It is probably fair to say that the achievements of the Wii U so far have been dismal. This may or may not be down to the name (naming a console with a word which relates to a bodily function was always going to be risqué.) Irrespectively, the impact of the console has been less than Nintendo’s most pessimistic expectations and has sold slowly across all regions. On the customer end of things, the WiiU concept has left man gamers confused, with many still thinking that the WiiU is merely an add-on to the older Wii. This is yet another spectacular fumble from the brains behind Nintendo’s marketing strategies. Despite this, there has never been a better time to invest in this console. Nintendo have stated that from September 20th there will be a $50 price cut for the deluxe version of the console bringing the price down to $299. This brings the price down to a very reasonable level. The WiiU also has several advantages over the other next gen consoles. The quality of the Nintendo franchises and the new and future game releases remain a huge plus point in the WiiU’s favour. Titles such as Pikmin 3, Super Mario 3D world, Mario Kart 8, Bayonetta 2 and Super Smash Brothers are all reasons to buy this console in and of themselves. The imminent release of The Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker HD will also allow those who missed the game first time around to have the opportunity to play this astounding title. The game line-up for this console is really starting to pick up now after a poor start. For once, however, it will not only be first party titles which will be the consoles must have games. Third party and Indie titles are another draw to this system. Nintendo have taken steps to ensure that it is easier than ever to develop indie titles for the system by making their hardware simple for developers to work with. They have also made sure that small developers have equal space and visibility on Nintendo’s eShop, making developing games for this system a lot more lucrative which will all contribute to ever more numerous high quality titles being released for the system. In addition to new games, old games are another reason to invest in a WiiU. The Virtual Console on the WiiU contains a large number of retro games to be purchased and downloaded directly to the WiiU home page, allowing gamers easy access to retro gaming experiences without having to have multiple consoles. Nintendo’s inclusion of backwards compatibility is as welcome as ever. The Miiverse feature on the WiiU is now being expanded to the 3DS and mobile devices allowing for greater connectivity with more and more gamers and the possibility for using the system link to unlock more features in titles which appear on both systems. Of course, if you want a console that is also a media centre featuring TV capabilities and Netflix then the WiiU is not going to be the choice for you. The Xbox1 or the PS4 will be better suited to your needs. This will also be the case if you want hyper-realism in your video games. However, these additions come at a price, almost $500 if current release prices stay as they are. There is something to be said for a console that was designed purely to play games on, and the WiiU offers exactly that.
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The Inverse Look 
The big problem for me is that if you already own a PS3 and/or a 360 – and at today’s console and games’ prices for both, they’re a pretty trivial purchase – there’s just nothing compelling about the WiiU. NInty has created a console that has it’s contemporaries with the current gen, not the next gen – but without the install base or the cheap software. It’s like the upgrade to the Wii that no-one asked for when it’s more akin to the Wii we should have had in the first place…
That’s very true, and unfortunately people are going to have to decide whether they believe the line-up will be good enough in the future to warrant an investment now. Hopefully people with the money to do so will invest in both a next gen and WiiU to get the best of both worlds.
The thing is, that unless you’re personally invested in Nintendo’s first party titles (I’m not, myself) then the WU is basically pointless. The Halycon days of the SNES are long gone, and even the “well, it’s got some good stuff” days of the N64 and to a lesser extent, the GC have faded out badly. I’m holding out for 6-12-18 months on my PS4 till the price drops, and the XBone can DIAF due to MS’ poilicies.
For reference, I own multiples of all 3 current-gen systems (LAN) and heavily favour 360 to PS3 about 30-1 in terms of library proportion. About 80% of my gaming is on the PC, 18% on 360 and 2% on PS3. The Wii just gathers dust. Wii Bowling is still a decent game in retrospect, but it didn’t hold my interest. (It did better than Kinect, I’ll grant).
Its sad to admit but my Wii rarely sees action these days except to play Gamecube games through. I hear what you say about Microsoft though, they have messed up appallingly so far. Which is a shame because I have always preferred the feel of the Xbox consoles over PS efforts.
I was pretty firmly a PS2 fan last gen, but have preferred the 360 this gen. Next round, I’m leaning towards the PS4, but I can wait a year quite easily. I’m just not invested enough in Nintendo or their first-party properties to buy a WiiU, unfortunately – Mario Kart is about the only one of their franchises I care at all about at this stage (and I can still play all my previous versions!)
I like how you listed that “Mario Kart 8, Bayonetta 2 and Super Smash Brothers are all reasons to buy this console in and of themselves.”. NONE of those games are out, so yes they could be reasons to buy the console, but the way you worded it made it seem like all of them are available today.
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