It will be really hard to make Wii U live through 2017.
End 2015 and will have already seen a 2D and 3D Mario, Donkey Kong, Smash, Mario Kart, Zelda remake and an original Zelda and Starfox.
Not to mention other Nintendo franchises like Game and Wario, Yoshi, Kirby, Xenoblade.
The only big franchises that i see lacking after 2015 - if they don't come out before 2015 is over - is a Pokémon game, Animal Crossing, Paper Mario and Metroid.
Problem is, the system sellers will have come and gone and sales are still too low.
In 2013 with a price cut, a Zelda remake, Mario 3D World, Wii U sold 3.1 million units. So far, in, 2014, Wii U has sold 2.3 million units.
Wii U will pass 2013 sales, but it won't be by much, despite having a better library and MK 8 and Smash, not mention Hyrule Warriors and Bayonetta 2.
Wii U sales are so low that even if they release a lot of games next year, things won't change to the point where the console can decline and still be relevant in the market. Remember how Wii U was being ditched by retailers last year?
And there's even a bigger problem: software.
We all saw what happened to the Wii in 2011 and 2012. This last year was beyond bare, but they at least had a big brand and 3rd parties that supported their console.
Now, we not only doesn't have a big brand with the Wii U, they don't even have the shovelware to compensate their lack of games.
In 2016 Nintendo will already be deep in production for their next generation. And Wii U will be the one to suffer the most.
They need to end the Wii U with a good number of games to help people carry over the next gen in late 2016, when they release both a handheld and a home console, just like they did in 2001 (with a few months separating GBA and the GC).
They can do it and they need this, because they can no longer focus on 2 consoles at the same time.
The successor to Wii U can, and should be, released in 2016 if all the games they release are available on both the handheld and home console.
