Topic: What Did Nintendo do Right/Wrong with the Wii U?

The Wii U has been a controversial topic here on NintendoLife. This thread isn't going to be about problems with the Wii U much as it is going to be about how Nintendo handled the product itself. However, I also want to discuss where Nintendo has effectively handled the Wii U. So, with that said, begin!

Wrongs:
-Marketing (Drobotic)
-Poor Relationship With 3rd Party (ShadowFox254)
-Lack of Unified Accounts (ShadowFox254)
-Poor Handling of the VC (ShadowFox254)
-Lack of Compelling Launch Titles (DudeSean)
-No Killer App (skywake)
-Price (CureDolly)
-Gamepad Inflates Price (CureDolly)
-Poor Online Ecosystem (moomoo)

(Will continue filling out list keep them both coming)

Marketing is their main problem.Some people still dont know its a thing or that it is next gen.The commercials they made at launch didn't make things better.They should show how good the Wii U is and how unique it is.Also,a commercial showing the review scores for 3D World would be nice to show how cool the games are.Some games didn't even get commercials.The Wii U is a great console,but it can't sell if people barely know about it.

They made it.

I'm assuming this is on the "right side".

If not, then please be more clearer.

The things that are wrong with the Wii U:

*Little to no marketing for the Wii U (I only saw 3 ads of it; 2 from Suscribblenauts Unmasked, and 1 from the site mangahere)
*Poor relationships with 3rd parties (especially Western Studios)
*No Unified Accounts
*Poor handling of the Virtual Console

No fantastic launch title. If it would have launched with Super Mario 3D World, Mario Kart 8, Super Smash Bros. for Wii U, The Legend of Zelda (a new one, not a remake) or Metroid Prime 4 then it would have had a much better start.

I don't know dudes

I will always say Marketing is their main issue.

Right

Wrong

@FutureAlphaMale Can you please elaborate? I mean, you didn't even use any words.

Okay, well, now that you've edited your post I understand a little more, but still, it would be nice to hear your explanation as to why.

Marketing isn't a problem. People do know what it is and it's kinda impossible to market something that doesn't have any compelling content. That was the situation the Wii U was in for the first year up 'till 3D World launched. Now it has one great title and a decent library of good first party games. So don't start with this "it was all marketing" crap again please. Then that combined with the fact that everyone was sitting on the edge of their seats waiting for PS4/XBOne was a double whammy.

So that's what they did "wrong", they didn't have the killer app. That's all that ever matters in the end. What they need to do is recover from this by releasing more content. I personally think talking about the Wii U as if it's dead already is ignoring the fact that this console generation has a good five more years in it. Nintendo will hang around for most if not all of that time and we know they will have a good five or six big titles between now and then.

Also, not to sound like a broken record, but do we really need more of these threads? Why not just post in the one of hundreds of these that have been appearing since before the Wii U even launched?

Fixed that for you

Yeah, the GamePad wasn't a mistake. The GamePad is something everyone is trying to do one way or another, Nintendo happen to have the best implementation of it. People saying it was a mistake are misreading the market.

A year in, and Nintendo has yet to utilize the gamepad in such a way that it resonates with the general public in the way that the wiimotes did. It adds very little to most games, and the few benefits it provides (letting kids/husbands play on small screen while others watch TV) don't appeal to most people.

The vast majority of people just want to play games with a 'standard' controller, as proven by the fact the method of input basically remained the same from 1986 to 2013 (minus the motion control fad that lasted a couple years). The gamepad is very off putting to most people, and should have been optional. I think it's harmed sales more than helped, as Nintendo fans like ourselves would have bought the system regardless of the control method.

What are you're talking about? The only thing Sony had was a freaking touchpad controller, and they'd marketed the hell of it. The launch titles were just ports and games that were also available on other systems.

@FutureAlphaMale: To be fair, it's a lot more traditional than a Wii remote. The only non-traditional thing about it is the touchscreen

Price was the problem. WiiU was the most expensive home console Nintendo has launched. Wii did not have a high attach rate. That means most people who bought it did not buy a lot of games (that, and not some irrational prejudice, was the reason third parties were chary about it). I know a lot of folks here buy a lot of games, but they are not typical - in fact they are too few to make a dent in the low attach rate.

People who do not intend to buy a lot of games do not want to pay a lot for a system. This is why Nintendo has to sell its consoles at a profit, unlike Sony and Microsoft, because the attach rate is not high enough to make selling a console at a loss a viable option (they won't get it back in game sales).

So, I think what really went wrong was the game pad. Not because it isn't good - it is good, but because it raised the console's price above the level that the majority of Nintendo's demographic will pay. Oddly they made the same mistake with 3DS and rectified it with a very large price drop.

Why did they do it again with WiiU? I am thinking they felt that they needed another Unique Selling Proposition to do what motion control did fro the Wii, and they gambled that the GamePad would be it and would work in a similar way.

They were not fools. No one can predict the market (otherwise we could all make fortunes on stocks). They took a gamble and they got it wrong. Business is like that. GamePad was not attractive enough and the demographic would not bear the price.

Over time the price will drop, but because Nintendo can't sell systems at a loss, unlike its competitors, that will take time. If it can be done early enough WiiU will become an attractive proposition.

I know very few people here consider the price a problem, but most people here (me too) are game enthusiasts who put a console high on their list of priorities. That is not true of the bulk of Nintendo's core demographic, as the low attach rate shows. And as the WiiU's current performance also shows.

The market is niche. There's no market worth pursing. I can't imagine anyone using Smart Glass, or whatever Microsoft is doing, as their primary method of game play. It's likely something someone tries for a bit to see what it's like, then they go back to just playing with the regular controls.

Unfortunately, the Wii-U requires you to use the gamepad at all times.

The fact that I play with the Pro Controller exclusively (when it's available), yet have to have the gamepad plugged in and charging while I do so is ridiculous. How stupid is that? If the gamepad battery dies, you can't continue gaming with the wiimote or pro control, and instead you must recharge the gamepad as the system won't even turn on without it being on as well.

-Online ecosystem that doesn't facilitate online multiplayer. This is the big one. Miiverse works well with single player games, but it stinks for online multiplayer. It's nearly impossible to organize games with your friends without direct game invites or party chat (which the freaking Vita has). This means online communities are woefully miniscule.
-No proper account system. If my system goes dead to the point of not being fixed or is stolen, I'm SOL. All the stuff I bought online is gone.
-No cross-buy. This is less a problem and more a personal grievance. After seeing all of my PSP purchases transfer over to my Vita with added functionality, as well as being able to connect with a PS3 for PS1 purchases, it's a bit jarring to have to rebuy VC games for Wii U, even at a heavily discounted price. Not being able to connect purchases with the 3DS also sucks. Not too big of a problem, though.
-VC isn't much of a selling point anymore. Selection is very limited and you might as well just keep your Wii if you're looking for a heavily expanded VC. No 6th gen stuff (which means no Dreamcast or Gamecube stuff. Yes, analogue triggers exist. But not all games used them. Eternal Darkness, PIkmin, etc. would be great).
-No digital Wii retail purchases. Why isn't this in there? It'd be a money-maker for Nintendo, especially with games no longer in print that still have considerable demand, like Fire Emblem and Xenoblade.
-Few 1st party games, considering how few Wii games we had the two years before Wii U came out. You'd think Nintendo would have used the last quiet years of the Wii to prepare for their next system. But it seems like they weren't ready for HD games, as pretty much all games (besides launch titles) were delayed for the system. Really poor preparation there.
-Few 3rd party games. This one is kind of obvious. If you're not getting dozens of games that are also coming to 360/PS3 despite the fact that your system is similar in power to those, something bad is up. Nintendo's poor relationship with them all is really hurting them.
-Lack of power doesn't bode well for the future. With 3rd parties mostly jumping ship to the newer systems, it's unlikely the Wii U's third party troubles are going away. I hate to see what the situation looks like in 2016.
-Underutilized controller. There are two games that aren't minigame collections that utilize the gamepad in unique ways, and neither of them are Nintendo games, but rather Ubisoft games. Rayman Legend and ZombiU are still the only games to really justify the gamepad outside of off-TV play.
-Nintendo TV sucks. Not that big of a deal, but it's not helping the system at all.
-Pretty much only a game machine. Some people don't care about this, which is fine, but considering how much more the PS4 and Xbox One can do, it's really not helping the Wii U. For $100 more, you can get a machine that is more powerful and can play all of your Blu-rays, DVDs, and also play music. And you have way better online functionality. And with the Xbox One, the media capabilities expand even more, with multitasking and fitness capabilities that are supported by Beachbody, who basically owns the home fitness market. That's without taking into account the streaming capabilities offered by Twitch and other services, or the future capabilities that will be integrated into these systems in the future.

Notice how I didn't say marketing. The reason is because, well, the Wii U isn't that appealing of a device to anyone who isn't a hardcore Nintendo fan. The people who want to get their fix of the 3rd party games on the Wii U can do so on the cheaper 360 and PS3, and the people who want the best versions of said games can get them on XB1, PS4 and PC. The people that like Nintendo games but are more casual fans of Nintendo can get their fix on with the 3DS, which is a cheaper device, has cheaper games, and is portable. The indie games that will help keep the Wii U library afloat will also be on other platforms as well. That leaves the system's only support from people who simply can't get enough Nintendo games.

Don't get me wrong. There are things the system does right. Local multiplayer is great. Off-TV play is phenomenal. The controller is excellent. But I think Nintendo made a big misstep with the Wii U. It has so many things going against it.

I guess what really hurted the Wii U was Nintendo assuming 3rd parties had any sense of goodwill (especially EA), besides poor marketing for most of this year.

I wouldnt be surprised if Nintendo approaches 3rd parties with a "here, there's our console, go figure out how it works" for their next console.

And the fact it has a glowing screen and is basically the size of an iPad with a 2hr battery. It's not totally uncomfortable in the hands, but its awkward to use sometimes. If you just want to kick back on the couch/bed and play its not a great choice (especially when you are forced to wave it around the room or blow(!) into it) and if you are in a dark room, do you really need a secondary light source under your face bugging your eyes?

And the wiimote was a major annoyance as well sometimes. Sideways it was okay but not all that comfortable, and the forced motion controls ruined many a game (Skyward Sword) and made them all but unplayable unless you were sitting perfectly upright and square and directly in front of the TV.

Video games are basically a passive activity. I don't want to be forced to wave my arms around or sit in a specific position to enjoy a game.