GoNintendo 'End of Day' thought - Madden skips Wii U means time to worry?

Time for me to call it a night. The week is flying by, which sits just fine with me. Let's hope things keep moving along at a brisk pace. I think we're all ready for some weekend rest and relaxation! See you in a few, short hours.

As I've said many times on the site, I'm not really a bit sports gamer. I used to play sports games back in the days of the NES. They were a lot less complex and didn't have a lot to do with real-world stats and rules. They were just simple representations of sports, which is what I really enjoyed about them.

While Nintendo still continues that vibe in their Mario-branded sports games, the bigger sports scene is all about simulation. Of course, EA really corners the sports market. The one series I can always pick up and enjoy is Tiger Woods. I know that I need to get the ball into the cup...and that's about it. I can fumble my way through the rest and still have a lot of fun.

When it comes to Madden, I've only ever played a handful of entries. With that said, I didn't play them very long at all. I know I'm in the minority here, as millions upon millions of gamers pick up the latest Madden every single year. Unfortunately, this is the first year in a very long time that Nintendo fans won't be able to do that. While I'm not a Madden fan, the news that the game isn't heading Wii U's way certainly makes me uneasy.

We're not talking about a minor franchise that only gets niche attention. This is one of EA's biggest money-makers, outside of the FIFA franchise. Having Madden skip Wii U this year really goes to show just how much trouble Nintendo is having with third parties and the Wii U. When a major brand skips over a platform after years of supporting it, something is up.

Nintendo has a lot of work to do with the Wii U in the eyes of both gamers and third parties. It's going to take some big support and big-name brands to get the system attention. While Madden may not have been that franchise, its lack of appearance on Wii U makes the system's issues stand out like a sore thumb. You can be sure that Nintendo isn't happy with this development, but the decision is out of their hands.

EA has left the door open for Madden to return to Wii U with future installments. There's also a good chance that we'll still get Wii U outings of other EA Sports brands, like FIFA. It's just hard to be happy with that news when we see the lack of support with Madden. With EA moving one of its biggest titles of the year off Wii U, you have to wonder how other devs/pubs feel about supporting the platform.

If you weren't worried about the Wii U already, does this news make you a bit nervous? Do you think some people are reading more into it than they should? Can Nintendo turn around the Wii U and win back support like EA Sports' titles?