Nintendo Hitting Hard in 2014

Nintendo Deserves Your Dollars

The Wii U has not been the success that Nintendo hoped it would be.  The reasons for this have been debated, ranging from consumers getting tired with older Nintendo franchises to people wondering if the product was branded poorly.  My personal response to these two claims: no, people are not tired of old Nintendo franchises; and yes, the Wii U has suffered from poor branding.  However, I would argue that Nintendo does deserve your hard earned dollars in 2014.

This year, Nintendo will pull out of their current funk.  It would be hard not to, especially with their software lineup.  While 2013 did deliver a number of quality games, I don’t think any would be considered heavy hitters for the system, except perhaps Mario 3D World.  3D World, like New Super Mario Bros U, is not the Mario game that people are really looking forward to on the Wii U, as it appears that Nintendo fans are demanding a Mario 64/Sunshine type of game.  While the two Mario games on Wii U are quality titles, they seem to bank heavily on their DS/3DS counterparts.  The formula get old after a while.

Nintendo has yet to release two of their heavy hitters: Super Smash Bros and Mario Kart.  Both games are being promised this year, and both will come in some type of bundle.  And they will deliver.  While some games are never a guarantee success, Nintendo’s beat-em-up and kart games have never disappointed.  These are the games consumers have been waiting for.  So, despite a great 2013 software wise, Mario Kart and Smash Bros are the games that will sell consoles to many people.  And for those who have a hard time getting excited, there is also Watch Dogs from Ubisoft.  Although it will not match the graphics that the PS4 and Xbox One will output, the gamepad makes the Wii U the ideal system to play this game on.

So before you sell your Wii U, or swear that you will never buy one, wait for these juggernauts to launch.  It will drive console sales up, and hopefully bring back third party support.  On top of the games already mentioned, the system already boasts first party titles such as Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze, Pikmin 3, and other great titles such as NES Remix.  Yet to come: Mario Party, Mario sports titles, and a new Zelda.  Is this not enough content to justify a console purchase?  I would say yes!