I agree with this, definitely , definitely agree with this big time. I mean, Nintendo can do one of two things right now that could easily boast them back up to where they were before by:

1.) Either step up with their products and games by doing something we haven't seen.

Or

2.) Invest in doing software with computers and mobiles and continue on with them.

And in my opinion, I feel that option one has already been done when they released the Wii. It was a brand new system that we have never seen before. A console that makes you interactive. And look, both Sony and Microsoft shortly followed after creating their own version of it. But neither were as big as the Wii. So what Nintendo did was right. But how they made it still be THE console is what got them to fall underneath Sony and Microsoft, and now it's between them on what people want rather than the WiiU.

Option two would be the BEST thing for them because right now, apps and computer software is big. I'm not going to lie with that. I have put money down for apps and such, and countless of Apple employees I have talked to have claimed that this is like the next big game thing (and I'm sure not everyone is going to agree with this, but I kind of find this to be true in a way). For Nintendo not to do anything with them is kind of silly. They could do so much for them right now by investing in apps, they could be big! Granted that we have the handheld systems for Nintendo, but what's stopping them from having them enter that?

I've seen people say it's a silly move NOT to go in that direction. And seeing how they NOW have started to head into that direction, they might become big and might make me interested. But if they are not serious with this, then they'll lose big time, and I know I am NOT the only person who realizes this.

How can you say that you were referring to Nintendo when you clearly stated the Wii? Nevermind, it's obvious we both are not going to change our minds about Nintendo. And no, I'm don't really mind you disliking something I like, threads like this only exist to debate, and that's what I did, I stated my opinion, you stated yours, that's it.

Anyways, I'm enjoying The Wonderful 101 so much, one of the best games out there for the Wii U, if you have the opportunity to play, I'm sure you'll like it, if not, well I tried lol.

Coming back to this, I recently had a discussion with a Nintendo fan. He agreed that Nintendo could benefit from the decision to go to Software.

If innovative gameplay is Nintendo's magic, then they could make innovative gameplay on any platform. Imagine using Xbone's Kinect or Playstation's Touch Pad. It's clear that core gamers don't care for Nintendo's hardware, but they do care for Nintendo's games. So they could bring their games to other platforms where they are sure to sell.

For me, Nintendo just wouldn't be as... magical, I guess, with multi-platform franchises.

I don't want to see Super Smash Bros. for Xbox One, and I don't want to see Legend of Zelda for Playstation 4. It just isn't the same.

Maybe, MAYBE, if Nintendo released entirely new games on other consoles, I could be okay with it.

What would make those games less magical on other platforms? Gameplay is their specialty and I have no doubt they could make unique gameplay using PS4 and Xbone's tech.

It's pretty clear core gamers don't like Nintendo's hardware direction. If Nintendo were to make games for PS4 and Xbone they would only be doing better. Since that's the hardware people want.

I'm saying Nintendo stands out for being entirely console-exclusive.

Nintendo's legacy stems from the iconic franchises it has, franchises no other company can ever claim (Suck it, Microsoft!). Having these franchises on other systems would disrupt what makes Nintendo so special, to me at least.

Just because they would make their games available on other platforms doesn't make it any less their games. Microsoft could never claim Nintendo's games unless they bought Nintendo and then absorbed their assets. Sonic is on other platforms but it's still Sega's IP.

Having Nintendo games on other platforms wouldn't make it any less Nintendo.

Nintendo going third party is just not going to happen. They're still too successful for that.

Nintendo, as a gaming only company, could easily make a high end, top notch home console, support all the third parties so they get every multiplatform game, while keeping their main fanbase intact.

Now, while I've no problems they way they are now, going for that route would be beneficial for them (obviously IMO), and would certainly make them leaders in the home console department by a long shot since they would cater to both so called hardcore gamers (casuals who like mature games) and gamers alike.

They could (and should) also improve their online infrastructure. Add subscription services like PS+ and whatnot.

They're only success is with handhelds right now. The Wii U is a money hole right now. Which goes back to what I said in my first post, which was that they just stick with handhelds exclusively.

And I'm a little confused by when you say hardcore gamers are the casuals. Just because you like games that aren't rated E for everyone doesn't make you hardcore. A hardcore gamer knows about the industry and buys other games besides CoD and Madden.

And is liking mature games really such a crime?

As you said, right now. Considering Nintendo has been doing fine all this years, it doesn't really matter if the Wii U is doing bad right now, and if you think that all it takes is one failure (half a failure because of 3DS) after years of success, to give up, then I really hope you don't fail at anything in your life cause that would be the end of it.

I never said people that play mature games are hardcore, I did say people that consider themselves hardcore gamers (as I've seen plenty of times) are just casuals who like mature games.

I don't really like labels, you can be a gamer without worrying about being hardcore or casual, what's the problem? Even the term gamer I find useless, you just play games, there's nothing special in that, live and let live.

I wouldn't 't have addressed the labels but you brought them up.

Fair enough.

Nintendo seems to have recently developed a habit of royally screwing up their console launches. I will commend them though on fixing the 3DS. When it came out everyone was like "lol, okay, fail." But now, who owns a vita? Everyone who plays real portable games has a 3DS and everyone else plays ugly bird games on mobiles. And rightfully so, the 3DS is awesome, and it's that way because of its awesome first party games.

And then the Wii U came out. First bad omen is in the name, Wii U? That makes it sound like an upgrade of the Wii, a console that was hugely adopted by super-casual gamers that don't care about it at all now that they can play angry birds on their iphones. That's not good, half their market is gone right there. But they promised to appeal to the hardcore crowd in the following ways:

1. They showed off graphics that were exactly the same as current (now last-gen) graphics. I mean, they are a little better (most games you can barely tell though), but they knew that if this was supposed to be a next-gen console, it should have blown PS3's and 360's capabilities out of the water. Now I do believe that great games don't necessarily need to have super-real graohics, and now that they at least had HD, they could work wonders with it. So the fact that Nintendo was a generation behind in terms of power again wouldn't have been terrible except fro the fact that

2. Their launch lineup was hugely composed of several-year-old games that any gamer who wanted had already gotten back when it came out for PS3 or 360. And with the exception of Arkham City, I really don't think they were enhanced much at all. I have heard they're a bit prettier to look at, but in a very "you barely notice it" sort of way and maybe they threw in a few bonus features with the gamepad. And as for first-party games,

3. They gave us New Super Mario Bros. U. Now as far as I'm concerned this is just another version of a game that had been released three other times on different consoles, only with different levels and HD that made everything look like shiny plastic. Nintendo's first-party games are what make it stand out from the other consoles and get people hyped for it. And what they decided to give us is another installment in the most dull, dry, boring, soulless branch of Mario games there is. Now NSMBU did liven it up a bit, but it was still too "been there done that" and it did nothing to promote the Wii U.It needed a real Mario game, and a few other famous franchises wouldn't have hurt it either. If they really couldn't think of anything then they should have waited a year to release it and launched it with Super Mario 3D world (a masterful game in my opinion) and Pikmin 3 (which I've never played but other people seem to like).

So by catering to the hardcore crowd, I guess I meant to say they made gamers cringe, and meanwhile they made real fans of Nintendo games bored while they waited for the games they cared about to finally come out (I finally got mine when 3D world came out, but I still want some more). Seriously, they're just releasing the good stuff now. They had a whole year to impress us and they squandered it.

Then PS4 and Xbone were launched, and of course they had the mind-blowing graphics and the all new features and whatnot, and of course the third-party developers dropped the Wii U like it was boxed cancer and went to develop for the new consoles, saying maybe the Wii U can get something if it's easy enough to port over.

Meanwhile Nintendo decides to market its console towards the casual gamers again, with the kids talking about how "family time is disappearing people! Wii U is the solution!! It's not the same as normal Wii!". Seriously some of the most sad, pathetic advertising I've ever seen, to an audience that's not even interested in the product anymore. To see how they should have marketed their system, see Sony's PS4. In my opinion, PS4 did everything right with their marketing (as far as games, I don't know and I don't really care unless it's Mortal Kombat). Their commercials focused on friends playing together, not kids with their moms and dads (which I don't think anyone does, people play games with their friends, brothers, sisters, people close to their own age). Sony is dominating right now, and even though I don't plan on getting a PS4 anytime soon, I think it deserves it, because where their competition is screwing up and tripping over their own feet, PS4 is doing everything right.

Now, with that being said, releasing a new Nintendo console so soon would kill all integrity Nintendo has left, which is why the idea of it is just a rumor and nothing more. And even though the Wii U is not selling well (to put it politely), Nintendo still has tons of money and a kickass handheld that they're selling. And meanwhile they are coming out with good games finally; Super Mario 3D world was no Galaxy, but it was the Mario game we needed (comparing it to Galaxy, btw, is like comparing gold to platinum). Then we've got Mario Kart, Smash Bros, talks of a new Zelda, and I hear the new Donkey Kong was pretty good, and there's also some secret first-party projects (praying for a new Metroid, StarFox, or F-Zero). The Wii U is not going to be the next virtual boy and Nintendo is far from needing to resort to developing for other consoles (especially mobile, screw whoever suggested that).

Nintendo really, really, REALLY screwed up in the beginning, and the damage is done. Because of that the Wii U is going to be riding primarily on first-party games for its whole lifetime. I can't see it ever catching up to the PS4 in sales, maybe it'll end up selling more than Xbox One, but it won't dominate like the Wii did. But I can see that it's coming around, the real games are coming out and the future is looking decent, which is why the Wii U will not be a failure. Despite its epic fail of a launch, Nintendo will endure.