Wii-U thoughts so far

[CavZee]

There are also the other big releases that are multiplatform like Assassin's Creed IV and Splinter cell Blacklist in August, Watch Dogs in November, Rayman Legends in September, and Batman Arkham Origins in October

Yeah, but as usual, Nintendo won't be the place you buy multiplat titles. At least I won't be.

For the most part yeah. I do plan on getting Batman and Watch Dogs on Wii U considering they should be better versions than the PS360 versions, in theory anyway. Whether they are well made ports or not is yet to be determined.

[noiseredux]

My concern is that there is nothing really "ground breaking" about the latest batch of consoles. They are just expensive upgraded versions of existing machines. I am not sure that the general public will have an appetite for these until the prices come down, and I honestly think that most people would rather spend their money on a new cell phone or iPad.

This is really my thought.

When PS3 came out, I thought it was the coolest piece of machinery ever. But it was $600. I clearly remember buying new releases for my PS2 as late as Dec 2008.

Now think of this - the jump from PS2 to PS3 was staggering. The jump from PS3 to PS4 just doesn't seem so well defined to me. I'm not convinced why it is I *need* a newer/more powerful machine. Instead, I feel like PS3 (and 360) could last in the marketplace another 5 years or so if Sony & MS wanted to support them that long.

And I sort of wonder if that's the plan? I mean, Sony was certainly happy to continue selling $99 PS2's for many years, and kept their Great Hits titles on shelves at Best Buy and the like at $15 or whatever even as the PS3 built up momentum. With MS having announced a cheaper 360 model in the near future (and Sony having put out their latest revision of PS3 not that long ago) I just kind of think that maybe 'last gen' and 'next gen' aren't so obvious at this point. Perhaps we'll see a lot of late adopters to PS3/360 thanks to price drops and a huge selection of cheaper games to choose from. And perhaps we'll even see some of the best PS3/360 games still ahead of us seeing as how the developers won't be learning the architecture of a new console, but rather working comfortably with hardware they've familiarized themselves with in the past half-decade.

tl;dr: I don't know that console gaming is on the way out, but I also don't think that everyone is really convinced that we need a new generation of consoles yet.

[prfsnl_gmr]

Now think of this - the jump from PS1 to PS2 was staggering. The jump from PS2 to PS4 just doesn't seem so well defined to me.

FTFY

And I sort of wonder if that's the plan? I mean, Sony was certainly happy to continue selling $99 PS2's for many years, and kept their Great Hits titles on shelves at Best Buy and the like at $15 or whatever even as the PS3 built up momentum.

I think this strategy worked for Sony, but Nintendo has taken the opposite approach. To my knowledge, no one is working on new Wii games, and Nintendo has really tied itself to the WiiU's mast.

With MS having announced a cheaper 360 model in the near future (and Sony having put out their latest revision of PS3 not that long ago) I just kind of think that maybe 'last gen' and 'next gen' aren't so obvious at this point. Perhaps we'll see a lot of late adopters to PS3/360 thanks to price drops and a huge selection of cheaper games to choose from.

I am one of those people. I can't wait to pick up a PS3 - and all of those sweet, sweet cheap games - after the PS4 is released.

I also don't think that everyone is really convinced that we need a new generation of consoles yet.

We need it only so that I can finally start raking in cheap PS3 games!

[BogusMeatFactory]

tl;dr: I don't know that console gaming is on the way out, but I also don't think that everyone is really convinced that we need a new generation of consoles yet.

This is a very interesting point. I remember when the PS3/Xbox360/Wii came out, the companies were saying that their system would have an incredibly long lifespan before moving into the new generation of about 6-8 years. People thought that insane and lo and behold, 8 years later, people are pretty happy with their systems and not that excited for the next generation. I really think that we don't need a new generation yet. It could have waited another 2 years roughly.

[CavZee]

My concern is that there is nothing really "ground breaking" about the latest batch of consoles. They are just expensive upgraded versions of existing machines. I am not sure that the general public will have an appetite for these until the prices come down, and I honestly think that most people would rather spend their money on a new cell phone or iPad.

This is really my thought.

When PS3 came out, I thought it was the coolest piece of machinery ever. But it was $600. I clearly remember buying new releases for my PS2 as late as Dec 2008.

Now think of this - the jump from PS2 to PS3 was staggering. The jump from PS3 to PS4 just doesn't seem so well defined to me. I'm not convinced why it is I *need* a newer/more powerful machine. Instead, I feel like PS3 (and 360) could last in the marketplace another 5 years or so if Sony & MS wanted to support them that long.

And I sort of wonder if that's the plan? I mean, Sony was certainly happy to continue selling $99 PS2's for many years, and kept their Great Hits titles on shelves at Best Buy and the like at $15 or whatever even as the PS3 built up momentum. With MS having announced a cheaper 360 model in the near future (and Sony having put out their latest revision of PS3 not that long ago) I just kind of think that maybe 'last gen' and 'next gen' aren't so obvious at this point. Perhaps we'll see a lot of late adopters to PS3/360 thanks to price drops and a huge selection of cheaper games to choose from. And perhaps we'll even see some of the best PS3/360 games still ahead of us seeing as how the developers won't be learning the architecture of a new console, but rather working comfortably with hardware they've familiarized themselves with in the past half-decade.

tl;dr: I don't know that console gaming is on the way out, but I also don't think that everyone is really convinced that we need a new generation of consoles yet.

If you even look at some the "hardcore" gaming forums they're basically creaming themselves over them and are ready to trade in everything they have to get one. @_@

Whereas the people I know from work asked me what the big difference was going to be. I said "better graphics, games will probably all run natively 1080p, probably even 60FPS". Alot of them didn't even know that most PS360 games render at 720p or lower. They all said they'd get one when there was a lot of games they wanted for it.

[dsheinem]

tl;dr: I don't know that console gaming is on the way out, but I also don't think that everyone is really convinced that we need a new generation of consoles yet.

This is a very interesting point. I remember when the PS3/Xbox360/Wii came out, the companies were saying that their system would have an incredibly long lifespan before moving into the new generation of about 6-8 years. People thought that insane and lo and behold, 8 years later, people are pretty happy with their systems and not that excited for the next generation. I really think that we don't need a new generation yet. It could have waited another 2 years roughly.

Of course not everyone is convinced they need new consoles, but Sony and MS think that enough are convinced and ready that their new ones will sell as well if not better than those in previous launches. Again, the Amazon preorder sales are through the roof, GameStop stopped taking PS4 preorders, etc. For consoles that are still 5 months away!

[Violent By Design]

I think the Wii def needed to upgrade, I couldn't see them lasting another 2 years.

[wclem]

I think the thing that is gonna sell it is:
500 for Xbox
400 for PS4
300 for WiiU

I just see the parents going for the least expensive system. You factor in already discounted games and I think the holiday is gonna be huge for them. Every parent with a child under 14 is gonna feel safe buying Mario for their kids. For the same price as a PS4 you can go home with a WiiU and probably 3-4 games. I think that may have been the reason the Wii did so well, the price was right. I think that is why the Wii was still selling this last Christmas, it underpriced the WiiU LOL. I really believe this holiday is gonna be won by the WiiU, not that it is better or any other reason like that. It is Nintendo, and cheapest.

Hell I would buy a WiiU long before a 500 dollar Xbox, LOL, actually I did. Dont get me wrong, I have not turned it on in months, and when I did it was to play Xenoblade LOL.

I think the age of parents buying consoles strictly "for the kids" is ending. I think parents want to game too, and they want a console that will offer games for both them and their kids.

How about a wager?

If the PS4 or Xbox One sells better than the Wii U from Oct-Dec of this year, you buy me a Wii U Pro and a game of my choice in January. If the Wii U sells better, I'll buy you a PS4 in January!

How about 5 bucks LOL

[noiseredux]

Now think of this - the jump from PS1 to PS2 was staggering. The jump from PS2 to PS4 just doesn't seem so well defined to me.

FTFY

I think my main idea here was HDTV's. I mean, we kind of "needed" new consoles because we could now do HD. And by "we could now do HD" I just mean that HDTV's were now the norm in most living rooms as opposed to in the PS2 days. So with that in mind, the jump from PS2/component to PS3/HMDI was pretty major.

Of course not everyone is convinced they need new consoles, but Sony and MS think that enough are convinced and ready that their new ones will sell as well if not better than those in previous launches. Again, the Amazon preorder sales are through the roof, GameStop stopped taking PS4 preorders, etc. For consoles that are still 5 months away!

Well yes, I'd certainly hope these companies were risking console launches on sort of hunch that they might succeed.

I am also impressed at the number of preorders they've gotten - and genuinely didn't expect to see that. We'll see what happens in five months though. As you pointed out recently, you preordered but weren't certain you weren't going to cancel before launch. Remember?

At any rate, I was just saying that just because Sony/MS feel "it's time" that maybe part of their strategy is to also rely on large install-bases of current consoles for a while as well. They don't seem as ready to put all eggs in one basket as Ninty does.

I think the Wii def needed to upgrade, I couldn't see them lasting another 2 years.

Of course it's long been Ninty's strategy to use older/cheaper hardware. I mean the Wii didn't even output HDMI and really, many games looked like they could have been done on PS2 or Xbox, don't you think? I haven't played a Wii U myself yet. I remember folks saying beforehand that the Wii U will pretty much just catch up Nintendo with what the 360/PS3 can do (graphically, I assume?). Is that about right, or...?

[Stark]

I remember folks saying beforehand that the Wii U will pretty much just catch up Nintendo with what the 360/PS3 can do (graphically, I assume?). Is that about right, or...?

Well the WiiU is more powerful than the 360/PS3 supposedly, but it doesn't really matter when your main attracting games don't use the power of a console. I've been playing a lot of New Super Mario Bros. Wii U (God, I can't believe that is actually the name, blegh) and yes, it could easily be done on a 360/PS3. It just hard not to be like "Hey, look Mario is finally in HD! Yay!"