Nintendo’s Wii is a strange little console. On the one hand the console single-handedly beat the Xbox 360 and PS3 in terms of install base with over 80 million systems sold. On the other hand it had no chance in staying relevant up against its rivals once they too received their own motion-based controllers.
Without HD graphics, a hard drive and a solid online gaming platform, Nintendo was pretty much forced into a corner to prepare a Wii 2 to stave off declining Wii sales.
So, you can view the Wii as a console that totally revolutionized this generation with its unique controller and you can also call it a waning fad that’s slowly becoming outdated due to obsolete technology that is an entire generation behind Sony and Microsoft’s consoles.
In a recent meeting with investors and analysts, Nintendo president Satoru Iwata – the man who more or less helped restore Nintendo back to its first place at the podium expressed his regret at not gathering more third-party supporters to develop games. Instead, Nintendo chose to push its own games such as Wii Sports, Wii Play, Wii Fit, Wii Music, Wii Party and its Super Mario Galaxy franchise as the main reason to own a Wii. Now, as Nintendo’s well of first-party games are running dry, third-party franchises aren’t there to keept the Wii afloat. That was Nintendo’s wrong move.
Iwata says that Nintendo’s learned from its mistake and will work hard not to repeat it again. This might shed some light as to why there was no Super Mario game at the launch of the 3DS. The fact of the matter is, people buy Nintendo systems to play Nintendo games. Their system is like Apple. The software and hardware meld perfectly. It’ll be interesting to see how much support Nintendo gets for the Wii 2. Rumor has it Rockstar is on board for a Grand Theft Auto V.