Thoughts on the Wii U

Nintendo's new console has been revealed at E3, which was several days ago. Since watching the reveal live, I've had lots of time to think about the console's design, the choices Nintendo has made with it, and the advances they hope it will bring to their brand. I'm sure many, many people are out there blogging their thoughts on the machine, and I'm going to join them. I can't be certain because I've purposely avoided such articles so that I can claim my opinions, thoughts, and predictions are my own, and not influenced by any outsiders. That having been said, I don't claim to have any knowledge of the industry, and predictions I've made in the past have been all over the map with regards to being factually true in the end.

With all that out of the way, I'd like to state that I'm not doing this as a way to claim I know better than any other speculator out there. I don't, and I'm only putting my thoughts down as a writing exercise. Also, if I'm right, it'll be nice to have documented evidence that I knew how things would turn out. If I'm wrong, however, it'll still be fun years down the road to look back and laugh at myself.

If you have not seen the Wii U announcement and don't know how it will differ from the Wii, you can check at http://e3.nintendo.com. I'm not sure how long this site will be up, but for now it is the best place to check.

First, I'd like to comment on the graphical capabilities of the system. To the best of my knowledge, he system is capable of 1080p high-definition video. Considering how good the graphics of first-party games have been on the Wii and Gamecube at 480i, I think Nintendo will be able to make great use of the Wii U's visual capabilities, and we can expect their own game franchises to have incredible-looking entries. Also, I'm hoping that High-Voltage Software gets around to creating Conduit 3 on the system. I'm sure the graphics will be on-par with the Playstation 3 and Xbox 360, and fewer games will be exclusive to these two consoles with the Wii U's updated processing power.

First party games will be fantastic. Dedicated third parties will be able to create amazing gaming experiences on the console. But what worries me is the massive "shovelware" market that exists on the Wii. The grand majority of third-party games on the Wii are just crap, developed by companies you've never heard of at minimal cost in order to rake in a few dollars from grandparents who don't know any better, or at least that's the impression I get when I go down to the local game shop. I'm a bit afraid that the Wii U's capabilities are going to be wasted on games that don't even try to use the console's full capabilities, and tarnish the brand further with the label of being "for casual gamers only."

Another fear of mine is that even large third parties such as Activison, EA and others will neglect to take advantage of the systems more advanced features. The console's controller is very unique, having a 6.2-inch touch screen along with the dual-analog sticks and all the buttons we're used to having. The Wii U is able to make extraordinary use of it, but I don't know if developers working on a game for multiple platforms will bother to take the effort to use a peripheral only one console has. Even if they don't, I don't think it'll be a big deal anyway. It would be a shame, but it would be even more of a shame if you couldn't play Call of Duty 3 or Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim on the machine in the first place.

Nintendo is trying to paint the Wii U as a machine for serious gamers. It is capable of playing modern games in high-definition, it offers a unique but familiar control interface, and it seems to have a lot of third-party support behind it. I think Nintendo's console is up to the challenge, but I'm skeptical that game developers will feel that way.

The Wii U is backwards compatible with Wii games and peripherals. Accessories like the Balance Board, Wii Remote (and attachments) will work fine with the console. This is great, but there's something missing from that list. No one said explicitly that the Wii U will not be compatible with Gamecube games and controllers, but the subject seemed to be carefully avoided. Personally, I love the Gamecube's controller, and I have many Gamecube games that I greatly enjoy. I would hate to have a Wii that couldn't play them, but at the same time I don't think it would stop me from buying the console if that compatibility didn't exist.

The most revolutionary part of the console is its controller, which, as I mentioned, has a built-in screen. The controller looks a lot like a tablet computer crossbred with a Wii Classic Controller. Personally, I like it and I can't wait to get my hands on one.  However, I do have some concerns about it. I'm not sure how comfortable it would be to hold for long gaming sessions. Is it shaped to fit comfortably in the hands? Is it too heavy to hold for long periods of time? Also, I'm concerned about power. Does it take AA's like the Wii Remotes do, or does it have a built-in rechargeable battery? How long will the battery power last with a screen like that? All these questions remain unanswered, but I get the feeling Nintendo would not screw these details up.

Finally, I had heard mention that the Wii U is a lot like Dreamcast in that it has a screen on the controller. This point is valid, but there's another similarity to the Dreamcast that I'm a bit nervous of. Sega had, for basically their entire console-building life, created systems that were nested between console generations.

The Genesis was created near the end of the NES's lifetime and was intended to compete with it. Then, Nintendo released the SNES, a console technically superior to the Genesis. The hardware of the Genesis was good, but the SNES still had it beat in raw power. Sega did a great job of turning their ship to compete with the SNES, but it was no easy task. Several other missteps occurred, such as the extension peripherals for the Genesis, and the Saturn, and when Sega had finally corrected their mistakes with the Dreamcast it was too late. They were the first console in the generation, and a year later when the Playstation 2 came out, it crushed the poor Dreamcast. There were other issues as well, but the fact remains that the Dreamcast didn't survive and Sega got out of the hardware business in 2001.

None of this matters except that Nintendo is bringing the first console of the next generation to the table. I'm hoping that the Playstation 4 and Xbox 720 don't suddenly appear and destroy the console. Sega made a lot more mistakes than Nintendo seems to have, but it's hindsight that's 20/20, not foresight, and there's always the possibility that there's more going on at Nintendo than we know.

To wrap up, I think the Wii U's hardware has been long-overdue. Though I don't like the name, I'll get used to it. The new controller has some amazing potential and I can't wait to use one. I am worried about the cost and durability of these controllers, however. I think the console will do pretty well, but I have trouble believing that it will tear dedicated gamers away from their Playstations and Xboxes or convert my mom into a pro-gamer.