It's hard to believe that it's almost been an entire year from since the Wii U has been released. Wow, time sure does fly!
Most of the time that it has spent on the market - things have been very dormant...VERY dormant. Despite Nintendo promising it wouldn't happen - the '3DS Scenario' once again reared it's ugly, ugly head. Here we had a nice system, but no nice games...in fact, barely ANY games. Left, right, front and center - insult, upon insult, upon insult was being slung on the poor thing - and not just from fanboy-trolls. Nope - Analysts, journalists and even a few developers decided to take a smack at the Wii U, seeing that generating baseless hate against Nintendo seemed to be the coolest thing ever at that time (and still - although to a lesser extent - is today).
"Nintendo is doomed!" "Will the Wii U be Nintendo's last home console?" "Is the Wii U dead?" "Does the Wii U stand a chance?" "Should Nintendo scrap the Wii U?" - Oh yes...the doom-&-gloom articles kept flying every single day. Several of them, all asking the same questions and trying to make their little apocalyptic-fantasies seem like undeniable-truth.
But now - all of that is set to change.
As of July - the Wii U has been getting a major first~party (or third-party exclusive) release every month. July brought us "Pikmin 3" and now this month - August - has delivered "Wonderful 101". As we look on the horizon - Wii U owners have this to look forward too:
September: "Wonderful 101" (America)
October: "Sonic Lost World", "Zelda: Wind Waker HD", "Wii Party U"
November: "Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze", "M&S: Winter Olympic Games Sochi 2014", "Wii Fit U (?)"
December: "Super Mario: 3D World"
With titles like those under it's wing - it's hard to imagine that the Wii U won't get off the ground even just a tad bit, this holiday season. Yes - it has to compete with two new rivals and an influx of 'AAA' games on these systems that won't be making a homestead appearance - but with franchises like these; that shouldn't be much of a problem.
Now then - let's get apocalyptic for a second. Let's pretend that this DOES fail and none of these games re-kindle interest in the Wii U. Only then, can everyone justifiably lose their heads and declare the console dead. Only then can it legitimately be called "Dreamcast 2.0" or even "Virtual Boy U" BUT - Until that happens - then the Wii U, hypothetically, is just fine.
This really isn't the first system to have growing pains. Very rarely is that NOT the case, for any game system - past or present. Just recently we saw the 3DS do a 180. You know that rap-song by Drake? How did it go...."Started from the bottom, now we're here." That was 3DS. It really did start from the bottom - the very bottom. Then, Nintendo slashed the priced, gave it a Zelda remake, and two new Mario games - and boom - now it's been topping charts for months. How's that for a comeback? If the 3DS can do it, why can't Wii U?
It probably won't be getting the price cut - but instead of 3 games - it has EIGHT potential life-savers. And don't forget ~ that's only THIS year. 2014 still packs other titles like: "X", "Bayonetta 2", "Mario Kart 8" and "Super Smash Bros."
If this doesn't save the Wii U - Nothing will.
Digital Foundry writes: "It's delivering sharp, stable and convincing 4K imagery from around one quarter the native pixel count, it's competitive with PC equivalents and represents a big, big improvement over the PSSR of the past. And the notion that this upgrade may apply to all prior titles that support the older version of the technology is mouthwatering - potentially it's a system-wide improvement to the console's library."
Very cool. Such an upgrade. I am wishing I would have pulled the trigger on a Pro during the holidays when it was discounted. Can't wait to see how it upgrades other games as well.
We are happy to share that Resident Evil Requiem – shipping today – is the first title to use this more advanced PSSR,
Today, we’re excited to announce that an upgraded version of PSSR (PlayStation Spectral Super Resolution) will be rolling out globally to PS5 Pro players in the coming weeks. PSSR is an AI library that analyzes game images pixel by pixel as it upscales them, and it’s been used to boost the effective resolution of over 50 titles on PS5 Pro to date.
Amazing. Can't wait to see the results. With PS6 potentially getting a delay, now I want a Pro...
Console Archives Dezaemon drops you straight into a retro workshop where imagination becomes firepower, inviting you to sculpt your own shoot‑’em‑up worlds with the same quirky charm that defined its original NES roots. From hand‑drawn sprites to custom enemy waves, every moment feels like rediscovering a lost era of DIY creativity. This deep dive into Console Archives Dezaemon explores how well its revived toolkit holds up today, and whether its nostalgic spark still ignites modern players looking to build, blast, and tinker.
Iwata needs to start kissing some serious 3rd party booty. Having to get by on 1st party games alone is brutal in the HD era since it takes so long for a new batch of games to be developed. At least he's looking into indies like Sony did for thw Vita (and MS is starting to do too).
I've said it once and will say it a million times; they cannot rely solely on first party.
Wii's dynamic was different and allowed it be incredibly popular because it reached a new audience with an interesting gimmick; Wii U, without that dynamic, will not see that same success. If it must make it on first party alone, it will sell Gamecube to N64 numbers. SNES sold about as many as those two systems combined, thanks to its strong third party support. We can use hyperbolic words like "dead" and "doomed" but it's clear that Wii U is going to sell "disappointingly" if things don't change.
Also, stop comparing Wii U's situation to 3DS or Ps3 or whatever. Its progress is in no way "similar" to those systems. Unless they announce a 30% price drop, it is NOT the same situation as 3DS and unless someone invents a time machine and fixes Wii U's ultra-low sales pattern over the past 7 months, it is not similar to PS3 or any other console with mere "growing pains"
The fact that Iwata thinks that he can sit back, and wait for their first party games to be completed and that will fix the situation with their system that barely competes with the upcoming systems on price and has no unique dynamic, shows how out of touch he is.
I personally wouldn't call it 'dead' until Smash Bros and MK8 come out and they flop, which seems highly unlikely given their huge popularity. And if it does become Gamecube 2.0 then...oh well. I mean, I obviously want Nintendo to do well, but so long as there are good games on it and they manage to turn a profit then that's all that really matters.
Meh they will be fine with their first party titles, they just need more of them for people to justify a purchase. I know a lot of people at least no hardcore gamers aren't running out to buy a system for just one game.
They will be fine though kust like they have always been. People can't get enough of them.
Now I think it would be correct to say that Nintendo cannot rely on third parties to sell the system to well which has been proven time and time again.
They will need more first party titles as again Pikmin 3 really hasn't helped the system itself all too much. Sure the game itself is selling well but its mainly people who already have a Wii U that are buying it. Sure its sold a few console but it definitely isn't enough to get it out this rut.
I don't know why people even care about any of this. How many freaking times have people said a system is doomed and the complete opposite happens. I don't know how many times I have to use the 3DS and PS3 as an example, two top selling system now that all received worse treatment during their launches. The PS3 took good two years just to bounce back..
So just give it some time. This isn't Sega here with the Dreamcast making a system when they were already going bankrupt. Sony and Nintendo have plenty of money to spare to keep these systems alive, they always have before especially even Sony which I think should be noted. I mean if Sony can keep their systems going with all the financial trouble they have ran into, no one should be worried about Nintendo either.
They have far more money stored away from the 3DS alone. These companies aren't known for giving up on any system they have ever made. So I can't begin to understand why people think now they will.
I disagree with this article.
People seem to forget that a console's best year is rarely its first year. This has been true for everything except maybe the Wii, but it catered to the Blue Ocean and thus was an exception.
People also seem to ignore that they're conveniently chocking up the system as a failure in profitability, while ignoring the fact that the PS3 took till 2011 to become profitable itself.
If the PS3 can recover from a profits slump that massive, then Nintendo can easily pull forward, but it's not likely to happen this holiday season.
Why?
Because Nintendo has yet to release its most impressive titles, like X from Monolith Soft, or the new Zelda that's being designed specifically for Wii U.