Can anything 'save' the Wii U?

[ThePyroPath]

On the point if it needs "saving", can be "saved" let alone the fact what can "save" it I have the following opinion:

Nintendo has a hardcore following. Sooner or later this base of fans will get it to play those Nintendo games. With these sales it will hover around 20 M lifetime I think. These are "bad sales" in the eyes of many but for a company like Nintendo, being Nintendo and delivering the Nintendo games I think they can be at peace. Sure they hoped to repeat the success of the Wii but as with any "innovation" it will only be seen as an innovation if it turns out to be a hit or hype. You can see that with Apple, Samsung, Tesla and many more companies. They take a gamble and the scale tips either in their favor or against it. Nintendo will survive for many years to come and won't stop making hardware within the current climate. They'll try again and again to repeat history and catch lightning in a bottle the next time. As Gamestop put it: "Don't bet against Nintendo." If you're under the illusion that Nintendo is doing nothing about it, that's kind of the Japanese way. Keep stuff internal. Don't tell the outside what's happening behind the scenes too much. It's rooted in the Japanese way of life of tradition and confidence. They want to make it look like it's business as usual and don't get you upset but behind the curtain everyone is hard at work to deliver and make it seem like the change came gradually and easy. So about the question if it needs to be "saved" my response is No. They'll take their defeat and move on.

Now let's address if it can be "saved". This may be a weird question in the light I just painted but lets approach this from the view of the public instead of from the view of Nintendo. Perception is King in the view of the public. Perception dominates what the public thinks about your hardware and how they feel about it in general. I think this can be changed a lot. Still many people think the console has no games. While that was true in the beginning this statement is in my opinion obsolete. Enough good games are here, almost all are exclusive and more have been announced or are even coming soon. Enough to render this a moot point. Maybe not as a primary console but certainly as a secondary. I myself would put it next to a PC and have a very complete gaming experience. Owning it is in my opinion justifiable enough. What lacks is a positive feedback loop. People playing it, enjoying it and telling the world they also need this. Youtubers and press painting a more positive story on what the console has and does. Not constant bickering about what it can't and has not. And last sensible commercials and advertising. Nintendo advertising is sporadic over here and if I can believe many other its the same where they live.'

No amount of redesign, price lowering, gifts, gamepad removal or even games will get people into a buzz as much as positive sounds surrounding it. The iPhone didn't become popular because of what it did right but because the right people talked about it and showed it off, telling people they wanted to have it in their life. You need people, press and social media to create this buzz. How to create that on the other hand...that's a story on itself.