Nintendo’s Satoru Iwata isn’t afraid to lay the blame for the Wii U’s poor sales on Nintendo’s marketing decisions.
“We relaxed our [marketing] efforts, so the consumers today still cannot understand what’s so good and unique about the Wii U,” Iwata told CNBC. “We have been unsuccessful in coming up with one single software with which people can understand, ‘OK, this is really different.’ As long as people have hands-on [experience], they can appreciate the value of the Wii U, but because there’s not software that’s simple and obvious for people as ‘Wii Sports’ for the Wii, potential consumers do not feel like trying the Wii U.”
Calling back to last year’s reveal of Nintendoland, Nintendo was hoping they found the Wii U’s equivalent to Wii Sports. While still enjoyable, it didn’t have the same accessibility as the Wii hit. Combined with that previously mentioned lack of marketing (some people still think that the Wii U’s GamePad is just a new peripheral for the Wii), and it’s easy to see why the Wii U is having issues selling consoles.
Perhaps the best way to combat these struggles is with quality games, as Iwata mentioned. Mario Kart, Super Mario 3D World, and Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze are indeed a way to entice gamers to pick up a Wii U when the games release, but they’ll probably lack the same punch that Wii Sports had with the mainstream audience.
Source: Gamespot Australia