There's no U in Wii

Recently it has been announced that Nintendo will cease production of the Wii-U. No doubt it is to make room for the upcoming Nintendo Switch.

Speaking as someone  who had little attachment to the Wii-U, this news is meaningless to me. But in retrospect, it does however inspire some mixed feelings. On one hand, the sales of the Wii-U, especially when compared to those of it's predecessor, seem poor by Nintendo's standards. But on the other Nintendo were forging their own path independent from the trends Microsoft and Sony were cooking up. And whilst Nintendo should be commended for trying something new with game tech, the outcome wasn't really that successful. And whilst there were some resurrected franchises (hello Bayonetta) rubbing shoulders with the familiar, one of them really pushed the boundaries like they did before.

It seems likely that the title of defining game for the console would bestowed to Super Mario Maker. It was a clever idea and certainly made a lot of YouTube videos (even if Nintendo didn't take too kindly to it) but did it arrive at the right time? Was it several years too late? Or was it just the act of a company throwing in the towel and demanding players make their own creativity as they themselves couldn't be arsed?

Ultimately though, I do admire the Wii-U for what was trying to do. It was offering a duel screen and a new way of playing games. True the tech wasn't as well utilized to it's full potential as it should've been but the heart was in the right place. By way of comparison, would we have used optical disks if it wasn't for the Mega CD's attempt at it?

But what interests me is what Nintendo are going to do next. The success of the Wii gave them a necessary shot in the arm and saved them from oblivion. So what did Nintendo follow up such success with? A console that wasn't that big a deal and an obliviousness towards the current trends in gaming. And so, as the Nintendo Switch rolls around, along with Nintendo's furtive steps into mobile gaming, it remains to be seen whether this would mark a success strong enough for the company to continue hanging on.