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Wii U: Under $400 AND Slower than XBox 360/PS3?
Well there’s good news and bad news in this news bit. First, let’s focus on the good news. For those who thought that the Wii U may cost an arm and a leg may be in for a bit of a surprise. According to a report in the UK, the Wii U may be priced along the neighborhood of 250 pounds, which in dollars is equal to less than $400. So in other words, you may be able to keep your other arm, but that leg may still need to be given up. This is a huge departure from some of the estimates, which clocked in as high as about $600.
And now the bad news, well depending on if you were expecting the most up to date and greatest of graphics that one could offer. Wii U may not actually be as powerful as we all originally thought. Tekken producer Katsuhiro Harada said that he believes that the system may actually not only be less powerful than it was coming across, but even less powerful than both Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3. Of course, this is pretty much speculation and it remains to be seen, but there’s at least one person who isn’t buying into the technology claim.
New Super Mario Bros. U: To Launch or Not To Launch?
That is pretty much the question as confusion hits gamers everywhere about the much anticipated Super Mario Bros. U and its release date. Most folks were led to believe that the new Mario game would be available on the launch date, being one of the first killer apps for the new system. This confusion was first started at San Diego Comic Con when giving a demo of the game. Afterwards, Nintendo PR manager Kit Ellis said that the game would be coming out shortly after launch. Cue the hubbub from gamers and gaming media everywhere.
When Digital Trends checked for a followup, a representative told them that things were going to be no change to the launch timing as communicated at E3 and otherwise. This only leads to more confusion as gamers everywhere seem to be ready to torch and pillage the console before it even debuts. While Nintendo may have had issues with the 3DS launch and not being able to keep its promises on games to be released then, it’s probably best to just take a step back and wait for the official words.
Here’s Some New Super Mario Bros. 2 Commercials
Overseas in Japan, they have already released a couple commercials for the game. In the first one, we get a strange ad with a girl and a boy playing against each other. It’s likely that they are siblings, but I’m not entirely sure. The ad is in Japanese so one could probably drawn their own goofy conclusions if they’d like. I think it’s something about sibling rivalry. The second one (with appears after the first one in the YouTube video) is pretty much just all gameplay with only very little Japanese at the end (with English at the end when stating the title of the game). It remains to be seen what will be shown in the US for commercials, but hopefully these ones will tide over you diehard fans.
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And there’s the latest and the greatest going on in the world of Nintendo for tonight. Good night and have a pleasant tomorrow.
Well I’m not buying into either one of those claims. The 360/PS3 = $300. Wii U = $400? And it’s still less powerful?! I don’t think so. Nintendo has always had better hardware than the competition.
Try less than $300 and slightly more powerful.
I, too, believe the Wii U will be at or around that $300 price point. I think if Nintendo learned anything from its 3DS release it’s that a system has to priced within reason to attract consumers.
As for debating whether or not the Wii U is less or more powerful than the 360/PS3, my response is: does it really matter? After all, the Gamepad is what sets the Wii U apart from the crowd. But even still, in an age where graphics have hit a plateau of sorts for the time being, I think demand for cutting edge visuals is at a record low. With the rise in indie game popularity, which traditionally sees much more simplistic art and graphical styles, we are begining to notice that graphics are not what distinguishes a game anymore. Gameplay is what matters. Therefore, if the Wii U is less powerful than the 360/PS3? Fine. If it’s more powerful, fine. I personally don’t care. If the gameplay is good enough to draw me, I’m very okay with dropping $300, or more, on the system.
One of the major attractions of the Wii was that it was priced smart (re: low) right from the start. That meant that people unsure about the purchase, or interested in the hype (but not willing to go to town on it) did not foresee a big loss by putting down what was basically an under $300 console.
Offering a new technology-gimmick while remaining cost-smart seemed like a good deal.
The 3DS learned the hard way that, even if Nintendo has had one of the most affluent and well-designed hard-ware histories of any electronics maker, it does raise them above the trends of the market.
Why would someone pay more for a Nintendo -gaming- machine than for an IPhone, which can phone, text, surf, browse, shoot pictures, capture video, and, oh yeah, game too.
Now the Wii U is going to be “under $400?” Give me a break.
That’s like asking someone to fork over $400 for an IPad that is games-only and that you can’t take with you. Added to this that the main-console technology is seen as barely an improvement over the Wii itself, which prided itself on matching the original XBox and PS2, alongside a video-gaming generation that has lasted six-seven years – they’re asking for $400 for one piece of decade old technology, married to a function-truncated and simplified handheld device that has been on the market for the past five.
Add to this that people, in general, are confused about the controller set-ups, the software that uses this new hardware has yet to see a AAA title being developed in-house, the key system-selling piece of software (New Super Mario Wii U) is a direct take from a two decades old property will not make the launch, and the motivation people are supposed to have to pay $400 for thing is a four-player game of “find the ghost?”
I don’t want to say that Nintendo has dropped the ball – but it’s not in their hands, and it is rolling ever quickly to the sewer.
Bottom line is, back in the day, I never intended to pick up Nintendo’s “next console,” but with the price-point and technology-catch, I nearly bought the original Wii on day one. With the Wii U, I was all on-board for being a first-day costumer, but with their recent confusion, and now with their price-point, I am patiently going to wait to see what the reviews are.
And that’s exactly what they do not want to see. People like me, waiting for the first price-drop. It’s the recipe for the 3DS all over again.