Wii U / Nintendo general news and discussion

Rossin

as a casual gamer who has always been fond of nintendo games i couldnt even tell you what the wii u looks like

mayordenis

You should probably just go buy one in that case Rossin, problem solved.

kunst nugget

mayordenis wrote: »

You should probably just go buy one in that case Rossin, problem solved.

What case would you make for someone to move from a 360 or a PS3, who probably has a Wii sitting gathering dust, to the Wii U?

Pushtrak

kunst nugget wrote: »

What case would you make for someone to move from a 360 or a PS3, who probably has a Wii sitting gathering dust, to the Wii U?

Rossin has clearly laid the groundwork for a compelling argument...

who has always been fond of nintendo games

CiDeRmAn

Well, vast amounts of people seem to be only too delighted to spend money on 3DS games and consoles, and the 1st party and 3rd party AAA titles seem to have little difficulty in finding their target market there.
So, if you love your 3DS you'll love the WiiU.
The flow of games is slow, but it's a negative feedback thing now, not conditional on the quality of the device at all, developers and publishers won't make for the machine because the return is too small for the machine. That said, apparently sales in other markets have improved so let's not write the format off just yet.
It's been said before though, in this thread and elsewhere, if you are after the kind of titles heading for the PS4 then buy a PS4, the WiiU is never going to host Titanfall either, but that isn't what people who buy the WiiU are after, and the games we see on the machine are often best in class.
I don't buy this "tired old properties" comment either, frankly it's lazy and shows little understanding of the games themselves, just a repeat of Nintendo detractors elsewhere.
It appears it's ok on the XB1 and PS4 to wheel out old properties, like Forza, Killzone, Fifa and Battlefield, but when Nintendo actually produce new experiences using their own IP, with Mario 3D World for example, we get a double standard.

Rossin

i just asked a friend who has a wii and 360, he didnt even know what it was. Maybe they'll put a few tv ads out when the likes of mariokart arrive

Retr0gamer

The TV adverts all state clearly it's a brand new console. The WiiU name is just so boneheaded. Casual Joe just doesn't know that it's a new console.

Also anyone saying Nintendo are just put out the same old tired franchises hasn't played a Nintendo game in years. Nintendo might reuse their franchises a lot but they keep them as fresh experiences often times the games in a franchise are completely different from what came before.

I can kind of understand where the 7 year old is coming from. When I was younger I had the same sort of peer pressure to like violent and 'naughty' games. I used to think Mortal Kombat was a much better series than Street Fighter and it wasn't until I matured a little that I realised that MK was a dreadful game series and Street Fighter was so much better. A 7 year old though is a bit young to be playing those kind of games.

abbir

Retr0gamer wrote: »

Also anyone saying Nintendo are just put out the same old tired franchises hasn't played a Nintendo game in years. Nintendo might reuse their franchises a lot but they keep them as fresh experiences often times the games in a franchise are completely different from what came before.

Agreed. Mario Galaxy has more invention between worlds than most games have between versions. Also, I've read and heard a lot of people saying something like, "Mario Kart 8, another one? Can they not make something else?". Then go buy the latest Call of Duty. Call of Duty is upto 10 games since 2003, Mario Kart is upto 8 since 1992.

Retr0gamer wrote: »

I can kind of understand where the 7 year old is coming from. When I was younger I had the same sort of peer pressure to like violent and 'naughty' games. I used to think Mortal Kombat was a much better series than Street Fighter and it wasn't until I matured a little that I realised that MK was a dreadful game series and Street Fighter was so much better. A 7 year old though is a bit young to be playing those kind of games.

When I first heard of Mortal Kombat I was 10 and thought cool, I want that. Then I saw the SNES version wouldn't have blood and so didn't get it. Played it on Mega Drive at a friends house a few times, got really bored and went back to Street Fighter. Tried MK2 on SNES, again found it boring and only wanted to see the fatalities, not play the actual game. Anyway, by that time, Doom had plenty of Blood to see

readyletsgo

Varik wrote: »

......I kinda like the idea of the Super Wii someone mentioned, a bit of nostalgia for older fans and while not differentiating the newer console as much as a numbered sequel it still give the idea of a new improved product.

Naming aside, Nintendo didn't even show people the console at first all anyone saw was the tablet and the odd picture of the console from demo stations. Whatever about store managers or parents not knowing it was a new console you had press who cover these things being unsure at the very start.

The day Nintendo said the name Wii U at E3 in 2012 the internet went mad saying why didnt they call it Super Wii (SWii)? Thats what I expected it to be called as Myimoto(sp?) said the next Wii will be more like the Super NES, as in, back to the 'hardcore', I just never understood why they named it Wii U, whatever about people not knowing its a new HD Wii, its a god danm stupid name, still!

mayordenis wrote: »

Well Amazon before it was released had basically refused to sell it worldwide, after a little while they relented but that was the stance they took, there were a few others who never really gave it the time of day.

That is not true, the Wii U sold out on Amazon the first week (same in HMV, I couldn't get one here at all, had to go to amazon in the January 2013 to get one), games sold very well, it was in March of 2013 that Amazon said they will not support the Wii U anymore as sales had dried up totally. Then, I think, in September or October Amazon heads came out saying that the games are selling really well as they are cheaper now compared to PS360 and they were making money out of it again so they restocked the system here and in the States and it does sell, not well but people do buy it form them, its were I buy all my new Wii U games.

Rossin wrote: »

as a casual gamer who has always been fond of nintendo games i couldnt even tell you what the wii u looks like

It looks like a black Wii, so the same, except for the controller (which is great). They should have designed the system differently from the Wii though, like the SNES (read above) or N64 or the ill faithed Gamecube without the handle.

On another note, I bought Runner 2 a few months back, started it this week, jaysus, its an awesome smartphone (runner) game with tight button controls and BEAUTIFUL gfx

Also picked up a few new Wii U games over the past few weeks, DKCTF, Lego City, Rayman Legends. Still have to get around to playing W101, finished Pikmin 3 when it came out, amazing game. But for some reason SM3DW just did nothing for me at all. Yes its pretty looking and has all the secrets etc but just, meh.

I would think (and hope!) that Nintendo are aware to ADVERTISE the hell outta MK8 from mid April or start of May. Not out till 30th May but god let the general public know its coming!

CiDeRmAn

Casual Joe would appear to be as thick as cow muck and twice as lumpy

CiDeRmAn

Casual Joe would appear to be as thick as cow muck and twice as lumpy

Radiosonde

It's not just the name*, it's that they designed the Wii U around a confusing concept: a tablet add-on, with a console that they deliberately made look unobtrusive and similar to the Wii, a console that "Mum won't mind having in the living room," as one of Nintendo's people reportedly told developers. That people would think it was a Wii peripheral was entirely predictable. They'd been through this all before with the 3DS ("This is not DS; this is 3DS"), and still didn't learn. And they slashed their marketing budget, in the US because ad-space was "too expensive" in a presidential election year! (Wait until after the election to launch then, maybe?)

That kid had dumb reasons (what can you expect from a 7 year old?), but a choice between PS4 and Wii U is a no-brainer. One has strong hardware at a reasonable price, extensive third-party support, talented first party support, and a rapidly growing install base - overall, a bright future. The other has an under-utilised gimmick, virtually no third party support from major publishers, a trickle of big titles, a dismal install base, and an uncertain future.

I have a huge amount of goodwill towards Nintendo, but looking at key decisions they've botched, the Wii U deserves to fail.

*The U in Wii U is supposed to look like a finger touching the screen, allegedly. Hence the name.

druss

abbir wrote: »

When I first heard of Mortal Kombat I was 10 and thought cool, I want that. Then I saw the SNES version wouldn't have blood and so didn't get it. Played it on Mega Drive at a friends house a few times, got really bored and went back to Street Fighter. Tried MK2 on SNES, again found it boring and only wanted to see the fatalities, not play the actual game. Anyway, by that time, Doom had plenty of Blood to see

That's pretty much why I bought a Megadrive Althought I was 17. And most of the neighbours and friends had gone the Sega route as well, so in terms of swapping cartridges etc it made more sense.

Grayditch

I thought about it and traced my confusion with the WiiU back to E3 2011 when I may have tuned in slightly late to the Nintendo conference.

http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=47mNNVU_E2w

Looking back at this video all I took in was a "New Controller" playing what looked like Wii Sports, Wii Fit and Mario Brothers. Then there was no new console to look at during the video (because it hasn't been designed maybe), coupled with the fact that WiiU sounds like an add on. To me, anyway with what I've already mentioned about Nintendo upgrading their handhelds slightly and adding letters DS becomes Dsi, becomes DSiXL.

So I'm glad I solved that mystery for myself. I'll split the blame with Nintendo on this one

Star Lord

The problem I've found with certain retail places (Mainly HMV) is that they stocked nothing but the games that were released along with the console, and used lack of sales of those dusty titles as an excuse to excise the Wii U stock from their shelves. If they'd stocked the new titles as they were released, they may have sold better, no?

I'd seen DKCTF boxes there prior to the games release, for pre-order. I popped into HMV last week to see if I could pick up a copy, only to find that their Nintendo stock had been reduced to a few 3DS titles, one or two Wii U games and a couple of 2nd hand Wii games, on a 2ft wide rack at the end of the blu-ray shelves.

How can they expect something to sell if they don't stock it in the first place?

McLoughlin

DamoElDiablo wrote: »

The problem I've found with certain retail places (Mainly HMV) is that they stocked nothing but the games that were released along with the console, and used lack of sales of those dusty titles as an excuse to excise the Wii U stock from their shelves. If they'd stocked the new titles as they were released, they may have sold better, no?

I'd seen DKCTF boxes there prior to the games release, for pre-order. I popped into HMV last week to see if I could pick up a copy, only to find that their Nintendo stock had been reduced to a few 3DS titles, one or two Wii U games and a couple of 2nd hand Wii games, on a 2ft wide rack at the end of the blu-ray shelves.

How can they expect something to sell if they don't stock it in the first place?

My local store told me that there is an issue with HMV/Xtra Vision and the supplier of NIntendo games and thats why they don't stock Wii U games.

CiDeRmAn

I'm looking forward to this on the WiiU myself,
90's Arcade Racer, coming to PC and WiiU this summer, the screen shots look great and the game is running at 720p and at 60fps, which is cool.
Great memories of Scud Racer, Outrun 2 and Daytona, can't wait.

murphyebass

Radiosonde wrote: »

the Wii U deserves to fail.

Eh no it doesnt, silly comment to make, and no it wont. It'll sell similar units to the Gamecube which isnt ideal but hardly gonna break Nintendo who have quite a bit of money in the bank.

Yes they made an arse of the marketing. It has been utterly appauling from the name to the advertising. Woeful stuff.

But that said the Wii U has some of the best current gen titles available. Thats both in graphics believe it or not and gameplay. Mario 3D World, Donkey Kong Tropical Freeze and Pikmin are all cases in point.

If you want COD / Fifa / etc.. buy a PS4/Xbox1 or gaming pc. If you want amazing Nintendo titles buy a Wii U. If you arent a fanboy and just like games but one of each.

Like most people on here I hope they do get the marketing and 3rd party support right the next time round. It wont be for a few years yet though as they wont just axe the Wii U so they've plenty of time to work out the way forward.

In the mean time there'll be a slow but steady supply of Nintendo games in the coming few years including the likes of Smash bros, Mario Kart and Zelda coupled with the odd exclusive like Bayonetta that will keep owners happy and create a few new ones.

kunst nugget

DamoElDiablo wrote: »

The problem I've found with certain retail places (Mainly HMV) is that they stocked nothing but the games that were released along with the console, and used lack of sales of those dusty titles as an excuse to excise the Wii U stock from their shelves. If they'd stocked the new titles as they were released, they may have sold better, no?

I'd seen DKCTF boxes there prior to the games release, for pre-order. I popped into HMV last week to see if I could pick up a copy, only to find that their Nintendo stock had been reduced to a few 3DS titles, one or two Wii U games and a couple of 2nd hand Wii games, on a 2ft wide rack at the end of the blu-ray shelves.

How can they expect something to sell if they don't stock it in the first place?

But if it's not been selling for them and they aren't getting many people looking for Wii U games why would they use up precious store space on it? If it had very healthy sales figures, they would devote way more space to it - it obviously doesn't.

CiDeRmAn

Does no one else recognise the nightmare scenario where the PS4 or similar is the dominant device and everything is developed to that template? Exchange PS4 for XB1 if you like, the problem remains, at least with the likes of Nintendo in the home console market we have some sort of decent alternative to the release schedule of the other consoles, sandbox adventures, track racers, military fps or 3rd person brawler clones.

kunst nugget

CiDeRmAn wrote: »

Does no one else recognise the nightmare scenario where the PS4 or similar is the dominant device and everything is developed to that template? Exchange PS4 for XB1 if you like, the problem remains, at least with the likes of Nintendo in the home console market we have some sort of decent alternative to the release schedule of the other consoles, sandbox adventures, track racers, military fps or 3rd person brawler clones.

Do the rising popularity of indies being released through the online stores of the bigger consoles not provide that alternative?

johnny_ultimate

That's nonsense, I'm afraid Cidey. What excites me so much about the PS4 at the moment is the amount of variety on it. Forget about the AAA titles - on PS Plus alone we've already got Don't Starve, Resogun, Outlast and other fresh new titles. I can't wait to download Towerfall Ascension later which looks like an absolute gem. There's much more on the way. PS4 and PC are the main places to go these days for really interesting new experiences, as much as if not more so than Nintendo's best efforts.

If anything, Nintendo have massively failed to foster an imaginative indie community the way the other two have (even more so than MS, who have fallen way behind after their early successes). There's some great stuff on the EShop, true, but Nintendo are their own worst enemy when it comes to promoting and celebrating them.

tok9

CiDeRmAn wrote: »

Does no one else recognise the nightmare scenario where the PS4 or similar is the dominant device and everything is developed to that template? Exchange PS4 for XB1 if you like..

You would assume nintendo would develop for these platforms if they stopped releasing consoles.

CiDeRmAn wrote: »

...at least with the likes of Nintendo in the home console market we have some sort of decent alternative to the release schedule of the other consoles, sandbox adventures, track racers, military fps or 3rd person brawler clones.

This is as bad as saying that nintendo use the same tired old properties which you posted you were against earlier.

Radiosonde

murphyebass wrote: »

Eh no it doesnt, silly comment to make, and no it wont. It'll sell similar units to the Gamecube

Look at the figures. It's doing worse than Gamecube. It's a highly competitive market; there isn't room for these kind of mistakes and Nintendo keep making them, which imo sadly means the console is deservedly flopping. Nintendo's massively talented hardware and software people deserve better than the leadership they've gotten on this one.

Honestly, I'm a Nintendo fan, and I'm a big advocate of 3DS and Wii (I think the latter still worth getting if someone's never had one) but I couldn't recommend Wii U.

Radiosonde

CiDeRmAn wrote: »

Does no one else recognise the nightmare scenario where the PS4 or similar is the dominant device and everything is developed to that template? Exchange PS4 for XB1 if you like, the problem remains, at least with the likes of Nintendo in the home console market we have some sort of decent alternative to the release schedule of the other consoles, sandbox adventures, track racers, military fps or 3rd person brawler clones.

PS2 was totally dominant and has one of the most diverse, celebrated catalogues in gaming history. DS was totally dominant, ditto. There are certainly downsides to PS4 sweeping away all before it, but the games will be there.

There's often quite an objectionable aspect to some Nintendo fans' defences of the company, where they talk like ONLY Nintendo make original, creative titles, and PS/Xbox players are all on COD and FIFA. I've never played COD and only played FIFA briefly a couple of times. Yet I've done plenty of gaming on the other machines. Hell, Sony itself has given us groundbreaking games like Shadow of the Colossus and The Last of Us. And then you've got all the third party support on top of that. You could happily game solely on PS3 last gen, never touch COD, and play tonnes of great stuff.

Retr0gamer

johnny_ultimate wrote: »

That's nonsense, I'm afraid Cidey. What excites me so much about the PS4 at the moment is the amount of variety on it. Forget about the AAA titles - on PS Plus alone we've already got Don't Starve, Resogun, Outlast and other fresh new titles. I can't wait to download Towerfall Ascension later which looks like an absolute gem. There's much more on the way. PS4 and PC are the main places to go these days for really interesting new experiences, as much as if not more so than Nintendo's best efforts.

If anything, Nintendo have massively failed to foster an imaginative indie community the way the other two have (even more so than MS, who have fallen way behind after their early successes). There's some great stuff on the EShop, true, but Nintendo are their own worst enemy when it comes to promoting and celebrating them.

I however kind of need that Nintendo middle ground. Triple A releases are dull and uninspiring. Indie games can sometimes be experimental but falwed or else a bit avant garde and many rely too heavily on a central gimmick. With Nintendo I have a game that is both imaginative but also well engineered to be fun.

Grayditch

CiDeRmAn wrote: »

at least with the likes of Nintendo in the home console market we have some sort of decent alternative to the release schedule of the other consoles, sandbox adventures, track racers, military fps or 3rd person brawler clones.

Ah, man. I always gather from your posts that you'd like it if people were more educated/open minded about the Wii U and it's games. And then you say this about the other 2. You're breaking my heart, CiDeRmAn!

johnny_ultimate

Retr0gamer wrote: »

With Nintendo I have a game that is both imaginative but also well engineered to be fun.

And the likes of Dark Souls, Rayman Legends, Tearaway, Dragon's Crown, Gravity Rush, Resogun, MGS: Revengeance etc... don't fit that bill, largely exclusive of Nintendo?

I'm not arguing against Nintendo per say (I'll always have room for them as part of a balanced gaming diet), I just think there's an awful lot of wild and selective generalisations being thrown about on both sides of the argument. I simply don't think Nintendo are the last paragons of quality, invention and 'fun' in gaming - far from it.

I also wish a hell of a lot more games could be 'a bit avant garde' :pac:

Much as I enjoy Nintendo's output, the future of interesting, unique and inventive gaming is the PC and ps4. Sony have embraced indie gaming and the manner in which they've pursued indie developers is a credit to them. Since the release of the PS4 we've had a number of great indie titles that Sony have given us for free.

Retr0gamer

johnny_ultimate wrote: »

And the likes of Dark Souls, Rayman Legends, Tearaway, Dragon's Crown, Gravity Rush, Resogun, MGS: Revengeance etc... don't fit that bill, largely exclusive of Nintendo?

And out of them MG:Rising would be the only one with a Triple A budget. Yes I generalised a bit there really good innovative Triple A games are the exception rather than the rule. Then again liek with film there's always a time for a good popcorn flick/game.

I'm also not saying indie games are crap because they are avant garde and experimental. I'm more saying that It's nice to have a choice between Triple A, indie and Nintendo. I find nobody else is providing the type of games they do. Nintendo kind for me fit a middle ground between the two between the two and the gaming landscape would be far less richer without them. Nintendo games aren't as wildly inventive as the best indies but I find the most experimental indies can be incredibly clunky and don't really match their ideas with a good game. Nintendo on the other hand will be experimental but will make sure their games are fun for the most part. Again there's some generalisation there since there's some games that are equally inventive yet play like a dream (Rogue Legacy springs to mind).