2014 Is The Year of... Nintendo?

Nintendo's Mascot Super Mario Punching an "N"

Ok, I'm just going to be honest:

Nintendo hasn't been very good lately.

But that doesn't mean they aren't trying to turn around for the better. Nintendo's most recent games, Super Mario 3D Land, Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds and Pokemon X & Y, have reached record sales and have become Nintendo's most highly praised games by far and it's only going to get better from here on out.

Nintendo surprised everybody at E3 last year with some big announcements of new games. Specifically these games: Super Smash Bros. for Wii U/3DS, Mario Kart 8 and Bayonetta 2. I'm a huge fan of Super Smash Bros. and with the latest installment featuring characters like Mega Man, Rosalina, Villager and even the Wii Fit Trainer, Super Smash Bros. appears to be a "smash" hit. But as for Bayonetta 2, this is actually a strange move on Nintendo's part. The original Bayonetta was rated M for it's last installment, remember? The last time Nintendo mad a move like this was when the game Madworld came out for the Wii U's predecessor in 2009 and that game was G-O-R-Y. Finally, Mario Kart 8 actually looks GREAT. With the Gamepad becoming a new way to use as a wheel, new and updated courses and new mechanics such as becoming hoverkarts, I'm excited for this next entry in the franchise. But that's not all Nintendo has up it's sleeve. Most recently, after much demand, Nintendo released a YouTube application for the Nintendo 3DS system. I can finally watch my favorite episodes of Freddie Wong's Video Game High School in awesome 3D. Now if Nintendo could JUST RELEASE FLIPNOTE STUDIO 3D, IT WOULD BE AWESOME. HINT HINT, NINTENDO.

Just $100 Off? PLEASE??????

But even so, the Wii U console still isn't selling as it was expected too. The reason? Well, for one, the previous price drop was only $50, still making it quite expensive at the current price of $299.99 for a 32GB Deluxe Set. The console may be $100 cheaper than a PS4 but Nintendo has to keep in mind that I can get a refurbished DS Lite system for only $69. My idea is that if Nintendo could decrease the price of the console by just enough, more people would by the console because of it's outrageous price. Another idea is to try to expand your genres of games. Bayonetta 2 is a perfect example of this because it's very rare for Nintendo to Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare for the Nintendo DS and if I know anything about COD, it's that it's, just like Madworld, very violent. What I'm saying is that If they expand the kinds of games they put out on the Wii U instead of just family-friendly titles, maybe more people would buy the console to play the game. Finally, an issue that's been around since consoles began to evolve: online multiplayer. Nintendo has a bad reputation when it comes to online multiplayer. I understand Nintendo wants to have friends and family sit together on a couch and play together, but what if they're away? I mean, the Nintendo DS family has online multiplayer and it's a good 25% the size of a Wii U.
go passed the T Rating. I mean, they even put

Wii Mini... Whatever It Is...

So what has Nintendo done? Not much so far. They've announced the end of production on the original Wii console but has also released the Nintendo 2DS and the Wii Mini. What do they do? Well, the Nintendo 2DS is basically a thin wedge of cheese with a D-pad, four buttons and 2 screens while the Wii Mini... I have no f**king idea.

In the end, with all of the success that Nintendo has had so far this year, I think that maybe Nintendo will do what Microsoft did with its Xbox One policies and do a complete 180. Right now, Nintendo has put out some great content over the last two years. A sequel to Luigi's Mansion, Pikmin 3 and with more HD remakes than I can count. I hope that in 2014 Nintendo will finally start to crack down on what they need and not need to put out this year. Why? One, to make their fans happy and two, to prevent what happend at E3 last year and actually hold a press conference and not some lousy booths.

And as Always, Gamers of the Nations, RAGE ON and I'll see you next time :)