Ha! "Tone deaf" and "lost touch with reality" could just as easily be applied to CNNs half-assed and wrong-headed approach to competing with Fox News and MSNBC. Holographic Will.I.Am anyone? No wonder they are so enamored with the Kinect.

Nintendo has made a lot of bad decisions with the WiiU, no doubt, but I don't trust CNNs analysis of gaming trends any more than I would trust them with news coverage. Just from this article, I wouldn't consider the Kinect a success critically or even technologically, and porting games to smartphones when the 3DS is a financial success?? How is this person qualified to provide game industry analysis?

@GiftedGimp What are you basing this speculation on? I agree that release is damage control, it's more than implied in the release itself, but already deciding what the game is worth?? A little ahead of yourself, aren't you?

So far I think TVii is a sadly wasted idea. The biggest thing it had going for it, IMO, was to be able to search and suggest content from across streaming services and live TV, as well as create a unified queue of some sort. As someone who uses multiple streaming services, this sounded like a great idea. No more "is it on Netflix, no, launch Hulu, no, maybe pay for it through Amazon Video?". Or so I had hoped. As-is, its search function doesn't work very well, it is far from comprehensive with regards to content I KNOW is available, and when you DO find something to watch and select the viewing option, you are treated to the painful loading times it takes to open whatever service it streams from rather than the ability to stream through TVii. It's all pretty clunky and ultimately useless. I check back in from time to time to see if its gotten better, but so far no. I find the Miiverse aspect of it interesting, especially for live TV, but just not engaging enough to bother with the rest of it. Here's to hoping they can refine it.

@hiptanaka Yes.

@AlexSora89 Yeah, but its always a numbers game for publishers, and I assume a component of that is how much Nintendo is willing to pay for exclusivity and for how long. If the money/support isn't there, they won't publish a game out of charity. That said, I don't see what it would've harmed for Ubi to release for WiiU as originally planned and then rolled it out for PS and Xbox in September. Fans were pissed, the creators were pissed, and now they are trying to offer an olive branch. Does it make it all better, no, but i've seen people talking about not buying ZombiU as a result. And what good is that going to accomplish? I want more ZombiUs (and equally ambitious games) from third parties, not less.

OVERRATED?!?

Afternoon productivity ruined

I agree with this sentiment, and support petitioning companies, but I'd also add that you have to differentiate between longstanding fan requests or complaints (for which a grassroots show of support can help bring about a consumer desire) and full-on boycott, like what seems to be the current message board threat against Ubisoft and is likely going to result in no more Ubisoft games for Nintendo consoles. I think that what Ubisoft is pulling with Rayman is terrible, but unfortunately a full stoppage of support for Ubisoft games on the WiiU, when that relationship is already tenuous, won't get the fans what they want. And although Ubisoft makes some crap games, they also create a lot of quality software that I wouldn't want to see leave Nintendo altogether. I think Ubi made a numbers decision with Rayman, that while I think it is crap for me the WiiU owner, I can understand, and because of a swell of complaint they are now trying to make amends. There's no great answer here, but I think some of the boycott rhetoric seems a little overheated, and is likely just going to result in NO more original IPs, NO Rayman, and NO Assassins Creed in the future, which is lousy. Keep complaining, show support for the games you want, but be realistic about your goals, and don't be too hasty to slap away concessions your protesting won. This is consumerist entertainment we're talking about here, not civil rights.

@mwellert No, the games are tied to your system. I'm sure there's someone out there with a tricky work-around, but as far as simple plug and play, no. Nintendo (hell, no game company) wants digital downloads being swapped between hard drives.

Definitely getting. Anyone know why no season pass for WiiU?

@SCAR392 The upside is the convenience of not having to swap in and out discs and add to clutter (if that's a concern). The biggest downside IMO is eliminating the possibility of selling the game when you're done. I have a couple download titles and have grown to love the (minor) convenience of the downloaded game.

If I hadn't already bought ZombiU and AC3, I'd be all over this. For anyone on the fence I'd say the second screen functionality, though minor, makes the WiiU version of AC3 the best.