2. Give Up On The Gimmicks
Nintendo's last three major consoles have all come with gimmicks. Enforced controls on the Wii were a novelty at first but it was quick to wear off and even took the shine off some games. Titles like Skyward Sword that should have been flawless otherwise dropped a few points in some people's estimations because of the reliance on motion controls that were at times frustrating to use. To be fair, most first party titles motion support was generally very good with the rest of the catalogue being a mixed bag. The Wii succeeded as an anomaly due to being the hot ticket at the time but while it had its fair share of top-notch games, most families who bought one ended up letting it collect dust. By the time the Wii U came around, most of those people had realised how little they used their Wii and won't make the same mistake twice.At the end of the day, gaming consumers want games. No matter what other features the other new consoles have, it comes down to the games and Sony and Microsoft are giving their consumers just that, albeit with the major titles still to come. How much do we really need the tablet? Tablets are the big fad right now and there's no arguing that it definitely sets the console apart from the competition. I'm still not convinced though that it adds enough to the gaming experience to justify it being a compulsory part of the deal. It is a fun addition but it's still mostly only going to attract a niche audience, with the majority now content with controllers to get their gaming kicks. Plus, imagine how much less the console would cost if they sold it without the tablet attached. There is a Wii U Pro Controller available but it's another additional fee. Maybe a better way would have been to make it available but not compulsory, leaving it up to the gamer to decide if they think it is worthwhile. Now that second screen gaming is featured on other consoles too it's no longer a "unique" selling experience and those other consoles don't force it on us. The fact is that with a few exceptions, gimmicks only serve a niche portion of the available audience and it's crazy to think of a company like Nintendo alienating so much of the market. Maybe it's time Nintendo stopped trying to be the "quirky" console creator and just accept a return to controller based gaming.