Nintendo Wii U - review

[PaTaito]

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).

Nothing in the gaming arena is quite the fad that apple products have been over recent years.

As for the PS3 it had more to offer....bluray for one when the format was just getting going, and graphical prowess that the WiiU in 2012 can only look to in envy....well from initial observations anyhow.

The WiiU gives nothing but novelty. Anyone suggesting they bought the machine for any reason other than the knowledge that nintendo will eventually release another zelda, or another mario is just kidding themselves.

Is sony or microsoft were to go down the same route it would be a one horse race all day, and its this that stands as nintendo's only real defense against being called for what they are.

Cheap, tacky, stubborn, greedy, and just way behind the times.

But all thats ok because they do throw the odd morsel of software greatness our way, not like 10-20 years ago, but still...

I mean look, dont get me wrong if i could chose a few games for a desert island, at least a couple would be ninty games....but as a firm they absolutely piss me off these days.

What they call innovation, i call cheap window dressing for a machine which is just not enough at the cost its arrived at.

Having said all of the above, if the machine had launched at ?150-200 for the premium pack(and for what you get that should be easily achieved...the wii did it), i wouldn't have much negativity towards the machine at all.

As it stands its the very first nintendo machine i havent owned day one, and to be honest i am not even feeling any urge even seeing it in shops and online. Plenty of stock available too, then again for the prices they cost its no wonder.

[J0e Musashi]

Erm, PS3 had Ridge Racer 7 on day one.

[dataDave]

The WiiU gives nothing but novelty. Anyone suggesting they bought the machine for any reason other than the knowledge that nintendo will eventually release another zelda, or another mario is just kidding themselves..

Or another Metroid? Or another F-Zero? Or another Starfox?

I'm also kidding myself that Bayonetta 2 might be quite good, then? Including their other exclusives, as well as an inevitable quality output from Treasure?

How about the stuff that smaller devs can't afford to risk putting out on the more expensive-to-develop-for platforms?

That's my next-gen sorted out, for everything else I have my PC. Not that I have the console yet, of course (a matter of space restraints, not me not wanting one).

[PaTaito]

Erm, PS3 had Ridge Racer 7 on day one.

and 60gb's of storage...^^

[rmoxon]

The PS3 came out when Blu Ray had just started, with most people reluctant to jump into the format when they had spent so much on DVDs only recently before that. It offered a big fat beast of a console that developers didn't really start to utilise until well into its second year.

I had a Ps3 at launch and I hardly used the console. The only two games worth buying were Resistance and Ridge Racer 7 (which was basically just ridge racer 6 with different music). I have probably already used my WiiU more than I used the PS3 in the first year I had it.

[PaTaito]

Or another Metroid? Or another F-Zero? Or another Starfox?

I'm also kidding myself that Bayonetta 2 might be quite good, then? Including their other exclusives, as well as an inevitable quality output from Treasure?

How about the stuff that smaller devs can't afford to risk putting out on the more expensive-to-develop-for platforms?

That's my next-gen sorted out, for everything else I have my PC. Not that I have the console yet, of course (a matter of space restraints, not me not wanting one).

Exactly dave, you prove my point quite well.

Bayonetta has promise, but thats not why you bought it is it now.

[PaTaito]

The PS3 came out when Blu Ray had just started, with most people reluctant to jump into the format when they had spent so much on DVDs only recently before that. It offered a big fat beast of a console that developers didn't really start to utilise until well into its second year.

I had a Ps3 at launch and I hardly used the console. I have probably already used my WiiU more than I used the PS3 in the first year I had it.

So we hold the fact that it was a forward thinking machine against it do we, just because some people had only just got round to buying dvd's?? Ahh but its ok that the WiiU is still so underpowered 7 years on from hardware which still leaves it behind.

Thats ass backwards. At the very least ps3 offered power, and living room functionality that wasnt pure novelty.

[originalbadboy]

Nothing in the gaming arena is quite the fad that apple products have been over recent years.

As for the PS3 it had more to offer....bluray for one when the format was just getting going, and graphical prowess that the WiiU in 2012 can only look to in envy....well from initial observations anyhow.

The WiiU gives nothing but novelty. Anyone suggesting they bought the machine for any reason other than the knowledge that nintendo will eventually release another zelda, or another mario is just kidding themselves.

Is sony or microsoft were to go down the same route it would be a one horse race all day, and its this that stands as nintendo's only real defense against being called for what they are.

Cheap, tacky, stubborn, greedy, and just way behind the times.

But all thats ok because they do throw the odd morsel of software greatness our way, not like 10-20 years ago, but still...

I mean look dont get me wrong if i could chose a few games for a desert island, at least a couple would be ninty games....but as a firm they absolutely piss me off these days.

I don't know if you have or not, but if you had spent some quality time with the WiiU you would not come to that conclusion. For the most part it seems that the majority of peeps being negative here are people that don't actually own one. There is only one person here that owns a WiiU who is unhappy with it (and we all know who that is!).

I am not trying to justify my purchase in any way shape or form. The WiiU is a solid piece of kit , with great social aspects, and some nice (if unremarkable) launch games. If it wasn't I would say so, and whilst there are still some issues to iron out by Nintendo its a good start.

To say that the WiiU is nothing but a novelty is complete horse manure of the highest order, sit down and use one for a considerable amount of time, and you may just change your opinion on that.

This isn't people trying to justify their purchase, I could level the same critism at Vita owners for example. You can't just pigeon hole every WiiU owner here as in some way deluded by their purchase, and who are desperately trying to justify it by making out that the WiiU is something that it isn't.

[dataDave]

Bayonetta has promise, but thats not why you bought it is it now.

I don't have one yet.

And yes, actually. I'm buying one partly because of selected Platinum Games exclusivity.

[PaTaito]

The PS3 came out when Blu Ray had just started, with most people reluctant to jump into the format when they had spent so much on DVDs only recently before that. It offered a big fat beast of a console that developers didn't really start to utilise until well into its second year.

I had a Ps3 at launch and I hardly used the console. I have probably already used my WiiU more than I used the PS3 in the first year I had it.

So we hold the fact that it was a forward thinking machine against it do we, just because some people had only just got round to buying dvd's?? Ahh but its ok that the WiiU is still so underpowered 7 years on from hardware which still leaves it behind.

Thats ass backwards. At the very least ps3 offered power, and living room functionality that wasnt pure novelty.

Looking at bluray purely in term of movies is a massive point missed too, it also offered games virtually unlimited space for things like lossless audio, and all the content devs could throw at the medium.

The ps3 and 360 were well thought out machines from head to toe, the lack of digital connectivity is the only thing you cold really level at the 360 in its early days...The WiiU is a well thought out conceptualization.

To say that the WiiU is nothing but a novelty is complete horse manure of the highest order, sit down and use one for a considerable amount of time, and you may just change your opinion on that.

It is, i remember people defending the Wii back in the day to the point you could have pretty much copy/pasted the scenario from back then....people were all about the motion control. I've lost count of the amount of people who have come to realise that motion control is a pain in the ass, and that they just want to play games in comfort.

So we lose the waggle of the Wii, but we get a monster pad with **** battery life....shoehorn express.

I do like some of the potential it shows, and its an improvement on the wii, but not if that potential means we are a generation behind nintendo...and paying top dollar for the pleasure.

[rmoxon]

So we hold the fact that it was a forward thinking machine against it do we, just because some people had only just got round to buying dvd's?? Ahh but its ok that the WiiU is still so underpowered 7 years on from hardware which still leaves it behind.

Thats ass backwards. At the very least ps3 offered power, and living room functionality that wasnt pure novelty.

Im not holding anything against it.

Im simply stating that some people are complaining about the WiiU launch, but it's a better launch than the PS3 had by far. It already has great games, and a few of the are exclusive.

Also, a lot of people on this forum have more than one console, if they want to watch DVDs on a console Im sure they can use another system. If they don't have another system I hear there's these things called DVD players... They come quite cheap.

I bought my WiiU for gaming and I am very happy with it.

[djtickle]

Any console bought on launch is overpriced. I got mine for Mario, Bayonetta thats enough for me for now. Zombie U and Tank are additional perks. I have my other consoles for anything else. The big N will release Mario Kart, Mario Galaxy, Zelda, Metroid etc etc down the line, most likley before either the next PS or Xbox hits to try and combat.

N64 and SNES only launched with 3 games and they did well enough.

As for being underpowered, maybe but it brings a second screen to the game which is new and if used right could be a game changer.

Im loving it so far thats for sure.

[gambit6613]

Price comparisons with the Vita are valid. When i got my Vita with a memory card and one game the total cost was ?300 and mine is the Wifi only model. And i have to say im so much more impressed with my Wii U than i ever was with Vita. Yes Vita has a gorgeous screen and is very good tech but ultimately i brought it to play games and from day one its been nothing but a disappointment and i pretty much put it down after less than a week.

With Wii U i cannot wait to play it each day, i love the freedom it gives me to game all over the house, i love the MiiVerse system. Yes you can argue Wii U is expensive but from my point of view if im using it each day and enjoying it then the price is rather irrelevant for me. lol i have wasted far much more money on Laptops and mobile phones etc.

If you think Wii U is expensive then i do think we are all in for a very big shock with the next Xbox/PS4. If they do indeed turn out to be all out all powerfull systems than they are going to cost a whole lot more than ?300. Whilst i expect Microsoft to sell at a loss there is no way Sony can afford to do this. Im not expecting much change out of ?450-?500 for either system and thats before any games.

[PaTaito]

Price comparisons with the Vita are valid. When i got my Vita with a memory card and one game the total cost was ?300 and mine is the Wifi only model. And i have to say im so much more impressed with my Wii U than i ever was with Vita. Yes Vita has a gorgeous screen and is very good tech but ultimately i brought it to play games and from day one its been nothing but a disappointment and i pretty much put it down after less than a week.

With Wii U i cannot wait to play it each day, i love the freedom it gives me to game all over the house, i love the MiiVerse system. Yes you can argue Wii U is expensive but from my point of view if im using it each day and enjoying it then the price is rather irrelevant for me. lol i have wasted far much more money on Laptops and mobile phones etc.

If you think Wii U is expensive then i do think we are all in for a very big shock with the next Xbox/PS4. If they do indeed turn out to be all out all powerfull systems than they are going to cost a whole lot more than ?300. Whilst i expect Microsoft to sell at a loss there is no way Sony can afford to do this. Im not expecting much change out of ?450-?500 for either system and thats before any games.

But you will get your moneys worth with the next sony/microsoft machines. Simple as that.

Maybe they wont have a "by the numbers" mario platformer to throw at people, but they will have the foundation in place in the proper tech for the money you are outlaying.

Thats what i dont like, its not that big a deal that it isnt powerful, or is a bit novel, but dont bend us over and expect us to apply our own lube nintendo.

As for vita i've done nothing but attempt to justify the cost since launch, but whenever i turn it on and play sine mora, or uncharted etc i know where my money has gone....just a shame sony ****ed it so epically with a complete lack of proper support. Its last hope is PS+ imo.

If they don't have another system I hear there's these things called DVD players... They come quite cheap.

I bought my WiiU for gaming and I am very happy with it.

Bluray certainly wasnt cheap in 2006, in fact samsung released their initial bluray player in june 2006 for $999, and ps3 launched in november 2006 with this functionality included. Dont really know where dvd comes in....oh yeah, you mentioned it.

And i'm glad you are happy, but then you were happy with john carter.

[gambit6613]

But we dont know if we are going to get our moneys worth yet though do we? Nobody knows what either are going to do and judging by the way Microsoft has turned the Xbox from a games console to this mass media, film and music playing hub thing im actually quite worried the path they are going down. A year or 2 ago i would have bet my house on them going for this massively powerful super console but now im not so sure. Sony cannot really go down the super console route because they do not have the cash for it.

Plus anything costing ?450+ before any games really is a serious amount of money. As for the Mario game, well for someone like me who hasn't played one for a good few years im absolutely loving the new Mario game, i can honestly say its the most fun i have had in ages. I cant put the thing down lol.