The Nintendo 2DS hints at a major revision for the Wii U

The Nintendo 2DS hints at a major revision for the Wii U

It’s no secret that the Wii U isn’t performing well, and with the release of the Nintendo 2DS, Nintendo finally proved that it’s willing to give up on a major feature if it means boosting the performance of the product. Perhaps, then, Nintendo relenting on the 3D capabilities of the 3DS means that the Wii U could be in store for a major revision.

Nintendo is a notoriously stubborn company, that has — throughout its entire existence — lived and died by its original idea for a product. No blood allowed on the SNES? Mortal Kombat sinks on the SNES and prospers on the Genesis, turning the tide in that generation’s console war. Unwilling to admit Blu-rays are the future of console gaming media? The Wii got saddled with standard DVDs while the PS3 could fit 25GB on a single-layer disc. Claim the Game Boy Advance can’t possibly fit a light into the design? Fine, some kid will invent the Afterburner and show up your whole R&D division. Stick to your basic approach of releasing various Mario sports and party titles? There’s a reason why the Wii — though the hardware sold fantastically at first — eventually stalled: there wasn’t any compelling games, and Nintendo didn’t do much to create some.

The 3DS wasn’t selling, and a significant factor was because the main feature of the handheld, the 3D, was poorly implemented and thus not desired on the whole. So, Nintendo finally – finally — relented on something major, and released the 2DS in the hopes that it would save the 3DS platform from drowning. Well, the Wii U practically released under the waves, never poking its head above the water for a quick breath. If the 2DS performs well, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see a revised Wii U release sometime soon after.

You might assume that the 2DS dropped the 3D feature not because people rarely used it, but because it could be “bad” for kids (which Nintendo said numerous times), and the 2DS is for those kids who shouldn’t be breaking their still-developing eyes looking at 3D. To believe this is the main motivation behind the 2DS is extremely naive, just like it wasextremely naive to believe all of the Xbox One’s draconian DRM and anti-indie policies were implemented in order to deliver a “more cohesive online experience.” In fact, in Nintendo’s first advertisement for the 2DS, it shows more adults playing with the device than kids. Sure, it’s just a two-to-one ratio, but if the device “isn’t for adults,” which is every 2DS apologist’s defense, then Nintendo probably should not have shown more adults using it than children.

Tedious internet debates aside, the 2DS could point towards the release of a heavily revised Wii U. Along with the 2DS reveal, Nintendo also announced a $50 price drop for the Wii U Deluxe. Yes, a price drop is enough of a viable tactic on its own to spur sales. However, a price drop is often the harbinger of new hardware, whether it’s a slimmer iteration or a new generation. The 3DS never sold as poorly as the Wii U, and the feature that is the whole point of the device was just dropped, thus changing the device.

No, the 2DS is not replacing the 3DS (yet, at least). If the 2DS sales begin to trounce the 3DS, though, and the 3DS sales suffer because of it, you can bet the 3DS will be no more. Just like when Nintendo released the original DS, saying it wasn’t going to replace the Game Boy and instead it would act as a separate pillar. The original DS sold phenomenally well, and we never saw a Game Boy again. Well, the Wii U is in much more trouble than the 3DS, and Nintendo just put a flier out there to see whether or not it should abandon 3D. Why wouldn’t Nintendo do the same for the Wii U? The company can’t just wait around for the next five-year cycle with a console that doesn’t sell.

Nintendo can only drop the price of the Wii U so much before it can’t afford to manufacturer it. As shown with the cost-cutting measures of the 2DS — no 3D, unibody design, one large screen instead of two split ones — eventually, you have to cut features and implement a redesign to save money.

Who knows what Nintendo will do, as the company has always surprised us — for better or worse. If the Wii U continues to drown, however, a drastic redesign wouldn’t be a surprise at all.