Wii U is the sound you make when you try to whistle but you don’t know how. It is also Nintendo’s new console announced today during E3 that finally brings them up to speed with Sony and Microsoft in terms of HD graphics and multi-platform titles.

Personally, I am not feeling it.

Nintendo’s strategy at the start of this console cycle was cheap + mass appeal + photogenic gimmick = money printing. Both the NDS and Wii were technically inferior to their competition but sold like hot cakes. Nintendo won big betting on casual gamers, but the groovy train is coming to an end thanks to the mobile gaming market. Games like Phoenix Wright can easily be played on the iPhone now and dedicated gaming devices have to set their sights higher.

It’s quite clear that the 3DS and the Wii U represent a subtle but significant shift in strategy to bring so-called “hardcore” gamers and 3rd-party developers like Electronic Arts and Ubisoft back into the fold. I use the term “hardcore”, but I really mean 13-year-old kids playing Modern Warfare 2. These core multi-platform games usually feature standard HD graphics and extensive online gameplay, both of which are not Wii’s strong suits. Wii U is trying to play catch-up and the E3 demo is just screaming, “Look how hardcore we are now.” See: blood-soaked Ninja Gaiden footages.

Nintendo is caught between a rock and a hard place. (That’s what she said.) The traditional casual gaming market it once dominated is now a massive free-for-all deathmatch where any indie developer living in his mother’s basement can potentially create the next Angry Birds and sell it on Apple’s App Store. On the other extreme, Nintendo’s years of disengagement from the “hardcore” gaming scene have left the PS3 and 360 comfortably cashing in on generic multi-platform shooter sequels that are too graphics-intensive for the Wii. I am not sure Wii U can modify that balance and still be successful.

To a gamer looking for new experiences, the “innovative” controller this time is far less visceral than the obvious appeal of motion controls. Multi-platform games from 3rd-party companies are not going to use the controller screen for anything more than stats and HUD elements. The controller layout also looks terrible for shooters, or at least even more terrible than what consoles have now.

I really don’t think the new controller will really be a huge advantage now that Wii U has to compete at the same level (and possibly price point) as the PS3 and 360. There’s no price announced yet, but performance costs money and those controllers look pricey. The Wii U is not going to be cheap, even if they try to cut cost with resistive screens.

The Wii U will still sell and make money just because it’s Nintendo, but I am quite certain, judging by the 3DS’ faltering sales, that the set of conditions that made NDS and Wii so massively successful no longer exists today. The casual gaming market has left the building and Wii U is fighting an uphill battle to win back core gamers. If it can compete for multi-platform games in terms of online infrastructure (there’s a PS3 joke in there somewhere) and technical capabilities, then the added Nintendo first-party magic can help the console thrive.

But all that aside, the name is fucking ridiculous. Seriously I am pretty sure Reggie was thinking about how silly he sounded when he stood on the stage at E3 trying to sell the name as something profound and meaningful.

PS3 launched some hours ago in Japan and, surprise! Thousands of people queued up for it. If you follow any gaming blogs at all, you’d think that everyone in the world hates PS3 and can’t wait to fap (to) their Wii. But judging by the turnout today, I think we can safely say that the bad publicity Sony has been getting is not going to determine the success (or failure) of the PS3. The product is.

Sony screwed up quite a lot of things, such as the mass production of blue diodes needed for Blu-ray drives, leading to a massive shortage of PS3. Then again, it happened with PS2 too. Europe got shafted as usual.

Crazy Brits who paid £750 to queue up in Tokyo for a PS3. From Akiba-blog.

It also took quite long for Sony to finalize the PS3, delaying its release from spring to end of the year and giving 360 a one-year head start. Then again, it happened with PS2 too. How many of you own(ed) a Dreamcast? (I do, BTW.)

People are complaining that PS3 and 360 offer no innovation compared to Wii. Then again, there were plenty of innovative games for the PS2 without having to revamp the whole control scheme. It’s a console and what I want for a console is to be a able to lie down on a couch while playing it. If I wanted to play games that required cursor movement and targeting, I’d be playing it on my PC.

Japanese people love to queue, it’s in their blood. From Akiba-blog.

The graphics on PS3 and 360 look good. Metal Gear Solid 4 and Gears of War look like sex. Wii’s graphics are NOT good. “But graphics are not important! Gameplay is!” – Bullshit. Graphics are not as important, but that doesn’t mean they are unimportant. There is absolutely no reason why you have to sacrifice good graphics for gameplay. You can have them both!

Now, assuming that Wii, PS3 and 360 end up splitting the market three-way and they want to find ways to gain an edge over one another, will it be easier for Sony/Microsoft to copy Wii’s gameplay by releasing a remote control add-on, or will it be easier for Nintendo to magically upgrade Wii’s graphics? I think the answer is obvious.

Queues at Yodabashi-Akiba hit 1,400 people. From Akiba-blog.

Sony’s controller already has motion sensing. Clearly, Sony is hedging its bets. On the other hand, Nintendo is placing all its chips on one gimmicky feature alone. I’m not sure if third-party game developers can really utilize such a feature in the way Nintendo intended. Just look at Battalion Wars 2, it’s using the Wii-mote for nothing more than a mouse pointer.

It’s tempting to compare PS3 and Wii to PSP and NDS. Nintendo DS is outselling PSP by at least three to one, even though PSP has the better graphics. But there is a huge difference between the PSP and the PS3 that this comparison fails to account for. The reason why PSP failed (relatively speaking) was because of its lack of good games. PSP is a dumping ground for full-priced PS1 and PS2 ports that people have already played 100 times before. PS3 is not. It makes a huge difference.

Danny Choo, his PS3 preorder secured, terrorizes the queue.

Of course, the high price point of the PS3 can very well be its undoing. If Blu-ray manages to take off like DVD did, then PS3’s selling price will be justified. But I doubt it. DVD offered significant improvements over VHS while Blu-ray doesn’t look all that different without a HDTV. Most people do not own a HDTV. I’m sure either Blu-ray or HD-DVD will eventually replace DVD as the de facto format for movies, but whether that happens soon enough to make the Blu-ray drive in the PS3 worth the money remains to be seen.

If Blu-ray flops, then Sony would’ve done better to use dual-layered DVDs for PS3 games, especially if the supply bottleneck and the high cost price are really caused by the Blu-ray drive. Then again, if Sony did that, it would be the same as burying Blu-ray alive. Sony chose to take the risk with PS3, a risk that Microsoft avoided by choosing conventional DVD over HD-DVD for 360 games. Again, it’s still too early to say who was right.

Metal Gear Solid 4

No matter what the Digg and Joystiq crowds are saying, Sony still has plenty of fight left. Just ask those people who spent last night queuing.