Regardless of sales, Nintendo’s latest console entry, the Wii U, has been met mostly with a tepid reception from the gaming community and hasn’t gotten much market traction since last year. With a library of titles ranging from the mundane to recycled material seen months ago on the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3, Nintendo didn’t exactly make as much of a presence as they needed this past holiday season. The company’s PR may dwindle further going into 2013 since it’s been announced to the chagrin of all that highly anticipated titles such as Pikmin 3 and Game & Wario would experience delays, though it was promised they’d hit shelves no later than this spring. While it’s common for one game to be held back until a later date, so many at one time is just an egregious bungle.
In addition to the two previously mentioned titles, The Wonderful 101 and Wii Fit U have also had their confirmed release dates swapped for a more cryptic “first half of the year,” which at this point can mean pretty much anything, so interpret it any way you wish. Originally, Nintendo was aiming to see these titles hit store shelves before March 31st, but, here in the middle of January, this prospect looks less and less likely as the days go on.
Compared to how things were handled previously with the Wii, Nintendo has made major breakthroughs by knocking down their own wall and garnering third party support for the Wii U. Still, the development that goes into designing games utilizing the console’s unique control scheme is a source of reluctance for most developers, opting to instead focus on projects for Nintendo’s more conventional competition. As such, their drive for innovation has left holes between the launch dates of first party titles, which are made even more serious when delays are involved.
(via Geek.com, image via Pop Culture Geek)
- President Obama tells CDC to investigate link between video games and violence
- Disney Infinity is going to make the company a ridiculous amount of money
- Inside Ingress, Google’s augmented reality Android game
