Mainstream Appeal
Then theres the graphics: Nintendo follow at a slower pace in this respect, and its an easy blow to strike with when dismissing Wii U. It is a moot point in most respects except that third-party multiplatform support will be compromised once the PS4 and next-gen XBOX arrive. This is why we need to forget the emphasis on third-party development, at least when it comes to multi-platform releases: Wii U most likely wont be the victor when it comes to those. Wii U is scheduled for a Japan, US and European release late 2012, and they must be hoping that Sony and Microsoft arent planning their next-gen console announcements near that time in an attempt to derail Nintendos marketing train. Nintendos follow-up to Wii Fit, predictably called Wii Fit U, is presumably their silver bullet for the casual audience they successfully hooked as consumers of the Wii. Whether that will be enough to persuade people to upgrade from Wii to Wii U is hard to predict, but if Nintendo wheel out the advertising juggernaut near its launch I wouldnt bet against its chances. Wii was a massive success for Nintendo (currently close to 100m units sold worldwide), and its no surprise they kept the Wii brand name for the new console.