Poll: Wii U - Nintendo's Dreamcast?

[Savagezion]

I'm posing this question under the hopeful circumstance or 'What if' it doesn't succeed.

The word hopeful there has me puzzled. I am no longer in Nintendo's target marketing demographic and thus I am not really much of a fan of what Nintendo does nowadays. I actually find the shovelware crusade of this generation shameful and actually a step backwards for gaming stepping into mainstream. However, I don't wish Nintendo would cease making consoles.
Actually, I hope they continue as they are the only one of the 3 companies with any balls to try something new besides add in a better processor. This generation Nintendo brought in motion control gaming AND 3D gaming without glasses. You do realize they single-handedly brought us one big step closer to virtual reality this generation, right?

Sony and Microsoft are deeply rooted in other venues. As you read this Sony is leading the market in TVs with the Sony Bravia. As well, they are a stamp of quality in the stereo market. Microsoft is deep in software where most of their revenue comes in through operating systems. Sony and Microsoft are interested more in their contracts with other companies than how to influence gaming. Only Nintendo is elbows deep in gaming with no safety net and trying to aggressively hold their name.

As someone who is not interested in most of what Nintendo currently offers, I in no way hope that they go away. I am a fan of Nintendo even though they make mostly stuff that doesn't interest me. Their goal is to take gaming to new places and I respect that and hope they don't go away even though I have no reason as a consumer to buy their shit.

At any rate, I don't think they will even if the Wii-U fails. Comparing them to Sega isn't a proper comparison because Sega never found solid footing in the market after the Genesis. Everything after the Genesis was downhill. Nintendo has lead the market 3 times now with console releases and even when it didn't lead the market it was always a main competitor.

 

[XMark]

I don't think we have enough info to make any kind of accurate predictions on the Wii U yet. We don't even know what the hardware specs are.

 

[GonzoGamer]

WiiU isn't going to do well (certainly not as well as the Wii; with the Wii, they were doing something new, the WiiU just ads the tablet fad into the mix but the people who want tablets have them by now) but it's not going to kill Nintendo either.

In fact, I'm thinking the Playstation brand will be the next to fold. For quite a while, I've been thinking the PS3 might be Sony's Dreamcast.
They're definitely not doing anything to try and expand or win back the share of the market they lost (and it's like 2/3rds of their market: a LOT of fucking customers they lost) since the ps2.

MS would be dominating right now if they didn't charge an online fee and if their console wasn't defective.

 

[Kahldris71]

Its not the same, because even though the dreamcast was a failure... it was actually a good console. This is gonna sound like me baiting fanboys, but in all seriousness in my opinion the wii U is going to be a turd covered in vomit. The controller is just batshit retarded. The processor is woefully underpowered. The dreamcast at least had an innovative controller, a web browser its own ISP nobody used it but points for trying. Personally i wish the Dreamcast had not bombed because its a failure that i may harbour shameful love for.

 

[geK0]

So the system that offers something that the PC doesn't is the one that is going to flop?


doesn't sound plausible : \

 

[MetallicaRulez0]

If by "Nintendo's Dreamcast" you mean it will be their last console after it fails horribly... I certainly hope so.

If you mean it will be far ahead of it's time and be fucking awesome... I seriously doubt it. Players got over gimmicky features several years ago. We want quality game experiences, not gimmicks. Nintendo seems to have abandoned that crowd, which is a real shame.

 

[Epona]

So the system that offers something that the PC doesn't is the one that is going to flop?


doesn't sound plausible : \

Maybe there is a reason the PC doesn't offer a controller with a big damn touch screen in the middle? Probably because there is no interest.

 

[lord.jeff]

Why are you hoping it fails?

 

[Heart of Darkness]

And, of course, Sega didn't have a handheld, not that Nintendo are doing particularly well with their last one, likely due to iOS/Android infiltration of the market.

You say that like the DS series handhelds haven't sold a million billion units worldwide. The 3DS could have sold exactly 0 units and the DS would still be the topping selling handheld ever (the DS original alone has almost outsold all three Gameboy variants). And funnily enough, the 3DS has already outsold the Dreamcast by almost a million units.

The situation is not remotely the same. SEGA of the late 90s/early 2000s was horribly mismanaged, prone to in-fighting, and losing money in nearly all markets. The Saturn was a bust, the Sega CD was a bust. I'm surprised they even greenlit the Dreamcast in the first place. Meanwhile, if any game company can be said to "have it's shit together", its Nintendo. They make money like they own the presses. The Wii and the DS pretty much destroyed the console market share. They are nowhere close to desperation.

Even if the Wii U was a Dreamcast sized failure, Nintendo would shrug it off. It wouldn't be the first time one of their systems bombed (Virtualboy) to no apparent effect.

Not to mention how Sega pretty much shattered all concepts of brand loyalty releasing add-on after add-on for their systems and then only releasing four games for that add-on, abandoning it, and releasing a new add-on to expand the "power" of their machine. That, and how the PS2 utterly crushed the Dreamcast in Japan (and pretty much everywhere else) when it was released because it functioned as a cheap DVD player (at launch, the killer app for the PS2 in Japan was The Matrix, the movie).

Again, the situation here is hardly the same. Nintendo's brand management this generation has led to an expansion of their user market, and right now there really doesn't seem to be another "PS2" coming out of Sony or Microsoft to slay the Wii U with more impressive hardware (or doubles as an equivalent to a cheap DVD player). So the likelihood of the Wii U going the way of the Dreamcast seems small.

 

[Sampler]

Its not the same, because even though the dreamcast was a failure... it was actually a good console. This is gonna sound like me baiting fanboys, but in all seriousness in my opinion the wii U is going to be a turd covered in vomit. The controller is just batshit retarded. The processor is woefully underpowered. The dreamcast at least had an innovative controller, a web browser its own ISP nobody used it but points for trying. Personally i wish the Dreamcast had not bombed because its a failure that i may harbour shameful love for.

Hey - my first online experience was through my dreamcast - I even bought the keyboard accessory!

It was one helluva console, shame it was dead before anyone realised that. Still play Crazy Taxi and Jet Set Radio on it to this day (and occasionally Soul Calibre).

As for the WiiU I think it will do well, and I hope it does as Nintendo are against the wall cash wise, they may have made it big on the handhelds/wii but have flittered it all away and are now in the red - hence most the managerial staff taking massive pay cuts. The strong Yen and weak dollar is really not helping them:

http://www.marketwatch.com/story/nintendo-sinks-deeper-into-red-in-first-half-2011-10-27

 

[New Frontiersman]

No I don't think so. They're doing fine financially and I don't see any reason their new console will fail. So no, I don't think the WiiU will be Nintendo's Dreamcast, I think they'll keep making systems for a good time to come.

 

[fix-the-spade]

When I say Dreamcast for those of us new to the gaming market, the Sega Dreamcast was the final console for Sega before they stopped making consoles and sticked to games only.

Nah. Sega came to the Dreamcast on the back of three huge failures in a row (Mega CD, 32X, Saturn), it was a real last gasp effort that had to succeed right away.

Nintendo have the benefit of time and no total failures since the Virtual Boy. The N64 and Gamecube were simply 'less succesfull' than Nintendo wanted while recently the 3DS has been slow on release, but is picking up over time. They've got masses of money to play with and time to let things play out if they aren't instantly super-mega-hits immediately.
Bar the Wii U going off like a pipe bomb at random intervals I can't see it being the last console Nintendo makes, although I bet the next one will be more like a Smart Phone than Gameboy.

 

[Wandering_Demon888]

The Wii U sounds pretty "iffy" to me. First they didn't try hard enough to catch up with the other 2 consoles (PlayStation and Microsoft). Now they're trying WAY TO HARD just to match them. I mean in my opinion having to use a tablet to play on a TV, yeah its original but after a while it would just become a nuisance. Right now Nintendo can boast all it wants about how powerful its next system will be. But without a strong game lineup even the strongest of consoles is bound to fail.

 

[Something Amyss]

Heck, if a game is multiplatform, always get the PC version.

Hey guys, stop doing things different from me!

 

[itsmeyouidiot]

I personally think the Wii U will only be a moderate success, like the Gamecube. As popular as the Wii was, I kind of doubt that the people interested in Wii Sports will be interested in the Wii U.

Fortunately, Nintendo will always have fans like me to fall back on, and the Wii U is looking to be a truly great console, with very promising features and third-party support that looks to be very strong.

 

[Phlakes]

...Why do you people keep trying to predict things by almost no information? All we know about the Wii U (other than the lineup) is its controller and that it's HD. Next you'll be saying games are terrible months before they're released OH WAIT.

 

[SeeIn2D]

I personally hate Nintendo with the exception of a few games on their handhelds, so I hope it flops big time. Big enough that they decide to only make games. I'm sick of all these commercials and talk about the "latest greatest Super Mario (remake)". I hate Nintendo because in reality they have done very little by way of making original games that are good in the past like five years especially. If they have to pool all of their resources into their games instead of their consoles then I'd probably like them a lot more because I'd have something Nintendo to play other than that Zelda game they made back in 1986 and that Mario game they made back in 1983. And as much as I do love Pokémon (except Black and White, those are just...no), that series is by far the WORST in terms of basically recycling old games.

 

[OldNewNewOld]

OP, how can I take this thread seriously when you think that your opinions are facts?

You say that the Wii isn't a "gamer" success. As far as I know, I am a gamer. I think that the Wii is a success. It gave me everything I wanted from it.

A good number of great titles, some of the best games of all times (Nintendo's games), great party games for playing with friends... You think that the Wii isn't a success, that's your problem. Some of us like games that are NOT first or third person shooters. Some of us like games that where designed by people who are color blinds for every color except brown.
Some of us are cable of enjoying games even tho they don't have the best graphics possible, as long as the gameplay is good.

Wii is a success for me. Both on the market and a gamers success. People can talk all they want, but every second post ends with "My Wii, bla bla bla". Most gamer have a Wii. You will read a lot of bad things about the Wii not because it sucks but because it's cool to hate it.

Secondly, your definitions of "good consoles" is the Wii U minus all the awesome stuff that can be done with the controller? Sorry, but it's not the consoles fault that you can't see all the possibilities of the Wii U.
Nintendo consoles are high quality products and every one of them (except the Virtual Boy) are "good consoles".

And then there is this:

I'm posing this question under the hopeful circumstance or 'What if' it doesn't succeed.

So you hope that Nintendo fails? Or am I misunderstanding something? But it's really hard to misunderstand anything if you say that the "what if Nintendo fails" scenario is the hopeful scenario.
You hope that a company you don't like fails?
What are you, 6?

But since I already am answering to this thread, here is my answer to your question.
Nothing will happen if the Wii U is a total flop. They will just do something damage control and start developing another console.

People obviously have no idea how huge Nintendo is.

 

[geK0]

So the system that offers something that the PC doesn't is the one that is going to flop?


doesn't sound plausible : \

Maybe there is a reason the PC doesn't offer a controller with a big damn touch screen in the middle? Probably because there is no interest.

Because nintendo DS and tablets were both such a flop.....



I was referring mostly to the games available for each system, almost all of them are on the PC (barring a few gems on each system). Almost everything Nintendo has is exclusive to their systems, so I'm pretty likely to just get a WII-U for Nintendo exclusives and play everything else on my computer.