Analysts Say Wii U is OK

Despite the rumours that Xbox 360 and PS3 surpass the upcoming Wii U on the hardware capability side, and how many have said this will affect the Wii U’s sales (because Xbox 360 and PS3 might be able to still cut the Wii U in price), a number of other analysts have come out saying the device will do just fine – according to a recent article on Gamesindustry.biz.

One analyst, Ted Pollak from Jon Peddie Research, says Nintendo have a smart technology strategy that most people don’t detect.

"This is a recurring theme. Technology changes and Nintendo looks like they are falling behind. Nintendo always claims their focus is on game play.

“The original Wii was designed for standard definition televisions, and when released, there were ninety eight standard definition TV households for every high definition TV household. Now we are faced with fantastic and powerful consoles coming from Sony and Microsoft that will drive high frame rates for 1080p resolution and much higher for 3D. However, if we look at the installed base of HD televisions globally, we may find a very large portion of them are 720p, as those displays were the first adopted and the first discounted.

"So for many people, the new Sony and Microsoft offerings may be an overkill for their current television capability," Pollak noted. "Combine this with Nintendo's proven game play quality, the unique tablet controller, and NFC technology that goes hand in hand with their IP, and I think Nintendo will do just fine with Wii U."

A lot has to do with pricing and the titles coming out. Nintendo is definitely aiming to gain a more core audience with the Wii U and has been fairly clear about it, especially when one looks at some of the games coming out for the title (Gamesindustry.biz also has a confirmed titles list here).

Rumours have it that Nintendo are thinking of a $300 price points (about R2100), but it won’t have time to re-price later like what happened with the 3DS. But other rumours suggest that Nintendo will go lower than this.

Analyst Pietro Macchiarella with Parks Associates says Nintendo will have to make a good call on price from the beginning.

"The 3DS launched in Q1, allowing Nintendo to adjust price in time for the holiday season. If the Wii U launches right before the holiday season, that will be the price at least until the end of the year. If the price is too high, it means that Nintendo would fail sales expectations for the holiday season, their most important time of the year. I don't think they can afford that,” he says.

Macchiarella also mentions two key factors that Nintendo need to get right.

"[Nintendo needs to prove] that the new controller means truly innovative gameplay, and [there must be] a good game lineup at launch,” he says.