Wii U - 11/18 @ $300/350

[Danimal]

Wii U basic is now 240 dollars at Target.

http://www.gamespot.com/news/wii-u-basi ... et-6408630

Still a lot of money to play Mario games and not much else.

The future titles for the Wi U are not plentiful.

[Aristo]

Wii U basic is now 240 dollars at Target.

http://www.gamespot.com/news/wii-u-basi ... et-6408630

Still a lot of money to play Mario games and not much else.

The future titles for the Wi U are not plentiful.

EA dropping support is a real killer. Probably won't be as drastic as it was for Sega, though. Zelda, Metroid, Harvest Moon, and Mario will still move units. But they need to get them out.

[Naples39]

I thought this was pretty funny;

"The Wii U is crap. Less powerful than an Xbox 360. Poor online/store. Weird tablet," tweeted Bob Summerwill, listed as a senior software engineer at EA Canada, in a reply to a tweet posting a link about EA's no-Wii U news. "Nintendo are walking dead at this point."

[Spooky]

So - honest question:

Does anyone on here own a Wii U, and, if so, has there been an actual big name game/A List title released for it this year?

I have not been paying attention at all to this console but was on Metacritic yesterday and ended up looking at Wii U titles. I was SHOCKED at the lack of blockbuster first party titles so far. And even lack of any interesting 3rd party games too. I had just incorrectly assumed that some big, important games had come out so far this year since the console didn't have anything big at launch. Am I missing something?

Does anyone with a Wii U feel as surprised and disappointed as I would imagine?

[Inuyasha]

My kids still play it and love it. I don't play it much and really haven't looked for what's coming out next, but it feels like nintendo isn't even trying to support it much. Maybe that will change in the fall when the new systems come out.

[sportdan30]

Picked up the Pro controller earlier today to see how it would work with Mario 3D World. Sublime. What a difference it makes for the overall enjoyment of the game. I like it quite a bit better than using the wiimote with nun chuck or the gamepad, although the gamepad is pretty comfortable. It gets an astounding 80 hours of battery life on a single charge! It feels very similar to the 360 controller, albeit perhaps a little smaller. Overall, nice design, layout, and comfortable.

[sportdan30]

With the PS4 and XBONE being such similar experiences in regard to the games I would play on either one, the Wii-U seems like the logical change of pace console. Especially now that my 7 year old daughter has shown interest in some console gaming. Up to now the phones and tablet have done the trick for her.

Exactly the reason why I couldn't warrant having both the PS4 and Xbox One at the intitial time, as much as I enjoy the Forza series. A year or two down the road, and I'm sure that'll change, but there's just not enough games that interest me enough.

Thus far, the kids excitement for the Wii U versus the PS4 has been pretty significant. Ninendo Land provided probably the most fun multi-player experience that we have had in a long long time. I'm probably going to cave and buy the tennis game for $10 as my son enjoys playing against online opponents. Haven't decided on golf myself because I really do suck at it! With Mario 3D World, we were able to plod along fairly well to complete a couple course clears. With the Wii U being backwards compatible, it makes picking up games like Kirby on the Wii inexpensive and entertaining for a daughter who's not real agile on the controls.

[wco81]

Kids might like Knack. Bad reviews but some people on forums liked it nevertheless.

I think the people who made it did Rachet and Clank or Jakster, one of those platform games.

[Inuyasha]

WII U is a terrific system. Now with more games coming out, you're starting to see it's potential. The Mario 3D game and Zelda game are better than anything out there on the other systems right now. Those games just scream quality. If you have kids who game, WII U is a no brainer. I love the unadvertised 'babysitter' feature of the system as well

[Zeppo]

Kids might like Knack. Bad reviews but some people on forums liked it nevertheless.

I think the people who made it did Rachet and Clank or Jakster, one of those platform games.

Uhm, no:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SCE_Japan_Studio

The company that made the the Ratchet and Clank games is Insomniac, and they also made the Resistance games for PS3 and have since contracted with MicroSoft to make exclusive games for the Xbone; their first will be Sunset Overdrive. The company that made the Jack and Daxter games is called Naughty Dog and they also made the famous Uncharted series as well as the recent (best game of all time ), The Last of Us.

Neither is Japanese nor has anything to do with Knack.

[sportdan30]

Knack got pretty mediocre reviews by the critics, but those common folk who have played it have enjoyed it quite a bit. It's on my Gamefly rental list.

Looking forward to us trying Pikmin 3 and Lego City Undercover. Wonderful 101 looks interesting, but not sure if it's my kind of game. Donkey Kong Tropical
Freeze is a no brainer purchase.

I'm certainly not saying the Wii U could be substituted as a primary console. Far from it, but it's really an excellent secondary one. There are literally tons of
virtual console games I want to play, and simply don't have time. If the Wii U can put 6-10 quality games a year that interest me, and even more for my kids, then it'll have
been a nice investment.

My kids are attracted to the friendly online community. When my son plays tennis online for example, he or his opponent can send a comment via the d-pad, like "Nice",
"That was close", etc. Plus there are an enormous amount of people walking about Nintendoland with various comments and signs. I'm just happy to see them be
able to connect with a console, something I was hoping would happen with the PS4 and has not thus far.

[wco81]

Mark Cerny had some kind of involvement with Knack, as well as with the Jakster and Ratchet and Clank games:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mark_Cerny

Maybe he wasn't the primary designer though.

[pigpen81]

I love our Wiiu.

It is a wonderful family system, my 5 and 7 year old boys love it.

Lego City Undercover is my game of the year (best family game I have ever played)

The Zelda W.W. HD remake is sublime....my boys love watching me sail the sea looking for treasure.

When our TV is being used I can use the Gamepad to play "my" games like Batman AC, Mass Effect 3 and Assassins Creed 3, all of which I bought for sub $15 on Amazon.

There are many games I want to play but will wait until more of a price drop such as Wonderful 101, Super Mario World 3D, Pikmin 3, and Assassin Creed Black Flag, New Super Mario/Luigi WiiU

Mario Kart 8 will be HUGE at my house as well when it comes out next year.

My boys are boys are getting Skylanders Swap Force and Disney Infinity (Thanks to an Amazon BF sale) and I am getting Rayman Legends (same sale) for Xmas.....can't wait.

If anyone is looking for a 2nd system and likes Nintendo games, it is a no brainer.

[sportdan30]

I love our Wiiu.

It is a wonderful family system, my 5 and 7 year old boys love it.

Lego City Undercover is my game of the year (best family game I have ever played)

The Zelda W.W. HD remake is sublime....my boys love watching me sail the sea looking for treasure.

When our TV is being used I can use the Gamepad to play "my" games like Batman AC, Mass Effect 3 and Assassins Creed 3, all of which I bought for sub $15 on Amazon.

There are many games I want to play but will wait until more of a price drop such as Wonderful 101, Super Mario World 3D, Pikmin 3, and Assassin Creed Black Flag, New Super Mario/Luigi WiiU

Mario Kart 8 will be HUGE at my house as well when it comes out next year.

My boys are boys are getting Skylanders Swap Force and Disney Infinity (Thanks to an Amazon BF sale) and I am getting Rayman Legends (same sale) for Xmas.....can't wait.

If anyone is looking for a 2nd system and likes Nintendo games, it is a no brainer.

Going to probably pick up Zelda Wind Waker soon. Definitely want to check out Lego City Undercover.

Had some little cousins over earlier this afternoon, and they were able to jump in to Mario 3D World with no problem, and work together to clear some levels. They had a blast.

Can't wait for Mario Kart 8. That is going to be crazy fun.

Can't praise the Wii U enough. As you said, it's a great family system, one that my youngest feels very comfortable playing.

[Wilk5280]

The force is pulling me toward picking one up. It's 100% backward compatible with the Wii and accessories, correct?

Mario 3D and Zelda WW HD are the big draws for me. But, I must be able to continue playing TW'12 Wii on it and move all my DL'd games (old school Zelda, Mario, etc) to the U. If all that's good to go I'll probably pull the trigger soon.

[ScoopBrady]

ZombiiU is a very cool game.

[sportdan30]

The force is pulling me toward picking one up. It's 100% backward compatible with the Wii and accessories, correct?

Mario 3D and Zelda WW HD are the big draws for me. But, I must be able to continue playing TW'12 Wii on it and move all my DL'd games (old school Zelda, Mario, etc) to the U. If all that's good to go I'll probably pull the trigger soon.

That's correct. Everything is 100% compatible. So, definitely hang on to those Wiimotes and accessories. I will say that the Pro controller is really great with Mario 3D World. I believe it's compatible with Zelda WW HD, but you may want to confirm that.

If you do pick up the Wii U, try out the golf game in Wii Sports Club. It looks great and must play pretty realistically, because I'm awful at it!

Also, remember about the Best Buy deal going on until the 28th I believe. An additional free game and a $25 dollar gift card. Then again, it's only for the Mario/Luigi bundle if I'm not mistaken.

[sportdan30]

ZombiiU is a very cool game.

Zombi U can be had for free with a new Mario/Luigi bundle.

[Spooky]

Ended up getting the Wii U Mario/Luigi bundle with the free ZombiU game. Very glad I did. What a neat console and the Mario games are just top notch. Mario 3D World is brilliant.

I think the "off TV" gaming on the gamepad may be my favorite aspect of the system. It just works so well.

I do have a question for the other Wii U owners here though - Obviously the screen on the gamepad is not the highest quality (but still surprisingly good), but I am kind of surprised to see such low color saturation and too warm colors on it, especially when compared to my TV screen. Curious to see if others have the noticed this as well. It's not a deal breaker but kind of a bummer as the experience is just so awesome and the washed out, yellowish colors are a bit of a distraction. I tried searching the interwebs and see others mentioning this as well but then read some other posts where people seem to have a cooler screen with better saturation (?).

On my gamepad reds have a lot of brown in them, greens have a lot of yellow, and blues/purples are very under-saturated. It is probably just the nature of the technology and my expectations should be different, but since I have no other gamepad around to compare I just wanted to make sure mine wasn't defective in some way.

[wco81]

There are rumors that Nintendo is already looking at successor systems to replace the WiiU and the 3DS, possibly using the same architecture.

[Bakes]

I've never really noticed the washed out colors on the gamepad but don't know that I've looked that closely. I'll have to check later. I did come across this thread over at avsforum on the issue. Here is the link. I couldn't understand 90% of what they were talking about but maybe it will give you some insight. One small thing that maybe will help that was in that thread -

"The Wii U gamepad display setting have brightness and power saving settings. Power Save Set to On is distinctly a different color than with it off."

thread - http://www.avsforum.com/t/1448355/wii-u ... -u-gamepad

[Spooky]

I've never really noticed the washed out colors on the gamepad but don't know that I've looked that closely. I'll have to check later. I did come across this thread over at avsforum on the issue. Here is the link. I couldn't understand 90% of what they were talking about but maybe it will give you some insight. One small thing that maybe will help that was in that thread -

"The Wii U gamepad display setting have brightness and power saving settings. Power Save Set to On is distinctly a different color than with it off."

thread - http://www.avsforum.com/t/1448355/wii-u ... -u-gamepad

Thanks Bakes. I've combed through that thread already as well as a few others. I think that's why I am a tad undecided since some folks seem to have a similar issue and others do not. Odd.

[pigpen81]

No issues with washed out colors on mine.

I love playing games on the gamepad.

My boys are having a blast playing Skylanders Swap Force....1st game where they dont need any help and the gamepad only play is beyond sweet as I can watch bowl games while they play

Rayman Legends is incredible as well.

Off to play Black Flag on the gamepad

[pigpen81]

Check out what the Wiiu is getting Q4 this year? (Xbone and PS4 also)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E6PuGRF ... tion=share

[grtwhtsk]

I got the kids a Wii U for Christmas, and they love it. Super Mario 3D World is a blast to play.