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Wii U for the Family

NITENDO’S gaming console, the Wii U, is indeed the company’s most ambitious plans to get back to the top rung of the gaming industry.

Nintendo now has a new-look tablet like GamePad which gives the user an alternate view of the action with dual-screen gameplay and promises to provide entertainment to the full family.

Nintendo is desperately trying get slice out of Americans’ shopping budgets this year and has positioned the Wii U for sale on November 18 in the US with brand new games ‘Nintendo Land’ and ‘Super Mario Bros. U’ — these games which will not be available elsewhere!

Nintendo Co. Ltd which was founded in 1889 and originally produced handmade cards developed into a video game company and rapidly captured the lead position in the industry. Recently, however, the Japan-based company faced setbacks and was forced to post net and operating losses in the year ending March 31 on account of a slump in the demand for its handheld game console the 3DS and a stronger yen which negated overseas earnings.

The 32-Gig Wii U with the $350+ hardware console, $60 games pack and other accessories will help Nintendo make a turnaround amidst numerous games which are available for free across smart phones and devices. The TVii feature of Wii U is like a one-stop shop for all TV viewing needs. While on-demand services such as Amazon or Netflix are placed on a side panel with network schedules, it allow users get a peek at all that is available for viewing or even purchase.

Reggie Fils-Aime, president of Nintendo Co.’s US, outlined the company’s Wii U console plans and has identified games that are proprietary and not available on other devices to be their key differentiator. “It’s Mario, it’s Zelda, it’s great first-party content that’s our secret weapon,” Reggie said in an interview at Bloomberg NY.

“The fact that it doesn’t exist on your tablet, the fact that it doesn’t exist on your smartphone, is going to drive consumers to enjoy our products on our devices.” So Nintendo’s strategy is two-prong, according to Reggie. First, great titles, including some that others don’t have. Second, add features such as TV that will help make the console, with its tablet-like controller, a central part of the living- room experience.

Meanwhile Gaming leaders Activision and Ubisoft Entertainment, makers of the popular “Call of Duty: Black Ops II” and ZombiesU respectively will be launching the Wii U versions of their popular games and will have features unique to the Wii U console.

Nintendo has about seven million fans worldwide that are likely to buy a new console, experts say and the company expects to sell 10 million Wii U consoles in the financial year. Will the new consoles bail out the company from the deep waters that it is flailing around in? Stay tuned and we will tell you…

—prashant.vadgaonkar@hotmail.com