Can second-screen gaming provide more than an improved interface?

The Wii U has taken quite a beating in the last few days — first being outsold by Xbox One and PS4 — and then Super Mario 3D World under-performing at retail despite critical acclaim.

With the PS4 and Xbox One currently doing rather well, what exactly is the Wii U doing wrong? One thing seems certain: the main selling point — second-screen gaming — hasn't caught the public's imagination in the same way the Wii did with its magic waggle wand.

Speaking recently to the Alist Daily, Epic Vice President Mark Rein also seems rather indifferent to the idea of second screen gaming, and admits that whilst it may be good for media such as TV and films, it has yet to prove itself in video games:

I think we’ve yet to see the real value of the second screen idea, if you’re talking about [Xbox] SmartGlass and companion apps and things like that. But that doesn't mean that it won’t be big one day. I don’t really know what it is yet.

Where it fits into gaming, I don't know. I’m not sold on picking up my tablet to choose my play and then putting it back down and picking up my controller. It's kind of a wonky way to choose a play, so I don't know if that's how it's going to go or not.

Rein highlights how cumbersome second-screen gaming can be via SmartGlass. Perhaps then, it's up to Nintendo to show the industry the worth of second-screen gaming and use the unique Wii U hardware to its advantage.

Rein adds that whilst he's not sure about second-screen gaming at the moment, there's nothing to say the future isn't bright for this medium:

Developers should try everything and have lots of fun with it, and sooner or later there will be a killer app for that sort of thing, too.

Nintendo have started to highlight the advantages of second-screen gaming, from a host of fun and unique mini-games in Nintendo Land and Game & Wario to organising and throwing orders at your team in Pikmin 3.

What do you make of Mark Rein's comments? And do you think Nintendo has done enough to push second-screen gaming now that we're a year into the Wii U? Let us know your thoughts.

[source develop-online.net]