????任天堂（Nintendo）定于11月18日推出Wii U，并將其稱為該公司的第一款次世代主機。Wii U的游戲手柄名為GamePad，帶有一個6.2英寸LCD觸摸屏。它可以用作第二塊屏幕，Wii U玩家可以在別人使用電視機時通過GamePad來玩游戲。任天堂還打算推出一個稱為TVii的新功能，允許玩家通過Wii U來管理基于電視的娛樂活動。

????如果沒有上一代主機Wii，任天堂的新產品就無法實現上述任何一種功能。

????如今任天堂已經成為主機游戲產業不可或缺的一部分。而就在十年前，情況還不是這樣。當時該公司也有著很高的知名度，《超級馬里奧》（Super Mario）等著名的授權游戲風靡全球，但它的硬件業務卻處于一片混亂狀態。那時任天堂的主機產品是GameCube，公司原本打算借此和索尼（SNE）的PS 2以及微軟（MSFT）的Xbox抗衡，但消費者基本上不買賬。任天堂需要進行調整，這一點顯而易見。

????調整的結果就是Wii的誕生。當它首次出現在2005年的E3游戲展上時，Wii引起了一片哄笑。許多觀察人士都認為它的名字簡直是開玩笑。其他人則認定Wii的體感游戲功能不過是個噱頭。

????但到了2006年11月Wii發售時，用于預定的產品很快售罄。人們在游戲專賣店前排起長龍，希望能買到這款走俏的主機，而游戲店的存貨也不多，只能滿足最先到來的少量玩家。首批產品銷售一空后，任天堂一直都沒辦法滿足需求。大量Wii粉絲每周都會涌向游戲專賣店，在店前排隊苦苦等待，看看自己能否成為為數不多的Wii擁有者。

????Wii的成功令人震驚。這款主機的銷量扶搖直上。發售開始4個月后，Wii的全球銷量接近600萬臺。隨后的12個月（2007年4月到2008年3月）中，任天堂售出了1,800萬臺Wii。接下來的一年，銷量達到2,600萬臺。

????Wii完成了在許多人看來是不可能的任務——吸引新的消費者進入游戲世界。這款主機迎合了所謂“休閑玩家”的需求，他們不愿意用幾十個小時來玩一款冒險游戲。相反，這些粉絲更希望在聚會上玩一些有趣的游戲，或者花一小時來過幾個“馬里奧”關卡。

????Wii的游戲軟件就體現出了這種變化。當Xbox 360和PS 3推出面向“核心”玩家，以高畫質和適合成年人的玩法為特色的游戲時，Wii卻在主打派對游戲和以孩子們為主要對象的游戲。從Xbox 360和PS 3移植到Wii上的游戲中幾乎也找不到迎合成年人口味的作品。

????任天堂干得不錯。今年早些時候該公司發布公告稱，Wii上市以來其軟件銷量已達到8.27億套。與之相比，截至2007年3月，即Wii開始發售幾個月后，GameCube游戲只賣出了2.06億套。7月份，任天堂宣布Wii上市以來的銷量已接近9,700萬臺，這個數字超過了該公司第一代主機NES（Nintendo Entertainment System）以及GameCube的上一代產品任天堂64的銷量之和。

????然而現在，任天堂遇到了麻煩。4月份該公司披露，在截至3月31日的一年中，其銷售同比下跌36%，降至82億美元。之前一年9.78億美元的盈利變成了5.41億美元的虧損。Wii的銷量同樣暴跌。在這一年中，任天堂只售出了980萬臺Wii，遠低于之前一年的1,500萬臺。

????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.