Why Wii U Is Next-Gen Whether You Like It Or Not

People throw the term "generation" around yet have no idea what it actually means. It is simply a period of time. It has nothing at all to do with hardware of graphics capability. Furthermore, the best hardware doesn't mean the best sales. PS2 was weaker than GC and Xbox yet outsold them, and Wii was weaker than PS3 and 360 and outsold them as well.

I agree 100% that consoles are not about graphics, and it is silly for gamers to expect mind-blowing graphics on console when a console is never going to have true next-gen visuals. PC is the only platform where true next generation graphics can be experienced. The purpose of consoles is to place a more affordable and innovative approach into gaming for consumers and developers alike, and I think that is why gamers want these kind of visuals on console, because the problem is the price of PC gaming. No matter how you slice it, setting yourself set up for PC gaming isn't cheap. The only way to make PC gaming affordable is to build the rig yourself, and not many average consumers are willing to do this. Even if console gamers got the graphics they want though, it will still be just as expensive as PC, and that's what gamers need to learn. Consoles are there to be the affordable alternative.

My apologies. I meant that as a reply to wildmario. My bad. lol

If it's just to do with time then what prevents the PS3 super slim being a new generation considering it was released just a few months before the Wii U? Your analytical skills in business is terrible - what does it matter who sells the most? Why compare the market of the Wii to the 360/PS3 when they clearly had different audiences?
If gaming wants to mature, then gamers need to mature and drop the "I know all" attitude.

You are clueless. Are you new to gaming? Hardware revisions have been going on for decades, and not once has anyone ever considered a revision part of a "next generation". Go back to school, son.

I've most likely been gaming for longer than you "son". You clearly have no clue about this and are just arbitrarily saying revisions don't count "because". Yeah, ****ing flawless reasoning there. Come back when your education system hasn't failed you.

If you think console revisions are a new generation then you are an idiot. Please delete your account and kill yourself.

If people really cared so much about stuff like clock speeds, graphical power, etc, what are they doing playing on a console? Go to a PC if you care so much about individual specs and raw power.


It seems that Nintendo is never going to make certain people happy and I called it that people are going to bash Nintendo for something else other than the graphics once it went to HD because, yeah, anything that is not a SNES will forever suck.

Ill hug you both before Tiny comes and hugs you as well. Consoles give great video game experiences but Ive traded the negatives of those for the negatives of pc gaming. Some people will just hate on Nintendo for their own personal reasons. They refocus it on whatever they feel are their shortcomings without getting all the facts.

I agree 100% that consoles are not about graphics, and it is silly for gamers to expect mind-blowing graphics on console when a console is never going to have true next-gen visuals. PC is the only platform where true next generation graphics can be experienced. The purpose of consoles is to place a more affordable and innovative approach into gaming for consumers and developers alike, and I think that is why gamers want these kind of visuals on console, because the problem is the price of PC gaming. No matter how you slice it, setting yourself set up for PC gaming isn't cheap. The only way to make PC gaming affordable is to build the rig yourself, and not many average consumers are willing to do this. Even if console gamers got the graphics they want though, it will still be just as expensive as PC, and that's what gamers need to learn. Consoles are there to be the affordable alternative.

As someone who knows relatively little about the technical side of computing, I always appreciate the way your articles layer in the real-world impact of increased specs instead of assuming that I know how Y having 5 more gigawatts over X will translate into what I see on the screen.

I still haven't even seen an in store demo of the WiiU thanks to my penchant for avoiding retail stores. All the GR coverage has definitely enticed me to look into it as a purchase down the line.

Also, check your Wii's in the second to last sentence of the second to last paragraph.

Ive thought about getting the Wii U. My girl and I have this issue where I hog up the t.v and she wants to watch her dumb "reality" shows. She tivos them but she doesn't watch them until I go to bed and our little one goes to bed. I'm really intrigued with being able to play on the gamepad while she can watch tv. Very innovative. The only huge reason why I'm hesitating on buying this is because I love me some awesome graphics. I'm not saying the Wii U doesn't deliver the goods I've just become very picky when it comes to visuals and I don't think this console can deliver the kind of graphics that I'm looking for as a gamer.

Its up in the air right now. We have a Wii and its just been sitting there collecting dust. I don't want to repeat that. And plus I have a pretty big game library already for the 360 so its going to be hard to make that kind of switch. *shrugs*

Funny, I read this same article 13 years ago but it was about the Dreamcast.

Nice article you made a lot of good points. I went the other day to buy Mario Kart 7 and saw a demo of Rayman Origins some guy was playing. Damn, the best graphics Ive ever seen. Now mind you I haven't played a ton of games this gen to really be an expert. But from what Ive seen those graphics were great.
I will eventually pick one up but right now there aren't enough games and I can;t afford it

very well said! I agree with you 100% about Miiverse, I haven't used it a lot but i'm very impressed with what i've seen so far. it'll be such a relief to just ask questions i'm having with the difficulty of the game im playing right there on the gamepad, i normally have to load up my computer and google some Yahoo! answers. Can't wait for xmas

is that how my comments sound? i swear im not trying to promote the wii u

I'm very impressed and happy with the Wii U, very glad I picked one up. So far I've only played the New Super Mario Bros. and ZombiU, but I've really enjoyed both games in terms of gameplay and overall presentation. The gamepad feels very natural, comfortable and ergonomic, gameplay-wise it's very interesting to see how developers utilise the gamepad for their games (I especially like how it's used in ZombiU). I find it very arrogant that people look down on the Wii U, believing (without even trying it) the gamepad to be a "gimmick". I know people who scoffed at the Wii U, asking me "Why did you get one?" - suddenly their opinion completely changes once they actually see the Wii U in action.

people scoffed at you when you bought a wii u? i lent my friend some money so he could get one on launch day and he hugged me. i didn't want the hug. but still, i can only assume those people you mentioned are closed minded gamers. i know a few

Ha ha, and you received a hug. Nice. :P

They did! I was quite surprised. I bought the Wii U and one of my mates who works at the shop I got it from was like "Why are you buying that?". One of my mates at Judo was also like "NOOOO DON'T GET A WII U JUST BUY AN X-BOX." :/

I think in all fairness, it's because of the Wii before. So many crappy party games, not many "core" games, very generic "waggle" controls, poor online play and not the best graphics... it's understandable for people to look down on the Wii U without trying it. But then again, I guess those people either didn't have any faith in Nintendo or, didn't do any research into the Wii U at all and just assume it's the same as the Wii - but with a tablet.

Haha yeah i can understand how people would look at it like that, it still seems single minded though, and that's just something that bothers me. Im not saying i dont respect their opinions, but i once heard my friend say 'no violence? What's the point?' when refering to portal 2. People who look at gaming like that annoy me, it's the same with the wii u

To me, the important matter is not if the Wii U is next-gen or not, but wether it will be capable to play games released on Orbis (PS4 or whatever Sony calls the next PS) and on the Xbox 720, looking at those specs, I don't think the Wii U is going to be capable of handling something like Star Wars 1313 or WATCH_DOGS (perhaps the pinnacle graphics-wise of the current gen), or any future game with more advance graphics than those games I've mentioned, so the Wii U may be next-gen, but once again Nintendo will have the weakest next-gen console. They probably will sell 100 million of them anyway of course, because people never get tired of Mario and Zelda apparently.

I really want a WiiU, but I am also skeptical about it. I only waited 6 months on the Wii and regretted buying one. I had to suffer through extremely slow game trickling and just sold it 2 years after I bought it. I will wait the 2-3 years for the WiiU and see what's on it. It really need third party support or it will be another software failure like the Wii and GameCube.

On another note, you're right about it being the start of the eighth generation. Anyone who denies this is an idiot. They were last in the gate in 2006 and first in line this time. I think they just might have released it a bit early.

If the Miiverse is properly done and they really use the asymmetrical gameplay well this could be more successful than its predecessor. Backwards compatibility dont hurt either, made it an easy transition from PS to PS2 for me back in the day.

how exactly is it next gen?
the cpu is weaker than xbox 360/ps3 like many articles are proving.
only the Ram is bigger than both.

and the controller? oh wait, don't we have a screen on controller like DreamCast controller+memory VU?


in fact I wish Sony would develop upon Dreamcast controller.
it would be a normal controller however you can take out the screen anytime and put it back in. BUt the screen would be much better.

Wii U is not new, it's just doing what other consoles have done before, and working on dreamcast controller.

But I kinda class Wii U as a pre 8gen console. Xbox 360 2006 was a pre 7th gen console. But the new xbox 360 seems to be a standard level of how a 7th gen console should be like.

Did you even bother reading the article? Generations are nothing more than a period of time, and have nothing to do with hardware. You have no idea what you are talking about.

Your comment makes no sense. There is no "pre-gen" anything. The Xbox 360 was 7th generation and the new Xbox is still the same hardware just condensed. They just added HDMI in the Elite model, but all the hardware is exactly the same. When the SMS was out it was "pre-generation" until the Sega Genesis was out was it? No. WiiU is 8th generation whether it has weak hardware or not.

*Grammar correction* When the SMS was out it WASN'T "pre-generation" until the Sega Genesis was out was it?

Nobody has proven anything about the CPU, and most of the people who claim they have are focusing solely on the clock speed while ignoring the architecture. Also, any intelligent console gamer only cares about how fun the games are, rather than how powerful the platform is.

would like to see MMO on the Wii U using the game pad with the help of miiverse...could happen

People are under-estimating the Wii U simply because their last system was weak in comparison to the competition, so it's understandable why people are so skeptical about the console, because this generation (by generation I mean the gamers, not the gen of consoles) only knows about one Nintendo console, the Wii. They are not attuned to gaming history as long time gamers are, and therefore don't recall Nintendos history. They believe Nintendo always makes weak hardware, simply because the only ones they know are the Wii, DS, and 3DS, all of which have weaker hardware and graphics than their competition. They don't recall back to the SNES and Genesis, where Nintendo had more powerful hardware than Sega, regardless of the lower clocked CPU (sound familiar?) Or when the Nintendo 64 was the most powerful console of its generation (i.e. the PS1 and Saturn being 32 bit systems, and the N64.... well, it's in the name.)

Jonathan may I ask what makes you think your opinion is gospel? What qualifies you to make such statements because it sure as hell isn't logic.

"The Wii U succeeds the Wii and by definition is next-gen."

Take a minute to think about how flawed that argument is. If that is true, then how on earth do you classify new-comers to the console race such as the PS1, the original xbox and the Steam Box?

"rumours state that the next Xbox will only have 1.6GHz per core, so what does that tell you?"

Nice of you to leave off the rest of the rumour; the xbox will have 8 cores, as compared to the Wii U's 3, making the next xbox considerably more powerful in terms of CPU vs CPU. While we are at it lets compare the Wii U to the 360; the 360 has 3 cores @ 3.2Ghz compared to 3 cores @ 1.24Ghz.

The Wii U is undoubtedly more efficient than the PS3/360, but it is not much more powerful as Nintendo have gone for efficiency vs power. This article is little more than fanboy bile.