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gaming Wii U = The Next Sega Saturn, Why the Wii U failed.


TheMisterManGuy

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(edited)

For those who may not know, I love Video games, hell, I was practicaly raised on gaming. Of the big 3 consoles, Nintendo has always been my personal favorite, thanks to their excellent 1st party catalogue. I stuck with them for years, and I'm one of their biggest defenders on the internet.... But lately, things haven't been so peachy. This generation of gaming hasn't been very kind to Nintendo, and honestly, alot of it is their fault, thanks to the Wii U.

 

As I mentioned, I'm one of Nintendo's biggest supporters online, and will gladly rush to their side whenever I see something I feel they get unfairly called out for (though I will express criticism when they make a poor business decision), but even I'm going to admit this. The Wii U is easily my least favorite console to come out from them. Now it's by no means a bad system. Nintendo has almost never put out a bad system (Virtual Boy aside) and I doubt they'd start now. But the U is plauged with many problems that prevent it from being a success. First, let's go back to when it was first revealed. I had a bad feeling about this thing from the moment it was unveiled, I was still looking foward to it's potential, but the fact that it was called the Wii U, and the tablet controller being the central focus made people think it was just an add-on for the Wii, which it wasn't. And the "3rd party support" shown, was basically just games that were already on their way for the PS360. Even worse, Nintendo seemed to have a very lacksidasical aditude towards it, almost as if they don't really care about it. As the following year was coming around, I was hoping Nintendo would give me confidence that this thing would be a system to talk about, but unfortunately that failed to deliver that at E3 2012. They didn't show anything that told people to buy this system, and it ended up as one of their worst showings at E3.

 

Regardless of a poor reveal, lack of info, and terrible E3 '12 presentation, I was still looking foward to it's launch, since after all, this IS Nintendo, so you knew to expect quality 1st party content. Shortly after the system launched, many 3rd party publishers were been slowly abandoning the system, and expressed many fundamental problems regarding it's lackluster sales and slow CPU. And the fact that Rayman Legends, one of it's big 3rd party releases in 2013, was delayed so that Ubisoft could port it to Sony and Microsoft systems, almost 3 days before it's expected release ment things weren't looking too good for the Wii U. With a lack of games in the pipeline, Nintendo had to release a very special episode of it's popular Nintendo Direct series, to announce a slew of upcoming titles from them in an attempt to ensure gamers confidence. That was cool. The problem was that half of that lineup wouldn't be released until almost 2-4 years into the system's life. With no 3rd party support, lack of power and difficultly to develop for comparison to the PS4 and XBO, and Nintendo's struggles to adapt to HD Development (which they should of prepared for last generation), The Wii U became plauged with software droughts, at least retail wise. Seriously, Wii U owners have to wait months in order to get one game for it.

 

Thank god for the eShop. If there's one thing keeping the Wii U at least somewhat relevant amoung gamers, its the fantastic indie support it has. It seems almost every month, the system gets 2-3 indie games, and thanks to it's Unity support, that can only grow. But sadly, It's not enough to keep the system afloat. If this years E3 Digital Event is anything to go by, plus the fact that Nintendo has already announced a new system currently codenamed "NX" not even 4 years into the system's life cycle. It seems Nintendo is just giving up on the Wii U after this year.

 

The more I started thinking about the Wii U, it called to mind another failed console that, like the Wii U had potential, but was squashed by sloppy management of the parent company, the Sega Saturn. I won't go in to too much detail here, but the Saturn failed for many of the same reasons as the Wii U. Poor launch window, lack of 3rd party support, painful to develop for, plagued with software droughts, terrible marketing, and the company just giving up on the product before it could even turn 5, and was only kept alive thanks to a strong foreign library. If you want to see why the it failed in-depth, check out Project COE's video "Why the Sega Saturn failed" on YouTube.

 

I simply hope Nintendo looks at what went wrong with the Wii U, and apply what they've learned with the NX.

Edited by TheMisterManGuy
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They're gonna have cut the Wii U short sooner or later unless by some sort of impossible miracle they manage to overtake the PS4/Xbone sales.

 

That said, I still think the situation was far different from the Saturn, which followed a slew of financial failures like Sega CD, the 32x, and the fact that it launched without anyone knowing on top of a high price point.

 

That said, I'm won't mind Nintendo cutting support as long as they give it one more year(giving it at least 4 years on the market) and release Zelda U on the Wii U as planned(because if they move development to the NX I will be beyond livid)

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(edited)

The Wii U is actually a decent system but one that is not nearly as good as it could have or should have been, but is not the next Sega Saturn. Sega Saturn despite its failure was actually revolutionary system that made key innovations that still play a significant role in gaming today while the Wii U is functionally speaking like a Wii with souped out graphics, more support for alternate controllers and a gamepad. This isn't bad in and of itself but the problem is Nintendo taking forever to release any decent games and releasing the Wii U way way too soon though Nintendo is not the only company guilty of this and this dosen't annoy me nearly as much as certain other companies like Ubisoft crapping out incomplete games full of glitches and bugs that in some cases such as Assassins Creed Unity are so bad that it renders the game practically unplayable.

 

Nintendo's worst mistake though was in marketing and branding, the Wii was an attention grabbing name with an excellent price point and plenty of games that appealed to Nintendo fans as well as expanded their consumer base into the casual gaming market causing some rather unprecedented profits with Nintendo swimming in so much money that even if they pulled a screw up worse than Virtual Boy they could still get up from it like nothing happened. The reason why they named the Wii U the Wii U is obvious, they wanted to continue that success but what made it a horrible idea was the fact that it made it sound like another version of the Wii which with as many different versions that are coming out for even handheld systems is not a mistake you want to make as a gaming company.

 

Even I thought the Wii U was another version of the Wii when I first heard of it and I am a hard core gamer who pays very close attention to this stuff. Can you imagine all the parents out there that form much of Nintendo's consumer base that have not bought the Wii U because of this mistaken identity? Or even just casual gamers that went "nah, I already have a Wii what do I need another one for?" And even many of them that knew the different tend to wait until the price goes down to buy it instead of what many hard core gamers do by pre ordering the very second they possibly can.

 

This is why Nintendo, Sony and Microsoft have continued to release new games for the prior generation even a few years or so after a new console is released. It is not console sales where they make their profits as in many cases they are operating on a loss but on game sales as well as sales of downloadable and add on content. Even so though console sales still do in fact matter especially in the case of Nintendo which since the Nintendo 64 has mostly been relying on first party titles which you do need the console in question in order to buy.

Edited by Darth Bane
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(edited)

I would sell my Wii U but I'm holding onto it because of the new zelda game in the works.

I have heard some rumors that part of the reason they pushed back its release was so they could do a duel release like they did for Twilight Princess where they release one version for the old console and another for the new one. In other words that Nintendo is going to release a version for both the Wii U and the Wii U's successor which seems to the Nintendo NX. There is no confirmation one way or another yet that I am aware of but I wouldn't be surprised if that did end up happening.

Edited by Darth Bane
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The wii U won't stop after 4 years, nintendo never specified if it would succeed the wii U, it could be a portable system for all we know. Plus if you look at nintendo's release patterns you'll notice that they usually reveal a system at E3, talk a bit more about it at the year after that's E3, then release it in the Christmas shopping season of said year, so that gives the NX the likely release window of Christmas 2017, that's 5 years. And Zelda U won't be canceled, it's over half way through development, porting it to another system and then just sitting on it for a good year or two would be an incredibly dumb decision. 

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The irony is that I use my Wii U gamepad to browse tne forums 60% of the time (and right now) the internet quality is awesome! This ain't nowhere near no Saturn! B)

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I actually really want a Wii U.... Now don't get me started on the 3DS that is my favorite system out right

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The wii U won't stop after 4 years, nintendo never specified if it would succeed the wii U, it could be a portable system for all we know.

It could be, but there is this recent statement from Nintendo of America president that just made it even more likely that NX could be their next home console.

 

http://nintendoeverything.com/reggie-indicates-that-nx-is-a-home-console/

 

Granted it could still be a portable console as Reggie could be referring to something else entirely but this sounds like he is trying to give an answer while revealing as little as possible which all gaming companies have done at some point but that Nintendo is particularly well known for. With that said though even if NX released tomorrow which we know is obviously not the case, they would still as I have said before be releasing new Wii U games for a good couple of years or so due to many gamers waiting until the price goes down to buy the next new console.

I actually really want a Wii U.... Now don't get me started on the 3DS that is my favorite system out right

3DS is a good example of Nintendo doing something right, if they took more of what they are doing right with portables and applied it to their home consoles they could be drowning in even more cash than they were during the height of the Wii's popularity.

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(edited)

When ever someone mentions how doomed Nintendo I just have to remember an article that came out for the NES and how the system is doomed to fail. 

Edited by Panne
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When ever someone mentions how doomed Nintendo I just have to remember an article that came out for the NES and how the system is doomed to fail. 

At least the doom saying back then was a bit more warranted with the NES coming out not long after the gaming crash of 83, it was smart of Nintendo to market their console as a computer by calling it a Famicom with so many predicting at the time that PC's would be the kings of gaming. Nintendo just as they did back then are marketing their consoles very differently than their competitors and for the Wii it worked quite well, but not so much with the Wii U and much of that is because as I mentioned the poor naming choice. With competing consoles having multiple cross platform games and fewer first and second party games differentiation is likely to be more important than ever before. Nintendo has been criticized by some for being a tad gimmicky with certain things so they need to strike a bit of a balance with that. I personally feel they did well with that with the Wii U having multiple controller options.

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(edited)

The Wii U has not failed. Nintendo said 'they will not give up on the Wii U until their customers are satisfied'. The new Zelda and Star Fox are things to look forward to. Hyrule Warriors, Splatoon, Smash, etc are games that have came out that are more than enough to make the Wii U sell, and recently, Nintendo has been selling a lot more units than before. Nintendo also has games for the casual market such as Mario, Wii Fitt U, and Wii games work on the Wii U too. Although its name isn't the best, the 'Wii U' isn't any better than the 'Xbone' or the 'Ps4'.

 

3rd party support does exist on the Wii U, though I will admit, the games aren't stellar. However, let's face it; if you're buying a Wii U it's for Nintendo. It's not to play 3rd party games, that's for PC. The Wii had few third party games and it still won the console war. 

 

I am disappointed that people are complaining about CPU and graphics. The graphics on the Wii U are gorgeous, perhaps not as realistic as other games on Ps4/Xbone, but still gorgeous. All you have to do is look at Hyrule Warriors and Zelda Wii U to see just how good the graphics are. If you could develop for the Wii, you could develop for the Wii U. The lack of power for the Wii U isn't important; it works well and it's fun.

 

Also, the Wii U appeals to all demographics, from kids to adults. Ps4 and Xbone seem to only be attracting those who are 'adult' gamers.

Edited by Shift
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The Virtual Boy was a failure.  I was one of roughly three people who owned one; though I enjoyed mine. x3  The Wii U is a hiccup.  A marketing disaster, but a worthwhile system if you enjoy Nintendo's first party titles.  Even people who crap on the Wii U and foretell the doom of Nintendo will not-so-secretly wish for the opportunity to play a Zelda game.  Nintendo has a wealth of recognizable and beloved characters and worlds, and they make quality games.  People will complain about rehashes and their reliance on franchises as though no other gaming company does that ever.  Nintendo (who are still sitting atop a mountain of money) could very well fix a lot of their problems next gen.  Though I love my Wii U for the first-party software and accessible classics, it does feel like an awkward catch-up stage for Nintendo.

 

Just imagine if they do catch up next gen.  Put their money into powerful hardware; the likes of which that might even impress some of the graphics whores out there.  The Wii U's online (while limited) is still worlds better than the Wii's.  What if Nintendo's next console is on par with rival systems in terms of online game play?  Oh, and on top of all this, Nintendo has a ceaselessly loyal fanbase and a slew of exclusives.  Not just timed exclusives; real exclusives.

 

Nintendo will be fine provided they change what they need to change.  They've been in the business for a good long while, and their doom has been foretold (again and again and again) from the start.  You'd think the doomsayers would get tired of being wrong. :/

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