Wii U

[kyuusei]

Not interested. Maybe a couple of years or more when it isn't just all ports of stuff I can get elsewhere and now. (AssCreed, Mass Effect, yadda yadda) And no, Bayonetta 2 isn't enough for me.

I also had no idea females were 'new gamers'...

[Russic]

Originally Posted by kyuusei

Not interested. Maybe a couple of years or more when it isn't just all ports of stuff I can get elsewhere and now. (AssCreed, Mass Effect, yadda yadda) And no, Bayonetta 2 isn't enough for me.

I also had no idea females were 'new gamers'...

I didn't mean to insinuate female gamers didn't exist before the Wii. I don't think it's sexist to say the number of females playing games 2 months before the wii came out and the number of females playing 2 months after was quite different. The Wii certainly grabbed that demographic better than any system before it. Now whether those individuals actually became fans of gaming is probably a point I'd argue against.

[Ace]

Originally Posted by OutOfTheCube

So you don't need the latest and greatest gaming system, but are for sure buying the latest and greatest gaming system?

Good Point.

I guess this is in response to the sentiment that the Wii U is not going to be as capable as the other systems.

[kyuusei]

Originally Posted by Russic

I didn't mean to insinuate female gamers didn't exist before the Wii. I don't think it's sexist to say the number of females playing games 2 months before the wii came out and the number of females playing 2 months after was quite different. The Wii certainly grabbed that demographic better than any system before it. Now whether those individuals actually became fans of gaming is probably a point I'd argue against.

Where do these facts even come from?

Seems to me like the Wii pulled in a lot of 'casual gamers' for a while, parents, older people, whatever (going by people I know who bought the system) - but it was far from limited to female players from what I saw.

The last part's probably true though - a lot of those people likely didn't become more of a gamer in the long run.

I'm not even excited for the next PS or Xbox quite yet - I blame my backlog of existing games for that though. =P

[Russic]

Originally Posted by kyuusei

Where do these facts even come from?

Seems to me like the Wii pulled in a lot of 'casual gamers' for a while, parents, older people, whatever (going by people I know who bought the system) - but it was far from limited to female players from what I saw.

The last part's probably true though - a lot of those people likely didn't become more of a gamer in the long run.

I'm not even excited for the next PS or Xbox quite yet - I blame my backlog of existing games for that though. =P

Personal experience only. I would say my circle of friends has approximately 10 females in it. Not 1 played video games before the Wii, and 100% of them were directly involved in the purchase of one afterwards (and 100% of them stopped playing within 6 months). I did write it incorrectly though, I should have phrased it as "my personal opinion is" (although I'd eat my own head if it wasn't true). I never meant to imply it was limited to females only. The biggest jump I noticed was in that demographic.

According to this article: http://www.conceivablytech.com/426/p...g-demographics

In late November, president of Nintendo America, Reggie Fils-Aime presented several data points outlining the current gender breakdown of console play in the U.S. Reggie estimates there are 45 million people playing video games as the primary players in the U.S. Of those, Nintendo is estimating 26% are female, or roughly 11.7 million.

Of those, 80% are on the Wii, 11% are on the Xbox 360 and 9% are on the PS3.

Wii – 80% = 9.3 million
X360 – 11% = 1.29 million
PS3 – 9% = 1.05 million
Total = 11.7 million Females

That's not saying how many of those 9.3 million gamers are new to gaming, but that's a massive share of the pie and even if a small percentage of that 80% were new it would be tons of females new to gaming.

[Sr. Mints]

Nintendo has some of the strongest franchises out there, and they rarely disappoint.

I lined up at Zellers Market mall until 3:00 a.m. to get a Wii, because I wanted to play Zelda: Twilight Princess so badly it was killing me, and I don't regret the decision at all. But as time went on, my Wii got used less and less.

I've got a Wii U pre-ordered, but honestly there isn't much in the way of release titles that really hold my interest. If I can get $500 for the thing, I'm thinking I'd sell it at this point.

[SebC]

The Wii alienated a ton of traditional gamers by being crappy SD instead of HD.

[Mazrim]

The Wii U uses Wii Remotes as the controller of choice mainly, so it's not going to be the huge startup cost to get a good multiplayer setup like many might say. Those who are upgrading from the Wii will already have the accessories they need to play most games.

The limitations of the tablet controller mean you won't see that used too heavily, since two players maximum on tablet controllers is all the system can handle.

The Wii in my household gets lots of use still because of the Virtual Console/Wii Ware and Smash Brothers. I'm not in a huge rush to replace it yet, unless the Wii U has a Virtual Console with games unavailable to the Wii.

[Resolute 14]

Originally Posted by SebC

The Wii alienated a ton of traditional gamers by being crappy SD instead of HD.

Probably, but given "traditional gamers" tend to usually be about how shiny a game looks, the Wii wasn't really aimed at them in the first place.


The Wii succeeded because it wasn't just a shinier version of the last console. It succeeded because it changed console gaming. The challenge for the Wii U is that it really is just a shinier version of the Wii. I will almost certainly buy one, simply because I love the Mario and Zelda games. But I also realize that it will be a console that I'll play the hell out of one game with, then ignore completely for six months.

[HalifaxDrunk]

I have preordered a Wii U and New Super Mario Bros. U.

The hours and joy spent playing the last on on the Wii with my son was enough for me to order one. Unfortunately my hardcore gaming days are on a hiatus until he is older. Hopefully everything else lives up to the hype, I am looking forward to Lego City: Undercover.

[Russic]

I wouldn't say it changed gaming as much as it introduced a very new and interesting dynamic. I don't feel that movement based gaming (wii, Move, Kinect) is something that can keep progressing long term.

[The Yen Man]

Reading some reviews on the tablet controller, I'm disappointed at it's limited range. It is only good for about 20-30 feet. So I wouldn't be able to play this in my bedroom if I have it set up in my bonus room. I'll pretty much have to be in the same room as the console.

[Rathji]

I need a house where 20-30feet away is in the same room.



Sent from my Windows 8 device using Board Express

[Keeko_ca]

I'm all over this freaking thing. It's Nintendo man. Zelda and Metroid in HD? I mean, c'mon man.

Sure, the next Xbox and next PlayStation will leap frog the Wii U, but perhaps in 2 years they'll be relevant? It seems to take at least 2 years these days for a new system to pick up steam. Oddly, the Wii U just jumps into the current console mix and supercedes it with that controller.

I get that it's not for everyone, but I'm pretty pumped for the thing. I truly try to dismiss them, but I can't escape Nintendo's games. I don't care what resolution they are, they're always a good time! The Metroid Prime games on the Wii were amazing...again, not for everyone, but they simply hooked me.

I'll probably grab whatever Sony has up next as well.

[photon]

I wasn't even thinking about this but I tried the Rayman demo in Future Shop the other day and was it ever gorgeous.

Wind Waker style Zelda game on the Wii U and I'll buy two, one for each eye.

[Jbo]

First review for Mario is up on ign.com and comes in at a 9.1.

Seems like a return to the classics like Super Mario World.

Can't wait now!

[chemgear]

Originally Posted by J-bo09

First review for Mario is up on ign.com and comes in at a 9.1.

http://ca.ign.com/articles/2012/11/1...-bros-u-review

And some others:

http://www.joystiq.com/2012/11/15/ne...bros-u-review/

http://kotaku.com/5960880/new-super-...-kotaku-review

[Resolute 14]

Wired with a long, and good, read on why Nintendo always seems to buck the trend:

http://www.wired.com/gamelife/2012/1...wii-u-feature/

[The Yen Man]

Originally Posted by Rathji

I need a house where 20-30feet away is in the same room.



Sent from my Windows 8 device using Board Express

Hmm, didn't really mean it that way. The way my house is set up, my bonus room is at one end of the floor, and my master bedroom is on the other side. I can technically play in my other two bedrooms, but there wouldn't be a point for me to do so.

[HPLovecraft]

Anyone picking one up today?