At some point next year, Nintendo will launch its Wii U console with hopes of recapturing some of the hardcore gamers that have strayed away from the Big N’s camp over the years. But many in the industry, and even those of us here at MTB, have questioned whether or not the manufacturer is going far enough with the platform’s tech to make it the type of next-gen system that core gamers will flock to. Among the doubters is Wedbush Security’s well-known industry prognosticator, Michael Pachter. The analyst recently spoke with Industry Gamers and expressed his doubts about the Wii U legitimately being a next generation machine.
The Wii U is a pretty ambitious undertaking. It’s a new console, with new controls and architecture, but it’s not quite “next” generation. Developers have to contend with differences between the Wii U and current generation consoles, then have to figure out what to do with the controls. The timing is still up in the air, and as far as I know, there are no significant third party exclusives; instead, we’ll see iterations of third party games already on the market, which is unlikely to drive significant hardware sales.
So is the U doomed already with what is likely to be a full year left until its launch? Not exactly, according to Pachter. He concedes that there simply have not been enough details released about the console yet in order to accurately predict how its launch will go. He went on to provide some free advice to Nintendo in regards to what he believes the console must offer.
“In order for the launch to be hugely successful… the console will need three things: a competitive price, compelling first party launch titles, and compelling third party launch titles,” Pachter explained. “We don’t know if the Wii U will have any of these, so it’s quite difficult to predict a hugely successful launch.”
Some of the current third party offerings announced for the Wii’s successor include Batman: Arkham City and Darksiders II. Both look to be fine titles, but it is indeed unlikely that anyone will buy a Wii U just to play games that are up to a year old. Most individuals in the know would surely agree that Nintendo needs to secure at least one high profile third party launch release in addition to the bevy of stellar first party games that it is (presumably) prepping for the launch window.
What would get you to buy a Wii U on launch day? Sound off in the comments below about what you want to see from Nintendo and its third party partners.
[Source: Industry Gamers]
[Image via Uber Gizmo.]
