![\"wiiudown\"](\"http:\/\/www.legeekretrogaming.com\/geekblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/03\/wiiudown.jpg\")
<\/a>The Wii U sold very poorly in January, and Rayman Legends\u2014a promising 3rd<\/sup> Party exclusive\u2014got pushed back until Fall (and went multi-platform to boot).\u00a0 One theory, via Gamasutra<\/a>, suggests the low number could be due to scalpers returning their \u201cstock\u201d once they realized they weren\u2019t going to turn a tidy profit flipping the systems on eBay.\u00a0 Maybe the February numbers will be better, but in terms of exposure in the press, the damage has been done. Other news<\/a> suggests developers are flocking towards mobile devices, and if they\u00a0are<\/em> sticking with consoles, they are twice as likely to develop for the next PlayStation or Xbox rather than for the Wii U. \u00a0A narrative is starting to form.\u00a0 Will the Wii U be the next GameCube, or even worse\u2026the next Dreamcast?<\/p>\nI recently purchased a Wii U, so I now have a \u201cHorse in the race\u201d.\u00a0 I\u2019ve enjoyed it so far, but it\u2019s still rough around the edges in spots and could use more games beyond the solid launch line-up.\u00a0 I think GamePad-only play, and quality kid-friendly titles (Scribblenauts Unlimited is a stand out) will make the system a good fit for our living room.\u00a0 That said, Target just had a buy two, get one free sale on Wii U games, not exactly a good sign.<\/p>\n
Cue sizzle reel.\u00a0 Most of it, at least viewed from home, looked like \u201cMore of the same\u201d with really nice PS3 level graphics.\u00a0 Gone are the jaw dropping Killzone 2 \u201ctarget videos\u201d.\u00a0 Maybe that\u2019s for the best, you can only pull the wool over people\u2019s eyes so many times, but after viewing I wasn\u2019t quite ready to find a second job to start saving up for one.\u00a0 There were two exceptions.\u00a0 The Witness, while not a graphical knockout, looked very interesting.\u00a0 As a timed console exclusive, I hope it gets properly ported to a system I own.\u00a0 And Capcom\u2019s shiny Deep Down footage hinted quite nicely at where \u201cnext gen\u201d may actually be heading.<\/p>\n Overall though, I can\u2019t help but feel a better name for Sony\u2019s new box is PS3.5.\u00a0 Sony is not exactly strong with first party IP these days, and I\u2019m not seeing a need to rush out and buy something that has a 4 on it.\u00a0 For a moment, I was thinking the Wii U might actually have more of a shot with third parties once the Sony and Microsoft hype dies down.\u00a0 Maybe the \u201cgraphic gap\u201d won\u2019t be as obvious this round.\u00a0 Then I remembered that it took a good one to two years for developers to really get a handle on the 360 and PS3, so it\u2019s way too early to tell.<\/p>\n Perhaps E3 will be very revealing, and maybe Microsoft will blow people\u2019s minds with the Next Xbox reveal rumored for April, but honestly, I expect parity with the PS4.\u00a0 Like I said, I picked the Wii U, so I am hopeful that Nintendo can turn the fortunes of its latest console around like it has with the 3DS.\u00a0 I\u2019m looking forward to Windwaker and The Wonderful 101.\u00a0 I\u2019m guessing I will grudgingly need to get a new box from Sony or Microsoft to play the next Deus Ex and Mass Effect if and when they are announced, but if the Wii U can provide a diverse library of quality games\u2014even if they are mostly first party\u2014while keeping Nintendo \u201cin the black\u201d, I\u2019ll be happy.<\/p>\n Add in the rumors of blocked used games, required always on internet connections and the march towards the end of physical media, and the future of dedicated videogame consoles seems in flux.\u00a0 As Grandpa Simpson once eloquently said, \u201cI used to be with it. But then they changed what it was. Now what I’m with isn’t it, and what’s it seems weird and scary to me. It’ll happen to you.\u201d\u00a0 I feel like I\u2019m turning into \u201cold man gamer\u201d more and more, each day.<\/p>\n<\/a>This brings me to Sony.\u00a0 I missed the live stream of their big PS4 reveal, subsequently looked for news summaries and found\u00a0none<\/em> of substance. \u201cIt\u2019s called PlayStation 4!\u201d does not make for a very compelling article!\u00a0 But after some digging, some real info was there for the gleaning. The guts of the next PlayStation will basically be a high end PC, easier to develop for and have a bunch of RAM. No direct backwards compatibility will be offered, but playing old games via streaming has been \u201cpromised\u201d.\u00a0 The controller is both new and the same, and some vague social media integration was hinted at.<\/p>\n