How 
bad are things for the Wii U? Between the end of March and the end of September this year, Nintendo sold just 460,000 units of the system, the company confirmed in their latest earnings report.
Released last November, life-to-date sales of the Wii U stand at 3.91 million units, according to the company. That makes the Wii U one of the worst performing game systems of the past decade.
A bold claim? Yes, but take a look at first four fiscal quarters for other notable video game systems:
Jeffery 
Craddock’s making sure his newborn daughter old-school gaming education starts early. Really early.
When Craddock and his wife Ashley welcomed their child into the world earlier this month, they chose a unique theme for their nursery: Mario. And they went all out with the decoration.
Chris 
Morris takes a look back at his many conversations about the Wii with Nintendo’s leader
No one had a better view of the development and evolution of the Wii than Satoru Iwata.
Throughout the console’s seven-year life-cycle, the president of Nintendo acted as its biggest cheerleader, defender and, at times, critic. He was a driving force in the company selling over 100 million systems and is now trying to spur that sort of interest in the Wii’s successor.
After 
seven years and over 100 million units sold, Nintendo has said a quiet goodbye to the Wii.
Nintendo Japan made the news official today with a short statement on the system’s product page that read simply “production over.” It marked a particularly subdued ending for a console that had such a dramatic impact on the gaming world.
Patient 
gamers could be rewarded this Black Friday.
A newspaper circular for GameStop’s holiday deals has leaked onto the web — and if’ you’re in the market for an Xbox 360 or PlayStation 3, the retailer has some terrific deals in store. Zelda fans, meanwhile, will be able to get their hands on a bundle they’ve only been able to admire from afar.
It’s 
hard to tell which company PETA is more upset with in its latest PR battle: McDonald’s or Nintendo.
The animals rights advocate group has developed a flash game called Pokemon: Red, White and Blue, featuring Pikachu and other Pokemon who revolt against caricatures of Ronald McDonald, the Hamburglar, and maniacal slaughterhouse workers for killing and eating animals.
Yeah. It’s creepy.
Hiroshi 
Yamauchi, who transformed Nintendo from a playing card company into a video game powerhouse, has died at the age of 85 from pneumonia.
Yamauchi not only transformed Nintendo, he transformed the entire games industry, rescuing it from the brink of obsolescence in the 1980s. He ran the company for 53 years, overseeing four generations of home consoles — the NES, SNES, N64 and Gamecube — before handing the reins to Satoru Iwata in 2002.
Just 
two years ago, 3D was being touted as the Next Big Thing in gaming
Sony released an affordable 3D monitor for the PlayStation 3 to showcase the system’s potential. Nintendo proudly trotted out the 3DS. First-party developers added in the necessary coding to make their games shine on the then-hot technology.
Faced 
with miserable sales and looming competition, Nintendo has finally lowered the price of its next-generation console.
Effective September 20, the Wii U Deluxe Set will see its retail price drop $50 to $299.99. Nintendo also plans to include The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker HD with the system in a limited edition bundle.
Nintendo’s 
main mascot has been stomping turtles, torching Goombas, and saving princesses for three decades, and chances are, you’ve been with him for most of the ride. His latest, Mario & Luigi Dream Team for the 3DS, is yet another winner, scoring a solid 82 on Metacritic.
But where does it stand compared to other Mario games? Better than some, worse than others, but (un)luckily, nowhere near as good (or bad) as these five amazing — and five terrible — Mario video games.
Chris Morris: Journalist 