There is still no release date for the Nintendo Wii U, but the hype has grown exponentially on Nintendo's new game system and it's innovative design. The new controller or Gamepad, has caught the attention of many and it brings something new and awesome to motion gaming. The uses we have seen for the gamepad are indeed worthy of admiration, and the games announced for the Wii U are pretty popular titles. With such an innovative formula, great games and the fact that is Nintendo, I would believe that the Wii U is sure to be a hit, but is it really? Let's take a look as to why the Wii U could be a failure for Nintendo and may alienate some hardcore gamers.
First of all the Gamepad
It can do some incredible things, it lets you chat with your friends. Provided they have the Wii U of course. It lets you play a game even with your TV off, and it can even send videos you are watching on it straight to your TV. Now lets think about this for a minute and make a comparison between the Wii U gamepad and a smartphone which has pretty much the same functions. When I do things like this on my phone, my battery dies rather quickly and it is to be expected right? Well the Wii U Gamepad has the same exact problem, the battery only lasts 3-5 hours before needing to recharge, Nintendo has confirmed this. They say you can play your games while you charge it, but the whole point of the system is being free from cords that get in the way, and in games where you need to shake your Gamepad around I would fear the moment where I could straight up pulled my system to the ground because it was connected to my Gamepad. Also the Wii-Mote had a strap so that it wouldn't fall or fly away with the motions, I have yet to see this with the Wii-U Gamepad and after being witness to some major accidents due to not wearing the Wii-Mote strap it just makes me fear for my Gamepad and other things around my house. Now when I spoke about hardcore gamers being alienated what I meant was that when we get a new game do we really only play 3-5 hours? How about when we have friends over? And see this is where my next negative aspect of the Wii U comes in.
The Wii U system itself
Nintendo has yet to release the full specs of the system, it has released some like the CPU and GPU are rather vague such as saying that the CPU is an IBM Power-based multi core processor and the GPU and AMD Radeon-based HD GPU. For those who may not be as familiar with those terms it would be like saying that a car has a motor made by Toyota and no details are given for the motor. Also the system can only handle 2 Gamepads, which may not be that bad right? At least you can play with your friend now, the news before said only one would be supported and the rest would have to use Wii-motes. Two Gamepads would make the system more fun right? It would if it didn't lower the frame rate from 60FPS to 30FPS, what the hell Nintendo? I was looking forward to playing some ZombiU with a friend at home or maybe some other games, but when the action slows down just because you connect an extra controller this becomes a really bad idea. The system specs also say that 1080p is supported, but the initial games seem to all be in 720p and there is no confirmation on whether they can be upscaled to 1080p. This is comparable to the PS3 and XBOX 360, but this being a next-gen console leaves much to be desired, it is a very capable machine and they are holding it back, at least it looks that way right now. Nintendo has also said that at launch they would only offer games that support only one Gamepad, maybe because they will release a patch that will improve the frame rate for two Gamepads but there has been no word on that so right now it is just my wishful thinking.
It looks as if the Wii U will be released to a myriad of bothersome little details that may hinder the gaming experience of some. I really wanted to believe that the Wii U would be great, and it may well be, but for now I do not think I will be an early adopter, I think with this new information I will be a cautious consumer and just wait a bit to see what the Nintendo Wii U is all about. What do you guys think?
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