Four months have passed since the launch of Nintendo’s Wii U on Nov. 12, 2012, and things have
remained quiet since then.
The launch titles weren’t bad. A new Nintendo Wii U owner had the opportunity to grab Assassins Creed
III, Super Mario Bros Wii U and a revamped version of the critically acclaimed Batman: Arkham City,
called Arkham City Armored Edition.
Since then, there has yet to be a mind blowing gaming experience that appeals to hardcore gamers and
perfectly combines gameplay with the Wii U’s game pad.
That said, some say the Wii U is headed for the stars, however, with the highly anticipated PS4 and
Xbox 720 around the corner, is it worth jumping in now and going with the company that won the last
generation in sales?
As respectable of a feat as that was for Nintendo, I don’t think they’ll be repeating it.
First, if we know anything about last generation, we know that the PS3 and Xbox 360 were for the
serious gamers and the Wii was more family and party oriented. Six out of the top ten games on the
Wii’s best-selling games list involved motion and no franchise favorites other than Mario.
Now, Nintendo has abandoned motion and introduced a new game pad intended to enter Nintendo into
the hardcore gaming arena with Sony and Microsoft.
On the flip side, Sony and Microsoft still currently have consoles out that can compete with Wii U out
of the box. The Wii U’s deluxe package only comes with 32GB of onboard memory. That’s just outright
ridiculous when Sony offers up a console $150 cheaper with 250GB of memory.
The Wii U’s online system is also not as tried and true as the other two, especially not Xbox Live. Xbox
Live (at a cost) offers the most complete online platform for players to socially experience what their
consoles can offer them.
Nintendo is nowhere near that. They’re still counting the dead and wounded after opting to go with a
friend code system in generation 7.
From what we know right now about the PS4 and the rumors about the “720,” from almost every
statistical category used in comparing consoles, the two giants will have the advantage. Online
connectivity, graphics engines and media capabilities will all be more advanced and more enjoyable on a
Sony or Microsoft product.
The Wii U will probably have almost all of the games that the PS4 and “720” will have, but when
playing one of the latter two, you know that you will have the most detailed, rich and seamless gaming
experience available on the market next to a gaming PC.
The Wii’s prior success is the unfortunate downfall of the Wii U. Motion gaming was a phenomenon
when first being released in 2006. Nintendo didn’t really have a calling card this time around.
They knew they would have to start appealing to more hardcore gamers to have any future success and
so far, without next generation systems actually being available from Sony or Microsoft, Nintendo is not
setting the benchmark it had hoped to have.
Thomas Kaufman can be reached by email at kaufman.record@live.com.