The Wii U comes out in just a few weeks and Nintendo needs to start convincing people that a new console is what they need this holiday season. Nintendo’s UK branch has already started airing an ad, but it leaves a lot to be desired. Back then, I hoped that Nintendo of America’s ad would capture the brilliance of the original Wii ads, but optimism is rarely rewarded.

Nintendo of America shared the first ad that will be hitting televisions as we head into the holiday season. See for yourself:

It’s obvious that the focus here is on getting everybody in the game. The use of separate rooms to emphasize the individuality of the “you” in Wii U is brilliant. The problem is that the ad sticks to only a few games, all of them first party titles, and it’s hard to tell what the players are actually doing with so many cuts. Uninformed viewers will see people having fun, but they won’t really know why the actors are having fun.

The use of dubstep is also a little disconcerting. Don’t get me wrong – dubstep is a guilty pleasure. It’s just that the music doesn’t really sync that well with the action on screen. I would much prefer hearing the sound of people having fun over the dubstep flavor of the week.

Despite a few minor nitpicks, the ad is vastly superior to the one aired in the UK. It’s not patronizing to core gamers. Unfortunately, the ad only achieved that by completely ignoring the core gamer. You could argue that New Super Mario Bros. U is a core game, but the way Nintendo is presenting the title betrays that line of thinking.

If the ad somehow resonates with consumers, they might have a hard time trying to find the a Wii U. Nintendo may have started the marketing cycle a little too late as pre-orders have already been snatched up by early adopters, including yours truly. At least eBay users are already offering the console for the low price of $1,000.

The Wii U is still on track to launch on November 18. The console will launch with an unprecedented amount of games including some AAA blockbusters like Assassin’s Creed III and Call of Duty: Black Ops II.