Why is the Wii U doing so bad?

[staticsilva]

Why do you guys think the Wii U is selling so badly?
I think it has to do mostly with the high price, and the fact there aren't that many good games for it yet. Though I look forward to the new Super Smash Bros. game.

[Absinthe]

As someone who works in the video game retail industry, I'd say a lot of it has to do with the competition Nintendo currently has. They waited too long to introduce an HD system to the market. Essentially, they are a generation behind Sony and Microsoft when it comes to system capabilities. The Wii sold so well, exceeding so many expectations, that Nintendo kind of got a little lazy with the Wii U. Throughout the history of Nintendo consoles, they've been known for innovation. Each new system has been a leap forward from the last (such as N64 introducing 3D game engines or the Wii's motion controls), but the Wii U, even with the touchpad's second screen capabilities didn't really raise the bar. Modern gamers are looking for more intelligent gameplay. And multiplayer has become huge in recent years. Nintendo is way behind on both of those fronts.

Another aspect is game availability and the quality of what's out there. Nintendo kind of shot themselves in the foot by opening up their brand to so many subpar casual games for the Wii. Ask anyone what some of the best classic games ever made were. A big majority of their top 10 is likely to be Nintendo titles. They used to be the strictest company to develop for because they were extremely concerned for quality over quantity. The Wii changed all that. Any game company willing to work with the system was licensed to develop for it. They flooded the market with crappy games and 2nd and 3rd rate repackages that didn't port well to the motion system. That's rolling right over to the Wii U. And as great as Nintendo's classics are, you can only remake Super Mario Bros. so many times before people get bored with it.

It's a Catch-22. The system isn't selling because there aren't many games available and even fewer of them are actually good games or new IPs. And nobody is developing new IPs or putting time into strong games because the system isn't selling.

The price is a big issue, too. You can get a PS3 for $100 less. For $100 more, you can buy a PS4. Another Catch-22 for Nintendo is that they can't lower the price because with the systems having not been selling, it'd be too much of a loss. But without lowering the price, the systems' sales likely won't go up by much anytime soon.

We've been discussing this a lot at work. The general consensus is that Nintendo has to either have something major up their sleeve for E3 this year to light a fire under their brand or they need to take a break and focus on their handhelds for a while (this is the first time a handheld has outsold the console of a single brand), because even their Mario, Skylanders, and Zelda bundles haven't done much to boost numbers.

It should be interesting to watch.