Nintendo was very successful in the video-game industry for many years, but the launch of the Wii U was a complete disaster. In order to understand the failure of the Wii U launch we need to list its positive and negative features and compare them to its direct competitors, Xbox One and PS4, and indirect competitors, smartphones, pc’s and tablets. Although the GamePad was innovative, it was not enough to attract new customers. The biggest reason was the lack of new games. Nintendo should put more effort in understanding the new trends in the market and customer’s needs in order to make the decisions based on the big picture. Some positive features of the Wii U are weight, power consumption, GamePad, High definition, no annual subscription fee for online gaming and less expensive compared to its competitors. The Wii U is fairly light and thin, which makes it easy to carry all around the home or for travel. It only consumes 40 watts on average during a game compared to over three times the consumption of the PS4 and Xbox one. Although these features are nice, the real innovation lays on the GamePad that makes the GamePad so special. The GamePad is a touchscreen tablet that works as a Wii Remote or as a portable console as long as you stay close to the Wii U. It allows you to play while the rest of the family is watching TV. In addition, you can browse the internet, watch movies or YouTube on the tablet display or just switch it on the television. You can switch from the TV to the tablet or vice versa at anytime. You can, for example, start the game on the big screen and continue playing on the GamePad in bed, the bathroom or any other room within the WiFi range. Even though these features sound attractive, you have to be aware of the disadvantages as well. Some disadvantages are the GamePad sensory reaction and battery life, the lack of optimization of games and low internal storage. The GamePad does not record the action simultaneously
Cited: Takashi A. “Nintendo Seen Missing Target as Sony-Microsoft Dwarf Wii U.” bloomberg.com Dec 3, 2013. Web. Sept. 20, 2014