How Do You Solve A Problem Like The Wii U?

Nintendo’s Wii U console is failing to take off. Maybe it’s time to start thinking about its successor.

So here’s Erik Kain's (Forbes Contributor) take. Nintendo needs to weather the next couple years and make as many excellent games as possible for the system. But at the same time they need to start working on the Wii U’s successor in earnest.

Let’s call this the Super Wii. Here’s Erik Kain's (Forbes Contributor) vision for Nintendo’s next-next-generation console:

[chrispseuphoria]

Nintendo needs to step out of their comfort zone and create new and interesting franchises. They also need to work on their marketing. A lot of people still think it's an expansion because the games really aren't very different from the Wii in terms of their aesthetic. With this in consumer's minds, people will think what is the point of paying $300 for something that the Wii can do. Nintendo releasing Donkey Kong Tropical Freeze, Smash Bros (as much as I love it) and Super Mario 3D Land is not doing them any favors.

Before you scream fanboy, Nintendo fans, I think Sony and Microsoft are having the same issues with their platform exclusives as well. Knack, Killzone: Shadow Fall, Forza, Dead Rising 3, Killer Instinct and Ryse truly don't shake the gameplay mechanics we have seen over the past generation.

All of the big three need to drastically change their game lineup to gain ground on the previous generation or consumers will think what is the point of upgrading?

[dp277407]

I think were at a phase where we have to have a re-invention of gameplay to get rid of the stagnation of shooters and other series as far as all the big 3 are concerned but yes Nintendo need to try to come up with some new stuff, Sony try to get new IP's out and they don't always win so why can't Nintendo, it cant be the risk of financial ruin.

[chrispseuphoria]

Nintendo have SO much money right now. I wish they put that into new gameplay ideas rather than countless Mario sequels.

[admiralvic]

"Nintendo needs to step out of their comfort zone and create new and interesting franchises. "

Nintendo is, but they're not "hardcore" games.

"They also need to work on their marketing. A lot of people still think it's an expansion because the games really aren't very different from the Wii in terms of their aesthetic."

Watch Cartoon Network or Nick and you'll see like 4 different TV ads that address this topic. They've been pushing hard that you need to "upgrade" to Wii U in various ways.

"Nintendo releasing Donkey Kong Tropical Freeze, Smash Bros (as much as I love it) and Super Mario 3D Land is not doing them any favors. "

A) You mean World.
B) I think banking on past favorites makes sense than trying to have lightning strike twice. Not every Nintendo franchise has proven commercially successful and it's impossible to say if their next one will either. Especially not to the point where they entrust the console to it.

"truly don't shake the gameplay mechanics we have seen over the past generation. "
A new generation does not mean that everyone must or will reinvent the wheel. In fact, I can't think of a generation where we really saw drastically different games. Fighting games play fairly similar to how Street Fighter II played in 1991. In all honesty, 20 years later and the games just look better, play faster, moves are flashier, larger rosters, better mechanics, though at its core, the games are fairly similar. You can play Killzone from the PS2 days and see that it plays similar enough to SF. Honestly, outside of crazy new franchises, we typically don't see games reinvent the wheel to the degree some of you people expect.

"All of the big three need to drastically change their game lineup to gain ground on the previous generation or consumers will think what is the point of upgrading?"

The point of upgrading is bowing to Sony's superior RAM's, which makes magic possible! Seriously though, people upgrade because graphics look better, systems can do more, far more is possible and all their favorites are coming out. There are plenty of games on the PS3 that innovated ideas (Vanquish anyone?), but they rarely got sales, are not system sellers and are very small in the equation.

[chrispseuphoria]

First, when did I say these games needed to be hardcore to get out of their comfort zone?

In response to 3B, yes I meant World but there is evidence that there is fatigue with the lowest sales of a 3D Mario game ever with 3D World.

To your last point, yes, there are games that lack sales from trying to do something different such as Beyond Good and Evil or Vanquish. If Nintendo don't try new things, their franchises will end up like Guitar Hero or Tony Hawk Pro Skater. However, there are games which tried new things such as Borderlands which blended FPS and RPG mechanics together or Portal, which has incredible puzzles using portals. Another game would be Grand Theft Auto 3, which revolutionized open world gameplay. You could even consider Super Mario 64, which created 3D platforming with perfection. There are plenty of games which change the way we think about games and become successful. If game companies fail to innovate with new gameplay ideas, our industry would cease.

Also, I think you do not see my point about these "new" games. They are not differential enough for the average consumer to see what has changed between the Wii iteration of Donkey Kong Country Returns and Donkey Kong Country Tropical Freeze.

In addition, there have been so many times where people bought the inferior console (in terms of graphics) instead of the more powerful. For example, the DS and the PSP..

[admiralvic]

"First, when did I say these games needed to be hardcore to get out of their comfort zone? "

Because they're doing new things? Wii sports, Wii fit, Wii music, Captain Rainbow, Xenoblade, Rhythm Heaven were some of the weirder ventures they took recently on the Wii, with Nintendoland and The Wonderful 101 (though this is just published) were riskier things on the Wii U.

"In response to 3B, yes I meant World but there is evidence that there is fatigue with the lowest sales of a 3D Mario game ever with 3D World. "

No offense, but the only evidence here is that you're an idiot... The Wii U has a small demographic, two video game consoles launched (PS4 and Xbox One), a new Zelda released on the 3DS and Tearaway on the Vita. There is INFINITELY more evidence that the release was crowded, people lacking the funds or time and plenty of other things that point to the lower sales. Especially when Super Mario 3D World is pulling down a 93 on metacritic and 8.9 from user scores.. For those wondering, this is higher than Super Mario Bros. U, Super Mario 3D Land and 15 points higher than the significantly more unique The Wonderful 101.

"There are plenty of games which change the way we think about games and become successful. "

You missed my point. My point is that a new generation does not point to every game doing bold new things. Most games do the same things that work or go off established concepts. I then used an example of a game that changed up the standard TPS genre that was released last gen, since being interesting does not assure you success or failure, though doing it is a lot riskier than doing the standard "FPS formula".

"They are not differential enough for the average consumer to see what has changed"

Since when did the average consumer give a **** about actual differences? CoD kills almost everything in terms of sales and almost every "hardcore" gamer claims they're largely the same game.

"In addition, there have been so many times where people bought the inferior console (in terms of graphics) instead of the more powerful. For example, the DS and the PSP.."

A) My point is that people upgrade to SOMETHING (even the Wii U) because it has improvements in all areas. If you went from a GBA to a DS, then the games looked better / were more complex. That is the point.
B) People are cheap. This has always been the case and rarely does the most powerful console do the best if it has the highest price tag by any significant amount. (like 3DS vs Vita)

[chrispseuphoria]

First, comparing Call of Duty to a costly console and it's line up are vastly different in terms of pricing. Plus, Ghosts has suffered low poor sales this year.

Second, Super Mario 64 released on launch day (not after 1 year) and that still sold a lot of N64's when there wasn't any install base to begin with. I'll give you that there were consoles released on the same day (which is absolutely idiotic of Nintendo, I might add) as Super Mario 3D World but people chose to buy the PS4, Zelda or the Xbox One instead of Super Mario 3D World and the Wii U. This game alone should have sold much more Wii U's than it had, considering the series' house hold name but it may not have differed enough for people to be interested.

It is under my impression that it doesn't that much effort to create a game that is focused on fitness or simple mini games. We see the lowest tier of developers creating these titles but I will give you that the Wii Balance Board and Wii Remote (the intuitive feeling of using a Wii Remote as a baseball bat, sword, etc) changed the landscape of gaming. Rhythm Heaven, doesn't seem to be as grand as a step but it did have a unique mechanic to it. Xenoblade also is considered one of the greatest and most innovative J-RPG's of the generation but it also sold very well according to a Nintendo rep I spoke to while I was working in retail. However, Captain Rainbow hasn't even been brought over which is a shame because it definitely looks unique.

Finally, I have spoken to quite a few people who would prefer to choose the PS3 over the PS4. Heck, the Wii is selling more than the Wii U right now. People are cheap but it takes inspiring games for most gamers to upgrade. That is why I'm worried about this generation of gaming because most titles are either sticking to both platforms (or simply porting from the previous generation) or the first party exclusives have not changed gaming enough to entice people to buy the new consoles.

Think about the PS3 and when it was suffering with low sales. It was a combination between a lower price and games that altered the way we played which put the console back on top. Uncharted 2, Borderlands, inFAMOUS, Fallout 3, Call of Duty 4...larger worlds, more in depth stories, action packed set pieces, cover based shooting, a grander customizable multiplayer experience, and the implementation of consequences with your choices. These all inclined people to purchase the next system. Yes, Nintendo has published The Wonderful 101 and yet failed to sell many more Wii U's but if they throw something new with the same budget and attention as Super Mario 3D World, it may turn out as a hit. You just never know.

Take a look at both Catherine and Demon's Souls which were fresh new IP's and made Atlus much more than they expected.

The adoption of consoles are determined by price and the unique experiences that they have. It may be determined by the main IP's they have but to stay relevant, Nintendo has to put as much attention into new projects as the constant Mario sequels we have seen over the past few years.

May I add as well that the most anticipated games of this generation right now are new interesting IP's? Titanfall (parkour and mechs with the essence of Call of Duty), The Order: 1886 (a third person shooter set in an alternate steampunk setting), Watch Dogs (hacking anything in the open world), The Division (completely connected open world RPG experience), and Destiny (Borderlands style first person shooter with 10 years of stories ahead and a large universe to explore). Only one will be hitting Wii U.

[Reeze]

I'm pretty sure that Nintendo has announced that they've got two more brand new franchises in the works. Miyamoto also said he wants to work on an FPS, so that's also a possibility.

[weirdo]

the wii u isn't competing against next-gen. i'm thinking of getting one to accompany my ps4 - games like super mario world 3d, and wind walker are too good to miss

[bangoskank]

And the next Zelda, Bayonetta, Xenoblade,
Etc. The Wii U still has quite a bit to offer. I'll be picking mine up soon.

[dodongomngo]

Wii u has no problems. This article was devoid of fact or reason

[link2Dpast]

They already have the advantage of being a house holds name, hard to find someone who doesn't know Nintendo and if not Nintendo mario at that. They gotta do better marketing and kill.the wii plain and simple. Start talking of the future and their goal for the future in small ways, leave hints get people excited of the now and what's to come, so simple

[GenericNameHere]

I honestly don't think there's any way the Wii U is going to gain traction any time soon. I predict 20M (GC) sales at the least, 30M (OG Xbox) sales at the most. Ever since Playstation came in and stole most of the 3rd-party developers, Nintendo consoles just haven't been the same. The Wii was just an incredible luck that people ate up.

Could the WiiU have an unbelievable resurrection like the PS3 and 3DS did? Definitely. The WiiU is still young, and so are the 8th generation of consoles. But looking at Nintendo's history with their home consoles since the N64, I highly doubt LTD WiiU sales will even reach 50M units sold, half of what the Wii did. Nintendo will probably kill it off as soon as their next console releases.

*good thing I'm not an analyst, ehh? I'll be eating serious crow if the WiiU outsells the PS4 and Xbone combined (ie not very likely)

[wonderfulmonkeyman]

This shit again?
When are people going to pay attention to what Nintendo has proven with the 3DS?
Or look at all the times the media has said this exact same crap in their even further past?
More importantly, when are these dunderheads going to STOP?

[Klad]

Failing to take off?? is this why the Wii U out sold the PS4 this week? Source - http://www.vgchartz.com/wee...

People need to check up for themselves before believing absolutely everything negative that the media says about Nintendo!!!

[Grimhammer00]

New ips (not innovative but simply ips adults are interested in.), better messaging, fresh leadership, revamping online and account systems.

And if they really wanted to make money....beyond the billions they previously made from blind luck....start a plan to launch their ips on other consoles. Kill their home consoles. Fund the crap out of handhelds. Make sure they can out-spec the best tablets/phones yet a fraction of price.

None of this will happen. So just enjoy/cry the fall of the house Mario built.

[wonderfulmonkeyman]

Stupid idea.

A good sized chunk of the people on Sony/Micro consoles, who don't own a Wii U, regularly ridicule the system's games; they wouldn't buy them, so they'd be WORSE OFF on other consoles.
Their billions before this were not "Blind Luck".

Innovative =/= "something adults won't enjoy".

Their leadership is fine, they just need better games from third parties than what they got at launch, and to loosen up about keeping project details so secret for so long.
New IP's is something all the consoles need, not just Nintendo.

Nintendo is not going to die any year soon.
So just bemoan/hate over the fact that you'll never play Nintendo games on other systems.

[KingDadXVI]

Although my preferred console is the Xbox I play all the consoles each generation. I have a WiiU and it is quite fun but it is a pretty barren console right now for games. Lego City Undercover has to be my favorite so far, it is a great game.

The problem is that they got fooled with their sales of the Wii. I have that console too and although it was fun the novelty wore off really quickly. The technology for full motion gaming was what sold that console and its let down as an experience is what has hurt the WiiU.

It is not that the WiiU is really intended to be a full motion gaming it is that after the Wii so many people think that the WiiU is just a motion gaming console like the Wii but with a controller that has a built-in touch screen. It is all about perception and the perception by the majority of gamers is that they have a Wii and it got boring so why buy a new Wii that has HiDef and a fancy controller.

It is a shame because the WiiU can be a really fun console with the right games. To my mind Nintendo needs to continue with the WiiU as it is but start pummelling the market with exclusive content that everyone has to have. I mean like multiple console selling IPs one right after another. They need to also get on board with online gaming in a serious way. Not the mamby pamby crap they have now.

Nintendo seems to have lost focus here. It is not their hardware that differentiates them it is their IP and the style of games that they are known for. They have $9 Billion sitting in the bank right now. Time to spend some money and rescue this console.