Why the Wii U Will Succeed

There has been a lot of speculation about the Wii U in recent months, a lot of commentary, a lot of rumors. It makes sense, after all. A new home console from one of the big three video game companies comes along once every 5 years or so. The Wii U is also a sexy story because the original Wii was a such a revolution in video gaming, and because Nintendo recently posted an annual operational loss, the first in its 40 year history.

What will Nintendo do to reverse that trend? How much will the Wii U cost? When will it debut? What games are planned? How does it stack up against high-powered current-generation consoles like Xbox 360 and Playstation 3? All these questions and more are being asked. The one that I'm most interested in is "will it be successful?" For me the answer is a definite "yes." I believe strongly the Wii U will be a financial and critical success, and will be the best Nintendo system since the SNES.

Below are five reasons Wii U will succeed in the bloated and ultra-competitive industry we call video games.

5. A One-year Head Start

History shows us that head starts in the video game world do not guarantee success. The Sega Dreamcast launched a year before the Playstation 2, and two years before the Gamecube and Xbox, yet it was doomed to obscurity. The Xbox 360 got a one-year head start on the PS3 and Wii, but the Wii easily outsold it. However, there is precedent. I think the Wii U will be something like the Sega Genesis. The Genesis, Sega's best-selling console, earned the lion's share of the American 16-bit console market, in large part because it had 1) a one-year head start over the SNES; 2) a larger library of games; and 3) a lower price point. When Playstation 4 and Xbox 720 launch in 2013, I believe the Wii U will match all three criteria. Even if it doesn't, Wii U has something Microsoft and Sony never will.

4. Nintendo IPs

This, above all else, is what makes Nintendo successful year after year. They have the best IPs on the planet: The Legend of Zelda, Super Mario, Metroid, Pokemon, F-Zero, Star Fox, Donkey Kong, etc. Shigeru Miyamoto, who invented several of those franchises, has already alluded to a HD Zelda game, and a tech demo at E3 2011 showed a high-definition Link battling a giant spider. And a few days ago, Nintendo confirmed it will be showing a new Mario and Pikmin game for the Wii U at this year's E3. A currently untitled fourth installment of Super Smash Bros. was also unveiled at E3 2011. What's more important is that some of these high-profile Nintendo games launch with the Wii U. I'm confident it will happen. Why?

Link in HD. It's about time

3. Nintendo Learned its Lesson from the 3DS Launch

Although the immediate 3DS launch went very well, the weeks and months after it was unveiled were sour ones for Nintendo. It was only after a price cut and, later, the introduction of some much-wanted games – Monster Hunter 3G, Super Mario Land, Mario Kart 7 – that sales rebounded and then shot into the stratosphere. To paraphrase James Carville, "the software, stupid." Good games sell systems. That's why I feel strongly at least one major Nintendo game will launch with the Wii U. In fact, I think the Wii U version of Super Mario will be bundled with the system. But Nintendo titles may not be enough. Video game players follow many IPs, not just those owned by Nintendo. Don't worry, cause the Wii U has that covered.

2. Third-Party Support

This is absolutely critical to the success of the Wii U. I cannot overestimate its importance. Yes, the Wii did well in its first few years with very few AAA third-party titles, but in the past two years, sales have slumped. Nintendo hasn't released a system with a top-flight library of third-party titles since the SNES. If I made a list of the best games for the N64, Gamecube, and Wii it would be mostly filled with first and second-party games. But this time, Nintendo made a commitment to woo big-name developers instead of alienating them. That's why the Wii U will host games like Batman: Arkham City, Darksiders II, Assassin's Creed III, Aliens: Colonial Marines, and Ninja Gaiden III. This is huge. Finally, some darker and more mature (and more importantly, popular) games will be playable on a Nintendo system. In the case of some franchises, its something of a reunion. The last time a Ninja Gaiden game graced a Nintendo console, for example, was over 20 years ago. What's that you say? Xbox 720 and PS4 will also have these games, and they'll look better? It doesn't matter, because the Wii U versions of these games have the potential to be the best versions. And that brings us to the #1 reason the Wii U will succeed.

Nintendo's new tablet controller.

1. The Tablet Controller

Many critics laughed at the motion controller for the original Wii. The new tablet controller for Wii U is similarly being dismissed. What Microsoft and Sony don't get, and maybe never will, is that graphics aren't everything. The original Wii, which features laughably under-powered hardware but which outperformed its rivals, is proof of that. Video game players want new and exciting ways to play games, to interact with them, to share them with friends. The tablet controller with its touchscreen provides that. Moreover, the tablet controller allows Wii U versions of multi-platform games to be the best versions. For example, imagine playing Aliens: Colonial Marines where the controller functions as a motion tracker like the one used by marines in the movie Aliens. The possibilities are endless.


So, that's what I think. But what about you? Are you planning on buying Wii U on day one? Or will you wait for a price drop? Do you think Nintendo will win the next round of console wars? Or be crushed by bigger and better systems?