Five Things We Love About the Wii U

By Alex Weiss Mon., Nov. 19 2012 at 7:00 AM

Courtesy of Nintendo

Nintendo's latest console is an effort to bring the company away from the nostalgia trap and into the mainstream. The Wii, while a fun way to shake up the typical console release, was a gimmicky letdown and took up residence in closets everywhere a few months after release.

The Wii U represents a new era for the company as it attempts to appeal to both casual and hardcore gamers. Pre-orders are running out quick, and your options are fairly slim if you want to pick up the console around its 11/18 release date. We got our hands on the console and here is some cool stuff that it does:

http://www.nintendo.com/wiiu

5. The Controller

The Wii U Gamepad provides functionality for both fans of the Wii's simple gameplay and enough precision to play hardcore games like Call of Duty: Black Ops 2. Each console supports only one of the 6 inch gamepads, with Wiimotes and other controllers supported for mutliplayer games. The LCD screen on the controller is multifunctional, and in one instance handled inventory management for the preview we received of ZombiU.

4.The Fresh Start

The $350 deluxe edition of the Wii U includes "Nintendo Land," a sampler platter of minigames that showcase the possibilities of the console. We played a minigame where one player using the Gamepad plays a ghost, and four others use Wiimotes to hunt him in a zany crossover between Pac-Man and Metal Gear Solid. The emphasis on living room social gaming is a line in the sand for Nintendo. Having improved online support for this console generation, it's also good to see the company maintaining the same support for couch multiplayer that they have over the years.

Tags:

gaming, midnight release, nintendo, opening day, video games, wii u

We Recommend

Ouii

I myself, have over 160 wii games and love very much many, many of them and definitively have fun with each and everyone, no dust, no closet... I use it every day since lunch and I do have other consoles also, so for me it's all about having a fantastic time with video games. One thing I appreciate the most is -creativity, amazing ideas and above all, the little details- and those my friends, you can have them on any console, regardless of specs, generation, HD, versions etc. "All is good when you can simply embrace all the fun that lies on VGs"

teknik

@Ouii I played my wii a ton, especially Monster Hunter.

Monster Hunter releasing at the end of march is also the reason that I purchased a wii u.

I've been a gamer all my life, and have had most of the Nintendo consoles. I also game on xbox, and play it a fair bit.

I don't understand the hate, and to think that some gamers hope nintendo will fail is just sensless imo.

Ouii

Hi teknik! I guess it's fair enough to say that maybe -Not Being Satisfied With Anything or Not Being Able To Enjoy Things simply For What They Are- is part of human nature... You can see it every day, people give priority at ranting endlessly about something rather than exploiting that same amount of time for enjoying themselves with whatever they do like to do. They go as far as being angry with anyone who genuinely enjoys what they think is "bad" or "broken".

It would be best to hear--> "I like my games, I adore the ones on Nintendo Consoles, you like yours; lets be friends and invite me to have fun and to share a good video game moment. That's all, we don't have to convince each other" Sounds insanely healthier and easier don't you think?...

Stealth

"was a gimmicky letdown and took up residence in closets everywhere a few months after release." Not for me and many others. Super Mario Galaxy 1 and 2, Xenoblade, Donkey Kong Country Returns, Wii Sports Resort, Kirby's various games, GoldenEye 007, Monster Hunter Tri, Super Smash Bros. Brawl, NSMB Wii, Tatsunoko, Mario Kart, and many others made it my most played console. So speak for yourself, Phoenix New Times blogger. Perhaps you're as aware of the industry as the press who covers it-- i.e. not at all.

htaed7

@Stealth couldnt agree with you more...isnt it messed up how

many people who never put down a dollar to the system and games, all of a sudden know more about what we did with our console, than us?..But hey lets be grateful at least this one has a positive spin on the matter.

lest we get the flood of :"why buy x amount of years obsolete console for?"

or the new clasic:"ME DONT PLAY...IN KIDDIE SYSTEM..IM HARDCORE"..

My Wii u is in company of my gaming pc, and i have a feeling it will stay that way for a loooong time.