What does "next gen" even mean now? People should stop using that term.

To Nintendo, yes. Compared to Sony, no. I would include Microsoft with Sony but we don't know where they're at yet.

It's a shorter term for "next generation". (Sarcasm alert!)

I don't but that doesn't mean I'm not going to buy one. I can't live without Nintendo games.

I feel like the Wii U is competing more with the 360 and PS3 than the PS4 and Durango. No, it's not a "next gen" system.

Technicaly, yes but for what I consider next gen, no

Why?

Next gen means the next installment of consoles, or at least their next progression. Seeing as how the next PlayStation and Xbox have yet to arrive we are still waiting for "next gen" for those two.

The Wii-U is Nintendo's "next gen" console, but the problem is that it doesn't feel like it's going to be able to compete with the PS4 and next Xbox. Regardless however I will still get a Wii U just for Nintendo's 1st party alone.

Nope

Yes it's Nintendo's next generation console. Same goes for Vita and 3DS.

Technically its the generation after the Wii, so its next gen. It more or less depends on your definition of next gen. If you consider next gen as hardware wise (specs) on par with microsoft and sonys upcoming consoles, its certainly not.

Not by my standards. I see it more as the last console of the current generation hardware. I don't think that's a bad thing, but they need to do something about the price and definitely need to get some games out on the market to motivate families to buy their new system. You can buy a PS3 or 360 for less, they run the same games and have huge libraries by comparison. Nintendo needs to show people why they should choose them over the current crop of platforms.

Hardware generations aren't determined by capability, but rather simply by iteration. The Wii U is absolutely a next generation platform whether people like it or not.

Yes. Sure it has old tech in, but it's their latest console.

Yes. Yes it is.

Yes? I consider the Wii this gen, so why wouldn't I consider its successor next gen?

No, just next gen for Nintendo

Not a bad thing at all just competes on a different level than the PS4 and 420 will

This is always the argument that I hear most when it comes to people who disagree with my personal feelings on this topic. "Generation" suggests a place in time, not a level of technology. However, I view the word "generation" as it relates to the time technology was made available.

The PS4 and next Xbox are next generation systems because their hardware is next generation hardware. The Wii U is not a next generation system, because it it is using hardware that is very close to the generation of tech used in the PS3 and Xbox 360.

At least that's how I see it. Your opinion may differ.

The next few years will be the time when the Wii U, the PS4 and the next Xbox compete. They belong to the same generation. Therefore, they are all "next-generation". While the term "next-gen" automatically makes you think of a futuristic device with crazy specs, that's not really what it means. It just means the next generation of consoles. That's how I see it anyways.

I don't think it actually matters. The only thing that does matter is the games they have to support the system. Hardware specs are completely secondary to that.

I'm sorry but there's no place for "opinion" in it. There's no debate to be had. The Wii U is a next generation console, so is the Vita and the 3DS. That's a fact. Not opinion. End of story. If you disagree then I'm sorry, but you just don't understand how this whole "console generation" thing works.

I would say we'll just have to agree to disagree, but I doubt that you would agree to that.

Nope. Nintendo are a gen behind anyway. Wii = xbox+PS2 era. Wii-U = 360+PS3 era.

I'm alive! Also, no I don't consider it next gen.

Yeah. I mean, logistically at least.

@SpaceInsomniac has you dead to rights. WiiU is middle-gen, just like the Dreamcast. Everybody who makes machines knows that. If you disagree I'm sorry, but you just don't understand how this whole "console generation" thing works.

No, it's the first of the current gen of home consoles.

Oh there is definitely place for opinion, stop being a smug ass. There is more to the concept of "next gen" in console gaming than your dictionary definition and the capacity of the hardware definitely plays a part.

Let's make a comparison to make you understand the difference. Say Audi and BMW both release cars with impressive new technological features, like adaptive cruise control or functional electrical engines or other features which truly move the automotive industry forward. We can then say those cars are part of a new generation of vehicles because the move the industry forward. Just because, say... Renault, simultaneously releases a car whose biggest feature is it has a radio, does that automatically mean that car is also part of the new generation of cars, just because it was released at the same point in time? Hardly. The same is true for consoles or any other technical product.

I don't think it means anything anymore. What if the Wii U tanks and Nintendo put a new console out in say... 3 years. Will that be a gen ahead of the PS4? So then lets say that the Nintendo thing after that comes out at the same time as the PS5 with the same specs -- is it a gen ahead? It just seems like a pointless descriptor if you don't have any standards other than order of release. Power has to be some kind of factor.

Is Ouya a current gen console? What if they get success and start to iterate every year and by the time the next round of consoles come out Ouya is on Ouya 10 -- is Ouya 10 generations ahead? Sounds pointless.

Maybe "next gen" should just be like art or pornography. You know it when you see it.

Next gen

'Next' is what is to follow. The moment a console is on store shelves, it becomes 'current'.

Too many people use the term 'next gen' incorrectly, as a term that is somehow supposed to suggest how powerful a piece of hardware is. It has become as meaningless as saying how many bits a console has.

Well technically it is since its the next iteration of the nintendo console, but honestly, the WiiU is, from a technological standpoint, a generation behind since its on par with the ps3 and 360 and those consoles have seen better days.

This is a bad bad example. First a 2013 car is a 2013 car weather or not they add tech. So yes it would be the new model year. Second your analysis is very flawed. From a Tech standpoint Sony put a Beefed up engine in an old car. Yes its fast and powerful, but not innovative. Nintendo would be more like the Toyota Hybrid or an electric vehicle. Way more tech under the hood, but not as fast or strong. You wont tow a boat with it but there is much more impressive tech involved. 1/60 frame drop to a wireless screen is better then most LCD TV's with an HDMI cable. There is a lot of geeky tech things in the Wii U. You call it gimmicks, however it seems like everyone copies those gimmicks. Nintendo tries to innovate and bring gaming to everyone.

The tech is there, just not the tech some of you are looking for. It is next gen in its own way as was the Wii.

Sure, it's next gen. It's just going to be laughably weak for most of the coming generation though.

I mean, can people imagine what that system is going to look like 4 or 5 years from now? Yeesh. They just aren't going to be able to port competent versions of most games to it.

Short answer: I don't know.

Mostly whats been released for WiiU is current gen ports. When will a game come out that maxes out its capabilities? Until that happens I don't think you can judge WiiU too harshly. Maybe Nintendo comes out with a new Zelda like they showed last E3 that looks only marginally different from PS4/720 games. Then I guess it would be next gen. If they can't fulfill that promise in a real game, then it's not.

This a place of opinion whether or not the WiiU is next-gen, which in technicality it is, but the OP is asking if they believe it is or not.

If people disagree, then they don't understand how asking people's opinion of something works. Some people do have differing opinions on what defines "next-gen" to them anyways.

You know it when you see it, is I think why many people don't think the WiiU is considered "next-gen."

It's the next gen for Nintendo so yes. It's not going to stand up to the PS4/X-Box 3 in a few years, but that's just Nintendo being Nintendo.

Yes. Mostly because 'next gen' is such a fucking dumb term that is utterly pointless at this point anyway. Also because this is the 'next generation' of Nintendo home consoles. So, yeah, it's 'next gen'.

Not much of a debate against Wii U to be had here, other than "lol graphics". Wii U came out in 2012 to compete with the PS4 and whatever MS does in the following half-decade. It's feature set and goals are similar to the PS4 (other than graphics), and I imagine the next Xbox to share many things with it, just as the PS4 will share with it and the Wii U will share with it.

It is more like a half step.

Then by the very definition of the word, the Wii U is Next Gen since it is the next generation of hardware compared to what came before it.

technically yes but its gonna turn into people saying like with the wii i cant just have this because all third party games are the "lite" versions so should i even get it.

@shadowmoses900: You're using gamefaqs as a reliable source?

Unfortunately when I think next gen the Wii U doesn't come to mind even if it technically is so I'm gonna say the console is more of a half step than an actual generational leap.

Yes, how can anyone judge it when they haven't even seen anything near it's full potential?

Good! I want a next-gen Wii-U anyway.

"THE NEXT GENERATION (sorry Wii-U) IS HERE!!"

I consider the Wii U to pretty much be two gens ago.

@Mrsignerman44 Simple. It can't even run Black Ops II on par with the 360 and PS3, it has no potential.

If we're talking about proper definitions and not crazy fantalk, then yes. It is part of the ~8th generation of game consoles. The "Current" generation was approximately the 7th. Therefore the WiiU is next gen. The Wii was next gen too, compared to the PS2/Xbox/GC. If we're talking about whether it is a Next Generation powerhouse, then no. Like the Wii, it's a step diagonally rather than a step straight up.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_video_game_consoles_(eighth_generation)

I voted yes, because sure, it's the next generation of Nintendo console.

That doesn't mean I think it is good or want one though.

I am actually starting to get very worried about the future of Nintendo.

I think the Wii U has to be called "next gen" because when you're talking about generations, you're not referring to the power or quality of the system, you're referring to a new iteration of a system, or at least when the system came out. The Wii U is the next significant iteration of the Wii, therefore it's next gen. I don't think that terms like "True next gen" really mean anything.

Who owns a Wii U and has been playing it as their main console since launch? Anyone?