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One of the major criticisms of the Wii U is that Nintendo took too long to jump on the high definition bandwagon. When the Wii launched in 2005, smartphones were mostly BlackBerry and Windows Mobile phones that no one but a business executive would use. In 2007 when the iPhone launched, the way consumers use electronics changed forever. With the launch of the App Store and literally thousands of developers jumping on board, consumers are overwhelmed with casual games right on their phones.<\/p>\n

People who bought the original Wii for casual games to enjoy with their families were now happily pecking away at their phones, shooting pigs with birds and playing endless runners. No one wanted to waggle a Wii remote around in order to bowl with grandpa, so the Wii was quickly forgotten by the casual audience. Nintendo themselves realized this, which is why the end of life cycle for the Wii was so barren. Aside from a few choice JRPGs to appeal to a niche audience, the last Nintendo released title for the Wii that wasn’t a Just Dance or compilation game was Kirby’s Return to Dream Land<\/em> in 2011.<\/p>\n

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The transition from Wii to Wii U was a rough one for Nintendo because it was moving into uncharted territory where Nintendo was no longer the pioneer. Nintendo pioneered motion controls for the home console and later both Sony and Microsoft aped that success. Now Nintendo attempted to do the same with a high-definition console and severely underestimated the time it takes to develop games designed to run at 720p\/1080p.<\/p>\n

While the successes and failures of Wii U will directly impact how well Nintendo’s next platform does, one has to wonder if they’re not jumping in too late playing follow the leader yet again, instead of innovating like the Kyoto company has done so well in the past. Today the term QOL was trademarked by Nintendo in Japan, meaning they’re planning on going full force with this new platform. However, given the focus on health and wearable tech, Nintendo will face stiff competition not just from traditional rivals like Microsoft and Sony, but also new arrivals Google and Apple.<\/p>\n

The Rise of Wearable Tech<\/strong><\/p>\n

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With the launch of the Pebble Kickstarter, many people began wondering if there were better ways to interface with a smartphone device rather than pulling it out of your pocket every time you want to use it. The Pebble was the first stepping stone to success in terms of wearable tech, but both Google and Apple have announced intentions to join the wearable tech race. Google’s first example came today, with its Android Wear concept video.<\/p>\n