Pachter: Sony and Microsoft think Nintendo’s Glory Days are Behind Them, Wii U Wont Matter

Michael Pachter talking negatively about the Wii U is nothing new these days, but this time around he seems to be implying that Nintendo’s direct competition doesn’t really think Nintendo is a threat anymore. So far as to pretty much predict Nintendo is on a down turn and the Wii U releasing early wont make a difference. This is despite the recent report of Nintendo’s dominance of the Japan market in owning the top 10. In a conversation with Examiner he had this to say:

“Yes, they’ll give Nintendo a head start, and no, neither of them is concerned about the impact of a head start. They won’t say it, but both manufacturers think Nintendo’s glory days are behind it. I don’t think the Wii U’s head start will make much difference at all, since I don’t expect it to be any more powerful than current generation consoles, but maybe Nintendo will surprise me.”

Pachter also outlines what he has identified as the three major problems facing console makers today, and the greater gaming industry on the whole.

“First is [the] migration of casual gamers away from consoles and handhelds to mobile and social games. Second is gamer fatigue with few new intellectual properties introduced recently and mostly sequels in the 8th year of the cycle. Third is the increasing popularity of online multiplayer that absorbs as many as 500 hours per year, for around one third of the console gaming audience without generating significant revenue.”

All of these are pretty valid points. It’s safe to assume the casual gamers have migrated off of console gaming such as the Wii or Kinect. While sales are still doing well for proven series, it’s also true the industry on the whole has failed to innovate with new IPs. This is leading to a bit of fatigue in general. The last point is hard to measure since so many games also play online, but these games wouldn’t include the feature if the game itself wasn’t profitable right? It’s hard to know in today’s world what the future will hold. Still, do you agree with his stances? It sounds like he is speaking more from research than personal bias this time around. It doesn’t surprise me in the slightest that Microsoft and Sony don’t view Nintendo in good light right now. They have gotten plenty of negative press the last couple of months.