http://www.techradar.com/news/gaming/co ... rk-1020531

There's been hints from the start that Nintendo didn't really know what they were doing with this thing (one controller to rule them all, anyone?!), so I could believe this, especially when coupled with the 3DS launch that led to the likes of this*:

http://www.next-gen.biz/news/famitsu-ou ... peripheral

*Unofficial I take it, but Nintendo are already having to change the 3DS

Better for them to wait and release it once it all works. A slew of complaints from early adopters can seriously damage the adoption by the public.

If it was that easy they would. The reasons the Wii-U was announced last E3 and is coming out in a year are pretty straightforward

a) Pretty much everyone who wants a Wii now owns one, it's a nearly saturated market. Sales have dipped significantly and the price has dropped to a level Nintendo are making little profit on those that are selling (seriously, you can get a Wii for like £70 now). The 3DS has only started selling once they sacrificed a large chunk of their profit on it and long-term the mobile phone market represents an apocalypse for mobile games consoles anyway. Finally, Nintendo famously have a sparse software release schedule (quality over quantity) so they have an obvious cash flow problem looming. They need something to keep the money rolling in. They have a big war chest from the immense profits the Wii has made but that doesn't mean they will be happy to have rubbish financial results for two or three quarters in a row.

b) The accepted wisdom is a yearfrom now the next Xbox and PS4 will be either around or coming very soon - received opinion is they will be announced at next year's E3 and at least one of them will be out for Christmas 2012. And both will be significantly more powerful than the Wii-U (which is actually only slightly more powerful than the 360 or PS3). They will also have many of the Wii's 'USP' features.

So essentially Nintendo's 'window of opportunity' with the Wii-U is quite small. It doesn't have the uniqueness that the Wii has (tablets aren't unusual at all at the end of the day) and it doesn't have the power to go up against the PS4 or Next Xbox which will be already chasing on it's coat tails by next September. Nintendo's best tactic for success is the same as MS adopted this time round - get your console in the shops before the opposition does at all costs. They have to have the Wii-U in the shops for next Christmas or it's likely to be dead in the water.

And so far the messages coming out are incredibly muddled. They pretty much blew the launch at E3 - half the people leaving the arena didn't know whether the Wii-U was a whole new console or just an iPad-like add on for the Wii. Then the stories come out that it's a one player system only and that the best games it will have next christmas are ports of games which will come out on the PS3/Xbox this christmas. Now this? They look desperate and they look like they're rushing. And after the RROD debacle with the 360, I think people are a lot less likely to want to buy a console that they think has been rushed, at least until enough other people have to iron the bugs out; which of course is a catch-22 situation.

Jon

I fully accept what you say. In which case they need to fix these problems before the launch. I will agree that the portable games console is probably on its last legs. With mobile phones offering games in as many ways as good for much less it becomes tough in that segment particularly. Even multiplayer options will come on smart phones eventually.

As for the console market I would guess that it is pretty cut throat and maybe this is their last attempt to stay in the market.

I think the prospects for handheld gaming would be a lot better if they'd drop the gimmicks like 3D, social networking and unnecessary touchscreen controls to bring costs down, before offering a downloadable mix of cheap and 'proper' games alongside retail. You know, put their money where their mouth is in 'downloading being the future', 'piracy' and so on. Ironically, Sony's leading the way somewhat with the Vita, only they're pretty much the last Sony division that hasn't got the pricing memo by the look of it

To my mind there will always be a market for dedicated controls, but you have to get your general pricing structure right (especially these days), or offer some serious quality software to offset it... The likes of CoD, Bioshock, Uncharted etc may just prop up the Vita, for instance, but strong initial hardware sales are probably essential now.

I agree with you on the games aspect. It would make the games cheaper to develop as well. They could then sell more cheaply and freeze out the pirates. I still doubt whether there is a market in pirated games for the iPad or iPhone.

There may still be a market for dedicated games consoles especially for kids not old enough to own a phone.