Topic: Coming Home

I was born in 85 and was practically raised with Nintendo Systems. I have very fond memories of NES, SNES, N64, and even Gamecube. Since going to college I have not had the money/time to buy/play a lot of games, but when I did they were PC Games. Now that I am done with school I have some discretionary income and as a reward for passing the bar I thought I would get myself a treat for Christmas. I looked at PS4 and XBox 1 but didn't want to spend that much. I then looked at PS3 and 360, but honestly, none of the games interested me. The older I get the less interested I get in M rated games (thought I will play any Half Life game assuming it ever gets made) and the seemingly repetitive shooter games.

Reluctantly, I looked into the Wii U. The games available impressed me. Mario 3D looks awesome and although the art style of Zelda is a turnoff for me, the idea of reconnecting with my childhood intrigued me. Also the trailer for X looks absolutely breathtaking. So for Christmas this year I am gifting myself a Wii U with ten games (Mario 3D, Zelda, Gods Among Us, Arkham Origins, Arkham City, Ducktales Remastered, Need for Speed, Mario/Sonic at Sochi, Monster Hunter 3, and Rayman) and enough controllers for local play with my family and friends.

My question/comment is what are chances the Wii U turns it around? I like the Nintendo content and will get Donkey Kong, Smash Bros, Mario Kart, and X when they come out, but I understand there needs to be more third party content. Honestly that is why I bought Rayman...to say thank you to Ubisoft for their support of the Wii U. I haven't been following the conversation for too long so I am in the dark at what people expect from the Wii U over the next few years.

I'd say we're in a second Gamecube era right now, at least, that's how I see it. 'cept there's a bit more third party support here than on the cube.

I feel Nintendo can turn things around with the Nintendo Wii U. Based on how Nintendo turned things around with the 3DS, theres a decent chance the Wii U can turn things around. If they can't, I can count on Nintendo to still release awesome first party games. The ones you listed are already released and short term 2014. The future on Wii U to me, depends on how well Nintendo supports the console. Based on this, I feel that 2014 will be a great year for Wii U, and you can expect lot's of great games.

The Wii U is on the rise as we speak. It's most certainly not going to sell like the PS4 and One did at launch, but it'll pick up steam and those will slowly falter. 2014 will be the true test for Nintendo considering it will actually be against the reality of the PS4 and One as opposed to the hype. I predict the Wii U will have a steady flow of games that make it appealing to the families that purchased the PS4 and One which will hit their inevitable drought because of the newer hardware. And once developers learn how to use the system better, things will only take off from there.

I feel like once everyone is over the XB1/PS4 hype, the Wii U will get another shot. They can still turn it around. When all is said and done, I don't know what the final sales figures will be (in my mind, I'm seeing a of repeat of Gen 6), but I think it's just important to play what you want to play. If you're having fun, that's fantastic. I can't see Nintendo repeating what they did to us with the Wii (we were starved for big releases). If the 3DS and the upcoming line up for Wii U is any indication, we'll get a good steady flow of decent titles.

Third party is hit or miss. As Wonder_Mask said, it's almost like the gamecube, but it has a bit more support.
EA is the big one Nintendo is missing right now. They pulled out support earlier this year (but you could argue it's their own fault for putting games on the Wii U that had already been out on the other systems for X amount of time. Why did they put out a complete trilogy set for Mass Effect on PS3/360/PC and only put Mass Effect 3 on the Wii U? It makes no sense). I have no idea if EA will come back. If Nintendo moves more units they probably will. To what extent? I don't know.

I recommend also checking out Sonic and All-Stars Racing Transformed, Pikmin, Assassin's Creed and Wonderful 101.

@GameCubed
The reason why Wii U didn't get the ME trilogy, is because they would have had to rework the entire series for the GamePad. Each titles requires GamePad utilization, so it made sense to only port the newest game of the series. I heard it was the best version, but I'm not a fan of the series, anyway.

As for anything else, I'd say EA not supporting the Wii U is their fault. I don't blame them for not supporting the Wii U. The only thing that irks me is that EA hasn't been that great lately, anyway. People also tend to blame Nintendo for EA's decisions, which aren't really connected 100%. It's a bit of this, a bit of that. We'll just have to see what they do.

I don't see Wii U getting as low of sales as the GCN, though. The market as a whole is alot bigger than it was from 6th gen. The market being bigger pretty much increases chances of sales, regardless. Not saying they'll be bad or good, but there's really no way to tell.

Just come on home, son. Your room's the way you left it. All of your old friends are here, and your Mom is fixing up something special for your return. You know you're always welcome here. ^_^

I figure things can only get better since 2014 has a nice slate of releases. At $300 with Super Mario 3D World, Donkey Kong, Mario Kart, Bayonetta 2 and probably Smash Bros. it'll do well. And we're due for a new Metroid and home console Zelda soon. I haven't invested in the Wii U yet but now that the new releases in my favorite Nintendo franchises are going to start arriving, it's the perfect time to jump on board. And I suspect there are some other holdouts who feel the same.

Welcome to the fold, my friend.
You have a few years before it sets in — the constant regret of choosing to enter our lovely profession.

Thanks for all the replies. Once I am done with the ten games I am getting for Christmas, I will certainly be asking for which games to try next. I guess my general thoughts as someone who is returning to the fold so to speak, is that the Nintendo content will get people like me to purchase the Wii U. Which is fine. If, however, the goal is to get broader appeal, I think there needs to be more third party participation. Frankly, I don't care about broader appeal. Sometimes I think we can get caught up in arguments about which system is better, when in all actuality there is no answer to that question. For me the answer was and is the Wii U. I don't need sales numbers to back up my opinion on that. Would I like to see them go up? Sure, but mainly because it means more cool games to chose from as their are more people using the hardware.

As far as regretting becoming an attorney...it didn't take me years to get to that point. I have regretted that choice since my second year of law school.

Additionally, what are the chances that Nintendo would be willing to spend money to purchase franchises that made their hay on the NES, SNES, or even N64? I would for Nintendo to buy Bomberman, Gauntlet, Ghosts and Goblins, Mega Man, Castlevania, Ninja Gaiden, or even Final Fantasy. Some of those are harder than others, but in my opinion any exclusive launch of the above titles would be huge games for me that I would have to buy. Mega Man and Castlevania fans who migrated to other systems would have no choice but to buy the Wii U to play those games, and IMO they would.

I think the chances of Nintendo buying those franchises are very low. Ninja Gaiden does fairly well on the Xbox although Ninja Gaiden 3 did come to the Wii U. Final Fantasy series are another one that do good on both the Xbox and the PS but you never know they might port a FF to the Wii U. As far as Mega Man well it's kinda sad but it seems right now that Capcom doesn't even want anything to do with the Blue Bomber. ON the plus side the creator of Mega Man is hard at work on another game called Mighty No. 9 that is basically a spiritual successor to the Mega Man series and its planned to come out on the Wii U. Castlevania on the other hand had a sequel to Lord of Shadows on the 3DS so you never know the series might come to Wii U however Lords of Shadow is not the Castlevania you grew up with.