UPDATED 14:41 EDT / NOVEMBER 21 2012

NEWS

WiiU Launch Recap: The Good, the Bad and the Gimmicky

Nintendo unveiled its WiiU next generation gaming console this week, and the reviews are pouring in.

The good

The platform, which already sold out in the US, is considerably better than its processor. The gamepad has been touted as “more luxurious” than the Wii’s, and the console itself features USB and SD card compatibility as well as 2GB of DDR3 RAM, according to one blog.

Nintendo’s new machine comes with several pre-installed apps including Hulu and Netflix, and offers a myriad of triple A titles of launch including Mass Effect 3 and Ninja Gaiden. Getting enough support on launch will be a big consideration for Microsoft and Sony when they launch their own  next generation platforms, the Xbox 720 and Playstation 4.

The bad

There are several major complaints about the WiiU, as well as a few minor ones. Establishing a connection takes a bit of fiddling, for one, and users need to download a firmware update that takes up as much as 7GBs (on the 32GB model) to access key online features such as the eStore.    Some reports have  noted that the controller’s battery life is as little as three hours, and consumers have voiced concerns over frame rate  drops in some of the ports.

The gimmicky

It could be said that the WiiU’s big selling point is the fact it’s both a console and a controller, an attempt to integrate TV gaming with mobile.  But it has yet to be determined if Nintendo successfully crossbreed these two key trends,  or merely created an unconfused platform that is a jack of all trades, master of none.


A message from John Furrier, co-founder of SiliconANGLE:

Your vote of support is important to us and it helps us keep the content FREE.

One click below supports our mission to provide free, deep, and relevant content.  

Join our community on YouTube

Join the community that includes more than 15,000 #CubeAlumni experts, including Amazon.com CEO Andy Jassy, Dell Technologies founder and CEO Michael Dell, Intel CEO Pat Gelsinger, and many more luminaries and experts.

“TheCUBE is an important partner to the industry. You guys really are a part of our events and we really appreciate you coming and I know people appreciate the content you create as well” – Andy Jassy

THANK YOU