I just wanted to state the obvious.  Mario Kart is the Wii U last hope for relevance in the console race.  I could elaborate more on this op but I will do so later in this thread when I am more sober. 

sober edit 1 - I know Nintendo doesn't need to win the console race and the most important factor is that they are profitable.  However, I would like to see at least 30m Wii U sold during its lifetime. Sure there are plenty other great games coming out for the Wii U but Mario Kart is best home console system seller Nintendo has.  If Mario Kart can't jump start the Wii U then nothing else will.  I expect and hope that Mario Kart will breathe new life into Wii U sales.

Nope. SSB and Zelda U will also help wii u. And nintendo might have some surprises left. It will give a decent boost. But it wont be able to push wii u above 15 million numbers.

Yes, but also no.

Frankly, the Wii U has effectively lost the battle to stay relevant. It's not going away, that much is certain, but in terms of having a tangible effect on the console sales landscape, if there was a window of opportunity for that then it's already long past. At best, this game might provide a shot-in-the-arm similar to that of Super Mario 3D World, but I'm doubtful it will affect sales enough to make headway in the market unless Nintendo is prepared to also embrace drastic and likely unhealthy steps to push Wii U sales.

Only if Nintendo deliver the darker epic Zelda gamers want, not more whimsical toon stuff.

Made it just for your thread..

I came here expecting a picture like this. I wasn't disappointed.

I'll also add this one

I thought Nintendo decided to not be part of that console race sometime in 2001? And relevance depends on ones view.

For me Nintendo or Atlus etc. is more relevant that lets say EA. Let mainstreamers do their thing and let the cool kids actually play real games.

Are not you a little too pessimistic?

Let's say that in the worst case sells 20 million ...

I don't agree. Mario Kart will boost the Wii U later this month, but Nintendo needs significantly more to further raise and maintain the console. The Wii wasn't selling based on one game, Nintendo was releasing lots of games for it with lots of marketing. Nintendo should be able to leverage games that are coming out later, but that's much more the job of their marketing department. They will have to market well and not be so damn secretetive going forward.