The world moves so quickly these days. The console has only been struggling for two months. Saying Nintendo should be doing something to react to something that started 60 days ago is silly. Up until 2013 Wii U was selling exactly as Nintendo had projected, about 80% of Wii. Even the biggest detractors didn't expect a drop in sales this quickly. But you don't make new games, change marketing strategies or even slash prices in two months. Iwata needs to look at the big picture. January and February 2013 are barely even significant enough to be considered when you look at the life of the product. These months form a tiny little piece of the relevancy of a month like November 2013.
Some thoughts:
-Nintendo is dealing with an unprecidented late-life strength of previous gen PS360. In this scenario, with Wii U launching first, there is almost nothing their product can do to take the market. It can't compete with game library or price.
-Sony and MS have revealed next to nothing about the software support of their new systems. The most we have seen is a glimpse of Killzone. We also don't know the pricing structure or full feature set.
-Nintendo just gave a very exciting Nintendo Direct a month or two ago. It built hype but is quickly forgotten after a few weeks. Such is the mindset in the internet age and especially so when a competitor is announcing an all-new system after your broadcast.
With this in mind there is no point in Nintendo doing a marketing blitz or slashing prices. And they can't speed up games. The bulk of sales come in the second half of the year, and Nintendo doesn't really know what it's competing with yet. When MS and Sony announce pricing, Nintendo can counter by dropping theirs. When the Nextbox and PS4 reveal their full launch lineup, Nintendo can counter hype by revealing their big hitters. Revealing them now would give them nothing to counter the hype of the new systems. Nintendo doesn't have blinders on, they are just being smart. It's just hard for us observers to be patient.
