Wii U - Nintendo apologise for the inconvenience
Wii U – Nintendo apologise for the inconvenience

The news coming out of Nintendo HQ this week is that the Wii U isn’t looking to make any significant price cuts any time soon despite having failed to meet the company’s initial sales targets. Whilst the news won’t come as too much of a shock given the short period of time that the Wii U has been available, is it really a move that Nintendo should even be thinking of making this early on?

On the basis of things, it seems absolutely mad to expect a company to drop the price of such a heavily invested product within the first few months of launch. Whilst a lower price is always a more attractive proposition to the consumer it’s not always one which is likely to lead to success. In the Wii U’s case the lack of attraction appears to be coming from the low number of key titles that the console has been able to provide rather than the price of the machine.

Whilst there are some who may bemoan the lack of a price drop on principle, it’s important to remember that the Wii U has rarely been seen as something that is too expensive. From my experience, the reason that people haven’t hopped on board yet is because there’s simply no push; no killer titles, from Nintendo or otherwise, which makes the proposition of owning a Wii U an irresistible one. This appears to be the real issue the console is facing.

This sentiment was echoed by Nintendo President, Satoru Iwata in the comments he made this week and it’s refreshing to see that Nintendo themselves have a realistic understanding of the situation at hand.

What the Wii U really needs is a kick up the backside by way of games. Yes, there’s the intriguing post-apocalyptic ZombiU, the ever-present decency of New Super Mario Bros. U and the quirky nostalgic charm of Nintendo Land but it is hard to believe that either of these titles is worth shelling out over £200 in order to play specifically. Nintendo at this point needs to be thinking about quantity over quality in order to attract consumers to the lure of the former trading card company’s latest innovation.

Whilst on the subject of reality checks, it’s hard to lambast Nintendo given that the Wii U has only been out for a few months. In many ways it is entirely understandable why there hasn’t been an abundance of titles for the console. Even so, can we look at this as a potential flaw in the Nintendo’s thinking? Though Nintendo may have gambled on the popularity of the Wii brand, has the Wii U simply been rushed out too quickly for its own good?

In the modern day the consumer has certain expectations when looking to purchase a new technological product. We live in an era, aided in great part by the prominence of the Internet, in which every product is scrutinised to the maximum; whether people are simply looking to save pennies or just get the best deal possible.

Though any company will always have fans ready to lap up a new product on day one, we’re living in an age where we seek to make well-informed purchase decisions when we can. In this respect, it’s harder than ever to justify taking a chance on something in hope rather than good judgment. Good judgment in the gaming world means good games and so far the Wii U has been unable to deliver in quantity; with Nintendo choosing instead to opt for the buy now, play later approach.

This seems like a problem that the big three gaming consoles released recently, the Wii U, PS Vita, and 3DS have all fallen foul of in some way or another. In each case we’ve heard the bells of ‘disappointing initial sales’ ring out. Similarly in each case, the lack of stand-out titles at launch has proved to be a huge criticism of each system in the first few months. Whilst the 3DS eventually went on to recover well – conveniently around the time of Mario Kart 7 and Super Mario 3D Land’s release – the Vita and Wii U have arguably been unsuccessful so far.

Despite the huge differences between Sony’s handheld and Nintendo’s home console, key similarities in their launch approach remain with an overabundance of ports and few unique titles. It’s hard to look at both their initial lack of initial success – at least in respect to their company’s respective expectations – as for being due to other reasons beyond the lack of big game appeal. Though Nintendo’s console may not be on the life-support system that Sony’s is, they will surely be hoping to avoid having to ask their fans to remain patient for too long.

Looming on the horizon for the Wii U are interesting titles such as Scribblenauts Unlimited, Pikmin 3, Rayman Legends, Bayonetta 2, Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate, and The Wonderful 101, but whilst some are sure to provide quick hits it remains to be seen whether any of them will prove to be the console sellers that Nintendo is hoping for. To add to consumer woes, some of these games are still five months away from release and if any hiccups occur in development, could well be pushed back even further.

Perhaps it’s risky for Nintendo not to look at a price drop right now but arguably it’s something they know isn’t going to fix everything. The lack of titles is understandable at this point but will surely be a big problem if it persists for too long.

I would personally think Nintendo are going to assess the situation in the coming months and make a decision dependent on the likelihood of upcoming titles sticking to their release dates before they decide a price cut is definitely the way to go. One thing for sure is that Nintendo must really be hoping its decision to allow third party developers to have a greater part to play in the promotion of their new machine isn’t going to come back to haunt them.

By reader Mitch North

The reader’s feature does not necessary represent the views of GameCentral or Metro.

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