Why didn't MK8 & SSB4 "save" the wii u?

[mαrkαsscoρ]

The wii u never really did so hot. But I recall hearing talk prior to these games releases that they will save the wii u. Then Mario Kart 8 came out and while it helped move some units, people were like "oh no wait for smash bros,that's whats gonna save the wii u"
And here we are now,not even a year after Smash 4 was released and things are looking really bleak for the wii u's future.

So why exactly weren't these games the saving graces that a lot of people made it out to be? Was the damage already done and this was all just hype talk?

 

[the8thark]

MK8 and SSB4 did save the WiiU. The WiiU went from a potential disaster for Nintendo to a modest success and a platform to move on to the future with, NX etc. These games, I'd say Hyrule Warriors and Captain Toad included didn't make the WiiU a raging success. Nothing would do that. The WiiU is too far gone for that to ever happen. But the games did prevent a potential WiiU disaster.

Also you have to think of success on Nintendo's terms. Sales is only one metric they use. They also use the fun metric. If lots of people are enjoying their games then the console is a success in Nintendo's eyes. Of cause sales matters but jsut as much as fun in Nintendo's eyes.

 

[Dio]

They didn't save the Wii U because they were HD rehashes rather than must haves.
MK8 was a slight improvement over its predecessor but Smash 4 was a downgrade in a few ways, not having story mode, no real new must have characters, and having paid DLC. Sticking with Brawl is probably a better idea.

 

[Dan]

Because two games won't warrant a console success. With talks about Nintendo jumping ship to the NX and leaving the Wii U behind I don't think anyone is going to want to buy a Wii U now. The Wii U does have great games but the majority of said games use mechanics and styles we have witnessed numerous times.

 

[Emmanuel]

I would argue that a modern Nintendo console needs Mario Kart and Smash Bros in order to sell units because they are quintessential party games that represent the kind of lighthearted fun Nintendo is known for. It would be a mistake, however, to assert that a great Mario Kart or Smash Bros are actually the consoles true "system sellers"; they are more like necessary ingredients - maybe even side dishes to the main course. The real system sellers would be a 3D Mario (on the order of 64, Sunshine, Galaxy) and an immersive 3D Zelda - neither of which we've seen on the Wii U. It's unclear that Wii U will have that Mario game, and Zelda will likely release so late into the console's lifetime that it won't move many consoles off the shelves - especially if it is also released for NX.

 

[A Link In Time]

The Wii U didn't sell well because Nintendo played it safe with software. There was no stand out title at launch. Pikmin 3 was too niche a game to build momentum in the system's first summer. The 3D Mario game was a building upon ideas presented in a 3DS game two years prior. Smash 4 is the first console Smash Bros. that simply looks like a modern gloss of its predecessor. Every other Smash had a distinct visual style. The 3DS version stands out more. Smash 4 Wii U also has a sparse selection of single player modes.

The two games I consider saving graces for Nintendo are Mario Kart 8 and Splatoon. Mario Kart 8 has sold over 5 million units. A 50% attach rate is insane. Splatoon, not Smash Bros., has given the Wii U its second biggest sales bump. I'm glad this fun and unique game has sold 1.6 million units thus far. I think Splatoon embodies something Nintendo missed with the Wii U: People want fresh games. Its new IPs that will attract new players. Relying on existing franchises won't enlarge the small number of core Nintendo fans who will support the company through high and low.

 

[Jamie]

I hope nintendo just says **** it to home consoles and produces the greatest handheld known to man.

 

[Triforce King]

I hope nintendo just says **** it to home consoles and produces the greatest handheld known to man.

That's a bad idea.

 

[the8thark]

The Wii U didn't sell well because Nintendo played it safe with software. There was no stand out title at launch. Pikmin 3 was too niche a game to build momentum in the system's first summer. The 3D Mario game was a building upon ideas presented in a 3DS game two years prior. Smash 4 is the first console Smash Bros. that simply looks like a modern gloss of its predecessor. Every other Smash had a distinct visual style. The 3DS version stands out more. Smash 4 Wii U also has a sparse selection of single player modes.

The two games I consider saving graces for Nintendo are Mario Kart 8 and Splatoon. Mario Kart 8 has sold over 5 million units. A 50% attach rate is insane. Splatoon, not Smash Bros., has given the Wii U its second biggest sales bump. I'm glad this fun and unique game has sold 1.6 million units thus far. I think Splatoon embodies something Nintendo missed with the Wii U: People want fresh games. Its new IPs that will attract new players. Relying on existing franchises won't enlarge the small number of core Nintendo fans who will support the company through high and low.

As usual you make some very good points. Well done.

But . . . I do think if SM3DW or SSB4 were WiiU launch titles, they would have gotten the WiiU way more sales. Heck, if SMB3DW was a WiiU launch title, I might have bought it back then. But that was not to be and now I still do not own SMB3DW. Nintendo had the console selling games, just a year or so too late. If Hyrule Warriors was a WiiU launch title, hot damn that would have been amazing. But we can't go no what ifs, only what did happen.

I will say this year 2015, the console sellers seem to be Splatoon and Xenoblade Chronicles X. Both are amazing games and people will totally buy a WiiU for them both. Super Mario Maker and Star Fox Zero both look just as amazing. But I think more of the existing WiiU owners will buy both of those up. They'll both fly off the shelves, but to the already indoctrinated WiiU fans. I can't see either swinging someone on the fence to buying a WiiU just for Super Mario Maker or Star Fox Zero.

 

[CrimsonCavalier]

Mario Kart and Smash didn't save the Wii U because they're expected games. People buy a Wii U with the expectation that eventually they're getting Mario Kart and Smash. If they had been on display for the first time ever, then maybe people would have gotten a Wii U just to try out this crazy new game where you get to race as your favorite Nintendo characters.

It's games like Splatoon that are going to be system sellers. Things that are new and different, or unexpected.

But really, no game alone would have done the trick, because Nintendo failed miserably to market the Wii U. I saw some MK8 ads on TV and some Smash ads on TV, but I didn't see a single Splatoon ad, or a single Bayonetta 2 ad, nor have I seen a single Mario Maker ad.

Nintendo's marketing has been worse than laughable. It's not just the launch and the lack of hardware power that have caused the Wii U to not live up to expectations. Nintendo's entire Wii U campaign has been a disaster. I mean, I love my Wii U. I play it almost every day. And I'm a huge Nintendo fanboy. But even I can see that Nintendo themselves are the reason the Wii U will be remembered as the worst-selling Nintendo console of all time instead of the amazing console with incredibly fun games that it truly is.

 

[the8thark]

Can we please quit paying out thewWiiU's hardware specs. They are NOT the reason that the WiiU did poorly. It was all the other reasons like:

• No console selling game at launch
• Not selling the unique features of the console well enough
• Bad Nintendo PR
• Taking too long to understand how important 3rd party developers are

 

[Spiritual Mask Salesman]

They were some of the highest grossing games for the Wii U. They didn't “save it” if you mean like bring it to a pinnicle, they did however keep it afloat so in that sense they did save the Wii U. The problem is it was a lost cause to begin with there never was going to be huge success for the console in terms of sales with the majority of the general public like with the Wii.

 

[Iridescence]

MK8 and SSB4 did a lot of good for the system, but an entire system and an entire marketing strategy can't rest on just 2 hot games.