Wii U price/release date announcement 9/13

Yes, and the Xbox One hasn't launched in Japan yet, either. But it's not as if launching in Japan would have allowed Microsoft to make up the difference. They would have sold a couple thousand, nothing statistically relevant. Look at those Xbox 360 numbers. 688!

 

The Wii system transfer is the most banal, awful experience ever. I have nothing good to say about the fact that you need to buy an SD card and run two consoles at the same time to do a one-time transfer of games and saves. Nintendo, what about cloud saves and account credits for re-downloading purchased items? How is it that in the era of e-commerce and the cloud that you completely failed to set up an infrastructure that recognizes purchases across compatible devices?

Nintendo needs to get better at this whole digital thing immediately.

That gutter dive into the depths of Nintendo's lack of foresight aside, I've discovered Wii mode. Since I can now still play my Wii games again, I've bought a black Wiimotion Plus controller and Skyward Sword. Time to find out what I missed; apparently this is the best Zelda game ever, or at least the best not named Ocarina.

 

Mario Kart 8 review. Spoilers: it's amazing.

[video=youtube;z-k9-f19tCg]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z-k9-f19tCg[/video]

 

I'm expecting Nintendo to show off Zelda Wii U and a new 3D Mario game at E3. They need to.

 

That is correct. You can pick one of New Super Mario Bros. U, Pikmin 3, Zelda: The Wind Waker HD, or Wii Party U. I would pick Wind Waker HD if you haven't played it yet, with NSMBU being the alternative choice.

This is a really nice deal, especially for people buying a new console with MK8 included.

Stuff like this is why I'm doubting Nintendo is going to announce a new console this year. They can't beg you to buy a Wii U and then, in a month, say "Oh now we want you to buy this new thing." Doesn't work like that.

 

More interested in sold figures, not shipped figures. Samsung ships a lot of Galaxy Tabs, they sell none of them.

As for that sales increase in the UK… so, Mario Kart is the beast?

 

That sounds suspiciously close to the "shipped" figure. 100% sell-through? Really?

 

Just wait for the feminist howls of outrage at Samus' rocket heels in Smash Bros.

 

4-way USB adapter for Gamecube controllers coming soon, presumably for Smash Bros play. Odds are you'll be able to plug the adapter into your PC and use the Gamecube controller with the Dolphin emulator (not that adapters don't already exist for that…)

Mario Kart 8 is incredible and you should be playing it right now.

How many people here have a Wii U? With MK8 spiking Wii U sales it probably makes sense to start talking more about this console.

 

It's time to take matters into your own hands and just buy the thing already.

 

Then you need to take her out and then invent a reason to go to Gamestop, Target, etc.

 

So it's that time of the month?

 

I'm sort of "meh" on the announcement. I'm hoping that the game isn't an on-rails shooter. That's the worst thing that Nintendo could release. It should be a real dogfighting game.

 

I'm not sure the Metroid Prime style of reinvention would work for Star Fox. Nintendo's idea was to turn it into a 3rd person action game (Star Fox Adventures or whatever it was called), which was clearly ridiculous.

We'll see what Nintendo has to offer but I'm not immediately excited. Zelda is much more promising to me.

 

Wii U sales have quadrupled since Mario Kart 8's release, with a lifetime install base of 6 million sold. PS4 is at 7 million.

 

I feel like they can't just whip out Zelda and Mario halfway through a system's lifespan anymore, though. That gimmick is wearing off. They need to have better launches, and they need to bring up additional supporting series.

The SNES launched with Mario (Super Mario World) and a new IP (F-Zero, Pilotwings) followed by Zelda (Link to the Past) and a new IP (Mario Paint). Then they did a new IP (Super Mario Kart) and then another new IP (Star Fox) and then went back to the Mario well (Super Mario All-Stars). Then came the sequels like Super Metroid and Super Punch-Out.

Nintendo doesn't do that anymore. They give us a barren launch, and then might get around to their core franchises a couple of years after launch, with some experimental stuff that isn't really serious sprinkled about (Link's Crossbow Training...)

So, Mario Kart 8 can help now, but they'd better not count on Mario Kart 9 being a miracle for the Wii U 2 or whatever they call the next console.

 

I say get both, though some of the bigger name PS3 games are also available on PS4 (Uncharted series can be downloaded via PSN, for instance).

As for MK online play, I've only played a couple of races, but it's pretty competitive and netcode seems to be good.

 

Polygon: How Nintendo plans to reignite sales

PS3 is still the #3 selling console right now—PS4 is #1, Wii U is #2—so you should be able to get something decent for it. I'd try to get $100.

 

Welcome to the dark side. We have cookies.

Grab Super Mario 3D World as well. Great classic style Mario game, basically what happens if you take Super Mario Bros. 3 and put it in a 3D world.

Also grab any Wii games you wanted to play, since the console is backwards compatible. I'm making my way through Skyward Sword, and plan to pick up Mario Galaxy 2.

 

I'd go with Wind Waker HD. The game really benefits from being in HD. I already had it, though, so I went with Pikmin 3... and I've barely played it.