Just wait. If the NX is not announced by the end of E3, buy a wii u, but if it is announced at E3 (or earlier) wait for the inevitable wii u price cut

To him, it won't really matter. Young children aren't nearly as caught up in the console warz as we adults are. Unless NX has a killer app right out the gate, your 4 your old probably won't give a damn about the NX and whether the WiiU is considered a new console or old.

Children just want the console that plays the games they most want to play. How novel is that? ;)

Believe it or not, millions of children are still very satisfied with the original Wii as their Nintendo system. Wii U will do just fine for your kid.

Up to you, honestly.

Personally, I'd just wait, but if your kid really wants it and wants to play some of the great games on it, then I don't think you'll regret the purchase.

Yes. Great value!

There are so many exclusive great games where you can have fun for hundreds of hours that I won't want to miss my Wii U.

And not to forget: if there wasn't a Wii in the household those hours will quadruple at minimum as you also can play all Wii games too...

My sister gave my nephew a Wii U for christmas and he's loving it, she bought it because when he's at my house we're always playing with my Wii U and he wanted one, even if the NX is released tomorrow it doesn't matter because the actual game library of the Wii U is amazing and enough for my nephew to play for years. We've been playing Mario Party 10 since it was released. A friend of mine was in love with Splatoon and she bought a Wii U last week just for that game and then she discovered Bayonetta and was love at first sight. That's why Nintendo games have legs: they're fantastic games no matter when do you buy them. I remember buying a Gamecube one week before Wii's launch and as today is the system that I have played the most and I have more games for the NGC than in any other console.

Thank you all for the awesome responses!!! and to clarify a few questions that were raised. Money isn't a huge issue, the thing is I had already done most of my Christmas shopping and he already had a few expensive(ish) gifts. I don't spoil him THAT much.. Also some are right to say he does not care one bit if the console is new or old. He plays PSP games all the time and he has a Vita. He just doesn't care where he is playing if the game is fun to him. I'm so happy to learn it is backwards compatible to Wii games!! I've seen SO many Wii games in the bargain bin and so many great kids games (and adult games!) and two player games. The second screen option is huge since we share 1 tv.. so that is big. He uses remote play on the Vita to PS4 a lot when I'm watching TV. All of the games he has ever asked for are always on Wii U. He watches a lot of HobbyGamesTV on YouTube and other gaming channels and always wants the Wii U games. If I can find a bundle that has Splatoon or Mario Maker I think I'm going to pull the trigger... and if not.. I still might. I'm going to mule it over a few weeks. I'll let you know what happens!

If there are enough games right now where you can easily justify the cost. Yes.

Simples as that.

It is for a child who asked Santa for it. Anything else is irrelevant lol.

My personal opinion is that the NX will not be backward compatible because there is no way they will continue with the same architecture that started life on the gamecube. If they want 3rd party support they need to go x86. Then to run Wii U games they will need to emulate them, meaning the NX hardware will need to be significantly powered to work correctly. I guess in theory they could pack a hardware chip to emulate the Wii U, but that would be another cost.

Hmm, the only reason I would say to wait on the NX is the possibility of BC, so you and your son can enjoy both the Wii U's and NX's libraries. Though, it's hard to say. Some rumors say it won't use CDs, so I am not sure how BC would work on the NX... Tough call to make.

They have an awesome Mario Kart 8 Wii U bundle on Walmart.com but it is 'Sold Out' ... Anyone know if the store will price match if I go in? It's listed for $299.99 which seems like a good deal. What is the cost of the base console atm? I still want Splatoon and Mario Maker since he is always going on and on about those games. I'm not rich or anything and definitely have to be smart about this. If I can keep it around $300 and still get a game or two.. that would be ideal. Anything more than that and I kinda start to cringe lol