Wii U sucks

[goddamnit names are a pain]

If you think about it, not many of Nintendo's franchises can really sell the system to non-Nintendo loyalists outside of SSB and Kart.

Metroid & F-ZERO are well liked and well thought of, but they don't sell. Whoa whoa whoa I wouldn't put those two in the same boat.....but really I kind of agree because Other M screwed up so godang badly. I want another Trilogy to get the series back on its feet.
Earthbound & Mother are basically unknown to the general masses, and certainly aren't system sellers except for a niche audience. What is Earthbound? XD I've barely heard of it, you are right. 
Mario is great and all, but we've had way too many Mario games in the past few years.
Zelda is great and all, but they'll need a rethought showing on the level of Link Between Worlds and maybe something more. Though many gamers basically hold the same thoughts for Zelda as they do for Mario: they're the same game everytime and nothing new. Zelda is something different than Mario, to me. More game time, better art, more appealing, and overall actually different every time, with core concepts staying consistent.

Kirby & Yoshi are kids-oriented at this point, with the latter just having come out with a subpar release. I don't like these so...
Fire Emblem and Animal Crossing have had much better showings on handhelds. Fair enough.
Nintendo just refuses to put a full-fledged Pokémon game on a home console, even though that would probably sell everything they have.
I can't even imagine what they would do to try to modernize Star Fox. There's not that much room for improvement past what they did originally.
Kid Icarus is something they could try out on consoles. It'd be intersting to see if it sells. I would buy it if it was like Uprising and full of comedy

Really, I think they need something big. I mean something that's scale, ambition, and aesthetics just make people say "wow"

 

Halo Party God of War Duty 7- Gotta Shoot em All

I dunno.

Or they could release new games in every franchise I've spoken of so far and sell systems for ALL of the different niche audiences.

People hold that thought, but it's blatantly false.  If anything, Link Between Worlds was a return to form. 

 

I actually agree with this. It had some new gimmick but was largely GBA/SNES/etc Zelda but cooler.

[Agro]

"Branding" assumes the problem is perception, though. The system still is lacking in games at the present moment, with only a few known ones to be coming this year, and is most definitely not as powerful as the other two systems on the market, which alongside an already low install base is killing its chances with third parties. Think Arkham Knight.

It's not like the negative stigma isn't somewhat warranted for that.

@TGM: I would in no way want a God of War, Call of Duty or Halo on the Wii U. I was thinking something more along the lines of Far Cry 3 or Skyrim.

[LordCowCowCowCowCowCowCowCow]

I don't know why I keep clicking on this topic.... Anyway.

Agro, all of that was beautiful, thank you from the bottom of my heart.

My opinion on the Wii U now.

Don't have one yet really, because I haven't gotten one yet. I adore my 3DS and think there are plenty of games for that which will keep me busy for a long time. But I do want to get a Wii U eventually, partially depending on what happens with the SMT X Fire Emblem Crossover.

[goddamnit names are a pain]

@TGM: I would in no way want a God of War, Call of Duty or Halo on the Wii U. I was thinking something more along the lines of Far Cry 3 or Skyrim.

But you see I made it fun by making it a Party game full of annoying gimmicks and dice rolls because that's apparently loved by Nintendo fans

Freaking 9+ Mario parties....ugh

 

Anyway something like Skyrim might be nice, yeah. FPS sound awful on the Wii U =P

 

Halo Party God of War Duty 7- Gotta Shoot em All

It's a Halo Party God...of War Duty....with a Pokemon catchphrase blended in

laugh dang you

[Agro]

I think Mario Party would be amazing from a critical perspective if the minigames just weren't all luck based.

The luck aspect outside the games is fine tho because it's like a board game and I like that. Will be cool to see what they do on the Wii U gamepad

[Tentacruel]

Lack of third parties isn't really doing anything.

 

I'm a PS3 gamer, Far Cry 4 comes out, but it's only on next gen consoles.  Do I buy a PS4 or a Wii U for it?  I buy a PS4. 

 

The problem is definitely perception.  And if the solution is for the Wii U to become exactly like the PS4 and Xbox One.  What is the point?  At that point Nintendo would be better off packing it up and leaving the industry entirely.  

 

And Mario Party would be amazing if the minigames weren't complete ass.  They were good on the N64 and after that they devolved into mashing one button over and over. 

[Agro]

Lack of third parties isn't really doing anything.
 
I'm a PS3 gamer, Far Cry 4 comes out, but it's only on next gen consoles.  Do I buy a PS4 or a Wii U for it?  I buy a PS4. 
 
The problem is definitely perception.  And if the solution is for the Wii U to become exactly like the PS4 and Xbox One.  What is the point?  At that point Nintendo would be better off packing it up and leaving the industry entirely.

Stop assuming that if the console were to be competitive in its processing power and console library, that it would be the same as the PS4 and Xbox One. That's not what it means at all.

And the point of having the 3rd party games on the console is because a whole lot of people aren't going to be priviliged enough to afford two consoles. If they can get all the games they want from 3rd parties on the cheaper console, even if it's not as powerful, they will.

[Tentacruel]

You're contradicting yourself.  You say people don't care if it's not as powerful as long as it has the same games, but it should still be more powerful.  If it were more powerful, it would cost more money.  The GamePad, while functionally sound, was a bad idea in hindsight, but it's too late to change that now.  
 
Specs has little to do with whether company will or won't port the game.  They'd put most games on a potato if it had a large enough install base.  Hell, a lot of modern AAA games get iOS ports.  The reason the Wii U isn't getting ports is because is 
 
1) No one owns a Wii U.
2) Those that do aren't going to buy CoD or Skyrim on it.  
 
CoD Blops II was actually a solid port, and looked just as good if not better than the other versions.  No one bought it of course.

[.:Blu:.]

1) No one owns a Wii U.

The hyperbole is strong with this one...

2) Those that do aren't going to buy CoD or Skyrim on it.

Did you just contradict yourself? I know you meant the previous statement as a joke but, come on, just state your point. I do agree, however, that the majority of Wii U owners aren't interested in purchasing third-party games. I own a Wii U and my library is all first-party/exclusive games. When it comes to having extra power, I don't really think its necessary for Nintendo as their games aren't aiming for realistic graphics as opposed to unique art styles, which is perfectly fine. However, having more power would definitely benefit because third-party developers could more easily port games over without utilizing the additional manpower to reduce graphics and such.

CoD Blops II was actually a solid port, and looked just as good if not better than the other versions.  No one bought it of course.

Yep, and that's because the Wii U is - and let's face facts here Nintendo advocates - marketed towards younger audiences (I mean children in this case).

[Agro]

It's not a contradiction to say that it doesn't need to be exactly as powerful as the PS4 while still being powerful enough not to lose out on something like, say, Arkham Knight.

Power and install base are both affecting 3rd parties. Actually, now that I think about it, the worst problem they may be facing is simply programming for the Wii U seeing as Nintendo products have never really been all that intuitive to program for by 3rd parties– something they've been aggressively trying to right with stuff like the Unity framework, etc.

Not to mention $300 is just a weird spot for the Wii U to be sitting right now. It's price point is high enough that everyone is comparing it to the PS4 and One, and it's not really low enough to not justify spending $100 more to get more games on a console that arguably does everything that isn't games better. Most people tend to judge a product's value based on the amount of time they're going to spend using it. If the pricier systems are going to be offering more games– which to most, also means more time spent on the system– they're probably going to see the extra $100 as more of a value.

It might help a lot if the Wii U were like $250– where the original Wii was upon its release, I feel it'd help a lot. That's about competitive price-wise with the PS3 and 360, while offering a more powerful system that will continue to be supported past the last gen systems.

Yep, and that's because the Wii U is - and let's face facts here Nintendo advocates - marketed towards younger audiences (I mean children in this case).

But only children play Call of Duty anymore... *badumtish*

[Tentacruel]

I guess I agree with you there.  They, at the very least should have gone with a standard architecture like Sony and Microsoft.

 

Of course they didn't know Sony was going to do that, but still.  PowerPC is clearly on the way out.  

 

I feel like 300 is a reasonable price for the system, but it is indeed in an awkward place.  Hopefully they can reduce production cost enough to sell it for that. 

[.:Blu:.]

But only children play Call of Duty anymore... *badumtish*

Yes, "children"...

It might help a lot if the Wii U were like $250– where the original Wii was upon its release, I feel it'd help a lot. That's about competitive price-wise with the PS3 and 360, while offering a more powerful system that will continue to be supported past the last gen systems.

$250 is fair but, at this point, they need $200 to sell.

[Agro]

Or they could just take out the gamepad. I'd hate to see it go considering I own one and that would probably mean less games making use of it, but it could also drop the price down to maybe even $200. Also, it would make it absolutely boring.

Really, I'm just hoping they roll out the games at E3 this year, get some interesting uses in for the game pad, like maybe a Fire Emblem MOBA or something. Redesign the console to make it stand out more and the gamepad to make it less bulky, maybe more ergonomic. Better battery life and wireless power couldn't hurt either. That gamepad would be so much cooler if you could still play your games from a few rooms over.

Also, it'd be cool if they revamped their online connection stuff so I wouldn't have to friend code anymore...

And now Agro's dream Nintendo System that will most definitely never come true:
3 different controllers (new wiimote, new gamepad, new Gamecube-style pro controller) packaged with the system
- wiimote has an analog stick and along with nunchuck has all the buttons that the pro controller has
- gamepad basically becomes a remote-play-only vita that can also do a whole lot of other stuff (wait for it)
Wiimote and new Pro Controller, put together, same price as 1 PS4 controller
Integration with 3rd party Smart TVs so that you can stream games from new system to any smart TV in the house even if it's not connected
Appliances, other stuff all controllable by the gamepad. True Universal Remote FTW
Powerful system, doesn't even need to be on the level of competing console, but in the general area would be cool
Online functionality on par with Xbox Live
Virtual Console Subscription Service
3 must have games at launch with several more good core franchises alongside them
Release at least 1 core franchise/new Nintendo IP a month for the launch window
$300-400 price tag

Basically, I want them to skip past Sony, Microsoft, Apple, and Amazon's bid for the living room and be like "SUCK IT BITCHES, WE'RE GOIN FOR THE WHOLE HOUSE"

$250 is fair but, at this point, they need $200 to sell.

Maybe. But that could itself kill the system. So yeah, you can tell why they're not lowering it more.

It's all the gamepad's fault. Which is disappointing because that's what sets it apart :(

[Tentacruel]

Or they could just take out the gamepad. I'd hate to see it go considering I own one and that would probably mean less games making use of it, but it could also drop the price down to maybe even $200. Also, it would make it absolutely boring.

 

I don't think that would work.  One, it would look desperate and wishy washy.  Two, there are already games that require it, and they're major titles. Also, future games wouldn't use it, ever.  If you're going to base your system around a controller/peripheral, EVERY console must include it.  Like the Xbox, it would be bad if they sold one without the Kinect as that would fragment the user base and it would be pointless to include Kinect functionality. 

 

They got away with it with the 3DS->2DS because the 3D is completely arbitrary.

 

The shouldn't have gone with the gamepad, but it's too late to turn back. 

[Lonk]

Would it be ignorant for me to say if I said that we have reached a time in the age where consoles have enough specs to make practically any game idea form into reality?  The way how I see it, there's enough RAM in every system this gen that makes it a fair breeding ground for game ideas.  In the games department for the Wii U, I really wish that they would just focus on making many more of their games compatible with the Pro-Controller.  In addition, they should drop the price of the Pro-Controller models down to something like 29.99$.  It would be an ergonomic move on their part as it would lessen the pressure of needing the generally unneeded wiimotes and nunchuks for multiplayer play where it was just forced onto there.  More accessible multiplayer play = a broader range on local multiplayer play.  It would be a good marketing strategy for Mario kart 8 and Smash Bros, which are known for being amazing for local multiplayer play.

[Agro]

If you can buy a Wiimote, Nunchuck, AND Pro Controller for at or less than $60, you'll be golden, honestly. The controllers aren't the issue at that point, especially with new chargers using USBs (thank god for USBs on the Wii U).

I agree that I don't want to see the gamepad go and I do feel they could widen its function in the entire household if they keep it for the next system.

[Sixty]

Had some good childhood-esque Super Mario 3D World runs with my friend. Wind Waker is a blast as well.The Wii U may not have a ton of good games, but the ones that are are.

[LordCowCowCowCowCowCowCowCow]

I think the biggest issue is they sent it out too early. They should've spent more time working on it, making sure it was ready, and getting games together that people would want, and that would use the gamepad correctly. If they had waited, especially for when people were leery about the PS4 and Xbox-One, and fine tuned it they would've sold a lot more.

That being said, at this point Nintendo can afford a couple missteps and still keep going.

[Agro]

I'd like to point out that Nintendo could most definitely release a downgraded console that competes head-to-head with the Fire TV and Apple TV and completely blow them out of the water if they wanted to. Currently the Wii U is trying to find the spot where it can be a cheaper family option to consoles and a stronger gaming option for TV set-top boxes.

[Canadian]

I have not read most of the posts in this thread, but I just wanted to say that it kills me that 3rd party developers wont put DLC for their games on the Wii U.

I have about 10 games right now, and my 3rd party ones like Lego Marvel can't get any extra characters or missions simply because the game developers don't believe in the console.

Developers think their product wont sell on the medium so they wont support it, but in reality, not having their products available are the reason things aren't selling well. Its a vicious circle that wont end unless there is a big change. Whether that is change a lower price point for the console (which wont happen) or maybe a revamped virtual console system (which should happen), the Wii U wont see major success outside of pushing its own first party titles which is always does. I love the first party titles too, don't get me wrong, and I think most of the fans who keep buying their consoles do too, but the thing is, other consoles are continually getting new game franchises being made for them where nintendo is not. This will start making the decision for most people who can only afford one console a tough one. Some people might disregard their loyalties to nintendo just because they want to play other games and not the same ones each generation. Its frustraiting that nintendo fans cant have the best of both worlds unless they want to pay hundreds of dollars to afford multiple consoles.

Anyways, those are my thoughts at the moment.

[Shradow]

The Wii U may not have a ton of good games, but the ones that are are.

 

That's for sure.