
That is the question.
The battle for the eighth generation of console gaming began in November 2012 with Nintendo’s entry, the Wii U (successor to their hugely popular Wii system). Having played the console myself (through my flatmate's console) I can verify that, although the console is designed for group gameplay, it is a worthy experience and certainly provides hours of fun just like other consoles. It also offers a unique type of immersion very different to any of its rivals. Nintendo have described this style of innovative gameplay as "asymetrical".

The trick however is fully describing why it is so different, and then finding a way to market that. Many consumers of modern consoles prefer to play with systems they are familiar with and can become very vocal about keeping what they love, which is why Microsoft had to overhaul their entire plan for Xbox One earlier last year so that the console would be fully embraced by the time its release came along. You could argue that Nintendo is simply trying to change too much too fast by having the Wii U system feature a very different play style , as Microsoft attempted before changing their minds, and are still expecting it to go smoothly.
The launch of the Wii U did not go off entirely without a hitch. Many games which were promised as exclusive launch titles did not appear until months afterwards or, in the case of Ubisoft’s Rayman Legends, almost a year afterwards and not limited to Wii U systems as was originally announced by Ubisoft. The Wii U had a total of twenty-three launch titles, most of which were available on previous generation consoles (namely the PS3 and the Xbox 360).
And now as a consequence of Nintendo’s (unrelenting) overconfidence in the Wii U’s ability to eventually draw a larger audience, it appears that Nintendo is no longer being viewed as a major competitor in the West despite having a full year head-start on both the Playstation 4 and the Xbox One.

Well first let’s deal with some relevant history.
Nintendo has been in the console war since the very beginning and has survived all of the major developments (such as the fall of Sega as a hardware developer and the rise of Microsoft in its stead). But Nintendo has actually introduced the most innovations to this industry over the years, things such as motion control and portable, handheld consoles. With all of their creativity and willingness to test out new things you’d have thought that Nintendo would be the kings of this generation already, so why aren’t they?
Well, as mentioned above, the Wii U has proved a difficult console to sell and its creators have done little to improve their marketing since the launch. The message Nintendo sent out was bewildering to many due to the Wii U’s physical similarity to what had come before, and many loyal consumers may have viewed it more as an add-on to the original Wii console (with a name akin to Wii Fit, Wii Motion Plus, etc), and so refused to buy it for the selling price.
It didn’t help that many third party developers outright refused to jump onboard for the Wii U’s initial outing, viewing Nintendo’s venture with the new console as being perhaps too risky and too radical to what casual gamers were looking for on the current market. They believed that gamers would not clinch the new technology and so focused on delivering their games onto the more familiar rival platforms instead.
On one hand this meant that many games on the Wii U system are exclusive (as they can only be played via the two screens available on the console, such as Zombie U and Sing Party), but on the other hand it means that the Wii U will suffer in the long term because it has no support from the larger industry studios, such as Bethesda (developer of Skyrim and Fallout) and, perhaps more notably, Electronic Arts.
Now it’s time for some nostalgia.
Veteran gamers to this long and arduous console war will remember the Sega Dreamcast which launched the sixth generation at Christmas 1999.

Of course Sega rejected EA’s outrageous proposals concerning the Dreamcast, and so when Sony’s Playstation 2 launched a couple of years later (and with much-needed support from EA) – Sega was forced to pull the plug on their console once and for all, and then reorganised themselves as a software company instead. The Dreamcast was dead as soon as the Playstation 2 launched, and Sega were out of the war for good.
It was a sad end to an industry giant which had been battling Nintendo for a decade when they finally started making Sonic games for the Gamecube.
Although it is unlikely that Nintendo will go the same way as Sega did (or at least not soon) because of their continued profit growth in other areas (such as the steadiness in 3DS sales as well as everything they made on the original Wii console), they are hardly doing anything to help themselves out.

This was Nintendo’s contingency solution to the problem of the Wii U. The Wii U’s sales were declining as the industry continues to lose faith in its position as a major competitor against the upcoming PS4 and Xbox One consoles, and so Nintendo focuses instead on their handheld market. The most they did was announced a reduction in price for the Wii U by $50.
So have they abandoned the Wii U to its fate? Or is this a sign that, due to the self-confidence they gained after the original Wii smashed its way into everyone’s living room last time, Nintendo have lost sight of reality? Do they know what is really going on in gaming community?
My thoughts?
The Wii U is a worthy console and has the potential to compete in this latest battle, but it deserves better than Nintendo are giving it. They need to put a lot of their resources into restructuring their campaign instead of turning their backs on the reactions. A lot of exclusive titles for the Wii U have been mentored by Nintendo themselves. These are intellectual properties such as Super Mario and Donkey Kong, established game franchises that would only ever appear on a Nintendo console.
However, many of these games are rehashes of games they have already released for their handhelds as well as other previous consoles, instead of actual new gaming experiences. It’s a lazy method of game production which won’t win them any favours or praise.
For me personally, what the Wii U really needs is a re-launch.
There were problems the first time round because of various issues but if Nintendo could just confront their own mistakes in marketing (as well as their recently-idle game development habits), and line up a new array of original titles no longer limited to their usual suspects (Mario, Donkey Kong, etc) then maybe the Wii U would stand a chance against the firestorm of the PS4 and Xbox One.
Nintendo’s plan for this generation remains to be seen, if at all they have one or if it’s still forming in their head offices, but one thing is certain – if they don’t make a move soon then it’s all over for the Wii U. Nintendo have had console failures before (with the Virtual Boy back in 1995) but it never damaged the company in a permanent way. The fallout from their losses on the Wii U will determine whether or not Nintendo takes a break from the console war or decides to refocus their ‘everything’ on their handheld market completely.
Either way, since EA (which has thankfully changed hands since the woeful days of the Dreamcast) have since pledged to develop games for the console should it become a ‘viable platform’ and sell more, the future of the Wii U rests solely in the hands of Nintendo themselves. They need to revitalise the console’s image in the eyes of their consumers.
Nintendo can still pull this one out if they put the effort in. But they have to put the effort in.