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Pachter warns Wii U will finish a 'distant third' behind PS4 and Xbox One

Wedbush Morgan analyst Michael Pachter says a combination of the Wii U's technical specifications and lack of third-party support will be a challenge for Nintendo.

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Wedbush Morgan analyst Michael Pachter has spoken about how he believes Nintendo's Wii U will be unable to compete with the Xbox One and PlayStation 4, and declared that Nintendo's home console will finish a "distant third in this console race."

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"Nintendo's in trouble right now," said Pachter in an interview with ABC News. "Nintendo, I think, waited two years too long to launch a competitive console, you know, a high-definition console with the PS3 and the Xbox 360. I think by the time they did launch a console that stacks up really well, the other two guys passed them by."

Microsoft and Sony will both launch the Xbox One and PlayStation 4 later in 2013, a year after Nintendo launched the Wii U.

Pachter believes the lack of third-party publisher support will also contribute to Nintendo being unable to sell the Wii U to a mass market audience. "The publishers are pretty excited about supporting the Xbox One and the PS4. They really didn't say anything [during E3 2013] about the Wii U."

During E3 2013 Nintendo revealed its suite of first-party Nintendo software for the coming months, including Super Mario 3D World, Mario Kart 8, and The Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker HD.

Nintendo reported in April that sales of the Wii U stood at 3.45 million worldwide, as Nintendo reported a profit of ¥7.09 billion ($71.3m/£46.7m) for the financial year. Nintendo has also said that its 3DS has become the console of choice in Japan.

"We know EA has no games in development for Wii U," added Pachter. "If others follow suit, I mean if you see Activision pull support, if you see Ubisoft, you see Take 2 pull support, the Wii U is a Nintendo-only gaming device, which is the way they were back with the NES in 1985. They're not going to sell a lot of consoles if they don't have games like FIFA, and Battlefield, and Call of Duty, and Grand Theft Auto."

EA said in May that it had no games in development for the Wii U, but has since tried to retract its statement. Ubisoft continues to support the machine.

"I think [Nintendo] are at the bottom of a huge mountain with a huge uphill climb," said Pachter. "I don't think they're going to get that mojo back. I think these two guys are passing them by. And this PS4, priced $50 more than the Wii U, why would anybody buy a Wii U? Unless they just have to play Nintendo games. I think the way it actually shakes out is anybody who buys a Wii U that really is a hardcore gamer is going to buy an PS4 or an Xbox One in addition, so they can play those third-party titles they love. So I think Nintendo becomes a distant third in this console race."

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cmyork

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Edited By cmyork

Isn't Wii U really just a matter of Nintendo returning to the N64/Gamecube levels of sales, not a collapse into a pit. Once you take away the nursing home, etc. purchases of the Wii, etc. - Nintendo finishing third in system sales is consistent with past practice. There is nothing wrong with this as long as they make a profit and please their fans. Who cares is they outsell Sony or M$.

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SirApathetic005

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What's funny about this, also, is how this shows how much Sony and Microsoft need 3rd party publishers. They couldn't do it on their own like Nintendo has for MANY years already.

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bigruss51

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Edited By bigruss51

@SirApathetic005 you enjoy your 2 Mario games and the rest of us will have hundreds of games to choose from. Still laughing?

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SirApathetic005

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@bigruss51 Okay. While you're at it, check out GameSpot's new fanboy video. Learn a bit about yourself. Heck, afterward, you might even be able to say that you did something productive this week.

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bigruss51

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@SirApathetic005 @bigruss51 actually id love to play donkey kong country but its not enough for me to buy the wiiu. I don't like most Nintendo games. What I want from Nintendo is a bigger and more varied library of games. And I agree with the article that the console should have been release sooner. Once ps4 comes I doubt the wiiu will ever enter my thoughts again.

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SirApathetic005

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@bigruss51 Whether the Wii U is behind or not, I still have fun with it. I'm sorry that your standards are so damn high that you can't have fun with classic and genuinely charming titles like REAL gamers can.

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bigruss51

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@SirApathetic005 @bigruss51 The video is pointless. People will buy the console they think is best but nintendo fanboys will go into self denial and still defend a company that can't give them any games. Learn about yourself. First I had a sega genesis then super Nintendo then n64 then gamecube then xbox 360 and this time the ps4. I also have a killer pc. I'm not a fanboy, I'm after the best gaming experience and Nintendo won't give me that. Get real man, the wiiu is behind, but if Nintendo is all you want then go for it, just be honest that Nintendo is lacking right now.

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SirApathetic005

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Edited By SirApathetic005

Nintendo's message to Pachter and other Third Party developers who don't support because they think it will fail:

"Wii don't need U."

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lalo4017

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The Wii U is pretty bad man. I have one and I have tried to buy games for it but on top of having a Wii U I have a 360 and a PS3 which means all the third party stuff that got released for Wii U I already did play and will play on the other platforms because the Wii U support is pretty bad. ie still no DLC for black ops 2. Sad that the only games I have been able to buy for the system is Nintendo Land and zombiU. If the thing was not backwards compatible I wouldn't know what to do with it. The coming games do not get any better, because I already have Mario kart, the Mario game I will have to pass it does not look alright to me. Wind Waker remake COME ON REALLY?! Maybe just the wonderful 101 not too static about pikmin either. God if the WiiU was to be competitive then Smash a real Mario game and a Real Zelda game should have being available now. I did only get the Wii U for the un-evitable which is those games but come on right now is not cool that they do this. Right now is when they need to go hard and all out and they didn't If they want some of the success the Wii was.

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bigruss51

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@lalo4017 That's the reason I waited and didn't buy one. Nintendo is bad for getting games. Even the 3ds in north America doesn't have many games to choose from. Although i'm sure in japan the 3ds has many more.

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dummpymonkey123

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Edited By dummpymonkey123

http://www.forbes.com/companies/nintendo/ all they do is make games lol how could they fail

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dummpymonkey123

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To everyone saying the Wii u is a failure and Nintendo will crash and burn http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2013-04-24-nintendo-makes-surprise-profit-despite-lower-than-expected-wii-u-sales read before you speak pls

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vatorus

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@dummpymonkey123 Are you retarded? This article is ALL NEGATIVE for Nintendo!

"The company had originally expected to sell 5.5 million Wii U consoles by the end of March 2013, a figure already slimmed down to 4 million in January. (One and a half MILLION less HAHAHA)

Company-wide, Nintendo recorded poorer sales than last year, when the company made its historic first ever loss. It avoided a repeat performance entirely due to currency exchange gains" (The onyl reason they didn't have a loss is because they made money by changing dollars into yen.)

YOU ARE A MORON!!

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PosiTVEMinD355

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Edited By PosiTVEMinD355

@vatorus @dummpymonkey123 Damn, I can see the Hate is strong with this one

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PosiTVEMinD355

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@vatorus @PosiTVEMinD355 @dummpymonkey123 yea...I was referring to you, Nintendo may be losing money now, but wait until SSB4, Bayonetta 2, Monolith X, Wonderful101. Monolith is exclusive to Nintendo and I have no doubt in my mind that they'll be putting out some awesome shit in the future. Instead of talking we should wait and see what happens

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vatorus

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@PosiTVEMinD355 @vatorus @dummpymonkey123 YES!!!

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prideofNY

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@dummpymonkey123 Read "surprise profit" and "lower than expected sales". Not saying they'll crash and burn, just that you should do a better job supporting your argument.

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deactivated-5eea5a5a83edd

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@dummpymonkey123 http://playeressence.com/nintendo-doomed-hardly-addressing-the-wii-u-sales-problems-and-hate/ same with this article here.

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SirApathetic005

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Edited By SirApathetic005

@GSJones1994 You do realize that's a bias article? It barely has any facts, and it just sounds like the editor is just ranting what people, probably, like you do every day:

"The graphics suck! It has no new IP's that fit perfectly between my cheeks! Why can't Legend of Zelda come out for the PS3?!"

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abHS4L88

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@bigruss51

Like who? You do realize this is the internet so you really have no proof of whether or not someone has a Wii U or not unless it's coming directly from youtube or something, where the person can clearly show they own one. So far everyone I know, myself included, enjoys the Wii U for what it is, and the only complaint most of us have is the lack of games, which will be addressed in the coming months.

Like others have said, educate yourself because there are more than just "three new games coming out this year" with 5 strong exclusives confirmed, a handful of multiplatform titles, and Nintendo confirmed that they still have some unannounced titles coming out this year.

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deactivated-5eea5a5a83edd

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@bigruss51 Please read the above article before commenting. thank you.

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bigruss51

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@dummpymonkey123 @SirApathetic005 do you listen to yourself talk. Shut the F*#* up. Nintendo is already burning up. The three new games coming out this year isn't gonna make people wanna buy the wiiu. Mario is Mario. Its not a new ip. Listen to the people who have the wiiu and wish they never wasted there money.

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SirApathetic005

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Edited By SirApathetic005

@GSJones1994 I guess my sarcasm missed fire on this one. Please don't throw me in jail.

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deactivated-5eea5a5a83edd

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@SirApathetic005 @GSJones1994 Jeez, you're starting to sound like queuing_for_PS4.

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SirApathetic005

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@GSJones1994 Never :D
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deactivated-5eea5a5a83edd

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@SirApathetic005 Please read the article again before you post bs that only Pachter himself would say.
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deactivated-5eea5a5a83edd

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@SirApathetic005 A bias article? It is not a bias article and it has plenty of FACTS in it. Get your head out of Michael Pachter's rear.

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SirApathetic005

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Edited By SirApathetic005

@dummpymonkey123 I know that...I am not saying anything against that -_-

I am obviously make fun of those who think Nintendo needs new IP's when they do make them, and even have new ones on the way. Miyamoto has been working on one for a few years. Don't know when he will discuss it but he said he is working on one.

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dummpymonkey123

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@SirApathetic005 1st off almost every nintendo game that isnt a remake is a new ip Mario galaxy is classified a new ip stainding next to super mario bros and secondly Zelda would never come out for the Ps3 because Sony is terrible they follow a computer trend rather than be unique or evolve the very thing that made us all gamers the experience

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bkohary

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Who would wed a bush?

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SirApathetic005

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Edited By SirApathetic005

A lot of you guys should check out that new Fanboy video GameSpot made. And by "You guys," I primarily mean the ones bullying everyone else just because they have confidence in Nintendo's Wii U.

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JuanGrande386

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LOL of course theres almost 3000 comments on this. Flamebait articles= great success for GS!

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TheGreatPhoenix

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soooo.... when has 3rd party support ever helped Nintendo? all system sellers ever have been made or published by Nintendo?

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bigmikeOK

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@TheGreatPhoenix I seem to recall a little company called Square that was once a major 3rd party developer for the big N and when they left it really hurt the N64 platform and more importantly, it was a major benefactor to the brand new PlayStation platform that only had a silly Crash Bandicoot as their mascot and was a nobody when they entered the industry of games.

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snxx

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@bigmikeOK @TheGreatPhoenix While the story wasn't that simple as you say, you're mostly right. I believe the Wii U will be able to succeed in the future and don't support the misguided theory that Nintendo should leave the hardware business, but saying that they don't need any third-party developers and are completely independent from them is just delusional.

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snxx

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@Magoto2007 @bigmikeOK @TheGreatPhoenix Not disagreeing with what you're saying, because you're right. About the "cutting edge tech" part, however... There's more to cutting edge tech than just sheer processing and graphical power. You see:

- Xbox One controller will have feedback on triggers and a really refined Kinect;

- PS4 controllers will have a touchpad, the console was developed with a media sharing perspective and will feature what promises to be an extensive integration with Vita;

- Wii U have asynchronous gameplay capabilities, a controller with a second, touch-based, screen...

All 8th generation consoles will have some tech that is kinda new on it's application for gaming and hold the potential to be great. Now, if you're one of those for whom the only "cutting edge tech" that matters is sheer power, well, then PC won't offer most of those console features I talked about, but in the sheer power department, there's nothing more "cutting edge tech" than a PC.

My point is, all this "I'll get the PS4 because it's the more powerful" don't make much sense because that's not true, PC is. The same with the "Wii U is old tech!", because it's not, "tech" is different from "power". And I'm saying you said otherwise, I'm just continuing the discussion. :)

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Magoto2007

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@snxx @bigmikeOK @TheGreatPhoenix For example, no one thought most of the COD games would be released on wii, they did due to the huge install base, not for it's power. And then they tried to push for original entries of existing franchises, i.e. Silent Hill, RE, Goldeneye... Supporting developers to make original games on their console. They even had an original Dead Space. If I wanted to play on cutting edge tech, I will certainly buy a PS4, HOWEVER, I will have the Wii U as well.

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Elite_Bushido

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Edited By Elite_Bushido

@TheGreatPhoenix , NES, SNES, N64, NGC, Wii

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dummpymonkey123

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@Elite_Bushido @TheGreatPhoenix Nintendo has never needed 3rd party support so technically its not really help

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dummpymonkey123

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@Elite_Bushido @dummpymonkey123 @TheGreatPhoenix your right it helps hell every game that sell's is a help but when has Nintendo ever relied on it ??? never

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Elite_Bushido

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Edited By Elite_Bushido

@dummpymonkey123 @Elite_Bushido @TheGreatPhoenix except it did and has helped.

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SoreThumbsBill

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This is the guy that when MS first announced their Xbone policies said "Microsoft has already won next gen!".

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