Episode 42: Challenge Accepted

The Wii U is a system of many challenges. On the one hand, you have the fun daily and weekly challenges of the new Rayman Legends Challenges App. On the other hand, you have the not-so-fun sales struggle of the console itself. In this episode of the Random Nintendo Podcast, we share our thoughts on all these challenges, good and bad. We kick off the show with an analysis of Nintendo’s recent financial report and the company’s plans to turn around Wii U sales, weighing the various ways the Wii U’s weak start can be transformed into a bright future. We also discuss some surprising news out of Nintendo’s financial meeting, including the abandonment of a traditional E3 press conference. But of course, not everything is doom and gloom as we then take a look at a variety of interesting new games bound for the Wii U and 3DS, followed by our impressions of the Rayman Legends Challenges App, the free-to-play Tank! Tank! Tank!, and the quirky Wii U Panorama View.

Have you had a chance to try the Rayman Legends Challenges App? How do you think the Wii U’s misfortunes can be turned around? Leave a comment and let us know! Be sure to also subscribe to the podcast on iTunes and follow us on Twitter @RandomNintendo so you don’t miss out on future site updates.

As always, you can find links below for all the news and games discussed in this episode. Each link also lists a time stamp, making it easy to find the parts of the show that most interest you. Enjoy!

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 2:25:04 — 66.6MB)

News

• [0:02] Nintendo posts $366 million annual operating loss, Wii U and 3DS sales miss targets (Polygon)
• [0:08] Nintendo’s Own Stats Show That the World Just Isn’t That Into Wii U (Kotaku)
• [0:15 – 1:15] Financial Results Briefing for Fiscal Year Ended March 2013 (Nintendo Investor Relations)
• [0:15 – 1:15] Financial Results Briefing for the 73rd Fiscal Term Ended March 2013 – Q & A (Nintendo Investor Relations)
• [0:28] Madden Skipping Wii U in 2013 (Nintendo World Report)
• [0:38] Nintendo’s latest Wii U commercials showcase real-life Wii U owners (GoNintendo)
• [0:56] No Nintendo Press Conference at E3 2013 (IGN)
• [1:08] Nintendo Co., Ltd. Announces Promotion of NOA Chairman Tatsumi Kimishima to NCL Managing Director (Nintendo Press Site)
• [1:16] Dark Seas Games confirms Road Redemption for Wii U (Nintendo Everything)
• [1:19] Exclusive: Tengami Confirmed For Wii U Release (Nintendo Life)
• [1:21] Eternal Darkness Spiritual Successor Slated for Wii U Release (Nintendo World Report)
• [1:28] Call Of Duty: Ghosts will be released for Wii U (Official Nintendo Magazine UK)
• [1:34] Next Scribblenauts Is a DC Superheroes Game (IGN)
• [1:37] Denpa Men 2 Coming to North American 3DS eShop in Late May (Nintendo World Report)
• [1:41] Platinum Games producer addresses The Wonderful 101 game length (CVG)
• [1:43] Game and Wario will retail for $39.99 (Joystiq)
• [1:47] Major Wii U update adds new services and features, faster performance (Nintendo.com)
• [1:51] Wii U Virtual Console launch: Punch Out, Excitebike, F-Zero, 5 more (Joystiq)
• [1:52] Mega Man, Super GnG coming to Wii U this month (Capcom-Unity.com)

Games

• [1:56] Rayman Legends Challenges App (Official Site)
• [2:07] Tank! Tank! Tank! (Namco Game Page)
• [2:14] Wii U Panorama View (Nintendo.com Game Page)
• [0:28] Madden 25 (Official Site)
• [1:16] Road Redemption (Official Kickstarter Page)
• [1:19] Tengami (Official Site)
• [1:21] Shadow of the Eternals (Official Site)
• [1:28] Call of Duty: Ghosts (Official Site)
• [1:34] Scribblenauts Unmasked (IGN Game Page)
• [1:37] The Denpa Men 2: Beyond The Waves (Official Site)
• [1:41] The Wonderful 101 (Nintendo.com Game Page)
• [1:43] Game & Wario (Nintendo.com Game Page)