Nintendo's (NTDOY -1.40%) Wii U console is on the ropes heading into the holiday season. Sales hardly rebounded this summer from the glacial pace they set in the spring, even though the game maker released some highly anticipated first-party titles.

In the video below, Fool contributor Demitrios Kalogeropoulos says that a lot is riding on this month's release of Super Mario 3D World, which needs to do well in order to pave the way for later launches in the Wii Party and Wii Sports franchises.