Nintendo Wii U

[1AZRAEL1]

Also traded in a few crap games (Watch Dogs included) for Mario Kart 8. I wasn't in a rush to get this as i had plenty of other games to try and finish first. But i caved in as the kids wanted it. Probably the best in the series IMO. I quickly cleaned up the 50cc Grand Prix's but then got my arse kicked trying the 150cc. I think i need more fine tuning.

I found 150cc easier with the heavy weights, Wario donkey Kong etc.

I am struggling with mariokart 150cc, I have found that once I got used to the heavyweight class it helped a bit as they are almost impossible to knock around. I constantly win 3 races, only to get absolutely murdered in the 4th, I've even tried the hang back method to no avail. It's driving me bonkers!

One thing I figured out as well, but the different Karts/wheels/gliders offer different stats too, instead of just looking cool. Had fun playing it too. 150cc is pretty difficult to win all the races too.

[Trent]

Soooo, call me ignorant, but I only just found out that the Wii U doesn't have a Blu Ray player, or even DVD player for that matter. I was looking for a replacement for the PS3 and was leaning toward this as I miss Nintendo games but c'mon, the PS3 plays almost everything and I can stream straight to it what it doesn't play. But it looks like the Wii U can't do any of this? No wonder the other consoles are killing it.

WTF Nintendo?

[twincobra]

Soooo, call me ignorant, but I only just found out that the Wii U doesn't have a Blu Ray player, or even DVD player for that matter. I was looking for a replacement for the PS3 and was leaning toward this as I miss Nintendo games but c'mon, the PS3 plays almost everything and I can stream straight to it what it doesn't play. But it looks like the Wii U can't do any of this? No wonder the other consoles are killing it.

WTF Nintendo?

They have a different level of thinking when it comes to those things. I wish it could play DVD, Blu-ray & Avi, mkv, mp3 etc via USB, but they are only in it to make games.

[shokwave2]

Yeah it would be nice if the Wii U could play all types of media but Nintendo have always been 100% focused on games. I'm actually happy that it doesn't play DVD/Blu-Ray because it lets me play games while the rest of the family watches movies. And i already have a Blu-Ray player, PS3 and Xbox 360 hooked up to the TV. I can only watch one movie at once.

[Tfiguy]

Soooo, call me ignorant, but I only just found out that the Wii U doesn't have a Blu Ray player, or even DVD player for that matter. I was looking for a replacement for the PS3 and was leaning toward this as I miss Nintendo games but c'mon, the PS3 plays almost everything and I can stream straight to it what it doesn't play. But it looks like the Wii U can't do any of this? No wonder the other consoles are killing it.

WTF Nintendo?

You can download the homebrew channel to it and watch dvds...buuuuuuuut it would most probably void your waranty

[Gouki]

Soooo, call me ignorant, but I only just found out that the Wii U doesn't have a Blu Ray player, or even DVD player for that matter. I was looking for a replacement for the PS3 and was leaning toward this as I miss Nintendo games but c'mon, the PS3 plays almost everything and I can stream straight to it what it doesn't play. But it looks like the Wii U can't do any of this? No wonder the other consoles are killing it.

WTF Nintendo?

This is the way they have always been, and you really think Nintendo would pay licensing fees to Sony to use their proprietary media? Are you high? I've never understood the need to have that feature in a console. I never used my PS2 or anything to play DVDs and I never once put a Bluray that wasn't a game in a PS3. It's just never made sense to me.

Except for the Gamecube's Japanese variant the Panasoonic Q (which was developed by Panasonic under licence from what I recall), they have never been interested in having their consoles play DVDs or Blurays. Ever. There are plenty of guides to get the Netflix channel active without any hacking at all.

Besides it is really a big deal when you can get fantastic multi-region Bluray players from the Good Guys for like $100 or less? That's where I got my Panasonic a few months ago. Haven't had a single problem with it. Oh, well, actually, it was DVD multi-region out of the box, I just had to take it a licensed Panasonic repairer, they put in the official code from Panasonic and voila, region free Blurays too. Officially, legally and freely.

[kup]

Soooo, call me ignorant, but I only just found out that the Wii U doesn't have a Blu Ray player, or even DVD player for that matter. I was looking for a replacement for the PS3 and was leaning toward this as I miss Nintendo games but c'mon, the PS3 plays almost everything and I can stream straight to it what it doesn't play. But it looks like the Wii U can't do any of this? No wonder the other consoles are killing it.

WTF Nintendo?

I share in all the frustrations. To put it simply and to be safe, the Wii U is only there to play Nintendo games - Nothing more. If you get it for anything else, you will be disappointed.

My biggest gripes are not so much that it can't play DVDs/Blurays but that it doesn't have standard Dolby & DTS surround sound support but relies on PCM 7.1 channel which only the latest and most expensive receivers support - Anything else even the expensive Surround sound set up you may have bought only a couple of years ago will give you just 2ch audio.

Nintendo are not really learning from its competitors and still doing their own thing. It has worked for them in the past but back then they had a strong feel of the market's pulse than today.

However the surround sound thing is purely software and so is the playback of DVDs (Not sure about blurays as I think that requires the right drive). So much of my gripes can be cured with just a software update which although I live in hope to see, I probably never will.

Anyways, since 2012 the Wii U has been heavily criticized and we hope that Nintendo has been listening. Recently due to good games such as Mario Kart 8, they have received a considerable sales boost. If they are smart and want to keep that momentum going till the next 'big game' is released, they would stop being cheap asses, pay the Dolby/DTS support licenses. A console is not sustainable by only one good release every 3 to 6 months.

[Trent]

This is the way they have always been, and you really think Nintendo would pay licensing fees to Sony to use their proprietary media? Are you high? I've never understood the need to have that feature in a console. I never used my PS2 or anything to play DVDs and I never once put a Bluray that wasn't a game in a PS3. It's just never made sense to me.

Except for the Gamecube's Japanese variant the Panasoonic Q (which was developed by Panasonic under licence from what I recall), they have never been interested in having their consoles play DVDs or Blurays. Ever. There are plenty of guides to get the Netflix channel active without any hacking at all.

Besides it is really a big deal when you can get fantastic multi-region Bluray players from the Good Guys for like $100 or less? That's where I got my Panasonic a few months ago. Haven't had a single problem with it. Oh, well, actually, it was DVD multi-region out of the box, I just had to take it a licensed Panasonic repairer, they put in the official code from Panasonic and voila, region free Blurays too. Officially, legally and freely.

Have you considered that not everyone has the same expectations and requirements as you? My PS3 currently serves the following roles: game console, DVD player, BluRay player, occasional internet browser and streaming device for both movies and pictures, music, etc. it currently sits in a little cabinet next to my stereo. There is no room for anything else. Considering that most people want these to double as a media centre these days it's not to much to ask that they include these features. It in no way compromises the console. The games are still the same, the controller stays the same, the price may go up a little but that would be easily offset by the increased number units they would shift, which would do nothing but good things for everyone.

I don't want to buy a Wii U then still have to cough up for a BluRay/DVD player. I don't want to fiddle around buying and setting up a media server/streaming device. I don't care about surround sound but Kup does. And all the Wii U's competitors easily cater to all of those things.

I considered buying a PS4 for $400 on eBay the other day. They haven't been out that long so there will be future opportunities to get them for less. Nintendo are slowly killing themselves by refusing to listen to what consumers want and instead telling them what they want. Look at their sales figures and tell me if that's working out for them?

Games are another thing. Do you know why I want one? Mario Kart and Smash Bros. That's it. I can't say I've seen anything else that interests me.

I want a Wii U. I may still get one. But I don't want one enough to reorganize my entire entertainment system for it and spend more money on top of that to get back to where my PS3 is now

/rant

[kup]

Have you considered that not everyone has the same expectations and requirements as you? My PS3 currently serves the following roles: game console, DVD player, BluRay player, occasional internet browser and streaming device for both movies and pictures, music, etc. it currently sits in a little cabinet next to my stereo. There is no room for anything else. Considering that most people want these to double as a media centre these days it's not to much to ask that they include these features. It in no way compromises the console. The games are still the same, the controller stays the same, the price may go up a little but that would be easily offset by the increased number units they would shift, which would do nothing but good things for everyone.

I don't want to buy a Wii U then still have to cough up for a BluRay/DVD player. I don't want to fiddle around buying and setting up a media server/streaming device. I don't care about surround sound but Kup does. And all the Wii U's competitors easily cater to all of those things.

I considered buying a PS4 for $400 on eBay the other day. They haven't been out that long so there will be future opportunities to get them for less. Nintendo are slowly killing themselves by refusing to listen to what consumers want and instead telling them what they want. Look at their sales figures and tell me if that's working out for them?

Games are another thing. Do you know why I want one? Mario Kart and Smash Bros. That's it. I can't say I've seen anything else that interests me.

I want a Wii U. I may still get one. But I don't want one enough to reorganize my entire entertainment system for it and spend more money on top of that to get back to where my PS3 is now

/rant

I do the same thing with my PS3. I use it for DVD/Blurays and as a streaming media box. It is actually awesome at all that and honestly, I probably have a lot more time clocked on it on that than games.

Buying a Bluray player for $100 when you already have a PS3? Sorry but that is ridiculously redundant and very silly.

The Wii-U should offer those Media features. As mentioned by Trent, they would help boost their sales and actually help them to have some entertainment dominance. Some people may even rationalize 'Why should I buy a PS4 when I already have a Wii U that plays Bluerays/DvDs/etc?'

Nintendo is digging themselves into a hole although they are sitting on an Ace card they have no idea how to use.

Imagine what would happen if the Wii U was a Media machine that not only played Bluerays but also played Nintendo games? F**k, it would be meltdown in sales, they would not be able to keep up.

[kurdt_the_goat]

No one gives a shit about blu-ray and if they do it won't be for much longer as streaming takes over!