Topic: The Success of the Wii U in 2015

Nintendolife are now reporting the same article.

So if you do the maths then they're basically saying they expect to sell something like 3 Amiibos per current Wii U. Assuming they get some large fraction of the market. Seems about right.

Unfortunately I sort of agree. I don't think the console will ever be very successful. I think it will sell much better next year and might be a success for its own standards, but not like the Wii or PS3/X360...

Nintendo's at a profit right now. How is that not a success?

Perhaps we should discuss Sony's position right now...

If the Wii U didn't become a 'sucess' this year then there is no way it will next year. As long as software sales are high I think Nintendo should come out of the Wii U's life with a profit. With the influx of solid exclusives coming in 2015 should change some gamers opinions towards the Wii u which should help somewhat

As long as Nintendo keeps profitable or alive, I don't care which position it ends up in these meaningless console wars.

And from a financial point of view, I don't know about Microsoft (other that they keep their console division under live support), but Nintendo is in a much better position than Sony right now, which is selling parts of their business (TVs, computers) to stay afloat.

Nintendo is at a profit because they wrote off their hardware losses in the first quarter. Before the holiday, Wii Us were being sold at a 100% profit margin (minus shipping and marketing) because they were already paid for in Q1.

It's... flubbing the accounting and kinda cheating. Regardless though, Nintendo will have a good holiday and 2015 will likely be the Wii U's peak year.

This is not correct.

This is not correct please stop spreading this. IGN posted a blurb of a full blown Bloomberg article. The Bloomberg article clearly states $1 billion US not yen.

The thing people are getting tripped up on is Nintendo will make a profit of $1 billion lead by exceptionally strong Amiibo sales. Not that Amiibos have made $1 billion since launch. This is also for the fiscal year, not the 2 weeks Amiibo have been out.

The article was a serious business article. Nintendo's stock rating was raised (a very big deal) and the article was explaining why.

Gamer mentality does not apply here. Real Business analyst providing concrete information for investors say "Nintendo to make 1 billion U.S." vs gamer logic " that doesn't seem right. I don't know enough people buying them. must be 1 billion yen" "yeah that sounds like it would be right". Take your pick on who knows more.

Success and profitability are two different things. PS4 is a success, the Xbox One is a somewhat success, however the Wii U is not. Of course Wii U is picking in sales, its the holidays, every platform does. In the new year it (as well as any other console) will drop back to where it usually is. Don't misinterpret analyst's predictions for facts, because they could be wrong an all. In its ahem secondary position you could claim its a success for proving a niche alternative... Sounds remarkably similar to PS Vita although switched roles, which Wii U hasn't come close to yet.

I think i heard the bolded last year and the year before, nothing is going to change Wii U's course as it enters its third year (its tracking below GameCube for pete sake!)

No, I disagree, the Wii U may net profit per a console sold, but it will still likely be Nintendo's worst selling home console in the companies history, I also feel that Nintendo may continue to become more irreverent to the industry and gaming consumer base as a whole as time marches on.

Nintendo has a strong 2015 lineup no doubt, but so does Sony and Microsoft, coupled along with a good amount of third parties.

Here's the full Bloomberg report:
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-12-07/nintendo-heads-for-b...

Can you please explain how these "real business analyst" calculates, when they say "and take in $1 billion from Amiibo sales in the U.S. alone"?

How many amiibos must the US Wii U and 3DS users buy in average during one fiscal year for NoA to make a $1 billion?

Hmmmm....

Posted in the Wii U forum. With the title "The Success of the Wii U in 2015". With the OP focusing on this. And you want me discuss if Nintendo (as a whole) is at a profit now? And Sony 's position is what it is... In a thread with the bolded. I could discuss that. I could. But...

The Wii U compared to its competitors cannot be likened to a success (Wii U is profitable? I can't even find a source for that), it just shows how horrible Nintendo's 2yrs have been with nothing but exclusives. As a secondary platform (as its commonly refereed to) its successfully fulfilled its niche. The Wii is a success, Nintendo handhelds are a success. Wii U & Gamecube weren't, despite their very similar strategies regarding games.

But to answer what you asked, after the above:

• Is Nintendo at a profit? Yes.
• Is Sony doing horribly? Yes.
• Is the Wii U a success? No.
• Is the PS4 a success? Yes.

Platform success and company financial position are two separate things, in this case.

Platform success is subjective.

If the Wii U is profitable then is it a success? If not then what needs to happen for a product to be successful? If it has to be the most popular product of its kind (in this case video game console) then there is only 1 success per console generation. That would mean the 360 was not a success last generation. Trying to define success as meeting certain criteria creates too many problems for it to actually work across the board. So it is very subjective.

I think it will get critical acclaim, but probably won't sell much from January through most of November until Zelda is released. Company will be profitable, tho in some quarters not by much. I'll guess that next year at this time, it is sitting on about 12m units sold.

What concrete information? The article isn't even claiming an expert/analyst has predict it will make a billion, it's claiming Ninty are projecting a billion.

I know, even I can't make heads or tails of it. But I can't imagine this situation regarding wii u a success, I mean what the Wii U set out to achieve at launch and right now is at odds at each other.

You just need to define what kind of "success" you are looking for. Do you mean a financial success? Well, probably not. Do you mean "success" in terms of new/innovative games? Definitely yes. Garnering third-party support? No. And the list can go on and on. Just be specific, that's all.

I know that on a personal level, 2015 will have far more Wii U games that I enjoy than 2014 or 2013 did (Splatoon, Kirby, Yoshi, Star Fox, Zelda and Xenoblade is enough even without E3 announcements), but I think 2014 might be the sales peak. There's nothing out there next year that matches Mario Kart and Smash Bros in terms of selling systems. Zelda sells fairly big, but not on the level of those two. Xenoblade is another Bayonetta 2, as in it will probably get great reviews, but I doubt it will be a big seller and the effect on hardware sales non-existant. Yoshi's Wooly World and Kirby's Rainbow Paintbrush will probably sell well, but move hardware? I just don't see it.

I also think the amount amiibo are selling as been blown way out of proportion. People are assuming since stores are out of them, they're a huge success. It seems a lot to me like the situation last christmas where Nintendo's servers went into meltdown for 3 days and people assumed it was because of the huge amount of new hardware being registered, but then the sales figures came through and they were a disaster. The Wii U crowd right now is small but very hardcore. The most dedicated Nintendo fan. The kind that will want to buy a lot of these figures as soon as they come out. Will there be new people to buy the figures 6 months after they come out, like Skylanders and Infinity? It's impossible to tell but that's not how Wii U software sales have been working out.

@Peach64 I also think the reaction towards significant Wii U software sales are overhyped......don't get me wrong, sales wise games like MK 8 and Smash U are significant, but they really aren't indictive of a rush in new users.......more like due to the overall lack of AAA software in general for the system, every active Wii U user will either pick up said title at launch or a bit afterwards.