With the Wii U launching this holiday season, and only a few months leading up to it for news to be revealed, there are some huge flaws already visible in Nintendo’s marketing strategy. We still don’t know the price, there is very little consumer attention outside of gaming circles, and the console does not live up to ‘next-gen’ expectations. The Wii U only has two things to rely on—its loyal fanbase, and the hope that its dual-screen gimmick will be as successful for consoles as it was for the Nintendo DS. All of these point to one sad fact: the Wii U probably won’t make it.
To begin with, everyone has always expected Nintendo to publish games for children. While I do enjoy my own sessions of Pokémon and Legend of Zelda, we have to be honest: those games were designed with kids in mind. This isn’t detrimental, and it does show that Nintendo has one steady audience to cater to, but it does mean something for its next console: it has to be kid-proof. One of my biggest gaming regrets involves my old, original Nintendo DS. I handed it to my three-year-old nephew, thinking it would be alright as long as I watched—and he still found a way to scratch the screen. I can only imagine handing the Wii U’s controller to a kid and seeing how fast that expensive hardware breaks. Mike Read, a Crytek producer, also has this opinion: and even goes as far as saying that the controller is a novelty at this point.
Well, that’s all good and well, perhaps it wasn’t made for kids. Nintendo is attempting to move away from a younger audience and focus more on the hardcore crowd—which is evident in the classic controller that the Wii U will have as a peripheral. But even with an older crowd in mind, two screens may still be a terrible design choice. Anyone who’s tried to read or write while watching TV knows that it’s difficult to split your attention between two things, unless one of them is less pressing. Making sure there is a careful balance of each screen and alerting gamers when to look down at the controller is all up to the developer’s talent—but surely Nintendo could have found a better way to incorporate touch controls than a large screen in the middle of a bulky controller.
Even taking all of this into account, the console itself has very bad specs compared to current consoles—which means it will be quickly outclassed by Sony and Microsoft’s next entries. While it is a huge leap up from the Wii’s capabilities, it’s still a step behind its competitors. Its mysterious price also raises some flags: exactly how expensive does it have to be for Crytek to call it a novelty, and Nintendo to keep it a secret for so long? If it was a competitive price, wouldn’t they be eager to reveal it? With components that cost roughly $180, it has a huge ‘reasonable’ price range—but anything over $250 might offset sales, especially with two new handhelds on the market that have an arguably larger game library.
Ultimately, Nintendo has pulled off this kind of trick before, and turned a gimmick into something which attracted casual gamers to the scene and popularized gaming as a hobby. The company has been around a long time and probably has a few more tricks up their sleeve before holiday season launch—but in the case that they don’t, or the information that they reveal is disappointing, I can only see the Wii U on the shelf of its hardcore fanbase. And after the 3DS price drop just a few months after release, even that is up in the air.
Compare the specs. Check your sources. Quit your speculative sensationalism, and quit journalism.
What to you expect from a woman?
she don’t know about specs!!!
this article is ridiculous no fact
The Wii U has a good chance of success. Anyone who tried the gamepad says its comfortable. It has a solid launch lineup. Its at least twice as powerfull as a 360. The E shop is quickly getting better and better and will no doubt we evolved further on the Wii U. And also Nintendo makes games for all ages, not just kids.
Please elaborate on these specs you are damned sure it is using. Even going off last years rumored dev kits, they were substantially better than the 5-6 year old hardware being used by Sony and Microsoft respectively. Nintendo would have to go pretty far out of their way to use dated technology just to achieve equal or lesser performance then the current gen stuff. This is a video based on the rumored dev kit specs floating around last year http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OcnsG11MRE8.
Also, your part about Zelda being “designed” for kids really rubs me the wrong way. Just because something is appropriate for all ages, does not mean it is designed for a younger age group specifically in mind.
You might have a point as far as the looking between two screens but it all depends on how its utilized. Something like a map display on the Gamepad I can’t imagine being too large of a distraction to glance, unless you’re right in the middle of some intense action. Touchscreen options would be the same way, and eventually muscle memory would eliminate the need to look down eventually. I think before you knock the controls you need to actually use the controller. From both E3’s to every Wii U event in major cities going on lately, I can’t recall any comments saying the controller is bulky and no comfortable. You are guessing at best, and definitely taking a negative approach to it, most likely because you probably don’t like the idea of a non traditional controller, which they give you an option for.
I really think its a bit too premature for the doom and gloom for Nintendo’s future console. They are in an excellent position atm, given they have at least 2 years head start over the next two consoles, and they are embracing an online network, and coming into the HD scene. Add on to that, the seemingly strong desire to get 3rd party support and I don’t see how you think they will crash and burn, despite possibly not getting quite as many sales as the Wii did, but time will tell.
Your article is bad and you should feel bad. It’s hilarious how some Microsoft, Sony fanboys obviously feel so threatened by almighty Nintendo that they go out of their way to write articles full of completely false information. Claiming Nintendos new console is weaker than current hardware is laughable, so many reputable sources have confirmed the opposite. Immediately regarding a controller with a vast array of new features as a gimmick lol. Oh you don’t like Nintendos games because they’re childish and colorful, remind me again about how hardcore you are.
“Anyone who’s tried to read or write while watching TV knows that it’s difficult to split your attention between two things, unless one of them is less pressing.”
this is problem only in case of some mental disorder, or low to average IQ otherwise its absolutely irrelevant.
This is the worst piece of garbage journalism I have ever read concerning video games, and I’m not even a nintendo fanboy! The wii u’s specs are at least 50percent more powerful than the current generation and that’s with the wii u pad streaming turned on! Without power being diverted to the pad, even crytek stated that they had Crysis 3 up and running in true 1080p. If you are asking the question why the current batch of wii u games don’t look much better than ps3 and xbox360, then cast your mind back to when the ps3 was first released and developers were more used to the 360s kit, hence alot of graphic/framerate issues with ps3 ports. Only now are we seeing some substantially better graphics on ps3 over the xbox. Do some fucking research. You might also want to take a look at the data on 3ds sales throughout japan and N.America since the price drop.
what Nintendo pioneered:
rumble pack for N64
(every console after has it standard)
analogue control N64 (non-joystick)
(every console after has analogue sticks standard)
L and R buttons on top. SNES
( all controllers have L/R buttons)
Wavebird wireless controller Gamecube
(ps2/xbox still were corded, standard for all consoles now)
touchscreen DS in 2000
(iPod was still using the scroll wheel then, windows 8 will support touchscreen and Vita has 2.)
saying Nintendo does tricks/gimmicks would make sense if no one followed/copied them. even the motion control “trick” others still followed.
at least you should admit that there isn’t enough info to make an accurate prediction.
and who knows maybe integrating a touchscreen will be the future in gaming
spec? what makes you think the specs aren’t better than current gen?
LOL This is garbage. What a waste of time. Here’s to hoping she never gets a chance to play the Wii U.
I can’t help but feel that you are playing devils advocate here. The “problems” you raise are somewhat exaggerated.
Nintendo’s own content is popular with all ages of gamers, as others have pointed out. I’m a fan of first person shooters and love the Metroid 3D series. On the Wii this is without doubt the finest control scheme for an FPS ever devised, but I can easily wile away hours with Link. These exclusives along with a lot of cross-platform games will provide enough of a market to bring back Nintendo’s profits.
You are right that it would not be smart to give the gamepad to very young children, but the Wii U happily uses a wide variety of controllers, more than any other console. Including the Wiimote with Pikmin 3, for instance.
As for two screens being a problem, well we are used to pausing games to access maps and such, so that might take a little time to adjust to. The concept has been proven with the DS already. If you drive you use a mirror, hopefully, and perhaps a sat-nav. Such switching of attention is not unnatural, human beings are very adept at doing this.
On the whole, I believe the Wii u will be successful, probably not anywhere near so as the Wii, but that was a once in a lifetime product.