As many of you are probably aware, Nintendo's newest home console, the Wii U, is due to hit the market November 18th of this year. There's been a lot of hype and speculation over this alien artifact, but the time when all will be revealed is close approaching. Some have called it the Wii with a tablet, while others have called it a revolution (pun intended for the Nintendo-savvy) for the gaming industry.
This article is merely my feelings on the Wii U, including what I'm looking forward to and what I'm leery about. I'll naturally want to know your views on it as well, so feel free to click the Comment button below the article when you're done.
WHY THE WII U IS NECESSARY
The first thing to get off my chest is the viewpoint I mentioned earlier on how the Wii U is nothing more than the Wii with better graphics and a tablet. This comes off to some people as a mere gimmick to try and boost sales and wow those who don't know better, and therefore the Wii U is totally unnecessary...just as unnecessary as the Wii, in fact.
This argument usually comes from those who aren't partial to Nintendo in the first place. Nintendo has essentially been the pioneer of revolutionary gaming from the beginning. Early ventures like the Virtual Boy and Game and Watch didn't always pan out, but Nintendo was constantly trying to alter the way games are played for the better, and that attitude clearly has not changed today. It's easy to assume Nintendo is all for gimmicks and not about making games inherently good, especially for those resistant to change. Then again, viewing Nintendo's track record shows these "gimmick" games (like Super Mario Galaxy, The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword, and Metroid Prime 3) are usually fun because of their "gimmicks," not in spite of them.
In short, it's a matter of one person liking apples and the other preferring oranges. If you're not into things like motion controls and touch screens, you're fine to continue with the tried-and-true standard controllers. If you like a little more immersion and innovation in gameplay, Nintendo has much of what you're looking for. Neither one is bad, and both are very successful in what they do. It therefore doesn't make sense to call Nintendo bad for making games a wide audience enjoys or calling Sony or Microsoft bad for making games enjoyed by their own wide circle, and these circles overlap to some extent.
My view is that not only is the Wii U a large step up from the Wii, but it was entirely necessary, not just a "Hey, wouldn't this be a cool idea?" scenario. The biggest factor is that it brings all currently-used consoles up to speed with each other. It was simply impossible for games like Mass Effect 3 or Batman: Arkham City to appear on the Wii, as the Wii's graphics are not advanced enough and the controller's design would require a moderate overhaul to the control scheme. The Wii focused on its motion controls, allowing it to be good at what it set its mind to (with a few exceptions, of course). This let it fall behind in areas like HD graphics and online.
The Wii U, however, brings both graphics engines and online up to par with current generations, allowing games to cross over freely. It's dubious whether or not this would still be possible if Microsoft and Sony released their own eighth generation consoles, but we're in the clear for now. Games like Call of Duty often suffered on the Wii because of how basically half of everything that made the original version of the game good was cut for that release. The Wii U eliminates that problem.
Anybody remember Super Smash Bros. Brawl's almost useless online mode? Yeah, me too. Disappointing. A load of wasted potential. The Wii had online more as a bonus feature, whereas the Wii U makes dedicated use of it. I think we can rest assured the disparity between the online of Nintendo and the other developers will be put to rest, at least for the current generation.
Another contributing reason as to why the Wii U was necessary is one Nintendo stated itself: many gamers simply view Nintendo's modern systems as "kiddy" and "gimmicky." The Wii U, with its fairly standard controller (with a touch screen, yes, but bear with us), HD graphics, and improved online, not to mention third-party games like Assassin's Creed III and Call of Duty: Black Ops II, should hopefully reign back in the gamers who distanced themselves because of false preconceptions. I'm still not very optimistic it'll win back the lost crowd, as that crowd has basically been decrying Nintendo since the GameCube. I have some hope, but I think the damage has been done.
Long story short, the Wii U bridges the gaps the Wii left, allowing everyone from every developer's audience to unite once more. As of now, Nintendo is no longer "falling behind" everyone else. We'll see how things turn out down the road, but things should be mostly equal from here.
WHAT I'M LOOKING FORWARD TO
The Wii U comes with multiple new features, and I'm naturally looking forward to how all of them will be used. Some of them stick out, though, and I want to go over what each could mean for the future.
The biggest thing I'm excited about is something a lot of people probably haven't given a great deal of thought to. ZombiU is a first-person survival horror game coming to the Wii U, and it bears an interesting feature: the ability to record your face using the Wii U GamePad's built-in camera and "zombify" it into a twisted visage that animates and keeps up with your changing expressions. This sort of thing was perhaps most notably seen in Face Raiders, a relatively small-time game that comes with the 3DS. In Face Raiders, you take a picture of your own mug using the 3DS's built-in camera, which creates enemies and bosses based off the faces you've photographed. It was pleasantly alarming the first time I saw this, as my face separated itself from me, turned itself into an evil grin, and animated in a startlingly realistic fashion. It's unconfirmed to me whether or not ZombiU will support the ability to paste your face onto the player character, but the technology is there.
And now we get to the Wii U and its more-advanced hardware, so each picture of yourself and all the animation pertaining to it should have jumped up several levels. I don't expect too much of this at the beginning of the Wii U's life, as any experiment needs numerous retries to perfect, but the technology can only improve with trial, error, and time.
Think of what this could mean. RPGs could turn into true role-playing games as you drop your own persona into the story, complete with your own realistically-portrayed face. If the technology is advanced enough, it could be like transporting yourself into the game and controlling your actions with a GamePad. If Nintendo capitalizes on this, it's groundbreaking stuff.
It should also be taken into consideration what this might mean for fighting games like the Super Smash Bros. series. Masahiro Sakurai has already talked about players custom-making a character on the 3DS version of the next Smash Bros. and uploading it to the Wii U version. What if this was taken a step further to where you could actually photograph yourself and drop into the arena to duke it out with Mario and Link? It's completely within the realm of possibility, and something like that really hasn't been seen before. Again, if used properly and concentrated on, it's groundbreaking.
Another thing I'm really looking forward to is, of course, the HD graphics. We've never seen franchises like Mario, The Legend of Zelda, Metroid, or Star Fox in hi-definition before. I don't want or expect Mario to suddenly become a completely realistic character, but the level of detail will increase. Super Mario Galaxy was lauded for its amazing graphics and remains one of the best-looking games on the Wii. Imagine that in HD. Yeah, I started to drool a little, too.
The GamePad is also not to be ignored. I don't know how this will distance itself from the DS in terms of functionality in the long-term, but it's already proving to be fairly unique in games like Nintendo Land. With the DS, you're usually looking at what you're doing on the touch screen, which is pretty small in and of itself. The GamePad's touch screen is much larger and, in a lot of cases, involves looking at the television and not at the touch screen. I'm interested in seeing how games utilize this in the future, and at the moment I'm not sure what they might do. Scenarios like Takamaru's Ninja Castle and its gameplay based on throwing shuriken is one example that piques my interest.
Just so long as they don't go overboard with the GamePad and obsessively make it responsible for almost everything you do, I love the idea. For example, I really want another Star Fox game, but the whole thing being controlled by the GamePad would turn off a lot of people, including me. There are only so many things you can do with a stylus before it becomes intrusive, and I've heard a fair number of complaints about Star Fox Command for doing just that.
WHAT I'M LEERY OF
Despite my enthusiasm for the Wii U, there are a few areas I and naturally many other people are concerned about. The first issue of note is the amount of memory the Wii U has. The most basic Wii U model comes with 8 GB of data storage. Premium models (which are bundled with some other nifty features but come at fifty dollars/pounds extra) come with 32 GB, four times the basic amount. I'm saving my money for the Premium bundle, but we must also take a step back and look at the seventh-generation consoles to see whether or not the Wii U will throw some memory issues our way.
The minimum amount of initial storage for the Xbox 360 is, to my knowledge, a 20 GB hard drive (though the console itself comes with a much smaller 512 MB), while the "Super Slim" model of the PlayStation 3 carries the smallest memory of its kind at 12 GB, which is upgradeable to larger storage. The current maximum for both are 320 GB and 500 GB respectively. The Xbox 360 apparently comes with both its internal memory and a hard drive, meaning your starting memory number is significantly higher than the Wii's mere 512 MB and no additional hard drives or SD cards in the package. I say "apparently" because I don't own an Xbox 360, so this all comes from basic information online.
Compared to the Wii, then, the Wii U is a major jump up with 8 GB as its very base, which is expandable with its own SD cards and hard drives. When compared to the other seventh generation consoles, it still doesn't quite come up to par. 8 GB is still less than the next smallest thing, which is the PlayStation 3's 12 GB "Super Slim" model.
In all honesty, I'm not really worried about this, just a tiny bit leery. While I'm no expert on what makes consoles tick, 8 GB sounds like a fair amount, and I suspect it'll hold numerous games before it gets down to the wire. If the storage-to-content ratio is anything like the Wii's, you could probably hold dozens of games (assuming you're using only the disk and not downloading the entire game onto the system) before running out of space. That's not even getting into the SD cards and memory upgrades.
So my teeth are not exactly chattering over the issue. I'm keeping an eye on it, but I don't think it'll turn into a big deal.
Another thing I've heard through the reaches of the internet is that the Wii U GamePad has a fairly short battery life and drops dead within a few hours. According to Eurogamer's article (http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2012-06-05-wii-u-gamepad-battery-life-detailed), we can expect about three to five hours.
The battery life of the Wii U's GamePad controller has been fully detailed by Nintendo, with a single charge expected to last between three to five hours.
A charge takes two and a half hours, though it can be played when charging via an AC adaptor.
The full, official specs also confirmed that the GamePad weighs in at 500g and boasts a 6.2 inch LCD screen and stereo sound.
The battery life is dependent on the brightness of the screen.
This naturally seems to hinge on the game, how many of the Wii U's functions you have running at the time, and the quality of those functions, but like the memory debate, it's worth noting. I suppose it would be a forceful way of telling us to stop playing and get some fresh air, but still. Spending an afternoon playing a game with your family could promptly come to an end if somebody forgot to recharge the GamePad and playing with the AC adaptor isn't an option.
The third and undeniably biggest issue is how inaccessible the GamePad is said to be. Nintendo has stated that GamePads will not be sold outside Wii U console packages. The following snippet is from Gamasutra (http://www.gamasutra.com/view/news/35137/Nintendo_Wii_U_Controllers_Not_Sold_Separately_3DS_May_Work_As_Controller.php#.UHZYxVIorIU).
Talking to news site CVG, a Nintendo spokesperson noted that the controllers will only come with the console, explaining, "Both the controller and the console will be sold as one unit. You won't be able to buy the controller alone."
However, in an interview with News.com.au, Nintendo director and industry veteran Shigeru Miyamoto said that multiple controllers connected to one console may well be possible. He also noted that players may be able to use their Nintendo 3DS as a controller for the upcoming console.
"Our basic premise is that you can use one with a system," he noted, before musing, "If we got to an idea of having multiple (controllers) it might be just more convenient for people to use their Nintendo 3DS and have a way to connect that."
I'm assuming I'm not the only one a little worried by that statement. Let's go over a hypothetical scenario. You're going through the day as usual when the doorbell rings and your 400-pound Uncle Harry comes in. You've accidentally left your Wii U GamePad on the couch from your last play session. Before you can say anything, 400-pound Uncle Harry takes a seat on the couch, right on top of your only GamePad and crushing the precious thing into gravel.
In light of your heartbrokenness, do you waltz up to the nearest GameStop and buy a new GamePad to replace the one your uncle destroyed? No, because they're not for sale unless you spend at least three hundred dollars or pounds on another Wii U and GamePad, the former of which you don't need. Yes, I'm a little nervous.
It doesn't have to be Uncle Harry, either. It could be you inadvertently spilled juice on the GamePad, had it stolen, or it just plain stopped working for one reason or another. The natural conclusion is to go out and buy another one, but that's currently not an option. Not a convenient one, anyway.
Additionally, not everybody owns a Nintendo 3DS, and it would be kind of trollish to expect people to buy one just to have another Wii U controller with a touch screen. There's a big difference between a GamePad and a 3DS anyway (such as how the GamePad comes with two analog sticks and the 3DS requires an add-on for the second stick), so it sounds more like a last resort than a norm.
Let's hope Nintendo don't outsmart themselves and shrug their shoulders sheepishly if hundreds, if not thousands, of people lose the use of their GamePads. Maybe they have some sort of warranty service that will replace the GamePads for free, or perhaps the option to buy them separately is coming down the road. However it happens, there needs to be a backup plan before a throng of angry fans kick down the door to Nintendo's main office and string up Shigeru Miyamoto by his toes.
CONCLUSION
Reflecting on all this, I think the pros outweigh the cons, and I'm definitely buying a Wii U at some point. Nintendo needs to make sure they don't make some embarrassing goofs, especially where GamePad accessibility is concerned, but I'm willing to take the risk in order to enjoy some innovative and unique experiences. Let me know if you're planning on getting a Wii U and what you're looking forward to most if you are, as well as what you're hesitant about and what Nintendo franchises you'd most like to see on the Wii U.
Until next time. Thanks for reading, and we'll see how things turn out November 18th of this year.
Game Poll Haven is the sister blog to the Game Poll website. At this blog, you can expect updates to Game Poll content, game reviews, miscellaneous articles, Top 10 lists, and other announcements.
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