Will the Wii U truly be the Wii's successor? I just can't see how it's going to do anywhere near as good as the Wii did, because the Wii was this crazy crossover console that sold to demographics other consoles wouldn't have dreamed of touching. Even though consoles have been called "Entertainment Systems" or Centers since the NES, I feel like the Wii was truly that. It was something that any random family could have in their living room next to a DVD player and some shitty board games. I just can't imagine the Wii U will sell to the people who normally wouldn't buy a console, who were the people who did buy the Wii.

How will the Wii U stay alive?

I don't think you need to become a phenomenon like the Wii in order to "survive." They can perform worse than they did last generation and still have a very successful system.

@Hunter5024 said:

I don't think you need to become a phenomenon like the Wii in order to "survive." They can perform worse than they did last generation and still have a very successful system.

So they become a blip then? I feel like they have to do something to become a system of note. Unless it does something I don't know about, I feel like it's going to take a very pronounced (and maybe dented) bronze medal this coming gen.

@regularassmilk said:

@Hunter5024 said:

I don't think you need to become a phenomenon like the Wii in order to "survive." They can perform worse than they did last generation and still have a very successful system.

So they become a blip then? I feel like they have to do something to become a system of note. Unless it does something I don't know about, I feel like it's going to take a very pronounced (and maybe dented) bronze medal this coming gen.

Well if you want to turn it into a contest, then yeah, maybe the outlook for the Wii U is kind of grim so far, but it's a little early to say something like that considering the next two consoles haven't even been announced yet. Really though, I don't know why we should judge a console based on how well it sells, because that doesn't affect our enjoyment of the system. We should judge it based on the number of quality games released for the console, and for a two month old system I'd say the Wii U is doing pretty decent so far.

So you think that 2 consoles you know nothing about have to be better. Ok good luck with predicting. What did you say about wii and Nintendo DS last time?

@Hunter5024 said:

@regularassmilk said:

@Hunter5024 said:

I don't think you need to become a phenomenon like the Wii in order to "survive." They can perform worse than they did last generation and still have a very successful system.

So they become a blip then? I feel like they have to do something to become a system of note. Unless it does something I don't know about, I feel like it's going to take a very pronounced (and maybe dented) bronze medal this coming gen.

Well if you want to turn it into a contest, then yeah, maybe the outlook for the Wii U is kind of grim so far, but it's a little early to say something like that considering the next two consoles haven't even been announced yet. Really though, I don't know why we should judge a console based on how well it sells, because that doesn't affect our enjoyment of the system. We should judge it based on the number of quality games released for the console, and for a two month old system I'd say the Wii U is doing pretty decent so far.

Alright, new question: do you think that Nintendo will somehow try to work on the flood of third party shit that showed up for the Wii to try to abuse (I guess) the childrens market? Meaning titles that have no right existing, like M'n'M kart racers and whatnot. I don't want to make it a numbers game, I really am intensely curious though how it's going to be a big contender. I could be wrong, but I feel like the Wii mostly won the numbers game and that was it. It had some really great, quality games but I feel like it paled in most aspects to its rivals.

EDIT: Work on meaning, control.

@Danteveli said:

So you think that 2 consoles you know nothing about have to be better. Ok good luck with predicting. What did you say about wii and Nintendo DS last time?

Pure speculation indeed. I'm not saying anything about it's future counterparts, I just want to know what the Wii U is going to do to stay great.

@regularassmilk: I doubt it, there are some pretty awful games for every system, but I think simply by virtue of the fact that this will probably sell worse than the Wii did, that those casual third party developers will be less interested in this system, and probably focus more on mobile devices. I think their acquisition of Bayonetta 2 shows that they're interested in showing more support for third party games that people actually care about. So between that and their consistently awesome first party games, this system seems more promising to me than the Wii ever did.

I think the Wii U may end up a bit more like the Gamecube did in terms of sales and popularity but I expect it will survive. I hope it does anyway. I basically missed a whole generation of Nintendo games because of my complete dislike of motion controls, I now have a Wii U and I quite like the new pad.

@regularassmilk: I share the often tossed around idea that this will probably be like the Gamecube. It won't be amazing, but it will survive. Nintendo can handle it middling around.

Though, I'd be surprised if it didn't see a revision in a year or two similar to how the 360 and PS3 got later revisions that were a bit more refined. And considering the controller, I absolutely think that will improve. Perhaps even similar to the DS to the DSLite. And maybe even one day like the DSLite to the DSi. This may not mean older consoles not being able to play the latest games, but there should be improvements that will keep the Wii U attractive and in the public eye.

That depends on your definition of survival. Will the Wii U sell enough to be deemed a success? Yes. Nintendo will make this work out, just like they did with the 3DS. To be honest, I'm more worried about next gen for Sony and Microsoft.

@hwy_61 said:

That depends on your definition of survival. Will the Wii U sell enough to be deemed a success? Yes. Nintendo will make this work out, just like they did with the 3DS. To be honest, I'm more worried about next gen for Sony and Microsoft.

Yeah. I mean each year these consoles out was another year of an install base hole that they will need to convince people to pay to climb out of next year. I think we are going to see a LOT of games developed for 360/ps3 and up rezed for next gen stuff. Game publishers will want to sell games for the biggest install base. There are so many goddamn xboxes in the wild.

None Of Us Will.

Never count out Nintendo. Even if it's not the success of the Wii, as long as it is making money it is a success. (And the fact that The system + 1 game = profit... I think they will be okey.)

@jehrco said:

Yeah. I mean each year these consoles out was another year of an install base hole that they will need to convince people to pay to climb out of next year. I think we are going to see a LOT of games developed for 360/ps3 and up rezed for next gen stuff. Game publishers will want to sell games for the biggest install base. There are so many goddamn xboxes in the wild.

Not only that, but how much will these machines cost? Certainly not $299. I've been thinking about what Pachter said about a subsidized pricing model, and it makes a lot of sense. That could be a great strategy if they're going to make these next gen machines powerhouses. They could subsidized the consoles, and that way there isn't that big of a risk to bombing as hard. Not sure if I'm making any sense.

@hwy_61 said:

Not only that, but how much will these machines cost? Certainly not $299. I've been thinking about what Pachter said about a subsidized pricing model, and it makes a lot of sense. That could be a great strategy if they're going to make these next gen machines powerhouses. They could subsidized the consoles, and that way there isn't that big of a risk to bombing as hard. Not sure if I'm making any sense.

That totally makes sense and I think it makes PC gaming even more powerful. I think the real issue is that the crazy AAA games aren't even a HUGE draw anymore. I mean look at these top 10s from last year. A lot of those games could be played on my ass plugged into a monitor and keyboard. I think there is a place for graphics pushing and I think people who buy new graphics cards every year are going to keep pushing for that but for the past few months I've been playing torchlight 2 and mark of the ninja and a few other things that look great and are really fun and don't even really start to warm up my graphics card.

Why don't you wait about two years and we'll find out?

@jehrco said:

That totally makes sense and I think it makes PC gaming even more powerful. I think the real issue is that the crazy AAA games aren't even a HUGE draw anymore. I mean look at these top 10s from last year. A lot of those games could be played on my ass plugged into a monitor and keyboard. I think there is a place for graphics pushing and I think people who buy new graphics cards every year are going to keep pushing for that but for the past few months I've been playing torchlight 2 and mark of the ninja and a few other things that look great and are really fun and don't even really start to warm up my graphics card.

Agreed. I think if they can make machines that can HANDLE these current games better(Framerate, higher res, ect), that would suffice. We don't need more games that look like real life, we just need them to not be broken. Also, more style! Journey and MotN are amazing examples.

@hwy_61 said:

Agreed. I think if they can make machines that can HANDLE these current games better(Framerate, higher res, ect), that would suffice. We don't need more games that look like real life, we just need them to not be broken. Also, more style! Journey and MotN are amazing examples.

See and this is the real issue. You and I would like that but it doesn't make a good press release. THIS THING CAN DO THE OLD THING BUT SMOOTH AND NOT BUSTED. You and I would cheer and hug and we would get very chocked up, honestly there might be tears. However if you want to sell this to Joe Fratboy and his band of mullets they need to be like LOOK AT THIS AMAZING LANDSCAPE OF AFGHANISTAN! Sure most stuff chugs around action and there was a day 1 patch that didn't actually fix the online issues but you assholes want it! (Not talking about any game specifically) Unfortunately the money from people like us isn't enough to over power the people who want the most graphics.

I believe the Wii-U will go on to be successful in its' own way. Will it be the money printing machine that was the Wii? Most likely not. Think of it this way though; most consoles tend to be in the negative when they first launch. You just have the early adopters buying the consoles. What makes a successful console would be the software or the "gotta have exclusive game."

Eventually I will own all of the consoles and have my beast of a PC (my main gaming platform).

@hwy_61 Honestly, I have been thinking the same from the PS4 and 720. They most likely will not be graphical powerhouses, but they will be HD ready, have a 1920 x 1080p resolution, and have a significant boost in graphical fidelity. However, if they want to compete with PC. They really need to improve their infrastructure for indie developers. Games that are cheap, have a lot of playtime, and regular patches to fix any issues would greatly expand their audience. I have a hunch that they will not do this plan, instead they will attempt to take over the cable market. At least from the 720 standpoint, they wish to be the "everything media console." Maybe a jack of all trades, master of none.

@WasabiCurry said:

However, if they want to compete with PC.

I still don't think they take PCs seriously and I KNOW they don't take indie devs seriously. I think that companies like microsoft and sony think they will be fine by getting their polycount's erect and fuck the market with their main stream titles. Call of Duty and Madden were never games I was a fan of but they just splooge money.

@jehrco: That is sadly true. If they actually treated indie devs with more respect, they literally could be on a gold mine of undiscovered hits for their consoles. However, when you have issues such as the patching incident for Fez and Awesomenauts being unable to update their roster due to the shear expensive patching costs. They are literally shooting themselves in the foot. These companies simply cannot afford a 10k patch and I do not fault them when they switch to Steam for their patching update; costing them next to nothing.

AAA titles will always make huge successful gains. It is the unexpected indie hit that "everyone must play" is what drives people.

Do not forget that the 720 will sport 16 cores! More than what a PC has and be more powerful than anything on their market!!!......Even though more cores doesn't mean anything......

I had a thought that if the 720 is suppose to be the "everything media box." They are simply trying to emulate a PC, only with a very closed system. Their system.

@jehrco: Very true. Most of these articles are just speculations; no real evidence of what Microsoft are committing too. Honestly, I see a bright future for PC. For us PC folks, we are going through the "Renaissance Age" of our time. Plus it doesn't hurt that many of the Kickstarter games will be coming out this year.

@hwy_61: I can understand that from a first hand experience. My best friend wants to get into PC gaming, but doesn't want to be overburden in learning the basics of a PC. That is why I am here to try and share my knowledge in order to make things simple. I am building his PC and will make it the best of my capability. I will also maintain his PC for optimization. One day, he will have to learn for himself.

Maybe the Steam Box could be an answer for that problem, who knows? PC Gaming can be scary for those on the outside, but man, it is sure as hell fun to play once you know!

My guess, GameCube type success and nothing more. But who cares how successful it is, if you bought a WiiU the only thing you should of expected is good Nintendo games not good 3rd party games.

@WasabiCurry: You're a good friend. I have a friend just like you. As time went on, he was less and less helpful, and that really helped me, because I ended up teaching myself a lot. I thank him to this day for that.

@hwy_61: Thank you duder! We all have to start somewhere on the PC road, for myself, I learned everything on my own. Hopefully, he will enjoy his new PC. It has a EVGA 670 FTW card in it; I believe it shall suffice. X3

@Hunter5024 said:

@regularassmilk: I doubt it, there are some pretty awful games for every system, but I think simply by virtue of the fact that this will probably sell worse than the Wii did, that those casual third party developers will be less interested in this system, and probably focus more on mobile devices. I think their acquisition of Bayonetta 2 shows that they're interested in showing more support for third party games that people actually care about. So between that and their consistently awesome first party games, this system seems more promising to me than the Wii ever did.

Oh, yes, New Super Mario Bros. Wii U is pretty damned original. In fact, it's the most original Mario game I've seen in years. And Skyward Sword, that sure was a hit. And Metroid--well, shit, I forget the last Metroid game. And Kid Icarus for 3DS was AMAZING. And man, did that Starfox 64 remake blow us away. And--well, hey, Pikmin 2 I guess? Nintendo's first-party games aren't as infallible as you think. When Nintendo's on, they can undoubtedly make some of the best games of all time, but recently their first-party games have, for the most part, been pretty ass.

@Willtron: I think you might be striking a bit of a "in comparison to" rather then "its a hit". I seem to remember a lot of games hitting that kind of stride where people find them really enjoyable, but some just don't like it in comparison to stuff gone buy. We are living in a age where games are created so fast and with such a "print screen" feel that a few of Nintendo's latest games have not really hit the mark as hard. In the case of Pikmin, i don't think we should of gotten a second game really. Some games simply are not made for more then one but i defend Skyward Sword a little. The length was huge and padded, but the story was FANTASTIC and it played really well. Besides, It's like people shouting "OH, HALO 4 IS THE BEST HALO". A game created for the only purpose as to get halo back in peoples minds so that the new 720 game can launch with the console. Story so short that it isn't even a thing. This is going around. :) You can harp on about how Nintendo haven't really gotten it perfect but that has gone around this year. Very few games have been perfect, delicate snowflakes. ^_^

@Willtron: Well I liked pretty much every game you listed, so y'know, different strokes for different folks or whatever.

I am thinking Wii U will be like Gamcube and N64 levels. Fine but not near the Wii.

I'm not sure why you care how much this console sells. If I were you I would care more about how much fun I was having on it, assuming you actually own one. To answer your question though, I think the Wii U will be fine this generation. So far it's launch line-up has been really great, and I think most people find the Gamepad to be a more functional / better gameplay alternative than Nintendo's foray into motion controls with the Wii. Will the Wii U be as ridiculously successful as the Wii was? I seriously doubt that, but so far its sales have been solid and I believe that Nintendo is aware that it can't coast on the same audience that bought the Wii back in 2006.

I also believe that anyone expecting the other next generation systems to be absolute powerhouses the likes of which have never been seen are going to be in for a disappointment. Unlike in 2005 consoles can't compete with PC power anymore, it would be far too expensive for them to try. It's all about what services, features, and games a console can provide directly to your living room now.

Regardless of whether or not the Wii U survives be sure that Nintendo will.

Nintendos strategy of going for the value market, being the least expensive console, certanly worked last gen. They sold the most consoles and the console was not hd! I was surprised by this. I guess dont underestimate their first party titles. After playing rail shooters on the wii and ps motion, i have to call the wii the better motion control solution.

People: Oh the 3DS is a bunch of crap!!!!

*Super Mario 3Ds Land comes out*

People: OMFG THIS THING IS FUCKEN AWESOME!!!!!!

*fast forward a bit*

People: Oh the WiiU is a bunch of crap!!!

*Super Smash Bros comes out*

People: OMFG THIS THING IS FUCKEN AWESOME!!!!

That about sum it up?

Seriously guys, why do we do this with every new console? If it's not successful in the first five minutes, we start to write it off. The WiiU is going to do fine. It could actively punch you in the stomach every time you turn it on, and people would still buy it just to play the new Mario, Zelda, Kirby, Smash Bros, etc...

Also, the Wii's success is impossible to determine at the moment, since the point of the Wii was to introduce a new audience into gaming; something that is a little hard to determine at the moment.