Yesterday, Forbes Contributor Tristian Louis wrote an Article that stated that Nintendo's Wii U console has a low chance of survival among Sony's PS4 and Microsoft's next Xbox Console. The article states that since Developers see the Wii U as an underpowered system, and since units aren't flying off of shelves, they are following the footsteps of Sega with the Dreamcast. In the end, this isn't true at all. It's a simple misconception that all gamers and gaming journalists believe.
If you don't remember the Dreamcast, it was Sega's last system before they became a "software-only" company. The Dreamcast, unlike the Wii U, had very strong sales throughout it's lifetime. The sad part is that Sega was losing a substantial amount of money on every unit they produced. In reality, they were probably not going to make a profit off of the system for a very long time, similar to Sony's situation with the PS3, so Sega decided to become a third-party company and simply make software.
Many Gaming Journalists attract viewers by extending the truth or, in a number of cases, report on a blatant lie that only they believe themselves. For the articles saying that the Wii U is the next Dreamcast, it's pure speculation and guess-work. People see many similarities such as a screen embedded in the controller. Even though there are many people out there who believe Nintendo will become a third-party company, it'll never happen.
The Wii U is slightly underpowered, but not as much as people think. It's about 4 times more powerful than the Xbox 360 and PS3. Yes, the PS4 and Xbox 720 will be maybe 5 times more powerful than the Wii U. This is absolutely nowhere as close to the power difference between the last generation of consoles. The Wii had less than 100 MB of RAM and it's processor was severely underpowered. The Xbox 360 was easily 20 times more powerful. Did this cause Nintendo to become the next Sega? Absolutely not. Nintendo focuses on Gameplay rather than graphics. With the Wii, Nintendo lost a lot of core gamers but at the same time, gained millions of new ones. Sadly, all of these Wii Gamers are now playing iPhone apps. Yes, many gamers have gone mobile and the Wii U tries to counter this by implementing a touchscreen. This isn't competing with smartphone companies in any way possibly, it's simply adding a new way to play for gamers that usually play iOS and Android games.
For Any Gamer, Developer or Gaming Journalist to consider Nintendo "Doomed" after less than 6 months after a Console launches is absolutely pathetic. Look at the PS3 as it's sales were absolutely terrible in it's first 3 years. In 2012, the PS3 finally took off and sold a reasonable amount. Yes, Wii U sales are very low right now, but that's simply because there isn't a wide variety of Software out for the system right now. Once more games hit the console and it receives a $50 price-drop, expect Wii U consoles to follow the footsteps of the 3DS. Nintendo's 3DS handheld was just like the Wii U in it's first 6 months. After a price drop and more games, the Nintendo 3DS became one of the fastest selling handheld gaming systems of all time.
If you meet anybody that says Nintendo is doomed, don't believe them. They have $11 Billion in the bank and aren't going away for a while. The Wii U may be slightly less successful than the Wii, but it's promised to be more successful than the Gamecube. Mobile gaming is increasing, but everybody needs another form of gaming. Nintendo has the answer as they strive to satisfy gamers everywhere. Once the 9th generation hits between 2018 and 2020, you better believe that Nintendo's next system won't be underpowered at all.
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