Yesterday, a fellow editor posted his thoughts on how Nintendo can improve the Wii U situation. Although we do agree on a few things, it seems that overall he and I have a very different vision moving forward for the Wii U.

There’s no question that Nintendo succeeds in satisfying its hardcore user base. Initial Wii U sales are proof of this simple phenomenon; the Wii U sold outstanding for its first several weeks. Unfortunately, it has failed to appeal the wider gaming audience or the mass market in general. The fact that games have such a strong attach rate on the Wii U is just proof that the gamers that own it are some of the most active in the gaming community, but it also proves that the install base is too small. If Nintendo ever wants the Wii U to be a bigger-selling console than it is or if it ever wants it to break out of the niche market, it needs to appeal to the mass market and the general consumer.

The problem doesn’t lie in its first-party offerings — many of the Wii U’s games are some of the highest-rated of the year. In fact, Nintendo’s first-party offerings are probably one of the only advantages that the Wii U holds over its competition. Nevertheless, it continues to struggle in an industry where the games are supposed to sell the consoles. Essentially, this means that the Wii U is lacking several key things that would help it appeal to the mass gaming market.

For example, everyone likes to say that the Wii U needs better online, but what specifically? Bringing the online up to par with the competition is a start; in fact, those should be givens. The Wii U should have cross-party chat, unified account systems (games tied to accounts, not consoles), cross-buy, and achievements not because a competitor does, but because they are standard in the industry.

Often times, Nintendo fans are hostile towards these features, particularly achievements, but they’re not forced upon players. Achievements can be turned off, thus remaining absent to players who find them unnecessary, but for those who value achievements, such as the mass market, they need to be present. Sure, you or I may not care about them, but Nintendo has already sold the Wii U to its most hardcore fans. Now, it needs to sell the Wii U to everyone else.

When Nintendo has added in all the features that have become standard for the industry, they can begin adding and improving online features that will make the Wii U stand out. Miiverse is already a great start, as well as supporting the Virtual Console. I would embrace a PlayStation Plus approach where, for a flat fee of $50 per year, Nintendo gives away one virtual console game per week or maybe, for $100 per year, a gamer can have access to their whole Virtual Console catalog. This sort of thing is going to make Nintendo stand apart from the competition and, with all the standard online features that the competition has, it will also appeal the mass market consumer.

The other thing that needs to be brought up to par is its third-party support. This drum has been beaten to death, but we must look at the Wii U’s third-party support from a different light than before. Rather than applauding Ubisoft for bringing Assassin’s Creed IV to the Wii U, for example, this sort of thing should be expected. The conversation should not be “Oh yeah, I forgot that AC4 is coming to Wii U.” The conversation should be “Of course AC4 should come to the Wii U, because the Wii U gets ALL multi-platform games.” When a gamer can get every multi-platform game on the Wii U, it will be looked at as a viable option as an alternative to the PlayStation 4 or Xbox One.

Some people, me included, are fine with the Wii U being their “Nintendo box,” as Nintendo makes some of the best, if not the best, games in the industry. Unfortunately, not every gamer can justify $300 to play 4-6 games per year.

Many like to hate on third parties for not bringing their multi-platform games to Wii U, but it is not their fault. In simple terms, third parties want money and, if porting a game is not profitable, they will not do it. Third parties do not hate Nintendo — they just hate losing money. Thus, it is Nintendo’s responsibility to ensure that third-party games make it on the Wii U. Nintendo has a giant war chest and the 3DS is making them money, so why wouldn’t they support third-party development? If Nintendo isn’t taking risks, why would it be expected of third parties?

Once Nintendo has all the features and games of its competition, the RAM of the PS4 will not matter. At this point, Nintendo’s exclusive offerings and features will set it apart from the competition. Add this in with the fact that the box is hundreds of dollars cheaper than the competition and it sells itself. Unfortunately, Nintendo has been failing at actually selling the idea of Wii U to consumers. Many people do not even know what the Wii U is and this stands as one of Nintendo’s biggest obstacles. Re-releasing Wii Sports in HD doesn’t help the company, as it only becomes harder to differentiate the Wii U from its predecessor, and releasing games titled Wii Fit U and Wii Party U only blurs the lines even more. Nintendo is trying to grab the audience that loved the Wii, but in doing so, is only confusing them more.

Nintendo needs to re-brand and actually market the Wii U, a term with which I’m not sure the company is familiar. The Wii U needs to be the box that can do everything the other ones can do — but also plays Nintendo games, which are some of the best in the industry. Furthermore, Nintendo needs to communicate to the mass market why they need the Wii U.

Just take a look at these two commercials, one for the Pokemon and one for the 3DS console.

What’s the key message with both of these commercials? The fact that the product has features that other products don’t! These commercials actually show off to the mass market why they, the consumers, need these products. Newer Wii U commercials are doing a slightly better job than before at portraying the value of the console and its differences from the Wii, but the general perception from the public still needs to improve. Nintendo needs its Wii U marketing to be similar to that of the 3DS; otherwise, the console will never be truly recognized. It wouldn’t hurt to rub in the fact that it is cheaper than its competition and does not charge an annual fee for online, either.

Nintendo needs to recognize the diversity of its potential audiences or else, its message will simply fall by the wayside. When advertising on a children’s network, show off the games; when advertising to adults, scream about the value. When you have ten minutes of free press coverage during one of the biggest gaming events in December, no matter how little everyone cares about the event’s actual worth, a game should be shown that fits the audience.

A Cranky Kong reveal would have fit splendidly as an announcement within a Nintendo Direct, but the VGX’s audience was filled with those not looking for games on the Wii U, but a reason to buy a Wii U. The VGX audience probably did not have much overlap with the Nintendo Direct audience. Whatever could be announced during a Nintendo Direct will probably never be heard by the mass gaming market, only by the Nintendo hardcore. For this reason, Nintendo should have shown a game that would have resonated with the VGX audience, such as Zelda, Smash Bros., X, or even Bayonetta, It was not the time to announce Cranky Kong.

Nintendo knows its current user base. For this reason, it has an excellent first-party line-up, holds Nintendo Directs, and continues to release consoles. Unfortunately, unless it changes its strategy with the mass market, the Wii U will continue to be a console solely for the Nintendo hardcore and the gamers who can afford a secondary system. There’s no doubt that the Wii U will have several amazing exclusives over its lifespan, but its broad success is all not guaranteed. The console will never die painfully, as the Nintendo hardcore will continue to support it. Without broad appeal, however, the Wii U will continue to be the niche product and one which will be ignored by the mass gaming market.