The Nintendo Wii U is certainly not having the same success that Nintendo saw with its predecessor, the Nintendo Wii. During Nintendo's last earnings report, the company only shipped 390,000 units, while the Nintendo 3DS shipped 1.25 million units. Nintendo has blamed the lack of Wii U sales on not having popular Nintendo-created games for the console, and told investors it will concentrate on proactively releasing key Nintendo titles for the Wii U, which it believes will increase sales of the struggling console. That's not the only plan Nintendo has up its sleeve.
According to a new report, the company has already begun offering professional-use conversion software to popular smartphone application developers to port existing smartphone games and possibly apps to the Wii U. Nintendo apparently thinks that the rise of mobile gaming on smartphones and tablets has also contributed to the decline in the number of Wii U consoles the company has sold in the past.
Nintendo apparently believes that if it can get developers to port popular smartphone games and possibly apps to the Wii U, it will offer consumers a much more compelling reason to buy a Wii U. This could actually help Nintendo turn things around. Nintendo is not only battling Microsoft and Sony in the gaming console wars; it is now competing with Apple 's iOS and Android, which have both turned into major gaming platforms. If Nintendo can port some popular games and apps from these platforms, it will be able to sell them at a much lower price, compared to the usual $50 - $60 price tag of Nintendo Wii U games.
This plan would allow Nintendo to add another big feature to the Wii U. Consumers have already become very familiar with popular smartphone games and apps and have already downloaded billions of them across iOS and Android. Wouldn't it be great if you could run those on a Wii U through an HD TV or on the Wii U GamePad? The Wii U allows users to play titles on a TV or on the 6.2-inch touchscreen Wii U GamePad that also resembles and acts like a small tablet.
Nintendo needs to get this up and rolling a.s.a.p., as both Sony and Microsoft will begin selling its next-generation consoles just in time for the holidays. Do you think Nintendo's plan of bringing popular smartphone games and possibly apps to the Wii U will turn things around for the company? Let us know in the comments.
