It's safe to say that 2016 will be Wii U's last big year.

The Nintendo E3 Direct basically proved what I've been saying for a couple months now. All currently unannounced projects are now being made for the NX. At this point Zelda U might be canned for the Wii U, or they might pull a Twilight Princess and make it a launch game for NX as well.

I hope those who bought a Wii U got some enjoyment out of it because after Zelda U it is game over for the Wii U. Also, what were they thinking not announcing a price cut? I guess perhaps they will wait for 2016 and just slash the price in half.

If even that =(

We don't know that.

The lack of any new AAA Wii U game announcements should be all the evidence you need. They even mentioned the NX in the beginning to get people excited for 2016.

I thought 2014 was its last big year? This year's line-up sure as hell ain't big. It's about as good as 2011/12 Wii, which was considered "dead" at that point.

Probably. I feel like they just want to get the WiiU out of the way.

That's not evidence of anything except that they didn't announce many new projects.

They didn't announce a single new AAA Wii U game at the biggest video game convention of the year. That says a lot.

They have no other choice it seems. The NX better be all kinds of awesome or it might be Nintendo's last home console, regardless how much money Nintendo has in the bank.

It doesn't say that all unannounced projects have moved to the NX, though.

Doesn't matter to me. Wii U has been one hell of a ride. I haven't had this much fun with video games in years. It pretty much saved me from retiring and going retro. I look forward to what NX can do now.

Definitely all the big unannounced AAA games currently in development are headed to the NX. I'm not saying the Wii U won't get any games after Zelda U, but just don't except any AAA games.

Skyward Sword was the Wii's swan song, so it only makes sense that Zelda U will be the Wii U's swan song.

lol! Hilarious!

It appears they dont give a shit about the Wiiu anymore. 4 games total..TOTAL in 2015 thus far. Pathetic. After Chronicles its time to start looking to trade console in.

@emgesp: well it was SS, xenoblade and the last story...the wii actually went out with quite a bang (well it did for me...after that i knew the wiis library was finished. i built up quite the collection though...great little console.).

what is due 2016 for the wiiu? anything? see, to those people saying that E3 should only focus on the next 12 months...this is why its a bad idea to just focus on the next 12 months at E3. sony are gone too far the other way but one thing can certainly be said about the PS4....it has a future. greatness will, probably, come eventually :P.

it does look like development for the wiiu has tailed off. for now the 3DS looks to be the priority while nintendo prepare NX (though the 3DS is also getting very long in the tooth now. it surely needs to be replaced before nintendos next console).

i think nintendo are overlooking a few relatively easy wins though on wiiu. if they focus on expanding existing games like smash, MK8, mario 3d world etc, i think they could still keep a relatively steady flow of content going. i would love more MK8 tracks. i was actually susprised this wasn't nitnendos focus at E3.

it should also be noted that nintendo will have more directs throughout the year so some more stuff is bound to be announced there.

i dont regret my puschase though (but i did only spend about 50 quid on the console itself....nice deal). i have a bit of a backlog on it and have enough games on it that it has justified its purchase. so with xenoblade X to finish it off it hasnt been to bad at all for me.

the console lasted for just 3 years. now they're taking away zelda? how will they maintain customer support now?

Having the NX ship with Metroid Maker.

The Mario Kart machine's last big year was 2014.

Brilliant.

the wii u is still priced at $250 though...

Every console gen so far has capped with a zelda title. So...maybe yes Zelda U will be a dual platform release spelling the end of the Wii U and the beginning of the NX.

Then what? Spend the next 2-3 years waiting for the NX to become a platform worth gaming on? All the while the others have already risen passed their initial suck phases. So the NX plays catch up...and this is Nintendo's best way to stay in competition? A new system that has all the problems of a launch system. No games. Glitches. Updates to the UI. ONE maybe TWO games a year worth playing before they get into the swing of things.

This sounds like an awful idea. Are you people really in a rush to play the "brand new console waiting game?"

It's all because of that darn gamepad, I tell ye. But yeah, I also find it pricey. Paid 300 for it.

Kinda seems like 2014 was the last big year for the Wii U. Even with Xenoblade Chronicles X coming this year, the lineup is very week.

Given the fact that no new AAA Wii U games were announced this E3 probably means the NX will ship with a decent amount of quality games.

It is priced at $299.99.

Just one. Zelda NX. Then it's wait wait wait for the next mario. And wait wait wait for the next mario kart. And wait wait wait for the next smash bros NX.

UGH...and the Wii U really is a damn good system. Yes, it's a companion console and why is that such a bad thing when most gamers own at least two gaming platforms. (I made that up I don't really know how many gaming platforms the average gamer owns.)

http://nintendoeverything.com/target-wii-u-for-250-3ds-xl-for-150-starting-december-14/

http://kotaku.com/discounted-eshop-credit-250-wii-u-deluxe-futurama-a-1671251167

http://www.siliconera.com/2014/12/13/wii-u-mario-3d-world-bundle-drops-250-sunday/

i was thinking of buying but i wasn't satisfied with the nintendo conference.. the NX is also coming..

Most likely a Metroid game as well.

Those were limited time sales. Anyways, I'm not buying a Wii U until I find out what the NX is and if it is backwards compatible with Wii U software.

yep, me too.

This is exactly what I have said and it seems like people just don't seem to understand. Either that or they have very ridiculous short term memory.

A new console will take about a good 1-2 years before it finds a solid footing with games that people want.

The NX isn't going to release with a mario, smash, mario kart or any big releases right off the bat. And even if it does get Zelda as a simultaneous relase how will that convince people to shell out another $300-$400 on NX for that one game?

Well, yes. My gamepad is broken because a cupboard fell onto it. Sending it to Nintendo to get it repaired costs up to 165 Euro. I can get a new Wii U basic including the damn gamepad for 200 Euro. Do the math.

2011 was Wii U's last big year, it was big before people realised it would be a past gen console

So will people still support Nintendo in their "next gen" when we all know they are doomed to fail as always and have next to no games at all unless you satisfied with 3 mario games/rehashes each year?

LMFAO you what m8? SEriously? ur standards are as low as nintendos I guess HAAHAHAH lololool u made my day

Yeah 2014 was a "big year" for that lame console, and while I dig me some Bayonetta 2, Smash, and Donkey Kong...that wasn't a whole fucking lot. Likewise, what is worth even gassing up next year besides Zelda?

I want to say they won't trick me into buying a new Nintendo console, because nothing Nintendo proper was showing had any appeal. But then they got Bayonetta 2 and a Kamiya game and it was like...shit.

I think it's safe to say, yeah. I'm expecting NX in 2017 (and announced in 2016).

With Nintendo's track record, NX is going to end up being a bigger fuckup than Wii-U

I dunno, only title I see myself getting this year is Fatal Frame... well, actually, I got Captain Toad too, but that was a late last year release. Oh wait, Star Fox, definitely getting Star Fox. I mean, I'm not like "OMG I shat my pants, DAY UNO!!", no, I'm lukewarm in excitement, I may or may not day one I dunno, even if I day one it then it'll probably be out of compulsion rather than hype driven.

This dead year was definitely nothing you could call big. The last big E3 was 2014's. People are disappointed, at this rate. Nintendo is gonna suffer the same fate Sega, and Atari did when they made a new console mid-gen when there was no demand. They're shooting themselves in the head, they're off from one stupid idea to the other this generation it seems and they haven't learned from their mistakes.

Yep.

They really need to pull their shit together and be on their A game with NX. No gimmicky bullshit or wasted resources.

I was going to say this. Smash, Bayo 2 and MK8 make 2014 the last big year. Depending on how good Xenoblade is, along with Splatoon and Star Fox might flirt with "great" but I would say its more like "good" or "above average."

All I wasnt is chronicles, but I'll look at Fatal Frame if you say its supposed to be good.

@emgesp: Yeah, the Wii U is about done after 2015. And I would not be at all surprised if 'Zelda U' is pushed to their next hardware. In fact, I wouldn't be too shocked if Nintendo launched the 'NX' in Fall of 2016. That would put the Wii U lifespan at 4 years, which is not unheard of (the original Xbox had a 4 year lifespan, and most of Nintendo's systems get 5 years).

That said, it really is too bad. If Nintendo had dropped the tablet and offered a cheaper console + pro controller bundle I think they could have salvaged something. But alas, they're going to ride that tablet into a distant last place, alienating some of their oldest fans in the process. I just wish they wouldn't shoehorn the tablet controls into the final Wii U games like Starfox. Ugh.

@thecouchpotater: Let's see, PS4 offers off-screen play on the Vita (and now mobile phones), Steam offers in-house streaming on mobile devices. Both ideas came from the Wii U's off tv play. The idea itself wasn't terrible, it's just that nobody was really interested in it being the main pitch.

The Wii U did terrible on many aspects, and I don't even think dropping the Gamepad would have made a difference.

Because the Vita is a runaway success, right? Everyone's picking one up for that off-screen play...

But yeah I own a Wii U and enjoy it for what it is, but in my opinion they could have captured a larger market share had they sold a $199 tablet-less SKU and offered a standalone tablet as an option. Of course it's a moot point now as they've doubled down.

This is the first time I've felt genuine buyers remorse for a system. Even the Wii, I really wanted it for Wii Sports, Zelda, Gamecube bc (had a PS2 alone the previous gen) and the Virtual Console. So for all my complaints and all that systems problems, it was still a worthwhile purchase from Day 1.

This one doesn't have the retro appeal to me, I basically got it for the major 1st party titles but there's **** all of them, just heaps of spinoffs and rehashes and minigames. If Zelda had released this year, along with Xeno, I could have at least had two massive and (hopefully) awesome games, but now Zelda is releasing Christ knows when.

It was my own foolish mistake to buy it. I'll not make the same mistake for NX, they can keep their horrendous consoles.

Bayo 2 WAS great though, so there's that :D

There are still several games I want to play, but all signs do point to abandonment, all because of Nintendo's string of idiotic decisions. Essentially I got what I wanted from the thing (Bayo 2), but if it weren't for the Virtual Console I probably would have sold it by now.

I stand by the belief that it is a good system that Nintendo doesn't give two shits about anymore. They're gonna release the NX late in the game, and you can bet your ass they will still lag behind.

No joke. I was tired of the same old BS with the twins. Paywalls for online and a big focus on graphics over gameplay was killing my urge to keep playing. Nintendo brought it back with some of the best exclusives of this generation... and maybe of any console up to this point in its life. Graphics on the twins shouldn't matter since PC is really where its at if you want graphics. But they still try to act like graphics and resolution is the important thing. Its a sickening sign of the times and will eventually come back to bite them on the ass.