Source: Gamasutra
Things are not looking good for the Big N… 
March numbers look better, but still in fourth place (behind 3ds/ps3/xbox 360). Though it could be argued that the 17% upturn is almost entirely due to the temporary increase in sales due to the release of Dragon Quest X in Japan.
I think the time has come for Nintendo to accept the times are changing. They got to make a Wii U model that does not require a TV, nor a box sitting by a desk. The tablet must be everything.
They won’t, they have the 3DS.
That’s as logical of an argument as saying Apple will not make a tablet because they already got the iPhone.
It IS a possibility that some at Nintendo may think that way, but it still would be a very stupid argument.
I think they’re not selling due to the Wii. While it sold ALOT, it left a bad taste afterwards, for me anyway. That kinda turned me off to the Wii U. Also, that huge tablet with buttons. Nintendo needs a franchise that’s not Mario, Wario, Donkey Kong, a party game, or several other overused games!!
I talk only for myself, but I wish other platforms had as many franchizes than Nintendo.
You seem to have omitted Kirby, Zelda, Metroid, Starfox, Kid Icarus, F-Zero and Pokémon (and there are more.) They do need to remember about these themselves, though. We never got a Wii Starfox game, nor an F Zero.
Don’t forget the gap in the Kid Icarus series (the first one was on the NES, and another one didn’t appear until the Wii era.) There’s so much more they could do than Mario, Zelda, and Metroid!
I omitted because I completely forgot!! LOL. Speaking of Metroid, Wouldn’t that be the next shooter they can bank off of? Since shooters seem to be the way nowadays? Come on, Nintendo thiiiink.
Damn, I just bought a Wii-U.
My heart was bleeding when SEGA’s Dreamcast failed and they left the console business.
I really hope that does not happen to Nintendo as well
Nintendo has an Everest of money under their butt. One or two failed ‘toys’ for them is nothing too much to worry about.
They had a hard time for months building up 3ds sales, they even cut the price which aggravated half their Japanese customers. They can probably weather anything that happens with the wii u from 3ds profits alone but if they bring out a more advanced handheld it may do little more than re-aggravate there mobile customers. iPhone and iPad is different - the software is cheap, interchangeable, and you get to keep it when upgrading. Which seems to be similar to nintendos future plan according to this article :
They havent brought out any of there big games have they, zelda, metroid, mario kart, those are the console sellers for them I guess since they pretty much abandoned the core gamers.
Wonder what made them think the Wii U would succeed in North America, a big ass tablet for a controller and specs on par with ps3 and 360.
They should have skipped a generation and concentrated on handhelds and wii games.
You look at how many sales the IPAD made – over 80 million in less than 2 years, maybe that wasnt a bad idea something like a wii tablet.
http://ipod.about.com/od/ipadmodelsandterms/f/ipad-sales-to-date.htm
The smartest move Nintendo could do right now is to step out of the hardware market (maybe just consoles, and keep their handhelds… maybe.) Then license their wildly popular IPs to the other consoles. This would spiral them back into profitability, almost overnight.
Unfortunately, they probably won’t do it. They’ll continue bleeding every department while trying to “innovate” in others.
But can you imagine the numbers on a Mario or Zelda game on the PS4 or XBox720? Insane bank!
I think the time has come for them to realise they need more than 3 games.
I want to buy a Wii U, and I’m typically fairly frivolous with my disposable income when it comes to that kind of thing, but even I can’t justify buying a Wii U with the current lineup. Despite the hardware’s potential, there’s not enough games on there that interest me for me to actually think “yes, this is a worthy investment”.
To be fair, I’ve got no idea what’s on the way, which is just as important. I’d happily pick one up if I knew there were a bunch of cool looking things coming over the next few months, because it’d take me at least that long to have time to play them anyway.
Edit: I think that they also made a really big mistake in calling it the “Wii U”, to be honest.
the first mistake was making it sound like a Wii addon.
I think they said that they aren’t necessarily interest in new IP’s or characters, but rather creating new gameplay concepts out of the ones that they have. And I can agree with some of that, not every character is overused and a bunch of innovative stuff has been done over the years with various IP’s. I think the “new super mario 35” just puts a bad taste in your mouth.
Just goes to show that maybe they should of made the WiiU good.