Wii U: Is it worth buying?

[Kilvakar]

I've always liked the Nintendo gaming systems, and my family and I have really enjoyed our Wii over the last several years. Now we have the Wii U, and it's pretty obvious that it hasn't lived up to expectations. But it looks like they're finally trying to get their act together and make some worthwhile games, so I was wondering if anyone here has a Wii U and if you do, what games do you have? I'm considering buying it after hearing about the two new Legend of Zelda games, and of course Mario Kart, and I've always been a Monster Hunter fan, so ever since they closed the servers for the Wii version of Monster Hunter 3 Tri, I've kinda been tempted to get a Wii U just for that game

What are your thoughts?

[SilverToast]

I own one. I like it a lot. I actually like it much more than I did the gamecube back then.

The Wii U games I have: Mario Kart 8, Super Mario 3D World, NintendoLand, Rayman Legends, Zombi U, The Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker HD
The Wii U Virtual Console games I have: Earthbound(Mother 2), Super Mario World, The Legend of Zelda

Getting it now:
I would say it's worth getting now just to play Mario Kart 8 and other games like Shovel Knight, Super Mario 3D World, Wind Waker HD, Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate.
Mario Kart 8 is definitely one of the best Mario Karts. IMO, it's better than Wii, double dash, and 64.

Honestly, I have trouble deciding which games I should get because it has been getting more great games recently from indies. They added gba virtual console games too.

Getting it in 2015:
Otherwise, if you wait later in 2015, it would be a much more greater value. You can get Xenoblade Chronicles X, the new Legend of Zelda game, Splatoon, Smash Bros. , maybe Bayonetta 1 + 2(it comes in 1 package), and some good games that came out in 2013 and 2014.

GamePad Use:
The gamepad isn't totally useless. The best use for it is off-tv play. It's a feature that allows you to play console games with just a gamepad controller, console,and power brick. It makes the Wii U sort of a semi-portable home console. There's a huge value in playing games comfortably on your bed, other rooms,hotel rooms with tvs without hdmi inputs, airports, and anywhere with an outlet.

This can be done for wii games and virtual console games played on the wii u as well.

Having a movie play in the background and playing Prince of Persia: Forgotten Sands on the gamepad is amazing! Multi-tasking is fun.

If You Get One
There's an option to transfer virtual console games on the wii to the wii u. N64 games don't transfer. I recommend transfering some VC games or none so you can play one virtual console game on the gamepad and another virtual console game on the wii on a tv at the same time. It's amazing! Or wait until N64 games can transfer to make a final decision.
You can't transfer VC games back to the wii.

Worth a Read:
There's this article from Kotaku: http://kotaku.com/wii-u-review-update-2 ... 1601718713

Edit:
N64 games do transfer.

[Masaru]

I'd definitely recommend getting one now if you're leaning towards it; there's currently a promotion going on where if you buy Mario Kart 8 and register it on Club Nintendo (free to join if you do not yet have an account) before July 31st, you can get a download code for *another* game: you can choose between Pikmin 3, Wind Waker HD, Super Mario Bros. U, and Wii Party U. So basically two games for the price of one. xD I got the Mario Kart 8 Wii U bundle myself, and it's a pretty good deal, especially when you include the free game: $330 gets you the Deluxe Wii U, MK8, and an extra Wii Motion Plus controller and a Wii Wheel. Just to clarify though, you can get the free game whether you get the MK8 bundle or buy it separately.

Additionally, if you get the Deluxe model of the Wii U like in the bundle, Nintendo has another promotion going on until the end of this year:
https://p.nintendo.net/deluxe/

The short of it is, every time you buy games digitally, you earn points; every $50 you spend on the eShop earns you an extra $5 in eShop credit. Literally free money. v: As I said though, this ends at the end of the calendar year, so you can decide whether that's something that would make a difference in your buying decision.

Lol, been talking so much about how good a deal this is right now.. there are games too! As Ace said, pretty good titles around both now and coming down the pipe later on. I currently only own Mario Kart 8 and Pikmin 3, but I've enjoyed both so far, although I have to put more time into Pikmin. MK8 has pretty good online if you're into that, and now allows you to go online with a friend on the same console, so that's pretty neat. Smash Bros. is currently set to come out this winter which imo is always worth having.. and a bunch of the games Nintendo showed off at E3 are looking to be quite promising as well. (Splatoon, Yoshi's Wooly World, the Zelda Dynasty Warriors game..)

Also, I was wondering..

There's an option to transfer virtual console games on the wii to the wii u. N64 games don't transfer. I recommend transfering some VC games or none so you can play one virtual console game on the gamepad and another virtual console game on the wii on a tv at the same time. It's amazing! Or wait until N64 games can transfer to make a final decision.

Where exactly did you hear N64 games don't transfer? o.o I had F-Zero X and Paper Mario on my old Wii, and they transfered over and play just fine.. Do you mean that you can only play most of them in Wii mode or something?

[SilverToast]

Where exactly did you hear N64 games don't transfer? o.o I had F-Zero X and Paper Mario on my old Wii, and they transfered over and play just fine.. Do you mean that you can only play most of them in Wii mode or something?

Weird. I'm not sure. I swear I've read that somewhere when looking up how to do the transfer.
I'm wrong about that then.

Then, I can play Majora's Mask or Ocarina of TIme on the gamepad screen! : )

[Kilvakar]

Cool! Sounds like it's a good deal then. One of my friends told be about the Mario Kart 8 deal, that sounds pretty sweet! So $330 for the deluxe version, two games, and an extra controller? Sounds like my wallet will be getting thinner, lol!

[Xeno]

You can get a free download code for this game if you register Mario Kart 8 with Club Nintendo by 07/31/14. For details about the offer, visit http://club2.nintendo.com/mario-kart8-promo/

[Furen]

Considering if you buy Earthbound for retail price and own a super nintendo, you're paying $150+ if you like Earthbound, then it's almost worth it for just doing that. I don't have many games for my Wii U, but I'm waiting for the 2015 explosion, then the library will likely pick up.

If you do have an intent to get it, I'd say get it before everyone hops on board next year. Then again, who knows how many people will decide to get it, considering all of Nintendo's choices recently.

[Laiseran]

I think so, while there is not an extreme amount of games, the majority of ones availiable and upcoming are of incredibly high quality.

[Kilvakar]

Well, I finally got one, and it was definitely worth it! I've been playing Monster Hunter 3: Ultimate nearly non-stop, lol! I also have Hyrule Warriors, Mario Kart 8, Smash Bros, and a couple other games that came with the console. I don't see why anyone could bash the console itself, it's awesome! And now I'm really looking forward to the new Zelda game and others coming out soon!