Nintendo Are You There?

Hello, Nintendo...where are you? Seriously this is how I feel right now. We are now in November 2013 and basicallly have not seen much from Nintendo in months. In the past two months the Wii U has had great games release like:
1. Pikmin 3
2. Wonderful 101
3. Rayman Legends
4. Deus Ex Human Revolution Directors Cut
5. The Legend of Zelda, The Wind Waker HD
6. Batman Arkham Origins
7. Assassin's Creed 4 Black Flag
8. Call of Duty Ghosts
9. Sonic The Lost World
10. Lego Marvel SuperHeros

I'm on Wii U, but nobody knows

That's the main games, but there others as well. So where the hell is Nintendo? The only commercials I've seen for any of these games was Sonic Lost World, and I'm sure Sega paid for those. All these third-party games are heavy hitters. I've seen both Sony and Microsoft have commercials for all of them. Yet Nintendo doesn't even make a commercial for its first-party games.

The average person has no idea that any of these games are on the Wii U. That's somewhat an over statement; most people don't even know that the Wii U exists. It's been out almost one year now and it's still practically unknown to the average consumer. It seems like Nintendo doesn't want the Wii U to sell. Iwata and Reggie keep trying to tell people the Wii U will be fine, but it's getting harder to believe.



The Wii U has an amazing line up of games right now. If Nintendo would just tell people about them the Wii U would be flying off the shelfes. I just beat Batman Arkham Origins (very fun game). Now I'm playing Wind Waker HD. Once I finish Wind Waker I'll get either Assassin's Creed 4 or COD Ghosts. This is what most every gamer would love to do, play the best first and third party titles back to back on one system. All Nintendo has to do is tell people that they can do that with the Wii U.

Batman Arkham Origins on Wii U

So hows the new Batman on the Wii U? It's pretty damn good. I wont go into detail about the game, since there are a lot of reviews that will tell you about the story. However I will say that if you enjoyed the previous two games you will also like Origins. Nothing was changed to the game formula, and to me that's a very good thing. The old saying "if it ain't broke don't fix it" comes to mind.

The real question is how does it look and play on the Wii U. Well the game looks awesome on the Wii U. It really is a good looking game. I did notice a few weird shadows, but in an open world game that's not abnormal. Also during some of the cut scenes there is a little slow down. Nothing major, but it is a little jarring. Other than that the game looks great. 

When I first started playing Batman Arkham Origins I used the gamepad. I actually used the gamepad until my battery died, then I switched to the pro controller. While the pro controller felt good and worked fine; I really missed the gamepad. When Using the gamepad you have access to the map at all times. You can not set a way point with the map, but it's still nice to have the map handy. This is especially handy when finding Enigma's stations. 

Also during the crime scene analysis you can use the gamepad to view the crime scene. I personally didn't care to do that, but it's a cool feature. When your in the batcave the gamepad will act as a finger print scanner. It's not important but still it's kinda fun to scan your finger and see it welcome Bruce Wayne. 

The Wii U version does not have the multi player that both the 360 and PS3 have, but from the reviews I've read that's probably a good thing. Plus it's $10 cheaper than those versions. If you like the Batman games then this one is no different. It looks great and it plays great. Don't be afraid to buy this. You will not be disappointed.

UPDATE
I felt like I needed to address some issues I found. On completing the game and going through the city I've experienced a lot of slow down. I also had one hard freeze. Neither of these make the game unplayable, but it does greatly detract from the overall experience.

Is Wii U Next Gen?

I've heard this so many times since Wii U has launched. If you search Wii U on Google you will find this question being asked and discussed over and over again. This is such an easy question to answer.

Question: Is the Wii U next gen?
Answer: Yes!

Here's the thing the term "next generation" has nothing to do with a systems power. The word Generation refers to a time span, usually associated to people. Here's an example, My father is from a previous generation than me. Since he was born before me he's from a different generation.

Since the Wii came out in 2006 (around the time of 360 and ps3) and Wii U was released in 2012 (around same time as ps4 and xbone will release) they are obviously from different generations. The internal pieces and specs of the machine have nothing to do with a game systems generation!

Yes you can say that the Wii U has closer specs to the PS3 and 360(even though that's not entirely true).  You can not argue if Nintendo's Wii U is next generation.

Wii U Sold 1 Million in Japan

After being on the market for 33 weeks in Japan Wii U has finally sold 1 million consoles. YAY for Nintendo. Actually this isn't all that impressive. However it did make it to a million 5 weeks faster than PS3 did when it launched in Japan. So that's something to think about.

New Nintendo Franchise

Shigeru Miyamoto confirms that he's developing a new franchise, and he says it's keeping him very busy. This is good to know since Nintendo doesn't make new franchises very often. Shigeru Miyamoto is responsible for so many loved characters, so expect greatness. Here's what he said in a recent interview with Famitsu.

“I think it’s about time we brought out a new franchise. I can’t give out details, but that’s the title that’s been keeping me pretty busy lately.”

Hopefully Nintendo is working on multiple new franchises. Nintendo is seriously lacking in mature games. Both Sony and Microsoft have action and first person shooter franchises. These two genres make up most of their revenue. So Nintendo would be wise to add a few to their line up. Maybe Nintendo will release some official information before the end of the year.

Third Party Developers on Wii U

So today Ubisoft came out and said that ZombiU was unprofitable for them. Therefore no plans for a sequel. One of the reasons I bought my Wii U was to play this game...and I've still yet to beat it. It's not a bad game, just not a polished or overly fun game. It's actually one of the ugliest games on the Wii U. Metacritic has ZombiU rated at 77%.

Electronics Arts has said that their 4 games have sold poorly on Wii U as well. However every game EA brought to Wii U were ports of games that were already released on all other major consoles. Not good ports either, watered down ports. Fifa and Madden both were missing some features from the PS3 and 360. Mass Effect 3 Special Edition had all the additional content at that time. However it had some technical issues and no other DLC was released. On top of that EA released a collection that had all 3 Mass Effect games in 1 case slightly before this version released. Then they charged $60 for this version as well as the Complete Collection. Which made the Wii U version look like a bad deal (and it was). The only good EA game was Need For Speed Most Wanted U. This game also released months after the other console and pc versions. Also this game got no other DLC. However this game did look better and run smoother than the PS3 or 360 versions.

I could keep listing companies that just did quick ports when the Wii U was released. When you release a game after it's been out on other consoles and pc can you really expect it to sell well? Most people have multiple game systems and they don't want to wait months for a game. Or if you make a mediocre game do companies think that will sell well?

This is the problem the Wii U has with most 3rd party developers. They were to lazy to make new games so they just ported over old games. Or they just made a mediocre game and hoped it would sell. It's no wonder your damn games don't sell! Make better games! People need to tell these developers this. People will buy games if they are new and worth buying.

A Bloodbath is coming to Wii U

Another new game is announced for Wii U. It's called Bloodbath and it's made by Freedom Factory. There isn't a whole lot of information out yet. However it does look like a gory arena style fighting game. I welcome every and all games to Wii U, so yay a new game. Also no release date is known so who knows when it will come out. Either way it's nice to have another mature game on a Nintendo platform. Check out the link below to watch the trailer.
http://youtu.be/KpjWyCAMDpE

Injustice DLC on Wii U

This has been out for a few days, but just a reminder to those who may want it. Injustice Gods Among Us on Wii U finally has dlc. This brings it mostly up to par with the PS3 and 360 versions. Hopefully all new dlc will also release on Wii U(and on the same day).

Wii U's Best Feature

Sometimes I forget why I bought my Wii U. There was one main reason I bought it, for that awesome tablet controller. Most games really haven't used the Wii U's tablet in any original way. Most companies just throw a map and inventory screen on it. Actually both of these come in handy while playing a lot more than you'd think. It's nice to be able to look down at the screen and see how much ammo you have, or where you are on a bigger map. Plus having these on the map free's up the screen of clutter.

However the main reason I like the tablet controller is for the off screen play. In case you don't know what this is I'll explain. If the game supports off screen play (and most do) you can send the picture from the TV to the gamepad and play the full game on the tablet. The screen is a good size so most games this works fine on. This works with two player games as well. Player one can play on the tv, while player 2 can use the gamepad screen. This way both players have their own screen. To be honest I really like playing on the tablet.

So you may ask "why do I need to play on the pad while I have a TV"? Well I'll give you an example. Last night I was playing Injustice on my Wii U. I had the game on my monitor and the moves list on the tablet screen. My wife wanted to use my PC (it's faster than her laptop and I have a 26 inch monitor). So I just sent the the game to the gamepad and kept playing. I've done this plenty of times to share the TV(monitor) or just so I can lay in bed(or couch) and keep playing.

This alone is a great reason to own a Wii U. It really is a great feature. It's hard to tell you why the gamepad is so great. If you haven't played a Wii U go the store and demo it. After a few minutes of playing you will really like the controller tablet.

Can Wii U survive?

Well we are past E3 2013 and where is the Wii U? Honestly I think it's in the exact same place it was before E3. It's still on the shelves waiting for consumers. People still don't have to much of a reason to purchase a Wii U. The only main stream game released recently was Game and Wario, and that got average reviews at best.

Even the games shown for the future were not very exciting. We got a Mario game that no one wants, and another Donkey Kong game. Mario Kart and Super Smash Bros were shown but are still going to be next year before a release. The other games shown were titles we already knew about.

As far as third party support went...well there wasn't any. No one talked about Wii U any except Sega with Sonic Lost World. The only time I remember seeing a Wii U anything was during the Ubisoft convention. It briefly showed a Gamepad in a dance game. Square Enix talked about it's Wii U Exclusive of Deus Ex. Then it told the world it was no longer an exclusive.

 I love my Wii U. I see so much potential in this little system. It's just hard for us early adopters to have faith in Nintendo when all you hear is bad press. I'm hopeing that once Pikmin 3 and Zelda release later this year that Wii U will start selling consoles. I can't imagine how much of a drought next year will be if doesn't start selling and selling soon.

Resident Evil Revelations HD

Resident Evil Revelations originally released on the Nintendo 3DS. Honestly this was the reason I bought my 3DS. I preordered and picked it up at mid launch on launch. Anyway it's a  great game. I think it's the best Resident Evil.

So with the HD version coming out tomorrow on Wii U, PC, PS3, and 360 am I going to buy it? Yes I am, because it's that good. I downloaded the demo off Steam and it looks and plays great.  However I will buy Resident Evil Revelations HD on Wii U. Since it was made for 3DS it makes sense to buy the dual screen version. Plus I like supporting the Wii U.

If you missed Resident Evil Revelations on the 3DS them buy it now. You wont be disappointed.

Nintendo and Sega Partnership

In case you missed it Nintendo and Sega have a new partnership. They have agreed to make the next 3 Sonic titles exclusive to Nintendo platforms. So far 2 games have been announced, Sonic Dark World and a new Mario and Sonic winter Olympics game. The 3rd hasn't been announced yet.

This is huge news for Nintendo. Lately all we hear are what games are skipping the Wii U. So having a few exclusives is a big deal. Sega announced earlier in the week that it has 7 games in development for Wii U this year. I personally think Sega is one of the best game companies around, so I'm excited for the year.

Sega also announced Yakuza 1-2 HD for the Wii U. Right now this is only announced for Japan. Hopefully they will bring it to the US and Europe as well. This may not sound like a huge announcement, but until now Yakuza was exclusive to Playstation.

Anywho here's a little good news for all you Wii U owners. There will be a lot more news soon leading up to the week of E3. Check back for more info.

Lego City City Undercover: The Chase Begins

Just a heads up to all you Lego fans. Lego City City Undercover: The Chase Begins comes out on April 21, 2013 doe Nintendo 3DS. Gamestop has it now listed for $31.99. That's a good deal for a brand new 3DS game.

I played Lego City Undercover on the Wii U and I loved it. Just like the Wii U version this is an open world game. Think GTA only with Lego's.

 As far as I'm concerned this is a day one purchase

Where's Nintendo?

It's been about 2 months since PS4 was announced. Since that time we haven't heard a peep from Nintendo about the Wii U. I thought after the conference they would have a Nintendo Direct and show off what they've been working on. Or at the very least give consumers a solid release date on previously announced games.

Nintendo has had multiple 3DS Nintendo Directs. They announced some big games and even gave them firm release dates. However when it comes to the Wii U it's been complete silence. Sure we learned that Watch Dogs, Splinter Cell, Assassin's Creed 4, and Dues Ex were coming out on Wii U. We just didn't hear it from Nintendo.

What happened to all the 1st party games? Where is Pikmin 3? When will Bayonette 2 be released? Why is Nintendo remaking Wind Waker?  Not to mention that every magazine and website keep talking about how the Wii U is already dead.

I'm hoping that before E3 we will get some news on something...anything! I love my Wii U. I want to keep loving my Wii U. I'm not one of these people who complain about it having "No Games". Of course it doesn't have tons of games, it's only been out 6 months! However I would like to know that there are some games coming out soon. Nintendo needs to stop playing the silent game. This isn't the Gamecube days. Gamers expect to hear news and hear it often.

Nintendo E3 2012

I was not impressed by Nintendo at all. I really wanted to be. I had such high hopes for the big N, but I just felt let down. First off they mainly promoted the Wii U. Which is fine, but the 3DS is actually out and making money. So they should have focused on that a lot more.

It seems like most the Wii U games are ports. There was some original content showed off, but nothing that stood out. None of the games shown looked next-gen either. They all looked like they were made for 360 or PS3. I'm not dissing current-gen consoles(I love my PS3). BUT the Wii U is supposedly "next-gen". I don't see any signs of that yet. All I see is a big tablet controller.