There's trouble in Mario's house.

The Wii U is not the console Nintendo had hoped for, and its executives must figure out how to keep the company moving forward.

While The Big N is not in dire financial straits just yet, thanks to cash reserves from the Wii's success, it can't keep investors happy if it remains so far in the red. What can the hardware and software maker do to keep afloat?

Nintendo President Satoru Iwata ran a plan by investors last week that included a focus on smart devices and licensing first-party characters beyond video games. This could be a first step, but might not be dramatic enough to make a difference.

Let's take a moment to play armchair CEO. Some of these possibilities for keeping Nintendo alive are small pieces to a bigger puzzle; others are more far-fetched.

1. The Ultimate Virtual Console Library

Nintendo isn't shy to play up nostalgia or customers' love for popular franchises like Metroid or The Legend of Zelda. When the Wii was introduced, the idea of a Virtual Console — where fans could play older games from systems like the original Nintendo — was quickly a hit with players.

Nintendo populated the Virtual Console with hits from the NES, the SNES and Nintendo 64 — as well as other companies' consoles, like the Sega Genesis and the NEO GEO. Fans could play games from their childhood, explore titles they missed, or introduce their children to their favorite pastimes, all without digging out aging hardware and blowing air into cartridges.

When Microsoft launched Wii U, the Wii's robust Virtual Console was not an immediate addition. Nintendo stated it wanted to redo the older games to support the Wii U's HD graphics and the tablet screen of the Game Pad. It meant that classic games would be slim pickings for quite a while, especially because the Wii Virtual Console titles could only be played on the Wii U in "Wii Mode."

If Nintendo wants to play up nostalgia, it will have to own it. Bringing an entire library of Nintendo classics to the Wii U would be a good start, all the way up to games available on the GameCube. Instead of slashing the Wii U price again, pack plenty of those titles in with purchase. It's a way to get fans in their 20s and 30s back into the ecosystem, and then maybe they'll pick up a new Mario title.

One of Nintendo's biggest rivals in this area is legally-gray free emulators and ROMs that proliferate the web. Polishing up hundreds of old games for Wii U would help cut into that business, especially if it's easier for players.

2. Build a Base Station for Handhelds

Nintendo's 3DS handheld and its games are one bright spot for the company right now. Games like Pokémon X, Pokémon Y and Animal Crossing: New Leaf sold millions of units in 2013, but those games were locked onto a system with a small screen.

As Nintendo's handheld portfolio expands, there's very little reason to lock those games onto a small screen, especially as the company looks to expand multiplayer handheld offerings with games like Super Smash Brothers and Mario Golf coming to the 3DS this year. Instead of moving gaming onto smaller screens, Nintendo should create a console that can stream the experiences from a handheld to the TV, allowing a more cohesive experience.

For those who might be skeptical, there is plenty of interest in streaming content from console to handheld, with the PlayStation Vita pairing with a PS3 or PS4, and the NVIDIA Shield streaming games from a PC. Let's turn that on its ear — Nintendo's bread and butter for nearly the last decade has been games people can play together.

3. Get On the Cloud, Already

Companies like Sony, Microsoft, Google and Apple have unified their services behind one ID. Move between your iPhone and iPad, and GameCenter knows what games you've downloaded and how far you've progressed in them. Microsoft's SmartGlass App can mimic your Xbox dashboard on tablets. Any of these services lets you to re-download games you've previously purchased.

But not Nintendo. It wasn't until December that the company united the Network IDs for the 3DS and Wii U, and if you lose or break either of those devices, all your data is gone, including any games purchased. It's 2014; this is hardly acceptable.

Iwata, Nintendo's president, addressed some of these issues in his statement to investors. But until those words are put into practice, Nintendo is still woefully behind.

4. Create Games for Other Consoles

This has been the most prominent suggestion from the the masses so far, with plenty hoping Nintendo would bring its strong first-party lineup to the Xbox One or PlayStation 4. Plenty of other companies have done the same, such as Sega and Atari.

But Nintendo's brand and games, compared to Atari and especially Sega, are its powerhouse. Bringing them to a different console might dilute the brand in the long run. It would be even worse if those IPs were licensed to studios who made sub-par games with them.

Nintendo could possibly team up with a platform-agnostic partner less interested in selling hardware. In this case, Valve might be an interesting fit. Still, diluting the product isn't the way to go.

5. Bring Mario to iPhones

Nintendo has acknowledged the rise of the smartphone, and is even considering bringing its own apps to the phone to unite the customer experience. But should those apps be games?

While this problem is similar to the one above, Nintendo doesn't have a dog in the mobile fight, so bringing some Mario experience to the table is a good idea. That would especially be true if it's a full-fledged game, not just a portal to buy games on already existing hardware. Nintendo could use mobile to reconnect with segments of the population who had meaningful relationships with the brand, but who don't necessarily want a video game console due to time or money constraints.

The company's developers have two options here: to rework a character into a game who works natively on touch controls, or to use the controller support that both iOS and Android provide to create peripherals that work with its games. (The iOS controller scheme has many similarities with the SNES controller.) Both offer creative options for the platform in everyone's pockets, especially if Nintendo keeps a tight reins on its brand perception.

6. Create Hardware on Parity With Next-Gen

One of Nintendo's biggest problems was magnified by earnings information recently released to investors. A schedule of releases for both the 3DS and Wii U included very few third-party games. While a console can lean on strong first-party titles to boost sales, these third-party games keep people coming back for more.

Brands like Call of Duty and Madden have very strong followings, but publishers will abandon the consoles if they don't run well or have big install bases.

This has definitely happened with the Wii U. Batman: Arkham Origins publisher Warner Bros. recently cancelled development of all the downloadable extra content for the platform, and refunded all participants who had bought $20 season passes. That doesn't speak highly of its sales on Wii U compared to its sales on Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and PC.

The problem is cyclical. If the Wii U can't run the games at the same level, games won't support it and less people will buy it. Nintendo touted the Wii U's spec's as "next generation" when it was revealed, but as soon as Microsoft and Sony revealed their respective new consoles, the Wii U barely held its own. If Nintendo wants to make a console for everyone, it should considering revamping the Wii U or building a new console able to run head-to-head with the products on the market.

7. Indies, Indies, Indies

Indie games are a force to be reckoned with in the gaming marketplace, as small teams are winning critical acclaim and finding commercial success with games that deal with off-the-beaten-path themes.

Sony has done well with capitalizing on good relationships with independent developers, highlighting their games in its E3 presentation, during trade show and online. While Nintendo has made strides to do the same thing by recently supporting games made in Unity, a widely adopted game-making tool, on its platforms, it needs to also improve its message. That may involve a marketing blitz promoting indie games, seeking out developers and bringing projects on Kickstarter or Steam to Nintendo. Indie games can provide some support the company has lost from third parties, and usually their games will be able to handle the underpowered Wii U.

8. Create New Intellectual Property

It's hard to complain about Nintendo's games, though. Last year, we saw amazing titles like The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds and Super Mario 3D World make their way to gamers and win acclaim. These prove Nintendo still has plenty of great ideas — when it comes to games.

But it would be nice to see these ideas applied to new franchises. Younger kids might not have the same relationships with Link, Mario and Luigi; new characters may be needed to attract them to Nintendo's whimsy. New IPs push everyone forward, and a great many possibilities stem from Nintendo's talented game makers.

While these aren't all viable solutions for Nintendo right now, there's proof that the company has many avenues it can take before assuming the worst.

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