Pachterkid

Good job Nintendo. Marketing a system to 5-7 year olds. Even better, you made the system clunky and awkward for them to hold in their little hands.

I already have a 2DS. It's called the 3DS XL with the 3D turned off.

What a surprise. A stupid looking game doesn't catch on with the mainstream and sells poorly.

Great article, Nintendo Life. I have to question what the hell Nintendo is thinking here. Just play with the 3D off if you don't want to use that feature.

Well this certainly won't hurt matters, but it won't completely change the fortune of the system either. The little issue of total lack of third party support is not solved by dropping the price by $50.

Well this came out of nowhere. I'm perfectly happy with my XL, even if I only ever play with the 3D on min. Well see how this plays out I guess.

That is a really nice story

Looks like I'll have a reason to plug my Wii U back in. Pretty sad that that "system seller" is a port of a 10 year old game, but whatever.

Man the Wii U is screwed. I have had freezing issues with every non-Nintendo published game that I have played on the system. There is next to zero third party support now, and what does come doesn't work half the time when compared to the PS3 and 360 versions. If third party support is this pathetic now, where will Nintendo be in a year when every developer is completely focused on the PS4 and Xbox One. Games with the words "Mario," "Zelda", and "Smash" in the title are not enough to keep the system afloat and make it a success. That's not an opinion, that's a fact. Anybody with a basic understand of economics would agree.

Another Wii U with freezing issues. Wonderful. People complain about a lack of third party content on the system, and yet when those games do come they won't work. Unless you only play 'Nintendo games' why would own a Wii U?

I was really looking forward to this game when it was originally released, but news of that glitch completely killed my interest. If you're a gamer, nothing is worse than hearing the words "save" and "corrupted" in the same sentence

shivers

I really hope some version of this game eventually gets that bug patched up. People deserve to be able to play games without having to worry about walking around a game-breaking glitch.

@SanderEvers

I like to compare the situation to what Capcom did with Resident Evil 4. Developed exclusively for the ‘Cube, but even though news got out by the time of the games’ release that it was later going to be ported to the PS2 (9 months later I believe), Capcom at least did the honourable thing by releasing it on Nintendo’s system on time like they said they would. Unlike Ubisoft, they did not delay a finished product.

@SanderEvers

Those are all very valid points, a few of which I hadn't considered. Thanks man

@SanderEvers

I respect the fact that you actually take publishers into the equation whenever you assess a game. I know I certainly take the developer into account whenever I consider making a purchase, and as you pointed out certain publishers/developers, such as EA and Ubisoft, should be held accountable for how they conduct their business. My question to you is this - did you give Ubisoft a 0/10 because Legends is no longer exclusive to the Wii U? Because honestly I can’t fault the company for wanting to make money. It makes no economic sense for them to devote all that time and resources into making a game exclusively for a system that hardly anybody owns. You look at 3.6 million Wii U consoles sold, vs. over 150 million units combined between the PS3 and 360. Obviously the game now has a far greater reach now that it’s on those other consoles, meaning the company stands to earn more money. I agree that it was kind of a d*$% move on Ubisoft’s part to hold off on releasing the Wii U version until the other ports were ready, but I certainly understand that it’s a business and they have to think about the bottom line.

I’m not trying to be critical because I respect the way you look at things. Just curious as to your thought process.

Positive signs there. I wish developers would just ignore the Gamepad and focus on the Pro Controller. I've yet to play any Wii U game that I didn't prefer playing with the Pro Controller instead. In my opinion the Gamepad is clunky and does not add to the experience. If developers just stopped being hung up on coming up with ideas for using the pad and instead focused on the horsepower that the console provides we'd probably get more games out of third parties.

Look at Need for Speed: Most Wanted U. That game is visually breathtaking, but yet the Gamepad offers nothing that could not have been handled in a pause screen. Playing that game with the Pro Controller has been one of my favourite experiences on the Wii U so far. Such a great game when it doesn't freeze that is...

He's right, Nintendo does have some of the best IPs in the business, but those games alone are not enough to make the machine a runaway success. I have a Wii U to play the excellent first party games that Nintendo produces, so that's fine, but if you want other, non-Nintendo like gaming experiences, you need another system. We've seen time and time again that third-parties simply do not support the system. Yes, a third party port or exclusive might come out here and there, but that's not enough.

I support both Nintendo and Sony. Ni No Kuni, Tales of Xillia, DmC, The Last of Us; I couldn't imagine just owning the Wii U and watching those games come and go, knowing that I'll never get to play them.

Also, Nintendo just go and make a new F-Zero, Metroid, and Star Fox for the Wii U. Mario and Zelda are great, but you have other IPs that you're not even doing anything with. Give the fans what they want, or they'll find somewhere else to go. I did when I bought a PS3...

It's rare (no pun intended) that I find a game to be so frustrating that I don't see it through to completion, but that's exactly what happened with this game when I was a kid.

Sony and Microsoft have things called third-parties that develop games for their systems. Nintendo does not have these things. And yet people assume that just these Nintendo published games are going to save the system.

@mercurio2054

Nintendo doesn't support their home consoles for more than 3 years. Once you get Mario Kart and Smash Bros, one 3D Mario and one Zelda game (that isn't a port of a 10 year old game) Nintendo will stop making games for it. After Donkey Kong Country Returns for the Wii the only major game that Nintendo released on the system during the rest of it's lifecycle was Skyward Sword. Oh, and that awful Kirby game.

@BATRA

You buy Nintendo systems to play Nintendo games. Any gamer who cares about games without 'Mario' in the title will buy another console.

The system is still screwed. The Xbox One and PS4 will each sell more units in their first 6 months than the Wii U has in its first year and a half.

_{Let's express our opinions without the need for attacking other "fanboys". Thanks. -Lz}

Just because the 3DS is not selling to the same level as the DS does not mean that there is not demand for the system in the market. The industry has changed in the last 10 years, but the 3DS has proven month after month to be a system that continues to sell. I don't really understand the man's logic here... if he were just referring to the Wii U as having no demand that would be another matter, but not the 3DS.

@Grubdog

I completely agree. That game was simply awful.

I really hope this game does well and helps to bump Wii U sales. God knows that something needs to help it along. Nintendo is going to be in some mess once this, DK, and 3D World come and go... besides that new Zelda what more do they have planned for the system?

Thank GOD the Pro Controller is being supported. So that's Mario 3D World and now Zelda confirmed. All I need now is Tropical Freeze and I will be a happy gamer.

No, it won't. It's the Wii U. What a stupid question to ask, Nintendo Life.

Bahahaha. Another shot against the crappy Wii U. What an awful system.

I played the game on 3DS and loved it. Glad more people will get a chance to experience it now.

Maybe next time Nintendo shouldn't make a next-gen console on last-gen technology and try to sell players on a tablet controller that nobody is interested in.

This game just looks stupid. People really must be desperate to have something to play on their Wii U. Mine's been unplugged ever since I bought a PS3. Tales of Xillia, The Last of Us; those are exclusives.

It would be nice if it came out on the Wii U, but if the game is in fact years away one has to wonder what state the Wii U will be in by then compared to the PS4 and Xbox One. I assume that the Wii U will be a distant third place console, meaning that it wouldn't make much sense for Capcom to waste time and resources making a Wii U version.

Wouldn't it be awesome if Nintendo did HD re-releases of the Prime titles for the Wii U? I can't even imagine how good those games would look.

Finishing up my new game + in Tales of the Abyss (3DS port), then starting The Last of Us

The 3DS has such an incredible library of games it's no wonder it's having the success that it is.

Pretty sure I haven't played this game once since I reached the 1 million coin mark...

Well thank God the Wii U is finally getting some stellar third-party support!

Looking forward to trying the demo, but I doubt I'll ever actually buy this game. Still, it's great that Nintendo is putting the demo out there.

And yet the PS2 outsold the SNES, N64, and GameCube combined...

The Playstation 1 and 2 sold a combined 257.49 million units. Factor in PS3 sales and Sony (with just three consoles) has outsold everything Nintendo has ever produced.

Oh wait. Was I not supposed to point that out? Silly me, this is Nintendo Life, where Nintendo can do no wrong and is totally not screwed with the Wii U. My comment should have been along the lines of "Go Nintendo!!"

No, the Wii U is not enough on it's own. You need one to play all of the great 'Nintendo' games that are going to be released during this cycle, but if you want any other kind of gaming experience you need another console. I recently bought a PS3 so that I could play the God of War series, DmC, a Need for Speed game that doesn't freeze constantly like Most Wanted U, Infamous, and Tales of Xillia. None of those games will ever grace the Wii U, so for this gamer at least, the Wii U on it's own doesn't cut it. I can't wait for Mario 3D World and Mario Kart 8, but those games alone aren't enough.

That's some nice box art. I was always a fan of that particular image/poster when the game originally came out.

This is a great game. I've never played any of the other Castlevania games so I can't comment on why it divided fans; all I know is that I did have a wonderful time with the game nonetheless.

That's what the Wii U needs - a port of an original Xbox game. That'll sell some systems.

Makes sense. 150 million combined 360s/PS3s sold, 3.6 million Wii U's sold. Only a fraction of those Wii U owners will even buy the game, and not everybody who buys the game on the system will care about online play. Makes total sense.

And yet nobody will buy it for the Wii U because anybody who cares about this series already has either a PS3 or a 360.

Maybe it’s because the Wii U sucks? That was harsh, but do the math: the 360 and PS3 have sold a combined 152.2 million units… the Wii U has sold 3.45 million total units. It’d be a waste of the company’s time, resources, and money to release it on the Wii U when there’s nobody there to buy it.

Oh Nintendo – forever behind the 8-ball. “We don’t think the customer cares about HD graphics.” They did. “We don’t think gamers want to play online. We think sticking your GBA into your Game Cube is what people want.” And now they think people want to play console games with a tablet. Idiots.

So once Mario 3D World, Donkey Kong Country, Mario Kart 8, Smash Bros, and the new Zelda are released what is Nintendo going to do then? Release no new first-party software for the rest of the Wii U's lifecycle, that's what. They can only milk their own franchises for so long/so many games a generation. But of course, the vast majority of people that post comments on this site simply don't want to face facts. No third-party support = big trouble for the big N. We'll see what Nintendo's master plan is 18 months from now when all those triple-A titles that I mentioned have been released, leaving them with nothing else to contribute to their own system.

Super Mario RPG for the SNES is the best Mario RPG. Period. This series and the Paper Mario series can't even shine that game's shoes. But of course, Nintendo has all but forgotten about that classic. Instead we're given rehash after rehash in these lesser series.

@Linkstrikesback

I like the way you think. I remember buying my Wii U at launch thinking that Nintendo had some great ideas up their sleeve. Nope. Their ideas consist of releasing no compelling software during the first year of the console's lifecycle. Just last week I bought a PS3 so that I could actually play some good games.

Well, the game was awful, so that's part of the reason why nobody bought it. The other reason it failed was because nobody has bought a Wii U. Not saying that the system won't become more successful down the line, but right now if developers care about making money they have no reason to make a game exclusively for the Wii U.

If you want great third-party games, buy one of the other HD consoles. Stop holding out hope that one single third-party game for the Wii U is going to fall out of the sky and completely turn the system around.

Nintendo will never make games like The Last of Us. They will simply keep doing what they've been doing, making Mario games and Zelda games with the same story over and over again, and without voice acting. The fact is if you want a game with a deep story you need to have a rival console. Just buy a PS3.

@Metal_Sonic

Mario 3D Land was linear in the sense that Super Mario World was linear, back when every level was its own self contained obstacle course and your only task was to get from the start to the flag pole. That is Mario. Also, Mario Sunshine is awful.