Do I believe what? Do I honestly believe that sales will be bad? I don't have an opinion on this because I have no idea what sales will be like. Do I honestly believe that they'll discontinue the product if sales are poor? Yes, they've said as much.
Do you honestly believe that the Wii U will be discontinued, marked down to $150 and shuffled off in the next few months when games like SSB, Mario Kart and X are coming out next year?
Yes, they've said as much. There's no reason they have to put those games out on that console. For all you know they could plan to port to Xbox/PS3 if the console is discontinued. OR they might be launching another console and plan on having a strong launch lineup. We don't know what the plan with the games is, all we know is what they said about the future if the sales are poor.
Yup. I'm buying the new bundle at some point before Christmas. Probably this week if I see it in stores. I love Nintendo first party IP and I always feel a Nintendo system is worth owning with 5+ AAA games available. Right now on my list are NSMBU, Pikmin 3, Zelda HD (despite it being a remake) and SMB3DW is coming in a couple of weeks. That's 4.
But this is Nintendo corporate speak. They'll probably offer the Wii U in a variety of colors as the next step. People love bright shiny colors.
What exactly do you think they mean then?
It means that if sales aren't good they will think about the future direction of the console. Like they are doing all day every day whether or not they ever released this statement just like every company in the history of the world does with respect to their products. That's why "corporate-speak" never really says anything about anything.
If you re-read it, they're not doing what they do every day. They're literally using the coming holiday season's sales to determine "what we need to do about the future of our platform". No matter how you want to read that, it's really bad news for people buying prior to the decision if the sales turn out bad. If they don't discontinue the platform then some other drastic move will happen such as another big price cut or a SKU without a Gamepad. If the former happens then a lot of people will be mad (just like they were about the measly $50 cut) if the latter happens then people with a Gamepad will probably find limited functionality with games going forward. My opinion is that they'll discontinue it but there are definitely alternatives.
Who said anything about great? But if one would want to examine that perspective (just on the Wii) you'd find all of EAs sports titles, racing games, Rayman, Zack & Wiki, Boom Blox, Okami, Resident Evil 4, Madworld, No More Heroes, Goldeneye, etc.
You're reading what you want to read. And until you're on the board at Nintendo, you're clueless of what their plan is. Boom.
Yeah! It's like 3D without the glasses!
Apart from Rayman Origins/EA Sports (which are on every system imaginable) and Goldeneye (2010), every game you listed is 2009 or prior. From summer/fall of 09 to the beginning of 11 there was jack shit for third party Wii games, both on physical media and Wii Ware. There have been a few bright spots since then but for the most part Nintendo home consoles are first party machines now. Hopefully things will turn around this holiday season with SMB3DW and all of the bundles being pushed but who knows.
I think I've made peace with this... if you go in expecting to only play great first party games then most likely the system will be worth it.
Your analysis is lacking.
The biggest problem with the Wii Mini, even beyond the lack of online and lack of SD card slot, is the lack of s-video or component connections (never mind HDMI, this is Nintendo after all). Limiting this to just composite video is really idiotic, you're limited to the worst possible connection available. They really did strip EVERYTHING out of the Wii, which was itself an already stripped down console; not much left to make the system even remotely worthwhile.
If they kept in the component capabilities, I would of considered buying it. Internet isn't such a big deal (though they passed up on a wonderful opportunity to make it an even cheaper Netflix box without it), and the SD card isn't really necessary for similar reasons.
You say my analysis is lacking after your previous "expert analysis" said that Disney was a larger company than Apple? Now your "expert analysis" is that they're going to ADVERTISE more? That's what they mean by what they should do about their platform? Okay man, if the platform does poorly this holiday, we shall see. I'm extremely confident it's going to be one of the items I listed. If sales are below 1 million during the holiday season, I'm extremely confident that they'll discontinue the Wii U by next summer. If sales are above 1 million then most likely we'll be seeing either a gamepad-less SKU or a massive price cut. Most likely it would be a substantial cut in the price but the optional and cheaper SKU is certainly possible.
Like I said, we shall see but I reserve the right to say I told you so. One things for sure, I wouldn't buy Nintendo stock.
Apple is a single manufacturer of computer hardware and OS software. They are also known for producing phones and tablets in recent years. Their marketshare in terms of Operating System install base has never managed to equal that of their competitors. While a sizable company, they are not all that large, nor do they own numerous smaller companies.
And you consider internet message board comments to be an accurate gauge for forming corporate strategy? It's a good thing you weren't running things at Nintendo when the DS or Wii were being designed. Using reactionary internet posts as a guide is a terrible idea. Using them as a measure is far more reasonable.
Actually, I stated that the results of the holiday season would determine their marketing. It's entirely possible that what happens will lead them to advertise less.
That is not at all relevant to Apple's ability to purchase a company. Apple could literally buy Disney...without borrowing a dime.
Wow, I knew about the lack of Internet (understandable given the cheap price and market niche for this) as well as lack of Gamecube compatibility (same reasons plus it has been dropped from the regular Wii anyway). But I had no idea about the SD card and composite-only connection. The former is mildly annoying since some games eat up space on the Wii system memory pretty quickly, though I can see dropping that on this non-connected model. However, no SD card and no Wifi means you can never transfer or even backup your saves - this is a step back from even PS2/GC where memory cards were copyable/portable. But the choice of composite-only output is atrocious and assures I will never buy one of these unless it is sub-$25 new (and then maybe just as a paperweight-type collectiblechimpmeister said:
).I wouldn't buy any product with a composite only connection. I already don't like SD, that just makes it even worse.Wow, I knew about the lack of Internet (understandable given the cheap price and market niche for this) as well as lack of Gamecube compatibility (same reasons plus it has been dropped from the regular Wii anyway). But I had no idea about the SD card and composite-only connection. The former is mildly annoying since some games eat up space on the Wii system memory pretty quickly, though I can see dropping that on this non-connected model. But the choice of composite-only output is atrocious and assures I will never buy one of these unless it is sub-$25 new (and then maybe just as a paperweight-type collectible
The "size" of a company is not the same as the purchasing power of a company. It is an important distinction. Looking at a company purely through the lens of market value is a mistake.
You've taken this too far. When I started talking about this, I said I wanted them to buy Disney for my own selfish reasons as a stockholder of Apple. IMO it would add to Apple's value and be good for the customers because it would give them a leg up on Android and a reason to buy it instead of Samsung products. Apple could buy Nintendo many times over but that doesn't mean it will happen. I even conceded when I first discussed this that it's unlikely because Apple prefers to create their own software from scratch.
Yes, I have no doubt they could. But again, why would they? Apple doesn't make most of its software sales by developing and selling their own iOS software. They make their money by developing the iOS platform itself, and then taking a 30% cut of every piece of software that other companies develop for it. With that model, they could conceivably get Nintendo games on their platform without EVER purchasing the company outright. If your apocalyptic vision of Nintendo's future comes to pass, Apple could simply sit back and wait for Nintendo to port their software over of their own free will, and then take their 30% cut. No purchase necessary.
The reason as I stated earlier, would be to push Apple TV. Rumor is that they're going to have 55" and 65" 4k TV's in 2014 for between $1,500 and $2,500. These will definitely support iOS so all your content will work on it and they'll probably ship it with a controller meaning that Mario or some other type of game would work well. It's could seriously disrupt the gaming market even without Nintendo because outside of the core gamers, many people will likely think the games they have on the TV will be "good enough", particularly since Samsung is going to copy Apple as they typically do and they sell a lot of TV's.
Thank you. That is a cogent argument that I am willing to accept. I'm still going to argue against it. But it is at least a scenario that makes sense.
Javery - I saw them on Sunday in Best Buy while picking up a purple 3DS for the wife from their 2 day sale. There was no special end cap or marketing, they were just piled in among the remaining Wind Waker systems.
How so? Mario & Donkey Kong? From where I'm sitting that's roughly 2 worthwhile exclusive retail games for all three platforms.
Yeah, it's not like I'm hiding it. You know because I said it here before. It was a gamble. I'm up 68% on my investments this year and that's way better than anything you can find. FYI: I'm buying twitter. It's got massive growth ahead of it and I'm expecting hundreds of percent gains over the next few years. Just my opinion obviously. Next year Apple should announce what they're doing with some of their cash. I think Apple stock is a good investment at the current price if you're willing to hold it at least 8-9 months since they're buying back stock, probably going to find a way to give investors 75-100 billion, and new product categories are launching next year. I wouldn't be surprised if the shares get to 700-800 next year and possible well over $1,000 if they buy back 100+ billion in shares. Again, just my opinion so do your own due diligence.
Of course, it couldn't be "The Android gane controller is selling really well, we want a piece of that!"
Target has it listed for 2/15/2014 release, though that is more than likely an educated guess, splitting it down the middle of the month. Newegg went for the safe bet and put 2/28/2014. Best Buy and Walmart still have the original 12/6/2013 date on their website (Walmart still has that date in their recent holiday ad as well), so other than "February" there is no official release date yet.
