While it's easy to point out the range of multi-platform games not available on Wii U, it's equally simple to point to a reasonably-sized range of exclusives and download games that make the system a unique and fun option. That's only going to improve once September kicks off with Hyrule Warriors, with the rest of the year from that point bringing a consistent flow of retail games; the eShop is also sure to deliver some quality downloads.
Of course, we're in the middle of a dry summer of releases. In fact, if you're dealing in substantial retail titles, the last release that caused mainstream excitement for the Wii U was Mario Kart 8 on 30th May, though One Piece fans may point to One Piece Unlimited World Red as a late June / early July arrival; as for Wii Sports Club, it doesn't appear to have made much of a sales impact. This isn't a scenario that means there's nothing to play, however. That's where backlogs, the eShop and the Wii U's backward compatibility — unique in this generation of systems — come into play.
Keen to make the point, well-known Destructoid contributor Jonathan Holmes has kicked off a #wiiudroughtaid hashtag on Twitter; it's riffing on the constant references to games droughts over the summer months, with the initial pitch being to suggest Wii games to play on Wii U while we await the upcoming batch of new games. While plenty are doing just that — the Wii does have a fantastic library — others are pointing out a range of current-gen gems just waiting to be played and are, based on sales numbers, yet to be enjoyed by a lot of Wii U owners. That's a perspective we certainly support, and we're produced enough recommendation lists for retail and eShop games to suggest that there are excellent titles waiting to be played.
Do you feel this summer has been a tough game drought for Wii U, or do more gamers need to explore the library — retail and download / Virtual Console — more thoroughly to realise how many excellent options are available? Let us know what you think in the poll and comments below.
Do you think there's been a notable summer drought of Wii U games? (436 votes)
- Definitely, it's been a particularly dry spell
- There has been, but it's irrelevant due to the overall system library
- Hm, not quite sure
- Not really, especially when you consider eShop options
- Not at all, it's been a typical summer for the system
Please login to vote in this poll.
[source twitter.com]
Comments 146
not quite sure
About time someone spreads the obvious
Meh for me i haven't felt the drought, but i must say after mario kart 8 their is no huge wiiu release until september. And for some people that counts as a drought. But it's nintendo's fault third party game were suppose to fill in the gaps between wiiu releases, but they don't have them so what can people do.So yeah it was sort of a drought, but not for me though.
Play outside, it's summer! #WiiUDroughtAid
There are enough good games for any taste, both on Wii U and especially for Wii, that what is a drought of new software should be looked at as a chance to catch up on backlogs. There's a reason, after all, that "backlog" is a part of every gamer's vocabulary; I certainly have never heard film buffs, music lovers, or readers speak about what they have yet to get to in quite the same way.
I for one am excited that I'm not looking forward to much upcoming on 3DS, and that the number of games coming out for Wii U within the next year seems manageable enough that I might actually get to play them all, and spend enough time with them in doing so. I could never buy another game and it would be years before I ran out of new content.
Mario Kart 8-that is all I need...
There is a drought in all gaming in terms if innovation and creativity. As for games...no drought unless ur just graphic whore waiting for the next AAA game.
Only got my Wii U in June so I've been busy catching up with SM3DW, MK8 and DKCR, so I haven't been short of games to play.
@Ryno
Too right, it is summer for crying out loud. People raging about their consoles not offering enough new experiences during summer should be kicked out of their lazy-boys and into the sea (because it´s bloody marvelous in the sea during summer, not as a kind of penalty).
Eshop has kept things hopping. MK8 came out for summer. Just had Wii Sports Club be released, and let's be honest 80% of WiiU owners have no clue that is available digitally or that the Internet exists and that their system can in fact go on it and download games digitally.
"the rest of the year from that point bringing a consistent flow of retail games"
Whens that then? In Europe there are 3 first party games scheduled for the rest of the year. Summer droughts are more acceptable if the Autumn is packed with games but not this year.
Like, I don't mind. I have Mario Kart 8 online for the summer. As well as a smorgasbord of indie games like Guacamelee, Shovel Knight, Armillo, Scram Kitty, Ittle Dew & more. And by the time I'm done with it all Hyrule Warriors will be out.
Not to mention my 3DS has also provided me with plenty of entertainment. And in the coming months there'll be fun new games like Hyrule Warriors, Bayonetta 1 & 2, Super Smash Bros 3DS & Wii U, Sonic Boom, Skylanders Trap Team, LEGO Batman 3, Captain Toad, Harvest Moon, Pokemon Alpha & Omega, Fantasy Life, the list goes on.
The coming months is a tad lacking in big time releases but should it ultimately matter when you have a couple of games you haven't played/missed out here? The #WiiUDroughtAid just took the words outta my mouth.
As a full-time working husband and father, I appreciate these "droughts." No temptation to buy new games and a chance to catch up on the 10 or so you may have purchased earlier in the year .
I voted it's a typical summer for the system, but that's because summer is always abysmal for gaming.
I'm okay with this summer drought of retail games on Wii U, there's also a drought on Xbone and PS4 tough. The only game I've been playing since May 30ths has been MK8. Unfortunately, I don't have too much time for gaming anymore (being an adult sucks) so MK8 is my relaxing moment of the day after an stressful/crappy day at work and stuff.
I love how people ignore "game droughts" on other systems. I guess it's only a bad thing on Nintendo's platforms.
Anyway, thanks to a backlog of retail games and a slew of downloadable games, I have plenty to play on Wii U.
It's not really a problem, but this entire year has been a little empty. On the other hand, looking back at my older consoles, I rarely buy more than five games a year anyway.
@electrolite77 Exactly I got my Wii U on May 30th and really casually (Absolute Max 3 hrs a day less most of the time) played all of NSMBU / NSLU / Tropical Freeze / 3D World / Lost World already (A few weeks ago). Which is all the stuff I wanted to play the most that took most of the time the system has been out to be released.
I just bought my WiiU 2 months ago so there are still a lot of games to play. Actually, according to my WiiU I've been playing it for about 5 hours a day since I bought it, not bad
Aren't all the systems experiencing something of a drought right now?
The backwards compatibility on the Wii U is awesome. I just bought 7 bargain Wii games I'd wanted for a while. I can't say they're all great (they're bargain for a reason), but there are definitely some gems. Between Wii games I missed, Wii U games I haven't played yet, and eshop games, I have more than enough to play right now.
@Ryno too damn hot outside. Give me A/C and my gamepad!
@Jahir welcome to the party pal! The WiiU is so under appreciated.
Yeah, it's more of a system lifespan drought where there is occasional drizzles of content to get your hopes up that it will end. Most of us don't want to purchase games just because it was the only thing released in the past six weeks. It may become better when Nintendo at least gets up to a release a month like the normally do.
There are games on the system (I currently have around 60), but most of that are Virtual Console games, old used Wii Games, or cashing in coins. In fact, bargain bin Wii games and Club Nintendo rewards are what carried me for the first few months of my Wii U. At the same time I didn't buy the console to play SD games with waggle controls, that is what made me sell the Wii in the first place. And the best of the Wii games are all still horribly overpriced both new and used here in the States (Europe appears to have a more functional Nintendo Selects system).
To me, the eShop has saved any sort of drought for Wii U, I just got Armillo and few weeks ago, Guacamelee!
@midnafanboy Even if it was all about the 3rd parties even they are on summer vacation from the industry as a whole ie the last game was worth mentioning was Shovel Knight back in early June. It's August now and they're still no notable games released on any system.
I can only conclude that people want to buy games for the sake of buying them. I have combined 12 Wii and Wii U games that I need to finish, and an eShop wishlist of VC titles as long as my arm.
The only game I was really looking forward to was Captain Toad, and while it would have been great to play it while I was on leave, I still have plenty to keep me going until January.
Game droughts never really bother me. If anything I'm grateful for them (as I would imagine anyone with a backlog is). I mean, there's like 40 years of video game history to explore, there's always something to play. Plus nowadays you have lots of great indie stuff on the eShop (though admittedly I'm including the 3DS's here), or just replaying an old favorite. Everything moves so fast, I savour the slowness.
I complain a lot, but the eshop has been somewhat steady. There are 3 or 4 major retail releases the rest of the year. The eshop may have to carry them moving forward. I wonder if it will though. Nintendo spoke about n64 and ds games, and they have yet to appear. I'm hesitant to invest any more time and money if Nintendo plans to leave the Wii U bare. I've found myself looking hard at a PS4 namely for the sports games. And I'll likely pick one up in the near future. I wouldn't have too if Nintendo was devoted to their eshop or god forbid have a sporting division. Damn, I miss Ken Griffey baseball, and NBA courtside. 😞
Summer has always been a dead period when it comes to companies putting out new games. Which to be honest, I have never figured out why companies are so unwilling to put out new AAA games during the summer months. Schools are out, most of the major TV shows are on hiatus, MLB and MLS are the only major sports leagues that are playing and its so hot outside(it's over 100 degrees in Texas), you would think companies would be more willing to get their games out in the summer, especially since it lets them avoid a crowded Spring and Fall release window.
The only thing I can figure is that video game companies don't want to compete with the Summer Blockbusters which tend to draw in crowds.
Oh well, one positive is that I've been able to catch up on some of the games in my backlog!
Honestly though, Summer is the time of the year when I clear my backlog. So far I've cleared Far Cry 3, AC4, TLOU, Fire Emblem Awakening (on my 2nd play through on hard/classic now), COD ghost campaign, Pokemon Y, Megaman 4 and Starcraft 2 Campaign. I have 7 more games to go through....I'll probably leave it for next summer. Also I've been constantly playing multiplayer only games with no story such as Gundam extreme vs Full boost, Mario Kart 8, MH3U and Titanfall. So yeah my summer is pretty satisfying so far.
All this focus on the Wii U drought....not like other systems are also going through a drought period. Nope. Not at all....
Summer always being a drought time, last time I remember Buying a bigish title in the summer was Banjo Kazooie
Not to me. Bought my Wii U last month, so I'm playing a lot of games.
@Yorumi "deflecting from the problem doesn't really change the truth of the statement"
So in order to not 'deflect' from the problem, it's ok to single out a system? Cause from the rest of your comment, I'm sure you understand that this is a global problem. That is pretty much what I was trying to say. Talk about game droughts, but don't single out a single system unless it is only that system suffering from droughts, which is, as I'm sure we can all agree...not the case.
I've gone back and put effort into playing right handed Skyward Sword, and really enjoying it. I may even redouble down on Twilight Princess and Mario Galaxy.
I've tried to fill the gaps with AC4 and Sonic, but the truth of the matter is the Wii U has had 3 Nintendo quality games this year-DKTF, MK8, and Wii Sports (that barely anyone cares about), but that's still 3 more Nintendo quality games than the other 2 systems. I'm sure they're are loads of people who love The Last Of Us (again), but I'm guessing if you own a Wii U, you do so for Nintendo games (I have yet to see a game available now on the XBS4 I'm slightly interested in). 5 weeks until Hyrule, and 10 or so until Bayonetta, I should survive until then.
You can't deny that there is an on-going drought of original Wii U software. It's a fact.
There are still a handful of Wii U games in my backlog though, and a huge number of games in my Wii backlog. While the number of new games coming out is slim right now, I find claims that there is "nothing to play" on the system very difficult to believe.
(Also worth mentioning: I'm not seeing XBox One or PS4 release schedules that overwhelm me either. Do others feel the same way?)
It's getting a bit boring on the Wii U side. Had it not been for Mario Kart, I wonder if I would even be touching my Wii U.
As always, gaming droughts couldn't be hurt any by a stronger Virtual Console roster, Nintendo. My smartphone can emulate more classic consoles than my Wii U. That seems... wrong.
Well I got Xenoblade Chronicles over the summer - along with a bunch of other Wii classics - and am still having a good time with it... THANK GLOB FOR BACKWARDS COMPATIBILITY!
Plus Mario Kart 8! (When the update hits)
Last year there was a serious drought. This year, I did not really sense it. There are quality Indie games (Shovel Knight, Armillo, etc). Also, MK8 and Wii Sports were both released BEFORE the summer, and it helps a lot because people keep playing.
Waiting for the new Sonic, Bayonetta, and Captain Toad. Also want to buy Donkey Kong. My wallet...
@unrandomsam I probably spent 4 hours per day to play, still cannot finish the games... Windwaker and Pikmin 3 took me probably at least 60 hours each.
Just get Monster Hunter 3: Ultimate and play it forever.
If you've played most of the Wii games yes the drought is very noticeable.
"Summer" drought of Wii U games?
Lol.
Indie games don't count. If I wanted indie games I'd play them on my PC.
I haven't played my Wii U for a while. As soon as that MK update hits, I'm jumping right back in.
Funny this topic just came up. Just yesterday I went to my local GameStop to pick up some used Wii games. I ended up getting Metroid Prime Trilogy, Metroid Other M, Data East Arcade Collection, and Metal Slug Anthology #wiiudroughtaid
@DarkKirby Yeah, if I wanted Scram Kitty I'd buy it for my... wait, it's only on WiiU
The retail drought is very real, although some of the recent indies (like Shovel Knight and Guacamelee) are as good as almost any AAA game out there in my opinion. Even those have kinda stopped coming, though; the next big e-Shop release I'm looking forward to is Costume Quest 2, and that's slated for a late-October release.
As for Wii titles, I just came to a point where I can't stand waggle controls. It's hard to justify even going into the trouble of charging up batteries for my Wiimotes anymore. I'd be all over my Wii backlog if I was just able to play them with a traditional control method, and using the Gamepad or Pro Controller or any auto-rechargeable joystick at all.
I love my Wii U to death, but there is no denying that the drought is hitting hard.
@Yorumi...but how many quality exclusives will the other consoles get a year in? The only noticeable game that comes to mind is Destiny...which is a multiplat. Of course you could say that multiplats are important, and they are....but still.
A Wii U game drought? You must be kidding, next time ya'll are gonna tell me the sky is blue, or 4 quarters equal a whole dollar! Completely impossible.
@darkgamer001 Which lineup sounds better to you for August?
Wii U: Jett Tailfin, Shut the Box, Gaiabreaker, SteamWorld Dig
PS4: The Swapper, Road Not Taken, Hohokum, Diablo III, Plants vs Zombies: Garden Warfare, The Golf Club, Infamous First Light, Madden NFL 15, Metro 2033 Redux, Metro: Last Light Redux
Edit: Here's the Xbox One lineup: Diablo III, Madden NFL 15, Metro 2033, Metro: Last Light Redux, and I would almost guarantee four Arcade games that just haven't been announced by Major Nelson.
@Darknyht Well ok let's look at August and not the rest of the year...
@darkgamer001 I'll bite. September.
Xbox One: Warriors Orochi 3, Destiny, Dance Central Spotlight, NHL 15, Disney Infinity 2.0, FIFA 15, Shadow Warrior, Forza Horizon 2, Mad Max, Middle-Earth: Shadow of Mordor, Sherlock Holmes: Crimes & Punishments
PS4: Destiny, FIFA 15, Sherlock Holmes: Crimes & Punishments, Middle-Earth: Shadow of Mordor, Shadow Warrior, Disney Infinity 2.0
Wii U: Citizens of Earth, Disney Infinity 2.0, Hyrule Warriors.
(BTW, you won't win. Wii U will stay behind PS4 and XBO from this point forward because they have Third Party support and Nintendo does not. I am not saying that it is a bad system or you cannot enjoy the system, but it will always be starved for Triple A content compared to the other two. And the drought that has been there since the launch will continue until the system is replaced when lined up against the other two.)
There's been a definite drought since May when MK8 came out. I fear the flood of games coming starting end of September I'm definitely going to have to miss out on a couple of titles I was originally planning to day 1 due to the onslaught. Nintendo cluttered the fall schedule and hopefully not to their detriment.
"Backward compatibility adds to a solid Wii U library"
Sorry, this subheader just irks me. You should need to justify a lot to play by using backwards capability. Yeah. it is a great feature to use but if one you focus on is backwards capability then... well, why not just buy a Wii? Backwards capability should never be counted as the Wii U library as people don't buy the Wii U for the old games, they buy it for the new ones and the features. If they wanted only old games, they'd get the old cheaper system.
I bought my WiiU in early May, along with every retail and eshop game that I have interest in. That is a LOT of games. I'll be busy for at least a couple years.
The summer drought is not a Nintendo problem. EVERY console is barren during these months. But this gives me a chance to catch up on my backlog so I don't care. Everyone has a backlog and for those who claim they don't (LIARS!), there are plenty of great games you probably overlooked.
The word trending gets a whole new meaning here.
The Wii U isn't just having a summer drought; it's been this way more or less since the day the system launched. The Wii U is sorely lacking in retail games that are original, as evidenced by the number of remakes/HD upgrades that are ever-present on the system.
Fortunately 2015 is looking to be a better year for the console.
@Darknyht Woah wait third party not supporting the wiiu?Where were you living under a rock?Everyone knows the wiiu does not have third party support stop using it as argument.People who bought the wiiu bought it for nintendo games not for triple AAA games, some fans thing different though. And BTW if the Xbox one and PS4 did not have those third party games they would be finished. One more thing "(BTW, you won't win." Really, how old are you? And don't answer the question cause i don't care.But grow up man you don't have to say the "wiiu will stay behind the box one and the PS4", cause that's just a insult to the system.
@SanderEvers By 'remakes' I was more referring to numerous amount of games which are 'upgraded' (although in a lot of cases they're actually downgraded) versions of games already available on the PS360, such as Deux Ex Human Revolution, Darksiders 2, Batman Arkham Origins etc~
and I never mentioned the current PS4/Xbox One libraries being any better, lol. That's what makes the lack of original games on the Wii U so much worse.
@Darknyht
Wii U from now till the end of the year - Hyrule Warriors, Sonic Boom, Smash, Captain Toad and Bayonetta 2 and that's just for notable retail exclusives. Quality > Quantity, right?
Want to talk about drought? How about my ps4... Only game I purchased for it was infamous second son. The only reason I bought a ps4 because my coworker was selling it to me for $300 with an extra controller and two games, Madden & CoD: Ghost.
it has been a slow summer for the Wii U, but the fans shouldn't feel bad considering all the great games already released and coming soon to the system I would say the worst drought is the PS4....I really can't figure out why people want that system
There has not been much in the way of retail released for Wii U during the summer, but to be fair the same could be said for all the other systems as well. There has been quite a few cool eShop releases though, and there's a lot of great looking things coming in the next couple of months.
I'm always looking for new games on the eShop and I honestly think I own most of the good ones at least, lol.
I can't wait for the CoL sale later on this week and then maybe next week i'll be able to download something worth my time, apart from VC.
Part of the reason I even bought a Wii U on launch was because of backwards compatibility, thanks to that the droughts that the system has can be played through with Wii games I haven't played yet. The only reason i've yet to pick up the other current-gen systems is because they don't offer it and there's currently not enough to justify a purchase.
Definitely the drought before the storm. This is and has been a terrible summer, but it will be worth it once fall comes all the way through the end of 2015.
@Ryno "Hahaha! Agreed!" XD
@Ryno You mean on a 3ds, right?
I do feel it has been a noticable drought as the only reason I'm not mainly playing Gamecube games again is thanks to the Nintendo Life tournaments for Mario Kart 8, especially the ones over the next 4 weeks. The lineup from the middle of September 2014 onwards is looking fantastic (though Smash is kind of burnt out for me outside of the Gamecube adapter and controller) so the wait is likely worth it.
I do think the other consoles are in a worse position game wise as they have to make HD remakes to get their last gen games playable on current gen (but of course will continue to sell better due to CoD Advanced Warfare, Destiny and Halo Master Chief Collection).
If you're like me- you buy games on release date and they're good so you play the life outta them then yeah you occasionally end up waiting a while.
If you're like me- you buy games on release date and they're good so you play the life outta them then yeah you occasionally end up waiting a while.
This always give me time to catch up on my backlog so it never really bothers me. I just start playing Batman Arkham City: AE a few days ago. Got it since launch, never played it till now. So far I put in 60+ hours into it and I'm only at 59% and I haven't even play new game+.
Makes me wonder if the "gamers" who complains about droughts really play games to the fullest, play part way then move to the next, or just talks about games.
If @2Sang is being positive about Wii U, that almost scares me...
@Darknyht : See that August schedule? The fact that the Wii U doesn't have Madden is death. Yearly sports games drives consoles.
I don't see a drought as I'm surrounded by water on a 'Tomodachi' island.
@SanderEvers They are not original they are basically all sequels or remakes.
Original is stuff like Kid Icarus: Uprising and there is hardly any of it.
OH COME FRIGGING ON!!! THERE HASN'T BEEN A BIG NEW 3DS GAME SINCE SIESTA FIESTA!!!
So many games in this world. So many. Why waste text on this?
If any Nintendo system is having a drought, it's the 3DS. I've bought precisely two games for it in 2014: Fallblox and Squids Odyssey, only one of which was actually released this year.
This hashtag smells like MS and sony viral markets. yes there's a shortage of wii u games but also for the xbone and the PS4. Let's face, this was a very mediocre year for those two consoles.
@hydeks Yeah my ps4 is coated in dust! So much so that I'm gonna need a shovel to dig it out...maybe I've been playing too much Shovel Knight...
@Blaze Tomb Raider Definitive Edition, TLOU Remastered, Sleeping Dogs Definitive Edition, RE REmake remake for crying out loud. The Wii U suffered from a year full of last gen ports just like the ps4 is getting its share of them in its first year.
I agree next year looks like a great year to be a gamer on any console.
@darkgamer001
It's a Nintendo site. The focus will be on Nintendo machines and their never ending we-promise-there-won't-be-another-drought-we-really-mean-it-this-time-oh-look-it's-happened-again droughts.
@SanderEvers
Are we pretending the likes of Game and Wario and Wii U Party don't exist? Or NES remix, Dr.Luigi,that terrible Pokemon eshop game?
@SanderEvers
"Nintendo has never released this many games in this period of time for any of their consoles"
Apart from the Wii, Gamecube, DS, N64 etc etc....
If there was no game drought, there would be no need to create a twitter campaign telling people there was not one...
@electrolite77 NES Remix was good for me. Had the essence of what I want from a game. Not knowing what I am doing at all at the start. Getting better by practice. Loads of variety. Game and Wario I suspect I will like as well. (It is also dirt cheap).
Wii Party U comes with a free wiimote (At less than the price of a wiimote seperate) so cannot really expect much from it.
Dr Luigi / The match 3 Pokemon are terrible though.
@Daisaku36 2Sang is just happy SSB4 is coming soon.
@Daisaku36 I was very impressed with e3. They need to be consistent, but it's a great start. And better late than never.
I'm convinced they will break at least 20 million units in its lifetime, but it's certainly no wii. I don't know if it will break the gamecube sales, but that'll probably depend on how successful the amiibo craze is. If they can copy skylanders' success, they might even break 30 million units in its lifetime, but I'm skeptical about its success due to there already being disney and skylander figures out there. Especially disney will cut into amiibo's success.
That said, I'll be picking up at least a dozen figures simply becacuse they look high quality.
Sorry, but virtual console games and indie releases do not make up for the almost complete lack of third party support.
The Wii U has had virtually no new sports games since late 2012....let that sink in for a bit.
@sub12 Let this sink in, did you honestly expect third party on wiiu?If you did then that's hilarious.
@Kroisos
Not really, if you love platformers then sure, but the Wii U doesn't have much else for most other genres. While I certainly agree on the backlog, its nothing more than a band-aid solution to an over-all problem.
Not only does the backlog or even the another console argument raise the question of why should people get a Wii U at all, but this drought shows just how long it takes to get games out and build up a good selection in this day and age. Especially when you don't have a whole lot of 3rd-parties backing you up.
@midnafanboy
Yeah, remember before the Wii U was launched?......Reggie swore Nintendo was serious this time, all of those great multi-plats we had missed out on during the Wii years, they would be on the Wii U now......with your favorite Big N titles.
It was going to be different this time, etc. etc.
heck, I'm glad there has been a dry spell so to speak. I've been catching up like crazy and there are even some games I haven't gotten as a result, such as shovel knight, guacamelee, and more.
@midnafanboy Go back to E3 2011 and 2012 and Nintendo made it sound as if third parties would be a core part of the Wii U experience.
@sub12 Yeah i remember that it was sad, i'm not even playing i believed him. And when next generation comes they are going to say the same thing."Were going to bring back the third party"who is going to believe them? Is their fault not the fans.
@Jazzer94 Like i said right now i know, they had a whole video of themseleves talking about third parties coming back.And look what happen one year in release of the wiiu and their all gone,and it makes even more sad that the third party developers were praising the system and they didn't even release a single game for it.
Just gotta wait it out... then comes the real fun.
It's true that they stressed third party support @jazzer94
They should've made a few mario sports titles at least to fill the void.
@2Sang They should of had a Strikers game ready to coincide with the World Cup.
Hmm, I'm grateful for the slow down of game releases...gives me time to work on my backlog. I've got about 7 WiiU games I need to work on as well. Besides the drought ends next month (this month for me since I'm getting layton vs aa and tales of xillia 2) anyway. Once HW, then Bayo, then Smash come out I'm going to be crying over my lack of money and free time.
Saving up to get a JPN Wii U for christmas anyway. I can resist Taiko no Tatsujin no longer!!!
@Jazzer94 They should have kept the other 3/4 of Retro they got rid of. (It was set up to make 4 games at once one which was a sports game).
@Jazzer94
Agreed. I totally respect that Nintendo can't spread themselves too thin and realistically they should not be expected to hold up the system by themselves but I would love for Nintendo to really work the sports franchises. Waverace, and 1080 alone would keep me happy for some time. I would love to seen Nintendo's take on American football though. Would it dethrone Madden? No, but it would be fun.
To be honest when Pikachu got nominated as the mascot for the Japanese team for World cup I expected a pokemon World Cup game to come out.
@electrolite77
Don't forget about Watch Dogs, Sonic Boom, the Skylanders/Disney stuff, and my money says Wii U will see Advanced Warfare on Nov 3rd. Project Cars and Fast Racing Neo delays (I'm assuming Fast Racing Neo isn't coming this yr, though it might) have definitely taken their toll, but with Hyrule Warriors, Bayonetta 1, Bayonetta 2, Smash Bros and Captain Toad also on the way, it's not looking too shabby. Oh, y'all gotta wait a month for Capt Toad in EU don't you? We'll ya that sucks. Least it's only a 30 day delay or whatever though
Some people are actually posting good game recommendations under this hashtag, but unfortunately they get bogged down in a stream of fanboy tweets.
/Shrug
This game drought on Wii U is NOT affecting me AT ALL! For me, it's a good thing because I get to catch up on Wii U games that I've not had the chance to play them yet! Due to exams at school and other things in life
@midnafanboy What third party games were released this summer? Please refresh my memory/
@JaxonH Watchdogs is never coming. Ubisoft cant make the game with out a hefty system install. Nintendo will not allow that.
The reason there is little third party support is the size of the wii u standard Hard drive.. Nothing to do with power. Devs complain it is difficult because they have to port the game to play off the disk. Most western Devs cant do that. They just did not make the games that way and they dont have the skill to change them. I would even say that this is the reason Project cars got delayed. Nintendo said to the devs you cant install 20gb on our hard drives make the game another way.
@ben-
Eh em, when Watch Dogs releases this fall I'm gonna be waiting for your response. I have it pre ordered so I'll send you a screenshot when it arrives
Third-party support has nothing to do with power or HDD size. Most fans don't buy digital anyways. It has to do with sales, it's as simple as that. The games don't sell well enough. 360 launched with a 4 GB hard drive. PS3 is currently selling a 12 GB model. And the PS4 and X1 fill up faster buying physical than Wii U fills up buying digital (I own all 3 consoles, trust me on this). When games that sell millions of copies on other platforms can't manage to spread more than 90k on Nintendo platforms, obviously support isn't going to last that long.
Actually @ben Ubi did a reasonably big install with AC4 being something like 1.1gb. I was reading an article about AC4 on WiiU and devs said WiiU presented many technical challenges and I suspect it was related to no HD. The did pull it off great with AC4 which has snapy load times ans gave me hope for WD.
@ben- I never said third party games were released this summer for the wiiu,i said third party's were suppose to fill the gaps between wiiu releases.I don't know where you got that from.
@ben- And refresh my memory, when did anybody said watch dogs will not come to the wiiu? Like @JaxonH said is coming this fall,while he sends you a screenshot of the game.I will personally send you a picture of me holding the game in my hands, is that alright with you old sport?
Every time people complain about "droughts" I'm always thinking, do you guys not have other games you haven't completed? I certainly got a lot, don't get me started with VC games.
The drought has been long and its not ending soon. This is what happens without third party support, Nintendo just can't produce enough games to keep the Wii U and 3DS schedule full all year round.
@unrandomsam
I was just replying to the poster who says everything Nintendo has done on the Wii U is worth at least 8/10
I honestly don't know how one cannot find something they won't like or something new on Wii U. The Wii U library, eshop, Wii library, and VC that contains games for NES, SNES, GBA on Wii U and extend that with Wii VC and the 10 platforms on there and the drought can be waded through.
@JaxonH
That's a poor line up really. Watch Dogs and the first Bayonetta are ports from other systems, the likes of which are causing such criticism on all formats. Sonic has a fair chance of being dreadful as it's a Sonic game post-1994. That leaves four new games, one of which has (insultingly) been delayed in Europe. It's great that 2015 looks so promising but Nintendo really needed to push on after Mario Kart. Instead we've got one of the most barren holiday release schedules ever, reminiscent of the late N64 era (not the N64's prime years as despite being regarded as a machine lacking quantity of software it never endured such a quiet holiday season in 96-99).
I don't think the summer drought is that big a deal apart from squandering the MK8 momentum but the rest of the year isn't, IMHO, going to make up for it. Nintendo need to do a lot better.
@unrandomsam @electrolite77 @SanderEvers I tried Game and Wario... It is dreadful... They have minigames like "draw a line with 2 inch on the gamepad" and "draw a circle with the diameter of 4 inch"... There are couple of good games there, but each of them is too short to sustain your interest.
@Haywired
So true. How can one say that Wii U has a drought when you have Monster Hunter to play, forever and ever! Or atleast pretty close to it!
@electrolite77 Eh, I'm happy. Sonic will surely be trash, but Watch Dogs and Bayonetta? Pure gold, ports or not. I skipped WD on PS4 and again on X1 to wait for Wii U version. If your gonna buy a game, get it on the system you want, right? Bayonetta is a bonus anyways, it's the new one I'm really amped for. But, I'm also excited for the 1st. I never played it, and I think most Nintendo fans haven't played it either. It's definitely going to be the most desirable version, that's for sure. But even if it wasn't, it's still Bayonetta, a critically acclaimed game, coming to Wii U with Nintendo outfits, off TV play, the works. I got no complaints.
Finish up Last of Us Remastered, jump into some Metro Redux, then Hyrule Warriors, then Smash Bros 3D, then Bayonetta 2, THEN the 1st (gotta play the new one first), then some Watch Dogs, finish up in time for Sunset Overdrive and Halo Masterchief, slide right into some Smash Bros U and Captain Toad, then finish the year out with a little Dragon Age Inquisition, Lords of the Fallen and Far Cry 4, oh, and Call of Duty Advanced Warfare, hopefully on Wii U (I like my single player campaigns, what can I say?)
And if there's time, some Fantasy Life, Persona Q and Freedom Wars. Got my gaming year all planned out!
There has been a dry spell, but given the fact that it is fully backwards-compatible with the Wii's library, you should always have something to buy and play.
I own almost every 1st party and AAA game for the system....I have cash to spend....but now I can't cause it seems I have own them all already. Compared to other systems, yes, it's dry. I also played the heck out of the Wii so I can't reply games. I wish Nintendo would have used that famous war chest, accumulated during the DS-Wii times, to create more games, or pay 3rd parties to port their. There are tons of games released in other consoles that could have been made for the WiiU. Deus Ex WiiU was the best version and uses the gamepad nicely, I wonder why Nintendo couldn't work with Rockstar, or Blizzards, and pay to bring their games to the WiiU.
This is why I get pissed that the wii u vc is so slow....it would help if they pumped out 3-5 games a week being that retail is dormant.
Can't hurt!
@JaxonH That's what I'm talking about. Destiny, Smash Bros 3ds, Freedom Wars, and Persona Q alone are going to keep me busy for a long while.
@JaxonH All those games? Now that's a great year for a gamer.i'm not wasting money on anything else than my wiiu and 3ds.Cause i don't have the cash to buy everything for all the consoles that i own,maybe someday i will.
Meanwhile there are a half a dozen WiiU games that came out last year that I still absolutely want to play but can't because I have no money.
I have a bad habit of starting games but not finishing them. I have a huge list of games I've started but never finished, and that even includes classics like Super Metroid, Majoras Mask, Earthbound, and Link to the Past that I missed out on when I was growing up. While I'm not particularly a fan of the game drought, it does give me a chance to work on finishing those games. My backlog spans wayyyy back!
@FlaygletheBagel I'm in the exact same boat. Wayyyy too many unfinished & even unstarted games.
There aren't that many games coming out this summer, but I can at least use this to play games I haven't played in a while until Hyrule Warriors comes out.
Its funny because these are the people who complain about it being cold in the winter and want it to be warm.
I won't deny there are plenty of good titles to play on the Wii U, but it does depend on 3 main caveats;
1) You don't / never owned a Wii (I like to play my games on their original consoles unless they offer an improvement like the original PS3's up scaling of PS2 games).
2) You have a liking of smaller indie games, something I've found an uphill struggle. Good for short bursts but difficult to get truly invested in them (that's probably just me).
3) Waiting for digital discounts (I practically never buy digital games full price as I always find it tough to convince myself to pay for something non-physical).
So yeah, that's just me. That and I'm a huge JRPG fan and the Wii U still lacks these (for the time being, Monolithsoft don't fail me now!)
The backwards compatability doesn't help me much personally considering I don't want anything to do with motion controls, and there are very few wii games that have full pro-controller support. Backwards compatability is nice for those who want it, but 'new' games are the reason why you invest in a new console..
That being said, i'm resigned to the fact that Nintendo consoles are essentially for Nintendo published 'games'. I don't really care about the droughts, just so long as what they eventually put out is of the highest standard. So far, Nintendo's 1st party efforts for the wii u have generally been of a very high standard...they're games you'll go back to in 3-5 years time, and y'know they'll still be great.
@JaxonH
It's a good list but a lot of them aren't on Wii U and a couple are ports. Not to mention the Captain Toad delay if you're in Europe (seriously annoyed me, after 20+ years of that carp from Nintendo I thought we were getting passed that). I won't have a problem myself as I've invested in a PS4 myself but denying the Wii U drought because other consoles are getting more new games is as inaccurate as saying it's OK because you can play 6-year-old Wii games. Hopefully next year will be better
@JaxonH Watch Dogs is fools gold if it is any type of gold at all.
Bayonetta I hope is technically much better than 360 version. (It is a bit better fully installed to the HDD but it is still isn't perfect.)
If you are going to get something then get it on the best system that you can. Don't see the point in ever not playing the best version there is.
@midnafanboy @darkgamer001 The Wii U library will be primarily filled with Nintendo Exclusives, paid for exclusives by Nintendo to third parties, and family friendly titles. The rate this can happen will be slow and limited. It is gotten bad enough on Nintendo's side of the equation they are releasing eShop games as retail titles to fill space on store shelves. That is reality. Claiming there is no long term software drought or arguing that Sony and Microsoft's freshman blues will continue is dishonest.
Nintendo needs games. It needs to have representation in stores in order to entice consoles sales so that it gets better outside support for the console. I prefer quality over quantity, but Nintendo's bigger problem is that there isn't enough quantity to keep a display case filled at a store. That is part of the reason Wii Sports Club and NES Remix are getting retail releases. When two years into your system it still takes looking back 9 months to get eight "New Releases" on your website you have a quantity problem no matter your quality. By the end of the year, Microsoft and Sony will have solved that problem but two years into their system Nintendo is still battling it.
@droe2001 Lol dude, relax. We all know the drought is on all consoles, but that still doesn't change the situation for the Wii U. Plus, it's expected for the other consoles to be lacking games when they literally just came out. Last time I checked, the PS3 started off slow as well with the games, correct? Look at it now. Same with the 360. The reason why the Wii U drought is catching attention is because it has been like two years now, and they suffer from barely releasing anything. I'm pretty sure the Wii U will get a lot more games in the future (hopefully) but dragging the other consoles in the mud won't make the situation any better.
@FX102A Try Armillo and Pushmo World. Those 2 digital games are worth their weight in gold, and then some
@midnafanboy I start early. I preorder as the games are announced and pay them off well in advance. Though I will admit, I'm considering canceling several of my preorders like Assassins Creed Unity, Shadow of Mordor and Natural Doctrine. Fact is those games are low on my priority list, and by the time I even open them the games will probably have dropped in price to $15 or $20
@electrolite77 Delays happen. I don't think we'll ever see a day anyone gets past that. And, more delays will come next year too. You already know. Until a definitive date is set, I consider all release dates tentative on Nintendo platforms. Usually Nintendo's pretty good about not delaying games once they have a set date though, I will give them that. It still happens sometimes but not often. Can't say the same about 3rd party games though. They'll tell you a date and everything then wait a month or 2 from release to tell you it's delayed.
Man I was pissed. They said Witcher 3 was releasing Oct 14- so I'm like awesome, rock on. Then they announce the Witcher 3 is delayed until 2015, but that Batman Arkham Knight will release on Oct 14. So I'm like well, that sucks but at least I'm still getting a good game on October 14 one way or another. Ya, then they delay that game as well lol...
Now I'm like, just let me know when the game is a week from release. THEN I'll start getting excited.
@unrandomsam I'm fairly excited for Watch_Dogs. It reviewed well, and I've watched some gameplay footage so I know what I'm getting. Not sure what you meant by fools gold. I don't think anyone believes it's GotY, but it's still a really decent AAA game coming to Wii U, late or not.
@JaxonH
All fair points sir, and I certainly agree that it'd be great if games just got announced a couple of months before they were definitely being released. I remember back in the 90's only finding out about new games when they were being reviewed in a magazine! Where I stand by my criticism of Nintendo with Captain Toad is it's been delayed solely by their own choice. It's not that the game won't be finished, they just decided we could wait. It's ludicrous given that out of the 3 platforms they most need games to be on the shelves given the scarcity of releases. Also, they've been doing this for over 20 years now, it's getting tiresome. One day I'll give up....
@electrolite77 Yeah I know right! Used to find out about games months after they released in fact lol.
Yeah, we know they delayed the game so there wouldn't be a gap in early 2015. Sucks but I do understand that they're losing money right now and can only crank out so many games per year. I just like playing their games. I'm a patient man with a hundred game backlog, so I just go with the flow. It can be frustrating for sure, but I'll take a late game over no game any day.
That goes for anything with me. I waited 7 YEARS for the band Evanescence to get back together and put out another hit album as good as Fallen (after Ben Moody left the music was crap). In 2010, all original members had left and formed a new group, We Are the Fallen. And their album,a Tear the World Down, was bliss. Every bit as good as Fallen. But it sold 40k and they were dropped by the record label. Going on 5 years now, still waiting for the next. Who knows if/when it'll ever come?
Good things come to those who wait, right?
the WiiU library has grown extensibly providing games for all ages not just the mature audience I applaud you Nintendo for the WiiU
Tap here to load 146 comments
Leave A Comment
Hold on there, you need to login to post a comment...