You know...it's one thing to port over a current gen title like Arkham City to the Wii U.

But what is going to happen next gen when developers try and port next gen titles over to the Wii U? Especially if next xbox and PS4 come with 4-6 gigs of on-board memory as compared to the Wii U's 2 gig.

I would think this could be a siginficant issue down the road for development houses.

Here's the thing: Nintendo is trying to strike a balance with the Wii U and its price point because they want to appeal to both the casual market and the hard-core market. They made some interesting hardware design choices to try and keep the price point down as reasonably low as they could.
They also did not just pull the $300-$350 price point out of thin air. I guarantee you a lot of research and math went into coming to that price point.

The Wii was a hit because it did something different and also because it directly appealed to the casual market. That worked out well for them financially. (Which is also good for us in the end.)

Also, the Xbox-360 and PS3 have both shown that high price consoles can sell. Both of these consoles focused on the hard-core crowd specifically out of the gate - knowing that the hard-core crowd are the ones that will spend the extra dough for a higher price point machine.

I would not be surprised to see both the new Xbox and PS4 come in well over $400 possibly approaching $500. However again I think this will be their deluxe version with all the bells and whistles. And the hard core gamers will eat it up.

The causal folks will bypass it or - as M'Soft is hoping - choose to purchase their "entertainment only" lower-end model at a significant lower price point. But which also has the ability to be upgraded during its life cycle. (If rumors hold true.)

I don't have a Wii U yet but plan on getting one after the first of the year. What draws me to it, (and what has always drawn me to Nintendo), is the games...not the hardware. Frankly, in my opinion, many Nintendo games have a unique stylistic approach that would be somewhat lost if they were using photo-realistic graphics per se.

For some reason too - when I play on my Wii or 3DS - I find myself enjoying an experience. On my 360 or PS3 I often find myself just playing a game. And for me, there is a huge difference between having an experience in a game - and just 'playing a game'.

Granted there are exceptions - even on the major consoles.....but for me at least...much less so. (However I also realize this is somewhat subjective.)

In the end I think too many people get caught up in looking at the trees instead of zooming back out a bit and seeing the forest. The bigger picture...the overall experience. I think the Wii U has a great opportunity to bring a unique experience into the home. However the games that are developed for it will ultimately decide its final fate.

Just my opinion....

Well...the metric of "number of consoles sold" is a good metric because at the end of the day - all 3 console companies make consoles to make money. Additionally, defining which one is better than the other is subjective anyway. Better according to what....hardware specs or expirience it delievers?

Also...Iwata stated in an interview with Digital Trends on July 23rd, 2012, that NIntendo is not competing with M'Soft and Sony directly. They have their own thing going.

Not sure I totally buy that but I think if you read between the lines on that...he is just saying, "we do our own thing regardless of competion..."

The screens- Okay I won't mince words here; I'm getting old(In my mid 30's now), and my eyes haven't been all that great to begin with. With the regular 3ds I had to quit for at least 20 minutes after a half hour of play because of the eye strain. After an hour of playing this, it didn't feel like my eyes had to have a break even with the 3d on. If you have 20/20 vision maybe this wasn't an issue, but for me the bigger screens were a godsend.

Gemini_Red

I'm also around that same age and when I bought my XL today the cashier said, "Ha...so you're getting the prescription version eh?"

[QUOTE="Blurry_pixel"]I am a 40 year old nerd who just bought the 3DS and am anxiously awaiting Zelda and Resident Evil.... (I took my son with me to Gamestop when I bought it. I paid the cashier and then handed it to my son and said, "Here you go bud..." Then when we got outside in the parking lot I grabbed the 3DS from him and said, "Psych......give me my 3DS..."SnowyPaws

Is it wrong that I giggled so much after reading that that coffee came out my nose.? lmao poor kid, was he upset at all that he didnt get one also?