The lights are on
The Wii U is not without its shortcomings, but I have already found a lot to love.
I spent a lot of time getting the Wii U updated and transferring over my Wii data, as most Wii U owners did on its first day of life. Just as I was ready to jump in, my wife’s parents arrived to stay with us during the Thanksgiving break. I shut everything down to greet my relatives and listen to them marvel at how adorable the baby had become since the last time they saw her.
Shortly after everyone got settled in, I got a text from Bryan Vore asking me to add him on his Wii U friends list. I drafted a text to send back to him that I couldn’t at the moment because I had family over. I didn’t want to be rude and turn on the TV and start playing video games after they had driven approximately 1,300 miles to come visit us. Before I hit send, however, I realized that turning on the TV to play a console video game was now a thing of the past. I stealthily turned on the GamePad, added Bryan to my friends list, and turned the system off without even exiting the conversation, and no one was the wiser. It helped that there was a cute baby distracting everyone with her recently mastered walking skills.
Later that night, when we were looking for things to entertain ourselves, I suggested checking out the new Wii U. My father-in-law and I each grabbed Wii Remotes, and I gave my one-year-old toddler the GamePad as an experiment. She’s young, but she has at least a small understanding of the mechanics of touch screens. I used to hand her my iPhone, but I can’t do that anymore now that she has mastered the unlock and has a penchant for rearranging my applications. Under my wife and mother-in-law’s watchful eyes, the baby gripped the stylus in a stabbing motion and began attacking the screen, randomly placing blocks for Mario and Luigi to jump on. She didn’t provide any real help (and was mostly a hindrance, in fact) and though she didn’t understand what she was doing, I still feel like I played my first cooperative video game with my daughter.
Pictured above: Not my daughter's hands.
Beyond the advantages of having a Wii U in the house with toddler, like being able to play Call of Duty without displaying a montage of violence on the giant glowing screen for my daughter to absorb, I have been enjoying the Miiverse. Before the Wii U was set to release, I knew next to nothing about the Miiverse. I assumed it would fall under the same umbrella of the Wii’s online features that sounded cool on paper, but never really met fruition. Very quickly though, I found myself absorbed in what the service had to offer. It’s like a Twitter devoted entirely to video games with the added advantage of drawings, without the crassness of an online community. The best part about it is that it presents itself with very little need for active participation.
I love seeing the impressive drawings that accompany random communities. I laughed out loud when I saw a detailed drawing of Hank Hill from King of the Hill in the Netflix community proudly proclaiming, “King of the Hill and Netflix? Awesome!” It’s all so random and weird, and I get a taste of it just by turning on my system.
There are even gameplay implications that I can’t wait to see grow. I booted up Batman: Arkham City, and jumped in the community just to see what was going on, and someone posted the following image on the board:
The code worked, and I ran around Arkham City as Batman from The Dark Knight Returns for a few hours without ever having to jump online to look up the code.
None of the Wii U’s games have jumped out at me as required ownership or reasons to buy the system, but for the type of gamer I am, in the household I live in, the Wii U is exactly what I want. It’s a system that allows me to play console games without interrupting what is currently happening on the television, and without exposing my daughter to the adult games I want to be playing, but don’t think she is ready for quite yet. Also, it plays Nintendo games, which tend to be quite good.
Email the author Kyle Hilliard, or follow on Twitter, Google+, Facebook, and Game Informer.
GRAHHHHH!!!I NEED $300 TO $350 ALREADY!!
I honestly haven't fired up the Xbox 360 or PS3 since I got the Wii U.
I still need to finish XCOM...
I hear ya Kyle. My old wimpy Wii will now be jealous. . .
This console gives me hope in the future of gaming. :)
Any excuse to talk about the baby eh Kyle side note the picture tag " not my daughter hands " amazing.
I also have been very pleased with the Wii U. Every day there is something new and interesting to utilize and see. I have NintenoLand, NSMBU, ZombiU, AC:3, as well as some eShop purchases. The gamepad is perfect for when my sports "team" is getting killed, I can play something else and not care what is on the TV. Those that don't like the controller are basing their opinion on playing it at a demo station in an uncomfortable position. Sitting down and playing it, I have logged over 12 hours straight on the weekends during game sessions, and it's fine. While the censorship on MiiVerse is fairly stringent, it is refreshing to see people talk about video games and experiences without negativity everywhere. The price point is perfect, people forget NES games in the late 80's were anywhere from $40, $50, even $60. You pay to be entertained and price cuts will not happen soon.
The fact remains, and I say this as someone who has supported Nintendo since the NES, is that there are no promises to what Sony and Microsoft will deliver. Their systems today still are very powerful, and there is simply limitations to both what kind of graphics one can push (still waiting for games to run native in 1080p), as well as the fact that if there next gen systems come in at high price points, it could really hurt their long-term sales (see Vita). It also is not feasible in today's economy to lose a good amount of money on each console sold, something seen with the Xbox until 2009 and the PS3 until late 2010.
I enjoy my U. But people need to understand this is an entertainment business predicated on making money, not making people happy by giving them free entertainment or entertainment for cheaper than it costs to produce. I do feel there is room today in this social media/smart phone/tablet world for home consoles, but I don't believe having 3 companies pushing the power limit will work when they will always be second fiddle to a PC.
The Wii U looks amazing, but I think I'll be able to hold out until the next Smash Bros. game. It is refreshing and encouraging to see such a cool feature like the Miiverse having such a subtle but profound impact.
You Love the Wii U too? Same! ^0^
No Sale.
Hmm interesting indeed but idk man I'm still not very convinced plus i got a ps3 and a 360 already, had a ps vita but sold it, and that was just so i could put some saved money on the side for my pc that i hope to one day get.
I totally hear what you're saying. I've practically forgotten about the "is it next gen?" question since getting it. The Miiverse is genius in practice and the controller feels right. And the dual screen set up is much better than I expected. I love the Wii U.
Wait, the WiiU version has a Dark Knight costume?!
I still haven't even tried a store demo of the wii u. But I've found out most of the wii functions are available on my new vita. Its remote play function allows me to play ps3 games using the vita as the monitor and controller, just like the U. But its done over wifi so I can do it anywhere. I don't think it works with every game, but still a fun function considering I had no idea that it did that.
eh you simply have a nintendo bias.
so your daughter can smack the gamepad?
reason enough to buy it!
Wiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii!
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lol I love that second paragraph and I think I feel the same way about Miiverse. By far, the best online network any system has to offer.