Topic: Wii U - best option right now?

I'm looking to get our first game system for my family. I have two boys (9 and 11). While I am basically against a gaming system, I do like the Nintendo units because of the interactive games. I was waiting for the Switch to come out to make a decision, but it looks like it has no games right now and one cannot even play Wii U or Wii games on it?

So, that leaves me with the Wii U I think. Would you recommend getting the Wii U at this time or wait for the Switch titles to expand? Like I said, we aren't serious gamers, but looking for fun interactive games that make use of the motion controls a lot.

Thanks in advance.

I think in both cases it's a good decision for what you are searching. It's just a matter of time: do you want it now or later? My personal suggest would be to wait for Christmas so you can take a Wii U at a good price if Switch does not drop or does not have the right library for you

Thanks for the reply. Probably looking to get something before Christmas most likely Do the Wii U and Switch come with controllers? I'd need at least two, but three or four would be nice. If Wii U , probably getting something like the Mario Kart pack would be good and then buying a couple of extra controllers if I need them down the road?

My kids like sports games, so I was thinking of getting the Mario Kart 8 bundle and possibly the Sochi Olympic bundle:

https://www.amazon.com/Mario-Sonic-Sochi-Olympic-Winter-Remot...

Is the only controller for the Wii U, the gamepad and if I get the Sochi game, then I'd just have two controllers (but of a different type)?

Thanks again for the replies. I think that the Wii U would be the best option. Do you know how many controllers it can handle? Do most people just have two? Is there an advantage/big difference for someone using the game pad as a controller vs. a motion controller?

Thanks for the details. I think I understand. When you say "standard" that means just pressing buttons on a controller and motion controls are like waving the controller and using the gyroscopic functionality? In that sense, both the game pad and wii motion remotes are gyroscopic? Do you think one has better gyroscopic/motion control than the other?

A couple of more controller questions actually?...The gamepad and wii motion remotes can do motion and "standard" controls? The "pro" controller is like a fancy "standard" controller that can only do regular button controlling?

Thanks.

Thanks. I think I'm getting it, but not completely understanding the nunchuck aspect. The nunchuk gives the wiimote better functionality or is the nunchuk just needed for certain games?

Can the game pad be used as a baseball bat, sword, etc?

Hands down, the WiiU. I have two children (12 and 4) and there is either something for each of us or all of us to play together. I can sit and play Minecraft with my 12 year old (who plays Pikmin 3 alone), the tabletop games on Wii Party U with my 4 year old (who likes the old Wii games on her own), and MarioKart 8 with my wife. Or if I want to play alone, I can stick in Xenoblade, Tokyo Mirage Sessions or ZombiU. If we ALL want to play, then we play Mario 3D World.

Seriously, it's the perfect gaming system that simply didn't sell well.

That sounds nice. Thanks for your reply. What types of remotes do you have for your Wii U?

@steph746
Honestly I wouldn't get a Wii U now. Sure as of today the Switch doesn't have as deep a library as the Wii U has but things are going to move quickly. Yes, right now it's just a Zelda box which happens to have a fun little indie game called Snipperclips on it. But that's going to change as the months go on. Every system has the least amount of games at launch and the most at the end of its life.

In terms of games you might be interested in based on what you've said? Mario Kart 8 Deluxe is coming out next month on the Switch. Effectively being the same game that was on the Wii U but with all the DLC included. Then not long after that is a game called Arms which is a Switch exclusive and very motion control heavy. More than most Wii U games were at least. Just Dance? It's a motion control heavy game on Wii, Wii U and Switch. And then there's Mario coming out at the end of the year, Splatoon 2 and a few others.

The last thing to consider are the simple facts. The Wii U is not getting any new games, Nintendo have moved on. The Switch is their focus now and they've already shown that they're willing to port over Wii U games to the platform. If there's a game you really want to play on Wii U? There's a fair chance it'll get ported to the Switch. You're not going to miss out on much if you buy the Switch rather than the Wii U.

I'm not a "serious" gamer and I am looking to play games like Wii Sports Club for the Wii U or even Wii Sports Resort. Games like the Sochi Olympic Sonic and Mario look interesting as does Mario Kart...Just some fun interactive games that make good use of the Wiimotes and sports titles.

Not sure if the Switch can let me do this anytime soon? Also, a main feature of the Switch seems to be it's portability which I'm not necessarily a big fan of. I probably wouldn't want my kids toting the Switch around, rather I would prefer we play together on the TV.

@steph746
Well there aren't any sports games on the Switch yet and the Mario & Sonic series only gets a new game every other year. It's not an Olympic year so the Switch won't be getting one of those until next year if they keep the series going. But even so I still don't think it's worth you getting the Wii U at this stage.

I'll put it this way. The Wii U had about three good years where there were games coming out for it. 2016 was a bit of a bust for the Wii U and as of today it's effectively over. The Switch launched last week and has what looks like a good year ahead of it. In terms of motion control heavy games? The Wii U didn't get many of those. The Switch already has Just Dance, 1-2 Switch and Arms. The Wii U got one FIFA game the Switch has a FIFA game on the way.

The only way the Wii U is ahead I'd argue is if you include all the Wii games you can also play. But if it's a Wii you want you can get them for less than the price of a game.

@subpopz
I'd argue that there are more risks buying a console used than there are buying a console early. Sure you can get a used Wii U and some games for about half the price of a Switch with the same amount of stuff for a bit over half the price. But you're still spending hundreds of dollars on a system that has no upcoming games.

And sure, the Wii back catalogue has far more casual friendly games than the Switch is going to get this year. But the same isn't really true of the Wii U itself. Wii U games were largely focused around the GamePad so even the mini-game compilations weren't really motion control focused. While the Switch already has two confirmed first party games that are firmly focused on Wii-era motion controls. Arms and 1-2 Switch.

The way I see it there are three options (and I'll use Australian prices because it's easier):
1. Get a Switch and 3 games of your choice for ~$700AU, with new games on the horizon
2. Get a Wii U used and whatever 3 games the person is bundling it with for ~$400AU
3. Get a Wii used with ~15 games, 4 sets of controllers and all the nessisary cables for ~$100AU

@subpopz
Sure but there are a different set of issues with buying a Wii U used. You don't know how much wear the optical drive has or how good the battery in the GamePad is. If there are faults you won't be able to return it for an exchange because they'll be due to wear. In terms of games the online services are going to be increasingly less active on the Wii U. Free or not online won't be much good if you can't find opponents.

And then there's the question of motion control heavy games which is what @steph746 seems to be mostly wanting here. The Wii U didn't have many of those because the default controller was the GamePad. The Switch has a pair of full motion controllers in the box. It's getting Arms within the first few months which I'd argue is the most motion control focused core Nintendo release since Skyward Sword on the Wii. Give it a year and the Switch is going to have a better library than the Wii U has in this regard.

As I said, if you want a modern system the Switch is a better option than the Wii U at this stage. If you want a system with a lot of motion control heavy games the Wii is far cheaper than the Wii U used. I'm not sure there's much reason to get a Wii U at this stage. It's too early for it to be super cheap used. It's too late for it to be getting any new content.

I've decided to get the Wii U, but now am trying to figure out what bundle to get or to just get the system and a couple of games. Is Mario Kart 8 the best bundle? That would just come with the game pad and I would have to purchase the wii remote plus? Should I get two wii remote pluses? I'll probably get the Wii U Sports Club game (even though it's about $80). I also like the Sochi game and that can come with a Wii remote plus for about $90.

I'm kind of confused as what to get to start. Any advice would be useful. Thank you.

@steph746
Well, getting a used Wii U is up for debate in terms of risk vs value. I think getting it new is even more questionable. Because they never really dropped the price of the Wii U. Effectively the only reason buying a Wii U makes sense now is if you buy it off someone who's clearing shelf space for the Switch. I'll put it this way, in terms of prices for the console, games and required accessories new on Amazon as of today:

Wii U
$255 - Console + Mario Kart 8
$34 - WiiMote
$34 - WiiMote
$80 - Wii Sports Club
Total: $403US

Switch
$349 - Console (including 2x Joycon)
$59 - Mario Kart 8 Deluxe
$59 - Arms
Total: $469US

People talking in this thread have been saying the Wii U is a good idea based on an assumption that you'd buy it used. I've been saying it's not a great idea because buying used has its own risks. So if you're planning on getting a new system? I think any argument in favour of getting a Wii U goes out the window. Because if you're buying it new there's not much of a cost gap between the two systems.

This is what I would buy with skywake's budget of $403 If I had kids of that age:

Wii U
$255 - Console + Mario Kart 8
$34 - WiiMote
$34 - WiiMote
$25 - Wii Sports Resorts (Nintendo Selects Wii)
$25 - Super Mario 3D World (Nintendo Selects WiiU)
$25 - Wii Party U (Nintendo Selects WiiU)
$5 - an eShop game that supports multiplayer
Total: $403US

Basically this. I own a Wii U, and I don't own a Switch, but even I know that the Switch is a better investment at the moment. Yes, it just came out, so it doesn't have many games available right now, but that will change soon. 1-2-Switch and ARMS offer more motion control games than anything on the Wii U, if you're looking for that (and those are just the launch window games).

To me this is a bit like the situation of choosing between a Sega Saturn at the end of its life or a Dreamcast at the beginning.

It is clear that there won't be any more Sega Saturn games coming out, but yet you know there is a great library of games already out there, and that the only place to play the best ones is on the Sega Saturn. You know you can't play them on the Dreamcast. Everything from games, to the console and accessories can still be found in shops, and are all still cheaper than the just released Dreamcasts.

The Dreamcast on the other hand is the new console on the block, with cutting edge graphics and technology, a very reasonable launch price, and is the future of Sega, not the past like the Saturn (shame it didn't work out that way in reality). However, there are not really any games that interest you to start with, even though you know there will be in a year or two, and so you feel that yes, you may own the most powerful games console in the world and probably get a good deal on it, but, what use is it to you if you don't have anything to play on it.

With that bizarre analogy over with, I personally still maintain that anyone who is not necessarily looking for the newest, latest and greatest, and just wants something to play on casually should still at the very least consider a Wii U (nothing against the Switch whatsoever; I may have cancelled my pre-order on launch day due to lack of games until Summer onwards, but I have still never wanted a console as much since the first time I played on an N64), as the Wii U still boasts a wide selection of games now, that are available now, not in months or years, and all the usual things like people have mentioned like cheaper games, accessories, backwards compatible Wii library etc etc etc.

The Wii U doesn't have much of a future now, other than selling off the last of its stock and keeping its online servers open as long as possible, but, like the Saturn over Dreamcast scenario, it still has a history that makes it a viable purchase, or at least one to consider before making your decision.

In the UK, for £300 in total (or slightly less depending on where you shop), you can get a brand new Wii U with the Mario Kart 8/Splatoon pre-installed bundle, Zelda, and a Pro Controller. So £300 for the console, 3 games and two controllers. Not bad at all in comparison to a Switch if you're just a very casual gamer or on a budget. A Switch here with 3 retail games (it technically comes with 2 controllers as we all know so won't add the cost of a Pro to the total) will set you back £430. Still not too bad for a brand new piece of gear and 3 games, IF there are 3 games that you actually want though.

I understand. I still am leaning towards the Wii U just because I'm perfectly happy playing games like Wii U Sports Club and the Sochi Olympic and Mario Kart 8, etc. Am I correct in understanding that the Switch cannot play these games right now but might be able to in the future?

Just looking at consoles, if I wanted to get a white one, they come in both 8GB and 32GB? For my use, would 8gb be ok? I would just need this storage if I wanted to download games and not use the discs?

@steph746

I know Japan had 32GB White models but was not aware anywhere else did. As far as I was aware, everywhere else was White, 8GB and Black, 32GB.

I got the Black one, and with 43 retail games, and 4 and a half years later, I have still not filled up the memory (only about 19-21GB I think).

I really wanted a White model all the way back in November 2012, but my wife insisted on the Black one so it matched the rest of the entertainment devices lol. I must admit, after everything I heard about the 8GB model and how ridiculously low the memory was, I was also put off.

Having said that, I am a technophobe, and had I known then what I know now about memory, hard drives etc, and about how easy it is to just pick up an 8GB model and pop in external memory, then I may have tried to persuade my wife that the White one was better lol.

Even then, 8GB is not a lot still, and you will lose about 3GB of that the moment you have everything set up because of all the updates it will have etc.

If you plan on buying physical games, I'd imagine you could fit about 6-10 games on the remaining 5GB (depending on how big the game is of course).

If you plan on buying the 8GB model and intend to purchase digital games instead of physical, then you will definitely, absolutely, positively, 100% need an external hard drive to go with the console. These are very cheap to pick up though as I am sure you are aware.