gaming How Nintendo Can "Save" the Wii U

[Guest]

Rather than make another topic about criticizing Nintendo's direction with the Wii U (which I've talked about to death at this point), I decided it might be better to make some suggestions of what they can do to keep the system alive and give it a healthy run before the NX comes out. Right now as many know, the Wii U hs just BARELY reached above 10 million sales despite having a year head start over the PS4 and Xbox One.

 

The system was on the verge of total failure until around Mario Kart 8's release. Combined with Smash 4, and Splatoon these are the games that are more or less keeping the system afloat. And while it's good they are no longer relying on one game, 3 games is hardly enough to keep the system going in the long run.

 

Now I already got into how the system isn't powerful enough and how third party support isn't there, so instead of suggesting things they CAN'T fix without releasing a whole new console here are a couple of ideas to boost sales. They won't ensure Nintendo gets a number 1 spot, and they are CERTAINLY not strategies I think they should take with the NX, but if we are talking just surviving and getting sales up for just the Wii U, these may work quite well:

 

 

1. A Revision for the Wii U - We need a model that includes a hard drive, and possibly a wiimote. Get people who didn't own a Wii onto the system. This is a switch that won't affect current owners because they can still attach an external. But the Wii U is a great platform for backwards compatibility, but that means hard drive space is needed for virtual store purchases. This will coincide with my next idea:
2. Increase the eShop. Get all the retro games from the Wii on there, and start working on native Gamecube emulation. Make the Virtual console big and full of classic titles. While people who are into new games won't care that much, this will be GREAT for your retro audience which will see the system as a perfect place to get retro games on the TV without having to invest a lot into old school hardware from eBay.
3. Start slashing prices of VC games. I know Ocarina of Time is amazing, but Nintendo... There is a 3DS version available which is superior for $30, and even $20 if you know where to look. $10 is too much for an N64 game. A lot of NES games you can get that level of gameplay on smartphones now. Bring the prices down some and I think you'll see a boost in sales. Hell I can buy an NES cart with Mario 3 on it for $1 if I know where to look. You charging $5 is a bit high.
4. Price cut. I know it's drastic, but think about it. One of the main reasons people don't buy a Wii U even though they like those Nintendo exclusives is because when they pay close to the same price as an Xbox they expect it to at LEAST be on par with the Xbox. BUT if you drop the price down to like $150-200, people will see it as "you get what you pay for." I personally would NOT mind getting a console just for exclusives if that is the price I will PAY. If I am paying a significantly reduced price, then I will be very okay with that. If you tell me it can only do first party Nintendo games, but it comes at half the price, I will gladly accept that. What I don't like is paying almost the same amount as their competitors and not getting close to the same level of options for my money.
5. Better online system. Bring us a decent messaging system, improved communication across games, and I assure you, multi-player will increase.
6. Give the old school games on your store online play. I know I would LOVE to be able to play Super Mario World with people over the internet! That alone would get you a lot of the retro audience.

 

These are just some of my ideas. What do you guys think? What are some ideas you have?

[Megas 28,146]

- Improve eShop. The eShop, especially in regards to the VC, blows in comparison the the Wii's VC. Whatever happened to the Wii rereleases in the US? Also, ditto on the better pricing

- Localize more games. There are plenty of games in Japan(or on occasion Europe), both on the Wii U and the Wii, that were never released outside(both Nintendo games and 3rd parties like Yakuza 1&2 HD and Dragon Quest X). Wouldn't hurt to try to get those over here, especially with the drought the Wii U has right now

- Price Drop. Not much to say that hasn't been said already

- More New IPs. Splatoon, if anything, has shown there is an interest in new IPs(and they have to market it right like with Splatoon, and not screw it over like they did with Wonderful 101..... )

Edited July 22, 2015 by Megas75

[Guest]

- Improve eShop. The eShop, especially in regards to the VC, blows in comparison the the Wii's VC. Whatever happened to the Wii rereleases in the US? Also, ditto on the better pricing

- Localize more games. There are plenty of games in Japan(or on occasion Europe), both on the Wii U and the Wii, that were never released outside(both Nintendo games and 3rd parties like Yakuza 1&2 HD and Dragon Quest X). Wouldn't hurt to try to get those over here, especially with the drought the Wii U has right now

- Price Drop. Not much to say that hasn't been said already

- More New IPs. Splatoon, if anything, has shown there is an interest in new IPs(and they have to market it right like with Splatoon, and not screw it over like they did with Wonderful 101..... )

Yeah they need to at the VERY least port the entire shop from the Wii over because there is no excuse. AT LEAST you can still access those shop items if you log into the Wii U's virtual Wii mode, but really they should just bring them over to the main Wii U shop. Having them on the Wii U side is better because 1. We can use the pro controller and gamepad which would work good for some games. and 2. The emulation should run smoother. The virtual Wii mode does not have access to the extra power.

 

On localizing more games I am with you 100%. The Earthbound port finally coming to the US was nice (granted a bit late as many have already played it on a ROM at this point) I want more like that! Bring games that we have never been able (unless we were dirty pirates, ARGH) to play because they were not released!

 

Wonderful 101 was so great, it's a shame they didn't really advertise it. But yeah, new IPs have been proven to work, and when Nintendo SUPPORTS those IPs after launch we get great games! Splatoon was very "meh" when it came out because it lacked a lot of content, with only a few maps and such. But Nintendo has been pumping out new weapons and maps quite nicely and that has kept the game going.

 

I would LIKE to see a Metroid Prime game with multi-player on the Wii U. I can safely say I would play it and if the multi-player was anything like Hunters was, I would have a great time so long as they continued to SERVICE IT like they didn't with Hunters. Nintendo, when you release an online game, you need to release updates to fix major bugs and balance issues.

[Megas 28,146]

Yeah they need to at the VERY least port the entire shop from the Wii over because there is no excuse. AT LEAST you can still access those shop items if you log into the Wii U's virtual Wii mode, but really they should just bring them over to the main Wii U shop. Having them on the Wii U side is better because 1. We can use the pro controller and gamepad which would work good for some games. and 2. The emulation should run smoother. The virtual Wii mode does not have access to the extra power.

 

On localizing more games I am with you 100%. The Earthbound port finally coming to the US was nice (granted a bit late as many have already played it on a ROM at this point) I want more like that! Bring games that we have never been able (unless we were dirty pirates, ARGH) to play because they were not released!

 

Wonderful 101 was so great, it's a shame they didn't really advertise it. But yeah, new IPs have been proven to work, and when Nintendo SUPPORTS those IPs after launch we get great games! Splatoon was very "meh" when it came out because it lacked a lot of content, with only a few maps and such. But Nintendo has been pumping out new weapons and maps quite nicely and that has kept the game going.

 

I would LIKE to see a Metroid Prime game with multi-player on the Wii U. I can safely say I would play it and if the multi-player was anything like Hunters was, I would have a great time so long as they continued to SERVICE IT like they didn't with Hunters. Nintendo, when you release an online game, you need to release updates to fix major bugs and balance issues.

Yeah, I'm still miffed that they haven't brought over any of the SquareSoft or Star Wars VC games yet. Also one thing I feel I need to bring up is how you still have to rebuy some VC games even if you already bought them on the Wii which I think is bullshit. Yeah they're only 50 cents or a dollar, but I like to think that if I already bought and own them, that I shouldn't have to rebuy them to play them natively on the Wii U

[Guest]

Yeah, I'm still miffed that they haven't brought over any of the SquareSoft or Star Wars VC games yet. Also one thing I feel I need to bring up is how you still have to rebuy some VC games even if you already bought them on the Wii which I think is bullshit. Yeah they're only 50 cents or a dollar, but I like to think that if I already bought and own them, that I shouldn't have to rebuy them to play them natively on the Wii U

You can transfer your Wii data to your Wii U if you still have it. But it takes it off of your Wii forever though. So it's basically you're accepting to use the Wii U for all your Wii needs from then on. I did this, and basically it made it so my Wii only gets used for Gamecube now.