Why is the Wii U not succeeding?

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dscross

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The question is self explanatory. I was just wondering why? Maybe a gamer with better knowledge can explain it to me? Is it from lack of games? Bad timing? Or what? Seems to be doing a Dreamcast...
 

Casual Shinji

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Jul 18, 2009
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Who knows.

Generally it doesn't seem to be selling all that swell, but then before you know it some Nintendo enthusiasts show up throwing all kinds of numbers at you claiming the opposite.

So I don't know. I'll just be boring and say lack of games. But then that was the same issue I had with the Wii and it sold like a son of a *****.
 

go-10

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simple, lack of games

the tech, system design, online store, and features all work as expected but there's no games worth buying the console for.
 

1-800-STFU

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It's a type of console no one really asked for yet Nintendo just kind of forced it on us.

All the great games for it are being released on the 3DS too anyways. Since I have that I see no reason for get a WiiU
 

Church185

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GZGoten said:
simple, lack of games

the tech, system design, online store, and features all work as expected but there's no games worth buying the console for.
I wouldn't say the online store works exactly as expected. My friend bought a Wii U the day it came out and while he has enjoyed the thing so far, his biggest complaint is how the Wii U's store didn't have anything on it for the longest time, and if you purchased anything through the Wii virtual console you would have to buy it again (cheaper) on the Wii U virtual console to play it on the second screen.

Me and my girlfriend are going to get one eventually, but I don't think it will be until next year when SSB is supposed to come out.
 

sethisjimmy

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No games. That's hyperbolic of course. I actually have a Wii U, and I like the games I have for it. But speaking from a former outsider, that's what prevented me from buying in earlier.

Specifically core, new, first and third party titles. Wii U has no killer app. NSMBU is nice, but I think a new 3D Mario would have done way more for the system, especially considering NSMBU is essentially retreading the same old ground from the rest of the "new 2d mario" series. A new Zelda, Metroid, Donkey Kong, etc. Those are the kind of titles that sell Nintendo systems, not minigame collections ala Nintendo Land.

Another massive problem was with the marketing. Immediately after the first trailer at E3 a problem became evident in that people didn't understand that it was even a new console. They pushed the controller so hard they forgot to sell the system itself. Now they realize that, but they should have much sooner.

And the fact that third party developers and publishers are creating a vicious cycle by being reluctant to publish titles on the system because of poor sales - when part of the reason it has bad sales is lack of third party titles.

Those are the key factors I think contribute to its slow start.

All that being said though, Wii U isn't really doing bad. It's not selling great, but you've also got to consider that they're making more money on those few sales than they would on the Wii, and are therefore in healthy financial standing: http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/126475-Nintendos-First-Quarter-Shows-Rising-Profits

And considering there's a number of solid core titles on the way from Nintendo and third party devs in the future, I'd be willing to wager that the Wii U will slowly gain sales by building its library over time. The 3DS similarly had a somewhat sparse opening library, but sees greater profit now that it's had a bunch of great releases in a short time span.
 

Comocat

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My wii is essentially a $200 netflix machine. The game I played the most on my Wii was Wii sports. Why would I invest in a new system when the old was essentially a party gimmick? So in my case, I'm not buying one because I dont see what it does better than the Wii, which I didnt like that much in the first place.
 

Strain42

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Because despite applauding what it is, what it does, and what it can do, people just aren't buying it.

Don't worry, sales will pick up in the next year or two once it gets some more Mario titles and a Zelda and stuff.

I keep hearing people saying "Oh, the Wii U has no games on it!!!" but for me the Wii U has quite a few games out that I want, and even more upcoming.

I'm currently more excited for upcoming Wii U games than I am by any of the announced XBO or PS4 games.
 

Hazy992

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Because there have been no must have games for if and the marketing has been terrible. I don't think I've seen a single TV ad for the thing and a lot of people thought it was simply an add-on for the Wii U
 

Genocidicles

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I think the name isn't doing it any favours.

If they called it the Wii 2 or something I reckon it would be doing better. Calling it the Wii U makes it seem like the Wii's equivalent of a DSi or GBA SP, so people who already have a Wii aren't going to buy one.
 

Maxtro

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Because these are the only Nintendo made games on the system

Game & Wario
New Super Mario Bros. U (Super Luigi)
Nintendo Land
Pikmin 3

And Pikmin 3 just came out.

The vast majority of people buy Nintendo systems to play Nintendo games.
 

Roxas1359

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Well others have covered most of the other things to death in this thread, and for me I'd actually have more use of the Wii U as a Wii than as a Wii U for now. Mainly the price tag is putting me off, because while yes the Wii U is $50 cheaper, in the scope of a new console people will ignore the $50 price tag and generally go for the other machine.
For me I say this, the DS was Nintendo's PS2, the Wii was its Playstation, and the Wii U is it's PS3, it won't do bad and it will pick up in sales later, but they are gonna have trouble with it for the first 2 years.

GZGoten said:
online store, and features all work as expected....
Actually, eShop purchases are locked to the hardware and not to the account it's bought with, even though the account is shared on multiple consoles. Basically if you buy a game on the 3DS eShop that can also be played on the Wii U you'll have to rebuy the game, albeit a bit cheaper, in order to play it on both the console and the handheld. That's very backwards and dumb if you ask me when Sony also has their store connect to multiple consoles, but they put a download limit of 2 times for digital product, and you can deactivate one of the products and download it somewhere else if you want to. That's a huge issue I have with Nintendo and I could have sworn they said that once the Miiverse was online they were gonna fix that issue. >.>
 

IronPerson

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If the list of games at E3 all come out in the next 2 years, I'm sure it'll do better, but as others have mentioned, I'm not seeing a lot of marketing for any of these games. Or the console itself.
 

roushutsu

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I usually try and wait for a few games to be out before I buy a console or handheld, so for me it's because the games that I'm waiting for aren't out yet. They probably won't be out for a couple more years at this point, so I'm willing to wait, and most people I know who like Nintendo's products are in the same boat as me.
 

PedroSteckecilo

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The real reason?

Because there's no new Mario or Zelda yet.

Also it doesn't have that simple "charm" that allowed the Wii to be the lightning in the bottle that it was, the Tablet Controller is more weird than inspiring and personally? I still don't trust Nintendo because of Nintendo of America's unwillingness to release Xenoblade, Last Story and Pandora's Tower. On top of that I worry that we'll get dull 4kidsized versions of titles like Shin Megami Tensei X Fire Emblem because Nintendo of America is so focused on being 100% Family Friendly...

So personally I'm not buying it because I distrust Nintendo of America and am unwilling to support the Wii U until it shows some solid 3rd Party activity.
 

MetalDooley

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PedroSteckecilo said:
I still don't trust Nintendo because of Nintendo of America's unwillingness to release Xenoblade, Last Story and Pandora's Tower.
Given how poorly a lot of hardcore games(god I hate using that term)sold on Wii can you blame them for being hesitant to release 3 hardcore japanese games so late in the Wii's life?For all the talk of the Operation Rainfall crowd those 3 titles only shifted about 600,000 copies combined in North America so maybe it wasn't such a silly idea in the first place

On top of that I worry that we'll get dull 4kidsized versions of titles like Shin Megami Tensei X Fire Emblem because Nintendo of America is so focused on being 100% Family Friendly...
Did you get kiddified versions of Xenoblade Chronicles,The Last Story and Pandora's Tower?
 

Apostheum

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Hardware that's almost deprecated before it was even released, a(nother) gimmicky controller and a lackluster line-up of games. The latter being the most important of reasons.

It's another step in the casualisation of consoles. While I personally don't really have anything against casuals, many people do, and don't want to be branded as one. Seeing as neither the Wii or the Wii U offers anything hardcore, and even could offer anything hardcore by the very design of their controllers, we won't see anything more competitive than Super Smash bros, which frankly ALWAYS was played with a Gamecube controller rather than a Wii stick.