I have been a Nintendo fan since the Nintendo 64 days and have fond memories playing Super Mario Bros. and Tecmo Bowl in the NES days. The late 1990s and 2000s were filled with games such as Super Mario 64, GoldenEye, Super Smash Bros. and the Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker. I can't count the hours spent riding through the green fields of Hyrule, leaping into Mushroom Kingdom and finding the perfect Smash with friends and family. From the Game Boy Pocket to the Nintendo DS. and from the NES to Wii, I've enjoyed them all (with exception to the SNES as I had a Genesis). One would expect that I would have purchased a 3DS or a Wii U however as of today I have neither. Did I stop loving the franchises that one enthralled me or am I losing interest in video games as a whole?
Since its release in late 2012, the Wii U has struggled in the marketplace compared to its juggernaut predecessor. The original motion controlled Wii revolutionized the use of body movement in video games, transforming it from a Power Glove-esque gimmick into the Wii remote and Microsoft's Kinect. In fact at it height, the Wii was sold out for months and through Wii Sports opened gaming to people who have never held controller. I feel there are several reasons for people's ambivalence toward the Wii U the first of which is the original Wii itself.. Going back in time a bit, 2010 saw the release of Donkey Kong Country Returns, Metroid the Other M, & Super Mario Galaxy 2 while 2011 sole major release was Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword. To my knowledge, only a Kirby Collection and a few niche RPGs were released in 2012. The PS3 and Xbox 360 ended their runs with high profile games such as Grand Theft Auto 5 and the Last of Us conversely the Wii spent the majority of its final year collecting dust. I believe Nintendo's inability to finish out the last generation strongly hindered its chances of repeating the Wii's success.
I have played the Wii U several times and while the tablet controller took some getting used too I found value in the concept. It was't as intuitive as the orginal Wii who's commercials I felt were brilliant. The Wii U's advertising is lackluster and doesn't have nearly the same draw. Ultimately it boils down to it games. The Nintendo Gamecube and Wii both had solid third party support for most of their console cycles however the support for Wii U has been weak outside of Ubisoft. Currently the top Wii U games include New Super Mario Bros. U, Wind Waker HD, and Super Mario 3D World with Mario Kart and Donkey Kong Country Tropical Freeze coming next year. While these are lucrative franchises, they are nothing that hasn't been featured on the Wii. Wind Waker HD is a remake of the still impressive looking cell shaded Gamecube title. I feel that Nintendo must go into it vault to bring out the more dormant franchises. While the Punch-Out and Sin & Punishment series returned, there hasn't been a new StarFox or F-Zero game in nearly a decade. Even if these franchises are not top sellers, a lot can change in an audience's taste in 10 years and it is good to show a variety of content outside of romps with Mario and friends. The Wii U most likely will find moderate success but I believe that with a better advertising message and a more varied game library it can truly shine. I want the Wii U to succeed and hopefully I will be interacting with Nintendo's virtual worlds once more.
Since its release in late 2012, the Wii U has struggled in the marketplace compared to its juggernaut predecessor. The original motion controlled Wii revolutionized the use of body movement in video games, transforming it from a Power Glove-esque gimmick into the Wii remote and Microsoft's Kinect. In fact at it height, the Wii was sold out for months and through Wii Sports opened gaming to people who have never held controller. I feel there are several reasons for people's ambivalence toward the Wii U the first of which is the original Wii itself.. Going back in time a bit, 2010 saw the release of Donkey Kong Country Returns, Metroid the Other M, & Super Mario Galaxy 2 while 2011 sole major release was Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword. To my knowledge, only a Kirby Collection and a few niche RPGs were released in 2012. The PS3 and Xbox 360 ended their runs with high profile games such as Grand Theft Auto 5 and the Last of Us conversely the Wii spent the majority of its final year collecting dust. I believe Nintendo's inability to finish out the last generation strongly hindered its chances of repeating the Wii's success.
I have played the Wii U several times and while the tablet controller took some getting used too I found value in the concept. It was't as intuitive as the orginal Wii who's commercials I felt were brilliant. The Wii U's advertising is lackluster and doesn't have nearly the same draw. Ultimately it boils down to it games. The Nintendo Gamecube and Wii both had solid third party support for most of their console cycles however the support for Wii U has been weak outside of Ubisoft. Currently the top Wii U games include New Super Mario Bros. U, Wind Waker HD, and Super Mario 3D World with Mario Kart and Donkey Kong Country Tropical Freeze coming next year. While these are lucrative franchises, they are nothing that hasn't been featured on the Wii. Wind Waker HD is a remake of the still impressive looking cell shaded Gamecube title. I feel that Nintendo must go into it vault to bring out the more dormant franchises. While the Punch-Out and Sin & Punishment series returned, there hasn't been a new StarFox or F-Zero game in nearly a decade. Even if these franchises are not top sellers, a lot can change in an audience's taste in 10 years and it is good to show a variety of content outside of romps with Mario and friends. The Wii U most likely will find moderate success but I believe that with a better advertising message and a more varied game library it can truly shine. I want the Wii U to succeed and hopefully I will be interacting with Nintendo's virtual worlds once more.
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