I'm looking forward to NX. I think Nintendo will do great things with it, given their unusually huge preparations for the console's launch.

Hopefully we'll hear more about it in fall (or spring, if you're in the southern hemisphere). ;P

Makes sense. They always said they'd talk about NX in 2016. They never said "E3", they said "2016". So, we're still on track. :-)

The Wii U has many awesome games. If you don't think it does, then I guess my question to you is: define "awesome games". :-)

Also, define "kiddy". Do you just mean anything that isn't M-rated is "kiddy"? If so, then I'd argue your definition of "kiddy" isn't an accurate one.

When I think of "kiddie games", I literally think of games that are made for young children - games related to SpongeBob or Barbie, for example.

But games like Mario? Zelda? No way, these aren't "kiddie" games. I doubt many young kids could actually get very far with them. These games are more accurately described as family games, I'd say - that is, games suitable for a wide age range.

If you think of Nintendo like Pixar, it will make more sense. Then you'll realise that the "kiddie" label is fairly meaningless in this case.

All good points. But you know what? I don't understand console hate in general. I mean, how can anyone "hate" a game console?

If you think about it, the gaming community is now really large, and we all have different preferences for the kinds of games and platforms we enjoy. But fundamentally, we are all gamers.

For years and years, we've had to justify our hobby - non-gamers have often scoffed at it, or belittled it, without ever understanding how wonderful games can be. We've also had various groups over the years decry games as being bad for you, or causing violence, etc etc...

So I sort of look at that and think, why would we now attack each other? It just doesn't make sense to me.

I love games, and if I could, I'd probably own pretty much every console ever made! :P

I can't imagine outright hating a console. I mean, it's a piece of plastic that plays games...what's to hate? I don't get it.

So, I mean, right now I have both a Wii U and a PS4 (I don't yet own an Xbox One...I'm considering waiting for Scorpio at this point). I'm a pretty big Nintendo fan, but I mostly play the PS4. Yet, despite that, I love the Wii U. It has a really great library. I've had enough hours of fun on the Wii U to completely justify the purchase, and then some. There's simply no way anyone could really argue that Wii U isn't a worthwhile platform - unless they're just not at all into Nintendo games (and even then, it would be a statement of preference rather than an acknowledgement that the Wii U isn't a worthwhile system).

My sister bought The Wind Waker HD for me for Christmas. But since Christmas, I'd mostly been playing PS4 (which I really love as well).

But just recently, I dived into this game...and I felt the same way as the OP. I'd played the original on GameCube, but it looks wonderful in HD. It just looks and sounds gorgeous. This game is a work of art, and the attention to detail is really astounding.

Even when you're doing nothing in particular, and just exploring the ocean...wow. It's just beautiful. In some ways, this was the first Zelda I'd played in a while which really replicated the feel of the earlier 2D games in terms of having a really huge and mysterious world, where you aren't sure what you'll come across next. It feels like the world is brimming with secrets.

So, yes, I really love it. I think if you own a Wii U - and especially if you missed the original GameCube release - you owe it to yourself to buy The Wind Waker HD. It's a remarkable experience, and it's an example of Nintendo at their very best.

@italygamer: Your post really warms my heart. Whenever I see someone label Nintendo games as "kiddie", it tells me that they haven't truly experienced those games.

It's also ironic in a sense, because when we are children, we are often desperate to be/appear more "adult" (especially as teenagers). I'm now in my mid-thirties, and I must say, I finally understand why adults value their childhood memories so much; it is a period that ends too soon, and when you're living it, you don't appreciate it.

It's this slightly painful irony that actually sits at the heart of what makes Nintendo so incredible, I think. When you play a Nintendo game, even in your mid-thirties...your age suddenly melts away. Nintendo brings forward all these emotions that lay dormant within you since your childhood - they re-surface all of a sudden.

Simple emotions like delight, wonder, and...for lack of a better word, glee. They aren't complex emotions, and that's the point. They are simple, pure, and they transport you to a time you thought you'd long-since forgotten, if even for a moment.

That, I think, is the true genius of Nintendo. There are very few companies who have the creative power to do that.

I think we are moving into a trend like smart phones, but perhaps with longer lead times (smart phones tend to be upgraded annually).

I must admit, I don't really feel cheated by this. The idea is that any new games released should work on my existing platform, as well as the upgraded model. I don't really see an inherent problem with that. This latter point is really key, and I think that console manufacturers will need to strictly adhere to this if they want to retain continuity and not annoy a very large customer base (remember that PS4 has sold through something like 40 million units by now - Sony wants to retain that base, and they want those people to keep buying games even after PS4 "Neo" hits the shelves).

I haven't bought it because I have too many other games still to play. I'm bouncing between The Witcher 3, Doom, and Dark Souls 3 at the moment. I want to avoid adding another game to the pile until I've got some space for it. :D

I haven't played it at all yet myself, but I'm not sure how it could be overrated at this stage - there's been enormous consistency around the reviews across the board, and there seems to be a fair amount of consistency in terms of what the players think as well.

I'm not sure if the issue you describe is particular to this community or not, but my observation is that there's generally a lot of salt in the gaming community at large.

I mean, I don't quite understand all the anti-CoD references for example. And I don't really understand the overarching hatred for particular publishers. Sure, you can disagree with some business practices or whatever - but what about the actual teams that make the games? I feel as though these people, who work really hard to create amazing experiences for us, tend to get thrown under the bus in those kinds of conversations.

@SuperClocks: I must admit, I'm a bit confused about this statement:

"I hate that some new games are essentially $100"

Apart from the fact of inflation itself affecting prices, I'd just say that I think there is a broad problem of people under-valuing video games. And I must admit, I blame a lot of this on the iPhone App Store, which propelled the idea of highly consumable content at very low prices.

There's a whole value judgement thing about "how much I should pay for a game", but in general, I think game prices are pretty fair. In fact, I sometimes wonder how studios even make money, given that they spend countless millions of dollars making a game and then they only charge $60-$100 for it.