This is a cautionary tale. If you’re currently shopping for a Nintendo Wii U then let’s get the bad news out of the way right now. Just announced, EA is not going to be supporting the Wii U. This means no more EA games for the Nintendo Wii U in the future.
Still want to buy one? A few game titles that EA is well known for include: Madden, FIFA, NHL, Battlefield, Need For Speed, Dragon Age, Mass Effect, The Sims and the upcoming new Star Wars games. In case you didn’t know, some of the best selling video games are in that list. This news is devastating for Nintendo. Be aware of what you’re buying before you spend the money on a Wii U. I would expect that leading up to Holiday 2013 shopping season, you’re going to see some big discounts. It’s hard to imagine the Wii U surviving to be honest. Are there enough Nintendo made games that will keep you satisfied with the purchase? Let’s hope so for Nintendo’s sake.
You might also be wondering where this news leaves Nintendo as a gaming company. Or should I say, where does this leave Nintendo as a hardware company? It’s hard to imagine EA not supporting a Nintendo console and perhaps that says more about the state of EA than it does Nintendo. However, it should be noted that the sales of the Wii U are very weak. In Canada, Nintendo has enjoyed a massive following and their games and consoles top the best sellers easily over the years. With Microsoft set to announce their next generation console and the Sony Playstation 4 coming in the fall 2013, the competition is getting very stiff in the console market.
In the history of gaming consoles, there have been many casualties. Once in a downward trend it’s hard to pull out. The portable gaming space which Nintendo enjoyed for so many years is being dominated now by Android based tablets and smartphones that are fully capable and multi-use devices. A dedicated gaming handheld device is a shrinking market and fast. Looking at the Nintendo Wii U, the future is also looking bleak. If Nintendo can somehow release a must have game, then they will stand a chance. They really need a Mario title or a flagship title that is an exclusive. You need to own the console to play it. Can a title like that still be made? Sure back in the Nintendo 64 days you had games like GoldenEye 007 or Mario 64 which sold millions of consoles alone. Ultimately that’s what the Nintendo Wii U is needing desperately. If not, expect to see some real bargains on the Wii U as we get further through 2013. There are some tough decision needing to be made for Nintendo that’s for sure.
[read more on this story on Time.com and Forbes.com]
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