The Dark Age Of Nintendo (2012-2017)

An Ill-Fated Name And Announcement

Having been on the market for six years, Nintendo felt it was time to move into the next generation of hardware. With critics picking up on the Wii's technical performance in comparison with the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360, their next effort would move them more in line with the competition. In conjunction with improved specs, Nintendo would also look to embrace third party support; this manifested itself with ports of Assassin's Creed III, Mass Effect 3 and Batman: Arkham City Armoured Edition in the early days.

However, one critical error would doom the Wii U before it even arrived; it's own name. When the system was announced in 2011, the corporation's shares dropped by 10%. Even in the early days, the console unit looked incredibly similar to its predecessor. Then there was the Wii U gamepad, Nintendo's latest proposal for gaming innovation. Players would look and tap on the screen which fed into the greater action on screen. There was just one problem; was this tablet an add-on to the Wii or an entirely new system?

By using a similar name and failing to properly differentiate, Nintendo had unwittingly confused their intended audience from day one. Another major problem also persisted; by jumping into the next generation too soon, the Wii U was already at a disadvantage when the far more powerful PlayStation 4 and Xbox One systems arrived a year later. These two problems created a dire situation for the once mighty gaming giant.