ocre

They don't notice more 'limited' graphics because they're clinging to old ways? I seem to remember a lot of emphasis on graphical prowess in schoolyard debates back in the 90s. I'm not sure people ever 'ignored' graphics. Graphics have always just been one part of a gaming experience. And sure, graphics have a ways to go, but history (and the present) shows that they're not the most important thing. My mom never taught me that. Millions of people bought into the Wii, making it the best-selling console of this generation, and I really doubt it's because those people grew up playing on weaker systems. The bigger problem is going too far with system specs only makes "AAA" games and beefy hardware more expensive to create and buy. You go bleeding edge with your specs, higher price tag is required, your system doesn't sell, developers reluctant to support your system. Good luck with that.

This European print ad sure does make the system look pretty sexy. Why the HECK isn't the Silver one coming out here in Norse America? |=< Edit: You're really going to devote a whole post to a typo?

Katamari Damacy. Lonely Rolling Star. Always makes me smile.

Pac Man is a lock. I expected him last time, I'm certain he's in this one. Hey Sakurai, give me Classic Mega Man, please.

Depends on what you're still thinking about. If you're still on the fence about getting a 3DS even now that Super Mario 3D Land, Mario Kart 7, Ocarina of Time 3D, Star Fox 64 3D, Kid Icarus Uprising, Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater 3D, Resident Evil Revelations and more than a handful of worthwhile eShop games are out, think about whether or not Paper Mario Sticker Star, Luigi's Mansion Dark Moon, NSMB2 a new Harvest Moon, and Kingdom Hearts DDD coming out this year and Fire Emblem and Animal Crossing coming out early next year are worth buying this new handheld for. Tons of exclusives. Or did you mean something else? And some people's obsession with the 3DS needing another pad, how is the system suffering without one? It's not like the Vita is selling like hotcakes and the 3DS is missing out on key, do-able ports. If you like the games available, get the system. None of them require a second stick. Everything will be fine. I don't remember anyone bitching about the GBA needing more buttons because every other system had 4. And I seem to recall the DS had 1 Direction Pad. Did you not buy one of those because you were waiting for a revised model with an analog stick? It's a little pitiful.

I love my iPhone 4.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY Legendary Midi Man MR JONES

I was thinking about this earlier, they can't really come out with a condom slipcover for the GamePad like they did with the Wii Remote can they? I can imagine a wrist strap through. Blegh Also, NSMB2 is the 3DS game. NSMBU is the Wii U game. Nintendo marketing fails again! I actually have to read stuff to did out about what a product is?! Oh my god! (/overreaction)

So guys, let's say they offer us a Black or White Wii system at launch. Which one do you think you're gonna pick up(for those definitely going to get the system; you chowderheads that have no interest in the system, feel free to not answer)? I say black. Not only is that the sexiest color ever but it'll probably be better for playing videos and games on the GamePad, since images will have a dark background to jut out of.

Here you go. The demos seemed pretty well received by the audience, and no I don't mean the cued applause. Edit: I'm on my phone. Fixed my typo.

Ah, my Goddess! Kirby! This is definitely worth a purchase! I look forward to playing these games in Wii U Off TV mode. :3

Jimmy Fallon will feature the Wii U( or should I say Nintendo Land?) on his show tonight(Friday) to close out his Video Games Week thing. We all know how this goes down: Reggie lurches out onto the stage and tries to explain a game while Fallon ignores him and bellows awkward exclamations! Who's game? Maybe they will go the more entertaining route and have him play ZombiU instead. Update: He is in fact going to show off ZombiU on the show.

Mirror's Edge 2: Crisis of Faith Castlevania Lords of Shadow 2: Mirrors of Edge 2: Crisis of Faith Coming to the Wii U.

What does that comic about two 3DS games have to do with the Wii U? Also: Ha. Also also: I like The Binding of Isaac. How does it feel up there on your high horse?

If i can interrupt the psychopath convention: This is an interesting smattering of answers to questions about console power, user accounts and more. Also a of how ZombiU plays. Looks p coo. And hard.

Public service announcement! Great new Wii titles to add to your library in preparation for Wii U (which is fully backward compatible with all Wii software and peripherals) New titles have been added to the Nintendo Selects category of games and now feature reduced prices: - Pikmin 2 New Play Control (actually a new release of the classic GameCube Pikmin 2 game with added Wii pointer control) - $19.99 This one is one of my favorite games of all time. I highly recommend! It's just oozing with charm. - Kirby's Epic Yarn - $19.99 - Super Smash Bros Brawl - $29.99 - Donkey Kong Country Returns - $29.99 More $19.99 Nintendo Selects titles. Run. Do not walk.

Wii U to have 'improved' friend code system that will make us happy, achievements system up to developers to implement Interesting. Also, according to Nintendo Gamer magazine, Call of Duty Black Ops 2 will be released on Wii U.

That's right, Iwata promised us that the 3DS version of Smash Bros with work with the Wii U one, but that's a long way off. But within that promise, there is a glimmer of other connectivity probabilities! I've seen an idea thrown around online where Nintendo enables you to download an app on the 3DS that contains 'data save' markers from Wii U games you own, and when you take the 3DS with you into the wild, you get StreetPasses for those games too. When you get back home, you sync it up with your Wii U, and you get StreetPass data on the Wii U. I think it'd be awesome if this were to pan out.

This is ridiculous. Rockstar made a Nintendo DS exclusive(for a time it was exclusive) called GTA Chinatown Wars. Perhaps we would've seen GTA IV on the Wii if it had been able to handle it, who knows. There was a huge install base on the Wii, so specs were probably more of a factor than "lol that console is fer babiez". Are you reading many posts of people making fun of Ubisoft for supporting the Wii U with AC3? Also on the subject of forcing developers to use the GamePad: why would they show off and explain the 'hardcore' Wii U Pro controller if they weren't going to let developers decide to use it. Makes me think that the developers either ARE working on things with smaller teams or are sitting on ther hands until the Wii U is proven to be successful, just like many did with the 3DS, much to its struggle.

Right. I agree with you that Pikmin 3 looks really good- the fact that this is 'just' a Wii game retooled mid-development adds support to my theory, (it's been in development the longest of any other Wii U title we've seen); this tells me that a 'from-the-ground-up' first party effort (maybe supplemented by an even further realistic art direction than Pikmin) would give us a better understanding of the boundaries this system can push visually. I'm just saying that we haven't seen that yet, so people worried about the Wii U being just as powerful as 6 year old technology should sit tight. On the other hand, which is possible but highly unlikely, if its only as powerful as a PS3, at least it won't cost too much. lol As for fumbling in tryin to convince the hardcore crowd that there's compelling software on Nintendo's side of the fence, Brush, of course I agree that ports of already-released titles aren't enough, but it does at the very least diversify the launch lineup. There will be the early ports as there were in previous generation system launches. I was disappointed there weren't more confirmations of soon to be released third party stuff like GTA V(which hasnt really been officiallly confirmed for anything yet) or Resident Evil 6. But I really doubt they weren't for reasons of tech specs. Honestly, I think the prospect of having to tweak already heavily in developement games to support the new controller is perhaps too daunting a task. But coming back to whether Wii U technically supports visually impressive games, Ubisoft had mentioned Watch Dogs as a possibility for Wii U. We'll see.

I wrote this up to address concerns that Wii U is shaping up to be a marginal upgrade as far as visual specs. Though that's not really much of a concern for myself, I thought I'd share it with you guys and hope it gives you some food for thought: I'm not sure I'm ready to stick the "not very powerful machine" label on the Wii U just yet. I'm thinking that the hardware had just barely been finalized maybe a month or less before E3 started, based on devkit rumors. And then in their presentation, Nintendo themselves barely had A) An HD re-engineered Wii game(Pikmin 3) and what I can guess is a hastily scrambled together minigame showcase(NintendoLand) which needed to be ready specifically to pad the launch and serve as a taste tester/proof of concept for the GamePad - neither of these seem like candidates to showcase the graphical prowess of the system. Third party offerings would be an even less likely place to find built-from-the-ground-up Wii U technical marvels. We have seen ports of games built within the tech limits of the PS3 and Xbox360 in Arkham City and Assassin's Creed III. Maybe the teams devoted to these ports aren't putting too much effort into beefing up their visuals but instead are more involved in shoehorning GamePad support onto them. And then with ZombiU, perhaps Ubisoft spent the better part of their year even deciding what this game was going to BE that they didn't put too much emphasis on making it look that great. ZombiU started off as a game with a significantly different direction (Killer Freaks). Personally, I'm waiting until Retro Studios project or perhaps another First Party offering like the next 3D Mario is shown off before I make any serious judgements of what the machine can do visually. I know that's what this week was EXPECTED to deliver on but these things take time to put together(I've read posts from people who are upset there was no new Zelda for Wii U at the presser); I'm just hoping a year with fluctuating hardware specs was not enough in this case, and the real jawdroppers are still cooking.

Hey cool, NSMB2 has koopalings. Looks fantastic.

Let me make that easier for you: Nintendo confirmed Fire Emblem Awakening will be released in North America.

I'm not going to get into my shattered expectations but! I will say that we at least have Pikmin 3 and whatever the hell awesome thing Retro IS working on to look forward to. So there's that. People act like system launches have always been spectacular. The games will come. They're just still cooking. I won't deny Nintendo didn't botch this E3, but there's a reason for that, and I think you're right on the money, the games just weren't ready yet.

Where the heck are Fire Emblem and Animal Crossing? Hopefully tomorrow at the software showcase. Please.