I'll be more than surprised if Wii U doesnt crack more than 1m by years end. They still sold 400k in first Week and December is the best selling month. As long as they dont have supply problem, they will crack 1m mark. What I am wondering is how it is going to sell after holiday season. Nintendo will probably need to sell more than 10m before MS or Sony launches next-gen.
Wii U retail impressions?
- Thread starter BRiT
- Start date
I'll be more than surprised if Wii U doesnt crack more than 1m by years end. They still sold 400k in first Week and December is the best selling month. As long as they dont have supply problem, they will crack 1m mark. What I am wondering is how it is going to sell after holiday season. Nintendo will probably need to sell more than 10m before MS or Sony launches next-gen.
A Gamestop I go to on occasion has a Wii U demo unit with the Wii U Tablet hooked in. Works just fine.
That's where Wuu differs to other big-release consoles - there were no reports of stock availability with any must-have console. This is the first home console release I remember where there's ready stock available in any report.
There is some discussion (Eurogamer comments thread about UK top ten IIRC) reasoning the UK had about 40k units. Across ten countries that'd be about 400k for the EU, using a lot of guesswork.
It does appear the Premium is the desired console and not the Basic. Which is understandable if it's forum-reading gamers who are heading the purchasing. Nintendo may have grossly misjudged SKU balance, always an issue with more than one SKU at launch.
The basic does look bad compared to the premium. For only $50 more, u get bigger storage, extra accessories, and pack-in game. Also, a black one just looks better than a white one imo.
I think the Basic should have been priced at $279 instead of $299.
That's where Wuu differs to other big-release consoles - there were no reports of stock availability with any must-have console. This is the first home console release I remember where there's ready stock available in any report.
There is some discussion (Eurogamer comments thread about UK top ten IIRC) reasoning the UK had about 40k units. Across ten countries that'd be about 400k for the EU, using a lot of guesswork.
It does appear the Premium is the desired console and not the Basic. Which is understandable if it's forum-reading gamers who are heading the purchasing. Nintendo may have grossly misjudged SKU balance, always an issue with more than one SKU at launch.
Yep. 16GB would have been better, but still should have had pack in software.
Can't comment on US pricing, but in the UK I feel £199 and £249 would have sat much better than £249 and £299. That would have seemed more appropriate given the US price at least. People are much wiser to the exchange rate price-jacking that PAL regions have to suffer nowadays....
It is really nice to hold, yes. I heard some talk about it being too light, and thus feeling "cheap", but that's not the case at all from my impression of it. Just wondering if there's only one rumble motor in it, because only one side of it shakes when paired...
Also, can it double as a wii classic controller, I wonder? *checks* No. It cannot. Fucking Nintendo, how many stupid controllers do they think we need to use ONE SINGLE FUCKING CONSOLE?!?!?! Where other console makers find ways to make peripherals work, Nintendo goes out of their way in the opposite direction. No upscaling for video, no pro controller, NOTHING but the original wii junk works, you can't even use the wuublet's power button to turn the machine off in wii mode! Amazing.
It just looks really shiny. I never got the "plasticky" impression myself, it's a really high-quality (for plastic, of course) gadget, with great fitting of all the parts. Both halves of the clamshell itself is pretty much exactly the same size, and the battery hatch underneath also has an incredible fit. You can only barely feel the seam between the two pieces as they fit together.
I'll rate it 3/10, and that's being generous because it's so damn well-put-together. The build quality is absolutely top notch (apart from the plastic instead of glass touchscreen which is damn cheap), but everything else is piss poor. The touchscreen is simply terrible, absolutely atrocious. It manages to be unresponsive and overly sensitive both at once, especially when using a finger instead of the stylus, but even the stylus leads to false clicks and annoyances.
The wuu supports HDMI, but it can't tell if the TV is on or off, and cannot turn your TV on or off or switch to the appropriate HDMI input either (unlike the much older PS3 for example), and wuu software doesn't react to compensate either. Youtube can't be properly used on the gamepad only for example because without the TV you cannot see what the hell you're typing.
Starting any app (such as wii mode) takes several seconds of waiting even before the app starts to load, and then all apps take a huge amount of time to load. In addition to taking very long to start up, the Netflix loading screen flickers and changes color several times, making it look very amateurishly made.
The Netflix app also has no click sounds when entering text, making it hopeless to hear if you miss a character in the password for example - which easily happens with the terrible touchscreen the wuublet uses (doesn't seem to be a resident software keyboard with uniform appearance and behavior, despite the 1GB RAM dedicated to the OS, leaving the implementation up to each and every individual piece of software; another shoddy aspect of this console). The youtube app tells you to use the gamepad to search, but shows the actual search box on the TV, forcing you to constantly look up and down from the pad to the TV, and hopeless to spell anything longer than "kittens" with any degree of accuracy if the TV is not switched on or showing the wuu video input.
There's no realtime dolby digital encoder built into wuu either, so no surround sound without a bitstream-supporting surround decoder (which I do not own). Either Nintendo was too cheap to buy a license or the CPU (or sound DSP) is too anemic to handle it. Also, no wireless headset support. If you use pro controller and want to use headset/earphones you must put the wuublet in your lap so you can plug in a wired unit, WTF!
The inconsistency, lack of thought and just generally poor UI design is a frighteningly common denominator permeating wuu throughout. This console is just pure incompetent shite. It's totally baffling how they could have had so many years to build a successor to the (not very well crafted!) wii and come up with THIS...!
So summing up, the lack of pro controller support and lack of upscaling in wii mode, poor resident software, bad plastic touchscreen and you have one seriously stinky, gimped, terrible (but very shiny and well-crafted) late-2012 console.
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Wii U upscales Wii games, but it won't natively render at a higher resolution.
My rating is literally for the pro controller! Thats all I have (& two games) The actual console hasn't turned up yet
I will have to continue my analysis when the bleedin' thing turns up!
And if they don't sort out these basic O/S issues soon - they aren't going win any new customers by word of mouth. Like I said in an earlier post, the attitude of "wow, new & shiny! I'll forgive the few annoying quibbles" only lasts a short while with a new product (any new product). It wont take long for people to get fed up. Once you get the bad word of mouth spreading to Mr & Mrs Casual, it wont stop.
http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2012-12-04-discovering-the-wii-us-third-space
Seems very positive. As i said before, i could see myself get this little gem, focus is on games, the kids will most likely love it and i like the support for all video services without any extra charge.
Seems very positive. As i said before, i could see myself get this little gem, focus is on games, the kids will most likely love it and i like the support for all video services without any extra charge.
That sound quite annoying and as if they didn't really think it through or something, it can't be that it is impossible to have one controller for all or are there some form of compatibility problems. And the power button stuff just blows my mind, really?
As for the rest of your review I really enjoyed it. Nice to see that after spending money on a gadget, that by most would be considered expensive, you can still retain a critical view and don't have to make excuses and "justify" your purchase.
Now the hardware is what it is. At this point in time it is fun academic discussion on whether it is powerful enough or why did Nin go for it and so on, but in the end it is a take it or leave thing, it is not as if you don't know what you get. However that the software/OS state seems as premature as it does is a bit strange. Sure, Nin are not a software (as in OS) company, still one should be able to expect a bit better from them. Although consoles have become more diverse in their functions, this is not their first console launch, out of all the console players right now they are the real veterans.
Hopefully, many of the problems associated with the Wuu now are just some "growing pains" and could be fixed with better software down the road...
Someone who also just got a Wii U:
https://twitter.com/yosp
Such a cool guy. And to someone who questioned him on it:
---
Shuhei Yoshida @yosp
@KaraszKun if you are in the industry, you would try new hw and services, right? what's wrong with you!
---
Seems so simple but so very important. Just like that he always carries a Vita around. I'm sure we have him to thank in no small part for pushing for stuff like a usable browser.
https://twitter.com/yosp
Such a cool guy. And to someone who questioned him on it:
---
Shuhei Yoshida @yosp
@KaraszKun if you are in the industry, you would try new hw and services, right? what's wrong with you!
---
Seems so simple but so very important. Just like that he always carries a Vita around. I'm sure we have him to thank in no small part for pushing for stuff like a usable browser.
Here in Belgium they released the WiiU a day before "Sinterklaas" weekend, which is some kind of holiday where kids get toys, games, etc. If there is a good time to release a new system you couldn't pick any better. In this country is even a better period then Christmas as toys & games is something that kids traditional get for "sinterklaas".
The shops where packing with customers and even then the buzz was extremely low. The mediamarkt, saturn and even the dreamland had WiiU in stock and some of them priced the thing a lot lower then their competitors. They had pallets of the thing, premium and basic just sitting there. I didn't see any sign of manufacturing problems.
The only packet that was a bit harder to find was the ZombieU bundle for some kind of reason. For me it is an indication that people buying a WiiU aren't the same big group (general public) that made the Wii such a big success. ZombieU isn't Wii Sports.
I just cant understand what Nintendo was thinking. If you look at the situation in the Mediamarkt you had Xbox 360 systems, PS3 systems for 100-150 euro less (some even including one or two games) next to the WiiU boxes. You had a selection of games that are available on the other platforms and where the WiiU versions doesn't show any noticeable improvements.
Why would any sane person cough up 100 euro's more to play a game in the same experience (sometimes even worse) as the older system ? A gimped tablet isn't worth that 100 euro in my pov.
That being said I don't buy the whole "economy" thing as "entertainment" is one of those things people don't save on. I find it harder to believe in a economy where when Apple releases a new iProduct, it sell boatload of those things.
They indeed do a good job at presenting what makes the Wuu unique and game scenarios that will really make it shine. But, as they also mention in the text, a lot of that is applicable to quite social games. For a primarily single player gamer like myself, although it can see advantages there as well, I am not as convinced it will really bring though the same kind of experience. Most likely my imagination is too limited though...
Well thats certainly not a good sign. I'll be very interested to see the EU numbers to be honest.
Its a region where Nitnendo has really lost ground to competirors in the last decade and they need a strong launch there.
I agree the product price just seemed too high. I think consumers aren't willing to pay 1:1 conversions from US anymore, especially given the current financial crisis in Europe. Its a slap in the face when they announce $259 and that somehow comes out as €259 and then again somehow as £259. I could import one for less and just buy US games
What made it even worse was the fact that PS3 and 360 bundles are so cheap right now.
Could prove a costly error from Nintendo. Might end up in a 3DS scenario where they are forced to cut the price soon after launch. Which is a ridiculous situation to put themselves in when they've openly said they didnt want to repeat the 3DS launch fiasco.
tongue_of_colicab
Veteran
Not to mention that way your games will be cheaper AND you will be playing them much earlier because you/we don't have to wait for some retarded localized version that includes german and french.
Well, I wouldn't call it a "retarded localised version" but I agree with the sentiment
When I can import a foreign product for cheaper than buying it locally - you know something is wrong.
This applies to all consumer electronics btw, not just Nintendo: For example Kindle Fire HD costs $199 and the equivalent UK price should be £125. Nope, we pay £169
Thats over $280 folks!Nintendo's policy of not setting a RRP and leaving it to retailers just exacerbates the problem. You could see when the prices went up online initially how unsure retailers were of what they should do. Started at £199 on Amazon (which to be fair could have been a slip up), then £249 and finally £299 for the Premium model. Usually when this happens a smaller retailer undercuts them and a bit of a price war starts, bringing the price down considerably before launch. Not this time though
I swear they were all in cahoots to keep the cost as high as possible!Well, I wouldn't call it a "retarded localised version" but I agree with the sentiment
When I can import a foreign product for cheaper than buying it locally - you know something is wrong.
This applies to all consumer electronics btw, not just Nintendo: For example Kindle Fire HD costs $199 and the equivalent UK price should be £125. Nope, we pay £169
To be fair it costs £159 and that includes 20% VAT. That makes it pretty identical to the £125 you quoted.
US price excludes sales tax, typically 8%, putting the price to consumers at $215. UK sales price is +20% VAT, so price sans tax is ~£140. That's $225 for the UK vs. $200 in the US like-for-like sans tax. Factor in that the Kindle Fire HD is really £159, the comparison is $213 for the UK versus $199 in the US. We also have better mandatory warranties, so manufacturers have to add an amount of insurance money to each unit sold to cover failures. A purchase in the US typically includes optional warranty with the retailer (although often very good from the sounds of it, with people trading old hardware for new when slims come out etc.
We're no longer as universally price-gouged as we used to be. Some devices like TVs have a significant 'EU tax', but not always.
I've heard this in the console business, but I still see RRP figures quoted in stores offering discount. eg. ShopTo has a 3% discount on a Wii U bundle with a figure crossed out. We've also seen a change in the UK (and EU?) market where RRPs are typically set very high so that retailers can offer large 'discounts'. Maybe that's actually old-skool left-over EU gouging RRPs meeting competitive online retailers?
US price excludes sales tax, typically 8%, putting the price to consumers at $215. UK sales price is +20% VAT, so price sans tax is ~£140. That's $225 for the UK vs. $200 in the US like-for-like sans tax. Factor in that the Kindle Fire HD is really £159, the comparison is $213 for the UK versus $199 in the US. We also have better mandatory warranties, so manufacturers have to add an amount of insurance money to each unit sold to cover failures. A purchase in the US typically includes optional warranty with the retailer (although often very good from the sounds of it, with people trading old hardware for new when slims come out etc.
We're no longer as universally price-gouged as we used to be. Some devices like TVs have a significant 'EU tax', but not always.
I've heard this in the console business, but I still see RRP figures quoted in stores offering discount. eg. ShopTo has a 3% discount on a Wii U bundle with a figure crossed out. We've also seen a change in the UK (and EU?) market where RRPs are typically set very high so that retailers can offer large 'discounts'. Maybe that's actually old-skool left-over EU gouging RRPs meeting competitive online retailers?
USA typically has one year manufacturer warranty standard versus EU being two year. As far as I know and not sure the legalities.
Optional retailer warranty are typically just profit grabs by said retailer. "say, would you like to add the $39 optional warranty?" That they know most customers will ever use so it's pure profit. As far as I know most people have the sense to turn them down.
Got a chance to check out the Wii U at Best Buy this evening when I picked up my pre-order for The Dark Knight Rises. I was really surprised at how big the controller & screen were. I was also surprised at how long the console was. The tablet was kind of cool. It wasn't as nice as a capacitive touchscreen, but it wasn't terrible either. Didn't have a lot of time, so I only got to see the video demo of the Batman Arkham City game. It actually looked neat & interesting, but not enough to replay after already beating it on the 360. Maybe the next one, but only after at least a year & one price drop. Until then I'll let my sister & brother-in-law pick it up since they're only people I know who bought the Wii. LOL
Tommy McClain
Tommy McClain
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