Ah, the Wii U. The poor, poor Wii U. Things have been tough for Nintendo's latest machine.   It's difficult to imagine the Wii U rising above the fervor surrounding the brand spanking new Xbox One and Playstation 4 this holiday season.   Not that the Wii U had much momentum going in the first place.   A lack of first party support, a frustrating and archaic operating system, and a shocking absence of third party games have left gamers scratching their heads. But all is not lost in the land of Mario and Zelda.   Here is what Nintendo can do to salvage the Wii U.

At this point, bemoaning a Nintendo system for lack of third party support seems redundant.  Nintendo systems have generally not been kind to publishers and developers outside of Nintendo's own internal development teams.   Nintendo just doesn't seem to know how to woo companies like Take 2 (Bioshock, GTA), Activision (Call of Duty), or EA (Battlefield, Dragon Age) to their consoles.

SEE ALSO: Gamer Roulette: Wii U Loses Major Support

Only Ubisoft, with its Wii U versions of Assassin's Creed: Black Flag and spring's much anticipated Watch Dogs, is supporting the Wii U. This mild support is a byproduct of the phenomenal success of Ubisoft's Just Dance on the original Wii and could easily disappear if the Wii U versions of their games fail to sell.

Even with the lack of third party games, Nintendo still has a slim chance.   Many thought the 3DS was on life support following a horrendous launch. However, as the first party games started to trickle in, a Luigi's Mansion: Dark Moon here, an Animal Crossing: New Leaf there, along with the powerful combo of Pokemon X & Y, the system rose up the charts to become the top selling console for the past few months.

Its not unreasonable to think that the Wii U could follow the same trajectory.  It certainly had the horrible launch.   Now it's just a matter of playing the waiting game until the stellar first party games arrive.  Super Mario 3D World was just released and has received rave reviews. Add Mario Kart 8 and Donkey Kong: Tropical Freeze to the mix and Nintendo could potentially steal some of the wind out of Microsoft and Sony's sails.

However, it's not until next spring's Super Smash Bros when the system gets it biggest release.  Many still keep their Gamecube's and Wii's around to play the occasional round of Smash Bros.  Having a genuinely great multiplayer experience on the system would make a world of difference for the Wii U and its floundering online service.   The games are coming, but it might be a case of too little too late for the struggling console.  With a strong resurgence, Nintendo could hope for lifetime sales in the 40 million units range.

SEE ALSO: Gamer Roulette: Wii U Announcements

But what if Nintendo doesn't rise from the dead?  What if all the Smash Bros, Marios, and Zeldas in the world won't disguise Nintendo's retrograde attitude towards online play and multi-media functionality and the Wii U's inferior graphics.   What should Nintendo do?

I think Nintendo has the right idea with its recent 2DS: a cheaper version of its popular handheld. Instead of emphasizing hardware gimmicks that don't enhance the experience, Nintendo should create inexpensive consoles that focus on the games. Its clear that consumers aren't as captivated with the Wii U's asynchronous touch-screen gameplay as they were with the Wii's motion controls.  If the Wii U got rid of the cumbersome extra screen, it would lower the price significantly and make Nintendo more competitive in the market.   Who wouldn't consider paying $200 or less for some Smash Bros, Super Mario, and Zelda action?

Families would take a hard look at what they had to offer if Nintendo put a console on the market that was two hundred dollars cheaper than the competition.  Mom and Dad won't care that it doesn't play Battlefield 4.   A lot of people attribute the Wii's revolutionary motion controls to its run-away success, but, more than anything, its low price helped sell it to non-gamer's worldwide.

Nintendo could position themselves to hardcore gamers as a cheap second console alternative.   They also wouldn't need to spend all of the energy and money explaining their device to people.   They should learn from Sony's next generation approach; gamers don't want motion controls or extra screens, they just want games.

Some might claim that the Gamecube was exactly that, an inexpensive Nintendo box with no gimmicks, that ended up selling only 22 million units. That's fair, but the Gamecube was only a hundred dollars cheaper than the DVD-playing PS2.  With its competition priced so high this next generation, Nintendo has a real opportunity to surprise if they rid themselves of the extra screen.

There's no question the Wii U has its fair share of problems.  But if Nintendo is smart and sticks to what it does best, delivering vibrant and entertaining games, it will come out of this console generation happy. And hey, it always has the 3DS to lean on.    

 

Read previous articles on the console war predictions here.

Reach contributor Andy Gause at here.  Follow him on Twitter here.