Justin - I haven’t watched the release, or even really looked at Kotaku or anything about this. Either way, wanna give us a quick rundown of the bells and whistles? I’ve been pretty dubious of this thing since the rumors started, but who cares - you give pretty excellent 30,000 foot perspectives on Nintendo products. What’s this thing going to do that I’ll be impressed with (other than potentially bring me some sweet, sweet Mario Galaxy 3)?
I’m actually just stepping away from the computer right now. So if someone else wants to tackle this, they can. If not, I’ll be back later tonight with the blow by blow from the media briefing.
Interesting. Thanks.
Here’s the deal with the Wii U. Nintendo won’t admit it, but it’s basically the Wii HD that we should have gotten last year. The Wii had a ridiculously great run, but it’s been running on fumes the last two years. So in comes the Wii U and a set of games that aren’t too different from what we were getting.
As I said, the Wii U is pretty much a souped up PS3/Xbox 360. Nintendo has talked up the 1080p capabilities of the system since it was announced (something even Sony stopped doing once they realized that while the PS3 is capable of 1080p, it can’t crack it easily). It also uses a proprietary 25GB disc that spins data faster than a DVD. So the Wii U has got juice, no doubt it.
The other thing the system’s power level ensures is that every PS3/Xbox 360 multiplatform game will probably also land on the Wii U. Just look at the system’s launch window lineup.
Nintendo has also started to pull in third party exclusives like Bayonetta 2, The Wonderful 101, and ZombieU. They’re not huge games, but they’ll keep gamers busy until the second wave of stuff (which will likely include Smash Bros 4 and Mario Galaxy 3).
The Wii U GamePad is the wild card in all of this. What does it really do? Only ZombieU has shown an innovative use for the second screen. Everything else has been minigame gimmickry or menus. Though there’s also some cool multiplayer stuff a la the old Pac-Man Vs.
But in the end, this is a Nintendo system. And that means new Mario, new Zelda, new Metroid, new Mario Kart, new Smash Bros, new Star Fox, etc, etc, etc. Playing those franchises in HD has sold a lot of people. As has the fact that the Wii U GamePad is really just an Xbox 360 controller with a big screen bolted onto it. For a lot of games, motion controls are dead.
Depending on my money situation, I’ll be there at launch. And I don’t think I’ll be alone. But right now, it depends upon how much you love Nintendo franchises.
I waited 16 hours in line outside a freezing cold wal mart to get my wii, and I have loved it so much it’s impossible to describe.
Not at all interested in the Wii U though, I’m sorry to say. Nintendo has lost me, one of their biggest fans.
I still love my DSXL though and play it occasionally… and might get a 3DS XL one day.
A lot of people called the motion controller a gimmick but that was laughably wrong in my opinion. It vastly improved a lot of games and was tons of fun for a good long while.
The tablet controller really does just look like a gimmick… and doesn’t excite me at all.
Maybe my mind will change as the date draws near, who knows. But I definitely won’t be standing out in the cold for 16 hours in line to get a Wii U, that’s for sure.
I can’t help but think that they’d have been better off just sticking with a Wii HD with the same hardware specs as the Wii U, but no tablet-ish controller, for $100 less. As much as I complain about my Wii at times, and as much as I’ve been disappointed in a lot of the Nintendo main franchise games this generation (especially Zelda :(), I’m pretty sure it was worth the $200 just to play Mario Kart Wii, Fire Emblem, and Xenoblade Chronicles. That’s frighteningly close to justifying my Dreamcast entirely based on the hours with Soul Calibur, though, and that isn’t really a good sign.
So, verdict, I’m a sucker and I’ll get one a year or two down the road after a price drop and after there are three or four games that I want. I won’t be in line at launch, though.
My company usually gives us a $500 “gift” at Christmas, where we basically pick what they buy us, so this looks like it would fit well. Otherwise I’m likely to pick one up at some point, maybe next year sometime. No real rush for me - for all the talk about the lack of games for the Wii, I still have a few that I haven’t played through yet.
Buying a console at launch doesn’t seem like the best idea to me any more.
A new HD Zelda sounds awesome, but it won’t happen for years likely. And then who knows if it’ll be another link to the past or bleh, skywayrd sword/wind waker.
This is definitely something I’m going to wait a while for. I figured the Wii-U would be the only “next gen” console I’d pick up to complement my PC for those few Nintendo exclusives I’d like to play, but even this console is just not pulling me in.
Pachter is estimating a price drop between summer and holiday 2013, since he doesn’t think the initial price point will be sustainable outside the fan base. I’m probably going to wait for the price to drop a bit and see the second wave of games before I buy, since I’ll be building a new gaming PC during the spring.
I’m sorry, Kinthalis. I like you, but I think we now must become sworn Mortal Enemies. SS was my favorite, and if they get rid of the combat system or don’t do something similarly innovative for this one I will be severely disappointed.
Anyway, I have the deluxe bundle pre-ordered. That was probably a stupid idea since I may end up in Japan for 2-5 years starting some time next year and if it’s region locked I’ll be relying on imports, but oh well.
Two of release titles are exclusive sequels to games people actually want to play. They are about half casual/light gaming and half dark, as far as those released before Christmas.
For a good look at every trailer and the highlight of the conference, try watching this. Sure, it’s a few hours long, but you can fast forward.
Some parts of that video are pretty (unintentionally) hilarious.
At 1:00, we see how nice it is to use the controller as a game board. It even keeps that awesome feature where if you accidentally bump the board, all the pieces fall off!
At 2:24, the user is apparently trying to pet his dog through the controller. Touch screens do not work that way.
At 2:47, there’s apparently a creepy person sitting way back from everyone else in the room, spying on them and showing parrot videos. No one looks at or acknowledges this person in any way.
None of that really has an impact on how the actual product will be. I just thought it was funny.
Give me some games like this and I’ll be all over the Wii U.
I will not buy the Wii U if Nintendo doesn’t offer Zelda HD, Super Smash Bros. HD, Mario Galaxy HD, Mario Kart HD, or Metroid HD early in the console’s life. These are the games that sell Nintendo hardware, and without them, I will wait for PS4. Nintendo might find itself on the path of Sega if they are not careful.
Smash Bros 4 and a new Zelda game have both been announced already. Mario Kart HD is likely already in the works as well.
::throws down gauntlet::
::You notice that the gauntlet is decorated with a triforce insignia::
The biggest blow against it I see right now is that it will not up-res Wii titles. The designers say it is impossible to do with hardware-based emulation, but that’s bullshit, as the Wii uses a discrete* graphics card. It’s clearly a marketing move, to keep people from continuing to use their non-HD titles, allowing them to re-release HD versions of previous games, like is happening on other consoles.
I guess Nintendo is not as big about stopping emulation as they used to be. Currently, even with the bugs, you’re better off emulating all their 3D consoles. And, really, you’re better off emulating all the 2D consoles as well, since Nintendo doesn’t up-res those either, and all emulators since 2000 do. (I don’t expect any VC titles will ever be up-ressed, except as console rereleases.)
*Not sure if that’s the best word, as it may be integrated into the console. The point is that it’s a matter of a driver/bios change to make another card work.
Just as long as you remember that Sega had two (or three if you count the Sega CD, which was practically a standalone console) bad consoles before they died, and only matched the competition on the previous console. The Dreamcast was not the big failure that killed Sega, it was the straw that broke the camel’s back.
And they never had a truly successful handheld console, so the lackluster 3DS release doesn’t count.
Nintendo has never cared much for graphical superiority. The fact that the Wii U uses the Wii peripherals pretty much puts to rest the idea that Nintendo is trying to get rid of Wii games.
One of my top concerns with the Wii U is the durability of the tablet. I’ve owned almost every Nintendo platform since the NES, but I’ll admit that these days, with gaming time being severely limited, my Wii is in the basement where the kids play it more than I do.
So if we have backwards compatibility, transfer of virtual titles, etc., the Wii U would be destined for the basement from day 1. I’d certainly visit it often, but how many visits will it be before I discover a tablet with a cracked screen? What are they going to retail for on their own?
The Wii-motes and nunchucks have proven to be pretty durable, but they get dropped a lot (like every other remote in this house - I’ve come a LONG way in not flipping out over this 
) But that tablet looks to me like a potentially constant source of frustration with my kids.