Smokey said:
I think once developers unlock the true potential of next-generation consoles. I can see the WIi-U coming up short. If history is to repeat itself, it will be in last place to the PS4 and new Xbox. Depending on the specs and how developers use them on both platforms, the Wii-U can really suffer big time this upcoming gen. Being the first out the door wasn't a very smart move on Nintendo's part. The Wii U isn't selling well and really hasn't done much in terms of pumping out good new IP's. The only games I'd personally buy a WIi-U for is Monster Hunter and Zombii-U. I've yet to see another Wii-U exclusive title to interest me other then Mario Bros. While I have a handful of PS4 titles i'm already interested in picking up as soon as I get my hands on a console.
I'm not sure where you get that statement about history repeating itself. In terms of sales, the Wii gave both Microsoft and Sony a proper trouncing. As of last year, the Wii sold 99 million units compared to Microsoft and Sony at 74 and 73 million units. Furthermore, Nintendo bucked long standing industry trends of selling hardware at a loss to be made up in back end software sales. None of those figures take into account the fact that Sony had to throw a ton of money at their cloud system to fix what we came to realize were obvious security weaknesses. It also doesn't acocunt fr the fact that Microsoft's gaming division nearly bled out trying to support the busted first few runs of the Xbox360.
Being first out the door with a console that was not technologically progressive made Nintendo wealthy beyond belief!
Baring in mind, I'm a fan of Nintendo but not a fanboy, I own and love all three of this gen's consoles, I would argue that the Wii U is set up to have a phenomenal run. I fully grant that the NextBox's hardware config is purely speculation at this point. But the rumors from gaming media were pretty spot on for both "leaks" of Wii U and PS4 builds. If the rumors about Nextbox pan out the same way, we are looking at a very different video game market this gen. The three consoles are going to be so different in hardware configuration that I don't think we're going to see th elifeblood, multi console ported titles sustaining the industry like it used to. The ability to support the games, that competing systems do, was a major selling point, and a point of great contention over several generations in console gaming. But with such radically different machines coming out this gen, it's all going to be about 3rd party exclusives and 1st party titles. Nintendo is the unchallenged king of 1st party gaming. Sony has a developing 1st party program but it's no where near as robust and Xbox is a waste land as far as that's concerned. Both Sony and Microsoft are now running a race on Nintendo's home field and they have a huge amount of catch up to do. That's not to say they can't do it, but Nintendo has the clear advantage of having a ton of in place, readily marketable franchises to push out, even with a complete lack of 3rd party exclusives.
This is Nintendo's advantage, heads and tails above the rest. This kind of environment has been known to sink brands. It's also this kind of environment that has been known to spur great competition from dedicated companies.
