It’s about damn time:
http://gonintendo.com/?mode=viewstory&id=212394
It’s also too late. PS4 and Xbone launch is going to stomp on Wii U. NSMBU should have been bundled in with the system from the start. Everyone knows this. The reason why Nintendo didn’t do this is because they didn’t want to. Zombie U got a bundle of all things!
Super Mario World bundle didn’t stop the Genesis from outselling the SNES. This bundle won’t either. However, this is the best move Nintendo can have made. They should have made it day one.
Hell, games are digital. Why can’t we CHOOSE which bundle we want instead of some overpaid marketing team doing it? That way, everyone wins.
I wonder, did Nintendo think Wii U sales would be picking up now? Did they really think Pikmin 3, Wonderful 101, and the other stuff would sell the console? I actually wish NSMB U didn’t exist. That way I could wish for total destruction of the Wii U except now it will likely take down 2d Mario. God damn these Nintendo execs. They are positioning 2d Mario to take the blame for the Wii U’s sales disaster. While 2d Mario gets blamed for the console’s collapse, Nintendo swears never to make another one. However, we will get Pikmin 4, another remake of Wind Waker (because we just can’t have enough of Aonuma’s crap), and Nintendo will hire Kamiya to keep making games no one wants to buy. I’m still expecting Other M 2 to make an appearance with more ‘maternal instincts’ soon. Perhaps at the next ‘Nintendo Direct’.
If you step outside the Nintendo cults that congregate on message forums, there is absolute disgust for the Nintendo brand. One big reason why the Wii phenomenon could happen is because of the solid reputation of the NES, SNES and various classic consoles. The child who grew up with the NES is now approaching middle age. Nintendo keeps acting like they will always have this gaming halo over their head. But time is passing them by. The terrible way how Nintendo handled the end of the Wii lifespan has alienated much of the Wii fans. But this company is so high into themselves, so ego obsessed, they think they can make Gamecube remakes and sequels IN A FRACKING ECONOMIC DEPRESSION and, of course, blame the marketers when it doesn’t sell *again*. If the Gamecube won’t sell in good economic times, why would HD Gamecube games sell in bad economic times?
Prior to the Wii’s release, people wanted Nintendo to succeed. Today, no one does. Who has Nintendo not alienated? The Metroid fans are gone after Other M. The Zelda fans are mostly gone after Aonuma flop after Aonuma flop. The 2d Mario audience sense Nintendo doesn’t have any passion for Super Mario Brothers so they aren’t going to bother. It remains questionable if the Smash Brothers fans will return after Brawl.
The NSMB U bundle does tell us Nintendo is very alarmed now. Nothing they are doing is working. The solution won’t be with a bundle or with ‘marketing’. The solution can only come with a serious change of mentality of those overseeing the main franchises.
What if Nintendo puts out Smash 4, Mario Kart U, and Mario in 3d World and Wii U sales do not change? What happens then? Nintendo has not invested in new franchises or IPs. What if the old stable horses have run out of gas?