Wii U

So, the launch of the Wii U is right around the corner at this point with Nintendo still saying that it will be launched in 2012. The question is, is there any reason to be excited about it? I would go ahead and say yes. First of all at launch there looks to be pretty great games such as Pikmin 3, Project P-100 (working name) and Zombie U to name a few. Also it's not like the console is going to flop in the long run, because Miyamoto has already mentioned that he has four upcoming projects and another new IP in mind for it later. We can assume that these games are a Zelda, full fledged Mario and other iconic Miyamoto games. Maybe a Star Fox? The new IP is apparently an exploration based co-op FPS, although he said that the other games will be coming first. EA is working to port a lot of existing franchises to the console including Battlefield 3 and Mass Effect 3. I do believe that I read earlier this week that Black Ops 2 will also be coming to the Wii U this holiday, optimized for the Pro Controller. I think that at least for the time being the Wii U will have excellent 3rd party support. And by the time the new consoles come out? It wont matter, or the Wii U will popular enough where they can still profit from supporting it. What I mean by that is that is if people can be made to be a believer of the Wii U, and people like it, then games will continue to be made for it.

And if not? Well, by that time the Wii U will have awesome first and second party games that define the console anyway. I'm personally looking forward to a new Zelda, Smash 4, and maybe a new Fire Emblem. I know that Nintendo has plans for the system, and I have faith in them. Look at the Wii. People say that Mario Galaxy 1 and 2 are both top notch platformer, Skyward Sword looks to be a fine Zelda game, and a few 2nd party games were really great as well. I'm sure that like the Gamecube and the Wii, the Wii U will survive on hidden gems, if it dosn't get full 3rd party support.

However, if Nintendo hasn't been your thing in the past, if your not big into Mario, or Zelda, or other Nintendo exclusives I would definitely wait. I don't see the Wii U getting many new exclusive IPs, I mean Miyomoto has mentioned one, but I expect that at least at first it will be the usual "Nintendo" IPs. Things like Zelda, Pokemon, Mario, and Smash. Maybe a Metroid if we get lucky.