Tough E3 for Nintendo.

You would have thought with the 3DS being new, and the unveiling of a new system, this would be Nintendo's E3 to boast. In reality it was there E3 to loose, and they have been.

First, lack luster response to the WiiU and it's honking "Wii Pad" controller.
http://www.joystiq.com/2011/06/08/we-played-wii-u-plays-tech-demos/

Then reveal that the footage for Wii U was actually recorded 360 and PS3 footage.
http://www.joystiq.com/2011/06/08/wii-u-third-party-sizzle-reel-composed-of-360-ps3-pc-footage/

Now the news is the Wii U only supports one Wii Pad anyhow, so how this adds to the multiplayer experience is beyond me.
http://www.joystiq.com/2011/06/09/wii-u-currently-only-supports-one-wiipad/

And the real point of E3 is to show off your prospects for the upcoming year to your investors and stockholders as much as it is a glorified press event, and that seems to have cemented the fail with sustained market loss as stock has dropped about 10% since the Wii U reveal.
http://www.joystiq.com/2011/06/08/nintendo-stock-down-5-percent-after-wii-u-reveal/
http://www.joystiq.com/2011/06/09/nintendo-stock-loses-another-five-percent/

This I gleamed this from mainly one web site, but many of the other gaming sites have been luke warm to the Wii U and all the business sites have been blasting it. http://blogs.wsj.com/marketbeat/2011/06/08/wii-u-says-nintendo-pee-yew-says-market/

I'm not a Nintendo hater for what the Wii does- it's a cool toy for my kids and a fun party game at a good price point, but its not for the hardcore gamers. The whole Wii U thing makes it a nerd tech geek smile, but they want more power from PC's and hard core games like is found on the competitors systems. I think the idea of the Wii Pad will turn off some of those "casual" gamers that were drawn to the wii as a simple and fun/recreational gaming system, as the Wii Pad makes it looks so much more complicated and hardcore/complex. I kind of get what the big N is trying to due in lure in the hard core which they kind of shunned when they tried to grab the casual and non-typical gamer with the Wii, but now it seems they might be alienating both sides. I think having a fairly traditional controller along with the regular Wiimote and upgraded graphic and proccesing power (heck, even throw in BluRay) at a competitive price point would have done wonders. Now with the new Wii U controller/pad, who knows what the price is going to be, but how can it be competitive to a 360 arcade that now has cloud capabilities (so it really never needs a hard drive upgrade)? In all reality I think the Wii Pad is cool and could be great, I just don't think it was right for Nintendo at this stage with their current customers and fans. It would be like Ford going out and releasing a new model Mustang that is modeled after a Honda and is available only as a plug in hybrid and cost more than last years Shelby. Yea, there might be a place in the market for that, but you shouldn't try to push it on the Mustang crowd who want muscle and could care less about fuel economy.

Anyhow, I didn't see any posts or talk on the new Wii U here, so I thought I would give you some of my thoughts and start a discussion.

Thoughts?

~mrmiller

rofl wii fail

I really don't get how they think it'll work. Sure you can play the same games wherever you go, but that thing is hardly portable, plus, what with iPads and increasingly powerful laptops/notebooks and hell, mobile phones, I can't help but think that they're trying to cater for a non-existant niche.

They relied on novelty with the Wii, that's had it's day. The 360 is the console with the best growth. MS has nailed the motion control with Kinect - hate it or love it, it's the best motion control system available. Sony have gone after 3D hard. At this point in time, they've had to try and a new novelty...and it's one which is fundamentally flawed. Don't get me wrong, it's Nintendo and it'll be the first of the new consoles out but ultimately, it's going to be a generation behind, besides, should people change their minds and decide that they LOVE the controllers, you can bet your ass MS & Sony will trump them on that too, given time.

Nintendo are becoming the new Sega, at least in the console market. So, i'll be looking forward to playing Mario Kart on my Xbox in 2020, hopefully on a 4K res 3D TV.