Can the Wii U Build Steam?

Image courtesy of Amazon

Recently, Nintendo revealed that its current-generation home video game console, the Wii U, sold over 600,000 units in the first half of its 2015 fiscal year. This is a very positive number for the company as the Wii U has been struggling to keep pace with its competitors, the Xbox One and PlayStation 4. Nintendo says that the increase in sales for the system are due to the "steady sales" of Mario Kart 8, which released back in May of this year to both critical and commercial success. According to the company's recent earnings release, Nintendo revealed that they received over $7.6 billion in revenue, a 14.2% increase over last year. Nintendo also revealed that they earned $132 million in net revenue over the last six months, due mostly to a weakened Yen. Regardless, this is all fantastic news for Nintendo, whose Wii U has yet to break through to mainstream success.

Nintendo has been in the shadow of Microsoft and Sony ever since the new generation of gaming consoles began a few years ago. The Wii U's struggles are mainly due to the fact that, even after two years on the market, there simply are not many games available for the system. 2014 has been the best year for the system yet, with releases like Mario Kart 8, Bayonetta 2, and the upcoming Super Smash Bros. boosting interest in the Wii U. The Super Smash Bros. series has always been a major seller for Nintendo, as previous entries in the series all rank as one of the top three best selling games for their respective consoles. The new game in the series, simply called Super Smash Bros. for Wii U, has been in development for over four years and fans are waiting with feverish anticipation for its release on November 21st of this year. Nintendo is hoping that Super Smash Bros. will boost interest in the Wii U and move more units.

In my opinion, a new Super Smash Bros. will definitely help Nintendo sell more Wii U systems, but I feel that they are too far behind to truly be able to compete with the Xbox One and PS4. To date, the Wii U has sold 7.3 units worldwide, while the Xbox One and PS4 have sold a combined 17 million units. Keep in mind that the Wii U had a year-long head start over the Xbox One and PS4 and has yet to break over the 10 million mark for units sold; the PS4 managed to reach that number in just its first 8 months of release. Nintendo has a long road ahead of them, but the news of increased system sales and boosted revenue are promising. Interest in the Wii U has never been higher, and the slate of games set to be released on the system in the coming months and years shows that developer support for the system is increasing as well. Nintendo is a major innovator and cornerstone of the gaming market, and I am certain that they will set themselves on a winning path once again.