Nintendo Wii U - review

[JSR]

I agree. I much prefer the evocative aesthetics of low-poly character models, and the low, low price makes me less appreciative of all the godly fun the console offers.

[rmoxon]

Haven't you been reading this thread? Owning a console isn't about gaming or fun any more... its all about how good your consoles Facebook integration is.

[JSR]

Things I actually dislike about the console:

-No easy way to turn off the display on the gamepad: When watching Netflix, or playing Mario on the Wiimote, the gamepad remains on, draining the battery. I can usually turn it off by going into some menus, but it should be an automated process. And if playing a game on the TV that doesn't require any use of the touch screen (like Blops2 or Mario), I'm unable to turn the screen off, as it goes on again as soon as I touch a button.

-Miiverse and Friend List should be the same app: When in Miiverse there is no easy way to display your list of friends and profiles, you'll need to swap application.

-Wii mode is sandboxed: All the Wii stuff is locked in the Wii application. No way to group my VC purchases with things bought on the Wii U eShop.

-Battery life on the pad could be better: Considering what it does (having a constant stream of high bandwith wifi to the console and powering a decent sized screen), battery life is decent. But that doesn't help me in a long gaming session. I have a charger near the couch, but that is kinda awkward when I'm often expected to use the gyroscope in the controller.

-The console has a very bland design: Not a huge point, but I've always considered Nintendo's consoles to be fun-looking. This one looks utterly bland and anonymous.

-The TV remote function is very limited: I love the idea of controlling my TV with the gamepad, but as I use a receiver to control what's displayed on the TV, I have no way of switching inputs. So for people like me who don't connect stuff directly into separate inputs on the TV, the feature is useless.

[Guts]

I agree. I much prefer the evocative aesthetics of low-poly character models, and the low, low price makes me less appreciative of all the godly fun the console offers.

Fo sho! You casualz can keep yo sell out modern gamez. All I need is my FX-fighter.

[noobish hat]

Some of you think that Wii U:
-Is overpriced
-Is underpowered
-Doesn't currently have the games you desire
-Needs a capacitive touch screen
-Has too short battery life
-Has too little Facebook integration

And you are certainly allowed to feel so. It's not like the console is perfect or has universal appeal, no console has ever been close to that. It's just a bit tiring hearing the same arguments from the same select people over and over again. It's starting to clog up the discussion where people who actually have the console can come with fresh comments (both positive and negative).

What was wrong with the SNES?

[MisterBubbles]

Couldn't give a flying f*** for facebook , not on it, and its for mindless casual games. So less of the snobbery Alex ' You can't comment less you got one' & Rmoxon thinking the majority of posters here need facebook to play a game.

[Guts]

What was wrong with the SNES?

Only two games at launch, duh! And one of them was just another Mario with upgraded graphics. DUH! And the online service sucked! And I couldn't afford one when I was a kid, so too expensive.

DUH!

[noobish hat]

I think you'll find the online service was pimpin'

[Guts]

It was only available in Japan!

Also, that's not pimpin', this is PIMPIN'

[rmoxon]

Couldn't give a flying f*** for facebook , not on it, and its for mindless casual games. So less of the snobbery Alex ' You can't comment less you got one' & Rmoxon thinking the majority of posters here need facebook to play a game.

I was just commenting on the general cinisism in this thread.

The WiiU is a great console that has launched with great games, and instead people are complaining about things it does that's nothing to do with games. Some of the comments in this thread just reek of people trying hard to find things to dislike about the console just because they want to be negative.

Its absolutely ridiculous and sad.

[Brad]

Most of the negativity in this thread seems to be coming from you.

Lol! Maybe you're right. I'm usually in early on new consoles even though I know I'm paying too much early on. I think I was just really surprised that so many here bought in so quickly when to me it looked like such a bad deal.

I was talking about all the teething problems though. I was reading (here and elsewhere) a lot of wifi woes, machines DOA (this is normal I guess though), 50Hz Wii mode, no dolby 5.1 or pro-logic, no hdmi video + analog audio, failed downloads that then couldn't be started again and shozuki's comments about the pad's colours being weird in the first few pages so it was nice to start reading about the multiplayer fun (not just here, other places have started to discuss all the good stuff now that the initial issues are out the way), Zombi U being like Dark Souls (this piqued my interest!). I popped into Morrissons on the way home to buy one in fact. They didn't have any and I couldn't be arsed to drive to Blockbuster but if I still feel the same tomorrow after work I'll probably grab one.

I do think it's a little overpriced but if we assume power parity with the other two then add on the cost of that pad then it's not as bad as first appears I suppose.

The Vita comparisons aren't really fair. The Vita cost less than the Wii U and it is an obvious generational leap for handheld consoles, being more powerful than what has come before, with a larger higher definition screen and a full roster of controls. It's probably going to fail I reckon but that doesn't stop it being the very best handheld console hardware you can buy. To me it never seemed expensive for what it is.

I expect I'll join you all soon.

[originalbadboy]

I was just commenting on the general cinisism in this thread.

The WiiU is a great console that has launched with great games, and instead people are complaining about things it does that's nothing to do with games. Some of the comments in this thread just reek of people trying hard to find things to dislike about the console just because they want to be negative.

Its absolutely ridiculous and sad.

Sadly that's the case on any internet forum ...

[Neon Ignition]

From a price point of view ?300 is steep but if it's anything like Wii, it'll be years till a price drop hits. Maybe if the console sells poorly but if it does it won't be because of its power. From the power point of view I'm not bothered by its current gen grunt. Current games look great and will for years yet, I imagine Nintendo's clean bold stylings will look gorgeous in HD too, I'm also not fussed as we'll have 2 other machines at next-gen level and that'll mean like this gen I've little need for a third. If enough unique games can come out for it at a semi-regular pace I'll be set. I'll damn well be buying next years COD on it too

[PaTaito]

?300 is too much. This isnt 2005/2006 and the hardware isn't even at the level to justify the cost. Its the same scenario as the 3ds on launch, and i feel it will go the same way price/sales wise when the inevitable software 'dry spell' arrives.

People who are happy to justify the outlay i wish you well indeed, but honestly a console like this was always going to be met with equal amounts of positivity and cynicism.

Hell if it wasnt for cynicism nintendo would have just given us less still for our money, maybe an overclocked wii gpu to match the cpu?

[originalbadboy]

?300 is too much. This isnt 2005/2006 and the hardware isn't even at the level to justify the cost. Its the same scenario as the 3ds on launch, and i feel it will go the same way price/sales wise when the inevitable software 'dry spell' arrives.

People who are happy to justify the outlay i wish you well indeed, but honestly a console like this was always going to be met with equal amounts of positivity and cynicism.

Hell if it wasnt for cynicism nintendo would have just given us less still for our money, maybe an overclocked wii gpu to match the cpu?

And yet there were quite a few people out there (and probably some of the WiiU 'cynics' here) who plumped down well over ?400 for a PS3 at launch, which was no better in terms of launch titles, and in fact was worse because it took an age to get going.

Those same people will then quite happily put down ?500 for an Ipad (which isn't worth the money), pay ?35 for an Iphone and spend ?80 a month on SkyTV for a bunch of adverts every five minutes.

The above wasn't leveled at you directly btw.

Its just that the age old 'it costs too much' argument really annoys me when peeps will quite happily waste money on other stuff that isn't worth it in vast quanties every month (people who smoke for example) and yet will have a rant at a particular piece of hardware because they don't feel that its 'worth it'.

That's somewhat hypocritical if you ask me (which you didn't).