Nintendo all set to defy odds with Wii U

By: Muhammad Qasim Hassan

  |   November 7th, 2012   |  

Uncategorized

There is no doubt that Nintendo is a survivor, managing to hold its own in an environment that according to many analysts does not exactly lean in its favour.

When the Japan-based company presented its next-generation console, the Wii U, at the Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) earlier this year, the reaction of the crowd was not even close to what the company had anticipated.

The crowd was disappointed, to say the least, with what they were shown and told. The next-generation console was nothing like they had imagined.

However, the biggest reason for their discontent was the list of games that Wii U was going to be launching with.

As expected, a new Mario title was there, while the Pikmin franchise was also making its return. While Nintendo had expected these titles to get the crowd jumping with joy, they were met with a sight that was dark and gloomy.

Yes, Mario is and has always been a key factor in the success of Nintendo in the market. However, it had not done it alone and had the support of other franchises, with Metroid and Zelda being the most notable of them.

Upon finding names of a new Zelda or Metroid game missing from the launch titles, gamers seemed to be uncertain about whether Wii U is worth purchasing when it comes out.

The industry analysts were quick to write the upcoming console off, predicting that its doom was inevitable, if not immediately then definitely after a certain time, especially after Sony and Microsoft announced their high-end consoles.

All of a sudden, Nintendo found itself desperately trying to convince every stakeholder that its new console is not as bad as the critics and analysts suggested.

Suddenly, the company found itself facing a situation similar to the one that it had found itself in prior to the release of Wii nearly a decade ago.

If there is one thing that Nintendo is good at, it is to prove the analysts wrong and going ahead to do well by defying the odds.

The company has managed to remain optimistic about its upcoming console’s performance in the market and understandably so.

Quickly realising the areas where it had gone wrong during its E3 press conference, Nintendo immediately made amends by announcing that a Zelda game was in the works and would release some time during next year, while adding that the latest adventure of Link was going to be one of the biggest games in the franchise.

Reggie Fils-Aime, President at Nintendo of America, also revealed recently that the maker of Mario Shigeru Miyamoto and the Metroid developer Retro Studios are also working on some great projects for the new console.

While the titles are still a mystery, the very fact that the best in the business are busy working on Wii U titles is enough to convince gamers that something great is coming their way soon.

If Nintendo can add a Star Fox title to the list of games that it plans on releasing within the first year of Wii U’s launch, then there is hardly any doubt that the appeal of the console will touch the sky.

Wii U is scheduled to hit the shelves in the North American region on November 18. Therefore, it would not be long before we find out whether the reviews and the critics turn out to be success or if the console and its exclusive titles win the consumers over.

Disclaimer: the views and opinions expressed in this article are the writer’s own and do not reflect the editorial policy of Wishfree.com.