UDraw's Impact on the Wii

The Nintendo Wii has managed to capture an amazingly diverse audience. The little white game console is considered by many to be underpowered compared to the competition, yet it is posting sales numbers off the charts. This success has been accomplished by the Wii appealing to consumers outside the traditional video gamer demographics. They have reached these customers by offering fresh experiences not typically associated with video games.

This approach is most notable in Nintendo's decision to simplify game controls by introducing motion sensing controllers. At the launch of the current generation of video games this move set Nintendo clearly apart from the competition, and it was a strategy that immediately paid off. The Wii was widely expected to finish a distant third in the hardware race, but has moved on to become the most successful Nintendo home console ever. Perhaps the ultimate validation of Nintendo's bold gamble is that both competing game systems have recently introduced their own versions of motion sensing controllers.

With Kinect and Move for the Xbox 360 and Playstation 3 respectively, the Wii again looks to be lacking features in the face of the competition. With more impressive graphic capabilities and advanced motion controls, Microsoft and Sony hope to lure consumers away from the Wii. In fact, both the Move and Kinect has been selling impressively since launching, but are they taking away business from Nintendo?

True to their philosophy, Nintendo is not content to sit idly by and let the competition catch up. With the competition making a stab at the so called expanded audience, the Wii is set to move game controllers another step forward. The already announced but mysterious peripheral Vitality Sensor promises to deliver bio feedback controlled games in the future. The Vitality sensor can potentially have a huge impact on gaming, but more importantly this year is the introduction of uDraw from THQ.

The uDraw is being marketed as a drawing tablet for the Wii and comes bundled with some interesting, if not earth shattering games. As expected the tablet comes with a drawing application that lets users create their own artwork on their TV. The uDraw also will be put to good use in the Pictonary game that is also available for the device.

The initial lineup of games for the uDraw has not turned many heads. They are solid but nothing exceptional and appeal mostly to younger audiences. Since launching the uDraw tablet has been selling well without being a huge system mover so far. However, if supported correctly, the device has the potential to further expand the appeal of the Wii considerably.

The only current gaming device more popular than the Wii is the Nintendo handheld DS. The DS is similar to the Wii in that it is completely destroying the competition while being inferior when it comes to technical specs. The feature that sets the DS apart is the touch screen. The uDraw brings very similar capabilities to the Wii. With the uDraw, Nintendo has a great opportunity to bring over a huge library of games from the DS that uses the touch screen controls in interesting and unique ways. The Nintendo DS is firmly established among the traditional video game market. By bringing sequels of huge DS games over to the Wii, Nintendo should be able to appeal more to this important demographic.

If Nintendo is able to recapture the traditional gamers while still appealing to the expanded audience they have put themselves in a great situation going into the next hardware generation. The competition will have to deliver truly spectacular devices if they want to close the sales gap.