The Old Nintendo Megathread

[apsham]

For people on slow connections or people who boot it up and then get bored and just want to play.. I can for sure see what happening.

[Sousa]

As usual, it pays not to be an early adopter.

[King Ellis]

The update will be 10gb by the time you get around to it!

[Sousa]

By the time I get around to it it'll ship with the update.

[EWB's Best Poster.]

This is usually the case. Lots of bug reports too, hopefully to be hammered out by then.

I likely wont be getting one. Outside of Mario/Zelda the list of games of any quality for the wii numbered in the tens. The amount of shovel ware was thrice that of Sony or ms. Just dont feel like repeating that again.

[The Mask of Norro]

Classic Norro TL;DR ahead folks.

I've had absolutely no problems with my Wii U... not sure why, but around my area everyone who's purchased one haven't had any problems with theirs either. I think it's more just bad situations are coming to surface faster because people are anxious to see drama around a new console launch, as it stands if there were more problems then we'd probably hear way more about it from people. Only thing I've actually seen 100% of Wii U owners complain about is the initial update which, yeah, holy shit that was bad.

Miiverse is surprisingly addictive. I could see myself getting hooked in there, something I was not expecting as I'm not even a fan of Facebook and I can barely keep my attention towards Social Networking, but there's just something about it that I see myself coming back to. Nintendoland I was certain I was going to trade in for something else before I played it. Then I played it. It's not going to leave my game library, it's basically the perfect party game and even solo is one hell of a game showcase.

NSMBU is probably the next game I'll get. Either that or ZombieU-- despite lackluster reviews from critics, literally every single person I've spoken to who has played the game has came back with rave reviews. It's basically Dark Souls meets modern zombie survival thriller, and it's difficult as fuck apparently. Easily something I could get into. Also Black Ops II runs fantastic on the console according to one of my co-workers who bought it with me, and he's pretty much hooked into that.

And, of course, Mass Effect 3. Still pissed we didn't get the trilogy but hey, what can you do. ME3 apparently runs very well on the system and the game can be switched over to be played handheld on the Game Pad, which means I can play Mass Effect in my bed if I wanted to. Absolutely brilliant.

Remote function on the Game Pad is nifty-- I wish it worked with my Comcast Digital Receiver, but since it's not a proper cable box my Game Pad couldn't sync up with it. Instead, I was able to get it to sync with my TV, so while I can't change channels through the digital receiver, I can at least adjust volume and switch through inputs.

Netflix is, well, it's Netflix. The community feature from the Miiverse is fantastic though, and it really shines here. Then there's the Internet Browser and I have to say, it's the easiest time I've ever had with a browser on any console. Runs fast, smooth, easy to use and loads pages with dynamic elements fairly easily. Using my Internet Browser and the Game Pad, I was able to register my Wii U on Club Nintendo, do the survey, and create a new tab in the browser to visit EWB and make a post. Very simple, easy stuff.

Finally, the one thing I was most concerned about: Wii to Wii U transfer. I have over $100 in Virtual Console purchases on my Wii that I've been dreading losing as I got my Wii practically at launch, and it's been on its last legs for a long time. Well, after downloading the necessary programs onto my Wii and Wii U and starting the process, I have to say I'm impressed. The wait time was long-- expected for me, as I said I've got a lot of downloaded content-- but Nintendo passed the time with a nice little mini-movie of Pikmin moving all my things from the Wii to the Wii U in the meantime.

If you're doing it yourself, you'll need an SD card to perform the transfer with at least 512MB on it. The Wii U reads the data transfered onto the SD card from the Wii and proceeds to download everything you had from the market for free, then applies your save data to it. The downside is your Wii gets completely formatted in the process, but considering it's a straight port from the Wii over to the Wii U it's honestly not that big a deal for me. I'd caution though that if you're looking to just copy your files so you can have them on both systems, there isn't currently a way to do that as Nintendo's method is more cut-and-paste, and it eliminates the option of bringing your data back to the Wii.

That being said, they warn you about this a good five times beforehand, so if you miss it it's hardly Nintendo's fault on that one.

Anyway, conclusion for me is that the Wii U was an awesome value and worth every penny. The game line-up leading into March looks amazing, the launch line-up is surprisingly well-stacked (even ignoring games that came out first on other systems, the Wii U starts off with a solid launch of games regardless) and the Nintendo Network feels very easy and natural to use, making friend requests and chatting with each other a thousand times easier and better than on the Wii, never-mind it stacking up fairly easily against PS3/XB360's own. Oh, and before I forget, video calling on the Game Pad is so cool, even if it is just Wii U's version of Skype. The way it's designed and the way it functions is just a lot of fun.

Now just to buy a Pro Controller and some more games... I'm looking forward to this new generation of gaming and what it brings. Sony and Microsoft definitely have some great competition, and I hope it inspires them to think big when they're ready for their own next gen answer.

[EWB's Best Poster.]

I'd hold off on mass effect. They may announce a collection like they are for ps3 which has all 3

[Skummy]

I likely wont be getting one. Outside of Mario/Zelda the list of games of any quality for the wii numbered in the tens. The amount of shovel ware was thrice that of Sony or ms. Just dont feel like repeating that again.

I feel like I make this point endlessly in this thread, but "there are no good games on the Wii" isn't even true. Not by a long shot. Yes, there's a ton of shovelware, but that in no way devalues the great games that did exist for the console - not to mention that every console I can remember had just as much shit released for it, it's just not that we have the "casual gamer" and "family game" tag to stick on it too, rather than a shit game just being a shit game. The PS3 has countless shite games, but because they have guns in them, they're not "shovelware", they're just crap. What's the difference?

And why "outside of Mario/Zelda"? It seems like an odd distinction to make considering Mario has given us Super Mario Galaxy 2, the greatest 3D platformer ever made, with a solid argument for it being one of the all-time greatest platformers.

Beyond that? Last Story is the best JRPG I've played in years, and arguably in my top three-to-five I've ever played - lightyears ahead of the more recent Final Fantasy efforts on other consoles. Throw in Xenoblade and Pandora's Tower to get the trifecta of RPGs that are infinitely more interesting than the majority of similar efforts on other platforms.

Muramasa: The Demon Blade is one of the most beautiful, flawless games I've ever played on any console, and should be heralded as a classic.

Throw in Okami, Red Steel 2, Little King's Story (again, one of the best games in recent memory), No More Heroes 2, Monster Hunter Tri, Sin & Punishment, Kirby's Epic Yarn, Donkey Kong Country Returns, and Metroid Prime, and then all the Mario & Zelda efforts on top of that, plus a whole bunch of great games that are also available on the other consoles (the Lego games, for example, which I vastly prefer on Wii to PS3) and you have an extremely solid staple of games.

Actually, come to think of it, saying the number of quality games numbers "in the tens" is an absurd claim. Are you trying to argue that there are hundreds of great games for PS3, or 360? Because, yeah, there's not.

I'm going to end up getting a WiiU. As much as I'm a massive geek, I'm too busy these days, so I'm that much maligned phenomenon, the "casual gamer" more than anything. I've got more use, and more fun, out of my Wii than I ever would have done with a PS3 or 360, and I hope to follow that up with the WiiU once it drops in price a little.

[Sousa]

And Punch-Out, because seriously. Punch-Out is the Wii's kniis.

[Nick Adams]

Man, the kerning on this forum is weird sometimes. Until I looked closer, I could have sworn you were saying there was a game out there called Kirby's Epic Yam. Which I would totally play, save for the fact that my Nintendo system of choice is the 3DS. Ah well.

[Skummy]

I would play the fuck out of Kirby's Epic Yam.

[Pizza]

I don't get the shovel ware argument at all. There is no difference between a system with 100 good games and 0 bad ones, 100 good ones and 100 bad ones, or 100 good ones and 1000 bad ones. Just don't buy shitty games.

[EWB's Best Poster.]

Great. To counter "tens of games" you list off "tens of games." That really showed me.

The shovelware for me made finding hidden gems nearly impossible.

When I had the PS2 buying sly cooper on a whim when it came out was a terrific find. I wouldn't have ever seen it buried under the sheer amount of party games. I bought a game called parasite eve based on its writeup day one too. both examples of random tries turning to gold.

For me, that's a turn off.

It was a problem the wii continued until I just walked away. If the wiiU continues that, I won't buy in, and I won't be a first day guy based on that.

[EWB's Best Poster.]

I did enjoy no more heroes the best on the wii, though.

[Skummy]

The PS2 had bucketloads of shit games, though. You can't say "I bought a PS2 game on a whim and it was good, therefore it's an objectively better console". Because chances are you skipped over the likes of the Army Men games, Extreme Bowling, Celebrity Deathmatch or any of the countless "shovelware" games that came out for that console to make a decision - the PS2 had a ton of party games, cash-ins and cheap shit available for it too, yet because you read a review of a good game and bought it, it's somehow a better system?

You bought Parasite Eve because it got a good review, great. What's to stop you reading a good review of Little King's Story and buying that?

I don't buy a lot of games, but I've never found myself in the position of not being able to find a Wii game I want, or that looks like it might be worth trying out, because I'm swamped by this apparent mountain of terrible games.

"There are so many bad games I couldn't find the good ones" is just a bizarre argument for me, especially when you back that up with "I bought a PS2 game because it got a good review", as if that would somehow have been an impossibility to do the exact same thing on the Wii.

Great. To counter "tens of games" you list off "tens of games." That really showed me.

Again, you seem to be implying that there are more than "tens" of great games for the other major consoles. You find me a hundred good games for the PS3, or the 360. And even if you could, I'd be able to find you just as many which are as inexcusably terrible, if not moreso, than the worst of the Wii.

[The Mask of Norro]

Gonna have to echo Skummy on PS2 having massive amounts of shovel-ware-- I'd almost contend it had more than the Wii.

To put it into perspective, I'd challenge you to list off every good to great PS2 game you've ever played. Chances are, there's gonna be a lot, right?

But is it going to be numbered in the thousands? Because that's how many games the PS2 had. Literally thousands. And I can promise you, the vast majority of those games were not gems, they were efforts by companies looking to cash on what was then and still is now the best selling home gaming console ever made. It was no different with the Wii when it started getting popular, companies just wound up cashing in.

You can claim by proportion that the good Wii games got drowned out, but in reality you were just as likely to see good games on the PS2 get drowned out. The difference is with the Wii, more families buy the console and so retailers wind up putting that shovel-ware out to focus because it appeals to that demographic, whereas the PS2 got special treatment as it was seen as a gaming console, not a family console.

The Wii U will be different-- and, in fact, already is different-- in that there aren't really any true shovel-ware games out for it yet, nor likely will there be as many as for the Wii. One of the things you need to consider is the difference in graphic output, a smaller company looking to catch a big break would make a shovel-ware title for the Wii because it was easier than on the 360 or PS3. Wii U's going to require learning how to use new development kits, going to require more substantial graphical output... fact is, not as many of those companies are going to want to follow gaming into this next jump. They'll probably stick with mobile app games.

And echoing Skummy on this one too: there are far more games on the Wii worth buying than just 'tens of games'. If you really want it broken down for you I'll gladly do so when I return home today, and I assure you-- being who I am-- that the list I give you will in no way be as short or simple as a list of 'tens of games'.

[EWB's Best Poster.]

You misunderstand. I didn't buy it off a review. I bought it off the write up on the back of the game.

I suppose I could make a list. Or instead I could repeat my thoughts that I won't day one buy a system anymore based on a whim. The wii unimpressed me with its lineup over the years it was out, and I as a consumer can afford to be picky about what I spend my cash on.

I waited for the vita to have a solid base, just bought it three days ago. Case in point.

[Pizza]

"I'm not going to buy a console at launch" and "The Wii is shit because shovelware exists" are two completely different arguments. One is fair and makes a lot of sense, and one is batshit stupid.

[EWB's Best Poster.]

Quote me where I say the wii is shit.

If you are going to say I am making two different arguments, could you at least make those arguments actual statements I have made?

Because "I had a hard time finding games I liked for the wii versus other systems I owned, so I won't likely get its predecessor" seems to be the statement I made, and that doesnt conflict at all. Hell I even make a statement about games I LIKED for it, that gets ignored.

Christ, I can't say "I don't see myself getting one?" without you guy jumping down my back due to my own personal experiences with it? And it's "bat shit stupid"?

GIANT fuck you.

[EWB's Best Poster.]

Seriously. GIANT fuck you.