Hero-of-Time Posted March 22, 2016 Posted March 22, 2016 From Gaf. 1) The Nikkei just reports Nintendo will stop producing Wii U within 2016. It doesn't say they will necessarily start selling NX in 2016. 2) Acc. to the paper, some Wii U accessories are already not being produced anymore. Nintendo plans to deplete inventory this year. //end That's a lot quicker than I expected!
Dcubed Posted March 22, 2016 Posted March 22, 2016 They're suffering some manufacturing issues right now, hence the heavy shortages in Japan... Could be crossed wires, Chinese whispers etc. Could be more... Personally, I'd lean towards the former. Nintendo never stop manufacturing consoles before the launch of a successor! (Not usually until a good few years after it's already out - even the GCN kept going a fair bit after the Wii launched).
Cube Posted March 22, 2016 Posted March 22, 2016 A lot of it also depends on how many they have in stock and how many they plan to make against projected sales. They could stop producing this year but still have plenty to last until the middle of next year.
Hero-of-Time Posted March 22, 2016 Author Posted March 22, 2016 They're suffering some manufacturing issues right now, hence the heavy shortages in Japan... Could be crossed wires, Chinese whispers etc. Could be more... Personally, I'd lean towards the former. Nintendo never stop manufacturing consoles before the launch of a successor! (Not usually until a good few years after it's already out - even the GCN kept going a fair bit after the Wii launched). The heavy shortages talk is also a bit up in the air. A few on Gaf who live in Japan said there was plenty stock in their area. Also, the guys from 8-4 spoke about it recently on a podcast and were saying the stock issue doesn't actually seem to be an issue in their area, as well. As for them never doing it before, different management now. Kimishima cutting that Wii cord early. Certainly interesting times ahead...
Serebii Posted March 22, 2016 Posted March 22, 2016 The heavy shortages talk is also a bit up in the air. A few on Gaf who live in Japan said there was plenty stock in their area. Also, the guys from 8-4 spoke about it recently on a podcast and were saying the stock issue doesn't actually seem to be an issue in their area, as well. As for them never doing it before, different management now. Kimishima cutting that Wii cord early. Certainly interesting times ahead... They've got in a load of restocks the week or so.
Ashley Posted March 22, 2016 Posted March 22, 2016 Yeah I think @will&\#39; likewise said that at the time of the reports he couldn't notice anything, but maybe its being in the capital helps.
Guy Posted March 22, 2016 Posted March 22, 2016 Reckon it'll still be backwards compatible so makes no sense to keep producing something when whatever the new hardware is will probably play the games.
Ashley Posted March 22, 2016 Posted March 22, 2016 A lot of it also depends on how many they have in stock and how many they plan to make against projected sales. They could stop producing this year but still have plenty to last until the middle of next year. Plus let's face it, it's only March! It just says stop production this year. Wonder how many they produce a month anyway...
Dcubed Posted March 22, 2016 Posted March 22, 2016 Think about it this way, even if the NX console was due to come out this year, would Nintendo commit to that date so much that they'd stop Wii U manufacturing beforehand? What if the NX gets delayed? What if something goes wrong with the NX manufacturing process, or if the OS isn't ready in time? Would Nintendo really leave themselves with no backup plan? That's why I really doubt they're planning on stopping manufacturing so soon.
Ashley Posted March 22, 2016 Posted March 22, 2016 But that's assuming that the Wii U stock would dry up quickly. They could build up several millions for all we know.
Dcubed Posted March 22, 2016 Posted March 22, 2016 But that's assuming that the Wii U stock would dry up quickly. They could build up several millions for all we know. They already have very low inventory at the moment. We know that from the fact that they're suffering heavy shortages in Japan (and their inventory assets on their Financial Report has dropped heavily from last year), so they're clearly not holding a ton of them in their warehouses (unlike what that old rumour stipulated).
Ashley Posted March 22, 2016 Posted March 22, 2016 Ah okay. I'd heard about the shortage but also had also heard that on the ground there was no shortage. Curious what accessories have already been stopped.
dazzybee Posted March 22, 2016 Posted March 22, 2016 Yeah quite weird news. But maybe they really are going for a clean slate, get rid of it, all memory, all retail and online presence. But surely this means NX is 100% certain this year? SURELY!!
Ashley Posted March 22, 2016 Posted March 22, 2016 They say it's not definite... But I can't imagine it being later than April 2017. Hell they can live off amiibo for a while :p
Josh64 Posted March 22, 2016 Posted March 22, 2016 The Wii U isn't exactly flying off the shelves right now anyway, and I doubt much is going to change that now. I'm sure they can make one last batch and last a good while, certainly way into the life of NX
Will Posted March 23, 2016 Posted March 23, 2016 Yeah I think @will&\#39; likewise said that at the time of the reports he couldn't notice anything, but maybe its being in the capital helps. Yeah if I hadn't of read it on here I would never have known there was any shortage of Wii U stocks, it's always been fully available here. to be honest I think this is a bit of a non-story. We know Nintendo are ramping up on a new product this year, Wii U isn't exactly flying off the shelves so it kind of makes sense that this would happen. They could be manufacturing right up until the very end of this year and that would easily leave them enough stock to go through 2017, so I don't really see what the excitement is about.
Debug Mode Posted March 23, 2016 Posted March 23, 2016 Nintendo denies the Nikkei report, claiming they have no intention of ending Wii U production soon Source So it's all up to who you believe really! If they were ending production soon, why would they acknowledge it? That's basically a signal to the consumer and to businesses to not waste their time on it.
Hero-of-Time Posted March 23, 2016 Author Posted March 23, 2016 Nintendo denies the Nikkei report, claiming they have no intention of ending Wii U production soonSource So it's all up to who you believe really! If they were ending production soon, why would they acknowledge it? That's basically a signal to the consumer and to businesses to not waste their time on it. Nintendo has denied stuff that Nikkei has said in the past which turned out to be true. As you said, it depends on who you want to believe. Nikkei have been wrong in the past but Nintendo have also told porkies before ( as any company would do ) to save face.
dazzybee Posted March 23, 2016 Posted March 23, 2016 Err, I think it's pretty obviously true, Nikkei aren't ones to post rumours are they? And they've been right about so much stuff nintendo have denied in the past.
Dcubed Posted March 23, 2016 Posted March 23, 2016 (edited) Err, I think it's pretty obviously true, Nikkei aren't ones to post rumours are they? And they've been right about so much stuff nintendo have denied in the past. They have indeed posted rumours before. Some turned out to be true and others have turned out to be wrong (I remember one of the rumours that they put out pre-3DS unveil stipulated that you'd be able to install your physical games onto your system - ALA Xbone/PS4...) It's very rare that Nintendo actually publicly comment on any form of rumours and speculation and whenever they do give out a flat out no, it does actually mean no. Nintendo has denied stuff that Nikkei has said in the past which turned out to be true. As you said, it depends on who you want to believe. Nikkei have been wrong in the past but Nintendo have also told porkies before ( as any company would do ) to save face. The only time that happened was with the DSi and that wasn't actually a denial. When Nintendo say no, they mean no. Mind you though, this response doesn't actually necessarily cover the whole of this year... just the next 2 or 3 quarters. Either way, the Wii U is not gonna get discontinued until after the NX console comes out. GCN was discontinued on February 22nd 2007, about 3 months after the Wii came out; so I'd expect something similar here. Edited March 23, 2016 by Dcubed
Hero-of-Time Posted March 23, 2016 Author Posted March 23, 2016 The only time that happened was with the DSi and that wasn't actually a denial. When Nintendo say no, they mean no. Mind you though, this response doesn't actually necessarily cover the whole of this year... just the next 2 or 3 quarters. Either way, the Wii U is not gonna get discontinued until after the NX console comes out. GCN was discontinued on February 22nd 2007, about 3 months after the Wii came out; so I'd expect something similar here. My porkies comment wasn't just in relation to the Nikkei article but just in general. They twist words and spin stuff. They are no different to any other company in that regard. As for when the thing will be discontinued, who knows? None of us on here have any idea just how much stock they are sitting on, when the NX will be released or how fast they are wanting to kill the Wii U off. S
Serebii Posted March 23, 2016 Posted March 23, 2016 My porkies comment wasn't just in relation to the Nikkei article but just in general. They twist words and spin stuff. They are no different to any other company in that regard. As for when the thing will be discontinued, who knows? None of us on here have any idea just how much stock they are sitting on, when the NX will be released or how fast they are wanting to kill the Wii U off. S Nintendo had to counter the claim though. With that news going around, it damages potential sales for the Wii U until then, which hurts their bottom line.
peterl0 Posted March 23, 2016 Posted March 23, 2016 Did Nintendo actually deny it? GoNintendo says: Nintendo has addressed the Nikkei report and stated, "That report didn't come from us." Perhaps Nikkei got the information from another source?
Dcubed Posted March 23, 2016 Posted March 23, 2016 Did Nintendo actually deny it? GoNintendo says: Perhaps Nikkei got the information from another source? From IT Media (Translated by Kotaku)... But Nintendo is denying the Nikkei article. A Nintendo spokesperson told Japanese site IT Media, “This isn’t an announcement from our company.” The spokesperson added, “From the next quarter and thereafter as well, production [of the Wii U] is scheduled to continue.” So they're not going to be stopping production within the next 2-3 quarters; that much we know now. Either way, I can't see them stopping before the NX Console actually releases, for reasons I've already mentioned. They'll probably stop a few months after the NX console launches, like they did with the Gamecube.
Recommended Posts