Wii U sales have droppped off a cliff after Christmas, and they're not what Nintendo expected. What does Wii U need to get going? It needs better value. A price cut might help, but they aren't going to do that, at least for a while. It needs time, for sure, for the word to get around. It also needs PS360 to start dying off and their more expensive successors to come along. And it needs a marketing push to get the word out. But most of all, to be a better value, it needs content. I think the content it needs are:
1. MarioKart. This one is obvious. A huge hit on Wii and now 3DS, this game will move systems. I was thinking it would release spring 2014, but with WiiU in need of a must-have title we can be sure we'll see it fall 2013. It's perhaps gamings single biggest title, and it's needed.
2. A big 3rd party game. RE: Revelations is coming, which is a good sign that multiplats may begin to hit WiiU simultaniously, and we can be sure that CODMW4 will hit WiiU in the fall. To spur sales though, WiiU needs a good 3rd party announcement, preferably something a bit shocking. Titles like GTA or Final Fantasy come to mind. So does Metal Gear. It doesn't need to be exclusive, but February's direct connect needs to announce a significant 3rd party title for the current year that will fill the void between big 1st party releases and get some attention. Even better if there are 2 or 3.
3. Apps. Wii U is brilliantly equiped to offer i-thing like gaming. $5-$20 apps must be available on e-shop. Quick, pick-up-and-play games and apps. Maybe some that are free or $1-$2 as well. The viewer and Google street view are a good start. They need Angry Birds type games. Nintendo should have split up NintendoLand into 12 downloadable apps. Could have made a mint. With the touchpad they could do all kinds of innovative things, the kind of things that Nintendo's great software makers would make if they were making games for i-pads. The e-shop should be full of stuff. New themes or quick plays of classic titles. "New" Kid Icarus for example. "New" Ice Climbers. They could slap them together in a week or two and sell them for 5 bones. Perhaps offer a PS+ like subscription to get them all.
4. Retro's game. This needs to be good. It needs to be western-themed, deep and full of action. It needs to compliment MarioKart. The ying for Karts colourful, easy to play yang. And it needs to be out this fall along with Kart.
5. WiiSportsU. Actually, it doesn't need to be WiiSportsU. But it does need to be adult-themed, accessible and cool. It needs to use the pad in a cool way. The best example is the ninjastar game from NintendoLand. That is really cool. But NintendoLand has a dorky name and isn't super accessible. A new title has to do a better job. WiiPartyU may be this title, but it's too early to tell. If it's named WiiPartyU that may not be a good thing. It needs something more catchy but still simple.
That is all.
