The following is a comment i left after the video entitled Wii U is the new Virtual Boy from Game Theory on Youtube defending this much maligned console. Enjoy.
I've owned my Wii U for several months now. I bought it despite doomsday videos on YouTube because it's a GAME system. Nintendo isnt focused on system functionality that has nothing to do with playing games. Things like sharing on social media are an afterthought for nintendo, not a selling point. The Wii U is the last gaming console left in a market crowded with underpowered, weak imitations of gaming PCs. The X bone and PS4 are doing everything in their power to make themselves obsolete as fast as they possibly can.
That being said, it does have its faults. The game theorists are correct in that there weren't many launch titles for the Wii U, but the launch lineups for the X bone and PS4 were similarly dismal. On the other hand, the Wii U has more first party titles, ALL exclusive to the new system, and being rolled out with a surprising degree of regularity (somewhere in the neighborhood of one new A list title per month for 2014).
Another thing often overlooked by Nintendo naysayers is the shocking amount of indie game support given by Nintendo... often releasing fantastic independent games for the Nintendo E-shop that don't come from developers like EA and their ilk (bit-trip runner 2, Nintendo Remix, Trine 2, Edge, Rush) These games are challenging and rewarding in a way that the other consoles simply don't match.
Nintendo is a place where gamers can be challenged and rewarded in ways that dont revolve around framerate and graphic textures (though the HD releases they've been coming out with are beautiful, and if you say otherwise you're wrong.) Look at titles such as DK Tropical Freeze, Mario 3D Land, Rayman Legends (which was initially a Nintendo exclusive and STILL works best on that console) and The Wonderful 101. The games look amazing and still manage to stay true to the "look" of Nintendo, but there are an astonishing number of games developed by up and coming developers that manage to produce a new and challenging experience with 8-bit gameplay.
I've been a longtime fan of Game Theory and i love the way they think about games in general, but they're simply wrong here. The Wii U and Nintendo are fighting for console gaming across the board while Sony and Microsoft slide apathetically into the land of sub-par gaming PCs. This is Nintendo's year. With the release of Super Mario 3D World, DKC Tropical Freeze, Pikmin 3, The Wonderful 101, Rayman Legends, and the upcoming titles like Mariokart 8, Smash Brothers U, Zelda U, Hyrule Warriors (which looks amazing), Bayonetta 2, Shovel Knight, Armillo: The Parallel Universe Mystery, and X (again...one that looks unbelievable) alongside 3rd party ports that feature the Wii U's "gimmick" in astounding new ways (Ubisoft has a great reputation for it's games and has FULLY supported the Wii U since launch, so its not unreasonable that they would get creative with the gamepad for their Wii U port of Watch Dogs). I expect to see a lot of very quiet Nintendo detractors pretending they didn't make videos like these in the coming months.
I am a longtime fan of The Game Theorists and look forward to more of the fantastic content they provide. Despite my ranting against them on this particular topic, please subscribe to their channel for incredibly well thought out and astonishingly well edited videos on their YouTube Channel and wherever else they are found. Thanks for reading and I look forward to hearing from any and all of you.
- G Willis writes and hosts for How It Stacks on the Geek IO Podcast Network. For more thoughts on games, TV, movies and the like. Check out "How it Stacks" and all of the other shows and blogs at www.geek-io.com.