Ten years ago, the entertainment industry witnessed a major market flop from an

Ten years ago, the entertainment industry witnessed a major market flop from an otherwise well-respected industry giant. When Nintendo released the Wii U as the successor to the stupendously successful Wii in 2012, it anticipated that the success of the predecessor would pave the way for the next gen console’s release. A major reason for this product failure was Nintendo’s misreading of its market audience (De, 2021). Unlike previous consoles, such as the Super Nintendo and the Nintendo 64, the Wii strongly appealed to the casual or non-gamer with its innovative motion control features, its generally user friendly, and its easily accessible and fun interface. The console also featured several games such as Wii Sports and Wii Fit that would appeal to customers who otherwise might never pick up a controller.
The Wii U, however, was not marketed as Nintendo’s next successful venture into the casual gaming market niche. In fact, it was barely marketed at all, and lacked any blockbuster first-party launch titles that could boost initial sales (De, 2021). There was general confusion over whether it was an add-on for the Wii, a supplemental controller, or some other paraphernalia for the older console (De, 2021). In addition, the new console did not feature motion control as heavily as the Wii did, and the poor naming choice and semi-portability of the controller only added to the confusing nature of the console (De, 2021). Due to this marketing oversight, the Wii U was not able to successfully carryover the new audience that had been introduced to gaming via the Wii. Few of Nintendo’s new market audience members would have recognized the incentives to purchasing an entirely new console when the Wii had sufficed for their entertainment needs. In hindsight, the console was the company’s second worst performer in its history, beating out only the Virtual Boy in terms of console sales (De, 2021).
References
De, S. (2021, September 1). Why the Wii U really failed, and how Nintendo bounced back. MakeUseOf. https://www.makeuseof.com/why-wii-u-failed-how-nintendo-bounced-back/