Topic: Does the Kinect-less Xbox One mean anything for the Wii U?

I don't think it would cut the price by all that all much. Besides Nintendo has a "too kiddie" or Mario rehash issue more than the GamePad is the problem issue.

You make some good points, but I don't think the gamepad serves as temptation, well, any temptation that actually works for the poss consumer base, if anything, it's a turn off for some. I think most people are a lot more attracted to playing Nintendo games in HD over playing Nintendo games with a gamepad, you know?

No. The Kinect-less Xbox One is mostly competing with the Playstation 4.

What I'm confused about, is when are people going to stop calling everything a gimmick?

Motion controls are a thing. Deal with it.
Second screen gaming is a thing. Deal with it.
Camera controllers are a thing. Deal with it.

Why the hell would we just cut all that away? At some point, you have to accept that these are things that the industry is providing us. All I ever read is how stupid everything is, but it's a big part of how things are now.

Unfortunately you're right, I see the same ideas over and over, and they're not even good ideas, they're very very bad ideas which I can not see how someone would think could help Nintendo or the Wii U, which leads me to the conclusion that not only do some people have zero idea about how Nintendo operates as a company, but that they will never be satisfied until Nintendo consoles are the same as S&M (hehe) consoles, games are just boring yearly editions of the same 3rd party formulas, and every system is just a generic gaming PC.

It's almost as if their is a conspiracy to sabotage and eliminate Nintendo because they refuse to do what everyone else is doing (adjusts tinfoil).

Throwing around the word gimmick is a way for people to invalidate innovation, apparently we've reached a point where new ideas are just gimmicks and instead we should just be content to enjoy the stability found in repeating the same tired formulas that were old and boring already years ago.

Price was the Xbox One's problem. That, and some bias against them due to decisions they made with the previous generation (many of which they also fixed, like not having Netflix, Hulu, etc. behind a paywall anymore).

Price is not the Wii U's only problem. It most certainly is one of them (mainly because the Wii U is only a games machine; the PS4 and XB1 are quite capable at multimedia), but the Wii U's problems are quite numerous. 3rd party support is quite barren, meaning that any gaps in the release schedule will have a hard time being filled. Nintendo is filling those gaps, which means that there are some crazy long droughts; the last major game to come to the Wii U was DK, which was nearly 3 months ago. In addition, Nintendo has by far the weakest online structure and, as a result, the least amount of people playing online. This is a problem when part of what sells consoles is friends telling other friends to buy a console so they can play online together. Then there's the problem that it is weaker hardware-wise, meaning that even if it had 3rd party support, few people would feel inclined to purchase it based solely on 3rd party support, since they'd want to experience games in their best form. Also, it doesn't play DVDs/BluRays, or have an on-demand video service.

If just one of these problems was the problem with the Wii U, then the system may be able to come through. The problem with the Wii U, though, is that it has lots of problems. When all of them are combined, the system is in quite a pickle. It would take a game like Wii Sports to make the Wii U a success at this point; it would have to resonate with consumers at the same level.

I don't think Nintendo is full of idiots; it's just risky with its decisions. Nintendo took a risk with the Wii, and it turned into a massive success. It took a risk with the Wii U, and it just didn't work out in the same way. Nintendo knows that the only thing that can keep the system alive at this point is games, and dropping the gamepad won't really solve that problem.

I do think, however, that Microsoft's decision will have some sort of impact on Nintendo's future console; what will happen is Nintendo will make something safe (like the PS4 and XB1) or a hybrid portable home console. Nintendo will take its risks in its Quality of Life thingamajig.

@moomoo
The online isn't even that bad. You can play online with your friends. It's just a matter of voice chat outside of the game, otherwise it's the same. I don't know where you heard that Wii U lacks on-demand video services, but it has Netflix and Hulu Plus. Even 3DS has those services.

Wii U has a game like Wii Sports. It's called Wii Sport Club.

The price isn't expensive, because it's cheaper, and 3rd parties can twiddle their thumbs all they want, but the hardware costs what it costs, and that's all there is to it.

Second screen gaming isn't a risk, because we already have examples of how it sells, like the DS. Touch gaming is popular.

Seriously, we've been over this so many times...

But those two games are from third party developers and appear on all consoles. If/when Nintendo starts selling little Pokemon and Mario toys for use with the Wii-U, it's only going to reinforce the 'Nintendo is for kids' stereotype that is already causing problems.

I can't blame Nintendo for doing this because it will likely make money, but it wont interest the consumers who are already avoiding their products.

It means now the Wii U has no chances for Second place. Oh well.

Wii U's problem is the 3DS. A handheld that communicated console-quality games in terms of Nintendo games, that was cheaper and was already getting a library of them. Little incentive for customers of any type to pick up a Wii U when all it offers is a smaller sample of that Nintendo IP. Nintendo IP is the only reason people have bought Nintendos since N64.

Nintendo needs to get 3DS owners buying Wii Us. That is its audience right there.

That doesn't even make any sense. Wii U is and has always been cheaper than Xbox One.

How do we know it won't change peoples' opinions on the Wii U? It makes the Wii U look like it belongs in the same category as X1/PS4, even more so. The market looks like it's starting to have more proportion, IMO.

The online is that bad because directly inviting your friend is not intuitive. It requires planning ahead of time, since you can't just send a message and then your friend is immediately notified of that particular message. You have a little blue light flash on the gamepad if you're in the middle of a game. That's it. A non-descript light. That alone makes it bad, and until Nintendo fixes that, my opinion will remain unchanged.

When I was mentioning on-demand services, I was referencing directly buying movies. Sony and Microsoft have services where you can do that. Sorry I wasn't specific.

There's a difference between the DS and the Wii U; the DS does not require players to move their neck in order to see the other screen. They just have to shift their eyes. It makes a huge difference in terms of convenience, and the result is that you can utilize the two screens in tandem (like with The World Ends With You or platformers that used both screens).

Wii Sports Club is not having the same market effect that Wii Sports had. Part of the reason why is because people already bought Wii Sports, and would rather not pay $300 to experience it again but with online. Nintendo needs something new.

@WiiULoveGBA That's a really good point. A lot of people are getting their Nintendo fix with the cheaper device that happens to also not have software droughts (or at least droughts that don't last nearly as long as the Wii U).

I will be pleased if they sell a Wii U without the Gamepad because there will have to be a way for it to be disabled completely.

(Hence I don't have to spend money on a new TV so I can buy more games.)

cracks knuckles angrily
Okay, here I freaking go.
FIRST OFF... There are times where I honestly wished the Wii U had better specs and more power. There are times where I feel that way but you know what? Specs and power don't mean ANYTHING if the games aren't good!
Can you guys imagine how AWFUL it would be if Nintendo released a console that was very similar to the PS4/Xbox One?!?!? DEAR GOD! NO! Imagine a crazy situation of 3 consoles with similar specs and the only thing separating them was exclusives???? Oh, no.... that sounds horrible to me. I'm so grateful the Wii U offers an experience I can ONLY FIND ON THE WII U.
If somebody doesn't like the Wii U then that's their problem. Its a shame, too. The Wii U has its problems but it gets so much unnecessary hate and insults but you wanna know the funny thing??? It mostly comes from JEALOUSY! Nintendo tries to do something different and people wished their console of choice did something different, too.
The PS4 is selling like crazy cuz of hype and great marketing??? Good for them! Cuz if the PS4 was selling like dirt then Sony would prolly be in a even WORSE financial situation that they already are!!!
The Xbox One is dropping the Kinect??? GOOD! There are many gamers who wanted to experience the Xbox One but the Kinect was in the way! Now those gamers can leap at the console they want.

I just want all three consoles to do well and satisfy their own fanbase. The amazing PS4 has flaws. The Kinect-less Xbox One has flaws. And the HD powered Wii U has problems, too.

Really good post, I'm hoping its a hybrid portable, not that Nintendo would be unsuccessful with a conventional console, but I think a hybrid system would play to their strengths more, they just have to find a way to make it generally affordable. The negative side effect is that your putting all of your eggs in one basket, but with just one system, I think Nintendo could cover down on the software side successfully, even with a lack of third party support.

Except in Japan

@moomoo
It's still not that difficult. Go to your friends list and see what they are playing, then boot up that game and join. You can send messages through Miiverse. If they aren't playing anything, ask them to Wii U Chat. If you don't want to call someone over Wii U Chat, they probably aren't really your friend.

The movies thing isn't even that big of a deal. IIRC, PS4 doesn't even have audio playback anymore.

It's not even that annoying to look between 2 screens. Even if it is a bit different than 3DS, the concept is essentially the same. Not everyone thinks it's a pain to use the GamePad. If your neck is bothering you to that much of an extent, go see a docter.

I don't think Nintendo's goal is to sell a lot of hardware and almost no software. I believe Nintendo wants the Wii U to sell software. I don't think there would be a huge upswing in sales if Nintendo released a different version of the Wii U without the GamePad. People focus more on what they are missing rather than what they are saving. If there was a SKU without the GamePad then people would be missing 3rd Party and unique 1st Party games, leaving them with a very small library. "Oh but you can buy the GamePad separately," if people bought a Wii U without a GamePad why would they buy a GamePad later? Wouldn't most people feel ripped off if they had to buy a GamePad later to play most of the library already available? With Nintendo pushing the use of GamePad features, why would they release a GamePad-less SKU. Microsoft is able to remove their Kinect because most games either have it as optional input (such as Voice Commands to navigate menus whoch you can use a controller for) or a game is completely made to use the Kinect. Many Wii U games have mandatory GamePad uses that wouldn't be patched. Games that use the GamePad and games that don't are sold the same way (not even different colored boxes) unlike Kinect games. The Kinect was and has always been an optional accessory (ever since the Xbox One launched). The GamePad has always been the primary controller for the Wii U.

So the price wouldn't help as much as people think and removing the GamePad would cause more problems than it would fix

"Does the Kinect-less Xbox One mean anything for the Wii U?"

Nope! The Kinect isn't XboxOne's defining feature, since you could already get a Kinect for the 360. But the Wii u Gamepad is the Wii u's defining feature! When you strip that away, whats left is just a very underpowered console. Nintendo should stick with the Gamepad, and of course they will!

^^ Exactly this. ^^
Why don't other people see this? Is Wii U trying to compete head-on with Xbox One or PS4? Not really.
Even Gamexplain said the same thing. [youtube:_LDSz4drzQ0]
Nintendo is just doing their own thing and they're trying to create a bit momentum for the Wii U.
They know it won't sell a lot, but they've decided to stick with it.