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How Can Nintendo Recover?
Nerval's Lobster writes "Nintendo's revenue and profits are tumbling faster than Mario into a bottomless pit. Company executives recently suggested the next-generation Wii U console would sell 2.8 million units between April 2013 and March 2014 — significantly below the 9 million units predicted in previous estimates. Contrast that with Sony's PlayStation 4 and Microsoft's Xbox One, which sold 4.2 million and 3 million units, respectively, in their first six weeks of release. In lowering its hardware and software estimates, Nintendo also expects to take a loss by the end of its fiscal year in March. Nintendo's attempt to carve a niche for itself as an ecosystem for casual gamers has also run into a massive obstacle in the form of smartphones and tablets, which quickly developed into popular gaming platforms. Nintendo is reportedly considering a 'new business model,' according to Bloomberg, with its CEO telling a gathering of reporters in Osaka: 'Given the expansion of smart devices, we are naturally studying how smart devices can be used to grow the game-player business. It's not as simple as enabling Mario to move on a smartphone.' While Nintendo could probably made some good money off legacy gamers by bringing its (much loved) portfolio of older titles to iOS, Android, and other platforms, that move to mobile might further weaken its hardware sales. So what do you think? If you were in charge of Nintendo, how would you turn it around?"
Sega's mistake was not having good hardware, it was having too much hardware. They were told that the Genesis was great, a few years later it was the Sega CD, then almost immediately after that was 32X, then almost immediately it was the Dreamcast. Customers who liked Sega had the original Genesis (not talking Master SYstem), but then two quick updates then a new console. Frankly, Sega broke the bank on the DreamCast by asking their customers to buy too much too fast. Too much hardware. That is a good reason for the Big N to stick with the U for a while, develop it, make it cheaper than the PS4 and the XBox One, still get 1080p @ 60fps, release some exclusives, wait several years in order not to burnout their core client base like Sega did. They can't bail on the U for financial reasons and for the games already in the pipe, and they can't make a U2 because it will burn current customers. Once Mario Kart, Zelda, Smash Bro, etc come out, it will be comfortable again... you doubters and haters
Customers wanted and expected what they had in the old Wii with 1280p HD and a boost in processing power and got the Wii U.
Nintendo totally ignored the social aspect they created with the Wii. They went from a system where it was cheap enough to buy 4 controllers; so 4 people could play at a time to a system where it's just too expensive to have multiple players. Potential customers look at the Wii U as if it's essentially an expensive one player system, and just decide to keep playing the old Wii. In other words, they made a system that no one was asking for and even worse no one wanted in the Wii U.
IMO, if Nintendo wants to recover make a Wii HD.
I like playing on my big screen with my kids, our handheld devices don't facilitate family interaction. Nintendo effed up.
But the smartphone is a miserable gaming platform.
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