*THE* next platform/games

[disgaeniac]

So, out of the *"current"* platforms...which one do you think is going to be the next biggest thing (as in hardest to find, most valuable hardware & software, etc)?

* "current", in this discussion can be any platforms that are still having *EXCLUSIVE* games released/announced for it. *.

I'm going to cast my/the 1st vote with the Vita (more specifically & particularly the OLED models) -but- the Vita all the same.

Some of my reasons being their quality, lower sales figures = less on the market, + lately, at least...it seems like it's been getting A Lot of the Japanese/niche titles & RPG's (which, are often inherently (in later years) the most valuable + hardest to find genres); what do the rest of you think?

[soera]

I think the Vita is going to be costly too. Its a very specific system in general but the games are the size of a dime. Lost games is definitely a consideration for the future.

[disgaeniac]

I think the Vita is going to be costly too. Its a very specific system in general but the games are the size of a dime. Lost games is definitely a consideration for the future.

that's another good point that I hadn't even though of 

[argyle]

Yeah, I'd say the Vita is a safe bet.  I don't know if it counts because I don't know if anyone is still releasing games for it or not...but the more niche Wii games are already starting to become hard to find & are going up in price.  I've made the Wii my collecting focus recently in fact, because I'm trying to grab all the ones I want while they can still be found in stores for pretty good prices.

And I'll be honest, I was laughing at a post I had read somewhere recently w/ a friend of mine about a month ago.  The person had said something like he had 50 must-have Wii games or something along those lines, and my friend and I were thinking that was ridiculous.  Well...I own 24 Wii games right now (2 of those I'd say are "disposable" but I picked them up because they were $1 or less) and there are 28 currently on my wishlist.     And there are still probably a few more that I either haven't put on my list yet or have yet to hear of...

[tpugmire]

I'm thinking that the Wii U may be hard to find later on, since it seems like I'm the only person that owns one.

[turf]

I'm thinking that the Wii U may be hard to find later on, since it seems like I'm the only person that owns one.

I'm on board with you.  I think it may be a lot like the Dreamcast.  No one cared when it was around.  Now, see that the games were fun.

[disgaeniac]

I'm thinking that the Wii U may be hard to find later on, since it seems like I'm the only person that owns one.

The problem there is that the WiiU's low sales = A lack of games & a lack of 3rd-party Pubs/Devs willing to take the chance to invest money in making games for it (*especially* exclusives) = less people will buy it unless it gets more games -and- it won't get more games if more people don't buy it, etc...

Not that it's a "bad" console or that there's anything wrong with it - it just really, really, really needs the games...desperately!

[kamikazekeeg]

I'm thinking that the Wii U may be hard to find later on, since it seems like I'm the only person that owns one.

The problem there is that the WiiU's low sales = A lack of games & a lack of 3rd-party Pubs/Devs willing to take the chance to invest money in making games for it (*especially* exclusives) = less people will buy it unless it gets more games -and- it won't get more games if more people don't buy it, etc...

Not that it's a "bad" console or that there's anything wrong with it - it just really, really, really needs the games...desperately!

Hopefully this year changes that with what they are supposed to be releasing.  Mario Kart 8 on Friday, Smash Bros and most likely Hyrule Warriors in the fall/winter, then there's Bayonetta 2 and X and anything else I might have overlooked.  Not bad for exclusives.

[disgaeniac]

I'm thinking that the Wii U may be hard to find later on, since it seems like I'm the only person that owns one.

The problem there is that the WiiU's low sales = A lack of games & a lack of 3rd-party Pubs/Devs willing to take the chance to invest money in making games for it (*especially* exclusives) = less people will buy it unless it gets more games -and- it won't get more games if more people don't buy it, etc...

Not that it's a "bad" console or that there's anything wrong with it - it just really, really, really needs the games...desperately!

Hopefully this year changes that with what they are supposed to be releasing.  Mario Kart 8 on Friday, Smash Bros and most likely Hyrule Warriors in the fall/winter, then there's Bayonetta 2 and X and anything else I might have overlooked.  Not bad for exclusives.

No.

It's not bad.

But for people like myself (mainly RPG/JRPG fans) - it just doesn't have enough exclusive "must haves" to justify its price tag to me when I can get the types of games that I want to play on platforms that I already own.

I'm not writing it off yet though, 2 of my favorites (PS3 & Vita) also had slow starts...

[abe]

I'm thinking that the Wii U may be hard to find later on, since it seems like I'm the only person that owns one.

The problem there is that the WiiU's low sales = A lack of games & a lack of 3rd-party Pubs/Devs willing to take the chance to invest money in making games for it (*especially* exclusives) = less people will buy it unless it gets more games -and- it won't get more games if more people don't buy it, etc...

Not that it's a "bad" console or that there's anything wrong with it - it just really, really, really needs the games...desperately!

Hopefully this year changes that with what they are supposed to be releasing.  Mario Kart 8 on Friday, Smash Bros and most likely Hyrule Warriors in the fall/winter, then there's Bayonetta 2 and X and anything else I might have overlooked.  Not bad for exclusives.

Smash Bros is definitely going to be a big system seller for the WiiU. With that and Mario Kart 8, it might be just what Nintendo needed to turn things around. I know I'm going to want one for that reason. Until now, I've still had no particular reason to get one. It has even fewer exclusives that interest me than the Vita.

[argyle]

In order for the Wii U to reach Dreamcast or Gamecube status, it's going to have to get a good list of 3rd party exclusives.  Those quircky games that can only be found on those systems - things like Cubivore, Baten Kaitos or Billy Hatcher on the 'cube or Power Stone (I don't count the PSP mash-up), Maken X or Sword of the Berserk on the DC.  The only non-shovelware 3rd party exclusives I know of on the Wii U right now are Lego City Undercover, Zombie U and The Wonderful 101 - and 2 of those were published by Nintendo. 

Don't get me wrong, I *want* this to happen.  Those quircky exclusives that a first-party platform creator just wouldn't put out are what give a console its personality IMO.  There are tons of great 1st party games on the GC, but when I think about that platform those aren't the first games that come to mind.  Heck, those quircky exclusives are why I feel the PS3 has so much more personality than the 360 ever could. 

But time is running out.  If there isn't a turn-around for the system - and fast - then its not going to happen.  I'd go so far as to say that if sales don't greatly improve this year, then next year may be the last year even Nintendo supports it.  Not only are the big third parties not making exclusives for it, but many are pulling support for it altogether.  I'd still say it's a toss-up whether the reported Watch Dogs port ever releases or not, and if it does that may very well be the last big multi-plat game it sees - again, unless sales turn around in a big way. 

For this to happen, I think a price drop to $200 is going to have to occur.  $300 just puts it too close in price to the PS4 & soon-to-be-Kinect-less Xbone, and with the massive upcoming lineup those systems are touting it's too easy to justify spending an extra $100 to get a more "future proof" system.  $200 would put it far enough away from them to stop it from being directly compared to them as well as make it a very attractive option for parents who don't want to spend that kind of cash on a game system.  It would also make it far more attractive to PS4/Xbone owners who want to pick it up as a secondary system. 

Don't take anything I'm saying as a slam on the Wii U.  I recently picked one back up, and I'm glad I did.  The system is absolutely worth owning just based on the first-party software that's out now & will be releasing soon, no doubt.  It's a great system hardware-wise.  Very underrated.  It may not have the horsepower of the other 2 but it has all it needs - it is not as handicapped in that area as the Wii was.  I want to be proven wrong - I WANT the system to be a success.  Maybe tomorrow's launch of Mario Kart 8 & the game/system bundle will move units.  Maybe upcoming games like Smash Bros & Zelda will get people excited enough to buy one.  Heck, hopefully we'll get some awesome E3 game announcements that will push sales & get everyone behind the big N again.  But whatever is going to happen, it needs to happen quickly.   

EDIT:  I forgot about Monster Hunter as another big 3rd-party exclusive.