Wii U- worst launch line up ever?

[DANGEROUS-3]

This thread is not intended to cause flame wars (though you don't tend to get that here) and if something similar exists then please merge. Is it just me or does the Wii U launch line up soley consist of a ton games you can already play on 360/PS3 paired with a sprinkling of OK looking, mostly unoriginal 1st party efforts? I mean, who exactly is this launch line up supposed to appeal to? Look at this stuff...

Call of Duty: Black Ops II
Epic Mickey 2: The Power of Two
FIFA Soccer 13
Ninja Gaiden: Razor’s Edge
Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed
Darksiders II
Assassin’s Creed III
Just Dance 4
Batman: Arkham City Armored Edition

Games which are all either already out or coming out on 360/PS3 before Wii U.
So they are doing new versions of some of them with extra content, so what, I never want to play NG3 again.

As for first party stuff or other original titles, that is always what has set Nintendo apart with a new console launch- the killer app. But where is a new 3D mario or Zelda offering? I know it will probably be a great platformer but New Super Mario Bros 999 will not arrive with the same fanfare and mass market appeal of a new 3D Mario. And Zombi U looks gimicky... Nintendoland looks intriguing but is it really enough?

I feel Nintendo are being pretty lazy with this launch line up. Nothing particularly stands out first party wise and as for the rest of the line up it's a mountain of 3rd party titles gamers have been able to play on the other formats for months. What does that say to the consumer about the WiiU? That Nintendo are finally releasing a console powerful enough to run popular HD games you have already played on other systems? Wow how appealing.

[noobish hat]

I'm not sure I'd say it's the worst, but it's certainly rubbish. Thing is, it's getting weird now. We haven't really had a console before where a LOT of the launch line up could be ports from the previous generation, and have that be acceptable. The fact that it's a poor launch line up from Nintendo is disappointing, if not surprising after the Wii launch. It used to be that you'd get at least one or two triple A games at launch, like with the NES, SNES, N64, and Gamecube. Nowadays it seems to be asking too much to want a proper Mario game ready for launch.

[charlesr]

The Gamecube and Wii didn't launch with anything seminal either. Not much difference here.

In fact the Gamecube launched with 3 games (Luigi's Mansion, Wave Race: Blue Storm & Super Monkey Ball). So at least there are a few more to choose from this time around. So whilst it's not looking amazing, it's certainly not the worst ever. GC must take that crown, even though LM and SMB were good games.

[Kit]

Agree with Charles, we've seen other launches that were equally as flat, but have we ever had a launch line-up that featured so many ports?

[Fuddle]

personally i'd take luigi's mansion, wave race and monkey ball over nintendoland, new super mario and any (all) of those third party games

[_SD_]

What I don't like is the term 'Launch Window'. I'm mean seriously, either the games are out for Xmas or they're not. I'm not bothered about what's coming out in February, I want to know what's out in time ready for Santa.

[dataDave]

Zombi U and Nintendoland will be enough, until some others hit.

I'm not getting one until maybe early next summer anyway.

[noobish hat]

The Gamecube had a great launch. Luigi's Mansion, Super Monkey Ball, Wave Race, and Rogue Leader. Quality over quantity. The opposite of what we have with the Wii U.

[EvilBoris]

I think it shows a bit of a shift in their attitude

It used to be, if we have some great games, they will buy it!

now it's

Those suckers will buy it anyway, let's save the great games until more people have bought the hardware

[MarioMark]

The thing with some of these 3rd Party Wii U launch games is they are sequels to games that never came out on the Wii, and if you've only had a Wii chances are you're not gonna want to play them if you've not played the originals that only came out on Xbox 360/PS3.

As for NSMBU it looks to be more than a standard NSMB game. It's said to have huge maps with loads of secret levels like Mario World (just what I wanted).

I understand peoples thoughts when it comes to AAA. Where's the big Zelda or 3D Mario game please?

[MoFo2]

I guess it's the times, but the 10 year-old me would be ecstatic over a Super Mario-title at launch. So this launchtime I will hunt down my inner 10 year-old and pretend it's 1991.

[Grapple Convoy]

Sadly, Nintendo consoles with ****-hot launch line-ups were the exception rather than the rule. Only the Super Famicom/Super NES and Nintendo 64 really hit the spot. Look back on the GameCube, GBA and DS launch line-ups - great machines, but uninspiring games available on Day 1. Same with the 3DS, to be honest.

[noobish hat]

The gba also had a fantastic launch line up. Circle of the Moon saw Castlevania return to the Symphony of the Night Metroidvania gameplay, and is one of the best games in the series. Mario Advance was an enhanced port of Mario 2, which while a classic in its own right, was also impressive at the time since we hadn't really seen full console ports to handhelds before. F-Zero, again, a classic, and also showed how the GBA could do SNES type stuff. Kurukuru Kururin is another awesome game that everybody should play, even now. I wouldn't say Konami Krazy Racers was a triple A game, but it was a fun Mario Kart clone.

The DS only had Mario 64, so to say they both had equally uninspiring launch games is unfair to the gba.

[nakamura]

The GBA had a solid lineup. Mario Advance is widely regarded as the weakest game in the main series. Circle of the Moon is good but felt light years behind Symphony of the Night. F-Zero was fun but not close to the SNES original.

[Hartley Hare]

So true, the launch line up is the only reason we will not be getting on day one, a first for any new console in the hartley house.

Shocking