Topic: Game Theory: Virtual Boy and Wii U. Interesting watch.

Game Theory uploaded a thought provoking video regarding the similarities between the infamous Virtual Boy and Wii U.

Well I don't know... some of the arguments he presents are awfully weak (battery life, launch games) or at least up for debate. Some similarities can be drawn, yes, but the truth is that Wii U has already exceeded VB in both game library and sales, and at the very least Nintendo will support it strongly this year (along with a few 3rd party games here and there).

Hines Sight is great isn't it. A lot of the issues weren't known until after the console was released or until more information was given for the Xbox One and PS4. Wii U was rushed but Nintendo was trying something new. They are a company that focuses on innovation and that means failing from time to time and Nintendo understands that, kinda the reason they are still playing it safe with the Wii U.

The video was interesting and made good points but pre-launch and even at launch the Wii U looked to be making good choices and taking steps to a successful future. So saying if Nintendo just remembered what happened with the Virtual Boy and didn't make those same mistakes would be like saying see what you did with the Wii, don't do that. This is all my opinion but whatever.

I disagree with him... if he was right the Wii would have been a failure for trying to innovate.

Several of those points could be given to 3DS as well. Nintendo was quick to pull that one out it's slump though (albeit not before cutting down a third of the system's price).

Edit: Now that I think about it Xbox One fits into some of these points as well.

How seizure and vomit inducing console that can harm your health can even be compered to the WiiU?

it's because the gamepad is too freaking heavy and big it hurts the sedentary player's arms even more than the Wii remote!!!!!!!!

Battery life is not a real problem since you can play with it connected and you shouldn't be playing for more than four hours in a single sitting anyway.

in theory the max time someone should be playing nonstop was 1 hour. never known someone who respects this.

Other than both having a similar admittedly huge issue of "HOW DO WE LAUNCH SYSTEM DERPADERP"...this is kinda stretching it a bit. A lot. A ton.

Now of course Game Theory is not often meant to be completely serious or "we know we are 100% right, look at us!", thus making them better than most gamers on the internet.

But yeah...since Wii U's biggest problems besides terrible early marketing were
1. the marketing also being confusing for most of the more casual audience
2. Assuming the Wii audience was still there when Nintendo was willing to let the console fade into obscurity for no good reason
3. Assuming that Mario would save the console when they already launched with (an admittedly not as good/interesting) Mario
4. Getting used to HD development
5. Most mainstream 3rd party games having disappointing sales despite being legit mainstream games
and
6. Competing with your own cheaper handheld

I don't think that's that accurate. Also, most gamers who have played more than a bit of it actually like the Wii U in some way, so that's a big difference too.

BUTT HAY! It's just a theory... and that's it I got nothing.. what else did you expect?

Except the controller is never truly off so by the next time I use it the controller always seems to have only 40 minutes of battery left. Minus well never unplug the charger.

While I am disappointed by the Wii U, a lot, I'm not willing to say it's as much as a failure as the Virtual Boy. I hope it doesn't end up like that either, but Nintendo has really dropped the ball this time. There's still time for them to turn the console around though. I hope they announce some good desperately needed games at E3 this year. As for 3rd party games, yeah I got nothing. This has been a problem with Nintendo for nearly 4 generations of consoles now. It's just not gonna change with the Wii U.

There's a slight problem with that premise: VB sold in low 6-digit figures. Wii U is already sitting at 6 million as we're talking.

Seriously, if there's a console that should be compared with the VB is the Ouya.

Aww, someone beat me to it!

But in all honesty, I think GT knows this theory is only half-relevant. Even if there are some scary similarities, this one is doing much, much better than the VB did, and all points made about similarities are to a lesser extent than before. Not to mention he skipped the no games argument entirely (since it's not true, anymore.) The theory was intended to make you think about these things and point out that they do hold the Wii U back, but he didn't likely mean to imply the Wii U would outright fail 100%.

I enjoy Game Theory very much. And, while I was initially hurt with his later Nintendo-stompings (Majora's Mask and Mario), I agreed with many points because they were valid.

This video is awful.

I don't know why he would make a video like this in the first place since science is usually his forte in Game Theory. Aside from that, the Wii U is already MASSIVELY more successful than the Virtual Boy and we aren't even two years into it's lifespan.

The points he made in the video are also pretty easily countered...

• Battery Life - Well, the charger cable is pretty long and it hasn't interfered with any of my game sessions yet. This is coming from a guy who plays ZombiU and NintendoLand regularly.
• Expensive Technology - The Wii U is hardly using any tech that's expensive. They went with a resistive touch screen for goodness sakes!
• Rushed Technology - To me, rushed technology means bad and buggy. The Wii U and it's Gamepad functionality work seamlessly and are anything but rushed considering the DS family built into the idea for Wii U and there was a full year for ironing out from the 2011 reveal and the 2012 release. Even counting that into it, there's still the time before the initial reveal that they were working on the console.
• No Games - Not even an argument. He even contradicts himself. There are many games, just games people had played before with enhanced gameplay due to the new controller. Looking at the Wii U now, there's a wide variety of games for people to play from Skylanders to Darksiders to Call of Duty to Mario.
• No Launch Titles - see previous point.
• No Third Party Support - Well, the Wii didn't have consistent good third party support... Or the GameCube... Or the N64... If you think about it, Nintendo's console is the only one that can survive without third party support considering Microsoft and Sony aren't true game manufacturers. Even back when the PS1 came into existence, the only reason that was able to do anything was because Sony bought a ton of game making companies to make games for the system whereas Nintendo was making much of their own.

His follow-up video better be good. I won't stop watching him for one bad video, but this is pretty bad, MatPat.

I actually agree with many of his points about the similarities, and am glad he didn't say the Wii u did as bad as the virtual boy though I was going he'd mention virtual boys whole getting people sick thing

He also didn't say innovation was bad, just that 3rd parties don't like it since it means more work for them, I am curious about his next vid though

Game Theory had another mind blower
@kyuubikid213
Battery Life: You're only speaking from personal experience. Doesn't mean it's overall passible. I've had bad experiences with it. Either the cord was too long, or like what happened recently when I was bringing the Wii U to my friend's house. I forgot the charging cord. Why couldn't it use USB?
Expensive Tech: The tech is a waste of investments when it comes to Dual Gamepad support, NFC capabilites and lack of mind blowing visuals
When it comes to games, who wants to buy them most of them? How many times have I seen Nintendo fans say they're not buying said third party title, because it's a lesser version from the Xbox version, or Playstation version? Let's just keep it to "Plenty". Plus, the Wii had great third party support, until the end. Maybe not those action games, but there are a good amount of 3rd Party Wii games worth the purchase.

As much as I think the Wii U is a failure and well below nintendo's standards, it is certainly no virtual boy. The virtual boy was guaranteed to fail before it launched. It only came in 2 colors, the seizures and the headaches, the awkwardness of the console itself, and wasn't even truly portable. Nintendo tried to create a 3rd market of videogames in addition to the handheld and the home consoles and failed. The wii u may not make nintendo money, but their home console market is already established and we will see at the very least 1 more home console after the pii u.
The only things that the 2 truly have in common is the high price point (which could be debated that the ps4 was just such a low price point) and the launch titles not being anything amazing.

As KKSlider mentioned, saying that the Wii U is the next Virtual Boy may be stretching the direness of the situation to unrealistic proportions. Matthew Patrick, the creator of the video, also uses some flimsy justifications when trying to compare the systems point-to-point. But as KKSlider also stated, Game Theory videos are never 100% serious, so it's hard to tell whether or not Mr. Patrick is doing this for the laughs or for the inevitable views (or if he actually believes the stuff he's saying). So all-in-all, I would say that salt is a part of a balanced diet, especially if you browse the internet.

Really, it's a case of not taking what's said too seriously, yet still acknowledging the bits of truth.