4 Reasons To Get The WiiU

With the WiiU fast approaching in a matter of days, it's an exciting time for gamers indeed! I'm sure many of you have been setting aside a good amount of cash - or even pre-ordered the system in advance - and are prepared to wade through the crowds at your local Walmart or Best Buy to receive Nintendo's newest gift to mankind. (Or open your mailbox on Sunday morning if you're one of those online buyers.)

On the other hand, I know a good portion of you readers are still uncertain about making such a hefty purchase early on. And while I could ask, "What the hell is wrong with you!?" like a good Nintendo fan, it's perfectly understandable that you'd feel that way. It's new, experimental, the game library hasn't developed yet, and it doesn't toast waffles. Following the Wii and the massive game droughts it had in-between its life cycle, there's more than enough reason for gamers to be cautious this time around.

But that doesn't mean Nintendo hasn't learned from their mistakes; they've gone out of their way to apologize for turning away the so-called "hardcore" gamers for the casual crowd, and they've promised that this generation will be a welcome back to their truer fans. A lot of people are quick to dismiss that as a broken oath after the reveal of the WiiU and its tablet controller gimmick guaranteed to bring in another five years of shovelware. They're blind to the fact that yes, Nintendo is doing everything in their power to make this next generation a good one for hardcore Nintendo fans.

Here are four big reasons why gamers should be excited about the WiiU, and why U should look into getting one, too.

The WiiU Is... a Controller?

The advertising campaign for Nintendo's WiiU console started in America yesterday, with the television commercial above.

I'm sorely disappointed in Nintendo of America's marketing department on this one. Unlike the old 3DS ad that made it clear that it was a separate experience from the DS, the entire one-minute and six seconds is spent on the GamePad. It's important to market the system's main selling point, but nothing saying 'this isn't Wii, this is WiiU' is just asking for monumental confusion among the less-savvy casual gamers. There isn't even a proper close-up of the console itself! It's as if Nintendo wants people to believe the GamePad is just another controller peripheral. On top of everything, the music is also pretty bad. A glitchy sounding electro song over people playing and laughing in poppy, multicoloured rooms? It sounds like the next video in the series of unfitting music videos on Youtube.

When they decided to keep the Wii name I expected Nintendo to be more cautious about advertising, after the mass confusion between the 3DS and DS. Heck, they even acknowledged that as one of factors attributing to the former's poor launch sales. I doubt it'll happen to the same degree as some venues are already completely booked in pre-orders, which is actually very exciting. Still, if Nintendo doesn't up their game this time, the WiiU will soon be known as the Wii Tablet Controller.

3 NDS Games That Need Sequels

The DS was a monster of a handheld. Everything, from its seven-year reign of the market, to the humongous library of titles it has, and the fact that people nowadays still confuse it with its 3D-capable successor, speaks volumes about the impact it had on gaming.

Maybe I'm just too young - and therefore older handhelds didn't leave as big a mark on my gaming career - but I wouldn't shy away from saying that the DS was the best handheld gaming device to ever grace our beloved planet. (And I pray I'm not the only one with such an opinion.) The dual-screen design, to me, was ingenious (and would supposedly pave the way to the concept of the WiiU) which, combined with touch controls, allowed for cleaner-looking games that played in a newer, more intuitive way. Not only that, but it also received the greatest third-party support of a Nintendo system since the SNES, only rivaled by this gen's 3DS and WiiU. In fact, when I picture some DS games, Ace Attorney, Trauma Centre and Final Fantasy IV spring to my mind quicker than New Super Mario Bros. or Metroid Prime Hunters!

There was just something about the DS that gave third-party developers the incentive to experiment with games in a way they haven't done on a Nintendo console in years. Some new series were big hits, like Professor Layton, Scribblenauts, and Ace Attorney as I mentioned above. Others weren't quite as successful even among the enormous DS audience, either because they were too obscure, too niche, or both. If they did poorly, they often didn't receive sequels - truly a stab in the heart to each game's cult following. Here, I'll detail some of the best original titles from the dual-screened developer's system and why they deserve another instalment.