If you are going to argue that "horsepower doesn't matter" then why should anyone bother upgrading now?   Why not just stick with a PS3, or 360, or one of these Android based consoles (OUYA and onward)?

The argument for the Wii U, is that gamers NEED to have a second screen in their living room.  That is IT for the Wii U.  So, you need to argue why this second screen is such a critical feature that it will win over hardcore gamers that you had stated it would, because the Wii U is supposed to be a "hardcore" console, according to your estimate.  The Wii U is supposed to outdo a PS4 that is more powerful, with much larger internal storage, and ONLY $50 more expensive.  The WiiU is supposed to do this without really an EA support and every third-party turning their nose on it, as far as next gen console content goes.  The Wii U gets current gen stuff, to some extent, but is this stuff really being shown that much better than current gen stuff?

Second screen and Nintendo's exclusives are what the Wii U has.  Is that enough?

I like your recap of the 7th gen and your optimism

And it's true that Nintendo created the WiiU to cover both the casual and the more dedicated gamers but it's obvious that their strategy isn't working very well so far. I think they will attract more casual people when the console costs $249 or $199 and it gets more games.

...That...was..beauitful... :')

Epicness overload.



This is one of (if no 'the') greatest OPs I have ever read.

Amen to this. Greatest post ever.

I was gonna wait until more posts hit the thread before I made my replies but I couldn't wait on this one.

As a go-to selling feature, no......horsepower doesn't matter anymore.
That's why the XBox 360 & PS3 ended up emulating Wii instead of the other way around.
That's why Wii dominated the sales throughout the 7th generation (before simply quitting the fight in 2011).
That's why Gamecube-level 3DS is trouncing the PS3-level Vita.

Horsepower only mattered when it was able to deliver a new type of playing experience that couldn't quite be done before on the existing machines.
Even then there were limits to this.
The weaker DS embarrassed the stronger PSP.
The weaker PS2 annihilated the stronger Gamecube & XBox.
The weaker PS1 blew past the stronger N64 (even though N64's cartridges were also a major factor).
The weaker Genesis/Mega Drive challenged & bested the stronger SNES on many occassions.
The ENTIRELY weaker Game Boy rendered the much stronger Atari Lynx, Sega Game Gear, NEC Turbo Express, Sega Nomad EXTINCT!
The weaker NES conquered the stronger Master System.
The weaker Atari 2600 squashed the stronger Intellivision.

It has ALWAYS been like this. Consoles are supposed to deliver hardware power up to a point & anything more is overshooting it.
Gaming Consoles are NEVER supposed to be cutting-edge devices. They are static pieces of tech designed to cover a long time period for MASS MARKET sales.
All they have to be is good enough for the time period they cover & they'll be fine.
Overshooting with tech trying to make a console cutting-edge is what puts consoles out of the Mass Market range.
Most people are poor-to-middle class & videogames are a cheap entertainment luxury.
When you try to make your console cutting edge putting in too much too soon, you drive up the cost.

The reason people think "MORE POWER MORE POWER" is normal is because of how many competitors have used raw power trying to get an advantage over Nintendo's mastery at gamecraft.
The Sega Genesis couldn't hardly get past the NES at first despite coming out at a good $190 price point & being entirely more powerful.
Sony & later Microsoft with endless money at their disposal pushed the "more graphics" mantra further & further along with peripheral features like DVD playback, using your console as a cable box.
I guess they HAD to since neither of them are really gamemakers & couldn't HOPE to compete gamecraft-wise with the best damn developer in the business, Nintendo.

They're not as talented as Nintendo so they push power to get an edge. But now more power doesn't really get you anywhere with the returns levelling off.
Cell-powered PS3 couldn't even stop the weaker 360 from stealing its lunch. The PS3 has finally surpassed the 360 now (thanks to Japan) but they lost so much momentum all in the hopes of securing what turned out to be SECOND PLACE.

Nintendo uses tech & tech combinations to create new playing experiences.
They RIGHTLY recognize that tech is a means to an end & that end is Entertainment, Fun.
Companies rarely leave their roots & at heart Nintendo is a Play company.
Whether it's playing cards or playing toys or playing electronic toys like videogame consoles.
They use tech for its fun value. All of their software has that charm because they're trying to make things fun & playful.

The silly cat on Wii's News Channel. That entire madness from the WarioWare series. Link going fishing at a lake in the middle of a crucial world-dooming adventure in Ocarina of Time. The goofy Excitebike graphic that plays on Nintendo DSi Sound/3DS Sound. When you close the DS on Super Mario 64 DS & New Super Mario Bros. & you hear Mario say "Bye bye!" Hearing the cheesy but cool dialogue from Star Fox 64 after killing a boss then feeling that last minute RUMBLE with the explosion at the end of the line "I can't believe I lost to this SCUM!" "Sorry but I gotta jet!" *RUMBLE*. Playing with Mario's face on the title screen of Super Mario 64. Pressing the A & B buttons on the Wii Play title screen to make a fun little drum beat. Even downloading WiiWare games with Mario (small, Super or Fiery) OR Luigi showing progress by gathering coins & hitting [ ? ] Blocks. Downloading DSiWare games & seeing the gang from Super Mario Bros. 2 cooperate in loading the gaming bubbles in the present. Mario Paint for God's sake!

THAT'S the Nintendo difference. The others see this videogame thing as a Technology industry while Nintendo sees this PROPERLY as an Entertainment industry.
The others think the tech validates the game while Nintendo knows the game validates the tech.

And remember what I said about Nintendo being a playing card company.
Just like a good card player, they're holding their trump close to chest.

Stop looking at the power thing for a second & see how much that second screen adds to the playing experience while building on what was already established with Wii. Raw hardware power is irrelevant. Nintendo excels in the places where tech is relevant. And many times the tech is already common just never used in a certain way. Microphones & touchscreens were old hat in 2004.
How come Nintendo managed to combine them in that mega-selling package called the DS?
How come Sony couldn't even contemplate it?

It will be enough & you will see that soon.

John Lucas

i thought the U in wii U was all about you lol. Paraphrasing from what they said but it went something like "We brought you the Wii so we can all play together and now we can play together and YOU can play on your own too". Hence why we got the gamepad lol.

Nintendo has missed the mark before.  The N64 and Gamecube both ended up losing in the market, despite Nintendo having said "magic" that you claim.  And having less horsepower is NOT a plus.  Having enough, and the right price point can be though.  The XBox ONE, for example, is more expensive and less powerful than the PS4.

But there is a question with the Wii U whether or not it has enough horsepower, or the second screen is enough of a differentiator.  As it is now, the second screen isn't appealing enough to people, not is it for me.  Heck, I tried and tried and tried the second screen a number of times in demo units in stores, and see almost NO compelling reason to get a Wii U.  It just doesn't do anything for me.  I thought it might, but it just didn't.  The Wii was a different animal, and looked like fun to me actually, as it did a lot of other people, the Wii U doesn't.  Heck, even the said 3D differentiator of the 3DS isn't really that much interest to other people at all.  The 3D ended up a gimmick.  The price point is why the 3DS sells, and it doing some nice other incremental updates.  The Vita blows it on price actually.  And the Wii U, if it was that desirable, the MAIN feature of the second screen, it would be selling well now, and it is not.  It is struggling, along with the Vita.  And, the second screen better be a selling feature.  It is the main differentiator Nintendo has, and it has to work, the way motion control did.

The horsepower comes in, in regards to getting the next generation content.  if Bethesda doesn't feel the Wii U is worth the time, you don't get it.  You don't get EA other.  Ubisoft isn't doing any next gen stuff on the Wii U.  The Wii U is a late to the market current gen system, with a second screen.  It has 4 times less RAM than its competitors, and other inferior spects.  It follows the same path the ONE gets bashed for with its memory, and has less.

The thing you have BIG issues with, and your argument regarding power not mattering is that it can also mean THIS generation consoles get additional life to them.

And on the horsepower front, Android is coming on, at a lower price point.  And that is where the casuals went, onto portable devices, playing games as secondary features of their other devices.

I would have to say here also, you are missing the big picture.  The entire videogame industry could crash, pulling a version of the 1980s.  You could end up having the Wii U selling more, BUT the market shrinks.  Companies all bleed ink and and least one company leaves.  Nintendo hangs on, grabbing a larger piece of a marketspace that is getting smaller.  Congrats, you win, but it doesn't matter.  The future of gaming goes Android, and you are doomed personally.  Guess what, that is more likely to happen than Nintendo dominating at home again. 

Don't be an idiot. Xbox One is barely getting into Blu-ray, something PS3 has had for almost 7 years. Better graphics and a more advanced Kinect sensor is all it offers as "new" and "next-gen". This generation is going to be short. 4K is the way of the future. We'll see 9th gen consoles use 4K capables discs for games and 4k as the standard resolution in just a few years. Xbox One, PS4, and Wii U should'nt sell more than 80 million by the end of the generation (2019/2020). 

Don't be an idiot. Xbox One is barely getting into Blu-ray, something PS3 has had for almost 7 years. Better graphics and a more advanced Kinect sensor is all it offers as "new" and "next-gen". This generation is going to be short. 4K is the way of the future. We'll see 9th gen consoles use 4K capables discs for games and 4k as the standard resolution in just a few years. Xbox One, PS4, and Wii U should'nt sell more than 80 million by the end of the generation (2019/2020).