How to save Nintendo from itself

Nintendo’s recent financial troubleshave been well reported as of late. The Wii U isn’t selling and that isn’t expected to change, the projected sales numbers for the 3DS have been significantly lowered, and the projected number of games sold for both consoles have been slashed. The Big N reported a loss of a third of a billion dollars this year, and it regularly looks like the company has no idea how to save itself. Luckily for Nintendo, we know just what to do.

Release modern hardware, for once

For as long as anyone can remember, Nintendo has been unable to break from the bad habit of releasing hardware that is underpowered compared to its competitors’ offerings. Even when the console world was still measured in bits, the 64-bit Nintendo 64 was held at a noticeable disadvantage to the 32-bit PlayStation, partly due to its use of cartridgesinstead of high-capacity optical media. In keeping, the Wii U — a current-gen console — doesn’t always run last-gen games better than the PS3 and Xbox 360. The Nintendo 3DS is significantly less powerful than its director competitor, the PS Vita, as well as its true competitors, smartphones and tablets.

The Wii was actually more closely related to Chris Hecker’s infamous description than anyone wanted to publicly admit at the time. The console sold well, but that’s because it lucked out and broke into a new market — people who weren’t gamers — but that’s also why the Wii came in dead last in software sales that generation, and ultimately died before the PS3 and Xbox 360 called it quits.