Analyst Thinks Nintendo Is Already Winding Down Wii U Ahead Of Nintendo NX Launch

still has more sales than the XB1 so it's not that bad

still the main problem I think is most just see it as an updated Wii and look at it in the same way they do with the 3DS and '' NEW'' 3DS

but I'm not dissapointed, I love my Wii U and am looking forward to info about the NX (whatever that ends up being)

Of course it's dead, there's not much going for it now. The problem was the name, the lack of advertising and most importantly lack of third party support.

You can keep a console afloat on first party titles for so long before it starts crumbling. A console needs games to support itself, if the games are few and far between then the console can't be supported.

Yeah, but Wii U sales are way ahead of NX

I am always amused by the fact that you can't write "analyst" without "anal"... which is rather fitting since most of the time (if not all of it) video game analysts are constantly spewing out s... oh sorry, NL is a family friendly website, but you get what I'm saying, right?

@FullbringIchigo I thought XBone passed it some time ago? I mean its been heavily outselling Wii U for months now.

Honestly, I think it's being winded down to an extent. There will be key terms refocussed on ensuring that the next wave of consoles launch with strong software. This could mean that stuff like a new 3D Mario skip the platform for the sake of the next one.

But anyone who says "Zelda U has been delayed, it's going to be released on the NX" loses all credibility with me. It's such a two-bit leap of logic that assumes far, far too much about the nature of a platform we know nothing about other than a codename, that probably isn't even going to be in our hands until late 2016, early 2017. It's bad enough that people say it in comment threads and forums, doubly infuriating to see someone spouting such nonsense and getting paid for it.

I not sure you could call it dead, with plenty of releases between now and q3 2016. But if you have a pro type console like NX and the possible release in q4 2016 then you will need to move a considerable chunk of development across to create launch titles and we know Nintendo is crap at launch content! So why not start now! We know NEAD are working on Mario NX. But who else and what else is the question. Have retro started on a NX game this could be implied from the leak they are working with a new engine? Who really knows for sure what Nintendo is upto but all I'm focused on is E3 !

Holy crap, I have never seen a console dogged by so much negativity as the Wii U. Before launch, during launch, and non-stop for the last 2 and a 1/2 years it has been a constant barrage. More than anything else, I believe the Wii U's struggles have way more to do with the press, analyst's and Internet trying to convince everyone why the machine "is a failure" than the actual console being a "failure". Despite this, I have found the Wii U to be one of my favorite consoles of all time and I have no doubt that its legacy will be fondly remembered much like the GameCube in the future.

@Jazzer94 while it's true that more than 10 million XB1's have been SHIPPED to stores it's estermated only about 7 million have been sold to consumers, it not know the exact number because MS won't release them

Nintendo has sold more Wii U's to consumers than MS have XB1's but MS have shipped more to stores while that might count as a sale for MS (MS sells to the retailer) there are still less XB1's in peoples homes than Wii U's (at least for now)

In before someone's combined posts proving his point and never conceding to anyone will eclipse the length of Thomas Whitehead's Talking Point and Review articles combined.

I told you so. This is the year of mobile development for Nintendo, Wii U is left to rot. Zelda ran slow on Wii U and it's better reserved for the next gen.

@TreonsRealm Nintendo is known to have something that everyone can get picky on. Kiddy games, Consoles with gimmicks that nobody asked for, games that we beg Nintendo to make but they don't do it very often, the works.

And now, just before e3, some nut has to say something bad about Nintendo...... I don't understand that of all the video game companies that have made bad decisions that Nintendo hasn't even done (for the most part) why is Nintendo the one being given the most of the insults? Just....why?

There's a lot of games coming out for the Wii U in the second half of this year, as previously demonstrated in the Nintendo Direct. Plus there's at least 2 games coming out next year that we are aware of, and that's before Nintendo make surprise announcements at E3.

To say Nintendo are winding down the Wii U is just not right. I don't know if Nintendo will bother with new console bundles since they never officially did one for Super Smash Bros, but that doesn't mean it's still being wound down, in my personal opinion at least.

We know nothing about NX other than its a dedicated gaming console. That could mean a handheld for all we know, though it will most likely be a Wii U successor if not a hybrid (still don't think a hybrid would be powerful enough).

So Xenoblade, Splatoon, Devil's Third and StarFox are signs of "winding the console down"? Okay, then all those remasters released on PS4 and XBO must be the sign of that too. Seriously - this looks like a move to stop Nintendo shares from gaining value any more so that someone can make profit.

Until I see NX with my own eyes I am not declaring Wii U dead. Full stop.

I thought Wii U would get close (20m) to Gamecube's sales (22m), but all things considered it should barely reach 16m. Nintendo funked up.

As for NX, it won't be a hybrid, it's not worth it.

Wii U looked bareen this time last year too. Then the amazing E3 show happened.

Dead is a deliberately negative phrase. But winding down ? Yes, of course. You tell consumers a new product is coming so some will wait. And really if you haven't brought a wii u by now, you probably never will. I'm a big Nintendo fan, and i suspect the NX will support wii u games, maybe Zelda. I like the idea of - I play mario on my NX then download the world I'm on (not the whole game just the world) to my new 3ds and take it with me. Find a wifi hotspot and upload my data back to the system or multiplayer with someon at home on the NX. Either the media attention has moved towards NX not wii u, why would Nintendo do that with the announcement unless they wanted that attention.

If nintendo releases a mario tennis and an animal crossing game for the wiiu then I have my entire wii library back (equiting captain toad to a mario game and hyrule warriors to skyward sword). I don't think the wiiu has any less notable games than the wii had.

It's very true and he is right in what he is saying. The WiiU is dead to the average consumer of course but there is still 10million WiiUs out there and a good few games to come. I think Xenoblade will be the big last exclusive swan song for WiiU and Zelda WILL come to the WiiU and NX in Nov or Dec 2016.

Some people on here are so head strong, of course Ninty aren't gonna ditch the WiiU ala Sega but they are a business and they will give the system one more year before moving on. I've gotten loads out of it as I bought it at launch, 3 years ago. It's not nintys fault if people are only picking up a system (most likely second hand) now.

They are a company, and companies have to make money at the end of the day. And I will be picking up the NX at launch whenever that is as I love Ninty games And will sit proudly beside my ps4.

The evidence used to draw this conclusion is weak at best.

TP was released at the end of the GCN life cycle, a typical Nintendo five years. We're currently smack bang in the middle of the Wii U's five year life cycle. Sure Zelda U has been delayed to 2016 but that is not evidence to suggest Nintendo is winding down the Wii u.

@FullbringIchigo I'm pretty sure XBO passed WiiU's lifetime sales back before Christmas time. As much as I hate writing that.

@TreonsRealm

''I have never seen a console dogged by so much negativity as the Wii U. Before launch, during launch, and non-stop for the last 2 and a 1/2 years it has been a constant barrage. More than anything else, I believe the Wii U's struggles have way more to do with the press, analyst's and Internet trying to convince everyone why the machine "is a failure" than the actual console being a "failure".''

If you say something enough times it becomes true, and I think that's indeed what played a role in regards to the Wii U's success.

Also, what kind of analyst is this?

''While the Wii U has around 380 console exclusive titles, the majority were launched 2013. Fewer exclusives were made available in 2014. In this respect, the Wii U is on the wrong side of the bell curve and Nintendo appear to have been winding it down already.''

This is just perfect click-bait article nonsense. If you're going to make a point, at least mention the amount of exclusives the Wii U got in 2014. I'm sure you can find a year with fewer Wii exclusives from the Wii-era, doesn't mean anything. I'm not saying that the Wii U is selling like hotcakes, but these analyses are close to utter nonsense.

I've been following Nintendo for 20+ years. Nintendo won't release a new home console within the five year life cycle. Nintendo won't release the NX until Nov 2017. NX will be shown at E3 2016 with a few demos from Nintendo, then again at E3 2017 with more polished games (and some 3rd party games) and released Nov 2017. Zelda will be released Nov 2016. Maybe I should be an Analyst too - probably be more accurate too.

@FullbringIchigo Similarly, the Wii U only shipped about 9.2 million units in the last report. I doubt it's ahead of the Xbox One anymore. Even then, you need to realize that if they are close, the Wii U was out one year more...

I don't see this happening. NX probably won't be ready until 2017.

Also, unless NX utilizes the GamePad, it won't be launching with Zelda. That game is being built from the ground up to take advantage of WiiU's unique features. It wouldn't be the same on NX. Not to mention we still have SMT x FE next year as well, and E3 hasn't even happened yet.

2016 will be the last year of good support for WiiU, and then Ninty will do what they always do to a console in its last year of life for 2017: abandon it like it has the plague and act like it never existed while barely promoting their new, upcoming console with a terrible name.

@FullbringIchigo What you said is true to an extent but retailers wouldn't keep buying something that isn't selling, this leads me to believe the XBone has still passed Wii U numbers in terms of sold to consumers.

I'm the biggest Wii U fan in the world - I love the Wii U. But I think he's right. We have to accept that even though its the best system by a mile, it aint selling. And sales matter to shareholders.

The lack of new software is really starting to get me down. What happened to the 3rd party support? Heck, even the Dreamcast had more momentum than this. I would really like to see some kind of bounce back... But I should look at it more realistically and pick up a PS4 once a slim or similar version launches since I don't think there is a lot more software ahead for the Wii U... regardless of how long it has left before the NX.

Waaaaaaaaait, Zelda wasn't delayed to launch alongside the NX. I haven't seen Nintendo say that anywhere....O.o

"The lack of Wii U announcements during the recent Nintendo Direct is also sited as evidence of the Wii U's forthcoming demise"

Or it means they're saving announcements for E3, which is pretty soon.

And I highly doubt Zelda will be delayed until the release of NX. That's probably November 2017.

@Jazzer94 that's possible but I'm just going on the info I can find and with MS and Nintendo not releasing worldwide sales numbers it's hard to know for sure

@TingLz yeah the XB1 is selling faster and I have no doubt it will over take the Wii U (if it hasn't already) but like I said it's hard to know when they don't release the worldwide sakes numbers Nintendo only seems to care about sales numbers in Japan and MS only seem to care about sales numbers in America and without full numbers it's hard to paint a proper picture

@Portista You're right. Nintendo has never said that. It's just a bunch of speculation.

@SanderEvers nintendo doesn't do E3 - they haven't for years.

@arronishere 'Xenoblade wont be the last exclusive in any form as Fire Emblem x Shin Megami Tensei has already been announced as coming out after it.'

Well then FE x SMT will be the WiiU's swan song.

Either way, Zelda U will be coming to the WiiU and NX at launch, aka Zelda U will not be a WiiU exclusive.

Look, the WiiU is an amazing system, has so many amazing games, so many that you could play it for a few more years with what it's got released now. But that's no use to Ninty, they see it failing, and so do the public, it's their fault no matter what fan boy spin you put on it, they did bad, terrible name (remember the announcement? That name, ugh), absolutely no advertisement up to, on, or after the system launched, sold terrible in 2013, 3d world didn't save it, 2014 the big games came, again, no advertisement at all in Europe anyway, 2015, still no advertisement for any games coming this month or next which is ridicules as a multi-billion dollar company tbh.

I bet they have the NX pretty much finished and for the next year and a half they are working on advertising campaigns for it as not to flub up like the WiiU.

Again, I love my WiiU, it's a great system, has brilliant games, but it's not making money, money is key here. Just enjoy the WiiU while it has some time left and accept that it's in the toilet. It had a year head start to the xbone and ps4 and is super behind in sales. Another 3million will shift by I'd say 2018 but that's it. I can except that, I just don't understand why some people on here can't, sometimes systems fail, and that's ok, they have loads of money to move on in a year and a halfs time.

@hiptanaka they don't do e3 - and the NX won't play big budget games like Zelda - everyone is wrong

All of these predictions are absolute poison to the Wii U's sales - a lot of people will take in all the negativity and wonder why they should buy a Wii U if it's discontinued soon. I love my Wii U, but for some reason this bad press bas stuck with it since the beginning and the sales have suffered.

Sounds logical. Its still means we have at least 1.5 years of good gaming ahead of us with the wiiU, remember.

And the zelda nx thing is something that crossed my mind too. Let's consider two things here: The end of the wii wasn't pretty for nintendo, with the thing drying up and still a year left before the new console hit, people moved on towards other ventures with a year of software drought. The launch of the wii, with the dual zelda and a fun multiplayer, was one of the most successful for nintendo ever.

I'd say they'd want to repeat that.

Many people thought Skyward Sword was going to have a dual-launch on the Wii and its successor at the time itself got delayed. Why do analysts make these doom-and-gloom assumptions simply based on the present nature, rather than what is to come? I mean, maybe the announcement for Nintendo's and DeNA's partnership was poorly timed, and they should have waited until after E3 to confirm the Wii U is still pretty much important.

@vitalemrecords What do you mean, "they don't do E3"? They had a bunch of announcements in a Direct during E3 2013, and last year they were also streaming non-stop from the E3 floor, with plenty of announcements. You can be sure they have some announcements saved up for E3.

I only expect maybe 2 or 3 new Wii U game announcements at E3 2015. Nintendo is sitting on a bunch of finished games right now but is just staggering the releases to buy more time.

Well... the Wii U is looking to sell worse than the Nintendo Colour TV-Game.

@SanderEvers

You should take a look at the Up coming games for Wii U and then look at the other two... that will paint a very subtle picture.

@HopeNForever the Wii had over 100million sales when skyward was announced and launched so of course skyward was coming to the Wii and not the WiiU, it didn't really need to and Ninty had blind faith that the WiiU would be a runaway success.

On the other hand, the WiiU has under 10million sales after 3years, it's kinda logical to think they will do a dual launch to the NX just like GameCube(22million life time sales) to get the fans to buy the new system since the previous one(GameCube) was failing.

Be problems if Nintendo's marketing call it "Wii Me" for the next console.

they need to move away from generic names for next gen hardware.

The new 3ds and Wii U are the poorest names ever, should have gone for a classic marketing approach "super 3ds xl" or "super Wii 2"
something that shows it's an actual upgrade from the normal versions, when I say wii u to people they say what the "wii" just shows that the average consumer does not know the difference at all.

What's with all the pessimism? We're probably not going to even hear anything about NX until next year, so it's too much of a stretch to assume that Zelda was delayed to be released for NX. Fewer Wii U exclusives were released in 2014 because fewer games were released in 2014. That's not a sign of the Wii U winding down, that's a sign of companies preparing for something big. Something really big.

@jaycardiff I think they're dropping the Wii brand now. At least I hope so. If they want to present a concept as new, they need to give it a new name.

Of course, I do like how they tend to be backwards-compatible, but Wii could play GameCube games even thought it didn't share the name.

@BLPs nope I don't. But I watch a lot of other channels and see xbone and ps4 and various games advertisments nearly every day but nothing for WiiU, that's a massive fail in my eyes.

Not every parent who has a child is going to by little Timmy or Margaret a WiiU, more likely a 3ds (again, prob second hand also). Advertise to kids sure but don't forget about teens and people in there 20s 30s 40s etc with no kids that like video games but don't read up online like we do, and we are about 1%(at most) of the gaming audience, as in people who read about games a year before they come out.

@BLPs I know, it'll die in a year and a half when the NX come out in Dec 2016

Ah look, it's a great system, I'm gonna keep buying games for it and I'll buy the next system in a heart beat, it's just the WiiU has been a disaster in terms of sales for Ninty. It's blindingly obvious they want to move away from it, and hopefully from the dreadful Wii name too.

Aren't we jumping the gun here? We were told that we would next hear about the NX in 2016, that by no means equates to a 2016 release for the console, for proof we were shown the Wii U in 2011 at E3 and it was released in late 2012, roughly a year and a half later. The NX will be launched ultimately in the 2017 (note the 7) Christmas rush if trends continue. There is also the fact we have no idea what an NX is, only that it is a "third pillar" gaming console supposedly supplementing the Wii U and 3DS. Even if it is the successor to the Wii U, the Wii U will be 5 years old and Zelda Wii U will be 1.

Considering how little we know about the NX at the moment I think this is a pretty big bold statement to make and I think it is off the mark. I imagine that Nintendo would be working towards another three pillar system. I remember when ai had the GameCube, I also had a GBA and a DS. As we know very little about NX, I would imagine Nintendo supporting the wiiU, 3DS and the NX. But then I'm pretty much hoping for NX to be a combined home console and handheld device, pretty much how the 3DS and wiiU should have been.

The 3ds should have been launched as a tablet, just like that Wii U tablet. The 3d effect would've been awesome on a bigger screen. When you bring this 3ds tablet home, it acts as a second screen/controller for the home console. This is the best strategy for a hybrid system.

So there are still people who don't realize the NX is a handheld?

Yes! The NX is a 3DS tablet!!!

Because analysts are never wrong about anything right?

@TreonsRealm @Warbeard
I agree. I have seen plenty of comments, I think it was even in 2013, about people wanting to buy the console, but being afraid of it being discontinued, because of all the doom articles about sales. I have also seen plenty of comments that went like "I bought a Wii U and I actually like it", which indicate that the person thought that they won't like it. And why is that? Because of the constant negative spin on everything, especially before the PS4 and XB1 were actually released. I mean things like "32 GB storage in 2013. lololol" and then it turns out the large storage of the other two might fill up even faster, what with mandatory installs and large updates. Since the other two were released you hardly get to see any comments about storage anymore.

@outburst
lol xD

@BLPs yeah I know third pillar an all that..... GBA to DS. 'Third pillar' talk is just to cover their butts in case it fails also.

I'm hopeing the NX is stronger than the ps4 and xbone, has a proper controller like the WiiU pro controller as the main controlle. (1 controller, drop the motes and gamepad) but has all Ninty exclusives. Is that too much to ask?

@firstnesfan well they have been very right about the bad sales of the WiiU, so.....

Also, it's been a very long time since we have have heard an analyst talk about WiiU and its sales. Sorta not worth talking about in their eyes I presume.

Yeah, they definitly need to put out more titles more frquently.
Just look at Ubisoft, they can do it, why cant Nintendo do the same ?
Sure, most of them arent even playable, and if they are, huge chunks of your game are hidden behind paywalls. But details details....

Seriously. Has any of these so called "Analyst" ever examined the development cycle of a Nintendo game ?
That they dont have half year releases like some other studios ?
Of course it gets fewer games later on. The early ones were developed alongside the console, thus, having a headstart.
If game development starts with the consoles release, its own release is roughly 3 years into the consoles life time.

And trust me, ill take slower releases that work over half yearly glitchfests any day.

And its funny to analyze the WiiUs situation because of the NX release because...you know...we dont even know what that thing will be.
For all i care, it could be an external 3DS docking station for all i care.

I'm not sure it's Nintendo winding down more than being forced to wind down. With almost no third party support, it definitely gives that perception, as Nintendo is practically alone in developing for the thing.

On the other hand, with the lack of advertising and marketing on Nintendo's part, did they really ever support it in the first place?

Let's correct what the Analyst says. Feel free to correct me if I'm wrong on anything.
'Announcing the future to distract us from the present'-Iwata clearly stated that he announced the NX, to prove that Nintendo is staying dedicated to the Hardware market. besides, Nintendo only announced it exists, they never showed it off and never announced any of the features. They only stated that it's hardware. For all we know, it could be their next Handheld. Let's look at all of Nintendo's homeconsole lifespans, assuming that it is indeed their next Homeconsole. NES-1985-1991(6 Years), SNES-1991-1996(5 Years), N64-1996-2001(5 Years), Gamecube-2001-2006(5 Years) Wii-2006-2012(6 Years), Wii U as I will assume it would go-2012-2017(5 Years.) 5-6 years is the norm for Nintendo consoles, so why pick the Wii U out of all of the others.
'The Strategic Delay Of Zelda-I'll keep this short and sweet. 3D Zelda Game delays are to be expected, I mean the last 3 3D Zelda games have been delayed.
'The Lack Of New Announcements Durring The Latest Nintendo Direct'-E3, that is all I need to say.
It's just another Doom and Gloom article, nothing to see here.

@MrKenta Im hoping that whatever the NX will be will be the bridge between home and handheld gaming. Im not really bothered if it is just a powerfull handheld that can compete against home systems or a full system with a fully portable aspect. If the NX is a handheld then so be it

No worries. I'm ready to buy their next console and hopefully it will have support for importing my software from the Wii U just like the Wii U could import from the Wii. It'll be interesting to see how quickly Nintendo wants to get their next machine out the door. I wonder if it will be powerful enough to have the same 3rd party support as the PS4.

@YorkshireNed Yep, you win with that comment.

They have to wind it down, honestly. Yes, we have the announced titles yet to come, but there aren't any additional Nintendo franchises that can really move the U. F-Zero or Metroid couldn't do it on their own, whereas smaller (but well-enough known) franchises available for launch would make a new system much more attractive.

I'm looking forward to Splatoon and Star Fox (pending any actual announcements on it), and I'll probably play Mario Maker. Maybe. I'll eventually get to Xenoblade, though I tend to play those sorts of games on a portable.

Amazing how these "few exclusives" were actually some of the best games of 2014. Unless you were a Nintendo fan 2014 was a disappointing year of gaming including Destiny, Watch Dogs, Assassin's Creed Unity and other crappy stand outs like Rambo and Sonic Boom.

Amazing how some of Sony and Microsoft's games (this is coming from a PS4 and XBOX ONE owner) can be found on the PS3 or 360. Third Party or not. So IMO there isn't a good reason to own one. That's not to say that both are bad systems but they are making my purchase feel worthless.

Nintendo kind of did this to themselves by already announcing a new system...which is now leading to all of these haters thinking the Wii U is being thrown into a ditch. Nintendo did not announce anything else but a new system is being made...no dates, no showing the system, no games being announced for it. If nintendo is listening to investors and fans, then they'd wait for this NX system...make a bunch of games to be launched with it (something they're not good at), get the third-party supporters back on track with them (and keep them this time), get the parts and kinks out of it, release it with a lot of advertisement, and rack in the money. If they killed the Wii U at the end of this year, that would be stupid on their part...but with them already working on a next console, we could see barely any games coming out for it in 2016. When N64, Gamecube and Wii were in their final years, barely anything came out that was made by nintendo, and with not much coming out on the 3DS this year, some of this could be true, but I don't see them killing the Wii U. With PS4 and XONE coming alive by the end of this year into the following year, nintendo may have to work harder, but they can handle it.

If NX was released this early, they'd have to make it backwards compatible with Wii U games...at least to get money out of those games, which would cost them more money on the system, because it would also have to be compatible with Wii accessories...which would then bring the price tag up to a high price tag. Their next system needs to play Bluray too, just to give some of these hardcore gamers something different...and also to shut up some of these haters.

Before anyone starts talking bad about me, I am a nintendo fan...have the New 3DS and their past systems.

@evosteevo finally, someone I can agree with on here. I'm ready for it to drop too. It's a year and a half away but I can't wait and hope it's stronger than the twins, as I guess they will be around longer than any gen previous so would give Ninty a good chance with a similar system in strength. They need those 3rd party games so I don't buy them for my ps4

Can people stop repeating the drivel these so called analysts cough up?

I wish i was payed for making up opinions from the top of my head. (Or as with a lot of these guys, pulling them out of my ass...)

EDIT:

I mean look at this:
http://www.engadget.com/2008/02/18/how-accurate-are-your-favorite-video-game-analysts/

Even the top analyst is just barely correct 60% of the time, most of them are far lower.

I honestly would be extremely surprised if Zelda Wii U also appears on the NX, especially since we have absolutely no flippin clue as to what the NX is. A Wii U replacement? A 3DS replacement? An all new amalgamated platform? Nintendo has delayed many games in the past purely to ensure quality. True, Twilight Princess also became a Wii launch title but just coz it happened once does not make it a trend.

There's always a chance for a companion launch of a similar title on the NX IF it ends up being closer to a portable (one of the big issues recently with Nintendo titles is the lack of big launch titles. Honestly, I think the N64 was the last Nintendo console to launch with a truly original, exclusive and critically acclaimed title).

@JLPick agreed.

But they might be just crazy enough to not have backwards compatibility with the WiiU and start afresh with a basic controller. I'd be cool with that.

@SanderEvers That's way too much of an oversimplification. E3 is not going to cause a bunch of Nintendo games to spring up out of nowhere. And why would Nintendo allocate their resources to make another AAA game for the poor Wii U install base when they can launch it on the new hardware and sell more copies?

You might see some more bite-sized, mediocre-average games in the realm of Captain Toad, Kirby and the Rainbow Curse, and Mario Party 10, but I wouldn't go in expecting a Metroid or a true 3D Mario. That ship has already sailed.

@JLPick Is Blu-ray really that relevant? I don't know a single person who owns one. Or does anything other than stream their media, for that matter.

The Wii U is mid life cycle. We wont see the NX until 2017. They still have to show off the prototype at one e3 and a more polished version at the next. There a re a number of first party games coming this year. Starfox and Splatoon come to mind. Also we know an animal crossing will come that is not announced yet.

I felt burned by the lack of games on the original Wii--yes the first party games that Nintendo gave us were amazing but the huge gaps between releases meant my Wii gathered dust. I just can't get myself to have that happen again by getting a Wii U just for a few games. On the other hand, I find myself stuck with many unfinished PS4 games since there's been so many releases in the short amount of time that I've had one since October. By the time Nintendo gets the next Zelda out, all of their possible new adopters, like me, will have moved on via the PS4 and Xbox One. You need to work on third party support, Nintendo!

@Artwark Nintendo deserves the brunt of the insults from time to time. They're a stubborn company and often prove to be way out of touch with what consumers want. They need some tough love every now and then. Fortunately, if the lack of Wii U games the next couple years is any indication, they're learning from the sparse Wii U launch and getting their devs to work on an NX launch lineup.

Analysts. I don't EVER trust 'em...

@BLPs He means "unfinished" as in, he has so many games on PS4 that he hasn't finished them. Not "unfinished" as in the games themselves are unfinished. I have the same problem, and it's a good problem to have. There are plenty of excellent fully functional games - quantity and quality - on PS4. Nintendo just has quality. Although hardly even quality anymore, judging from the arguably average Mario Party 10, Kirby and the Rainbow Curse, and Captain Toad.

What I don't like about the NX is that we'll have to mess with backwards compatibility ALL OVER AGAIN. Remember when everyone was freaking out because SMB3 of all things took ages to come to the eShop? And the recent "You promised us this YEARS AGO!" deal with N64 VC games?
With the NX, we're going to have to go through that
ALL
OVER
AGAIN.

And I bet the NX isn't going to be compatible with Wii Games, just like the U dropped GameCube games... There's some more disks that it will be incredibly inconvenient to ever use again!

@BLPs You did, and that's a good point. I'm not telling you what you can and can't enjoy. If you enjoy the Wii U, more power to you. I still love mine for Smash and Kart. I just don't think we'll see anything of major consequence at E3, at least not in the AAA realm. Nintendo might out with some smaller titles but I honestly hope they save their best dev teams for the next console.

First of all, Zelda is simply just delayed. Stop reading into something that doesn't exist. Would you rather it be pushed and rushed and end up being glitchy just like several other AAA releases in recent years. Just because the next console is announced, that doesn't mean it it's coming out this year, next year or even the year after. It doesn't even mean that it will end up being WiiU's replacement. If anything the 3ds is the next to be phased out. There are many great games available now and still coming for WiiU and the indie developer scene continues to grow on a platform that once made it near impossible for a startup to make money on their own games. Nintendo is not Sony and they are not Microsoft. They have and will always continue to do things their own way. Stop worrying about what's coming and just enjoy the games. I feel too many people try to force politics into the gaming industry and forget that games are about having fun.

Geez, I've been saying this since the reveal and the last "no more new games" Nintendo Direct. This analyst is saying exactly what I've been saying.

Hell, there is more evidence to this.

The Wii U was first announced around April 2011, released November 2012.
The Wii was first announced June 2005, released November 2006.

The NX was just announced, and is perfectly in line to be released in November 2016. Whatever NX is, it will most likely follow Nintendo's current, rather predictable time-table. Sure, the Wii U will miss the fabled "5-year cycle" but so did the Wii, which lasted a year longer because it was "successful" (though now, actual success on this is debatable), so it makes perfect sense to cut short a console that is woefully underperforming.

I will again remind everyone (who is paying attention at this point) that Iwata himself had indicated before that selling below the GameCube (which the Wii U is very much doing) would be considered failure. True, he said it about the Wii, but there is no reason to believe he thinks differently now.

http://www.1up.com/news/iwata-wii-doesn-outsell-gamecube

In a Corporate Management Briefing, when asked about how many Wii Nintendo expected to have sold in three yeras, Satoru Iwata said, "I do not intend to declare how many Wii we will be selling today, but Wii will be a failure if it cannot sell far more than GameCube did. In fact, we shouldn't continue this business if our only target is to outsell GameCube. Naturally, we are making efforts so that Wii will show a far greater result than GameCube."

Sorry if someone said this already.

"With the recent announcement of Nintendo NX - the company's next console"

Except they never said it was their next gaming console. "Game Platform" does not equate to "Game Console". Just look at Steam.

People still complaining that the Wii U's downfall is because of it's name is greatly mistaken. Look at the XBOX and PS consoles: XBOX, XBOX 360, XBOX One, PS1, PS2,PS3, PS4. Their names change very little, but the major differences were explained when they came out. It was how Nintendo showed off the console and focused on the controller more than it being a new console that confused the viewers. People now know what it is, but there is so little support people care less and less. I'm sure there will be some big surprises coming our way at E3, but it will not be enough to fix the problem.

And anyone who thinks the NX will be coming out within the next 2 years is crazy. For all we know it will replace the 3DS which is getting close to the end of it's cycle. It's not getting anywhere near the support it was the last 2 years. I can't even think of a game I am excited for it. Yes it gets more than the Wii U, but are they better than the games coming out on the Wii U? NO!

@Gate_Shikimuri

Except that Miyamoto has, himself, referred to the new platform as "a new console," specifically when asked about the next major Mario game in which he responded with "next Mario will be on Nintendo's next console."

http://mynintendonews.com/2014/12/19/miyamoto-next-mario-will-most-likely-be-on-nintendos-next-console/

If they are planning a dual release, the we might be waiting a while longer for Zelda. If they fully announce the NX in early 2016, the earliest we might get it is probably October or November. I don't really want to want to wait that long for zelda

@Dipso

60% is well above chance. That's better than, quite literally, every so-called "psychic" ever.

I wish Iwata himself could say "directly" to us that the Wii U is pretty much alive, the announcement of the NX and the confusion it brought are damaging the Wii U badly

@Quorthon Yes, i agree. But people keep repeating this stuff like its gospel. And quite often they are way off. And Patcher (the top one in the list i posted) is renown in the industry for being accurate, most analysts are far worse off.

I think also I'm being biased because i pay the most attention to the Nintendo side of the industry, and if there is any company that Analysts have been way of with, its Nintendo. (The 3ds would fail, the company would fold within a year etc etc... just completely ignorant claims.)

@Judgedean

You couldn't be more accurate if you aren't even factoring in recent information.

Wii U (Cafe) was revealed around April 2011, released November 2012.
Wii was revealed June 2005, released November 2006.
The 3DS was officially revealed June 2010, released by March 2011.
The GameCube was announced August 2000, and released September~November 2001.

Nintendo has, with the exception of the hellishly delayed N64, never waited more than 18 months from reveal to release.

Face it, all signs currently point to a 2016 release date for NX, regardless of what it is.

To wait any longer risks overwhelming consumer apathy--the exact way consumers feel about the long-delayed, long-forgotten Quality of Life platform. Unless that's precisely what NX is, which seems unlikely.

Clickbait. -Yawn-

These analysts are such arrogant a**hats. Nintendo's profits may normally come from software sales, but at least they'll still sell months, even years after their launches. Destiny, Watch Dogs and Advanced Warfare all had strong launches, but three months down the line and they're virtually unheard of.

Third-party productions are dependent on hype and the developers and publishers sink more money into advertising than actual development. Once consumers realize this, hopefully they'll turn to more quality products - consoles and software both from Nintendo - and leave third party developers to either rot or change their ways.

The fact that Bobby Kotick (Activision's CEO some time ago) had the gonads to bully Sony into making a cheaper PS3 and threaten to withhold their games from it unless it was affordable made me skeptical of third party developers. Now that I see that they're taking advantage of console hype and reaping more of the profits from sales on consoles, it's all the more reason for me not to give a damn about third party support on the Wii U. I'd still appreciate it, don't get me wrong, but I won't act like the Wii U really needs it if it means fewer console sales.

The Wii U's not dead. History has shown us that repeated withdrawal of support for consoles for new iterations biennially never pans out well. Just wait until E3. This Nintendoom nonsense will be dispersed as quickly as it was last year.

I definitely think that the Wii U will end up being cut short. My guess is that NX will hit in the spring of 2017, so 2016 will be the last year in which Wii U receives any meaningful support. I think that Zelda was delayed partly to spread out the remaining first party releases on Wii U while the company quietly shifts their internal resources to NX development.

Why did Wii U struggle? The confusing name and poor marketing are not the real reason. Wii U struggled for the same reason that the Xbox One and PS Vita are struggling. The video game market has changed drastically over the past few years. Most people own multiple devices on which they can play video games. The Wii relied heavily on casual gamers and most of that crowd seems happy to play on smart phones and tablets now. The 3DS still does well because there are still lots of parents who would rather buy their kids a 3DS than a tablet. However, I think the market for dedicated game machines is much smaller now than it was in 2010. Nintendo knows this and thus they are shifting their strategy to ensure that they will not be caught clinging to a shrinking market.

The Playstation made it cool for adults to play video games and that grew the console market hugely. The IPad provided a fashionable way for adults to play games without having to use a console. That caused the console market to shrink again. The PS2 and the DS were the peak of the console bubble.

@meltendo I don't think 3rd party is the key, most 3rd party games have sold less on Nintendo going back to Gamecube. There have been some exceptions though, Just Dance, Soul Caliber 2 and the like. I would honestly prefer if Nintendo started a large hiring/expansion of the development staff. Lots of developers have lost their jobs recently so there has to be some around. I would rather see Nintendo fill in the gaps in their lineup than care if they get the same games as XB1 or PS4. Either that or purchase some studios.

@Dipso

I'm not saying analysts are always right--I was very quick to jump on Patcher for predicting that the Vita would both "crush the 3DS" and "fail hard." At least he changed his tune with new information, but I think he made those predictions rather lazily.

But analysts are analysts for a reason, because they analyze the industry and attempt to make the best possible educated guesses they can. A good analyst doesn't just pull this stuff out of their hindquarters, and gamers need to get over fanboyish butthurt feelings because a prediction goes against what they want--which is based entirely on emotional knee-jerk reactions.

I have illustrated why I think the NX will be out in 2016--based largely on predictable Nintendo timetables, and the history of how they operate. When they announce a new console in the works, with the exception of the N64 (which was notoriously delayed), it is released generally within the next 18 months. Whenever Nintendo announces new hardware in the works, the very obviously start moving development away from current hardware.

Whatever NX is, hints are pointing to a console (hopefully the unified platform to replace both 3DS and Wii U), and regardless, the very announcement is going to cut down Wii U sales potential. Now they have no choice but to get it out as soon as possible.

@Quorthon
I saw nothing of him specifically referring to the NX being the next console. It may have been speculated by the community that it was, but I rather wait for more details.

@Dipso

The analysts seemed pretty spot on when they said the Wi U would sell terribly, third parties wouldn't support it and that Nintendo would/should release games on mobile devices though.

But yes, let's only pretend they get it all wrong.

@Gate_Shikimuri

Ugh, no, there has been no specific announcement yet (as to be expected) that "NX is for sure the next console and Mario goes there." But surely you are smart enough to extrapolate from known data to come to a more likely conclusion.

Miyamoto has made mention of the "next console." The NX was publicly revealed already. The Wii U is still struggling badly. The 3DS just had a new update released (this previously lengthened the lifespan of the DS line by about 2~3 years. Nintendo likely hopes the New 3DS will do the same. Based on all available data, the NX is likely a console, but hopefully it's the unified platform that pulls portable and home console into the same package.

To require a smoking gun piece of evidence for everything is just plain silly and unrealistic. Sure, NX might not be a home console. It might be something else entirely. But current data points to a console. It is reasonable to expect NX to be a console.

@Kifa While it's true that PS4 and Xbox One are getting lots of remasters (and it's frankly gotten out of hand), there's still plenty of original content that we're aware is coming to those two consoles post-E3 that shows that the consoles are still going strong.

For PS4, there's Uncharted 4, Until Dawn, Arkham Knight, Bethesda's new game (very likely Fallout 4), Star Wars Battlefront, No Man's Sky, Everybody's Gone to the Rapture, The Division, Metal Gear Solid V, Call of Duty: Black Ops 3, Assassin's Creed Victory, Rock Band 4, Guitar Hero, Persona 5, and Rainbow Six Siege.

Xbox One has all of that (minus Uncharted, Until Dawn, and Persona 5), plus Halo 5, Fable Legends, and Forza Motorsport 6.

Wii U has Xenoblade, Fatal Frame, Starfox, FE X SMT, Devil's Third, Mario Maker, and Zelda.

The Wii U definitely has the shortest list and it's been getting shorter. This analyst has fair grounds to say that the Wii U is beginning its downward trend. Not sure what everyone is getting up in arms about - this analyst is pretty much stating the obvious.

@Quorthon but this still doesn't make you an "analyst." I see what you are saying but these are all quick insights that can be googled. We want some information from the inside, something tangible, something not obtainable through "Nintendo release history."
I'm torn between hoping they make another system soon and continuing the Wii u. If the new system is backwards compatible, I'm in. They should pave the way for if you get the physical copy, get the digital for $5 more or free or whatever... In this world, we want portable, not session portable but shin megami/fire emblem/etc quality stuff but on the go if possible.

I hate people who say the Wii U is dead, and I hate these doomsaying analysts. The fact is that despite all of its disadvantages, the Wii U has managed to do respectably and has, on average, a far greater selection of exclusive titles than any of the new consoles out right now. While I don't imagine it surviving much past 2017, abandoning the Wii U too early in favor of the NX is going to do nothing but damage Nintendo's goodwill among the people who bought the Wii U and stuck with it to the end. Nintendo promised to give us an amazing gaming experience with it and it should, and delaying Zelda just to release it on the NX too would be an insult.

I do not, however, think that that's why Zelda U was delayed. I'm guessing Spring 2016.

@kensredemption

Here here!

For what it is worth, the analyst herein is the Director of Marketing Technology for VB. If you look at his reports and postings, he appears to be much more about what you can do with tech than the tech itself.

@TerrapinJess

What I did is exactly what analysts do.

They take known data and information and extrapolate from it to make "best guess" predictions. Using release history makes infinitely more sense than just blindly hoping Nintendo would illogically wait until 2017 to release a platform they just announced. All that's going to to is ensure massive amounts of consumer apathy--exactly what they have concerning the Quality of Life platform.

What I have delivered is a good educated guess based on facts, data, and history. One may not want it to be true, but that is precisely where the data points. NX will most likely be released in 2016. To disagree with that in the face of the information I provided requires more information that indicates otherwise. If one doesn't have better data, then it is unwise to choose to side with a hypothesis that is unsupported.

There is no benefit to waiting until 2017. None.

Perhaps you want to cling to the "5-year-cycle" concept as your sticking point. Fair enough, now allow me to illustrate why that is faulty: For one thing, it disregards known, accurate data that I provided. A "5-year-cycle" is a weak measuring metric, particularly as it has not even been followed by Nintendo. The DS was released 4 years after the Game Boy Advance. The Wii lasted 6 years because it had higher sales. With this information, it makes perfect sense for Nintendo to cut short a platform that is clearly underperforming.

So what data does anyone have that points to a 2017 release? It needs to be better than the data I provided or it is not a better educated guess.

@Quorthon

"There is no benefit to waiting until 2017. None."

Except to show that Nintendo has faith in its products and to preserve the goodwill of consumers who bought the Wii U and gave it the benefit of the doubt. Abandoning ship too early in the video game market has never been a good idea.

@Quorthon

To you, the NX being a console is a more likely conclusion. Please be reasonable and not talk as if everyone shares the same thought.

Sure it's a reasonable conclusion. But that doesn't mean that it's the most likely one. If anything, judging by what Iwata was saying about Apple's iOS or Googles' Android (I believe it was an investors meeting), NX /might/ be a gaming OS they are working on and it will appear on their future devices. This is all just speculation, however, but to me it seems like a more reasonable conclusion.

There's still more games for the Wii U that are currently out or scheduled that I want then on the PS4/XBone. Other then Fallout "if" it's coming out, I'm not feeling that I need to go buy one of the other systems yet. I'm kind of done with the COD games now. Assassin's Creed was over a quarter of the way through the 2nd game for me. I would probably check out Forza and Batman if I had those systems but they don't make me want to go buy a system either. On the contrary, I can't wait to play Splatoon and see Nintendo's fresh take on 1st person shooters. It's cool that it doesn't involve zombies or solders (not that there's anything wrong, it's just been overdone) . Also, I've been dreaming since I was a boy about making my own levels for the original Super Mario Bros. game and this fall that dream will come true.....can't wait. I also think people are dumb if they think Nintendo has not held something back for E3, and that something will come out around the holiday season. It's not going to happen, but what if that something turned out to be Zelda and Nintendo told a little fib only to surprise everyone @ E3 with a holiday release?

@Kogorn733
I agree 100%. People care too much about whether or not a console is selling well compared to other machines. Oh No! The PS4 is a runaway success therefore everything else is a failure! I think it has something to do with not wanting to be a fan for a team that is not winning.

Some of my favorite machines are ones that did not sell very well. The Sega Saturn and GameCube rank right up there. I love the Neo Geo Pocket Color and it was an abysmal failure at retail. However, it has great games! That should be the true measure of success for people who actually love games. Does it have games that you love to play!

I understand that better market performance usually means more games coming to the platform, however, Nintendo fans do not need to worry so much about that. The games that we really love, the Nintendo first party games, are not going to be on any other system. If you own a Nintendo machine, you will get great games. If Nintendo puts out a new machine you can buy it with confidence knowing that it will have great games too.

@Kogorn733

If the NX takes off, it won't matter. Bot the Xbox and Game Boy Advance saw their successors launch at the 4 year mark. If the NX sells better than the Wii U--and if it is a successor console--then it won't matter.

Besides which, Nintendo fans have shown to be extraordinarily forgiving of all things that Nintendo does. Nintendo knows their fans. If they release NX, it is a successor to Wii U--oh and it has a new Mario and Zelda game, the fans will move over anyway. Nintendo knows this of their core fans.

@Quorthon I mostly agree with you. And i think a 2016 release is feasible, but my gut feeling says it might take a bit longer this time.

Also with regards to your time line. You have a timeline between reveal and release, but how is the timeline before first mention or first rumors and reveal/release.The fact that the mention of this new "dedicated game platform" comes this much out of the blue, leads me to believe it might take a bit longer this time (But i think we will see it before 2017, but not not much, i think possibly holidays 2016) - Of course unlike a lot of these analysts i will state that this is just wild guessing on my part

I think its the wording of the articles and some times the analysts statements them selves that tick people off. Because its allways "X is doomed!" "X is heading down the drain!"

Oh, and I'm not but-hurt My behind is doing just fine now that i got that ointment.

@Gate_Shikimuri

Um, by definition, the more reasonable conclusion is the more likely one. The conclusion supported by evidence is always better than the one supported by none or little evidence. There is light evidence pointing to NX as a console, none pointing to it being a portable. There is ample evidence of a 2016 release, and none for 2017 or later.

@kensredemption

"Nintendo's profits may normally come from software sales, but at least they'll still sell months, even years after their launches. Destiny, Watch Dogs and Advanced Warfare all had strong launches, but three months down the line and they're virtually unheard of."

Who cares if the Nintendo games continue to sell three or more years later while those others don't?

A COD game or one of those other big releases you mentioned all sell more in their first 2 weeks of release than a Wii U title does in 2+ years. I'm sure those companies are just fine with making back a massive profit in one month rather than wait for a trickle of revenue from games that sell 50K copies annually for the next 5 years.

Let me just add that if the Nintendo Wii U received no more games after today, I would be okay with what I got out of it already. The library while being small is very very strong IMO. My family has played through a lot of quality games so far on the Wii U. So honestly I don't care what someone else says. The system is great for me and the games are awesome.

@Quorthon

I think I failed to convey that it's all subjective. I'm saying it now, though.

@Dipso

I was going by official reveals by Nintendo, not rumors. The reveal of the Wii U was rumored around April 2011, but revealed shortly after. From the day Nintendo officially announces that something exists to when it launches. I may be off slightly in that one, but the Wii U's official announcement from Nintendo fell between April and June 2011. Still well less than two years between announcement and launch. The GameCube, Wii, and 3DS dates I noted are more accurate.

I think the latest NX will be out will be March 2017, but Nintendo also mentioned a targeted return to "Nintendo-like profits" for the fiscal year ending March 2017, which likely indicates they plan this new hardware to be out before then.

The only thing we don't know for certain is what the thing is--is it a portable, a console, or the fabled fusion concept?

My hope is for the fusion concept.
Current hints seem to point to a console based on odd wording from Miyamoto of "next Mario will be on the next console" and that the 3DS has just received it's DSi-like expansion, which lengthened the DS line by about 2 years.

@Gate_Shikimuri

Um no, it's not all subjective. Subjective is based on emotion and feelings. Emotions, you may note, are not facts.

What I have delivered here is objective--it is based on facts and information. I took the known data, and from that known data, made an educated guess about the near future that is, again, objective, based on facts and data.

You may disagree with that if you wish, but if you are falling to defending your stance as "subjective," then you are doing so by admitting that you have no good data on which to base your disagreement, other than an emotional reaction. Again, emotions are not facts.

I do wonder why does anyone defend this console? Like it's dead it's going to be dead next year. System can't even get COD for gods sake,it can't even sell more then the XB1,has a name that confused consumers or still is and better yet a controller third party dev and Nintendo don't know what to do with.Except Indies for some reason.This console is something else,has great games but not even that could have saved it.

@Quorthon I won't argue your valid points and historical data I just feel as if it's too early...
Look, I myself got rid of my Wii u after being fed up with their trickle release of virtual console games and for lack-of-better-words MEDIOCRE first party games so I'm all for a "refresh" as long as it involves a refresh of the way they do business as well. I do regret getting rid of it now with Zelda and Xenoblade on the horizon but still, that leaves very few reasons to get the Wii U. I'm beyond satisfied with the 3DS as thats my go-to-- I literally have a ps4 sitting and collecting dust and a Wii that I play for Wii sports occasionally which ends up being more often that my ps4 even gets turned on. All I'm saying is it does seem a bit early for a new system and even moreso, shocking, they'd mention "The Wii U will persevere!" and then go ahead and mention a new system is coming! If it's true, more power to you I was just throwing in my two cents about analysts and how they are often just self-proclaimed normal people who do simple google searches without any proven first-hand information. Anyway, happy gaming and here's to hoping for a more robust library (and backwards compatibility) next time around!

@Quorthon I think he means that its your subjective interpretation of that data.

Whenever you extrapolate, be it from facts or not you are bringing your own frame of reference into the extrapolation, in fact that is how extrapolation is possible for the human mind.

And Subjective does not simply mean "emotion based, non fact based." it means in lack of a better phrasing "colored by your subjective (personal) frame of reference"

This is silly. Honestly I don't know why everyone was so surprised by the announcement of NX. Nintendo has stated before that they start working on their next system right after they release their current one. NX has been in development since right after Wii U was released.

Also Nintendo has been pretty consistent with a 5-6 year gap between console releases. 1985 1991 1996 2001 2006 2012.

@MasterBlaster I seem to remeber a lot of them went way further and predicted it would go the way of the dreamcast. Forgetting completely to bring the difference between Nintendo and Sega in how they back up their company financially, and just how strong first party titles are for Nintendo.

@TerrapinJess

I share your sentiment on the feeling that it may be too soon, and I get where you're coming from. Based on the information, though, this is exactly what's going to happen.

As per the positive "let's sell the Wii U" attitude, to put it bluntly, what would you expect them to do? Not try to get a few more miles out of the fumes it's running on? They need to make sure the Wii U goes out as strong as they can, both to save some face with the public and to get any profits they can muster to better support the next platform.

I expect the NX to be initially sold, like the DS, as some kind of "third tier," but if it takes off, Nintendo will quickly and quietly discontinue the Wii U, the 3DS, or both. Depending on what NX is.

Please don't let this be. That would be a worse mistake than coming out with the next system underpowered. What if THAT launch doesn't pan out? Then what? Also I hope its another handheld.

I wouldn't be surprised if Zelda is being made for NX too for a similar situation to the GC/Wii release of Twilight Princess...

@TwilightAngel My console seems to be running just fine, and is far from dead. I have a lot of great games to play, and more coming down the line.

Maybe Its just because i have a PC and other systems i also play on, but i don't find the Wii U dying at all.

@Dipso

The Wii U is not the Dreamcast.

The Wii U is the Saturn--a massive misstep and an embarrassment that Nintendo likely feels they need to replace ASAP. Depending on how they approach the NX, that system may be their Dreamcast.

The amount of fanboyism and denial never ceases to amaze me.

We all thought the Wii U units would empty the shelves when Mario Kart 8 and Super Smash Bros. came out; didn't happen. We all thought the same with the Amiibos, except it's only the Amiibos that are selling. It's been almost two-and-a-half years since the Wii U came out, and has only sold less the 10 million. That's pathetic. What makes you think Zelda and Star Fox will do any better? Hell, Splatoon will not have any online voice chat.

Put that on top of the Zelda delay until 2016 (tbh, I wouldn't be surprised if they delay the game for one more year due to the NX), as well as the mobile phone announcement.

But, the biggest culprit is the hardware, hands down. If the Wii U had the same hardware as the Xbox One and PS4 along with the first party exclusives, one of the latter would be blown out of the water (arguably the Xbox One).

Let's also face another reality: those days of people buying Nintendo for the first party games are long gone. Yes, the 3DS is selling but handheld devices are a different market. If people were buying the Wii U for the first-party games, it would have sold 50 million by now to accompany either the Xbox One or PS4 (most likely), but that's not the case.

We all want Nintendo to succeed, but we must also accept reality. For those of you who are saying I'm just "speculating", maybe I am, but look at where the trend is heading. I'm not sure how you can argue that at this point.

@Quorthon Really... you and I must frequent different parts of the Internet. I don't find the Wii U to be a massive embarassment at all, and most players i talk with love both the machine and its games.

Note the guys i talk about are broad gamers, and not xbox or playstaion purists, that only care about the next COD. I think you have to have a broad and playfull mindset to enjoy the different flavour of the nintendo brand

The WiiU has 380 console exclusive titles? I'm assuming he's including Wii titles as well?

I think the big N chose to announce the next console because they are in fact, ready to move. The pipeline of game making cant be turned off so easily as some suggest. It appears, imo, that Ninty is finishing up with games already in development and then they will focus on other avenues of their business while they prepare for the next console. The e-shop will be a carry over and is getting a lot of love. Amiibo will also carry over and is a mega hit. The only thing struggling is the Wii U and thus a slow release of games. As a Wii U, I will continue to cherish the handful of games I own and I will pick up some of the last good games released. However, I won't be rushing out to buy the new console for a long time. I'm not suffering through months of nothingness again. I may consider it in 2018 or later. Nintendo needs to earn me back.

@Quorthon @Dipso

Subjective: based on or influenced by personal feelings, tastes, or opinions

@Quorthon specifically

I'm not discounting my 'stance' because I have none. Facts are facts: this is always true. But for whatever hasn't happened yet, it's all opinion. This is what I'm trying to get at. Your view that the NX is a console is your opinion just as my view is an opinion. Just as Dipso said, extrapolated data is part fact part opinion.

@Gate_Shikimuri

No, our opinions are not equal. I have based mine on facts. You have based yours off nothing.

That is no different than me basing the age of the Earth on countless sciences and gigabytes of raw data, and you basing the age of Earth on a dream.

My view that NX is a console is based on currently known information. My note that it will most likely launch in 2016 is based on easy-to-find data.

You have based your opinion on nothing but a knee-jerk reaction. They are not equal. What you are doing now is admitting that your opinion is baseless, but you are trying to drag my statement down to an equal level. I'm sorry, but no, that's not a strong way to argue a point.

Either you have good, solid, confirmable contradictory evidence to your claim, or you withdraw it. You don't drag the stronger view down with you to make both into losing propositions. One is still able to stand on its own merits.

@Dipso

I mean from Nintendo's point of view, the Wii U is an embarrassment, rather like how they viewed the GameCube. The numbers the Wii U sits at now is what Iwata predicted they would have within 9 months or a year after launch.

As noted, they once said that selling below the GameCube would be considered failure.

@Quorthon

Yes that is a good point, and as a fan of both this system, and quite francly all previous systems i find it sad that this console has fallen so flat sales wise.

I think that fires up a lot of people that love the console too, they feel (and probably incorrectly so) that a lot of people making comments havent given the wii U a proper chance and are just joining in on the "wii u sucks" circle jerk instead of any real comments on what they specifically don't like about it.

Well, Nintendo has to get ahold of this narrative if they want gamers to still consider buying into Wii Us this holiday season.

Nintendo can't just drop Wii U or even let the gaming public think they have. They can't afford a year of complete drought like happened with the Wii.

It's looking like E3 might be too long of a wait to start getting the news coverage under control, too.

@Dipso

Yeah, I get that hurled at me constantly, and I'm pretty sure I own more games for the Wii U than a lot of these people, particularly because I supported the 3rd parties on there. I bought mine on launch day and a Terabyte drive shortly after anticipating filling it with games.

I get being a fan, but I do not understand disagreeing with reality. Yes, it'll be a bummer to see the console discontinued early, but Nintendo needs to make decisions to survive, and the Wii U is pretty clearly not the way to go.

It sucks, but that's the reality of the situation. I was really hoping to a return to form for the company on this one.

Probably should wait until E3 to contemplate what Nintendo's plans are for the console. I'd think that it would still be worth while for them to develop games for it- with 10 million users now, this is a decent install base. the sooner they release a new console, they have to start all over again at ground zero. Plus, the sooner they release, the less powerful the console will be with the prices of components dropping. I would think that Nov. 2017 would be the time to release, if not 2018. Possibly, release the handheld component first in 2017 and then console in 2018.

@aaronsullivan

Once the proverbial cat was out of the bag with NX, Nintendo set a timer on the Wii U and the new platform. Industry-wide, people pretty clearly looked at the machine as a replacement to the Wii U given the lackluster sales of the system, and Nintendo will either need to reveal NX much sooner, or risk damaging the company overall.

Their timetable is now set for a 2016 release. They will be very busy over the next two years.

Why is everyone getting bent out of shape on software? So far this year on Wii U we've got Bayonetta 1+2, Captain Toad, Kirby Rainbow Curse, and coming out this year Xenoblade X, Yoshi Wolly World, and Star Fox.....If you're really hurting for games, go out and get a 3DS XL they're pretty cheap now and has and excellent library of games.

@rockodoodle

I'm curious why you think 10 millions users is a decent install base for the Wii U or any console. Nintendo fans have pretty adamantly called the Vita a failure for similar numbers, and the Vita is not as important to Sony as the a home console is to Nintendo.

If you scroll up, you'll see that I've noted the timetable between announcement and release of all the last pieces of Nintendo hardware (GC, Wii, Wii U, 3DS) and every one of these was announced and released in a timespan of around or less than 18 months.

Why would you think NX will launch in 2017 or 2018?

@Quorthon I agree, mostly. I think its too bad they where unable to do the same turnaround as they managed with the 3DS, and i think mainly they needed to have a much bigger push with their first party software much more early on.

What i fear for the NX now is that they do the same. Hurry to launch new hardware without any first party big hitters in the pipeline and watch the thing fall short of potential success.

As it stands now i feel the Wii U is not a complete failure, its just barely limping along instead of running. And i feel that nintendo don't think the machine is as much of an obscure failure as the 'Cube turned out to be, but its far from where they want the hardware to stand as far as sales go.

The main difference from other game hardware manufacturers, a lot doomsayers seem to forget about Nintendo is that they A) have a large warchest, and B) Sell their hardware with much less loss (in fact the 3ds and wiiU where the first to be sold at a loss on launch) then other players in the market. This alone makes these "failures" (I prefer lack of success) much less of an issue in the long run.

Nintendo is not going anywhere, and they are not going the way of Sega any time soon (Becoming a pure software dev). That's the two points i find important, Among all the doomsday predictions that gets thrown around.

That being said, i agree with you that the NX needs to step it up. And i think rushing it out is the worst possible idea right now, and i hope that for once big N understand that.

@Dipso

I think the NX could launch with some of Nintendo's heavy hitters, the same way the Wii did--by delaying Zelda and moving it over.

However, I don't think Nintendo's warchest is as strong as people think. Nintendo still banks too heavily on nostalgia, and with the Playstation brand now 20 years old and the Xbox brand 15 years old, it's pretty clear that there are massive numbers of gamers who have no reason to have nostalgia for Nintendo anymore. Millions of people gaming now did not grow up with Mario or Zelda. That warchest is not as strong as it once was, and Mario and Zelda sold better--as it turns out--when they were on a console that had high sales, not the other way around.

I long disagreed with the "Nintendo go 3rd party" concept, but have recently come to think that might be better for them. People generally recognize Nintendo as a good game company with good and historically important games, but head to any site that deals with wider industry news and you'll frequently see the same sentiment: "I want to play {Nintendo game}, but I can't justify buying that console to do it."

Nintendo would simply sell far better as a third party company, even if they did it as an exclusive contract with Sony or Microsoft or Valve. Nintendo's warchest is impressive, but fewer and fewer people see it as valuable enough to justify the hardware purchase.

I don't think Nintendo is "rushing" out with NX. This is a tactical move that they may need to make. They are trying to cushion the blow of putting an ailing console out of its misery. But that console is ailing badly.

As I've said in other articles, there are a lot of troubling questions around NX, and the longer Nintendo allows speculation to happen, the worse it's going to get. Frankly, perhaps the best way for Nintendo to aid the Wii U might be to fully reveal NX and heavily lean on the "3rd tier" concept like they did for the DS--until and if the NX succeeds, and then they can quietly retire whichever system it's due to replace.

STOP giving idiots like this attention, you're just creating a self-fulfilling prophesy in terms of scaring people away from investing in the Wii U.

@ quorthon, it's a decent install base b/c it has no competition from other developers. For a title to hit 1 million, only one out of ten Wii U owners has to buy the game. Roughly one game every month/month and a half comes out. For that reason, I plan on buying all Nintendo releases (retail)- unless it's just something that doesn't interest me like Just Dance, Lego, Skylanders, Disney Infinity etc.

@BaffleBlend I have a small hope that part of this unified platform effort made by Nintendo is that this is a thing of the past. (Though I'm not holding my breath)

They just made Wii Games run "emulated"(still launches wii mode so i suspec it still uses the fact that the U has the same architecture) on the wii U. Hopefully they will at some point make some sort of emulation framework that will be able to be moved over as the upgrade platforms.

I do fear that the temptation to keep asking us to pay for the same game on each hardware platform is to big though... and us fans.. we will do it too.

There are enough games to see nintendo through 2015 and into 2016 with probably a few surprises to come. I dont think zelda is being held back for NX, but i do think I the "new" 3ds was released to give the console a bit of a longer lifecycle to match it up with thw end of wii u's life because the next console will be dual purpose, handheld/home and it makes no sense to compete against your own console

Well, the GameCube's prime was around 2003-2004 which started 2 years from launch. I would predict that the Wii U's prime would be around 2014-2015. Again, 2 years from launch. If you're wondering why I say prime, it's because of the catalog of many great games for the GC and Wii U expanded/will expand for lots of anticipated titles around that time frame, most units sold, most advertising, and stuff. But some games for the GameCube around it's prime include, Pikmin 2, Metroid Prime 2: Echoes, Mario Kart: Double Dash!!, F-Zero GX, along with others. Likewise for the Wii U, Mario Kart 8, Splatoon, Star Fox, Smash Bros, and such. Given how things played in the past, it is highly likely the NX will release late 2017. Keep in mind that the Wii U launched only 3 years ago. Most likely, we still have 2 years left, not to mention things such as DLC, potential hardware bundles, new and anticipated games and the like that will give the Wii U the final push in it's life. (Again, most likely anyway.) Remember guys, we still don't know what Project Guard and Project Giant Robot is, I think it would be smart to look for them at E3. It COULD be a hit, we don't know, it COULD save the Wii U singlehandedly, we don't know. But always remember that we're dealing with Nintendo here, they're always unpredictable.

@Quorthon while you have some good points i think you misunderstand the term warchest here...

Warchest = money in the bank to spend in case of loss. Unlike a lot of other companies, a fair amount of the profit nintendo makes goes into building a cash reserve, not giving it out to the shareholders and CEO's

This means they can spend a lot of money on experiments and failed attempts without going under. Heck if all else fails they can go back to creating playing cards and toys. (aMiibos seem to sell fine )

What brought companies like Sega to their knees is that they spent a whole lot of cash to launch failed hardware, expecting to make it back, and buckled under a lack of money to finance any next project once that fell through. Call it over confidence or a gamble, it was a risk they took, and one that they could not afford failing.

And its not like Nintendo are hemorrhaging money. Its just that profits are lower then expected. They are not in the red numbers, just lower black numbers

If not much new is shown at E3, then I agree. And that sucks because for a second there, it really seemed like the Wii U was picking up.

Business analysts are like meteorologists: they're constantly guessing and frequently wrong. Nintendo fans know better.

@rockodoodle

With your line of reasoning, W101 and Bayonetta should have sold multiple millions rather than hundreds of thousands of copies.

I haven't bought a Wii U retail game since October because nothing interests me. Just releasing a game to 9-10 million console owners and assuming it will sell to at least a 1:10 ratio because there is no other competition is a bit optimistic. Don't fool yourself, Nintendo would much rather have an install base of 20mil and sell games to double the people.

I don't believe Nintendo will have begun production on anymore Wii U games since the start of this year, nor do I think they will begin any more. There's definitely new games to be announced, but they would have been started a year a go or more. Anything begun now probably wouldn't be ready until the second half of 2017.

@Quorthon

That's quite rude of you to say that my opinion is based off nothing when I have already presented why I thought such with my own facts. You say it as though I pulled it from thin air. Are you not doing the same with bringing up what may being considered a precedent? You say that you have ample evidence that makes your opinion the 'stronger' one. Please present it.

@Jahir - "the NX and the confusion it brought are damaging the Wii U badly"

Is it though? Wii U has probably been selling very poorly since the holidays due to lack of games. NX was mentioned a week or 2 ago. Is there a single person in the world who was on their way to the store to buy a Wii U who turned their car around b/c NX was announced?

I'm sure there are lots of people in the forums saying - "oh, NX, I'm not buying a Wii U now." But were those people EVER really going to buy a Wii U anyway or are they just mouthing off?

I'm not attacking you, this is my sarcastic New Yorker way of asking if you have any facts that the NX pseudo-announcement has actually affected Wii U sales? Or even potantial real sales for that matter? I just can' timagine how it coudl have had any affect.

I'll even go you 1 further adn say that mor epeopel wont' buy a Wii U nwo b/c of the DeNA deal, they'll just wait to play Nintedo games on their phones and tablets, they don't care one lick about Wii U.

Thats my say of saying the DeNA announcement is the real culprit for any perceived current Wii U negativity, not NX.

If Wii U is dead, which it very well may be, it's due to many factors - lack of advertisng, slow release of games, minimal 3rd party support, and the lack of any meaningful price drop - it launched 2 1/2 years ago at $300 and $350, and now it's $300, the masses don't care the high end went away, only that the low end hasn't dropped enough for the perceived value.

Wii U wants to come out of it's coma, Nitneod needs to drop the price, that's the only way it will sell. $250 now, $200 at the holidays if things don't improve by then w/ Splatoon, Mario Maker, XCX and Yoshi. And wherever Starfox is.

It's not NX fault.

Not quite yet. Considering Nintendo is pretty much the only company making games for the Wii U, save for a few third parties that have been contracted by Nintendo, there's a pretty decent amount of games coming to Wii U. Most of which are exclusives. This year has just as much support as last year. Next year is when Nintendo will start dropping support quickly. It'll follow the trend of the Wii, where we basically get a drought until the next console (mostly in America, since Japan will still get some more exclusives and Europe may get some of them localized; NoA is trash). Considering Wii U sold much worse than Wii both in hardware and software (even after you block off all the shovelware sales), it may start the drought earlier. Sales for Wii U might not slump (even more) as fast as Wii did, since until just recently it was an unknown entity to most people on the planet and people are starting to take interest, but it'll drop off the radar sooner than later. What COULD help it at this point, though, is a price drop to $200. Price drops before didn't seem to have much effect, but now that people know that the Wii U exists and that it has great games you can't get elsewhere, a price drop would probably do wonders to its health. Wii U has now been cemented as a secondary console, so it desperately needs a secondary console price.
Nvidia is getting ready to release their Shield home console for $200. It's a device that uses less energy than Wii U, yet is more powerful. It can outperform Wii U while supporting all the latest APIs and engines (something the Wii U can't do) and it's still a relatively new platform, therefore it still has plenty of room to grow in terms of sales and awareness (while Wii U has peaked). I know Nintendo fans will attack me for daring to say that a device with a mobile chipset can outperform their precious Nintendo hardware or for believing Nvidia (yes they are full of crap, but it's a fact that their stuff improves and that mobile hardware is marching ever onward at such a ridiculous pace that game devs can't really keep up). My point is, Nintendo can position Wii U as an amazing value at $200, being both a great second console and a decent set-top box for the bedroom/living room/attic/etc.

As sad as it is, I think it is true. No killer app for 2015 so far, I doubt Star Fox will have more impact than Smash Bros or Mario Kart 8, if it comes 2015 at all.
3rd Party support is gone aside from a few titles Nintendo probaly buys in.
Nintendo reallocates development talent to mobile. The writing is on the wall.

Wii U will go out with quite the bang by end of 2016, accompanied by Zelda, the new Retro game, and maybe 1 or 2 other high profile games.

2017 we will see the Project NX, I guess it will be fully backwards compatible to Wii U games, it probably will pull what the Wii was to the Gamecube, being a slighly beefed up hardware update, hope they wont call it "New Wii U".
It will drop the tablet nonsense, pack in the next big Mario home installment,feature an up to date account system and may something along the lines of Playsation+.

And it should cost no more than 249.99

All this I know because of Rinnegan, though I havent mastered it fully yet.

@Quorthon But you forgot something. All those reveals were at E3, if Nintendo doesn't show off the NX at E3 2015, and only gives a little info instead, and actually reveals it at E3 2016, it is near guaranteed it will launch 2017 instead. MY guess is that they give a little info about it at E3 2015, show off a prototype with some tech demos at E3 2016, and reveal the final console with some games in development at E3 2017, and I suspect that's the most likely. I suspect.

@Gate_Shikimuri

It's not rude to point out where you are wrong. Rude is trying to drag my statement down to the level of yours when they are not equal. I put effort and research into my analysis. You did nothing of the sort. Do not pretend that your opinion is equal to my analysis in any way.

Again, yours was subjective based on feelings.

Mine was objective based on facts and history.

Those are not equal.

If one person told you Climate Change was occurring and provided evidence that humans are heavily affecting it, but someone else tells you that it's not happening because they felt cold that day, which would you think is a more valid view?

@Dolphin64

I don't think the venue matters--particularly given how far Nintendo has scaled back how they approach E3 in recent years. What matters is when the official announcement occurred. And Nintendo has made an official statement--this device exists.

@Harry_Legs

I would argue that Xenoblade Chronicles X is a killer app, but as I've noted before, I don't know how well it'll sell. The original XC did not exactly tear up sales charts, and neither did it on the New 3DS, but at the same time, Nintendo as twice stacked the odds against Xenoblade Chronicles. So maybe XCX will fare better.

Will it actually sell consoles, the way a killer app should? In that regard, I'd have to agree with you that it likely won't.

@Dipso

I think you misunderstand the term 'consumer confidence'.

Nintendo can have 60 billion dollars in the bank, but if consumers feel like the Nintendo brand is failing, and feel burned by buying a Wii or Wii U, no amount of money in the 'war chest' can bring those people back if the company continues to release hardware no one wants.

Sure, they can afford it financially, but the damage done to their brand will be hard to reverse.

@rjejr

I simply do not understand why Nintendo doesn't drop the price of the Wii U. It's almost like they're keeping it up right now simply so that it won't sell. Slashing $100 off the price might cut into their profits (maybe), but it would certainly get a bunch of fence-sitters to get off that proverbial fence.

In part, I want to agree with you on the "did NX cut into Wii U sales" point, because it's too early to see if there's any data on that. But one thing we do generally know from history is the announcement of a new platform certainly doesn't make the old one sell better. It might not overly negatively affect Wii U sales, but it certainly isn't going to help them improve.

@MasterBlaster I was just talking about me. I fully realize that most people won't buy a game just b/c it's Nintendo. But there are going to be some that will, especially if the Wii U is their main system.

That said, it wouldn't surprise me if Bayonetta hit a million or close to a million in lifetime sales at some point (unless the VG charts numbers are totally wrong, which is possible). W101 was released when there were only 4-5 million users. And at that, Bayonetta was released when there were about 7-8 million users.

@Quorthon

Like I said, I think that NX may be a gaming operating system due to a statement given by Iwata about the lack of game releases on both of their hardware and him comparing that to iOS and Android whereas anything made for one device can work on many others. You read over that and called my opinion nothing more than a 'knee-jerk reaction' when isn't yours the when you are assuming that the new platform is a new console or hardware of any kind? Just because has happened before doesn't explicitly mean it will happen again. So yes, I'm dropping your 'conclusion' to 'opinion'.

Also, stating opinion as fact is another reason why you are being rude.

@readyletsgo

Dude, Zelda Wii U's not coming out for the NX. Not gonna happen. People said the same with Skyward Sword launching at the end of the Wii's lifecycle and it didn't happen. They ain't gonna delay Zelda til 2017... that'd be ridiculous. I don't know why people even remotely entertain that notion as a possibility.

@Dipso

Okay, now that I see what you meant by "warchest," allow me to comment on that (I thought you were referring to their IPs).

Here's the thing, yes, right now, they are sort of in the black, but that's after about three years of hefty losses. In a way, it doesn't matter how much money they have in the bank (I believe it's below 10 billion now, still a lot, but it's been dropping) if they don't have a profitable machine or don't have consumer confidence.

Here's the thing: In the gaming industry as a whole, Nintendo does not have consumer confidence. Gamers outside of this core audience no longer have confidence in the company. They see Nintendo as kiddie and behind the times--and when they do things like release a "competitive team shooter" without online voice chat, Nintendo proves them right.

Plus, Nintendo has cut marketing budgets in recent months, so while they have that money, they don't seem interested in spending it to make themselves stronger or more visible to the public.

NX is the replacement for the 3DS. The new 3DS was the DSi of this generation.

Now maybe they are going to do an all-in-one system, where it's both a console and a handheld, but one things is for sure - it still won't be able to do voice chat in games!

Zelda got delayed b/c it's about 10% done. If we get that by holiday 2017, I'll consider that a minor miracle.

@Gate_Shikimuri

You are misunderstanding what Iwata even said. He was looking at iOS and Android as "much hardware, same OS" which makes development across many pieces of hardware easier for developers. That is what he was talking about. NX is very unlikely to be a gaming operating system as it was listed in the infographic as "hardware" and Nintendo even said themselves that it was "hardware."

Again, you dragging my statements down to yours is rude. You didn't even pay attention to what Iwata actually said about iOS and Android, and your information on NX is incorrect. You claiming it's not hardware--and just an OS--is the exact opposite of what Nintendo clearly stated.

Look, dedicated game system:

NX is game hardware. That it may incorporate a new unified OS hopefully indicates that it is the first step in unifying the portable and console branches, specifically in software, but also hopefully in hardware.

I also never stated that my "opinion was fact," unless you are deliberately not paying attention as I very clearly stated that "my analysis was based on facts."

I already had to educate you on subjective and objective. Do I need to explain rudeness as well? Because deliberately misrepresenting what I say is not only a fallacy, but quite rude.

@Turbo857

I don't recall anybody saying Skyward Sword was going to be delayed to a new platform, however, Twilight Princess was delayed for this very reason. So to act like "it will never happen" with Zelda U doesn't make much sense. Depending on what NX turns out to be, it could very well be delayed for NX.

Currently, NX is likely to release in late 2016, which is a pretty good timeline for Zelda U to be cross-platform, or to be transferred over to NX.

Twilight Princess was announced in 2003 and was delayed more than once until it reappeared in 2006 as a launch title for Wii, where it sold vastly more copies. Delaying Zelda U to make it an NX launch title would actually be a very good strategy for Nintendo.

@Quorthon

YOU DON'T GET IT.
1. I never said it wasn't hardware.
2. The infographic does NOT say that it is hardware.
3. ALL OF THIS IS SUBJECTIVE
It's like you are personally trying to get under my skin. Your 'analysis' is more opinion than fact because all you are saying is 'since they've done this before, they're gonna do it again' and yet you refuse to show me HARD EVIDENCE as to //why your opinion is stronger// and then you show me that. Are we even looking at the same picture? System doesn't automatically mean hardware. Also, what Iwata said is entirely up to individual interpretation. It's what business-types do. So saying I'm wrong because interpreted it differently is wrong in and of itself. NOBODY IS RIGHT OR WRONG. DO YOU GET IT NOW?

As long as more games are revealed at this year's E3, then the Wii U is fine. It may not be doing that well financially but it is doing extremely well quality-wise. I'd say the opposite for the PS4 and XB1.

@Quorthon - I think Nitneod feels the same as Apple pricing it's products. Problem is Apple can sell whatever they stick an "i" in front of, Nitnedo can't move Wii U, so they shouldn't have the same business practices, but for some reason Nitnedo thinks they should. And it's not just Wii U, 3DS XL launched in US 2 years ago at $199, and the new 1 is still $199. Target did drop the old ones to $179 last week, bu that should have happened pre-Christmas.

And I agree NX could hurt Wii U sales it he future, but I sincely doubt it's had any impact yet. Soccer moms have barely figured out Wii U isn't a Gamepad for Wii, I doubt they've heard of NX yet. And people who really want Spaltoon wil still buy 1. Same for Zelda, I don't think it's going to NX, its ground up Wii U. May be it's swan song but I don't think it will port.

@Yorumi

It could be and it couldn't be. All I'm saying is that that isn't a definite.

@Yorumi

Does this mean that Windows is hardware? You are saying that because it says dedicated game system that it is hardware, correct? Windows is an operating system but it isn't hardware.

System: a set of connected things or parts forming a complex whole, in particular.

Gotta love all the baseless speculation and cries of "skies are falling".

Just another day at NintendoLife.

@Gate_Shikimuri

Again, misrepresenting what I actually said. I never said "this is how it was, this is how it will be." I said it is highly reasonable that this pattern will continue in this way, and I based that off of facts and data.

If you are saying NX is an OS, then you are saying it's not hardware. Because an OPERATING SYSTEM is software, not hardware. A GPU is hardware. The Wii U is hardware. The PS3 is hardware. The Crossbar menu system in the PS3 is software--the OS.

I'm not sure how you don't understand all of this, but you clearly don't.

And yes, I agree that everything you've said is subjective. I have made a deliberate effort to be objective. Which is why our statements and opinions are not equal. I have based mine off of facts. You have not, and you have made some very strange leaps of logic in the "facts" you have chosen to twist.

NX is pretty clearly hardware. You are pretty clearly wrong to say otherwise.

So yes, somebody is right and somebody is wrong. You are wrong to say NX isn't hardware.

There is also valid and invalid.

It is valid to say that NX will likely launch in 2016 based on collected and easily researched data.
It is invalid to say otherwise and have no data. That is bring wrong from the start.

To pretend nobody is right and nobody is wrong is, well, wrong. To pretend our opinions are equally valid is also wrong. You have not supported your case that NX is software, you have misrepresented what Iwata clearly stated about Android and iOS, and you have based your disagreement on the likely launch date of the NX off of nothing.

Now, I could be wrong--time will tell. But at least I have good reason and analysis behind what I think right now, and that is that NX will likely launch in 2016, per historical release data, and that it is dedicated game hardware, per Iwata's words.

@Yorumi When people stop bashing the Wii U, then I will start looking at the PS4 and XB1 fondly.

@DBPirate

That's a pretty poor reason. That's like saying "I'll stop murdering when other people stop murdering."

No, you can rise above and be one of the people that sets a positive example. Instead, you're just making excuses for crass behavior.

Should wait after E3 to speculate

@Quorthon

I didn't say it wasn't hardware. I said it might be a OS but I didn't say it was one. That's an opinion. This is my opinion. You didn't say I think NX is a game console. You said it was one. That's stating opinion as fact.

You continue to discount my opinion as baseless. You even go so far as to say that I twist facts even though I do not see any facts that I have twisted.

@Yorumi and @Quorton
I don't want this to continue so let's just agree to disagree.

@Yorumi Are you not trying to make me like something because you think I should? I just don't want the console.

@Quorthon Murdering and not liking a console are two completely different things. One is a sin and one isn't. Let's keep the talking about that subject to a minimum.

These Wii U bashers should treat others the way they want to be treated.

@Yorumi
I'm entitled to my opinions. Please stop trying to change my opinion. I really don't want to argue with someone who loves my baby Glaceon.

@Quorthon

Frankly, I remember several articles detailing the speculation surrounding Skyward Sword as a possible Wii U launch title during its long development cycle (until it was eventually shot down by Nintendo themselves). I'd post links to articles but they're easy to find if you Google.

My prediction that Zelda Wii U will not be moving to the NX simply has to do with 2 points: #1. Nintendo is not in the business of heavily advertising a game's availability for one console only to suddenly push it to the next generation. Wii U Zelda's already been heavily advertised as a Wii U title and that's what it'll be.

#2 Nintendo is not in the business of releasing simultaneous cross generational ports with varying degrees of graphical fidelity. Twilight Princess was a better candidate for a cross generational port than Skyward Sword since the graphical power of the Wii and Gamecube are almost virtually the same. NX's power will be, at the very least, on par with Xbox One and PS4. So, requiring developers to delay Zelda Wii U, a game that's being developed from the ground up to take advantages of the Wii U, just so it can be a launch title for a newer system that these same developers have to get used to all over again... just isn't practical strategy imo.

@Yorumi I have never bashed any other console on the Internet. Saying I don't like something is not bashing. I am free to not like whatever I want.

@Turbo857

OBJECTION!!!
What if the transition from Wii U to NX is similar to that of Gamecube and Wii?

A case isn't a case without reasonable doubt!

I'm sorry, but if Smash bros. couldn't turn the tide, Super Mario 3D world couldn't, Mario kart 8 caused a brief upswing but not much more, then Star fox and Splatoon won't suddenly revive the WiiU either, that's not bashing, that's logic, we can only hope that NX (Whatever it is) can improve Nintendo's prospects...

@Turbo857

Actually, concerning your points, particularly the first, Nintendo actually has quite a history of games both cancelled late-gen or switched over to a new platform.

Eternal Darkness, StarFox Adventures, Pikmin 3, Twilight Princess--these are just the first examples that I can roll off from memory. Super Mario 128 was noted to have been rolled into both Pikmin and Super Mario Galaxy.

This is not only not a foreign concept for Nintendo, it's something that may well be expected as they have a history of doing it.

Per the Skyward Sword on Wii U thing, in that case, I'm surprised that anyone felt it would be a Wii U game (though can understand why) largely because it was intended to launch well ahead of the Wii U's release, notably nearing completion early in 2011. Zelda U, however, is still quite early on, and more closely matches the timing of Twilight Princess. I'm not saying that it will be an NX title. I'm saying that, given the circumstances, it would make sense for Nintendo to do it, and that I wouldn't be surprised in the slightest if it did.

I'll be more surprised if some current title for 3DS or Wii U (depending on what NX is) doesn't end up on NX instead. I fully expect something to be dropped from a current machine to go to that one. Zelda simply fits.

To be frank, aside from a map on the GamePad, I really haven't seen anything in Zelda U that is really "taking advantage of the Wii U" that couldn't be easily redone for a different console. The GamePad is literally just a second in-game camera that developers can use how they want. Anything the GamePad shows can be shown and largely done on a regular TV screen. Using buttons.

@Yorumi
I'm not trying to prove you wrong. But I'm still keeping my opinion.

@Yorumi If you say so. I honestly don't want to continue this discussion if everything I say is wrong.

@DBPirate

You could always try working on not being wrong. Grow in your maturity with new information, the way you could grow in your maturity over the "Wii U bashers."

@Yorumi
I see where your coming from, but it would be nice to see if NIntendo has anything to show at E3 other than what we have known for the past year. I'm not thinking of it as a long term solution for Wii U because its more than halfway done. Its obvious this system was not built to last 8 plus years like their counter parts. That being said I am interested to see if the system goes out in the next 2 years, riding it out with a bang or a whimper, before NX comes in. E3 will help give a better indication on what Nintendo's plans are, I don't think they would pull a Sega Dreamcast with the Wii U when the Ps2 entered the market, that would really hurt their fanbase.

@Spectator

If the Wii U goes out next year and NX replaces it, the Wii U is more likely to go out with a bang.

If, for some reason, NX doesn't arrive until 2017, then Wii U will be going out with a wimper--just like the N64, GameCube, and Wii.

@DBPirate

Murdering is not a "sin," exactly, it's just a detrimental behavior. The analogy remains--you are complaining about people "bashing Wii U," and have decided to lower yourself to their level to be a basher yourself. What does that accomplish?

@Gate_Shikimuri

Lolol, if that's turns out to be the case then Nintendo'll be in a world of trouble. I'm not a diehard graphics fanatic and do value gameplay above all else but Nintendo can't keep releasing severely underpowered consoles when it comes to its competition.

@Quorthon

Those are good examples, but I wouldn't necessarily consider those games to be "heavily advertised" for their initial target console before being moved to the next generation. Except TP. But that game was still released for it's initial target console. But I hope you'd agree that none of the games you mentioned (outside of TP) was really that far along in development (at least shown publicly to a similar degree as Zelda Wii U) before they were moved to the next generation.

Anything's possible, and I could very well be dead wrong. I just don't think it's practical.

@Gate_Shikimuri

It's a mark of maturity and respectability when one can change their opinion in the face of new information, or facts that contradict old beliefs. It is a mark of foolish stubbornness to stick by your opinion in the face of contradictory information.

What you're dealing with is a cognitive dissonance. For some reason, people are bad at handling them. I bet you could learn to be one of the people good at handling it.

@Quorthon
I'm sticking to my opinion. I go down with my ships, not abandon them. End of discussion.

@Turbo857

I don't know, I think "heavily advertised" is a vague term that creates a disputable gray area. I was still a Nintendo Power subscriber at the time, and seem to recall Dinosaur Planet being shown quite regularly in there before it vanished and reappeared as StarFox Adventures. Not so much Eternal Darkness because Nintendo Power tended to be afraid of M-rated games for some reason, but I do remember seeing it in the works.

On Pikmin 3, you have a valid point since it was never actually shown running on the Wii, only that Miyamoto spent two or three damn years talking about it for the Wii before suddenly revealing it had moved to Wii U. Twilight Princess, Eternal Darkness, and StarFox Adventures were all shown running on the older hardware prior to making the jump.

Again, I'm not saying Zelda U will make the jump. Only that it would fit Nintendo's history nicely, and it would give the NX and important bargaining chip upon launch.

I'll put it like this: If I were Nintendo, would I look at all the effort going into Zelda U and want to put it on the Wii U? Would I have the confidence that it would even matter so late in the game on a system the company as a whole is (evidently) moving away from? Or would I look at Zelda U, look at the upcoming NX reveal, and think, "we should stack the odds for the NX. Wii U is past the point of no return."

Suffice to say, from a purely business standpoint, If I were Nintendo I would say it's time to cut the life support on Wii U, leverage out the remaining releases so there's some balance, and take some bigger hitters and start trying to build up the appeal of the next hardware.

If this is what Nintendo does, I fully understand why. I find it almost ridiculously coincidental (and yes, as a skeptic I understand that these things do happen in life, but we're talking about one strictly controlled company) that the announcement of the Zelda U delay was only about 10 days after the reveal of the NX, and just before a Direct that showcased no new games, but mostly DLC and ports seemingly intended to keep the current machines afloat while they work on the new path.

I know, I'm stringing this stuff together a bit like a conspiracy theorist, so I tried not to inject any conjecture in here. All of this looks like a Nintendo we've seen before. And we can hardly deny that moving Twilight Princess to Wii was a smart move. It sold substantially better on there, and helped the Wii maintain some early momentum simply from the attention it garnered.

@Gate_Shikimuri

You're going down with your sinking ship while someone is offering you a lifeboat with plenty of room in it. That's just sad. That's not a noble endeavor. That's giving up.

Why do you have to publish such click-bait articles Uh Nintendo Life?
And... why do ALL websites publish these crappy "analyst says wii u is doomed" articles? freaking negativity.... analyst are bullcrap stop promoting them

@Jazzer94 yup it's ahead by a few mill

@Quorthon
Foolish or not, I don't abandon my opinions. Now please be on your way because, quite frankly, I don't want to continue a conversation where everything I say is wrong and the other person is throwing subtle insults at me.

@Damo your article has revealed Quorthon's true identity. 😄😄

@Yorumi

I have to agree with this. I expect a couple "new" games, but in the recent past E3s, Nintendo spent ample time trucking out the same titles every year. Bayonetta 2 and XCX each appeared in two or three E3 shows. I expect XCX will appear at this year's as well. I expect Fatal Frame will appear more prominently because now it's getting a Western release.

I expect to see what Retro is doing, we'll all be super impressed (as long as it isn't more Donkey Kong), and it'll be a 2016 title. There may be a few more newly revealed games, but I don't expect them to be heavy hitters or hardware sellers, and that they'll be pretty far into development. I would really like a racing game.

The reason no one is buying a Wii U is because the games keep being delayed. It's getting EXTREMELY frustrating. Nintendo shouldn't announce their games until the games are 100% complete. The announcement that Zelda Wii U will be released 2016 literally made me cry. I've waited long enough, and I'm tired of this BS. I own a Wii U, and honestly love it. But this crap that Nintendo has been pulling lately with late release dates and super cheap DLC that SHOULD BE FREE really bothers me.

@Gate_Shikimuri

Ppff, no one is insulting you. I'm telling you that refusing to learn from your mistakes is not an admirable quality. It neither paints you in a positive light, nor does it mean you are open to learning or bettering yourself.

Have you ever heard that the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results? How can you expect different results if you don't accept different input?

You are sitting in a car, stuck in the mud. You slam on the gas spinning the wheels, digging yourself in deeper. Others are telling you that doesn't work, it only makes things worse. You're gleefully saying, "I don't care that I'm wrong, I want to continue being wrong!" That's really unfortunate.

Granted, psychologically, you feel you are backed into a corner, and that makes you more resistant to being told that you're wrong. It doesn't help things, but it is a human foible. Rise above!

@Yorumi

Totally valid. This is the Catch-22 again we've talked about so many times.

I think the third tier approach might be the right idea, put out NX, try to maintain the impression that Wii U is doing okay (the way they did with the GBA when the DS launched), and then if the NX succeeds, quietly put to rest the Wii U, 3DS, or both--whichever it's supposed to replace.

Granted, for those of us paying attention, this is going to be obvious (they can't support three platforms simultaneously, alone), but it might be a workable strategy.

I was saying for a long time that for the next system to be able to hit the ground running, they need to get 3rd parties back on their side now, on the Wii U--the way Sony did with the PS3 after it's dreadful launch. I don't see them doing that, so it's becoming a bit of a crapshoot.

If it looks like the NX is going to outsell the Wii U in a short period of time, and it is a new console, the Wii U won't last far into 2017.

I would be totally fine with this. The sooner the NX comes out, the sooner there will be a price drop on Wii U titles, and then I get even more of a discount on all of the games I haven't had time to play yet.

The analyst is a troll. Nintendo is still on track for its 6 year plan for the wii u. We already knew nintendo was working on a new console. The NX announcement was just a public reminder that they were still at work. They arent going to show anything official until E3 2016...and then release the device in 2018...just like the cube, ds, 3ds, wii, and wii u. If Zelda is delayed its to one make the game as good as possible and determine the best way to release it without cannibalizing the sales of other games. if its delayed until 2016 it will release only as a pacifier to sate the appetite stirred after the official NX release. Nintendo has been around for damn near 200 years they know how money is made and they know how to do business. Them do business lol

@Yorumi You are right i am calling him a troll because he seems like he just looking for attention. He used one simple trend to make his claim rather than the average all the nintendo trends for as far back as 2001. He failed to include e3 as a factor. The indie game promotion. and the xbone and ps4 trends as well. if he gets paid to do this stuff... it seems like he would be a little more thorough lol

@Quorthon Look, I'm not trying to be a smart alack or an idiot, I would just like you to respect my opinion. Thanks.

Your absolutely right, NIntendo is stretched thin and they know it takes time to make great AAA game. If they only had any third party they would obviously be in a better position. I guess the hopes will come down to the second party companies(Retro, Platinum Games) but other than that we'll have to wait and see.

@Quorthon To me personally Xendoblade is THE killer app for Wii U and I hope it will make it in 2015. This would brighten things up, for a few of us at least.

The Wii U was too late, and the 'tablet' style controller never caught that mass appeal that the Wii remote did. The initial display of 3rd party support didnt last, and I think console gamers who perhaps dont have nostagia for Nintendo, and who only purchase one system, are looking to PS4 and Xbox as a better investment for varied and longer term support from a range of developers.

Rabble! Rabble rabble! 4-5 years! Rabble!

Wii U is over. I see that many people in these comments feel strongly that Nintendo would never delay the new Zelda for an NX release. These people need to consider Nintendo's position. They don't care if you are still enjoying the Wii U. It's been a disaster for them, and the longer they wait to replace it, the more likely it is they make another Dreamcast kind of blunder.
And I don't want to sound like I am bashing those systems, I thought they were both fantastic. It's just from a sales perspective. Sales of consoles that launch first are always hindered by people waiting to see what the other consoles will do. If they wait until too close to the end of PS4 and Xbox life expectancy, they will lose again.
If Mario Kart, Smash, and all the other great games can't move Wii U, Zelda won't either. If Nintendo uses it as a launch title, and we all know they NEED strong launch titles, the potential for total sales is much better long term than if it comes out on the Wii U in what appears to be it's last days.
I just hope Nintendo will learn what consumers actually want. I know they have been only interested in a dedicated game machine in the past, and I think that narrow minded thinking has really hurt them. They need to think big picture this time. N64 sales were low in part because cd players had become very popular and Playstations could play uour music. Gamecube was definitely hurt because it couldn't play DVDs. Then Nintendo made that same mistake twice more. I realize the Wii was a commercial success for them, but it was also hurt because Nintendo didn't anticipate the rapid jump to HDTVs.
I really hope they have taken a good look at why they haven't been as successful as they could be. I am excited for the NX, whatever it is. Don't blow it, Nintendo!

Don't really care, if the wii-u is finished and only has 1 - 2 years left, cool I've had some of the best gaming on Wii-u, period.

Actually, I wouldnät mind buying a new Nintendo console as early as holiday 2016. Wii U has had lots of great games for me, but the fact that I have to get interesting 3rd party games on other consoles or just skip them isn't a good sign. And Wii U isnät doing well when it's losing to Gamecube's sale so yeah, Nintendo NX, don't screw things up.

I think delaying Zelda two years for the NX release (the most likely release time for the system) is crazy. Honestly at this point I think it would be smarter to rush the game and release it then put those two years towards making a new Zelda. maybe prep a Director's Cut version of Zelda U for the NX. There are smarter things to do then to keep paying for production of a product just to release it at that time.

@DBPirate

Then I have to tell you that I have no respect for an opinion that states, "well people are mean, so I'm going to be mean."

I respect that you can hold that opinion, and you can respect I will hold the opinion that yours is a monstrously reprehensible one. But I will not respect the opinion itself, particularly one that defends crass behavior for the sake of crass behavior.

Though we know a little of the essence of what the NX is, I'm still not understanding all this "NX is the next console" talk. I recall Nintendo saying "platform", but not specifying that it is a successor to the Wii U. The message I got is this is something designed to strengthen Nintendo's current "hardware" and help "future proof" for the next hardware generation once it's time, but whatever. I'm not joining predicting the doom and gloom of the Wii U as the AAA games it has are still getting loads of air time despite lacking in popular opinion, and there's still lots to come, so the system is nowhere near dead, profits or not. Wii U likely won't begin biting dust until 2017 at the earliest.

@Jetset

I agree that Nintendo Land had some good ideas (and some terrible ones), but Nintendo didn't capitalize on them and ultimately allowed the GamePad to just be "a big controller with a screen." It hasn't reinvented gaming or expanded or improved genres, and it has had no wide-scale influence on the industry, like the Wii Remote or.... the Analog stick. Took me a second, but yeah, that was the last innovation from Nintendo that was adopted by the industry as a whole, but unlike the Wii Remote, it's shown it's staying power.

I think the best use of the GamePad was in ZombiU and Rayman Legends and maybe Affordable Space Adventures (downloading tonight), but from Nintendo, they really, really dropped the ball. It's not even used in DKC:TF, it's a pointless horn in Mario Kart, it makes Pikmin 3 more cumbersome to play (really, the very set-up of placing it in front of me is annoying), and I think the ship has sailed on it. No matter what, there is no game now that will justify the GamePad, and issues like cutting voice chat for high-profile online games is just going to further convince fence-sitters to avoid the Wii U.

I don't disagree with you, I just think that Nintendo never bothered to continue down a logical path with the GamePad.

@DefHalan

Well, this is Nintendo we're talking about. Rushing software is the exact opposite of what they are likely to do. It's far more likely that it could follow Twilight Princess.

@Xofyls

What do Xbox One or Playstation 4 "trends" have to do with Wii U or NX? Did you even read up on the analysis itself?

And here I am just waiting to see how this all will eventually play out.Any person with a brain can predict how they think things will turn out.They could be right,could be wrong or partially correct
But until any of it actually come true,its all just speculation and opinions(which shouldn't be taken too seriously)
If what Nintendo does in these next 2 years,including NX, appeals to me,they'll have my support.I think that's just logical from a consumer standpoint.But that's just me I guess

"winding down", lol. But for the occasional nervous twitching of some indies and a few projects that were too far along to retarget it's stone dead.

@Quorthon

Right but I don't think the title needs to be rushed anyway. I think if they just finished the product they set out to make that we could have it december 2015 or early 2016. that would still give them plenty of time to make a Director's Cut for NX and give them experience for developing on the NX (like Wind Waker HD did for Wii U)

So much debates today lol

I wouldn't mind if Nintendo released their next console in a few years, though I probably wouldn't get it Day 1 since money is always an issue.

I'm (still) having great time with Mario Kart 8, Smash, Bayo2, DKC:TF and Mario 3d World...Give me Xenoblade X and Zelda and They can shut down the WiiU factory...I'll be fine.
PD: Add Virtual Console games and a few great indies like Affordable Space Advenrure anShovel Knight...please

@DefHalan

I was about to reply that "Nintendo doesn't really do Director's Cuts..." but then it donned on me. Three Zelda remakes in four years. Sure, not "director's cuts." Still remakes. Three of them. In four years.

@Quorthon

And each remake had some slight edits it them to make them more user friendly (maybe not OoT 3D) I think it would be the smarter way to go. Give people holding off on a Wii U and big enough push for the NX and give people with a Wii U enough content to be satisfied with their purchase with a incentive for the NX.

We'll find out at E3.

So everyone be patient and twiddle their thumbs til then - if there's no new news then then it's full NX steam ahead come 2016.

@Harry_Legs

Thus far, XCX is one of the only games I'm really looking forward to on the Wii U this year, and I consider the previous XC game to be the best game on the Wii. XCX, Fatal Frame, and Splatoon, maybe a couple indies, and outside of that, I just am not inspired to turn it on.

Which is a bummer.

And N64 and DS games on the VC? Yeah, no. That is not going to do it for me. Given the current output for the Wii U VC, I'm betting I already have almost every N64 and DS game they put on the thing.

@DefHalan

There is some logic there--and HD remakes and definitive editions are "all the rage" these days (grumble grumble want new games grumble), but I think that might end up stretching Nintendo's already thin resources a little too far.

There aren't a lot of us with Wii Us. I can't blame Nintendo if they don't want to spend much time or money trying to placate us.

@readyletsgo Um...I'm scared of trolls.

@Yorumi

Truly flawless. The conversations here are now over.

{ENDGAME}

@Quorthon

the thing is that if Nintendo burns bridges with the people that are buying their systems right now, then who will be buying their systems in the future? While it may not seem like a big lose compared to the gain they might be able to make, the idea of dropping support for the Wii U to early could result in bigger loses for the NX. If we look at the PS3, it wasn't doing well in the beginning of its lifespan but Sony kept supporting it and through that they were able to claim the "crown" this generation. A lot of people's reasons for buying a PS4 are because of how well Sony continued to support the PS3 and a lot of people's reasons for not buying a Wii U is how dead the Wii was the last few years of its life. Instead of burning the bridge to your current customers, satisfy them while giving incentives (like the best version of the newest Zelda) to buy the NX.

@Quorthon @electrolite77

Check sony and microsoft trends because they are the competition. When I move you move...just like that.

All parties have a cycle plan for their devices. How long can I push this device before some other tech overshadows renders the its tech obsolete. this is not neccesarily more powerful systems. E.G. WiiU has a little more power than the ps3 and uses a fraction of the electricity in a smaller case.

Sony has a 10 year plan for the ps4. Microsoft feels confident they can match. They are taking from their other departments to invest heavily into their devices. Nintendo only developing software and hardware for their own products limit their room showboating in this sense. They have to be more tactful. its why the y region lock their devices and release multiple models. to milks resources until they have enough to build the next (NX) best thing.

the new 3ds was released to inspired an warm you up to the "NX" device nintendo is creating. Rumors 2 years ago was a console that was portable but connected with the tv...and eliminated the barrier between console and handheld. The WiiU when you look at it it just the ds in console form, and the new 3ds with dual thumb stick and addition should button is but a creeping step toward a handheld console.

the move to mobile by nintendo lets you know that the NX device that nintendo has coming is going to be apart of that model.

but nintendo is going to use the nx two years getting loyal customers accustomed to the new model. expect more dlc, more free to start games, and nfc products. along with the usual suspects ( mario, metroid, zelda, and indie titles)

I guess at this point i see what the analyst is trying to confer. The WiiU isnt any more dead than the ps4 and xbone nintendo is still drawing profit. (slowly but surely) But nintendo is showing signs of warming up their NX console and business model. The drop in 1st party title just isnt the trend to look at for that conclusion though.

Here we go with the doom and gloom articles that undermines Nintendo fans and get them all defensive. I'm just saying one guy's opinion doesn't matter. I'm sure there will be plenty other analysist doing the same thing. Click bait, click bait, and clickbait. How many times has this happened already? Thier Home consoles have a 5 year shelflife minimum. Relax enjoy gaming.

Sorry, but the analyst is correct... I agree 100% with him, it sucks, but I think this is the truth.

@DefHalan

I agree in part--Sony brilliantly worked their asses off to get 3rd parties and consumers back on their side with the PS3, which made the PS4 launch stronger.

However, I don't think Nintendo is in the same position as Sony was.

I think they have fallen the the same position Sega was with the Saturn--an ailing console that needed to be kicked to the curb and replaced, to put it bluntly. Sega did this with the Dreamcast, which outsold the Saturn in its short time on the market.

Unfortunately, buy this time, Sega had fallen deep into debt and couldn't maintain support of the DC and they had some pretty noticeable 3rd party absences--particularly EA, a company that helped turn the Genesis into a powerhouse. Nintendo still has the money to stem the tide, but for now the situation is largely the same--the Wii U is the Saturn. Killing this early will upset fewer people than the potential sales of NX.

I think kicking it aside for a vastly superior console (we hope) may handily wash away the poor memories of the Wii U.

We all like the Wii U, but let's face it, concerning Nintendo fans, it doesn't matter when Nintendo releases a new console, this core dedicated base will still support whatever the hell it is. I think Nintendo needs to release sooner rather than later in the hopes of getting back the people the Wii U drove off.

A lot of people here are arguing with those of us who understand why 2016 is the likely release date, as if they aren't going to buy a console that we know they'll buy just because of that Nintendo logo on the front. They aren't burning any bridges, the Nintendo fans forgive faster than anyone.

Sooner needs to happen for a bigger purpose--those outside of the core fanbase.

Again, though, I fully expect NX to be lauded as a "third tier" beforehand, and when successful, the Wii U, 3DS, or both will be quietly shuffled into retirement.

@DefHalan ummm... Not many are buying the Wii U now... It's sad sad sad, but Nintendo will not want to invest $$$ in AAA games on a stunted system.

Why so much negativity...my main exams just got over...so i finally planned to buy the wii u tomorrow...ive been excited for it since forever...and now this post just gives me second thoughts...any idea how more longer the wii u will run?

@Quorthon @Danrenfroe2016

Why would anyone without a Wii U or plans to buy a Wii U buy a NX given Nintendo's current reputation? A new console won't change their reputation automatically.

I wasn't trying to say Nintendo is in the same situation as Sony was with the PS3, but I think they are similar enough to draw the comparison. Nintendo ditching the Wii U for the NX to me would be a lot more like Sega, pushing hardware out to create buzz. If Nintendo wants to be more popular next-generation, then they need to start changing their reputation now. It might be difficult to do that on the 3rd Party front but they can change things in other ways. If Nintendo charged into the NX now or even in a year without changing their reputation I don't think things will be much different. Supporting the Wii U now isn't about making money now, it is about changing their reputation to make money in the future.

Um...everyone please stop fighting.

@amorior the Wii U is fantastic console. Don't let a few trolls put you off

@Quorthon
"The Wii was first announced June 2005, released November 2006."

Flat out wrong.
http://www.ign.com/articles/2005/09/12/igncubes-nintendo-revolution-faq.
http://www.ign.com/articles/2011/05/12/nintendos-history-at-e3-2004.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=33BGyhn_ryw

Revolution was hinted in 2004, prior to E3. The console was properly revealed a year later, so I guess I'll give you that. It launched in most territories November 2006, putting that much farther than the 18 month window you assert is the standard. Plain and simple, we don't know what NX is. Don't quit your day job, if you're an analyst, do.

@DefHalan I do agree with you there... I don't see Nintendo drawing that big of a new crowd from casual android / iOS gamers( if that word can be used lol)

Your comment: "Supporting the Wii U now isn't about making money now, it is about changing their reputation to make money in the future."

Your comment is spot on! I just hope Nintendo realizes this. I really really hope the NX is on post with other consoles and it's a handheld and traditional console in one. But please please Nintendo do not make it with old chip sets and make it powerful.

@Quorthon I was just trying to end the conversation peacefully. Geez.

@electrolite77 Is anybody going to respect an opinion tonight? I guess I'm not allowed to like the Wii U only now.

While it is true that the Wii U is winding down, the analyst's reasoning is very flawed. The Wii U getting less exclusives in 2014 than it did in 2013 is not a valid reason. The 3DS also had far less exclusives in 2014 than it did in 2013 - and most of the exclusives it had in 2014 were actually 3rd party. That isn't indication that the 3DS is winding down for natural reasons.

No, the 3DS had less exclusives in 2014 because Nintendo forced it to as a result of the Wii U. The 3DS peaked in 2013 because it was forced to peak then due to the Wii U. Oddly enough, the GBA had peaked early too, but only because of the announcement of the DS. The GBA would have easily sold a lot more if Nintendo hadn't announced the DS when they did.

As far as the NX goes, I'm not convinced it will succeed (assuming it's a home console).

Thing is, there's no guarantee the NX will succeed even if Nintendo pulls all the right moves.

What happens if they do pull all the right moves, and it still fails? What happens then? (Well, obviously they'd go 3rd party. The question is targeting this fantasy that even Nintendo's harshest critics like BLACKB0ND have that the system would somehow automatically succeed and Nintendo would dominate the market if they pulled all of these moves, when in reality, there's absolutely no evidence that this would happen)

As much as I hate to say it, I think the NX will STILL be Nintendo's Dreamcast even if they pull all of the right moves (assuming it's a home console).

I just don't think people will buy it. Releasing the NX in 2016 will guarantee it fails - people won't trust Nintendo. No, I'm not talking about Nintendo's core fanbase here either. Other gamers may not own a Wii U, but they will still see that Nintendo cut it's life short, and that's all they'll see. If that's all they see, why would they buy an NX if Nintendo is just going to replace it in a couple years anyway?

If the NX comes out any time before Sony and Microsoft release their next consoles, it WILL fail, guaranteed. Hell, I'm almost positive that it would fail even if it released alongside the other two systems. Of course, Nintendo obviously can't keep the Wii U around that long, meaning they are forced to launch an already failed console - the NX (again, assuming it's a home console).

To be frank, I'm honestly hoping the PS4 and XB1 are Sony and Microsoft's Dreamcast too despite success. Time for consoles to go away.

If the NX is a hybrid, I don't expect 3rd parties to support it as far as console-type games go. It would just get the ones that support Nintendo's handhelds. I think the idea of a hybrid, while intriguing, will immediately push away 3rd party support as far as console-type games go.

I think it is, there's not a lot left Nintendo can do with this gen, and pretty much all of it can be done within the next 2 years. I don't think the lack of Wii U announcements at this point means anything because of E3, but the statement saying that E3 is focusing on 2015 games does imply they don't have a lot planned for 2016.

Whatcha gonna do, when @Yorumi and @Quarthon run wild on you??!!

@IceClimbers @DefHalan

Gosh dang you guys have some of the most logical, well thought out arguments on this entire comment section. How anyone could read either of your last posts and not see reason is beyond me (but I'm sure it will whoosh right over the heads of plenty).

You are correct IceClimbers and Delfan. Releasing the next console early will only guarantee Nintendo's failure. Launching a new console will do NOTHING to solve the issues Nintendo has now. Their problems are trans-generational. Just because you make the console go away doesn't mean the problems go away with it. Because the problems were never power, or 3rd party support (the only people who care about multiplats are people who will play them on PS/MS regardless of whether they make it to Nintendo's platform or not).

No. People just see Sony's success and think "Nintendo needs to do THAT" and expect that all Nintendo's issues will magically disappear if they simply mirror Sony's moves. They won't. Nintendo has a different appeal. Different types of games. Different reputation. Different focus. And needs a different business model that just souping up the horsepower and praying 3rd parties dump a truckload of multiplats on the system (even though they won't) then hoping against hope they actually SELL so they keep coming (which they won't).

Every solution I've heard on fan sites are based around a problem that isn't really their problem in the first place. Thank God there's actual experts running the company and not a bunch of fan site gamers. I'm not claiming I know the solution for Nintendo to continue seeing long term success. I don't. But I knoe that if Nintendo pulls the plug on Wii U prematurely, they will forever damage consumer trust and there won't be a next generation for them, ever, because no one, and I do mean no one, is going to buy a console from a company who just pulled the plug on 10 million gamers. This is how Sony dug their own grave with the Vita- I don't trust buying another handheld from them, because if they pulled support on Vita in just 2 years over low sales, they'll do it again. Just on principal alone I refuse to buy another handheld from Sony unless it's been out a few years and has a proven library so I don't get duped. If Nintendo pulls support on the Wii U, I'll do the same thing with them. And I'm guessing if most Nintendo fans follow suit (sure they'll buy it, AFTER a decent library has amassed) then no one is going to buy it the first several years and it'll be selling worse than Wii U. And since Nintendo has shown itself to stop supporting platforms that aren't selling, they'll do the same thing again.

Come on... how has nobody not noticed the massive error in the articles... the 380 exclusives in 2013... that really would have made it a must have console... shouldn't that read a dozen if that?

@JaxonH
Depending on what tone you read that in, I have no idea if you like our ideas or if you are being sarcastic. lol

@DefHalan
Obviously I'm never going to agree 100% with every pov someone has, but I was being sincere. Your last post was a good one.

I don't blame Nintendo for developing a new console but shouldn't they figure out what went wrong with Wii-U, people blame (not in entirely) the name but it worked OK for Nintendo when they put the word Super in front of NES. I think Nintendo need more 1st party titles and to be able to make them work, I mean Wii-Sports was a game that showed the world the Wii and had a big user base. I was talking to a friend about the Wii-U saying how I like playing games on the gamepad and he said it's the HD version of the Wii and that only. Like many said people E3 will re-light Nintendo's fire they're not sitting about not doing anything- Well they might be! but I don't think so. Mario Maker will help the big N shift a few more Wii-U's! and 'better late, than never. Zelda will to.

@JaxonH
Well thanks. I don't think I have the answer to all of nintendo's problems and my answer may be wrong, I just think if people really thought it out, they would realize that Nintendo making the same machine as Sony and Microsoft wouldn't be the smartest idea.

@SanderEvers agreed. Completely.

So am I the only person that thinks the NX is a handheld console? >.>

The biggest Wii U news for the last Nintendo Direct was that Fatal Frame is coming. So yeah the wind down is beginning. But this was expected. Nintendo operates on a 5 year cycle. The Wii U came out in 2012. We are in 2015. Nintendo will end support in 2017 if not sooner in 2016. There isn't much time left folks. If we are lucky we may see a 3D World 2 or Pikmin 4 before the end but I wouldn't expect miracles. Zelda can very easily become a dual platform release.

I know the Wii U won't be around forever, but I get the feeling that no matter WHEN the Wii U's time is finally up, analysts and the rest of the "gaming media" will jump out and say "I told you the Wii U was on its way out! Nya nya!"

There is so much potential left in the console! I have yet to see a fully realized RTS of my dreams on here! A mirging of FPS/RTS hybrid; think like Battalion Wars!

After seeing 200cc in Mario Kart, I feel the console is more powerful than I thought.

I bought the console in 2013 and cannot believe that it only has around 2 years left.

@Pj1 I also have an Xbox One. I actually did not like the games on Xbox one that much (except Dance Central Spotlight) but most of their games are for more mature audience. Many of them are violence, but some of them have more content that adults can relate to (e.g., Life is Strange). Those games are definitely catering a very different group of audience than the games on Wii U.

So a potential reason of failure: lack of third party support. Nintendo is not making those types of games.

So I realize we're 300 comments into this, but this needs to be reiterated:

That next big Zelda is never coming to Wii U. Forget any kind of dual-platform release. Whatever their next move is--mobile, this "NX" which will fail as hard as the Wii U, another handheld--I guarantee that Zelda game they've shown is now being reworked as a launch title for it. Mark my words. I'll even put money on this, any takers?

@DefHalan and @IceClimbers thanks for saying what I was going to post, and likely better than I. The same nonsense...every...thread... whenever the NX is brought up. I think I'm going to start avoiding the clickbait and just, oh, go play fun games on the Wii U

GameCube already had a Zelda title exclusively for it when development for Twilight Princess began. U doesn't, and I doubt they'll leave the console without one.

@JaxonH Agreed. While I'm not against Nintendo getting 3rd party support or on par hardware (which would still be underpowered as the PS5 and XB4 will be in comparison to PC), those are, as put rather well somewhere up above, treating the symptoms rather than the disease. Nintendo's overall problem is much more deep rooted than that. As to what that problem is precisely, I don't know. I don't think anyone knows what that problem is - maybe it's the fact that it's Nintendo. Maybe it's Mario and Zelda. I don't really know.

To make matters worse for the NX (assuming it's a home console) - Smash Bros. Will it even get one? Smash Wii U/3DS just released last year, with DLC being worked on into next year. That means that Sakurai will have been working for 6, going on 7 years straight with little break - while injured no less - since development on Kid Icarus Uprising started in what I assume to be late 2009. If Nintendo insists on Sakurai directing it, Smash Bros could end up as the swan song for the NX if it doesn't end up like Twilight Princess or what some are guessing will happen to Zelda U - not coming to the system at all while be retooled as a launch title for the successor.

With Sakurai, he suffered from RSI and was reduced to a trackball at one point, and just a few days ago I read something about him saying that he hasn't fully recovered from that and likely never will, having to use a special mouse for work. Apparently if he tries to button mash on a controller his arm gives out within 10 minutes. That's not even accounting for the tendonitis that he has in his shoulders. I'm honestly wondering if Smash Wii U/3DS is his last game at all.

Anyways, I do think the Vita might be Sony's Dreamcast in the handheld space. For me personally, I didn't buy a Vita because of those ridiculously overpriced proprietary memory cards. They were still overpriced even after Sony slashed the prices. They shot themselves in the foot with that. It's rather unfortunate that Sony had to drop the OLED screen in the newer model to cut costs. OLED screens are great looking and far better than LCD screens - they're much more vibrant and the colors are more saturated.

@Technosphile Dude your post has got to be the most ridiculous anti-Nintendo sentiment I've ever seen. Seriously why would Nintendo cancel the Wii U Zelda title when it's so far along in development and then rework it for mobile "if I understand what you're stating". Nintendo would lose a ton of money off of the game. Not only that, but no Nintendo console has ever been left without at least one Zelda title exclusively for that console, heck the N64 had two despite its horrible sales numbers. So congratulations on posting bait, but the fish aren't biting.

@LinkSword Actually, the GameCube had two Zelda titles exclusively to the system when development on Twilight Princess started. Everyone always forgets Four Swords Adventures (and it's also the only Zelda title to have not been playable on the Wii U and 3DS collectively).

I'm actually impressed at how riled up people are over this article, and in turn with each other... Be (DRM)free, don't tie yourself down with attachments.

I've read through literally each comment so 300 comments in or not, I want to stake a claim too.

1. I think the GameCube really killed Nintendo.
2. Nintendo has seen darker days (see 1.)

The Wii U is in a bad spot but I can't say I haven't enjoyed the console and haven't gone out of my way one side of the Atlantic to buy my sister one on the other. And over what, over Mario Kart 8. The clincher is that Nintendo consoles have existed in our homes throughout our lives and it is telling when a sister's intentions for a console somehow spell out your own history and connection with a particular console generation.

In the N64 era, she tried playing Mario Kart 64 when I wasn't there, only to force the cartridge in so hard, she broke it. She'd gone out of her way.
During the GameCube days, she did not realize another Mario Kart existed or might be worth trying (did she play it once or twice? through enticement? can't remember, and who could blame her, she would never know the All-Time Scourge in Nintendo Release History, in Double Dash!!). During the Wii and eventually Wii U days, we played Kart obsessively, or drunkenly with others on hot summer nights.

This - these trace-anecdotes - all truly replicates my own personal sentiments with Nintendo's consoles throughout the years. And I comfortably say this when I say that the Wii and more importantly, the Wii U era, are not Nintendo's darkest times, not even objectively so if I held true and steady to my point of view.

In my opinion, because this may be forever-contended with, Nintendo is still paying as a company, largely, holistically, and in "consumer-trust-retribution" or whatever the term is for it, for the obscenities, bogus, aberrations in gameplay and design which they have dealt their most cherished brands in the GameCube generation, with Mario, Zelda and Mario Kart.

The only reason I accept moving forward with Nintendo today is not just because I forgive lightly "as a loyalist" because Wind Waker, even the step down from 64 to Sunshine, and Double Dash!! (far and away the biggest franchise fall) cannot be forgiven easily, as passable as "mere games" as they were.

The reason I am where I am today with Nintendo is because I still have that last remaining sparing ounce of trust for them. And because they themselves know (and we know they know) that they have disappointed, at least a couple generations over, their dedicated fans with this or that release.
We can debate the GameCube's trials and tribulations endlessly, but I don't really want to. TL;DR take: the look of their games became overly cartoonish, even babyish, infantile in this era; it needs no further evidence than in the horrendously ugly, disgustingly unrefined look of Double Dash!!

The last shred of brand trust is in our hands, directed conservatively toward them. ...All things considered, in my (conservative) opinion, the Wii U was a more satisfying, enjoyable experience than the GameCube was. This is why I am still on board with them today. Not because of what comes later, or how things might turn out. Because of simple, sober hindsight: the Wii U era was a truly better era for me.

Nintendo will eventually, either release

1. A good old reliable title come NX launch (Super Mario, Mario Kart, F-Zero, Mario Party, WaveRace): if it ends up looking as jaw-droppingly impressive as what we'd gotten in the N64 days, they've automatically won me over.

2. An AAA Zelda launch title. If the Zelda game wins over critics, I'm sold. If it falls flat the way Twilight Princess did, I'm out for good.

Basically, in the failed form of the alternatives, Nintendo will have proven once and for all that they can no longer replicate the success I've come to expect of them. They will have definitely sunk in this outcome, in the larger industry.

@PlywoodStick I'm not so much riled up by the article as I am about the many facepalm worthy comments to this article...so here's some puppies instead of facepalms to cheer everyone up!

There wont be a New Nintendo Console until at least 2017.

We still have great games to look forward to even if they are winding down for the NX. I'm sure it will be backwards compatible.
Great games such as:
The Legend of Zelda
Star Fox
Shin Megami Tensei x Fire Emblem
Xenoblade Chronicles X
Yoshi's Woolly World
Splatoon
Mario Maker
Dragon Quest X

@Neko_Rukiafan: But he has a point. If there is a NX coming out in the next few years, they're launching with no third party support at all, thanks to how they handled the WiiU. So they need a real seller to launch it, something at least the fanboys will buy right away, so they can peddle their great launch numbers to big studios and hope to bring them back.

I think they're delaying it now falsely claiming 'quality' to get it closer to the NX release, then they'll say 'oh we just woke up and thought, "wouldn't it be great to have this on the NX?!"' and delay it some more. But that's been decided already, they're working toward the NX already.

Zelda is the last arrow in their quiver. It would be stupid if them to waste it in a dead platform. Compared to all the lies and screwing over they already did to WiiU customers, this actually just rational.

I don't think it flat out won't be released I WiiU, but it won't be released until they can at least announce the ultimate-ultimate-version for NX. If some hold out and buy it with the NX, it's a small loss.

@IceClimbers Not that I forget about it, it's just not a big title whatsoever in length or ambition so putting it on the same level as two 50+ hour beasts feels sort of silly. I kind of think of it more like a fun spin-off, but yeah, technically you're right, there was also that one.

All I can say is that I really hope not because this would represent a massive failure on Nintendo's part, like it just threw its hands in the air and gave up, and would be a terrible way to deal with the situation from a consumer satisfaction perspective, especially in terms of how it would affect gamer/customer trust going forward into the future with any new products imo.

Nintendo needs to be very careful it doesn't fall into the same kind of trap and repeating mistake that ultimately destroyed Sega and resulted in it going from one of the biggest, more influential and beloved companies in gaming to basically just a name in the crowd that churns out largely forgettable Sonic games a few times a year and occasionally a pretty decent alternative title that some people actually give a crap about.

The worst thing Nintendo could do is basically just drop the Wii U like a brick after a few years because it's not the great success it hoped it would be.

@Sceptic seriously name one game in the Zelda franchise that wasn't delayed at least once. This delay is pretty much expected when it comes to Zelda titles.

The big difference of course is that the Gamecube already had a main Zelda adventure when Twilight Princess was released. To release the next Zelda instalment on both consoles would be quite a statement of defeat by Nintendo regarding the Wii U.

Enough with the Doom and Gloom articles already. Just wait for e3. If it is half as much reveals as last year, you nay-sayers will be eating crow. Wii-U still kicks ass!

312 posts ftr = TL;DR...

Okay guys you need to seriously get a grip on reality the "NX" hasn't been fully announced yet and won't until next year "most likely during E3" and will probably not receive a concrete release date until E3 2017 so holiday 2017 - Spring 2018 seems like a good estimate for its release "if it truly is a home console". On no galaxy in a dimension far far away would the NX release mere months after being formally announced.

@IceClimbers

I was told by Nintendo fans on this very site that games like "Four Swords Adventures don't count" when I pointed out that Nintendo aims to feature at least one Zelda title every single year in some retail/full-priced capacity, and they have done so every year since 1998 except for about 3 years. There is almost never a year without another newly released Zelda game at retail.

@IronMan28

Ooohhh snark! Classy!

Yeah, the Wii was "hinted" at a year before it was officially announced/revealed--and to an extent, so was the NX. Nintendo started this troubling "next console" talk months ago with their "next Mario, next platform" comments from Miyamoto and comments from Iwata of "new hardware underway."

While every company starts experimenting on new hardware as soon as the current hardware is out, Nintendo has been surprisingly vocal for the better part of the last year about new hardware "in the works."

I gauged this only from an official announcement or reveal--not dumbbunnywunny hints and teases--official statements only. And the timeframe between official announcement or reveal to release remains a strong pattern for GC, Wii, Wii U, 3DS, etc.

I get that you were desperate for me to be wrong, but I'm sure you could've done better than just inventing a faulty argument. In this regard, hints, teases, and rumors had no value to the pattern, which was only based around official announcements and reveals.

If I was wasting my time around rumors, I'd have said so from the beginning.

Now, those hints can be used to analyze what the machine may or may not be, but that is little more than educated guesswork.

The NX will be out no later than March 2017. Of this, I am quite certain. I expect it to launch Novembe 2016.

And you will buy it. Because Nintendo.

The Wii U is now dead end anyway, so whatever and whenever it comes, let it be 2016 or 2017, Nintendo also needs to get more third party support.

@DefHalan

No, a new console will not change reputation automatically, but as we've seen with the Wii, it can break free of the failure of the previous console and find a new audience.

Nintendo has a hard road ahead if they want to prevent the NX from becoming their Dreamcast (again, the Wii U is their Saturn), and indeed, it will take more than "just new hardware."

My point was only that the Wii U is tarnished beyond repair. As others have pointed out--and as any rational person should be able to understand--Nintendo's two killer apps, Mario Kart and Smash Bros, failed to move systems or turn around the plight of the console. When even those heavy hitters aren't saving it, then it is very likely beyond saving.

There are only so many patches you can put on a ship to keep it afloat before it just becomes easier to build a new damn ship. It's time for Nintendo to build a new damn ship.

We all understand that Nintendo fans love the Wii U, Nintendo fans love it because it's Nintendo hardware. They'll love NX just as much because the same logo will be on the front. It's bizarre to see so many obvious Nintendo fanboys seemingly not excited for the impending arrival of NX, or trying to make arguments that the Wii U magically has enough staying power to last until 2017. No, it sure as hell does not.

@Everyone Saying to Wait Until E3:

While Nintendo did some fun stuff over the last E3s, let's face reality. They also had so little to show that they trucked out the same titles over and over again--at a show that is supposed to specialize in new games. Xenoblade Chronicles was shown in 2 E3's. Bayonetta 2 was shown in 2 E3's. This year will mark the second E3 to feature Devil's Third in some capacity, and the second where StarFox is talked about. Smash Bros was at two shows.

While everyone else in the industry spends E3 showing off new titles and moving into the future, Nintendo has squandered them by repeatedly showing the same titles over and over. This year they get to drag Fatal Frame along--a game that was already released last year in Japan, and they get to pull out XCX for a third time! Yes, there will be some surprises, yes there will be some titles that are "new" to us (but are just in-development titles that are old news to Nintendo).

I'm not sure why everyone assumes E3 will be magically amazing when the past three years have been lackluster, repetitive, and seen Nintendo seemingly deliberately marginalize themselves in the market. If you want Nintendo to come out all guns blazing at E3 this year, then you should be pulling for them to come out with NX in hand, and DeNA taking half the stage, because if they continue like they have been, this year will not be anything particularly special.

Sorry to be a bummer, but we have little reason to expect Nintendo to be "saving the Wii U" at E3 this year. What is far more likely is that we will see the final swan song titles for the console revealed, and if Zelda is shown at all, don't be surprised if you don't see it running on the Wii U or the GamePad.

@Quorthon Wow, quite a read!!!
Totally agree with everything you said btw.

@Vineleaf I technically don't care if it has Bluray or not, but it would be good to have people stop saying that nintendo systems need something more than just gameplay. This is just something to give it a little edge, since that was what sold the PS3 at first. I just hope nintendo competes with it's rivals this time.

@Quorthon Except the NX could easily be the next handheld console. If it's not a hybrid console then it's going to be a handheld and the comment regarding the next Mario game didn't specify whether or not they were talking about the next home console or the next handheld...honestly you guys are like vampires that feed off of negativity. FACEPALM

The Wii U hasn't done badly considering Nintendo must have spent next to nothing advertising it.

I hope that the NX maintains gamepad compatibility - it would be cool for those of us with Wii Us to be able to use our old Gamepads to sync with it. Shouldn't be a difficult task!

We don't even know what the NX is other than a piece of gaming hardware. It might not be a replacement for either current gen systems, the diagram from the presentation actually showed it as a third product. That might simply have been to balance the image or even an attempt to stop people holding out for it and not buying the current systems, but frankly we don't know either way. So to assume Zelda has been delayed for a joint WiiU-NX release is not really analysing the situation well. Especially when you consider that Nintenso have only done this once before and that most Zelda titles get pushed back a year.

For all we know the NX could be Nintendo taking on the VR market that Oculus and Sony are currently gearing up for. They do have the history for it with the Virtual Boy. But that's mere speculation on my part, which is all this analyst is doing here, speculating.

@Quorthon I can't see the NX becoming a dreamcast, if Nintendo are making apps and games for android/idevice it is only natural for them to sync and connect to their NX. Thus opening up a potentially large market like the Wii.

I patiently awaiting an update for the removal of Nintendo TV and perhaps some element of customisation for the Wii U OS.

How amazing would it be if Nintendo released a console more powerful than Xbone and ps4? Course that may be unlikely given their stance on innovation over grunt. But there is a chance to catch the competitors out, a state of the art console to attract some of the mass market back.

@SanderEvers look up "nintendo skips e3" - they skipped it last year and the year before that - all of the articles surrounding e3 have said 'Nintendo skips e3' or 'Nintendo skips e3 again' - sure they do a nintendo direct. but they don't participate in e3. Sheesh.

what he said is basically common sense to me its what i have been thinking too so yeah? As others have said though there is E3 still but some how im having my doubts on nintendo having something good

either way though i think we all can agree that the wii u still needs more games and fast

wait for E3!.... nuff said.

@IceClimbers
Exactly. I'm not against a more powerful system, or 3rd party games coming. I just know power will be, for the most part, wasted on 1st party games that would have looked just as good otherwise, an that NOTHING can ever bring 3rd part games to Nintendo home consoles. The market has shifted for too long. It's a situation where if you don't have ALL the 3rd party games, you may as well have none, and that's just not going to happen. It's theoretically possible a few games could come, sell well, so a few more come, and so on until 2-3 generations from now there's full 3rd part support. But A) that's not a short term solution and B) the games won't sell anyways so it's a moot point. It'll never happen.

Which means, you like 3rd party games, you have 2 consoles to choose from. You like Nintendo, you have a console and handheld to choose from, or buy both. You don't feel something is worth it don't buy it. But if you think about it, you can buy a Wii U AND new3DS for $500 (and that's withOUT being on sale). That's the price the Xbox One started at, yet that would net you combined libraries from both Wii U and 3DS. So really, that's the way to go. Cause I don't know anyone that plays so many games that the combined Wii U/3DS libraries isn't enough.

@Ogbert Well, both Nintendo-systems should have replacements in the works IMO, 3DS is 4 years old, still not ancient but given hardware development times a follow-up must be in the works, and the WiiU just hasn't taken off in any big way despite the big-name games Nintendo threw at it, so cutting their losses and trying a slightly less unorthodox machine next is the smart thing to do, and that includes seeing if VR pans out for anybody before going all-in on it... (Remember the virtual boy! :3 )

@Quorthon
Nintendo isn't going to save the Wii U. What they need to focus on is their brand, like sony did with the PS3. If they can prove a Nintendo system is worth the investment, even if the Wii U isn't selling well, then their next console will be in a better position from launch. Nintendo probably shouldn't launch a new system if their reputation shows it will just be replaced before it can get traction. Ride the Wii U out as long as possible (3DS and Amiibo will keep money flowing during that time) and once they have recovered their brand recognition, then bring out a new system. They don't have to make the Wii U a success (they probably can't) they just need to show it being a worthwhile investment before replacing it or we will see the same thing that happened with the Wii U

@Kifa Well said!

This website is full of trolls and people who don't know anything about marketing strategies or Nintendo's story at all. I'll stop coming here because it's sad to see a bunch of non life kids declaring the failure of Big N and it seems like the owners love to give them attention, hence why there's an update like that every single week.

The Wii U is far from over and you guys from Nintendo Life can do better than that, these "discussions" should be called "troll bait" instead.

PS: Zelda U won't be released on NX.

@GH05T Don't forget Pokken Tournament and the rumored Mario remake (probably Sunshine HD)

@Neko_Rukiafan I like how you furiously had to rebuff me but insist "no one took the bait". Ok, pal.

That said, its not bait and like I said, I'll put some money where my mouth is. How about you?

No, I don't think Nintendo has decided yet to disregard the WU. I do think it's possible, however, (that) they might be preparing, or in the middle of preparing, for the latter stretch of the console's lifespan(say about 1 & 1/2 - 2 & 1/2, or even 3 years approximately). I even believe it's possible that Nintendo could focus more, or even fully, depending on totally how it goes, on mobile, than anything else, provided enough stock holder pressure, & the right sized profit margins.

I do not believe, however, Nintendo is ready to throw in the towel, regarding WU. It's totally normal for any co. to begin development on their "next (big) thing" after their current whatever is shipped out the door. Also, I believe NX was announced simply for pr to soothe current Nintendo system owners, from thinking Nintendo has said "we're done" with the WU, & N3ds. There would have been no reason for any journalist to say Nintendo's announced partnership w/ DeNA does not mark the end of Nintendo; Nintendo had to give its current install base confirmation they(Nintendo) aren't done making systems, or with their current hardware.

People are reading FAR too much into this. Nintendo announced NOTHING. They confirmed they intend to stay in the dedicated console business. That's it. If you think Sony and MS don't have a team of hardware engineers working on ideas that may or may not make it into the PS5 and XB2, you're lost. Nintendo has been working on its next console since the day the U launched. Same as the others. This was not an announcement of any type, it was just to let share holders know they still intend to make hardware. You don't even know if NX is a handheld, home console, or something entirely different. Wii U will live out its 5 to 6 years, just like every other Nintendo hardware (excluding the VB, RIP)

I love the Wii U so I will be super bummed if Nintendo kills it

What Nintendo did wrong with the Wii U:

• Price is a bit expensive for a cheaper system
• Launching the Wii U with 2 models instead of one, seems they didn't learn from Microsoft and Sony with the launch of the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3. Launching a system with two models often confused consumers more than they help.
• Being late in the HD media offering
• Started practicing DLC
• Terrible launch lineup
• Lack of third party support, not enough third party partnership
• Continuous censorship on some games
• Continue to region lock consoles

What Nintendo did with the Wii U, we already seen with the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. Almost all the practice they had with the Wii U are mostly repeats of the last two gen system and because of that 3rd party refused to support it. Also because of that consumers refused to buy it not because it isn't a good console but because the offering other than Nintendo games are no different from the ones they already got on PS3 and Xbox 360.

The fact that Nintendo launch it with 2 models means to offer consumers a choice but at the same time cause a confusion between which console is a successor and which is a cheaper re-design as the Wii Family Edition and Wii Mini (two inferior model form the original Wii) were also in the market too along with the 32GB and 8GB model Wii U. Because of this consumer loss interest and instead wait for the Xbox One and PS4 instead. If Nintendo want the NX to be successful, they need to know not to repeat the process with the Wii U. Launching one model, offering a better spec and capabilities, maybe include a 450GB - 600GB hard drive for game saves and data storage, and launching it at $300 - $350 would be great alongside a bundle title like new Super Mario 3D game or a killer app title like what Wii Sports and Nintendo Land did for the previous two system. Also abandon the Wii name and better clever name, something that could define the systems capabilities like what the DS and 3DS did.

For now; however, I think they shouldn't abandon the Wii U just yet, give it 3 or 4 more years (around 2018 or 2019) and launch the NX sometime near the end of the Wii U's lifespan (around 2018). That way Wii U owner doesn't feel like abandoning the system.

@Shworange no the 380 are console exclusive out of a library of almost 500 titles now.

So 2014 was smaller than 2013 and 2015 will be smaller still? well....

2013: 3D World, Pikmin, Wind Waker HD, New Super Luigi U
2014: Smash Bros, Kart, Bayonetta 2, DK:TF, Captain Toad
2015: StarFox, Kirby, Splatoon, X, Yoshi, Devil's Third

... does this guy even know how to internet?

@Shiryu - Agreed! I am tired of hearing from "analysts"...at least it's not Pachter!

@InnerSpirit pretty sure he meant 380 console exclusives during wii u's lifespan thus far including indie & virtual console titles.

@LadyTal Pachter.. the mother and father of all anal...ysts.

Why is everyone so interested about sales these days? I mean, who cares as long as the Wii U sells enough to warrant its existence.
"But what about the 3rd party!" people are yelling. "We need more games no one's gonna buy!" In reality, we don't need endless amounts of games- or at least i don't need 'em. My wallet can barely handle the current situation with all the virtual console offerings, upcoming exclusives and Wii games i still lack. I'm extremely satisfied to Wii U in general.

@Ootfan98 Thanks for the advice!...i got my wii u...but couldnt reply till now

@BLPs Toon link needs to grow up nintendo needs to grow up look back to 1989 nintendo was on top of the world