Wii-U thoughts so far

[KDub]

Seems like you just need to put a negative spin on it; do you write for Kotaku or IGN? It is an impressive (aka very good) launch no matter how you want to slice it. It doesn't matter if it did better than A B or C, it did a heck of a job at launch.

Har har. What next? Going to ask me for my Gamefaqs handle?

Sure, what is it?

Seriously dude I doubt anyone is that dumb; we realize something can do poorly later. This has nothing to do with what the system does later, it makes no sense to compare sales to what could happen in the future.

What sales could be 2 years from now doesn't make the current launch sales any less valid. Get over it, the numbers are good.

Btw, I just found out the Wii U controller doesn't support multi-touch (I haven't done much research on this system) and it often requires you to press firmly on the screen for many things to register.

You shouldn't have to press hard on the controller screen, I never had to. It works just like the 3DS touch screen. As far as multi touch goes, it would be nice but it is a secondary screen not your main gaming screen; it isn't a feature that would be needed in the end.

[Reprise]

You shouldn't have to press hard on the controller screen, I never had to. It works just like the 3DS touch screen. As far as multi touch goes, it would be nice but it is a secondary screen not your main gaming screen; it isn't a feature that wouldn't be needed in the end.

This is very true, was just about to say the same thing. The touch screen is a brilliant addition to gaming and from what I've played so far, I can't really fault it.

[RyaNtheSlayA]

Despite being a resistive one, I've had no trouble with touch screen responsiveness on the WiiU.

[equalsign]

What sales could be 2 years from now doesn't make the current launch sales any less valid. Get over it, the numbers are good.

Btw, I just found out the Wii U controller doesn't support multi-touch (I haven't done much research on this system) and it often requires you to press firmly on the screen for many things to register.

You shouldn't have to press hard on the controller screen, I never had to. It works just like the 3DS touch screen. As far as multi touch goes, it would be nice but it is a secondary screen not your main gaming screen; it isn't a feature that would be needed in the end.

They aren't good. It's just a Nintendo launch. Their core is large enough to sell a few million in the first few months. If only 200,000 units were available, they'd have 200,000 in sales. I would not call that unimpressive. That would just be a reflection of the units available. If 700,000 units had been shipped, they'd have closer to 700,000 in sales.

It's not truly "outselling" anyone. The PS3 and Xbox 360 technically outsold it Black Friday weekend. That isn't telling at all, because we don't know what the Wii U could do in an environment where supply exceeds demand (like with the PS3, 360, and Wii nowadays). We don't know what those past consoles could have sold in an environment where supply exceeded demand. The Wii U going to sell most of what they put out for the first few months. If you want to call that impressive, fine. For Nintendo, I don't think it represents something impressive or unimpressive. Unless a console underperforms and is DOA, it makes no sense to address its launch figures as significant.

I tried out a demo of the console at BestBuy this weekend. You did have to touch really firmly. If you are used to an iPhone, it will feel really unnatural. If you are used to a DS, it will feel normal. I am more used to the former, so it felt really sloppy and difficult to use. Using the stylus helped a bit.

[Thierry Henry]

Just a heads-up -- apparently someone managed to inadvertently delete their "Wii Mode" application irretrievably by dragging the disc icon over it. lol

http://www.gonintendo.com/?mode=viewstory&id=192034


I wonder how that got past Ninty's rigorous QA? I have a feeling a patch will be needed soon to address some issues. lol

[KDub]

They aren't good. It's just a Nintendo launch. Their core is large enough to sell a few million in the first few months.

Invalid point if even a true one. The original statement was comparing sales in the same amount of time for the past big systems and it stuck out as doing well. You can find whatever excuse you want to where you think it isn't a good amount but a fact is simply a fact. You are basing it on your opinions and feelings.

It's not truly "outselling" anyone.

I don't believe anyone said it was. I know I didn't.

it makes no sense to address its launch figures as significant.

Of course it does. I doubt Nintendo had a meeting a few days after launch and didn't discuss what those sales mean in terms on public adoption, production, promotion and overall sales predictions.

I tried out a demo of the console at BestBuy this weekend. You did have to touch really firmly. If you are used to an iPhone, it will feel really unnatural.

A likely abused display unit isn't a great judge, I have one right here and I barely have to touch it. Plus you're comparing a hard glass surface to the soft capacitive, it will have a different tactile response no matter what.

[equalsign]

They aren't good. It's just a Nintendo launch. Their core is large enough to sell a few million in the first few months.

Invalid point if even a true one. The original statement was comparing sales in the same amount of time for the past big systems and it stuck out as doing well. You can find whatever excuse you want to where you think it isn't a good amount but a fact is simply a fact. You are basing it on your opinions and feelings.

It's not truly "outselling" anyone.

I don't believe anyone said it was. I know I didn't.

it makes no sense to address its launch figures as significant.

Of course it does. I doubt Nintendo had a meeting a few days after launch and didn't discuss what those sales mean in terms on public adoption, production, promotion and overall sales predictions.

I tried out a demo of the console at BestBuy this weekend. You did have to touch really firmly. If you are used to an iPhone, it will feel really unnatural.

A likely abused display unit isn't a great judge, I have one right here and I barely have to touch it. Plus you're comparing a hard glass surface to the soft capacitive, it will have a different tactile response no matter what.

It didn't do well or poorly. Each of those systems sold in accordance to their availability. The Wii U simply didn't arrive dead. We cannot draw other conclusions from the first two weeks of sales. The original post framed those numbers as evidence of a successful launch. I disagree that the two are related. I think that a successful launch is characterized by consumer excitement and momentum. It is also characterized by developer excitement and interest. If you want to try and make an argument that the Wii U's launch was successful based on those criteria, I'd be much more receptive.

The "outselling" argument was made one page ago .

Allow me to rephrase: a few dudes on an internet forum cannot analyze what those numbers mean in context. We cannot judge good or bad. We do not have all the data. We just have the raw number.

As I understand it, resistive touchscreens require you to press down. I'm sitting here with my DS and it won't react unless I press. Tapping won't do. I need to press. With my iPhone's capacitive touchscreen you do not have to press down. It was probably probably a good choice for cost and durability, but it's still annoying if you're used to capacitive touch.

[Octopod]

I stated that it outsold the other consoles when we compare launch numbers. Obviously it hasn't outsold other consoles taking lifetime sales into consideration considering the Wii U has been out for two weeks. The Wii U sold more consoles at launch than those other consoles. That is a fact.

[equalsign]

I stated that it outsold the other consoles when we compare launch numbers. Obviously it hasn't outsold other consoles taking lifetime sales into consideration considering the Wii U has been out for two weeks. The Wii U sold more consoles at launch than those other consoles. That is a fact.

I am not talking about lifetime sales. I was trying to make a point when I said "truly." What I meant probably got lost somewhere in my argument. I realize I wasn't very clear. Here is what I said:

[It's not truly "outselling" anyone. The PS3 and Xbox 360 technically outsold it Black Friday weekend. That isn't telling at all, because we don't know what the Wii U could do in an environment where supply exceeds demand (like with the PS3, 360, and Wii nowadays). We don't know what those past consoles could have sold in an environment where supply exceeded demand.]

What I am trying to say is that we don't know what the Wii U's true two week sales numbers would have been in a market where anyone that wanted one could buy one. We don't know what the Wii's two week sales numbers would have been in a market where anyone that wanted one could buy one. We don't know what the PS3's two week sales numbers would have been in a market where anyone that wanted one could buy one.

The two week sales numbers are more indicative of supply than demand. I think demand, excitement, and momentum together represent a successful launch. Supply is a factor, but I see it as auxiliary. This paragraph is the crux of my argument.

[Cronozilla]

The only problem with that argument is the assumption that Wii U is sold out. It's not.

It's easier to find a Wii U than it was to find a Wii in 2006 (obviously) ... but it's also a bit easier to find than GameCube was back in 2001.

And enthusiasm is an unquantifiable value. The only real values you have are number of units shipped and number of units sold. And Wii U is, currently, not being delimited by it's units shipped. And you can compare that week 2 performance to other platform's week 2 performance and you can start making some statements based on that comparison. It doesn't say anything about the longevity of the console ... it's just how the launch is doing so far. And it's not an outlandish thing to claim that it has been successful based on the numbers.

And comparing week 2 performance to week 394 isn't exactly fair.

The only thing you can really argue is other systems might have been delimited by their unit numbers (Wii) meaning it's not a fair comparison to them ... it would however, be a fair comparison for Wii U considering ... it's not even difficult to find the system. This launch has actually been very well supplied ... and it's not drowning like the Vita did or even 3DS. It's outpacing 360 (I don't compare PS3, because there were no units and Wii launched the same weekend ... 360 was also a solo-next generation machine on the market).

But even compared to early launching consoles, Wii U is doing well. So, these aren't really outlandish or inaccurate claims to make.