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@dumedum

That handheld system you quickly glance over on your way to buy a 3DS. jk

I don't see how a plan like this could work when PS4 and Vita combined would cost about $600 (even more with the 3G version of the latter). It's not competitive pricing when Wii U is half of that.

I doubt they're really doing this.

@rjejr

We've seen zero of Call of Duty Ghosts on Wii U and and yet that comes out in three weeks, so lack of footage doesn't worry me when it comes to WD.

@rjejr

There were a few seconds of footage shown during the E3 direct.
http://youtu.be/13D1I5s236o?t=17m25s

@rjejr

I'm pretty sure the Wii U version is far enough in development that it would make no sense to cancel it. Besides, by the time the game comes out Wii U's install base will be a lot bigger than right now so the delay could prove benefitial.

I was really looking forward to this game, and it's a loss that it's not coming out this year (not just to Wii U but all next-gen platforms, since I believe this was among the most hyped of the games coming). At least the extra development time will allow for a better game, and more polish for all versions.

And after just two days, it's the fifth-highest selling 3DS game of all time. Mario 3D Land could lose its top spot by the end of the year if it keeps up.

Wow that screen is darn durable. All that microwaving and it still remains in one piece.

I wonder how Beyond Good & Evil 2 is doing, wouldn't mind seeing it on Wii U

Fair enough, as long as it's an improvement from the last game.

@Dogpigfish

I think it's physical sales only, but I could be wrong.

Has anyone taken apart a 2DS to look at the single screen yet? I'd like to see how it works.

It'll be interesting to see how Pokémon performs in the U.S (pre-release tracking suggests around 1.1-1.2 million) and Japan, especially the latter. Should easily be in the top 3 3DS games by the end of the year.

@wasf

There's a demo out in Japan so I hope it comes to other regions soon enough.

Isn't Skylanders Swap Force coming to this week?

Majora's Mask and ALBW take place in separate timelines (if you go by Hyrule Historia) so what connection would there be? I think it's just going to reference it like we've already seen with the mask on the wall.

Lorule sounds like something you'd hear in a Zelda fanfiction, but the idea of a dark clone of Hyrule (down to its princess) is pretty intriguing.

@Peach64

Oh really now? A couple of hundred a week? Here I see that in the last week of September it sold 1.2k:
http://www.vgchartz.com/weekly/41546/UK/
685% of that number is approximately 8,2k. If the number turns out to be 8.2k, then it will be the highest weekly sales number of the system in the UK since December.

That is more than four times the estimated Wii U sales when Pikmin 3 came out...
http://www.vgchartz.com/weekly/41483/UK/

...and almost double the amount of when MH3 came out.
http://www.vgchartz.com/weekly/41357/UK/

Sure, one could argue that it's just an initial rush, and it's not that much in the grand scheme of things, so it remains to be seen if there's any momentum to keep.

Whoops accidentally deleted my post.

Here you go:
http://www.vgchartz.com/preorders/

I completely forgot this even existed. No loss on my part.

@ThomasBW84

Sorry, I should have mentioned that it comes complete with upside-down ice cream volcanoes.

Underground steampunk Hyrule. You heard it here first.

How does one exactly "sell out" before it even arrives stores? Do they mean that the number of pre-orders exceed the estimated shipment?

Do they ship outside of UK? If so I could take advantage of this with the weak pound (or maybe not if it isn't cheaper than what Amazon UK is offering).

Edit: Apparently they don't. Oh well.

Leaks and impatiency of gamers and retailers is something you can never truly do away with. With spoilers a lot of it comes down to personal responsibility, and that's why I'm usually extra careful around release dates of games/movies I anticipate.

@Spoony_Tech

Only in the west, 2DS isn't coming to Japan.

And now we take shelter 'cause 3DS sales this coming weekend is going nuclear.

It can't always be rainbows and sunshine, but the faster you get yourself out of recession the better. Wii U needs sales, and this holiday season and beyond it's upmost important to get back on track.

Also inb4 "this means Nintendo is doomed hurr durr they should go third party and/or put games on smartphones".

@Red302

Early demos for Mario Kart 7 were also only 2 laps, I suppose it's to keep the demo at a short length.

@darkswabber

While I'm aware of Arkham Origins, I find nothing of any season pass announced for Watch Dogs on any system.

@rjejr

Arkham Origins is getting DLC and season pass on Wii U last I heard.

All I've read is that Wii U won't have season pass, which AC III didn't have either yet we got all non-Sony exclusive DLC in the end. I suggest we wait for Ubisoft to clarify this.

Ubisoft hasn't left out Wii U before so I don't know why they'd start now.

Where was this trailer last week?

Anyway, nice to see some new footage and a better look at Dixie Kong. I guess you can choose between Diddy, Dixie and the fourth mystery character at any time?

Edit: Also that burning forest level and the underwater caves looks gorgeous.

" I think that Nintendo has abandoned its previous console — assuming Western territories follow suit, which seems likely — much too soon. Walk into your local video game store and there are still rows of Wii titles, suggesting that a healthy demand for software still exists — despite the fact that no new games are coming."

So? They can still sell them just as before. Wii U is perfectly capable of playing every retail Wii game out there, provided that you have the necessary controls and accesories. You may argue the lack of GC support, but A) the controller is not mandatory for any Wii game I know of and B) more recent hardware revisions of the Wii (Family Edition and Mini) already dropped that functionality anyway.

And don't get me started on how Wii's continuing existence has only further perpuated the confusion among casuals. Naming its successor like that was a terrible idea indeed, but its far too late to change that. However you could minimize the damage by getting rid of Wii systems from shelves and thus not make people buy Wii systems who will then try to play Wii U games on them. There is no harm in having it the other way around (only Wii games remain on shelves and people buy them to play on Wii U) 'cause as I said, Wii U is fully backwards compatible with them.

"Having a few AAA Wii titles in 2013 may well have helped Wii U owners get through the software drought which has impacted that machine."

Why would diverting resources to make new Wii titles do anything but further delay development of Wii U games? Nintendo even admits that they didn't have enough resources to keep a steady stream of Wii U titles coming (due to them underestimating the needs of HD development), which is a major reason the system is struggling. Wii U needs all the help it can get right now, and seeing Nintendo keep cranking out Wii titles would give existing Wii owners less of an incentive to upgrade.

"Nintendo should have been thinking of this approach years ago with the Wii. Instead of giving us the Wii Mini — the system no one wanted — Nintendo could have launched a super-cheap micro version which removes the disc drive and connects to a new and improved Wii Shop Channel."

A major difference between that and the PSVita TV is that the latter is in my view essentially a way to save the Vita by following the Android market and offering something the 3DS can't. Wii has done its course and doesn't need saving. You are correct that this should've happened years ago, but the key thing is that it didn't, since at the time there was no real market for it.

And I have to recite the problem with resources. Upgrading Wii Shop channel, putting every Wii game on digital and maintaining said infrastructure would take away resources Wii U (and to a small extent 3DS) desperately needs.

"Such a move would have allowed Nintendo to maintain the Wii's popularity with developers, too; a cheap micro-console with motion control would provide the perfect breeding ground for innovative indie studios, especially as Nintendo has now relaxed its indie development policies."

Wii U's future seems to be based on first/second-party titles and indies right now, and by giving the latter a concurrent non-portable system they can develop on isn't going to do Wii U any favors. Not to mention that the indie infastructure of Wii Shop would need to be re-tooled (which, again, need resources) since it wasn't that attractive to begin with.

"You can't hold onto the past forever, of course — and Nintendo's focus on making its current machines as successful as possible is commendable — but by closing the book on one of its most popular pieces of hardware so soon strikes me as a mistake."

It strikes me as a mistake that they hadn't closed that book earlier.

TL:DR I get the idea behind the article, but I think it would do more harm than benefit.

@unrandomsam

Not even the PS4/XBO versions will run at that level.
http://www.gamespot.com/news/watch-dogs-runs-at-30fps-on-xbox-one-ps4-6415059

Encouraging to hear from the director himself, but I'm still worried. On the other hand I kinda expected the WiiU version to not have exclusive features since they said the experience will be basically the same across all platforms.

Don't fail me Ubisoft!

Only makes me wonder how the system itself performed with the price cut and the new bundle.

If it was coming this year Nintendo would've announced it by now.

I love Luigi's Mansion; Dark Moon, but I think WiiU would be much better off with a straight sequel (which I can see happening in a few years) as opposed to a port. Not that I believe this listing is legit anyway.

"Milon's Secret Castle, more like Milon's --!"
_{let's not quote the AVGN, we all know the sorts of things he had to say about this game — TBD}

"Something where it wouldn’t even matter if Zelda is actually a princess, or not."

Didn't they do something like that in Skyward Sword? I don't remember Zelda ever being referred to as a princess in that game, nor would it have mattered much if she was.

Since Zelda is my favourite VG franchise of all time, I hope whatever new direction they take with it is for the best.

Wasn't it already confirmed that it'd have roughly the same battery life as the original model?

This is where terrible business decisions and overinflated production budgets/expectations lead you. For shame that so many had to lose their jobs because of it.

@micronean

Dead? NA was Gamecube's strongest market. The GC Wind Waker sold in the US almost three times as much as it did in EU and Japan.

If there's any consolation, WiiU saw a 128% sales boost in NA on the week of the price cut and WWHD's digital arrival.

http://www.vgchartz.com/weekly/41539/USA/

EDIT: And I have to agree with some saying that WWHD was never going to sell all too well in Japan. Remember that Skyward Sword tanked in the region.

@ToxieDogg

This and the fact that it was released way too late. The DS was already widely available.

@unrandomsam

Are you talking about NOA here (since this is about SEGA of America I don't know why you'd even bring that up)?

IMO this should've happened earlier. As long as both Wii and WiiU are in stores at the same time you're only going to perpetuate the confusion among casuals.

Still sad to see it go, though. It's brought a lot to the table in the industry.

@hiptanaka

That would still make it incompatible with 70% of the game library.

I have stared into the eyes of madness... and it stared back at me.