Who will be the next hardware maker to exit the market?

[Bill Loguidice]

I think one more failure in the TV oriented console market may lead them to pull back to just making handhelds.

 

I'm not sure if that's a sustainable business. Outside of handheld crazy Japan, there are no territories where handhelds haven't lost significant market share and interest to other mobile products. With that said, I think the NX will be a hybrid platform, so that will solve multiple issues for Nintendo and help them to rally around a single platform rather than trying to support two.

[Bill Loguidice]

I have a question: How is the Xbox One doing these days? I haven't really seen any selling information lately on the console. I'm assuming it's doing rather well with the introduction to backward compatible games (some, not all). Is there any further speculation on what the NX will be? From what I've read, it seems the notion is Nintendo's next iteration will be a portable or a hybrid of both a console and portable.

 

PS4 sales are around 36 million. Xbox One sales are just north of 18 million. Last I saw the estimates, the Wii U is several million behind the Xbox One despite the year headstart over both that and PS4.

 

Both Xbox One and PS4 are trending higher in sales than their previous consoles at this point in their existence, but obviously PS4 is still outselling the Xbox One about 2:1. What hurts the Xbox One of course is having little-to-no sales in Japan, something both the Wii U and PS4 can count on.

[Unbeliever]

Wow. Didn't expect them to be outsold by 2 to 1 over their direct competitor. However, the Japanese market does strengthen overall sales. Why isn't the Japanese market stronger for Xbox One sales? What exactly don't they like about the console over there?

[Bill Loguidice]

Wow. Didn't expect them to be outsold by 2 to 1 over their direct competitor. However, the Japanese market does strengthen overall sales. Why isn't the Japanese market stronger for Xbox One sales? What exactly don't they like about the console over there?

 

It's a form of xenophobia. Western products rarely do well in videogames there. The vast majority of other territories throughout the world have similar tastes these days. Japan marches to its own beat. You only need to look at their weekly top 10 software charts and the fact that handhelds usually outsell consoles to see that. It's really quite fascinating, but no doubt disconcerting for a non-Japanese company trying to make inroads there.

 

Generally speaking, while the Wii U or PS4 can regularly sell 10 - 20,000 units a week there, the Xbox One is lucky to sell even 500 units a week. Crazy stuff.

[leods]

The Problem with the xbox one is that the original plan they had was really bad. Allways online with kinekt and 100 bucks more expensive than the ps4? Who would go for that? By the time they switched to just being the same as the PS4 the damage was already done. And the console is still weaker in terms of Hardware. So all in all it's actually quite amazing they even sold so well. They have their console exclusives, but now that Bungie jumped ship not even Halo seems to be a must have. Not even for Halo fans.

 

So they're bringing backwards compatibility, because obviously the 360 is so clearly supperior that they have to do something about all those People still on the 360 just asking themselves: "when am I going to upgrade to a PS4?"

 

But anyway. Consoles are going strong. No doubt about that. I said I think nobody Needs a console. I didin't say consoles won't be around. I think they will. If These bastards can Keep enough games hostage People will buy their platforms. Even I will. Eventually, if things Keep going the way they are I'll buy a Ps4 to Play the japanese games I can't get on PC. IF xbox one has enough games that interest me I might end up getting that too. Specially if it gets the xbox 360 compatibility to Support all good games.

[Bill Loguidice]

The Problem with the xbox one is that the original plan they had was really bad. Allways online with kinekt and 100 bucks more expensive than the ps4? Who would go for that? By the time they switched to just being the same as the PS4 the damage was already done. And the console is still weaker in terms of Hardware. So all in all it's actually quite amazing they even sold so well. They have their console exclusives, but now that Bungie jumped ship not even Halo seems to be a must have. Not even for Halo fans.

 

Actually, both Microsoft and Sony had similar plans. At the very last moment, Sony pulled the camera from the PS4 as a bundle, which helped them get out at $100 less. It was too late for Microsoft to do the same, though obviously they eventually were able to. What it meant for the PS4 camera is that it's more or less a useless accessory at this point, save for a very small handful of games and menu-based voice control. Of course, the Kinect, once it became optional, has evolved to be far less than useful than originally imagined, although it's still far more useful than Sony's camera thanks to the deeper integration the Xbox One has with cable, TV, sound bars, etc.

 

As for the always online thing, that was made into a bigger deal than it should have been (and had a couple of nice advantages) and I suspect that it will eventually not even be a second thought for new devices in the future. It was one of those things that was communicated poorly, had a major overreaction from the community, and was perhaps just a bit too early of a concept to introduce, even though the reality is the vast majority of gamers on the vast majority of platforms, especially PC, are already always online and already have games that require regular online checks to verify ownership anyway.

[JamesD]

 

I'm not sure if that's a sustainable business. Outside of handheld crazy Japan, there are no territories where handhelds haven't lost significant market share and interest to other mobile products. With that said, I think the NX will be a hybrid platform, so that will solve multiple issues for Nintendo and help them to rally around a single platform rather than trying to support two.

They have sold more 3DS handhelds than SONY has sold PS4s.

[Bill Loguidice]

They have sold more 3DS handhelds than SONY has sold PS4s.

 

I would hope so considering the 3DS has been out for five years and the PS4 a little over two, and that the 3DS/2DS series usually costs less than half the price.

 

In any case, it's clear that sales of gaming handhelds have been trending downward since the heights of the DS and PSP. I think t's no coincidence that both the 3DS, and in particular, the Vita, will fail to reach anywhere near the final sales totals of their predecessors. The rise of cheap tablets, and, in particular, smartphones, have taken away what might have otherwise been sales of a gaming handheld. You're far more likely to see a kid playing with a smartphone or tablet out in the wild these days than you are a 3DS.

 

That's why I don't think we'll see another major (i.e., non-niche, like an Nvidia Shield) gaming handheld platform from anyone, even Nintendo. It's only my speculation, but I'd be shocked if the NX wasn't Nintendo's attempt at unifying their console and handheld lines into a singular new platform, one that can be used as a handheld when you want to, but also when docked works like a regular console. That would seem the best chance at success.

[JamesD]

 

I would hope so considering the 3DS has been out for five years and the PS4 a little over two, and that the 3DS/2DS series usually costs less than half the price.

 

In any case, it's clear that sales of gaming handhelds have been trending downward since the heights of the DS and PSP. I think t's no coincidence that both the 3DS, and in particular, the Vita, will fail to reach anywhere near the final sales totals of their predecessors. The rise of cheap tablets, and, in particular, smartphones, have taken away what might have otherwise been sales of a gaming handheld. You're far more likely to see a kid playing with a smartphone or tablet out in the wild these days than you are a 3DS.

 

That's why I don't think we'll see another major (i.e., non-niche, like an Nvidia Shield) gaming handheld platform from anyone, even Nintendo. It's only my speculation, but I'd be shocked if the NX wasn't Nintendo's attempt at unifying their console and handheld lines into a singular new platform, one that can be used as a handheld when you want to, but also when docked works like a regular console. That would seem the best chance at success.

Acually, that's not just your speculation, I've read similar comments on other websites.

[Bill Loguidice]

Acually, that's not just your speculation, I've read similar comments on other websites.

 

Definitely. I'm just stating that I have no facts to back it up, so it's just what I'm guessing will happen. I have a "for the record" blog post from a few months back with more detail to see how it stacks up to the big reveal that I presume will happen in June for a holiday release.

[Andromeda Stardust]

Is there any further speculation on what the NX will be? From what I've read, it seems the notion is Nintendo's next iteration will be a portable or a hybrid of both a console and portable.

Pure speculation follows on my part:

 

The NX will most likely be tablet like console that serves as both a portable and set top box. I like to imagine a much slimmer Game Pad with a slightly larger screen and powerful ARM processor in it that rivals the likes of what Apple use in their latest gadgets. They will have a rather small dock with HDMI and/or display port to TV and USB sockets for charging controllers. The unit will be backwards compatible with Wii-U Pro controllers for local multiplayer but not Wii-U games. It will also sport a 3DS card slot for backwards comatability with the DS/2DS. The screen will not have 3D capability.

When the NX is docked in the console dock, the ARM CPU will run in a high power turbo state to push full HD 1920x1080p60 graphics to the HDTV. When undocked, it runs in a lower power state and pushes SD or 720p graphics to the NX Gamepad screen. There will also be two SKUs of the NX, one in a phone size with dual sliders and low profile buttons for true on the go gaming, and one tablet sized unit with full buttons and thumbpads for comfortable around the house use.

Households with multiple NX units are able to share a unified account and save data will be syncronized between them with the push of a button. Games will be primarily available through the eShop however some popular AAA releases will be also be released on special game cards with 30+ year flash retention, starting at around 8gbytes up to a max designed capacity of 32Gbytes for future expansion. These physical cards have a similar form factor to 3DS card but with a notch on either side to share the same legacy slot with 3DS games.

NX will not be utilizing x86 as Sony and Microsoft because x86 consumes too much power to be viable for portable devices. PowerPC unfortunately is a dead architecture and will not be supported going forward so backwards compatibility with Wii/Wii-U will sadly not be possible. AAA third party developers will likely scorn the NX for it's refusal to use x86-64 architecture and Direct X, but with ARM quickly catching up in terms of Gigahertz and processing power, it will ultimately be a non issue with the next wave of ARM processors.

 

End speculation.

 

Let's see if I'm even close to being right come e3...

[Jinks]

I feel the most underestimated console of modern times is the U. The controller is great and it has a procontroller for backward" hardcore" gamers who hate pysically pointing at something like a computers mouse and make a move.

They have the greatest game of 2016 with splatoon( my kids are hooked on it) and they have an xbox360 and tons of killing games which is used for a media DVD player.

I never get that the powerfull bad boy consoles will be named always the xbox and ps whatever when video games are traditionally for kids. If these 40 somethings that live in their parents basements could get past thier ego and actually try a wii u and play some of the top games it has they might find them fun and in a tier way above press x to win game and blood n guts bs.

But that would hurt their egos I guess.

I tried them all and find the U awesome.

[Bill Loguidice]

I feel the most underestimated console of modern times is the U. The controller is great and it has a procontroller for backward" hardcore" gamers who hate pysically pointing at something like a computers mouse and make a move.

They have the greatest game of 2016 with splatoon( my kids are hooked on it) and they have an xbox360 and tons of killing games which is used for a media DVD player.

I never get that the powerfull bad boy consoles will be named always the xbox and ps whatever when video games are traditionally for kids. If these 40 somethings that live in their parents basements could get past thier ego and actually try a wii u and play some of the top games it has they might find them fun and in a tier way above press x to win game and blood n guts bs.

But that would hurt their egos I guess.

I tried them all and find the U awesome.

 

I'm sorry, but that's nonsense. I appreciate that you like the Wii U, but making a blanket statement like that about the PS4 and Xbox One libraries is ridiculous. If you took an honest look at the libraries for each, you'd see they're remarkably diverse, with games of every imaginable type for every imaginable age. Sure, there are "killing" games on them, and those games tend to show up on the top 10 sellers lists, making them easy to point to, but that's like saying that all movies are big budget blockbusters just because those tend to make the most money. That's of course not true either. In fact, I'd argue that the Wii U is exactly the type of deficient system you're talking about because it lacks a lot of those games that you refer to as negatives on the other systems thanks to its dearth of major third party titles. If I were somehow limited to only one system, you'd be sure it wouldn't be the Wii U, which is missing out on too many titles. Even my daughters tend to play the others systems more, and they certainly don't care for "killing" games.

 

And did you think that maybe, just maybe, it's not an "ego" thing for the Wii U's failure, but perhaps something that's not quite resonating with everyone? The Wii sure sold a bunch and it's not significantly different from its successor in terms of what it offers. There was no "ego" thing there.

[Andromeda Stardust]

The point is, Nintendo games = fun. Maybe I don't want blood and guts all over my TV screen. FPS games suck. If Microsoft and Sony want me to get excited about their consoles, maybe they should showcase something besides FPS, sports, and racers in their ads. Heck, I bought a PS3 primarily for BluRay and Little Big Planet. Biggest problem with Nintendo is they had a one year head start and did not advertise their system at all. Who does that? They advertised the crap out of the Wii and it sold like hotcakes. People did not buy the console because Nintendo didn't advertise it. Third parties left because people didn't buy it. Rinse and repeat. What the hell was wrong with Nintendo that they didn't bother to advertise what was clearly the superior product with the best [fun] games? As much as I love Nintendo, sometimes I want to slap a sense of reality into them. Nintendo of Japan maakes all the executive decisions and doesn't allow any feedback from Nintendo of America or Nintendo of Europe, and that is a big problem IMO. Sony practically bends over backwards to cater to the western markets...

[Bill Loguidice]

The point is, Nintendo games = fun. Maybe I don't want blood and guts all over my TV screen. FPS games suck. If Microsoft and Sony want me to get excited about their consoles, maybe they should showcase something besides FPS, sports, and racers in their ads. Heck, I bought a PS3 primarily for BluRay and Little Big Planet. Biggest problem with Nintendo is they had a one year head start and did not advertise their system at all. Who does that? They advertised the crap out of the Wii and it sold like hotcakes. People did not buy the console because Nintendo didn't advertise it. Third parties left because people didn't buy it. Rinse and repeat. What the hell was wrong with Nintendo that they didn't bother to advertise what was clearly the superior product with the best [fun] games? As much as I love Nintendo, sometimes I want to slap a sense of reality into them. Nintendo of Japan maakes all the executive decisions and doesn't allow any feedback from Nintendo of America or Nintendo of Europe, and that is a big problem IMO. Sony practically bends over backwards to cater to the western markets...

 

So the Wii U is better because it has fewer "blood and guts," FPS, sports, and racer games than the competition, who has those games and also all of the same types of games found on the Wii U? Makes sense to me... If you said something like, "I prefer Nintendo first party games above all else," then I would gladly buy your argument, but because the Wii U is lacking in a lot of the genres found in spades on the competition is not exactly a compelling selling point. You don't have to buy those games on the competition. You can buy all the other game types available, be they platformers, adventure games, puzzle games, classics, etc.

 

As for the Wii U's failure, I really don't think it had much to do with advertising issues. They did and do advertise. Besides the usual issues that we've talked about endlessly on these forums and elsewhere, like not making enough of a distinction between the Wii and the Wii U in the average consumer's mind (i.e., too many people didn't realize it was a new system), not actively supporting the Wii in its final year or so of its existence and losing all momentum going into the Wii U release, etc., perhaps the biggest failing was from Nintendo themselves. They admitted they weren't ready for the challenges of developing in HD, which explains the unfortunate software drought, which did them few favors when most of the third party software support they got was with games already available on the 360 and PS3.

 

That's of course another issue, in that the Wii U was really designed to make porting third party games from the 360 and PS3 easier, when the industry was shifting to PS4, Xbox One, and PC, leaving the Wii U high and dry when support for the previous generation was winding down. Of course, it didn't do the Wii U any favors either that none of the third party titles sold well. It's one thing when your first party titles usually do big numbers, but if your third parties don't get in on some of the fun, then they have no reason to provide support. That's something Nintendo MUST fix with the NX to stand a chance of regaining momentum. While having a single platform to support, rather than two or more like they've been accustomed to, should allow them to release more software, they still can't do it all alone. The Nintendo faithful, who are content with solely buying the first party stuff, is just not enough to maintain a sustainable platform in today's competitive landscape.

[DracIsBack]

I don't think any of them really. They all have a bunch of cash, a bunch of IP and dedicated fans.

 

Sega was different. They had a lot of debts incurred and simply couldn't afford to switch to the emerging model where they lost a bunch of hardware and also risked losing on big production games as well. The model before that had usually been break even on hardware, make lots of profit on software.

 

The Dreamcast actually sold fairly well, but not fast enough for a company with a bunch of debt to survive in the new world.

 

Microsoft and Sony have other businesses to sustain them. Nintendo has huge selling IP.

[DracIsBack]

Nintendo is dying

 

How is a company with a boatloat of cash, no debt to speak of and a surprisingly small staff relative to revenue "dying" exactly?

 

Can you point me to a financial report where they say the words "Our ability to continue is a growing concern?"

 

I can kinda buy that it might be harder for them to continue in the console business, but dying?

[Flojomojo]

Maybe I don't want blood and guts all over my TV screen. FPS games suck. If Microsoft and Sony want me to get excited about their consoles, maybe they should showcase something besides FPS, sports, and racers in their ads.

 

Speaking only for myself (as always), I can't remember the last ad I've seen for any game platform. It's probably because I don't see much TV, and even less print media, and block ads online, but I just don't see them. In any case, in this age of instant, unlimited information, shame on the consumer who uses advertising to make a decision about a software platform. I couldn't care less about what is popular. I like what I like, and I can read reviews. I have all 3 current consoles, but very few "AAA" titles for any of them except for Nintendo. Quirky, nonviolent, independent games are everywhere, especially on Sony's hardware. They're often supported across their last-gen (PS3), current-gen (PS4), and handheld (Vita, and sometimes even PSP) with one purchase.

 

Think for yourself and don't get caught up in labels or stereotypes. Saying "all Xbox games are bloody first-person shooters" is as stupid as saying "all mobile games are cash grabbing slot machines." That's another pet peeve of mine, by the way -- when people dump on mobile because of what is at the top of the list that makes the most money. I adore mobile games, and yet it's not like I'm addicted to FarmVille and Candy Crush.

[Andromeda Stardust]

 

So the Wii U is better because it has fewer "blood and guts," FPS, sports, and racer games than the competition, who has those games and also all of the same types of games found on the Wii U? Makes sense to me... If you said something like, "I prefer Nintendo first party games above all else," then I would gladly buy your argument, but because the Wii U is lacking in a lot of the genres found in spades on the competition is not exactly a compelling selling point. You don't have to buy those games on the competition. You can buy all the other game types available, be they platformers, adventure games, puzzle games, classics, etc.

 

As for the Wii U's failure, I really don't think it had much to do with advertising issues. They did and do advertise. Besides the usual issues that we've talked about endlessly on these forums and elsewhere, like not making enough of a distinction between the Wii and the Wii U in the average consumer's mind (i.e., too many people didn't realize it was a new system), not actively supporting the Wii in its final year or so of its existence and losing all momentum going into the Wii U release, etc., perhaps the biggest failing was from Nintendo themselves. They admitted they weren't ready for the challenges of developing in HD, which explains the unfortunate software drought, which did them few favors when most of the third party software support they got was with games already available on the 360 and PS3.

 

That's of course another issue, in that the Wii U was really designed to make porting third party games from the 360 and PS3 easier, when the industry was shifting to PS4, Xbox One, and PC, leaving the Wii U high and dry when support for the previous generation was winding down. Of course, it didn't do the Wii U any favors either that none of the third party titles sold well. It's one thing when your first party titles usually do big numbers, but if your third parties don't get in on some of the fun, then they have no reason to provide support. That's something Nintendo MUST fix with the NX to stand a chance of regaining momentum. While having a single platform to support, rather than two or more like they've been accustomed to, should allow them to release more software, they still can't do it all alone. The Nintendo faithful, who are content with solely buying the first party stuff, is just not enough to maintain a sustainable platform in today's competitive landscape.

Third party games didn't sell on Wii-U because of the developers own fault. Call of Duty for instance had virtually no online and very little DLC, and was $60 while better full featured versions were available for the PS3, 360, PS4, and Xbone. They sold a gimped game experience and charged more for it, so no wonder gamers didn't want it. Third parties released half-ass ports then cried home to mommy and wrote off the system when they didn't sell. It was literally a self-fulfilling prophecy.

 

Meanwhile Nintendo was churning out great immersive titles like Lego City, DK Tropical Freeze, Pikmin 3, Mario Kart 8, Smash Bros, Super Mario 3D World, Bayonetta 2...

[Bill Loguidice]

Third party games didn't sell on Wii-U because of the developers own fault. Call of Duty for instance had virtually no online and very little DLC, and was $60 while better full featured versions were available for the PS3, 360, PS4, and Xbone. They sold a gimped game experience and charged more for it, so no wonder gamers didn't want it. Third parties released half-ass ports then cried home to mommy and wrote off the system when they didn't sell. It was literally a self-fulfilling prophecy.

 

Meanwhile Nintendo was churning out great immersive titles like Lego City, DK Tropical Freeze, Pikmin 3, Mario Kart 8, Smash Bros, Super Mario 3D World, Bayonetta 2...

 

Not even original games like ZombiU sold anything worth a damn, so no, it wasn't always the "developers own fault." Wii U owners just didn't buy third party titles even when they were otherwise excellent, period. If you can't turn a profit, you don't release new product.

 

In regards to Lego City Undercover, I was really looking forward to that one, but the released product was terribly unoptimized and riddled with bugs. I don't even know if it was ever fully fixed. Nintendo was only peripherally involved in that one like several of the other titles you mentioned, so I guess we can't fully put the blame on them. And isn't Bayonetta 2 too violent and maturely-themed for your tastes? Or is that OK because it's on the Wii U?

[Andromeda Stardust]

 

. And isn't Bayonetta 2 too violent and maturely-themed for your tastes? Or is that OK because it's on the Wii U?

I rather enjoyed Bayonetta actually. It's the Halo / Call of Duty type stuff I can't stand.

 

And I heard Zombie U was a good game, but Zombies aren't my forte. Slash and gash yada yada. It's hard to describe. Some stuff gross me out and some stuff is good. Bayonetta is Smexy, and worth it especially for two games in one deal. The Princess costumes were bonus. So wrong looking they're hilareous.

 

Potty humor doesn't bother me either. Big fan of Conker's Bad Fur Day, although it's practically as cute and colorful as Mario so it might not be a good comparison. I also have Southpark Stick of Truth for PS3.

 

Basically, hyper violence, no. Headshots, no. Potty humor, yes. T&A, yes.

 

I also prefer colorful worlds over drab browns and grays, and cartoonish or exaggerated characters as opposed to hyperrealism. Zombie U is gore violence. Bayonetta is more fantasy violence. Believe me, I'm not some poser who refuses to touch games with an M rating.

 

I'm also more of a 3rd person platformer guy (dolly cam follows character as he/she explores the environment) rather than first person twin stick (left stick moves; right stick changes view). Every time I try to play a twin stick style game, I start running around and my then character's view is totally not facing the direction I'm trying to move in and it's very disorienting. I had trouble with Family Guy's Road to the Multiverse because of the twin stick mechanic. While I understand the need for it in FPS games (you need to retreat or side step while keeping a target in sight in sight at all times), my muscle memory just isn't wired that way.

[leods]

even though the reality is the vast majority of gamers on the vast majority of platforms, especially PC, are already always online and already have games that require regular online checks to verify ownership anyway.

 

Steam's Basic DRM is crap but it's not always online, and GOG is 0 DRM. Humble Bundle also has tons of DRM free stuff, and there are other games out there being sold DRM free from people's Websites.

 

So what you said is incorrect. NOT a vast majority of PC games are always online. I even dare say GOG alone has more DRM free games than xbox one will have of total games in it's whole lifespan. Maybe I'm wrong. But it's over 1000. Oh, but those are just cheap DRM free games for PC who wants that. LOL. I want expensive games on a console. That's real gaming.

 

You don't care about having Microsoft sccrew you´, that's your Problem. Just don't make objectively wrong Claims to justify the horrible practices of MS.

 

To finish, I'm pretty sure Sony was also going for similar DRM as the xbox one was going to have, but they just capitalized on the backlash the xbox one got. Still, PS4 was clearly better and a lot cheaper on Launch and without all the camera and DRM bullshit. So still kinda amazing the xbox one sold at all.

[Bill Loguidice]

 

Steam's Basic DRM is crap but it's not always online, and GOG is 0 DRM. Humble Bundle also has tons of DRM free stuff, and there are other games out there being sold DRM free from people's Websites.

 

So what you said is incorrect. NOT a vast majority of PC games are always online. I even dare say GOG alone has more DRM free games than xbox one will have of total games in it's whole lifespan. Maybe I'm wrong. But it's over 1000. Oh, but those are just cheap DRM free games for PC who wants that. LOL. I want expensive games on a console. That's real gaming.

 

You don't care about having Microsoft sccrew you´, that's your Problem. Just don't make objectively wrong Claims to justify the horrible practices of MS.

 

To finish, I'm pretty sure Sony was also going for similar DRM as the xbox one was going to have, but they just capitalized on the backlash the xbox one got. Still, PS4 was clearly better and a lot cheaper on Launch and without all the camera and DRM bullshit. So still kinda amazing the xbox one sold at all.

 

I'll disregard the usual crappy attitude in your post and just point out that with over 125 million active users on Steam and the addition of other services like Battle.net and Origin, yeah, I'd say a vast majority do indeed use services with DRM and online check-in. GOG and Humble Bundle are nice and all - and I particularly appreciate the Steam keys in the latter - but I have a feeling most users really don't think about DRM one way or the other these days. There's also a very good reason why GOG introduced its own Steam-like client--people like to have their software collections managed for them.

[Flojomojo]

DRM is onerous, but for me, a lack of organization is worse. I have scads of audiobooks from Humble Bundle but it's a (admittedly minor) hassle to sync them when just uploading through something like Audible would be much nicer. Having stuff in someone else's cloud is a wonderful luxury.

[Bilnick]

Third party games didn't sell on Wii-U because of the developers own fault. Call of Duty for instance had virtually no online and very little DLC, and was $60 while better full featured versions were available for the PS3, 360, PS4, and Xbone. They sold a gimped game experience and charged more for it, so no wonder gamers didn't want it. Third parties released half-ass ports then cried home to mommy and wrote off the system when they didn't sell. It was literally a self-fulfilling prophecy.

 

Meanwhile Nintendo was churning out great immersive titles like Lego City, DK Tropical Freeze, Pikmin 3, Mario Kart 8, Smash Bros, Super Mario 3D World, Bayonetta 2...

 

I wouldn't blame CODs developer for Nintendo's online service. The much older 360 and PS3 have a much better online service. Also, Nintendo releasing a console with only 8gb (or 32gb) of onboard storage isn't exactly DLC friendly, especially when the COD DLC packs are 6-8gb each.

 

Lego City was fun when you could actually play the game. The Egyptians built the Pyramids faster than a level loads in Lego City. Reminded me of my old Commodore 64 without a fast load cart. Then again that is how the Wii U was back when it was released. Switching between games and apps could almost be measured in minutes. Thankfully the Wii U OS is much quicker now.