Adam Tyner

Nintendo just needs to figure out how to market the damned console. The gamepad isn't inherently a problem, although I have no idea how Nintendo can present it as an alluring must-have. It's the sort of thing you really have to use to get over that initial skepticism, and although I find it very useful in a bunch of games, it's not something I miss when I play my other consoles. I'm curious to see how the $250 + pack-in game promotions have been doing.

Brent L

I'm the total opposite than most. I wish more games made MORE and better use of the gamepad. I'd hate for it to become just an add on. At that point all you would see mostly would be even more simple gimmicky stuff just tacked on for no reason at all. I want more games like ZombiU on the system.

It may not help sales or the appearance of the system, but that's my selfish want, heh.

Not all games should use it like that, but more games should. Heck, maybe I say that just because I want more games period on the console. I think that feature has a lot to offer if people would just do it. Something like this for FPS or maybe a Silent Scope type of game or something else. There is a lot of potential if they would just do it...

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slop101

Well, it's always been about the games, and the U has games, the others don't just yet.

Moopher

That's the truth. My cousin, who has always loved his FPS, got a Xbox One just days after his Wii U...yet he never touches the damn thing because he really doesn't have much to use with it yet outside of COD.

RichC2

Super Mario 3D + Price Drop = sales

Over Black Friday week, it jumped from about 60,000 units to 200,000 units sold in the US - outselling the PS4 (which, frankly, was out of stock everywhere it seemed.) Regardless, great news for Nintendo after such a rough year.

The Wii U only really has SMB 3D World that I'd play right now (Already played NSMB U and Zombi U when I owned the system, don't care for Pikmin), but that's a better exclusive than either launch consoles had.

Jory

Goddamnit. Am I going to have to make pimping Lego City Undercover a full-time job? I feel like I should be getting paid to advertise it considering how often I find myself telling people about how much fun I've been having with it whenever I hear complaints about the lack of good Wii U exclusives.

Brent L

I want that game pretty bad. Soon!

Is it a truly open world game? I love the open world segments in LEGO Marvel for the PS4 so far.

slop101

I'm waiting for a price drop.

I also want to re-buy Lego Marvel and Lego Batman 2 for the U, since the PS3 versions (which I've since sold) kept freezing on me - which I guess was supposed to be normal.

Jory

It's just like Grand Theft Auto, without the f-bombs and killing hookers and drug dealing of course. It's a big open-world city with pedestrians making snarky comments as you pass by and cars everywhere to steal and alleyways and secret areas to explore, with certain areas opening up as the game progresses based on the abilities you've uncovered. Even the recreational activities like lifting weights and playing basketball that have seeped into the last few GTA games are littered throughout the city.

fujishig

I've said it before, but if you were going to pick two consoles, it makes sense to pick only one out of PS4/XBOne and a WiiU for Nintendo games. It's a worthy consolation prize for people who can't find the newer consoles. I mean, for a long time I thought the 3DS was kinda dead in the water, until the flood of games started coming in.

Speaking of the 3DS: was the discussion about losing the tablet controller because Nintendo basically did a similar thing in releasing a cheaper portable without the 3D (basically admitting it was a gimmick)? So it's not unprecedented, even in the recent past.

Jory

If you're going to have two of the three new consoles, I think having a PS4 and Wii U or Xbox One and Wii U makes a lot more sense than having a PS4 and XBox One. The latter two are just too similar.

I'm wondering what's going to happen when the Wii U gets the new Zelda, Smash Bros, and Mario Kart games. Are things going to turn around, or is the gaming media going to keep ignoring every great new exclusive game and keep up with the "Nintendo is doomed!" articles?

Considering the ridicule they've gotten over the 2DS, I doubt they would drop the Wii U gamepad entirely. It's not a bad controller, it doesn't confuse and frighten consumers like some people have claimed, and people are free to use the old Wii controllers for games that don't need the gamepad. Dropping it just isn't happening.

It's funny hearing all the contradictory excuses that people have been coming up with for the Wii U not catching on. First it was "people are confused, they don't know it's a totally new system, they think it's just an updated Wii." Now it's "the controller is too weird and different, they should just go back to using the old Wii controllers."

Honestly, I don't think it's such a mystery. First, Nintendo's marketing has been shit. The marketing push on the PS4 and Xbox One has been huge, but Nintendo just dropped the Wii U out there with little more than a "here you go." Second, the gaming press has been against it since the very beginning, cranking out articles on a daily basis about how the system is underpowered (even though the Wii was "underpowered" and nobody cared) and doesn't have any good games (even when they praise a game like Super Mario 3D World to high heaven, they insist that it's not enough to save the system). As ludicrous as it sounds, it seems the Wii U isn't catching on because a lot of people just don't want it to, despite having more than enough terrific exclusive games to make it worth picking up.

fujishig

I think the people complaining about the updated Wii thing are complaining about Nintendo's marketing. But marketing-wise, if Nintendo doesn't push it, nobody else will. Their system is sooo different from the other two (either previous gen or current gen) that publishers can't just put out a port of a title easily. So you don't get the marketing from GTA or Call of Duty or Battlefield or even Madden as the software companies push their own titles.

The Wii had some great games as well, but the library was still considered, by many, to be underwhelming (and certainly the public didn't see a need to expand beyond Wii Sports for the most part). And even at this point in the WiiU's life, I still can't do a proper B2G1F and find three games that I want and don't already have. Heck, I couldn't even find 2 games when TRU had their B1G140%off sale, and I really wanted 3d world. Now someone brand new to the system would find games to play, but it still seems like just a trickle of games coming out.

Supermallet

Unless you already played Human Revolution already.

The Questyen

Thanks a ton for this. I've been waiting for a price drop. I always wanted to play it.

Brent L

Thanks for the heads up on that one. I had no clue it was even on the Wii U, much less it uses the gamepad in such great ways. That's incredible news considering it's a third party multi-platform game as well. I have never played any version of this one, so it's a no brainer for me!

StephenX

Huge thank you LMM. Ordered a copy of this. Never have played this and heard great things. How's the replayability and story with this? Graphics look great.

Brent L

I wish we could get some sales on some of the other games like Pikmin, 101, LEGO City, etc...

robin2099

Too bad it's sold out already.

StephenX

Sounds awesome. Pretty stoked about this.

edstein

Brent L

I just got a shipping notification from eBay for my copy of Deus Ex!

Michael Corvin

Puke green? Of course you do.

Supermallet

IMO, the game wasn't good enough to play through again for anything, even a new control scheme.

Adam Tyner

Is that green unit/gamepad tied to the Year of Luigi, or is it to very clearly distinguish it from a retail unit?

Michael Corvin

That's not Luigi green if it is.