Today’s news that the Wii U is in dire straights with only 160,000 units sold in three months got me thinking. How long can the Wii U last? It’s only been out for eight months and for the majority of that time it’s been weathering a storm that no Nintendo console in history has experienced. It’s on-pace with the Nintendo Gamecube’s first year, but has been slowing down rather than gaining pace like the Gamecube did.
But it isn’t alone. The PlayStation Vita has been under similar pressure for over a year now. So why have both platforms by two of gaming’s finest been facing so much hardship?
Sony’s PlayStation Vita
I remember experiencing the Vita for my first time. It was at E3 2011 and I hadn’t played a handheld in over a year. Within minutes of playing LittleBigPlanet and WipEout 2048 I was sold. The device appeared elegant and sophisticated. Its graphics, ergonomics, d-pad, and joysticks were all beyond my expectations. I was certain it would be a hit.
I purchased a Vita at launch without hesitation. For a moment I thought my PS3 had been made irrelevant by Sony’s new mobile machine. I mean, it’s basically a PS3 you can fit in your pocket. Its operating system is undoubtedly slick and I loved playing Hot Shots Golf while relaxing on the couch. It was as if we were meant to be.
It wasn’t until a couple weeks after launch that I became one of the Vita’s disheartened consumers. I realized that I had paid $250 plus tax for a device that I was no longer using. To make matters worse, the $60 memory card that I purchased made the investment even more unmistakable on my next credit card statement. That $250 price point is a farce.
Every gaming platform struggles as launch, right? The future of removing the dust from my Vita was in the hands of time. Well, I waited a year and played a couple good games but nothing kept me around for long. I was no longer having fun with the Vita.
Nintendo’s Wii U
Admittedly, I wasn’t sold on the Wii U before release. I hardly played it at E3 2012 and didn’t see any games that made me feel like I had to get one right away. It wasn’t until three weeks before it came out that I suddenly felt like I had to have it in my gaming room. Looking back, I was bored at the time and needed something new. The ongoing current generation had worn me out—and it still is. So I splurged and paid for a launch Wii U Deluxe with a couple games and a Wii U Plus controller. Funny enough, it was the first midnight console release that I had ever attended. It was fun getting street passes from all the Nintendo fanboys, so that sort of made up for my inevitable disappointment.
Arriving home I was greeted with the now famous two+ hour update. That was sort of a buzzkill, but I didn’t give up. Eventually I got to experience New Super Mario Bros. U, the supposed blockbuster of the console’s launch. That didn’t last long.
It’s been eight months since that day and not much has changed since then. I’ve played all of the highest rated games on the platform, and the most joy I’ve gotten out of the device is from its internet browser. Crazy enough, YouTube runs amazingly well on it. $350 isn’t a very good price for a YouTube player, though.
The bona fide struggle
Vita and Wii U are having a very hard time selling themselves, there’s no doubt about it, but they aren’t in the same situation. The Vita’s hardware is arguably the best in its class with amazing build quality and components. It doesn’t try to innovate, but its gorgeous LED, two analog sticks, and rear touch pad provide some things that make it unique. Meanwhile, the Wii U’s hardware is underwhelming but provides a touch screen controller that delivers new experiences. Well, it’s supposed to, anyway. Most developers just ignore it altogether.
One thing they have in common is a lack of software. The Vita has some heavy hitters, but they’re available on other platforms that one could argue are better to play on. The Wii U simply doesn’t have anything substantial. Both also have some promising upcoming games that are potentially great but would have been much more useful months ago. Media Molecule will show some love to the Vita with Tearaway, while Nintendo has several exclusives up its sleeve, most notably for 2013 is Super Mario 3D World.
Then there’s the price. Sony’s Vita is $250 which is the same price as the PS3 and only $150 away from the PS4’s launch MSRP. When you factor in the ridiculous proprietary memory cards this fact is even made more painful to look at.
The Wii U has a $300 and $350 SKU, which are once again not far from the price of the PS4, and more expensive than both the Xbox 360 and PS3 which deliver identical graphics but are far more refined with larger libraries and years of patches.
It’s sad to watch both platforms under perform, but this could have all been avoided by more careful planning. Nobody can predict the future, but did Sony really think a $250 dedicated gaming handheld would compete in a world where everyone can play Chrono Trigger and Final Fantasy Tactics on their cell phone? Did Nintendo believe the Wii U’s hardware would bring people in like the Wii did? Some consumers still think the Wii U is an add-on for the Wii, too. These are serious mistakes with huge sums of money on the line.
The tale isn’t yet over. There’s still room for adjustment strategies to be made, especially price drops which always seem to work. But for now, time ticks as the window for a second opportunity closes. I’m left wondering which will survive the longest.
