Ren

It better be fast, on a machine that's designed for "next gen" Graphics/animation with a tablet controller. We can only hope the design is better than the opera junk we have now on Wii.

yeah, cause this kind of control is SO relevant in modern games and surely worth $100. Just like it plays in the arca... wait.

weird policies over at big N. they've always been pretty profit focused with good reason but they're not exactly the only option for that stuff anymore so they'll have to just keep learning the hard way.

Be nice if I could get the download of my starfox and zelda 3d games after registering my physical copies since my train fast pass seems to have wiped the cards clean through my pocket!
All that card space and functionality now, seems like it's a no-brainer to start offering an "install" option or special download deals and such. They could generally lower prices all together especially on older games, since older games/puzzles and phone games are really fighting for the same space now but all the nintendo stuff stays so pricy, it's an old fashioned model and they'll just loose the nerdy adult users until they learn. I won't be paying 40$ for anything I download ever, unless it's some real computer application.
If they were cheaper I'd be enticed to download more stuff more often and end up spending about the same; They have no sales person over there that has figured that out after all these years?

All this is great news for me. The e-shop/WiiWare, all the download stuff is what has kept me interested in gaming since the Wii came out. The 3DS shop is pretty good still, and when the WiiU comes out that shop may sell me on it when I can see if it's solid.
Just the Announcement of WiiWare is what made me excited for the first Wii until I found how nice the Xbox arcade games were. These smaller, smartly designed games really are the best hope for gaming in such a saturated market. There'll always be a place for the AAA titles but like Hollywood without the indie film boom, many of us would have lost interest long ago if not for the smaller creative voices finally getting their day.

Awesome. the original was one of the best eshop games I've played. Never finished it, though, it gets pretty brutal after a while and I couldn't pass some of them; guess I better go back and try again.

Nice to hear, but I really hope these graphics are just a result of it being ported from 3ds. sure it's "rebuilt" but not redesigned entirely, the textures are understandable if it's a rebuild from 3DS. Looks far from "next gen" to me, overall, just smoothed out for WiiU.
Being excited about these visuals is a clear indication that some people haven't played any HD games made in the past 5 years. Fun game, sure, but pretty? not really.

looks a little like "Limbo". good thing; great thing.

weirdly that jeopardy game could be really awesome.

I agree about the 5%. it was worth it for the Wii, mostly in the form of zelda, metroid, and mario galaxy, but it sure is long to wait between each. I'm also a busy adult and ready for nintendo to treat gaming as something not just for 13 year olds. I was always with them and their approach but people my age grew up with games and theres no reason not to make games for those millions that want that kind of content and have the money in the first place.

Suddenly the other consoles started to make sense to me, because Mario has started to get.... boring. These launch titles are starting to show some awareness of it but still very lukewarm. They'll have to learn the hard way that pricy HD consoles have to appeal to some adults as well if they want them to sell. This doesn't otherwise have the 'casual' appeal of the old Wii so it'll fall hard if they don't embrace truly deeper modern gaming. Some good ports will help for a while, but enticing people from their PS360's will be an uphill battle. All those buttons, a tablet screen, and media center? Very cool, but not a 'party' system new gamers.

hmm, that doesn't look so exciting. So glad I decided to wait. a big list doesn't mean a good one. take the dance games, sports games, and ports out and theres not much left of interest. Mario maybe? ZombiU? not worth dropping 400 bucks yet. I'll wait to see what the online strategy really is or until I see a hint of zelda or Metroid.

I'll remember this when my WiiU cartridges aren't working.

to bad the engine doesn't include reasonable price points locked into it. get ready for 10$ mobile ports from nintendo!

this is really sad. definitely wait for a while to see what happens before dumping money on it. 3DS all over again, I'm not paying launch price this time after that burn.

penelope cruz one is great, if they just took the ending off. weird. The robin Williams thing is a genuinely good ad.

rjejr said it perfect. beginning of next year is a crucial time. how will it fair with news of the next consoles, and how much will the launch buzz fall off? Those are the biggest questions looming. it already has to compete with current consoles that do lots of what it does. Sure it has a screen, but it we have to remember the other 2 already do all that media stuff in HD now, it's really not a selling point if you have one of those already.
What we don't know is: how powerful is it actually? I know that's an overstated point, but the end of the current HD consoles shows the peak of capability for those machines in it's games and the WiiU is showing us that it does those games slightly better at launch. What will it have up it's sleeve once the dust has settled? I'm a negative Nancy about it so far but I have a feeling it's true capabilities are far beyond what they're showing now and it may stand up nicely with the new consoles being a year ahead in development time. Look at early 360 games; junk, but it had a long way to reach from there. I think the WiiU may truly be the console to have about a year from now when the solid games start dropping (so far the Nintendo games look like overly-safe junk).

interesting. I want one at some point but for now everything here except the gamepad are reasons NOT to get it yet.
There aren't enough good exclusive games yet, the Miiverse is particularly underwhelming and really part of "catch up" (1st party catch-up), and "a new Nintendo system" only means something if you're a sheep or under 16yo. why would I want to actively choose to adopt early during the 3rd party catch-up? There are, what, 5 games for it from other consoles that are mostly already out on other machines with tiny improvements? that's not very enticing compared to just picking up another console and waiting for the WiiU library to really have some meat to it.

I've been playing N consoles since the first one and this is the first time I'll not buy at launch. the competition is just offering too much to make this anything special yet. I'm sure I'll be seduced by it soon after, but for now these reasons are mostly stale. I love the new controller but I have a 3ds for fun handheld touchscreen stuff until I know the Miiverse is good and the big Nintendo adventures are coming. oh well, I'll check back soon to see if it measures up. sure would be nice to have all my media in a lil HD Nintendo thing, xbox has got me hooked since the Wii got stale, though.

Nintendo NEVER took a hit on the Wii, they made profit on every single sale where ps3 and xbox360 took a profit hit on the hardware for a while. The same is probably true here by a longshot. It probably costs like 70$ to produce those things because they opted to leave it absolutely bare bones and still charge like it's a PS3. I'm lukewarm about all this. I'll wait for some more impressive games to show before I drop that kind of change on the same HD games already available elsewhere.

seems like a reasonable prediction to me. I don't get what the big deal is. the competition will be fierce within a year. I like the idea that they're saving some big new games for when the competition starts kicking off. If they can keep their timelines straight and release some killer zelda/metroid/starfox stuff when the other ones start popping up there could be a fighting chance.

If I buy a Cadillac or a Porsche at a premium price I expect it to have the internal hardware to support that performance that I paid for. not a 5 gallon fuel tank. Oh, but I guess I could always tack a 30 gallon tank onto the back for "extra", right? No way.
Shamefully out of touch, they are. I was hoping for a surprise but nothing has changed.

for what this is, it's expensive. Nintendo has smartly always kept their profit margins larger than any other systems, but it isn't always the key to a winning system it just ensures that they stay afloat should they take any chances. There's no defending that price with that little memory.
At this 'sub-gen' time an HD console claiming to sell full retail games online, then store them on that? If I pay for a 'deluxe' HD system it means having onboard storage that can handle many full size games. So we're supposed to buy retail games at the E-shop and then put them on SD cards? who's idea was that? That's just a recipe for quick profit at launch for fans, then slumping sales, a price drop and a larger memory version in maybe a year to keep it selling. I'll have to wait for that and get an un-named phone with as much memory in the meantime that does more than recycled games and a media player. So we'll basically be required to buy some cheesy external drive if we want to use all these "fancy downloadable" games. Has anyone at Nintendo ever even tried the other systems before?

whoa, that basic set sure is... basic. why bother? in a year the deluxe will be basic and a redesign will be 64. If they can keep current with downloadable content then we'll all be itching for external storage a few months in. Didn't learn from the Wii on that or on pricing either. Deluxe should also have a remote+ or a pro pad. expensive for a small HD system with a built in Roku. I still prefer the Wii motion system though so I may be willing to do it over xbox if the games pour in fast. Ok, we see it now; Meh. NOW get to those little developers and churn out the games or we'll never touch it. Content is king, now, no device alone can make the sale alone (Apple, Nintendo, Samsung, Sony, whatever. they all do the same junk, but content wins the race)

i was a big fan of the Wii shop and then just stopped buying because I spent money on some serious duds. I have the best rated stuff from this site but it's all expensive and a total gamble.
Anyone who says any nintendo shop/online service is better than the other consoles clearly just hasn't owned one. I used to feel this way until I picked up x-brand and it's just unbelievable. endless original content, actual indie games (some good ones too), and demos and videos for every single game, extra content, online games, etc. etc. Many of these games are 4 - 10 dollars and they are worth it. None of that is true for the Wii and I'm ashamed that I was so loyal to have waited so long to find it out. I still have hope but after playing with it I see how much catching up there is to do.
It's still baffling why Nintendo is so oblivious about running a proper shop/online system; it's not like Japan doesn't have the internet. The 3ds shop shows hope, but it is still redundant and really not that much content there. I draw the line at PS3, I'm still too loyal to go there, but my house will have to share Nintendo with Microsoft from now on, I just wish they could learn something from the competition instead of ignoring it.
I was so excited for Skyward Sword but it was done in a couple weeks and then thats it! thats what we get for years of loyalty to nintendo: 1 big linear adventure game and we wait a couple years for the next big title (not including the occasional Mario thing). The other consoles are overflowing with long deep adventures that I couldn't possibly have time to get to all of them. but I'm stuck with my love for the big nintendo adventures when they show up, so I'm sure I'll get a WiiU. I'm a sad sheep.

yes I did play the WiiU at their "experience" event here in Chicago. What I'm saying is I have seen nothing about the bigger, deeper game series ON WIIU that have kept me a nintendo fan in the past. Sure there are 100's of old Nintendo games, a handful of which are good that will be compatible with WiiU. All the classics can be had for a hefty price, unless things become better with their online shop, that won't change or get me to buy them again.
I'm talking about the massive library of HD games on other systems that look and often play better than any Wii games do. It's really a tough sell for me. If some of the great Nintendo adventure games are coming soon in new HD sequels I would definitely be interested but barring that, why should I spend more on a new system with some tiny Mii games and a few cautious 3rd party cash ins? I'm not the only one who might have to wait til after launch to see if it measures up. It'll be my first nintendo console not bought at launch, unless they can get with the 21st century fast. Every innovative kid thing has been done a million times on mobile and tablet devices now, so a console has to have really solid, deep HD games to be worth big money in this market (and in my house). Even simple "cartoony" games need some more depth and online functionality that Nintendo still thinks is something new and innovative.

I was underwhelmed by the WiiU 'experience' thing and what I played. There needs to be a LOT of new amazing stuff here to keep me interested in getting one. The apple concern is totally valid. I use apple computers, but only have an ancient iphone (that works great despite being 6 years old).
If I decide to get an iphone 5 it does a million things besides play games that I HAVE to do anyway as an adult. It's expensive so also getting a WiiU will take convbincing. I love my video games but since I got a cheap xbox after so long as a nintendo fanboy, I can't see anything it's doing better UNLESS there are lots of games pouring out for it fast and the online content is great and CHEAP. Theres no excuse for Nintendo's prices considering what else is available now in HD and online.
A few things could change my mind: a deep HD Metroid, an HD Starfox, HD Zelda. A fresh take on Mario, and frankly a whole bunch of ports of all the HD stuff we've been missing this past couple years. My nintendo is sprouting weeds now that I have HD gaming elsewhere, why should I switch back and have like 20 game options vs. 100's?

fyi also if you have a "quick pass" kind of card for your bus or train system that you use to tap your wallet and pay fares, DON'T keep 3ds games in there as well. It will brick them. I found this out the hard way. I tried everything else, they look spotless, and even on the inside the games look pristine, but no longer play in either of my working 3ds'. I thought magnetized things didn't affect newer games, but they're dead. I did this for months without problems but now they don't work.

I don't get the hate either. I'm not going to play the underdog game and say it was my favorite, but I didn't see any big failings at all. I had great fun with it then, and there were some really hard parts. I could say the same for any other mario game. I never realized there were such big critics of it until years later, weird. how picky can you be!?

yes! can't wait. despite my skepticism, I'll end up in some line of other nerds getting one so I can watch it sit another year when the best version of all the new games are on it. It doesn't look great yet, but at $300 and after the bumpy launch there'll totally be some killer sh** coming at us.

3ds with a phone (and a flash player); whoa. THAT would be a 'game-changer' fer reelz.

Thank you Mystic-X. can people get there head out of wonderland and think about what "handheld gaming" even means? it's portable for a reason: so you can play it in short bursts on the go, and if you can save and get a richer long term experience; great. But that is not the fundamental function except for the (growing) gaming crowd.
For the same reason, though, phone games have gotten quite advanced, and some small ones are still incredibly enjoyable in short levels. Plus they make calls, fantastic organizers, facebook, geo-positioning, HD video, shopping, porn... you name it. And do all of that pretty well, like a laptop of 3 years ago. JUST the games are a lot more than 'Diner dash' and 'breakout' now, it's only die hard gamers that will deny it; god knows why.
No one said either one is 'doomed', but they certainly share the same market now, especially the older, busy, gamers with jobs and other stuff to think about... MILLIONS of people. And we can afford great home consoles for those deep hours of play. This means Nintendo HAS to offer a lot to make it worth carting around and it IS risky business despite the "sales figures"; it's a splitting crowd that they have to pay attention to. The control buttons are not just one advantage, it's the LAST advantage it has over powerful Mobiles (not even "phones" anymore). Be realistic people.

kinda sad but as @tvnewsguy said it's the fault of Nintendo. NintendoLife really is what Nintendopower should have turned into years ago. I remember getting the first issue as a kid when the nes came out, when it was near essential for things like getting through the first zelda lost forest and seeing that all my Metroid map drawing was in vain. theres no such getting lost anymore in a game. it hasn't been a go-to Nintendo thing for a long time now, and it needed to be online and relevant to gamer interests years ago. Honestly I've been impressed with Game Informers writing lately, it's what "Electronic Gaming Monthly" once was. Now that we don't need maps and tips anymore, we certainly need good interviews and tech gossip to keep it fresh. NintendoPower ignored that too much. Game Informer is unfortunately but understandably NOT Nintendo focused. All we got now is you, N-life (in NA). keep it alive!

Yeah, it's great to hear him actually acknowledge that the phone games exist, but I'm not crazy optimistic about the WiiU either. I played the demos and it's not very impressive to say the least. "Wow, HD graphics! Straight lines! 10 mini games in 1 with over 5 simple enemies to fight! and look, wireless technology and world wide internet!". It feels like a celebration we all had a few years back about games that were released elsewhere this year.
3ds XL has breathed new life into my handheld experience, this week so I'm glad for that. Funny thing though, I play so much content loaded onto it that I just realized my cartridge games got messed up from being in my wallet or something, can't even play them! Anyway, I wouldn't have even noticed had I played some real cartridge game in recent months, but I love the camera and all my downloaded games, animation tool, 3d video. I'm not alone; tell me that's not a sign of the viabilty of phones as competition. If iphones had the 3d camera I'd bail on my 3ds. (people seem to forget here that phones can also make calls, and play any videos, and a thousand other smart useful apps that aren't 'games', that's pretty appealing if the games are even playable and you're over 15)

neat idea, if useless. if only Nintendo embraced some more interesting apps that could aggregate more relevant stats around the world, that would really set them apart. I don't know of other devices doing this openly yet. what about hours spent on certain things, or steps taken between players, or stats of things that people do, like some of the old Wii polls? those were great, what happened to all that? aggregate stats can be really powerful and useful as long as the users consent to what's asked for. Why not use the camera to identify and "collect" certain things in the real world, then aggregate how many the worlds players have gotten, that would be awesome (NOT pokemon QRs, either), bird species, styles of architecture, bodies of water, town markers. oh well, Game programers and creative thinkers are yet to merge much, or we'd see more than jumping cartoons and shooting massacre games with all this great tech. I love/ hate this stuff.

good thing they don't do mario games or they'd be called
Jumpy Run: Freaking Plumber

I want one but the 'gamestop' near here says there is no such way to do a system transfer if I want the trade in deal. what a joke. Guess I'll have to take my business elsewhere and then sell the old thing on ebay.

weird I had no idea there was such a love for mario world. To me it was just the biggest jump in tech to date and felt impressive but like someone said some of it felt repetitive in design and seemed just like an updated, shorter Super mario 3 to me. I won it fast and got sick of it at the time.

Mario 3 and Mario 64 were the two that so drastically changed things for so many other games as well. They were the standout games for so long as innovative and new and pushing the limits of their platform. Mario World was kind of a re-tread of 3 in many ways so I was anxious for the next thing right away.

My guess is also that some of the voting is dependent on age differences. THe stand out title for some of us depends on what age we were at when it came out and what games meant to us at the time (which is fine). If the pool of voters was older my guess is that mario 3 would have the top spot. Mario world is the oldest one that younger players can still relate to in terms of graphics not feeling archaic and everyone likes to know the best "original classic".
Mario 64 blows everything here away for it's time, but has the unfortunate role of starting the path for 90% of games today, so the 3d maybe feels less perfect than it is in games now. Easily mario 64 is king and always will be if you played it that day way back in 96; it changed everything so much, and did it so well.

The thing people seem to miss here is that all of us here ARE gamers enough that we have 3ds' and Wii's and XBOX's and it's a choice we make because we like playing games that much. A few years ago this notion would be ridiculous.

But what people like him are saying is that with the power of Phones getting pretty close to that of a handheld console the games are indeed moving closer to the size and spec of consoles but they are phones; EVERYONE has one for making calls.

When your phone can also give you sometimes impressive games that are cheap (and thousands of options as well as other useful apps for all kinds of things, online, GPS, accelerometers), how can you deny that that is an incredibly powerful paradigm shifting option?

If you don't want to buy a dedicated game machine and have an Iphone or galaxy 3 for making calls (and 50 other things) what games will you get, and probably get into? Mobile games. It's totally ridiculous, now, to act like it won't affect the portable game market. maybe not for us just yet, and Nintendo will not fold for a long time if ever, but it absolutely requires them to rethink things to stay relevant for the long term.
Phones aren't getting any weaker and there are some great ios games already. I'm a big 3ds fan but their backwards online system does worry me. It's slow, expensive, and like some have said - made for kids. They could tap a more adult market, but they just don't want to. If things don't keep looking up, they may have to grow up a little to keep fans like me on board.

I played the WiiU demos and even that is pretty far behind; The Wii has made them over confident and the other machines haven't slowed down. Eventually they may have to do more than put out the next Mario game. I've been playing mario since it was in the arcade and I've just about had my fill of it. Xbox and even ipad games have some fresh ideas that Nintendo is not willing to try, sadly. Why be in denial about it?

I have played it, and I'm on the first one now. It's not any less cheesy than the 3rd one. Maybe I'm just not a teenager anymore, but that tired old "aliens that look like freaky people, and future where everyone is an underwear model but doesn't so much as walk 10 feet, and someone taking over the galaxy for control" just doesn't do it for me anymore.

sweet, can't wait to try it. totally worth 8 bucks. Now I just need a few free days to stay up and learn it the hard way.

great that means I have to get through the other two. I tried 3 and didn't like it so someone talked me into trying the first one first. Still not that into it, but I should give it another shot, I guess. It's so popular I thought it would really surprise me, but I guess I'm the only one who is tired of the same ancient sci-fi cliches.

tons of people will buy this. I know at least 5 parents off hand that have kids under 10 that have or want a ds of any kind, and really don't care which one it is. There are a zillion great games for it and it's cheap. This is a no brainer and probably extremely cheap to produce by now. If you are a 16 year old gamer nerd you won't get this though. "Thats so 'last gen', why would they do that?! pass the soda and chips".
Nintendo is here to make money not push tech forward, contrary to fanboy opinion; if not the WiiU would have been ready a year ago. I love em' but be realistic.

YES! I loved columns. (in the arcade)

Always wanted a vectrex, released about the same time, but only for gaming and crazy expensive. All I had was Atari, myself.

wow, sweet! I feel really old now. My friend had one and we killed some hours playing Radar Rat Race, seemed pretty amazing to me. We didn't have a color monitor, though, and no cassette drive; floppys. That cassette drive is hilarious; love to see someone rig a cassette drive for a WiiU or something with like some Resident evil. Be like, what, 3000 tapes? Good times, so spoiled with games now.

what!? these are awesome! Why isn't the 3ds xl in solid colors like this? the two tone thing with a black spine looks horrible, but these look cool and unified to me. Much prefer everything in Matte, too. Glossy just makes things look cheap and gimmicky, like a $20 dvd player or a.... ps3.

lucky, here we are waiting in the states. I would trade mine in if they allowed system transfer at Gameslop but it looks like I'll have to buy and sell on Craigslist later so I don't lose all my junk. This is a great idea since it really did feel to small for a lot of games especially considering the horrible glare and cramped d-pad slider buttons.

I like them all, the Wii-mote nunchuk is just sadly short a couple buttons to do some of the big games, but I'm really glad it will still work with the simple stuff, like obviously menus and such, it's the best of them all for really basic clicking games. The new screen controller is also fantastic, and feels just right but takes a little getting used to.
the pro controller is a nice idea but I hope it's not neccesary for all that much. I totally understand the xbox design too. It seemed dumb to copy it so exactly at first, but it's just a great overall design, so why not do it that way? The new xbox one is perfect size and has all the buttons you could ever need.
My guess is it will come with one screen controller and one mo+ Wiimote to encourage the multiplayer pack-in, and retailers will sell lots of bundles anyway.

too bad they never tried closing it and walking around or they'd see that it scratches it's own screen. Not to mention playing it anywhere near any kind of light source and not seeing yourself in it like it's a mirror. There's no better tester than a human.

I would love this at a gamestop too, but alas Gamestop is horrible for trade in's and I don't think they'll offer any way to system transfer. I wanted to use their own coupon once (that I paid the stupid membership to get) and they needed a paper printout of it or me to show on my phone that I have it! But wait, I don't have a data plan and they have no Wifi there... sorry I can't use their own discount coupon. I don't see them letting me transfer my system either, and I won't hand over all my downloads and ambassador games to get 50 off when the old one is still worth at least 100.
I'll have to get a new XL, transfer info and sell the other on craigslist (and get a lot for it, probably.)

12% reflectivity?! more like 80! it's horrible. I don't get who's choice it was to use the super hi-gloss, it just looks stupid. It doesn't take the march of technology to remove hi-gloss from everything, it takes very basic good design choices. All of the first model was rushed, and we paid for it, about an extra 100$.

Brave and the Bold looks awesome, can't believe I missed that one. There have been a surprising number of good nintendo batmans. Gameboy one was great, and so was the NES one.
I played the WiiU Arkham City demo and it's pretty awesome (though not any better than the other ones).