Nintendo Wii U

[Dandy_Sephy]

For an extra £50, you get a game worth £40, accessories that would probably cost more than £10 and entrance into a cash back scheme for eShop purchases. And it's in black.

The stand and cradle are £15. The black is less of a feature when it's horrid gloss black.

[Super Craig]

The stand and cradle are £15. The black is less of a feature when it's horrid gloss black.

I'd rather it was matte myself, but it's only a nuisance on the controllers really.

[Sygnar]

I think the real problem here is the sort of macabre way some people are wishing it to fail. Surely its continued existence is good for gamers in general because it offers more choice and competition etc...? It's rather sad to see people criticising what is always a dry period in the aftermath of every console launch.

So much negativity...

[Smitty]

3 months in - you guys crack me up. You make it as if Nintendo and all their 2nd parties are just going to down tools.

I'm assuming the Nintendo Direct that showed us all those great games coming this year was just a big lie as well now...

Listen to the latest Gamelogical. There's a hilarious comparison made between Nintendo and a rehab addict.

''We're clean now, we're doing something new. And then it's all Luigi, Bowser er..new Zelda and old Zelda that's new again!''

''Prelaunch they were all like oh we got third parties on board like you wouldn't believe. We have the number one hardcore game franchise in the world - Call of Duty! Everybody's comin! And then, six maybe eight weeks now without a major game release.''

[SMD]

Careful. Your NDF Super Suit is poking through your shirt!

It's not about NDF, Nintendo is a massive multinational company - I'm sure they don't need my help.

I'm just concerned that people are seemingly ignoring all the external signs. Retailers, big retailers, didn't make it through Christmas. Bigger still stumbled as soon as January showed its face. Bricks and mortar seems to be an utterly fucked concept. Games as a whole aren't selling as well as last year in the UK. The Wii U did worse with retailers trying to sell them for a price higher than most PS360 games (though supermarkets are creeping up. Mate went to buy FIFA from Tesco, it was £47. On the PS3.)

Loads of people saying 'it's the price' and the implication is that Nintendo isn't going to be their main console. Do you think Sony and Microsoft are going to launch at a similar price point? I would be utterly amazed if the money they're investing in Kinect/Move won't also lead to specs that will disappoint the 'hardcore'.

I've been playing Ni No Kuni most of this week. Once that's completed, I'm going to either play Oblivion or Fallout 3. I sometimes play FIFA online. Sometimes I'll even play stuff on the PS2, Saturn, N64 or Mega Drive. The reality is that if you're a gamer, you either have other consoles or you don't have time for anything other than a fleeting interest in your hobby. So either time is limited or your spending power.

Ignore those weirdos on GAF who buy every Skylander twice for their collection. The vast majority of people who bought into the PS360 did it in the latter stages of the life cycle. It came out in 2005 in the US and I know people who imported. I didn't get my 360 until 2009, ironically also imported from the US. Reliability and price were the factors.

I also didn't get a PS3 until 2009. Ironically I got a Wii first, in '07 but whatever gaming droughts I had were down to money. That is the reality for most gamers. They have to make do with their copy of FIFA or Call of Duty or Assassin's Creed and either swap or borrow titles to play more.

7 years ago, if you wanted to play anything that wasn't a FPS, sports game, racing game or beat em up at launch on the 360, you were faced with slim pickings. Nothing grabbed me though I'm sure if you were into those genres, you'd have loved a 360. They're still the most catered for genres on the platform (throw in TPS as well). They're the same games that are usually limited on a Nintendo console. So really when I hear people say "haha it has no games", what I really hear is "it doesn't have all the games I want".

And that's fine.

But we get back to the point - this isn't good for all of us because everyone's expecting some pent up desire to upgrade to suddenly unleash and Sony and Microsoft to see a launch the likes of which gaming has never seen.

It might even seem like everyone you know has one. Meanwhile, as someone else in this thread said, everyone's going back to buying Just Dance 5 on the Wii and FIFA/COD on the PS360.

Mobile and indie gaming is all well and good but it's in everyone's interests that all the major companies do well this time round. I really hope that MS and Sony have a great blueprint for launch because Nintendo have struggled with the 3DS and Wii U, both in terms of price and launch. But both times the perception seems to have been "Nintendo have released something the public doesn't want" when it seems like the reality may be what the public can't afford.

Nintendo, in theory, could have one major price cut in them for the Wii U. I guess the reason they haven't done anything now in face of low post launch sales is that they need something to use in response to whatever launch promises Sony and MS make. If Sony announce a price on the 20th, I wouldn't be surprised if March saw another announced price cut.

tl;dr Nintendo's woes are the market's woes. It doesn't matter what the price is when it's above £250 at launch, people can't afford it. Bad news for us as gamers, the market needs all three to perform.

[scottcr]

Bullshit, I bet you're shitting bricks in reality. You know the situation is bad.

Not really - no

[Rain Birds]

They really need to throw some weight behind the marketing on upcoming exclusives.

Lego is a good start. Then Monster Hunter. Then Pikmin 3. Trouble is that is it for the next 3 months and I bet they won't market all of them with gusto . How exactly are they going to sell it? That's pretty much it until a recycled Zelea game?

I LOVE my Wii U and am convinced Nintendo can turn it around but it does concern me.

I think it can be just fine, but there are intangibles. Has the poor / sporadic advertising and general lack of coverage been down to wild incompetence or planned in order to really give it 'the push' in time for the latter part of this year? It's risky if so, though I do get the impression that Nintendo thought the first five million would just sell themselves. I hope that it was hubris of that sort rather than the company being at a complete loss. An error of that sort won't look as bad when the others fail to set the world on fire post-launch.

I mean, PS3 was following the most mass-proliferated console of all time but the price saw that it was to be a slow-burner rather than the dominant force we all expected. 360 also failed to really capture the imagination of the mass market until 2010-ish. The combination of a less perceptible leap this time around combined with a dismal economy, altered marketplace and the very fact that a much greater proportion of buyers lept on these consoles pretty recently will lead to certain prognosticators getting a rude awakening, I feel.

If Nintendo can be on the ball with a £199 Wii U model and decent marketing within 12 months, I can see their recovery being pretty substantial.

[scottcr]

Listen to the latest Gamelogical. There's a hilarious comparison made between Nintendo and a rehab addict.

''We're clean now, we're doing something new. And then it's all Luigi, Bowser er..new Zelda and old Zelda that's new again!''

''Prelaunch they were all like oh we got third parties on board like you wouldn't believe. We have the number one hardcore game franchise in the world - Call of Duty! Everybody's comin! And then, six maybe eight weeks now without a major game release.''

I love how folks talk about zelda again... There's been 3 of these big console Zelda's in about 10 years... But folks just love them a bit of Halo and Assasins Creed

[SMD]

Listen to the latest Gamelogical. There's a hilarious comparison made between Nintendo and a rehab addict.

''We're clean now, we're doing something new. And then it's all Luigi, Bowser er..new Zelda and old Zelda that's new again!''

''Prelaunch they were all like oh we got third parties on board like you wouldn't believe. We have the number one hardcore game franchise in the world - Call of Duty! Everybody's comin! And then, six maybe eight weeks now without a major game release.''

That sounds like the 360 launch to be fair.

And gaming is like a drug, in reality.

[Smitty]

That sounds like the 360 launch to be fair.

And gaming is like a drug, in reality.

A wild non sequitur appears! It's baffling.

[SMD]

A wild non sequitur appears! It's baffling.

What?

[Smitty]

What?

What?

[Not Thread Owner]

Bullshit, I bet you're shitting bricks in reality. You know the situation is bad.

Shitting bricks? Really?

6 great games is my magic number for buying a console. All I need is two of the announced titles to come out and that's it. I'm not even counting eShop games.

"Disappointed", maybe. "Shitting bricks"? I don't think so. I don't have the life of children riding on its success.

[Smitty]

I think the real problem here is the sort of macabre way some people are wishing it to fail.

I think this 'real problem' exists solely within your imagination, certainly with the kind of gamers Rllmuk represents, anyway.

I've not seen anyone express a wish for Nintendo to fail.

Personally i'd hate it if they went.

[Super Craig]

The Dreamcast comparison isn't really a fair one. Yet.

The 360 didn't have a good first year, but it was really lucky. The PS3 would have easily outsold it if it had came out at $299/$399 like the 360 did. It's success owes a lot more to Sony's fuck ups than most people like to admit. The Wii U might similarly be lucky. Who knows? We have to wait and see what Microsoft and Sony do.

Nintendo have form for rescuing platforms though. The DS and 3DS weren't looking too healthy at the start they turned it around. The Wii had an amazing first year in comparison. It had a killer app for casuals at launch and a game for the rest of us. Then there was a first party release every single month up until Super Mario Galaxy came out. Ideally, this would be the norm, but it's not.

[DC Lemon]

I now have the exciting answer to my question from earlier. BO2 has 2,441 online on this weekend afternoon. Admittedly, 600 or so aren't actually in the lobbies but it's better than the 400 total the last time I looked.

Also, it's impossible to ignore the fact that I am now playing and enjoying BO2 on the GamePad. Why I'm telling this to you lot and not my wonderful Miiverse posse, I don't know. I love you so much right now, you piece of shit, soon to be dead Wii U console; it's a huge bonus to get to play on the GamePad in a different room and not have to put up with your noisy disc drive. Don't worry, I'm sure everything will be fine. How can 2,441 dreadful COD players possibly be wrong?

[scottcr]

I love MiiVerse

[gone fishin]

I've said it a few times before- the way that current handhelds are now (essentially - Gamecube level), Nintendo does not have the output to deliver enough games on both home and handheld platforms. Now that tablets and phones are getting closer to home console levels (and people upgrade ever 2-3 years, mostly thanks to phone contracts), it is insane for Nintendo to develop a successor for the 3ds, they can't support it, never mind 3rd party developers.

And you can add the fact that there's bugger all gameplay differentiation between nintendo's handheld games and home console games ( at least in the days of the original GB, games were designed for mobile play- now we are seeing sequels to games that were originally started on a home console, should luigi's mansion and paper mario be on a handheld?!?! Would those not have been better developed for the Wii U? Would have certainly boosted the thin volume of games available)

As I said in my post, they should get the 1st and 2nd parties increasing their output and focused on one platform. If 3rd parties completely stopped developing for the Wii U completely, Nintendo could easily release 2 games per month if they only had one platform to focus on. If 3rd parties do decrease the amount of titles (very likely, even just purely to the amount it costs for a ps4 or next Xbox title), Nintendo will have to focus on one platform.

[kensei]

Did none of you have an N64 or a gamecube? This is a minor drought in comparison. 3 months is too early to dreamcast anything. And the dreamcast only dreamcasted because couldn't financially support it. Nintendo can.

[scottcr]

Btw - Nintendo have recently just brought their handheld and home operations together into one single entity.

They are also loaded.

They'll be fine.

It's Sony you need to worry about this gen...

[angel]

I just think they way behind the times to compete on hardware. I love my 3dsXL but it took a year to get a good hardware revision. I'd like to see the Wii U go away quite quickly and have Nintendo release a system of orbis/durango power in say 2014, 2015. Imagine a zelda that makes your jaw drop ...rather than just show its limitations all over the place. Imagine F-zero on a proper next gen system. Nintendo could be fucking amazing, which is why their current direction is so frustrating.

Btw - Nintendo have recently just brought their handheld and home operations together into one single entity.

They are also loaded.

They'll be fine.

It's Sony you need to worry about this gen...

Sony look all set to win it, for me. on current info. Theyre going nowhere.

[scottcr]

Why does it have to be a throbbing cock of power? You love the 3DS because of the games... It's the games that matter.

Imagine F-Zero on te WiiU. It'll look amazing. GX still looks brilliant

[angel]

Why does it have to be a throbbing cock of power? You love the 3DS because of the games... It's the games that matter.

Imagine F-Zero on te WiiU. It'll look amazing. GX still looks brilliant

Do you really not go moist at a proper next gen F-Zero rather than one that merely looks as good as current stuff. It would be a shop-window demo pod system seller.

[Smitty]

The Dreamcast comparison isn't really a fair one. Yet.

Just to be clear: I wasn't make a direct Dreamcast comparison, that would be silly. I don't think the writing is one the wall yet.

I was just pointing out there are some lessons to be learned from it, and the WiiU launching early and underpowered, with very powerful next gen consoles around the corner, reminds me a lot of the Dreamcast situation.

People were waiting for the PS2 to come out, it was that simple. We knew it was going to be powerful and have great support. At the time Dreamcast owners screamed themselves hoarse denying it, but it was obviously true. And history bore that out.

That definitely be a significant element in this. I know I probably won't be able to afford more than one console, and i'll want one with heavy third party support, and the power to see the generation through.

I would have to see what the PS4 and 720 are offering before i'd consider a WiiU.

[TheSlugFormerlyKnownAsNap]

I was just pointing out there are some lessons to be learned from it, and the WiiU launching early and underpowered, with very powerful next gen consoles around the corner, reminds me a lot of the Dreamcast situation.

The gamble worked for Microsoft the last time though - people were also predicting the Xbox 360 would be a Dreamcast because at the time the PS3 promised to be a lot more powerful, it had Bluray and Sony had the best marketing and people used 'Playstation' as synonym for any console regardless of brand. It wasn't until the PS3 turned out to be very expensive and not very good at all (in the beginning) that it became clear they would end up in the third place.

[Red Alignment]

The Dreamcast comparison isn't really a fair one. Yet.

The Wii U like the Dreamcast, if the Dreamcast hadn't launched with noticeably more powerful hardware than the extant generation of consoles, and it's software library had only consisted mostly of direct PlayStation and N64 ports with no visual improvements. And if the VMU was massive and cumbersome and added loads to the price of the console. And the console had a stupider name, like the Saturn Woo-Woo, or something.

[kensei]

Do you really not go moist at a proper next gen F-Zero rather than one that merely looks as good as current stuff. It would be a shop-window demo pod system seller.

GX still looks amazing, dude.

[TheSlugFormerlyKnownAsNap]

Why does it have to be a throbbing cock of power?

To make it more future-proof and have better looking games obviously. The touchscreen controller adds very little so far, while it's so expensive that Nintendo had to compromise hugely on the components in the box itself, making the technology pretty much obsolete by the time the next wave of consoles are out.

[Smitty]

The gamble worked for Microsoft the last time though - people were also predicting the Xbox 360 would be a Dreamcast because at the time the PS3 promised to be a lot more powerful, it had Bluray and Sony had the best marketing and people used 'Playstation' as synonym for any console regardless of brand. It wasn't until the PS3 turned out to be very expensive and not very good at all (in the beginning) that it became clear they would end up in the third place.

But it's not just about people's ideas and predictions though. It's about what people actually see when the console arrives. When the PS2 came out it was obviously a more attractive proposition than the DC, and people flocked to it. The DC seemed like a last generation plus, a compromise. The PS2 looked like the future.

When the PS3 came out it wasn't really more attractive than the 360. More powerful, but that difference didn't manifest itself so well. It was also expensive, as you noted. The 360 had good support, a burgeoning and popular online service and so on.

I just don't see the WiiU as being in 360 situation.

When the 720/PS4 comes out Nintendo will really need to drop the price of the WiiU, as it will look gimped spec wise and with far less third party support than either.

[SMD]

People were waiting for the PS2 to come out, it was that simple. We knew it was going to be powerful and have great support. At the time Dreamcast owners screamed themselves hoarse denying it, but it was obviously true. And history bore that out.

Except history's shown that the Dreamcast wasn't left behind so much. Sega just couldn't withstand the wait and couldn't sustain it themselves.

And the market is poorer for Sega's exit.