Even after a year long head start, the Wii U has had its lifetime sales eclipsed by the PS4 in a matter of weeks, with the Xbox One appearing to be well on its way to outselling it within the next month.

It’s baffling to think that Nintendo expected to sell around 9 million units over the course of the past year, and are now projecting less than a third of that. Nintendo’s latest sales projection puts the Wii U at under 3 million units selling between April 2013 and March 2014.

After a launch of mostly ports from PS3 and 360 games was followed by a crippling drought in software, the Wii U has failed to really grab any definitive audience outside of the biggest Nintendo fans.

Looking forward this year, Nintendo has a strong line-up of already announced games. A new Smash Bros, Donkey Kong, and Mario Kart are already confirmed to be released at some point during the year and it has already been made known that the proper reveal of the next Legend of Zelda will happen at this year’s E3.

But still the Wii U isn’t making an impact.

There are a lot of reasons that people are going to throw out to explain why this is. No third party support and a sub par online experience when compared to their competition are most commonly brought up. But in all honesty is anyone who might by one looking for either of those things in a Nintendo console?

A legacy that spans decades doesn’t seem to be enough to help Nintendo get the Wii U off the ground.

There’s reason to fear that maybe people are outgrowing Nintendo.

People love Mario and Zelda, but after decades people are starting to feel fatigued on Nintendo’s franchises as we currently know them, and the company seems to not have any real desire to expand their catalog of IP.

Think back. What was the last new series to come from Nintendo outside of the Wii space?

Nintendo will and should continue its classic franchises, but people need something new. The company isn’t doing anything to gain new fans and iterating on its franchises doesn’t appear to be enough for their old ones.

While this fix is a long-term initiative, there is something that Nintendo should, and probably will do within the next year.

Something that could significantly help it from a business standpoint by cutting costs on the Wii U, allowing Nintendo to drop the price is to get rid of the Gamepad and use the system’s established Pro Controller.

The Gamepad may free up an HDMI port on your TV, but since the launch of the system has done little to nothing to justify its mandatory presence in the box the Wii U comes in. Games aren’t using it in any meaningful way, and that is probably because there’s no novelty to a second touch screen after the DS.

If the system isn’t selling and Nintendo is losing money on it, the company needs to look at what costs it can cut that won’t diminish the experience of playing the games on it. If no one is really taking advantage of it, the Gamepad is just a detriment, not an asset.

It might seem like a compromise in Nintendo’s vision, but using the Pro Controller as the Wii U’s standard controller would save them a pretty nice sum of cash per console manufactured.

The Wii U will likely never reach the sales level of even the GameCube, nor will it ever be able to catch up to the PS4 or Xbox One’s sales by the time this generation is over. If Nintendo can manage their expectations and re-evaluate what the system truly needs in terms of hardware and software, it can sit comfortably in third place.

However, if Nintendo doesn’t make a point to cut the costs and make the system appeal to consumers outside of Nintendo’s most fervent fans it will never be able to save this system. If that happens we may start to hear whispers of a new Nintendo console as early as the end of 2015.

No matter what Nintendo doomsday speak you hear, Nintendo is fine and is going nowhere. The Wii U on the other hand has quite a way to go before it can make the same claim, and if Nintendo doesn’t make changes soon it never will.

The post Can Nintendo Save the Wii U? appeared first on SpawnFirst.

Super Mario 3D World for Wii U got a new trailer, displaying some beautiful graphics, storyline, and gameplay details. The gameâ€s got many new power ups, including a Goomba suit, Cannon suit, Clone power-up, and a usable Piranha plant. Familiar enemies mixed with power-ups and 4-player multiplayer should make this a unique experience. The game launches November 22^nd, with Mario and Luigi Themed Wii Remotes on the 1^st.

Wii Party U hits the 25^th of this month, with some cute gamepad implementation, like scooping water from the gamepad to the TV. The 4-player party game comes bundles with a horizontal Gamepad stand, to make playing with multiple people on the Gamepad more comfortable.

Mario and Sonic at the 2014 Sochi Olympic Games features online play for 4 events, with leaderboards that pit national scores against each other. The game will get a bundle with a Blue Wii Remote. It lands on Wii U November 8^th in North America.

Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze for Wii U has been delayed to February to tighten up the game even further. This should give the game a bit more breathing room, outside of all of the holiday releases.

Pikmin 3 is receiving an update to its mission mode, that allows players to see the top worldwide scores. Along with that, new DLC missions are releasing today and in the future to extend the gameplay of that mode. One mission will be available for free.

The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds for 3DS features new, non-linear Item and dungeon structure. The game features a shop that has most of the games items in it, and players are now free to pick which item they want to tackle the games levels in any order they choose. Awesome. The game is out on November 22^nd.

Bravely Default, a highly requested 3DS JRPG from Japan got a new English trailer today, showing off its traditional gameplay and new voice acting.

Etrian Odyssey Untold hits 3DS today, with a limited first run set that includes a soundtrack CD, like other ATLUS games.

Other releases include:

Just Dance 2014 (Wii U)

Skylanders Swap Force (Wii U, Wii, 3DS)

Lego Marvel Super Heroes (Wii U, 3DS)

Batman Arkham Origins: Blackgate (3DS) – 10/25

Sonic Lost World (Wii U, 3DS) – 10/29

Assassinâ€s Creed IV: Black Flag (Wii U) -10/29

Ace Attorney: Dual Destinies (3DS eshop) -10/24, Demo out today

Nintendoâ€s going to appear at the IndieCade International Festival of Independent games later this week to support and show off new digital titles from indies around the world. This is a very positive thing for independent developers and gamers alike.

Quite coyly, a QR code for Animal Crossing New Leaf was shared to let players have Linkâ€s Outset Island shirt from The Wind Waker HD, to coincide with the upcoming physical release of the game.

3DS Streetpass relays are getting an upgrade, from one street pass to six. Relays are at any Nintendo Zone location, like Best Buy and Starbucks. With the relay update, Nintendo Zone locations will be delivering new content for Kid Icarus: Uprising, Mario Kart 7, and Super Mario 3D Land.

Finally, a new Kirby game was announced for 3DS, coming in 2014. Details on it were scarce, but it looks to be in the style of the recent Kirbyâ€s Return to Dreamland on Wii. Kirby games are always fun, if a bit easy, and the game should easily find an audience, especially with the 2DS coming soon.

Interestingly, there was absolutely no info on the Wii U Firmware Update. Donâ€t worry though; weâ€ve got you on that one.

The post Nintendo Direct 10/1 appeared first on SpawnFirst.

Story/Concept

Pikmin 3 has brought over a new story. It’s not about getting off the planet or getting treasure. Instead, it’s about finding fruit (and your cosmic drive key). Let me explain: your home world, Koppai, has a shortage of food and so three explorers: Charlie, Brittany, and Alph are on a mission for food. They land on PNF-404 where they find glorious fruit (with hilarious names) which they hope to bring home to Koppai. At the same time however (during a crash landing), the ship’s Cosmic Drive Key has been lost and wouldn’t you guess it, some treasure-seeker mistook it for junk to be sold, and you need to get it back so that you can return to Koppai with some delicious fruit. Using all three characters, you solve puzzles, collect fruit, and fight some spectacular bosses.

Graphics

B-E-A-UTIFUL.  Pikmin’s micro-world was meant to be in HD. The developers even added a camera feature where you can take the GamePad, hold it like a camera, and snap pictures to your heart’s content. I’ve seen some amazing photos people post on Miiverse. Just do a search for the Pikmin 3 start screen and you’ll be completely blown away with most of the uploaded pics you’ll see. Another beautiful addition is the depth of field. In a tiny world where leaves fall around you, you’re walking under logs, and just plain traversing through the landscape, the depth of field provides a spectacular effect. Having things go in and out of focus really gives the world of Pikmin that uniquely microscopic feel.

Men, come quick! I want to throw you all at this thing rather than fight it myself.

Gameplay

You know, not a lot of people liked it, but I played the entire game with the GamePad. You have the option of the GamePad, the Pro Controller, or the Wii Remote (with the Nunchuk). The Wii Remote + Nunchuk combo is really the best way to go as far as accuracy and switching targets, but don’t hate on the GamePad. The lock-on feature is a great touch and allows you to hold “R” so that you can stand still and make slight calculations to your throw. It makes the GamePad a controller to consider using.

A mini-map shows your team and other detailed information, making managing your three explorers that much easier. Granted there was a time or two where I used the Wii Remote for some much needed quick targeting, but I always went back to the GamePad. That too is a thing of beauty: the ability to switch between controllers. You can switch your controller simply by picking it up and pressing a button. You can jump between all three options in a matter of seconds, if you want to. This allows you to stay immersed in the game without missing a beat – a feature all future games should have. Also becoming a standard feature is the GamePad’s ability to play the game on the controller’s screen. As simple as pressing the select (-) button and… BOOM, the game is right there. Nintendo needs to be commended for that for that millisecond screen jump that they’ve perfected.

Issues

The pikmin AI is a little frustrating. When they can’t keep up they will run into walls, stop altogether, or decide to take on an army of bulborbs all on their own. But they were only leaflets, not even buds or flowers, so you can’t really blame the little guys. That aside, the only other frustrating thing was the limited multiplayer. You’re given the option of Mission and Bingo Battle. Mission is a selection of co-op treasure collecting, boss battling, or just a good ole fashioned brawl with the peasant-enemies. The other is Bingo Battle: a surprisingly fun multiplayer mode consisting of fighting for items to get 4 in a row on your own bingo card. The split-screen isn’t all that horrible, but what is bad is that the games are all local. The co-op missions I would definitely want to play with a friend in my living room, but the bingo battle needs to be experienced online! The intensity of who is going to collect their goods first, or running into each other on the battlefield or better yet watching your opponent fight a bulborb, only to steal the body for your own bingo card. That would be a crazy online experience! Nintendo has a way of creating intense, yet simple multiplayer games. Pikmin 3 is no exception other than that it’s only local. I can only hope that there’s an update for the software and online play is enabled. The only online play you’ll find here is global rankings.

You could also argue the story’s a little short, but that’s relative to a individual play-styles. Personally, I took twenty hours because I liked searching for fruit and building up a large pikmin force. However, if you’re objective-driven, you’ll probably finish it in about 10 or 15 hours. It’s fun to go through again, but there’s really no incentive.

SpawnFirst Recommends:

SpawnFirst recommends you stop reading this right now, go to the nearest store, and grab a copy of Pikmin 3. It’s the game we’ve been waiting for to prove the Wii U is not down or out. Pikmin 3 shows the versatility of the controllers, the ability of the gamepad, and the graphical capabilities of the system. If only there was actual online play and the singleplayer was slightly longer, with more incentives for replay. Nevertheless, I give my highest recommendation to Pikmin 3.

The post Pikmin 3 Review appeared first on SpawnFirst.

This past weekend I got a chance to play an exclusive demo of Nintendoâ€s much anticipated Pikmin 3.  How anticipated? Letâ€s put it this way: when Pikmin 3 released in Japan they saw a surge of 30,000 Wii U consoles sold. So yeah…we’re excited.

If I had to describe Pikmin 3 in one word it would be: beautiful. I bet you an Alexander Hamilton that youâ€ll linger on the start screen. Immediately, youâ€ll see that Pikmin was meant for HD and itâ€s about time it got here. Pikmin 3 is less linear than its predecessors and rewards exploration; enticing you to go off the beaten path and take a look around at the detailed micro-world.  The impressive aesthetics continue as you dive in. The environment and characters of the game all have realistic textures – fruits look juicy, amphibians look slimy, and stones look coarse. HD is Pikminâ€s natural habitat.

Unfortunately the demo only allowed versus and co-op play missions, but I was tipped off that the campaign boasts a free-roam environment. That aside, the multiplayer is a great expansion on what Pikmin 2 had. You can do Bingo Battle where you must collect four items depicted on a Bingo Card to win.  As I raced for the items I realized that I could thwart otherâ€s players’ progress. Watching your opponent defeat a bulborb, only to have you swoop in and steal the loot was probably the most frustrating and maniacal-laughing-inducing part of the game. Many a rematch was had.

During the co-op mission, you laugh a lot less in your opponentâ€s face.  Instead you team up to race against time to collect as much loot as possible. This introduced me to the new rock Pikmin, which are used to deal more damage and break down crystal walls that regular Pikmin couldnâ€t.  Along with the time limit, youâ€ll run into new enemies that will gobble up Pikmin like theyâ€re popcorn, leaving you helpless as you watch their ghostly little souls wisp away like shimmering reverse snowflakes (did I mention the HD is awesome?).

While playing all this multiplayer goodness I found an itty bitty problem: itâ€s only local multiplayer. Nintendo, in our opinion, has long been the champion of local multiplayer.  I get it, you guys rule at bringing people together but I know you can do the same with online play!  In spite of the Wii U and Nintendo Network, they still made Pikmin 3 local multiplayer.  I can only hope they somehow update Pikmin 3 to allow online play because nothing would be more stressful than playing Bingo when you canâ€t see how well your opponent is doing with a quick screen-peak. Just like Nintendo was willing to bring Pikmin into the HD world and conform with current gaming trends, Nintendo also needs to embrace today’s gaming progression and bring online multiplayer to its games. We see it in MiiVerse and Nintendo’s online communities, Nintendo still stubbornly chooses to leave itself behind in regarding such obvious advances in gaming.

But I digress. Sure I didnâ€t get to see all that Pikmin 3 had to offer, but I do recommend having it on your radar if you’re not sure about buying it. Strong gameplay mechanics and an exciting new HD world to explore have us all enticed. Pikmin 3 will be available at midnight on eShop or you can grab it at your local store. I know I’ll be bearing some long lines come August 4th.

Canâ€t wait and need to let out some excitement? Sound off in the comments below.

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