Gentlemen, I know I dont start threads often and I am barely known, but I am a Nintendo loyalist and a gamer, meaning I do play the other consoles as well. Now to the point, thanks to my job I do have a lot of time available, 3 days off a week, I'm home by 3 or 4 pm,  I get to talk to all kinds of people and gaming is a constant subject we discuss, It is surprising how little hype there is for the Wii U even Mario Kart, most people are not even aware is soon to be released.

Again, thanks to my job where there are plenty of interns who can assist you, I started doing some research and talking so I came to one conclussion........ Nintendo's problem isn't hardware capacity nor the need for New IPs, sure these are matters that can be improved but would be quite irrelevant if this is not adressed, Nintendo isnt a cool product anymore to the biggest consumer demographic, the teenagers, based on my proffession I can tell you, teens lead the way,  if something hits it big with the 13 to 19 crowd believe me it's big, Nintendo isnt appealing to them, understandable considering the way the industry went and decisions Nintendo has made over the past. how to change this? it is so difficult, Nintendo now finds itself in the same predicament any type of industry trying to succeed is, hitting it with the teens. why did people choose facebook over myspace, why Dre beats sell double the amount of any other high quality headphones brand? they arent the better product, I can assure you.

Back in my day  kids and teen wanted to be adults, now a days kids and adults copy teenagers, in an era where 40 year old moms have an instagram and post selfies you must be aware that Teenagers play a major role on whatever entertainment device is being purchased on a house hold. Can Nintedo refresh it's image? Many of you wont remember but Apple was a distant memory before they redesigned the highly popular mp3 and called it an ipod, we all know how it went from there, I'm not saying it will be easy, Apple had very capable people working on all its branches from development to marketing (a branch Nintendo is just a mess)

There are some positives, Nintendo still has some of the best talent the industry has to offer, well respected licenses and a good 5-6 million loyal fanbase (thats it really)In my opinion the Wii U's fate is sealed, it will be the third place console, it still might be a profitable product, break even or a slight loss, Nintendo's financial unit runs a tight ship, this battle is however lost, but next console Nintendo will find itself with the difficult task to change their image find a good way to promote it and keep on delivering, Mario and platformers should be an arrow in the pouch, not the bow.

Connectivity between the home console and portable one is a must, deep even deeper into the indie market, (although the Wii U has done a decent effort there) explore the incredibly profitable MMO market, (Pokemon?) strike deals to get good exclusives, Phantasy Staronline was quite succesful on the Gamecube, Nintendo needs a FPS to at least show face in the genre. invest in a sports division, Nintendo needs basketball/soccer/football/baseball games without Mario in them. dont get me wrong I love Mario, Zelda, Metroid, frnachises but a generation cannot rely on 5-6 excellent games, Nintendo must deliver 25 to 30 great games in 5-6 year cycle and cover all genres.

Anyway, I hope I didnt bore you to death, If something similar has already been posted I apologize, as I stated in the title this is a fanboy (man) opinion, and Obviously I dont have the answer for how to change the image of a declining company and make it appealing to teenagers.

I was expecting Toastboy to be here

Good read and pretty accurate.

I am the same way about Sony and PlayStation. Sony has completely turned it around. Nintendo can to, I enjoy my Wii U from time to time

Good job, guys. It was a great OP which I agree with mostly, which you've completely ruined. 

I guess there's two choices here. Moderate everyone or just lock the thread and start over. So...

I think you are onto something specifically because Call of Duty has won over so many young gamers over Mario. I think its odd though to consider the demographic change in what they love is the only reason. I find it interesting that the 3DS though still kills in the handheld market. It sales in all markets to a high degree. That could be because the Vita isn't a strong competitor but its games tend to scew more toward the older audience like games on Nintendo's competitors. Very interesting. I think its a combination of things personally but I think your reason does play a big role in it simply because of the popularity of shooters these days. That goes hand in hand with Nintendo not adapting more to that market and not making IPs targeting but instead focusing on what has been a continued success for them.

Nintendo can try to compete directly, and perhaps spend a lot of money in a failing effort, or they can be content with their niche. That second option is not a bad thing, by the way.

Playing catch-up won't be easy. It would take a good deal of work and investment. I don't see why it couldn't be done but I'm not sure the Nintendo leadership even wants to try. They're very insistent on the "doing our own thing" philosophy, even if it means being late on trends the public is obviously interested in.

Even then, Nintendo changing their image would be very hard. People have an idea of what Nintendo is "supposed" to be, even people who've never touched a video-game in their life.

I've said it before, but if I were running Nintendo, I'd spin off a secondary studio division to focus on games that are different from traditional Nintendo games. It would be owned by Nintendo but presented as a separate entity. The example I generally use is how Disney used to own Miramax, a studio that did not conform to the "family friendly" approach. Give this new division a cool sounding name, hire some guys to make edgier content, and do some serious marketing.

Also, please give the OP some respect. This is his thread, he took the time to share his thoughts and opinions.