Yesterday I saw for the first time a Wii U demo stand in an electronics store in the city. What a wasted opportunity for Nintendo of Europe!
The stand itself looks elegant, and the GamePad in the middle looks very intriguing to the casual browsers. However the software itself is confusing and has some of the most disappointing content ever.
There's a list of games, and touching their icon basically presents a meaningless larger poster image on the screen, together with a voice saying "PEGI 13". So basically when people pick up the GamePad for the first time, they just tap around while the TV says: "PEGI 13. PEGI 13. PEGI 16. PEGI 18. PEGI16. PEGI 13".
There is playable demo of Rayman Legends, and a 5 minutes presentation clip buried somewhere in the menus. You won't find them.
I have seen about five different people pick up the GamePad and then losing interest after just a few seconds.
I must say that I purchased a Nintendo 3DS right after playing a demo of Pilotwings Resort in a similar stand, in the same shop. But the Wii U demo stand does not say anything about the Wii U selling points - at all. No mention of the advanced motion controls, nothing about the potential control schemes...
I have a Wii U and I love it. After seeing the demo, I can only think... what a wasted opportunity.
Nintendo, fire the person who came up with that stand. They don't have a clue about sales.