Thoughts on the Wii U

[Sulaco]

http://news.cnet.com/8301-10797_3-5...sold-57000-wii-u-units-in-the-u.s-in-january/

http://www.forbes.com/sites/jasonev...jections-by-17-based-on-sluggish-wii-u-sales/

Doesn't look like its doing all that hot.

I have to say, I think we all saw this coming. I know I did.

When I saw the launch line-up, the projected releases a few months later (around now), and the conspicuous absence of first party Nintendo franchises of note, this was not terribly surprising.

 

[Carmen813]

It's got earthbound coming. Woo!

 

[Tom]

Oh, interesting. Does it also have HDMI-CEC support and do things like I mentioned? I kind of wish the 360 had support for it too since my upstairs TV+AVR combo isn't as well-established as the downstairs combo. Downstairs, the TV will turn on the AVR when it turns on, but that isn't the case upstairs. I have to fuddle around with all the remotes (except with the PS3)! :|

On my LG tv it can do similar things, like switch inputs, although not automatically.

But it has some neat features like downloadable guides for most tv providers and some sort of add-on content ability, maybe along the lines of hyperlinks to actors or imdb, not sure because I haven't really used it much.

It does work well for Netflix and Youtube, high definition for either.

 

[Broburger]

I sold mine after a couple weeks because there wasn't much to play and I spent more time using the web browser.

Pros
- it looks nice
- the controller is comfortable
- the web browser is nice

Cons
- not many games yet
- some games don't have off-tv play
- it's too expensive for the specs

I'll probably pick up another one used on ebay next year when there are more games to play.

 

[Sohaltang]

I understand that. I thought you bought it for you and figured he'd play it too. Kids are like that. Gotta have it then it sits. A good friend of mine bought his son a new skateboard, really super nice one all decked out. Spent almost $200 or something. After a week it was put in the shed somewhere.

The screen is not capacitive like your phone. You have to actually press down a bit with some pressure to get it to register. I think it competes with the 360 and PS3 just fine in terms of hardware, it just needs a little touch up on the interface and online which is coming, and some software to use.

I got one of those 200$ skateboards about 3 years ago. Lol. It's still mint, along with 250$ of "gear".

Yeah I know that about the screen, they really cheaped out on it. It's ok but not butter smooth like most are accustomed. Most have been on apple or droids for 3-4 years min. Like I said 3-4 years ago it would have been great. Right now its a dead end console.

 

[mmntech]

Digging this Wii U thread back up again. There's a rumour going around that Nintendo is recalling, possibly discontinuing the basic model. Kotaku, while not exactly a reliable news source (lol) cites a Gamestop memo they got a hold of.
http://kotaku.com/8gb-wii-u-basic-n...m_source=Kotaku_Twitter&utm_medium=Socialflow

What's this mean? Hell if I know. I will say that it's probably the best thing if they do discontinue the 8GB model. I doubt many people are buying it.

 

[cmdrdredd]

Digging this Wii U thread back up again. There's a rumour going around that Nintendo is recalling, possibly discontinuing the basic model. Kotaku, while not exactly a reliable news source (lol) cites a Gamestop memo they got a hold of.
http://kotaku.com/8gb-wii-u-basic-n...m_source=Kotaku_Twitter&utm_medium=Socialflow

What's this mean? Hell if I know. I will say that it's probably the best thing if they do discontinue the 8GB model. I doubt many people are buying it.

I dunno...first I heard of this. If true we will find out next week.

 

[mmntech]

Indeed, at their E3 but not actually at E3 events. I think we may see a price of the 32GB model dropped to the price of the 8GB, if they get rid of the latter.

I've never been a big fan of consoles having multiple SKUs anyway. Just put a reasonable size drive inside it, make it user upgradable, and call it a day. "Core" packages rarely end up saving money in the long run.

 

[Nintendesert]

Indeed, at their E3 but not actually at E3 events. I think we may see a price of the 32GB model dropped to the price of the 8GB, if they get rid of the latter.

I've never been a big fan of consoles having multiple SKUs anyway. Just put a reasonable size drive inside it, make it user upgradable, and call it a day. "Core" packages rarely end up saving money in the long run.

I'm not a fan either, it plays down the biggest strength that consoles have, the uniform platform. I'm not sure who makes these decisions at these companies, but beyond colors the guts really should always be the same.

 

[cmdrdredd]

My buddy at GameStop has informed me that this is true but the rumor is a 32GB white model coming out. The white systems are not selling well at all next to the black ones and it is possible Nintendo is going to swap the memory to 32GB and re-market them.

Nothing known about price changes.

 

[purbeast0]

its because white consoles look like toys in the media cabinet, whereas black consoles look like electronics that belong there like a bluray player, cable box, or avr. most people have their components in eye sight when looking at their tv. a white component sticks out much more than a black component. no one wants to see their components out of the side of their eye when focusing on screen.

i'd pick a black console over a white console 10/10 times.

/racist

 

[cmdrdredd]

its because white consoles look like toys in the media cabinet, whereas black consoles look like electronics that belong there like a bluray player, cable box, or avr. most people have their components in eye sight when looking at their tv. a white component sticks out much more than a black component. no one wants to see their components out of the side of their eye when focusing on screen.

i'd pick a black console over a white console 10/10 times.

/racist

I agree but I think white can look sleek too although I don't pick it for consoles if I can help it due to them looking dirty too quickly.

 

[mmntech]

Nothing known about price changes.

I suppose it will depend on how much the PS4 and Xbox One will cost. If either one of them goes for $399, I can see Nintendo clawing the 32GB's price back to $299. If they settle for $449 or $499, the Wii U will probably stay at its current price point.

 

[dagamer34]

I really hope this means the era of the multi-tier SKU is over. Besides a removable hard drive, there really shouldn't be anything different inside these boxes.

 

[Arkaign]

I really hope this means the era of the multi-tier SKU is over. Besides a removable hard drive, there really shouldn't be anything different inside these boxes.

AGREED with a huge emphasis on 'removable'. Beyond just removable, I think they should be standard SATA drives without any kind of bs lockout of non-branded drives.

That's why we have to deal with garbage like this :

http://www.amazon.com/Xbox-360-250GB...360+hard+drive

$55-$75 for freaking 320GB of slug drive performance, when this is literally the same price :

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16822148599

750GB 7200RPM w/16MB Cache

They could still sell tons of branded drives to simple people who don't know any better, but have the option open for the educated consumer.

If Sony pulls a hdd lockout with PS4, I'll probably be iffy about that console as well. I'm already completely unsold on Xbone.

 

[Aikouka]

I saw this earlier, but I forgot to post it. I think I mentioned in some other thread that Nintendo would have demos up for their upcoming games at specific Best Buy stores. Well, that list has been posted:

http://www.ign.com/articles/2013/05/29/you-can-play-nintendos-e3-demos-at-these-best-buy-locations

The games will only be available on Wednesday, 6/12, from 4PM to 8PM and Saturday, 6/15, from 1PM to 5PM.

I'll paste the store listing here for convenience:

Alabama
Birmingham
Huntsville

Arkansas
Fort Smith
North Little Rock

Arizona
Phoenix

California
Culver City
Elk Grove
Emeryville
San Jose
Tracy
Visalia

Colorado
Denver

Connecticut
Manchester

Delaware
Wilmington

Florida
Brandon
Fort Myers
Gainesville
Kissimmee
Miami
Pensacola

Georgia
Augusta
Duluth
Savannah
Smyrna

Iowa
Cedar Rapids
West Des Moines

Illinois
Bloomington
Schaumburg

Indiana
Greenwood

Kansas
Overland Park
Wichita

Kentucky
Florence
Lexington
Louisville

Louisiana
Harvey

Massachusetts
Cambridge
Dedham
Worcester

Maryland
Frederick
Glen Burnie
Wheaton

Michigan
Ann Arbor
Flint
Grand Rapids
Rochester Hills

Minnesota
Eden Prairie

Missouri
St. Louis

North Carolina
Cary
Fayetteville
Pineville
Winston-Salem

New Jersey
Iselin
West Paterson
Woodbury

New York
Albany
Amherst
Long Island City
Syracuse
Valley Stream
West Nyack

Ohio
Fairborn
North Olmsted
Reynoldsburg
Toledo

Oklahoma
Oklahoma City

Oregon
Portland

Pennsylvania
Erie
King of Prussia
Pittsburgh
Reading
Whitehall

South Carolina
Greenville
North Charleston

Tennessee
Brentwood
Knoxville
Memphis

Texas
Arlington
Austin
Houston
McAllen
The Woodlands
Tyler

Utah
Sandy

Virginia
Charlottesville
Glen Allen
Virginia Beach

Vermont
Williston

Washington
Lynnwood

Wisconsin
Greenfield

 

[mmntech]

I'll paste the store listing here for convenience:

To add to this

Ontario
North York
Toronto
Mississauga
Windsor
London
Ottawa
Kingston
Brampton
Oakville

Quebec
Montreal
Lasalle

Manitoba
Winnipeg

Saskatchewan
Saskatoon

Alberta
Edmonton
Calgary (2 locations)

British Columbia
Vancouver
Langley
Richmond

They're doing one at the Best Buy near my work. Might go check it out. Also Nintendo just gave a big screw you to east coasters. Guess no E3 for you if you live in Halifax.

 

[purbeast0]

got a bb like 5 miles from my house doing the e3 thing. too bad i work wednesday and have a football game + bbq on saturday. i'd like to play a new 3d mario if they are showing one.

 

[zerocool84]

Meh, I don't feel like driving an hour to play the games.

 

[Aikouka]

They have one local to me, so I'll probably just go after work and check it out. I just hope there aren't any long lines or five-year-olds hogging the machines! :|

 

[Imported]

Maybe I'll check it out.. I haven't had a desire to play any Nintendo game for years now, let alone own another console.

 

[exdeath]

With Xbone committing suicide and Zelda and Metroid coming out for Wii U I'm picking one up on principle.

 

[mmntech]

With Xbone committing suicide and Zelda and Metroid coming out for Wii U I'm picking one up on principle.

Nintendoes what Xbox doesn't want you doing.

 

[Arkaign]

Nintendoes what Xbox doesn't want you doing.

lol True.

As a retro gamer AND PC gamer, WiiU's lower specs don't really bother me. I'll play a great game even if it's on Commodore 64. Show me the games, and WiiU will be a buy. I'm already pretty solidly happy with my 3DS XL.

 

[cmdrdredd]

Meh, I don't feel like driving an hour to play the games.

Me too...closest store for me is in Miami and with traffic etc it'll be like 2 hour drive lol