On the surface, this doesn't seem like to big of deal. I'd like to say before this post that I am a huge Nintendo fan. I try to give them the benefit of the doubt most of the time, but this is typical of them and the place they have been for the better part of two years.

No one Andi mean no one abandons a system faster than Nintendo. For the most pas once the Wii U was announced they have done nothing to support the system. This is just them saying. It's over.

Well, you may talk all you want about not wanting to buy figurines, but Nintendo will bring either cards or figurines to the Wii U. Skylanders has done to well for them not to. I know there are other applications for NFC, but they have to find a way to monetize it. They need sales of systems, and a Pokemon NFC based games would sell systems maybe without having to lower the price of it.

This could be the saving grace or boost the system needs. NFC with Pokemon figures would be a game that would sell systems. It would set them up for years to comes as well considering how many of them there are. Can you imagine bringing main Pokemon game play to the console market with little toys? The pocket book for most parents would be in trouble.

I hate to steal thunder from Warren Spector, but this looks like an ideal game for Ducktales. I want GizmoDuck. I think the toy box idea is great, but I hope there is some substance to the adventure side of things. For $35.00, I do not think that is a whole lot to ask for.

I am looking forward to Infinity, but I can echo a lot of people's comments on here. Cars has had its share of games. This is not on the top of my list at the moment especially at $35. I, too, would rather see something from the Disney library as opposed to Pixar.

I think Disney will need to revisit the pricing structure as well. $12.99 for individuals is a rough price point. I am hoping as with Skylanders there will be a good deal of "Buy one get one half" and so on. I guess I should hold final judgement to the end, but that seems fairly steep.

Well, I happen to love Skylanders. I guess a lot of that has to do with the fact it has really gotten my kids interested in video games. It is something we like to do together so sentimental valus maybe the reason I like it so much.At first Swap Force worried me, but I think it is going to be okay.

I have to admit Disney Infinity at first was the game I was really looking forward to. I like the idea of sculpting the figures to look the same. Toy Box maode looks great, but I am a little worried about the story mode, and it looks to be coming in at a higher price than Skylanders.

I am sure that the two can coexist, but there are further talks that Nintendo will have something prepared with NFC by the end of the year. The toys-to-life market could get pretty crowded if this is the case. I guess only time will tell.

Well, I don't doubt the game is a train wreck, but the person who posted this doesn't seem to be very credible. What can you expect? This game was hampered with developement issues. Generally speaking, when it takes a game this long to come out, it is never really a good sign.

I am actually a parent of two children in the age range mentioned. I will concur with most on here that Nintendo is definitely the way to go for this age range. Unfortunately, the price range of the Wii U does not warrant me purchasing this system, yet. In a perfect world, I would own all of the systems available. Unfortunately, I will most likely just buy one of the next gen systems. I will know a little more about what to purchase in the coming weeks if the Sony announcement is indeed the PS4.

The Wii has enough games to keep my two children busy for years to come. I will agree with a few of you. At the moment, there just are not enough games available that I care to play to make me want to run out and buy the Wii U. Considering issues people have had with the downloadable content being tied to the system, the digital discount is not very intriguing either. That said, the ZombiU bundle does have me interested...decisions, decisions.

No offense, nut it really is not much of a goodwill gesture to give out a demo to a game that will not be available for another six months.

You know he has something up his sleeve. They mention HD and about how they really wanted to do something different with it. In a year or two, Wii U is here. They have something in mind. We may not here about it for another year, but they are working on something.

@Blue_Yoshi I can agree with this, and it is one of the reasons, I do not think that there is direct competition between Nintendo and PS360. A Nintendo will sell just because of the first party titles. I am more likely to by a Nintendo System for the sole purpose of playing Zelda, Mario, Pikmin, etc, than I am to buy a XBox for the sole purpose of playing Halo or Gears of War.

I think a lot of that has to do with the experience that you get from a Nintendo game. There is innovation. I don't find that with the other guys.

I'll just start out by saying I was a huge sports franchise fan especially in the area of football (American football that is). In recent years however, that has changed. I know I am in the minority on this most likely, but EA Sports certainly doesn't do anything for me anymore. In fact, I was not real pleased with NCAA 2013. It is just not worth the $60 to get it every year. I played one season through and I was done.

I know that EA has been putting out some pretty decent series from some of their subsidiaries like Bioware. SO, it is a little disappointing to hear that they have backtracked with Nintendo. There is most likely some things we will not see, but I think I can live with it.

The fact of the matter is that any third party will be playing second fiddle on a Nintendo system. Nintendo's first party stuff is just so much better. A lot of that stems from they know what there systems can do, and some not all of the third party developers don't care to learn. EA likes to be the big dog, and they will never be that on a system Nintendo puts out.

The deal is if Nintendo is doomed the same can be said for the other guys. This will be a crucial year for gaming in general. We have these android based systems on the way like Gamestick and Ouya, and we have Sony and Microsoft introducing their respective systems. I think by years end we will have an idea of what the future of gaming will look like.

Personally, I think Nintendo falls somewherein the middle of the two platforms. Their performance will depend on a couple of factors. First, the first party games will be a big deal. Naturally, most of those will do well. Unfortunately, it will likely come at the expense of the third party developers. $60 is a lot of money to pay for a game.

Secondly, I think Nintendo may need to embrace a new strategy for their eShop go to market that is similar to Apple and Android. Full retail releases online is great and ambitious, but if you couple that with these games that have smaller transaction costs, there could be a bit of a boom for them. I know there are a few games like this on eShop, but there could be so many more.

It will certainly be an interesting year, but one thing is for sure, gaming is here to stay. In what form will be the ultimate question.

I think this is a well written article, and most all of your points are valid. I have to say I have been more back and forth on this system than any other I have thought of purchasing. The price is a question mark for me, but when I looked at the list of launch games I thought I had to have there just was not that many.

Plus, I thought Nintendo did not do a real good job advertising to the masses. They waited way too long to try to get people excited, and since the launch, I have sen very little in advertising to the masses. I think the initial launch probably could have been handled better.

As a parent, I really only have a place in my house for one new home console, and the next six will go a long way for me on deciding which next gen to purchase.

This seems to be a pretty ambitious title. I will of course be picking it up, but if they can do what they say they want to do, it will be amazing. I know that XBox and PS3 are shown, but this late in their life cycle will they make it on there. This may be one of the deciding factors in which next gen system I purchase.

Well, I bought the first version, and I thought with the exception of the camera system and an occassional quest it was pretty good. I do think it was a mistake going on every platform. It most likely should have stayed exclusive. Nintendo would have been more likely to stand behind it. I will pick it up eventually.

I actually just finished the 3DS Power of Illusion, and I thought it was a pretty good platformer. If you ignore the side quests, it can be beat in about six hours so that may be a turn off for some, but I thought it was a pretty good game.

The first one was a pretty fun game. It wasn't real long, but for what they were working with it came out good.

Personally, I would have loved to see the Rocketeer. The original on the NES was a fun albeit hard platformer. The SNES version left little to be desired, but the character and story as a whole holds up real well.

There is a whole lot of potential here. I'm certainly interested in this.

As we all assumed, this is the reason Metro last light is not coming to the Wii U. It may not be going anywhere for a while.

We are just going to have to face it. With the vast majority of "gaming" sites, Nintendo will not catch a break. They will be judged more harshly than any other company. I really didn't by into that until the end of the Wii generation and the start of the Wii U. For the life of me, I do not understand why.

THQ most likely did not have the resources to fund it. I am worried about what the future hold for their upcoming games. If they do not have financial success with their upcoming titles, they may not be around in 2014.

Most of the time I let it download overnight anyways.

Just look at him everyone. He probably has no real idea about video games period.

This one is up around the top of my list for eShop games.

Actually, that is not a half bad idea. One, it will introduce their product to new gamers, and neither of their competitors are going after this market. It doesn't make since for us, but in a situation such as the one explained, I can see it making sense.

I haven't played it, but I spoke with a guy who has all the systems. He told me that this was by far the best version of Batman.

I'd almost get it just for the Wii Remote and Nunchuck.

@Tsuchiya I have to agree with you on this. Microsoft and Sony can not afford to step out on a limb with there next console. Microsoft stock is hovering around its 52 week low, and Sony had a horrible year last year despite the success of the PS3. Nintendo can get creative with their system because they are cash rich right now. The new technology is way to expensive at the moment, and I can't see that changing before the end of next year when the new systems are supposed to hit.

should be okay for me since this will not be opened until Christmas

I think Nintendo did right going with external hard drives. I think the Wii would have had extra life in it if they had done this. I am not too worried about it. I have not decided yet on going download only. People talk about the PS3, but it is not without its drawbacks. I may in the minority, but I never once had to restart a Nintendo game because it froze, but I can't say that about the PS3.

I love Nintendo, but the details need to be shared. I would have thought we would be getting more information than we could begin to digest. I don't understand the secrecy at this point.

There are a ton of Wii games I still have to get through, and this will allow me to do it all on one system. Of course, I will keep the Wii because I got rid of the Gamecube...and I still have a ton of great Gamecube games I still have to get through. Is it me, or do I see a pattern developing.

Just saw Super Mario Bros. U on the front side of Wreck It Ralph.

I am excited about the Wii U, but I have to admit I am disappointed with the handling of information. We are at three weeks until release. There are a ton of questions still unanswered. There has been very limited commercial exposure, and last weeks Nintendo Direct focus is on 3DS. I would think we would start seeing a pretty steady stream of what to expect.

I remember to this day in 1986 when I received my first Nintendo. Though I had an Atari 2600, it was not until the NES that I was hooked on games. I say that to say this. The Wii was where I first introduced my kids to video games, and seeing them love to play is what I will bring out of the Wii experience. That and realize I was actually using an approach during Wii Sports Bowling.

There is a couple of points to gleam gfrom this, good article by the way. The idea of wanting to get away from the oppressive nature of Nintendo is an interesting comment especially considering the fact that once that happened they fell apart. I think it also says something about the quality that Nintendo is shooting for. I have a PS3. The only game that instantly comes to mind that I feel is Nintendo first-party quality is the Uncharted Series. Very few times have a first party Nintendo game missed.

I know this may not be popular among posters, but I agree with Galaxy 2 over Galaxy. I distinctly remember during one of the worlds in G2 thinking that it was one of the greatest platformers ever. I would definitely have Zack and Wiki in my top 5 or 10, but you can't please everyone in these lists.

As an aside, I would like to see the Top 20 lists for 360 and PS3. I bet that if you compared the three systems you would find there were just as many good games on each one.

I quit this discussion. Man, there are more important things in this world to worry about. I skip through most of the commercials any way...

Guys and gals, at least the last two weeks, the 3DS and XL have been one and two in hardware sales. I imagine if one were to look at the previous weeks we would see that trend stretched a lot further back. I am not a marketing expert, but I have had quite a few classes on this subject. You have got to take the ads into the context of who they made the ads for.

These ads are for girls. We all know that. They are for girls that identify with the spokes people they have chosen. They also are airing these commercials in time slots and shows that this demographic is watching. These commercials are not for "gamers". "Gamers" get commercials like ZombiU or Call of Duty. Kids and tweeners get commercials like Skylanders Giants.

That is all any of this is. We as the core gamer or whatever you want to call yourself don't need to be uptight.

Well, they must be doing something right because we are talking about it.

I have a unique perspective because I have the an eight year old girl. I think these are great for her. These people who are knocking this should surely realize who these commercials are for, and if you take into consideration when they air these segments, it should further reinforce the target audience.

I don't know about you guys, but the motion control was something that wasn't real natural to me out of the box. I'd say that did pretty well. Everyone talks about the Wii's disappointments in the last year, but they have to understand exactly how amazing it did. The install base dwarfs the Playstation and the XBOX. I would think that this joker would know and understand that considering he is supposed to be an analyst.

The fact of the matter is that every time he says something derogatory about Nintendo, it gets press. He is a glory hog, and he likes to see his name. As long as we keep reading and writing what he reports, he will keep using the same methods. He walks around pounding his chest that he was right about the decline of the Wii. Well, guess what? There is a little something in economics called the law of diminishing returns. Basically, it was impossible to sustain the growth that the Wii had because it had saturated the market.

We have an old saying here in Arkansas, "A blind squirrel gets a nut every now and then," and that is this guy. I wouldn't worry about him too much.

NCAA 13; Rayman Origins, and Mini Ninjas or Assassins Creed. With me and the kids at home probably some Skylanders thrown in there as well.

Oh the dilemma of it all. My brain says don't do it, but my heart is say let's go to GameStop, right now and put the money down. I was expecting a $250 and $350 option, but the $300 seems to much and the $350 seems well worth it. Decisions, decisions.

I know this is completely off line in this section, but Reggie didn't mention anything about the NFC. We all know the pad supports it, but they didn't say anything. I have a feeling at the next E3 you will see some sort of Pokemon that will use this. I cannot imagine with all of the hype that has surrounded Skylanders that Nintendo does not capitalize on it. Think of the sales alone from the toys. There are hundreds of Pokemon available. It's a gold mine.

Guys knit, too...not me, but some do.

I know that I stand corrected. I had just the Wii for a few years, and last year I bought a PS3 thinking I was finally stepping into the big time of gaming. However, with the exception of just a couple of series, I have bought myself a pretty expensive Blu Ray player. I guess you can chalk it up to nostalgia, but for me, Nintendo has the best IPs. They also know how to use those IPs the most effective way.

Well, I am doing a little past and present gaming. With the talk of a Rocketeer reboot, I am playing The Rocketeer for the NES. It is a lot better version than the one on the SNES. On the Wii side, I'm playing The Other M. I have never finished that. For those who do not know, GameStop is thinning their pre owned Wii stock. Buy 2 get 1 Free on everything under $14.99. I picked up Kirby's Epic Yarn ans The Conduit. My need to play list just keeps growing and growing.