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[Freeman]

Game sales are definitely front loaded. But at the end of May at Amazon US, Mario Kart was the 5th best selling game of the year. Since then it has continued to sell in great enough numbers to become the #1 selling game. No idea how that translates into console sales though since Amazon apparently refuses to stock Nintendo hardware.

Looking at Amazon rankings now I see MK8 is right above Titanfall in the 2014 chart. I believe MK8 will have a better effect than Titanfall but it doesn't change the WiiU situation.

Everyone already expected that MK, Smash, Mario, Zelda and even Metroid would show up on the WiiU at some point as they did on the GC, that is not enough.

WiiU is simply not competitive without third-party, as 2015 will prove.

 

[Version 3.0]

Not sure how Smash does much for Wii U when it's releasing on 3DS first. Can't imagine there are many Wii U owners who don't also own the portable.

They may as well find out now whether it's a good idea to have the same games on home and portable consoles, since apparently that's the plan in the future. It's pretty dumb to launch the Wii U one later, though.

 

[Kurtofan]

Gamepad is more innovative than PS4 and Xbone, I'm not sure how it's controversial.

 

[Wyndstryker]

We'll see next year. Too early to call. Technically though anything can be on the tipping point if given the right circumstances.

 

[Kelsey]

Looking at Amazon rankings now I see MK8 is right above Titanfall in the 2014 chart. I believe MK8 will have a better effect than Titanfall but it doesn't change the WiiU situation.

Everyone already expected that MK, Smash, Mario, Zelda and even Metroid would show up on the WiiU at some point as they did on the GC, that is not enough.

WiiU is simply not competitive without third-party, as 2015 will prove.

It never had a chance to be competitive without third party support, but I don't think that's what Scott is implying. He's merely stating it will be a success for Nintendo. I'm guessing their bar is set pretty low.

 

[darkjedi187]

How about being able to use the gamepad to control Wii games? Tried playing Xenoblade on the gamepad, it looks and sounds great but would be amazing if I didn't need to use a seperate controller.

 

[Freeman]

Gamepad is more innovative than PS4 and Xbone, I'm not sure how it's controversial.

It also surprises me that its controversial, since not only it isn't more innovative but also not even Nintendo could make a compelling example to help the GamePad.

It never had a chance to be competitive without third party support, but I don't think that's what Scott is implying. He's merely stating it will be a success for Nintendo. I'm guessing their bar is set pretty low.

Ok, if their expectations are GC levels of success I agree.

 

[Psycho_Mantis]

10/10 PR

 

[Wynnebeck]

Gamepad is more innovative than PS4 and Xbone, I'm not sure how it's controversial.

Using a gyroscopic tablet is innovative? More like the next step from Wii's motion controls. That was innovative.

 

[evilromero]

Dream on, we have weekly numbers from Japan and we can clearly see the extend of MK8 effect on WiiU, its small temporary bump. Game sales are front loaded, June will probably be much better than a regular month for the WiiU but nothing that will change its situation.

Japan is one thing. The console market just sucks in general. But I do think MK8 will be a very strong title in June. It's still the #1 selling game on Amazon since it's release. It'll be interesting to see where it peaks.

 

[Aquamarine]

It never had a chance to be competitive without third party support, but I don't think that's what Scott is implying. He's merely stating it will be a success for Nintendo. I'm guessing their bar is set pretty low.

Ok, if their expectations are GC levels of success I agree.

Iwata has said some pretty nasty things about the GameCube level of sales:



"I was lucky everything worked so quickly. For the longest time I wasn't sure what would happen first: that we'd see success with the new console [the Wii], or that I'd be fired [because of the failure of the GameCube]."

- Iwata, 2008


"I do not intend to declare how many Wii we will be selling today, but Wii will be a failure if it cannot sell far more than GameCube did. In fact, we shouldn't continue this business if our only target is to outsell GameCube. Naturally, we are making efforts so that Wii will show a far greater result than GameCube."

- Iwata, 2006


"It [the Wii] would be a complete failure if we didn't sell more units than the Nintendo GameCube."

- Iwata, 2005



I can only imagine the Iwata's internal barometer for "success" is set much higher than that.

 

[sonicmj1]

 

[Palette Swap]

That read like the South Park episode where Randy buys the local Blockbuster.

 

[Huff]

Hyrule warriors? Bayonetta 1&2? Sonic boom? Smash?

Put those games in context with my comment. The first three are not going to take advantage of a slow year by ms and Sony. I doubt smash makes it out this year

 

[SporeCrawler]

Put those games in context with my comment. The first three are not going to take advantage of a slow year by ms and Sony. I doubt smash makes it out this year

nintendo needs smash this year. its a big part of their amiibo launch. also smash was ready enough to have a tournament at e3.

 

[Schnozberry]

I would assume success for Nintendo means that Wii U becomes a profitable business that adds to their bottom line. Outselling Sony or Microsoft may happen over short time periods coinciding with big releases, but not long term.

 

[JoeM86]

Put those games in context with my comment. The first three are not going to take advantage of a slow year by ms and Sony. I doubt smash makes it out this year

With what logic do you come to that conclusion? Smash will be this year, you can guarantee it.

 

[Kelsey]

Iwata said some pretty nasty things about the GameCube level of sales:



"I was lucky everything worked so quickly. For the longest time I wasn't sure what would happen first: that we'd see success with the new console [the Wii], or that I'd be fired [because of the failure of the GameCube]."

- Iwata, 2008


"I do not intend to declare how many Wii we will be selling today, but Wii will be a failure if it cannot sell far more than GameCube did. In fact, we shouldn't continue this business if our only target is to outsell GameCube. Naturally, we are making efforts so that Wii will show a far greater result than GameCube."

- Iwata, 2006


"It [the Wii] would be a complete failure if we didn't sell more units than the Nintendo GameCube."

- Iwata, 2005



I can only imagine the Iwata's internal barometer for "success" is set much higher than that.

Haha oh boy. Nintendo is going to struggle to reach Gamecube's level of "success" with the Wii U. Either that or Iwata is going to have to walk back some of those statements.

 

[Michael Armbrust]

Now is the best chance it'll ever have.

I hope he's right.

 

[MrNyarlathotep]

Dream on, we have weekly numbers from Japan and we can clearly see the extend of MK8 effect on WiiU, its small temporary bump. Game sales are front loaded

Yes, nintendo games in general and Mario Kart in particular are known for their front loaded sales.

 

[OnPoint]

They caught my eye with the upcoming slate. I'll own one probably before Xmas. But I honestly believe it's all for naught without an aggressive price cut for the general populace.

 

[JetSetRadio]

Should have made such statements before we knew MK8 is only able to move a pathetic amount of hardware lol.

Not even going to sell 3 million consoles instead of the 3.6 forecast.

 

[slit]

Well if that happens, that will make a lot of people around here sad and angry.

 

[MDX]

And that's why you have low sales numbers.

prove it.

 

[Wynnebeck]

I would assume success for Nintendo means that Wii U becomes a profitable business that adds to their bottom line. Outselling Sony or Microsoft may happen over short time periods coinciding with big releases, but not long term.

Depends. Many of these shareholders remember when Nintendo was on top of the world AND making profit. It's not a stretch to believe pressure is on Iwata to make the Wii U into a legit contender with PS4 and Xbone.

 

[Mariolee]

You are already wrong.

Edit: Counting Virtual Boy as a console here.

I'm pretty sure it's designated as a handheld.

 

[TangerineCloud]

Gamepad is more innovative than PS4 and Xbone, I'm not sure how it's controversial.

Except that's not what he said, now is it?

 

[Freeman]

You drone on and on about how doomed Nintendo is constantly, but refuse to actually think logically about what you're posting. Japan is a region that is seeing a massive decline in console gaming. You can't use that as an example for the rest of the world.

So sales in Japan are more front loaded? See you next month.

Yes, nintendo games in general and Mario Kart in particular are known for their front loaded sales.

That is clearly not what I said, I said expecting MK8 to change the Wii U's situation just because NPD just included 2 days, is pure wishful thinking. Knowing the first 2 days gives a good base for predicting how well it will do.

 

[Jinfash]

Iwata has said some pretty nasty things about the GameCube level of sales:



"I was lucky everything worked so quickly. For the longest time I wasn't sure what would happen first: that we'd see success with the new console [the Wii], or that I'd be fired [because of the failure of the GameCube]."

- Iwata, 2008


"I do not intend to declare how many Wii we will be selling today, but Wii will be a failure if it cannot sell far more than GameCube did. In fact, we shouldn't continue this business if our only target is to outsell GameCube. Naturally, we are making efforts so that Wii will show a far greater result than GameCube."

- Iwata, 2006


"It [the Wii] would be a complete failure if we didn't sell more units than the Nintendo GameCube."

- Iwata, 2005



I can only imagine the Iwata's internal barometer for "success" is set much higher than that.

So going by these quotes, Iwata believes Nintendo shouldn't be in this business and/or keep him around if they can't even best GC numbers. Keeping in mind the thinning margins and sharply rising dev costs compared to their last console launch.

 

[Freeman]

So going by these quotes, Iwata believes Nintendo shouldn't be in this business and/or keep him around if they can't even best GC numbers. Keeping in mind the thinning margins and sharply rising dev costs.

He would be correct if he still believes what he said.

 

[w00zey]

If they could only release huge titles every 3 months to continue their sales trend.

 

[Josh5890]

Nintendo created a lot of buzz for the Wii-U last week. If they can use that momentum wisely in 2015 then the Wii-U should be in decent shape at least.

 

[Empyrean Heaven]

Tipping point towards successful? Hopefully. Cut the price another $50 for the holiday and throw in Smash and you've got 5-10 million sales right there.

Successful like the Wii? Probably not. Nintendo's looking at another third place finish this generation, but I think they're okay with that after a disastrous start.

 

[Discomurf]

Curious, what 'must have' games are releasing on the Wii U in the next few months?

 

[outunderthestars]

Good to hear.

 

[Freeman]

Nintendo created a lot of buzz for the Wii-U last week. If they can use that momentum wisely in 2015 then the Wii-U should be in decent shape at least.

A lot of buzz mostly targeted at Nintendo's current user base. Who else would be watching Nintendo Treehouse?

Outside their bubble most people are still oblivious to what a WiiU is.

 

[Taker666]

They really needed a big(ish) title for July or August to keep things ticking along. Even something like Mario Sunshine HD would likely have done. They really should have rushed it out ala Wind Waker HD.

Still ...I can see Wii U doing better than Xbox One in the vast majority of regions over the summer (although not the US/UK)....but PS4 will still dominate both.

 

[tokkun]

It's low latency and how it integrates with the OS is unique too. Try using one.

How is that innovation? If better graphics doesn't count as innovative, then why does lower latency?

 

[Keyouta]

Too bad it doesn't look like MK8 affected console sales very much in Japan, Europe, and NA. It's also, I think, hard to call it a tipping point when MK8 and SSB4 are releasing 6/7 months apart from each other.

Of course, I hope it does better, they had a great E3 and I like the console a lot.

 

[RobFox64tm]

I'm pretty sure it's designated as a handheld.

You ever play one? That shit sure as hell wasn't portable by any measure. That and it had it's own separate controller. If anything it's a mix of the two, but I still lean towards it being on the console side of the spectrum.

The point being, of course, that compared to the Virtual Boy (no matter how you chose to define it), the Wii U isn't the colossal failure some like to think that it is. It likely won't sell even GCN numbers, but I'd hardly put it in the same category as the Virtual Boy, Atari Jaguar, Sega Saturn, 3DO, etc. Those are the consoles I think of when I hear the term "failed" being thrown around.

Of course, had Nintendo not announced so much at this years E3 for the console, I might have lumped it up with those systems, admittedly.

 

[Josh5890]

A lot of buzz mostly targeted at Nintendo's current user base. Who else would be watching Nintendo Treehouse?

Outside their bubble most people are still oblivious to what a WiiU is.

The almost universal consensus with the gaming media was that Nintendo won E3. There were alot of "hardcore" gamers that enjoyed what Nintendo had to show. The casuals that only bought Wii Sports and Fit won't care for the Wii-U but gamers are taking note that a variety of games are on the way.

 

[The Silver]

You'll never convince me that all of Japan just suddenly decided to stop playing console games. Their refusal to embrace the 360, Wii U, and PS4 just tells me that they're not willing to buy hardware for the sake of buying hardware. Once the PS4 starts getting big games that appeal to the Japanese market, I have no doubt they'll buy a PS4. Until that happens, I applaud them for raising their collective middle finger to Sony.

The PS2 had jack shit and Japan went crazy for it at launch.

please man, they aren't some magical group of consumers who know better than everyone else, the market changed, it happens.

 

[V_Arnold]

How is that innovation? If better graphics doesn't count as innovative, then why does lower latency?

Because it directly affects gameplay, that is why?

 

[SporeCrawler]

You'll never convince me that all of Japan just suddenly decided to stop playing console games. Their refusal to embrace the 360, Wii U, and PS4 just tells me that they're not willing to buy hardware for the sake of buying hardware. Once the PS4 starts getting big games that appeal to the Japanese market, I have no doubt they'll buy a PS4. Until that happens, I applaud them for raising their collective middle finger to Sony.

which games would that be. FFXV? KH III? 2015 is questionable at this point. MGS V? Not as big in japan as in other regions.

 

[ironcreed]

I know it really started making me turn my head just over a month ago and I had to buy one. Hell, a year and a half is just getting a console cycle going and that is where the Wii U is now. It has slowly built up a solid library, it's cheaper, features backwards compatibility, no subscriptions for online and the software is only looking stronger going forward.

 

[LegendofLex]

Sorry, Nintendo, but this year is hardly going to be a tipping point for anything. It'll almost certainly be better than last year, but that's not really saying much.

Next year ain't looking too good, either. Even if you nail that Zelda game, even at a first glance it's still way too far from the traditional fantasy hero quest feel that's been neglected for some time. (Environments look nice, but I'm talking more about the cohesive visual identity.)

 

[Spieler Eins]

Using a gyroscopic tablet is innovative? More like the next step from Wii's motion controls. That was innovative.

More like two steps backwards from both the Wiimote and DS too.

 

[victreeb3l]

I had my first Wii U Gamepad moment the other day. My brother was watching some TV show and I really wanted to play some MK8. So I just played on the Gamepad. I thought it was pretty awesome as I could do whatever I did on the TV on the Gamepad. It was seamless and worked perfectly. Just being able to game when and where you want is pretty awesome. I wish it had an HD screen though.

I think Nintendo will move a lot more units when Smash comes out.

 

[darkstar0155]

I had my first Wii U Gamepad moment the other day. My brother was watching some TV show and I really wanted to play some MK8. So I just played on the Gamepad. I thought it was pretty awesome as I could do whatever I did on the TV on the Gamepad. It was seamless and worked perfectly. Just being able to game when and where you want is pretty awesome. I wish it had an HD screen though.

I think Nintendo will move a lot more units when Smash comes out.

honestly, its the best internet browser on a tv ive ever used, and is great to watch youtuve vids with

 

[vagabondarts]

Moffitt has done a terrible job in his time as VP of marketing so far. Hopefully he's right, though.

Wow, rough time to be in that position.

Hope they turn things around with the system, but expecting similar results as 3DS is really naive.