Jimquisition: Who "Won" The Next-Gen Launch?

[Hitchmeister]

Thank you, Jim Sterling, for reminding me of all the stuff I read months ago about how the poor Wii U's graphics capabilities were so pitiful compared to the hype about the "real" next gen consoles coming up. Well, the "real" consoles are here now and the Wii U isn't looking all that pitiful any more.

 

[SilverUchiha]

Couldn't agree more. It's really frustrating that the WiiU is not getting all the multiplatform games it SHOULD be getting, but it's getting unique titles with it's unique platform and I'm genuinely excited by the games on it and the ones coming to it moreso than ANYTHING I've seen or heard for either XboxOne or PS4. And anything I can't get on WiiU I can get on my PC, which offers more than XboxOne or PS4 ever could. Thus, I feel like I'm sitting just fine for this nextgen where I probably won't buy the others til near the end of the generation when they're cheaper, if at all.

 

[Estelindis]

...Did not see *that* coming. Entertaining video, though I'm in no position to make the kind of evaluation that you did, Jim. I regard these console wars from the PC-gaming sidelines.

*Not directed at Estelindis in anyway*

I'm an avid fan/practitioner of PC gaming, but where does this sense of superiority of PC gaming come from? It seems anytime consoles comes up the mention of using PC is thrown in. As if any accomplishment of said systems is dwarfed by a PC's mere existence.

I understand that you said your comment wasn't directed at me, but for the sake of clarity just let me say that I did not intend my comment to convey any sense of superiority. I was just explaining why I have only a brief comment to make on the video.

Anyway, I don't understand why anyone should think one form of gaming is inherently superior to another. What matters is that everyone is having fun playing whatever they enjoy, not that everyone somehow endorse their choice by saying X or Y has won a "war"!

 

[orangeapples]

I got the PS4 and have a gaming PC (capable of playing Battlefield 4 in some middle level so it isn't no slouch), but the system I use the most is the WiiU. Right now it is:
WiiU > 3DS > PC > PS4 > Vita > PS3 > Wii

 

[coreymon77]

Ha! Yes! All glory to the Wii U!

I got a Wii U when the Windwaker HD bundle came out and haven't regretted it for a second. The thing is just so much fun to play. Windwaker is one of the few Zelda's I missed out on, Wonderful 101 is a fantastic game and I can't wait to be done exams so that my brother and I can dig into Mario 3D World and Rayman Legends. Miiverse is also surprisingly fun to play around with. The Gamepad is also great. It may look funny, but it's so unique and it's capabilities are so fun to use. I feel like a giddy little kid again every time I boot the thing up to play something.

Another thing Nintendo knows how to do is make a controller that feels great to use. The Gamepad may look unwieldy, but it just feels so "right" in your hands when you hold the thing. I have small hands, so you would think the Gamepad would be tough for me, but it isn't. You don't feel like you have to get used to the Gamepad, or any Nintendo controller in recent memory, everything is just where it should be. I've tried the PS4 and it's controller felt weird in my hand, as did the PS3's until I got used to it. The Gamepad, on the other hand, just feels "right" right off the bat. Also, the PS4 controller has a touch pad on it. Where do you think Sony got that idea from?

The Wii U's ability to play games directly on the Gamepad, without needing a TV is also really useful and something no other console provides. When I'm watching TV and it goes to commercials, I just pick up the Gamepad and play some Windwaker without having to worry about constantly checking back to see if the commercials are over. Someone else wants to use the TV? No problem, I will just play on the Gamepad. I was even able to go through the entire setup process for the system while the TV was in use. The XBone and PS4 are trying so hard to take over the living room by hogging all of your attention and being able to do everything through the system's interface. Yet, I think the Wii U does a better job at that by explicitly not hogging the TV and letting it be used simultaneously with the Wii U.

 

[CWestfall]

Looks like we can expect Lick/10 from Sterling on all OUYA games for the next 5 years.

 

[Little Duck]

But super mario is sexist!

And seriously nintendo had nothing to do with any console war since the gamecube. No one even takes the Wii serious as a gaming console because it only had shovelware besides the usual nintendo households WICH ARE ALL SEXIST! DONT FORGET!...

...dont have a stiffy for Link, Mario or SAMUS then youre better off with the competition.

(edited samus for caps)

I believe this is crapping in your own argument.

Let us not forget also the great non sexist and totally inclusive of all sex games that include people and star people of all genders that are Halo, Resistance, Killzone, God of War, Dead or Alive 4 no wait. No. Somethings wrong here.

Nintendo, xbox AND sony are all as bad as each other when it come to sexism. Mario is just as bad but it is trying to some extent (albeit poorly see Peach still being kidnapped, Zelda still being mostly useless) to encourage it's females to be more fleshed out as oppose men do the menly things see pretty much every example I gave, except for Dead or Alive 4, which is essentially interactive jiggle physics. If you're going to base your argument on this don't forget sony and Microsoft are just as bad.

Fair enough if you don't find shooters, adventure games or platformers enjoyable and fair enough again if you don't like the flavours Metroid, Zelda and Mario give you. But please don't say a whole games console is sexist and pretend sony and xbox are in any way better. Because they are not.

Now fair enough no third party developer is developing for wii u. Except for X coming out, monster hunter, watch dogs, Ass Creeds, Bayonetta 2 etc etc. Admittedly it is still missing out a lot of third party support and that is sad, but it is still getting some. And finally, we are talking about a games company who have said for the past 10 years, they don't care about the console wars. That's not why nintendo are here and they have not been contributing to that for years and judging it from that perspective is like laughing at a orcas inability to compete in the 400 meter hurdles. It's a different animal. Nintendo's objective is to make something fun and if you were listening that's what they have done.

(Said from someone who own an xbox 360 and has fanboyed it pretty much the whole prior gen)

 

[Mega_Manic]

PC'S THE BEST CONSOLE!

If you have a nice graphics card....
And enough RAM....
And a fast enough processor....
And a stable enough internet connection.....
And a etc etc etc.......

I do like playing on the PC, but really just not enough money/patience/experience to make it a better experience than a console. Say really saying PC is the best experience is a pretty relative thing.

 

[Darth_Payn]

Okay, I did not see that coming. Very well put, Jim! I'm happy for the WiiU and it's focus on GAMES, and making you feel like a kid again, but I'm still trying to wrap my head around the use of TWO screens at once. It was tricky enough back in the Gamecube and it's GBA connectivity. And I should filter out the negative things Yahtzee said about it.
And the new icon? Nice.

 

[Zenron]

Yeah I'll go with that Sir. Jimothy. It probably did have the best line-up I guess. Not that that means anything in the long run as you said yourself. For a person that doesn't buy any consoles at launch like me it means even less. I'll wait for the inevitable price drop.

 

[MB202]

It's interesting that Jim said the "Wii U"... mostly because I recall in a previous episode of the Jimquisition, he berated the Wii U's launch, said it was "too late" for it to have a decent launch line-up, yet it still won the best the "best launch" award? Fascinating.

 

[shadowstriker86]

WiiU/PC/3DS owner here. Traded my ps3 to get the wiiu when it first launched because at that point, i was only using it for netflix. When it comes to any major purchase, i'm very skittish because i want to make sure i'm getting the most out of it otherwise i won't buy it. So when it came time to pick up a ps4 (no way in hell am i picking up an xboner unless if i can somehow outbid someone on ebay for one that's around 100$) I ran through my checklist:

-what can i play on here that i can't on a pc? = gta 5
-do i have anything else that can do what this does? = yes, lots of things.
-how does the controller feel = meh. like a third party ps3 controller
-does it pass gamplay > graphics? = not currently
-advantages over pc = price vs. cost of upgrades

this took me all of 10 minutes. at most. so being the skittish consumer that i am i decided to just pick up super mario 3d world today. gonna surprise my gf with it cause she likes to play games together and use the rest to just save up for pc upgrades because i took my time and asked a simple question that a lot of people don't ask themselves: Why should/am I buying this?

 

[Jennacide]

I'm still at the stage of being annoyed any time the PS4 and Xbone are refered to as any form of "next-gen" when they aren't even current gen compared to PCs. They still aren't even as powerful as my three year old PC that only cost me $600.

Sure, there is some stuff on the PS4 I'm interested in, but not enough to buy one yet; and I will likely never have an interest in the Xbone after the disaster that was the lead in to it's launch, and a wholely uninspired launch library. Honestly, the most exciting game release news recently for me is a goddam PS3 game next year (Persona 5) and more 3DS games for me to enjoy.

 

[Aikayai]

I was going to mention something about VR and other game changers on the horizon but then I realised board games are on the comeback. So maybe us mere mortals cannot predict the coming years but I can assume if poor sales happen with this generation the headlines will be "Consoles are dead" etc.

 

[New Frontiersman]

I did not expect that. I can't say that I'm not happy with Jim's choice, after all it seems like there are far too many people straight up ignoring that there is a third system on the market.

It's interesting to hear Jim's logic for selecting the Wii U. By sales numbers alone it probably "lost" as it had the smallest initial sales, but I can't fault Jim's logic, after all it's not just about numbers.

I always enjoy seeing what Jim has to say, it's always impossible to predict.

 

[Cid Silverwing]

Kindly stop licking things, Jim. It wasn't funny in your last video (and it also pretty much sabotaged your credibility) and it's even less funny now.

I've been forced to withdraw from the console war after I realized just how retarded, needless and juvenile it ultimately is. The concept of a "console war" belongs in the school playgrounds of the 16-bit era (SNES and Genesis, if you will), and even then it should never have been a "thing" because, believe me, there are kids out there who lost dear friends over games. Recall how Sega had to basically slander the SNES by bragging about "blast processing" (essentially just faster CPU clock speed) and that became a sort of catch-all nuke for Genesis fantards against the SNES fantards. Then realize the SNES was superior in all other aspects hardware-wise. That whole "Genesis does what Nintendon't" campaign was the product of punk-ass attitude, and Nintendo made a come-back with "Nintendo is what Genesisn't".

So, people, you have nothing to invest in or profit from this stupid-ass "war" that outstayed its welcome 15 years ago.

 

[EclipsiumRasa]

Neither the Xbone nor the PS4 was designed to make playing video games simple, effortless, or reliable.

The NES was a console. The Mega Drive (or Genesis) was a console. 3DO was a console. The Wii, the WiiU? Both consoles.

Insert game. Power on. Play.

A console implies a degree of simplicity. Of dedication. It doesn't have to have one sole function, but surely once so much other functionality gets tacked on it interferes with the ability to play games, surely then its time to point at it and declare "that's not a console", without people looking at you like you're crazy.

Why are the PS4 and Xbone being called video games consoles?

They're convergence products of the worst kind, and early adopters are just getting misused as a bizarre kind of hardware beta test where all-too-trusting fanboys (is there any other kind?) pay money to use goods that are not of merchantable quality.

 

[thephill]

What the next Gen launch made me miss most? SEGA. When Sega released the dreamcast it was a serious leap forward. It innovated. It did online focus in the nineties for fuck sake. It had a tamagotchi for a memory card. The new line up of cosoles are bigger versions of the old ones but back in '99 dreamcast broke a few rules.
It took risks- too many risks, sure but 10/10 for effort.
R.I.P old friend.