Wii U Won't Launch Before April 2012

well good luck to them. The lack of games problem has been around a lot longer than just the 3DS.
We purchased the Wii when it came out because it was the first interesting looking console from Nintendo sense the Super Nintendo way back in the day. While the console was fun to use, we still have not found many games that we have enjoyed on the thing except for a few first party mario games. The 3DS sales are just as much about being burnt by the Wii as they are about the lack of need for the 3DS.
Until they have a good eco-system of 3rd party games like their competitors then many of us will stay away.

Problem with Nintendo consoles is that they only provide casual simple games, and now tablets and smartphones stole that market.

simple games? what like xenoblade, zelda, resident evil, last story, pandoras tower and a fair few more. Get a clue

I'll miss you Nintendo!

I suppose Call Of Duty: Black Ops is a simple casual game.
So if the Wii has lots of triple A titles but also does Monkey Tennis for 3 year olds and the Xbox doesn't, surely that means the Wii has a broader appeal to a larger customer base?
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Probably explains why they sold more Wii consoles than the Xbox 360 and the PS3 combined.

April?
Somewhere during or near the holidays is more likely.

I still won't care until I see PS4 news.

They did? I had no idea Sorry, not too good with console nonsense, but somehow most of the console players I saw and heard of play on Xbox 360/PS3 and the only games I've heard of on Nintendo consoles is all these simulators and casual childish stuff. Apparently, they have more than that, but it looks like most of the Nintendo customers buy the console for the simple games.

And yes, Black Ops is a simple casual game Casual doesn't just mean that people play it occasionally; it's a broader term. Call of Duty leaves NOTHING behind it - there's no decent storyline, no interesting characters (though Price is pretty funny at times) and no great universe to immerse in. Mass Effect, Warcrafts, Warhammer 40K provide something that attaches you to the game in a way that is deeper than a shooter like CoD can. Of course, people dump hours and hours onto CoD MP, but it doesn't make it stand anywhere higher. Thus it's a simple, casual game. Run-aim-shoot/knife, that's all there's to it. Sure, there're "tactics" and "strategy", but it doesn't change the fact that the game is a casual shooter.

Actually, I've finished all CoDs (single player) except Black Ops - the single player is fun as long as you play it, then you're done with it and there's zero replay value, while multiplayer is disgustingly boring. As for BO, I couldn't even finish single player - it just plain sucks. Honestly, I don't understand what makes the series so popular; before I had access to latest CoDs, I thought they're the greatest games on the market because of all the hype, but I couldn't have been more wrong.

I'd same the same thing about BF series, but I don't dare... I never tried their multiplayer and can't judge Well, at least they have decent graphics...

Wow, that went off topic Sorry for the rant, but I just can't stand when CoD series is portrayed as anything more than a simple console shooter.

i want a Sega video game again!.

i got the wii for wii sports and zelda.
no, the poor 3ds sales are because of lack of games, i was planning to buy it the moment zelda came out, but in the 3-4 months before that came out, nintendo released not 1 game that was worth buying, and mega man, the other system seller, got canned. because of that and the fact there are less than 5 system selling games, are the reason i dont have one, once they get 5 games, and looks like games are going to ramp up (even if shovel ware) i will pick one up.

you dont need 3rd party when you are nintendo.

that said, nintendo, if i understand their online right, are going a more pc approach, where people can pay for their own servers for almost any game, which i am interested by.




you must never have owned a nintendo console, and only looked at shovel ware crap. please look into the nintendo library and its 3rd party things too, you may be surprised.




wow, shoveing their ignorance in their face, and getting down voted for it




thank you for getting it, though many of those system sales are also just a curiosity piece too.

Mass Effect 3 has been tabled for the Wii U
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All academic really as I am a PC gamer like you, but have to play devil's advocate

Unfortunately, because I really do like Nintendo and all the fond memories I have with them, the Wii U will not sell well. Why? because the market that the original wii was aimed towards ALREADY HAS a freaking wii. Yes, this one will add a tablet-like motion controll.. but ask yourselves this.. If you have a tablet already, do you really want/need another one to be sitting around the house? Also, if you don't have one, (most likely cause you dont like them or can't afford one), is a nintendo only tablet the way you want to go?

As for the motion controls.. yeah.. you aren't going to sell the Wii U on the premise of something that is already out there in wayy too many fashions. The upgraded graphics would only appeal to gamers who care about that stuff. And those gamers already have an Xbox 360 or PS3. Why would they throw down that much money on a system (which doesn't get the best titles out there) when the ps4 and next gen Xbox are around the corner in 2013.

I think this will take Nintendo down.

I am fully prepared for an April the 1st launch! Well done Nintendo!

Mass Effects are console games originally, so no surprise here. It's not confirmed officially yet, but I won't be surprised, since EA/BW is all set to get MAXIMUM PROFIT from ME3.

And of course you're playing devil's advocate, as usual... Keep it up, it's pretty entertaining.

Being devils advocate is a bit fun, but its also a method for keeping centered, too many people in here blindly back their favourite company as fanbois without a shred of objectivity.
Down with fanbois.

Nintendo better make a lot of games not to many people buy Nintendo consoles to play BF3 or MW3 or GTA5

They need to make lots of good quality games. I only like Nintendo systems and PC's for gaming. I just want Nintendo to be a success like they where on the wii.

everytime i mention that a fps could be more fun on the wiiu than on the pc, its an auto 4 downvotes... its hard to tell why.

do they honestly not think that? i mean i can see why people may not believe the claim but think about it for a bit, and i trust we can come to about the same conclusion.

do they fear that if people read that, they may completely abandon the pc?

i mean its not hard to get a gun in your hands while you play the game, have the table mounted to it, and for iron sights or scope, you look at the tablet, which is always zoomed in, down the barrel/scope.

a system seller for me would be silent scope like game for it.

I appreciate how you admit from the start you don't really know what you're talking about so we all know to disregard whatever follows. I mean, people just kind of blindly connect a console as only able to do one thing and stick with that. Nintendo had several of the console FPS titles on it, but the Wiimote really wasn't good for aiming and the network wasn't as open as XBL/PSN. They also had No More Heroes and other mature weapon based games, the Wiimote just wasn't good at controlling them. If you prefer more complicated games, they did have Monster Hunter Tri. Dragon Quest also seems to be coming on Nintendo systems a lot, and it's considered to be much more involved than Final Fantasy. Even Pokemon is pretty complex when you really involve yourself in it, with the statistics of random catch and breeding and strong vs weak/status effect matchups. I could also point out the many puzzle type games that a lot of people would consider shovelware because it's intellectual. I'm willing to bet Nintendo actually sells more intellectual games than XBox and PS3. A mature rating does not make it a mature game.




Well, first it seems like you think Nintendo is making the right move. Everyone who wants a Wii already has one, so it's time to put out a new system and take it in a different direction. Wii U is not going the casual party system direction, it wants to be for hardcore solo type games. The controller resembles a tablet, but it isn't a tablet. It isn't going to have 3G or Android or anything, you aren't going to do tablet things outside of the house with it, so it doesn't matter if someone already has a tablet. It's still just a controller. I personally think they're making a mistake not enabling and selling extra controllers of this type, it could have some use in multiplayer games. If system price is a concern, they should eliminate the controller from the box completely and make all controllers separate so people have a choice on whether or not they want the fancy one. Forcing the controller on people is where Nintendo sort of slips up, no control device is ideal for all games and the specialized ones narrow that margin further.


Ultimately, Nintendo needs to learn from their mistakes. A fall release will help because holidays always drive up sales of consoles. A better launch lineup from the very start is also key. Iwata, Mario is a launch title, get a Mario game on the system for launch, not in 6 months. Super Mario World sold SNES. Super Mario 64 sold n64. When did they think it was a good idea to change this? It has always been the key seller during launch and not doing so is lessening both the game and the system. If they want to reclaim the top spot, they also need to regain their 3rd party support. They can keep coasting by with their 1st party titles and an occasional diamond in the rough, but they won't be able to truly compete with Sony/MS if they can't get the same titles. What they need is go back to their roots in the SNES days if they want this direction to succeed.

My issue with the Wii, and I do own one, is the lag. Although not a huge amount, there always seems to be just a hint of lag. When I move the controller in any direction, it moves, but it hesitates before doing so.

Again, it's not much, but it's enough for me to notice. And if I notice it, it bothers me.

I don't have that problem with keyboard and mouse on my gaming PC.

yea, there is a hit there, its because there is a camera in the wiimote and it needs to do some work figuring out everything and sending it to the console, your mouse is really just figuring out which direction and how fast, wii is figuring out which direction, is it tilted, did it move closer or further away.

It'll launch sometime after next E3 conference (July onwards).
It'll have a full unveiling there, at E3. Not like this year, where they barely showed us anything.

Probably expect a few changes in design too.

I just hope that the Wii U has a good GPU installed. I don't like how the majority of consoles games look compared to my freaking old 8800gt. While I like to think I made the correct decision on not buying any of the current consoles I still miss the iconic Nintendo games, Zelda and Mario will always be a part of my gaming needs. Also, would love own a PS3 just to play Ratchet & Clank and Uncharted 1,2,3 :-)

Every time that a new Zelda game gets released, the graphics and art style either disappoint me, or I love them. OoT/Majora's Mask= great. Wind Waker= kinda sucky (although novel). Twilight Princess=great. Skyward Sword= not as good as TP but better than WW?

What makes it worse is the people that moan about the Wiimote being no good for control don't even bother to get a standard control pad to replace it, even though the Wii has backwards compatability for two previous generations of controller and has USB for new ones.

I think you've got it more right than most anyone else on this forum as far as overall perspective of the Wii and the Wii U. What I still think most of you seem to be missing in your knowledge base is that a big part of the idea behind the Wii U is that Nintendo is looking to continue the success of the Wii, but also to broaden appeal greatly to attract more hardcore gamers.

This includes HD graphics (finally), new controllers so that there will be more available styles of gameplay (and i believe better incorporation with certain games - like how it was said that some of the games released on the Wii just don't work well with the Wiimote), and MORE 3RD PARTY GAMES. Many developers are in support of the new system that would not work with the Wii system before, and are excited about the new possibilities of gameplay, so there will be more 3rd party support than ever before.

Games and developers that have never worked with Nintendo, or at least stopped with the Wii, will be opening a whole new wealth of gaming opportunities. Nintendo even already has a lot of exlusive releases lined up for the Wii U, a few designated for being ready at launch.

I think the new controller and its second screen will innovate gaming again the way the Wiimote did, but at the same time allow Wii U games to revert to a more traditional style of play with the dual grip controller and trigger buttons. The second screen could change up the way you game entirely, between offering gamers varying perspectives and assymetrical gameplay, among many other things. And of course the motion controllers will still be compatible as well. AND even collaborative compatibility between the new and old controllers where you'll be able to use them together in various ways. AND there will be the option to continue your console game away from the actual console if someone else is fighting you for TV control when you're on an all-day gaming marathon. Should offer a whole lot of versatility on the new platform. Even better? The new controllers will finally be rechargeable, catching up with PS3 and the 360 and saving all your batteries, hah.

Nintendo is promising a new Super Mario Bros and Super Smash Bros, but no word on if it will be at launch yet. I agree, having a Mario world game - preferably an entirely new one, honestly, not a re-take - would significantly help with launch. But I think the amazingly creative things they'll be doing with the new opportunities for gameplay, and overwhelming growth in 3rd party developers' support for the new console will make a big difference in the launch of the WiiU as compared to the 3DS which is an entirely different animal. I don't really feel you can compare the two much at all.

As for the controller being just like a tablet? (which various people on the forum mentioned) I think that's a pretty silly comparison to make, besides having a touch screen, it's an entirely different piece of technology. Take the perspective of the C.O.O at EA., Peter Moore:

"Moore, who has experience launching consoles from his days at Microsoft, says Nintendo was smart to incorporate a tablet into the console with the Wii U. 'No one thinks its going to replace an iPad 2 but it is playing into what a consumer feels comfortable with.'"

All things considered, before you go around trashing the Wii, or ESPECIALLY the WiiU, read around and do your homework first, guys!