Wii U in 2nd Place After PS4 For This Gen's Console War, Says Nintendo

[Steven Bogos]

Wii U in 2nd Place After PS4 For This Gen's Console War, Says Nintendo

Nintendo's Reggie Fils-Aime says that this console cycle will be a "three-horse-race" between Sony, Microsoft, and Nintendo.

Going by the consistent rivalry between Sony and Microsoft during the months following the launch of their new boxes, one may have assumed that this generation's "console war" was being fought on just two fronts. But, if we took anything from the just-passed E3, it's that hey, Nintendo is still in this thing too. In fact, Nintendo of America president Reggie Fils-Aime assures us that Nintendo is actually in second place, with Microsoft trailing behind in third.

"The dirty little secret is if you look at life-to-date numbers, between Sony and Nintendo they'd be pretty close in terms of PS4 vs. Wii U, with Xbox coming in third place," Fils-Aime told The Seattle Times [http://blogs.seattletimes.com/brierdudley/2014/06/11/e3-nintendo-boss-on-wii-u-beating-xbox-and-playstation/]. He added that "I think it's going to be a three-horse race for the balance of this cycle."

Furthermore, Reggie doesn't believe that we're due for a Wii U successor any time soon, stating that the console still has quite a bit of life in it.

"We think that the Wii U has a long and vibrant life in front of it," he said. "What it needs are games like Mario Kart 8 and Super Smash Bros Wii U and Splatoon - those types of games that can really drive the installed base. We believe if we can do that effectively the Wii U has a long and robust life."

He did, however, concede that the console's weak launch lineup was definitely something the company could have handled a lot better, explaining that when the company announced the launch date, it expected big hitters like Pikmin 3 and The Wonderful 101 to be launch titles.

"The Nintendo quality bar is really what kept us from launching those games potentially in February or March and so that's what created the lack of software during that initial launch phase."

Source: Computer and Video Games [http://www.computerandvideogames.com/468437/wii-u-is-currently-second-place-in-console-war-says-fils-aime/?cid=OTC-RSS&attr=CVG-General-RSS]

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[Alcom1]

Horse race? The console cycle struck me as more of a dressage sort of ordeal.

 

[DaViller]

I love you reggie but I think your being a bit to optimistic here.

 

[Akiraking]

I was surprised to see the gap between xbox one and ps4. It is pretty big so yeah despite the Wii U being out much longer if it can keep up the Mario Kart 8 steam it may actually be able to do well. Though I do acknowledge lack of third party support due to lesser hardware means it will be almost impossible to create enough quality content to keep up. I hope games like Splatoon succeed just to show that there can be a bit of variety on the system and hopefully smaller devs choose to support it.

 

[MrBaskerville]

As far as i can understand it, they are selling more than XboxOne at te moment and they have more consoles on the market, if they can keep up, they still gota chance to claim a second place. Heck if sales exploded they could easily claim a first place, but that seems unlikely. But they have a steady stream of big releases between now and Smash Brothers, so they might not be as lost a people previously claimed.

 

[AJey]

Second? With what? A few recycled games and Mario Builder (or as normal people have known it for over 20 years now - a level editor)? So people will buy an inferior platform because it has Mario Kart 8 (or among normal people known as "that same racing game released for the 8th time), and Super Smash Bros (an inferior fighter to other titles)? Really? Dont get me wrong, those games are fun, no doubt about that. But you dont buy the same movie 8 times, do you? Or the same book? You definitely dont buy the same song 8 times. So why buy the same game 8 times?!

 

[MrBaskerville]

Second? With what? A few recycled games and Mario Builder (or as normal people have known it for over 20 years now - a level editor)? So people will buy an inferior platform because it has Mario Kart 8 (or among normal people known as "that same racing game released for the 8th time), and Super Smash Bros (an inferior fighter to other titles)? Really? Dont get me wrong, those games are fun, no doubt about that. But you dont buy the same movie 8 times, do you? Or the same book? You definitely dont buy the same song 8 times. So why buy the same game 8 times?!

Most other franchises seems to be doing fne, people have bought Call of Duty, Assassins Creed and Final Fantasy titles for ages, why wouldn't they want more Zelda, Mario and what have you. If people like the games, they want more and more they'll get. If you don't like Smash Brothers, that's fine, but people who like it are going to want new characters, new mechanics, new stages and new modes and that's exactly what they'll get, just as with any other fighting game franchise like Street Fighter or King of Fighters. Besides, those games aren't the only reason to buy a WiiU. Personally i love platformers, so i'm very excited about most of the new platformers they showed at their conference and i'm very excited about Xenoblade and Devil's Third plus Bayonetta 2 (Another of mu favourite genres). WiiU probably isn't for everyone, people who like shooters, rpgs and storybased games are probably going to be bored, but that's why we have three consoles and not one^^.

Besides it is getting a lot of support from indie developers and there's a lot of cool classics coming to the Virtual Console. Personally i think it has a lot to offer and i can't wait to get hold of some of those GBA titles.

 

[Vivi22]

The reason the Wii U did so badly is because for about a year after its release, the only games the console had were ZombiU, Nintendoland and some ports from PS3/360.

As of last month it was still doing horribly.

Mario Kart 8 boosted the Wii U's sales quite a lot.

And as with every other Nintendo console around the time it's seen a major Nintendo release, it's sales will inevitably fall again within mere weeks of it coming out most likely. I am curious what the Wii U sales are for this month though.

However, Reggie is most likely right in that the Wii U does have a future. The 3DS was also god awful at launch, with about the only decent game being Pilotwings, but after being given some time, it's a very successful console.

The 3DS has had a steady stream of titles since about six months or so after release and got a major price cut to get it to sell though. On the other hand, the Wii U is still overpriced, reliant on a stupid gimmick, and is getting as much love as they ever get from third parties. The 3DS had the success of the DS with gamers and developers to build off of. The Wii U doesn't (because the people that made the Wii U so successful have tablets now and don't give a rats ass about game consoles).

I don't think we can look to the 3DS as a reliable indicator for the future of the Wii U. They may have had similar rocky starts, but that's about where the similarities end. That it's been more than a year since the Wii U was released and it still doesn't have it's shit together is proof of this.

 

[FPLOON]

I'm basically Reggie in that picture: "Them's the breaks..."

OT: ...You may say that... But, right now, you should be focusing more on them "advertisements" if you want to either keep that second place spot or, dare I say, get first place in this "horse race" I call the "two rivalimies against the free-spirited"...

 

[pearcinator]

There won't be a successor until (at least) late 2016 in my opinion.

2015 seems like it's got a lot coming (Zelda, Splatoon, Star Fox so far) and there's still room in 2016 for Mario, Metroid etc. it won't be announced until E3 2016 at the earliest to be released late 2016/early 2017.

 

[Neurotic Void Melody]

Well there didnt seem much hope for Nintunder-dog before E3 at all, i was personally ready to tearfully bury the family pet with a heart condition. But then it gasped for air again with some games that actually make me want to buy a wii u! I am hoping to have a pisspoor alongside it for the best of both worlds. So Reggie has a point there.
But the majority of gamers will still want power and fps's like low functioning males wanting big titties and beer; its just to be expected.

This is a far out pipe dream, but...if they could somehow throw a bigger wad of cash than Ms at Rare, whatever soul draining contract theyre currently in, perhaps that could bring some oomph to the future library. Oh and fish those creative ex-employees back from whatever misty sea they are in.

 

[Evonisia]

If the Halo bundle and Halo 5 doesn't cause the Xbox One's sales to burst like Halo 3 did the 360, then yes I think it's quite possible that the Wii U will come in second place.

 

[JayRPG]

All the Nintendo haters in the thread really need to step back and look at the bigger picture.

I'm a PC and Sony gamer predominantly, and the reason why will become clear shortly, but I own a Wii U, I bought it a few months ago and I don't regret the purchase, I have a big back catalog of Wii games to work through, Wind Waker HD was amazing, Mario Kart 8 is fun and Pikmin 3 is surprisingly fun.

I won't be buying an Xbox One because I don't play FPS games on consoles, I can't do it, I hate trying to aim with a thumbstick, I'm a Counterstrike veteran, I need a keyboard and mouse. I don't want an Xbox One because I don't want Standard FPS #400 through to #465, I want RPGs, I want JRPGs, I want games with quirks, I want games with interesting and new game mechanics.

I'm a Sony gamer now because that's where the JRPGs are, I have a Wii U because they will also bring in some J/RPGs but they also bring the quicky games and the games with new mechanics, Nintendo first and second party developers aren't afraid to reach beyond generic shooter #388 in fear that it won't sell 4 billion copies.

Splatoon looks 20 times more fun than the new Call of Duty, and while I applaud Battlefield for finally trying something a little different, Splatoon still looks like more fun than that.

Where else am I going to be able to play Xenoblade Chronicles X? The spiritual successor to arguably one of the best JRPGs ever made? Not Xbox... but I can be sure to get Fifa 3887 and Madden 4056.. and that's cool for Xbox and cool for people who want those games... did it ever occur to those people that there are people out there who actually want to play the games that get released on Nintendo consoles? There are plenty of us out there.

I have no doubts in my mind that Nintendo are still in this, they easily won E3 and the roster of games that were announced and set for release this and next year have left me feeling very content with my purchase, not quite as content as with my purchases of my PS3, Vita, but certainly more content than my purchase of a PS4... The PS4 exclusives I'm excited about? No man's sky and... well there aren't any at the moment, but I do need a PS4 for FFXV and KH3 and for the torrent of JRPGs that will inevitably be exclusives (Just like the crazy JRPG exclusives list the PS3 has now); The Wii U exclusives I'm excited about?
Splatoon
New Zelda
Hyrule Warriors
Smash Bros.
Bayonetta 2 (and 1)
Xenoblade Chronicles X
Devil's Third
Mario Maker
Shin Megami Tensei X Fire Emblem
Tengami

Xbox One exclusives that peaked my interest:
Sunset Overdrive.

Oh and having a less powerful console might mean very little third party support but does a Nintendo console really need it? 3rd party support didn't pick up for the Gamecube for quite a while but after it did we got games like Tales of Symphonia (commonly regarded as the best in the series) and Baten Kaitos. Nintendo first and second party developers know exactly how to take advantage of the hardware, there are more games running 1080p 60FPS on the Wii U than there are on the Xbox One; If power was the only thing that mattered, the Xbox One would be dead in the water, but it isn't; This is very much a three-horse race.

 

[BrotherRool]

When you're boasting that you're in '2nd place' after selling your console for a year longer than your competition, you are desperate.

And that's ignoring the fact that Wii U sales got off to an okay start and have got worse as times gone on.

Oh and having a less powerful console might mean very little third party support but does a Nintendo console really need it? 3rd party support didn't pick up for the Gamecube for quite a while

The Gamecube also came in last place with abysmal sales.

 

[Hazy992]

You've so far sold more units than a console that launched almost a year after yours. Good job guys!

I'm sorry but no, as much as Mario Kart has helped, it hasn't helped anywhere near enough and I don't think Smash Bros is going to either. And those other games might attract gamers like us, but it will do fuck all for the mainstream audience.

 

[SonOfVoorhees]

Sony i think will be first and MS second. Although anything can happen over the next few years. XB1 is still being sold in only 1/3rd of the territories that PS4 has been sold in since launch. So anything can happen. Nintendo ive always seen as in their own race, they are the king of the exclusives and really the only reason to buy their console is for those. The kind of games they release are unique to their brand.

After E3 both Sony/MS have some good looking games but none that wowed me and made me want a current gen console yet. As for nintendo, not interested in their console or games. But that have shown a lot of games - something the wiiu really needed. End of the day, i think all three will sell tons of machines and will release a new machine in about 8 years. An thats good news for every one.

 

[CardinalPiggles]

If the Halo bundle and Halo 5 doesn't cause the Xbox One's sales to burst like Halo 3 did the 360, then yes I think it's quite possible that the Wii U will come in second place.

They inevitably will boost Xbone sales in a major way. It's unquestionable.

 

[Steven Bogos]

Second? With what? A few recycled games and Mario Builder (or as normal people have known it for over 20 years now - a level editor)? So people will buy an inferior platform because it has Mario Kart 8 (or among normal people known as "that same racing game released for the 8th time), and Super Smash Bros (an inferior fighter to other titles)? Really? Dont get me wrong, those games are fun, no doubt about that. But you dont buy the same movie 8 times, do you? Or the same book? You definitely dont buy the same song 8 times. So why buy the same game 8 times?!

You're absolutely right. I can't think of anyone who saw Star Wars: Episode IV and then when on to watch Star Wars: Episode V. And NONE of my friends who read Harry Potter and the Philosopher's stone read ANY of the other books in the series! Preposterous!