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Wii U: what a difference a single game can make

M

marc^o^

Nintendo's Pro Bono PR Firm
In the midst of PS4 and XBox One launches, one could think Wii U would be completely forgotten by the medias.
But the opposite occurred. This days alone I saw 4 articles heavily praising the system. If you've been following Wii U media coverage this year, that is an anomaly.

What this tells us is that you can forget Pikmin, TW101 or Zelda TWW. Nothing comes close to the power of Mario from EAD Tokyo to make a system desirable.

Wii U positive media coverage? It's happening!
Gizmodo: Why I'm getting a Wii U

5 Reasons You Should Buy The Wii U Over The PS4 Or Xbox One This Holiday

CNET: Xbox or PS4? Maybe that's the wrong question

TechnoBuffalo says it best: Wii U is this holiday hidden gem

Forget the launch lineup, forget the mixed messages, forget the initial price point and forget the early marketing efforts. The Wii U that piddled out of the gates in November of 2012 was a very different system than the one we’re looking at today.
Click to expand...
[...]
In all this pre and post launch coverage of Sony and Microsoft’s newest efforts, the Wii U sits quietly, waiting for a fresh set of owners and a chance to shine.

Here’s the thing: in terms of quality, value and sheer volume of good content, the Wii U is the brightest gem in the recent home console lineup.
Click to expand...
[...]
The best Wii U option today is the Wind Waker HD bundle, in my opinion. $299 will get you a Deluxe Wii U, a digital copy of Wind Waker HD and a unique GamePad.

That leaves plenty of dough to pick up additional games. Round out your collection with Super Mario 3D World and Pikmin 3, and you have a stellar starting library for $420, if you pay full price on both of those games.

$420 won’t even get you a PlayStation 4 and a retail game this holiday. It’s not even enough to buy the Xbox One by itself. For current home consoles, $420 is best spent on the Wii U this fall, purely in terms of value.

Now, consider that the Wii U is the last home console with free online play, and you’ve got an extra card in its deck.
Click to expand...
[...]
Surely, this time next year the horizons for the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One will be far and away more crowded. These are new platforms, though, and new platforms almost always lack games.

This holiday, the one that caps off 2013, enjoys an obviously valuable purchase that’s going largely overlooked. The Wii U, in my mind, is the best current home console. That won’t excite or please a lot of you, but it’s where I stand.
Click to expand...

Wii U is at last getting some praise. Maybe it's too late, maybe not. And if not, Nintendo will have to thank Mario and EAD, again.
 
S

Stencil

Member
As a Nintendo diehard, I'm happy to see that it's gaining more coverage. I'll let the numbers speak for themselves, though...

Part of me almost wants Nintendo to continue receiving a wake-up call (read: poor sales) so it can shape the hell up with its internet infrastructure.
 
F

FZZ

Banned
I never understood why people thought the PS4 & Xbox One would erase the Wii U from history, all are next gen consoles if anything I always thought it would give it more exposure.

And I guess that is happening now.

Sales wise I'm not expecting much to be honest, but we'll see.
 
L

LevityNYC

Banned
Those articles keep mentioning "value" with the Wii U. Yes, its the cheapest, but is it the best bang for your buck?
 
D

Derrick01

Banned
FZZpure said:
I never understood why people thought the PS4 & Xbox One would erase the Wii U from history, all are next gen consoles if anything I always thought it would give it more exposure.

And I guess that is happening now.
Click to expand...

We'll see if that translates to enough sales to actually push Wii U over 100k for a month. I think it will for the holiday months but it's still going to get absolutely crushed by the other two.
 
O

OminoMichelin

Member
FZZpure said:
I never understood why people thought the PS4 & Xbox One would erase the Wii U from history, all are next gen consoles if anything I always thought it would give it more exposure.

And I guess that is happening now.

Sales wise I'm not expecting much to be honest, but we'll see.
Click to expand...

People think that at the start of every gen. Nintendo is ALWAYS doomed.
 
Sakura

Sakura

Member
Yea the Wii U is great right now. I spent last night playing WWHD, and I'm hoping to pick up SM3DW today. I just hope this all translates into a strong holiday for Nintendo.

LevityNYC said:
Those articles keep mentioning "value" with the Wii U. Yes, its the cheapest, but is it the best bang for your buck?
Click to expand...
If by bang you mean games, then yes.
 
Q

qizah

Unconfirmed Member
LevityNYC said:
Those articles keep mentioning "value" with the Wii U. Yes, its the cheapest, but is it the best bang for your buck?
Click to expand...

Right now considering game libraries I'd say so. Though a $399.99 PS4 is appealing to people who want to have one the day it's out, but I don't think the launch line up is particularly interesting.
 
D

Dreams-Visions

Member
LevityNYC said:
Those articles keep mentioning "value" with the Wii U. Yes, its the cheapest, but is it the best bang for your buck?
Click to expand...

Right now? Today? Yes, and by a pretty meaningful margin unless you need blu-ray playback.

If gaming is about the games, the WiiU is the best current nextGen system.
 
S

Sendou

Member
LevityNYC said:
Those articles keep mentioning "value" with the Wii U. Yes, its the cheapest, but is it the best bang for your buck?
Click to expand...

Personally I can say that it has outstanding value. Cheapest next-gen console with good amount of quality exclusive content I wouldn't want to have missed? That's a pretty good deal in my opinion.
 
D

dark10x

Digital Foundry pixel pusher
The situation seems to be very much in line with the last few Nintendo consoles. Third party support has all but dried up while Nintendo first party continues to deliver excellent games. People are also looking forward to the next Zelda, Smash, and Mario Kart games as always.

It's a nice little system, though, and worth owning for any fan of great games.
 
G

galvatron

Member
Dreams-Visions said:
Right now? Today? Yes, and by a pretty meaningful margin unless you need blu-ray playback.

If gaming is about the games, the WiiU is the best current nextGen system.
Click to expand...

Yuppers! Bought a WiiU earlier this week and today I bought Super Mario 3D World and W101.

Hoping it doesn't turn into Dreamcast 2
 
M

Mrbob

Member
I think Mario 3D World is the best exclusive this holiday by far, loving the game, but unless you only care about Nintendo games it is tough recommending a Wii U first. The console has a huge hole in proper 3rd party support.

Wii U is a good second console.
 
D

Dukey

Banned
Worked on me. And now instead of trying to pretend to like Killzone and Ryse, I'm playing Mario World, Windwaker HD, Pikmin, and NSMBU this holiday. I don't think there's much success in Wii U's future though. After using the UI of PS4, Xbox One, and Wii U, it's really obvious which one doesn't belong. If Nintendo put as much effort into their OS as they do their games, they'd be deadly competition.
 
stuminus3

stuminus3

Member
There's been a clear shift in the general vibe of Nintendo and Wii U-related discussions on NeoGAF recently, too.

It's just how it is. It's how it's always been.
 
P

PotionBleue

Member
Those websites often write everything and their opposite. i.e. “5 reasons why you should buy a Wii U” and then two weeks after “5 reasons why you should pick a PS4”. It doesn't show any kind of trend.
 
S

Sendou

Member
Dukey said:
Worked on me. And now instead of trying to pretend to like Killzone and Ryse, I'm playing Mario World, Windwaker HD, Pikmin, and NSMBU this holiday. I don't think there's much success in Wii U's future though. After using the UI of PS4, Xbox One, and Wii U, it's really obvious which one doesn't belong. If Nintendo put as much effort into their OS as they do their games, they'd be deadly competition.
Click to expand...

OS is the last thing that is wrong with Wii U. I know that you dislike it but even if it was the best thing known to humankind it wouldn't change anything. The console still wouldn't sell. Content matters and there still isn't enough. Especially in the pipeline. Nintendo needs to deliver on the promise of having stead flow of releases and marketing throughout 2014.
 
C

CrackPebbles

Member
Mario looks neat, but I bought the wii u for future titles like smash, bayo 2, X, smtxfe, I mean FUCK so far im looking forward to 3 announced games on ps4, but the wii u has me the most excited for the future. w101 is also one of my favorites of the year, up there with revengeance and awakening. hopefully new mario and mario kart can help a little with sales.
 
A

airmangataosenai

Member
MDSLKTR said:
Nice to dream but sales will tell another story.
Click to expand...

Yep. People are sick of the Mario of Duty franchise, it's not going to move many units in any region this holiday.

What Nintendo's done to this series should be criminal. What was once a series synonymous with fun is now just derivative simplistic pap content with giving you sterile unchallenging gameplay.
 
S

SummitAve

Banned
Picking one up after work today. I didn't have a wii either so there is some added value there with all the games I've missed.
 
R

Red Rudolph

Member
Games can most certainly sell hardware when your games are as top-notch as these are. Seriously, ALBW and SM3DW on the same day?

Nobody is cranking out software that is this much fun. Other games may be addictive, exciting, lengthier, or more macho, but Nintendo's software still has a magical formula that simply surpasses all the rest.

As someone's who's played it all, Nintendo's games are some of the only ones that still make me feel like I'm experiencing something truly fresh.
 
Z

Zophar

Member
I've been considering one more and more, and the new Mario does look really cool. There's also a ton of old Wii games I missed, I wouldn't be opposed to upgrading if money were less of an issue.

With the PS4/X1 likely to be hard to find this holiday, I do hope the console picks up some steam going into the new year.
 
L

LevityNYC

Banned
Sendou said:
Personally I can say that it has outstanding value. Cheapest next-gen console with good amount of quality exclusive content I wouldn't want to have missed? That's a pretty good deal in my opinion.
Click to expand...

I have a Wii U and love it, but isn't the biggest complaint from Gaf is that its overpriced?
 
AHA-Lambda

AHA-Lambda

Member
I've said it before but the WiiU can turn things around like the 3DS did it it has a strong first party line up, an appealing price and effective marketing.

The problem is that's easier said than done.
 
synce

synce

Member
I'm definitely interested in a WiiU more than ever, but it's got nothing to do with Mario. In fact fuck Mario. It's the fact that PS4/Xbone both require you to install every game and pay for online. Right now there's probably one series that can push me over the edge to get a WiiU and it's Fatal Frame
 
K

kittens

Unconfirmed Member
There's still plenty of reasons to be critical of Nintendo, but you can't deny the Wii U has an amazing line-up now.
 
W

WheelHoss1

Member
I've had one since launch. Though sometimes I wish for more horsepower, the Gamepad is truly a unique innovation. I can't imagine anyone regretting their purchase now that WWHD and SM3DW are out.
 
D

Darryl

Banned
LevityNYC said:
Those articles keep mentioning "value" with the Wii U. Yes, its the cheapest, but is it the best bang for your buck?
Click to expand...

It is a great value if you like local multiplayer especially. You can easily re-purpose old controllers, pick them up used, or even get them thrown in as pack-ins for games. Right now my Wii U is 5-player ready and it cost me a whole lot of $0 dollars. A PS4 or XB1 for 4 players would cost you an extra $180 bucks on top of that console price.
 
S

Sadist

Member
stuminus3 said:
There's been a clear shift in the general vibe of Nintendo and Wii U-related discussions on NeoGAF recently, too.

It's just how it is. It's how it's always been.
Click to expand...
Just your average Nintendo spiral

Oh god this fucking company >>> well that looks more fun than I anticipated >>> if the price is right I'll bite, those games are pretty sweet >>>> oh man I just had a blast with these new titles!

Afterwards the cycle begins anew.
 
D

Dukey

Banned
Sendou said:
OS is the last thing that is wrong with Wii U. I know that you dislike it but even if it was the best thing known to humankind it wouldn't change anything. The console still wouldn't sell. Content matters and there still isn't enough. Especially in the pipeline. Nintendo needs to deliver on the promise of having stead flow of releases and marketing throughout 2014.
Click to expand...

The entire OS/App experience matters to more than just me. At least I think so. Nintendo's biggest problem with the Wii U is that third parties don't give a crap about it, and like you said Nintendo doesn't have enough stuff announced yet to instill confidence in a lot of gamers that the console will be worth it. Next year is what? Another DK game, another Mario Kart, and another Smash? Where's the new stuff? Mario 3D World was enough to rope me in (along with Pikmin and Zelda), but it wouldn't have been if PS4 had competent launch titles.
 
S

Stencil

Member
Sendou said:
OS is the last thing that is wrong with Wii U. I know that you dislike it but even if it was the best thing known to humankind it wouldn't change anything. The console still wouldn't sell. Content matters and there still isn't enough. Especially in the pipeline. Nintendo needs to deliver on the promise of having stead flow of releases and marketing throughout 2014.
Click to expand...

He does have a good point, however, one I've never put much thought into. I hate the UI of the Wii (not U, haven't tried it) and the 3DS simply for their lack of remarkability. The PS3 however has a very pleasing UI, one that is streamlined very well.

You simply cannot say that if the Wii U had a UI that was developed as well as Nintendo's first party games, or its competitors UIs, that it would not help Nintendo stay relevent.
 
T

The Abominable Snowman

Member
I don't think it'll make a difference, but I'll enjoy what comes to it nonetheless.

Nintendo needs some 2014 announced. Stat.

PS4 has an awesome tentative 2014 lineup announced and Nintendos still banking off of Mario Kart and Donkey Kong so far. Shit sucks. Makes you feel like you own a console with a dim future.
 
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