Topic: Venting: Basic Wii U for $200 => help justify the purchase...

[ejamer]

[Edited subject.]

So I saw that Canadian Walmart stores are blowing out the remaining basic Wii U models for $200 this week, after Best saw the same price point on their website earlier this week.


My gaming budget is limited... but $200 for a brand new console could be doable. Sure, the basic model doesn't come with a game and the hard drive is puny - but I don't care about Nintendo Land anyway and strongly prefer physical ownership over digital licensing. So the sale price got me thinking: is it time to pony up for a new console?  I'd be able to transfer over all of my old Wii content (and I've got a lot of Wii content to transfer) and we'd finally get our first in-house HD device.


...


But then I looked at metacritic to see what games have been released.  Zombie U looks awesome, and right up my alley.  And, um, er... Star Wars Pinball.  Plus there is the Rayman sequel that I'd love to get.  Oh, that's still not released yet?


I don't know how anyone can reasonably justify buying a Wii U based on what is available right now. Seriously: what was the plan with this console exactly? Ugh.

[NWR_insanolord]

I bought it at launch based on a lineup of games that hadn't been announced yet but I knew were coming at some point. The lineup isn't great at the moment, but there's a pretty good string of releases the rest of the year starting with Pikmin 3 in five days.

Still, if you don't have another HD console then the lineup's considerably better, with a lot of fairly good ports of multiplatform games. Most of them are pretty cheap at this point if you want physical copies like you said.

Another thing to consider is this $200 price point is almost certainly a limited time proposition, and when the console gets a lineup you're more interested in you may have to pay considerably more.

[ShyGuy]

Are you interested in Nintendo Land, New Super Mario Brothers U, New Super Luigi U, Scribblenauts U, Lego City Undercover, Monster Hunter 3, Need For Speed Most Wanted, Game and Wario, Pikmin 3, Nano Assault Neo, Little Inferno, Bit Trip Runner, or Toki Tori 2?

[ejamer]

Are you interested in Nintendo Land, New Super Mario Brothers U, New Super Luigi U, Scribblenauts U, Lego City Undercover, Monster Hunter 3, Need For Speed Most Wanted, Game and Wario, Pikmin 3, Nano Assault Neo, Little Inferno, Bit Trip Runner, or Toki Tori 2?

No.  None of those titles appeal to me (well, maybe Pikmin 3 if it's heavily discounted... but I'm not counting on it hitting $20 or less in the near future).  Almost half I've played on other platforms, a few really aren't that good to begin with, and the rest just aren't up my alley.

I'm well aware of what games Wii U has.  The problem isn't awareness - it's content, and Wii U is severely lacking... Buying now under the assumption that there will be enough software later to justify the purchase isn't a good selling point when I can only afford one console (if that) from the new generation.

Nintendo has lost me for this generation of consoles. My confidence is shaken, and that's not easy to rebuild. Losing one customer doesn't matter... but if someone who owns 2 Wii consoles, over 170 retail Wii games, plus a significant number of digital downloads loses faith in Nintendo's ability to provide a compelling experience then it's easy to believe that mainstream consumers aren't impressed either.

[Luigi Dude]

$200 is the cheapest the system will be until at least 2016.  Nintendo is clearing the Basic models fast and if they do drop the price on the Deluxe, the most they'll drop it too is $300, and that's what'll it'll be for at least another year before dropping to $250 for another year and then finally $200.  Of course that is assuming sales don't pick up because if they do pick up this Fall, then it'll take even longer for the prices to drop and it could easily be 2017 until it's $200.  If you want to be able to play any Wii U games in the next several years, this is the cheapest deal you're going to find for a long time.


So if you don't take advantage of it now, don't bitch about the system being too expensive in the next 3 years because you had your chance to get it while it was cheap.

[Wah]

Just saying you really want Nintendo land. Who needs theme parks when u have this.
(fav Metriod blast)

[Shaymin]

A $200 Basic and Earthbound is still cheaper than the cart if that's any help, even taking into account taxes.

[ShyGuy]

So there were 170 Wii Games that floated your boat, but nothing in my list? You sir, have unusual tastes.

[Mop it up]

Are you interested in Nintendo Land, New Super Mario Brothers U, New Super Luigi U, Scribblenauts U, Lego City Undercover, Monster Hunter 3, Need For Speed Most Wanted, Game and Wario, Pikmin 3, Nano Assault Neo, Little Inferno, Bit Trip Runner, or Toki Tori 2?

Most of these interest me! But... I don't want the Basic...

Hm...

[Adrock]

I'd add Trine 2 and Mighty Switch Force HD to that list, both of which seem to go on sale fairly often. Resident Evil Revelaitons HD is also quite good and the price will likely drop in the next month or so.

$200 is a great price though I suppose right now you'd be buying it on potential. There are some good games coming up this year even if 2014 is the one we're all waiting for. If I didn't ready have a Wii U, I would strongly consider getting one at $200 even though it's the basic ($150 can get you a lot). Then again, I'm upgrading to a 3DS XL soon (and selling/giving my original to my brother) so clearly, I have no consistent concept of careful spending.

[Ymeegod]

"first in-house HD device"

? Might be better of hitting craigslist and buying an PS3 or Xbox 360 since the game selection is huge and cheaper at the same time. 

Been holding out of buying WII U as well, can already get them at $200 used on craigslist but I'm waiting for an redesign model--one that allows me to use HDMI output and RCA at the same time (for my headphones).

[BranDonk Kong]

I'd add Trine 2 and Mighty Switch Force HD to that list, both of which seem to go on sale fairly often. Resident Evil Revelaitons HD is also quite good and the price will likely drop in the next month or so.

$200 is a great price though I suppose right now you'd be buying it on potential. There are some good games coming up this year even if 2014 is the one we're all waiting for. If I didn't ready have a Wii U, I would strongly consider getting one at $200 even though it's the basic ($150 can get you a lot). Then again, I'm upgrading to a 3DS XL soon (and selling/giving my original to my brother) so clearly, I have no consistent concept of careful spending.

You get applauded for the nod to the 3DS spelling of Revalaitons. Well played.

[ejamer]

So there were 170 Wii Games that floated your boat, but nothing in my list? You sir, have unusual tastes.

Once I own a console, my standard of what's worth buying drops. If the game looks interesting and the price is reasonable, I'll pick it up.  Wii had a huge number of potential interesting (if often flawed) games that were sold relatively cheap.  Over the course of several years, that builds into a pretty significant collection.

A dozen B-list (arguably worse) games, many of which I've already played on other platforms, isn't a good enough reason for me to go out and buy the console in the first place though.  All Nintendo needs is one "must play" experience... but it's not there, and the Wii U looks every so much worse off because of that.


Again, venting because my fanboy side wants to buy in. $200 sounds pretty reasonable. But after a couple of  hours thinking about it, I still can't come up with a good enough justification... and every time I look at the list of games available (or coming soon) it makes me that much more disinterested.

[azeke]

I would suggest Toki Tori 2 as non-linear (almost metroidvania) game with big interconnected world. It definitely felt like worthy follow-up after i beat La-Mulana, not only in terms of game structure but also in terms of difficulty (though puzzles in TT2 are so much better).

Too bad the game wasn't a big motivator in the first place, and it's available on Steam anyway.

Do whatever you like, but i highly suggest you and everyone giving TT2 a try, Wii U or not.

[Oblivion]

Are you interested in Nintendo Land, New Super Mario Brothers U, New Super Luigi U, Scribblenauts U, Lego City Undercover, Monster Hunter 3, Need For Speed Most Wanted, Game and Wario, Pikmin 3, Nano Assault Neo, Little Inferno, Bit Trip Runner, or Toki Tori 2?

No.  None of those titles appeal to me (well, maybe Pikmin 3 if it's heavily discounted... but I'm not counting on it hitting $20 or less in the near future).  Almost half I've played on other platforms, a few really aren't that good to begin with, and the rest just aren't up my alley.

I'm well aware of what games Wii U has.  The problem isn't awareness - it's content, and Wii U is severely lacking... Buying now under the assumption that there will be enough software later to justify the purchase isn't a good selling point when I can only afford one console (if that) from the new generation.

Nintendo has lost me for this generation of consoles. My confidence is shaken, and that's not easy to rebuild. Losing one customer doesn't matter... but if someone who owns 2 Wii consoles, over 170 retail Wii games, plus a significant number of digital downloads loses faith in Nintendo's ability to provide a compelling experience then it's easy to believe that mainstream consumers aren't impressed either.

If you aren't interested in ANY of those titles... then you probably shouldn't be a gamer.

[Retro Deckades]

I'm currently playing through Batman: Arkham City: Armoured Edition on the Wii U, for the first time, and I'm finding it to be fun as hell. As someone who doesn't own a 360 or a PS3, you might want to check out some of the multi-platform third party releases.

[Luigi Dude]

A dozen B-list (arguably worse) games, many of which I've already played on other platforms, isn't a good enough reason for me to go out and buy the console in the first place though.  All Nintendo needs is one "must play" experience... but it's not there, and the Wii U looks every so much worse off because of that.

Really, you're not even interested in Monolith Soft's new game which is a big budget gameplay sequel to Xenoblade.

Last I checked, from last years Xenoblade thread, you were a big fan of that game.

http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/forums/index.php?topic=28408.575

Why I love this game:


So I re-started a while back after getting my North American copy and have been greatly enjoying Xenoblade a second time. Honestly, I hadn't been able to put in as much time as I wanted initially so didn't lose that much progress - maybe a couple of dozen hours.


Progress is faster/better than expected in many places because the learning curve has been reduced, and I've learned a lot of new tricks from tutorials that had been skipped through a bit too quickly the first time through.  Progress has been slower than expected in other places because I (again) got caught up with side-quests, doing a bunch of early quests that I had skipped my first time through.


But today I had a moment that made me stop and appreciate the game again.  Fairly early on I was exploring and checking out the world while trying to finish some side-quests when I stumbled onto a partially hidden pathway that lead to a cool secret area where I found a special item that triggered a huge (for that point in time) mini-boss to ambush my party.  This stuff was all totally optional as far as I can tell, and was totally missed during my first time playing the game.  Yes, my party got destroyed in a single hit - my efforts to run lead to a short pursual and painful death. No, that death didn't matter or cause me to lose any progress.


So yeah. Xenoblade isn't a perfect game, but moments like this where I'm filled with wonder, excitement, and dread over the span of a few minutes makes it a perfect experience for me.

So the sequel to a game you thought was a perfect experience last year, isn't a must play experience anymore?  If you want another perfect experience, then you might want to take that $200 deal now, because when X comes out in 2014, the Deluxe Wii U's won't be anywhere close to $200, and these cheaper Basic models will be long gone.

[MegaByte]

A $200 Basic and Earthbound is still cheaper than the cart if that's any help, even taking into account taxes.

Actually, it's not. VC Earthbound pushed down cart (only) prices into the $120 range.

[ShyGuy]

So there were 170 Wii Games that floated your boat, but nothing in my list? You sir, have unusual tastes.

Once I own a console, my standard of what's worth buying drops. If the game looks interesting and the price is reasonable, I'll pick it up.  Wii had a huge number of potential interesting (if often flawed) games that were sold relatively cheap.  Over the course of several years, that builds into a pretty significant collection.

A dozen B-list (arguably worse) games, many of which I've already played on other platforms, isn't a good enough reason for me to go out and buy the console in the first place though.  All Nintendo needs is one "must play" experience... but it's not there, and the Wii U looks every so much worse off because of that.


Again, venting because my fanboy side wants to buy in. $200 sounds pretty reasonable. But after a couple of  hours thinking about it, I still can't come up with a good enough justification... and every time I look at the list of games available (or coming soon) it makes me that much more disinterested.

Okay, I'm think I'm starting to get a picture here. Let me see if I understand this correctly:

You view the purchase of a console as a commitment. Judging by your previous gen behavior, you pick one system and use it to the maximum. You do this partially for time and budgetary reasons. You fill in your catalog of that console's games when you find bargains on the titles. You want quantity of experience.

You are afraid that the Wii U will not provide you with a 170+ game experiences over its lifetime.

I see a few options here.

1. Hitch your wagon to a different console for more money. go join SonyWorldReport.com or whatever, and enjoy your Michael Bay-style games.

2. Break your monogamous habits and become a two console household. Wii U and PS4. This will cost more money upfront, so the trade off may be 50+ games on each platform instead of 170+. Quality over quantity.

3. Become a PC gamer. put your $200 (plus possibly more $$) towards upgrading your computer and hop on the Steam Train. Tons of diversity, giant backlog, and Steam bargains galore. Humble Bundles, GoG.com...

4. If you have played a lot of the games I listed already, you must have easy access to other consoles. A friend has a 360 and/or PS3 perhaps? Are they jumping up to the PS4 or Xbone? Then take a chance on the Wii U. Realize that your $200 investment will take some time to pay off fully. Get Wonderful 101 in a month, enjoy Hi-Def Youtube on your TV.

[ejamer]

...
Do whatever you like, but i highly suggest you and everyone giving TT2 a try, Wii U or not.

Probably will, based on your recommendation and love of La Mulana (a game that I didn't complete, but enjoyed immensely).  Was thinking about playing via Steam, but see no Unix support which limits my options.

...
If you aren't interested in ANY of those titles... then you probably shouldn't be a gamer.

Most people will say I'm not a real gamer already - after all, I did own a Wii last gen and feel that it was an excellent console instead of just a supplemental one.  I'm ok with other people having different opinions about what games are/aren't worth playing.

...
Really, you're not even interested in Monolith Soft's new game which is a big budget gameplay sequel to Xenoblade.
...

Is it coming out in North America in 2014, confirmed?  This game is the one major selling point for me grabbing a Wii U.

I bought a 3DS when the price dropped in anticipation of some big titles - Monster Hunter and Resident Evil.  Getting the price drop and the Ambassador games seemed like a good deal... but later on 3DS consoles dropped to $100 on sale (multiple times even) and the only game that had actually been released yet was Resident Evil. I love my 3DS now... but there was a long, dry spell where it was used almost exclusively as an expensive DS with lower build quality.

If Wii U follows that trend, then there is no reason to buy now at $200. It will take years before there are games I really want to play to come out, and by that time there will probably be deals that are just as good or better for owning the console.

...
2. Break your monogamous habits and become a two console household. Wii U and PS4. This will cost more money upfront, so the trade off may be 50+ games on each platform instead of 170+. Quality over quantity.

... Then take a chance on the Wii U. Realize that your $200 investment will take some time to pay off fully. ...

This is what it comes down to, I guess.  Really, option 2 is probably the best choice for what I want - it's just getting past that fanboy (ie: childish) desire to own a console exclusively and to the fullest extent possible.  As an investment, $200 for entertainment over a period of many years isn't bad - even if the investment doesn't really start to pay dividends for a while.

That said, given the size of my Wii collection maybe I don't really care about getting so many games next gen. Cherry picking one or two "must have" games while relying on backwards compatibility might be sufficient for the next couple of years.

Plus my Wii is starting to make funny clicking noises a couple of seconds after being turned off.  Given Nintendo's user-friendly account system for digital content... that's got me kind of nervous.  Transfering everything over now and selling the old Wii while it still has some value (and works) might not be a bad idea.

[Oblivion]

The 3DS has NEVER been $100 on sale. Never.

[Oblivion]

Never.

[Ymeegod]

Actually there was a couple times the 3DS (first one) hit the $100 mark but that's with mail-in-rebates or GC offers.

I recall Citi Bank CC had a promo going for $99 3ds if you opened an account with them.  Target had them on sale for $170 plus $40 GC + $30 mail in rebate--hense the $99 deal.

[ejamer]

Walmart in Canada has had several sales where 3DS dropped to $120 or less - but yes, it might have required the mail-in rebate to hit $100.


FutureShop in Canada has had the 3DS marked down to $130 with a $30 instant rebate coupon added when you go to purchase.  Don't think the mail-in rebate was still valid at this point in time so it ended up being $100 plus tax.



Maybe it's never been on sale like that in your region though.

[ejamer]

Some questions, in case anyone is still reading this thread and not totally turned off by my complaints.


IF a new Wii U was to show up at my house, then backwards compatibility would be a major selling point for the near-term future.  (Well, backwards compatibility and probably Monster Hunter because I'm weak that way.)


1) What do I need to know about backwards compatibility, and using a Wii U console to play Wii games?
2) Is the data transfer worth doing?  (This would be a selling point, as putting digital content on a more reliable console would be nice, and so would selling the old console to help subsidize this purchase.)
3) Non-transferrable software:  What happens to my copy of Lost Winds? It's on Nintendo's "doesn't transfer" list... will it remain accessible on my Wii?  Are there other games/save files/additional content could get "lost"? (I've seen Nintendo's list, but heard rumors that any games no longer listed in the Wii Shop could also be a problem. Looking for opinions/experiences instead of a link to the Nintendo FAQ.)
4) I have a ton of content stored on the SD card, because the Wii's internal memory isn't big enough. Better to cram as much as possible onto my Wii before transferring, or just re-download later?