The Wii U: Success at Launch and Beyond

[Star Luigi]

What do you all think that is absolutely essential for the Wii U to succeed at launch and afterward?
I see these things as being the most crucial for the best launch possible:

-Have a major 1st party game at launch. Mario would be best for Nintendo sales wise. Hopefully Ninty really did learn its lesson with the 3DS' launch. A few good 3rd party games would be greatly appreciated as well.

-Have the eShop or whatever up Day 1. Waiting from March to June for the 3DS' is kind of ridiculous. The ability to transfer downloads from the Wii would be nice, but I'm not sure how it'd be done. This is why we need an account based system. Like what many wanted with the 3DS, tying downloads to your Club Nintendo account makes the most sense.

-Online. Online. Online. Having a really good online infrastrcuture is a great way for Ninty to draw on some of that PS360 crowd. Well, that ad a certain dudebro game series... I think it should be at least as good as what the PS3 offers. The 3DS' has the "Join Game" option and let's you see what you're friends are playing and such, which is good. Letting you invite friends who have the game to play with you is an addition I'd like to see as well.

-Lastly, the Wii U needs to launch with a pack-in game a la Wii Sports. When launching a console with an odd control setup, pack-in games allow you to see what the console can do easily. Wii Sports did that quite well I think. If they can create a game that emulates what that game did for Wii, they'll be printing more money soon. xD

[thresholdXCI]

- A decent price. Probably the most important factor. Looking at the technology rumoured to be powering it, and the new controller I'd say no more than £250 OR $320. Otherwise they'll alienate their biggest launch customers: mums and dads buying the console for the family at Christmas.

- Big games. Lack of games didn't help the 3DS, but having lots of good games didn't work with the Vita either. You need to have a big name. Something average Joe in the street would be excited about. Mario Kart would be perfect.

- Marketing. Seriously don't do a Sony and have nothing until a week before the machine launches. They need kids pestering their mums and dads for months to buy them this for Christmas. So get your advertising out at least a month before launch.

Whether they can financially do the above, is the question. Their marketing division know their shovel better than we do, but they can't do everything. But I think the above are really the key factors.

[Mako]

At launch

Make sure to differentiate from the Wii. Just like the 3DS, people might think it is just another version of the Wii instead of a completely new console. Either change the name, or start advertising it as completely different from Wii months before launch.

They also need to release at the right price point. Is Nintendo going after the PS3/ 360 with the Wii U? If so they need a price point similar to those two. If the console is indeed much more powerful, a higher price point is justified. I think $299 is a good price, but who knows what Nintendo will do after what happened with 3DS. They might rethink their strategy...

Launch with must have games. Why do people buy new hardware? To play games they can't play on other systems. If Nintendo launches with Pikmin 3, a new Super Mario game, or maybe something else we won't see coming that will definitely help sell units. They also need to get the 3rd party support that they have been lacking. Talking with 3rd parties while developing the console shows me that they are trying to satisfy their needs.

Get their online up to par with the rest of the field. This should be up and running day one, not months later. Have one universal account for their systems, which could easily be the Club Nintendo account. If you buy a virtual console game on the 3DS it should be playable on Wii U and vice versa. We know they are working with EA and others to get this right, and with everything they have done so far with 3DS they are on the right track.


Beyond Launch

Continue to release quality games over the course of the consoles life cycle. Nintendo needs to spread out the releases as well, not everything all at once. Get 3rd parties on board for good so they can help with this process. Continue to improve upon their online infrastructure, continue to advertise for the system, releasing new colors as time goes on, dropping the price point when sales slow down, etc.

[Serpent_Seed]

1. Price: I understand it's next gen but still I'm hoping $300 at most. Might do $350.

2. games: I want to get 3 games at launch like I did with 3DS. Granted i went with what they had and got Nintendogs, Street fighter, and Samurai Warriors. Never played any of them before but i enjoyed them. Still I want some big names.

3. Online: have it available day 1, make a universal account for it and 3Ds so I can play e shop games on both if possible. Transfer Wii saves/games to Wii U (I feel they can).

[gtt]

at launch, a few things...

1)price, price, price. take a hit on the hardware if they have to. if they come in with their ps3 and a half and price it at 350$ it's pretty DoA save for the nintendo hardcore, who are a shrinking group at this point.

2)Mario. Launch with a real new mario game. shovel, launch with 2.

3)Online and eshop working at 100% out of the fricken gate. give people a reason to go to it. no more charging 5$ for NES roms. flex pricing will set them free.

Beyond...

1)multiplatform games

2)not relying on gimmicks. a regular dual stick controller needs to be an option.

3)Online.

[Gulshog]

All they need to show, are Nintendo games at launch, and Nintendo games coming soon, end of story. $300 or less to have that semi-impulse buy...will probably be $299.

They don't really need multiplatform games...it's a Nintendo console...been this way for ages now. Everyone who buys one buys it for Nintendo games, either a whole lot of them, or just a few, it doesn't matter. It's the only place you can get them.

Online is something they will improve upon, in a big way, for them at least. It might be bumpy in the beginning, but I think it will be an awesome experience. I would like to see all of Nintendo's retail games available as digital downloads, on release day.

[TooManyToasters]

I'm sure Nintendo will deliver on all those things. What I'm concerned about though is the WiiMote usage. Will they just throw it away in favor of the "new" new controller or will they have more WiiMote compatible games?

Just makes me paranoid to see another new controller hogging the spotlight, as 3D did with 3DS. What's say even when Wii U or whatever its name will end up as will be far more successful than Wii, but editors will make tons upon tons of articles about the early death of the WiiMote. What will you think of that, huh?

[Gulshog]

I'm sure Nintendo will deliver on all those things. What I'm concerned about though is the WiiMote usage. Will they just throw it away in favor of the "new" new controller or will they have more WiiMote compatible games?

Just makes me paranoid to see another new controller hogging the spotlight, as 3D did with 3DS. What's say even when Wii U or whatever its name will end up as will be far more successful than Wii, but editors will make tons upon tons of articles about the early death of the WiiMote. What will you think of that, huh?

The leaked internal Rayman Legends video showed Wiimote and Utablet side by side. That is what they want, and how they will promote the game. That means that you can still use all those Nunchuks, CC, CCPro's, etc. It is a smart move, and makes total sense. Most games will be set up for 1 person using the tablet, and others using a Wiimote. Once you start seeing ads for WiiU games, that's what you will see...Utablet and Wiimotes together. I seriously doubt you will ever see one or the other, exclusively.

I think it's awesome, as more choices mean a better experience, to me. It will be confusing to the general public, but what isn't these days. Gamers will benefit.