First off, Id like to start by saying the Wiiu isn't doing bad, it's doing slow, which is normal for the launch of a new console anyway, especially in this economy. And on the "Nintendo should quit the hardware business" trend, Nintendo is a hardware company (an important one) as much as a software company. And It's every company's job to be successful at what they do.
Now, on to the subject...
The Wiiu is prepared to set ablaze the world of gaming hardware. If you follow Iwata's interviews you'd understand that the Wiiu was inspired by the 3DS's new and unique concept of "flexibility over power", flexibility also meaning capability. And here's what that means: the 3DS was comparatively designed to the Wii with the Wii having a bit more raw power, but the more flexible shaders in the 3DS's GPU would allow, to a feasible extent, modern software feats not possible on the Wii, like Street Fighter 4. Such flexibility also allows the 3DS to share space with the powerhouse that is the Vita. What I mean is that Sony can no longer monopolize in the production of console quality handheld games because now Nintendo can do it too, although with less fidelity. And such feats aren't keeping the 3DS from being marketed with hardware costs at a minimum (since the early price drop).
Nintendo, realizing the marketing potential in such a formula, utilized a similar tactic for development of the Wiiu. It won't be as powerful as the two upcoming competing systems in terms of numbers, but thanks to the flexible gpgpu it will be somewhat as capable, all while being cheaper. What I mean is games will be cheaper to make,and multiplats will be possible more often, though they may not have the same graphical scope. So, what does that mean for Nintendo's success, you ask? Off the stigma created by the Wii's third-party troubles, the media has been seemingly attempting to discredit Nintendo's current efforts with gloomy and misinformed stories of how raw numbers will play a role in keeping the company in the cold once again. But what the media doesn't understand is that Nintendo has learned not only from the successes but also from the failures of the Wii, and is not repeating history for the worst. The company realizes that the Wii's dilemma was that its lack of flexibility only allowed them to accomplish half of what they needed to. But it was also acknowledged that despite it's lack of competitive power it managed to become the top selling platform of its generation. In turn, the weaknesses of the Wii were left behind, and the strengths of the Wii were combined with the unexpectedly successful elements of the 3DS to create Nintendo's most powerful, flexible, and accessible hardware platform to date: The WIIu.
With that being said, the company will be challenged with the concept of the Wiiu's approach. Nintendo's dilemma these days seems to be the one thing that properly sets them apart from the competition: that they are a dedicated game company and therefore sharply focused on gameplay experiences. Allow me to once more clarify. With the Wiiu, Nintendo will be faced with the challenge of selling "experiences" in an era more obsessed with cutting edge technology. Unlike its competitors, Nintendo won't have the honor of reaping the benefits of the typical kind of direct approach (Sony's tech demo heavy PS4 conference for example), one of those benefits being immediate success. They are going to have to charm their way into gamers' living rooms, which takes time. Nintendo Direct is the start of their strategy for this. In conclusion, Nintendo's creation of the Wiiu is not their attempt to repeat the history of what they've done wrong. It is their attempt to repeat the history of what they've done well.
Thank you for reading. Please check out my next article entitled "Nintendo's Success=Sony's Dilemma", which will be located in the 3DS forum when I am finished typing it. You may be enlightened. Thank you.
