The GC is the last Nintendo concole I really enjoyed. Almost every Wii game I've played has been lacking. I'm not even interested in the Wii U games, except for Bayonetta 2. Good thing for Nintendo they can do right on handhelds. Let's hope they don't ever screw that up.
Marketing 101: Nintendo
The console wars are underway! How has Nintendo handled them in the past?
If the Wii was a perfect example of a company reaching out to a specific demographic and capturing it effortlessly, Nintendo’s next big console might be the exact opposite of that, at least so far.
Nintendo's Satoru Iwata showing off the Wii U console. This should have happened much earlier in the campaign.
Rumors hit the internet a few months before E3 2011 that Nintendo would be unveiling their next console, codenamed Project Café. When the system was displayed for the first time, it was met with confusion. During the E3 press conference the only thing expressly shown was the controller, a tablet-based device called the GamePad. The hardware wasn’t shown in detail, and it was unclear at first if this was a new console, or a new controller for the existing Wii.
Even the official announcement of the machine at E3 2012, called the Wii U, was met with head scratching. With the similar name and the HD graphics, many people were still unclear as to whether the GamePad was something that could work with the original Wii or if it was indeed an entirely new machine. Even the initial television ads didn’t communicate what exactly the Wii U was, and the controller situation was far more complex than the Wii, with some games utilizing the GamePad while others still used the older Wii Remote and Nunchuk setup.
That's a lot of Wii Remotes. Is it any wonder that many consumers were confused about the Wii U?
This caused Nintendo to take a more direct approach in the UK, blatantly stating that the Wii U was a new console. While the system is still in its infancy and has yet to crank out the big games that have sold Nintendo hardware in the past, the beginning of the Wii U has been shaky due to poor handling of the message.
There, that's better!
Even with a rocky start, history shows that it’s wise to never count Nintendo out. All it takes is a few choice titles to turn around the fortunes of the system. While it may end up being more of a GameCube than a Wii, the future is still very bright for the house that Mario built. Stay tuned, as we take a look at how Sony chooses its battles.
All the Wii U needs are some big games, and they're on the way soon.
Comments