Wii U to be quickly outdated?

[dragongit]

I've been keeping track of much of E3s coverage this year, as much as I can find at least. Honestly on that subject it's been a rather lack luster year with only a few promising titles.

Watching the Wii U and seeing what it's capable of, I begin to wonder how long it'll be relevant if Sony and Microsoft's technology completely outdates Nintendo's. Right now from news reports it's "on par" or even slightly better then the current generation. I wouldn't doubt that either, concidering the Wii U's hardware isn't 6+ years old. With Sony and Microsoft still developing their next gen, and the Unreal 4 engine in the works, will Wii U have a place with third party developers for long? Or will it simply become the family oriented, gimicy system that the Wii turned out to be.

Granted, the Wii thrived on the Casual audience for years topping the system sales charts. It might have an initial push being the first out the door Granted.Though it feels as soon as the other two compeditors get their new systems out there, third party developers will drop support for the WiiU save for a few gimicy games they produce from time to time.

 

[Vault101]

yeah..personally I dont really see who this console is for

 

[fireaura08]

It'll sell, at least for Pikmin 3.

 

[StriderShinryu]

Given that many of the "big" game announcements for the WiiU are actually just ports of games that are also going to be on the current other systems or, in many cases, have already come out on the current other systems, I think it's fairly obvious what the answer is.

Yes, in a year or so once the next generation begins in earnest, the WiiU will be totally left in the dust technology wise. Will this mean it will stop receiving support? Well, it really depends on how big of an install base it rings up and on just how far behind the curve it is.

 

[Dryk]

If the next generation brings leaps in AI or other things that require large amounts of processing power that aren't graphics I'll be disappointed that the Wii U is so underpowered. But otherwise it doesn't really matter.

 

[Janus Vesta]

The WiiU is going to flop, and pretty badly too. The thing only barely surpasses the PS3 and 360, and the Xbox 3 will likely be out in 2013 with the PS4 in 2014. It's going to be out dated very quickly.

There's also the problem that the casual market that bought the Wii isn't there anymore. No one who bought the Wii was waiting for a new Wii console, they've all moved on to facebook games and smartphone games. Easy drop in, drop out distractions and they don't need to be tied to a TV to do it.

The core Nintendo fans are the only ones looking forward to the WiiU and there's no games for them. Sure ZombiU and a handful of games that everyone has already played. Nintendo has no plan for the WiiU, they're halfheartedly reaching out in every direction and expecting the success of the Wii to carry the WiiU, but they don't realise that the Wii has been a joke for over 2 years now. There are like 10 good games for the thing, not a good precedent for the WiiU to follow.

TL;DR: Nintendo expect a casual audience to eat up the WiiU like they did the Wii, but that audience has long since moved on.

 

[DigitalAtlas]

Soooooo.... You all really care that much about graphics? Haha don't play Xenoblade then.

Wii had some of the best games this gen. Wii-U will follow the same path of innovative ideas and using the tech well to make good games. But, you hate on it.

FYI, I work in a RadioShack and you guys really have NOOOOO IDEA how fast tablets sell. This is going to make BIG MONEY.

 

[MrHide-Patten]

I want the Wii-U to fail so hard it makes Nintendo pull their finger out, or at least fail so hard that Microsoft and Sony stop copying their stupid business practice.

The success of the Wii was a fad, an accident. Right place, right time. As someone has already said the casual Marketa now has plenty of other venues to meet their tastes. Playing tennis in front of your telly is going to enthrall the casual demographic, but god knows they've already got tablets galore. Made by companies who have much more successful markets.

 

[gmaverick019_v1legacy]

it won't flop right away, but probably a year or two down the road, this generation it will fall even more behind the xbox 3/ps4, especially on 3rd party games..(hell most 3rd party games from this generation are getting just ported to wii-u, that's saying something.)

Unless nintendo seriously pulls out some amazing first party titles that aren't just rehash's, (if they put a 3D pokemon game on it, that's a full grand game unlike shitty pokemon XD or whatever that shit was called, that might just sell me on it alone) I can't see it doing too well in the long run, especially with the competition going on in this market.

 

[Janus Vesta]

Soooooo.... You all really care that much about graphics? Haha don't play Xenoblade then.

Wii had some of the best games this gen. Wii-U will follow the same path of innovative ideas and using the tech well to make good games. But, you hate on it.

FYI, I work in a RadioShack and you guys really have NOOOOO IDEA how fast tablets sell. This is going to make BIG MONEY.

The Wii had the fewest worthwhile titles this gen. Sure it did have some of the best but they're few and far between. The PS3 and 360, despite everyone's complaining, have had good games fairly consistently. The only company that made good games for the Wii was Nintendo and the only game they have for the WiiU is Pikmin 3.

You're ignoring the fact that they have no games, no audience and no plan. They have nothing. Hoping that their casual fans will somehow be pulled backwards from the super convenient smart phones back to the TV is silly, and pissing off the core fans for YEARS only to not have anything beyond Pikmin 3 is a fucking disgrace.

The WiiU will fail because Nintendo don't know what they're doing, they've taken one step in every direction and ended up back exactly where they were when the WiiU was announced. Full of angry, disappointed and confused fans. And here's another thing, most casual players don't even realise the WiiU is an entirely new console, they think it's a new controller. Even CNN, one of the best news stations in the world, didn't know that the WiiU was a console.

How do you expect it to sell when no one knows what it is or what it does?

 

[dragongit]

As I said before, the Wii U is in fact going to have a head start on the compitition for being the latest system to actually be produced in the last 6 years. A library of third party games that have had a release on shelves months to a year before the Wii U itself launches, and about 4 original titles with it ( mind you Nintendo land being one of them...) It may only last so long before it becomes the movie tie in family party system of the 20teens.

 

[DigitalAtlas]

Soooooo.... You all really care that much about graphics? Haha don't play Xenoblade then.

Wii had some of the best games this gen. Wii-U will follow the same path of innovative ideas and using the tech well to make good games. But, you hate on it.

FYI, I work in a RadioShack and you guys really have NOOOOO IDEA how fast tablets sell. This is going to make BIG MONEY.

The Wii had the fewest worthwhile titles this gen. Sure it did have some of the best but they're few and far between. The PS3 and 360, despite everyone's complaining, have had good games fairly consistently. The only company that made good games for the Wii was Nintendo and the only game they have for the WiiU is Pikmin 3.

You're ignoring the fact that they have no games, no audience and no plan. They have nothing. Hoping that their casual fans will somehow be pulled backwards from the super convenient smart phones back to the TV is silly, and pissing off the core fans for YEARS only to not have anything beyond Pikmin 3 is a fucking disgrace.

The WiiU will fail because Nintendo don't know what they're doing, they've taken one step in every direction and ended up back exactly where they were when the WiiU was announced. Full of angry, disappointed and confused fans. And here's another thing, most casual players don't even realise the WiiU is an entirely new console, they think it's a new controller. Even CNN, one of the best news stations in the world, didn't know that the WiiU was a console.

How do you expect it to sell when no one knows what it is or what it does?

Actually, people are flipping out over this console. It's got plenty of games for a launch. You keep saying PIKMIN 3 AND ONLY PIKMIN 3... which isn't true at all. Scribblenauts is a popular brand and will be Nintendo's LBP. Nintendo Land is just gimmicky to convince people to buy the console if it comes with it. Mario is mario, and Project P100 will win over the hardcore. Not to mention Watch Dogs is coming, as well as Lego City, Rayman Legends, and ZombiU. All look incredibly fun, even if it is a surprise for most of them.

Plus, Nintendo is integrating right into the modern tech by having big named games like Darksiders II and Assassin's Creed III come out like they normally would, but for the new console (Xbox 360 did this. THEY REALLY FAILED HUH?!). From a sales point of view, this is an attraction. If people are curious enough about the Wii-U to buy it and they want their same games? Bam. Wii-U can do it, and provide Nintendo games.

Nintendo knows EXACTLY what they're doing and this system is going to sell BIIIIIG numbers. Just because you can't see it, doesn't mean other people aren't.

Also, REALLY? CNN? You expect CNf'nN to be kept up to date with the latest game news? They looked at the name and Google image'd. F*ckin... Please...

EDIT: Also, you're forgetting...

>HD Mario that actually looks pretty

THAT will move this console on it's own. Don't believe me? Look at the sales for the Red Wii bundled with NSMB.

 

[TrevHead]

Good games come before hardware. However hardware limitations can make a bad game, if the devs make bad ports or sacrifice gameplay for graphical sparkle.

I think the Wii and probably the WiiU too are the most usefull with another console or gaming PC sitting beside it.

 

[Baldr]

At the least, it going to get at least 1 year of being the rich kid on the block. We don't know any of the price structures yet. New Xbox and PS could be $600 which is killer in a bad economy, which means only new games will come out on the affordable WiiU(Assuming the low specs makes it affordable.) verses them not coming out on the Xbox360 and PS3.

 

[Dirty Hipsters]

At the least, it going to get at least 1 year of being the rich kid on the block. We don't know any of the price structures yet. New Xbox and PS could be $600 which is killer in a bad economy, which means only new games will come out on the affordable WiiU(Assuming the low specs makes it affordable.) verses them not coming out on the Xbox360 and PS3.

There is no way in hell the next xbox and ps4 will be anywhere near $600. After the PS3's launch all the console developers know that the vast majority of consumers won't touch a console that costs over $400 with a ten foot pole.

 

[TheCommanders]

I don't care, but if the success of the Wii U continues to confuse and distract Sony and Microsoft from just making good solid hardware off of which good games can be made, then I will be unhappy. I used to be a Nintendo fan, but their cluelessness and the fact that the Wii was inferior in every aspect but ocasional appeal to visiters to my apartment, I really don't give a damn what they do anymore.

 

[CrystalShadow]

I don't know. I think you over-estimate the impact.

Do you realise just how much better those two consoles would have to be technically to have a dramatic effect on games?

Ever compared the graphical performance of an Nvidia 600 series GPU with that of an ATI 4000 series?
On paper the gulf should be huge.
In practice it really isn't.

And it would be even less so when you consider the implications of a device intended to output to a TV rather than high resolution PC monitors. (I mean, the theoretical implications of ATI eyefinity setups make 'HD' tv's seem quaint. I doubt there are many people with such a setup, but an array of 6 monitors with 2560x1600 resolution... 24 megapixels compared to HD being less than 2...)

I'm sorry, but I find it questionable that the new consoles are going to powerful enough to really make the WiiU look awful.

the law of diminishing returns seems to have set in with a vengeance, which isn't surprising, because the closer you get to 'real', the subtler the changes become.

Compare a PS1 game to a gamecube one, then compare that to a xbox 360 game...

Even if you think graphics are super-important, I'm almost certain the transition from gamecube to 360 will seem less impressive than the ps1 to gamecube transition.
(Or whatever equivalent generation consoles you want to compare.)

That trend is only set to get worse.

And PC's make this quite obvious, even if they are probably hamstrung somewhat by devs rarely pushing the extreme performance boundaries anymore.

But really, an extra polygon when each fills 10% of the screen works wonders.
An extra million polygons when each is about 2 pixels across is probably not going to be that apparent.

 

[Avalanche91]

It might. The industry is in a bit of a flux right now, and if Sony and Microsoft can retaliate quick enough, they can make the WiiU obsolete really fast.

The improved third party support and unique controls however give it a better chance then I ever gave the Wii (which turned out to sell like hot cakes with tits) so who knows. If last generation taught me anything it is that you should never underestimate Nintendo.

It's one of the few companies in the industry left who actually maintained a large group of loyal fans, and it actually dares to take risks with it's consoles. If anything, I can predict the next Xbox and Playstation will sell roughly the same, with the Xbox selling just a bit better, but the WiiU is a darkhorse.
In how long it will take to be outdated, to how long it will be fun to play with, to how well it will sell.

 

[Clearing the Eye]

Sadly, there is a startlingly large number of people claiming they will purchase the WiiU on release, regardless of any events leading to that time or the quality of the product itself. I personally see the item as little more than a larger DS and have no doubt in my mind that some time from now, the general opinion will be a mixture of disappointment and apathy--much the same as the 3DS and the Wii before it.

 

[getoffmycloud]

Soooooo.... You all really care that much about graphics? Haha don't play Xenoblade then.

Wii had some of the best games this gen. Wii-U will follow the same path of innovative ideas and using the tech well to make good games. But, you hate on it.

FYI, I work in a RadioShack and you guys really have NOOOOO IDEA how fast tablets sell. This is going to make BIG MONEY.

The Wii had the fewest worthwhile titles this gen. Sure it did have some of the best but they're few and far between. The PS3 and 360, despite everyone's complaining, have had good games fairly consistently. The only company that made good games for the Wii was Nintendo and the only game they have for the WiiU is Pikmin 3.

You're ignoring the fact that they have no games, no audience and no plan. They have nothing. Hoping that their casual fans will somehow be pulled backwards from the super convenient smart phones back to the TV is silly, and pissing off the core fans for YEARS only to not have anything beyond Pikmin 3 is a fucking disgrace.


The WiiU will fail because Nintendo don't know what they're doing, they've taken one step in every direction and ended up back exactly where they were when the WiiU was announced. Full of angry, disappointed and confused fans. And here's another thing, most casual players don't even realise the WiiU is an entirely new console, they think it's a new controller. Even CNN, one of the best news stations in the world, didn't know that the WiiU was a console.

How do you expect it to sell when no one knows what it is or what it does?

Actually, people are flipping out over this console. It's got plenty of games for a launch. You keep saying PIKMIN 3 AND ONLY PIKMIN 3... which isn't true at all. Scribblenauts is a popular brand and will be Nintendo's LBP. Nintendo Land is just gimmicky to convince people to buy the console if it comes with it. Mario is mario, and Project P100 will win over the hardcore. Not to mention Watch Dogs is coming, as well as Lego City, Rayman Legends, and ZombiU. All look incredibly fun, even if it is a surprise for most of them.

Plus, Nintendo is integrating right into the modern tech by having big named games like Darksiders II and Assassin's Creed III come out like they normally would, but for the new console (Xbox 360 did this. THEY REALLY FAILED HUH?!). From a sales point of view, this is an attraction. If people are curious enough about the Wii-U to buy it and they want their same games? Bam. Wii-U can do it, and provide Nintendo games.

Nintendo knows EXACTLY what they're doing and this system is going to sell BIIIIIG numbers. Just because you can't see it, doesn't mean other people aren't.

Also, REALLY? CNN? You expect CNf'nN to be kept up to date with the latest game news? They looked at the name and Google image'd. F*ckin... Please...

EDIT: Also, you're forgetting...

>HD Mario that actually looks pretty

THAT will move this console on it's own. Don't believe me? Look at the sales for the Red Wii bundled with NSMB.

But what your forgetting is all the third party titles are coming out on 360 and PS3 too so if you own one of them and you don't like mario and pikmin then what reason do you have to buy the wiiU. If your a casual gamer that bought the wii you have probably become more interested in facebook and iphone games and your wii is jsut gathering dust so why would they buy the wiiU.

If Nintendo want the core audience back then they need to make some first party titles that go out of there comfort zone at this point you are not going to win anymore core gamers with Mario, Zelda etc cause if they were interested they would be playing them right now, and nobody is going to be interested in picking it up for third party titles if it is going to become underpowered considerably in couple of years time when microsoft and sony release their new consoles.