Poll: Are You Optimistic About Nintendo's 2016?

Altogether this will be an interesting year in the making.

I am optimistic that when zero mission releases in North America Thursday people will start complaining about another game

I'm all about a great year. A new Zelda, Pokemon yellow, Dragon Quest a plenty, Fire Emblem, and I haven't even scratch the surface.

It's going to be awesome

All I can hope for is that Nintendo won't disappoint us as much as it did last year.

I think they've got this year in the bag! If 2015 was decent, it is because Nintendo was just keeping a lot of stuff for this year (so to speak)! And as they've learned the mistakes with the Wii U, NX is gonna be a beast! Three Zeldas, Fire Emblem, last batch of Smash DLC, Star Fox, possibly a new console and Mario, in addition to various ventures in different markets! This year's going to be both one of interest and fun!

I always try to stay optimistic. Unless there are any delays, I'm sure this year will be just fine. Maybe not the greatest, but definitely not the worst.

Gonna be a great year! Mainly for 3DS but I cannot wait for Zelda U!

Off to a pretty good start this year!

It's gonna be a poor year for Wii U more so if the NX is indeed coming later this year,However I'm more optimistic for 3DS.

Revile and possible launch of NX and Zelda U, all I one year!? Very exited!

I just hope any NX announcement doesn't make the WiiU suffer, like if it pairs up with the gamepad, and can transfer over our content and games and finally link all purchases to an account system, that wouldn't discourage purchases on WiiU as much as if it didn't...

Not too many games I'm super jacked for come to mind... Although Zelda will probably be good. And I'm happy the remakes of Dragon Quest VII and VIII are coming out in America. And I couldn't be any less excited for NX.

Looks like a great year again for the rpg lover on the 3ds side. For Wii U Other then Zelda after April it's looking pretty bleak.

A lot more is not happening. One, sort of new Wii U game Starfox and an old Zelda game with a make over. So let's assume the new NX is released Q4, we can live with that because we are going to get a brand new console with a whole bunch of 'new' games.

Those with a 3ds will have enough new games to keep going until Q4.

Anything else is just hype. New 3ds games, well that is why we have a 3ds. E3, we expect news, nothing new there. The NX release this year, that is expected. If it is not scheduled for this years then Nintendo would have nip the rumours in the bud before now.

If the NX is anything other than a basic console with better graphics and more power and more storage and a good basic controller and some killer games then we may have another Wii u story ahead.

Zelda U is coming, so it's going to be a good year regardless of what happens.

I think Nintendo are going to have a great 2016 and make a massive profit from both mobile and consoles. I still suspect there are a couple of surprise Wii U games to be revealed in the coming months. Pokemon Go is coming. NX will be revealed causing comment section meltdown when the specs indicate it is not as powerful as the PS4.

Despite my typical tendency towards cynicism, with the right reveals and moves, Nintendo has the chance to have a monster year. I think the overall success will be decided by the second half of the year. If the NX reveal gets people excited, and good titles are dropping for Nintendo's hardware, I think there's a ton of potential this year, especially with the Zelda and Pokemon anniversaries to celebrate.

@faint Sure, but at least it's a great start!

I think this will be a good year at best, decent at least.

There are some exciting games coming to both the Wii U and 3DS this year. As for the Smartphone Apps, the Miitomo does not interest me in the slightest. So, they really have to win me over with their other Apps, or I am not on board.

I also am very eager to learn more about the NX, and it's launch titles. I'm hoping for a sucessor to the 3D Mario franchise (64, Sunshine, Galaxy 1+2), a REAL Metroid game, and some unique and new Nintendo games. I also want REAL 3rd party support (not the crap that the Wii U got).

So all in all, I'm cautiously optimistic.

"Will the WIi U have a good year?" Lol! The Wii U has not had a single good year. Alright, so maybe we're getting Zelda this year (hopefully) but beyond that what else is there? Star Fox and Pokken? 2016 will be the last hurrah for 3DS I think. I'm more curious about the NX than I am excited. So overall, I've apprehensive about 2016 for Nintendo. At the very least it won't be worse than 2015 though.

The games are all there, it's just everything else that I'm not sure about.

No. It wont be terrible, but I don't see anything stellar happening.

They will continue to release virtual console games that should be on the 3DS on the WiiU and more games will have amiibo exclusive functions.

There are some great games coming, so it's not all doom and gloom, I suppose.

(Thou shall not swear~undead)

I'd say it would be pretty decent.

It was fun to vote "Not really, I think it will be an underwhelming year for Wii U" in response to the 3DS question.

2013: horrible year for Nintendo
2014: great year for Nintendo [fans]
2015: pretty bad year for Nintendo
2016: ???

There are a few games on Nintendo systems I am looking forward to in 2016, but I think the Wii U doing well or being "saved" is highly unlikely.

There's plenty of games I'm excited for on the 3DS, though quite a few are games that are already in the US. I'm excited for Star Fox and Zelda for the Wii U, but 2 games I want doesn't make it a good year for the system.

As for the year in general, it all depends on what's revealed for the NX. It could be a fantastic year, or it could be a terrible year. There's no way for us to know yet, but it will be fun to find out. I'm going to remain cautiously optimistic for now.

@Technosphile 2013 was THE best year for Nintendo I can remember.

@Yorumi "Delayed games" describes pretty much all of the systems' lineups this year. No reason to dismiss the games.

Edit: I should probably clarify that I'm including pending localisations under the term "delayed games".

I voted solid year for the wii U, but I mostly mean Zelda by that. There are other things I'll give a shot to such as SMTxFire Emblem or Starfox Zero, but Zelda U really is the only standout title for me thus far.

On the other questions - I think it'll be a good year for 3DS due to several games, I don't really care about Miitomo and other mobile games but I'll at least check them out, I'm not sure what to think about NX's eventual reveal just yet, and I'm cautiously optimistic about Nintendo overall this year.

@RainbowGazelle For 3DS, absolutely. Wii U? Not so much.

That being said, 3DS was obviously Nintendo's bigger system. It's the main course, contrary to what some of this site's commentators would have you believe. Wii U is the side dish, and doesn't/didn't matter as much.

Zelda in and of itself will be great. It may not be to the same luster I have in my head, but it will be great. Everything else, we'll see.

Hmm...Difficult.
I'm not sure for Wii U. I won't deny that Starfox is an exciting release, but I don't think it'll be that huge of a hit in sales, at least not compared to other releases like Mario Maker, Smash or even Splatoon. And while Zelda U will definitely be a big hit, and Twilight Princess HD will help too, I'm just not sure that'll carry the console on its own for the year. Admittely, I don't follow Wii U news very closely and maybe I'm just pessimistic, but I'm gonna have to wait and see. It can turn out great, it'll probably turn out good, but I'm keeping my expectations limited.

I feel more solid about 3DS. It may be because don't have a Wii U and I follow 3DS news more closely, but there are a lot more titles for 3DS I know of and am excited about. Yo-Kai Watch, Hyrule Warriors Legends, Mario and Sonic at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games, and the Pokémon game which currently isn't announced but I'm almost certain of will come this year. Come on, it's the 20th anniversary of Pokémon and they've had short timespans between announcement and release before. Not to mention the new Zygarde form, Something must be coming.

As for mobile games, they don't do a thing for me, mainly because my phone completely worthless and can't run any apps other than the required like WhatsApp. While Pokémon GO looks great, I'm purposely keeping my hype levels low because I know it can't possibly live up to the hype surrounding it. But I do think it has great potential to become a huge success. Miimoto looked like a lot of fun to me, especially because I'm a huge fan of Tomodachi Life, but I just can't see my friends using Miimoto actively. Guess we'll have to wait and see on that one. I think the mobile games have the potential to become huge hits, but potential is the key word. It'll all depend on the market and the selection they have coming out.

I'm excited for the NX. I think the NX has great potential, but it needs to win over consumers quickly. PS4 and Xbone already had a huge fanbase from PS3 and Xbox360, and more and more of those CoD-FIFA loving gamers have jumped to PS4 and Xbone. I won´t write a detailed article here, especially since Nintendo Life already wrote enough of them, but Nintendo has always focused on the casual market, and the key to winning them over is having something that´s clear, easy to understand, and fun. Obviously this has paid off for them, especially with the Wii, and while many Wii owners may have skipped the Wii U, they may be looking for something new too. Besides, other, new consumers have joined the market too, and if Nintendo manages to make the NX into a balance between unique and new, and simple to understand and develop for, that´s also appealing for the mainstream audience, I think we could have a gem on our hands. I honestly have no clue which direction the NX will go. I think the market is a difficult one, and only the right strategy will win consumers over, but I´m not a marketing expert. They did an amazing job with the Wii, still did fine with the Wii U in the long run, but I guess we can only wait and see.

@Yorumi Since when is a game being delayed considered bad behavior?

I think Nintendo's year overall (so big picture, not focusing on specifics) is optimistic, though more intriguing than anything.

As for Zelda, it will follow the Zelda Cycle.

Overall, yes. The NX I'm very much looking forward too and I think the 3DS will have a great year too.

2016 will go out with a bang, I can guarantee that. With games like Zelda U, Twilight Princess HD, Pokken Tournament, Star Fox Zero, Fire Emblem Fates and other unconfirmed titles for Q2, Q3 and Q4, there's no doubt that this will be a great year for games. NX reveal will be huge, so hopefully there's no disappointment--that would upset A LOT of Nintendo fans. Hope the Big N dominates 2016!

@Yorumi Tell me ONE main series home console Zelda game that was bad. Didn't think so.

I'm sure that 2016 will be great, or at least better than 2015.

I'm optimistic for the new year! My body is ready!!

On a personal level, not much. I'll surely get the games on Wii U and 3DS, but as much as I'm curious to see what the NX is, I'm not getting it in the foreseeable future. Ever since Nintendo left Brazil prices have been ridiculous. It's hard enough to "maintain" the ones I got, NX will have to give place to my trusty PS4 and its PS Store price drops.

Messed up on the 3DS poll there. You put Wii U on one of the options.

I'm optimistic!!

Though a lot of that is hinging on a NX holiday release w/ Pikmin 4 and a crazy big amiibo adventure game at launch. Zelda U I've already written off until 2017, they haven't shown enough yet, or even named it.

And 2016 has to be better than 2015 b/c they start the new year by adding My Ntinedo, not canceling Club Nitneod and discontinuing the 10% DDP. And amibo stock seems to be much better, that was a huge issue for most of 2015. And Iwata can't pass away again over the summer. And Nitneod coudlnt 'make another NDE for E3 as bad as that one even if they tried. What's worse than Metroid soccer and an AC board game?

I can't promise a good year, but I feel certain it will be better, if only b/c it can't possibly be worse. They have too much money for bankruptcy and NX is too far along to go 3rd party this gen.

How many posts like this are you guys going to make?

I'm being more optimistic than I should, really. Maybe because I'll get to play my most anticipated games of 2016 (Star Fox Zero and, to a lesser extent, Zelda U) and hopefully pick up a PS4 to play Gravity Rush. Add to the massive backlog I have, and yeah... my 2016's pretty much set. Add to the fact that Nintendo's usually full of surprises (which means we might be playing brilliant games that we never know until... soon in the future?) and somewhat bittersweet excitement of a new gaming device on the horizon.. yeah, I'm being very optimistic. Very optimistic.

I think this year will be better than last year. We're getting a new Zelda, a new (or 3?) Fire Emblem game(s) and Pokken Tournament which is already better than what was on offer last year. That's on top of the reveal (and probable release) of the NX and some of Nintendo's mobile games.

This year won't be amazing, but it'll be an interesting one.

@rjejr Speaking of amiibo, I wonder what their plans are for this year. It's a bit of a blank slate past what, the remaining Smash characters and a second Animal Crossing wave?

How much do you want to bet they're planning on a Pokemon series of amiibo? Great way to add to the anniversary celebration plans. I imagine it'd follow what they did with AC - a select group of the popular ones as figures, and the rest as cards.

Edit: Forgot about Wolf Link and the gold Mega Man.

It's an exciting time too be a Nintendo fan this year.

It's definitely going to be an interesting year. There's quite a few great games on the way for the Wii U and 3DS and I can't wait for the NX's reveal at E3! (or before, who knows?) I feel like I've been saying that in nearly all of my posts now.

This year is already set to be amazing with Dragon Quest VII and VIII on 3DS. That's it, the year is won. Toss in SMT4 Final and Etrian Odyssey V? I'm set to go for my RPG fix. Shame I'm still waiting on a release date for all these games.

While I'm usually pretty positive about Nintendo stuff, the company has really given us very little reason to be anything other than pessimistic. Delay (Zelda U), after delay (StarFox Zero), after delay (Miitomo), with nothing else particularly to look forward to (while I quite like the look of Pokken Tournament, I can't see me getting as I have Smash).

Everything since Splatoon has been pointing to the marginalisation/abandonment of the Wii U. There may be a few surprises yet to come for it, but I have no real reason to expect anything like that at the moment.

NX we know nothing about so, while I'm excited and intrigued, I'm doubtful Nintendo is going to deliver a blockbuster product that it needs to return it to the mainstream in the West.

There should be an option for "i cant afford another console" cause the release date of the NX is when i no longer follow Nintendo consoles, and if it doubles as a handheld, same for that. At least for now. Problem is that nintendo seems to have run out of games to make. This year will be a great year for me, with fire emblem, pokken, star fox, but only cause other games like dishonored 2, mirrors edge 2, no mans sky and horizon zero dawn are coming out on ps4. In past years wii u had enough stuff on its own. This year doesnt seem like that.

Very excited about all the older Japanese games that will finally hit the 3DS in the West. I know I'm going to have at least some good games on Nintendo consoles this year. I'm not really excited about Wii U at all. I'll buy Star Fox, but it doesn't look great still, and I'm pretty sure I'll be playing Zelda U on the NX at the end of the year. Hopefully we get that SMT/FE game.

Excited and nervous about the NX reveal. It could be amazing or it could be horrible. You don't know with this Nintendo.

I'm on the fence - but I hope for the best from Nintendo regardless of the general opinion of those in here. That's all I can really hope for.

I love how the 3DS poll choices were copied from the Wii U one and it wasn't fixed.

To see if the Wii U or 3Ds will have a good year, let’s take a look at their lineups so far:

For Wii U:
January: LEGO Avengers
Zelda Twlight Princess HD
StarFox Zero
Pokken Tournament
Mario & Sonic @ the Rio Olympic Games
SMTXFE
Zelda U

For 3DS:
LEGO Avengers
Mario & Luigi Paper Jam (for NA)
Pokemon Red/Blue/Yellow VC
Megaman Legacy Collection
Fire Emblem Fates
Bravely Second End Layer
Project X Zone
Pokémon Mystery Dungeon (for Europe)
Mario & Sonic @ the Rio Olympic Games
Hyrule Warriors Legends
Yokai Watch (for Europe)
Dragon Quest VII
Dragon Quest VIII
Metroid Prime Federation Force
Sonic Boom Fire & Ice
Zero Escape: Zero Time Dilemma

So-so for Wii U, pretty good for 3DS is what I would say.

3DS is looking very promising but the Wii U isn't looking strong (depends on NX). Not looking forward to NX but will still keep an eye out for it.

I think the 3DS will have a solid year. I think the Wii U will have a rough year. And it's all on Nintendo. A sparse release schedule. Nothing concrete about their digital account setup. And waning effort on the Wii U makes prospective owners very skeptical. I just have a bad feeling that Nintendo will drag their feet, focus on Amiibo, and continue to alienate their fans.

@Technosphile 2013 was the 3DS's best year by a longshot.

Eh, I'm not. I have a bad feeling Nintendo is gonna continue their strange decisions leading up to the next console

I'm cautiously optimistic. I don't care for the filler releases on 3DS and Wii U as long as NX is amazing. The NX launch NEEDS to be strong: 3D Mario, 3D Zelda, Amiibo Game, etc.

I can't wait to see Biggie Smalls included in the Starfox Game

It's the 30th anniversary if Metroid this year. If they font have something planned for it, I will be a little upset. Please let there be a new first person metroid game, in the vein of Metroid Prime that launches with the NX.

The 3DS will have a good year in the occidental world but it seems MHX, GS6 and SMT4F will be the latest big release on it for Japan. I am happy to see all those games coming to us but can't really see this Monster Hunter game, the Yokai Watch follow-ups, the historical Gyakuten Saiban and the future 6th episode, the new Shin Megaten and the last Danball and Inazuma reaching us... Quite sad about Inazuma (as it was the grand finale of the series) and Yokai Watch/Danball Senki since we will only get the "prototype" of those series. I hope they are compatible with patches on the fly and will be translated by some amateurs. (it seems only MHX is currently interesting for some people)

@RantingThespian Is the Prime series part of those real Metroid games? (I see them as another thing)

As much as I am excited for Star Fox Zero and Zelda Wii U, I'm not sure about how it is going to do this year. 2015 had Super Mario Maker, Splatoon, Yoshi's Woolly World, and Runbow, both which made last year a decent year for me. Until there are more 2016 games coming for the Wii U, I'm just gonna leave this as "I'm not sure".

The 3DS, on the other hand, seriously needs to get back on its feet after a bleak year it had in 2015. Happy Home Designer was enjoyable for what it was, Chibi-Robo: Zip Lash is Chibi-Robo: Zip Lash, Box Boy was okay, and...I guess that's it. The only saving graces the 3DS had for me were the standard New 3DS finally coming to the US (in a bundle with HHD) and The Legend of Dark Witch Episode 2. As for the titles in 2016, I have my eyes on Mario & Luigi: Paper Jam, Fire Emblem Fates, and Mega Man Legacy Collection.

So far, I'm indifferent with how Nintendo is going to do in the smartphone wagon. Miitomo looks intriguing, but so far not hyped for it. If it was offered for free, I wouldn't mind giving it a try.

As much as I want to be excited for the NX, the controllers for it have me mixed about it. Sure, they're patents, but from the looks of them, they look...awkward. I'll just have to wait and see what its controller truly look like when e3 2016 rolls on by.

Optimism is what I have always had throughout the years with Nintendo, but it seems that 2016 doesn't have that for me yet. Barely enough new games coming pre-e3 and the upcoming Smash DLC is too hard for me to say goodbye to the whole Smash DLC wagon. The only game I'm even hyped for is Fire Emblem Fates, but that's pretty much it. Nada.

Overall, I don't think 2016 would be a bad year and even if it does turn out that way, I can't imagine it any worst than 2005 or 2008.

Lets hope Nintendo do reveal Nxt this year.

Nintendo's made some very questionable decisions the last couple of years, so it's hard for me to be optimistic about their future at this point. But I do think the 3DS will have a reasonably good year and the Wii U will have a not so great year, that seems pretty obvious.

Zelda U / TP
Starfox Zero
Pokken Tourrnment
Smash DLC
Barvely Second
FE Fates
Dragon Quest
FF Explorers
NX news
New account news and club nintendo replacement
Id say I'm pretty set for my Nintendo stuff this year. Add on my back catolog (Paper Jam, Triforce Heroes and Yokai Watch), Xenoblade Stealing my life and all the other games I want to play on my PS4, its gonna be a busy year.

As long as Zelda delivers it will be the best year they've had for a long time.

@CatMarioTime I like you.

3DS already prove the valor of 2016 with Fire Emblem Fates, ProjectXZone, Bravely Default and Dragon Quest, anything else is just a bonus. The Wii U will not have a good year again, because HD games are expensive and they will not be burned with a dying console. And NX, launch day to me, unless that Nintendo show something stupid like digital only console.

Don't you mean Bravely Second?

I'm super excited about all the 3DS RPGs and the NX reveal. I'm certainly also pretty stoked for Zelda U and Genei Ibun Roku, but otherwise I sadly believe it's gonna be an underwhelming year for the home console. And as far as smartphone apps go, zero interest.

This has got to be a parody, surely.

Oh my, the same story over and over again...

I believe that all in all, it will be an underwhelming year. Nothing is going to move any significant number of Wii U consoles, not even Zelda. Mario Kart didn't, Smash didn't, Splatoon didn't, and Mario Maker didn't. Don't get me wrong, I love my Wii U and have invested heavily in it. But the fact of the matter remains that outside of us hardcore Nintendo fans, no one cares about the thing and nothing is going to change that. Star Fox and Pokkén sales are going to be tepid at best and Zelda will go the same way simply because it's on Wii U, regardless of how amazing it's going to be. If it even releases this year or on the Wii U at all. I'm honestly expecting a delay to 2017 and a move to NX, which will also launch 2017.

With regard to NX, I am not getting my hopes up. Nintendo is very out of touch with the contemporary conventions of the industry and has a tendency to piss a lot of would-be consumers off by doing what they want. I love how Nintendo stick to their guns and create the games and systems THEY want to create, not what everyone else wants them to create. They choose not to compromise their creative integrity and I certainly applaud that, but the industry as a whole and the vast majority of consumers do not feel that way. I feel that Nintendo has begun to more or less fade into obscurity, as evidenced by the fact that it's no longer a household name. Xbox and PlayStation have taken on that role now. The industry has evolved a hell of a lot since Nintendo's heyday and it's like they either refuse to adapt to the ever changing environment and stick to the methods that made them successful in a climate that permitted them to flourish by doing so but is ultimately gone or they are simply so wrapped up in themselves that they literally have no idea what's going on any more. In any case, Nintendo has shown us time and time again that they do not learn from their mistakes and really don't care what anyone outside of the company thinks. Ironically, that's largely why they're still relevant today, because they refuse to conform to industry standards. Would I like it if NX completely modernized Nintendo's approach to online and digital purchases? Absolutely. But I don't expect it in the least. The general public has long since moved on from Nintendo and once society as a whole stops caring about something, it becomes irrelevant regardless of quality. I will absolutely pick up NX (or whatever they decide to name it) but it's not going to change anything.

All of that being said, what I can say for certain is that I am going to have a lot of fun this year with Nintendo. Fire Emblem will be glorious, Twilight Princess HD will be an enjoyable revisit, Pokémon on Virtual Console with wireless features will make me fall in love with the original games all over again, Star Fox will be a rollercoaster as I cautiously pick it apart and compare it to 64 and all the following crappy games, I might jump on Hyrule Warriors Legends as I decided to skip the Wii U release due to that $65 + tax Canadian price, and I'm sure there will be other great releases that we don't know about yet. We're definitely getting Pokémon Z and I cannot wait. And, of course, I still need to play some of last year's greats. I need to finish Yoshi's Woolly World, haven't even begun to scratch the surface of Xenoblade X, Mario Maker still beckons me every other day, and I still haven't picked up Splatoon yet. Maybe if I can find it used for a decent price, but $80 including tax is not worth it for something that I'm not sure I'll even like. Oh, and competitive Pokémon breeding and battling will continue to be mainstay as well.

2016 will be an interesting year with highs and lows for sure, but I honestly expect to be disappointed as a whole. I'm just a cynic, though. Who knows, maybe Kimishima will turn it around. We'll just have to wait and see.

All the RPG's coming out for the 3DS alone make me think I'm in for a good year.

The Wii U needs some surprise announcement, especially if Zelda U doesn't launch this year. Fox & Pokken Tournament sound sweet. Twilight Princess will be cool for me since I haven't played it yet.

@TromboneGamer hard truth

I'm pretty confident Nintendo will have some great products and also shoot themselves in the foot.

@ThomasBW84 ERroR

"Do you think the 3DS will have a good 2016?"
"Not really, I think it'll be an underwhelming year for Wii U"

As for me I don't expect much and I don't care much about the NX reveal at all. It's surprising how little it interests me.

@VanillaLake: Well that one article was trying to convince us to be optimistic and this one is wondering if it worked...For the most part, it didn't.

I want to be a believer, but I'm apprehensive... I never would have imagined myself saying that about Nintendo 10 years ago, or even 5 years ago. They really are just not doing anywhere near as well as I thought they would be at the beginning of the 8th gen.

Wii U is going to sell more 2015 product, but who knows if anything more beyond what's already been announced will come. It's looking grim for Wii U. 3DS is set to have an awesome year... If you're an RPG fan, which I am, but what about everyone else? In any case, 3DS is looking good. I don't care about the smart phone apps and games, since I don't use my phone for gaming. (That's a DRM nightmare, anyways...) I might check news articles about them, but I'll never actually use them.

The Wii U was the first Nintendo console I was not overtly excited for, and the NX is the first Nintendo console that I'm not excited for... I lean more towards PC and classic titles now. That said, I am looking forward to the reveal of NX, and I hope they get it right this time. The Wii U reveals were disastrous.

I'm not confident in Nintendo having a good 2016, but I hope they can convince me otherwise come E3. It will be the most important one yet for them.

I'll just wait and see. I'm sure support for the 3ds and Wii U is coming to a close this year. Hoping NX blows my mind.

I think one thing that could help Nintendo (and a very large chunk of the readers here) is note that an innovative controller and hardware power don't have to be mutually exclusive as a lot people make them out to be. We take the designs of the NES, SNES, and 64 controllers for granted these days, but they were seen as innovative at launch as our generation saw the Wiimote and ds touch screen when they launched. On top of that, they were either 1st or 2nd in terms of power for their generations. And although the Wii showed that occasionally 1 without the other would work for them, usually choosing power (see the Gamecube, which was near on par with ps2/xbox powerwise, but didn't try anything new controller wise) and the Wii U (the exact opposite situation in relation to the ps4/xb1), indicates that one or the other will likely mean they'll get 3rd again.

I won't be optimistic about Nintendo till they give me a reason to be optimistic and I don't care how long that takes. Considering this year will be nothing but Japanese only games getting release over here (after group of people already translated one of those in question) and literally nothing for Japan besides the one or two niche games once every 2 months, then have no reason to be optimistic at all. In fact that just make me grow even more negative about Nintendo and I'm saying this as a freaking Nintendo fan that usually defend every stupid decision the big N makes.

@ningeek185 Zelda II, if you can't stand the stupidly difficult things it throws at you, especially at Death Mountain. Wind Waker, if you're impatient and dislike the sailing. Twilight Princess, if you don't like wandering around a big, but sparsely populated overworld. Skyward Sword, if you dislike motion controls. Other than that, nothing else can objectively be seen as bad. (I liked Wind Waker's sailing, and Skyward Sword's motion controls, though! Also, HD mods make Twilight Princess' overworld tolerable.) Zelda II in particular is certainly the worst of the main series; it's not just a bad Zelda title, it's bad overall.

@faint Well, believe or not, people are already flodding the Mother 3 Community of Miiverse with pictures begging Nintendo to localize the game already.

@ThomasBW84 Weird that nobody in Nintendo Life mentioned this.

Again....2016 is shaping up to be a good year for me. I've never played LoZ TP, Star Fox looks like my kind of Star Fox, LoZ Wii U in November? and hopefully FE x SMT plus a surprise or 2 and at least a few VC titles I'm looking forward to.

3DS will have FE Fates and that's probably about it for me but I just don't game much on handhelds....unless I end up on a lot of airplanes this year.

NX......who knows, not worried about it and I really don't think it's coming until 2017 but whatever it is, I'm excited for the E3 reveal if there is one?

I'm more optimistic for 2017.

No and it all depends on the NX. It will be great to play Zelda U though.

There really should have been two more options for that final poll. One being "I'm VERY optimistic about Nintendo in 2016 IF the NX LAUNCHES in 2016" and "I'm not so optimistic about Nintendo in 2016 IF the NX DOESN'T LAUNCH in 2016". That's really the big question. There is no way Nintendo has many unannounced Wii U games (and certainly ZERO BIG unannounced Wii U games), most unannounced games (specially the BIG games) have been moved to the NX or are simply being developed for the NX. Nintendo is not going to spend huge amounts of money and resources on games that have a very small potential for sales on the Wii U, when they can put those same games on NX to help drive sales of their new potentially booming console. The 3DS is an other story, as making games for the 3DS cost less and require less resources, so I can see them having a couple unannouced 3DS games, BUT if the NX is indeed a Hybrid system, we may not get much new out of the 3DS either.

I still believe that Zelda Wii U will be a duel release for Wii U and NX (most likely a launch title) and effectively killing Wii U's chance of going out with a bang. It makes no business sense for Nintendo to launch this high cost and high resource game solely on the Wii U. Making it a dual release will give the NX a killer launch title and will help sale more units. I'm positive that a dual release of Zelda on Wii U and NX would see more sales on the NX in the long run. The Wii U potential is probably sitting at 2-3 million copies sold, where as the NX could be huge if the system takes off at launch.

If I get the New Zelda and manage to find myself a copy of FE: Fates SE, I'll be super happy with 2016. I'm not hard to please, just give me my D#$N special edition! haha

@John_Enigma Maybe it was a test to see how many people would notice Tom's cleverly hidden message?

It will be a solid year. Amazing? Well see what is coming out that has yet to be announced

@TheBigK

Amen my friend. You're singing my tune. Nintendo has several hurdles to overcome, but the most pressing is staying relevant against the PS4 and Xbox's large footholds being two years on the market. My biggest fear for Nintendo is people not caring what they do because of Sony and Microsoft's head start and dominance.

The Wii U will have a pretty underwealming year. Nintendo is well known for dropping support for the current system once a new one is announced. I am certainly expecting this again, especially since their resources seem to be stretched. E3 needs to knock it out of the park; a strong lineup with third party support will be a step in the right direction. This is probably the most important year Nintendo has faced in over a decade.

Also, I'm not into shooters, but Splatoon is incredible. It's been my most played game on Wii U, and I've played it even more than Smash. It's so addicting and fun, just my two cents for reference.

On the miitomo question, I feel like there should be an option for "I'm not even remotely excited for miitomo, but I am interested in the other apps they're working on."

zool said:

"A lot more is not happening"

That's a real glass is a 110% empty remark right there!

I'm certain that NX will not release in 2016 but, I understand why everyone and their mothers are saying it will. Looks like a good year for 3DS but wii u, not sure as Nintendo is too quiet.

If the NX is not released this year, then it will be a very underwhelming year as there is hardly anything for 2016 from Nintendo.

@faint

It's funny, they could easily solve that problem if they just stopped with the dismal releases and actually listened to fans, then we'd all stop complaining (or at least the majority).

I'm optimistic as always. One thing's for sure Nintendo's approach will be quite different this year! Here's hoping for some surprise reveals to hold people over for the NX!

Zelda Wii-U is essentially the Wii-U's Grand Finale. They've used up Mario, Yoshi, Mario Kart, and Smash Brothers. They won't be able to announce a game for the Wii-U's lifespan that's a bigger deal than Zelda Wii-U.

The 3DS looks like it has a promising enough year. And if you don't think it looks all that great, you can check out the Vita's line-up lol.

Everything hinges on E3 and the NX announcement. While there are games that I'm excited for coming to WiiU this year, the fact is Nintendo's future depends on the NX and the strength of it's smartphone offerings. I for one am rooting for the big N.

I can't believe the major if site users picked the first choice for the last question instead of the second. I really can't fathom what they've seen that got them to get their hopes up that this will be a good year for Nintendo.

I'm optimistic, and kind of glad I skipped the Wii U. Its a good system but I can wait to get one used some other time. I'm really excited about the coming NX platform since all signs are pointing to no backwards compatibility (all the ports, HD remakes coming to Wii U, the Wii U basically has become the 1 stop shop for all Nintendo games past and present save for 3DS ) so all focus of the system will be straight forward.

2016 the wolves will be out for nintendo if they don't show a console that can sell to 18-35 year old males better than their rivals.

@Yorumi "I don't honestly care what the other systems are doing" Weren't you the guy who wouldn't shut up about the PSN and Xbox Live deals on December? And about how they're getting support?Or better yet what they're doing to be better console than the Wiiu? So make up your mind brother you care or you don't care?

Hopefully if they get a solid direct within the next few months before E3 and of course have a really good E3 then I think they'll have a chance for a really good year, decent releases for the first half but hopefully they have a lot more in store cause so far it's been really lackluster.

@CHET_SWINGLINE I think that it might provide a framework for other apps. Street Pass was nothing special when it started- I think it's pretty darn cool now.

I'm just unsure, I'll enter hype mode once things are out there for us.

The only game I was interested in last year was Xenoblade... This year is Zelda, so after all It doesn t change my personal picture of Nintendo...

2016 will be interesting, considering NX announcement, but not very optimistic, considering the chronical lack of interesting games (for me)

The Wii U has been dead in the water for some time but I am looking forward to the NX announcement. They should move it away from the Wii brand and if that means losing backwards compatibility then so be it, I just cannot be using another Wii remote for the rest of my life. My guess is Zelda will be on the NX anyway so many won't have to miss out like with skyward sword being released so late in the life of the console. The mobile stuff I have zero interest in but that's because I've yet to play a mobile game that's even half decent. It needs to be a big year for Nintendo and the NX is an intriguing proposition from all the rumours so far, it's so difficult to comment on it without any facts but let's just hope they get it right this time as the potential is there

Decent RPG-driven year for the 3DS, a few awesome looking Wii U games - namely SMTxFE, Zelda X2, Pokken, Star Fox - but unless there are a few more, it will be a slow year for the Wii U.

However, these coupled with the NX reveal + new account system have me very optimistic overall!

I'm not certain that this year will be the best but I'm curious to see how it turns out for Nintendo.

I know that its too late for me to get the Wii U so might as well see some good ole 3DS get some more gems before NX shows up.

I really want Nintendo to succeed with the nx but u fear it may now be too late to turn gamers away from Sony and Microsoft. I am a huge Nintendo fan and for the first time ever I am considering not buying their next offering. I am getting fed up of the repetition and constant use if the Mario IP while neglecting other IP I have more interest in.

Perhaps its just a personal thing as I'm not big on turn based combat in jrpg's and have no interest in pokemon or most other Japanese style titles. I do however love Zelda, Metroid, Eternal Darkness among many others.

My interests lie now with online gaming with FPS titles and sports games and Nintendo is so far behind the competition in this area it makes me sad.

In SNES era we had super soccer and super tennis both good sports games and not a Mario or pokemon in sight it seems Nintendo has the thought process of put these IP in a title to sell it instead of make the game enjoyable, playable and competitive (Mario tennis, Mario soccer say hello)

That being said Splatoon gives me hope for the future.

@Poketendo I agree.

If this year sees:

Pokemon go for mobile,
My Nintendo account roll out in full
NX launch Nov/Dec this year

This will be an amazing year for Nintendo

First I wanna see what NX is, what it can do and what games are coming for it. Then I am telling you whether I board the hype train or not. In the meantime, I shall run beside it, enjoying games like Yokai Watch (whever that decides to hit europe), Bravely Second, Final Fantasy Explorers, Pokémon Red, Hyrue Warririos Legends and many more on 3DS and Zelda U, Pokken and Twilight Princess on WiiU.

Pokemon Z

Im not sure, I am very worried about Nintendo but im gonna be here contributing for Nintendo´s performance =)

The most recent Twilight Princess HD rumours make me start to doubt my thoughts about Zelda U on NX.

With how many years that nintendo seemed to fall out of the consumer's eyes and how consumer's pass by Wii U items in general (Wii U items are almost hidden in stores, except for Amiibo figures)...and the long delays in Wii U games (which makes one wonder on if they are coming out for the system at all, and not just being hidden away for NX)...it's hard to say about this year.

I think the Wii U will do about the same...sales won't bring it back from the dead (especially when enough people know about another console in the works), no games will really help it (Zelda U will be a huge hit, but won't make people buy the console), the other systems getting big games this year (PS4 and XONE have a lot of great exclusives coming out this year), and the 3DS showing it's age (still many great games coming out for it, but the system seems to be getting a little old...been out too long now, it seems).

All in all, it depends on the Mobile Apps and if the NX is going to still keep the hype going for it. If they release it this year, it could kill any more Wii U sales (console wise), but would there be enough games coming out at launch and will those games be any good. NX will have to have a strong launch library and a continuous library after coming out, in order to succeed...there's not going to be a bunch of droughts in releases, and they'll need those 3rd parties to help them fill the gaps...not download-only games, but retail releases...this way, stores still show the system and games for it, and not just hide it.

I think 2016 will help nintendo, but depending on when the NX arrives, I'm kind of thinking that 2017 will be their big year.

Of course it's going to be a good 2016 for Nintendo. It's a Zelda year.

Well, I always like to remain optimistic. Sometimes I'm disappointed, sometimes I'm not. Definitely looking forward to a lot of stuff coming to the 3DS, and Zelda U.

With Starfox Zero and Twilight Princess HD set to release in a few months, more to be revealed during summer, and the inevitable ZeldaU still under wraps....I think it's going to be a great year.

Q) Do you think the Wii U will have a good 2016?

A) That depends, is this just from a personal perspective or for the overall picture of the console? Whether it'll sell more or less is something I do not know, but on a personal level, I feel like I'm going to enjoy the Wii U quite a bit.

Admittedly, part of that hinges on whether Genei Ibun Roku #FE releases this year, and as I'm from the UK, there is some concern to be had for me there. Putting aside Atlus tendency to release games later in EU regions though, and I find there is still a lot for me to enjoy this year on my Wii U; from retail games such as Star Fox Zero and Pokkén Tournament, to eShop titles such as Shantae: Half-Genie Hero and 90's Arcade Racer.

Q) Do you think the 3DS will have a good 2016?

A) Currently, there are only two announced retail 3DS titles that I'm looking forward to. That is pretty common for me though, as I don't play handhelds as often, and the 3DS is generally a system to be optimistic about as it does get a lot more support. There is a chance that 3rd party games, localisations, and Pokémon 20th anniversary related games will be announced later in this year that grab my interest, so I will say that I'm optimistic about the 3DS this year.

Q) Are you excited about Miitomo and more smart device apps?

A) I do not own a phone, so the answer to that would be no.

Q) Are you excited about the NX reveal this year?

A) More like apprehensive. Whether the NX comes out this year or the next will likely alter my mood to this year. If it comes out next year, with more Wii U titles announced for this year, then I'll be very pleased and optimistic. If it comes out this year though, then I'm going to be rather concerned, not to mention passing on it as launch.

Regardless on whether Nintendo intend to or not, but I plan to give the Wii U the minimum 5 years it deserves, and missed purchases provide me with plenty of opportunity to fill in any games gaps that come about. I still believe the NX will be a 2017 releasing system, but with the majority believing otherwise, it does cause me to have doubts and worries on the matter.

Q) Are you optimistic that Nintendo will have a great 2016?

A) There are very few years where Nintendo disappoints me, so I'm going to go with the optimistic approach and say they will. Even if I'm not blown away by what Nintendo has to offer this year, I'm at least positive that they'll be able to bring a smile to my face.

I think it'll be a good year for Nintendo gamers, but I think it would be a mistake to release the NX this year. It needs to wait until 2017 so as not to make Wii U owners feel cheated by a four year life span and to let hardware get as cheap as possible before launch to minimize the MSRP of the console.

Wow... lots of Nintendo fanatics here.
Guess that shouldn't be a surprise, but I think people getting their hopes up for a big 2016 are either (a) very easy to satisfy, or (b) about to be sorely disappointed.

OFC, Nintendo will have great year! I hope 2016 to be really great! =)

• Not really, I think it'll be an underwhelming year for Wii U : I don't think either Pokken and Zelda are gonna change my opinion, though both games are gonna be epic and worth having the Wii U for. I'm not sure of SMTxFE but i have my eyes 👀 on it, like really close. Totally not liking Star Fox. I wont write it off just yet but my gut says its going to be slightly above average at best, definitely not gonna be bad but no hype either. Zelda:TP is gonna be great, though justa remake. The Wii U's lineup is poor, and too little to even keep me engaged so all thanks to my PS4 which is my secondary console, which was a Panic buy due to Wii U's shortcomings. And With NX upon us this year i can optimistically assume (lol) that there are no further plans for Wii U. Maybe some but too few. Not enough to make the Wii U's year awesome. Frankly, the end is near for Wii U, how near? All depends on what the NX turns out to be. But the Wii U has already proven its worth, atleast to me, it's going down as one of my fav consoles.
• I think it'll be a solid year for 3DS : I don't own one but Nintendo definitely wants to keep 3DS atleast for the near future so there are definitely plans for 3DS.
• Sure, I'm quite interested in what Nintendo and DeNA is working on : I'm really interested on what's been cooking all these while. Want to have Nintendo's companion app on my phone that'd be super cool. Also wanna get my hands on their smartphone games.
• Yes, but I won't board the hype train quite yet : I'm super interested in what the NX and I'm quite intrigued to see what it turns out to be. I won't even mind if it launched tomorrow. Atleast that would mean more Nintendo games.

I voted "not sure" to pretty much all of it. I hate to be "that guy" but Nintendo has pretty steadily dropped nearly every ball in their court since the Wii U's launch so it's hard to be blindly optimistic anymore.

Wii U looks as slow as last year, which meant i bought a sum total of 2 new releases all year. 3DS looks so much better than last year though. FE Fates might be one of my GOTYs

2016 is going to be a great year for Wii U, because I have a massive backlog.

I think any year that Fire Emblem comes out will be a great year, and there's enough games that I'm looking forward to for the Wii U too, to justify a good year.

Also to everyone worried about the new Zelda moving to NX and not releasing on Wii U. One thing it's sure, the New Zelda is gonna see a Wii U release and of that I'm 110% sure about it, so just RELAX. Now is it gonna be a dual release and get the Twilight Princess treatment with it also releasing on the NX as well? I don't know, but I'm leaning more towards it.

Yeah, Zelda U on it's own is enough to make this a great year.

@IceClimbers I've been wondering that since amiibo were announced. Disney has an almost unlimited supply of properties, 3 years in and they've barely even touched their own, and they also own Muppets and Winnie the Pooh; and Skylanders just makes them up as they go along. Nintendo started w/ SSB, which is nearly every well known IP they have, leaving, what exactly?

Pokemon is an obvious choice. I've been waiting for Pokepark 3. (FYI Pokepark 1 you played as Pikachu, Pokepark 2 him plus 3 other starters switching in and out). I didn't play either of those but watched my kids play both and P2 is actually a decent little JRPG type game. P1 was like a Pikachu short before a main movie, not much there. But a P3 could be a big open world single player or MMO type game where you play as whatever Pokemon you own. 3 waves of Pokemon amiibo - 18 starters - which just so happens to be the 18 Pokemon in the new 20th logo (I didn't know that, my kids informed me), 2nd wave 18 of the more famous ones like Picachu and probably 8 evolutions of Eevee , 3rd wave 18 of the Legendaries. 54 may seem like a lot, but that's about what SSB got once you include the DLC, and Skylanders does about 60 every year. It would also help in the progression of an open world type game like Free Realms, start w/ the starters, add some others, end w/ the Legends. The other ~700 could be NFC cards that add stats or something to the game but they wouldn't be playable.

Announce that game for the NX launch and watch the stock price rise.

As for other amiibo options, I guess you have to look 3rd party, namely Sega. Shovel Knight opens the door. Maybe a Final Fantasy line? Maybe NX can get a World of FF port w/ amiibo support? Cloud kind of opens the gate for that line, though not as many people are as popular as him, maybe Squall and Rinoa (Rinoa is my first videogame crush), Sephiroth needs one ASAP, Wakka, and a chocobo, and a generic mage, and moogle. And of course a summons line (they have different names but they are always summons to me) Ifrit, Leviathon, Bahahmut.

I nwo som epeopel think NFC is goin to di eoutlike motion, bu tI think there is too much money to be made and we will never again have a time w/o videogames toys to life. Only a matter of time before every mobile device has NFC built in, even Candy Crush: Over 9000 DBZ edition will have a Goku, Vegeta and Frieza toy. Nintendo is never getting DBZ rights after Goku got snubbed for SSB after Wii U got snubbed for DBXV. But there will be NFC DBZ toys someday. And a DBZ match 3 game is a given as well. Maybe it's already out?

OK sorry, too long.

Do you think the Wii U will have a good 2016?

Nope. With barely any noticeable releases and the unavoidable presence of NX, the Wii U will definitely be pushed aside.

I think this is going to be a great yer for Nintendo. They have Star Fox, Fire Emblem: Fates, Pokemon Go, Zelda, NX reveal, and more releasing in 2016. This will be a solid year! I think E3 will go to Playstation though.

@chardir My Wii U backlog is huge too. I'd better get playing

When it comes to actual Wii U releases, we know of practically nothing aside from Star Fox... and even that might be delayed further. 3DS is a bit better at least.SMT x FE and Zelda are supposedly coming. At least a some point. Possibly. But what else? 3 Wii U games is a drop in a bucket. That's honestly pretty terrible unless they come out swinging with some announcements REALLY soon.

As for future prospects, this year shows immense promise. My Nintendo accounts are coming, plus the whole NX thing on the horizon. If handled correctly, both of those could be one hell of a way to sustain hype.

As a whole, I'm apprehensive for Nintendo in 2016. Their future looks promising, but their present looks horrendous.

Eh, should be alright.

Good to see most others are optimistic, I am however not. E3 was a snore for me and we've still not gotten all the games people have complained about, so there will be more whining ahead for sure. Not a lot is coming on the horizon anyway past a handful of things. Although if you don't buy a lot you'll be fine. No doubt there will be great games on their way though. There always is, I just am not envisioning some huge blast that I can't personally keep up with.