Yesterday, there were thinly sourced rumors circulating that Nintendo might reveal new hardware at E3. With the flagging performance of the Wii U (estimated at a mere six million installed consoles worldwide), many have wondered if Nintendo might ramp up its development of a new console.
If the company will be revealing something in 2014 though, it won’t be at E3. Nintendo has confirmed to CVG that the Nintendo Direct “digital event” the company will be holding in lieu of an E3 press conference will not include new hardware.
The company is working on a “quality of life” platform that could be revealed before the end of the next fiscal year (ending March 31, 2015). Nintendo is set to announce its year-end financial performance on Wednesday, May 7. At that time, we will know how many 3DS and Wii U units have been sold worldwide and how software is performing.
[Source: CVG]
Out Take:
Nintendo is in a rough place. The window of opportunity to salvage Wii U sales performance is almost closed. At this point in its lifecycle, the Dreamcast had sold more and was cut short by Sega.
Abandoning the Wii U would give Nintendo a fresh start, but at the cost of severely damaging goodwill. If there’s hope for the Wii U, Nintendo needs to completely revamp its strategy and figure out how to talk to consumers who don’t already own one.