It’s official: Nintendo’s next console, the Wii U, will be unleashed to the public this November. Hold on while I try to contain my excitement.
Never mind, I yawned instead. OK, so my excitement thermometer toward Nintendo’s newest console is closer to reaching absolute zero than boiling over.
Considering the love I harbor for most things from Nintendo’s past, this is actually a bit of a shock for me to be lacking any real feelings for the Wii U. Just six years ago, I was standing outside of a Target on a Saturday morning in freezing weather with my brother. Well, I considered it freezing, but I’m a Texan who has seen real snow only once in my natural habitat of constant heat. In all likelihood, it was considered fall weather to normal people.
To get my shaking hands on a Wii, I endured the shivering and awkward conversations with adults that centered upon “Where is your mother?” The combination of motion control and promises of new adventures with Mario and Link were enough to set my sights on the system for an early birthday present.
Jump back to today, and my Wii is collecting dust 19 hours away from Mizzou.
In six short years, I had gone through a phase of complete excitement to utter dismissal of Nintendo’s console. I had the typical honeymoon period — complete with sore arms from too long of a bout of “Wii Sports” — with my Wii, but that period hit a wall about a year into my ownership when games that interested me ceased to exist.
Sure, I’ll never forget my experiences playing “Super Mario Galaxy” and “The Legend of Zelda.” In fact, I have great memories of playing “Super Smash Bros: Brawl” with friends and seeing my brother fail at “Wii Sports Tennis.” (I have a great virtual backhand.)
However, once I finished or grew tired of those games, I quickly abandoned my Wii Remote and picked up my PlayStation 3’s controller to return to a console with more games that appealed to me and were interesting to play.
I’m bringing this up because my experiences with the Wii have caused any embers of interest toward the Wii U to be extinguished. The system, finally capable of HD graphics and coming with a fairly revolutionary tablet controller, just doesn’t appeal to me.
What’s worst is that I feel Apple has also helped diminish my former love for Nintendo. A day before Nintendo announced the Wii U’s release date and games available at the system’s launch, Apple revealed the iPhone 5. My geek mind focused on the iPhone so heavily that Nintendo’s announcement didn’t even faze me.
I read an article covering the Wii U with no expression on my face. I read an article covering the iPhone with a comedic-sized grin. The prospects of both luxury items were worlds apart.
Now consider this: the Wii U and iPhone 5 (the 32GB version) will both cost about $300. Personally, I get more bang for my buck with Apple’s phone than Nintendo’s system.
Maybe if I were still in middle school like I was six years ago, I would be standing outside Target in relatively freezing temperatures eager to see what Nintendo was bringing to the table, but the fact remains that I’m now a college student who experienced the burn of the Wii.
I’m not trying to be so negative toward Nintendo’s step into the present state of games. I’m happy that Nintendo has decided to make their first jump into HD games and a better online experience. In a year or so, if the Wii U really hits all the targets by providing quality games on a regular basis that I can’t play on any other system then maybe my burn will heal.
To the hardcore Nintendo fanboy or girl, the Wii U should be an answer to their high-definition prayers, but my heart doesn’t stop at the thought of a life without Nintendo. Put simply, it’s hard to justify spending money on a system that I have a strong feeling will become a $300 dust collector.