So the Wii U has been out for a year, has had a nice price drop and we're rolling up on holidays. I've been seriously considering one for the past few months, but have not pulled the trigger yet and reading the mix of articles isn't helping. Here's some fodder for discussion, I'd love to hear your thoughts.
I'll just start out with the statement that I probably won't be looking at multiple consoles for the simple reason of money. My recent position change and raise has been nice so I could pull a Chalgyr and get all three, but feel I should just focus on one at this time. The only other option I see down the road is getting a PS3 when the price drops even further due to the huge library that's available.
In my eyes both the PS4 and XBOne need more time in the wild to smooth out any rough edges and build the library. ...but back to the Wii U:
While I usually don't pay much attention to the anti-Nintendo articles it does have me considering if the Wii U is the next Dreamcast. (and to be fair there are also an incredible amount of articles to the contrary about how the U is the best bet this holiday - sometimes by the same website that just bashed it a few weeks ago....?) Granted the Dreamcast was a great deal of fun during it's day, but did die off earlier than it should have. So let's look at some lists.
What I'm looking forward to:
Features:
- HD Graphics - Maybe not PS4/XBO, but I'm not concerned.
- Ports from PS3/360
- I know everyone clamors for console exclusives, and that's great, but to get access to games from the other consoles that I wouldn't necessarily have access to is just great.
- Backward Compatibility with Wii Games - This is really handy even if I decide to keep my Wii
- Virtual Console - Despite maybe some pricing quibbles, this is one of my favorite features. Am looking for a better option to unify Wii VC.
- Off TV Play - Similar to using a 3DS in-house I can see this is a handy feature that I'll use.
- Miiverse
Games:
- ZombiU
- Scribblenauts Unlimited
- Batman Arkham City: Armored Edition
- ^ Yes, I already own these 3 above which I got for some decent Black Friday sales
- Watch Dogs
- Super Mario 3D World - This looks really good, too bad it got off to a slow start.
- Zelda: Wind Waker HD
- Mass Effect 3
- Mario Kart 8 - Am generally not sure yet. Loved MKWii, MK7 for 3DS had some nice features, but fell kind of flat for me.
- Deus Ex - Not sure yet.
- CoD Black Ops 2
- Duck Tales
- Knytt Underground
- The Cave
- Earthbound
- Mighty No 9
- Shauntae Half-Genie
- Shovel Knight - Backed it on kickstarter for 3DS, maybe consider switching my choice to WiiU?
There are some others that could go on here, but that's a good start. Certainly enough to keep my wallet thin and status as incomplete as ever.. :)
Concerns:
- Third party support
- Nintendo's lagging release schedule
- Online Features
- While 3DS and WiiU are a considerable improvement from DS/Wii, I'd like to see this continue to expand.
Conclusion:
Yeah, I'm almost certain that I'll buy a WiiU in the next month or two. Opening those Wii U games sealed that to a degree where I can't return or re-sell as new. :) Am most likely looking at the WindWaker bundle unless pricing on another one is too good to pass up.
I continue to be concerned about the U's future and would really like to see it turn a corner like the 3DS did.
Thoughts from those who own one and have struggled this past year with content and firmware updates? What about those of you who, like me, are still on the sidelines about to step on the field?
