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Frogger on 21 August 2013
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I see that a lot more people than I expected feel like the Wii U simply will not sell well this winter. That actually surprises me a lot, but perhaps I should explain why the Wii U will be successful, at least in hardware sales and first party IPs, this holiday.

I think that one of Nintendo's strongest points when it comes to IPs, especially as of late, is their exclusive appeal. What I mean by this is that, on top of selling with the what are undeniably the best numbers in the business, many of their IP's appeal to completely different audiences. ie Wii Fit U won't often sell to the same people who will buy The Legend of Zelda Wind Waker: HD or Super Mario 3D World.

To me, those will undoubtably sell the most consoles, especially Wii Fit U.

When a software title sells well, many have to consider how many of those sales will come from new Wii U owners. I think that Wii Fit U, with the right advertisement, will be almost as successful as the two before it. That's pretty damn successful, but a big thing to consider is that, unlike Pikmin 3, most of those sales will likely come from new Wii U owners. More specifically, I believe there will be a bundle with Wii Fit U for around $369.

I think a similar success will happen with the Wind Waker HD. A bundle is rumored to be in the words for this game and I believe there will be a LOT of bundle adds on channels like Cartoonnetwork and Nickelodeon. I predicted this bundle would happen and I am even more confident that it will happen now. I do think it will sell better than Pikmin 3 did and it will appeal to a new generation of up coming gamers.

The last game I think will have a bundle, and the one that I think will be the most successful is Super Mario 3D World. To the jaded "gamer," this is just another Mario, but to your average consumer, this is a game with a franchise history of providing at least 20 million people with hours of fun with family and friends with every release.

I genuinely don't believe that losing Battlefield hurts the Wii U at all. If anything, it only makes Ghosts more appealing. I do think that the Wii U missing Madden 25 and Fifa 14 hurts it a lot. For a lot of my friends, Madden + Call of Duty = the perfect yearly dose of games. These are normal "dude bros" who don't care about video games AT ALL. You know what other games they like? Mario Party, Mario Kart, Super Smash Bros, Wii Sports (tennis) and just regular Mario plat-formers. No joke. Why? Because they play video games for the co-op, not for the single player. That's how a lot of people feel, but not getting Madden 25 is a surefire way to make them skip the Wii U easily.

I think it was easier for the Wii to be first party only because it was so cheap. That isn't true for the Wii U.

I think is should be mentioned that none of these "dude bro" friends of mine plan on getting next gen consoles anytime soon. They are fine with their 360's. (None have PS3's) I asked what they plan on getting next gen and they said "Honestly, nothing. The XBO looks cool though." This was days after the reveal.

I think the Wii U had the chance to lure in this crowd. If it was getting Madden 25, that would've been really good for Nintendo now that it's getting a proper Mario. I think there's a misconception that dude bros are, well, dude bros. I think that instead, they'll just go where simple, popular, and fun games are. And they'll go where their friends are. Plain and simple.

If anything will "save the Wii U" this winter, it will be Wii Fit U and especially Super Mario 3D world. A Wind Waker bundle will help a lot. Donkey Kong will help to. The largest audience for ALL video game consoles are children and casuals. I just don't see them saying "oh, another Mario."
They haven't for 30 years.

I think that the third party games just help make the purchase feel justified for a lot of people.