任天堂可能挥别热门产品Wii

    任天堂（Nintendo）定于11月18日推出Wii U，并将其称为该公司的第一款次世代主机。Wii U的游戏手柄名为GamePad，带有一个6.2英寸LCD触摸屏。它可以用作第二块屏幕，Wii U玩家可以在别人使用电视机时通过GamePad来玩游戏。任天堂还打算推出一个称为TVii的新功能，允许玩家通过Wii U来管理基于电视的娱乐活动。

    如果没有上一代主机Wii，任天堂的新产品就无法实现上述任何一种功能。

    如今任天堂已经成为主机游戏产业不可或缺的一部分。而就在十年前，情况还不是这样。当时该公司也有着很高的知名度，《超级马里奥》（Super Mario）等著名的授权游戏风靡全球，但它的硬件业务却处于一片混乱状态。那时任天堂的主机产品是GameCube，公司原本打算借此和索尼（SNE）的PS 2以及微软（MSFT）的Xbox抗衡，但消费者基本上不买账。任天堂需要进行调整，这一点显而易见。

    调整的结果就是Wii的诞生。当它首次出现在2005年的E3游戏展上时，Wii引起了一片哄笑。许多观察人士都认为它的名字简直是开玩笑。其他人则认定Wii的体感游戏功能不过是个噱头。

    但到了2006年11月Wii发售时，用于预定的产品很快售罄。人们在游戏专卖店前排起长龙，希望能买到这款走俏的主机，而游戏店的存货也不多，只能满足最先到来的少量玩家。首批产品销售一空后，任天堂一直都没办法满足需求。大量Wii粉丝每周都会涌向游戏专卖店，在店前排队苦苦等待，看看自己能否成为为数不多的Wii拥有者。

    Wii的成功令人震惊。这款主机的销量扶摇直上。发售开始4个月后，Wii的全球销量接近600万台。随后的12个月（2007年4月到2008年3月）中，任天堂售出了1,800万台Wii。接下来的一年，销量达到2,600万台。

    Wii完成了在许多人看来是不可能的任务——吸引新的消费者进入游戏世界。这款主机迎合了所谓“休闲玩家”的需求，他们不愿意用几十个小时来玩一款冒险游戏。相反，这些粉丝更希望在聚会上玩一些有趣的游戏，或者花一小时来过几个“马里奥”关卡。

    Wii的游戏软件就体现出了这种变化。当Xbox 360和PS 3推出面向“核心”玩家，以高画质和适合成年人的玩法为特色的游戏时，Wii却在主打派对游戏和以孩子们为主要对象的游戏。从Xbox 360和PS 3移植到Wii上的游戏中几乎也找不到迎合成年人口味的作品。

    任天堂干得不错。今年早些时候该公司发布公告称，Wii上市以来其软件销量已达到8.27亿套。与之相比，截至2007年3月，即Wii开始发售几个月后，GameCube游戏只卖出了2.06亿套。7月份，任天堂宣布Wii上市以来的销量已接近9,700万台，这个数字超过了该公司第一代主机NES（Nintendo Entertainment System）以及GameCube的上一代产品任天堂64的销量之和。

    然而现在，任天堂遇到了麻烦。4月份该公司披露，在截至3月31日的一年中，其销售同比下跌36%，降至82亿美元。之前一年9.78亿美元的盈利变成了5.41亿美元的亏损。Wii的销量同样暴跌。在这一年中，任天堂只售出了980万台Wii，远低于之前一年的1,500万台。

    On November 18, Nintendo will launch the Wii U, a device it is calling the first next-generation console. The Wii U will come with a controller, called the GamePad, that has a 6.2-inch LCD touchscreen. The GamePad will act as a second screen for console play and will allow users to continue playing a game when the TV is occupied. Nintendo is also offering a new feature, called TVii, that will allow users to manage their television-based entertainment from the device.

    None of this would have been possible without the company's last console, the Wii.

    Nowadays, Nintendo (NTDOY) is a vital part of the video game industry. But just a decade ago, that really wasn't the case. The company was still popular, and its famed franchises, like "Super Mario," were huge around the world, but its hardware division was in a state of disarray. Its console at the time, the GameCube, was supposed to compete against the Sony (SNE) PlayStation 2 and Microsoft's (MSFT) Xbox. Instead, consumers largely ignored it. It was clear Nintendo needed a fix.

    That fix came in the form of its Wii. When it was first introduced at the E3 Gaming Expo in 2005, the console was laughed at. Many observers thought that the name, Wii, was a joke. Still others weren't convinced that the console's motion gaming would be anything more than a gimmick.

    But then the Wii launched in November 2006. Preorders quickly sold out, and lines started forming at game stores in the hopes of catching the precious few units available for early birds. After that supply was exhausted, Nintendo had trouble keeping up with demand. Each week, folks would rush to game stores to wait in line and see if they could get their hands on the few units available.

    The Wii's success was shocking. And it was anything but fleeting. In the Wii's first four months of availability, worldwide sales topped nearly 6 million units. In the 12-month period between April 2007 and March 2008, Nintendo sold 18 million units. A year later, its annual sales hit 26 million units.

    The Wii had done what many thought was impossible -- attract new consumers to gaming. The console catered to the so-called "casual gamer" who wasn't willing to invest dozens of hours in an adventure game. Instead, those folks wanted to play fun titles at parties, or sit down for an hour at a time to play through a few "Mario" levels.

    The Wii's software library reflected that shift. While the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 delivered "hardcore" titles, featuring high-end graphics and adult gameplay, the Wii's lineup was dominated by party games and kid-focused titles. It was rare to find games ported to the Wii from the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 that catered to an adult audience.

    It wasn't a bad deal for Nintendo. Earlier this year, Nintendo announced that it had sold 827 million software units since the Wii launched. To put that into perspective, as of March 2007, months after the Wii launched, GameCube had only tallied 206 million software unit sales. Back in July, Nintendo announced that it had sold nearly 97 million Wii units since the device's launch. That figure is more than the sales of the Nintendo Entertainment System -- the company's first console -- and the GameCube predecessor, Nintendo 64, combined.

    Now the company is in trouble. Nintendo revealed in April that its annual sales for the period ended March 31 had plummeted 36% year-over-year to land at $8.2 billion. Last year's net profit of $978 million turned into a $541 million loss in 2012. Wii sales also fell off a cliff. During the 12-month period ended March 31, Nintendo sold just 9.8 million Wiis worldwide. Its sales in the prior year had reached 15 million units.