Why The Wii U is a FAILURE

The Wii U has been around for over a month now despite having decent sales I personally think this system is a complete failure. First here is some background stats taken from launch.

Nintendo sold 425,000 Wii U consoles during the system’s first week in the United States last month, and sold 300,000 in Japan – Pretty impressive right, not really.

When the Wii launched back in 2006 it sold about 475,000 units – which is about 50,000 consoles short of the original Wii’s first-week sales.

When the Wii was released, it was brand new technology. The world was used using buttons on a controller NOT waving your hand around pointing at the TV screen to control a character – it was simply brilliant and re-invented the way millions of people play video games. Instead of sitting on your ass pushing buttons, the Wii made you interact with the game – becoming one with the character.

Data taken from the NPD suggests that even though the less Wii U units were sold, it has generated more revenue than the original Wii. This makes sense since the Wii U base model has an MSRP of $319.99 and the Deluxe is $349.99. “The much anticipated launch of the new Wii U console brought in more dollars than the Wii launch in November 2006, up 21 percent from that launch month,” analyst Liam Callahan said in a statement. “With an average price 35 percent higher for the Wii U at launch compared to the Wii, this is an example of how consumers are willing to come out and spend when they see the value of the product.”

So, you might be asking yourself – why do I think the Wii U will fail? Easy – There is no new technology that creates a better atmosphere for the user. The Wii U is a cross breed between 2 existing Nintendo products – The Wii and a DS. Sure there might be a few more bells and whistles, but there is nothing new we have not seen before.  We get a touchscreen controller (derived from a DS), little graphic improvement (still no high def games), NO hard drive (limits online activity tremendously), NO concrete online gaming platform, and the BIGGEST drawback? The price – why the HELL would I dish out $300+ for a system that does more than 50% less than what a PS3/Xbox 360 can do? WHY?

I think that Nintendo has been sidetracked by the Wii U and lost its true gaming credentials with the Wii U. The controller is big, bulky and hell – it’s useless. Why do we need 2 screens that are essentially for the same thing.

The sad thing about the Wii U is that even with all these sales there is NO hype. I thought that sales on the second hand market might save the Wii U but if you check eBay, craigslist, etc, people simply are not buying these systems. Most auctions are ending under MSRP and if you can’t create buzz around the holiday season, how do you expect to survive in the gaming world? Even loyal Nintendo fans like myself can’t buy into this idea. Hell I’d rather power up the old gamecube and play Zelda than think about spending $300 on this system!