Wii U: Overpriced, Oversexed and Over Here.

I'm going to start this post with an absolute statement; The Wii U is overpriced. At £250 for the basic unit, £300 for the premium bundle and £350 for the premium bundle, plus choice launch title, Zombie U, and a 'Pro Controller' (read: 'generic console pad to encourage ports'), it's hardly small change, even for the most deep pocketed Nintendrone.

Nintendo are aware that the original Wii was seen as being a console generation unto itself - a step up from the Gamecube, Xbox and Playstation 2, but dismally behind the times when compared to the Xbox 360 and Playstation 3, but they don't seem to have learnt from their mistakes. Although details regarding Sony and Microsoft's next offerings are closely guarded secrets, you can expect deep online integration, a huge graphical leap, possibly intrusive DRM and large publishers clamouring for dev kits.  None of this has been the case for the Wii U so far; the list of confirmed games is short, Nintendo are being characteristically reticent to embrace online gaming and the graphics look merely 'nice' compared to current Xbox or Playstation offerings.

Nintendo's only shot at making this console a success was to price it very aggressively and get as many casual adopters on board as possible before the big boys show their hands next year. Its a sad fact that gamers who crave perma-kit action games from big franchises, such as those who've lifted Activision-Blizzard up onto their shoulders and made Call of Duty a billion dollar franchise, have enormous clout within the console gaming industry and are the ultimate deciding factor in what succeeds and what fails. I can one hundred percent assure you that this overwhelming gaming majority will avoid the Wii U and it's inevitable library of clumsy, inferior ports of next generation Playstation and Xbox games, as will the casual gamers and families that Nintendo have priced out of the market.

The fundamental problem here, is that while I think the Wii U is fantastic idea, Nintendo are forcing innovation (and the hefty price tag that comes with it) onto a consumer base that has proven time and again that it doesn't want revolution, but rather a slow process of evolution achieved through refining, honing and streamlining the already familiar. Furthermore, curious onlookers that might have been willing to dip their proverbial toes in will no doubt scoff at the price of entry and save their hard earned for the wiser, more long term gaming investments just beyond the horizon, or wait for the asking price to begin its descent from Mount Ridiculous.

I predict a switch to handheld only following dismal showing by the Wii U. Things are looking very shaky for the house that Mario built.