PTE53: Nintendo WiiU - One Year On

[Neon Ignition]

And the first year of the WiiU is past us now, with it done what are your thoughts of Nintendo's first HD era console?

Is it proving to be what you wanted from Ninty?

[Zaki]

Slowly, yes.

[Geoff D]

I love mine. I have a solid to spectacular selection of games for the machine & that's plenty for me. There are a handful of forthcoming games that I'm very much looking forward to as well - Bayonetta 2 & X stand out the most.

Do I wish Nintendo had done some things differently? Of course; they've put themselves in an extremely difficult situation with some curious business decisions (initially very high price, lack of marketing, not doing enough to differentiate the machine from its predecessor) & it makes me wonder what there next home console move will be.

[wakka]

I like it, I've only had mine since the 29th when Mario came out though. Apart from finally seeing Mario in glorious HD, the standout feature for me is the Miiverse. Superbly clever social integration, and in my view a bigger innovation than the more obvious one (the gamepad's touchscreen).

Other things leave something to be desired, of course. The lack of optical out, and how poor most of the apps look on your TV. They look fine on the gamepad screen (because they're designed as touch friendly tablet-style apps) but they look like sh*t on a 50" TV screen. Particularly the eShop. I mean I think that is just an HTML page lol.

Going back to a more positive note, I really really like the feel of the gamepad's controls. The lack of analogue triggers doesn't bother me as I don't see them as particularly useful for the type of the games that are on the Wii U. The sticks and buttons just feel great. And a massive BIG UP to Nintendo for preserving compatibility with all Wii accessories. I have wiimotes and nunchuks and classic controllers coming out of my ears (my Wii has been hammered from US launch to the present) so that is a huge money saver for me particularly as I'm a big local multiplayer fan.

[dataDave]

There's absolutely nothing wrong with the selection of games, although it could be doing with a semi-exclusive Winning Eleven which has pad features and is actually good enough to compete with FIFA.

[Geoff D]

And a massive BIG UP to Nintendo for preserving compatibility with all Wii accessories. I have wiimotes and nunchuks and classic controllers coming out of my ears (my Wii has been hammered from US launch to the present) so that is a huge money saver for me particularly as I'm a big local multiplayer fan.

Excellent point, completely agree.

[Guts]

I voted "never owned one", but I'll be most certainly getting one some time next year, probably when Mario Kart comes out (and hopefully there'll be some new bundle with it). There're already quite a few interesting exclusives on the machine and more are coming so I hope the future will be at least decent for the Wii U.

['Press Start']

I will definitely be getting one when more of my gaming back log has cleared.

Only 2 games appeal at the moment though, Mario and TW101.When that list hits 5 it is time to invest.

[Guts]

I already have 5, but I'm still waiting for Kart as I have too much to play already.

-Wind Waker HD (never played it so it's new to me)
-Mario 3D World
-Pikmin 3
-Wonderful 101
-Lego City

and maybe NSMBU and Luigi U.

[mugetsu]

i voted hardly gets used.
its had some great software so far, but just not enough of what i like to play.
i'll probably switch it on again when bayonetta and X come out.

[kellog7]

There's no option in the poll for 'Desperately want one, but my wife won't let me'.

[dataDave]

and maybe NSMBU and Luigi U.

Those should be on the definite list. The challenges in NSMBU really highlight the perfection in the level design, not just simply concerning the layout, but also the way the platforms move, the enemy pathing, and all that jazz.

There's a hidden grace to it.

[Guts]

Right, but that's already like 200+ hours in the first five games alone, so have to have some priorities.

[nakamura]

Dreadful marketing, price and needless gamepad. The Wii U is the worst console Nintendo have released.
However, the growing selection of games including some brilliant titles means I want to get one badly.

Nintendo should have made a simple console and pad with Wii Remote plus connectivity and power somewhere near Xbox One.

[teddymeow]

Used to have one but it's history now...

...but getting the Wind Waker console for Xmas.