15 Ways Nintendo Can Save the Wii U

The biggest problem for the Wii U right now is that it doesn't seem to know what it wants to be. Is it supposed to be a fitness machine for your parents, a kid-oriented starter console, or an actual addition to the hardcore gaming landscape with some seriously awesome software? It can't be all of these things, but that's exactly what Nintendo is trying to do. The Wii U needs to choose a lane and stay in it. Right now, the hardware is getting stretched far too thin to make an impact in any one gaming demographic. Until it addesses its current identity crisis, the console is doomed to be swept away by its surer rivals over at Microsoft and Sony.

Super Mario Galaxy 2 was a marked improvement over its well-designed, but overly simple predecessor, Super Mario Galaxy, and now it's time for Nintendo to carry that momentum over to the Wii U. Think about it: all of Nintendo's past 3D consoles have been defined by their Mario platformer. With the N64, we had Super Mario 64. The Gamecube gave us Super Mario Sunshine. And the Wii had the aforementioned Galaxy series. What will the Wii U bring to the table? It's time for Nintendo to show their hand on their flagship franchise.

Yes, the Wii U is already slightly less expensive than either the Xbox One or PS4, but it should probably be even more so. A simple comparison chart can show you the numerous categories in which the Wii U fails to stack up against Microsoft and Sony's future offerings, particularly with regards to its graphics hardware and internal hard drive (or, rather, lack thereof). Nintendo certainly needs to worry about their bottom line but, with sales currently being as low as they are, they should first focus on simply just moving units, regardless of how cheap they may be giving them away for. Nintendo needs to show that their console is worth having, and in order to do that, they'll need to sacrifice a few dollars here and there to get the system in buyers' hands.

There are a multitude of ways that the Wii U could stand to step up in the tech department, but its most pressing deficiencies come in its low storage capabilities and lack of Blu-Ray support. For whatever reason, Nintendo still hasn't stepped up to the plate on offering high-quality movie playback, instead opting to highlight the Wii and Wii U's Netflix capabilities, as well as TVii. Perhaps the only feature that the Wii U has over the PS4 or Xbox One is backwards compatibility but, even then, the Wii titles are only offered in 480p, when the Wii U is fully capable of 1080p resolution. Recent disses from Bethesda should be making one thing very clear to Miyamoto & Co: start upping your ammo. A system shouldn't be in danger of being considered obsolete less than a year after it was released.

If Nintendo wants to worry about political correctness and kid-friendly environments, then they're in the wrong industry. Here's a fun fact: gamers like to swear. Gamers like to tell you that they've made intimate relations with your mother, numerous times over. Gamers like to string together four-letter words in ways that would've made Blackbeard blush. So, if Nintendo is going to get their panties in a bunch about Miiverse commenters using the word, "idiot," then they shouldn't be surprised if these same gamers end up choosing to spend more of their time on Xbox Live or PSN. It's just the unfortunate reality of the gaming community. Take off the kid gloves, Nintendo, and put on your big boy pants.

In lieu of Blu-Ray support, Nintendo was supposed to show us the Wii U's home entertainment capabilities through their TVii app. Unfortunately, many of us have been less than impressed with the first version of the software. The interface is poorly designed, support for certain streaming platforms is shoddy, and the OS often trips over its own feet. There's certainly potential in the software and, by no means, should the company ditch the idea, but they need to release a sexy-ass update very soon to give TVii a nice, thorough polishing. Not letting gamers play Blu-Rays on your console is fine, so long as what you're offering instead is of equal or greater value. Right now, the TVii is worth decidedly less.

Skyward Sword was a great game for the Wii, but Nintendo has yet to announce any serious follow-up for their newest system. Why? Your guess is as good as ours. Zelda is Nintendo's premiere action-adventure franchise, and the fact that they've only managed to come up with the Wind Waker HD for the Wii U is a little, well, pathetic. Are we really supposed to get that excited about replaying an adventure that we already completed over a decade ago? If the company is really looking to stir up some interest for their latest console, then giving Link an eighth-gen makeover would be a great place to start.

After the widely acknowledged failure of Aliens: Colonial Marines, and the shelving of Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon: Online, Nintendo is finding itself behind the ball on one of the biggest and most marketable genres in gaming: first person shooters. Having a killer FPS ready for the system at launch should've been a no-brainer for the company, though. Is there any genre more suited for motion-control gaming? Hardcore gamers don't want to just sit around with the latest Mario Party title and play a bunch of minigames. Let's be honest: we need to get in some quality time blowing the heads off of aliens and Nazis too. We're waiting, Nintendo.

Online gaming has never been a well-integrated part of any Nintendo console, but the company's attempt to blend it in with the Wii U has been half-hearted and clunky, at best. The OS is slow, Netflix is tied into the system in ways that are uncreative and uninspiring, and the Miiverse interface is just totally confusing. Now, more than ever, Nintendo needs to put some muscle into creating a palatable online experience. Too many games today rely on multiplayer modes for the company to simply ignore the problems of their current network's infrastructure.

Remember the original Xbox? Okay, dumb question, of course you remember it. But, more specifically, do you remember how heavily-criticized the original Xbox's controller was? Well, that's the same sort of image problem that Nintedo is facing with their GamePad right now. User complaints of the awkward, unwieldy design should be catching Nintendo's attention. Developing a sleeker controller that gets rid of uncomfortable and unintuitive command configurations is key toward improving gamers' perceptions of what the GamePad is actually capable of doing. Oh, and on that note...

As with the DS, Nintendo is having some initial difficulty selling users on the dual-screen gaming experience. With the Wii U, though, this aspect of gameplay is even more pronounced, as gamers must be splitting their attention between the GamePad and their TV screen, prompting some to wonder if that divide asks too much of the user. Worse yet, we haven't truly be able to see a game that utilizes the GamePad's full capabilities, whatever those may be. Because of this, gamers aren't quite sold on the benefits of this unique controller system. Nintendo needs to find a way to clear up any misconceptions about their new product before the gaming community writes it off altogether.

Third-party developers need to have a reason to tailor their titles to the GamePad's demands, and Nintendo needs to work more closely with these companies so that they can better highlight the Wii U's one-of-a-kind aspects in their development. As of now, many third-party publishers are becoming skeptical of continuing to create for Nintendo. Even Ubisoft, which was initially one of the Wii U's biggest champions, has cooled to the console's future viability. When discussing the upcoming Rayman Legends title, Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot said, "We must find a way to ensure the creativity of [Wii U titles] could have a big enough audience. We hope it will take off. At the moment, we've said 'let's do through Christmas and see where we are from there." Not exactly what you would call resounding support.

Say what you want about Electronic Arts as a company, but it's hard to deny that the oft-criticized video game giant is an essential partner for any console hoping to be taken seriously. Let's be real: when your roster includes names like Madden, FIFA and Battlefield, then you officially have the right to say that you're kind of a big deal. But with Peter Moore's recent critiques regarding the Wii U's multiplayer interface, it seems that, unfortunately, Nintendo is going to be getting left out of EA's jam-packed release schedule for the foreseeable future. If Nintendo even wants to think about appealing to casual gamers, it is absolutely crucial that they rope in those big-name sports franchises again. This isn't up for debate. Not having EA on their side could spell out some serious problems for Nintendo.

For the last couple months, the newswires haven't been too kind to Nintendo. First there was the announcement of the Wii U's unspectacular sales, and then came the word from Saturo Iwata himself that the console's software has been, admittedly, less than ideal. Look, we aren't saying that the company should go around lying to us about what to expect from their new system, but we need some good news here, people. Nintendo needs to say or do something that will inspire confidence in their consumers, and keep us from writing them off as the next Sega. The fact that such a fate even seems possible for such a time-tested brand seems insane. Get these thoughts out of our head, Miyamoto!

Nintendo's inattention to some of their second-tier names like Metroid or Donkey Kong is completely baffling. Honestly, it's a bit of a head-scratcher as to why they were relegated to a second-tier in the company in the first place. Metroid Prime and its numerous follow-ups were high-quality, first-person action-adventure games that have long been overdue for a motion-control update. Unfortunately, we have yet to hear anything regarding our favorite, female bounty hunter. Meanwhile, Donkey Kong and his pals have been slated for a November 2013 release with their Tropical Freeze title, but will that be enough to catch the attention of gamers who are anticipating the PS4 and Xbox One releases that same month? Why didn't Nintendo have a game like this ready for launch?