Nintendo should offer a Wii U bundle that only includes the system and a Pro Controller for $199.

Dvader said:

So for real at what point does Nintendo cease production of future wii u titles for whatever the future is. Obviously everything in the works will be finished. I think Zelda maybe in for another TP situation. I think by the start of next year they will only have smaller projects for wii u with all major titles focused on a late 2015 or early 2016 new console launch.

Are they considering a new console.  Is there a point where they say, "Fuck it?"

Ravenprose said:

Poor Saturn.

So this is what being a Sega fan feels like.  I kid.

travo said:

Are they considering a new console.  Is there a point where they say, "Fuck it?"

Not with iwata in charge they won't , but they should. Or so a complete redesign of wii u and relaunch it. DC and Saturn had 3 years of support  and that was it. I don't see the wii u doing any better.

Who would've predicted this five years ago?  Of course, people have predicted doom and gloom for Nintendo since..forever, but it's never felt this close.

travo said:

I sort of agree, though I would dearly miss the console games.  

They could go all out on their next portable by offering an optional charging cradle that has an HDMI ouput, and a separate wireless controller to play their portable games on a TV, merging their portable and home consoles into one unit.

robio said:

Pokemon MMO. That would sell the fuck out of the system. Never gonna happen though.

See, CEO Robio already has amazing ideas. I am all in on CEO Robio.

Lego City outsold Pikmin 3. Nice. The 3DS Lego City sold more and that game sucks.

Maybe I'm more non-plussed by this recent news. I think Nintendo's estimates were wildly unrealistic like most of us knew for ages. I think they inflated them to give a rosy picture to the market and consumers. And that's why it looks particularly bad now. Also put some things in perspective, the 3DS is doing great, highest selling gaming device of the year, yet still under expectations.

As for the company etc I'm not worried at all. I see Nintendo as an old man who's seen it all and won't change. They've seen highs and lows, this really isn't anything that different. I think people forget Nintendo was in decline till the Wii and DS exploded and is going back to normal or worse levels - which seems particularly bad because of the success of Wii and DS. I've seen graphs and charts, it appears the Wii and DS were unexpected phenomena and I really didn't expect follow up systems to explode like that again. Maybe I've got lower expectations than most gamers. I don't sit down and microanalyse every months or years worth of sales. I'm more concerned with the software I get to play personally and Nintendo hasn't let me down in that respect at all.

I'm used to the N64 and GC game drought etc though and I'm generally pretty patient most of the time.

For Nintendo, they must understand that hardware cycles come around every few years and cutting and running would only undermine confidence by consumers. I wouldn't expect any drastic panic mode action that undermines confidence further. They would be better served just playing the long game and making their consoles the best they can be in quality software.

If that means commissioning more exclusives, or even buying some smaller developers they should do it. IMO if 3rd parties are so intent on staying away then Nintendo should just push their own published games like crazy and rake in loads of cash, really dominate their platforms like 3rd parties often accuse them of doing.

They said that they expect normal revenue once the foreign markets news comes in and that they are taking a loss because they didn't expect to cut the Wii U price. In December Wii U in Japan and America hit record levels, can they build on that though? And I also want to see if PS4/XB1 can sustain sales through the year too, expecially XB1 at that price.

I think the question is -for future hardware- do people expect Nintendo hardware to retail for a lot cheaper than other consoles? If that's true then they have to either deliberatly make weaker hardware and sell at a lower cost. Remember that the initial idea of Wii was to make a $99 console and it was only the miniturised component costs that made it more expensive to make. Or do they attempt the razor and blades mode that rarely results in the Nintendo-like profits they have made in the past? For all Sonys PS4 hardware sales they have never come close to making the kind of profit Nintendo made last gen, they earned like 25 years worth of profit in 5 years.

I think they could sell mini-experiences on tablets and smartphones for a lower cost that can act as gateways into the traditional hardware and full games. I think if they started doing more multiformat work with Nintendo franchises it would only further erode their hardware model.

So I guess they either make the next console as a normal boring console and have a Wii/U device locked in for year 3 with mandatory 3rd party support for any device (but which consumers do NOT have to buy to play the latest games). Or for them to just opt out of the consoles wars, make something totally unique and keep delivering their trademark games. If people want Nintendo games, they buy Nintendo systems, end of. They make enough money on software for their systems as it is. Some are saying there should be a hybrid portable/home console but to me that makes little sense as you would be selling one device when they've shown that they an make money on 2.

Maybe have two devices similar enough that you could play the portable games on the home consoles therefore doubling its' software library.

Anyhow, I'm less concerned with sales, I'm more interested in the next Ninendo Direct.

Ravenprose said:

You are evil, robio. Pure evil.

Robio can approve the games and Dark Robio can handle the sacking of employees.  It's perfect!