Don't now about all y'all, but this Wii U thing kinda reminds me of the SEGA  situation when they launched the Dreamcast and I feel like Nintendo may have just one last chance here to get some things right they haven't for a long time (e.g. online play, decent third party games, multi function device) . Or they are done in the console business for good.  I really hope I'm wrong.
 
A reputation is hard to regain when you've lost it, and I think Nintendo really hurt themselves in the long run by not getting the Wii platform to live up to its' software or hardware potential. They may have the largest install base this round, but they lost a lot of the hardcore  and casual gamers are notoriously fickle. I think the causal market has largely moved onto multi use devices like the ipad. A misstep here could be disastrous.

Unlike when they launched  the Wii their financial situation has now become somewhat precarious and their money maker backup, the handheld market, is starting to slip away from them. I I think it's safe to say the 3DS's semi dud of launch has really hurt them.  The Gameboy platforms used to be their cashcow .The Smartphone revolution has taken their monopoly away from them.  And may serve as final proof that game only device philosophy that Nintendo espouses is not a winning one in the marketplace.
 
they recently announced they are going to lose nearly a Billiondollars (US dollars) in the first 6 months of this year, which is highly unusual for a company that I've never known to be anything but profitable.  

 http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-10-27/nintendo-predicts-first-annual-loss-in-30-years-after-cutting-3ds-price.html 

 

Nintendo Co., the world’s largest maker of video-game machines, forecast its first annual loss in at least 30 years after the yen reached a postwar high and the new 3DS console had weaker-than-expected sales.

The net loss may be 20 billion yen ($264 million) for the year ending in March, compared with a previous projection for a 20 billion-yen profit, Kyoto, Japan-based Nintendo said in a statement yesterday. That compared with the 12.2 billion-yen average profit of 22 analysts’ estimates compiled by Bloomberg....
 
Nintendo also reported a first-half loss of 70.2 billion yen, wider than the 2 billion yen loss a year earlier

Don't now about all y'all, but this Wii U thing kinda reminds me of the SEGA  situation when they launched the Dreamcast and I feel like Nintendo may have just one last chance here to get some things right they haven't for a long time (e.g. online play, decent third party games, multi function device) . Or they are done in the console business for good.  I really hope I'm wrong.
 
A reputation is hard to regain when you've lost it, and I think Nintendo really hurt themselves in the long run by not getting the Wii platform to live up to its' software or hardware potential. They may have the largest install base this round, but they lost a lot of the hardcore  and casual gamers are notoriously fickle. I think the causal market has largely moved onto multi use devices like the ipad. A misstep here could be disastrous.

Unlike when they launched  the Wii their financial situation has now become somewhat precarious and their money maker backup, the handheld market, is starting to slip away from them. I I think it's safe to say the 3DS's semi dud of launch has really hurt them.  The Gameboy platforms used to be their cashcow .The Smartphone revolution has taken their monopoly away from them.  And may serve as final proof that game only device philosophy that Nintendo espouses is not a winning one in the marketplace.
 
they recently announced they are going to lose nearly a Billiondollars (US dollars) in the first 6 months of this year, which is highly unusual for a company that I've never known to be anything but profitable.  

 http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-10-27/nintendo-predicts-first-annual-loss-in-30-years-after-cutting-3ds-price.html 

 

Nintendo Co., the world’s largest maker of video-game machines, forecast its first annual loss in at least 30 years after the yen reached a postwar high and the new 3DS console had weaker-than-expected sales.

The net loss may be 20 billion yen ($264 million) for the year ending in March, compared with a previous projection for a 20 billion-yen profit, Kyoto, Japan-based Nintendo said in a statement yesterday. That compared with the 12.2 billion-yen average profit of 22 analysts’ estimates compiled by Bloomberg....
 
Nintendo also reported a first-half loss of 70.2 billion yen, wider than the 2 billion yen loss a year earlier

On the bright side, if Nintendo falls on some really hard times after they launch the Wii U, (and their shareholders get really nervous) they're just a hop, skip and a jump away from making iPad apps with AirPlay mirroring.

FOR REFERENCE:

I was talking with a friend recently about the current state of Nintendo.  He's always been a pretty big Nintendo guy, and we both grew up on the NES as our first console.  I was joking about contacting the head of charitable giving at Nintendo's corporate offices and seeing if I could make a donation out to Iwata.

Nintendo really, REALLY needs to get the Wii U right if they want to stick around. I'm not going to lie, their recent downturn gave me a little bit of perverse pleasure because I've long been critical of Nintendo for riding on their previously earned goodwill rather than trying to really make the Gamecube and Wii blockbuster consoles. Based on what we've seen so far, I'm very skeptical that Nintendo can pull it off. It's indicative of an environment where there is a large enough percentage of the video game market that won't buy Nintendo products out of sheer habit, which seems to have been Nintendo's strategy for the GC and a big part of their strategy with the Wii and 3DS.

U could say that again. HAHAHAHA.

Sorry. But yeah, I want them to succeed. I've wanted to buy a Wii this whole generation to play their great games, but the low resolution just kills it for me (and I'll admit I didn't want to bother with finicky motion controls). I can put up with low-res stuff on a platform I already own (such as old games on PC) but I'm not going to go out and pay 200 (now 150) bucks for a new console that is only low-res stuff. I feel like the Wii U is badly timed and "too little too late" in the sense that they are just now catching up with the other two consoles hardware-wise after 5/6 years if rumored specs are true. I just don't know how this is going to work out. I hope the Wii U is capable of more than the PS3 and 360, because it would REALLY suck to end up in a situation where the Nintendo platform is yet again totally out-classed when it comes to hardware and is stuck with bad looking games relative to the other consoles and with the third parties not supporting it. I just want to play a really good looking Zelda and Mario game, damnit!

Sorry if this post is rambly and scatter-brained, it's 3AM, I have a midterm in the morning, and I'm tired as hell.

Wii U. Nope. Just about everyone in the world owns a wii now. I'd say 80% of them don't play it anymore and bought it for the hype. They won't be getting a Wii U. It'll be another gamecube I think.

@avidwriter said:

It'll be another gamecube I think.

I'd even go so far as to suggest that it might be the next Dreamcast if Nintendo doesn't do it right.

U could say that again. HAHAHAHA.

Sorry. But yeah, I want them to succeed. I've wanted to buy a Wii this whole generation to play their great games, but the low resolution just kills it for me (and I'll admit I didn't want to bother with finicky motion controls). I can put up with low-res stuff on a platform I already own (such as old games on PC) but I'm not going to go out and pay 200 (now 150) bucks for a new console that is only low-res stuff. I feel like the Wii U is badly timed and "too little too late" in the sense that they are just now catching up with the other two consoles hardware-wise after 5/6 years if rumored specs are true. I just don't know how this is going to work out. I hope the Wii U is capable of more than the PS3 and 360, because it would REALLY suck to end up in a situation where the Nintendo platform is yet again totally out-classed when it comes to hardware and is stuck with bad looking games relative to the other consoles and with the third parties not supporting it. I just want to play a really good looking Zelda and Mario game, damnit!

Sorry if this post is rambly and scatter-brained, it's 3AM, I have a midterm in the morning, and I'm tired as hell.

@avidwriter said:

It'll be another gamecube I think.

I'd even go so far as to suggest that it might be the next Dreamcast if Nintendo doesn't do it right.

@Vegetable_Side_Dish: Except for the part where FUCK SPIDERS, that Zelda image is so awesome. I was disappointed when I heard it wasn't actually a game in the process of being made at E3.

lol how the heck do you compare wii u to sega situation

lets break it down

1. sega rushed 2 add-ons , prior to a proper console , which also was cut short-saturn ,

2 heres nintendos situation - they have launched a single console 6 yrs ago that sold like hot cakes, as well as a handheld that sold more like pills, the 3ds is finally hitting its pace - but in nintendos eyes it was a failure due to their expectations! not a failure commercaily-like vb just to their expectations , and vb remains the only failure released by them -as every other console lasted on the market for 5 or more years,

3 sega launched dreamcast only 3 yrs after saturn

wii u will launch 6 yrs after wii ! -this is the practical console cycle nothing has changed - except sony and ms took aggrssion -and wants a 10 yr life cycle for their systems ps always lasted 10 but they always had their successor out 5 yrs after the prior this gen not happening

so there ya have it you can not compare wii u /nintendos situation to sega as sega has always failed to meet demand , their highest selling console was the genesis , but after that they fell apart ,

nintendo how ever has 3 succesful in terms of sales 5 in terms of profit , and 5 handhelds all succeeded, big difference buddy, nintendo has the money , sega did not sega made 1 to many mistake the 3ds launch was only a bump in the road compared to segas mistakes ,

also sony has just been put on watch , , so its not just nintendo in some kind of bubble there is somthing going on in this world

its called economy , and when your going back into a recession , you cant expect one to not make losses, lucky for nintendo their wallet is way bigger then what they lost, and most of the losses probably came from making of the wii u /3ds remember when you make a new console it costs money,

they will get this back by doing a good wii u launch , even if they hit a bump they still got time,

look at ps3 how every one were proclaiming that was it for sony !

same here yall are making one big issue out of thin air , when we all know how good nintendo actually is under pressure ,

they brought them selfs out of a hole before theyll do it again