This is the way the generation ends. Not with a bang but a whimper. Plagued by misinformation, technical hiccups and an inability to recapture the groundswell of support for the Wii, the Wii U stumbled out of the gate and effectively rung the death knell for this console cycle.
Not far removed from the hype clogging retailers around the release of the Xbox 360 and the PS3 during this console cycle, nor the absolute hysteria surrounding the Wii’s launch, the reception of Nintendo’s newest platform is telling where this generation stands. Where the average lifetime of a console has generally averaged five years, counting from the Xbox 360’s 2005 release, this generation is approaching an elderly 8 years old.
The system outpaces its contemporaries with twice the RAM, an equitable strength in GPU and cavernous disk space. This alone is astounding given Nintendo’s recent take of “style” and “innovation” over “fidelity.” However, hitting those three check-boxes does not a next-gen system make.
The Wii U struggles with a low CPU raising concern from developers across the board. Additionally, system specs and back-end design result in the hardware’s best looking games matching midtier midgeneration titles off the Xbox or PS3 at best. Whether Nintendo refuses it or not (and they have), visual upgrades have been, and for some time will be, the key component of console and generation jumps. The Wii U has caught up but not surpassed its counterparts, and a year away from the powerhouse boxes expected out of Microsoft and Sony, it’s less impressive – another reminder that PC gaming and the graphics tech market are blowing by our current console standards.
However, the twists of the GamePad and evolution of the Wii’s use of motion and audio are interesting. As with the Wii and its motion-based source of innovation, the Wii U’s flexible second-screen GamePad’s use at launch may be more proof-of-concept than effective, and many may use the tool as a gimmick rather than a source of inspiration at first. Despite this, the technology is sound, and the implications, showcased in Nintendo Land’s mini-games or ZombiU’s brilliantly manufactured tension, are potentially exciting if the device’s strengths are used well.
This said, much of the quality seen at launch, and thus far, on the horizon, comes in the form of ports. While great for one-console Wii owners who’d missed out on your Call of Duties and Mass Effects, they are wholly unimpressive and unlikely to please or coerce anyone outside of this select audience. Until developers begin to deliver on the Wii U’s promise, secondhand and graphically choppy ports are all consumers have to look forward to, as long as this generation lasts. This said, something like Batman Arkham City – Armored Edition is still excellent. The game hasn’t changed, except for a few obligatory tack-ons and a sloppier frame rate. In my mind this does not earn in the “definitive edition” Nintendo and Rocksteady PR label it has.
Combined with Nintendo’s general inability to understand what the Internet is, (see: stilted multiplayer set-up, one-console restricted data, non-universal Nintendo ID’s, etc.) I cannot find a reason to be overly enthusiastic or define this system as anything more than the “Wii-add-on” their poor early advertising led many to believe it was. The problem: $300 is a hefty asking price for such a proposition.
It’s usually the arrival of a new console that ushers in the new and does away with the old. However, the sheer length of this cycle has allowed hardware to truly show its age. Whether the pall-bearer or plastic casket, the Wii U has effectively laid this generation to rest.
