What would it take to save the Wii U?

[FerretGamer]

I think Nintendo will have to ride this one out similar to the Gamecube. I guess I'm not as worried about it because I have stacks of Wii U games still sealed that I haven't gotten around to playing yet. There are definitely some real winners in the library as of today.

A big issue and one they have had to deal with in the past is the third party support. However, in the grand scheme of things, I'm not entirely sure that money-hatting some third party exclusives would help the Wii U situation either. The reality is that Nintendo fills a niche and they will probably stay as a niche brand in the home console market. Regardless, Nintendo can still be quite successful focusing in on a niche market consisting of nostalgic older gamers and family oriented experiences plus games like Zelda, Pokemon, and Mario will always move consoles. Then there is their handhelds, which have supported Nintendo in the past through the "tough times".

The Wii U is probably a lost cause at this point. Consumers are still confused about whether or not the Wii U is a new product or simply an accessory to the original Wii. The name and branding of this console are confusing as well. In addition, there aren't any compelling uses for the GamePad that makes consumers want to run out and buy this console. The off-tv play could have been achieved with the 3DS and in turn potentially increased the 3DS user base.

We could go on and on about different scenarios and solutions. The reality is that Nintendo will still put out some excellent releases for this console and they will have to ride it out and hope for a Wii-type comeback. Otherwise, I really don't have a problem with Nintendo filling in that 3rd place niche.

[MrPopo]

The DS has shown that third party developers can make fantastic games that use the interesting features of Nintendo hardware. The problem is that on the main consoles they see that the install base of the Sony/MS hardware combined is larger than the Nintendo hardware, and it is relatively easy to create a game across both (and then you also have the option of hitting PC as well). So really from a third party perspective there are two ecosystems: Nintendo and non-Nintendo. One of those is bigger than the other, and that's where they focus. Even the Wii was outsold in total by the combination of 360+PS3+PC. That's the real reason you don't see major third party support. It's not that they can't compete against Nintendo titles, because they can. It's that their low-budget "we'll throw Nintendo a bone" games can't compete against Nintendo's AAA titles.

[Ivo]

I think the Wii U would suddenly sell several units if there was a specific killer app. that really used the touchpad controller really well, in ways that are not really reproducible in tablets by themselves, neither on something smaller like the 3DS.

That is a pretty tall order though and part of the problem is that 3rd party companies have no incentive to risk it. And I'm not sure Nintendo can do it easily otherwise they would have done it (they tried with Luigi's Mansion, right?).

One issue here is that of looking up at the TV and down at the controller. That worked for Zombie U on purpose, but is a problem in general.
In my opinion that killer app could be one of the following (but it has to appeal to lots of people):

1. One possibility is something like Taiko Drum Kit / Donkey Konga drums / Ouendan / Elite Beat Agents, but using the tablet really well and not needing actual drum kits. The main problem there is Rhythm games are a bit last gen but maybe something where you don't need large extra controllers could allow a come back. It is a risk obviously. I don't even know if the controller pad would work well to "imitate a drum".

2. Something like Trauma Center Under the knife but where you really need precision (i.e. more like the DS game than the Wii one?) and it will work better than with a Wii-Mote / Kinect / Move. The gestures need to be proper and something that would be beyond the iPads and also not doable in a 3DS XL.

3. Something like Black and White, Arx Fatalis (old PC and Xbox game) or Lost Magic (DS) where there is a "normal" game but then spells are drawn with runes or similar - something that makes sense in the context of the game and doesn't feel gimmicky (what Boktai nearly managed with the solar sensor given that there there were vampires). If the underlying game is very well made (as in Boktai) then there is the potential that the otherwise gimmicky stuff may make the game transcend just being very high quality into a real unique experience. This is once again risky (Boktai didn't quite pull it off, I really liked it but it didn't sell extremely well, right?). To some extent this may be what Zombie U already tried and couldn't pull off. I hear Rayman also has some very nice tablet assists.

[MyNameIsVince]

I happened on a checklist on RF Generation on how many games were available on the Wii U Virtual Console as of right now and I counted 65 games. The system's been out since late 2012, and it's Spring of 2014, and we have 65 games on there right now??? In that time, 65 games????

Not 2500
Not 1400
Not even a measly 300
65?????

Are you KIDDING ME???

Nothing beyond the SNES era. In fact, it looks like it's just NES and SNES games. No N64 games, no Genesis games, no Turbo Grafx, or Neo Geo, or anything like that. Also puzzling choices too. For example, why only the first 4 Mega Man games on the NES, but no 5 and 6? Why no Mega Man X3, but you got X and X2*? Oh and why is one of the listings Vegas Stakes? Isn't that the one SNES game you can still get brand new for like 5-6 bucks still, even NOW? I did hear that GBA games are coming for the VC in a few days but it's not many, and still we're supposed to be getting DS and N64 games eventually. That's fine and dandy but still, there should have been way more games available immediately. There's no reason the Wii U VC should only have 65 games after a year and a half of the system being available. No reason at all. It should have had ten times as many games, hell, even 20 times as many, or 30.

*Edit, according to the Wikipedia page listing the games, Mega Man X2 was added a couple of months ago, X was added in May of last year, so maybe....X3 later on in the year (and no fucking import PS1/Saturn/PC version with the shittier music either!).

I'm not saying that an expanded Virtual Console will help save the Wii U, but it wouldn't hurt. I can't be the only one that thinks this way.

[BoneSnapDeez]

TIME TO LOCALIZE DRAGON QUEST X BABY!!!!!

[emwearz]

Interesting to see what happens to sales when Mario Kart drops and then alter when Smash Bros does, in theory if they don't pick up in the months after the release of those games, there is little chance that any other titles would cause a large surge of sales.

[Hazerd]

Can we agree the Wii U is doing better than the Saturn.

TIME TO LOCALIZE DRAGON QUEST X BABY!!!!!

Would love to see this on the Wii U, the Pad would be great for the in game menus and chat that MMO's usually have.

[ejamer]

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[k.vlaros]

Can we agree the Wii U is doing better than the Saturn.

I'm not so sure about that. Wikipedia has WiiU at about 5.5 Million and the Saturn at 9.5 Million. Nintendo is coming off of the world wide hit with the Wii and has had one or two very highly rated games so far, but their momentum is completely gone.

[CavZee]

TIME TO LOCALIZE DRAGON QUEST X BABY!!!!!

That's one MMO I might actually attempt to get into.