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archbrix on 25 August 2012
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Squilliam said:
archbrix said:
Squilliam said:

What does the Wii U offer someone whom already has an Xbox 360?

Well, the obvious answer is the WiiU Gamepad.  Never before has the touchscreen interface, asymmetrical gameplay or streaming ability that Nintendo is championing been done with a home console before.

The other big reason is the games; not the multiplats, there I agree, but specifically Nintendo's games with up-to-date HD graphics.  Obviously I'm not talking about people who don't like Nintendo games, but the simple fact is that the mass gamers (i.e not the enthusiasts) are quite happy with the visual fidelity we're at now with the HD consoles.  My point being that many people are likely to see more justification in upgrading Nintendo's console for their Zelda and Mario to be at the "current" level than they would be in upgrading Xbox or Playstation to "even prettier" levels when they're already happy with how their Halo or God of War look.

The features of the WIi U are major unknowns at this point. Nintendo felt that the 3D in the 3DS was a worthwhile feature as well, however it didn't let them maintain their launch price for very long. I wouldn't count on unknown features and besides the best feature of the Wii U is likely brand and reputation.

How happy are you with PS1 level graphics? People were very happy with that too. I don't think that anyone is going to say no to better graphics at a similar price. Noone would buy a PS1 or PS2 for the same price as a PS3 so obviously visuals are a factor. People bought the Wii inspite of the lack of visual fidelity because it offered something unique which drew people in. What the WIi U offers is not nearly as unique as the WIi and half of the functionality will be copied with the Xbox 360 smart glass at or before launch.

I'm not talking about unknown features; I'm referring to the ones we do know.  Being able to stream your game to the controller to free up the TV... and back again on the fly.  Asymmetrical gameplay where one person uses the gamepad and effects the TV gameplay for other players.  Of course these things will not hold up if innovative ideas aren't there for them, but the point is they haven't been done before.  Furthermore, I think you may be putting too much faith in Smartglass' capabilities.  Can you display a full-fledged console game on the TV and a tablet simultaneously like the Zelda HD from E3 2011?  Can you even stream a full 360 game for play on a tablet at all?  So far, we've only seen the most basic functionality in common on Smartglass; play-calling in Madden, map screens... "half of the functionality" being shared between Smartglass and WiiU is a bit of a stretch to say the least.  And that's to say nothing of the fact that every WiiU owner will have this functionality so all games made for it can take advantage of this.

Regarding your graphics argument, you're overlooking the level of graphics we have now.  The PS1 was among the first systems to successfully delve into polygonal graphics... just as the Atari 2600 and Intellivision were the first for 2D graphics.  Neither has aged well.  However, the NES and the SNES have aged much better... same as the PS2 and how the PS3 will.  Better graphics at a similar price would be great, but that's not how the real world works.  Durango and Orbis would have to be pretty expensive to see a huge leap over the current HD consoles, which is why I believe that Microsoft and Sony will focus on affordable consoles and innovation to stand out next gen.  Microsoft seems more interested in a multimedia hub for the living room.  Sony, we don't know yet.  No reason why even nicer graphics can't come along with that, but I think all three next gen consoles will be close enough to share the same multiplats unlike this gen.