Where exactly is Nintendo headed? After a poor performance by the 3DS that only continues to deteriorate and mixed reception on the Wii U, Nintendo is lacking where they once excelled, hardware. Speaking of places where they once excelled, games! I'd say the biggest reason why the 3DS has flopped is because there is absolutely no great games worth mentioning save one or two. Nintendo is renowned for their software exclusive titles. They're failing to perform in just about every single category where they once reigned supreme. Does the future look bleak?

In the past year, Nintendo has suffered from a financial landslide. Just recently, the company stated that they're estimated to lose $1.32 billion by the end of the year! Yes, that is a b for billion! Why is this happening? Well, the 3DS flopped and the Wii U wasn't received very well when it was announced back at E3 earlier this year. To make matters worse, Wii unit sales continue to drop, reaching new all time lows on a consistent basis and Nintendo has barely pumped out any new additions of their trademarked franchise's which are practically the life support for the company.

When a piece of video game hardware doesn't have any games that are fun or can make the unit stand out in the market, the average consumer will be very reluctant to buy the product. Nintendo learned this lesson the hard way. The 3DS launched with very few games that actually struck out to anyone. I for one wasn't sold on any of them. Nintendo itself had few first party titles to support the device besides Pilotwings Resort, Steel Diver and three variations of nintendogs + cats. To be frank, who cares about any of these games? Yes, they may be fun to some folks of the casual gaming market, but how many people are actually drooling over another Nintendogs?

The 3DS didn't have an entirely awful track record though. In Japan, Nintendo sold roughly 375,000 units in opening week, in the U.S. over 400,000 units, and in Europe, over 303,000 units were sold, marking it as the fastest selling Nintendo handheld in Europe. After all of this success, stores obviously began to order more and more of the device. Disaster struck. People came to their senses and realized that the games available for the unit were awful. The unit began to sell less and less at a rapid pace! In just four months, 3DS units were left sitting on store shelves. Stores simply couldn't sell them.

Consequently, Nintendo dropped the price of the unit by a whopping $80! "For anyone who was on the fence about buying a Nintendo 3DS, this is a huge motivation to buy now," said Nintendo of America President Reggie Fils-Aime. "We are giving shoppers every incentive to pick up a Nintendo 3DS, from an amazing new price to a rapid-fire succession of great games." Remind me where the games are at again Reggie? Oh, that's it, they're coming out four months for Christmas! Now does that really make sense? No! Another mistake Nintendo. You still don't have any compelling games on your handheld to fancy the eyes of both buyers and owners alike. It got to the point where they began giving away free games to those who had owned the device previous to the price drop!

Just recently announced for the 3DS was the extra circle pad add on for the 3DS. It adds weight, bulk, and one more thing to charge all in to one, ugly package! Was the 3DS not even finished when it launched? Why are you adding another circle pad and even more buttons to cope with? This will make developers even less inclined to design games for your handheld because they will have to make their games for two different control set ups. Will we be required to purchase this add on on top of the system itself? I'm curious to see how this plays out...

Unlike the 3DS, the Wii has an excuse for it's recent poor performance. It's been out for years! We've reached the time where we should graduate from the Wii. You could argue that the system revolutionized motion gaming. The unit also set a new bar for what video games could actually be. Exercise, parties, family game night, etc. The Wii eventually crumbled though thanks to a tough market (the coming of the PlayStation Move and the Kinect) and the lack of any third party games. The lifeline of the Wii was held almost entirely together by first party games. Yes, they were fun, but no, that's not how it should be. The bulk of any game collection for a system were designed by third party publishers. Some people may buy a system specifically for these games.

Nintendo's solution to the Wii was where my doubts arose. Nintendo plans to make their jump into the next generation of consoles with the Wii U. What is it? A new video game system with a giant, tablet looking controller. You can only even have one of these controllers! To play with more than one person, they must use a Wii remote/nunchuk. What the heck is that all about?! Nintendo thrives on making family friendly games that are meant to be played with others. Now you tell us the controller is too expensive to purchase standalone, so use the "annoying" Wii/nunchuk combo. Your combining two systems into one here. Are we going to see more single player games now versus multiplayer, family friendly games?

The emphasis for the Wii U is placed on a giant controller with a screen in the middle. I don't play a console for the experience of a tiny 6 inch screen. That's what a handheld is for. I play a console the awesome, big screen experience. What are you doing to me Nintendo? Will I have to use this small, little screen? How will games be designed for two entirely different control schemes (Wii U controller and the Wii/Nunchuk combo)? That is one extra barrier third party developers may not want to endeavor on.

Speaking of third party developers for the Wii U, they were the highlight of the E3 presentation. Not one noticeable first party title was announced for the upcoming system! I know you have a problem with third party support for your game systems Nintendo, but have you forgotten what has got you this far? Most notable, your games. Mario, Zelda, Donkey Kong, etc. Why would you block them out? Please don't repeat the same mistake you made with the 3DS.

Nintendo's future only gets darker and darker with every announcement they make. They're making peculiar decisions and don't appear to be learning from their mistakes. I love Nintendo, I always have. What I don't understand is how they've managed to reach this new all time low? What does the future have in store for them? We can only hope Nintendo pulls out of this hole stronger than ever!