E3 2014: Three Reasons To Buy A Nintendo Wii U This Year

Maybe you don’t have a Wii U yet. Maybe you’re not interested in careening around turns and driving underwater in “Mario Kart 8.” Maybe you don’t care about Nintendo’s upcoming “Hyrule Warriors,” or you think the brand lost the gaming market years ago after N64 had its heyday.

The Japan-based electronics company may change your mind with its upcoming lineup of really, really fun titles.

While meeting with Nintendo Co. Ltd. (TYO:7974) at the Electronic Entertainment Expo this year, we were able to play three games that were super entertaining, addictive and (c’mon, it’s Nintendo!) kind of adorable. Though the launch of “Mario Kart 8” already boosted Wii U sales by 95 percent this past month, Nintendo is giving players even more of a reason to buy its console.

Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker

“This year, we’ve got a steady stream of great content coming out on the Wii U and 3DS,” Scott Moffitt, executive vice president of marketing at Nintendo told International Business Times last week during E3 in Los Angeles. “I’ve played a lot of the ‘Captain Toad’ mini-game in ‘Super Mario 3D World.’ I’m really excited for ‘Treasure Tracker.’ To see it blown out to allow Toad to star in his own new adventure is pretty exciting.”

The puzzle platformer game will launch sometime during the fourth quarter this year and will feature Nintendo mainstay Toad, who must safely traverse various levels to reach a star at the end of each. Toad doesn’t look like your typical video game hero, and that’s what makes the game so much fun. His chubby stature doesn’t give him the ability to jump, but he can pull out roots that are revealed to be turnips or coins that can be thrown at enemies. He can also sprint and dash.

Toad’s character first appeared in 1985’s “Super Mario Bros.” so it’s exciting to see the Princess Peach’s loyal attendant finally star in his own game. Plus, he’s so ... freaking cute.

Yoshi’s Woolly World

This side-scrolling platformer will launch sometime during the first or second quarter of next year and will be the first home console game that stars everyone’s favorite dinosaur since “Yoshi’s Story” in 1998 for the Nintendo 64.

The levels in the game have a yarn-like appearance and like in previous games, Yoshi uses his tongue to swallow enemies and then produce balls of yarn, which he can throw at objects to create hard surfaces to jump on. He can also tie up enemies with the balls. Two players can also play cooperatively, even gaining the ability to swallow and throw one another, allowing them to reach inaccessible areas.

Splatoon

How would we describe upcoming third-person shooter “Splatoon”? It’s like a really intense game of paintball. Two players team up against two other players, with all of them appearing as cartoon-like characters who can also morph into squids. The goal is to move about the level and cover as much of the area as you can in your team’s colored ink. You can also shoot the other players with your ink gun and morph into an invisible squid to travel through your own colored ink without getting harmed. Doing so also recharges your ink gun.

“I’m really excited about ‘Splatoon.’ The colorful nature of those graphics, the four-on-four multiplayer -- it’s just a hoot,” Moffitt told us.

The title will launch sometime during next year’s first quarter.