Wii U Finally Ready To Play: Part 2

One of the major concerns the Wii U has had since its launch has been third party support. This problem is even more apparent this year with the Wii U not getting ports of the some of the larger releases such as Call of Duty, Madden, NBA2K, and WWE2K). Its odd for these yearly releases to not have a port developed for Nintendo's console especially when there has been in year's past. Games such as Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel and Assassin's Creed Rogue are two examples of games that are fully capable of being developed and run on the Wii U, but for one reason or another were not. This has been crippling for the Wii U. If Microsoft or Sony were ever  in this situation ( or anyone else for that matter) it would be time to count them out, but if there is one thing that separates the Big N from its other two competitors, its their ability to develop their own software. I think  the media as well as some consumer have forgotten about this, which has resulted in a very slow start for the Wii U this console generation.

Lets get ready to SMASH!

With the release of games like Mario Kart 8, which was the first true title to showcase the ability and appeal of the console, the Wii U is now being taken slightly more seriously as for as games are concerned. Thankfully it doesn't stop there. Nintendo is intending on ending this year with a bang, with Hyrule Warriors, Bayonetta 2, Super Smash Bros. Wii U, and later this year Captain Toad's Treasure Tracker Nintendo has the best line up of exclusives this holiday season.

In terms of hardware specifications Nintendo's Wii U my be behind the pack, but as far as console exclusives go they are light years ahead. Unfortunately that was not the case when the system debuted. Honestly, if  either Mario Kart or SSB would have been ready for launch, we might have a completely didnt console race right now. This was major miscalculation on the part of Nintendo, but hindsight is 20/20.

Another weapon Nintendo has in its arsenal is its Virtual Console. Both Microsoft and Sony have their own catalog of older games, but neither comes close to the library Nintendo has at its disposal:
92 NES games, 60 SNES, 21 N64, 15 Master System, 59 Turbografx-16, 54 Neo Geo,  and 21 virtual console arcade titles. Now that is backward compatible. I would love to see a stronger push on the VC, especailly on the 3ds, because there are just so many games out there needing the VC treatment. Its something unique to Nintendo, and definitely something they need to use to their advantage,

E3 2014 was a huge step in the right direction for repairing the damage the Wii U's slow start has done to Nintendo's brand. They have shown that they have not only the games but the variety of games on the horizon. Its key for them to keep up with a strategic release schedule from now until next year's E3 to keep consumers hungry and thinking about the Wii U.  You can be sure that Microsoft and Sony will focus their press conference largely on upcoming games, so its imperative for Nintendo to have more than brief teasers ready for the expo. This means in game footage ( if not playable) for Zelda Wii U. This can and should be the game to steal the show...unless they have a secret Metroid game in development.

I just really like Mass Effect.

 The Wii U isn't the first system to have a slow start, and it wont be the last. Nintendo's own 3ds took months, a price drop, and great software for the handheld to pick up steam( and pick up steam it did!). Let us not forget the PS3's launch was nothing to write home about , but it still picked up steam after awhile. Two years is much to soon to count a new system out, and its only a matter of time before the third party companies that have turned there backs on Nintendo to eat crow. This is Nintendo's time to do what hey should have done should have done before the Wii U's launch, and that is show us why we need the Wii U. They are doing a heck of a job recently, but it has to remain consistent to get the other developers to get back on board. The Wii U will be successful with just Nintendo titles on the shelves, but it can thrive with the help of third parties.