Wii U Won’t Repeat Wii’s Massive Success, But that’s Okay

GenGAME writes: "The dedicated Nintendo fanbase knows about it. The games industry knows about it. Does the mainstream know about it? The system is now appearing in TV and online advertisements, retail and specialty stores, and even a dedicated mall tour that’s set to kick off on Monday, but we still hear – pretty frequently, I might add – that the mainstream consumer, if he or she has even heard of Wii U, still tends to think it’s a new Wii controller.

"In the face of such an environment, it doesn’t look like Wii U is going to really be a big hit with the mainstream population – at least, not in the way that Wii was. Don’t take that to be a death sentence for the system, however. In fact, the mainstream population getting “left behind” in a way with the jump to next-gen reminds me of another of Nintendo’s generational leaps: the leap from NES to the Super NES."

[ape007]

nobody know but as i read, it surpass the wii preorder numbers and that's a great thing considering how FRESH and REVOLUTIONARY the original wii LOOKED

[tehpees3]

It doesn't really need to. Wii U will print money for Nintendo at the end of the day.

[optimus]

well, all i can say is that i was skeptical shortly after e3, than just a month ago i had high hopes and was looking forward to it. Now once the reviews started coming out and the lackluster advertisements i am no longer looking forward to it.
I don't want to say i'm too old for games cause i still play them on other platforms but perhaps i'm just too old for nintendo as every game i've seen thus far for this thing hasn't really impressed me...i keep hearing and reading about a "great launch lineup" but i just don't see it. i hope they start to announce some significant 1st party games as any multiplatform game i probably already have and have no desire to buy them over just cause they added a few things to accommodate the game tablet...announce metroid and zelda and i might change my mind.

[Embeepee]

Of course it won't mirror the Wii's success. The Wii came out at a perfect time and it's controls were seen as revolutionary and everybody (even my Dad!) wanted to get one! However, many of the people who got them never used them (like me...after Xmas 2008 I never used it) and won't repeat the same mistake again.

It will be be a relative failure (in comparison to the Wii) and will sell under 40m units.