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3DS and Wii U

Updated June 30th: We're a year and a half into the Wii U'south lifespan, and the sales performance has been lackluster to say the least. Nintendo had lightning in a bottle with the original Wii, and it simply couldn't replicate that aforementioned hype for the Wii U. All the same, the narrative seems to be changing — in Nintendo'south favor — recently. The house that Mario built had a surprisingly good showing at E3 this twelvemonth, some heavy-hitting franchises are on the way, and the kickoff cantankerous-buy game only hit the eShop.

After the Wii hype train started to die downwards in the late 2000s, Nintendo began to struggle. The 3DS had to fight against the ever-growing marketplace share of smartphones and tablets, and Wii U sales take been abysmal so far. Nintendo eventually got the 3DS back on the right track, but can it do the same thing with the Wii U? Can a number of hit outset-party titles really turn the tables in Nintendo's favor? After seeing what Nintendo has upwardly its sleeves, I call back the answer to those questions is "Yep."

Now that the 3DS has a substantial install base, Nintendo can use its success to drive sales for the flagging Wii U. The very get-go cantankerous-buy title, Squids Odyssey, has hit the EU eShop, and this could be the beginning of a trend towards a more consumer-friendly era of Nintendo. If this initial outing is a success, we might even see cross-purchase make its way to the Virtual Console. Besides, who is going to pay for two copies of Balloon Fight? More cantankerous-buy and cross-play titles for the Wii U and 3DS would go a long way towards fixing Nintendo'south paradigm equally a miserly tyrant of classic titles.

There's reason to believe that Nintendo is doing right by its biggest franchises, though. An adaptor was recently announced that allows Gamecube controllers to be used on the Wii U — specifically designed for diehard Nail Bros. fans. Everything Eiji Aonuma said nearly the upcoming Zelda game points to a sincere reimagining of Nintendo's almost beloved franchise with a heavy Skyrim influence. Besides, Super Mario 3D World and the recent Mario Kart viii release were both well-received beyond the board, so it'due south clear Nintendo still has what it takes to maintain the games that matter the most to its fan base.

Until recently, Nintendo has largely ignored the Wii U gamepad'south touchscreen. Most of the fourth dimension, the best you can hope for is off-TV gameplay or perhaps a touch-based inventory. Thankfully, it seems like Nintendo is finally taking reward of this massive touchscreen in the centre of the controller. Mario Maker uses the touchscreen to permit gamers to design their very own Super Mario Bros. levels. Sure, that could theoretically be done with a D-pad or analog stick, only it would be clunky and incredibly ho-hum. Instead, you tin can tap and drag objects into place, and start playing your custom level with a push of a button.

Add that to the announcement of Kirby and the Rainbow Expletive, and the touchscreen is finally starting to make sense. In spite of its business failures, Nintendo is starting to make skillful on the promises of the Wii U's unique hardware. It doesn't have the horsepower of the PS4 or Xbox 1, but it does have a lot of untapped novelty.

Next page: The data shows potentially skillful news for the Wii U

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