Why The Wii U Was Nintendo’s Biggest Mistake

want to unlock a world of Wonder and excitement this is the key the Nintendo quality seal few companies have revolutionized video games in more ways than Nintendo the practice of literally stamping cartridges with the Nintendo seal of quality introduced to circumvent atari's failures at quality control marked the first step towards Hardware makers profiting from software developed by third-party Studios and it need not be stated how effectively the Wii appeal to multiple Generations from children enjoying their first video game to nursing home residents in need of a convenient and fun tool for bolstering their motor skills for decades Nintendo constituted the entry point for many a gamer and easily vacillated between catering to casual and hardcore audiences but after the we prioritize the Casual with motion controls which came at the cost of third-party support Nintendo used its successor the Wii U to regain a foothold in the market dominated by PlayStation and Xbox the Wii U should have proven yet another sticking point for the manufacturer given the inventive second screen application interoperability between it and the 3DS and backwards compatibility with the Wii unlike previous Nintendo devices the Wii successor even supported HD graphics a wide range of factors converge to prevent the Home console from Gaining much traction however Chief among them being the sheer confusion that pervaded pre-launch marketing campaigns misguided by unclear messaging trusted media sources most notably wrote previews describing the Wii U as a peripheral for the Wii the product's bizarre naming convention only exacerbated this particular issue not even the acclaimed Mario Kart 8 could boost the system's poor sales as such Wii U sold a dismal 13.5 million units in its lifetime failure Nintendo hadn't faced since the gamecubera and it left many wondering if the house of Mario would ever fully recover this is the tragedy of Wii U [Music] foreign to you in part by MEC Arena look we 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more with 370 million dollars being reserved for r d in 2007. flush with cash and fueled by the meteoric success of its Seventh Generation Hardware a very healthy Nintendo began wondering what should come next roughly a year after the Wiis Market debut according to Shigeru Miyamoto the figurehead behind some of the Publisher's most important IPS such talks were Guided by a desire to fulfill needs the original we couldn't facilitate Miyamoto imagined the Wii's potential use as an everyday tool in the household a vision that we fit partially Satisfied by providing an easy solution to daily exercise routines but Nintendo envisioned a future wherein its Hardware became a central part of the living room much like the television president and CEO of the corporation at the time the late Satora Iwata once noted in an Iwata asks segment on Nintendo's website that this pursuit to take over the living room demanded a structural change for the Wii after several rounds of iteration The Firm settled on the Wii U's tablet-like configuration the idea spawned from the value that a second screen would provide specifically allowing players to engage in a number of game-centric tasks without turning on the TV this notion more or less scratched the need for a television out of the equation as it finally gave Gamers a sizeable screen of their own one capable of delivering far more information than the typical console's single screen functionality permitted naturally the size of the tablet styled Gamepad required a lot of thought Nintendo figured a particularly large display wouldn't fit within its budget constraints a small amount of screen real estate didn't seem the best bet either resulting in the Wii U 6.2 inch design of course the button layout proved an integral part of the Wii U's makeup too Simplicity was the name of the game for the classic Wii remote thus broadening the general design scheme with a touch sensitive display further simplified Nintendo's modern controller layout Above All Else hopes were high the Wii U gamepad would help Foster Innovation for example Miyamoto believed the console could house numerous ways to play games so long as third-party developers invented fresh ideas for the novel hardware and the benefit for such creators didn't merely amount to the alleviation of restrictions that plagued the weira Iwata and Company bet on the new device challenging developers to resolve years-long game design dilemmas caused by single screen gaming as far as higher-ups were concerned the possibilities were virtually endless early Rumblings about the Wii successor left analysts pundits and Nintendo faithful feeling the same however the leaks and speculation painted a far grander picture than what reality eventually Unbound what's up everyone welcome to another game scoop news break rumors of a wee HD have started to surface again coming from consumer website what they play citing multiple industry sources apparently the report speculates that the wehd will address several key concerns with the current consoles such as the lack of storage space a report from what they play in October 2008 teased an updated version of the Wii that would finally introduce Nintendo branded Hardware to HD visuals in 2011. the publication sources additionally claimed the new device would tackle troubles with storage space Shigeru Miyamoto spoke on the matter more than a year later telling Popular Mechanics that Nintendo had no concrete plans for its next Home console yet he suggested the Wii successment engineers and designers would likely pursue ways to integrate its interface in whatever platform came next so Tora Iwata doused more gasoline on the speculation during an investor relations q a session in August 2010 where he reflected on Nintendo's ability to surprise the masses with innovative ideas Insider details began circulating sooner than intended however Game Informer revealed in an early 2011 report that multiple sources were certain Nintendo's next gen console would enter the spotlight during that Year's E3 festivities word from Game Informer sources tallied with previous claims about HD graphics a technological leap that had the potential to nourish Nintendo's dealings with third-party Studios efforts to repair these relations were already in motion at the time with the company allegedly shopping its device around in hopes of garnering Interest ahead of an internally targeted 2012 launch it was a far cry from the days when Western developers knew nothing of the Wii prior to its official announcement by April 2011 the cat was out of the bag since rumors had swelled of a product codenamed project Cafe IGN cited informants insisting the console pact significantly more power than the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. cvg's write-up mentioned a controller with a built-in touchscreen along with backwards compatible software and Hardware other insiders even accurately detailed the button layout and display size leaving little for Nintendo to surprise the public with at its own pace outside of minor hints during investment meetings remaining silent about the fast spreading leaks seemed to be in Nintendo's best interest until the Wii U's formal unveiling at E3 2011. so today welcome to the world of we you to begin explaining let's take a little quick at Wii U in action hey it's time to watch some baseball okay [Music] Hernandez is on the mountain and here comes the 3-1 pitch oddly enough the GamePad served as the heart of the presentation its 6.2 inch display motion sensors and standard array of analog sticks and buttons receiving a bulk of the attention Nintendo additionally confirmed support for HD resolution in 1080P we remote and we fit balance board compatibility and the long rumored late 2012 launch window pricing details alluded the public eye during the trade show but Nintendo of America boss Reggie fisa May sold consumers on the promise that Wii U would fundamentally change the way they played games and according to Iwata such a premise for the hardware targeted all types of Gamers especially veteran enthusiasts a preliminary lineup of launch window titles helped accentuate this point the list buttressed by third-party reports like Assassin's Creed 3 Batman Arkham City and Darksiders 2. Nintendo even scored an exclusive from GT games Lego City Stories later known as Lego City Undercover but a big AAA Adventure from Nintendo's internal Studios was nowhere to be found on the E3 show floor though audience members attending the event erupted in Applause throughout the presentation online Rumblings and the stock market quickly indicated General responses to the Wii U Were tepid at best within one day of the E3 conference analysts spied a 7.5 drop in Nintendo's share price which marked a five-year low for the Japanese corporation analyst yosuke sonoto attributed the Steep drop in value to high expectations that went unmet because so much about the hardware had leaked months in advance nevertheless Nintendo persevered throughout the skepticism and confusion releasing details about the platform piecemeal until a blowout of information hit the airwaves during a September 2012 Wii U preview event the platform holder used the New York city-based showcase to announce we use November 2012 release date and two separate configurations priced at three hundred dollars the basic model Wii U boasted eight gigabytes of memory a Gamepad console and other necessary accruents meanwhile the 350 deluxe package featured 32 gigabytes of memory and everything in the basic set plus a Gamepad charging cradle stands and a copy of the mini-game-filled Nintendo Land the preview event may have answered a great many questions about the product but reporting from evidently confused parties injured the device's pre-launch marketing mainstream Outlets such as CNN and the Wall Street Journal incorrectly referred to the Wii U as a Wii accessory when chronicling the E3 2012 and New York events respectively in a gaming segment on The Tonight Show starring Jimmy Fallon the eponymous host called the GamePad a peripheral that could be added to the Wii the CNN and Wall Street Journal reports were later corrected of course however the effects of First Impressions can often prove impenetrable speaking with Gamespot after the preview showcase director of product marketing Bill trynan admitted Nintendo didn't practice due diligence when explaining the Wii U early on the marketing lead acknowledged that during the E3 2011 reveal in particular the GamePad occupied every one of the product photos while the actual console received little to no attention Trenton felt the lack of clarity spread like wildfire from that point onward and thus vowed to resolve the messaging Problem by releasing new promotional materials that prominently centered both the controller and its accompanying Hardware but even in owning these mistakes trinan argued the new device still held an advantage over competing platforms for one third-party exclusives like survival horror title zombieu from Ubisoft bolstered we use games lineup and multi-platform experiences such as Call of Duty Black Ops 2 had integrated Gamepad features that weren't possible on Playstation or Xbox the most intriguing of which included couch Co-op without the need for split screen functionality from Nintendo's point of view Gamers had a choice to make in the fall of 2012. either play games the way they always had on PS3 and 360 or experience new ways of playing courtesy of the Wii U's Gamepad consumers and game creators ultimately decided the new Nintendo console was deficient in what they wanted from the Next Generation so you recently unveiled the Wii U the share price is down about 15 since then what are what are investors missing what are people missing is there any are there any misunderstandings about the Wii U or uh the importance of it to your business I think what happened is that there were two different stories being told if you will at E3 where we unveiled the Wii U I spoke to quite a number of investors they're very excited they see the potential and for them as they saw the stock price come down they saw it as a buying opportunity that we sold hugely in large part because you really expanded your customer base there was a lot of families there's a lot of people who bought their very first game console was the Wii who's buying the Wii U is that just the hardcore Nintendo fans that people have been playing Zelda all their life or is it new customers our expectation is that we will also expand the user base with Wii U and we're going to do that again through the power of the software aren't you worried about the timing and that the Wii U will be a generation behind your rivals well first off I have to correct you the specs are quite different than our com the competitive systems much more graphically intensive if you do a side-by-side comparison you would actually actually see that third-party games like Call of Duty look dramatically better on our system let me tell you like like I don't know but uh what made the research essential seems to me that it was the game play and the way the machine worked not Mario or Zelda or whatever but absolutely but we brought it to life with Wii Sports we brought it to life with we fit and we fit plus now there's I think some concern amongst fans that you know Batman is the same game that was released it's not the same well the same content at least it's not the same content it doesn't have quite the same wow factor as the original we did when you know you swung something like this around and people went oh my costs Nintendo to make one apparently and what do you think are the prospects for an EA in some of the bigger Studios to actually start making games for it uh right now they're very slim analysts believe Nintendo is facing an uphill battle while a total of 3 million Wii U's were sold by the end of 2012. sell slowed in January to less than one hundred thousand at the moment the Wii U just isn't a great console I think this is going to be a much harder sell for Nintendo if I put this in in front of my parents they're going to look at this and say I don't know what this is you got to get this away from absolutely the most successful independent publisher in Industry history to join us on stage please join me in welcoming the CEO of EA Mr Jones [Applause] taking the Nintendo stage at E3 2011 Electronic Arts is then CEO John racitello further endorsed Wii U in an interview with industry Gamers the EA executive specifically highlighted the controller praising how using it transcended anything he'd ever done in a video game riccatello's tune changed weeks after the platform hit store shelves evidenced by his comments in a January 2013 investor call next Jen is Yet to Come he said during the meeting before divulging EA's plan of investing 80 million dollars into software for Sony and Microsoft's 8th gen platforms riccatello's comments suggested big name Publishers had already lost faith in the future of the Wii successor sales data implied the public barely had any faith in it at all between April 1st and July 31st 2013 the Wii U sold a mere 160 000 units globally Nintendo reasoned the low sales were mainly due to the release of few key first party titles the company enjoyed a stronger software lineup in the back half of the year because of Wind Waker HD and Super Mario 3D World but something had to give thus Nintendo instituted a price reduction initiative in late September less than a year after the console went to Market though we used 32 gigabyte SKU dropped in price from 350 dollars to three hundred dollars while the eight gigabyte basic model got phased out of circulation interestingly satoro Iwata mentioned in a financial results briefing earlier in the year that demonstrating the console's value to Consumers had proven a Grand Challenge long intervals between big game releases didn't help yetiwanta lamented that some had the misunderstanding that Wii U was just a Wii with a pad for games according to the venerable CEO Nintendo felt responsible for not ensuring prospective customers understood the product anecdotal evidence exposed how retailers were similarly misinformed playing the part of a secret shopper IHS electronics and media's Senior Games analyst Christine Harrington ventured into retail stores in 2013 and asked about the Wii U Arrington claims sales associates told her there was no difference between the Wii and Wii U consoles clearly the misunderstanding ran deeper than the Consumer level and Arrington figured a Wii sports-like experience would have benefited Nintendo tremendously 2006's Wii Sports demonstrated the significance of the Wii's nunchuck controllers easily conveying how gaming on the console operated the Wii U had no such piece of software Dan Adelman former head of Nintendo's Indie program agreed with this notion telling polygon in a 2014 interview that the platform holder had failed to justify the gamepad's value what's more Adelman attributed that we use poor sales to its abysmal name arguing The Branding alone likely halved potential sales the naming convention had thematic purpose though we as a moniker obviously denoted the Wii perspective to punctuate the platform's social aspects of play adding you underscores a boon of an individual running games on their TV or touchscreen but the idea no matter how Forward Thinking simply didn't land a result that cost Nintendo dearly [Music] hello everyone thanks for staying with us following the Nokia Theater presentation to hear more about Wii U hard way through the platform's First full year on the market Nintendo vowed to bullishly educate audiences on the Wii U one example of this manifested in December 2013 when the publisher released an explainer video detailing the console's advanced technology and exclusive games viewers regarded it as the platform's best ad one that should have circulated pre-launch unfortunately the informative overview marked an effort that came far too late Financial earnings results published in July 2014 revealed that for the quarter ending on June 30th the Japanese corporation had lost 97.2 million dollars despite the meteoric success of Mario Kart 8. the Kart Racer shipped an impressive 2.8 million copies though Nintendo attributed these sales to existing Wii U owners instead of new adopters during the same quarterly period the console itself had only shipped 510 000 units worldwide with total lifetime shipments topping at dismal's 6.6 million at the very least its handheld business flourished thanks to the 3DS crossing a sales Milestone of 44 million devices sold while the handheld which launched 18 months ahead of Wii U similarly endured and not forgotten tumultuous launch the product once known as project Cafe wouldn't embark on a Redemption Arc of its own the Wii U received a few last gasps throughout 2015 and 2016 courtesy of key releases including Splatoon Super Mario Maker Twilight Princess HD and Star Fox Zero Nintendo had begun winding down production on the console amid this slow trickle of major titles however manufacturing of the basic Wii U model was discontinued in Japan in 2015 replaced by a premium bundle packaged with a white 32 gigabyte device and Wii remote plus such an announcement hit Airwaves on the eve of splatoon's Debut and Wii U production as a whole ended globally in January 2017 on the eve of Nintendo switch's arrival but the years preceding Nintendo's unpredictable comeback with the switch were burdened by discourse regarding whether the legendary gaming outfit should stop making consoles and instead focus on publishing luckily Nintendo's handheld hybrid gamble paid off with switch yet the blemish left behind by Wii U won't soon fade especially since its vast library of digital games has been removed from the eShop Nintendo terminated the 3DS and Wii U eshops on March 27 2023 making it impossible for owners of those platforms to purchase from a repository of nearly 1800 downloadable titles understandably the controversial decision raised video game preservation concerns to which the publisher responded by directing customers towards the divisive Nintendo switch online membership service the backlash on social media culminated in Nintendo deleting the switch online recommendation from a c-shock discontinuation page but the company wouldn't reverse course on the store shutdown thereby relegating we use many unique experiences to high-priced physical purchases on the reseller Market as such the poorly received console represents much more than an ostensible test bed for switch it also doubles as a harsh reminder that nothing lasts forever on my business card I am a corporate president in my mind I am a game developer but in my heart I am a gamer [Applause] foreign we'd like to take this time to thank by name the generous patrons who have pledged to our Hall of Fame rewards here Alex Moretti and those currently subscribe to our producer Awards here Brock pivoto Daria get wrecked.com Jonathan Kira May Landy K Hayes Mario Herrera milkshake if you enjoy our content please consider subscribing to our Channel and backing us on patreon 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Channel: GVMERS

Views: 144,134

Keywords: Nintendo, Wii U, Switch, Wii U Documentary, Wii U History, Wii U Tragedy, Eshop, Nintendo History

Id: 8uTjTe95-TM

Length: 25min 57sec (1557 seconds)

Published: Fri May 26 2023