Wii-U thoughts so far

[alienjesus]

I also can be wrong but I think at that time it was cheaper to manufacture a cartridge based game over a CD based console.

You are. Nintendo's proprietary cartridges were significantly more expensive per unit than the the standardised and cheaper to develop CD format. We're talking exponential rates.


I can't find the source I found prices from right now, so I can't confirm it's reliability, but I'm sure I've read that 4 disc games like FFIX on PS1 cost less than half of a single N64 cartridge to produce, and came with the advantage of about 100 times more memory per disc.

[RyaNtheSlayA]

Which was also reflected in the at least 20% markup to buy a game on the N64 compared to the PS1 or Saturn.

[Retrogamer0001]

In the mid-90's, $180 was probably close to $249 in today's dollars, so the cost hasn't really changed all that much. The PS1 was marketed at $299 back then, so pretty similar to today for what a PS4 would cost you. Nintendo always seems to go for the cheaper price point at the cost of hardware, just one of their strategies.

[Jamisonia]

Bad news for Nintendo and especially Wii U fans today guys. 2014 is going to be a rough year, and I expect some major changes at Nintendo. What those changes will be? We'll have to see, 3 consecutive years operating at a loss and cutting sales projections 70% are bound to create some change.

[RyaNtheSlayA]

Yeah. On the other hand, this could lead to some very positive reform of Nintendo.

I'm only upset because if a new console does happen to roll around by 2015 I'll have spent a good deal of money and time on a system with no staying power. I've got 16 games on that shelf today. Several controllers and screen protectors and such too. I guess this is pretty similar to the disappointment many Dreamcast owners were probably feeling. I love the system but if it doesn't sell... well Nintendo is a business. A publicly traded one. They have to pay respect to their shareholders and do something. I think that means the Wii U will be very short lived unless by some voodoo magic they turn it around with a rebrand or something.

Till then, I suppose I'll just enjoy the console for what it is. This is why I have my gaming PC.

Also, Splinter Cell Blacklist is only $20 at lamestop in case anybody wants it. That's right in the territory of price I was waiting for so I think I'll pick it up myself.

[Reprise]

I guess this is pretty similar to the disappointment many Dreamcast owners were probably feeling.

It's similar, I guess. Apart from the Dreamcast had loads of amazing games and the second Sega announced hardware production was ending, those amazing games were being sold off for next to nothing. The Dreamcast is kind of an anomaly in gaming history, since it failed and production ceased within less than 2 years of its launch, yet it had amazing games and great third party support (yeah, no EA, but lots from Capcom, for example).

The Wii U's amazing games, on the other hand, I can count on my fingers and toes and I own them all. Oh well, I guess have the millionth iterations of Mario Kart and Smash Bros to look forward to...

[BoringSupreez]

I guess this is pretty similar to the disappointment many Dreamcast owners were probably feeling.

It's similar, I guess. Apart from the Dreamcast had loads of amazing games and the second Sega announced hardware production was ending, those amazing games were being sold off for next to nothing. The Dreamcast is kind of an anomaly in gaming history, since it failed and production ceased within less than 2 years of its launch, yet it had amazing games and great third party support (yeah, no EA, but lots from Capcom, for example).

The Wii U's amazing games, on the other hand, I can count on my fingers and toes and I own them all. Oh well, I guess have the millionth iterations of Mario Kart and Smash Bros to look forward to...

All Wii U's best games that are not ports from other consoles are Pikmin 3, Wind Waker HD, Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate, New Super Mario Bros. U, and Super Mario World. That's it. Two Marios, a re-release of an old Zelda, and new entries in two franchises that have never been much of a big deal. The rest of the U's games are either tardy ports of 360/PS3 titles, or the overall quality is debatable (Wonderful 101, Lego City Undercover). Far from enough to convince most people to drop $300 on a new Nintendo.

This is probably more similar to how US Saturn owners felt than DC. Oh and on the topic of DC, last time EA decided to shun a major console it was dead within two years.

[ZeroAX]

or the overall quality is debatable (Wonderful 101, Lego City Undercover).

I'm sorry, but what makes the quality of those games debatable? The fact that the gaming press with its homogeneous taste/scoring methods didn't give them perfect scores?

Cause in my opinion those games are much better and more creative (ofc this is more true of W101) than most of the "game of the year, bland shooter 2013 edition" crap that gets high marks.

[BoringSupreez]

or the overall quality is debatable (Wonderful 101, Lego City Undercover).

I'm sorry, but what makes the quality of those games debatable? The fact that the gaming press with its homogeneous taste/scoring methods didn't give them perfect scores?

Cause in my opinion those games are much better and more creative (ofc this is more true of W101) than most of the "game of the year, bland shooter 2013 edition" crap that gets high marks.

That's why I said the quality of those games is debatable. Some, like you, enjoyed them. Others didn't.

[ZeroAX]

That's why I said the quality of those games is debatable. Some, like you, enjoyed them. Others didn't.

But isn't the quality of all games debatable?

For example:

I found The Last of Us to be quite boring, yet many people loved it, called it game of the year, and some even bought a PS3 for it. That's a system seller for them, and that's respectable. Something will not be loved by EVERYONE but you can have a case where a game is considered really good by many people.

And from what I've heard most people who actually played the 2 Wii U games mentioned above, really liked them. But it's the gaming "press" who gave the games above average reviews without justifying it some times imo (complaining that the controls are complex is enough reason for someone who hasn't played games before to give every game other than Mario and Sonic a bad score.).

So what I'm getting at, a game's quality is always debatable. But you just can't trust the gaming press to give an original game a good score. They value technical aspects more than actual game design and innovative ideas.