Analyst: Nintendo May Miss Opportunity to Build Wii U Hype - News
by William D'Angelo , posted on 01 September 2012 / 12,361 Views
Robert W. Baird analyst Colin Sebastian said that Nintendo is missing the opportunity to build up hype ahead of the Wii U release in a note to investors. While the system will be bought by Nintendo fans at launch, most consumers may wait until 2013 for the next generation consoles from Microsoft and Sony.
Sebastian also noted that the price of the Wii U will most likely be announced at Nintendo's media briefing in New York City on September 13. He estimates that the console will sell between $249 and $299.
"We remain concerned that Nintendo is missing an opportunity to build greater mind share ahead of the Wii U launch on November 18," he said. "While initial strong sales are likely given the Nintendo fan base, we believe there may be a narrow window of opportunity to generate broad consumer interest before next-gen Microsoft and Sony platforms are announced in [first half of 2013] and launch in Q4 2013."
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No one is going to 'wait a year' for the PS4/720. Its not like Nintendo will not be promoting it throughout the course of the year, in addition to revealing marquee software for it at E3 2013.
Nintendo consoles don't need hype. They get bought by families, and as long as Niintendo maintains that kid-friendly catalog of games, they should be fine. Does Nintendo even need the typical PS3/360 gamer to buy their console? It would sure help but they'll do fine without it.
I agree that Nintendo relies most on the families that want something for everyone. The distinction with the Wii U is that it is going for both the casual market they have already owned last few years and giving others in the household an alternative game system with unique experience for those that like to play more of the core games like Assassin's Creed, Batman, Call of Duty, etc.
This is the first Wii U news I've seen on front page of this sight since the last big doom rumor appeared. I can't say this is much better.
Without knowing the price, it is hard to tell how successful the Wii U will be. If they can keep it under $300 Nintendo might not only have a hit but also will make an enormous pressure on Sony and Microsoft a year from now when they will probably release their consoles, especially because they will probably be more expensive to build and thus they might be in a higher price category.
an analyst predicting doom about a new console to come out soon?! the only thing that I found shocking or news about this article is that Patchers name isn't all over it :D
hes never been correct
just ignore him
stupid analyst
hes never been correct
just ignore him
stupid analyst
I would buy the Wii U today if I could!
Yea, people will wait a year and then buy a Wii U anyway because of all the software released that year. This is what I did when the 360 came out. I think Nintendo is holding off giving too much info on the console because they want to keep Sony and Microsoft in the dark about their console for as long as possible. This is to prevent Sony and Microsoft from altering their console to compete with the Wii U. Nintendo kind of did this with the 3DS and Sony made a PSV system to match the 3DS in price......boy did this plan hurt Sony.
Expecting the price to be $249 or $299. That seems to be a little inexpensive. I thought the Tablet controller was causing all sorts of manufacturing problems and wasn't cheap to produce?
$299 is possible, $249 is almost garenteed not to happen. Wii cost $279 and it offered a minimal graphical leap from the Gamecube. Nintendo has always released their consoles at the same price as the $199 NES, with respect to inflation. $199 in 1985 is probably closer to $310 in 2012.
@Michael - First, Wii was $250 USD when it released. I remember very clearly - I bought it the day it released and my wife was not happy. Second, $200 in 1985 is equal to $425 in 2012. Wii should have cost $370 at launch if it was going to follow the $200 in 1985 concept. Rather, the Wii cost the equivilent of $135 in 1985.
18th November as a launch date??? When was this confirmed?
Also, 3 months is more than enough to build hype. Get the word out, do events about 2 months before, put some ads up about a month before launch, success. Like the 3DS, but obviously that was in the Spring, so expect a more aggressive marketing strategy.
I was wondering this also. Is November 18 the launch date for the U?
Nintendo loves Sunday releases. And November 11 seems a more likely date than the 18th. Earlier than that seems fishy to me. I've been saying November 11, 2012 since 2010, before the WiiU/Project Cafe rumors even started, though.
wiiu will 90% fail
Expecting the price to be $249 or $299. That seems to be a little inexpensive. I thought the Tablet controller was causing all sorts of manufacturing problems and wasn't cheap to produce?
Stupid double post.
Not a tablet.
Talking to someone at the Wii U booth at the Gamestop Expo said it would be more expensive than the Wii was at launch.
hes never been correct
just ignore him
stupid analyst
