Topic: The Wii U turns 2 tomorrow (US)

Happy 2nd Birthday, Wii U.

I got mine a month after launch, never been worried about lack of games (as I also have a 3DS and PS3) and with SM3DW, the two (three?) P* games, DKTP and MK8 I have had my share of great games. Looking forward to Splatoon and Zelda, as well as Smash and Captain Toad.

And Scram Kitty and Shovel Knight are two great games, but somehow they don't count because they are indies?

Anyone defending Wii U doesn't have a leg to stand on. If you are happy with the games released than I am happy for you, but for the rest of us there just aren't enough games. That's the bottom line. Sure Nintendo has released some exceptional games, but they always do. That doesn't mean I am going to purchase a new Donkey Kong in HD, an old Zelda in HD, or Mario 3D land in HD with cats. These games are great, but I have played them before and have no interest in dropping $50-$60 on any of them. When I bought my Wii U, I expected at least Wii levels of 3rd party games, especially since Nintendo touted the Wii U as some kind of 3rd party renaissance. They did the same thing with 3DS, and both were the complete opposite (remember Saints Row 3D?!). 3rd party games are important to me, because even though I love me some Nintendo, realistically I am only interested in buying about half of what they put out. At the end of the day they did not deliver what they promised at the start. It's basically like 2 maybe 3 f*cking games a year for me on average for these systems (and a few downloads here and there). These systems really only appeal to people who buy only Nintendo games and that's not good for anybody.

Aren't people who defend the Wii U the ones who like it. Like how you don't like the Wii U so you attack it and the people who own it. Really, you don't have a leg to stand on. You may say there's not enough games on it, but other people do. You are attacking with an opinion, not a fact.

You just lost your own argument. I reckon the Wii U is a good platform because Nintendo has released some exceptional games and always do. If you can't find enough games for it then you need to recognise that that's what happens if you own a single platform.

I mean personally between my Wii U, 3DS and PC I've gotten something like 15 games this year including indies, about half of them were for Wii U. I also know that the vast majority of my gaming time is spent on Mario Kart and Smash. I'm at the point where I probably shouldn't get more because I have a pile of unfinished games which I'm not going to get to because Smash and Kart are massive time sinks.

How many retail Wii U games do you own and how many are 3rd party? Because it kind of sounds like a) you're not even buying the excellent 1st party games, instead dismissing them because reasons, and b) you're ignoring all of the 3rd party games that actually did hit the system.

I own 22 retail Wii U games. Only 5 of them were developed by Nintendo and 17 were not. 22 games, and the average Metacritic rating for them is 81, and that's including several that drag down the score. Sonic Lost World, Warriors Orochi 3, Arkham Origins, and Ninja Gaiden 3 are all in the 60s. If you take the top 22 retail PS4 games to date, you get an average of 86. So my mix-match of some good Wii U games and some mediocre Wii U games is only a little worse than the 22 best PS4 games on the market. The truly exceptional thing is that of these 22 games, only one of them is exclusive, you won't find it on any other platform. That's Resogun.

So if you already own a PS3 or a PC (I own both), your big incentive to buy a PS4 as far as games go is bloody Resogun.

So yeah, really, I'm just fine with the Wii U being my only current gen console for now. 4 out of the 5 upcoming non-Wii U games I'm interested in are coming out on a platform that I already own, and I'm sure not buying a PS4 just to play Disgaea 5.

My Wii U is also day one, so much strugglin that day, to get mine. So happy for it.

I'm happy with my Wii U. I got it in July, so not really felt those drought periods. I also have other consoles so I'm not relying on the sparse Wii U release calendar. It's far from being my favourite Nintendo console though, as for me the scales are still tipped towards the casual Wii crowd more than the longtime Nintendo gamer.

New Super Mario Bros U is without a doubt the best in the NSMB series but it's a series that hasn't really progressed much since the first on DS.

Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate is a good game, but again, it's a series where if you've played one, it feels like you've played them all.

Pikmin 3 is fantastic. Not a huge jump forward but it had been 9 years since the last one, so no big deal.

Wonderful 101 is maybe my favourite of the lot. Perhaps my one criticism is that Platinum's dedication to trying to make the gamepad an integral part of it probably ended up hurting it slightly. I'd love to see a sequel but it's never going to happen with those sales figures.

Super Mario 3D World is great, but they've moved away from 64 and Galaxy and have diluted the 3D series with NSMB's casual linearity. I loved it in 3D Land on a handheld but I was hoping for something with more ambition from a 3D Mario on consoles.

Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze is pretty much perfect. The best in a great series of games.

Mario Kart 8 is... probably the best MK, but I think I'm burned out on this series. It's just not gripping me like I remember the original, MK64 and Super Circuit.

Bayonetta 2 is another fantastic game, maybe my favourite game of the year but lacks the impact of the original purely because it's a sequel and not something utterly new.

That's my collection so far. I have Smash pre-ordered too.

Sometimes the Wii U remindse of the Dreamcast but ultimately lacks the new IP that really made the DC such a magical console for me.

_{And I still haven't bought a current generation console}

I own just a Wii U. Judging the consoles purely on games (the whole point, if you ask me) then the Wii U is light years ahead of their two rivals.

The Xbone's biggest game is a re-release of four Halo games (with broker multiplayer) and Sunset Overdrive looks awful and is the same ol' sh*t but with colors and terrible humor. The PS4 has no exclusives of interest apart from maybe Infamous for some people. The only games I'd like on Wii U atm which are out on rivals are Dragon Age and The Evil Within.

I currently own Wind Waker, MK8, MH3U, SI2, Hyrule Warriors and Guacamelee. I'd also like Pimin 3, DK:TF, SM3DW, Bayonetta, Shovel Knight, Teslagrad, Captain Toad and SSB but don't have enough time for the games I already have. Seems like a no-brainer to me. I'm just sad about no Persona 5 but at least FExSMT should be coming at some point.

That is one beautiful controller! Aside from Smash, if only...

I recently bought a Wii U to play a select few games (MK8, Bayonetta 2, and soon to be Smash), and have discovered more that I didn't expect to enjoy as much as I do. Because I am a later adopter, I didn't go through the teething issues and I have enjoyed every minute of owning a Wii U (to be fair, it isn't my primary console). I did however buy a Xbox One at launch and have experienced the early adopter issues there. The amount of games that came out during the first 10 months that interested me enough to buy them totaled a whole 3 games. Now it is starting to come out of its shell and have some good games coming to the system (IMO Sunset Overdrive probably competes with Bayonetta 2 as the best console game of the year), but the library is still incredibly thin. It honestly doesn't come close to what the Wii U has. They are totally different experiences, but If I was rating my 1 year of ownership of Xbox One to the couple months of Wii U... the Wii U easily wins. That may change in 2015 with the new releases, but for now that is the way it stands.

Mazal Tov Wii U. Truly a wonderful console, the Game Pad makes it harder to go back and play on old gen controllers.

Best games experiences I had with the Wii U:

ZombiU - incredible unique experience with a fantastic local multiplayer too. One of the best games ever.
Arkham City: AE - really fun combat and exploration with great Game Pad inclusion.
Mass Effect 3: SE - seamless Game Pad integration in a fabulous RPG like game
Super Mario 3D World - beautiful, cute and lovelymultiplayer action
Donkey Kong TF: ingenious level design and graphics
Shovel Knight - Best indie ever, cool Miiverse integration
Rayman Legends for the Murphy two player levels
Mario Kart 8 for the simple free online and graphics

Great great console so far.

How many games does a system have to have that are AAA titles for you to appreciate said system? We're having fun, you're not. That's the bottom line.

I bought my Wii U August 2014, and it's the only current generation console I own. So far, this is my favorite Nintendo console since the GameCube. The GameCube is my favorite console of all time, but the library of GameCube games I collected spans a total of ~6 years. In the few months I've had with the Wii U, it's the most fun I've had on a console since the mythical GameCube.

The thing has its flaws, no question. There are some issues with it that I think are going to prevent it from being Nintendo's all-time best effort, but despite that, I think it has the potential to deliver. As of right now, there is nothing on either XBO or PS4 that makes me want to get something other than a Wii U. MAYBE down the line, when the next Elder Scrolls comes out, I'll think about a PS4, but as of today, I don't wish I had one.

As far as the Wii - Wii U comparisons, I don't think it comes close ... yes, the Wii had a better launch, arguably, but two years in, the Wii U has the better games (IMO). Bayonetta 2 alone is worth the Wii U purchase. It's the best game I've played all year, and it should win GOTY (it won't, but it should). Mario Kart 8 is the best in the series, IMO, and Wind Waker HD is amazing in and of itself. I only own Bayonettas, MK8, WWHD, and NSMBU, and I spend more time playing the Wii U than I did my 360.

I think it's hard to argue that Wii U isn't incredible. The only argument that can be made against it is sales. Even with respect to third parties, it's more of a new issue, because it got so many third party games in the launch time of games that skipped that the Wii (Assassin Creeds, Tekken, Injustice, Darksiders, Batman, Need for Speed, Mass Effect 3, Splinter Cell, Deux Ex).

This conversation has sunk to a new level lol

The Wii U got me back into gaming after more than 20 years of not playing for the most part.... Last home console that i owned was a SNES and then I picked up a GBA and a Wii at the very end of its lifecycle, but really didn't play it at all.

Offline play is awesome. while the gamepad is under used- there are a few games that use it. Golf, Baseball, Rayman, Deus Ex, Zombie U, Tekken, Madden, Wii U Party, Game & Wario, Nintendo Land- there's probably more. While there's not many "must have" games- I think it has some very, very good games. Pikmin, Rayman (best version), Mario 3d World, Mario Kart, Smash Bros, DKTF, NSMBU, Bayonetta.... these alone have justified the console for me.

I got mine in April 2013 and don't regret it- While the price dropped by $50 by Sept., I had probably put 150 hours into it, plus my brother put 150 hours into it as well, so, I think it was worth it at that price too.

@McGruber
So a remake or re-imagining of games/series that are 20+ years old is something you won't buy, but a remake of a game that came out about a year ago is okay?

Fair enough.