'Cause it sure seems like Nintendo is poised to prove all the naysayers wrong again. It feels like something's in the air. People seem more than ready to buy a new system, and the price seems to be palatable, at least to the savvy gaming consumer. Pre-orders are selling out incredibly fast, which will build hype and demand to stratospheric levels, especially if mainstream news starts reporting it and hyping up TVii. Even if NintendoLand doesn't have QUITE the viral impact of Wii Sports, it'll slowly reveal its charms, since it's a pack-in to the preferred model. Nintendo is also launching with at least one guaranteed megaton game (which looks to be of incredibly high quality, as well), so that should keep the early adopters happy. The Wii U version of BLOPS 2 might just be the best one, due to the sharper graphics and individually-screened co-op. That game will also get users going online right off the bat.

The launch window lineup doesn't necessarily have the most raw quantity, but I think it shows some breadth in both the family-friendly and not-so-family-friendly categories, and there are some guaranteed hits/future classics mixed in among the dark (Ubisoft) horses. That, along with the building hype, should serve the system well and keep it hard to find, at least until the inevitable post-launch drought. But suppose, just suppose that third-party publishers also see these clear indicators early this time. And suppose that they decide to add Wii U to their multiplatform plans. It could alleviate the usual drought. And if we further suppose that these publishers actually want the money of these savvy, spendthrift early adopters, they could even support the system directly! Or continue making multiplatform PS3/360/PC/Wii U games a bit longer, to the detriment of Microsoft's and Sony's upcoming offerings.

That still seems like a bit of a longshot, if we're talking about American publishers. Their current planned lineup could definitely be better. But for Japanese publishers, green lights and dollar signs should be all they see when they look at the Wii U. Having Monster Hunter and Dragon Quest as honored guests at the inauguration party will make for a pretty good fucking time for all.

Regardless, the short-term success of the system seems all but guaranteed to me right now. You know, this would be a REALLY opportune time to pick up some NTDOY...

Although it already went up, like, 11% in the last three days.

URL to share (right click and copy)

Well, streaming doesn't even approach Blu-Ray quality now, right?

@DeputyVanHalen
Future-proofing? But I don't think people will care much. People probably bought new TVs because of how nice and flat they were, rather than the resolution.

@Anand
Some Netflix movies look really great, as do certain ones on Apple TV, and lastly certain YouTube vids look fantastic.

Late to the discussion but I think the Wii U will do just fine, preorders seem to be selling out and I know people who skipped the Wii who are excited by the prospect of the system. I think Nintendo are going to have to work a lot harder to get Wii like sales but I think it will top the PS3 numbers quite easily. I am really looking forward to it, disposible income isn't what it used to be in my household so I am going to have to be weary over what games I purchase but the system is going to be in my home day one.

I think the future is looking pretty good for the Wii U.

They've hit a competitive price point, and with the monsters that Sony and Microsoft are building, you have to wonder what price they will launch at. Even if they come out late next year, what will the adoption rate be if they start at $499 or have cel phone style contracts? Nintendo may very well have 2-3 years of being the only console that's even reasonably affordable.

Microsoft - with 8 GB RAM, a cutting-edge CPU and the Kinect 2.0 have a package that sounds very, very expensive. Surely they will have to launch with something akin to $200 plus a 2 year contract.

@achhibbar
I think Microsoft will hit the same price-points they did with the 360, $300 for a stripped down model and $400 for the real deal. That's not much different that what Nintendo is offering. I don't think Nintendo is going to be the "cheap" console this time around.

@deathly_hallows
Will Kinect be included at $400?

I'm really not sure they can hit $400 even without Kinect. If they do, then it'll surely be at a large loss. If the Wii U Deluxe is $350 and is being sold at cost (or for a small profit), then a cutting edge machine will surely be a lot more. I really think Microsoft is looking to move to a different pricing model for their next console - basically cel phone style pricing, They've drunk the Unreal kool aid and they have to pay for it somehow. I don't think selling their console for a loss for 2+ years is an option.

@deathly_hallows But Nintendo will have at least one price drop by the time the next Xbox platform is here, I'd imagine. Let's say Microsoft and Sony both released next holiday season, it might be:

Wii U: $250-$300
Xbox 720: $300-$400
PS4: $5,000-$80,000

Not quite the same gap as the Wii had, but still a gap. And that is assuming it only dropped $50, they could drop it $70 or $80 or even $100 maybe.

Also... do we really think the 720 will be $300-$400? They released the 360 at $300 by having no on-board memory (you had to buy a memory card) right? I'm not sure if they could get away with that again. And they didn't have Kinect to support back then either.

Put me in the same boat as the people who say that the real challenge will be sustaining everyone's interest in the long run. Honestly, after 2010, I gave up on the Wii. After Donkey Kong Country Returns, the last game I bought was Xenoblade. I might pick up the last story but in that span (between holiday 2010 and now) the notable wii releases can be counted in one hand. The console will probably do very well out of the gate, but what will happen when orbis/durango hit shelves is a big question mark.

@Tranquilo ...Skyward Sword?

@Zero

I wouldn't be so sure about it dropping price so quickly. It's a nice card for Nintendo to have up their sleeve if they feel threatened by the new consoles, but don't forget that Wii didn't drop its price for three years. If Wii U catches on, they could easily wait two years or more.

Well, maybe not. But I'm more speaking to the idea of consumers looking at the way superior Xbox 720/PS4 when they release and the Wii U not really having the price advantage to still hold consumer appeal like the Wii did. But possibly it wouldn't even matter much anyway. Time will tell. My point is more that if Nintendo needs it, they can have it. Maybe not as much as they had with the Wii U, but they can have a pretty close difference. Or, if they go all out and drop $100, they can have the $199 lower end Wii U and that's the same difference (though the $199 Wii had Wii Sports with it...)

It seeme like the Wii U is off to a great start. All the stores that had pre-orders are pretty much sold out for now,

I wonder how many units NA will be getting? How many Wii consoles were shipped for launch?

@achhibbar
Microsoft already has a cellphone like plan, it's called Xbox Live and it's a billion dollar cash cow!

Anyway, we'll have to wait almost a year to see if I'm smoking crack or what, but I don't think MS will pull a PS3 and price Durango out of the mainstream market, they're smarter than that. As far as Kinect 2 goes I think it will be bundled (or even built in) to every system, but they will have engineered the hell out of it so it doesn't cost them a lot to produce, it will just be a couple of cheap cameras with no guts, the main CPU will do the processing.

Microsoft's way forward seems obvious, what I wonder about is Sony, will they go for the most powerful console again or try some new innovation, or both? Sony's doing amazing things with PS+, they're the dark horse but I wouldn't count them out!

I don't understand where all this faith in MS and Sony being both uber powerful and cheap comes from. They didn't manage to be both last gen, so what's so different next gen?

This is also in stark contrast of the complete lack of faith for Nintendo, who gets no credit whatsoever for anything they do. What the hell.

Yeah honestly if Microsoft packs in Kinect I don't see how that could possibly be cheap. Especially if they update it in any way, shape, or form... which I think they would have to, otherwise they would get the "old tech" thing thrown at them just like Nintendo (from a different angle, but still, not something you want thrown at you.) This would have to add at least $50-$100 to it, and then... they're supposed to still release at $300-$400 like they did before?

Doubt it.

Personally I think they will do what they do now... have a non-Kinect SKU and a Kinect SKU.

@Guillaume

_ Cutting edge graphics
_ Affordable price
_ Failure rate under 50%

Let's see if Microsoft can hit two out of three this time around.

@Guillaume
I don't either. I mean MS is still selling what now passes as the complete version of the 360 for $400. I don't see them coming out with something way more powerful in the next 18 months and selling it for that same price.

I like the Wii U's chances, and so do the shareholders apparently. Up >10% since the conference.

@Guillaume
Well, I actually don't have a guess as to what Sony will do, I'm assuming they're going to try to hit the $299 price point as well, after being burned by the PS3 and more recently the Vita (it seems $499 for a console and $249 for a handheld is more than consumers are willing to pay – even Nintendo couldn't convince people to shell out that much for a handheld).

But MS, it just seems obvious to me, it's not about having faith in them, it's about making an educated guess as to what their strategy will be. The 360 was cutting edge for it's time but it cost $299 for the base model, it was a massive success for them in NA in financial terms and in terms of mindshare dominance, the Xbox brand is practically synonymous with "hardcore" video games dethroning the mighty PlayStation brand in one generation. They've even managed to carve out a little success in Nintendo's "family/kids" territory with strong Kinect sales.

It's cool if you guys disagree with me and think that Durango will cost... what? $400 for the base, $500 for the real deal? I just disagree is all, I don't see any reason for MS to do that, it seems like it would be really harmful to their current #1 position in sales, they seem to be trying to decrease price and get into as many living rooms as possible, not the other way around.

As far as giving Nintendo credit, I'll give them credit for taking a huge risk, they're banking that the tablet will trump next-gen graphics, even at a similar price-point. If Wii U cost $199 or even $249 then I'd agree with you that they're strategy is to undercut MS and Sony in price, but at $299/$349 I see them going toe to toe with the other guys (unless of course, the plan is to slash the price next year) and banking on the fact that gamers don't care about graphics or cutting edge tech as much as they do about innovative control schemes and a secondary screen. To me that's a huge risk, because it seems to me that most gamers do care about graphics and so far the tablet doesn't seem to be resonating outside of the Nintendo die-hard community, but Nintendo has proven nay-sayers wrong again and again and again, so I'd never bet against them.

@deathly_hallows I don't think they will go much higher in price, but I also don't think they will hit that low price and pack Kinect in. They pretty much need to hit the low price Kinect-less. Which is fine, but isn't Kinect the big "casual" seller? So for that whole Wii market thingy that Microsoft is trying to crack into (and has successfully cracked into with Kinect) it will be Durango + Kinect versus Wii U. And in that battle, I think Wii U will be significantly lower in price.

The only way I see Durango + Kinect hitting the $400 mark is an uber gimped version. And that will still be going against the $300 "gimped" Wii U which could be $250 or less by then.

Now, the question might arise... does it really matter? Like, do consumers actually directly compare the prices of the products they are actually looking at, or is there just a general price perception? I think maybe the latter, at least a bit. For instance, the 360 was considered like way cheaper than the PS3, even though when it came to features the $400 360 and the $500 PS3 were the comparable ones. But the fact still existed that you could get a 360 for $300 and you could get a PS3 for $600, so in people's minds the gap was huge. I think a lot of these low end SKUs exist more to push the price perception than anything else. And in that sense a cheap Kinect-less Durango could help Microsoft a lot, even though a lot of consumers will still ultimately buy the more expensive Kinect model.

I also don't think going toe to toe is as huge of a risk as you think it is, because they can drop price next Holiday, so it won't be a forced toe to toe, it will be a choice by Nintendo based on what they are seeing if they attempt to do that. And if it fails horribly, then they have a bad holiday season but can drop soon after.