Nintendo reports third consecutive annual loss as Wii U sales fizzle out - Polidicks

Well at least the 3DS is doing well enough I think.

[QUOTE=Xonax;44744902]They said they wouldn't give the franchises they make to anyone else, so if the company goes, the franchises go. I can't find the source, it was like a year ago but I remember them saying something like that.[/QUOTE] I'm not entirely sure it works like that. If Nintendo go bankrupt, they have to sell off their assets to pay their creditors.

I know a lot of people picking up the Wii U just for Smash, as well as Mario Kart

[QUOTE=Kegan;44744933]Nintendo will probably unveil their next console sometime next year, they really need to get away from the Wii name, and advertise the damn thing. I kinda wish they'd go back to a more traditional controller too, they really haven't done much with the gamepad so it feels like a lot of wasted potential. The problem with this though is if they go for a traditional controller, they'll have to axe Wii U backwards compatibility or find a way to make the gamepad compatible, there'd also be the problem of having to buy an expensive controller to play those games. Nintendo really put themselves in an awkward situation when it comes to the console market.[/QUOTE] There are very few, if any games that require you to use the GamePad. You could use the Pro Controller or even a Wiimote and Nunchuck as a replacement. The GamePad does have its uses in games like Legend of Zelda, however, where if you need to swap out one of your items for another, you can just drag and drop it to the button you want to assign the item to with the pad's touchscreen without having to pause the game and interrupt the flow of gameplay. Same principle if you need to look at a map to find something important, but you don't want to open up a new menu to do so. Just switch over to the map screen on the controller and you can briefly glance down at it without having to pause the game. It's actually a pretty helpful gimmick if a game uses it in the right way.

It's not really so much of a question of whether Nintendo can survive through this (they made so much bank on the Wii it isn't even funny), it's more of a question of whether or not they'll learn from this mistake next time around. I guess they thought that the innovation of the Wii would surely mean that the if the next console was innovative then it would sell just as well. Nintendo is trying to hard in some regards and not nearly hard enough in other parts. If they turn it around next generation they can easily come out of this hole.

[QUOTE=Untouch;44745019]but FZERO flopped.[/QUOTE] If you're talking about the later games like GP Legend & Climax, OK. If you're talking about GX...I haven't seen an interview where Nintendo has said "We're not going to make an F-Zero game because the last one flopped" All I've seen is Miyamoto struggling to think of a new idea for it & prefers to not outsource it (I assume thats why we have no Star Fox title for Wii U & why we got a remake) even though people want a new game...I don't see it as a good thing & it seems to be be a contridiction (For ideas) to games he made like the New Super Mario Bros series.

[QUOTE=Lordgeorge16;44745052]There are very few, if any games that require you to use the GamePad. You could use the Pro Controller or even a Wiimote and Nunchuck as a replacement. The GamePad does have its uses in games like Legend of Zelda, however, where if you need to swap out one of your items for another, you can just drag and drop it to the button you want to assign the item to with the pad's touchscreen without having to pause the game and interrupt the flow of gameplay. Same principle if you need to look at a map to find something important, but you don't want to open up a new menu to do so. Just switch over to the map screen on the controller and you can briefly glance down at it without having to pause the game. It's actually a pretty helpful gimmick if a game uses it in the right way.[/QUOTE] And while that's totally cool, that does present a challenge for other developers. Part of why no games are coming to the Wii U is because it will take way more effort then what might be considered worth it. And a lot of smaller devs just can't afford to spend so much time on that.

I honestly thought it was a handheld console like the psvita from the commercials, then I played my friend's and realized it was just a controller.

[QUOTE=Lordgeorge16;44745052]There are very few, if any games that require you to use the GamePad. You could use the Pro Controller or even a Wiimote and Nunchuck as a replacement. The GamePad does have its uses in games like Legend of Zelda, however, where if you need to swap out one of your items for another, you can just drag and drop it to the button you want to assign the item to with the pad's touchscreen without having to pause the game and interrupt the flow of gameplay. Same principle if you need to look at a map to find something important, but you don't want to open up a new menu to do so. Just switch over to the map screen on the controller and you can briefly glance down at it without having to pause the game. It's actually a pretty helpful gimmick if a game uses it in the right way.[/QUOTE] Yeah, the gamepad features in Wind Waker made the game a little more convenient. But in my whole playthrough of WWHD not once did I ever feel like the gamepad was a vital part of the gameplay, and Nintendo seems to feel the same way as hardly any of their games use it, hell Tropical Freeze had no uses for it, MK8 probably has nothing of real merit, and Sakurai already said he doesn't want the gamepad to really come into play with Smash 4.

Can't say this was unexpected, it's a good console but it's very under-represented and it's library lets it down a lot. Too many months upon months with no notable releases. In the next generation, I hope Nintendo invests a lot more in developing more high-profile games - if they contract a few extra studios and have a major release at least once every quarter, you'd have to assume it would pay off. Where's F-Zero? Where's Starfox? Earthbound? Metroid? Imagine the excitement if we got these titles within the first 2 years of launch. At this point I'm waiting in hope that the WiiU will still provide something to tide us over while they develop the next big thing which will blow us all away. I think Nintendo needs to drop the Wii brand start something new, something exciting, and something which will completely change the casual gamer's perception of Nintendo as a company.

I'm hoping those rumors of a console/handheld hybrid are true, and the "console" is essentially a dock for the unit that lets you play on your TV, but then you can detach the thing and take with you as a handheld. with a 2 hour battery life :v:

[QUOTE=Janus Vesta;44744823]Years, Nintendo make money hand over fist with the 3DS.[/QUOTE] Not to mention the original Wii sales. Nintendo is bleeding, but very slowly.

[QUOTE=Wizards Court;44744818]they deserve it, the hubris of thinking they "don't need to care about what other companies are doing", refusing to compete with sony or microsoft, creating a subpar console, refusing to fire iwata, etc... they're in this solely due to arrogance, if they go the sega way, maybe we'll one day get PC mario, pokemon, zelda games, like we're geting sonic pc games. [url]http://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2013-06-17-iwata-we-dont-care-about-what-other-companies-are-doing[/url][/QUOTE] Except that the entire reason Nintendo is good is because they refuse to compete with Sony and Microsoft. I don't want Nintendo making Call of Duty style shooters just so they can make money. That's literally the definition of selling out.

I haven't bought anything for Wii U in about 5 months. I'm waiting for Mario Kart 8, Smash Bros, and the next Zelda. Super Mario 3D World was the last game I played on Wii U that was good.

[QUOTE=l337k1ll4;44745380]Except that the entire reason Nintendo is good is because they refuse to compete with Sony and Microsoft. I don't want Nintendo making Call of Duty style shooters just so they can make money. That's literally the definition of selling out.[/QUOTE] They could always do what Sega did during the Genesis era: Get a bunch of second parties (I think that's the phrase) to pump out B-grade titles. Not necessarily mind-blowing games that bring the industry to a halt in its wake, just one solid game after another, the Genesis had a lot of really solid games because of this.

[QUOTE=Kegan;44745397]They could always do what Sega did during the Genesis era: Get a bunch of second parties (I think that's the phrase) to pump out B-grade titles. Not necessarily mind-blowing games that bring the industry to a halt in its wake, just one solid game after another, the Genesis had a lot of really solid games because of this.[/QUOTE] Nintendo has been doing this since the N64 and is still doing it.

[QUOTE=l337k1ll4;44745380]Except that the entire reason Nintendo is good is because they refuse to compete with Sony and Microsoft. I don't want Nintendo making Call of Duty style shooters just so they can make money. That's literally the definition of selling out.[/QUOTE] They've still been pumping out tons of Mario titles to sell their consoles when they've got a vast library of IPs to choose from

The Wii U is a decent console and it has a decent library now, but they released it too soon. They should have waited until they had a better starting line-up - instead they rushed to get the console out and the result is a reputation for having no games, and once that reputation sticks it's a lot of work to change it. Then bare in mind that the system sounds more like an addon to the Wii, than a whole new console - an issue which is compounded by the fact that they have made very little effort to advertise.

[QUOTE=l337k1ll4;44745415]Nintendo has been doing this since the N64 and is still doing it.[/QUOTE] Refresh my memory on those please, I don't doubt you but I can't recall any of them off the top of my head, other than Xenoblade chronicles. That was a 2nd party title right?

[QUOTE=Kegan;44745325]I'm hoping those rumors of a console/handheld hybrid are true, and the "console" is essentially a dock for the unit that lets you play on your TV, but then you can detach the thing and take with you as a handheld. with a 2 hour battery life :v:[/QUOTE] You can do that with the Wii U GamePad as well, if I recall.

[QUOTE=Kegan;44745439]Refresh my memory on those please, I don't doubt you but I can't recall any of them off the top of my head, other than Xenoblade chronicles. That was a 2nd party title right?[/QUOTE] Well there are a fuckton of them going past so I'll just mention recent ones. Metroid Prime (Other M too but that never happened) Wonderful 101 Bayo 2 when it comes out All Donkey Kong Country games Mario & Luigi Pokemon Kirby All Wario games Yoshi's New Island These are really just a handful but there are so many.

[QUOTE=Lordgeorge16;44745465]You can do that with the Wii U GamePad as well, if I recall.[/QUOTE] I think he means an actual handheld console, not off screen play.

[QUOTE=Janus Vesta;44744900]Just going to address the highlighted part because Nintendo fanboys always bring it up, not saying you are one. The Wii outsold the PS3 and the 360, however the retention rate (i.e. the number of games sold per console) was exceedingly low. The PS3 sold just under 10 games per console, the 360 sold just over 10 games per console, the Wii sold just over [b]1[/b] game per console, shipping the most consoles doesn't mean shit when no one buys games for them.[/QUOTE] Not to mention the fact Sony admitted they're usually selling consoles at a loss with hopes to profit from the game sales in the long run.

[QUOTE=maxumym;44745599]Not to mention the fact Sony admitted they're usually selling consoles at a loss with hopes to profit from the game sales in the long run.[/QUOTE] Almost every console in history since the NES has been sold at a loss. Actually selling consoles at a loss is the strategy that allowed Nintendo to become as rich as they are now.

[QUOTE=Janus Vesta;44744900]Just going to address the highlighted part because Nintendo fanboys always bring it up, not saying you are one. The Wii outsold the PS3 and the 360, however the retention rate (i.e. the number of games sold per console) was exceedingly low. The PS3 sold just under 10 games per console, the 360 sold just over 10 games per console, the Wii sold just over [b]1[/b] game per console, shipping the most consoles doesn't mean shit when no one buys games for them.[/QUOTE] I'm gonna need a source on that figure - I'm pretty sure theretention rate was a good deal higher. [editline]7th May 2014[/editline] [QUOTE=MightyLOLZOR;44745353]Not to mention the original Wii sales. Nintendo is bleeding, but very slowly.[/QUOTE] The original Wii is only selling in the low 4 (per week) figures - it has no real impact in their baseline.

[QUOTE=Kegan;44745183]Yeah, the gamepad features in Wind Waker made the game a little more convenient. But in my whole playthrough of WWHD not once did I ever feel like the gamepad was a vital part of the gameplay, and Nintendo seems to feel the same way as hardly any of their games use it, hell Tropical Freeze had no uses for it, MK8 probably has nothing of real merit, and Sakurai already said he doesn't want the gamepad to really come into play with Smash 4.[/QUOTE] It's mostly Convenience, like the bottom screen in most 3DS games. You get quick inventory management and options on the go.

[QUOTE=l337k1ll4;44745476]Well there are a fuckton of them going past so I'll just mention recent ones. Metroid Prime (Other M too but that never happened) Wonderful 101 Bayo 2 when it comes out All Donkey Kong Country games Mario & Luigi Pokemon Kirby All Wario games Yoshi's New Island These are really just a handful but there are so many.[/QUOTE] Well fuck. Thank you, didn't consider any of those because they're Nintendo IPs. aren't the paper mario games second party as well?

[QUOTE=Kegan;44745702]Well fuck. Thank you, didn't consider any of those because they're Nintendo IPs. aren't the paper mario games second party as well?[/QUOTE] I'm not sure off hand but I'd imagine so.

They really aren't doing enough with the Wii-U, there's about three games to look forward to with it and they aren't exactly helping themselves with the horrible almost non existent marketing campaigns I'm really glad all the bullshit about them becoming mobile developers disappeared however, that was dumb.

[QUOTE=GoDong-DK;44745637]I'm gonna need a source on that figure - I'm pretty sure theretention rate was a good deal higher.[/QUOTE] If [url=http://www.vgchartz.com/analysis/platform_totals/Tie-Ratio/Global/]these statistics[/url] are to be believed it was lower than basically every console of the generation and the generation before it it but it still wasn't that far below say the 360 (11 to 9, roughly)