Miyamoto gives his reasons for why Wii U failed

http://www.gamespot.com/articles/nintendo-boss-says-that-high-price-point-tablets-l/1100-6428380/

Nintendo's Wii U system has struggled to keep up with the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One. It has sold 9.5 million units as of May since its launch in late 2012, in contrast to the PS4's 22.3 million since late 2013. Nintendo executive and Mario creator Shigeru Miyamoto believes that its lackluster commercial performance is due to its cost and its launch environment.

In an interview with NPR, Miyamoto explained that the Wii U's price was probably too high to be attractive to consumers. Launching at $300 for the basic set and $350 for the option with more storage, the Wii U was not much cheaper than its more powerful competitor, the PS4. "So unfortunately with our latest system, the Wii U, the price point was one that ended up getting a little higher than we wanted," he said. "But what we are always striving to do is to find a way to take novel technology that we can take and offer it to people at a price that everybody can afford."

He went on to describe how Nintendo attempted to push tablet technology forward with the Wii U's gamepad, but ultimately released the console too late to take advantage of the popularity of tablets. The company positioned the gamepad as the console's selling point prior to launch, and it was supposed to accompany games as a second-screen companion. Nintendo, however, didn't anticipate the proliferation of tablet technology.

"I think unfortunately what ended up happening was that tablets themselves appeared in the marketplace and evolved very, very rapidly," Miyamoto explained. " The uniqueness of [the Wii U's tablet] features were perhaps not as strong as they were when we had first begun developing them."

Miyamoto also went into depth about how he came up with the concepts for Mario and The Legend of Zelda. He was heavily inspired by his childhood experiences, and he drew from European comics to make the iconic plumber. Further, intuitions about human psychology led him to make the original platforming games. You can read the whole interview at NPR.

Even though it is selling slowly, the Wii U is getting some big games in the coming year. Super Mario Makerwill let you build your own Mario levels, and, at E3 2015, Nintendo showed off the upcoming Star Fox Zerogame for the system. Additionally, Yoshi's Woolly World, Animal Crossing: Amiibo Festival, and Mario Tennis: Ultra Smash are coming to the Wii U.

What do you think, SW? Is he right? I think he raised good points, but at the same time Wii U just wasn't that interesting at launch. There wasn't really much to play and it was indeed expensive for what it was. It was largely overshadowed by the other consoles.

It's a horrible console in so many technical ways. There's loading screens for the friends list, the settings menu, download lists, and more. It has numerous hardware installs up front. There's a half assed messaging system and parties are exclusive to games, not the system. You can't access the main menu or something similar in game. The "tablet" is too heavy, has a small screen for its size, and is only 480p. On top of that its games straight up do not look better than last gen systems.

That's part of why it failed.

"The uniqueness of [the Wii U's tablet] features were perhaps not as strong as they were when we had first begun developing them."

What unique features? What Nintendo games used the tablet well? Why wasn't there a Fire Emblem or Nintendo Wars or Battalion Wars ready to go, using the tablet as a strategic map? Or even a Sim City title where you "draw" your city layout on the tablet, and it appears on screen? All they had were minigames and 2D platformers. I just don't understand these guys.

i think its an honest answer. even if the wii u is weaker it could have sold very well at a cheaper price, like the Wii. Also the name should have just been the Wii 2, that alone would give it 10 mill more sales. And the tablet became very meh because around the same time people were getting a lot more out of their own tablets.

I might pick one up for Mario Maker. The other problems I will just have to deal with.

I mean, I think he is giving an honest answer from his perspective, but I also think his reasons are not right. I think the major reasons were the system's hardware and software design (including its power, architecture, UI, OS, and so on), its horrible branding (why the **** was it called Wii U?), and its terrible marketing.

I want to hope that they get things right with the NX, because I have the feeling that this will be the last shot they get at fixing their shit. It's been 20 years, if they don't get this next one right, I suspect they will be driven out of the console market entirely.

We will see.

1. The name. I thought it was a wii with a tablet expansion for a year. Oh it's a new console? Weird, oh look Witcher 3 and Star Citizen... Nintenwhat?

Price wasn't the reason the Wii U failed, but probably where it failed the worst was because Nintendo was playing catch-up to the PS3 and Xbox 360 in that they wanted those same third party games both consoles had. Well, that by itself was a bad reason to get people to turn their backs on their Xbox 360s and PS3s, like "hey guys, pay $350 to play the same games your current consoles play". Nintendo thought just because they had a console that could play multiplatform games that third parties and consumers would come flocking to me them, and didn't have to worry about their own first party support. THAT!! That was their biggest mistake that they made. $300/$350 isn't too much if the console is worth it, and has games that are worth playing you can only play on that system. Problem was, when the Wii U launched, they didn't have those must have games people could only play on that system. Don't get me wrong, NSMBU was great fun, Zombie U was okay, but they're not killer apps.

I mean, that I feel is the crux of their failure, I could nitpick it to death on other things, horrible internal storage size, no voice chat, horrible digital rights management, horrible marketing, failure to sell the GamePad as a feature worth having/experiencing, horrible BC with Wii (no rights sharing with VC titles, less VC support, no GameCube support). Some of the worst digital publishing of any of the big three. Regardless, lack of killer apps from launch I think hurt it most.

good to see them realize they can make mistakes....

reggie just answers with pure bullshit.

Finally! Sean Malstrom has gotten through to you!

Price, yeah. Tablet being uninteresting, yeah. But not just because tablets were already out and booming, it didn't add anything to games. Well, the execution was flawed anyway and it ate a chunk of the cost of each unit.

Power? Online? Controller? No third party support? Slow as **** (and lack luster) first party support? THE NAME?

Miyamoto is only speaking the half-truth, there are more reasons why the Wii U failed and that's also not keeping up with their "Blockbuster" partnership with EA in tact.

Maybe it failed bacause ...no games?:P

"Even though it is selling slowly, the Wii U is getting some big games in the coming year. Super Mario Makerwill let you build your own Mario levels, and, at E3 2015, Nintendo showed off the upcoming Star Fox Zerogame for the system. Additionally, Yoshi's Woolly World, Animal Crossing: Amiibo Festival, and Mario Tennis: Ultra Smashare coming to the Wii U.

That's why your console is selling poorly, Nintendo.

Man, you're never giving up on this, are you?

I do not read Maelstrom. I have not read Maelstrom since his fucking 'Birdman' article. Any time I say anything, it is my opinion on things. As a functional, cognitively sound human being capable of higher thought and rationalization, I am capable of forming my own opinion and judgement on things. I do not need the help of an internet blogger to come up with my stance on where a video game company may be going.

The Real Reasons

1. The WiiU was a really stupid name and Pr nightmare. It really confused the public. Most still don't know if it's another wii or an add on.

2. The library is extremely weak. A handful of titles to play along with long droughts will not draw the hardcore. The Wii struck gold with the casuals but nintendo is quickly learning the casual market is not loyal.

3. Too expensive for the tech. Look at the ps4 and x1's library compared to the wiiu. Why buy the wiiu for almost as much with a much smaller library?

But he was right, he fullfilled the prophecy that the Wii U was a total failure from the start and the PS4 would succeed early on! He's more than just a regular internet blogger, he's a prophet! Embrace thee and you'll be in total eternal happiness in Gen 9

You really should read more of it, open your mind!

The number 1 reason is easily the name. There are still people today that don't know its a newer console than the Wii. A distant number 2 reason is the lack of 3rd party support. Even today I would take Nintendo's 1st party games over the other 2, but missing out on all of the multiplats swings things the other way. Shooters, GTA and sports games are what drive the industry. Nintendo misses out on almost all of that.

People want one box that does everything.

Nintendo doesn't provide that. Pretty simple explanation, really.

It's very simple. It's a piece of shit.

did the wii do everything last gen?

Although what he said is one of the reasons for the Wii U's failure, it's not the only reason. And if he thinks that what he said is the sole reason for its failure, then it proves that Nintendo is completely clueless about their plight.

Reasons for Nintendo's decline:
1. Underpowered console. Hardware is lagging a generation behind for 2 gens straight
2. Nintendo doesn't support 3rd party devs as much as they should
3. 3rd party devs don't find it worth their time developing for Nintendo consoles due to number 2
4. Nintendo console owners don't buy 3rd party games. Just look at Black Ops II and Bayonetta
5. Poor marketing and messaging

Personally, items 1 & 5 can be easily rectified for Nintendo's upcoming console. But items 2, 3 & 4 are very serious problems which will haunt Nintendo for a long time. Nintendo has not gotten out of the 80s/90s mentality whereby their console was surviving on a purely Japanese gaming ecosystem. Now that the PC ecosystem, consisting mostly of western devs, have merged with consoles, Nintendo cannot continue holding an isolationist policy

He has some pretty genuine points. It failed for a number of reasons more than he mentioned though. I guess they all can't be winners. I think biggest problem is the attitude of Nintendo, thinking the Wii brand can hit gold twice. Oh, well. I still think the Wii U is an underrated console, its not nearly as bad as people on here say it is.

The Wii was pre-iPhone.

so?

No, but it did have a cool gimmick that made it easy for a lot of people to play games.

Its the super expensive useless but "oh unique" not (how can it be unique when they admitted they were late?)... gamepad. :P

so your statement was wrong.

good to know.

So? Are you seriously asking me that?

Market expectations were different. Dedicated devices used to exist and were accepted, as jack of all trade devices were considered to be generally inferior to specialized dedicated ones. The iPhone came along and changed market expectations entirely to the point that dedicated devices are no longer enough- hell, even TVs, PCs, and disc players now have to have multimedia capabilities. That's how things are now.

That was not how things were when the Wii launched.

so the ps2 didnt sell 150 million because of preiphone also? interesting.

the NES was preiphone also.

The PS2 sold because of its games. So did NES.

I don't even know what you are trying to argue.

Title is false, Wii U didnt fail, Miyamoto explained why it struggled. Its physically impossible for Wii U to fail.

you are trying to discredit the wii dominating last gen because it was *cough* preiphone.

so now do the same to the ps2 and sega genesis.

How am I discrediting anything? Did you actually read what I said?

I am saying the Wii did not need to be anything more than just a games player, because it existed in an era where dedicated devices were expected and accepted. Seriously, work on your comprehension.

Be that as it may, I highly doubt that people bought the PS4 or X1 for the 'multimedia' capabilities. In fact, MS got flaked for focusing too much on that. In many ways, the PS4 and X1 are still specialized devices. Notice that this E3, both companies focused almost entirely on gaming, and so it was one of the best E3s we've ever had.

The Wii's success had many facets to it. One of them would probably be what you just said. I personally attribute the Wii's success to novelty. Motion controls was all the rage at that time, or perhaps you could say that people were ready for that novel idea. As such, the novelty of motion controls caught on like wild fire. Many people bought the Wii out of novelty, despite not even being a gamer in the traditional sense. The Wii attracted the non-gamer crowd and ended up alienating themselves even more. All that eventually lead to the Wii U's failure.

Now, whether the Wii was in fact, a success or not, all depends on perspective. Yes, it was a commercial success, but it failed to entice the core gamer demographic. So was this Nintendo's goal all along? If Nintendo intended to grab as much cash as possible, even at the expense of their reputation in the eyes of core gamers, then yes, they achieved their goal. But if Nintendo wanted long term sustainability, then they failed. And the financial success of the Wii only mislead them into thinking that they took the right approach while they actually didn't. They merely attracted the wrong crowd.

But if we were to ask ourselves why this same crowd didn't come back for a second helping? The answer is simple. They're casuals who bought into novelty. The thing about novelty is that once it wears off, it's over. And partly due to Apple as you put it, it's much harder to get the novel feeling nowadays compared to 2005. People are still trying to do it with VR and Hololens, but Nintendo cannot strike gold with novelty anymore. And they do not have the attractive games either.

why even say something like that cpt obvious? at least dark link knew what the hell i meant.

you on the other hand didnt.

I am saying something like that because you went ahead and disputed DarkLink's very 'obvious' point, not once, but twice. Clearly it needs to be hammered home.

his point was wrong as i clearly proved it false.

so now tell me what this thing your trying to hammer is?

@jhcho2: I attribute the PS3s success to being a cheap Blu Ray player, thats why i bought it. I went into store one day and saw price of Blu Ray players, bout hit the floor, and ran to the PS3.

In the store that I work at, a lot of people don't want to buy the Wii U. They think it is just a $300 tablet that goes along with the Wii, people think it is an upgrade to their existing Wii, not a separate console.

His point was not false, and you proved nothing.

His point was correct- in today's age, a console that barely does anything except for playing games (and even those not very well) has no place. You brought up the Wii, but in the Wii's era, that was accepted and expected.

You making leaps of logic or bizarre conclusions does not detract from a very simple line of reasoning that is self evident and clear to anyone. What your perception has to be to think that you actually managed to prove DarkLink wrong is beyond my comprehension.

oh so needing a box that does everything just magically happened this gen?

wasnt the ps3 a bluray dvd and hulu netflix and everything player? it still lost is my point.

all you need is a system thats compelling to the casuals to win a gen....not the ability to stream and play movies.

Yes, precisely. Because of the iPhone.

Glad we are clear.

yea clear that youre in magic land lol

Mediocre games and a very hard system to develop for are the real reasons.

Nice comeback, also a major selling point for PS2 was it was a cheap affordable DVD player.

PS1 was a cheap affordable CD player.

I think you get the picture, facking gimmicks lol.

yes but lets not forget the iphone...lol

Might have failed in terms of industry analysis and statistics. In my books, however, it is a successful console with some awesome games. Long live Nintendo.

@JPala84: Long live Nintendo!

There's a lot of things that must happen for the NX to succeed.

-It needs to either have the power of a next gen console or to be marketed much cheaper.

-Have some big name launch titles like Zelda, Metroid or maybe even a Fire Emblem.

-Nintendo loves there gimmicks, but there should be a standard gaming controller similar to the xbox and playstation controllers, things like the wiiu pad or wii remote should be side gimmicks, not the feature that the entire console focuses on.

-Lastly, Nintendo also needs to work on its 3rd party support, getting a realistic controller is the first step, most gamers are not willing to play Nintendo exclusives at the cost of everything else, and in that, it automatically becomes a secondary console.

If they can improve on at least two of these, I'm sure the NX will be a bigger success than WIiU. Though, some of these seem to be out of Nintendo's spirit.