There has been so much doom and gloom lately in the news in regards to the Wii U. Many of it is factual, and even Iwata has acknowledge that some things need to be done. I don't know what their plan is, but what I would like to see, and what I think could still save the Wii U from being a complete failure is something I didn't want to admit before: Lose the Gamepad. At least in terms of being a requirement for the system.
Let me say first that I love my Wii U. I have have had mine since launch day, and I am one of those owners who has never really regretted buying it, and have tried to defend the platform and encourage other users to give it a try, but my word alone is hardly enough. Just as an example to show I'm sincere, I even posted this on Miiverse the other day, so it's not like I'm some person who wants them to fail: https://miiverse.nintendo.net/posts/AYMHAAACAADMUKlirLDWkw
Back to my initial statement, as much as I like the Wii U gamepad, and thought it could lead to some interesting possibilities with games, it really is part of what is hurting them from reaching the sales Nintendo needs. The hardware of the system is not really the problem. Even if it is less powerful then a PS4 and Xbox One, it still is capable of producing fun and gorgeous looking games. The gamepad itself though raises the cost of the system for Nintendo, and for consumers. Nintendo gambled by thinking people would flock to the idea of a tablet controller, but it hasn't worked out that way. It doesn't help either when Nintendo themselves barely make any good use of it for their games. (a blank screen when playing DKCR:TF, that's the best they could come up with?)
This is not a new idea, but I really am starting to think the solution might be as simple enough as lowering the price of the Wii U to $199 with a pro controller and possibly a game. The current price point of the Wii U is just too close to the PS4, and as much as some people love Nintendo, the average gamer knows that the third party games ain't there, or are gimped versions because of stupid publishers; and based on sales, it seems even Nintendo fans think the price is too high to warrant purchasing the system just for Nintendo games. I think once you cut that price to $199 though, and you got a more familiar gamer style controller, it becomes much more appealing for those who do want to play Mario and Zelda games (and other Nintendo franchises of course.)
Those of you who read this and think that still wouldn't be enough based on the games out, I'd partially agree, but based on the games coming out, I still think with a system bundle at that price, and upcoming games like Mario Kart 8 and Super Smash Bros, there is still great potential for sales. Let's not forget, Mario Kart Wii was a shocking success in terms of sales numbers, with a thread I read on here from 2011 claiming it had sold at least 28 million copies at that point. That's insane! We also know that Smash Bros is a franchise that sells millions on it's own, but that one is a little further off.
You might say that even if these games and this strategy of mine about lowering the price/dropping the gamepad succeeds, they still don't hope to achieve success on the level that Sony or maybe even Microsoft could potentially achieve without third party support. I'd be inclined to agree. I don't think Nintendo can or ever will come close to the same level of success they had with Wii, or that Sony is having now with the PS4. Personally though, I don't care about that. The best I could hope for is that maybe Nintendo achieves a Gamecube level of success with the Wii U, and that the situation doesn't become worse then, and at least becomes a little positive so they can stay in the game, and come up with a better strategy later in the future.
Let me say first that I love my Wii U. I have have had mine since launch day, and I am one of those owners who has never really regretted buying it, and have tried to defend the platform and encourage other users to give it a try, but my word alone is hardly enough. Just as an example to show I'm sincere, I even posted this on Miiverse the other day, so it's not like I'm some person who wants them to fail: https://miiverse.nintendo.net/posts/AYMHAAACAADMUKlirLDWkw
Back to my initial statement, as much as I like the Wii U gamepad, and thought it could lead to some interesting possibilities with games, it really is part of what is hurting them from reaching the sales Nintendo needs. The hardware of the system is not really the problem. Even if it is less powerful then a PS4 and Xbox One, it still is capable of producing fun and gorgeous looking games. The gamepad itself though raises the cost of the system for Nintendo, and for consumers. Nintendo gambled by thinking people would flock to the idea of a tablet controller, but it hasn't worked out that way. It doesn't help either when Nintendo themselves barely make any good use of it for their games. (a blank screen when playing DKCR:TF, that's the best they could come up with?)
This is not a new idea, but I really am starting to think the solution might be as simple enough as lowering the price of the Wii U to $199 with a pro controller and possibly a game. The current price point of the Wii U is just too close to the PS4, and as much as some people love Nintendo, the average gamer knows that the third party games ain't there, or are gimped versions because of stupid publishers; and based on sales, it seems even Nintendo fans think the price is too high to warrant purchasing the system just for Nintendo games. I think once you cut that price to $199 though, and you got a more familiar gamer style controller, it becomes much more appealing for those who do want to play Mario and Zelda games (and other Nintendo franchises of course.)
Those of you who read this and think that still wouldn't be enough based on the games out, I'd partially agree, but based on the games coming out, I still think with a system bundle at that price, and upcoming games like Mario Kart 8 and Super Smash Bros, there is still great potential for sales. Let's not forget, Mario Kart Wii was a shocking success in terms of sales numbers, with a thread I read on here from 2011 claiming it had sold at least 28 million copies at that point. That's insane! We also know that Smash Bros is a franchise that sells millions on it's own, but that one is a little further off.
You might say that even if these games and this strategy of mine about lowering the price/dropping the gamepad succeeds, they still don't hope to achieve success on the level that Sony or maybe even Microsoft could potentially achieve without third party support. I'd be inclined to agree. I don't think Nintendo can or ever will come close to the same level of success they had with Wii, or that Sony is having now with the PS4. Personally though, I don't care about that. The best I could hope for is that maybe Nintendo achieves a Gamecube level of success with the Wii U, and that the situation doesn't become worse then, and at least becomes a little positive so they can stay in the game, and come up with a better strategy later in the future.
