Is this the beginning of the end for this console? When the largest producer of console games says it’s not worth the effort developing games for your console that’s pretty damning evidence that your console has failed.
This console was botched from the get go. Not really sure what no Nintendo was trying to accomplish with this system but they are failing miserably.
The Wii U is garbage. I know because I own one. It’s the first console I regret buying, and I bought a fucking Saturn just before it got canned.
Hey, I love my Saturn!
Anyway, what makes it garbage?
I don’t really think EA matters here. How many games did they make for the Wii that anyone cared about? What about for the Gamecube?
Nintendo is basically guaranteed Gamecube levels of success based on their own franchises alone. That’s not particularly successful, but it’s also not Atari Jaguar levels of failure. Also, since they’re not losing money on their console sales, it’s just a question of “less profit” vs “More profit” for them. Talking about the “end” for Wii-U just doesn’t really make any sense. It’s still going to have Mario, Zelda, and Smash, and a certain number of people are going to buy it for that.
Yeah, I use my wii u pretty much every night. I think it’s great. The multiplayer games that are out so far have been very well received by my friends and no get-together is complete any more without at least 3 rounds of Mario Chase and 2 of Sweet Day.
If I wanted to buy EA games, I’d buy them for PC.
If.
I’ve only played it once, and I had a good time. Granted, it was four people who had never touched it before and one person who owned it, so it was fresh for almost everyone.
Anyway, Wikipedia says that EA only produced a small handful of games for the Wii in 2011, something like two or three in 2012, and none at all this year. They may be jumping ship on Nintendo now but they’ve been sidling to the edge of the boat for a while.
Check out these tweets by an EA engineer. Ouch!
It’s not game over yet, but it’s getting close. Nintendo’s E3 strategy is not making me feel confident. They clearly have no big game to try to leave an impression with during the Sony/Microsoft console wars, so they are trying a bunch of small gatherings with their “Nintendo Direct” ideas.
And the let’s plays thing (which I am almost loathe to mention because I don’t want yet another IP debate) which seems almost desperate, if for no other reason than they used to tell let’s players otherwise.
Those tweets, though, are something else. He may be right about the relative power, but the idea that Nintendo should have went software only? Seriously? Before the bad console launch? Guy’s just ranting for publicity. I hope it doesn’t end like that Microsoft employee who ranted about people not liking an “always online” neXtBox.
Haha, oh shit! If EA can go a few days or weeks without taking all that down and making him apologize for it I’ll be very impressed. I love the “focusing on markets that really matter … like mobile.” Respect.
I think their already down.
I like Nintendo games but think the time has passed for a dedicated platform to play them on. I did really enjoy the Mario Galaxy games.
I, for one, love my Wii U. I like the interplay between the TV and the touchscreen in the games I’ve played for it so far, and I especially love that I can use it to play Youtube videos on my TV.
As I said above, if I wanted to play EA games, I’d buy them for PC.
At this point I doubt Nintendo even needs second party support to sell consoles. Nobody buys one to play the latest version of Madden, TigerWoods, or NeedForSpeed. You want to play independent publisher games you buy an Xbox.
People who buy the latest Nintendo console do so to play the latest Mario, Pokemon, Zelda, Pikmin, Metroid, Mariokart, DonkeyKong, SmashBrothers, PaperMario, etc. game.
One thing I heard (ironically on a Let’s Play) is that, after the Wii Fit, WiiMote, Wii this and that, many people don’t even realize that the WiiU is a new console, they just think it’s some accessory. Considering that much of what made the Wii a big success was sales to people that aren’t quite invested in rabidly keeping up with day to day gaming news, that kind of confusion can’t be good.
Still, it’s a little early to declare it dead, I think. At this point in the 360s life cycle, everyone was fighting RRoD issues, and the PS3 wasn’t exactly setting the world on fire.
Yeah WiiU was one of the stupidest names they could have picked for the console precisely because of the above mentioned point. Even for people like me who even know better, it still just kind of “feels” like an extension of the Wii even though I know it’s an entirely new console. But when you talk about it with people and try to explain that it’s the next new nintendo system and they ask why it’s better than the Wii or different, it’s kind of hard to explain or really impress them, in the way the Wii impressed newbies.
THIS.
The Wii U will never be “doomed” as long as Nintendo is still producing good games. And here’s what they have scheduled to be released this Summer/Fall:
Sonic: Lost World
Pikmin 3
The Wonderful 101
Game & Wario
New Super Luigi U
Wii Fit U
Wii U Party
Bayonetta 2
Mario & Sonic Winter Olympics 2014
The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker HD
Mario Kart Wii U
The first 3D Mario game for the Wii U
And here’s what they have known in development for 2014 and beyond:
Super Smash Bros. 4
Xenoblade 2
Yarn Yoshi
Shin Megami Tensei X Fire Emblem
A new game from Retro Studios
An original Legend of Zelda game
Nintendo as a company will be more than fine (if for nothing else than because the first Pokemon games on the 3DS will be released this October). And the Wii U will be fine because every person that loves Nintendo-published games will buy at least half of the titles on these lists.
(Go on, give me hell for this, you know you want to)
Yeah, I have no idea if the Wii U is crap or not, but Nintendo has had it’s biggest support with first-party titles. I’m sure they’ve made decent money on EA sales in the past but it certainly won’t doom the console.
Two other thoughts to consider…
EA has released four games for the system so far. “Dumbed down” ports of Madden NFL 13 and FIFA 13, Mass Effect 3 (which was released at the same time the PS3/Xbox 360 got the Mass Effect Trilogy for the same price, gee I wonder which version gamers will pick?), and a version of Need For Speed: Most Wanted that Criterion insisted on making the best possible released version. In other words, no wonder EA games (aside from Most Wanted) aren’t selling on the system.
That said, at this point in its lifecycle, the Wii U is the second-most-popular system of all time behind the original Wii. Anytime you hear someone going on about the Wii U being doomed is either a) ignoring 2012 sales of the system or b) forgetting just how terrible Microsoft was in replenishing Xbox 360 stock or how downright shitty early sales of the PS3 were.
I’d also point out that Ubisoft and Square Enix haven’t been shy about releasing games for Wii U; Assassin’s Creed III plays great on the system and IV has already been confirmed for it, and the “Director’s Cut” re-release of Deus Ex: Human Revolution is a Wii U exclusive.
Nintendo’s been “doomed” for 15 years. How long ago was the 3DS a disaster? People keep predicting Nintendo’s death, and they just keep stubbornly staying alive and healthy. Hell, if you want to be worried about a company collapsing, worry about EA before you worry about Nintendo.