Wii U Sells Less Software In UK Than Vita, Hardware Not Much Better

It's rather simple; killer apps. Nintendo's first party software is the most powerful selling point for their systems. The next Mario, Zelda and Metroid (fire Sakamoto! Rehire Retro!) games will buff the attach rate.

The days of the "console wars" are over. I've been predicting WiiU failure from day one. I did think ViTa would do a little better, but the simple fact is, in a cash strapped economy, when people are forced to choose where to "invest" their money, people want convergence technology such as Tablets, Smartphones and Phablets which allow them to RUN THEIR F'ING MOUTH all day long while asserting their dominance over the internets.

Purchasing a console is, at the beginning of a life cycle, gambling that new titles will come out for it. This bet is often quite profitable; even consoles which fail, such as the Dreamcast, end up with a remarkable and worthwhile library. Buying a Wii U now is betting that new Mario, Zelda, Metroid and other games will come out and be worthy successors to the preceding titles.

At the end of a life cycle it's more like archaeology. Digging up old titles to play them, often on the cheap*, to be able to enjoy them as they are apart from the storm of hype that surrounded major titles at release. I note that a lot of people who didn't play Bioshock (for whatever reason) until well after the hype surrounding it died tend to have a fairly low opinion of it.

*There are exceptions. Go ahead and try to snag a boxed copy of Demon's Souls.

The real problem is that Wii U is what Wii SHOULD HAVE BEEN. Wii was the only system without HD graphics. The WiiU continued on to lack any sufficient software to set itself apart. This system is not only a failure, it is going to continue to fail while people take that same money and drop it in Apple stores.

I don't know why they didn't launch the Wii U with an HD Zelda game. People would buy the console at launch for that game alone, then once people have the console they're more likely to buy games that they would never have considered if they didn't have the console.

I think people would buy the console more if it was bundled with a Mario or Pokemon game instead. Zelda is popular, but's a tiny shadow compared to Mario and Pokemon.


Also, doesn't Nintendo have a bunch of games planned for this year and the next?

A console edition, open-world, pokemon RPG would be so good I may spontaneously combust.

Sadly they aren't going to do that ever.

If you spontaneously combust, you won't be able to purchase a Wii U, so... not gonna' happen?

Console Pokemon games are not as popular as you say, they don't sell as well nor are they reviewed as well as Zelda games. A Mario game would probably be more popular, but regardless an HD Zelda at launch would have been a good thing.

Can't that be attributed to the fact that they've all been garbage? Nintendo hasn't made a serious console version of the Poke-mans yet.

Exactly, so it wouldn't sell a console.

There's a Mario game out for the wii u as we speak but it's not selling consoles

Exactly. Nintendo hasn't given anyone a reason why to be interested in buying a Wii U. If you look at the software sales, it is clear that people have plenty of money to spend on games. A new console having only 1.6% software market share is absolutely pathetic. The consumer is really letting Nintendo know how they feel about not having a killer app.

Nintendo has completely squandered their 1 year headstart. Once E3 comes around, it's going to be all over.

That's a bit too early to judge, really.

I gotta agree. What a waist of a years headstart. If they would've bundled the WiiU with a more popular series, i.e. Mario, Zelda, Pokemon, the sales would have been presumebly better. Actually, I feel the sales would be better if any af these series released alongside the hardware. There is simply nothing to entice buyers into purchasing the new hardware/software.

*Waste

grammar spammer

I don't understand why they are not ramping up the advertising. They need some killer games asap, but why not advertise the hell out of it in the meantime?

Probably because they have nothing to advertise with. ZombiU and NSMBU got quite a bit of coverage, but after that, the Wii U fell off the map. If there's nothing new to advertise, advertising simply won't work.

A cross-promotional ad for TVii could sell a few systems, but other than that, who gives a ****?

Nintendo seems to focus more on word of mouth rather than pouring millions into advertisements.

I love Nintendo but I don't quite understand where their heads are at times. They could have easily rocked the Wii U launch with a new Super Smash Bros, Zelda, or a TRUE Mario title things that people want. Or they could have launched with in 2-3 months of the console's launch. But its like they are ignorant of what could help sell consoles. Nintendo has alot of good first party support but doesn't seem to use it when its needed. I remember buying a Wii the day it came out and the ridiculous lack of releases after the system came out. Now its like the Wii U is doing the same.

I love Nintendo but I don't quite understand where their heads are at times. They could have easily rocked the Wii U launch with a new Super Smash Bros, Zelda, or a TRUE Mario title things that people want. Or they could have launched with in 2-3 months of the console's launch. But its like they are ignorant of what could help sell consoles. Nintendo has alot of good first party support but doesn't seem to use it when its needed. I remember buying a Wii the day it came out and the ridiculous lack of releases after the system came out. Now its like the Wii U is doing the same.

You know you've ****ed up somewhere when you're getting outsold by the bloody Vita, and unless Nintendo push literally all their AAA titles and start including the 5gb update BEFORE E3, the WiiU is going to fail badly.

Eh...I doubt they are in danger yet. Unlike the Vita which has no support yet, Nintendo actually announced exclusive titles that are coming out. It is only a matter of time.

But what are those titles, how many units will they push, and how many have canceled or will go mutilpatform? Exclusives won't matter when 35% of your past sales demographics are gone for good. If you can't pull the core audience and the right third party studios its not possible to succeed anymore. Who wants to play ME4 multiplayer when all their friends are on XBL?