[citation][nom]DRosencraft[/nom]What happened to Nintendo? They used to be a company with tons of cash on hand that allowed them to take risks and experiment. It used to pay off. Now they're just trudging along, hemorrhaging money like there's no tomorrow. The Wii U would have to be a true blockbuster for them to hope to make up for the fact they're dropping profit guidance that much. 70%? That's better than the $300 Million loss last year, but still, that's bad.[/citation]
Yes the Wii just hemorrhaged money, right into the bank. That is EXACTLY what they are doing. They have tons of cash on hand, they are taking risks with a 3d handheld and a console that has a tablet gamepad. Risks do not always pay off.
I just don't think Nintendo is being realistic with their estimates. The Wii dried out a couple years ago, they should have had an HD Wii ready then to transition. There has been a few games this past year worth playing, but not enough to expect them to move hardware. The 3DS was not what people were looking for. Concerns about 3D eye strain make it a hesitant buy for parents and the price was just too high for the novelty. Add in the 3DS has not been as pirate friendly as DS, hardware based piracy does help hardware sales. If you had put out Pokemon 3D instead of a sequel to the last generation Nintendo, those sales of 3DS would have been far higher. Everything they're doing is just a couple years behind where they should be. If the Wii U had been out two years ago, Nintendo would have had some time to get systems in houses while Sony/MS still had no release plans. Now they've got less than a year before we hear more from the other camps.