Why or why should I/We not get a WII-U on release day.

[Saulkar]

I have the money to get a WII-U on day one and it will be the first console that I ever completely payed for myself (not including a PSP that stopped reading disks after the warranty expired) but I am starting to question whether I really want to do that or not. In my indecisiveness I come to the Escapist to create a general topic to ask for your INFORMED opinion (based upon personal experience, knowledge of the industry and the WII U in general) as to whether or not a day one purchase at this point is advisable.

All in all I am looking for a consensus, not a definitive yes or no. There is no poll because I am hoping to avoid a clear cut binary advertisement of whether or not to purchase the Wii U. Lastly because I do not want this thread biased around my own wants, needs, and desires, they will be withheld which in turn will hopefully allow other people stuck in a state of indecisiveness to make a decision.

TL;DR: Give an informed explanation as to whether or not a dayonepurchasee of the Wii-U is a good idea or not and why. I hope to see a balance of objective and subjective reasoning and opinions.


CAPTCHA: Foul Smelling - I sense a shitstorm a'brewin.

 

[krazykidd]

I wouldn't. Not because if price , but because of the slim library of games ( launch periode obviously hadthe least amount of titles ), and the fsct thatthe potential of the console isn't achieved until about a yesr after it is released .

 

[Mr.Mattress]

I would, but I am a little biased for Nintendo. However, there are many reasons to buy it early:

- The first 6 Months will see the release of over 50 games, including: New Super Mario Bros. U, ZombiU, Pikmin 3, Bayonetta 2, Rayman Legends, Lego City Undercover, and more.

- First Party games will be coming out soon for it: An Official Mario game, Zelda Game, Super Smash Bros game, some Kirby, Metroid, Donkey Kong, and others.

- Most 3rd Party games are gonna be 1080p and all games are 60 FPS.

- Strong Support from Indie Developers, who have come out in waves saying the WiiU is the most Indie Friendly console out there. (As such. [http://wiiudaily.com/2012/10/wii-u-indie-friendly/]) Expect some awesome Indie Titles to come out for the WiiU.

- Largest amount of Storage Space on Any console out there (Yes, it only comes in 8 and 32 GB's, but you can add any Flash Drive to it to add more. The console, both 8 and 32 GB's, can actually have up to 2 TBs!)

- Best Web Browser of Any Home Console [http://wiiudaily.com/2012/11/wii-us-web-browser-gets-good-html-5-scores/]

- No Friend Codes! [http://wiiudaily.com/2012/11/confirmed-wii-u-wont-use-friend-codes/]

 

[klown]

I would buy one on launch day and sell it on Ebay for profit. Then I'd wait for probably 6 months to a year, when the price drops a bit, and there are more software out for it that makes the cost worth it. This is what I've done several times now, and it's always paid off.

 

[DustyDrB]

Look at the games coming out. How many do you want? How many games is enough for you to justify purchasing a console?

The answer...is within yourself.

 

[TehCookie]

Look at the games coming out. How many do you want? How many games is enough for you to justify purchasing a console?

The answer...is within yourself.

This. If there aren't any games that interest you I'd wait and pick it up cheaper when games that do interest you come out.

 

[Nomanslander]

My opinion is: you never buy a console on release day. The last time I (my dad actually since I was too young to afford anything then) bought a console on release day, it was the 3D0, and we all know how that turned out. Even if a console is promising, I still wouldn't do it because there almost never enough games to support the system, and 3rd party games are what make a system viable. As of right now, most of what the Wii U has to offer are games that can easily be bought on the PS3 or the 360. There isn't a good enough reason to get the system now, plus first generation of consoles and its games suck (first generation of 360 had I believe over 50% chance of red ring failure), but that doesn't mean it'll stay that way in the future.

 

[Lizardon]

I won't be getting one anytime soon. The game line up just doesn't interest me. I can't justify a $300 (or $350 for the larger hard drive) console if there is only one or two games that I'm mildly interested in.

And personally I'd really like to have a try of one before hand. I'm not totally convinced on the controller, so I'd like to have a play with it before dropping $300. After launch stores will probably have a demo model that you can have a look at, at the minute you're kinda buying blind.

So yeah I'd wait for more games first, and perhaps a price job will have occurred by then as well.

Not to mention that with all the stories about pre-orders running out, it may be hard to get your hands on one at launch.

If you're interested, here are the games announced that will be released, although most don't have a release date yet.
http://www.nintendo.com/games/gameGuide?age=18&sort=title&view=grid

 

[Trixsy]

My plan is to wait for there to be more than ten games I want to play on the console... and ones that I can get preowned. I love my 3DS and Vita, but part of me wishes I hadn't gotten them at launch due to waiting long periods of time for something to play on it.

Admittedly the wii u has a decent lineup and a lot coming out, but I want to wait and see if it does what the wii did, push out lots of shovelware, and I'll be curious to see how many developers get behind it consistently in coming months/years.

Plus, I mostly play JRPGs and until I see some of those and some must have exclusives, must be savin' mah money!

 

[Trixsy]

I won't be getting one anytime soon. The game line up just doesn't interest me. I can't justify a $300 (or $350 for the larger hard drive) console if there is only one or two games that I'm mildly interested in.

And personally I'd really like to have a try of one before hand. I'm not totally convinced on the controller, so I'd like to have a play with it before dropping $300. After launch stores will probably have a demo model that you can have a look at, at the minute you're kinda buying blind.

So yeah I'd wait for more games first, and perhaps a price job will have occurred by then as well.

Not to mention that with all the stories about pre-orders running out, it may be hard to get your hands on one at launch.

If you're interested, here are the games announced that will be released, although most don't have a release date yet.
http://www.nintendo.com/games/gameGuide?age=18&sort=title&view=grid

A lot of stores already have demo units. I work at gamestop and we have one, and I've seen them at walmart and target too. At least at our store the demo you can actually play is rayman legends, which proved entertaining. I thought the controller was surprisingly light, though it still seems like it would take me time to get used to.

 

[Darmy647]

MonsterHunterMonsterHunterMonsterHunterMonsterHunter...i mean yeah. Its what you want.

 

[MetallicaRulez0]

Why you shouldn't get a WiiU:
- It's a Nintendo console, therefore it will struggle with third party support. If you don't like Mario/Zelda, you don't like Nintendo consoles.
- It will be outdated within a year when the PS4/Next Xbox launch and trounce it's tech specs.
- It yet again relies on a gimmick instead of just being a solid console with a good controller.
- Nintendo has a TERRIBLE history with online capabilities, and online games are the norm now. Remember friend codes? Dear lord...

Why you should get a WiiU:
- You enjoy Nintendo's first party titles, namely Smash Bros, Mario, and Zelda.
- You enjoy gimmicks more than old-fashioned quality.
- You don't give a shit about tech specs.

 

[Saulkar]

I come to the Escapist to create a general topic to ask for your INFORMED opinion

I couldn't keep a straight face while reading that.

Why do you think I made it bold? :3

Look at the games coming out. How many do you want? How many games is enough for you to justify purchasing a console?

The answer...is within yourself.

This. If there aren't any games that interest you I'd wait and pick it up cheaper when games that do interest you come out.

A good point. At this point I see some potential and I have the shiny-new-goggles going for me so comments like this tend to temper that.

A La Snippety SNIP!

A La Snippety SNIP!-V2.0

I guess I now have a general answer.

 

[faefrost]

Looking at it objectively, there is almost never a good reason to be a launch day adopter on any console. Poor, overpriced library of games. Unproven hardware. Almost no online play because of limited user base. No idea yet if you have bought into a turd at full price.

Games are games. Unless your absolute very most favorite game ever is releasing a new edition on launch day, and you don't mind paying inflated prices for the experience, you get way better value, security and fun just by waiting a little bit. Let others work the bugs out and build up some retail stock of used games.

 

[Phoenixlight]

If you want it then buy it. Simple.

 

[Rednog]

I honestly wouldn't get it day 1 unless you absolutely can't live without the next Mario or Zelda.
In my honest opinion I'd wait to honestly see where the 3rd party games actually go, I mean great you're going to see a bunch of re-releases from the 360/PS3, but it really depends on what they do with it. It depends on your whether or not you think whatever they add (if anything at all) will be worth the full price tag when the original version are still out there for much cheaper.

Also, Nintendo kind of has gotten a hard on for releasing better version of their stuff a few months down the line, maybe it won't be the case with the Wii-U but I'd honestly just wait and see.

And there is the ever looming question of how will the Wii-U stand up to the next generation of 360/PS3 that will be out in the next year or so. I mean sure the Wii-U is a monster right now...but it's being pitted against consoles that have been out for 6-7 years. I'm honestly wondering if the Wii-U will just fall behind like it did in this generation in terms of hardware when the next Xbox and Playstation come out.

 

[ThePuzzldPirate]

Why you shouldn't get a WiiU:
- It's a Nintendo console, therefore it will struggle with third party support. If you don't like Mario/Zelda, you don't like Nintendo consoles.
- It will be outdated within a year when the PS4/Next Xbox launch and trounce it's tech specs.
- It yet again relies on a gimmick instead of just being a solid console with a good controller.
- Nintendo has a TERRIBLE history with online capabilities, and online games are the norm now. Remember friend codes? Dear lord...

Why you should get a WiiU:
- You enjoy Nintendo's first party titles, namely Smash Bros, Mario, and Zelda.
- You enjoy gimmicks more than old-fashioned quality.
- You don't give a shit about tech specs.

I have to refute this actually, your bias is showing. XD

1.With proper internet support and with specs updated to the point that it can use current techniques, there is no reason for any developer not to support it. If the word of ease of porting is true as well(confirmed by many) there will be tons of support...as long as people buy the games.

2.Yes, the next Sony/Microsoft consoles will be stronger but not at much as you think. Sony won't pull the PS3 again which mean the price range is lower than 600. With how much money Nintendo made with Wii hardware, I'm guessing they won't sell for such a big loss this time around too. Their consoles will likely be 300-400 which may or may not copy on the tablet controller. If they don't, those saving will be passed on to spec and that is it. My money is on those two companies trying to make money off the hardware in a year.

3.The word "gimmick" gets passed around the same way "casuals" did when the "Hardcores" didn't like the new gamers. In other words, that word is thrown around when that certain individual doesn't like something. That being said, Nintendo has always made solid consoles(My SNES still works) and has made a controller that just has buttons(looks like a 360 controller.)

4.Yes, they have had a history but this is also something they are aware of and made big leaps to fix. I won't know until I use it to see but from the Nintendo Direct vids, it looks like it has been fixed.

Now your positives.

1.Can't dispute this.

2.Again, This word "gimmick", also you speak of old fashion quality yet games haven't been the same in years. Games have become linear hallways that play themselves, with constant streamlining, there has been less game is games and it doesn't look the trend is ending any time soon.

3.Just by buying a console(I'm just guessing you support consoles, just from what you said earlier), you don't give a shit about specs. Consoles are cheaper versions of PC and always will be, consoles can't support the price range that recent tech can offer.
Example: http://ncix.com/products/?sku=64992&vpn=BX80619I73930K&manufacture=Intel&promoid=1209
Funny enough, this isn't the best nor do you need it to make a good rig. Those who care about specs however would spend this much.

Now if your going to complain about how you know these things than spend some time writing it out cause how you have your post now, it reeks of fanboyism. XD

OT: I would get a Wii-U now if you can and sell it in a week to make some profit. After that, buy(or not) when it comes around E3. Nintendo will likely announce games that are coming out and will also show if their third party support sticks or not. Buy the console if the games on it interest you as that is what all console all come down too. Hardware means nothing without software.

 

[BoogityBoogityMan]

It, of course, all comes down to games. If 2-d mario, the zombie game, or the ports of batman/me3/etc are things you really really want to play, then get the console day 1.

If they are not, then you should wait. You don't want a 300 dollar console staring at you with no games to play. I get enough of that with my Kinect.

edit: personally, I'm waiting until the next epic 3-d mario galaxy game comes along.