Wii U - General Discussion Thread

Corvin said:
As much as I love Pikmin, the franchise is not a triple A system seller. Pikmin is a "support" game. i.e. people can look at the WiiU library and say, oh Mario, Nintendoland, Rayman, Lego, Pikmin... I'm finally in. It's a strong title when looking at the library as a whole and could push some over the fence to finally buy in because the library is stronger.

That aside, I rented Sonic & All Stars Racing and, eff me, it's the best Kart game I've played in years. The single player is strong compared to MK which has always been weak. Tons of unlockables, challenges, characters, mods, leveling, etc. The plane, kart, boat thing is fun and clearly reminiscent of Diddy Kong Racing.

Disclaimer: I've only enjoyed 2 non Mario Kart racers, Crash Team Racing and Diddy Kong. Mario Kart is so stale it's laughable. Using the stable of Sega IPs is just fantastic and what Nintendo should have done years ago with Mario Kart. Turn it into Nintendo Team Racing with Samus, Link, Pit, Mario & crew, Olimar, etc. Basically Smash Bros. with Karts. I'm sure MK 8 or whatever is coming to WiiU will be fine, but that's the problem, "fine" is lazy.
Click to expand...
I agree that "fine" is lazy. Ok so Mario Kart will have fun tracks, but rubberband AI that makes it unplayable on singleplayer. Same modes, same everything probably. When I look at the lineup, where is new. I mean there is games that I am sure will be ok like Super Mario 3D Land, or DK but I just look at them and wonder what more they could of been. I personally would rather have 1 innovative, fun game instead of 3-4 lets just make make a new *insert franchise here* game to WiiU and not change anything. Now Pikmin 3 is an exception because while it is a sequel, they really tailored the game to the system.

 
Last edited by a moderator:
I do think there's a fundamental disconnect between Nintendo and what fans actually want. Like when Reggie was confused why people weren't that excited about NSMBU and was going we're giving you guys Mario, what's the problem? And it's been the same this year. I basically wasn't all that excited by 3D world until virtually every podcast I listened to said it was pretty awesome and then I think the only other Wii U exclusives I'm getting are Wonderful 101 & Scribblenauts Unmasked. Wind Waker, DK & MK just aren't incredibly exciting to me.

 
Sir_Fragalot said:
Pikmin 3 is an exception because while it is a sequel, they really tailored the game to the system.
Click to expand...
So much so that they're demoing it using Wiimotes and not the tablet? If it's tailored to the system and it's somehow more than just a sequel, the tablet should have been front and center for the game from the get-go. Instead, it's an afterthought.

That attitude is nothing new coming from Nintendo. Wii Sports aside, nearly all of the first-party Wii titles didn't exactly incorporate motion control honestly ("flick up to slash/spin/do a trick" was the best of it until Skyward came along). One hope going into WIIU was that they would learn from that mistake, but judging from the experience thus far, they're going to repeat that cycle, only this time without the consumer interest and sales numbers of the Wii.

Seeing how they righted the 3DS and brought it back into the general DS fold was encouraging, but nope, it's just different for them with consoles, they get all cheap and frazzled when it comes to consoles. The most bothersome aspect of this (IMO) is how they've managed to marginalize themselves. Whereas MS and Sony felt compelled to respond to the Wii, they don't even need to address the WIIU, Nintendo is doing just fine confusing people about the WIIU, they don't need their competitors' help.

 
I really don't understand their half-assed approach to online. Nintendoland, NSMBU, Pikmin 3 & Super Mario 3D World world would be pretty unique online experiences. I get that there is an element of couch co-op you don't get online but they could do both and frankly it's hard to get people to play games together at home, they just don't want to do it in my experience.

 
Erad30 said:
I really don't understand their half-assed approach to online. Nintendoland, NSMBU, Pikmin 3 & Super Mario 3D World world would be pretty unique online experiences. I get that there is an element of couch co-op you don't get online but they could do both and frankly it's hard to get people to play games together at home, they just don't want to do it in my experience.
Click to expand...
This. My fiance and I have had NSMBU from launch and still have yet to beat it. We only play together, and time we actually get to sit down and play and neither of us is tired is rare.

Unknown to her, but I started another game by myself recently. Playing co-op is fun, but I just want to finally get through the damn game.

 
Erad30 said:
I do think there's a fundamental disconnect between Nintendo and what fans actually want. Like when Reggie was confused why people weren't that excited about NSMBU and was going we're giving you guys Mario, what's the problem? And it's been the same this year. I basically wasn't all that excited by 3D world until virtually every podcast I listened to said it was pretty awesome and then I think the only other Wii U exclusives I'm getting are Wonderful 101 & Scribblenauts Unmasked. Wind Waker, DK & MK just aren't incredibly exciting to me.
Click to expand...
Mm but Reggie's just the head of the American PR department. Guy's barely human.

 
Nintendo to announce secret “brand-new types of games” for Wii U soon
Nintendo didn’t really have much in the way of surprises at E3, and that’s because, as Satoru Iwata says, they wanted to focus on the “video game fans that are eager for information on so-called traditional games” at the show. But they have more in store for this year than just the stuff they discussed at June’s Nintendo Direct, including “new types of games.”



In a meeting with investors recently, Iwata discussed these secret games and explained why they haven’t talked about them yet. “When it comes to brand-new types of games, we have to announce them not too far in advance of the actual release dates in order to have a strong impact in the market and minimize the chance of others introducing similar or competing products. We are working on new types of games, but we would like to announce them much closer to their actual release timings for this reason.

“When it comes to Wii, as ‘Wii Sports’ spread throughout the world at a sensational speed, some misunderstood that all Wii could do is enable them to play games by moving the Wii Remote. With Wii U, therefore, we planned to satisfy existing video game fans first and provide new surprises later.”

Iwata makes it clear that some of these games he’s talking about will be released within the next year or so. But what could they be? Hmmmmmmm.

Meanwhile, in the same talk with investors, Iwata discussed the absence of the vitality sensor.

-New IP that uses the gamepad in interesting ways? Let's hope.

 
This is where game news gets nutty. Translating shareholder meetings, patrolling ratings boards, patent applications, programmer resumes, foreign ratings boards, rumors, leaks, leaks of cancelled games, review scores by foreign magazines... these places are just trying to justify their existence when it's not really merited. There are way too many game blogs.

Some days, there's just not much news.

 
Last edited by a moderator:
So does anyone play local with their kids, or am I the only one? We play local almost every day and have a blast each time. My daughter's playing G&W as I type this. Family play is the Wii U's main value IMO.

 
I thrive on local multiplayer, one of my biggest draws to gaming.  I just have to wait for my kids to get old enough to expand their skill set, though I always bring out games for any family and / or friends gathering.

 
MetalSlugger said:
So does anyone play local with their kids, or am I the only one? We play local almost every day and have a blast each time. My daughter's playing G&W as I type this. Family play is the Wii U's main value IMO.
Click to expand...
its only use in my house. picked up sonic racing yesterday, i wish it used the wiimote by itself without the motion controls, but its a lot of fun.

 
MetalSlugger said:
So does anyone play local with their kids, or am I the only one? We play local almost every day and have a blast each time. My daughter's playing G&W as I type this. Family play is the Wii U's main value IMO.
Click to expand...
I used to do this a lot more with the Gamecube. But just the other day my 16 year-old daughter surprised me by wanting to play multiplayer Mario Kart with my 5 year-old son. They played the Wii version - if only Mario Kart Wii U was out already!

My other son was playing the Game & Wario demo at Gamestop the other day. It actually looked like a lot of fun - yet all the reviews I've read are fairly negative. I will definitely look at picking that up when I can get a deal on it.

 
Wow, I didn't mean to start something with my Sonic vs MK rant.  Just annoyed how little innovation MK has had since MK64.  Bikes, hovercrafts and motion control ain't exactly it.  It was under appreciated at the time, but hindsight being 20/20, Double Dash was the best step forward in the series.  It's a shame that didn't continue on.  Imagine what the tablet could do for two players in the same Kart on the WiiU.  One's driving with the pro pad and the other gets a full reverse view of the course, on the tablet, in which to attack with.  

After a couple more nights with Sonic, my biggest complaint with MK still stands.  You can only race around the Mushroom Kingdom so much(some of us for 20+ years).  Opening that up to encompass all the Nintendo IPs would just be incredible(toss in Jetskis to make use of the Waverace IP, and planes for Starfox or Pilotwings for that matter).  There's also nothing really driving(pun intended) you to come back for more in regards to single player either.  The leveling in Sonic along with patches, mods, unlockable characters, and a robust career mode just adds so much replayability.  

I rant because I love.  :(  

 
Last edited by a moderator:
I maintain that motion control is the biggest innovation and that game made me pick up a Wii. Also they added online multiplayer, which despite being sluggish and weird, is still being played.

I get that if you are a MK fan and need to pick up every installment, the game is largely the same. I still think this would be the absolute best game for DLC, but I suppose they couldn't keep putting out the same damn game with the same courses every few years like they have been.

 
Last edited by a moderator:
Corvin said:
Wow, I didn't mean to start something with my Sonic vs MK rant. Just annoyed how little innovation MK has had since MK64. Bikes, hovercrafts and motion control ain't exactly it. It was under appreciated at the time, but hindsight being 20/20, Double Dash was the best step forward in the series. It's a shame that didn't continue on. Imagine what the tablet could do for two players in the same Kart on the WiiU. One's driving with the pro pad and the other gets a full reverse view of the course, on the tablet, in which to attack with.

After a couple more nights with Sonic, my biggest complaint with MK still stands. You can only race around the Mushroom Kingdom so much(some of us for 20+ years). Opening that up to encompass all the Nintendo IPs would just be incredible(toss in Jetskis to make use of the Waverace IP, and planes for Starfox or Pilotwings for that matter). There's also nothing really driving(pun intended) you to come back for more in regards to single player either. The leveling in Sonic along with patches, mods, unlockable characters, and a robust career mode just adds so much replayability.

I rant because I love. :(
Click to expand...
Sorry but that would require actual work from Nintendo.

Also poor kamiya

http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=614076

 
Does Nintendo ever drop the prices for their games? I'm thinking about a Wii U but the majority of the games are still full price and looking through Wii/3DS catalogs it doesn't seem like Nintendo ever drops their prices. I just saw Mario Bros. for Wii and it was still priced at $50. I'd love to be able to grab a couple Wii U games, especially Nintendo IP, for $30 a piece to start a Wii U library. 

Also, I know this has been discussed before but why, oh why, does Nintendo not have a XBLA/PSN type account system? It makes absolute no sense!

 
Nintendo did a couple waves of "Nintendo Selects" for $20. Games included Mario Galaxy 1, Twilight Princess, Super Paper Mario, and Mario Sluggers, among others. They also dropped the price on DKC Returns Wii and Smash Bros. Brawl.

But Nintendo doesn't do budget re-releases much anymore.
 
DNukem170 said:
Nintendo did a couple waves of "Nintendo Selects" for $20. Games included Mario Galaxy 1, Twilight Princess, Super Paper Mario, and Mario Sluggers, among others. They also dropped the price on DKC Returns Wii and Smash Bros. Brawl.

But Nintendo doesn't do budget re-releases much anymore.
Click to expand...
Which is very unfortunate they don't. I'm personally more inclined to spend $60 on two games over one. Helps Nintendos overall software numbers and makes people more inclined to keep playing Wii U and buying more games. A decent and affordable Wii U game catalog would make me much more inclined to pull the trigger on the Wii U, even with as over priced as it is. That's just me though.

 
Several Wii U games have been on sale for about $30-35. Monster Hunters 3 was $35 a week ago. New Super Mario Bros was 29.99 a few weeks back. Lego City Undercover, Resident Evil: Revelations, Sonic and Allstars Racing Transformed, and Need for Speed have all been in the sub $30 price range. Nintendo Land,  Assassins Creed 3, Tekken have all been sub $20.

If you pay attention to the deals on here, you can get good deals on the new releases too. I got Pikmin 3 for about $45 with the Amazon pre order trade in credit. 

 
I was absolutely flabbergasted that Nintendo didn't drop most/all of their remaining first party titles to Nintendo Select pricing last holiday season.  The Wii U is fully backwards compatible, so having a huge array of $20 first party games would've helped liven up the boring hellscape that has been the post-launch release schedule.  There are still tons of Wii titles that I haven't picked up solely because they still sit at $50 MSRP.  They did it with GameCube games back at the Wii launch...makes absolutely no sense that they didn't do it this time.

 
MetalSlugger said:
I was absolutely flabbergasted that Nintendo didn't drop most/all of their remaining first party titles to Nintendo Select pricing last holiday season. The Wii U is fully backwards compatible, so having a huge array of $20 first party games would've helped liven up the boring hellscape that has been the post-launch release schedule. There are still tons of Wii titles that I haven't picked up solely because they still sit at $50 MSRP. They did it with GameCube games back at the Wii launch...makes absolutely no sense that they didn't do it this time.
Click to expand...
Exactly! A robust library of playable games would have pushed hardware sales in my opinion. It would make me much more likely pull the trigger on a $350 system that will be blown out of the water in November when PS4 and X1 launch. I'd still like one eventually to play some of the Nintendo first party titles.

moothemagiccow said:
Complaining about high prices while posting on this site makes no sense.
Click to expand...
Really? You don't think a website dedicated to making gaming as cheap as possible would have people commenting on the high prices of certain types of software? Think about it.

 
Eh, there's still a lot of good budget titles though. DKC, Smash Bros., Zelda, Mario Galaxy, etc. I can understand why they wouldn't reduce NSMBW, and the two Kirby games are apparently discontinued.

Note that 3rd Party games do get discounted. All the Sonic games are $20 as are most of the Lego games.
 
DNukem170 said:
Eh, there's still a lot of good budget titles though. DKC, Smash Bros., Zelda, Mario Galaxy, etc. I can understand why they wouldn't reduce NSMBW, and the two Kirby games are apparently discontinued.

Note that 3rd Party games do get discounted. All the Sonic games are $20 as are most of the Lego games.
Click to expand...
Those are the first party games most people already own though since they released during the core gamer honeymoon of 06-early 08 (except DKC). NSMBW would've been the game to discount since the (pseudo) sequel was already out. Cut it down to $20-30, maybe even do a package deal with NSMBU; the game has already sold bonkers so why not eke a few more sales out of the cheapasses (like me) who are left? Make Selects out of a couple of titles a month and build up hype for them like they did with the first two Selects release waves. Collectors would make a run on the stores to get the original packaging versions and everyone else would get three great Wii games for the price of one non-existant Wii U title. It would have been perfect.

I know third party Wii games get discounted a lot but come on, there are only so many of those worth owning and most of them have been out of retail stores for years. They've been discounted to hell and back; anyone who wanted them already has them.

 
ColFantastic said:
Exactly! A robust library of playable games would have pushed hardware sales in my opinion. It would make me much more likely pull the trigger on a $350 system that will be blown out of the water in November when PS4 and X1 launch. I'd still like one eventually to play some of the Nintendo first party titles.

Really? You don't think a website dedicated to making gaming as cheap as possible would have people commenting on the high prices of certain types of software? Think about it.
Click to expand...
No, I don't, because there are deals left and right on Wii U games, especially in the last month. I don't know what rock you're hiding under where everything is $60

 
Last edited by a moderator:
moothemagiccow said:
No, I don't, because there are deals left and right on Wii U games, especially in the last month. I don't know what rock you're hiding under where everything is $60
Click to expand...
If you don't see one of the uses of CAG as a place try to discuss and try to find cheaper games, I don't think you get the point of it then.

Of course there are deals but I think left and right is being quite generous. They need to have more deals on the stuff people care about, i.e. Wii U exclusives (which is also a problem based on the lack of games being released). I doubt many people bought a Wii U to play Injustice or most any other cross platform for that matter. They bought it to play games based on Nintendo IP. Hopefully, Nintendo's fall/winter slate of games will give them a boost but I think a price drop would be good for them to do. The price drop on MH3 and some of the 3rd party games are a start on the whole and I hope they stay that price and keep dropping.

 
heatfan1121 said:
If you pay attention to the deals on here, you can get good deals on the new releases too. I got Pikmin 3 for about $45 with the Amazon pre order trade in credit.
Click to expand...
It is only $5 or so but I'm kind of pissed about this. Slow UPS shipping meant I just now got my $10 Amazon preorder credit coupon. When I went to preorder Pikmin 3 I found out it is back up to full price. Even yesterday it was a few dollars off and I know it was $52 or $53 a week ago. So yeah I can get it for $50 which is better than my current full-price preorder at Gamestop. But knowing what I missed irks the cheapass in me ;).

 
ColFantastic said:
If you don't see one of the uses of CAG as a place try to discuss and try to find cheaper games, I don't think you get the point of it then.

Of course there are deals but I think left and right is being quite generous. They need to have more deals on the stuff people care about, i.e. Wii U exclusives (which is also a problem based on the lack of games being released). I doubt many people bought a Wii U to play Injustice or most any other cross platform for that matter. They bought it to play games based on Nintendo IP. Hopefully, Nintendo's fall/winter slate of games will give them a boost but I think a price drop would be good for them to do. The price drop on MH3 and some of the 3rd party games are a start on the whole and I hope they stay that price and keep dropping.
Click to expand...
You're not discussing, you're whining. Nintendoland's still $20. I got NSMBU for $29 last month. Clearly you're looking in the wrong forum. The deals are at the top.

And I bought a Wii U to play Runner 2 so nyah. Every download-only game has gone on sale on the eshop and heatfan listed that every wii u game has been on sale for over 50% off. Don't take my post out of context. You're ignoring reality.

Can we just rename this to the "PRICE DROP GIMME PRICE DROP" thread?

 
Last edited by a moderator:
I agree that the deals are there. I own something in the neighborhood of 17-20 Wii U retail games and paid full price for, at best, 3 of them.

 
I'm also in the camp that Nintendo dropped the ball when it came to creating more Nintendo Selects out of Wii titles.  Compared to the GH/PC games of most past systems, Wii had the fewest re-releases, which were missed opportunities to help pad out the release schedules of late 2012 and early 2013.

There were some odd choices too, like having more Europe-exclusive select titles (like Mario Party 8 and Smooth Moves), and refusing to release stand-alone new play control MP1 and MP2 in the US (which would of sold well before or after the trilogy IMO).  I know they wanted to appear they were supporting the Wii U 100% in the home console market after its release, but I doubt anyone would question the motives if they did run some more Wii select titles this year.

Also fun fact, is that Nintendo officially dropped the MSRP for Kirby's Epic Yarn to $19.99, but yet some retailers still stuck to the $49.99 price, even after it dropped to around $15 for most all other places (especially online).  I know what MSRP stands for, but still odd that it wasn't a universal drop like SSBB and DKCR.

 
Last edited by a moderator:
NSMBW would've been the game to discount since the (pseudo) sequel was already out. Cut it down to $20-30, maybe even do a package deal with NSMBU; the game has already sold bonkers so why not eke a few more sales out of the cheapasses (like me) who are left?



I think they might have run the danger there of undercutting NSMBU sales.
 
3.1.0 just came out a couple of hours ago. Looks like they are splitting the summer update as it says in September or October they will put out another update. Hopefully that one will add GBA vritual console support and N64 since they did not mention those at E3.

Version 3.1.0 U available via wireless Internet connection includes the following improvements:

Improvements to Standby Functions:

The standby functions will now regularly connect to the Internet when the Wii U is powered down to check for available SpotPass data or software and system updates. Software updates will be installed while the Wii U is powered down, and system updates will be installed the next time the Wii U is powered on. For further detailed information, click here.

Improvements to system stability and usability:

Further improvements to overall system stability and other minor adjustments have been made to enhance the user experience.

*A system update providing further additions to system functionality is planned for release between the end of September and beginning of October.
 
Wonder if it makes the Game & Wario loading times (from the Wii U menu) any better?  That game loads so slowly...

 
Rig, on 11 Jul 2013 - 07:14 AM, said:Wonder if it makes the Game & Wario loading times (from the Wii U menu) any better?  That game loads so slowly...

It seemed a lot faster to me...5ish seconds now.

Anyone who updates should turn the Spotpass thing off...it sounds exactly like the Connect24 service which fried my Wii's GPU. The fan is only on while the system is powered on.

 
MetalSlugger said:
Rig, on 11 Jul 2013 - 07:14 AM, said:Wonder if it makes the Game & Wario loading times (from the Wii U menu) any better? That game loads so slowly...

It seemed a lot faster to me...5ish seconds now.

Anyone who updates should turn the Spotpass thing off...it sounds exactly like the Connect24 service which fried my Wii's GPU. The fan is only on while the system is powered on.
Click to expand...
I thought the same thing at first, but this seems different. The WiiConnect24 basically kept the system on in low power mode 24/7, which is what fried things w/o the fan. This just seems to be a more robust version of what was added in the previous update (the amber light)... it intermittently turns on quickly, checks for stuff, turns off. Quick process. Even if I'm off on the specifics, it's certainly not doing the same thing WiiConnect24 did.

Plus, and I know this may be naive to think, but... Nintendo was aware of the WiiConnect24 problem. They might be screwing some things up lately, but I really doubt they'd replicate something that destroys hardware.

 
Last edited by a moderator:
Blaster man said:
Wii U sales nearly "treble" from Pikmin in Japan. In other words, they sold 22k consoles instead of 8k this week.

http://www.digitalspy.com/gaming/news/a499311/wii-u-sales-nearly-treble-as-pikmin-3-sells-92k-in-japan.html
Click to expand...
With only two days of sales in that reporting period, I'm more curious to see what kind of bump Pikmin 3 gives it this current week. 20k isn't great, but it's still better than, uh, 8k. I'm not defending it, but it's worth pointing out that 'this week' really means '2 days'.

I want the system to thrive, but it's also bizarre to me seeing people looking towards Pikmin 3 as some sort of system mover. Sure, it'll sell *some* systems, but a lot of those people likely already own a Wii U. Pikmin is one of Nintendo's more niche franchises, anyway. That's the really alarming thing about the Wii U... we've still got months until the *big* titles. I'm guessing that Nintendo is really, really thrilled they have MH4 and Pokemon on the 3DS this fall, since that'll temper at least some of the Wii U damage. Nintendo is going to have a good holiday, but it remains to be seen how much, if anything, the Wii U contributes to that.

The more interesting take-away from the Japanese sales this year is seeing just how much they've basically stopped giving one single fuck about consoles. That's in a general sense, not just Wii U related. I'm really interested to see how the new hardware goes over whenever it launches.

 
Last edited by a moderator:
That is probably because everyone in Japan already has a PS3, they aren't interested in the Xbox 360 and again everyone probably already has a Wii and the releases for the Wii have trickled to a halt. Not sure about the Wii U as I don't know if there were any huge system sellers released over there. I am sure the ps4 will sell like crazy in Japan at least. Another problem with Japan is that they don't buy home consoles as much because most households there only have 1 TV, its not like America where there is a TV in every room, the Wii U was obviously designed around this, with off TV play. They don't have houses with a lot of rooms either for the most part which somewhat contributes to that. So there isn't a lot of room to store consoles and games, in America multi console households especially at this point are very very common. A large part of the population also isn't interested in upgrading to HDTV and is perfectly fine with what they have for a TV, contrary to popular belief Japan doesn't adopt tech as fast as other countries on a mass scale.

They also prefer portable consoles since a ton of Japanese people do a lot of traveling on public transportation and the portable consoles give them something to do, plus a portable console and games takes up less space than a console.

Yes I know I am making a lot of generalizations here but from what I see its all true.
 
Quick poll: should I make a Wii U doom and gloom thread, or do I leave this one as the doom thread and make a sunshine and farts thread?

Edit: screwit im making both

 
Last edited by a moderator:
You must log in or register to reply here.
bread's done
Back
Top