Wii U Is a Dud

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Published: 14 September 2012

Last Updated: 26 November 2013

Update: Over a year later, gaming blogs have finally caught on. From Kotaku: "The Wii U feels, increasingly, like a half-step before Nintendo can make a portable machine that can output console-quality graphics when plugged into a TV without needing to be plugged into a wall. In other words, it feels like a prelude to whatever handheld succeeds the Nintendo 3DS XL. It therefore feels like it could be the last machine Nintendo needs to make before it can entertain the idea of converging its handheld and console lines into one."

Welcome to the party, guys.

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Nintendo has now announced launch dates and pricing for the Wii U worldwide. Here in the States, the Wii U will hit stores on November 18, 2012 for $300 in a basic package and $350 in a deluxe package. You can pre-order your Wii U from multiple outlets, though, it shouldn't be necessary. Unlike its predecessor, the Wii U is not going to fly off shelves and you should be able to get a lower price if you can wait past Christmas

The Wii U is, unfortunately, a product of panic. You would not think Nintendo a company to panic, but that is exactly what they are doing. It is also the product of a company that has lost its way when it comes to innovation. The Wii U is not innovative, it is reactive, and, worse, it is reactive to problems that do not exist and uses technology that doesn't solve those problems even if they DID exist.

Nintendo has repeated—ad nauseum—the basic design impetus for the much-hyped Gamepad—a tablet-like controller for the Wii U...People living in your house should not have to fight over the TV. Having the second screen means one (or more) people can keep playing on the Gamepad while someone else watches TV.

Do people at Nintendo live in their offices? Have any of them been in a house any time in the last decade? Most families have MULTIPLE entertainment options in their house. The average American home has 2.5 kids and 3 televisions. Then there are computers, portable games systems, etc. There are five people living under my roof and at least two entertainment options per person. There IS NO NEED for that function of the Gamepad.

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Ownership Matters

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Published: 14 June 2013

Last Updated: 19 June 2013

UPDATE: Microsoft has issued a mea culpa and retracted pretty much everything about the Xbox One's DRM policies. Hooray for the power of group outrage!

“The first-sale doctrine creates a basic exception to the copyright holder's distribution right … Without the doctrine, a possessor of a copy of a copyrighted work would have to negotiate with the copyright owner every time he wished to dispose of his copy.”[1] Seem familiar? This is exactly what Microsoft is asking people who buy disc-based games for the Xbox One to do: negotiate with the copyright owner every time you wish to dispose of your copy of the game.

It's true digital distribution is presenting a number of legal issues around copyright and the first-sale doctrine. Copyright holders want to “license” media (including games) to us, without actually considering the logic behind that stance. If we are only buying a “license” to use content and not buying the content, then copyright holders should be offering to re-sell us the same content for only the cost of the media. For example, if your child destroys your game disc, you should be able to get a new disc for only the cost of the disc—after all, you already paid for the “license.”[2] Of course, this is not how physical distribution works.[3]

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Future of Console Gaming

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Published: 19 April 2013

Last Updated: 26 April 2013

This is going to be a long essay, so here's the short version: The Wii U will be the last home console ever made by Nintendo, and the next Xbox could be Microsoft's last console. The home console gaming market is shrinking due to market fragmentation, and, while there's still room for a dedicated home gaming console, there is only room for two, and maybe only one.

Types of Gamers

Throughout the 20^th century and into the 21^st, we have progressed through several types of media entertainment: radio, film, television, and video games. (The Internet isn't a media itself, just a medium that delivers media in different ways. It will eventually lead to the dissolution of traditional radio and TV stations, but we're still a generation or two from that happening.)

What has marked all those types of media is eventual fragmentation. The video game market is also fragmenting, and it will only get worse (better?) from here. Fragmentation of these markets are based partly on genre (like radio station formats) and also based on market demographics. For video games, more than other media, the market is breaking down by demographic rather than genre.

Broadly there are four types of gamer:

• Enthusiast. Enthusiasts love to play games, and lots of them. Enthusiasts are more likely to own multiple systems, will almost definitely have at least one console, probably a gaming PC or laptop, and buy lots of games across a variety of genres. These are the so-called “hardcore” or “core” gamers that have been playing for quite some time.

• Obsessive. Obsessive gamers focus on one or two games and play them to the exclusion of all others. Most often the focus of their obsession is an MMO or similar online game that is constantly updated with new content. Obsessive gamers may change their obsession, but it will be rare, so they don't buy many different games, but they will spend lots of money on their one or two obsessed-over games.

• Pick-up-and-go. These gamers just want to jump into a game for 15 to 20 minutes and get a quick fix. They don't want big, complicated games or games with long levels or long times between checkpoints. They prefer puzzle games where they can solve a few puzzles and turn the game off.

• Social. Social gamers like playing with friends. They could be lumped into any of the other groups, and, in terms of spending habits, may fall into one of those groups. However, they will only spend their money and time on games that offer an online component because single-player just isn't interesting to them.

Let's leave that there and take a brief look at the history of consoles, beginning with Nintendo and Sega.

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