Will Mario Kart 8 Save The Wii U?

[Atariboy]

That's why I think they will be developing with a common format in mind in the next generation. When you can just about keep two different platforms going based on the merits of your own 1st/2nd party development, the possibilities there have to be promising where each game can be sold to your entire audience instead of only a portion of it.

 

And if they start thriving again on the merits of their own software, the 3rd parties should naturally return in time as they chase their customers.

Edited June 21, 2014 by Atariboy

[Unbeliever]

I have to say the Amiibo was interesting when they pulled that out during the presentation. I know it's another Nintendo "gimmick", but my interest perked up as they showed it. And yes, I realize it's similar to Skylanders, but if it keeps the Wii U going for awhile yet, I'm all for it. I've always enjoyed Nintendo throughout the years, and I would hate to see them go by the wayside because of this, but this might give them some time to change direction again for their next console. I debated on getting a Wii U when it first came out, but went with the 3DS instead.

 

Mario Kart 8 will help them but not be their saving grace, and I think they should have done this way before now, instead of "just at this time". Remember when the DS came out and it's first series of games was severely lacking? Then later on (can't remember when), they came out with more popular titles that really skyrocketed the DS. Why didn't they have this right out of the starting gate? Do people think that if they had titles like Mario Kart 8 and other franchise favorites when the system was released that it would have made a difference?

[BydoEmpire]

Why didn't they have this right out of the starting gate?

Speculation on my part, but IMHO it's because their studios were a generation behind and it just took them a while to ramp up. Everyone else doing PS3/360 games had a pretty awful ramp up that first year or two on the new hardware. There were lessons learned and tools written. Nintendo hadn't done that yet, so they couldn't have gotten some of these games out at launch.

 

Do people think that if they had titles like Mario Kart 8 and other franchise favorites when the system was released that it would have made a difference?

I think so - they would have gotten a larger user base earlier on, and maybe that could have sustained more 3rd party support. It's a self-feeding cycle. Of course it's pure speculation, but some high-quality, big-name titles at launch would certainly have helped. The Wii and Gamecube both had better launch lineups. Edited June 21, 2014 by BydoEmpire

[JamesD]

I think the 90% jump in Wii U sales was due to how low sales were and consists largely of Nintendo fans that were still on the fence about buying one.
I have no doubt sales will slack off again unless Nintendo can flood the market with other highly desired titles soon.
In no way will it ever lead the market but it could carve out a reasonable niche for itself for a few years.
Still, I think it's lack of CPU power compared to the competition can only make the console look more and more like a last gen machine as more advanced games are released.

I think Nintendo will try to release a new console at (by?) the 4 year mark and it would make sense to have the console backwards compatible with the Wii U.
Then the new console could inherit all the Wii U games and Nintendo could sneak some titles in for both consoles with a single release.
It would give the appearance that Nintendo hadn't completely abandoned the people that purchased the Wii U and provide a machine that could accommodate advanced multi-platform titles.
I would guess they could do this with higher clock speeds, more cores and or more pipelines for the GPU.

[+Ripdubski]

Im still on the fence about getting one. I hate my Wii system. Hate it, mainly due to graphics. Its only draw is the virtual console. Yes the U solves the graphics issue, but the costs is too high - for me, for just that. If it were 50 to 100 cheaper i would be "more sold".

[Rex Dart]

Im still on the fence about getting one. I hate my Wii system. Hate it, mainly due to graphics. Its only draw is the virtual console. Yes the U solves the graphics issue, but the costs is too high - for me, for just that. If it were 50 to 100 cheaper i would be "more sold".

 

I don't know, $200 has always been a good price point for me...

[Amstari]

Im still on the fence about getting one. I hate my Wii system. Hate it, mainly due to graphics. Its only draw is the virtual console. Yes the U solves the graphics issue, but the costs is too high - for me, for just that. If it were 50 to 100 cheaper i would be "more sold".

 

That doesn't make sense. You hate the system because of it's graphics but like the Virtual Console?

 

If graphics are so important to you then wouldn't you hate the systems on the Virtual Console even more than the Wii?

[+Ripdubski]

 

That doesn't make sense. You hate the system because of it's graphics but like the Virtual Console?

 

If graphics are so important to you then wouldn't you hate the systems on the Virtual Console even more than the Wii?

Makes perfect sense. I hate it's new games graphics (Wii). So it's a $500 emulator. I'm not ready to invest another $400 for a newer emulator unless some real compelling new games come out that will make it more console - for me anyway.

 

Before anyone says the $ isn't right, it is what I paid with accessories originally (500) and estimated (400) what I would be into a new one with accessories. Yes I would sell the old one but doubt it will draw much at all with Mimi's for $99.

[Amstari]

Makes perfect sense. I hate it's new games graphics (Wii). So it's a $500 emulator. I'm not ready to invest another $400 for a newer emulator unless some real compelling new games come out that will make it more console - for me anyway.

 

Before anyone says the $ isn't right, it is what I paid with accessories originally (500) and estimated (400) what I would be into a new one with accessories. Yes I would sell the old one but doubt it will draw much at all with Mimi's for $99.

 

OK, it just didn't seem logical to me because you said the Wii U "solves the graphics issue".

 

I wouldn't sell it, if you haven't done it already then install the Homebrew channel to make it an even better emulator.