Separating the Wii in the WiiU

Do you remember this commercial at all? This was during Gamecube’s final major push to convince the hardcore crowd that they indeed have some incredible games to satisfy the subculture. Now, we all know Gamecube would become Nintendo’s biggest failure not named Virtual Boy, and would ultimately force Nintendo to totally alter their strategy in terms of hardware and software. While the advertisement then did fail to push sales of the Gamecube, this was exactly the type of commercial that Nintendo needed to air this month.

The WiiU didn’t outsell the other systems during Black Friday simply because Nintendo could not separate the Wii reputation out of the new system that is clearly reaching out to the hardcore audience. The WiiU and the Wii were still joined hand-in-hand when the WiiU is essentially the 2006 system on HD steroids. I can guarantee you that the majority still see the WiiU as a simple update to Nintendo’s most successful system. There should be no reason that despite the WiiU selling nearly 450,000 copies on opening week, the original Wii managed sales of over 300,000.That’s at least 125,000 owners that will probably not consider buying the next generation system for at least a year.

The marketing failed miserably in showcasing the talent of the new system by not revealing the new features, not revealing Nintendo’s actual push for online gaming and the hardcore titles that feature Nintendo exclusives (unlike the Gamecube commercial displayed above), instead showing the world this:






It is not a bad commercial, but what separates Mario Bros. WiiU…. …from the Wii version? Aside from the tablet? They look virtually the same.It doesn't even seem like a next-gen game (although the game is partially to blame for that one too).

There is still no WiiU ad that shows that the tablet can become a full universal remote control (it just shows you can switch the game to the tablet), or pull off HD graphics, or allow for you to be able to see online videos while navigating away from the page into something else. The WiiU is a gaming system that can imitate a remote control, a movie player, and an interactive internet browser---at the same time!!!! 

We still don't really have an ad that even shows some of the exclusives available at launch or the holiday season. Remember this tease earlier this year?





If you even showed an abridged version of that video on television, it would have been far more effective than merely showing the families playing with Wiimotes and the only change is a gaming tablet attached. How could that warrant a $350 purchase? How would they know its HD, backwards-compatible, data-from-Wii transferrable, and extremely online friendly? How would they possibly know any of this?


Nintendo, you have a nice machine, I am enjoying it, but your advertising is going to result in the WiiU having a bumpy first couple of months.

Nintendo WiiU Launch: Dreams and Predictions

So by the end of this month, Nintendo will (hopefully) reveal their price tag and their release date. September 13th is when the big announcement will be made, some of the speculation will die down, and more questions will pop up----and let’s not forget the competitors and how they might react. The big rumor is that the Sunday before Black Friday (that terrible, terrible day) is when the WiiU will be released, right after Halo 4 and the latest Call of Duty. But nothing is yet certain. What I am about to reveal is my personal opinion towards when it should launch and as to how much it should be, and what I am expecting it to be.


My Price and Release Date:

WiiU: $250 (Bundled w/Nintendo Land)
$300 (Bundled w/Nintendo Land and Super Mario Bros. U)
November 23rd


The rumor is the 18th, which is the Sunday before the Dark Weekend starting with Black Friday is the release date. For me, the only reason I wouldn’t do it on Sunday is because the launch number won’t be as mammoth as opposed to if you were to deliver it at midnight of Black Friday. Transform Black Friday into WiiU Friday. Conquer, own, utterly take over one of the biggest economic weekends in the entire year. Halo and Call of Duty are going to devour sales throughout November, so the easiest way to not get swept up in the first-person shooter hurricane is to seek shelter on the 23rd.

As for the price tag. This is the truth: the economy isn’t that great, the system is technically 5 years behind in terms of certain technology, and there is far too much rising competition with the rise of mobile and tablet gaming. The Wii launched at $250 and did perfectly fine, especially when bundled with a game that made up for the lack of software during the first year of the Wii. $250, launch with Nintendo Land to practice the tablet-style gaming and the technology that follows, and make sure to have Mario and Call of Duty ready at the exact same time. Just the fact that Nintendo is finally in the HD realm is enough reason for a purchase, but to start nice and low at $250 would be icing on the cake. The other reason why it should not be more than $250: those tablet controllers will be at least $60 and expect the video games to run at similar prices.


Prediction of Price and Release Date:

$300 (Not Bundled)
November 19th

Sunday would not be a bad idea, and to launch right before Black Friday is something I can see Nintendo doing. Black Friday is definitely the due date, but giving the system a few days extra despite not delivering blockbuster-style numbers that Americans and Economists love to see would give some breathing room to shoppers that avoid that awful weekend like the dickens. Call of Duty launches a few days prior, so not delaying the WiiU installment too long would be good news. I can see the 19th, nothing earlier and nothing later.

Sadly, I don’t see a bundle in its future, even if Nintendo Land could be the Wii Sports-like game for the WiiU. That being said, the list of launch games is arguably the most impressive since the N64---which featured the gaming culture-changing Super Mario 64 among other instant classics. This would make the $300 price tag a little more bearable for the pockets as there’s plenty of software to choose from the getgo. My main reason for predicting $300 is because the 3DS last year launched at $250. Would Nintendo honestly launch an HD system at the same price as a 3-D handheld? Doubt it.