Nintendo's Wii U Will Be Sold At a Loss

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Nintendo's Wii U Will Be Sold At a Loss

Posted by Soulskill on Friday October 26, 2012 @03:35AM from the super-mario-loss-leader dept.

another random user tips news that Nintendo will be selling its upcoming Wii U console at a loss in the hopes that spurring earlier adoption will work out for the company in the long run. This differs from the Wii, which made money from the start, but it's a similar strategy to those used with the Xbox 360 and PS3, which both lost money for their companies at release. "The Japanese firm's president revealed the news after the firm cut its profit forecast. It marks a change in the company's business strategy. The decision to abandon the prospect of immediate profits in order to maximize later earnings is part of a growing trend in the tech world. Nintendo might have altered course to take advantage of the fact that neither Microsoft nor Sony have announced their next-generation consoles yet. Its pursuit of the more casual gamer means it has also had to take account of the keenly priced tablet market which attracts a similar consumer."

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Why aren't people more hyped about the Wii U? by crazyjj · 2012-10-26 03:35 · Score: 5, Interesting

The controller raises a lot of interesting possibilities (though it's a little bulky for my tastes). And, unlike some, I think that the $300-$350 price tag is fine (compared to the $600 debut price tag of the PS3, that's a frickin' bargain bin price!). But I haven't been hearing a lot of buzz about it, considering it's supposed to be launching next month. I know it's supposed to be as powerful as the PS3/360. And, of course, I know about the controller. But I haven't heard much about the debut game lineup. And even gamer podcasts and shows don't seem to be giving it much attention.
Frankly I think Nintendo, for all their faults (most notably, their admittedly piss-poor online support), kind of gets the short-shrift in the gaming community. Their systems may not have the cutting edge CPU's and GPU's, but they do what they do pretty well. And they offer a pretty good bargain most of the time. I think they're underrated myself and wish they got more respect. Not every console and handheld has to cater 100% to hardcore gamers, you know.

--
What political party do you join when you don't like Bible-thumpers *or* hippies?
1. Re:Why aren't people more hyped about the Wii U? by Anonymous Coward · 2012-10-26 03:41 · Score: 4, Insightful
  
  People aren't more hyped because the console is as powerful as current gen consoles but costs more.
  The special controller is crazy expensive and you are only going to get one per system. Online play is poorly supported, you can't go out and purchase all of the old school Nintendo games through an online market for the system (like literally everyone who games wants to), and the system itself doesn't have as rich a supported application set as the PS3 and the Xbox360.
  That's why people aren't more excited.
2. Re:Why aren't people more hyped about the Wii U? by malraid · 2012-10-26 03:41 · Score: 5, Funny
  
  Dude, chill... It's only a new console. Now, if Apple were to release an iPhone in a different color, that would be real news!
  
  --
  please excuse my apathy
3. Re:Why aren't people more hyped about the Wii U? by demonbug · 2012-10-26 03:55 · Score: 3, Interesting
  
  The controller raises a lot of interesting possibilities (though it's a little bulky for my tastes). And, unlike some, I think that the $300-$350 price tag is fine (compared to the $600 debut price tag of the PS3, that's a frickin' bargain bin price!). But I haven't been hearing a lot of buzz about it, considering it's supposed to be launching next month. I know it's supposed to be as powerful as the PS3/360. And, of course, I know about the controller. But I haven't heard much about the debut game lineup. And even gamer podcasts and shows don't seem to be giving it much attention.
  Frankly I think Nintendo, for all their faults (most notably, their admittedly piss-poor online support), kind of gets the short-shrift in the gaming community. Their systems may not have the cutting edge CPU's and GPU's, but they do what they do pretty well. And they offer a pretty good bargain most of the time. I think they're underrated myself and wish they got more respect. Not every console and handheld has to cater 100% to hardcore gamers, you know.
  I think you've kind of answered your own questions. $300-$350 for a console with the same power as consoles that have been out for five years (and that you can get for less). A focus on casual gamers for the previous console generation (or two), which doesn't exactly attract a lot of attention in the gaming world. A control scheme significantly different from the other main consoles, which means it will only really shine with games exclusive to that console - but a worrying lack of information on launch and first-party titles doesn't exactly instill confidence that there will be a decent library.
  Now news that they are going to release an under-powered console, with a limited selection of games, at a loss. That doesn't exactly help me feel confident about the future of the console (or of Nintendo, for that matter). It will probably do just fine, but I don't really see much to get excited about. I know lots of people that bought a Wii, used it for a few months, and basically gave up on it because every game that was released that made use of the unique control scheme seemed to be more of a tech demo than a game. Maybe some really cool games did eventually come out, but if so it was long after interest had waned. The WiiU seems to be a repeat of that - interesting concept, great potential, but unless they have some full-fledged, finished games at launch that make good use of the controllers, it's not going to get much attention from the gaming community.
4. Re:Why aren't people more hyped about the Wii U? by nedlohs · 2012-10-26 03:59 · Score: 4, Insightful
  
  It's not unfair, it's an expected part of the intentional business decision. If the casual market has moved on to tablets and smartphones though that very successful short and medium term decision mightn't have been so great in the long term.
5. Re:Why aren't people more hyped about the Wii U? by trdrstv · 2012-10-26 04:00 · Score: 5, Informative
  
  People aren't more hyped because the console is as powerful as current gen consoles but costs more.
  Then why are 3rd party games running at 1080p60 instead of 720p30 like they are on the PS3 / 360 ?
  
  The special controller is crazy expensive and you are only going to get one per system.
  
  And it's being designed so you only have to use 1 to play the games.
  
  Online play is poorly supported, you can't go out and purchase all of the old school Nintendo games through an online market for the system (like literally everyone who games wants to),
  
  ?? The Wii-shop from the Wii carries over to the Wii U and you can port over all your downloaded games from the Wii to the Wii U. Seriously there's hundreds of games (including most old school nintendo games) that you can download.
  
  and the system itself doesn't have as rich a supported application set as the PS3 and the Xbox360.
  Probably not right away, but they are launching with: Amazon, Hulu, Netflix, Universal remote control, and a browser. What other applications are on PS3 / 360 that you feel you'd miss ?
6. Re:Why aren't people more hyped about the Wii U? by baka_toroi · 2012-10-26 04:01 · Score: 2
  
  If you already own a tablet that can stream to your TV
  You can't compare. I mean, I'm sure a lot of casuals won't care (And that's why Nintendo will have it much harder this generation), but playing without dedicated buttons and analog controllers is bullshit. Only a limited set of genres can successfully be played with only a touchscreen.
7. Re:Why aren't people more hyped about the Wii U? by killmenow · 2012-10-26 04:09 · Score: 5, Insightful
  
  I was going to down-mod you as troll or flamebait but fuck it...I'll respond instead. I'll probably regret it later. I was a Wii early adopter. Had it reserved ahead of schedule and skipped the lines to just walk in and pick it up on day one. We have probably 50 games for it. Up to that point, I'd never bought a current gen console. I've never invested so much money in a console platform. I bought a PS1 when the PS2 came out. But when the Wii was coming out, I couldn't wait. Because it was that interesting. It was a game changer. Now you've got kinect and move and you can see how this thing forced Sony and Microsoft to innovate.
  
  And our Wii gets played almost daily. Between my kids, the wife, and me, it gets plenty of use. Still.
  
  So you think the Wii sucks. You and your XBOX/PS3 brethren, most likely. But "sucks" isn't an objective measure, is it? It doesn't suck...for me and my family and our friends and their families because I know a lot of them that still play.
  
  But I have ZERO interest in the Wii U. Not because it sucks. But because...well, why should I care? It's a Wii with a better CPU & GPU and a tablet controller. Okay. But people who bought the Wii in the first place aren't graphics snobs. Oh, wait. Many of them must be, right? Because 80 million people have dust covered Wiis that they don't play with any more. What a ridiculous statement. If that were even remotely true, the market for new & used Wii games would be nonexistent. Any new game released (if there were any) would be sold for $1.99. And used games would sell for a nickel. But last time I walked through a local Game Stop there were still rows and rows of shelves with new & used Wii games still selling for typical prices. Because it's still a viable market. Because people still use their Wiis.
  
  But again, what does the Wii U offer? I don't care about super awesome triangle counts and NOW WITH EVEN MORE PIXEL SHADERS!!! Wooh, who gives a fuck?! People who just want to look at a screen and think, "sweet jesus that's a beautiful looking game." Guess what? That's what my gaming PC is for. It can drive higher than 1080p resolutions and do multi-monitor gaming and makes the power of the XBOX/PS3 look exactly like they are: years old and obsolete.
  
  Nintendo forgot their market. The new controller is the *only* remarkable feature of the Wii U. And it's not that big of a deal, really. Sorry to say it, but there's just nothing revolutionary about it. It's an evolutionary product. It's a "Version 2.0" that should be a point release if we are honest about it. And it gets exactly the hype it deserves...which is very little.
8. Re:Why aren't people more hyped about the Wii U? by baka_toroi · 2012-10-26 04:18 · Score: 2
  
  It's a Wii with a better CPU & GPU and a tablet controller.
  Even though I somewhat agree with you, bear in mind that a better CPU/GPU allows for new kinds of games. I, for instance, love my Nintendo DS but it's painfully obvious when I play a GameBoy Advance game. It's not only better graphics: GBA's gameplay is much worse than that of the DS.
  
  Sure, it won't be a jump as remarkable as that of the SNES vs. Nintendo 64, but better hardware allows for improved gameplay.
9. Re:Why aren't people more hyped about the Wii U? by Eponymous+Coward · 2012-10-26 04:18 · Score: 4, Insightful
  
  People aren't more hyped because console gaming just isn't that interesting anymore. In our house we have a Wii and a PS3. My kids have iPod touches, my wife has an iPad. Lots of video games are played in my house - all of them on the handheld devices. I'm the only one who ever powers up the PS3 anymore and that's to play Rocksmith once or twice a month.
  The console makers aren't just competing with each other, they are also competing with platforms that have free and very low cost games. I really have a hard time spending more than $10 for a game these days. There are just too many awesome low cost choices out there these days and I don't have enough time to take advantage of all of them.
10. Re:Why aren't people more hyped about the Wii U? by blahplusplus · 2012-10-26 04:21 · Score: 2
  
  "Why aren't people more hyped about the Wii U?"
  The Wii had a plethora of bad games, it ended up being Gamecube Redux in terms of software and Nintendo's first party games have been getting lower in quality every generation outside of mario. Starfox has been butchered by miyamoto, Zelda has learned nothing from other action games in how to do dungeon crawling right. Nintendo is stuck in the past.
  If I were Nintendo I would split the Zelda franchise into hardcore and casual. Zelda has not grown as other gamers have grown up. The combat systems in zelda are not deep, challenging and exciting to play with. The enemies are all stuck at a childishly easy level of difficulty. Even great games like Ocarina of time have not aged well because so many lessons have been learned since then on how to make better games.
  I speak as along time fan who grew up on the NES, GENESIS and SNES. The magic of nintendo is gone, other developers do same or similar games much better. I'd say the only thing Nintendo has going is inertia, Mario, Mariokart and Pokemon.
  I've been doing a lot of retro gaming recently and playing older ARCADE classics. Many modern games have forgotten that challenge and designing a videogame to be a GAME first and not a really crappy movie with next to no gameplay catering to tenuous ganers or non-gamers.
  The myth that videogames have gone 'mainstream' is incorrect, graphical hardware horsepower has attracted an audience that doesn't games as videogames but cinematic experiences and that means gameplay has been getting killed over the last 10 years.
11. Re:Why aren't people more hyped about the Wii U? by BakaHoushi · 2012-10-26 04:23 · Score: 2
  
  Have you seen the 3DS store? The selection (at least here in the states) is abysmal. Nintendo has a huge selection of old, classic games but they're just not coming to the system and it drives me crazy.
12. Re:Why aren't people more hyped about the Wii U? by Anubis+IV · 2012-10-26 04:33 · Score: 3, Insightful
  
  Thankfully, we don't rely on the "people" you cite for informed decisions, since clearly they are incapable of forming opinions through a rational thought process.
  Also, it's only a gimmick if it's used as a gimmick. The Wiimote is not a gimmick (unlike the ridiculous number of gimmick peripherals Nintendo puts out every generation). It's what makes the platform what it is, since it defines and informs the behavior of nearly every game. That stands in contrast to the PS3's Move, which was only ever a slap-in feature that served no important purpose for the platform as a whole, or even the Kinect, which, while very impressive technologically, doesn't do much outside of a handful of games (though that sounds like it may change in the next generation with Kinect 2?).
  Long story short, grow up a bit more and stop buying into marketing. Though I'll readily admit that the last few years on the Wii haven't been great for more-than-casual gamers, it still had quite a few excellent titles that came out for it in the first few years, and was well worth the purchase price. When you're mature enough to think through these things with a degree of intellectual honesty while analyzing the actual good and bad aspects of the various alternative choices, you'll be a lot happier (as will those around you, since nobody likes vitriol and rabid fanboyism).
  Disclaimer: I own all three current-gen consoles and am currently not planning to pick up the Wii U since it can't act as a drop-in replacement for my Wii (lack of Gamecube support, of which I still have several games that I want to work through "soon").
13. Re:Why aren't people more hyped about the Wii U? by Viol8 · 2012-10-26 04:34 · Score: 2
  
  "I don't care about super awesome triangle counts and NOW WITH EVEN MORE PIXEL SHADERS!!! Wooh, who gives a fuck?! "
  Err, people who want decent graphics? Sure , gameplay is important, but there are many 1990s DOS games with damn good gameplay. Why not go invest in a 15 year old PC for $2 and install every game from that era you can find for peanuts if you don't give a damn about the visuals?
14. Re:Why aren't people more hyped about the Wii U? by damnbunni · 2012-10-26 04:40 · Score: 2
  
  Nintendo has traditionally sold consoles at a profit. The N64 was at a loss, but to the best of my knowledge all their other consoles were profitable from day one.
  They may have taken a loss on the 3DS when they drastically pricedropped it shortly after release. (Though that seems to have really jumpstarted sales, in Japan at least, so it was probably worth it.)
  It's usually a fairly slim profit at launch, but it's there.
15. Re:Why aren't people more hyped about the Wii U? by kwandar · 2012-10-26 05:10 · Score: 2
  
  Well as a parent I'd agree with a lot of what you said. I bought ours in 2006, and in the last couple of year our Wii has been one of those collecting dust due to it being noisy. I finally decided to do brain surgery on it, and fixed the noisy drive, and it is now being played in again.
  All that being said, I preordered the Wii-U, and did so for a few reasons:
  1) We have Netflix, a drive full of movies, BBC and a pile of other things (nope, no cable :), a bunch of hardware, that I'd like to consolidate and control through one remote. I don't think I'm the only one, which is why Harmony make out like bandits selling very pricey remotes;
  2) I don't have to go finding disks each time and am hopeful the Wii online store will contain the games on Wii that get played regularly;
  3) I'm looking forward (VERY MUCH) to the asymmetrical gameplay elements;
  4) I like more "hard core" games as well, and this game allows for that (along with differentiated play types).
  I don't think Nintendo forgot their market at all, but not all the market will move immediately. Wait :)
16. Re:Why aren't people more hyped about the Wii U? by Randle_Revar · 2012-10-26 05:12 · Score: 2
  
  For me a lot of things add up. Note that I was excited about the original Wii, and still like it a lot.
  The controller seems much more like a gimmick to me. I liked the motion control possibilities of the first one (and it was put to some good use, if never quite what could have been IMO), but this seems a lot less useful. Oh, there certainly are some uses, it may be very useful for a few games. But I see it being less used than the motion control.
  The power I am pretty much ok with. The Wii was less powerful, and it is mostly fine for what it does. However, I am pissed that the Wii U does not upscale Wii games to HD. That is one of the biggest limits on the Wii to me. And the emulator upscales! Why the hell won't the Wii U? Yeah, it was a mistake not making the Wii HD in the first place, and yeah, upscaled will never look like native. But it is something!
  Another issue is, as you noted, the online situation. Like the HD, the lack of a decent system for online play was basically inexcusable even back at release. And unlike the HD issue, the Wii U still doesn't fix it, even for new games. It sounds like there is a bit more infrastructure in place, but not enough to be worthwhile.
  I haven't owned a console of my own since I was a kid, but since my brother likes his PS3 and doesn't much care for his Wii, I was thinking of getting a Wii U. But I am not sure I see the point if it doesn't upscale Wii games.
  
  --
  Climate Progress - Hell and High Water
17. Re:Why aren't people more hyped about the Wii U? by Randle_Revar · 2012-10-26 05:21 · Score: 2, Insightful
  
  Damn, I hate sports. Or to be more accurate, I don't like sports fans. I am not a fan of playing 90+% of team sports, but a few are ok. But watching pro sports? Bleh! And the people that do are mostly just terrible.
  Anyway, Sports fans will fit in much better with the Call of Modern Combat 12 fans, and as such, should stick to the Xbox or possibly the PS. Nintendo is for people that like happy, fun games.
  
  --
  Climate Progress - Hell and High Water
18. Re:Why aren't people more hyped about the Wii U? by Randle_Revar · 2012-10-26 05:39 · Score: 3, Informative
  
  Because for all the Wii U's failings it isn't a pointless pile of shit?
  Why the flying fuck would I want an iPad when I could buy an android tablet or an Asus transformer or something, and hack a real OS on there?
  And yes, I am the Wii U's target audience, even if they are not convincing me to buy one right now.
  
  --
  Climate Progress - Hell and High Water
19. Re:Why aren't people more hyped about the Wii U? by Dahamma · 2012-10-26 05:44 · Score: 2
  
  One thing that has me confused about the new controller is that its design goals are completely the OPPOSITE of the Wii's controllers.
  With the Wii, the goal was to de-empahasize the technology and make games controlled by natural body motions - you look at the TV and don't focus on the controller. With the Wii U they are now sticking a cumbersome tablet with display in both hands so that you are not only required, but encouraged to look down and treat it as a separate mobile device.
  If that's what they think people really want, fine... but I would have expected them to be a bit more consistent. Weirdly, it almost feels like they are trying to capture the same users of the Wii in the Wii U - as in *literally* the same, like the 8-10 year olds who loved the Wii are now teenagers so whatever they do has to involve a mobile device in their hands...
20. Re:Why aren't people more hyped about the Wii U? by trdrstv · 2012-10-26 05:49 · Score: 2
  
  The main reason I'm not excited about the Wii U is because none of the launch titles interest me. Sure the new Super Mario Bros game is nice, but I'm not buying a whole new console just for that. I'm sure I'll get one eventually, but at the moment I have such a backlog of games for my current-gen systems that I don't need to run out and buy another. There's just not enough of a 'wow factor' to make me grab one on launch day.
  Agreed. I LOVE Nintendo games myself and am thrilled you have backwords compatibility with pretty much everything that doesn't use the GC ports, but as of right now I'm waiting for more games. I think the price is fair and they'll get my dollars at some point (once we have an HD Metroid, F-zero, Zelda / Mario / Smash Bros ) but for me to buy in I really need at least 3 games available I NEED to play before I make the jump.
21. Re:Why aren't people more hyped about the Wii U? by Dahamma · 2012-10-26 05:53 · Score: 2
  
  Have you seen the Xbox Arcade store? Or the Xbox Media Apps? Between those there are something like 600+ inexpensive/free apps to go along with the ~1000 disc based games. Seems like a pretty decent catalog to me, given it's a game console, not a tablet. Sure, they don't have 50 different types of fart app, and no one really cares.
  But speaking of tablet - it will be interesting to see whether MS can make SmartGlass work. Basically use a free app on your existing tablet or phone from any manufacturer rather than buy an expensive custom controller. Having seen it in practice a bit, though, my guess is developers won't make much use of it since it's not going to be nearly as good a control mechanism as the Wii U controller, and I can't even begin to imagine how one holds an Xbox controller and tablet at the same time.
22. Re:Why aren't people more hyped about the Wii U? by Cinder6 · 2012-10-26 05:58 · Score: 4, Insightful
  
  A spec jump does something important for Nintendo. As the casual market moves on to tablets and smartphones, they need to gain back favor with "core" gamers. The Wii's low specs in comparison to the 360 and PS3 really hindered it in this area, because almost every time a game came out for all three platforms, the Wii version paled in comparison to the other two--both from a graphical standpoint and because the games weren't designed with motion controls in mind to begin with. It becomes even more obvious that Nintendo are looking to court the traditional gamers when you look at the Pro controller, which looks just like a 360 controller.
  The core gamer audience wants Halo, Call of Duty, etc., and now Nintendo will not only be able to say they have them, but that they have better versions of those games. Will it pay off? Time will tell. I hope it does, because even though I've been greatly disappointed with Nintendo this last generation (both with the Wii and the DS/3DS), they're much more innovative and take bigger risks than Sony and Microsoft. The Wii helped Nintendo get a ton of cash, because it always sold at a profit. Frankly, they probably needed it after being slaughtered by Sony for two generations. They can afford to lose money for a few quarters, and I hope they'll be able to weather out the storm and come out on top. Of the three, I trust them the most not to dick around with the customer.
  The real worry for Nintendo is that Sony and Microsoft will probably come out with even more powerful systems, and the Wii U will be in the same spot as the Wii: significantly weaker and receiving inferior ports.
  
  --
  If you can't convince them, convict them.
23. Re:Why aren't people more hyped about the Wii U? by virgnarus · 2012-10-26 06:37 · Score: 2
  
  The gamepad isn't that big of a deal, for someone that has a family? Have you ever played a game with your kids and realized that finding a compromise for making the game as challenging for you and the kids is almost impossible? Watching some Nintendo Land games and the new Super Mario Bros. demonstrated that the additional gamepad can easily break down that barrier. The idea of having to keeping the kids alive in Super Mario Bros. by placing platforms under em can be very challenging in itself. Rayman Legends also comes to mind in this regard with being a helpful sprite, or doing the opposite and letting the kid be your helper. The concept of babysitting in a game is often an awful experience dealing with AI NPCs, but when it comes with doing the same thing for your own children, it's a blast. The Wii U just makes the whole capacity of being an administrator or dungeon master in a game all that more appealing and feasible.
  You can cry about Nintendo losing its touch with the demographic it was aiming to please with the Wii, but giving me more power over how a game plays out for both me and the little fellas is exactly what I'm interested in. And look, I don't even have to sacrifice a player slot to do it; the kids can have their friend over and I can still be involved!
24. Re:Why aren't people more hyped about the Wii U? by LateArthurDent · 2012-10-26 09:21 · Score: 2
  
  People aren't more hyped because console gaming just isn't that interesting anymore. In our house we have a Wii and a PS3. My kids have iPod touches, my wife has an iPad. Lots of video games are played in my house - all of them on the handheld devices.
  Wow. I am different than other people...
  I own a smartphone. Would love to have a few games on it for those times when I'm in a wait room for the dentist or something. Can't find a single that doesn't drive me nuts, except for solitaire. Touchscreens suck as a game interface, at least I think so.
  The single best interface for games is a keybaord in mouse. Failing that, a joypad or joystick will do. But a touchscreen??? I honestly assumed nobody who actually played video games made the transition until I saw your post. I thought the entire market was composed of people who didn't play video games until smartphones became popular.
25. Re:Why aren't people more hyped about the Wii U? by hairyfeet · 2012-10-26 10:13 · Score: 2
  
  Bimbo Newton Crosby, you have hardware that will be playing X360 games from last year along with a SERIOUSLY confusing lineup...Bayonetta 2 an exclusive? WTF? I thought Nintendo was the family friendly one, some chick wearing her hair for clothes and doing everything as fetish fuel is a launch title?
  But here is the UGLY truth Nintendo and the rest don't want to admit...in a dead economy its gonna be hard enough to sell, but the simple fact is we've gone just about as far as we can go with regards to graphics. Could you get better graphics? Sure you can, but it'll cost 100 million plus per title and one failure will torpedo the company, this is why EA is for sale and Activision is on the market. Frankly the only one that I think has a real shot is the Steambox, as it will have Valve's excellent relationship with the indies and that looks like its gonna be the future, more specialized games appealing to specific niches instead of spending 100 million to make a generic sludge that has "broad appeal" for fear of not recouping costs.
  Lets face it, the ONLY thing Nintendo has really going for it is its stable of beloved characters but even there? they are just running out of ideas. Funky controllers and other gimmicks will only go so far and i have a feeling that with so many Wii units gathering dust in closets because after they played the handful of "must play" first party titles nothing else was worth playing? People are not gonna want to jump on board until they see the third parties can add something besides 3 year old X360 games and shovelware...well all except the fanbois, but they'll buy anything with the big N across the top.
  
  --
  ACs don't waste your time replying, your posts are never seen by me.
Seems expensive? by NinjaTekNeeks · 2012-10-26 03:51 · Score: 4, Interesting

Article mentions 250GBP for the unit which is about $ 400 US. That seems like a hefty tag for a Nintendo, which historically has been cheaper than MSFT and Sony. Game pad is another 160 $ for standalone play.

500$ buys me about 10 new video games or 15-20 sale games for my 360 or steam account, I probably won't be running out to pick this up.
1. Re:Seems expensive? by tepples · 2012-10-26 04:53 · Score: 2
  
  Some reasons for this price difference include different expectations of warranty, more effort needed for translation of the user interface, whether sales tax is included in the price (Europe) or not (USA), distance from the factories in China, and the like.
2. Re:Seems expensive? by hobarrera · 2012-10-26 05:35 · Score: 2
  
  I'm sure the 150USD difference must be to cover the translation of the entire UI from en_us to en_gb. Imagine the amount of effort and people you need to achieve this!!
Re:Volume! by Desler · 2012-10-26 03:55 · Score: 3, Informative

They make it up by their higher profit first-party games and licensing fees from third-party developers.
Real power? by SuperMooCow · 2012-10-26 04:06 · Score: 4, Interesting

I've read some comments that say the Wii U is "as powerful as an Xbox360/PS3", however I've also read articles that mentioned the Wii U is two generations ahead of the other two consoles... so, which one is it?
Butthurt Xbox360 and PS3 owners spreading FUD about the new Nintendo system now that they have to comment about how gameplay is more important than graphics, or dumbass writers who will say anything to have people read their articles?
Do we even know the specifications of the Wii U's GPU to make such comparisons?
1. Re:Real power? by Narishma · 2012-10-26 04:23 · Score: 4, Informative
  
  It has more memory (about twice as much, if you remove the 1 GB reserved for the system) and a more modern and faster GPU than the PS360 but the CPU is lacking even compared to that of the 360. In the end it makes the console a bit faster but not by much and it will have to compete with the next generation of Sony and MS consoles which are expected in about a year or so.
  
  --
  Mada mada dane.
2. Re:Real power? by trdrstv · 2012-10-26 04:24 · Score: 4, Informative
  
  I've read some comments that say the Wii U is "as powerful as an Xbox360/PS3", however I've also read articles that mentioned the Wii U is two generations ahead of the other two consoles... so, which one is it?
  Butthurt Xbox360 and PS3 owners spreading FUD about the new Nintendo system now that they have to comment about how gameplay is more important than graphics, or dumbass writers who will say anything to have people read their articles?
  Do we even know the specifications of the Wii U's GPU to make such comparisons?
  The Wii U being "As powerful as the PS3 / 360" is FUD. It's more powerful and really that isn't hard to do on a budget, considering those consoles are both over 6 years old. One other telling factor is if you notice the 3rd party games that are multiform COD, AC3, etc... are running natively at 1080p60 on Wii U and not on the PS3 / 360. This is also with first generation non-optimized code for the Wii U, pretty safe to say it IS more powerful than it's Current gen rivals.
  some specs: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wii_u#Technical_specifications
It's not that it's underpowered... by realmolo · 2012-10-26 04:11 · Score: 5, Interesting

It *is* a little underpowered for a system coming out in 2012, but honestly it's powerful enough. We've reached a bit of a plateau with graphics on consoles. PS3 and 360 games look *damn good*. If the WiiU can do that, people will be happy.
The bigger problem for the WiiU is that I think the console market has changed. People have SO MANY gaming options these days that game consoles just aren't as interesting as they used to be. Especially for the price. Nintendo wants to sell this thing for $400, but that buys you an iPad.
Nintendo, Sony, and Microsoft need to realize that they don't have the gaming market to themselves anymore. Not like they used to, anyway. And in this economy, cost is king. If they think they are going to be selling new consoles for $400, they are nuts.
Honestly, I think that both Sony and Microsoft should keep their current consoles alive indefinitely. I mean, why not? Keep lowering the price, and keep them alive. I'd love to be able to pick up an fully-loaded 360 with a Kinect for $100 in 2016, and still have new games coming out for it. Like I said, we've reached a bit of a plateau with consoles. Why not stay on that plateau for a while?
1. Re:It's not that it's underpowered... by Custard+Horse · 2012-10-26 04:23 · Score: 2
  
  Nintendo, Sony, and Microsoft need to realize that they don't have the gaming market to themselves anymore
  What goes around, comes around e.g. a decade ago...
  "Nintendo and Sony need to realize that they don't have the gaming market to themselves anymore"
  ...which is precisely how Microsoft stole the rug from under them with the 360. Now the three companies are losing ground to Apple and Google.
  I wonder if there will be another cycle in the the next decade or if one or more of the companies fold or are taken over? Nintendo seems the weakest but Sony seem more likely to leave the games industry after having been caught with their hands in the till on more than one occasion.
Same Old Story by oGMo · 2012-10-26 04:44 · Score: 2

The controller raises a lot of interesting possibilities

Just like the Wii! And the GameCube! And the N64! Yet, somehow, none of these "interesting possbilities" ever seem to pan out into a large library of games.

But I haven't been hearing a lot of buzz about it, considering it's supposed to be launching next month. I know it's supposed to be as powerful as the PS3/360.

Wow, it's just as powerful as the consoles I've had for the last 5 years. And it's going to cost more than they have in a long time. And guess what! Instead of one of those puny 500GB PS3-with-a-game bundles, we're going to get a whole 32GB flash, and a piece of crap. Yawn. They could try a lot harder.

But I haven't heard much about the debut game lineup.

Then you haven't been paying attention. It's going to have some games at launch: a lot of non-exclusives with a few bizarre exclusives (Bayonetta 2?) and yet more rehashing of old Nintendo franchises.

Frankly I think Nintendo, for all their faults (most notably, their admittedly piss-poor online support), kind of gets the short-shrift in the gaming community. Their systems may not have the cutting edge CPU's and GPU's, but they do what they do pretty well.

This is utter BS and I'll tell you why Nintendo is getting well-deserved apathy: games. The NES and SNES had amazing lineups of games that are still playable today. The N64 started a long line of bad decisions for Nintendo: tiny cartridges; it had Mario64 and Zelda64 that were genre-defining games, but little else that stands up. The GameCube had slightly more, but due to tiny disc size and bizarrely-different controller, the lineup wasn't huge. Still, I'd take it over the Wii, which has nothing defining, lots of rehashing (Mario, Zelda, Metroid, few of them any good), and the occasionally good third-party title Nintendo refuses to import (Xenoblade).
It's not (just) because Nintendo panned the community by repeatedly insulting the "hard-core" constituents, it's a continuing downward spiral of crap gaming library. Granted, this hasn't been the last-last generation where I packed six shelves with just the good PS2 games, but the PS3 has a solid three shelves, and the 360 has a good two shelves, and I don't give a crap where any of the Wii games are.
Now I should be excited about the Wii U, which is just now playing catchup with last gen and getting lots of ports? Sony is already pushing to have the Vita and PS3 interact to kill whatever "interesting possbilities" the WiiU wants to hold exclusive. Love or hate Sony, they can build a platform that has a game library worth playing. If Microsoft does something similar with smartphones or the Surface, say bye to any interest in the Wii U from anyone.

--
Don't think of it as a flame---it's more like an argument that does 3d6 fire damage
1. Re:Same Old Story by LordKronos · 2012-10-26 11:13 · Score: 2
  
  The controller raises a lot of interesting possibilities
  Just like the Wii! And the GameCube! And the N64! Yet, somehow, none of these "interesting possbilities" ever seem to pan out into a large library of games.
  Really? I could swear there was a MASSIVE library of games out there that would be mostly unplayable without analog controls. Remember, that was the hallmark feature of the N64 controller. Yes they didn't invent it, but they sure started a trend that everyone else followed. Not sure what you are referring to on the GameCube. I don't remember any supposedly "killer" feature of that system's controller. As for the Wii, I think the jury is still out on that. You need to wait a generation or two to see what (if any) lasting effect it has on the industry. It certainly has had a short term effect on the industry, causing the competitors to throw out their own motion control systems (even if they didn't really quite figure out how to make good use of them, and almost no games are designed with it in mind).
Flat sheet of glass by tepples · 2012-10-26 04:49 · Score: 2

My kids have iPod touches, my wife has an iPad. Lots of video games are played in my house - all of them on the handheld devices.

How well do platformers and fighting games work on a device whose only input is a flat sheet of glass? I tried playing some classic games on my Nexus 7, but my thumbs kept missing the buttons on the on-screen gamepad because the screen gave me zero tactile feedback as to where my thumbs were.
but that buys you an iPad by future+assassin · 2012-10-26 05:15 · Score: 2

Seriously am I suppose to hold the iPad as a controller and move it around while I play a game on my TV? How am I going to play fighting games? 10 hit combo? Is an iPad gonna have the same games? Why would I buy and iPad and have a half ass gaming experience compared to a dedicated system. I'd rather have the right tool or the job than some half ass attempt from a text and video consumption pad.

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by TheSpoom (715771) Uncaring Linux user here. I have nothing to add to this but please continue. *munches popcorn*
People Are Hyped - Try to Buy One! by Kagato · 2012-10-26 05:47 · Score: 2

Hyped? Pre-sales sold out a month ago. I don't know how much more hype people expected there to be?!? The Amazon and ebay 3rd party sales are already looking to be gouging people by $50-100.
The other interesting bit here is the sale at a loss. If it's less than 10% than the loss will be made up by the the change in value of the yen versus the dollar over the next few months. Add to that manufacturing cost cutting and it will be to profit far faster than the PS3 or XBox.
Re:Still has the same problem as the 3DS by tstrunk · 2012-10-26 07:02 · Score: 2

The 3DS was by far the worst console launch by Nintendo, possibly even of all game consoles.
Yeah, because the 3DS did so much worse than the Virtual Boy. ^^
Re:Multiple consoles and AAA titles by Gravatron · 2012-10-26 07:31 · Score: 2, Insightful

They said the wii had potential for motion as well. In all the years it was out, very, very few games came anywhere near that. Most used motion as little as possible. They make not good consoles, but novelty based ones, and then short change on specs to get costs low as possible. I mean, compare 3ds specs to any phone or rival handheld, it's vastly outdated. The wii was the same: push the novelty, and deflect the power arguments. I don't see anything in the wii u that makes me think anything has changed in the Nintendo camp.