Huh. For some reason, I thought video games were about how fun a game is, not how advanced the hardware in the console is. Good graphics can certainly help, but it's not a prerequisite. I still have fun with 90's games.
Pretty much this. Having desirable IPs that are exclusive to one console is what helps sell consoles - when you get right down to it, the layman doesn't really care about a console's hardware specs, but rather how intriguing its library seems. Back in the day, you could only get Mario titles on Nintendo, ergo, you had to buy an NES/SNES/N64 in order to play them. If you really loved Sonic, you had to buy a Master System/Genesis/Saturn. Simple as that. The fact that so many 3rd party developers have been putting their games on practically every console is a major part of why I believe the console market will eventually lose steam, with the end result either being a single console manufacturer gaining the upper hand while the others drop out (like Sega did), or being forsaken by consumers altogether in favor of the increasingly popular PC market. Whatever the case, Sony, Microsoft and Nintendo all really need to focus on developing titles exclusive to their consoles in order to stay in the game rather than seeing how many 3rd party cookie pots they can stick their hands into.
Maybe, but those games would have to be good enough to be system-sellers. You could have a few good games, but that doesn't mean people are gonna spend €350 on a console just to play them.
I am constantly confused by people saying the wii-u is selling poorly. Everything I've seen has shown it outsold the xbone and the ps4 together.
The chances that people will plop down that much money on a new console increases with every exclusive IP that's added. Speaking from a personal standpoint, I can say that a new Smash Bros. game, a couple Mario games, and an HD remake of an old Zelda game aren't enough to sell me on the Wii-U, currently. But if they finally put out a new Star Fox, a new Zelda, a new Metroid, and perhaps a new Wii-U exclusive Mega Man title (assuming Capcom's ready to pull their heads out of their…), that'd finally sell me (and no insignificant number of others) on the console.
Yeah well, the Wii U has been out for more than a year, and PS4 and Xbone are still in the early release phase, meaning none of the good exclusives are out yet. In fact, they barely have any good games at all atm. Once those are released, most people will be getting their PS4/Xbone.
If you choose to define next-gen console as console released in the post Xbox 360, PS3 and Wii era, you're forgetting the OUYA and the SHIELD, the 2 Android consoles released. Both of those had tones of great games from launch, because they didn't start from nothingness.
I own a SHIELD and have made numerous posts on the forum with it. In this thread even, but: OUYA: https://www.ouya.tv/ SHIELD: http://shield.nvidia.com/
And as long as Playstation and Xbox continue to exist, hardly anyone will ever accept the Ouya and Shield as mainstream consoles. They just can't compete in the current console industry. I actually had to google Shield just to know what it was. It looks like some horrid Nintendo DS/Xbox hybrid. Spoiler: SHIELD console Whereas the OUYA just looks like crap. Spoiler
Here's an interesting perspective I've heard: It's not that Nintendo hasn't got the goods. This is Nintendo, they have Mario, Zelda, Kirby, Metroid, Mario Kart, Luigi's Mansion, Bayonetta this time round, Mario Party, Pikmin, Donkey Kong and everything from the Wii, good or bad. The Wii U has a lot going for it. The issue, I heard, was how often it would release things. Nintendo had one large splurge of games at the release, only to leave a petering trickle of games afterwards while they desperately tried to fill the gaps of time where nothing was being released. I personally like the idea of the Wii U. Take a 3DS and smoosh it together with a half-decent PC. Good idea, if using rather safe ideas that have proven to work well together. This is essentially a super-powered Gamecube with a Fancy GBA attached to it. This is not new but it's got the polish to be a nice looking console. It's only the software that makes me think a 3DS is a better investment. The problem comes with the release schedule. It has these large slumps between games that look like they'll be a big deal. Everything that looks decent (such as Smash Bros.) is coming out a long ol' while after the Wii U's release. Over here, it's had some bad press too with some shops saying it's too expensive. Even worse, I've seen almost no adverts for Wii U things. Nothing seems to hype these games up. No one is caring about the Wii Titles. Plenty for 3DS, Xbone, PS4...Why nothing for the Wii U? Either Nintendo has lost faith, or they've given developers a crappy release schedule to work in that they seriously haven't thought through. Games can come out rushed for these dates. I will still buy a Wii U, if only because I like to collect Games and Consoles of all types. Even so, I can't say I feel like I'd get my money's worth right now. Edit: I also want to by an Ouya. Party because I like the idea, party curiosity for a post-mortem and partly because I'm a geek for this stuff.
The SHIELD is quite impressive really. It's more powerful than the Wii U, and it's handheld (also a full console with controller support and HDMI 4K support). It's also got a better touchscreen than the Wii U controller, and despite this, falls into the same price range. Also, it's the only one that actually seems to add something genuinely original to the industry, with being able to stream games either from your PC or nvidia GRID servers. The OUYA win price range wise, since it literally costs less than $100. It also comes with an impressive library of supported games.
But they're not Playstation or Xbox, and regardless of anything else, that's all people will end up caring about. I'm not saying Shield and Ouya don't stand a chance at all, but right now, they won't be a big success. Maybe by the time of the next generation of consoles, they'll have gained some moderate popularity to compete with the current mainstream consoles, but until then they'll always stay in the background. Again, maybe. That said, i think we're getting a bit off topic here.
I think we might be. Shall we have a nice jaunty talk in another thread about underground game consoles? I'd rather enjoy that. I'd also love to see WinterMute's Shield in action. They aren't available in the UK AT ALL, which baffles me somewhat.
The reason I brought these up was a question of this: Why is the Wii U less powerful than the SHIELD despite being in the same price range? I think one of the reasons for the Wii U's sales being less than that of its competitors may be the price. - - Auto Merge - - I can stream myself playing it at some point, if anyone is willing to watch.
Wow! I bloody would! - - Auto Merge - - Seems about right. I don't feel like the Wii U is worth the money right now. Even with the price drops.
One thing I will credit Nintendo with: They haven't let themselves fall into the deadline obsession that so many developers have now and that has ruined so many potentially amazing games (Looking at you, Dragon Age II). They take as long as they need to make the games they want to make, and as a result, the games are generally more polished, fleshed out, and memorable. It makes the release schedule for Nintendo consoles spotty, yes, but when they are released, it's godlike. I honestly couldn't name a game that was developed by Nintendo or its first party developers that I would say felt rushed or phoned in.
I struggle to think of 'Bad' Nintendo games. Disappointing, maybe but not strictly 'Bad'. They tend to be constantly decent.
After the 3DS, I wouldn't be surprised if Nintendo turned the Wii U around and made a killing. They apparently did very, very well during the Holiday season in Japan and I've heard at least a few first hand accounts saying that they were selling out in the stores in the US. Nintendo has faced a long history of not being the most technologically advance competitor in the market and if you look at the history, the consoles that do the best are never the ones that have superior hardware. I think the Sega Genesis and the Super Nintendo were the weakest of the consoles that competed in that era, with the Genesis being better (blast processing and all) and the Super Nintendo still came out on top. The N64 was weaker than the PlayStation and the PS2 was weaker than the GCN and Xbox. Last generation the Wii dominated and if I remember correctly the 360 did better than the PS3, which was the most advance console on the market. In the handheld market, Nintendo has always had the weakest of the mainstream game consoles. Ever since the PSP was announced people thought Nintendo was going to lose its spot as king of the handhelds but not only did that never happen, the DS went on to be one of the most successful game consoles ever and the PSP never had a chance. Even this generation, people thought the 3DS was a flop and the Vita was going to steamroll it because of its superior hardware, but as history has shown us time and time again, that was just simply not the case. So I'm siding with history on this one. Personally I think that the market for Xbox Ones and PS4 mostly already bought their systems because brand loyalty runs really deep. I think a the Wii U releases more and more games, people will see the value in owning it. Smash Bros. alone is a major system seller, like how Pokemon is for the 3DS. Also, since the Xbox One and the PS4 are so similar, I doubt most people will buy both (esp. with two monthly online charges), but the Wii U will have more exclusives so it will seem like the better deal. Regardless, it is ridiculously early to start thinking about the next generation of consoles. Nintendo is known for being invested in their consoles for the long haul and I think it's competitors would do the same. Heck, it took several consecutive failures and threat of bankruptcy for Sega to leave the console market, something that Nintendo is not even remotely close to. It also doesn't matter how well each company does in relationship to each other, but just that each company does well. From my last check, The Wii U is outselling the other two home consoles because of its year head start. Seeing as the holiday season just ended, I would be interested to see what the rate of growth is like for each console and wouldn't be surprised if they were all in sharp decline. I basically wouldn't be surprised if the numbers sorta evened out but in the meantime until the next holiday season.
