Pachter: Nintendo "Made A Mistake... They Probably Can't Recover From"

I don't know. Was the WiiU supposed to be some huge breakthrough, genre defining thing, for Nintendo? I never thought it was supposed to be there big hitter. Unless they sunk huge resources and won't have anything to bring to the next console wars, I bet they will be fine.

Nintendo has thrown out more systems than anyone. I'm sure they have a backup in the pipe.

Yeah Nintendo has enough revenue from the past 30 years to help them get by for a while. Patcher is not right in that regard. I am curious if he can elaborate on what the problem is. Does Nintendo have to be more unique than the Wii was? Does it have to do different things than the other consoles? Aren't those also hypocritical statements in the long run?

Yes, very hypocritical. We are likely to see XBOX and PS emulate the tablet based controller in some shape or form. I enjoy the hardware for Wii U and am looking forward to future releases.

I don't get it. First, Patcher (or at least someone else) blasted Nintendo for not making an HD console and now that it has it's.....not different enough from the Xbox or Playstation? I really don't get it. The Wii was criticized for being too gimmicky and now according to Patcher, the Wii-U is not gimmicky enough.



I think Nintendo is right by doing whatever the hell it wants. Who has the energy trying to please the most stingiest people on the planet?

It needs games.

Kind of a shame that Rayman Legends got pushed back to September. And became multi-console, which probably will hurt the Wii U more than the half-year-plus delay.

I think we need to wait and see if it gets better before we call it a failure...

And... IMO... Smartphone & tablet gaming is no match for nintendo handheld systems!
Any real gamer will always gravitate toward the gaming system, and smartphones and tablets don't have new releases for all the classic franchises from our childhoods...
My gf just got a 3ds for christmas and the time i've spent on it i have really enjoyed...
It's a good system...

If nintendo ever goes down it will be a sad day for gaming...
And thats coming from a sega fan...
By the way im still upset sega consoles are gone! I f'n loved GENESIS & DREAMCAST!!!

"Hi, I'm Andy Pachter, and I'm the Jack Thompson of the games analyst world. I just don't know how to use the standard filter that my brain came with, so I just spout out **** that I probably shouldn't say casually before I do a little research into it." - Andy Pachter, probably

Holy ****, is there a delete button? I meant Michael. I guess I'm the Michael Pachter of the GR forums now.

Oh, come now, there's a difference between accidental, minor factual errors and massive logic errors that fuel your entire argument.

Make the pie higher!

In Mr. Pachter's defense he's an analyst. He makes analyses and tries to predict. His analyses are often off-base and his predictions are often wrong but so are anyone else who tries to wield the crystal ball. Predictive work is inherently flawed at all times. The best models describing the most mundane phenomena still have confidence ranges.

The point where I lose sympathy is the heavy-handed authoritative voice he uses to pronounce what his (defective) models yield. If he was generally of a humble disposition it would be very hard to justify ire against him.

I just think he casually drops bombs. He's obviously a knowledgeable, well-respected individual in his field, but to casually say in a conversation that Nintendo is going to fail makes me think he's trying to incite an argument for no other reason than that he can.

That's a reasonable assessment. I wonder if it's not a work. A sort of performance art. By saying things others find notable, interesting, or just plain disagreeable he keeps his profile up and by keeping his profile up he stays in. And all the while he's singing "We're in the money! Come on honey!" to himself...

Though I'd still say the Wii U had a weak launch, we're only a few months out from the launch.

I was wondering when he was gonna chime in with more "Nintendo is doomed" news. But seriously this launch seems to be the 3DS all over again, in six to nine months the software will be rolling, and it will pick up for the Wii U. I still believe this console is going to be a major contender to the next offerings from Microsoft and Sony. I t will have the cheapest cost of entry like the Wii before it, but the games will be even better. The "hardcore crowd" have been to quick to write the Wii U off just yet IMO.

I don't often agree with Pachter, but I think he's right for this one. What do you think will happen next year with much more powerful hardware available? The WiiU won't be able to run PS4/Nextbox games and will have to rely almost solely on first-party games, just like the Wii did. Problem is, the WiiU isn't nearly as innovative as the Wii, and will probably become the third wheel of the gaming industry.

Time to go play lotto... I also kinda agree with him.

As far as it being irrecoverable damage, that remains to be seen, but I do think it will hurt the the big N more than we think.

Many of you guys are thinking "it'll bounce back like the wii", but unlike the wii the U is actually selling at a loss, and it also doesn't have the "non-gamer appeal" the wii had. Given the direction the game industry is going, who knows what Nintendo will do to assuage the loss caused by this.

Nintendo is pulling the same crap they did with the Wii. Let's release it and then piss owners off by having a drought of releases. I don't understand why they keep doing this. The faithful can only stand so much until they abandon ship and go elsewhere. Nintendo actually had a legitimate shot with the Wii U and once again due to whatever it is (pure stupidity) or (not enough care) has dropped the ball. Nintendo wake up here and realize that making the same mistake twice will nit bode well for you.

Well, I'd say of course the WiiU launch could never be as exciting as the Wii launch. I mean, just remember way back in 2004 or so! That was before we experienced motion-control gaming! It was a new and exciting thing, and how could we predict that it wasn't really all that great? Especially considering the technical limitations of the original Wii remote.

So yeah, HD gaming and motion controls are fireworks that have already blown, so I'm thinking the next gen will simply have to be an evolutionary update.

That's what I have been thinking. I have thought that the next jump from PS3/360 to PS4/720 won't be as big as the jump from PS2/XB to PS3/360. What I think caused such a big step forward was the introduction of HD graphics to the consoles, having games with much more detail than what was on the older gen. This next jump will just feel like a "evolution" like sadineyes said. It won't have as much impact as it has had before. I mean looking at the Unreal 4, The Fox Engine, and whatever the crap the one Square was working on they are a jump yes but not such a massive jump from what this current gen is capable of. But to be honest, only time will tell. Hopefully we will see some glimpses of the next gen here soon. Hopefully Sony's big announcement tomorrow will be the PS4 and maybe show what it is capable of.

I don't think this will bankrupt Nintendo or anything, but I do think the Wii U needs more games and more use of the gamepad. While I am intrigued by the tablet controller, I don't think it is a game changer.

If anything, abysmal sales will lead to a price cut. Nintendo has to sell those units somehow.

They need to fully utilize this tablet controller then and help all who make games for them develop games that use it efficiently. You made it, now own it damnit.

this pachter must be pulling storys out of his ass 3DS is doing real well, just seen 2 bundled 3ds get bought from my local gamestop today. Smart phones and tablets only sell bc it's what everyone wants and when the die out then what useless toys

Its not that Nintendo Finally made a HD Console, its that they made it way to late in the game, sure the tablet has neat concepts, but the Sure the Wii sold in Fairly Massive Numbers, but a lot of people also realized that other then first party content the system was just like the NES, Few Gems and LOTS of garbage. and by the last years of the wii Many of them purchased PS3, and Xbox by now. The Wii you is not a step forward by any means, as a console built to compete with the generation that is about to be replaced, i have no idea what Nintendo was thinking. After the PS4 announcement, its 16 times the power of the PS3, we can then assume the new Xbox will be at least 12-16 times the power of the old Xbox. That means the new consoles that are coming out within prb 8-10 months will be 12-16 times more powerful then NIntendo's Newest Entry. Not to mention its a system with ports of current gen games being sold at higher prices, that in most cases are worse. R.I.P Nintendo.