Will You Wii U? Some Hardcores Might, I Probably Won't

First of all, let me say this could be one of the only "by-request" posts I've ever done, especially outside the wife-requested genre.

Next, let me disclose that the F-Word will likely chafe at anything I have to say in this post, as he revoked my video game man card many moons ago.  Rest assured, my head is still hanging in shame.

Now, to the subject at hand:  The Wii U.  Announced to hit the masses next year, the Wii's successor will arrive roughly six years after the original wooed the non-gaming public back in 2006.

Sorry, I failed to find a cool shot of the Wii U stacked on top of its predecessors.
On second thought, I'm unsure the ancestors would have the bulk to support it . . .

While I'm in disclosure mode, let me also confess that the extent of my knowledge on the Wii U extends basically to its Wikipedia page (that heavenly haven of all knowledge) and maybe one half an article from a usually computer tech site (I think it was CNET).

How large do the casual gamers loom?

My gut reaction on this one is that Nintendo's aiming to chip away at (or destroy) its casual/child gamer image.  While many have long caricatured the Nintendo gaming experience as built for children (Mario, Zelda, etc., seem much more child friendly than Grand Theft Auto, Halo, or Resident Evil), the Wii magnified this pronouncement to the nth degree:  Nintendo marketed, and people accepted, the Wii as the we device -- which is to say everyone can and will want to play it, rather than just the 30-something vampires, existing in their parents'/grandparents' basement.  While my general observation is that a lot of people enjoy playing the Wii, I imagine most of the casual Wii gamers were, and are, well, casual.  Nintendo, like MS, Sony, or any game company, is in it to win it, which is to say, make $.  Let's do the familiar Parreto analysis:  If just 20% of our customers actually buy 80% of our games (in terms of count sold), we just might want to please that lot most.  So who is this mythical 20%?  The hardcores (maligned above as parasitic vampires).

How does Nintendo lure back the hardcores?

What have hardcore gamers been screaming for ever since the Xbox and PlayStation 2 emerged from the labs?  To my knowledge, hardcore graphics, hardcore games, and hardcore everything.  Yes, I'm amused with how vague that proclamation sounds, myself.  On the other hand, I think it fits the mold of escaping the Wii's casual (non-hardcore) image.

Get it, hardcore?  Thanks, Wikipedia!

HARDCORE:  Just looking at the machine (the Wii U), I think to myself:  Is this an Xbox 360 in Nintendo's clothing?  Will the new Jumbo-large controller play Halo 3000, in addition to Mario and Zelda?  With HD rendering and a newfangled controller, I assume Nintendo's gunning hardcore to get its core users back, who are always the hardcores (or lure some away from MS and Sony).

FAMILIAR:  As I heard about the new name, I asked myself, "Wii U"?  Based on what I've seen, my assumption is that Nintendo's trying to toe the line of keeping the "casual" gamers in tow ("Seriously, folks, it's still a console grandma and grandpa can enjoy, it's still a Wii!"), while tantalizing the hardcore.  Nintendo appears to have some success in store from the casual, thanks to its Wii-backward compatibility.  On the other hand, why just back to the Wii, rather than the Cube, as well?  Maybe the assumption here is that too few casual gamers have Cube memorabilia and too few hardcores would care enough to play Cube games, anyway.

SUCCESS?  While I'll leave a detailed analysis of the Wii U's detailed specs and chances at financial success, I'll give it a moderate shot of winning back (or gaining) some of the hardcore gamers, while likely keeping on board any casual gamers who actually care enough to plunk down the $ for another system.  I think much will depend on the $ tag and how the iPad, er, new controller sits with the masses.

PERSONAL REACTION:  While I've long been a Nintendo "fanboy," I've also long since been dead to video game counsels and, pretty much, gaming in general.  I imagine my current personal preference is  demonstrated by the image at the top of this blog, along with its (the blog's) regular content.  So what's my BOLD, F-WORD STYLE PREDICTION?  THIS IS THE LAST REASONABLY SUCCESSFUL CONSOLE GENERATION AND ALL PREDECESSORS WILL RUN OUT OF THE CLOUD.  See this article on how cloud computing is starting to throttle the console market, thanks to higher internet speeds, enhanced capability via HTML5, etc., and which more or less summarizes my newspaper-destiny forecast of the console market.

The future of gaming.

I hope you enjoyed this CA production.  Please vent any outrage or smug agreement in the comments section, below. Thanks.