Nintendo initially intended to release "a few" Wii U games in the first half of 2013, but the titles in question were delayed because the company underestimated the development resources required to complete them on time.
"We originally planned to release a few first-party titles for Wii U during the first half of this year, but no big titles are scheduled for release before Pikmin 3 in July [in Japan] because we decided to take time to add the final touches to ensure that consumers fully feel that they are valuable titles. The brand of a franchise would be completely degraded without customer satisfaction.
"The reason for the delayed release of our first-party titles was the fact that completing the games released at the same time as the launch of Wii U required more development resources than expected, so some staff members from development teams working on other titles had to help complete them. In short, the development teams of Pikmin 3 and other future games were understaffed during that period."
Iwata also said that software development is becoming more challenging as consumers are being more selective about purchases.
"It is true that it is becoming increasingly challenging to meet the expectations of consumers who are willing to pay $50-$60 for a game, and it is difficult to break even unless a huge number of units is sold all over the world, so it cannot be denied that software development is becoming more challenging.
"Among such packaged software, however, the sales of popular games are much larger than in the past. Therefore, if we create more hit games, the software development business can still be very profitable. All games break even if they sell millions of copies worldwide, so we will continue to do our best to develop games which have high sales potential."
Wii U software sales stood at 13.42 million units at the end of March, short of the 16 million Nintendo forecast in January, and Iwata said last week that the absence of strong first party games has negatively impacted hardware sales. Wii U sales totalled 3.45 million at the end of Nintendo's financial year, with only 450,000 units sold in the first three months of 2013.
Iwata also cited Nintendo's inability "to solidly communicate the product value of Wii U" as a reason for weaker than expected hardware sales. "Some have the misunderstanding that Wii U is just Wii with a pad for games, and others even consider Wii U GamePad as a peripheral device connectable to Wii," he said. "We feel deeply responsible for not having tried hard enough to have consumers understand the product."
Comments
30 comments so far...
Balladeer on 30 Apr '13 said:
The fact that they didn't know this is maybe a bit... worrying? Lesson learned, at least, but goodness me.
DiamondDogs on 30 Apr '13 said:
Has Pikmin 3 got a release date for Europe yet? I'd like to know if it will arrive in July with Japans release date or August for America's release date. Thanks
Knight on 30 Apr '13 said:
The impression I get round these parts is that most publishers/developers rush their products out, hope it plays reasonably and then try patching it later. *cough*skyrim*cough*
If dates slip I don't really mind too much, I would much prefer a finished product, but it's the lack of must-have games that's stopped me from investing in a Wii U to date. Sorry Ninty.
Tivan on 30 Apr '13 said:
Hi DiamondDogs, unfortunately Nintendo has yet to confirm a European release date for Pikmin
DiamondDogs on 30 Apr '13 said:
shellster2 on 30 Apr '13 said:
Perhaps they shouldn't have given the product a name with Wii in it. How they didn't think this would cause confusion is mind blowing. Even people on here were a bit confused when it was first announced so the non rabid gamers had no chance on knowing. For as brilliant as Nintendo can be they are hopelessly naive sometimes. Even calling it the Wii2 would have made it somewhat clearer.
KK-Headcharge78 on 30 Apr '13 said:
Well one half of me thinks 'well s**t happens and at least they are acknowledging it plus delayed games don't mean bad games sometimes its the opposite' and the other half is like 'ffs Nintendo you are killing your own machine, sort it out!'
Which side will win?
stay tuned.....
squiddly on 30 Apr '13 said:
I thought they said august for europe
dwhlufc on 30 Apr '13 said:
I don't think anyone should moan about news like this. Nintendo are one of the few companies that release finished games that don't need patching. Their quality control is easily the best in the industry, IMO.
Audest_Oggust on 30 Apr '13 said:
I'm just gonna put this issue to bed right quick. I've had Skyrim since 11-11-11, and have played it almost every day since then, and I've never seen anything game-breaking or experience hindering. Sure it had glitches, but what game doesn't? You can't name one single game that doesn't have them. Skyrim is the largest game (content/detail wise) that has come out on consoles in some time, so it's expected to have more glitches than others.
Audest_Oggust on 30 Apr '13 said:
A certain game-breaking Skyward Sword glitch comes to mind...
vulcanraven01 on 30 Apr '13 said:
Can it seriously get any worse for Nintendo?
The only positive I can take from this is that it could mean a few titles being released later in the year, around the time of launch for PS4 and the new Xbox, so at least they may have some games to try and combat that and not be completely forgotten about.
My only serious concern is that is means pretty much no worthwhile games on the Wii U until at least August...
If they ever needed an official price cut, it would be handy to do one pretty soon...
toaplan on 30 Apr '13 said:
I think the official price cut will come just before the PS4 and MSWebTV 720 are released, despite Iwata currently denying any plans for a price cut.
Gemini40 on 30 Apr '13 said:
As soon they become available for £99 or less I'll get one. At least by then there should be a healthy collection of games for the system.
Imaduck on 30 Apr '13 said:
Refreshing for a big name to be so honest but on the other hand, makes them look a bit incompetent
BLARRG on 30 Apr '13 said:
its selling more than the 360 (ps3?) did in the same time frame, which is astonishing considering it has no games, so its not bad yet regardless of what doom-mongers would like you to believe. They still need to pull their finger out though
Mmmmgrolsch on 30 Apr '13 said:
8 or more years late to the party with this current gen tech console and they still weren't too prepared for making games? Then again they did rush the WiiU announcement and possibly launch. Just when you think Ninty couldn't have buggered everything up any worse.
Well things can only get better from here so good luck, although I believe they don't need any as I'm certain they'll turn things around.
richomack360 on 30 Apr '13 said:
This sounds like a subversive apology....
BlueScorpion91 on 30 Apr '13 said:
Are all companies backward these days? Sony don't put their best studios on a failing Handheld, Microsoft have mouthy idiots who say the wrong things on the wrong site, and Nintendo can't get their brand new system supported properly. Industries filled with morons.
richomack360 on 30 Apr '13 said:
Pretty much yes - its usually the "max profit for minimum input" concept that many a company has fallen foul of. It is depressing to see companies make mistakes that you or I could see in plain sight - but for every decision that goes wrong they are dozens that go right - and thats the reason the guys at the top are where they are.
Wouldn't be surprised to see Adam Orth re-employed in the near future, I think he was put on gardening leave with view to re-employment (in cloak and dagger terms) and once the next gen hurrah is over he will go back in at some point at some level
BlueScorpion91 on 30 Apr '13 said:
I don't for a second begrudge a company trying to make money, as that is the sole reason a company exists, it's just when these billion doller companies put tonnes in to a product and then wait for it to sell before they support it, Just seems stupid. But like you say, the people up-top are there for a reason and they're far more educated than me(primary school only) so I'll leave my mini-rant there, lol.
On another note, did you watch 'Filthy, Rich & Catflap'?
billysastard on 30 Apr '13 said:
i think you are right they need to hold off on a price cut and at least 1-2 major 1st party games until the ps4 and the ms triplepay tv / marketplace (*also plays games) gets released.
richomack360 on 30 Apr '13 said:
Pretty much sums up my feelings - it's a bugger when something like this happens as it makes not just Nintendo look a bit silly but the reflects badly on the industry - but I am still sure Ninty will fire on all cylinders once in their stride.
I haven't mate, just catching up with Game of Thrones, then off to see Bill Bailey live - then when I get some free time, in between playing Fire Emblem, I will smash through these episodes
BlueScorpion91 on 30 Apr '13 said:
I really hope that next gen gives the industry a much needed kick up the jacksy and gets people back in to gaming who may have moved to mobile or just gotten bored.
richomack360 on 30 Apr '13 said:
Me too - but I think mobile gaming is too accessible to be ignored. The games available via app store and android shop are literally always with us - whereas an xbox or PS are usually in one place and thus we have limited access time.
The two can co-exist as separate entities - but I would love to see more cross platform ingenuity. Xbox's Smartglass IOS app kind of skimmed the surface of what could be done and similar projects, with more depth, are always welcome.
No point competing against mobile gaming, learning to live alongside one another is the way forward IMO
Dijon on 30 Apr '13 said:
After Fallout 3 I decided it was best to wait 6 months before getting Bethesda games, so my time with New Vegas and Skyrim was pleasant from the start.
I don't really get why dev/publishers do it though. With maybe the exception of getting a game out in time for Christmas, what is there to gain by putting out a 95% finished product that they have to keep working to finish in the weeks post release? Surely it harms review scores, sales and possibly future sales. I'll let Bethesda off, because they can't have tested everything every player would do in Skyrim etc, but the same can't be said for Assassin's Creed 3, especially after it had a sizable day 1 patch.
BlueScorpion91 on 30 Apr '13 said:
The thing I find with apps that a connected to a game is that they are usually a elaborate ad, rather than a fun way of extending the games accessibility, like the Mass Effect mobile game.
Skullet on 1 May '13 said:
If Nintendo could release games at the rate it's releasing apologies and excuses then the Wii U would be drowning in quality games, instead it looks like Nintendo are drowning in incompetence.
HelloLadies on 1 May '13 said:
Geez Nintendo you've been in the games business for over 3 decades this is pretty shonky stuff. This is the kind of cock up I would expect from a company trying to enter the market for the first time not a veteran company with years of experience and knowledge. I would hope they're throwing bags of money at game development now.
BlueScorpion91 on 2 May '13 said:
I agree entirely.