i agree, i think to myself, Is this a feature people have been uppidy for?

has nintendo been ganged by mobs of peope saying "i simply cant play any of my games without a screen in my gamepad"

the more you think about it, the more you think that this is just a gimmick, if a GUI for  game is done intelligently you dont need a 2nd, or 3rd screen for any extra info...

i have a theory, a crazy goofy nonsensicle-one thats just for shits and giggles but... any console maker willing to do crazy shit like puttin screens where they dont belong will go the way of the dinosaur, just look at the dreamcast!  anybody remember their screen in a controller, tamagotchi like bs

I dont agree.

I will agree with the fact that most 3rd party's will use the tablet as a toy with crappy mini games.

But i love the plans for zelda.

For instance they are planning to make the map and inventory on the tablet so you dont have to pause the game every time you want to switch to a different item.

If games focus on those kind of features i see a bright future for games on the wii U.

You dont need any information onscreen anymore everything can be displayed on the tablet.

I'll just keep it brief; you're blog entry is mint! Sums up everything on my mind in regards to the Wii U.

I personally wasn't a big fan of the Wii so I'm not even taking the Wii U seriously at all.  On the Wii, there were only maybe 5-10 games (if that) that even appealed to me. And the gimmicky games with friends got old pretty quickly.  It has been solely used as a Netflix platform for the last 3 years.  I loved every Nintendo console up to and including the gamecube, but Nintendo seems to be trying to figure out the next fad, and that's about it.  I don't care how many non gamers flock to dumbed down Facebook and Nintendo games, it is the traditional hardcore gamers that are going to spend 1K + per year on gaming.  I don't know too many people in that category that spent much time with the Wii or Facebook/Mobile games if you are right beside your 360 PS3, or high end PC.  But then again, maybe I'm just getting old and out of touch! 

I agree with a lot of what you said,this console could've been a lot better.Reggie is talking out of his ass,"Sony and microsoft must react to us".That is what I think will be a problem,I am enjoying my Wii U right now and dont regret buying it but the Wii U might be forgotten in the hype of the next playstation/xbox.Sadly(yes I felt sad) I didn't get" that awesome feeling after buying and playing with a new console".

Having got one on friday I can tell you its a lot better than you make it sound- the gamepads size takes a little getting used too but it fits into the hands perfectly actually and the new features it brings are anything but irrelevent and will lead to some fantastic, fun and innovative games

I'm a hardcore gamer..  I play anything and everything that comes out but I just find the Wii-U's tablet gamepad as a unattractive and bothersome controller just like the wii's motion controller gimmick I just can't get behind it as a serious game playing platform. 

I agree with your post whole-heartedly I'm ready for the next gen consoles but the wii-u isn't next gen to me..

Everyone wants to comment on what the wiiU is or what it should be and how it has already failed... Until you actually hold the controller in your hand and play some games you know nothing about what you are talking about.. This system is fun and very different than my X360 sitting next to it.. I love them both, but the WiiU is just simply BADASS with touch and wiimote support Freakin' Awesome. Don't just watch the videos ... Play It! Hayter

Yeah I know. WiiU is nothing for me to but let everybody play there games on whatever system they want.

The wii wasn't for me, but I liked that it did something different.  We don't need three consoles that are almost the same.  Even though I almost never use my Wii, I think its important within the industry.  The Wii U is is entering dangerous territory.  Its still a bit different, which I think is good - however I was reading a piece on black ops 2, and apparently it looks ALMOST as good as the xbox 360 version.  The next gen console is pushing graphics ALMOST as good as the last gen.  Then there is "new super mario bros" with just makes me groan.  I am a little confused with the dual screen as well.  Games are build for dual screen functionality, but you can bring them locally to the tablet controller...so they lose that functionality?

This is probably the best post regarding the Wii U I have read so far.

they should have cut the controller kept the console is what you're saying? They should have waited till the PS4 and XB720 to drop to have the secruity they had (at least over sony) with the GC.

I have a Wii U and you know what at some point you are correct, the Wii U could be irrelevant and pretty much the same with a lot of gimmicky. But, the reality is that the Wii U relevance, is the same for the PS3 and Xbox 360. In the other hand, it is clear that a lot of people is fond of Nintendo products (Canadians are getting their small version of Wii for some uknown reason) including myself. At end is not about how reelevant is the console, the real question is truly something you care enough to have in your living room, i care and so far i am enjoying it with my brothers and friends.

Thanks for saying all that, now I don't have to!

Agreed. Its just gonna be the wii all over again. My experience with the wii: Fancy gimmick with some good release games, but then its years as opposed to months between them, and for every good game that comes theres one on the 360/ps3 that sounds more interesting. Wii U.....meh

You have a right to your opinions, but at the very least make every effort to be constructive in your criticism.  There's a right and a wrong way to criticize.  You're way off the mark.

The only thing that I can say about the WiiU: worth owning but only for the AAA 1st party games and maybe some of its exclusives, anyone else who spends money to buy multiplatform games for it is simply insane.  Also, not buying at that price.  I going to wait and see what happens after E3 when Sony and Microsoft make formal announcements about their next gen consoles.

I think my opinions of Nintendo are pretty well-known here on Gamespot. And, like you Geekydad, I really don't know what Nintendo or their fans are thinking, and I think the Wii-U is very unappealing to most gamers.

However, if you want to be completely honest with yourself, there isn't any perfect game system.  Microsoft charges users for a lot of stuff, and emphasizes spending at every turn.  Sony seems to have trouble delivering on content and charges a lot for their systems.  And with PC you need to meet the requirements of every game you buy, and you usually lose the comfort and precision of a controller, imo.

And Nintendo still looks a whole lot more satisfying than app games, which charge you micro-transactions to unlock content or speed up tick-based game play.  And are usually generic, mass-produced stinkers.

All we can do is wait and see what Sony and Microsoft have planned.  And wait and see where the industry is going.  Until we get that definitive answer, I think the industry is going to be in this long state of confusion and experimentation.

I have to give Nintendo props for at least trying to innovate, but I agree that WiiU looks weak.  Can't they take a break from "innovating" for like one console cycle?

I'm all for having opinions and being able to state them without being scathingly bashed for it, but you didn't make a good case for your argument here. You could've been at least a bit more constructive in your obvious criticism of the system. I'm not judging the system, Nintendo's marketing strategy, Reggie or whatever; I'm just saying that your blog came across as immature and unsubstantiated. Rhetorical questions don't make a pleasing argument.

You have a right to say what you want about the Wii U system, but then again, I have a right say what I want about your argument. It doesn't hold much water here.

That being said, will Wii U be successful? I don't know. No one does, not even Nintendo. Also, we know nothing about Microsoft and Sony's next systems. They could be packed with gimmicks too, like Kinect 2.0 or a VR headset. Either way, we'll see gimmicks. All we can do is just play games we really like, regardless of console.

What a rubbish article. You clearly just don't like Nintendo, and your perception of their console reeks of the kind of nonsense I regularly see from Sony/Microsoft fanboys that have never even played on the system.

I'd love to see you try and substantiate your claim that Nintendo recycle textures and that the games are 3 and 4 years old too. That's a frivolous criticism that can be said of any console out there. 

Recently, Nintendo's game systems usually have a gimmick attached to them to set it apart from Sony and Microsoft's products. For example, the DS had the stylus and touch screen, 3DS has 3D, Wii U has the tablet thing, and Wii had its motion controls way before the move and kinect. Seems to me that these gimmicks are just pretty hit or miss. People either like them or hate them.

Also, to me it seems that Nintendo isn't trying to be like Sony or Microsoft, its just trying to carve its own path. Its not trying too much to be like either company because that could potentially be suicide.  These gimmicks, Nintendo's established and popular exclusives, and an appeal to the casual market (before MS and Sony) allowed them to stay in the console race. And apparently they are doing just fine with this strategy of there's, loads of people I knew went waited in impossibly long lines to get the Wii U day one (one guy told me the story of how his mom waited at launch for 6 hours!).

I'm not mad at Nintendo, I like their handheld systems, but yeah, I can kinda see where you're coming from. I don't really like the idea of the Wii U either.

And as to whether its worthy for the modern gamer, well, that's up to the individual to decide.

You're acting like you're forced to play it.

Just stick to the 360/ps3 if you like those systems.

I just can't take it seriously whenever Reggie says something. The sad thing is, he really seems convinced the Wii U is amazing as current gen.

The rumors about MS having a screen on the controller doesn't excite me either.

Absolutely aggree nintendo has been out of touch with gamers for a looong time which is why most 3rd party dev's don't make games for their ridiculous game systems...The wii-u is shit on a stick plain and simple, unless your a seven year old kid or something like that in which case I can understand. Why anyone would want to buy a console with last-gen...or whats soon to be last gen graphics are beyond me.  

I really wonder whether Reggie is just an exemplary salesman - a highfalutin hired gun with a video game fetish -  or he actually believes in the product he sells and the direction it's going.

As time marches on, I believe latter has given way to the former.  Sometimes I envision him at a Ninty board meeting, begging and pleading for certain common sense realities that western companies adopted long ago only to run into that quasi-imperial Japanese corporate stodginess that brings us burnished retreads of the same old games, generation after generation after generation and innovation we never really knew we needed.

If through all of this he remains a true believer - if I sense that what comes out of his mouth in interviews and at E3 equals what is actually going on between his ears - well, I might just develop some respect issues for the guy.

I sensed that when all was said and done, the Wii would occupy that space in the average consumer's basement among the unopened shake weights, silly band collection and the pile of Atkins diet books.  I wasn't far off.

Overstated (and fading) brand loyalty aside, systems and their features don't make the sale, content does. 

"Ice, Water, Forest & Fire Dungeon: HD" and a smattering of half-octane third party AAA titles is just something I'm unwilling to do after sixteen consecutive years.

Controller is actually pretty comfortable. I was just as skeptical.. until I held one. Then I realized, that all of these shooters to be released for Wii U, won't be such a gimmicky joke after all.

"You're tethered to the actual console. So, more limitations on my ability to game than an iDevice? Oh yeah, sign me up."

But, being tethered to a console enhances gaming experience compared to mobile devices...

The Wii U's had a pretty disappointing launch, and Nintendo's approach for the system has been equally disappointing, but I still see a lot of potential for multiplayer with the GamePad.

Asymmetrical multiplayer is the only interesting thing about the Wii U to me, but as of yet, it hasn't been explored too much.

I'm with you.  I don't see what's so exciting about it either.  A tablet to make the experience of playing a game even more complicated? The same quality graphics I've been looking at for 6-7 years now? Almost zero chance of getting good exclusives? Neh.  No thanks. 

Yep.  I was an early and vocal supporter of the Wii years ago, and my ultimate feeling is that I was duped-and-just-plain-dumb-for-buying-into-what-Reggie-was-selling.  DAJPDFBIWRWS for short.  The Wii was a disaster in so many ways... content locked to one console, horrendous ports of the "big" games, years spent waiting for a new release in one of the Big N franchises, feeble online features, the WiiWare service all but abandoned... I remember the weekly updates on the Nintendo channel from Gary and Alison that were, at best, insulting to my intelligence, and never ever contained any news that was actually new.  The experience left me with very little confidence that Nintendo will get their act together enough to get back into this game, or this gamer's wallet in particular.  I haven't even bothered to look at a demo station yet.  I'm just not even curious.  And I don't plan on being DAJPDFBIWRWS again.

Haters gonna hate. Go back to your "hardcore" Xbox.

Its never about the hardware. Its always about the games. Nintendo as a wise man once said is in its own generation. I agree with your point about the false hype other than that Ive got nothing against the Wii U. :)