A lot of my friends have been asking me my opinion about the
new generation of gaming systems out there since they know I have all
three. Now that I got to spend some time
with them there is my opinion.
The console:
For those who don’t know what this is, it is the successor to the Wii. It came out a year ago at a $350 price point, and came with one game and a 32GB hard drive. It was considered the first of the new gen of machines and cost $50 more than PS3 and 360 that have huge 250GB+ HDD. So Nintendo really had to make a case as to why it was worth the money in the year it had to itself before the PS4 and Xbox One. Well the WiiU is Nintendo’s first HD console, and it has the gimmick of being the first dual screen home console (the controller for it has a 5 inch HD touch screen in the middle of it). Its called the Gamepad (Nintendo doesn’t want you to buy a tablet).
Yes
Nintendo took the ideas behind the DS (you know the handheld which is also
Nintendo’s most successful console in its history) and brought it to the living
room thinking that would sale units. It
didn’t. The system also works with the
WiiMotes from the Wii, and I would say its pretty much a must that you have a
few of them if your going to play this system, but that doesn’t mean you can
use YOUR WiiMote as you have to have the later versions that support the WiiMotion+ feature…I know I know I know….
For those who don’t know what this is, it is the successor to the Wii. It came out a year ago at a $350 price point, and came with one game and a 32GB hard drive. It was considered the first of the new gen of machines and cost $50 more than PS3 and 360 that have huge 250GB+ HDD. So Nintendo really had to make a case as to why it was worth the money in the year it had to itself before the PS4 and Xbox One. Well the WiiU is Nintendo’s first HD console, and it has the gimmick of being the first dual screen home console (the controller for it has a 5 inch HD touch screen in the middle of it). Its called the Gamepad (Nintendo doesn’t want you to buy a tablet).
Having almost the
same power as a PS3 or 360 (but with less multimedia options) means that the
cross platform games for it will pretty much be the same as the ones you get on
those systems, but without all the friends, achievements and all that stuff
you’ve built up over the last 6-7 years.
The second screen is novel but it’s not critical. It was fun at first to use it to control
Netflix and use the TVii app on it to control my television, but after a while
I lost interest in it. The game that originally
came with the system “Nintendo Land” shows off some good ideas, but they are
all in the form of mini games that get boring after a while. The game is supposed to be for kids and
families but it tells you how good it is that my family hasn’t asked to play
this thing since we bought it, but my kids still like to play Wii Sports. Obviously this is not a killer app like Wii Sports
was for the Wii, or Super Mario World/Duck hunt was for the NES back in the day,
because Nintendo has already moved away from having it be the pack in game, and
have started selling bundles with a Mario game and Zelda game (more about those later).
So back to the system itself and this unique
controller. The best thing I have been
able to do with the controller is play games directly on its screen that
usually require the TV screen. This
allows me to play a game and watch TV at the same time. But then if you think
of it...using it like that just makes it a good looking hand held console. And that makes me think, “why is this a $60
game for a $350 console”. The same game
could be on a handheld that had HD outputs and cost half the price. Also consider that the screen is restricted
to work in the same room as the console itself.
I would rather have a really powerful handheld that I could play
anywhere, that could also do wireless TV output at a limited range than a
console that comes with a handheld that I can only use in one room.
So really right now the fact that this is the only console
where you can play Nintendo’s great first party games in HD and on a TV is the only reason to buy this console. So lets talk about those games....
The Games:
A year after the console launched there has only been 4 great first party games for the thing and only one is really a must own.
1) Super Mario Bros. Wii U and its expansion pack Super Luigi Wii U
Are just HD versions of the classic Mario games we’ve been playing since 1985. Specifically the “new” series we have seen 4 times since 2009 on 4 different Nintendo Consoles (New Super Mario Bros for the DS, New Super Mario Brothers Wii for the Wii, New Super Mario Bros 2 for the 3DS and this one) . The game is fun but nothing “new” or special. And besides the graphics this game isn’t doing anything at $60 that wasn’t done 4 years ago for $40 on the DS. Not to mention that there has seen some great 2D platformers released for $20 on the other consoles digital services, like Super Meat Boy. That makes me just like this game less and less. Don’t get me wrong it’s the best of the “New“ Super Mario games, but it definitely not worth $60, plus a $20 expansion to play more stages with Luigi and his different jump mechanics. Not to mention you can play as the green brother in the original game with the same jump mechanics and it’s never really explained why he plays differently in the expansion (but I’m just nit picking there).
2) Pikmin 3.
3) Zelda Wind Waker HD
- (this is a conversation I had with my friend).
Him: Why is HD in the name?
Me:
Because there was a Zelda Wind Waker game released in 2003.
Him: Is this a sequel?
Me: Hell no it’s a HD rerelease.
Him: Oh that’s cool because releases only
cost ½ the price.
Me: Not in this situation. This is a $60 game. Nintendo claims they built the game from the
ground up so it’s not really a rerelease it’s a remake and should cost $60. You know like that Peter Jackson King Kong
movie.
Him:
Well that King Kong movie was completely different that the original,
besides the story. So what’s new with
the game?
Me: The graphics and some other very small
bells and whistles…
Him: Oh sounds like it should be a $30 rerelease
to me…
Me:
Exactly.
4) Super Mario 3D World.
Lastly there is the recently released Super Mario 3D World. This is by far the best game to release on the system. There has not been a lot of Mario games set in 3D worlds so Nintendo has been able to keep these games fresh and really reinvent the Genre each time they do a new one. And that is true with this game. The biggest issue I have with this game is that it isn’t really a totally new concept. It is an iteration of the 3DS game “Super Mario 3D Land” that came out 2 years ago for $40 dollars. Regardless of how great a game is it’s hard for me to see a game being worth $60 if it is built on a $40 platform.
ITS A WRAP:
And that basically is why I regret my WiiU purchase. I buy systems to play great games. This has great games but all of them are just iterations of games I have played before, that do little to reinvent the series, and are charging full price for the privilege. Full price games on a full Price Console. When you look at the success Nintendo has in the handheld market where you get cheaper games for a cheaper console, and you add the fact that they are pretty much making the same games for a home console I have to wonder should Nintendo really be charging almost the same price for games and consoles as Sony and Microsoft….Imma say no. And that is why this is the only console I have ever purchased that I regret (and I bought a Dreamcast). This thing has been out for a year and has already gotten a price drop and they stopped making the “entry level” version of the console. So obviously I am not the only one who feels this way. Basically this thing has been a failure.
4) Super Mario 3D World.
Lastly there is the recently released Super Mario 3D World. This is by far the best game to release on the system. There has not been a lot of Mario games set in 3D worlds so Nintendo has been able to keep these games fresh and really reinvent the Genre each time they do a new one. And that is true with this game. The biggest issue I have with this game is that it isn’t really a totally new concept. It is an iteration of the 3DS game “Super Mario 3D Land” that came out 2 years ago for $40 dollars. Regardless of how great a game is it’s hard for me to see a game being worth $60 if it is built on a $40 platform.
ITS A WRAP:
And that basically is why I regret my WiiU purchase. I buy systems to play great games. This has great games but all of them are just iterations of games I have played before, that do little to reinvent the series, and are charging full price for the privilege. Full price games on a full Price Console. When you look at the success Nintendo has in the handheld market where you get cheaper games for a cheaper console, and you add the fact that they are pretty much making the same games for a home console I have to wonder should Nintendo really be charging almost the same price for games and consoles as Sony and Microsoft….Imma say no. And that is why this is the only console I have ever purchased that I regret (and I bought a Dreamcast). This thing has been out for a year and has already gotten a price drop and they stopped making the “entry level” version of the console. So obviously I am not the only one who feels this way. Basically this thing has been a failure.
