I am not sure if you know this, but Nintendo has a new console. In fact they have had a new console on the market for about nine months now. The console is called the Wii U. Which is actually similar to the sound a child makes when they are impersonating an ambulance siren. This is kind of a fitting analogy because the Wii U for all intents and purposes is getting very close to being put on life support. ( Brace yourself because here comes a few sales figures. I know its like math but I simplified it you’ll be fine. ) Since its release last November the Wii U has posted sales of about 3.6 million units worldwide. To put things into perspective Nintendo’s previous console the Wii sold 9.3 million units in the same amount of time. If you compare unit sales between December 31st and June 30th of their respective launch years the Wii sold just over 6 million units while the Wii U has sold about 550 thousand units. These numbers are fairly troublesome for a company that wishes to stay relevant in a market where Microsoft and Sony are poised to release two of the most anticipated video game consoles ever this fall. Pre-orders are selling out world wide for both the PS4 and the XBOX One, ( Although it has been documented that Microsoft is intentionally giving retailers smaller inventory of the XBOX One to boost demand. ) there is a lot of hype for these consoles.
E3 ( Electronic Entertainment Expo ) was a major publicity event this year for both Sony and Microsoft. Whether it was the surreal moment at the end of Sony’s conference where they openly took shots at Microsoft’s unpopular and poorly explained DRM ( Digital Rights Management ) policies or some very bone headed comments by the then President of Interactive Entertainment at Microsoft Don Mattrick, the XBOX One and the PS4 were all anyone could talk about. E3 is a platform that all video game developers use to publicize new software and hardware for consumers and investors alike to be aware of and excited for.
Nintendo has held a conference every year at E3 since the very first E3 in 1995. This year however Nintendo decided instead of a conference at E3 they would air a special pre-taped event about upcoming software and hardware on their Nintendo Direct internet channel. While Nintendo did have a presence at E3 this year, not having a conference feels like a major misstep for the videogames legend. The special Nintendo Direct event underwhelmed most viewers with one of the highlights being Nintendo executives coming out in cutesy cat suits to make light of a new feature coming to a new Super Mario game. I have read that the games actually shown on the floor at E3 were solid games, but without the impact of the E3 conference its hard to think that the games are all that good. If the games are so great why couldn’t they have been shown off at a conference, just like Sony and Microsoft do every year and like Nintendo has done every year before this one?
E3 for those of you who are unaware is the Super Bowl of video gaming to many people. There are many other platforms during the year where companies show off videogames and related hardware worldwide but E3 is usually where the big names in gaming bring out the big guns and show off their latest and greatest projects. Few, if any, videogame related events receive anything near the media attention that E3 receives every year and this year was pretty big with the PS4 and XBOX One coming out this fall. Not doing a conference is an acknowledgement, be it conscious or otherwise, that Nintendo doesn’t believe its console can compete with Sony and Microsoft.
For Nintendo to remain relevant they have to appear in full force at E3. They can’t opt out of their annual conference to do a “Nintendo Direct” broadcast. Whether its true or not this seems like an action of surrender. The mindset seems to be that they are OK with Microsoft and Sony grabbing the majority of the video game market as long as the the hardcore Nintendo fans keep supporting them. Titles like Mario and Zelda have large drawing power and respectfully are videogame legends, few titles have lasted half as long and still managed to be relevant.
The problem is Nintendo only has a handful of these types of exclusive titles. These games are great in their own respects but Nintendo’s apparent refusal to evolve these titles or to develop new IP’s ( Intellectual Properties ) are definitely points of concern. We all love Mario but people are burning out on him. Mario games seem relatively the same since the Super Nintendo days, only now the games have updated graphics and ( sigh ) magic cat suits. Their have been tweaks to the level designs and presentation and the differences may be substantial to the people who actually play them but to people on the outside looking in these games appear more and more like the same old thing. At least Link has received several different character designs over the years to help distinguish one game from the next.
The issue isn’t with Mario so much as it is with Nintendo relying so heavily on tired franchises. By the end of this year there will have been 5 Zelda games and 4 Super Mario games released in the last 2 years! Meanwhile 3rd party developers are getting very hesitant to create anything new for the Wii U. Earlier this year an executive for EA ( Electronic Arts ) actually went as far as to say publicly that the console was “crap” and as of right now EA has nothing in development for the Wii U. Most of the 3rd party titles coming to the Wii U right now are bad ports of games from other consoles. Many features like online multiplayer aren’t even being developed for games on the Wii U. Most recently Warner Bros has stated that their upcoming Batman: Arkham Origins for the Wii U will not have online multiplayer capabilities because they want to concentrate development for the largest online multiplayer audiences possible. To add insult to injury large retailers around the world are pulling the Wii U from their shelves in favor of “consoles that actually sell.” ASDA a Wal-Mart subsidiary and one of the U.K.’s largest retail chains will no longer offer the Wii U in their stores. Some Wii U games may still be available in store but if you want the console it will now have to be ordered online from the ASDA website.
Another reason why a proper E3 conference was and is so important to the Nintendo brand is that many people think that the Wii U is just a new controller for the old Wii. The fact that Nintendo has failed to properly explain the Wii U to the mass market as a brand new console is unforgivable. This year’s E3 was Nintendo’s chance to clarify to the world what the Wii U is all about and what kind of future consumers can expect with the new console. Instead they chose to stream a special on their own Nintendo Direct of which most casual gamers outside of Nintendo have never heard of or for that matter know how to access. If Nintendo’s faith is in the casual gaming market because of the success of the original Wii then why were the casual gamers excluded? Casual gamers are not looking up a special feed to watch Nintendo’s pre-recorded Direct event.
The Wii U itself doesn’t exactly have the highest specs for a console and will be considerably under-powered compared to the XBOX One and PS4. However the Wii U does support full 1080p high definition graphics and comes with an interesting tablet style controller that has a large screen built into the center. The Wii U only has 32 gigabytes of memory but the controller has multiple motion gaming capabilities and other features such as a built in camera. Since basically the dawn of home videogame consoles the console with the highest specs has rarely won the so called “console wars.” The console with the “killer app” is almost always the one that wins the majority of the market share. In earlier years it was exclusive games like the original Super Mario, or Sonic the Hedgehog that helped a console sell. Nintendo themselves proved one of the most recent examples with the original Wii. The Wii didn’t even have high definition graphics and yet for a while it was outselling its competition at a factor of 6:1.
If the Wii U fails is it possible that Nintendo could leave the console market all-together and concentrate solely on software development? Its not likely as of right now. It is possible that the Wii U is mid swan song and if nothing substantial happens with the console soon it could very well be on its way out. Nintendo does have one card up its sleeve though. The Nintendo 3DS is one of the best selling handheld gaming devices of all time. Amazon reported that pre-orders for the handheld doubled that of the Wii in some regions. Currently the 3DS has an install base of about 33 million units. The question now is if the Wii U tanks will Nintendo forget about competing in the home console market and concentrate only on handheld gaming? Maybe Nintendo could use the profits from the 3DS to develop an all new console. Chances are that Nintendo spent a significant amount of money developing the Wii U and that could understandably make them weary of immediately developing a new console even if they can afford it.
Most recently Nintendo has released Pikmin 3, a long anticipated sequel to the 2004 Nintendo Gamecube game Pikmin 2. Pikmin 3 does seem popular with Nintendo fans right now and is helping to move some consoles. Something to consider is that even if Pikmin 3 does become a hit, with the high cost of videogame development and the relatively small install base of the Wii U will the success be enough to lure other developers to the console? The Wii U is navigating troubled waters right now. Their is a lot of hype for the PS4 and XBOX One coming out this fall. Nintendo has to bring out the heavy artillery if they want to remain relevant in the home console market and I fear Mario just isn’t enough anymore. For Nintendo this holiday season could be particularly cold.
-Z3R0TH3RT33N
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