It was announced that Zelda U was coming, also a new Smash Bros Character would have been something I'm sure people would have at least been happier with. And people started assuming things because Nintendo wasn't clear at all about what they're going to show, sure Geoff hyped things unnecessarily like he always does and people on the Internet got caried away with their hype, like they always do, but saying that Nintendo is not at fault here as well is just wrong.

They should know how the internet works in this day and age, they should know that people take ambiguous comments like "we're going to show something new for an announced game" and speculate about them and they had more than enough time to clear things up beforehand. If you want to be mysterious about what you're going to show at an event like this, then you'd better make sure that the thing you're going to show is exciting and being able to play an old monkey in donkey kong is not exciting, especially not for the people watching VGX.

It's Cranky fever :).

Well the whole cranky kong reveal was a joke. The rest of the vgx wasn't that great either though. A few cool standouts was that open world indie game, dying light demo, and the new division trailer. The reveals were ok really, nothing mind blowing and some of the trailers didn't really show much either like with Destiny/the witcher 3.

I don't see the Wii as a demonstration of market knowledge. It sold like crazy, but it didn't dominated the market in the long run and may even be passed by its competitors. They abandoned the core market, jumped in the casual bandwagon and just watches the smartphone and tablet market steal all their casual public with cheap games that run on a device you already has. Then the sales plummeted and they rushed a successor. The problem is that their market left them for the third party support, online mode and better graphics on the HD twins. The problem with Wii U is because of the Wii. They lost the casuals and lost the core, all they have is the Nintendo fan base, that is basically what the GameCube had.

For me, their latest great console was N64. Good exclusives, decent third party support and a balanced hardware with good price. If they hadn't put a cartridge slot it could have even had a good fight with the PS1. Wii U should be a powerful console with XB1/PS4 hardware using x86 processors and a regular controller selling for 400 bucks. With that and some talk with third party studios they would get support. The current Wii U is expensive. It delivers a low performance by its price. And while they will struggle to cut costs because not the gamepad, Sony and MS will get free price cuts riding on the increased APU fabrication for PCs downing their costs with mass production. It's unbelievable that Nintendo didn't saw it coming (and thrust me, they knew what the others were doing). The home console market is focused in a more expensive experience, with a nice and big HDTV and media features. The kid's market could be attacked only with 3DS. And when they grow, the natural choice would be a powerhouse Nintendo device. Like N64 was. It was THE 64 bits machine in the middle of the bit wars. It only suffered because of a very bad design choice.

To be fair, DKC played a much bigger part in keeping the SNES in prominence than Mario did. Besides the point but, just saying.

I don't think the curve is normal. It could be at previous gens, but this one was longer and it simply lost steam. This new gen will probably be as long as the previous. And yes, a lot of core guys bought the Wii. But they simply upgraded to PS360 when they got cheaper to jump in the HD gaming + online mode, that happened to a lot of friend that grabed one because of the motion controllers. 

Anyway, my point is: why the Wii U can't sell like its predecessor. When we talk about PS3 vs. PS2, I know the answer: launched later, bad price, bad SDK, is pretty simple. Sales improved after the price was cut and the SDk improved/developer got used and third party games improved. Wii sold like crazy, but sales almost stopped, starting in 2011. That year, the smartphones were in their rise and tablets were gaining ground. So, looking at the environment in the market at the date, I see:

- Online gaming gaining ground: players wanted CoD and company

- Killer HD twins games (Gears, GoW, Batman, etc)

- Better HD twins price

- Casuals jumping to mobile

Eh, while his overall point isnt put forward very well I think youre being unfair and honestly showing your ignorance regarding the platforms and games in question... Just because we have a lot of action/adventure/shooter/story focused games on PS and Xbox doesnt mean theyre all samey. Look at what Sony and Microsoft are actually doing with new IP over the last generation and going into this one and you get a clear picture of the problems surrounding Nintendo.

Granted we have the usual Halo, Uncharted, Fable, God of War and so on because they sell Millions per release... But theyre still pushing out new IPs and building studios to make exciting new titles. These titles generally sell well too because Sony and Microsoft actually support them. This is something Nintendo are struggling (refusing?) to do. Its a clear lack of creativity and over reliance on old franchises. Its stubborn.

Sony give teams creative freedom. Its thanks to this that we got the likes of Uncharted, The Last of Us, inFamous and Beyond to name a few. Then we look at what they have in the pipeline and you see projects like Knack, The Order and Driveclub. Granted not all are media darlings but they dont need to be. Its creativity. Its something fresh and new to draw new players in and keep the platform in question fresh.

Microsoft will throw unlimited funds at whatever they want. They have ambition. Theyre actively building new studios like Black Tusk and getting 3rd parties onto the platform with new IP thanks to publishing efforts. Ryse, Project Spark, Quantum Break and Sunset Overdrive come straight to mind. 

Making and backing creative, exciting new IP isnt a bad thing yet Nintendo seem incapable of doing this. From refusing to release and advertise the likes of Xenoblade in markets crying out for it to teasing everyone that something exciting will be at an awards show watched by the enthusiast gamer, only to end up showing Scrooge McDuck in fancy dress. Nintendo just dont get it. The Wii U fucking up everything they had going with Wii is proof enough that Nintendo just dont get it.

Edit -

We all know the real problems Wii U has and they cant be fixed with one or two simple titles. I cant really see how anyone can argue with the core of the OP though.

I think its another great example that shows how out of touch with the consumer Nintendo currently is when it comes to the Wii U.

3DS? They have it nailed. Wii U? They dont have a clue.

Here's what I gathered from your response:

-Its sales have gone up recently during the christmas season. So did the Gamecubes.  I am not sure what your point is.

-The Wii U released on November 18th.  That means its first year sales were at about 4 million.  These additional sales count as next years. 

-I have lost count of how many times poeple have said "X" game will turn things around.  At this point I am tired of hearing "The next one will be different!"  I will believe it when I see it.  Although I will say SSB will at least boost sales a little temporarily.

 So do I think its sales will increase in year two after it finally has competition?  NO!   I am not a Nintendo hater, I just can only go on what we know right now.  Right now we know the Wii U is trending at half the Gamecube, and the competion wasn't even here yet.  Baring a total relaunch of the Wii U and its Nintendo "Network," I don't think it will make it to even 20 million.

They are too far out of touch for that to be fixed by a couple of higher rated games.  They need more games with more wide appeal.  Those average rushed games and ports are more entertaining to more people.