Let's Be Honest: Nintendo Was Not Ready To Launch Wii U

This is not another article saying how crappy the Wii U is. I personally have one and enjoy it. It's their best made console since the N64. It is just so blatantly obvious that Nintendo launched their console too early in order to beat out their competitors. In all honesty, they should have waited and prepared their best features even if that meant releasing the following year.

[PopRocks359]

I can admit as well, the launch did feel somewhat rushed. I mean it was initially going to launch around March of that year, I think, until it was pushed back to the holidays.

But I still don't believe it was bad. It had a lot of content, ports or otherwise. And games like Nintendo Land and ZombiU are actually good games. It's just a shame there was no big Zelda game or another AAA title to really get the units moving.

[Studio-YaMi]

Does it really have that much content ? I have the WiiU,only bought 3 games,Nintendo land,super mario brother U and Zombie U(which isn't that good tbh) and I feel short !

It's not too bad by any means but it's still lacking lots of content,especially video games ! I wanted to play First party exclusives and all I got was 3 games with only 2 of them being fun to play.

Yes,I hold most of the blame for buying the console knowing that there wasn't that much content with it,but the point stands,the WiiU needs quality games and needs them fast .. I want my Mario Kart fix DAMMIT !

I say to people wanting to buy it,give the console a couple of months when good games comes out for it .. then buy it.

It's a great experience and I love the new controller,it's just lacking content right now.

[jmc8888]

It has quite a bit of content. People just want DIFFERENT content.

Even though the same will be said on the PS4/720, as you'll get the same games on the 360/PS3 mostly as well.

It also depends on what kind of gaming system you have besides or before the Wii U. If you just had a Wii, there is an epic amount of games.

If you're like me and have a PS3/360/PC, then many of the titles you've already played or passed on, and on the newer ones you might have chosen a different version. Personally I got the BLOPS2 on the Wii U. No nuketown and lack of players sucks but the gamepad makes it really fun to call down killstreaks (even if you are using a pro controller).

How many games do people think they should be able to get on a new console 20-30 that they actually want to play?

I remember getting the 360 and going great I have Perfect Dark Zero...and what else is there?? Oh I'll buy Gun. Call of Duty 2 imo sucked. It really wasn't until march-april when it started hitting its stride.

When PS3 came out it was basically my Resistance Fall of Man machine.

This is just what new consoles do. It takes awhile for a flood of games to come out. Sometimes it's worse than others, but Wii U's launch isn't that bad game wise.

[Gazondaily]

Well I bought quite a few Wii U's hoping to cash in on them but had to send them back because Amazon never really sold out.

I did feel that the whole launch felt rushed. Not a lot of people knew about the Wii U at all and still don't to this day.

[darthv72]

pretty much every console launch can be looked at as rushed...after the fact. I can see the emphasis would be on the new games but one aspect that nintendo didnt really drive home was that people could play all of their existing wii games on it.

We (the informed gamers) know this but the uninformed consumers (the ones who bought the wii as part of the trend) did not. To them they didnt see the wii-u as something new and different. They probably felt content with their initial purchase.

Looking at something like the 3ds, its ability to play ds games was apparent from the beginning but (again) nintendo didnt focus on that convenience. So after some time, the price comes down to where a new buyer would look at both the ds and 3ds and the small price difference leaned them more towards picking up the 3ds to play both.

I cant recall what it was exactly but it was obviously enough to convince consumers that buying the 3ds OVER the ds was the better choice. Nintendo should be doing the same for the wii-u.

buying a wii-u doesnt suddenly mean you have to stop playing wii games. you can play them in addition to wii-u games. Whoever is in their marketing department needs to really rethink that part. Consumers are wanting more for their $$. I mean what is more than the hundreds of existing wii games (and wiiware) being readily available to someone who buys a wii-u. It certainly fills a need when it comes to the amount of playable games for the platform.

Looking back, even sony touted the BC of the ps2 with ps1 games as a selling point. People didnt have to give up their library when they upgraded their system.

[eferreira]

most launches are pretty weak but the vita had a decent one

[user3915800]

Please. lets not come up with excuses to established a good relation with your sale and money wasted. I bought one for my son and to be honest, I regrte buying that over hyped GARBAGE... Maybe it gets better with new games, but right now its a paper weight, not to mention its compatible with 360 and ps3, problem is they are 7 years behind. They should bite the bullet and stop production and bring a console for next gen competition the 720/ps4. Out of all the hardware they ever made, this is by far their worth mistake on the consoles business, this is another virtual boy.

[ahronith]

Huh, thats funny cuz im always on mine...playing games while kids use the tv, chatting on miiverse, drawing, and pretty much using it more than my wife would like to admit.

[jmc8888]

Wow simply wow.

360 and PS3 that you are talking about had the same problem when they launched. Did you buy one of those early on? If you had, you would have seen the same thing and understood this to be the case.

Also PS4 and 720 will only be 3x and 2x as powerful if the rumors are true...which means not too much. They closed 2/3rds of the gap between the Wii and the 360/PS3 with the Wii U and the PS4/720.

Virtual boy was just bad. Gave me headaches at the local blockbuster. EVerything was also red, and the games sucked.

If you chose to play Assassin's Creed 3 or BLOPS2 on another system then those are games you could have been playing on the Wii U.

NSMBU is great game. ZombiU is good.

Looks like you're going to be really disappointed with 'next gen'. It's not going to microwave your food for you and rub your back.

[PopRocks359]

"Please. lets not come up with excuses to established a good relation with your sale and money wasted."

My, my. Look at how mature and courteous you are. Your mother ought to be proud. /s

[Gamer1982]

The WiiU was 2-3 years late. It should have capitalized 3 years ago before any ps4 and 720 talk really started getting going. then people may have chose it over current gen consoles.

[rainslacker]

I didn't feel it was rushed. We knew about this thing for two E3's, and knew for the most part what it was going to be. I do kind of feel that the majority of 3rd party support came in late to supporting it however, and now that long term support is being called into question, although I'm sure it will have more than people are giving it credit for.

The system itself isn't bad at all, but the lack of really compelling software for the moment is making me think I could have waited to get one.

On a side note, I am the proud new owner of a 3DS XL.:) Can't wait to get Fire Emblem in the mail.:)

[monkey nuts]

Sign up to club nintendo asap! I got to choose a free retail game download when I bought my 3DS xl and signed up. Theres 6 or so titles to choose from, I got SM3D Land. Epic game, and the lasy ninty console I bought was the N64.

[LOL_WUT]

If only Nintendo could've held off the Wii U till this years holidays, they would've had some of their key franchises ready by then Smash bros, Zelda, Yoshi and a new 3D Mario game.

Even though it might've competed with other unannounced hardware (PS4/720) it would've made it a killer launch. ;)

[Gamer1982]

Holding off would have done nothing the games needed to be ready for launch I agree but they should have been out last year..

[dangert12]

Nintendo has become really ignorant if you ask me, they refuse to accept the people who have made them big way back have grown up now and are more capable, so is tech and the people know this...now im not saying none of us like nintendos new games far from as even i like them...but outside of mario and the gang they dont give a ish but we the fans do! so now they are digging themself a hole

[TheWhyButton]

Personally, I think Nintendo does a heck of a better job at acknowledging the fans than Sony or Microsoft. It's not rare for them to give away free games, or games at a great discount (similar to how they are doing the 30 cent retro games every month). If you get their consoles early on, then they almost always reward you. I bought a 3ds on release day, and when the price drop happened a month later I was pretty disappointed until I found out about they were giving me 20 free games for the inconvenience. Now I'm getting great retro games for 30 cents and I can't complain with that. I feel like Nintendo is probably the most down to earth company out of the three becasue of deals like these, but I guess that's just me.

[bothebo]

You heard of PS+?

[dangert12]

That's fair enough, but i honestly think sony has a competitor for Nintendos big games and most the time PERSONALLY sony come out on top.

Modnation VS Mario Kart
LBP VS Super Mario Bros
(Kind of Comparable) Ratchet and Clank Vs Mario Galaxy.
PS All Stars Vs Brawl

i could go on but sony has direct competitors for Nintendos games where as the more mature games Nintendo only really have metroid and Disaster day of Crysis...So sony takes the cake for me and no service compares to plus...even cheap retro games lol

[zebramocha]

@danger wrong! Lbp has nothing in common with Mario other than that they are platformers,lbp and modnation are the same game different genre,only one that kinda makes sense is pasbr, Sony had the crash series of games that went head to head everything Mario.

[Old McGroin]

@ dangert12

Wow, by your comment above saying that Sony come out on top with the exclusives you named you've clearly never played any of the Nintendo games. If you did you would know that they make the Sony exclusives you name look like the mediocre clones that they are.

[shutUpAndTakeMyMoney]

"Personally, I think Nintendo does a heck of a better job at acknowledging the fans than Sony"

lol maybe when it comes to hand held or something.

Nintendo wont capture the hardcore crowd..

They need a new just dance fast.

[neogeo]

I agree. I get excited to get home from work and play wiiU.

[schlanz]

I think its the core crowd who is ignorant. Mass market could give two shits about specs. All they want is a great user experience and fun games, and that is what Nintendo delivers for all of its systems regardless of horsepower.

It's the same strategy Apple employs. The iPhone 5 is hardly the most impressive device on the market but the people buying it don't care about that. It's a device that stands on its own and doesn't need the fastest processor or highest pixel density. The Wii U (and its predecessor, which was wildly successful) takes the same approach.

[mochachino]

Mass market aka casuals couldn't give a shit about paying more than 1.99 for videogame.

Mass market is playing on their phones, tablets, browser, and facebook.

Wii was like a gateway drug, but they found better dealers with cheaper product that satisfies their needs just fine.

[schlanz]

You're wrong about that. The mass market might not be as clued in to the industry and all the AAA games that get released but they can certainly tell the difference between angry birds and Super Mario Galaxy.

If there is a developer out there that continues to resonate with the mass market its Nintendo, and its why many of their flagship series go on to sell millions. The Wii sold over 800 million games, four times as much as the gamecube, so you can't attribute that to just Nintendo fanboys.

[TongkatAli]

^
Free games suck for the Sony haters. "bu but you pay 50$" and you pay 60$ for each new console game, lol fail. I'm happy with the Wii U what do you expect FROM A THREE MONTH OLD CONSOLE, common sense please noobs.

[Venoxn4g]

yea, it was rushed, still I love my Wii U..console has potential and I know that after some time everything will be fine

[TheWhyButton]

My thoughts exactly, I still have faith in the little guy!

[SpiralTear]

I think it would be a tough decision releasing the Wii U last year OR this year. It's either get the year head-start without a huge, Nintendo-produced AAA title or have a slew of huge, Nintendo-produced AAA titles and have to compete with Sony and Microsoft. Nintendo had a very heavy decision there, so I really don't think there was an easy answer.

Sure, the Wii U launch definitely could've been better (especially on the service side of things like TVii or the new Virtual Console), but I still think releasing early gives some time to gain momentum.

Besides, I predict that both the PS4 and next Xbox will have their own launch day issues, and by then, Nintendo will at least have their foot in the door already.

[rainslacker]

I think they made the right decision in this case to release a year earlier. Releasing a new system without another coming out at the same time does give you the limelight. They had a couple big games release with the system, and people were expecting a lot more support from it, which made it an OK launch I suppose.

However, now when it goes up against the other two, it will likely have more compelling games to offer, which is good for them. Being only a year old it may still be on some people's radar. Given the fact it will also be the cheapest option among the 3 means it will probably also be strong.

OTOH, I was in the store today, and a Sony rep was there and while talking to him with the employees he said that the 20th is going to blow a lot of people away. It didn't sound like posturing PR either, and now I'm even more excited for it based on what I've heard, although nothing was confirmed.:)

[ape007]

the wiiu is nice and all but it misses a console DEFINING GAME, we'll have to wait, the nintendo exclusives are amazing like no other

[Baka-akaB]

It was pretty obvious by the way the first firmwares rolled out alone .

But still they hardly had a choice . Launching only a few months ahead of the ps4/x720 would kill 3rd party support and their multiplatform ports .

It will be fine one the big nintendo guns arrives and some are announced already

[kirbyu]

Who cares? Also, why does everyone keep blaming Nintendo for all the ports that were in the launch. Nintendo had nothing to do with those games.

[mamotte]

Why are people so surprised? Do we all have amnesia? The PS3 didnt have all their options avaliable at launch, it didnt even had the PS Store, the background downloading, netflix, the dualshock controller, the price was $600, the only good game was resistance... the only difference is that we didnt have N4G (or it wasn't as big as is now) to troll about it.

[Studio-YaMi]

Ummm..actually the PS3 had it worse than any other console,it did have good games other than Resistance,it had warhawk,heavenly sword,Genji,mobile suit gundam,the elder scrolls,virtual fighter 5 and enchanted arms,these aren't block busters by any means but they were good games worthy of playing.

Not defending the lackluster that was the launch of the PS3,but saying that no one at N4G trolled about it is just wrong,they ate it alive,they butchered it like no other,the $600 price tag,the good but not great games (and the lack of them too) and lots of other things.

With that said,the PS3 now shines like no other regarding exclusive games + being a great entertainment system,each one of those trolls ate their words while standing in envy watching the PS3 growing into a beastly machine or buying it for the worth of it.

The WiiU is going through the same thing here,so it just needs to focus on bringing on the goods and it should be fine.

[stylishjerk]

The launch between the Playstation 3 and the Wii-U is very similar. They both had launch line up issues, a network that was not up to par, and customers weren't sure if it was worth the value. The problem with the Wii-U now is the competition is much more fierce than it was six years. Xbox 360 was just starting to gain momentum and the Wii just came out back then. Now Playstation and Xbox are at their prime and they are cheaper than the Wii-U. The Wii-U has a much bigger fight in the future the the Playstation did six years ago.

[Baka-akaB]

Oh the irony of accusing everyone of amnesia . At the launch of the ps3 , most articles were anti ps3 . The wii U has seen nothing yet . Not that i hope it suffers the same amount of crap

[MetalProxy]

I can back you up on that. I have been hear for awhile now. The antisony articles were crazy here at n4g.
I like the wii-u! It just needs time to grow like everything else.

[e-p-ayeaH]

resistance wasnt a good game...just average shooter the sequels are even worse.

[Eyeco]

Yes and there were billions of articles addressing that, but where not in 2006 now its the year 2013, Just Because Sony had it worse doesn't mean its ok for Nintendo.

In the PS3's 1st year it still had relatively strong 3rd and 1st party support, all the big multiplat games made it to the PS3,where not seeing that with the Wii-U. Where's Dead Space 3, Bioshock Infinite, GTA V, DMC, Metro 2033, StarWars 1313 ? have you seen the list of multiplats NOT comming to the Wii-U this year ? it goes on.

Will the Wii-U eventually get those games ? possibly but by that time the PS4 and 720 would be it would be completely irrelevant.

The truth is the Wii-U is the only next gen system out right now, it's got a year headstart, much like the 360 it should be dominating in 3rd party support, but its not, it's been left in the dust just like the Wii.

The fact that you listed all those faults with the PS3 at launch yet that console still received strong 1st and 3rd party support in its first year says more about the Wii-U than the PS3 in all honesty. I mean what games does the Wii-U have for the year ? 3rd party support is pretty dry, a HD remake, a sequel to a game most Wii-u Owners probably didn't even play, and...I cant think of anything else,

This year is the Wii-U's chance to shine before the other consoles are released but Nintendo isn't making the most of it, and what concerns me is if 3rd party support is this dry with last gen multiplats on a system that's the only of of its generation out on the market right now, then what's gonna happen once the PS4/720 release ?

[SuperShyGuy]

Nintendo f'd up they should have not relied on 3rd party so much for launch and released something that had the graphical quality of that Zelda demo. While graphics aren't the most important thing it is the one thing that resonates with people without it having to be explained to them.

If Xeno-[blank] had been a launch title Wii U would have had a better chance.

With letting 7th gen games come on the Wii U it gave false impressions that it's no better than those consoles and with it being differently put together some 7th gen games run worse so some think Wii U is weaker (wrongly so).

But Nintendo had to get Wii U out before Black Friday and if you don't think MS and Sony wouldn't do the same you are crazy

[Trago1337]

yeah, the launch wasnt good. Good thing we'll see Smash Bros this year :D

[Nodoze]

All valid points. I must say that I was intrigued at Nintendo's bold approach to digital media (TVii etc). In practice it is not nearly as good as stated. TVii is not that good at all, and both Hulu and Netflix lock up the console CONSTANTLY! I am getting ready to move back to the pS3 as our media console as it; supports all of the major audio formats (I am still not clear on Nintendo's support for surround sound), it plays BLurays, and in addition to Netflix, Hulu, it also offers Crackle and Anime.

Plus it can be used for more than 3 hours without having to recharge the controller. Why didn't Nintendo allow for dimming functionality on the tablet controller? It would vastly improve battery life.

[deafdani]

Dimming functionality on the tablet controller? You mean the screen brightness? Becuase it has the option to decrease it, and doing so effectively improves the battery life dramatically.

And I use Netflix on my Wii U all the time. My console still hasn't frozen on me while playing Netflix, not even once, after probably more than a hundred hours. On the other hand, I've had it freeze on me 5 or 6 times on Miiverse. Weird.

[Nodoze]

Do tell. Where is this hidden setting? I have looked through the options and cannot find it anywhere!?

[deafdani]

@Nodoze: just press the home button on the Wii U controller, and go to Gamepad settings... it will appear right there on the controller screen. It really baffles me how you managed to not notice it, it's really right on your face! XD

I will give you another tip: if you're playing games like Trine 2 or Mario Bros U, where the sound of the gamepad is exactly the same as the sound of the TV, just turn the volume dial all the way down on the Gamepad. You don't need the same sound twice, and this will further improve your battery life.

:)

[Jek_Porkins]

I think their launch was pretty solid, the problem is that they didn't have a plan for early 2013. One of the toughest things for a company to do is cut first party support for a current console and put it entirely on the next, and you want those titles ready fairly early.

Microsoft since 2010 was able to reduce first party games, with the exception of certain key franchises, which allows their first party studios to work quite a bit on next generation games, which is why I fully expect a great launch lineup on the next Xbox. The thing is, Microsoft has great third party support, which allowed this, Nintendo lacks third party support and they really should have been prepared a bit better for this year.

If I'm Nintendo, I'm launching with what they did, but I also realize Microsoft and Sony are probably launching their consoles the following year, so I'd have top flight first party games ready to do. What better way to fight the next Xbox or PlayStation than a 3D Mario, Zelda, Metroid or Smash Brothers?

[dirthurts]

I believe this will be the shortest console generation for Nintendo yet.
I just don't see how they can really compete at this point.

[XboxInnovation]

Nintendo should have been last to release a console this gen. And they should have stayed away from tablet controllers. Why would anyone want to screw around with a 8 inch screen with a 40 inch in front of you? In my opinion, touch screen controllers are a horrible idea and waste of money for console games.

[Kiddcarter]

I am mainly a Sony gamer, who took a chance and bought a Wii u this past weekend and i like it a lot, however it could have been a lot better if it wasn't such a rush job, my biggest issue is with the controllers, i don't have a wii, so i had to go and buy a wii waggle and nun chuck after i bought the system, because i bought mad world with my wii u and come to find out the game pad doesn't work on wii games, OK thats cool, i understand that part, wii games were motion controlled and all that, so fine, i bought the waggle, but what i don't get is why the game pad doesn't work on games like Mario kart or paper Mario, I have over 300 Nintendo club points right now, but I cant use them for anything because any game I get would need an additional controller, this seems like a huge cash grab to me on Nintendo's part, i buy your system, then have to buy original wii controllers so i can use your backwards feature, now I have to go buy a wii classic controller if i want to play older Nintendo games? or if i want to play something like black ops i have to go buy a wii u classic controller? why do i need 5 controllers to play this system, when you have a perfectly fine game pad i could be using.

[Kiddcarter]

i like how i got a disagree as if im lying, to the person who disagreed you show me how to use my game pad with paper mario or mad world and ill erase my post.

[deafdani]

Dude, all Wii games were programmed to work with Wii Remotes, not a completely different controller for a yet unreleased console from the future... Your complain really doesn't make much sense here. :/

The closest solution I can think of for this complain would be for Nintendo to patch "Wii Mode" on the Wii U so that it recognizes the Wii U Gamepad as a Classic Controller, I guess. But even if they did this patch, this would make the Gamepad only playable on games that support Classic Controller, like Mario Kart Wii. But Madworld and Super Paper Mario, along with the vast majority of Wii games, don't support the classic controller, so you would need the Wii Remote anyway to play almost all of Wii games... so, you would have to buy the Wii remote anyway!

So, again... yeah, not much sense here.

[Kiddcarter]

first off, i said i understand why wii games dont work, the motion controls, so i said i went and bought the wii controllers, i said i dont understand why "older" games such as paper mario dont work, my fault i was not aware there was a wii super paper mario, the paper mario i was referring to is the thousand years door paper mario, thats the one you can get right now with nintendo points, and nintendo's sites tells me i need a classic controller to play it. second dont give me that it wasnt programmed crap, thats weak, i got a vita with final fantasy 7 and tomb raider on it and guess what, ff7 nor tr are vita games, to your programming point psp games werent programmed to use dual sticks or touch screen controls yet on vita they do,with no need for a "psp mode", nintendo could have made pre wii games work with the gamepad, they just didnt because it was cheaper, wii games can slide because of their controls, everything else is unacceptable.

[MultiConsoleGamer]

They launched with two bundles, a mainline Mario game, and close to 20 additional games.

They were more than ready. This is just more "Nintendo is doomed / Wii u bomba" fanboy crap.

And the author's agenda is showing. Wii U is barely three months old.

[kagamer79]

I like nintendo but they are getting out of touch. Times have chaged and they haven't . Mario was fun when i was a kid but at 35 i play more immersive and challenging games like oblivion witcher cod series etc. They need more 3rd party support period! Even the most avid nintendo fan has to admit after 30 yrs marios gotten stale and needs an over haul. There missing out on alota great games that sell consoles because they dnt have 3rd party support. If xbox and ps4 arent way more powerful nintendo may be ok but if there power houses then nintendo i respect u and u had a good run seen alota systems come and go. Game developers are in it to make money they dnt spend 3 years making a quality game title to water it dwn if the wii u cnt handle how they intended it to look and play? No they will put it on the systems that can showcase and play there game the way it was meant to look and play. I been gaming since 84 and owned every system ever made i stress ever made if it were my choice id buy a ps3 instead of a wii u its cheaper has blu ray good onlin and has a great library of exclusives and upcoming releases. So idk if wii u will b success or fail only time will tell but imho id wait on the wii u purchase and get a ps3 cause i have an xbox 360 my lil girl fried my ps3 but i really enjoyed playing it just my 2 cents.

[Ck1x]

Yes in the end the WiiU launch was rushed, simply by looking at how much software Nintendo had readily available at launch. They promised that they wouldn't repeat what happened on the 3ds, but its almost very similar in deed!(except the WiiU just had more 3rd party games at launch.) But there is no truly compelling Nintendo games on the system as yet that makes the media take full notice. It is Nintendo's job in the end to create an installed base for developers to want to sell their games on in the first place. So I do believe that they will turn things around for the system and it will come down to very unique games for the system being shown that you can't get anywhere else.

[e-p-ayeaH]

Nintendo better stop making consoles like Sega its better for everyone.

[Fel08]

And people like you should just stay away from the Internet. It's better for everyone.

[wiiulee]

was microsoft not ready to launch the xbox with the ring of death or sony with the ps3 price and arrogance or the psvita.....with nintendo and wiiu they just have little things to iron out...no launch is ever perfect and with wiiu selling 4 million with hardly any games it just goes to shows how much of a jump it will have with the right games out for it soon

[MegaLagann]

Well yes, it was rushed, like every other console launch. When the PS4 and 720 launch they're going to have their own host of problems as well. Now that doesn't give Nintendo a free pass though. If you remember back in November I said the console was clearly rushed to market because of the huge install to use all the functions, and some functions like Tvii not even being ready at launch.

[Thepcz]

the market wasnt ready.

but nintendo could have prevented the media backlash by having some games in place for the first half of 2013 lol

they should have secured more 3rd party support.

pikmin should have had a release date of around march

they should have secured exclusivity for rayman, since it was the only big game due to come out early in 2013 and was a game many wiiu owners were getting ready to brag about

nintendo were ready, they just didnt think a 'few moves ahead.'

they will pay for their mistake now with poor sales. i dread to say but 2013 is totally wasted for nintendo now.

come e3 sony and microsoft will take the shine off the wiiu, shattering any advantage wiiu had being out almost a year in advance.

by the time nintendos big games hit the shelves in november, all gamers and medias attention will be on the ps4.

it is sad to say but i think thats how it will play out.

i will buy a wiiu when wind waker hd comes. until then, i will cringe at how much of a missed opportunity this year year is for nintendo

[mochachino]

It will pick up a bit when their real games come out (Zelda, Metroid, etc.) But the casuals are mostly gone to phones, pads and facebook games, which also don't cost 50 bucks to jump in and probably satisfy their gaming needs better.

My prediction is that Wii U sells better than Gamecube but not much more than 45 mill.

Nintendo put themselves into a hole for a short term gain - they are not considered a game machine for dedicated gamers - the ones that view gaming as a primary source of entertainment.

I always said that casuals couldn't be relied upon. In terms of raw numbers, there're a lot more core gamers if you think of all the PS3, 360 and PC gamers combined. Core and hardcore players are long term players, casuals could take up any other hobby in an instant.

[Benjaminkno]

Launches always feel short. That's why I'm waiting.

WiiU is a must have for any devoted gamer. There's plenty of good Wii games I haven't even played yet.

Nintendo isn't going anywhere, no matter how much some of you hate it. Just suck it up and move on.

[stage88]

They were ready but failed to deliver. It still is early so let's see what happens a year on.

[DivineAssault]

if u dont agree w nintendo fans in here, they start calling u a troll.. I guess having a different opinion makes them angry & wanna call u names.. I know for a fact that nintendos greedy asses pre maturely launched to get the system out there before black friday & the holidays in the US & it bit them in the ass too.. Nobody wants more tech demos or any of that stuff that made the wii so popular.. Those people have tablets now & couldnt care less about nintendo land or another NSMB game.. Those ports werent going to reel in the core gamers either.. Rayman & Bayonetta 2 might have got some peoples attention (cuz it sure as hell got mine) but now, its just Bayo 2 cuz rayman is going multiplat in 7 months.. i have a wii u & i havent turned it on since november.. i dont like the gamepad, dont like the system UI, or the games. but i do like the pro controller (tho its smudgy from the gloss finish).. Its missing too many modern day features too.. sorry but this system was a f#%& up imo.. 5-8 months too early to launch