I Dunno Why This Just Occured To Me Now...

[Hakudamashi]

Why does the Wii U's game library within it's first year consist of full priced, stripped down, unsupported ports of games that already exist on consoles people still have?

How are people to be convinced the Wii U is next gen, if it's library is being shared with the previous gen? Not only that, but they're stripped down versions which are missing DLC, have more framerate issues, and just as buggy.

Also, Nintendo, why bother releasing your console a year early, if all your games that people want are coming out the year after?

[Elija2]

Why does the Wii U's game library within it's first year consist of full priced, stripped down, unsupported ports of games that already exist on consoles people still have?

Because those were the games that were being developed at the time. Developers aren't gonna release their next-gen titles a year before the actual next-gen consoles arrive.

How are people to be convinced the Wii U is next gen, if it's library is being shared with the previous gen? Not only that, but they're stripped down versions which are missing DLC, have more framerate issues, and just as buggy.

The Wii U is not as powerful as next gen consoles so it's library has to be shared with the previous gen. And games released early in a console's life tend to have those kinds of problems.

Also, Nintendo, why bother releasing your console a year early, if all your games that people want are coming out the year after?

Nintendo were caught off guard by how difficult HD game development is, despite having years to prepare for it.

[Hakudamashi]

Didn't the Xbox360 get released first in the previous gen? Did it have these same problems?

Nintendo found it difficult to make HD games? Sounds like they should start hiring new blood...

But why didn't they make new games like Zombie U? Sure bring out your big guns when all 3 are out, but what sense does it make to re-release worse versions of games that already exist?
The 3DS didn't release with a port of Fate/Extra, the Vita didn't release with a port of Code Princess, and I'm sure the PS4 and Xbone aren't releasing with ports of Xenoblade Chronicles.

[Elija2]

Didn't the Xbox360 get released first in the previous gen? Did it have these same problems?

Games that were released cross-gen (both Xbox and Xbox 360) got shoddy 360 ports.

Nintendo found it difficult to make HD games? Sounds like they should start hiring new blood...

They are. They're also building a new R&D facility in Kyoto.

But why didn't they make new games like Zombie U? Sure bring out your big guns when all 3 are out, but what sense does it make to re-release worse versions of games that already exist?
The 3DS didn't release with a port of Fate/Extra, the Vita didn't release with a port of Code Princess, and I'm sure the PS4 and Xbone aren't releasing with ports of Xenoblade Chronicles.

Ubisoft is really the only third-party company who is seriously supporting the Wii U, even though it's not doing good for them (ZombiU was a failure). Most companies wanted to rush their ports to release it near the launch of the system because they thought the Wii U would be more successful than it really is.

[Hakudamashi]

Ubisoft is really the only third-party company who is seriously supporting the Wii U, even though it's not doing good for them (ZombiU was a failure). Most companies wanted to rush their ports to release it near the launch of the system because they thought the Wii U would be more successful than it really is.

Maybe the Wii U would've been better off if these ports weren't worse than the original...
Like Tekken Tag 2, looks sharper, runs smoother, has more features.

And Zombie U didn't sell cause it's a bad game that's buggy, unresponsive and repetitive.

[Elija2]

Maybe the Wii U would've been better off if these ports weren't worse than the original...
Like Tekken Tag 2, looks sharper, runs smoother, has more features.

Why would slightly-improved ports of games already on other systems help the Wii U become more successful?

And Zombie U didn't sell cause it's a bad game that's buggy, unresponsive and repetitive.

A lot of bad, buggy, unresponsive, and repetitive games are still successful. That's not the point. The point is that a launch game that was heavily marketed along with the Wii U did poorly.

[Hakudamashi]

Why would slightly-improved ports of games already on other systems help the Wii U become more successful?

A lot of bad, buggy, unresponsive, and repetitive games are still successful. That's not the point. The point is that a launch game that was heavily marketed along with the Wii U did poorly.

Why did they think buggier, more expensive, broken, inferior ports that don't even have the DLC available would help the Wii U?
Hell, bad porting is what crippled the value of the PS3 for most people.

The heavy marketing for a bad game doesn't mean much if people still think the Wii U is a Wii add on.

If these ports and Zombie U were actually worth a damn, more positive word of mouth would get people interested. Positive word of mouth is how I found out Steam was a thing.

[Elija2]

Why did they think buggier, more expensive, broken, inferior ports that don't even have the DLC available would help the Wii U?

They didn't, they expected the Wii U to be successful through brand name alone.

The heavy marketing for a bad game doesn't mean much if people still think the Wii U is a Wii add on.

That's Nintendo's fault.

If these ports and Zombie U were actually worth a damn, more positive word of mouth would get people interested. Positive word of mouth is how I found out Steam was a thing.

Why would that get people interested? "Hey, these Wii U ports of 360/PS3 games are pretty good. I should buy a $300 console to play them!"

Steam isn't a $300 console. It's free software.

[SmashFinale]

[Hakudamashi]

They didn't, they expected the Wii U to be successful through brand name alone.


Why would that get people interested? "Hey, these Wii U ports of 360/PS3 games are pretty good. I should buy a $300 console to play them!"

Steam isn't a $300 console. It's free software.

Cause that worked out so well for the PS3...

Well they sure as hell didn't think people would be interested in new games.

Steam requires a PC to have, and a decent PC to be worth a damn, neither of which I had.

[Tanassy]

Nintendo dun goof'd basically. They wanted to have a lot of games out during launch window, but they underestimated how much manpower they needed to make games in the current gen, because they've been stuck in last-gen for 7 years now.

Then you have all the other companies who make multiplatform games go "You know what, the next generation isn't quite here yet and we don't have an established install base yet with the Wii U, so we're going to wait before we start putting time and money into something next-gen."

On one hand you've got companies not wanting to take risks for the Wii U, and on the other hand, you've got those who just want to expand their range of existing products onto another system.

This doesn't happen with other consoles because there is no experience that they once could not offer.. but with the Wii U, Nintendo fans had no access to the games that were normal during the 7th generation, so everyone is playing catch up.

Combine that with the stupid decision in terms of hardware, and you've got bad ports that don't run well, and delays due to the lack of experience.

I can't speak for the likes of Ubisoft, their effort was obvious, but they can't have expected to make waves with the waves of awful games they released.

I have no doubt Nintendo can get back on their feet, and they are slowly adapting to their workload..

But the fact of the matter is 1. they're late. They're not using next-gen hardware at all, and they're being too slow with their own projects, leading people to think they're just catching up with the current gen.
2. They market their console awfully. It's like they want people to think it really is just a current gen system. "Hey guys, we caught up, we cool now?"


The Wii U is never going to be a major competitor this gen. It offers it's own little thing and all we have to do is accept that we're probably going to need two systems this gen to enjoy all the best gaming experiences.
Perhaps until in 5 or 6 years time when people will want to start buying new tech again.

[Hakudamashi]

Also, remember the bagillion commercials everywhere for the Wii? What happened?

[shadowDOESrock]

Also, remember the bagillion commercials everywhere for the Wii? What happened?

They ran up the mountain and thought we can still hear them from the top.

[Hakudamashi]

They ran up the mountain and thought we can still hear them from the top.

Ha...

You'd think with how heavy marketing worked so well for the Wii, they'd do it again.
I mean, what did they have to lose? The 3DS is basically printing money, and the DS and Wii were huge successess, so I doubt money is an issue...

[Tanassy]

They sure marketed it, but they marketed it wrong.

So it's not a matter of money, it's just a matter of them fucking up.