Nintendo Wii-U

[Devil_666]

That quote about "turning a profit in 2008" was from Robbie Bach (who no longer works for Microsoft).

https://www.gamespot.com/news/6154809.html

Microsoft entertainment and devices division president Robbie Bach today said that's about to change. In a presentation at the company's Financial Analyst Meeting 2006, Bach said the gaming division is expected to lose the company money once again for fiscal 2007, but that it will turn in a profit for 2008. If that happens, it would be the first time the gaming part of Microsoft's entertainment and devices division posts a profit for a fiscal year.

Bach never said that by 2008 they would finally have "finished covering their loses". And you won't find a single article written by anyone, anywhere that states that. Because it's not true, since Microsoft haven't covered those losses. Not even remotely close.

In their fiscal year of 2006 (which ended June 30, 2006, and included the launch of the Xbox 360) Microsoft's entertainment and devices division lost $1.26 billion.
https://www.gamespot.com/news/6154809.html

They lost another $1.05 billion to $1.15 billion in 2007 for the whole warranty/bricked console fiasco.
https://www.engadget.com/2007/07/05/xbox-360-warranty-extended-to-three-years

They lost another $31 million in the second quarter of 2009 (the year Xbox 360 was supposedly making money).
https://www.1up.com/news/microsoft-xbox-group-loses-31m

And even more money in the fourth quarter of 2010.
https://www.gamasutra.com/view/news...es_Losses_in_Q4_But_Boosts_Annual_Profits.php

Have they also posted "profits" since 2008? Absolutely. But the question is, has Microsoft made up ALL the money they lost on the Xbox 360 since launch strictly off of console sales to date to put them 100% in the black? And the answer is simple: NO.

Find me a single article that definitively states that MS has done that with just Xbox 360 sales. You can't, because it hasn't happened and will never happen.

The estimated losses for both the Xbox and Xbox 360 consoles is $8 billion dollars. Does Microsoft care? Nope. They came in knowing they'd lose money from console sales. And they didn't care. Still don't.

 

[plasmid303]

Great reading material, Devil! The last couple pages have been educational.

The estimated losses for both the Xbox and Xbox 360 consoles is $8 billion dollars. Does Microsoft care? Nope. They came in knowing they'd lose money from console sales. And they didn't care. Still don't.

Agreed. This aspect about Microsoft has always fascinated me. I remember reading an old EGM interview of Bill Gates back in...I dunno, 2001 and I believe he said that for him and Microsoft (I'm sure he was referring to the games division), mind share was ultimately most important. Wresting dominance from Sony and Nintendo was the goal. They knew from the very beginning that they'd bleed money.

I believe that in that sense, they succeeded, since the Xbox brand is nowadays considered not only a legitimate competitor in the gaming space, but to a large contingent of the audience it is the preferred platform.

So how 'bout that Wii U?

Anyone think it's going to be any good? Do you think that they'll wait until next E3 for full details or do their own presentation before then?

As a lifelong fan of Zelda and Mario, I'm already on board with Wii-U. Ultimately, how I embrace it lies in how Nintendo handles 3rd party support and online functionality. It could either be a Super Nintendo or a Wii to me. Hoping for the former.

As for price announcements and other such details, waiting until next E3 would be too late since the console is supposedly launching within a Spring - Summer 2012 window. Best bet is that they'll give more info during their annual event after Tokyo Game Show (which Nintendo does not attend) either in fall 2011 or Janurary 2012.

 

[darthviper107]

That seems like a bit early for any more talk--they probably didn't have a final console at E3 and definitely don't have enough games. And I thought I read somewhere that the earliest they were expecting they might get it out was end of April--which of course is probably just wishful thinking. My guess is fall 2012 at the earliest.

 

[plasmid303]

I suppose a delay is possible, although if the 3DS is anything to go by, I'm almost certain they'll be following the same schedule. As for the games, I'm sure most developers have had the dev kits for a while now.

3DS was revealed at E3 2010 with a tentative spring 2011 release, the release date was given in January 2011, and then it was released in March 2011.

 

[darthviper107]

But then again, games for the new console are much more complex than 3DS games. And also note that the 3DS had a horrible launch. Plus I would imagine that launching a new console like this would be much different from launching a handheld.

 

[plasmid303]

I think the logistics of a hardware launch is the same no matter if it's a home console or a handheld. In the past, that may not have been true but modern handheld gaming devices are rivaling home consoles in the experience they provide. The outlying factor would be production capacity of accessories like extra controllers, but Nintendo has already said that the Wii-U controller won't be sold separately (for now).

We don't know for how long Wii-U games have been in development, but if Nintendo was confident enough to put the Wii-U in a launch window less than a year from now, it's not a stretch to assume that they've been working on the games for a while now. Also, consider all the Wii-U 3rd party games they announced at E3, most of them are known quantities that could easily be enhanced and then ported to Wii-U from PS3 and 360.

Finally, the difference in game development complexity between Wii-U and 3DS being a factor in the delay of Wii-U isn't much of a concern, in my opinion. The 3DS having a bad launch wasn't due to Nintendo failing to get enough games out at launch but it was the decision to space out those games throughout the course of the year. That in turn left the 3DS launch line-up a bit bare. I'm sure Zelda and Star Fox was ready at launch.

 

[darthviper107]

If they could have, they would have had more games at launch for the 3DS. And many companies set dates for release that they delay many times. Take for instance all the big PS3 games that were delayed for a long time (Gran Turismo, still haven't seen Last Guardian).

Or take for instance, Mass Effect 3 in December had been announced to be released at the end of this year, but has since been delayed until March of next year. And you can just look at the last 2 years and see how many other games also got delayed out of the Holiday season.

Setting a date this far in advance is sure to mean a delay.

And for games, those 3rd party games probably won't have much of a problem since they'll have at least like 6 months before the Wii-U release to prepare for it. But also remember how hard it has been in the past for developers to work on games for new hardware. It takes them time to figure everything out even when they've got the game working on other consoles already.

And we already know the Wii-U has very poor 1st party games, there's the Mario demo they had, but that's not even close. And the Smash Bros. game development hasn't even been started.

There's no way they'll be ready by the end of April next year.

 

[plasmid303]

Look, all I'm going to say is that I feel pretty good about a spring - summer 2012 release window. Everything else on my part and yours is conjecture. Using the delay of games like Mass Effect or Last Guardian has little bearing on the fate of Wii-U and its 3rd party partners in 2012. If we were to take into the account the amount of games that do make their release dates on time, what do you think the ratio would be against delayed games? If I said 80%, by that logic I could say that according to those odds Nintendo will almost definitely make their release window, yes?

As for the Wii-U's launch game line-up, I think they're withholding stuff for their press conference in September/October. When the PS3 was first unveiled, nothing was shown but tech demos. I do agree that their showing at E3 this year was disappointing as far as 1st party games go.

 

[Kabukiman]

Leaked Rayman Legends footage: https://www.joystiq.com/2012/04/27/rayman-legends-Wii-U/

Looks pretty slick if you ask me. Though if a lot of games go the "Skylanders" route like this appears to be doing, that can get expensive real quick.

 

[Shropt]

Leaked Rayman Legends footage: https://www.joystiq.com/2012/04/27/rayman-legends-Wii-U/

Looks pretty slick if you ask me. Though if a lot of games go the "Skylanders" route like this appears to be doing, that can get expensive real quick.

Hmm, too bad the first leaked footage is of a 2D drawn game. I'm interested in seeing what the 3d games will look like.

 

[hairlesswookiee]

Hmm, too bad the first leaked footage is of a 2D drawn game. I'm interested in seeing what the 3d games will look like.

Me too. I doubt I'll be buying anymore consoles for a long, long time, but I am curious as to what they're going to be putting out from this new hardware.

 

[Shropt]

Seems that the final revision of the Wii-U tablet has been leaked on the internet. Here's an article in english:

https://www.cubed3.com/news/16755

And here is a french website that has drawn comparisons of the old and new tablet:

https://www.nintendo-master.com/xtnews/news-30658_la_manette_de_la_nintendo_wii_u_remaniee.htm

 

[darthviper107]

Looks like they aren't going to rename it I guess, they really need to though.

 

[Kabukiman]

Looks like they aren't going to rename it I guess, they really need to though.

We said the same thing about the Wii too. We'll just get used to it, I guess.

 

[Shropt]

Part of me says this thing is going to bomb worse than the Virtual Boy and part of me says this thing is GENIUS with the love of tablets nowadays and how this will introduce a brand new way of using tablets.

Only time will tell...

 

[Fernandofan08]

Personally, the tablet is pointless. We have a full 1080p HD or 3D tv. Im not gonna waste money on a limited tablet controller that looks huge in the hand, just so I can slide something. I mean, I have my television as a screen, why do I need a tablet?

Ofcourse, say Arkham City uses it as the Cryptographer, it would be a neat little touch tuning radio frequencies and/or conundrums, but it doesnt DO anything, it doesnt ADD anything to the actual game. Its like the rayman trailer; wow I can slide something up. Thats, about, it.

The Wii U I just dont understand as a console; Its slightly better than the current 8 year old console, but its not Blu-ray and it still doen't have a hard drive right? Thats ridiculous and stupid forcing you into an external hard drive.

It just screams 'why!' to me. Tons of the games the Wii U is getting are bound to be shovelware, like 85/90% of the previous consoles catalogue, the other half will be the constant mario games which just play the same as 20 years ago, their will be some gems like Galaxy, Metroid, Conduit for example, but they will be very limited.

Cross console games will be pointless; Why would I buy a new console which does the same thing as the current, 8 year old consoles? Im just massively disapointed with the Wii U. My Wii gathered dust since I bought it in 2007. My missus had one before she met me in 2010, now all she uses is playstation move, because it has Singstar, Singstar Dance, and lots more other Dance game like Just Dance 3, which she says is better on PS3 than Wii.

Its just beyond me how this works and fits, apart from the casual gamers who bought the Wii and have missed out on buying a HD console; but even then, you got an 8 year old catalogue of great games which you can get an xbox for £100, and a PS3 for £150; both cheaper than the Wii U and will only get cheaper when the new generation comes out.

 

[snappahead]

I feel pretty much the same way. It's possible N has something up it's sleeve or maybe this will be more than an HD upgrade. If this is actually a new powerful machine, it could have some advantages coming out a year or two before MS or Sony gets their new machines out. If it is just an HD Wii with a gimmick controller...I don't see how that's going to matter to people either.

 

[darthviper107]

We said the same thing about the Wii too. We'll just get used to it, I guess.

It just seems like a bad idea since it's got part of the old console in the name and then a letter.

 

[Matt S]

I just can't see the tablet/controller taking off like the original Wii.....and only one person can play at a time per console? No....

 

[darthviper107]

There's that, plus I think it will be more expensive than normal. Plus while they will be able to support a game across all the consoles, I don't see anyone buying a Wii U for those types of games.

Especially when it launches. Who's going to buy Batman Arkham City for Wii U when it's been out on the other consoles for a year?