So the Wii U is more or less a flop so far. The past year plus has not been kind to it, and Nintendo has substantially downgraded its sales expectations for 2014.
Where did it go wrong, and what can Nintendo do to fix things in the future?
More power
Comparisons of the Wii U to Sega's ill-fated Dreamcast are not undeserved, and one of the major parallels is that both consoles launched earlier than their competitors, but at a serious cost. And we all know how well that turned out for Sega.
Nintendo's consoles often seem underwhelming next to their competitors, regardless of which are actually more powerful. At times Nintendo's consoles really have been weaker; just look at the Game Boy next to the Sega Game Gear. And the jury is out on generations like PS1 vs. N64. Each had its strengths and weaknesses, but it didn't really matter, because Nintendo always relied on its games.
But perhaps in this age of technology, when gamers are obsessed more than ever with specs and a console's hardware is utilized by developers for more than just shinier and shinier graphics, that strategy isn't going to cut it anymore. As pretty as some Wii U games have proven—here's looking at Wind Waker HD—comparing this system to the PS4 and Xbox One is like—well, it's like comparing the Wii to the Xbox 360 and PS3.
More Virtual Console
The Virtual Console should be Nintendo's most powerful weapon, but instead it's just a constant reminder to fans that the company does not seem to care about taking their money.
Nintendo has, by an absolute fucking landslide, the most comprehensive and stunning back catalog of games at its disposal of any game company in existence. It also has a ready-made platform on which to re-release those old games—with minimal work required—to eager masses of fans. And what's it doing with those tools? Releasing one old game a month?
Nintendo needs to be much, much more consistent with retro software releases on its next console. The Wii U should be the de-facto system for old school Nintendo lovers to get their fixes of NES, SNES, and N64 games, and—jesus!—why aren't their GameCube games on it yet? The Virtual Console could be the best, and instead it's a constant disappointment.
A better GamePad
And this doesn't mean a higher resolution screen, a better speaker, longer battery life, multi-touch input—although those would certainly be nice. No, what Nintendo needs is a better gimmick—a "GamePad" that people actually want.
If Nintendo is going to hinge its next console on another gimmick, like it has with the Wii and Wii U, it needs to be something that actually appeals to people.
When the Wii was introduced, its uniqueness was readily apparent, even if it wasn't immediately accepted as an actual advantage. Motion controls! The future! It was easy to see.
But when many people see the Wii U's GamePad, all they can ask is, "Why? How will this benefit me?" And the worst part is, even Nintendo itself has yet to provide the answer. Its best Wii U games—Super Mario 3D World and Pikmin 3—hardly use it at all. And the best use of the Game Pad came from Ubisoft's ZombiU, a misunderstood hardcore game that most of Nintendo's usual audience hates.
Cross-play between handheld and console
Those Nintendo Fusion rumors are probably bullshit, but it would definitely be better for Nintendo if they weren't.
Just look at how successful the company has been with the 3DS. And yet that only came after it slashed the handheld system's price, offered early adopters 20 free retro games (which still haven't appeared on the Virtual Console, by the way; what the fuck, Nintendo?), and started releasing actual, new games for it.
There are no signs that the Wii U will be offered those same advantages any time soon, besides a handful of upcoming Nintendo first-party games like Super Smash Bros. and Mario Kart 8. In fact, Nintendo's living room systems almost never do better than the handhelds—the Wii was the exception—so why continue supporting two platforms at all?
Picture a Nintendo handheld that could double as a Gamepad-style controller for home use; or better yet, a powerful portable system that connects to your TV when you're at home, through some sort of HDMI dongle. The possibilities are obvious, and Nintendo should jump on the clear demand for a single, Mario- and Zelda-filled game ecosystem.
Forget about the Wii (and focus on core games)
There's one other possibility for Nintendo's next console: the company that built its business on making incredible video games for over 20 years could forget about all this "Wii" crap and just, you know, make some fucking video games.
Did the Wii U fail because of poor timing, strong competition, and confusing branding/marketing? Or did it fail because all the casual non-gamers who jumped on the Wii bandwagon because they saw a new fad on the news aren't actually interested in video games and were never going to buy another Nintendo console anyway?
Imagine if Nintendo gave all those fair-weather fans a giant, glistening middle finger and announced a new console for its true audience: a hardcore gaming platform with respectable specs and a normal controller, no screens or motion sensors or attachments, at its heart.
And then imagine Nintendo devoted the rest of its resources to creating actual video games and devised some kind of heavenly launch lineup with new Mario, Zelda, Metroid, Pikmin, F-Zero, Super Smash Bros., Mario Kart, Paper Mario, Donkey Kong Country, Animal Crossing, Earthbound, Fire Emblem, Yoshi's Island, Kirby, Kid Icarus, Star Fox, and (gasp!) Pokémon games. Then it kept steadily releasing more games in those franchises, instead of like, two a year, while letting its most ingenious creators (luv u Miyamoto-san!) come up with new, original franchises that captured what was great about the Nintendo of old.
Now that system would sell.
[Edit: The article was altered to reflect the disagreement over how powerful some past Nintendo consoles were.]
