Going back ten years, I can list a half dozen consoles that I've bought because they featured games that I wanted to play. I bought a Nintendo 64 because I wanted to play Super Mario 64. I bought a GameCube because I wanted to play Super Smash Brothers Melee. I bought a PlayStation 2 because I wanted to play Metal Gear Solid 2 (and a PS3 because I wanted to play MGS4). My point is, very few people drop hundreds of dollars on a console if there isn't a new game they can't wait to boot up and become immersed in. Software has always defined hardware; that's just how it is. Currently, the software defining the floundering Wii U are million-dollar ports that have already been available for purchase on more powerful consoles for years (Assassin's Creed, Mass Effect) and the endlessly irritating Just Dance series. Really, Nintendo? You have a cornucopia of universally-known mascots that, if you could just focus on for one moment, could be teed up for a flagship launch title, and instead you launch your most powerful console ever with Sing Party and Tank! Tank! Tank!? Yes, Nintendo may have gotten a leg up on the competition by launching the Wii U before the next PlayStation and Xbox, but if that leg is withered and malnourished, why not hold off until you've got something worth showing off? Fans would've been patient if there was a quality Zelda or Mario title to bolster the launch. But now, fans are getting bored and starting to check out the sexy, next-generation neighbors. Nintendo can only say "Relax, honey! We'll get through this together!" so many times before the aging fanboys start getting curious about what a real video game feels like.
Eller likes a lot of old video games, and some new video games. Follow him on Twitter (@JordanEller) for updates about articles, but mostly silly jokes.
Going back ten years, I can list a half dozen consoles that I've bought because they featured games that I wanted to play. I bought a Nintendo 64 because I wanted to play Super Mario 64. I bought a GameCube because I wanted to play Super Smash Brothers Melee. I bought a PlayStation 2 because I wanted to play Metal Gear Solid 2 (and a PS3 because I wanted to play MGS4). My point is, very few people drop hundreds of dollars on a console if there isn't a new game they can't wait to boot up and become immersed in. Software has always defined hardware; that's just how it is. Currently, the software defining the floundering Wii U are million-dollar ports that have already been available for purchase on more powerful consoles for years (Assassin's Creed, Mass Effect) and the endlessly irritating Just Dance series. Really, Nintendo? You have a cornucopia of universally-known mascots that, if you could just focus on for one moment, could be teed up for a flagship launch title, and instead you launch your most powerful console ever with Sing Party and Tank! Tank! Tank!? 