Wii-U thoughts so far

[jay_red]

While I am super excited to pick up Mario Kart, the reviews confirmed one thing that will be a huge let down. The fact that you can't use the game pad for multiplayer, as in player 1 is on the TV and player 2 is on the game pad (this was one of our favorite features on Sonic Racing) This also means no 5 player support (like Sonic Racing had).

[ZeroAX]

That's all a matter of opinion you've got to understand. I've come to realize that what I like is becoming more and more of a niche. Mainstream gaming is drifting further away from my interests and I find myself largely indifferent about a lot of popular stuff. I'm mostly into Japanese games so until they start rolling onto the PS4 it's not too exciting of a platform for me yet.

But that's just the thing, I'm being objective. The PS4 and Xbone have NOTHING that the PC don't have. Heck the biggest "real next-gen" games Titanfall and Watchdogs were both released on the previous generation consoles too.

What does this have to say about the PS4 and Xbone? We (as gamers) don't really need them. At least not yet. I'm sure in 2-3 years there are going to be around a dozen next gen exclusives that are worth it, but for now all its games are either cross-gen, or well....not that original....I loved infamous 1 and 2 but I just don't feel there's anything new in infamous second son to be worth the generational jump.

Now compare the Wii U to the Wii. Compare Mario Kart 8 to Mario Kart Wii. Compared to the previous Nintendo gen the Wii U is at least a huge leap. There aren't that many games yes, but at least Nintendo games are unique and you can ONLY get them on the Wii U, not pre-gen, not PC.

And I repeat mainstream gaming sites (IGN, gametrailers, ect) are disgusting with their bias, and I don't think it's because they hate Nintendo. I believe it's because they feel their business model is threatened. They focused exclusively on the North American hardcore gamer (FPS, action games, racing, sports) and now that the console business (all 3) is on decline they are grasping for views from as much as their userbase that will remain. That's why Xbone and PS4 were shown as the second coming of christ, when the consoles just didn't have anything to offer at launch.

Have you considered that there's very little good news to report on the Wii U?

Ok some context about why I said it: gametrailers had a short video on Sonic Boom (the game) and they mentioned that they are "restricting their userbase by releasing it only on the Wii U/3DS" when they have never said such a thing for exclusive games on the PS4 and Xbone (which can't compare to 3DS sales yet).

[pepharytheworm]

Have you considered there is very little bad news to report?

You lost me here.

read the sentences after that one to help you find your way.
"All the articles regurgitate the same things; sales, system power, and third party support. Repeating the same thing over and over isn't news."
Whether you agree with me or not about my first sentence, I am sure you see my point of three things is not a lot of varying bad news.

[Hazerd]

But that's just the thing, I'm being objective. The PS4 and Xbone have NOTHING that the PC don't have. Heck the biggest "real next-gen" games Titanfall and Watchdogs were both released on the previous generation consoles too.

What does this have to say about the PS4 and Xbone? We (as gamers) don't really need them. At least not yet. I'm sure in 2-3 years there are going to be around a dozen next gen exclusives that are worth it, but for now all its games are either cross-gen, or well....not that original....I loved infamous 1 and 2 but I just don't feel there's anything new in infamous second son to be worth the generational jump.

Now compare the Wii U to the Wii. Compare Mario Kart 8 to Mario Kart Wii. Compared to the previous Nintendo gen the Wii U is at least a huge leap. There aren't that many games yes, but at least Nintendo games are unique and you can ONLY get them on the Wii U, not pre-gen, not PC.

And I repeat mainstream gaming sites (IGN, gametrailers, ect) are disgusting with their bias, and I don't think it's because they hate Nintendo. I believe it's because they feel their business model is threatened. They focused exclusively on the North American hardcore gamer (FPS, action games, racing, sports) and now that the console business (all 3) is on decline they are grasping for views from as much as their userbase that will remain. That's why Xbone and PS4 were shown as the second coming of christ, when the consoles just didn't have anything to offer at launch.

ZeroAX gets it, /agree, couldnt have said it better.

[Reprise]

Couldn't agree with ZeroAX more.

[dsheinem]

But that's just the thing, I'm being objective. The PS4 and Xbone have NOTHING that the PC don't have.

They do have exclusives that PCs don't have. Wikipedia lists ~30 announced or released exclusives for the PS4 (not counting console exclusives) and about ~20 for the Xbox One. Some of these, like Killzone SF, Infamous SS, Driveclub, Ryse, and the new Gears of War are unquestionably AAA games that look better than anything else to ever appear on consoles. There's also retro-related stuff people on this board would dig like Killer Instinct, Crimson Dragon, N++, and Resogun. The "PS4 and Xbox One have no games" argument was barely true at launch, nor is it true six months later.

One of the big reasons people aren't getting excited about the Wii U is because even though it has an increasing amount of exclusives, most of its AAA titles aren't showing off graphics or in-game experiences that haven't been had previously on the PS3/360. I mean, this partially explains its sagging sales, right? Sure, HD Mario Kart 8 looks nicer than the SD Mario Kart Wii, but it doesn't look leaps and bounds better than Sonic's All-Star Racer, which came out four years ago or Wipeout HD, which came out six years ago.

Compared to console install bases, PC gamers are a relatively small audience. Steam claims to have ~75 million users - which, if we thought of it as a system, would put it in fourth place behind the Xbox 360, PS3, and Wii in terms of "units" sold since 2003. PC software sales also tend to lag behind pretty far in comparison to console sales, so while PC does have a lot of the games that the new consoles have, that isn't where copies are being sold.

So the coverage of PS4/Xbox One on most game sites isn't a question of "disgusting bias" so much as it is reaction to them covering what people have shown that they like (with their pageviews, their wallets, etc.).

[Stark]

Super Time Force for the XB1 is a great example of a game that is not on PC and is just one of a flood of indie-type games coming to the XB1 and PS4 that won't be available for the PC or will at least first be available on console.

[ZeroAX]

Compared to console install bases, PC gamers are a relatively small audience. Steam claims to have ~75 million users - which, if we thought of it as a system, would put it in fourth place behind the Xbox 360, PS3, and Wii in terms of "units" sold since 2003. PC software sales also tend to lag behind pretty far in comparison to console sales, so while PC does have a lot of the games that the new consoles have, that isn't where copies are being sold.

Not going to argue with the rest of your post since what constitutes a good game is obviously subjective (I was just arguing that you can't say the Wii U doesn't have games when the PS4 and Xbone are just as guilty of it, at least for now).

BUT, at least in Europe (taking out the UK cause....well, even in gaming tastes they like being the odd one out), PC has been bigger than consoles since....forever. But the market is so fragmented that it's impossible to track sales.

[darsparx]

I still think the big thing is most people are expecting so much out of the consoles so early. Sure a lot of stuff is cross-gen and platform right now but give it a year or two(since that seems to be the pattern anyways) and we'll start seeing the heavy hitters that wow everybody. Plus I guess it's just because I grew up playing on consoles that even hooking up a controller just doesn't appeal(though everyone is just wanting to tell me sometimes that I go play pc instead in real life sometimes or on other things I've been on). Ah well maybe one day these consoles will really pick up and the whole idea of console wars won't be as big of a argument. Though honestly there's plenty of games but it stinks that they are cross-gen but it doesn't really surprise me knowing how some devs don't want to lose the people who don't want to be so quick jump ship to the new console and sell their old stuff...

[Xeogred]

One of the big reasons people aren't getting excited about the Wii U is because even though it has an increasing amount of exclusives, most of its AAA titles aren't showing off graphics or in-game experiences that haven't been had previously on the PS3/360. I mean, this partially explains its sagging sales, right? Sure, HD Mario Kart 8 looks nicer than the SD Mario Kart Wii, but it doesn't look leaps and bounds better than Sonic's All-Star Racer, which came out four years ago or Wipeout HD, which came out six years ago.