Where Does Nintendo Go If Wii U Never Takes Off?

[Screamapillar]

sales2099 said:

Screamapillar said:

sales2099 said:
Nintendo has learned that they need casuals to stay alive. WiiU just doesnt bring in the same crowd that Wii did.

Expect this to be the last "core first" Nintendo console, because frankly, there aren't enough core to support them anymore.

Sure there are.  At the very minimum there are 20 million, as demonstrated that the GameCube exceeded that number, and that was even before the popularity explosion of the cross-over games like New Super Mario Bros, Mario Kart and Animal Crossing series.  Those series have massive appeal to casuals that aren't non-gamers but aren't necessarily active gamers.  They're an inbetween.

If 3DS only primarily appeals to hardcore Nintendo fans, then there are at least 27 million of them already and the system is only two years old.

Do not group handheld buyers with console buyers. And 3ds has a dual appeal to casual and core, not primarily core.

Of course handhelds don't have the exact same audience as home consoles, but there is a lot of overlap.  Nintendo's popularity has grown since the days of the GameCube and GBA.  Mario games sell better now than they did back then, and Animal Crossing and Mario Kart are now hugely successful with casual gamers.