2011 Hindsight: So what has Nintendo been up to?
By Punk1984 5 Comments
Step 1) mentally prepare for reader outrage,
Step 2) write blog
What Nintendo did right in 2011
There are few things that will push consoles out the door more than a price cut. Nintendo entered 2011 with strong sales after cutting the Wii's price since then retailers have offered sale after sale on the Wii and Wii games. It isn't uncommon to see Nintendo's little box going for $150, I've even seen it go for less! This coupled with the 3DS's price cut in the early fall really pushed Nintendo hardware into consumers' hands. Also Nintendo released a few Mario games and a few Zelda games and that is always a good thing.
What Nintendo didn't do right in 2011
"Everything" is too broad a term.There are few things that kill current hardware sales quicker than announcing another new hardware system! The Wii's sales were slowing by time Nintendo announced the Wii U (a system we know nothing about, with games running on other systems, first party games we know nothing about and a controller that you may or may not be able to have two of) but once the new box was trotted out at E3 those slowing sales skidded to halt. Nintendo has had 'big' weeks lately but that is because the hardware is so dang cheap. Come on Nintendo how are your faithful supposed to feel? Like abandoned puppies crying for love? I thought this was just a slight business misstep but when Nintendo of America decided to not localize Xenoblade - wait scratch that - not release the already localized Xenoblade, I was sure that Nintendo just doesn't give a #$% anymore! 2011 has been the worst year I can remember for Nintendo fans. I know that "no one only owns a Wii," but imagine if that person existed, what would they have done with the last 365 days?
The 3DS's price debuted at a price even Sony would consider high and then quickly got a price cut to push sales. Software wasn't there so Nintendo did the only thing it could and start basically giving the things away. The Nintendo fan is the most abused gamer in history after 2011. Nintendo in 2011 seemed to just be willfully stomping on any goodwill its customers had.
The good news is they are paying for it, with the biggest annual loss in the company's history.