Wii-U Pre-orders

[DanteJay]

I pre-ordered the deluxe model the day GameStop/EB made the pre-ordering available. Despite my being quick about it, I was the third person to pre-order it at the store I went to.

Anyone else do it? I know the launch day releases are pretty underwhelming, but I'm just so excited to have a screen in a controller again.

[JuddWack]

I guess I wasn't quick enough because the GameStop dude told me they maxed out on preorders but he also said for the first time ever GameStop is doing a waitlist and I'm #1 on that. I don't feel like the launch titles are that underwhelimg. I think XBox 360 was worse.

[BlueCrab]

Honestly, I haven't seen anything that makes me say "I must have it, day one". I rarely have time to play any of the consoles I already have, and I doubt things would be any different with the Wii-U any time soon.

I did the whole pre-order thing with the Wii when it came out, and I think it is the current generation console that I have used the least of all. I didn't get the 360 or PS3 until long after they were out. The Wii was great for while I was living at college, as I had plenty of people around to play it with. It (much like Guitar Hero and Rock Band for me, which I have for the 360) isn't any fun to play alone.

Perhaps if there's some decent RPGs for it next year, I might consider getting it. Otherwise, I'll probably just stick with what I have. I have enough of a backlog of games now.

[Code-Red]

Will not be buying a next generation console. Sick of what console gaming has done to gaming in general (mainly to the PC gaming market), will not be supporting it any longer.

[DaMadFiddler]

Really not ready for this console generation to end. My PS3 is still plenty powerful to deliver compelling games, and I'm not looking forward to Sony and Microsoft moving on to other platforms just so they can hit the reset button on hardware sales. I can understand Nintendo's desire to replace the Wii, due to how much weaker it is spec-wise, but it looks like they're just setting up the same situation again with the WiiU. It's a bit more powerful than what's out now, but will be greatly surpassed by the rest of the next generation when its competitors come out.

Of the announced titles, the only one I'm really interested to play is Pikmin 3. Sure I'll pick up Mario at some point, but most of the rest is either ports of games that have already been out for some time on 360/PS3, or shovelware that I'm not really interested in. I bought the DS at launch, and while it wound up with a great catalog by the end of its run, it took 6-9 months for that to start happening, and a year or two before things were really in full swing. If the WiiU ends up with a compelling catalog, I'll consider it then. As for now, having the Wii for Nintendo games and the PS3 for everything else gives us plenty to do.

Besides that, overall we play GameCube games on the Wii as often as we play Wii-native games. The WiiU won't support GameCube. Unfortunately, the Wii's optical drive broke last week, so it's really only good as an emulation box at the moment... but I think it's more worth my money to spend $50 on a new drive for the Wii than $300+ for a console that won't even play half the games I want it to.

[Jeeba Jabba]

Will not be buying a next generation console. Sick of what console gaming has done to gaming in general (mainly to the PC gaming market), will not be supporting it any longer.

Come on, man.. I said this last time around... And then I had all three. I have about 10 games for each of them. I have like 150 installed on my PC. The PS3 is a BluRay player and the other two haven't been hooked up in a couple of years. I know I won't make much use of the fuckers, but I can't just skip out on a console. Ever. It seems sacrilegious. And, to be honest, the WiiU is the only one I'm excited for. Nintendo's roster of characters in HD for the first time? Yes, please.

If you think about it, for people like you and I, Nintendo consoles are the only ones we should be purchasing, since the hits on Xbox and Playstation are usually available on Windows as well. But I still can't skip out on a console. For me, there's always ONE exclusive title that makes the system worth owning. The most memorable of that category during this generation is Valkyria Chronicles on PS3. I love that game $300 worth.

TL;DR, I buy the consoles to reserve a seat for the rare exclusive gems. I play everything else on my PC.

[melancholy]

I preordered mine mainly because me and my buddies have been patiently waiting for a sequel to NSMB Wii. 4-player Mario is the best.

[PH3NOM]

Really not ready for this console generation to end. My PS3 is still plenty powerful to deliver compelling games, and I'm not looking forward to Sony and Microsoft moving on to other platforms just so they can hit the reset button on hardware sales.

I kindly disagree, I do believe it is time Sony and Microsoft updated their console hardware.
At the very least, release some sort of RAM upgrade like Sega did with the Saturn.

The fact is the PS3 and XBOX 360 both have 512mb of total system RAM, shared by CPU and GPU, and this is a huge bottleneck for current and future generation software.

My PC is mid-range at best, and even it has 1GB of Video RAM, and 4GB of System RAM.

Developers are obviously at the point where software is being limited by hardware limitations.

Dishonored recently hit store shelves. Excellent game in my opinion. But, the textures really do suffer. I know they used some artistic creativity with the "watercolor" look, but it is obviously done to cover up the RAM limitation of the game consoles.
Look at the video here, the floor on the boat in the beginning look like Dreamcast VQ compressed textures, lol.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dzw1Dy6kF7k

So, let the evolution continue!

[Specially Cork]

Man, I remember getting my first Wii at launch in Japan. We all got a number then it was a lottery for who was able to buy one. Slightly more exciting than first-come first-served pre-orders and it was fun looking at all those disappointed Japanese faces when the white gaijin came in and won on his first ticket.

I won't be getting a Wii-U at launch, but I'll get one at some point, despite not being too impressed with the hardware. At least one good Zelda and Mario is inevitable during it's lifespan - and they're system sellers in my opinion. I don't have many fond memories of the Wii, but Galaxy 1/2 and Skyward Sword are definitely up there as some of my favourite games this gen.

In fact, after replaying OOT on my 3DS I kinda feel SS might be my favourite Zelda ever. (OMG CONTROVERSIAL)

[melancholy]

In fact, after replaying OOT on my 3DS I kinda feel SS might be my favourite Zelda ever. (OMG CONTROVERSIAL)

That's not controversy, it's the truth. Skyward Sword is the best Zelda ever. After using that near-perfect control scheme, all the older 3D Zeldas are just inferior.

[DaMadFiddler]

Man, I remember getting my first Wii at launch in Japan. We all got a number then it was a lottery for who was able to buy one. Slightly more exciting than first-come first-served pre-orders and it was fun looking at all those disappointed Japanese faces when the white gaijin came in and won on his first ticket.

I won't be getting a Wii-U at launch, but I'll get one at some point, despite not being too impressed with the hardware. At least one good Zelda and Mario is inevitable during it's lifespan - and they're system sellers in my opinion. I don't have many fond memories of the Wii, but Galaxy 1/2 and Skyward Sword are definitely up there as some of my favourite games this gen.

It took a stupidly long time just to be able to buy the Wii normally. I waited a year for a price drop and/or more colors (I wanted a black one; never cared for white electronics), but due to the short supply, that didn't happen until long after I'd lost patience with the wait. Even a year after launch, I still had to get a friend of mine at GameStop to set one aside for me just to be able to buy a system.

There were several games I really enjoyed on the Wii, but most of them are continuations of existing franchises and almost all are first-party titles. Here are what I'd consider the stand-out titles:

- Donkey Kong Country Returns (seriously, this is one of my favorite games of this console generation)
- House of the Dead: Overkill (this is just loads of grindhouse-y fun)
- Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword (somewhat new gameplay direction for the series, and *finally* shows what the Wii was supposed to be all about control-wise)
- Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess (did everything OoT tried to do, but much more polished)
- MadWorld (neat design, good execution, just got a bit repetitive after a while)
- Mario Kart Wii
- Metroid Prime 3 / Trilogy
- Muramasa: The Demon Blade
- New Super Mario Bros.
- No More Heroes
- Okami
- Resident Evil 4 (old game, I know, but the IR pointer for aiming really does make a significant difference)
- Sin & Punishment 2
- Smash Bros. Brawl
- Sonic Colors (yes, I thought it was good. So sue me)
- Super Mario Galaxy 1 & 2 (1 had more polished presentation, but 2 had more/better levels)
- Super Paper Mario Bros.
- Tatsunoko vs. Capcom
- Wario Land: Shake It

As far as downloadable titles, Mega Man 9 & 10 are personal favorites, and all of the Bit.Trip games are incredible (particularly Beat and Runner). The Wii also got more homebrew love than just about any other console, and even though the cat managed to break our Wii's optical drive, we still use it all the time as an emulation box. Until that happened, we used it on a near-weekly basis for MarioKart and Smash Bros., and slightly less frequently to revisit GameCube favorites. We also used it quite a bit for retrogaming, until we started building up a collection of actual 8- and 16-bit systems.

Overall, I definitely feel like I got my money's worth out of the Wii (except for the whole "cat ruining the disc drive" aspect of it). However, you'll notice that very few of the titles I listed were available in its first year or so. Nothing in the laughably-titled "launch window" for the WiiU looks particularly compelling, except for Mario, and Pikmin 3, which won't be out until spring.

Also, the only time I've ever spent that much on a console was to get my 60GB launch-model PS3. I bought it when the model was being discontinued, and there were special circumstances: I didn't have a PS2, so I figured I was getting both a PS2 and a PS3 in one; I lived in a tiny studio apartment at the time, and was looking to use the PS3 to replace a rather large home theater setup; at the time, the PS3 supported Linux officially, and I had dreams of using it as a backup PC and/or media box. The lattermost never came to pass, but we do use it as a set-top box (it's our CD/DVD/Blu-Ray player, as well as our streaming Netflix device) even more often than we use it as a game console... and it does get quite a bit of attention for gaming.

The WiiU is compatible with Wii games, but not GameCube games. We have probably as many GC games as Wii games, and they are used almost as often. if the WiiU were also Cube-compatible, I'd consider getting one, simply because our Wii is broken. However, we have a LOT of paid downloads on our Wii, and it's still unclear how much of that will migrate. Plus, with a lack of compelling titles for the time being, system specs that are supposedly barely above the PS3, and all the fun of launch pricing, I'd much rather spend $50 getting a new optical drive for the Wii than eight times that getting a WiiU.

The GameCube was the first console I ever bought while it was still current (I got my Dreamcast after the system had been cancelled, so that doesn't count), and I got the 'Cube halfway through its life cycle. As a result, it was cheap ($99) and so were many of the early big releases. I bought a DS at launch, and while I ended up really liking that system's library, it took nearly a year before anything worthwhile came out... and the "Lite" revision was infinitely better. I waited a year or so each with the Wii and the PS3, and in the Wii's case, I could have stood to wait longer. (The PS3 is a special case because I was buying it as more than just a game console, as explained above).

Very long story short: the waiting game seems to work far better for me. Wii releases dried up a year ago, but we're in the sweet spot right now (and will be for probably the next year or two) where Wii games are both cheap and common. The PS3 is still getting major releases, and I've still got a back catalog to work through, plus gamesI want that I haven't even gotten yet. I really don't feel like I'll be missing anything by waiting a couple years for the WiiU. I may even wait until deep into its life cycle, like I did with the GameCube, just to make sure it has a significant enough stable of games to justify a purchase.

[Lartrak]

I pre-ordered it and I'm going to sell my pre-order in a couple weeks. Probably make around $150. I'll get a Wii U when they're commonly available and the library is up to snuff. I got a Wii day one, which was kind of neat but it took a long time for the library to really make it worth it.

[DaMadFiddler]

I pre-ordered it and I'm going to sell my pre-order in a couple weeks.

Oh, you're one of THOSE

This is why we can't have nice things.

[Specially Cork]

I thought this was fake at first

Definitely a weird one. No mention of Nintendo and a weird focus on young males rather than the family. I'm not really interested in SPING SPING SPING and last year's Batman game.

[mankrip]

Nintendo seems really dedicated to ditch the "family gathering" approach of the Wii.

[Lartrak]

Oh, you're one of THOSE

This is why we can't have nice things.

Funny thing is that wasn't my original idea when I reserved it. But my financial situation has changed a little bit, and it'll be a lot easier to afford six months or so down the line.

But I have no compunctions about doing it - did it with the Wii, pre-ordered two and sold one to pay for the other.

[DaMadFiddler]

Funny thing is that wasn't my original idea when I reserved it. But my financial situation has changed a little bit, and it'll be a lot easier to afford six months or so down the line.

Ugh... believe me, I know all about that. I've spent most of this year working as a copy editor for a magazine. At first, I loved it, partly because I'm the sort of obsessive person who loves correcting things and partly because I got to work from home and (to a certain degree) set my own schedule.

Then, my paychecks started... not arriving. As far as I can tell, the company is going through some financial difficulty, and their solution is "let's keep the problem secret and just drag out giving people their pay as long as humanly possible." After a month of daily badgering, I finally managed to get my July pay... two weeks ago. I'm still fighting them for August and September, and I'm not doing any more work for them until they catch up on my pay. It's been a nightmare, and I have no money for anything. And since I'm technically freelance, I can't even file for unemployment. The worst part is that I chose this job over two higher-paying jobs back in the spring, because it sounded more interesting.

[Lartrak]

That sounds brutal Fiddler. Funny, friend of mine works in a bar they keep messing up his pay, and I thought that was bad. At least it was an accident.

But yeah, I'm not working at all. Have a second interview today though! If I get the job, may just keep the Wii U.

[DaMadFiddler]

It's been pretty insane.

I started working for them back in June. They didn't pay me for July until early October, and they STILL haven't paid me for my work in August or September. I did a tiny bit of work in October, but told them that they needed to catch up on my pay before I'd do any more.

As it stands, nobody will answer my questions, and they owe me over $5000 in unpaid wages. I've been interviewing for other jobs, but I'm on a shoestring budget until I either land something else or the bastards give me my pay.

I filed a complaint with the CA state labor board in October, because the withholding of pay and the failure to update me on the situation are both very illegal. However, the company is now in the process of liquidating, which makes it very difficult to hold anyone accountable.