I think the Wii U will end up surprising everyone long term.
I'm a huge Playstation fan who owned a PS3, PSP, and 360 last gen...and thoroughly disliked the Wii and DS models I tried. This gen I bought a PS4 and Vita; and while I really like them...I find I'm not playing as much. I picked up a Wii U when it went on sale for $250 to satisfy my need to get away from the MANY shooters I've been playing and back to my platforming roots. Wow I LOVE my Wii U.
It's getting much more play in my house (with the while family) than any of the other systems. It's got a really smooth UI that is very stable compared to what I'm used to on my other systems. The controllers are superb; and the graphics sublime. So far I'm playing two Mario titles, Donkey Kong, and MK8. It's pure bliss.
While the wii sold like crazy; I think it was much more a "hula hoop" phenomena. People bought them and they collected dust when their new flat screens were delivered and everything just looked SOOOOO terrible. The Wii U on the other hand has the potential to deliver gameplay and graphics that are plenty good for almost everyone, while also delivering unique features at prices that undercut the competition. I see no reason why the WII U can't have 7 or 8 years of life in it.
I think a lot of gamers will pick one up as a second system and quickly start to make it their main system. People are starting to get sick of all the games that release as "alpha" level at best and have to be patched for 6 months before they work. Nintendo titles are just SO slick, beautiful, and well made.
For handheld I love my iPhone and can't see ever needing anything else.
Don't you take away my Wii U; I'm officially a new Nintendo fanboy.







