Regardless of your opinion on the quality of the Wii, it was a classic everyone-get-together-and-play-together gaming experience. They sold shitloads of consoles to people who would never, ever connect theirs to the Internet. They don't want to compete in that space, for whatever reason.
I'm all for that, because that space is seriously overrated. Obviously not desiring to compete in that space did not hamper the Wii's success. I think the problem with the WiiU isn't so much the spaces they aren't trying to compete in so much as the lack of any clear space in which they are trying to compete.
Not being one that has ever once tried to complete an achievement in a game (I typically play just to to play, not to earn bragging rights specifically), I'm a little fuzzy about the distinction between a system-wide achievement, and a game specific one. I've been seeing a lot of people upset that the Wii U won't have system wide achievements, and I'm not sure what they're upset over (since apparently games will retain any achievements their developer's put in). What is a system-wide achievement, and how is it different from any of the achievements I occasionally see in any other game I play? The best I can figure is that it's simply the equivalent of XBL's gamer score. Is that about it?
It means you can view and compare achievements from outside the game. Steam has support for that without mandating achievements or having an overall achievement score.
Ahh okay. Without the ability to compare achievements I don't even see the point of having them then, unless you're using them specifically to track your own progress in a game or something... which would be kind of weird since the game itself should have a better feedback system for such things than utilizing an achievement system. I love seeing stats tracked (like specific number of goblins killed in a character's life or something), and I don't mind earning stuff like bronze, silver or gold medals for racing games or something, but I've never really caught on to the whole achievement thing. I'm sure this is because I suck enough at everything I play that I've never felt very competitive over any of it, beyond comparing base character stats, skills and equipment or something. Edit: Apparently, I really like this phrase, or something.
A lot of people like the social aspect of achievements. They let them see what games their friends are playing, and what/how they are doing in the game. As you point out, though, without a coherent online model, this isn't really possible, anyway.
I've been tempted by achievements, though usually only if I stumble across one. Like I kick a foofle in the head, and a UI pops up, saying 1/10 foofles kicked in head. You know I gotta go kick me nine other foofles. Other times, it's like, 1/999999 foofles shot from over ten miles away while blindfolded, using only a pistol without any bullets. And I'm like, yeah, no, not going to be doing that one.
Although I don't care much about this particular DLC, and the author of the article is merely speculating as to the reasons behind the Wii U's exclusion, this type of stuff could prove to be a deal-breaker for my chances of picking up a Wii U if it ends up being the rule rather than the very very (very) rare exception. Source.
In fairness, if you're picking up a Wii U to play multiplatform games, you're probably doing it wrong.
Essentially. Later on, you may get some worthwhile contents there, if you're lucky - but right now? You're looking at launch ports done by three guys in a converted janitorial closet to capitalize on the period between now and Wonderful 101/Pikmin 3/etc. when this thing is out but doesn't have much original content to speak of. Oh, and Ninja Gaiden 3. Which apparently had some real effort put in, but is still Ninja Gaiden 3. The very definition of polishing a turd, right there. also: I was not aware of that pricing. Yeah, that's not going to be bad.
Not to mention the third entry in a trilogy of games with a lot of story. Still don't quite get why EA didn't pick something else to port over.
It doesn't help that (according to Amazon.com) ME3 is $59.99 for the Wii U port and only around $22 new on other platforms.
I think Mass Effect is probably the least "RAARGH SHOOTY MAN FACE ELITE OPERATOR KILL ALL THE BROWN PEOPLE" of their leading franchises, and thus compatible with the Wii U family focus. Are they bringing the Sims to the Wii U at launch?? Major fail town if they are not. EDIT: Actually probably not. By controlling the Sims ecosystem on PC, I bet they make shiteloads of selling microtransactiony stuff on PC, and that is likely not possible on wii U
The fact that you're not really exaggerating much here in describing the genre should depress everyone.
To celebrate launch day, here's two interesting stories to read. Examiner: Wii U Gamepad and Pro Controller battery life confirmed Ars Technica: Why the 8GB Wii U can only store 3GB of downloaded games and DLC
Courtesy of Doug Erickson, here's a photgraph of the Wii U's 1500 mHa battery (~3-4 hours battery life) in a compartment that was clearly designed to house a 4400 mHa battery (~9 hours battery life). Cheaping out FTW!
Through a series of events I'll not recount here, I got two of the black bundle this morning. Lines were...short. Three people in the first one, maybe two in line when I arrived at the second about twenty minutes before opening. For comparison, the line was a hundred deep when I waited for the Wii near launch. Either people don't know this thing is out or they don't want it. I think the real test will be what happens to eBay prices after next Friday.
