Ah, Nintendo. old and reliably entertaining and yes, safe in many ways much like this classic Abbott & Costello routine. Nintendo is a rather special case, as the company seems to weather storms of negativity with an eternally sunny outlook that overlook a few pressing problems. Granted, part of the company’s issues stem from a combination of few internal and external pressures. Impatient gamers not quite realizing the company puts out games when they think they’re ready and not because they’re demanded (which takes time the content-devouring masses of today don’t seem to have) and a lineup of mostly old favorites that get rolled out seemingly at random while others sit on the sidelines until there’s a dev team free to work on them. Methinks Samus Aram is getting a little too much arm fat hanging out with that lazy Ridley as they catch up on “B” movie marathons on really lazy weekends. And don’t get me started as to what Slippy is up to in his spare time…

As a gamey old fart who truly appreciates this more “hand-crafted” approach, I love most of the company’s classic games quite a lot, as do millions of other devoted fans of all ages. That said, like a mom making the same favorite meals like clockwork each week, a little spice is probably necessary once in a while to kick things up a notch and appeal to a wider palate. Nintendo may be “safe” and a “special case” in one respect, but the other half of that coin is they’re also like that cute three-legged puppy you’ve adopted where you’ll sometimes find yourself laughing at it as well as with it as it playfully scampers about the room…

The sluggish US sales and “Meh, too?” attitude of some consumers and industry folk towards the Wii U are troubling because it’s definitely a powerful console with some nice connectivity features and a more than adequate, but still much maligned by some (most of whom don’t seem to own the console) software library. There’s a perception that thanks to the company taking “too long” to go HD that their Wii U games aren’t up to current-gen standards despite plenty of proof that they are. As for “next-gen” consoles like the Xbox One and PlayStation 4, while the Wii U isn’t packing the same power under the hood, I think we’re at the point where visuals no longer matter at all unless you can get in and around that shinier, bumpier scenery. Think about it for a second – what the hell good is a better looking virtual door if you can’t ever open it and see the stuff on the other side? Or interact with it in a different manner than just destroying it?

That said, Nintendo needs a bit of a loving kick in the rear sometimes. Sure, they’ve got a very nice selection of Wii U enhanced “hardcore” games that have been there since day one, Bayonetta 2 is on the way (and looking amazing) and for a brief, shining moment, the VASTLY improved Ninja Gaiden III: Razor’s Edge was a Nintendo-published exclusive… until it moved to other consoles to move more units (ouch). But even Ubisoft (their most vocal third-party supporter) is cracking the whip on the new console, demanding in no uncertain terms that Nintendo sell MORE consoles before they’ll develop any further titles for it (double ouch and can I get a *whipcrack!!!*? Amen!).

Slow and steady MAY win the race, but not in the faster moving gaming world where last week is so last week and five to ten years ahead is where everyone seems to be beginning on a few fronts, damn the consequences…

That means that the stellar Watch_Dogs (a game that looks like a SOLID multimillion unit selling hit on PC and every other console it’s appearing on), Splinter Cell: Blacklist (ditto) and the should have released SOONER but was delayed for the craziest reason possible Rayman Origins are going to be, HAVE to be main load carriers for the holiday season, as frankly speaking, Nintendo doesn’t have that many *new* games coming out for the Wii U by Christmas that do anything revolutionary enough for naysayers to want to step up and buy in. Unless of course they capture that rare breed of new consumer coming in totally blank who sees that console as exciting for its current selection of solid action titles they haven’t played on competing hardware (or are willing to repurchase those games for their Wii U specific features) and doesn’t mind the Mario-centric and family-friendly lineup of gold standards the company makes its bones on.

On a silly side note, I’d bet a whole half dollar that some overly emotional former Microsoft-loyalists railing against the Xbox One and claiming they’ll “just buy a Wii U” as their next console purchase won’t even bother following through on that threat unless they’re prepared to go cold turkey and miss the company’s planned shooter and racing franchise sequels as well as its big handful of really interesting exclusives… we’ll see, but I’m thinking the “bump” benefit to Nintendo’s coffers will be minimal at best… “Wii U, Wii U, Wii U!”… indeed.

Personally, I want to see more first-party games that aren’t pastel and primary colored (and now in HD!) bouncy happy-happy party titles with a “I hit you! POW!, ouchie!” so called “edge” to them and more games where actual drama, suspense and maybe a little amore draw in more mature gamers who think stuff like Mario Kart 8 (or is that… Infinity? is too silly for them (and too bad for that crowd, but they DO have a point). Something like a a follow up to Eternal Darkness, a Fatal Frame (like the Wii game not localized here), the dramatic Disaster: Day of Crisis (another passed over Wii game from Japan, ), Sandlot’s epic hack & slash Zangeki no Reginleiv and maybe even an all new adult detective/adventure game or something based on a popular novel series here (no, not Fifty Shades of Dirty Drawers) might actually do not too badly among some new or old players who might want to shake up their libraries.

Granted, those import games above didn’t exactly do stunning numbers compared to some of the more popular worldwide releases the company is well-known for. But to me, even in a risky retail and digital environment where many consumers never get out of their comfort zone unless pushed by friends or a decent demo, it might make some sense for Nintendo to look into investing in an in-house or third-party studio that can help transform some of these games into HD versions (or keep them as-is, save for bug fixes), drop a few demos on their eShop and poll the user base through the Miiverse and see what they want. I figure that with the success of Nintendo Direct, using the internet as a two way street (and better than some companies that ONLY post positive comments at press events *cough* Microsoft! *cough!*) will help more than hinder when it comes to getting out desired content.

Translation: You have to spend money to make money. Live it up a little, but live dangerously maybe a bit more…

That and hell, you may as well give the people what THEY want while you’re working on the games YOU know they’re waiting for. Far be it for me to tell Mr Iwata what to do, but I think a Nintendo Direct video that has him saying “There’s a new Zelda in the works, but while you’re waiting – here’s something new we’d like you to try…” before rolling out a list of cool demos of some of the above or an all-new surprise game might be a start to the company seeing more people stepping into stores to trade up that Wii for a new console. I know I’d be reporting even more on the console if the “surprises” they rolled out via direct weren’t just dressed up versions of the same franks ‘n beans I liked when I was a quarter of a century younger. I’ll still PLAY all those games, mind you. But I’ll also e wistfully staring out the window and wondering what things would be like if we got dessert in the middle of dinner or maybe even… *gasp!* went out to eat once in a while…