-thrilled-with-wii-u/

Some of the big games companies have already abandoned it.
It is amazing how quickly a games company couldn't be bothered developing software ports. It's not just about sales, it's an insatiable greed for money.

I remember the games companies jumping from platform to platform depending on popularity.

[Geit]

The Wii-U is a great devices with great games and the list of great games to come is long.

Just because some people release some more or less crappy game which does not sell, they blame the sales of the console.

Same for EA. Telling lies about some graphics engine will not work on Wii-U for weeks and then later on ("we just did not port it!").

These "you cannot play this, you cannot play that!" discussions are stupid, as I can name tons of games you cannot play on a Playstation or XBox as well.

I love the Wii-U. Compared to PS3/4 and Survilance One it was a good choice to buy the wii last year.

 Geit

[fishy_fiz]

The Wii U has a bit of a Dreamcast parallel. Interesting machine with some good games unique to the system, but little interest with both developers and consumers.
Like the Dreamcast the upcoming machines from Sony and Microsoft (although it was more Nintendo than MS with the DC) also made people wait for the upcoming machines.

Really does look to be a flop, both now and the forseeable future.

As for greed, its not always the case. It's neither cheap, nor quick to develop modern AAA titles and it seems with the case of the Wii U, few are taking the gamble (there's more interest in XB360 and PS3 still, both from a development perspective and sales).

[phoenixkonsole]

I love the system but Nintendo made mistakes.
EA is idiotic too... tried to sell FIFA12 and stapming FIFA13 on it...
NFSU2 is a very good game.
I belive that MarioKart, Mario 3D, Zelda and so on will make the system sell well. See 3DS initial sales... same situation.
 
People believed 3DS is just another DS like DSXL, DSi and so on. Now it sold well over time.
 
Most of my friends belived that the black tablet-like device is for my old Wii (kind of addon) until I show them the WiiU running.
 
Missing advertising. Bad advertising (people don't understand what it is about). Failure to use "Wii"-U name. No 1st party killer game.
 
Sounds bad but isn't. Global economics, post PC era (low budget games /apps) are making console business a little tuff. I belive in December it will change.

[prowler]

My GF bought a Wii-U. It looks nice and has some nice features and is definitaly a step up from the old Wii. Her biggest complaint is the lack of titles available that she is interested in. This just backs up some of the existing comments on the lack of titles existing which is most likely one of the main reasons for the slow uptake of the new console. I also find it annoying how software houses use it as a cop out because someone there couldn't be bothered porting to the platform since they will only make a small profit rather than a big one.

I have worked for companies where we have picked up tenders for running and supporting products because the parent company was only making a small profit on it. One company I remember was 'only' making a profit of about $100,000 a month for a particular product and it just wasn't worth their time to keep supporting it. It happens.

[AJCopland]

Only $100,000 per-month is less than 20 to 30 peoples wages per-month. Got more than people to pay than you're bringing in? Then they're losing month every month.

That's just simple maths, everyone complains about it being a profit driven and greedy industry but if you can't pay people then the company goes bust... then everyone complains about how they were too stupid to manage their finances.

The Wii-U is also quite weak, quirky hardware, extra tablet interface that demands more development and possibly gameplay changes to use well. That takes more peoples time and thus costs more money. It means that you have to spend more to develop your title for it so you've now got three choices:
1: You release on multiple platforms but spend a bit extra on doing some extra feature for Wii-U?
2: You release on Wii-U only, designing for the tablet and other changes, really push that angle and hope that there's enough of them to recoup the cost (which aren't appreciably lower despite only being for 1 console)?
3: Ignore the Wii-U and sell on the Xbox360 & PS3 which already have huge installed player base, you already have the tech' for and you know you don't have to make any effort to change the controls etc.

Everyone's choosing #3 because choosing #2 would be financial suicide, and now they're ditching option #1 too because there's just not enough of them being sold to make it financially viable.

[Kremlar]

Only $100,000 per-month is less than 20 to 30 peoples wages per-month. Got more than people to pay than you're bringing in? Then they're losing month every month.

He said they were making a profit of $100,000 per month - not bringing in $100,000 in revenue.
 
Wii-U was a gamble, and it looks like it will not pay off. System is tanking and will continue to tank, and Nintendo will likely start writing titles for Xbox and/or Playstation and/or mobile devices.

[AJCopland]

He said they were making a profit of $100,000 per month - not bringing in $100,000 in revenue.
 
Wii-U was a gamble, and it looks like it will not pay off. System is tanking and will continue to tank, and Nintendo will likely start writing titles for Xbox and/or Playstation and/or mobile devices.

Kind of irrelevant though, if that same team of 20 to 30 people could be working on something bringing you in a lot more, what would you pick?

You'd sell your little $100k a week support service to another company that hasn't got anything better and then you'd focus on the better paid work. It's not greed it's just about keeping your company afloat because my point was that $100k a week sounds like a lot until you realise it wouldn't keep your company afloat for even one whole week once support and ancillary staff, rent, power, equipment etc is all factored in.

40,000 console sales a month in the USA for the Wii-U just means it's a tiny market that companies won't recap there costs in, so they're all dropping it. I know because my company has even though our engine kinda supports it.

[Kremlar]

Kind of irrelevant though, if that same team of 20 to 30 people could be working on something bringing you in a lot more, what would you pick?

You'd sell your little $100k a week support service to another company that hasn't got anything better and then you'd focus on the better paid work. It's not greed it's just about keeping your company afloat because my point was that $100k a week sounds like a lot until you realise it wouldn't keep your company afloat for even one whole week once support and ancillary staff, rent, power, equipment etc is all factored in.

 
Right, I'm just pointing out he said "profit".

[XDelusion]

The last Generation most homes owned a Nintendo Wii and an XBOX 360, both if not one or the other. Judging by polls on popular video game sites, and the general ranting in the forums, it looks like this generation is going to be dominated by PS4 and WiiU.

 Nintendo has had a slow start, but this year things are going to pick up for the WiiU since many of Nintendo's beloved first party titles will be releasing around Christmas.
 Once that is done, many of us fan boys will be eating them up, thus pushing the WiiU's market value up, thus drawing third party devs back to the console.

 In the mean time, PS4 and Microsloth are going to have their first year of a slow start, though again, judging by the ranting and raving, not many people are favoring the XBOX this time around.

 On a side note, I think the low end, indy console market is going to be going main stream this year. Should be seeing lots of Android based devices left and right. In fact I've already got one...

JXD S7300

http://www.willgoo.com/jxd-s7300-dual-core-hd-gamepad2-dual-joystick-lr-buttons-8gb-p-306.html

Works very good... with an unofficial firmware.

[fishy_fiz]

Personally I cant see a few titles changing things for a machine over 12 months old already. Patterns of sales have been pretty consistant (thats to say machines that flop for 12 months have yet to go on and be a success) in the last few decades and I cant imagine that'll change.
In my humble opinion Xbox360, ps3 and Wii U will compete for the cheaper, lower end machine, and ps4 and Xboxone (ridiculous name btw) will fight it out for the high end.

Despite the similarities in the systems it appears Sony's marketing machine has been somewhat more effective in the hype stage so far. I personally wont ever buy a Sony Console again after the farces that the ps3 has endured (credit card details stolen, removing features I paid for after Id already paid), but that's just me, and probably a bit off topic  

The one thing the Wii has going for it is that it as remotely interesting hardware, although thats hardly going to sell machines

I suspect the gaming pc will gain in popularity again this generation 'cos all the new machines are a bit mundane. (again, my opinion)

[nicholas]

The rumoured Steam Box might steal the thunder from MS and Sony yet.

Who knows what will happen?

[XDelusion]

If it were any other franchises aside of Mario, Zelda, and Metroid, I'd agree.
Though in the past, Nintendo has gone through this same phase time and time again, and have always pulled out of it, with the exception of the Virtual Boy and half that was due to eye strain, neck strain, and again no Zelda, Mario, or Metroid.

Personally I cant see a few titles changing things for a machine over 12 months old already. Patterns of sales have been pretty consistant (thats to say machines that flop for 12 months have yet to go on and be a success) in the last few decades and I cant imagine that'll change.
In my humble opinion Xbox360, ps3 and Wii U will compete for the cheaper, lower end machine, and ps4 and Xboxone (ridiculous name btw) will fight it out for the high end.

Despite the similarities in the systems it appears Sony's marketing machine has been somewhat more effective in the hype stage so far. I personally wont ever buy a Sony Console again after the farces that the ps3 has endured (credit card details stolen, removing features I paid for after Id already paid), but that's just me, and probably a bit off topic  

The one thing the Wii has going for it is that it as remotely interesting hardware, although thats hardly going to sell machines

I suspect the gaming pc will gain in popularity again this generation 'cos all the new machines are a bit mundane. (again, my opinion)

[klx300r]

As the father of 8 and 5 year olds I can tell you with great confidence that Nintendo games are the KINGS of gaming for many years to come in my household.

[nicholas]

As the father of 8 and 5 year olds I can tell you with great confidence that Nintendo games are the KINGS of gaming for many years to come in my household.

My almost 15yr old son grew up with only Nintendo but now is PS3 obsessed. He doesn't fancy the PS4 though and I think he would rather die than get an Xbox based on his teenage mutterings.

My youngest son is 5 next month and doesn't really care for games yet but I will only buy Nintendo for him if/when he does.