OMG! PS4 is a thing! Should Nintendo pack up shop and fold in this console generation?

Sony’s event has come and gone. Twitter is aflutter with cries of Nintendo’s demise, and the doom and gloom of the Wii U. Is Nintendo in trouble? Should the fans of the Wii U be worried?

Well, yes and no. Read on to hear my thoughts, and tell us yours in the comments.

Man these arguments are starting to sound familiar aren’t they? The 3DS was supposed to have a profound impact on the downfall of Nintendo. “There are no games!” the masses cried. “The dedicated mobile gaming space is dying!” screamed the alarmists.

Fast forward to 2013 and the 3DS is the hottest selling console in Japan, and selling very well globally as well. There are tons of games down the pipeline, and Nintendo’s little 3D console looks like it may reach the success of its predecessor.

The Wii U is in a somewhat similar, but slightly different spot as the 3DS was in 2011. What we have to ask ourselves is what did Nintendo do to bring the 3DS boon that we are seeing right now?

Price drop

Right now, Nintendo is in a unique position with the Wii U. Had Sony gone and announced that they had a SKU of the PS4 available at the $350 price point, then Nintendo may have had to take action. As it stands, for all we know the PS4 could retail for $450 and Nintendo won’t necessarily be forced to reduce the price of the Wii U.

That is a blessing and a curse for Nintendo because right now, the $300-$350 price point of the Wii U just isn’t hitting the sweet spot for consumers. If Nintendo could release a Wii U SKU at the magical $250 price point, I think that it will be a big boost for the console sales-wise, as well as a confidence booster for developers saying that the Wii U is a force to be reckoned with.

Just like the 3DS, the Wii U needs something dramatic, like an excellent new Mario title to drive sales. A price cut wouldn’t hurt, but I’m not sure I will be holding my breath for that one.

Mainstream game franchise release

For the 3DS, the games to really kick the console into gear were Mario Kart 7 and Super Mario 3D Land (with a side of Ocarina of Time 3D). Nintendo must have been closely following the 3DS trends as they have already announced that there is another Zelda remake on the way in Windwaker HD and that they are in development of a new Mario Kart and a 3D Mario Action Title for Wii U.

What does this mean? Well, not much yet. Not until we actually see the games in action anyways. However, if the Metacritic for the last Mario
and Mario Kart titles are anything to go by, then I think we will be in good hands. My only hope is that Nintendo tries something completely unique for the Wii U iterations of the games, if for any reason than to show other developers what is possible on the console. Only time will tell, but I certainly will not be packing up my console to sell at GameStop any time soon.

Boom. I just showed you the path to success for Wii U. Sure, it may have some hiccups along the way, but the 3DS surely isn’t on life support. Even with the reveal of PS4, I’m not scared for the Wii U either.

Eugene lives in New Mexico and has been a life long gamer since getting his hands on an NES. Always partial to Nintendo, Eugene has made it a point to keep informed on all things Mario.