RichC2

I'm trying to figure out what the $350 went to myself, the Wii U is not a technologically impressive piece of hardware. Even the tablet controller is cheap.

And yes, everything after Ocarina. Majora's Mask was okay, Wind Waker was a snooze fest, Twilight Princess was a mess, Skyward Sword actually wasn't bad so I guess that's an exception - terrible control scheme though.

Anyway, I loved my Wii U initially, now its turned into bitter hate. Whore.

slop101

Agreed.
Ocarina was a masterwork (for it's time), MM was a chore, WW was boring (sailing...), got a little more than half-way through TP, and I had no idea what was going on or what I was supposed to do, SS, I barely started it because I couldn't get past the controls.

Can't wait for the Link to the Past sequel on the 3DS though.

Brent L

My only true complaint about my Wii U is that it lacks surround sound with the system that I bought a few months ago. I love the features of Netflix and all of that stuff on the Wii U, but I haven't used those a single time since I got my surround sound system and instead do it all on my PS3 once again. That, to me, was the stupidest decision Nintendo made over everything else.

Other than that I still love my Wii U and I'm still highly optimistic about the future. I still believe people will end up being as wrong on the Wii U as they were on the 3DS for the first year.

fujishig

Doesn't WiiU use HDMI? Why can't you get surround sound?

Adam Tyner

I still really like my Wii U (although the touchscreen is straight-up garbage), and local multiplayer with a second screen is a huge, huge, huge selling point to me. Nintendoland may not be anywhere near as addictive as Wii Sports, but the minigames are infectiously fun in short bursts if you have at least one other person in the room. My girlfriend and I play Mario Kart Wii a bunch, and after playing Sonic All-Stars Racing Transformed together where we each got our own separate screens....I honestly don't think I can go back. I know for most people, multiplayer is online! online! online!, but I prefer playing with friends/family in the same room, and the Wii U might be the best console ever for doing that.

I just wish that Nintendo could be bothered to release some games, especially since the launch titles were pretty forgettable. Nintendoland ain't Wii Sports. New Super Mario Bros. U is solid but too much of the same, not introducing anything innovative or distinctive the way the series usually does. This drought -- especially considering that Nintendo basically abandoned the original Wii several years ago -- is completely unjustifiable, and there's something fundamentally broken with Nintendo's corporate culture if Miyamoto's claims of the developers being unable to move up to the new hardware are accurate.

I like Nintendo! I like Nintendo games. I want them to succeed, and...hell, I've shelled out something like $600 for the Wii U thus far, so obviously I have a vested interest in the console taking off. There's plenty on the horizon for me to be excited about. It's just frustrating that the console has been out for 7 months now, and there's not a great exclusive game in the traditional Nintendo sense for it. Pikmin 3 and The Wonderful 101 are still a little ways off, and who knows when the games Nintendo's been showing off recently will actually show up? I mean, they say it'll be this year, but they also said we'd have Wii Fit U, Game and Wario, The Wonderful 101, and Pikmin 3 no later than March, and their adjusted range of "the first half of the year" is blown for most of those too. I don't want them to put out an incomplete or unpolished product, but geez...!

Brent L

The Wii U only supports LPCM 1.0, 2.0 and 5.1. It does not support any licensed surround formats such as DPII, Dolby Digital, Dolby Digital Plus, Dolby TrueHD, DTS, DTS-HD, etc... which is what almost everything uses. I have it hooked up to my system correctly. When I go to the test screen in the Wii U Menu I hear the tones from each speaker. I just don't get any surround sound on any games and certainly not from any of the TV/Movie streaming services.

Also, to compare the first year of the 3DS to the first year of the Wii U really reveals a lot. There wasn't much at all for the 3DS that first year. For the major releases you had, for the most part...

The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3D
Resident Evil: Revelations
Nintendogs + Cats
Kid Icarus: Uprising
Metal Gear Solid: Snake Eater 3D
Super Mario 3D Land
Super Street Fighter IV: 3D Edition
Mario Kart 7
Tales of the Abyss
Dead or Alive: Dimensions
Star Fox 64 3D

Not a bad list of games, really, but it is mostly either remakes or reboots of other games. A lot of people, I'd almost say most people, are in love with the 3DS now as it continues to build a very strong library of games with plenty more on the horizon. The Wii U is essentially playing out the exact same way. Once it hits the first year anniversary there will be a few more games out for it, some of which are original exclusives, and in the months following a lot of the major games will start hitting the market, and by year two it'll be well on it's way to swaying the same people that originally were bashing the 3DS.

fujishig

As others have pointed out, the 3DS was like that for a long time after launch too, and then all of a sudden it hit it's stride. I'm hoping that the Wii U is similar. Right now, in my household it's a Skylander Giants machine, but that's only because I needed something to play on my Wii U... and I'm always saddened when I go into that digital store and I can scroll through all the WiiU offerings in a couple of pages.

Brent L

I'm so happy they have "fixed" Wind Waker, especially the ending. Click this link to go straight to where that talk starts, or watch the entire thing. It's worth it...

http://youtu.be/Cw2uGeZsie0?t=2m53s

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/Cw2uGeZsie0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

Moopher

I actually picked up WW earlier this year because it was one of two Zelda games I had never beaten...and then WW for Wii U was announced...and since then I kind-of gave up on finishing it because I want so badly to play it in HD. I really liked the game so far, but I want to give it a go on the Wii U so it hooks me.

Brent L

Don't forget about Luigi today!

<object width="560" height="315"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/bCn1S3KB8e0?version=3&hl=en_US"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/bCn1S3KB8e0?version=3&hl=en_US" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="560" height="315" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true"></embed></object>

RichC2

I was trying to figure out when they would do the price drop, I'm assuming the Deluxe will be down to $199/$249 ( potentially getting rid of the standard model altogether) around December to coincide with the other console launches and Super Mario 3D World. However, Pikmin 3 comes out August 4th so it could be sooner, I just don't know if that franchise is popular enough for a re-launch.

Krayzie

Yeah, I don't think pikmin is popular enough for a relaunch. Also why the hell is the disc version of Luigi coming out at the end of August? Wtf?

Michael Corvin

I don't get that either.

fumanstan

Well Best Buy and Gamestop were already dropping the standard version, right? Not sure they would do a $100 price drop though...

RichC2

I don't know, globally the Wii U is selling fewer units than the Vita (and regular Wii obviously) on a weekly basis, has only sold 3.15m units worldwide since launch and sold notably fewer units in the US than the GameCube in its first 6 months.

The Gamecube launched at $199 though, and dropped $50 after 7 months.

Adam Tyner

Part of me wonders if they'd do a more modest price drop but try to up the value in other ways, like including multiple pack-in games.

Noonan

That's what I see happening. Same price point but with Mario and Zombi U included.

RichC2

For some reason I can't picture Nintendo doing a pack-in with Zombi U. I mean I know they did it with RE4 in Europe but.. eh whatever.

Maybe, but technically a $100 drop puts it at $249 which is still a pretty solid price.

My Other Self

Nintendo has already said they're not dropping the price of the Wii U anytime soon. And, as reports have surfaced, it looks like the standard model is being discontinued and the $349 Deluxe version will be the only one available.

They'll need to drop it to at least $299 in the Fall, which I could see happening given they're quick to slash prices if the system isn't selling as well as they want. I really don't want this to be Nintendo's last console but I don't know how else sales could possibly pick up short of a cut in cost or major exclusives to entice people to buy a system.

RichC2

It wouldn't be the first time a big company has gone back on their word, just saying.

I think $249 is going to be their target price in coming months (it's already almost July, damn.) Or they could always 86 the platform and try again (not going to happen). They definitely need some innovative titles, soon.

Just to note, I know I did this before but it kind of shows you the way Nintendo has to go to recreate their success, the Wii best selling titles:

1. Wii Sports (81.32m, pack-in)
2. Mario Kart Wii (33.78m, pack-in)
3. Wii Sports Resort (31.70m, pack-in)
4. Wii Play (28.73m, pack-in with the enhanced controller)
5. NSMB Wii (26.94m)
6. Wii Fit (22.75m)
7. Wii Fit Plus (21.20m)
8. Super Smash Bros Brawl (11.7m)
9. Super Mario Galaxy (10.84m)
10. Just Dance 3 (9.83m)
11. Just Dance 2 (9.41m)
12. Wii Party (8.14m)
13. Mario Party 8 (7.92m)
14. Mario and Sonic at the Olympic Games (7.88m)
15. Super Mario Galaxy 2 (7.04m)
16. Just Dance (7.01m)
17. Zelda: Twilight Princess (6.79m)
18. Just Dance 4 (6.43m)
19. Zumba Fitness (6.42m)
20. Donkey Kong Country Returns (5.97m)
....
30. Zelda: Skyward Sword (3.66m)

They need the multiplayer party games back out there, now. But what do I know, the #1 selling game globally for the week of June 8th was the physical copy of Minecraft for the Xbox 360 - there's some things I just don't get.

And just so you know, Just Dance 4 (Wii) was released in October 2012 and is still on the top 10 for global sales.

pinata242

$299 is guaranteed by the time PS4 and X1 launch. This is why they're pulling the standard models and gutting them for "white deluxe" models.

Whether or not they add software to that or drop the console price alone to $249 for you to build your own software bundle is an unknown.

I could do $300 for the WiiU+Pikmin3, but that's my absolute ceiling. I'd be wary, personally, of any $300 bundle that didn't include it.

fumanstan

$299 with an additional game is my guess; not sure what that would be though, maybe just New Super Mario/Luigi Bros U.

Adam Tyner

I don't think there'll be a drop anytime in the immediate future (no games means no sales, probably bad word of mouth, etc.), but they'd be nuts not to drop it by the time the other consoles come out.

In the history of video game consoles, I'm pretty sure no manufacturer has ever said "yeah, we're going to drop the price in a few months". It's bad business. You lose out on whatever beefier margins you would've had in the meantime, you convince your customers to wait and lose out on whatever bits of revenue you get from game sales, you run the risk of your customer changing their mind over that time... When it comes to future price drops, the likes of Sony, Microsoft, and Nintendo are the least reliable resource there are.

pinata242

No kidding. This is covered in Remedial Marketing aka Common Sense 101.

Michael Corvin

Waiting on the disc version. Don't want something that expensive tied to the console.