Nintendo: Project Cafe - Wii U

[Inazuma]

The stock market has been doing well lately.

What does that have to do with the average blue-collar American family? Absolutely nothing.

It is a decent reflection of the general state of the economy. It's imperfect, but from a very high level a good stock market usually means the economy is doing better.

Plus, you can be in debt and still live a full life. I'm in debt $220,000 and it hasn't slowed down my video game purchases.

Well, if you are making monthly payments on a loan and you are still able to do so, it should be fine to purchase video games.

I was talking about someone with debt that they are having trouble paying off. Like say if someone has 10k in credit card debt. They really shouldn't be buying stuff like video games in that kind of situation. Or at the very least, they should really try their best to cut back so they can focus on paying off their debt.

[benderx]

http://cache.gawkerassets.com/assets/im ... 948949.jpg

Here is your metroid cafe baby wii 2.

http://cache.gawker.com/assets/images/c ... iginal.jpg

Its ROBOCOP CAFE

[AmishSamurai]

Those are either double the size of the wii, they're returning to the mini-disc, or eschewing the disc drive altogether.

[Original_Name]

Every time Nintendo announces a new system, or (___insert Nintendo franchise here___) game, it's met with incredible skepticism. And yet, every time, it manages to re-invent itself and sell ass-loads of units to fan-boys and naysayers alike. 2012 will be no different.

I'm just gonna go ahead and start saving money now..

Agree. Everyone is always saying this or that about Nintendo. But in the end just like the famous online meme... "It prints money"

I keep hearing this general sentiment about Nintendo consoles, but really, hasn't this only happened twice? With the DS and the Wii (and, to a lesser extent, the Wii Fit)? Nothing else they've done was really met with anymore skepticism than any other console, and earlier "questionable" console directions, the 64 and Gamecube, didn't make the market impact that Nintendo had expected. As far as franchises, questionable directions don't seem to be that common, nor are they always met with universal praise: you have the successful Super Mario Galaxy alongside a Super Mario Sunshine that was met with a mixed response -- you could make the same comparison when it comes to Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker and Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks. Outside of that, it seems identical to the Apple "culture" going around... there's a group that goes way overboard in trying to stir up controversy and ridicule over their products, and another group that totally blows their favored company's innovations out of proportion.

And I mean let's be frank, despite sales figures, how great are most of Nintendo's ideas in actual practice? Wii Fit sold by the boatload, but it's really a pretty lousy device for anyone who has even a remotely vested interest in games. How many times have you complained that the touch-screen or motion-control features on a DS or Wii game feel forced, out of place, or just plain wonky? Were those efforts really a success in any way that's actually meaningful to you as a gamer outside of a handful of games? Nintendo has had their successes, but I can't help but cringe everytime I hear them referred to as the maverick gamblers, proving the nay-sayers wrong with their totally wacky, innovative approach to blah blah blah just because they've managed to recycle ideas and market them successfully -- it's not like you have to get all that kooky to be more interesting than Sony and Microsoft. And to get to what I feel is the crux of the matter, why are gamers so quick to point out Nintendo's financial successes as some kind of vindication of their efforts? -- You're gamers, not market analysts. Who cares if the Wii Fit conquered the odds and sold a jillion units if it's not even marketed towards you? How is that in any way a success for you?

[Niode]

Every time Nintendo announces a new system, or (___insert Nintendo franchise here___) game, it's met with incredible skepticism. And yet, every time, it manages to re-invent itself and sell ass-loads of units to fan-boys and naysayers alike. 2012 will be no different.

I'm just gonna go ahead and start saving money now..

Agree. Everyone is always saying this or that about Nintendo. But in the end just like the famous online meme... "It prints money"

I keep hearing this general sentiment about Nintendo consoles, but really, hasn't this only happened twice? With the DS and the Wii (and, to a lesser extent, the Wii Fit)? Nothing else they've done was really met with anymore skepticism than any other console, and earlier "questionable" console directions, the 64 and Gamecube, didn't make the market impact that Nintendo had expected. As far as franchises, questionable directions don't seem to be that common, nor are they always met with universal praise: you have the successful Super Mario Galaxy alongside a Super Mario Sunshine that was met with a mixed response -- you could make the same comparison when it comes to Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker and Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks. Outside of that, it seems identical to the Apple "culture" going around... there's a group that goes way overboard in trying to stir up controversy and ridicule over their products, and another group that totally blows their favored company's innovations out of proportion.

And I mean let's be frank, despite sales figures, how great are most of Nintendo's ideas in actual practice? Wii Fit sold by the boatload, but it's really a pretty lousy device for anyone who has even a remotely vested interest in games. How many times have you complained that the touch-screen or motion-control features on a DS or Wii game feel forced, out of place, or just plain wonky? Were those efforts really a success in any way that's actually meaningful to you as a gamer outside of a handful of games? Nintendo has had their successes, but I can't help but cringe everytime I hear them referred to as the maverick gamblers, proving the nay-sayers wrong with their totally wacky, innovative approach to blah blah blah just because they've managed to recycle ideas and market them successfully -- it's not like you have to get all that kooky to be more interesting than Sony and Microsoft. And to get to what I feel is the crux of the matter, why are gamers so quick to point out Nintendo's financial successes as some kind of vindication of their efforts? -- You're gamers, not market analysts. Who cares if the Wii Fit conquered the odds and sold a jillion units if it's not even marketed towards you? How is that in any way a success for you?

It's not about that, it's the fact that every single Nintendo console makes money for them from the start. No matter how bad they do in a generation, they always come out with a profit. It's an extremely smart strategy. It's one of the reasons why Nintendo are generally half way between generations when they release consoles. It means they (generally) get more powerful hardware for less money.

[coastercrazy10]

Is anyone else of the mindset that Nintendo may not abandon the Wii hardware for a while, much like Sony has been doing with the PS2? Drop the price and release a new, more powerful console. Keep marketing the previous-gen console to more casual gamers and the new one to the hardcore, and gradually bridge that gap by releasing a handful of games cross-platform and slowly stop releasing for legacy hardware as an incentive to buy the new console. Seems like a sound marketing strategy to me, but I'm no econ major. Just a thought I had.

That being said, I'm very excited for this new system. Plus the hardware price drops are finally giving me the opportunity to pounce on a Wii and not feel like I'm overpaying for re-purposed hardware. Looking forward to more details being released at E3

-Ben

[Flake]

Is anyone else of the mindset that Nintendo may not abandon the Wii hardware for a while, much like Sony has been doing with the PS2? Drop the price and release a new, more powerful console.

Depending on the price point of the wii in such a situation as compared to the new Nintendo console, that might be a very smart idea. You just want to make sure that the older system is cheap enough that you don't split your audience - for Sony a PS2 sale was never a lost PS3 sale. If anything, the PS2 is what kept them afloat for those first couple of 'gamecubey' years the PS3 was dealing with.

But if the new Nintendo has backwards compatibility, no dice. Expect the Wii to end production right away.

[MrPopo]

Is anyone else of the mindset that Nintendo may not abandon the Wii hardware for a while, much like Sony has been doing with the PS2? Drop the price and release a new, more powerful console.

Depending on the price point of the wii in such a situation as compared to the new Nintendo console, that might be a very smart idea. You just want to make sure that the older system is cheap enough that you don't split your audience - for Sony a PS2 sale was never a lost PS3 sale. If anything, the PS2 is what kept them afloat for those first couple of 'gamecubey' years the PS3 was dealing with.

But if the new Nintendo has backwards compatibility, no dice. Expect the Wii to end production right away.

The PS3 at launch had backwards compatibility as well, so you'd still have the same logic to apply to both launches.

[Flake]

The PS3 at launch had backwards compatibility as well, so you'd still have the same logic to apply to both launches.

True. I think I should have elaborated more on the initial price point. The PS3's original MSRP was high enough that comparing the PS2 and Launch PS3 was hard to do.

[coastercrazy10]

The PS3 at launch had backwards compatibility as well, so you'd still have the same logic to apply to both launches.

True. I think I should have elaborated more on the initial price point. The PS3's original MSRP was high enough that comparing the PS2 and Launch PS3 was hard to do.

I've heard the Wii will see another price drop to $150 soon, and it could be even lower by the time Cafe launches. Even if it stays at $150 and Cafe launches at $300, that's still a big incentive to wait for most casual gamers.

-Ben