Michael Pachter, the famous analyst is at it again, and he posted in NeoGAF saying that the Wii U won’t be able to save Nintendo, and they won’t be profitable anytime soon.
He explained, “I believe (and please feel free to disagree) that a large portion of the Wii audience comprised casual gamers–those who bought one or two games a year the first two years, then put the Wii aside–and that those casual gamers moved on to another platform.
“The “other” platform may have been Facebook games, smart phone games, tablet games, or one of the other consoles, but once they moved on, they are not likely to come back.
“Summing this up, I think the addressable market for the Wii U is around half of the market for the Wii, and I think Microsoft and Sony will compete for a portion of that market if the Wii U is priced too high.
“I think that the dedicated handheld market is permanently impacted by smart phones and tablets, and think that Nintendo’s addressable market is probably also half of its former market.”
While he does make a fair point, it’s too early to say if the Wii U will be successful or not. As far as I am concerned it all depends on the price of the system, which no doubt Nintendo has realized after the 3DS debacle.
He also tweeted that, “I don’t think the Wii U will save Nintendo. The Wii sold at least 35% of units to casual gamers, who are lost forever to FB and smartphones.”
“Nintendo SW sales dropped from ¥433 bn to ¥293 bn from 2010-11; HW sales dropped from ¥625 bn to ¥468 bn. This reflects “disarray,” he added.
I kind of feel this is just one part of the equation and he isn’t taking into account the Yen’s appreciation and other factors.
Tell us what you think in the comments section below.
