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3DS and Wii U

Updated June 30th: We're a year and a one-half into the Wii U'southward lifespan, and the sales functioning has been lackluster to say the least. Nintendo had lightning in a canteen with the original Wii, and it simply couldn't replicate that same hype for the Wii U. However, the narrative seems to be changing — in Nintendo'south favor — recently. The firm that Mario built had a surprisingly good showing at E3 this year, some heavy-hit franchises are on the way, and the offset cross-buy game just hit the eShop.

After the Wii hype railroad train started to dice down in the late 2000s, Nintendo began to struggle. The 3DS had to fight confronting the ever-growing marketplace share of smartphones and tablets, and Wii U sales have been abysmal and then far. Nintendo eventually got the 3DS dorsum on the correct rail, simply can it do the same thing with the Wii U? Can a number of hit kickoff-party titles actually plow the tables in Nintendo's favor? Subsequently seeing what Nintendo has upwardly its sleeves, I think the reply to those questions is "Yes."

Now that the 3DS has a substantial install base, Nintendo tin can use its success to drive sales for the flagging Wii U. The very offset cross-buy title, Squids Odyssey, has hit the Eu eShop, and this could be the get-go of a trend towards a more consumer-friendly era of Nintendo. If this initial outing is a success, nosotros might fifty-fifty meet cross-buy make its way to the Virtual Panel. As well, who is going to pay for two copies of Balloon Fight? More cross-buy and cross-play titles for the Wii U and 3DS would go a long manner towards fixing Nintendo's epitome every bit 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 appear that allows Gamecube controllers to exist used on the Wii U — specifically designed for diehard Smash Bros. fans. Everything Eiji Aonuma said about the upcoming Zelda game points to a sincere reimagining of Nintendo's near dear franchise with a heavy Skyrim influence. Besides, Super Mario 3D World and the recent Mario Kart 8 release were both well-received across the board, so it'southward 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's touchscreen. Most of the fourth dimension, the best you can hope for is off-TV gameplay or maybe a bear on-based inventory. Thankfully, it seems like Nintendo is finally taking advantage of this massive touchscreen in the middle of the controller. Mario Maker uses the touchscreen to allow gamers to pattern their very ain Super Mario Bros. levels. Certain, that could theoretically be washed with a D-pad or analog stick, but it would be clunky and incredibly irksome. Instead, yous tin tap and drag objects into place, and start playing your custom level with a push of a button.

Add together that to the declaration of Kirby and the Rainbow Curse, and the touchscreen is finally starting to make sense. In spite of its business failures, Nintendo is starting to make good on the promises of the Wii U'southward unique hardware. It doesn't have the horsepower of the PS4 or Xbox One, simply it does have a lot of untapped novelty.

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

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