Topic: The Wii U and next Gen: What can Nintendo do?

[shingi_70]

      When I went to Kmart yesterday I discovered a new Wii U marketing campaign. On the counter in the electronics department was a box that said free take one. Inside the box was a 31 page illustrated book that explains what the Wii U is, what it does, the services it provides, the games (descriptions of the games are given as well) , the differences between the two models, a comparison chart between the Wii U and the Wii and a list of FAQs.

This has to be pretty current since Lego City Undercover and Wii Street U are listed as available now.

It's nice to see Nintendo trying to inform potential customers.

You mind posting pics?

[nickmitch]

Whoa, be careful with that kind of request. You could end up getting the thread locked.

[smallsharkbigbite]

Eh, I don't plan to download retail games and I'm pretty constitutionally opposed to DLC. If I fill up the existing space with eShop games or something I can just get a cheapo external to pad it out a bit. Although 8 gigs is a joke, so is 32 gigs at this point.

It's definitely a joke.  I've been hard on Nintendo for not including a hard drive.  It may cost marginally more $, but they make more selling a digital title than a retail title so they would recover the cost quickly.  I did forget that an external thumb drive would work.  They go up to 64 gig and are about $20-30.  So that would be a decent cheap way to expand the memory for people like us that don't want an external hard drive and don't want to spend alot.  I still think the 3 gig they give you with the basic is way too little.  I have the 4 or 5 30 cent VC games, 6 or 7 demos, and Bit Trip Runner 2, and I only have 16 gig available on my deluxe.   

[Adrock]

I may be able to get through this generation with 32 GB which has changed from a confident definitely before launch. Every retail game seems to require a patch right out of the box then subsequent patches. Additionally, I'm actually buying downloadable games. Trine 2 was almost 2 GB. I really want to support the indie game scene on Wii U since they're the third parties who damn about the console. If there's a retail version, I'll always get that. I currently have about 22 GB left after deleting Tank! Tank! Tank! which was awful.

I would have preferred a self-contained console with a hard drive bay, aesthetically and more importantly, for cat-proofing purposes (I am aware of the Y-cable solution). And isn't SATA faster than USB 2.0? I don't think I'd need much more than 32 GB if I ever went over so perhaps a thumb drive would suffice. Physically, they've become really small in size so I would probably forget it was even there.

[MagicCow64]

I went through the byzantine mess that was transferring my Wii content over to the WiiU, and realized I have tons of space on the SD card. Is there any way to save WiiU content onto that, or is that strictly for Wii mode? And if not, can this be patched in later? I'd much rather have stuff on SD than have a thumb drive sticking out of the back of the unit.

[TJ Spyke]

I don't own a Wii U, but Nintendo's website says that the SD Card only works for Wii Mode. Well, they say it also can be used for saving a picture of your Mii and QR Code patterns for your Mii (http://www.nintendo.com/consumer/systems/wiiu/en_na/system_external_storage.jsp?menu=general_info&submenu=wup-external-usb-storage).

[Rubber Band AI]

Just throwing this out there: I had a few laptop hard drives laying around so I picked up a dual docking station for like $50 and use it for Wii U storage. Has worked out well for me, and so far I've downloaded all of my games except for Nintendo Land. I was pretty upset about the lack of internal storage due to my tendency to download games, but I was pleased with how easy it was to set up this unusual option.



Here's what I got: [size=78%]http://www.bestbuy.com/site/Dual+Bay+Docking+Station+for+Most+Internal+SATA+Hard+Drives/9419596.p?id=1218102199901&skuId=9419596&st=hard%20drive%20docking%20station&cp=1&lp=2[/size]


With any storage option make sure that you don't stretch the USB cable too far - the slightest tug will freeze your system consistently.

[Kytim89]

I mentioned in another post that Nintendo needs to be aggressive in order to be successful this generation. I thought that I would elaborate more in this thread since it fits the topic better. What I meant was that Nintendo needs to take necessary steps to ensure that they dominate this generation just like the previous one. First, they need to cut the price of the Wii U by fifty dollars to make the PS4 more expensive to potential buyers. Secondly, Nintendo needs to capture more third party support by offering to port games to the system themselves. This would encourage more support because there would be less risk for third party companies. Lastly, Nintendo needs to offer third parties more profit on digital games. 

[pokepal148]

i dont think 50$ is enough, it may take more like 70$ to completely undercut the ps4

[smallsharkbigbite]

i dont think 50$ is enough, it may take more like 70$ to completely undercut the ps4

I sincerely like Nintendo and plan to be Wii U only for at least another year.  Having said that, I don't think a price cut is going to convince people to buy a Wii U over a PS4 or Xbox 1.  My friends that are PS/Xbox fans legitimately have no interest in even a $100 Wii U.  Wii U doesn't have the shooter genre, the sports genre, or mainstream open world games like GTA.  I grew up with Mario and nostalgically it still gets me somewhat excited to play NSMB U.  It's not as groundbreaking anymore, but I love 2D platformers.  We are getting to the point where young dads grew up with a PS2 and want to buy a PS4/Xbox 1 (spiritual successor) for their family. 

The Wii U really needs to show value to those that would be interested in it.  If games come, I think $50 will draw some interest in it.  Forget the 100 mill that the Wii sold.  Try to make the Wii U an and then console and get it to 50 million.  Gamecube only sold 22 million.  50 million can make Nintendo a profit and be a success.  They always act like they aren't competing against Microsoft/Sony anyway.  We as Nintendo fans wish they would but they are really offering different experiences at this point.