Analysts Wonder If Super Mario Can Save Nintendo 

If he can save Peach so many times, Nintendo should be easy cake. Excepting if the company is in another castle.

Hopefully under the new regime and rebranding of US stores, and with NX coming up, Nintendo kind of starts to not lean so heavily on Mario for a little while. Let's promote their other iconic characters and franchises a little more.

After SMM, I'm a little Mario'd out. I love the game, and all games featuring him but I think it's high time to take an altogether different approach.

Well Pachter is right even if he is stating the blindly obvious. As for Mario being a generator of mobile revenue... Well he likely could be, but I doubt we'll see a Mario game that requires the precision that requires tactile controls on a touch only device, as that is one of things Nintendo prides itself on.

Too late to shake the kiddy image so run with what you know and put it out there so it's in our face daily. Make the kids not be able to ignore it.

Mario now needs a series of 3d games and proper at that. None of this 2d 3d stuff and they need to lay off of any more 2d Mario's for about 5 years. After all Mario Maker can hold over for that amount of time all on its own as it's a new experience every time you play it. It's just not the experience I want anymore.

@Raien It's not that they forgot, but rather that was a fundamental shift in thinking under the Iwata regime: All inclusive. Family oriented. Everyone can play.

It paid dividends in the Wii/DS era, not so much in the Wii U/3DS era. Nintendo needs to shift back to their NES/SNES roots and revisit what shot them to prominence among the "gamer" crowd that PS and XB now completely own. Those players are just begging for a reason to jump ship back into Nintendo's arms. But every generation Nintendo gives them less and less reasons to leave PS and XB for their offerings.

The thing that bugs me about this focus on mobile is that they're too little, way too late. This should hvae gone down 5 years ago. Mobile gaming now to me is a joke.

That analyst should get a emulator on his samsung/iFail whatever and play mario for say...30 seconds..then tell us again if it works well on touchscreens

Pro tip: it doesn't no matter how you configure it

No saving required.

@davetheshrew Sonic CD plays just fine on touch screens, plus Nintendo can make a new twist on Mario or make a new controller that you can connect to your phone.

Arrington: Pretty spot-on for the most part, though I feel that I should comment that I hope Nintendo's mobile content isn't mostly Mario; there are plenty of other stellar franchises in their impressive IP library.
Taylor: Pretty spot-on as well, methinks.
Pachter: Stating the obvious, though I do know someone who's holding out on getting a Wii U because they're waiting for Zelda U to (hopefully) come to the platform; I myself just picked my system up in July. Plus, I didn't know that Nintendo needed saving.

Although I love Mario, I'm more likely to pick up a system for a game in the Zelda, Pokemon, or Metroid franchise; the initial reason why I upgraded to a 3DS was so I could play OoT3D.

@Raien "Mario 3 and Mario World were so magical because it felt like there was a hidden world beyond what the player could see. But now, not only does Nintendo make no attempt to hide the artifice, it relies more heavily on art styles that draw attention to the artifice.

A perfect example is Mario World's Star Road versus New Super Mario's Warp Cannons. Star Road was a surreal space-themed location that was hinted at in the instruction manual. Players knew it existed but had no way of knowing how to reach it, which made the player question often, "Could that spot on the world map be the entrance to Star Road?" Hence, it excites the imagination.

The Warp Cannons, on the other hand, are just objects that shoot the player to a later world. They are also shown on the map for every player to see. And Nintendo left gaps in the terrain that clearly marks a path from a level to the cannon. So there's no secret here; no wonder as to which levels lead to warp cannons or what the player might find upon reaching the warp cannon. It is as boring as it could possibly get." - I agree w/ this, very much. Kirby's Adventure was another example of what you're talking about.

@Trinexx: I've wanted a WU for some time, & finally got one last July(2014)

We know the Wii U is winding up, and we know that the games being released are in respect for the people that have parted with their money already. I think maybe a bit of the price cut before Christmas would sell a few more consoles with an excellent catalogue and Zelda on the way, but then if the NX has backwards compatibility they may just use the Wii U lineup to sell that instead.

The Wii U is a mistake on Nintendo's part, but it's a brilliant mistake for those who love it. Like me.

There's not going to be one single game that will save Nintendo. Instead, they need a variety of top games in order to do well. The Wii U has plenty of awesome games now, but it suffered because of the lack of games when the Wii U was first released. If there's multiple great games released early on in the NX life cycle, then Nintendo should be able do well again.

Im among the few (if not only) people around here, who loves a strong mascot wit a regular presence.
Mario is also a franchise that is strong enough to survive experimentation. Unlike, say, Metroid, which saw a gigantic backlash due to its upcomming spin off game, its perfectly fine for Mario to be featured in the most obscure ways possible.
If they would go the UbiSoft route and pump out NEW Mario Bros games on a conveyor belt, id too be fed up.
But as long as the games a varied, i dont really care which cast is involved.

As for "saving" Nintendo...i think there are other companys out there that are in a more desperate need for a saving throw....

"Anyone who has waited this long is unlikely to be swayed by this game" says the great Pachter. My buddy was never interested in Nintendo until MM came out and thats what made him buy one.

Just shut up, Pachter.

Really........do these guys have real jobs or what? How can they possibly come up with this if Super Mario Maker is selling well enough?

I'll admit that the Mario games on the Wii U can't save the Wii U despite them selling well as they should, but they do their job and that's making them quality.

Also, how can they not see 3D land sales and compare that to 3D World sales? Are they really that stupid?

@Kirby_Fan_DL3 Sonic cd doesnt require the intricate placement of a sprite pretty much constantly, oh and suuure we all need ANOTHER controller....isnt it enough we have wii mote, wii u pro pad, the big pad and usb gamecube pad connectivity to one console, now you are saying its a good plan for people to carry around a propriety pad while they carry their phone just to play a first party title, please try harder.

Well, they're right on both points. A) Nothing is saving the Wii U at this point and B) Mario will translate well to mobile.

But I mean, that's just stating the obvious. Not sure what investors, shareholders, or Nintendo themselves would do with this information that isn't already in motion. But that's the kind of information that industry analysts offer for free. We like to poke fun at Pachter, but it's easy to forget that it's not his career to say dumb or obvious things about Nintendo on the internet.

No disrespect meant, but analyst aren't exactly who I would turn to for advice about games, or what makes games profitable. Sure Nintendo has made some mistakes over the years, but just shoving them solely on mobile would be very bad. Besides, Nintendo is a toy company. It isn't zynga or popcap, or heck even Sony. They have their own way of doing things, and simply following the trend to a T isn't one of them. They are the trend makers, not the trend takers. drops mic (is aware that last part was dumb.)

The premise of the question is flawed, Nintendo doesn't need "saving" it just needs to reach more people hence their mobile strategy.

i think Nintendo is doing a good job when it comes with game....but what Nintendo needs to do is a console that can bring the third-party

@crimsontadpoles
I strongly disagree. Half Life 3 exclusive to Wii U will sell 50 million units.

@Einherjar
+1

Well, thanks for stating the obvious.

Saving Wii U - impossible at this point, I mean, lets face it, it's a home video game console w/ a projected 5 year life span at birth, it's now 3 years old, no where to go buy down, and it was never up.

Saving Nintnedo - yes, Mario could almost single handedly save Ntineod. Not in the video game sector, as @gatorboi352 pointed out, enough already, but there is an entire world beyond video games that Nintneod could be making money w/ Mario licensing, and it barely scratches the surface.

Go walk around Walmart, or peruse Amazon, and see how many items have Frozen on them. Games, puzzles, clothing, books, backpacks, paper goods, pencils, erasers, rulers, coloring books, Frozen is practically an entire industry. Same for Marvel characters. Or DC characters. Or Star Wars. Forget Where's Waldo?, where's Mario? Steve from Minecraft is everywhere too. And the birds from Angry Birds. But Mario? Very hard to find. And that's with SMM just released on shelves.

Now maybe nobody is asking Ntinedo for licensing rights to make a Mushroom Kingdom breakfast cereal, but I'd bet Nintneod is just being cautious. MK8 does have his own fruit snack box, so that's something, but it's a drop in the bucket compared to Frozen.

And all the people in this thread and others saying "Ntineod" is OK b/c they are Ntinedo, sorry but I just don't see it. Sony - yes, everybody knows the tv company, Microsoft has Windows, heck probably even Sega and Atatri are better well know. Just walk around any mall this holiday and see how many people you can spot w/ Sega, Atari or Ntinedo t-shirts. I just don't see "Nintnedo" as anything special in the US outside of the few million or so "Nintnedo fans". Pokemon, yes, they're huge, Mario is well known. Everybody and a their mother owned a Wii. Ask people if they have played Wii Sports and half of America will say "Yes". Ask anybody if they have played a "Nintnedo game" and you'll probably get a lot of blank stares.

Nintendo isn't Apple. They aren't McDonalds. They aren't Coke. Maybe Royal Crown. They aren't doomed, but they're nothing special either. There is a ton more they could do to become ubiquitous, and Mario i sprobably a great place to start. Disney owns Star Wars and Marvel and Pixar, but everybody still loves Mickey Mouse. Nintneod can have Pokemon and Wii Fit, but Mario should be their poster child. Heck I'd bet the Ntineod World store in midtown - which is always very empty compared to every Disney store I've ever been in - could probably draw larger crowds if they changed the name to "Mario World". "Pokemon Palace" even.

The Wii U does not now need to be saved. It just needs to survive until the child of Wii U is with us. Maybe next year with Starfox on board.

Either way, Mario will always be with us, even if the consoles are not. Nintendo could do a Saga.

The NES Remix games would be a good choice for mobile. They would be good for short sessions, could catch the eye and nostalgia of older consumers that may have drifted away from Nintendo, and give just a taste of the classic Nintendo games that could lead people to search out Nintendo's platform to play the full versions. They have already made tons of money on the NES Remix games that they could charge like 99¢ or make it free with some kind of reasonable microtransactions.

Nintendo need to be saved? I dont think so.

Wait, what does Nintendo need to be saved from?

@rjejr Now I'm going to have to go back and watch that old Nintendo cereal commercial again.

@Vineleaf - If you find it let me know. I know I've seen it, but didn't feel like looking, I'm swamped. I just bought this for my kids bar mitzvah b/c it kinda looked like Mega Charizard X, it's 9' tall and flaps it's wings. He's doing a SSB theme, got some great music picked out for cocktail hour.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/like/252093282199?ul_noapp=true&chn=ps&lpid=82

How many stupid random "opinions" from Michael Pachter are you guys going to post?

@rjejr Don't really know what we're allowed to do link-wise, but here it is!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=REpiQnnp6p8

@Raien I thought there were a lot of good secrets in the NSMBU world, less so in SM3DW. I do notice that the games I play most for Wii U (Smash, Mario Kart, SM3DW, and now Super Mario Maker) are largely compilations of disparate concepts rather than rich cohesive singular universes (Note that I view Pikmin 3, DKCTF, and NSMBU as counterexamples, with fun, cohesive worlds).

I see your point, but I don't think it's quite that stark. These days "world building" tends to mean massive, open world, first-person, American-style RPGs. I think Nintendo does a really good job of using art style to make a world a joy to dwell in, even if it's not quite as loaded with secrets as it used to be. Part of that is a product of the Internet age too; secrets don't really work too well anymore, because everybody knows them all as soon as the game comes out.

Anyway, I'm so deep in Monster Hunter 4U and Xenoblade Chronicles 3D that basically all my gaming time goes to my 3DS. That's not a knock on Wii U, since I have thoroughly enjoyed the games I have for it, but the 3DS library is incredible, and full of third parties and extremely rich worlds.

@VanillaLake Pachters opinions are usually the obvious. Though he says the Wii U is doomed that won't stop millions from enjoying their purchase and the dozens of great games it has to offer. Nintendo nor any other gaming company can't hit gold with every console they make. And despite the Wii U possibly being retired a little early there is always the NX to look forward to, but not before Xenoblade, Star Fox, and Zelda release of course.

Of course Nintendo's portfolio translates well to mobile games! The games and franchises that Nintendo has translates into everything when the time is spent creating a quality product. However, there's only so much you can do in a mobile game.

I personally think the area they need to concentrate more on is the film industry. Mario could be a hugely popular and profitable film if the correct studio, writer, and director were to work on it. The same can be said about Donkey Kong, Metroid, and The Legend of Zelda. Just look at how much revenue the comic book industry has made in the last 10 years because of their comics to films have worked out great. The same could happen for Nintendo.

He expects we'll see a "big sales spike over the next few months"?
Consoles sell more during the holiday season?! Wow, I'm so glad you're paid for this!

@dkxcalibur Mario Maker would be a great title for mobile in my opinion. I own it on Wii U and enjoy it, but maybe have the base game could be free and then Mario Bros 3 theme is paid DLC as well as some items. The Wii U version would still be superior with buttons and premium content, but just an idea. And I agree that the Wii U with its Gamepad would be a great source of material for mobile.

@Vineleaf O-M-G Nin-TEN-doh

I've always pronounced it Nin-tend-o, guess I've been saying it wrong.

@Nico07 While I agree that creating levels on mobile device (phone & tablets) may be okay, playing those levels is a completely different topic. I too own Super Mario Maker and while I love creating levels, ultimately I love playing levels even more. Have you ever tried playing a good platformer on a cell phone or tablet? I have, and I have no desire to play games that require precision on a mobile device. But this is just my opinion. If they were to create games for mobile devices, I would be okay with it as long as it didn't negatively harm the Nintendo console games.

@Olmectron ...or if I'm at the controller. As I grow older, I'm becoming rubbish at platformers.

only Nintendo can save Nintendo

I do think there is too much dramatization and over exaggeration that simply because one console struggles to sell, the entire company is therefore in jeopardy and needs to be "saved".

I'll admit they've seen better days, but they did turn a profit last fiscal year as I recall. I'd say before a company hits the "needs saving" status, they better be losing money hand over fist, selling off assets, looking for buyouts and contemplating bankruptcy.

That's a company that needs saving. Nintendo? They'll be fine, even if their Wii U console didn't sell that well.

I doubt that anything can save Michael Pachter.

This guy is so annoying! Nintendo doesn't need saving, it's doing fine.

The question is not if I agree. It is if I care. And the answe is no, since Super Mario Maker is pure joy unleashed.

"including Nintendo Life reader favourite Michael Pachter"
I see what you did there .

I couldn't care less what some analysts think.

Nintendo doesn't need saving. It's not in debt, and the Wii U is profitable now.

The only proven way to make money on mobile gaming is free-to-play with endless microtransactions. If Nintendo doesn't realize this and releases a quality game on mobile with a $19.99 asking price they will fail miserably. Mobile players don't really want to play a game, they want a brief distraction while they sit on the toilet/ride the bus/wait for their meal at a restaurant.

Something like Rusty's Real Deal Baseball is the best option. A Mario platformer, which I guarantee Nintendo would never allow as a free to start download, is a bad idea.

@Raien Monster Hunter 4 being made by a 3rd party but Xenoblade Chronicles is made by a studio Nintendo fully owns so it's a 1st party game. 2nd party is a company that makes games because they are partially owned by the Publisher or have a contract. Camelot Software Planning is a 2nd party developer and HAL Laboratory is one as well for Nintendo. Game Freak could be considered one for Pokemon

@Raien - First Party is software made by the hardware manufacturer. Second Party is software "for hire" contract work where the hardare manufacturer is the publisher but a independent studio does the development. Third party is anything publisher and developed by someone who is not the hardware manufacturer. Nintendo would be a third party publisher if it developed and published a xbox or playstation game.

Nothing will save the Wii U from it's fate at this point. Any analyst that wants to argue if the console will or could be "saved" is wasting your time. Now I think that Nintendo will continue to support the console with good games and there is much to enjoy on the console, but you are delusional if you think anything will lead to PS4 type sales numbers.

@Technosphile Sounds like Square Enix pricing on mobile platforms. I wonder how well that's working out for them?

Well, Super Mario Maker is not going to save the Wii U. It's too little, too late. But, it will do pretty well in its own right, I'm sure.

@Superryanworld not as well as it is for Supercell.

@Splatburst Fair enough, I can't argue with that. Half Life 3 could probably have even made the Ouya a roaring success if it was an exclusive to that console.

@davetheshrew What!?Have you even played the sonic games on mobile? They do require skill and tough jumps, heck they're basically like all the other versions with better graphics and stuff, it's not dumbed down like you think it is. But I do agree on the whole controller to the phone thing that's crazy. Nintendo like I said earlier needs a normal system with power, third party and crazy advertising.

I don't think Nintendo's goal right now is to even 'save' the Wii U, it's more like making sure it can bring in enough until the NX comes around.

If anything, I'm kind of glad the Wii U isn't as big as a hit as the Wii. If it was, I bet we would get 'NEWER ULTRA MARIO WORLD U' or 'WII SPORTS WORLD' and stuff like that. Not that they would be bad games, just uninspired. Instead, it made them slow down and think, recently we've been getting a lot less Mario and focus on a couple new IPs like Splatoon, while a few older ones like Pikmin and Starfox gets back in it's place.

@Nico07 That man either says obvious things, things that somebody else said before or just things like later are proven false like "This is the last consoles generation" which he says every generation (he will be right eventually, before his retirement probably). I don't understand why people keep paying attention to him.

About the Wii U, I'm quite disappointed with Nintendo behaviour and philosophy in recent years (since the Wii era) and I knew their good luck could not last forever. I hope Nintendo goes back to what they were before but, at the same time, I fear they might move into casual stuff that they can port to smartphones. They said only a few games are going to be for smartphones and that's fine if they make money, but recent NX rumours talk about more casual and touch-screen stuff on their next console/hybrid. Is this the end of the Nintendo we love? Wouldn't be better if they turned into a software company? Just questions, I'm not sure about the answers at the moment.

"Michael Pachter"

I remember when this guy said the wii was doomed and the vita would dominate the portable market, yeah.

Great as it is, I can't see Mario Maker "saving" the Wii U. We've had other great games, even with unique and fresh experiences (Splatoon), but that hasn't really impacted sales massively. It looks like a combination of image (Nintendo is for things you played when you were a kid, real "players" go for the PS4), tech specs (lower specs usually equate to budget version in the mind of the consumer) and a shrinking overall market. I would argue that there's a case for saying that not having wide third party support has done more damage than can be undone by fantastic first party titles. A lot of people want Nintendo games, but apparently about three times as many want MGSV, Project Cars etc more. Changing market, changing tastes, perhaps. At least 600 000 participants in the latest mobile Shuffle competition. Way less for 3DS Shuffle competitions. I can definitely see the sense in embracing mobile, but I'll still take the traditional console for my gaming pleasure if I may.

Maybe Splatoon could become the next big franchise for Nintendo. I could see a Splatoon Crazy Taxi, a Splatoon Jet Set Radio or a Splatoon Space Channel.

Like many other people say I don't think the Wii U can be saved if that means the Wii U has to hit over the 30 million mark. I do think the Wii U can at least sell some more million unites even if the Wii U will end up selling less than 15 millions.

If Nintendo promote Mario Maker and Splatoon right along side Xenoblade Chronicles X for Christmas I do think Nintendo can help the Wii U sell at least 500 000 if not a million and over if they market the Wii U and its games right :+). I know the Wii U probably wouldn't be the most selling console this Christmas, but I do hope the Christmas sales will at least be something.

I also think Mario as a iconic video game character as he is could help Nintendo in their mobile plan, but I am unsure of what type of games would work best ;^^. I know endless runners have been brought up as a joke at least, but I do know I think that the Mario Mini series might have to do something with the mobile games. As for what I want I am not sure, but I guess a RPG, but that probably wouldn't be the best option as Mario Bros is the series that should be on the mobile platform if the format works.

While I don't see Mario Maker "saving" the Wii U, but I can see Mario Maker giving the Wii U good bump as there so much about Mario Maker all around the internet or at least gaming related sites and tempting people who doesn't have a Wii U to buy a Wii U .

Remember what happened with Mario Kart 8 and Super Smash Bros. for Wii U? Now keep in mind what happened with Super Mario Maker and voilà, the Wii U situation isn't that bad all of a sudden.

@gatorboi352 Nice avatar. I've been thinking for a while that Nintendo should really consider a Super Mario Bros. Movie game mode in Mario Maker.

@Technosphile yeah it certainly seems so plus many of the big mobile games advertise like mad, something Nintendo isn't so great or consistent at doing.

Am I the only one who thinks the ads on this are getting a bit much?

Imagine trying to hold down run in a Mario game... on a smart phone. Seriously, who is actually buying games on their phone!?

Nintendo's Wii U is the best thing that's ever happened.
Casuals just haven't realised it yet because they are still using their Wii.
I know so many people that still play Mario kart Wii and New super Mario brothers Wii all the time, and they think it's just so amazing.
It is amazing still but if only they knew that there is Mario kart 8 and super Mario 3D world.
Once these casuals realise that the Wii U is a new thing and they notice these new games, it's up the ladder Nintendo go again.
Oh and also when they notice super Mario maker.... Look out!!!

"Super Mario will sell mobile revenue" is analyst code for "PLEASE let the mobile industry win!" You'll be eating those words soon enough, analysts.

NL staff, I have to request that articles revolving around analysts get their own "Analysts" category, because calling their opinions "News" is just inappropriate. You guys have your own "Soapbox" or "Talking Point" categories for when your staff members want to share their opinions with the readers, and analysts' opinions are "News" because...? "News" should be reserved for facts, not the mindless tripe that middle-aged men are paid to spew.

@Moon I bought Sonic 2, but only because it includes levels that didn't make the cut in the original game, plus I plan on getting a Bluetooth controller soon.

I really don't see Mario working on mobile... Plus, I don't think mobile will be the wonder analysts make it out to be, but that's just me.

Save from what? Profits?

I don't really see a true Mario title, meaning not a DRM riddled, micro-transaction defiled mess, as working well on mobile. The value of a high quality Mario title is clearly above the "race to the bottom" that the mobile market is. That was part of Nintendo's statements in the past, and I still stand by those statements. (Even if it turns out Iwata and others folded on those previous statements in his last few years.)

I could see something like an Advance Wars title working well on mobile, although it might be closer to Chaos Rings or something like that in price. There are more people warming up to the idea of the mobile market having higher resolution and/or bigger titles, thanks to tablets, but Nintendo would still would have to overcome the horribly unfriendly app store ecosystems.

I'm still waiting to see what comes of the DeNA capital alliance. Hopefully, it won't turn out to be a deal with the devil, so to speak.

@Technosphile woops, sorry, didn't mean to send that directly to you, I was posting on my phone, and hitting reply on someone's name is the fastest way to scroll down.

@Vineleaf @rjejr
After watching that video, I think I actually remember how that cereal tastes.

@rjejr you've got let me know specifically how you were saying it before. I'm too curious. Do you mean you were accenting the Nin? Or are you simply saying you said tend in the middle and then o at the end. Because I'm sure if I could tell the difference in that audibly.

Here is in Japanese: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4eirKMfnYJ4
Here is ... 70's American educational film voiceover guy?: http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/nintendo

@allav866 I agree... Unless Nintendo Life wants to posit that opinions from analysts count as "News", as a comparison to tabloids like The Sun saying their headlines classify as "News"...

@aaronsullivan I think I accent the NIN, NINtendo so that the o is almost not there. Don't ask me to pronounce how I type it though.

Here is something to consider. The Wii U is not a failure it just isn't a huge commercial success. The main reason was the name. Calling it just the Nintendo U would be better U ( Universe, ultra, ultimate) marketing slogan. But back to my point Nintendo has sold about 15 million console with most of the games on the system are stellar and sell in the millions. The system to game ratio is high and their all first party so Nintendo is making money regardless. Same goes for 3ds . May I not mention Amiibo. I love my Wii u and will love the nx. Nintendo does not need saving just new ideas and ventures which they are in the process of. Third party's will mostly come back if the nx will be a success.

@bitleman Why, why you had to go and mention them? Now I'll be sad for the rest of the day...

Damnit, can you please stop talking about "Saving the WiiU" and using "Analyst's opinion's", especially Michael Pachter's. This site is getting as bad as wiiudaily.

PS. You should never use "Michael Pachter" and "wisdom" in the same sentence. Unless it says something like "Michael Pachter is an absolute joke of an analyst, who lacks more knowledge and wisdom than the Wii U's suggested, lack of sales."
Stating the obvious doesn't mean he's good at his job, Wedbush Securities should just drop the old monkey scrotum already.

PPS. You should probably just not use "Michael Pachter" as a credible source of info, as an analyst's opinion or otherwise, full-stop.

"It is part of a strong portfolio of content that will translate well to mobile devices." - Not unless said device has buttons and a Dpad...

No saving required, certified poopyheads.

@MarioWiiU Problem is, most people bought a Wii to play Wii Sports or Wii Sports Resort. Granted, Mario Kart Wii sold millions of copies, but you have countless Wii systems that are sitting in nursing homes, doctor's offices, or owned by non-gamers who don't care about Mario, Zelda, or any of Nintendo's traditional franchises.

To them, their Wii is still good enough. My parents are one of those gamers. The only thing they ever really played on their Wii was Wii Sports and Wii Sports Resort.

And that right there is probably Nintendo's biggest mistake this generation, not only did the forget the lessons that sold the DS and Wii in record numbers(Simple=Bringing in a new audience) by trying to push 3D and the Gamepad. They never did a proper sequel to Wii Sports Resort.

All they put out was a remake that has fewer games and options then Resort did.

Which means people who bought the Wii for Wii Sports saw a new system with a confusing controller(the complete reverse of the Wiimote), Nintendo shifting their marketing away from them, and a new Wii Sports game that offered fewer features then Resort did.

Nintendo could have kept the casual market while trying to get the hardcore market. I own a Wii U, and my parents won't touch it. They don't give two flips about seeing Mario in HD, or fancy new stuff like that. The Gamepad is confusing compared to the Wii Mote.

My point is this, the biggest problem with the Wii U is the fact that the Wii's audience simply never upgraded. To them, they have no reason to upgrade as long as their Wii can play Wii Sports, and can play video services.

And if their Wii does happen to break down, they can simply find another one for dirt cheap.

Nintendo wants to sell Wii U's? They should have dropped the price when they saw things going south. Just like it worked with 3DS it would work with Wii U. $200 would have them flying out the door, $250 would help. They should have re-branded the system with a different name also. So many mistakes for such a great system.

Even if they release the new Zelda game tomorrow, people will still think twice about getting a Wii U because it's too late in the game now. The Wii U is on it's final lap and people know it.
The fact that Nintendo keeps releasing quality games for it tells me the NX will be backwards compatible with these games (probably through eShop). Why else would they spend so much money on such quality games this late in the game?

I could see a smartdevice version ogf puzzle and dragons super mario edition happen. I sold my wii u 3 months ago and bought the Xbox one. I have to say that i have had more singleplayer fun with the xbox thirdparty games in 1 month than I had with the wii U the 2 years i owned one. Except of course from Hyrule Warriors.