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13 Reasons I'd Still Pick Nintendo's Wii U Over the PS4 and Xbox One. A year ago, the argument over which game console to buy went something like this: The PlayStation 4 and Xbox One were shiny black spec-troves of next-gen performance assurances glossed with wishful gameplay hypotheticals wrapped around the reality of comparably anemic launch titles, whereas the Wii U had Super Mario 3D World , LEGO City Undercover , The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker HD , Pikmin 3 and The Wonderful 101 . The best PS4/X1 launch game, Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag , was on the Wii U, too, and so the choice seemed obvious, at least through December 2013. But 2014 turned out to be a weird year. People actually bought the new consoles, despite much morbid prophesying in the years leading up to their arrival about the death of set-tops. The PlayStation 4 went on to sell so many units worldwide that by August even Sony was scratching its head in bewilderment. And while the Xbox One appears to be selling at lower volumes (Microsoft’s been reticent about its performance), it’s still outpacing life-to-date sales of its predecessor. Both companies are performing at levels they weren’t supposed to, in other words. Nintendo, too. Pundits prematurely mourned the Wii U (including yours truly) after gloomy fiscal 2013 figures in early May, as Wii U sales slowed to a trickle. But the Wii U rebounded a week later off the arrival of Mario Kart 8 , and the company on the whole rebounded in October (thanks to indefatigable Mario Kart 8 sales) when Nintendo announced a surprising fiscal course reversal. Nintendo’s Wii U has at last check sold over 7 million units, and that’s before Hyrule Warriors , Bayonetta 2 , Super Smash Bros. for Wii U or the forthcoming Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker hit the books. So 2014 basically wants to plunder your bank account (and probably already has). And the looting’s just started: we’re now looking at a console triumvirate in 2015, each system staking out sustainable turf, and each now boasting a bevy of unmissable existing games and anticipated upcoming ones. What to do? You could buy them all, of course, but that’s a hardcore move and financially impractical for most. You could pick two, and even if you’re dead set on owning gaming with a PC, PlayStation 4 or Xbox One, there’s a powerful argument here for the Wii U as a must-have secondary system, given the caliber of its exclusive content. But let’s assume you have none of the above, and that you’re finally ready to pull the trigger on something that isn’t a smartphone, tablet or PC. Were that my circle to square, and if I didn’t do this for a living… I’d still pick the Wii U… 1. Because it still has the first- and second-party games I most want to play now. It’s been a good year for third-party games you won’t find on Nintendo’s Wii U. Alien: Isolation , Far Cry 4 , Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor and Dragon Age: Inquisition are terrific. But you could also argue the rest of 2014’s triple-A darlings are basically recycling bin material: Diablo III , Grand Theft Auto V , Tomb Raider Definitive Edition , The Last of Us and Halo: The Master Chief Collection look tremendous in their new digs, but they’re still remakes of games we already played, however compellingly wrinkled. As far as standout exclusive new-IP goes, the Xbox One has Sunset Overdrive and Forza Horizon 2 (and maybe Titanfall ), while Sony has Final Fantasy XIV and Velocity 2X . But that’s it. And, not that I’m complaining, the PS4 and Xbox One are basically cheap midrange PCs, parleying the lingua franca of a decades-old gaming paradigm interface-wise. Any notion of inventive holism pretty much died when Microsoft unbundled Kinect from Xbox One. Nintendo’s playing a very different game with its very different-looking console, where, absent robust third-party support, it’s doubled down on first- and second-party properties, as well as banking on the fact that no one else (on consoles, handhelds, computers, or mobile devices) has the sort of franchise cross-demographic appeal it does. You could call that requirement to self-propel a liability — or an opportunity. Thus on Wii U, you now have a small library of standouts, like: Bayonetta 2 , Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze , Hyrule Warriors , The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker HD , LEGO City Undercover , Mario Kart 8 , New Super Mario Bros. U , Pikmin 3 , Pushmo World , Super Mario 3D World , Super Smash Bros. for Wii U and The Wonderful 101 . It’s an enviable exclusive lineup by any measure. Nintendo’s also been making something of the fact that on Metacritic, eight Wii U games ( Super Mario 3D World , Rayman Legends , Super Smash Bros. for Wii U, Bayonetta , Bayonetta 2 , Mario Kart 8 , The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker HD and Pikmin 3 ) currently hold critic scores of 85 or higher and user scores of 8.5 or better, compared with just two games all told across rival consoles. I’m ambivalent about score aggregation sites (and scores in general) as quality arbiters, but it is interesting to note that rare confluence of critical and public appraisal. 2. Nintendo doesn’t need third parties the way Microsoft and Sony do. The point in any for-profit business is, by definition, to be profitable. If Nintendo can figure out how to stay in the black, given the company’s first- and second-party software attach rates, I’m not sure how much unit sales matter in terms of who’s first, second or third, so long as there’s steady growth. No, you’ll never see crazy Grand Theft Auto V figures on the Wii U, where you’re selling tens of millions of copies of a game across platforms with a combined install footprint of over 150 million units (for that matter, it’s hard to conceive of Mario Kart Wii sales levels). But at 2 or 3 or 4 million units a piece, the bestselling Wii U titles are selling at perfectly respectable levels given the number of systems in the wild. And if the Wii U continues to make install base inroads and its first/second party attach rates remain high, Nintendo may be all the support Nintendo needs to make good on its platform for at least the next several years, while at the same time being able to plausibly brag that the Wii U has the best games per capita. It’s a shame Nintendo hasn’t been able to lure more third-party bigwigs, but whether that’s the development environment (the Wii U lacks processing headroom, contrasted with its peers) or the chicken-egg install base conundrum, it’s also ironically turning out to be a bootstraps referendum on a company’s ability to singlehandedly revitalize its flagship platform. 3. Nintendo just opened a massive new game development center in Kyoto. An addendum to the last point, Nintendo of America president and CEO Reggie Fils-Aime confirmed in a phone interview that the company’s focus is now squarely on Nintendo-delivered content. “We have to use our first-party and increasingly second-party content to grow our install base, that’s our mission,” Fils-Aime told me, then qualified this by noting Nintendo just opened a research and development facility in Kyoto, right next to the company’s global headquarters. “This R&D center will be the home to 1,500 game developers,” Fils-Aime said. “Companies would be thrilled to have that many game developers working on their business. We have these game developers creating content exclusive to our platforms.” Again, the key phrase here is doubling down. It guarantees nothing, but to the extent educated guesses matter when making buying choices, I’d say it means we’ll see a lot more Nintendo-led content emerge from Kyoto in the years to come–content designed to justify the kinds of idiosyncratic holistic experiences that Nintendo specializes in. 4. Super Smash Bros. for Wii U is already buoying the system (as Mario Kart 8 before it) Super Smash Bros. for Wii U sold just shy of half a million copies in the U.S. alone from November 21 to 23, making it the fastest selling Wii U game to date. That’s not a surprise, given the franchise’s appeal and the game’s unanimous critical plaudits. But looking at how much Mario Kart 8 alone did for the platform, it also undergirds the argument that Nintendo may be able to sustain the Wii U simply by delivering compelling Nintendo-incubated experiences rolling forward. 5. Speaking of, the Wii U’s 2015 lineup looks terrific. Some of the games I’ve personally been waiting for longest on any platform arrive next year: Splatoon (a cooperative anti-shooter in which teams attempt to slime swathes of a base with paint-guns for points), Yoshi’s Wooly World (the followup to Kirby’s Epic Yarn for Wii), Kirby and the Rainbow Curse (the followup to Kirby: Canvas Curse for the Nintendo DS), Xenoblade Chronicles X (a spiritual sequel to the best open-world roleplaying game I’ve ever played), Star Fox (the behind-the-scenes E3 demo I played was a little shaky, but some of the ideas and related “Project” mini-games were intriguing) and of course the enigmatic new The Legend of Zelda (you can take “enormous high-def world” for granted–producer Eiji Aonuma’s plans to subvert classic Zelda tropes is far more interesting). 6. Off-TV gaming still rules. Yes, Nintendo hasn’t made the second screen as novel and vital an interface as the Wii Remote and Nunchuk were for the Wii, and yes, the system’s meager wireless range (about two dozen feet) can be prohibitive. But if you want to yield control of your TV to someone else, the Wii U GamePad is the perfect size and interface to game off-screen, and an indulgence I’ll miss if the Wii U’s successor nixes the option. 7. It’s the only portable game console. The Wii U remains the only game system you can readily shlep around like a handheld, and one with friendlier ergonomics for longterm sessions than either Sony’s PS Vita or Nintendo’s own 3DS. The PS4’s slender enough, but you’d need to lug a screen with you, and it’s the screen that’s probably the biggest hurdle here. By folding the screen into the gamepad, Nintendo has essentially designed the first portable gaming platform that doesn’t in some fundamental way (think the tiny thumbsticks on the Vita) compromise the interface to said platform. No, the Wii U can’t run games like Far Cry 4 or Assassin’s Creed Unity (looking as good as they do on PS4 or Xbox One, anyway), but that’s also the wrong reason to buy a Wii U. Look at the right reason–the system’s unmatchable first/second-party lineup–and the Wii U shines as a high-def platform in its own right. For the record, several Wii U games on the system run at native 1080p (including Super Smash Bros. for Wii U). But even the ones that don’t–those running at 720p or some sub-1080p variant, say Mario Kart 8 –look fantastic on a 1080p screen. Relative to the PlayStation 4 (137 watts) and Xbox One (112 watts), the Wii U sips just 34 watts of power on average when playing games, according to a report by the Natural Resources Defense Council. When streaming video, it employs less than half as much power (29 watts) as the next-worst console (the Xbox One at 74 watts). Its standby power is less than 1 watt (versus 8.5 watts for the PS4 and 15.7 watts for the Xbox One), and in annual energy use, it rates 37 kWh/y, versus 181 kWh/y (PS4) and 233 kWh/y (Xbox One). 10. It has the Virtual Console plus Wii backward-compatiblity. The PS4 still plays PS4 games and the Xbox One, only Xbox One games. The Wii U plays Wii U games, but also the entire Wii library (over 1,000 and counting), as well as NES and Super NES classics via the Virtual Console, from Super Metroid to F-Zero and Earthbound to Super Mario Bros. 3 . Sony is tinkering with its PlayStation Now streaming service, now in open beta, but the service forces you to make compromises, chiefly visual ones related to streaming inconsistencies derived from the intrinsic fickleness of the Internet. 11. It’s an unabashed games console, not a media player. Nintendo makes no bones about this, and that’s actually kind of nice. The PS4 and Xbox One are either too cumbersome or thermally challenged to nestle in cramped entertainment centers, nor are they as versatile as something like an Amazon Fire TV or Roku (or even an Apple TV, if you’re after iTunes library streaming). You can access basic streaming services like Amazon, Hulu, Netflix and YouTube on the Wii U, and I’ll grant that Nintendo would benefit from adding music alternates like Spotify or Pandora. But I don’t miss Blu-ray or DVD or music CD support, because I don’t use physical media in set-top boxes anymore (and haven’t for years). That’s just a way-the-wind’s-a-blowin’ thing. 12. Amiibo adds gameplay wrinkles no one else has. Amiibo–Nintendo’s take on the toy-game market dominated by Skylanders and Disney Infinity –was designed from the get-go to work with each Nintendo game uniquely. And while current Hyrule Warriors and Mario Kart 8 functionality seems superficial (either daily bonuses or costume unlocks), its integration with Super Smash Bros. for Wii U is all but essential. In the latter game, your amiibo becomes your sparring partner, leveling up as you train it and “feed” it stat boosts and mold it into something that’s uniquely your own. You can then use it in battles against other players’ amiibos, or–and this is a crucial idea-seller for me–as a way to study your own strengths and weaknesses: if you’re great at a certain maneuver, your amiibo will be too, but if you’re not doing something you ought to be, say raising your character’s shield, neither will your amiibo. 13. It’s still the cheapest current-gen console. $300 plus two pack-in games ( Super Mario 3D World & Nintendo Land ), versus $400 for Sony’s PlayStation 4 and $350 for Microsoft’s Xbox One (until $50 off deal expires in early January). That $50 to $100 differential adds up to additional games and accessories. There’s also no annual subscription fee to access Nintendo’s online services, which, contrasted with Sony and Microsoft’s all but mandatory fees, saves you another $50 to $60 per year. And while games like Super Smash Bros. for Wii U, Hyrule Warriors and Mario Kart 8 have made the leap to $60, the Wii U still has the most non-indie sub-$60 games today, from Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker , Donkey Kong Country Tropical Freeze , New Super Luigi U and The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker HD to LEGO City: Undercover , Nintendo Land and Wii Party U . SPONSORED FINANCIAL CONTENT. You May Like. Stories From. Sign Up for Our Newsletters. Subscribe & Save. Sign Up for Our Newsletters. TIME may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Offers may be subject to change without notice. Blocked IP Address. Your IP address has been temporarily blocked due to a large number of HTTP requests. 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These days, however, only three major manufacturers have survived to tell the tale: Nintendo, Microsoft, and Sony. Responsible for the Wii U, Xbox One, and PS4 respectively, each company has put their best foot forward to give their customers the absolute best gaming experience possible, but how do you know which one is best for you or your household? Affectionately referred to as the “Xbone” since it first debuted at Microsoft’s 2013 E3 press conference, the Xbox One is another in a long line of devices that the Redmond company believes can offer gamers a perfect combination of fun and functionality like no other console can. And while Microsoft’s latest outing has struggled to maintain the same lead that the Xbox 360 first established in the previous generation, this hasn’t been through any fault of its own. The Xbox One comes with a solid lineup of games (primarily cross-platform for now), a bevvy of available media streaming options including (but not limited to) Netflix, Hulu, HBO GO and NFL Redzone, and a hardware kit that’s impressive without being overbearing on the customer’s wallet. Until now, it seems the main problem since the One’s release has been a lack of Xbox-exclusive titles, i.e- games that would make you want to pick the console over the more powerful PS4 or family-friendly Wii U. There are quite a few big hitters slated to hit the shelves sometime next year, but if the idea of waiting until 2016 for some of the console’s biggest games isn’t enough to entice you, this fall users will have the chance to get their hands on Microsoft’s latest attempt at creating a universal OS ecosystem with the debut of Windows 10 for Xbox. The unique console-based operating system will give users the opportunity to run all new types of native apps and software, as well as view files and folders across any type of device, mobile or otherwise. Popular add-ons like the voice-activated digital assistant Cortana will be integrated into the Xbox’s main Dashboard as well, while the option to browse the web or check emails will be a cinch thanks to a flurry of new apps set to be released via the Windows Store. Not only that, but if you also have a laptop or tablet installed with Windows 10, you can play all your Xbox games on your computer with the One’s internal streaming feature. From the hardware perspective, the Xbox One and PS4 feature a similar 8-Core AMD CPU, although the Xbox has a slight clockspeed advantage of 1.75GHz, compared to Sony’s 1.6GHz. This is pretty much the only advantage it maintains, however, as we’ll talk about in the next section below. But did we mention Halo 5? Because, well… Halo 5. If your idea of ‘winning’ the console wars lies in sales figures alone, it’s hard to deny that Sony’s latest version of the Playstation is the clear frontrunner for the first place trophy. The PS4 has outstripped the Xbox at a rate of nearly 2-1, with Sony’s horse clocking a market-crushing 25.4 million units sold, while the Xbox One and Wii U were only able to muster a total of 24.16 million… combined. As far as games are concerned, titles like Ratchet and Clank, Uncharted 4, and Team Ico’s hotly anticipated Last Guardian will all be PS4 exclusive, which means that if you’re a fan of any of these popular series, the PS4 could be the system for you. The PS4 controller is also better for different types of gaming immersion, with an internal gyroscope and touchpad that can create all new levels of interaction in your games that the Xbox simply can’t match. Some owners might argue these extras have so far only turned out to be a gimmick, though I believe it’s still too early in the console’s life to claim they’re totally useless just yet. When it comes to hard specs, while the Xbox One might have the PS4 beat in processing speed, the competition isn’t nearly as close in regards to the all-important factor in gaming: the GPU. Of course neither console is going to come close to matching the graphical capability of a gaming PC, so the graphics capabilities aren’t actually all that important — as long as the games look good. And with most games these days being cross-platform, the developers aren’t going to waste time making the game look significantly better on one system vs the other one. If you want the absolute best graphics in your games, you are probably already gaming on a PC. Oh Nintendo, how the mighty have fallen… Once the dominant player in the console market just a few short years ago, the company has fallen on hard times of late. Stuck with the nearly impossible task of convincing consumers why their system is a clear pick over the technologically superior alternatives that it shares a shelf space with, the Wii U is the problem child that the company never saw coming. Likely blinded by the billions in profit its predecessor had been generating for upwards of half a decade, Nintendo rushed the Wii U out to market with lackluster specs, a pitiful library of games, and a controller that’s better for knocking someone unconscious than it is playing through marathon gaming sessions. Compared to the top two sellers in the market, the Wii U (released one year earlier than both) barely makes a dent in their specs, featuring a 45nm, 3-core processor clocked to a paltry 1.2GHz. The GPU doesn’t do the system any favors either, logging just 352 GFLOPS and 4.4 GPixels per second at maximum clip. This makes the console barely 1/3 as powerful as the Xbox One, and only 1/6th as powerful as the PS4. Having owned one myself, I can say with confidence that although there’s nothing particularly wrong with these specs (Nintendo’s partner developers are known for their creative use of the limited hardware), its clunky controller and minuscule library of published games have turned all but the most dedicated Nintendo fanboys off to more economically viable solutions like the PS4 and Xbox One. If you’re really into the competitive Super Smash Brother scene or have a special place in your heart for the latest Mario Kart, the Wii U can still be a worthy enough contender in the race. Outside of those very limited parameters, however, no amount of Zelda games that might show up in 2016 are worth the $299.99 price tag. Sony and Microsoft both have plenty of family-oriented experiences to offer on their own systems (a market that Nintendo used to enjoy all to itself), and both companies have made significant leaps and bounds in creating an ecosystem of media streaming apps that can stand on their own in place of your standard set-top cable box. Add to this the rumors that both Xbox One and the PS4 will receive firmware updates to enable 4K video playback sometime next year, and the case is all but closed on Nintendo’s eager – yet flawed – attempt at replicating the success of its wildly popular original Wii. So then, which console is right for you? Well, at least in the case of Xbox One vs. PS4, it comes down to exclusives. Sure, the PS4 is technically more powerful for the same price, but given that most developers will be locking titles to the same framerates and installing the same texture packs for both systems to garner the largest number of sales across each platform, the eventual choice becomes more about which games you’re looking forward to than which console you’re planning to play them on. Love Halo? Snag yourself an Xbox. Jittering with (justified) excitement over the upcoming Final Fantasy VII Remake? PS4 is going to be the way to go. Have a kid or need your nightly Smash Bros fix? Wii U is…well, it’s Wii U. So, even though you could look at the technical specifications to decide which console is the “best” of the three, ultimately the decision should rest on the games you want to play the most. Chris Stobing is a writer and blogger from the heart of Silicon Valley. Raised around tech from birth, he's had an interest in PC hardware and networking technology for years, and has come to How-To Geek to contribute his knowledge on both. You can follow him on Twitter here. Did You Know. When glass cracks it seems almost instantaneous thanks to the speed at which glass shatters–cracks form in glass at a staggering 3200 meters per second. Best of How-To Geek. Get the HTG Newsletter. Join 100,000 other subscribers. Follow How-To Geek. More Articles You Might Like. Enter your email address to get our daily newsletter. Join the How-To Geek Club! (It's Free) ✕ Get exclusive articles before everybody else. Get downloadable ebooks for free! Get geeky trivia, fun facts, and much more. Nintendo Switch vs Xbox One and PS4 – How do they compare? Nintendo Switch vs PS4 and Xbox One: How does Nintendo’s console stack up to its rivals? We compare all the specs, controllers, hardware, features and games. The Nintendo Switch is unlike any other console on the market. Taking HD gaming and putting it in your pocket, there are some serious technical achievements. But how does it compare to its competitors, and what can you expect in terms of performance? Here, we look at the Switch alongside the PS4 and Xbox One. Before we get started, it’s worth pointing out that this article is not intended to help decide which is better, but instead explain how the Switch differs. How the Nintendo Switch works. To make sure we’re all on the same page, it’s worth taking a moment to explain how the Switch works. You can read more details in our Switch review, but here’s its main functionality in a few bullet points: Main console is a 6.2-inch 1,280 x 720-pixel touchscreen unit, controlled by two detachable Joy-Con controllers that dock to either side. Between 2.5 and 6 hours of battery life when gaming Console can be docked, outputting games to your TV. Joy-Cons instead connect to Joy-Con Grip for wireless play Joy-Cons can also be used separately by two players for simpler games or games that use multiplayer motion controls More traditional “Pro” controller sold separately Up to eight consoles can connect wirelessly for local multiplayer. Now we’re up to speed, let’s head to the comparisons. Nintendo Switch vs PS4 and Xbox One – Controllers. Nintendo has made the controllers on the Switch unlike anything we’ve seen before. Let’s take a look at how a pair of Joy-Con controllers and the Pro controller compare to Sony and Microsoft’s offerings. * With optional Charge Grip. ** Play-and-charge kit available. *** Without voiding warranty. A table can’t explain all the differences between the controllers. For example, the rumble feedback in the Joy-Con controllers is described as “HD”, with extremely precise motors that let you feel very subtle movements. This will come in handy in motion-controlled games and the rumoured VR headset. Sign up for the newsletter. Get news, competitions and special offers direct to your inbox. The way the Joy-Cons charge is much more confusing than simply connecting over USB. Connected to the screen, the controllers are powered so don’t need to use their own battery. To charge them properly, you’ll need to dock the console and attach the controllers to it. That way, the console and controllers all charge at the same time. Considering the Joy-Con can go 20+ hours between charges, this shouldn’t be a big problem. If you think it will be, you can pick up a Charge Grip for £24.99. You’ll be able to trail a cable from your console (or a wall plug) and charge the Joy-Con while still playing. It’s important not to forget PlayStation Move controllers here, which is why we’ve included them in the comparison table. The Move is technically quite different; it needs to be within view of a sensor in order to deliver spatially accurate motion controls. The Switch doesn’t work like this, and therefore doesn’t have the same spatially accurate movements. The right-side Joy-Con also includes an infrared sensor for detecting objects and motion, and also includes and NFC chip for detecting Amiibo characters. Nintendo Switch vs PS4 and Xbox One – Specs and Graphics. Here’s the bit the techies were waiting for. Let’s run down the raw specifications of the three consoles. * CPU and GPU specs are non-official, based on reports including those from Digital Foundry. ** For simplicity, these are Original PS4 and Xbox One rather than updated PS4 Pro/Slim and Xbox One S. Let’s look at the top five rows first. It’s not surprising to see that the Switch has a considerably lower processor speed, fewer processor cores, fewer GPU shaders and a lower GPU clock speed. This is a tiny machine, after all. To the uninitiated, these numbers will be confusing and make the Switch look like a piddly little machine. Rest assured that the Nvidia tech that powers this is genuinely remarkable. Consider this: the CPU and GPU in the Switch, which is based on the Nvidia Tegra X1 found in the Nvidia Shield console, will likely have a maximum power consumption of 15W (not taking the screen or other components into account). Compare that to the original PS4 and Xbox One and you’re looking at multiple times more. Is it not a bit fruitless to compare a portable console to the giant slabs that sit under our TVs? Not completely. After all, the the Switch is as much a home console as it is a portable one, and if it can’t do justice to your big, expensive TV then you might feel short-changed. The Switch will output at a maximum of Full HD (1080p), so if you have a 4K television, it’ll need to do some work to upscale the footage. This compares to both the Xbox One and PS4, which also output at a native Full HD resolution. However, what resolution the Switch is actually drawing is unclear. We don’t know if some games will be drawn in something like 900p, then upscaled to Full HD before being sent to your TV, which will look worse than proper Full HD. It doesn’t look like the console will support HDR either, which is something all PS4s support (with a software update), as does the new Xbox One S. When undocked, the Switch has a 720p screen. This resolution consists of 921,600 pixels, where Full HD is 2,073,600 pixels. If you spotted that the Switch has a much slower GPU clock speed when undocked, this is the reason why. There’s a lot less work to do at 720p, so this will save on battery life. It looks like different games will have different performance specs depending on whether they’re docked or not. For example, Zelda: Breath of the Wild is aiming for 1080p performance at 60fps. Right now, it’s at just 900p/30fps when docked, which isn’t brilliant. Expect news stories about every single Switch game launch relating to docked/undocked performance discrepancies. Oh, the joy. Storage is another concern. With just 32GB of on-board storage compared to the up to 2TB you can get on Sony and Microsoft’s consoles, there’s not much room for media or game downloads. Nintendo’s online subscription service will include free game downloads every month, so you’ll need to keep an eye on your console to make sure you have enough room for the games. You can expand the Switch’s storage with a microSD card, and you’ll be able to install games onto it. You’ll probably buy most of your games physically. These will come on Nintendo Game Cards, a format with a capacity of around 16GB. This is significantly smaller than the massive 50GB games you can get on the bigger consoles, but since these games will be much more stylised (less detailed) than those, it’s no surprise. In terms of audio, there’s no high-quality optical S/PDIF port on the Switch. This isn’t an enormous problem, but is worth bearing in mind if you’re setting up the Switch as part of a high-end home cinema system. Nintendo Switch vs PS4 and Xbox One – Exclusive Titles. After all the technical discussion above, ultimately whether you buy a Switch will be down to the games you want to play. Nintendo exclusives remain strong, including Zelda and Mario titles as well as Splatoon and dozens more besides. Similarly, there are phenomenal exclusives on Xbox One and PS4 that might take your fancy. Nintendo Switch vs PS4 and Xbox One – Final Thoughts. The Nintendo Switch is a technically fascinating console with loads of features that might take time to fulfil their potential. At £280, it will be a harder sell than the known entities of the PS4 and Xbox One, but those machines can’t do gaming on the move – a huge, huge deal for many people. Ultimately, the Switch isn’t really designed as a straight-up rival to the PlayStation and Xbox, if only because you probably already own one of those systems. To our mind, the most compelling argument for the Switch is as a complementary console, one which adds unique functionality and a handful of tempting exclusives – namely The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild – to your gaming arsenal. For hardcore gamers, die-hard Nintendo fans, and those with long commutes, buying the Switch may be something of a no-brainer. But for the rest of us, nigh on £300 is a steep asking price for something that, in all likelihood, will live its life as a secondary system. WATCH: Best Nintendo Switch games. How do you think the Nintendo Switch compares to the PS4 and Xbox One? Let us know in the comments below. МОДЕРАТОРЫ. Welcome to Reddit, the front page of the internet. and subscribe to one of thousands of communities. Want to add to the discussion? помощь правила сайта центр поддержки вики реддикет mod guidelines связаться с нами. приложенияи инструменты Reddit for iPhone Reddit for Android mobile website кнопки. Использование данного сайта означает, что вы принимаете пользовательского соглашения и Политика конфиденциальности. © 2018 reddit инкорпорейтед. Все права защищены. REDDIT and the ALIEN Logo are registered trademarks of reddit inc. π Rendered by PID 11844 on app-257 at 2018-02-02 19:25:03.967694+00:00 running 1cce75d country code: RU. PS4 vs. Xbox One vs. Wii U Comparison Chart. The PS4 vs. Xbox One vs. Wii U Comparison Chart provides an easy visual aid to compare hardware, user interface, media compatibility and other features of the three "next-gen" systems. By popular demand, a Wii U column has been added to the chart for reference. More PS4 vs. Xbox One Comparisons. Hardware Feature Comparison. Confirmed to IGN by a Microsoft representative. Online Feature Comparison Chart. *Based on current Xbox Live Gold requirements. Console Bundle Comparison Chart. This chart compares the physical contents of the launch day bundles of the PlayStation 4, Xbox One and Wii U. Other console comparison features are outlined above. A console is not just the sum of its tech specs and features. Games matter too! PS4 vs. Xbox One Native Resolutions and Framerates Previous. Xbox One S vs Xbox One Comparison Chart. © 1996-2018 Ziff Davis, LLC. We have updated our PRIVACY POLICY and encourage you to read it by clicking here. IGN uses cookies and other tracking technologies to customize online advertisements, and for other purposes. IGN supports the Digital Advertising Alliance principles. Learn More. 10 Reasons I’d Pick the Wii U over the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One Today. The (strong and getting stronger) case for Nintendo's flagship console in 2013. This could have been Nintendo’s year — should have been Nintendo’s year. And in a sense, it was Nintendo’s year, though it took some doing to get here. No one was supposed to buy the company’s shiny aqua-blue or whatchamacallit-black 3DS when it arrived back in February 2011 with a clamshell thud. Handheld gaming was doomed, proclaimed analysts like smug armchair oracles. Who’d want a bulky plastic pocket-brick that played games and games alone when they could play on their slender all-in-one smartphone — a device on which games exist in a kind of superabundant app-store-verse and typically sell for a buck or less? When 3DS sales tanked in those early months — before Nintendo wised up, dropped the price and rolled out games people wanted to play — it looked like all the prognosticating pundits might prove right. But the 3DS in 2013 is Nintendo’s comeback story: not a Virtual Boy after all, and finally living up to its namesake (and what a namesake: the DS family’s on the verge of knocking Sony’s PlayStation 2 from its all-time bestselling perch). The reason why’s no head-scratcher: “Software drives hardware,” said Nintendo America president and COO Reggie Fils-Aime in a recent Forbes interview. Obvious, but it bears repeating as early adopters pour money into shiny new platforms based on promises and hypotheticals. By contrast, the 3DS is signed, sealed and delivered heading into the holiday, with the strongest lineup of any game device — smartphone, tablet or otherwise. That, I’d wager, is what’s behind its sales momentum — from Animal Crossing: New Leaf to Pokemon X & Y to Zelda: A Link Between Worlds — helping the 3DS close on 40 million units sold worldwide. The Wii U doesn’t have quite as many run-out-and-buy games as we kick off its second year, but its best and brightest in 2013 make the competition’s next-gen roster look a little like the bullets Hugo Weaving fires at Keanu Reeves during the Matrix ‘s denouement. That, and the system’s 2014 lineup isn’t messing around, with exclusives I wouldn’t miss for a game console 10 times as powerful. This is why, if I had to choose between the PS4, Wii U and Xbox One today, no question about it… I’d pick the Wii U. Because it has the games you want to play now. There is no Super Mario 3D World on the Xbox One or PlayStation 4, nor a LEGO City Undercover , nor a Zelda: Wind Waker HD , nor a Pikmin 3 , nor a Wonderful 101 . Not even close. Sony and Microsoft’s first-party games aren’t bad, but stuff like Ryse: Son of Rome and Killzone: Shadow Fall are more about showmanship and visual razzle-dazzle than drawing you in with superlative, memorable gameplay. That, and most of the third-party launch games are available on the older systems; the only must-buy for me — Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag — is on the Wii U, too. There’s an argument for Forza Motorsport 5 , to be fair (it’s an Xbox One exclusive), but it’s a racing game, and if you don’t really, really dig sim-style racing games, it’s no reason to spend $560 on a game system, and it certainly doesn’t have the all-play appeal of a Super Mario 3D World or Zelda: Wind Waker HD . And it’ll have the games you want to play next year. I’m generalizing here, because maybe you’ve really, truly been on tenterhooks for years just to play inFamous: Second Son on the PS4, or to dive into yet another massively online first-person shooter like Titanfall on the Xbox One. But 2014’s shaping up to be a banner year for the Wii U: Bayonetta 2 , Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze , Mario Kart 8 , Super Smash Bros. U and the game I most want to play on any platform after 2012’s Xenoblade Chronicles — Monolith’s X . That’s just the confirmed-for-2014 stuff. There’s Yarn Yoshi , Shin Megami Tensei X Fire Emblem , perhaps an English port of Dragon Quest X , to say nothing of potential announcements Nintendo’s saving for next year, say new blood in the Zelda , Metroid or Super Mario Galaxy vein. The Wii U GamePad is a portable console. Mind you, there’s no killer second-screen app yet — not Nintendo Land , not Wii Party U — that makes the whole tablet-gaming thing feel as revolutionary as the thumbstick on the Nintendo 64 controller or the Wii Remote and Nunchuk in their day, but that’s not why you’ll appreciate Nintendo’s gamepad/tablet. This is: playing Wii U games without your TV. The Wii U GamePad’s screen is 6.2 inches diagonal, more than an inch larger than the PS Vita’s, and when it comes to ergonomics — in particular the GamePad’s proper full-sized thumbsticks — the GamePad smokes Sony’s handheld. Yes, you have to be pretty much in the same room as the Wii U for GamePad-play to work properly, but I use the feature enough at this point (with a burgeoning family invading my game space) that not having the option to snap off and step away from the TV feels regressive and even prohibitive at this point. It’s just $300 — $100 less than the PS4 and $200 less than the Xbox One. “Thanks, math genius.” (You’re welcome.) But in seriousness, $100-$200 equals a bunch of games, or accessories, or annual subscription fees to services like Netflix and Hulu Plus. Price differentials talk, and I suspect this one’s going to say plenty to parents looking to fill Christmas quotas. For what you’d pay just to own the barebones versions of Microsoft’s and Sony’s systems, you could have a tricked out Wii U, games and all. There’s no reason you can’t pick up a PS4 or Xbox One down the road, so why spend all your money on promises and potential that Nintendo’s already made good on? There’s no annual subscription fee. The total cost to own a PlayStation 4? Games and accessories aside, you’re looking at $400 for the system plus $50 a year to access essential services like online multiplayer. Microsoft’s Xbox One is pricier still: $500 for the system, plus $60 a year for the same. Nintendo charges nothing for its online ecosystem, making its total cost of ownership $300, full stop. $50-$60 doesn’t sound like much, but this stuff adds up (factor in what you’re paying for Netflix or Hulu Plus or Amazon Prime subs). Also, for $50-$60, you could buy a game that might yield 20, 30, 40 or more hours of play. Wii U games generally output at 720p, or 1280-by-720 pixels. That’s the resolution a preponderance of people’s flat-screens run natively in 2013, which means having a console that can output at 1080p (1920-by-1080 pixels) for these folks is pointless. Even if you have a 1080p set, the Wii U’s games look fantastic upscaled (just like the Xbox One’s, many of which also run at 720p). Assuming you’re not a mindless, slavering graphics wonk, you’d probably agree that artful games trump visually muscular ones, bar none. Which would you rather play: a superlative new Zelda at 720p, or another military/aliens/post-apocalyptic-themed shooter in another near-future/dystopian/sci-fi setting where the story parses like the Cliffs Notes version of a Michael Bay movie at 1080p? [Update: 720p isn’t a hard limit, and yes, I realize a handful of Wii U games output at 1080p today; I meant 720p is where you’re going to see most titles land.] Wii U games are cheaper on balance. Not in all instances, and you’ll still pay $60 for premium titles like Super Mario 3D World , but the Wii U has the most non-indie sub-$60 games today, from New Super Luigi U and The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker HD to LEGO City: Undercover , Nintendo Land and Wii Party U . In other words, you’ll spend less on Wii U games overall than you would buying non-indie PS4 or Xbox One titles. Nintendo has the Virtual Console and Wii backward-compatiblity. Sony and Microsoft have nada. The PS4 plays PS4 games and the Xbox One plays Xbox One games — that’s it at launch. The Wii U? Wii U games of course, but also the entire Wii library (over 1,000 and counting), as well as NES and Super NES classics via the Virtual Console, from Super Metroid to F-Zero and Earthbound to Super Mario Bros. 3 . Yes, Sony’s promised streaming game support in 2014 to fold in backward compatibility, but the service has some pretty serious caveats: visual artifacts and total picture degradation if your Internet connection wavers, plus you have to be online, by definition, to play. It has a decent indie lineup, too. If you’re an indie fan, the Wii U’s ready to dish: Cloudberry Kingdom , Trine 2: Director’s Cut , Nano Assault Neo , The Cave , Bit.Trip Presents Runner2: Future Legend of Rhythm Alien , Little Inferno , Mutant Mudds Deluxe and TNT Racers – Nitro Machines Edition . And in August, Nintendo America business honcho Dan Adelman said to look for two dozen or more indie games on the system’s e-shelves before year’s end. It’s more than just a game system. Most consoles are nowadays, but the Wii U has a few unique tricks up its sleeve: You can use the Wii U GamePad as a TV remote or scan information about programs (or sports events, updated in real time) while they’re playing on your TV screen. You can also use the GamePad as a portable TV of sorts, watching programs on it while someone else is using the television. That said, Nintendo still has plenty of work to do. Like dropping the system price again. I don’t know what Nintendo’s making or losing on each Wii U sold, and I’m guessing Reggie Fils-Aime might call me nuts (or badly confused), but $200 sounds about right to really turn the Wii U’s sales trickle into a landslide. Pull Nintendo Land out of the box if you have to, or create a $250 bundle with Super Mario 3D World as the pack-in. But $300 feels steep for a Nintendo console. I don’t want to be that annoying know-it-all price pundit (who doesn’t know anything, really, sitting outside Nintendo’s walled garden), but put it this way: We’d be having a very different conversation about the Wii today had Nintendo opted instead to roll it out at $350 back in 2006. And it needs a killer Zelda or Metroid or new Nintendo IP we haven’t seen before, ASAP. Remind us why you’re Nintendo, Nintendo. Work your magic. Show us what your next Zelda or Metroid looks like because those are beloved evergreen franchises, then show us what next-gen gaming’s really about (which is to say so much more than this facile obsession with graphics and horsepower). And it needs more third-party games. Can Nintendo subsist on Nintendo first-party games alone? Sure…you know, if Nintendo clones its top developers times a thousand and somehow churns out top-tier games every 12 months. Barring this, Nintendo needs more third-party standouts. I don’t mean third-party ports of Xbox One or PS4 games, because those systems are too different, architecturally, and Nintendo doesn’t need any “bottom-end version” stigma. I’m talking great third-party exclusives, like LEGO City Undercover or The Wonderful 101 . Stuff no one else has. More of that, please. ( MORE: Watch here to see all the games currently available on the Wii U) Matt Peckham @mattpeckham. Matt Peckham is TIME's video games, science tech and music tech correspondent based in Ann Arbor, Michigan. His work has appeared in Variety , The Washington Post , The New York Times and others. Subscribe Popular Among Subscribers. Japan's Booming Sex Niche: Elder Porn. Young Kids, Old Bodies. Benedict Cumberbatch Talks Secrets, Leaks, and Sherlock. Obama's Trauma Team. Most Popular. Connect With TIME. More videos Videos. Embed Email Share. Quick Gmail Trick: Pre-Write Email Messages with Canned Responses. Quick Tech Trick: Use Your iPhone as a Flashlight. Quick Tech Trick: Search a Specific Site with Google. Wii vs. Wii U Section. I've been to a few retailers lately, and i've noticed the Wii Section is still about as big as the Wii U section. I find it very odd, that certain retailers don't have copies of Mario Party 10, Bayonetta 2, Kirby and/or Captain Toad. yet a full display case for Wii games most of which are over 3-4 years old. Retailers still sell ps3/360 games, but they really aren't showcased quite as much. More of a after thought. Which gets me thinking. A) Would the Wii U benefit with more exposure. IE: less emphasis on Wii (Or the opposite, where the Wii U benefits from being teamed with the wii ) B) Should Nintendo try and pull back more Wii games/equipment. and try and force the Wii U on more people? Basically ship more Wii U equipment, and pull back unsold Wii equipment and/or move wii games to bargin bins. The Wii is one of the most successful consoles of all time. The Wii U is a dead console that has hardly any games. How is this confusing to you? The games don't sell very fast because the Wii U isn't a popular console. Why print and keep a bunch of copies of games for a system that hardly anyone owns? It makes more sense to have a limited stock. Retailers have to option to display what they wish, based on what they feel will sell better and provide better revenue. Just because the Wii U is Nintendo's current active console doesn't mean that retailers have to give it the prime treatment in regards to shelf space, especially if the Wii software is just as, if not more, successful for them. There really isn't anything Nintendo can do about that but try to make the Wii U more appealing as a product, which is something that the company has been quite unsuccessful at doing for two and a half years now. There is also the fact that the Wii U is compatible with almost the entirety of the Wii's software and accessory lineup, so it makes no sense to pull the items, especially if they still sell at a sufficient rate for retailers. To piggy back on what Jaysonguy said, the Wii, in spite of the reputation the industry wants to give it, is still one of the most successful products the industry has seen on a number of fronts; in contrast, the Wii U can barely sell when Nintendo's biggest brands are at the forefront. It really makes no sense to scrap Wii products if they still have relevance to some people, especially since its successor struggles to attract consumers even on its best days. Try and force the Wii u on people? Maybe if this were the spring/summer of 2012 but it's too late. Nothing was done to seriously promote this console before and during its launch. What good would it do now? The Wii is one of the most successful consoles of all time. The Wii U is a dead console that has hardly any games. How is this confusing to you? So was the PS2. it doesn't mean it's pushing any copies now. The games in the Wii Section are basically the rejects they couldn't 3-4 years ago. I'm not talking about Mario Galaxy 2, and stuff, I'm talking like biggest loser, family fued, just dance 2013, COD Black ops, Chicken Blaster, Thus, couldn't sell them then, and really can't sell them now. I don't care if 100 million Wii consoles are out there, nobody is going to buy 50$ brand new second/third tier wii games on a regular basis. SO my point is. I'd rather see them carry Mario Party 10 than reject wii games. There may be 100 million Wii's out there, but only 5 million may be active with people buying new games. Where as the Wii U Has 9-10 million consoles with people actively buying new games. I'd simply be happy they carry the 8-10 key essential Wii U releases, and keep them in stock. It boggles my mind, how they could be selling out of Mario Party 1-2 months after release. I don't think it's too late for Nintendo to push Wii-U sales, and actually this could be a good time for them to do it. . Especially if they can lower the prices of some older games, or the hardware. The way I see it is, the Wii-U has a decent base with its current library. You can go and get the system right now and be playing Smash Bros. and Bayonetta, and pretty soon you'll be able to get Xenoblade X. That's an attractive line-up. And in the future, people will have the new Zelda game to look forward to. What Nintendo should do right now is phase out the Wii, even if it's a soft phase-out. And they should announce more far-off titles this year, so potential Wii-U owners will know that they have even more to look forward to in the future alongside Zelda. Wiiu dead? Obviously you have not seen vita lol my Walmart does not even carry vita and only has Minecraft on the shelf and only the accessories lol. Wiiu is far from dead. Nintendo has been phasing out the Wii since 2010; the situation at hand has nothing to do with what Nintendo is or isn't doing with that console. This has everything to do with the fact that to most retailers, the Wii U doesn't sell anywhere close to well enough to clear Wii inventory for more of its software. Frankly, none of the games you mention would to much of anything to change the console's fortunes, either, as those titles are already both well-known to established Wii U players and unattractive to potential new buyers, except Super Smash Bros. to a degree. A price drop would be nice to see, but Nintendo probably realizes that the Wii U is already close to its ceiling from a sales perspective, and a price drop really would only boost hardware sales for a month and a half at best. Regardless of what's in store, the system's best software releases are also already out; besides the Amiibo craze, the Wii U really has nothing fresh going for it with a chance of rapidly attracting new owners from now until the end of Nintendo's support for it. If Wii U players want games, their best bet is online shopping or the infinite supply of digital releases from Nintendo's eShop. @Madmangamer364 : I still disagree. I think there is a lot Nintendo could do to attract more people to the Wii-U. It's just that they aren't doing it yet. First of all, I would say this year is a great time to unveil a hardware revision for the Wii-U. Make the gamepad slim and sleek, add in a new feature or two, and maybe drop backwards-compatibility with Wii games if that will lower the price of the system. Nintendo could also release the new Wii-U in a few different colors, besides the standard black and white. Second, have GameFreak develop the next main-series Pokemon game for the Wii-U. They'd have plenty of time to develop such a game now, and release it before the end of the Wii-U's life cycle. Since Nintendo has already created the Pokemon Bank, it would make it possible for players to bring some of their existing monsters into the new game at a certain point in the story. They could even develop two different versions of the game, like usual. It would also be smart of Nintendo to work on a new Mario game that isn't '3D World' or 'Galaxy'. I don't think it's a sure thing that we have seen the best the Wii-U has to offer. I still think upcoming games like Xenoblade X and Zelda will turn out well. It just depends on if Nintendo is content with the current offerings of the system, or if they want it to sell even better. @Madmangamer364 : I still disagree. I think there is a lot Nintendo could do to attract more people to the Wii-U. It's just that they aren't doing it yet. First of all, I would say this year is a great time to unveil a hardware revision for the Wii-U. Make the gamepad slim and sleek, add in a new feature or two, and maybe drop backwards-compatibility with Wii games if that will lower the price of the system. Nintendo could also release the new Wii-U in a few different colors, besides the standard black and white. None of what you mention would be beneficial though. If anything you'd be eliminating the one strength of the Wii U over the competition which is backwards compatibility. The various colors do not mean a thing. I might agree if you said removing the game pad rather than shrinking it. @Madmangamer364 : I still disagree. I think there is a lot Nintendo could do to attract more people to the Wii-U. It's just that they aren't doing it yet. First of all, I would say this year is a great time to unveil a hardware revision for the Wii-U. Make the gamepad slim and sleek, add in a new feature or two, and maybe drop backwards-compatibility with Wii games if that will lower the price of the system. Nintendo could also release the new Wii-U in a few different colors, besides the standard black and white. None of what you mention would be beneficial though. If anything you'd be eliminating the one strength of the Wii U over the competition which is backwards compatibility. The various colors do not mean a thing. I might agree if you said removing the game pad rather than shrinking it. How would eliminating the gamepad, something the competition doesn't have, benefit the Wii-U? The game pad never panned out to be the holy grail of this system. Most games use it in a way that would not be missed nor change the game experience if it were not available. Look at Smash Bros as an example. Nintendo realizes this isn't the ideal control method for this game hence why the GCN adapter is available. With the exception of Zombi U the game pad seems to be an undue commitment when it comes to the software. The pad has to be a huge factor in the price of the Wii U. @Solaryellow : I still feel like the gamepad is a major part of the Wii-U. You can continue to play games on it even when someone else is using the TV it's hooked up to, you can scan Amiibo through it, and most games have at least minor functionality with the device. I know that at least Kirby's Rainbow Curse has you drawing lines, which I assume is similar to how things worked in Canvas Curse, and that probably would not be possible without a touch screen. Maybe by eliminating the backwards-compatibility, they could make the system $50 less. Maybe more, idk. And if they could make the gamepad less bulky, maybe people would be more inclined to use it. The game pad is still a part of the Wii U but not nearly to the point of what we were led to believe. Some games implement it more than others but the implementation on many doesn't offer a better game play. NOA/J made it seem as if this peripheral would change the way we play games but that hasn't happened. The Wii is one of the most successful consoles of all time. The Wii U is a dead console that has hardly any games. How is this confusing to you? You don't think it's abnormal for an older console to outshine its successor? The Wii is one of the most successful consoles of all time. The Wii U is a dead console that has hardly any games. How is this confusing to you? You don't think it's abnormal for an older console to outshine its successor? When it's successor is one of the biggest failures in console history it's not that odd. The Wii is one of the best selling/most popular consoles of all time, the Wii U is a console that was dead by it's second birthday. It's also not like the Wii U needs a lot of room for games because it has one of the worst libraries ever for a console. Put out the half dozen first party games that people actually buy for the console and that's it. The Wii is one of the most successful consoles of all time. The Wii U is a dead console that has hardly any games. How is this confusing to you? You don't think it's abnormal for an older console to outshine its successor? Not when the successor was half-assed and not given the improvements needed to separate it from its predecessor. One thing guaranteed with each subsequent console is better graphics. Nintendo did that but it was a given. Other than that it hasn't elevated itself from the Wii. @Solaryellow : Wii U is on a whole nother coop level compared to the Wii. The dual screen coop, connecting 8 controllers, playing online mode on local coop. The Wii U outshines the Wii in bout every single way. The Wii is one of the most successful consoles of all time. The Wii U is a dead console that has hardly any games. How is this confusing to you? You don't think it's abnormal for an older console to outshine its successor? Not when the successor was half-assed and not given the improvements needed to separate it from its predecessor. One thing guaranteed with each subsequent console is better graphics. Nintendo did that but it was a given. Other than that it hasn't elevated itself from the Wii. Well yeah, but that has never happened with Nintendo, and I can't think of any other console or handheld that eclipsed its successor. Maybe the PS2 over PS3 for a little while. You don't think it's abnormal for an older console to outshine its successor? Not when the successor was half-assed and not given the improvements needed to separate it from its predecessor. One thing guaranteed with each subsequent console is better graphics. Nintendo did that but it was a given. Other than that it hasn't elevated itself from the Wii. Well yeah but if you have to qualify it like that it sounds like an abnormal situation to me. Not when the successor was half-assed and not given the improvements needed to separate it from its predecessor. One thing guaranteed with each subsequent console is better graphics. Nintendo did that but it was a given. Other than that it hasn't elevated itself from the Wii. Well yeah but if you have to qualify it like that it sounds like an abnormal situation to me. A predecessor outshining a successor is nothing new nor is this the first time Nintendo has experienced it. Atari has also experienced it. @Solaryellow : Wii U is on a whole nother coop level compared to the Wii. The dual screen coop, connecting 8 controllers, playing online mode on local coop. The Wii U outshines the Wii in bout every single way. Show me the list of games that allow 8 controllers and the screen at the same time. Also while you're at it show me the asshole that has over 300 dollars of Wiimotes to do it. @Jaysonguy : 8 player Smash Bros can connect 8 controllers at a time. You are right, I would be shocked if anyone did have 8 controllers. I imagine for anyone to play this mode with 8 actual people they would have to have friends bring their own wiimotes, gamecube controllers w/ adapters, or 3DS's with Smash 3DS. I'm guessing this is the only game that has support for 8 controllers at once though. Instead of showing someone who has eight controllers, I'd prefer seeing someone who has seven friends who know of the Wii U and play it. What if i could show both, I have more then 8 controllers also, if i can count my Gamecube controllers. For some reason yall seem to think Nintendo families are not possible. I can easily take all my brothers and sisters with their kids and have over 20 people Smash session. We would probably have over 20 controllers also. @Solaryellow : I don't really agree with your point. This game has sold over a million copies and is a very popular series. There are plenty of people who can get together to play it if they want and would know what they were doing. Plus, everyone had a Wii so plans could easily be made for people to bring their controllers to a party or something like I mentioned before. @iandizion713 :Ha! That sounds awesome actually!! I have the game and I would kill to have a few people to play it with. I have the gamepad and 3 wiimotes so 4 person Smash would be perfect for me. Online is fine but I would love to get enough people together to play this game. Someone who has seven friends wanting to play the Wii U is what I'd call a unicorn. My guess is that it isn't the norm or even close to being common. Did anyone give Nintendo the memo that it isn't 1997 anymore? Not when the successor was half-assed and not given the improvements needed to separate it from its predecessor. One thing guaranteed with each subsequent console is better graphics. Nintendo did that but it was a given. Other than that it hasn't elevated itself from the Wii. Well yeah but if you have to qualify it like that it sounds like an abnormal situation to me. A predecessor outshining a successor is nothing new nor is this the first time Nintendo has experienced it. Atari has also experienced it. No one's arguing that it's unprecedented, only that it's abnormal. Jasonguy seemed to be making out that it was just a matter of course and nothing worth mentioning, you seem to be saying that it can happen but that it doesn't matter, finally to saying that it doesn't really even count. A predecessor outshining a successor is nothing new nor is this the first time Nintendo has experienced it. Atari has also experienced it. No one's arguing that it's unprecedented, only that it's abnormal. Jasonguy seemed to be making out that it was just a matter of course and nothing worth mentioning, you seem to be saying that it can happen but that it doesn't matter, finally to saying that it doesn't really even count. How is it abnormal when Nintendo has faced such response before? Other gaming companies have been in the same boat before which makes it far from abnormal. @Solaryellow : What would you call it then? Certainly its not normal. It's not ideal. It's not expected. @Madmangamer364 : I still disagree. I think there is a lot Nintendo could do to attract more people to the Wii-U. It's just that they aren't doing it yet. First of all, I would say this year is a great time to unveil a hardware revision for the Wii-U. Make the gamepad slim and sleek, add in a new feature or two, and maybe drop backwards-compatibility with Wii games if that will lower the price of the system. Nintendo could also release the new Wii-U in a few different colors, besides the standard black and white. Second, have GameFreak develop the next main-series Pokemon game for the Wii-U. They'd have plenty of time to develop such a game now, and release it before the end of the Wii-U's life cycle. Since Nintendo has already created the Pokemon Bank, it would make it possible for players to bring some of their existing monsters into the new game at a certain point in the story. They could even develop two different versions of the game, like usual. It would also be smart of Nintendo to work on a new Mario game that isn't '3D World' or 'Galaxy'. I don't think it's a sure thing that we have seen the best the Wii-U has to offer. I still think upcoming games like Xenoblade X and Zelda will turn out well. It just depends on if Nintendo is content with the current offerings of the system, or if they want it to sell even better. I'm not convinced that any of those changes would make the Wii U that much more appealing, honestly. At its core, the Wii U doesn't attract the masses or the PS/Xbox gamer that Nintendo was shooting for, and none of those hardware revisions would change that perspective drastically. The best thing Nintendo can do is lower the entry price for the consumers that may be on the fence about the console (like myself), but I doubt even that number is very large. Most people who wanted a Wii U probably already has it by now, given that Nintendo's traditionally best-selling console franchises are out for the system. A full-fledged Pokemon game would take too long to make an impact on the Wii U, let alone the fact that Pokemon is a franchise that excels on portable platforms to begin with. I doubt GameFreak, as great of a developer as it is, has worked with the Wii U hardware that much, so to ask the company to make a system-selling quality Pokemon game this late in the game for a system struggling so much would be an unfair assignment. As for Mario, the series has done its job on the Wii U, although it hasn't really helped as much in the big picture as the franchise is expected to; more Mario would just be more of the same. Xenoblade and Zelda are targeted at a much narrower market than Mario and Pokemon, so while they may provide incentive for some people, their impact on console sales won't be as large or as lasting as a Mario or Pokemon title usually is. The same goes for Nintendo's other second-tier franchises, like Star Fox, Metroid, or F-Zero; the main reason to develop those games for the system is to give current players something new to buy. The Wii U's current situation isn't that hard to evaluate to be frank, and it really hasn't been tough to figure out from the get-go. The system's best days are behind it, and the most Nintendo can or should do is hold down the fort and refresh its strategy for its next line of platforms. Honestly, there is really no point in trying to transform the Wii U through hardware changes, and if that breakout, perception-shattering game for the Wii U existed, we would have seen it by now without a doubt. @Madmangamer364 : Okay, so either Nintendo just gives up and moves on, or tries to do something with the Wii-U. Personally, I like my plan better. @Solaryellow : What would you call it then? Certainly its not normal. It's not ideal. It's not expected. The way Nintendo has taken an about face since the days of the SNES makes me expect subsequent consoles to be received less than graciously from what it replaces. A Nintendo console being accepted better than its predecessor is what I'd call abnormal. @Madmangamer364 : Okay, so either Nintendo just gives up and moves on, or tries to do something with the Wii-U. Personally, I like my plan better. I'm not suggesting that Nintendo gives up on supporting the Wii U completely ; the timing of doing such a thing makes absolutely no sense now. What Nintendo must do now is try to be as efficient as possible with the Wii U and, much like the company did from its transition from the GameCube to the Wii, discover a way to reinvigorate its hardware philosophy. I think that actually requires ensuring that the Wii U gets the standard five year cycle, but to make hardware revisions and major software for a console selling so poorly with little to no hope of exciting consumers would be very wasteful and wouldn't really carry over to the next platform anyway. I think at the core of our disagreement is the matter of whether or not the Wii U hardware is still capable of respectable, semi-long-term sales; while I think that cause is well lost by now, you seem to think that the Wii U, with the proper moves, can still make its way into many more homes. If 2 Super Mario games (2D and 3D), Mario Kart, Super Smash Bros., and heck, even a couple of Zelda related releases in Wind Waker HD and Hyrule Warriors couldn't equate to positive, lengthy growth for the console, I don't think know what hope a Nintendo system has left. It would be one thing if the Wii U lived up to the name of its predecessor and had some trace of mass market appeal, but it doesn't. I'm not even sure how attractive the system would be to the masses even if it was around $250 USD. Again, a price drop is really the most sensible thing Nintendo could try with the Wii U right now, but apparently, even Iwata and Co. just don't see the incentive to push that envelope. Nintendo: Wii U a Better Value than Xbox One, PS4. Nintendo of America president Reggie Fils-Aime says the Wii U offers a better bang for the buck this holiday season than Xbox One or PlayStation 4. "We’re presenting the best value right now in new home consoles," Fils-Aime told The Wall-Street Journal. "$299, includes two games. It’s a compelling proposition for consumers this holiday." Fils-Aime was referring to the current Wii U bundle that has been on sale since mid-September, which includes Super Mario 3D World and Nintendo Land. He also touted the system's line-up of exclusives, which he said appeals to ages "6 to 66" with all-ages games like Mario Kart 8 and more core-focused games like Bayonetta 2. As for how Fils-Aime sees the company competing with the likes of Microsoft and Sony, he said he takes a broader view. "Honestly, we are in the entertainment business, and we compete for your entertainment time," he said. "What that means is, I compete with. folks in my direct gaming space, as well as people in the mobile market. But I also compete with magazines, newspapers, television watching. It’s all entertainment time. We are limited in how much entertainment time we have. I need to convince you to invest your precious time to play something like Smash Bros or to have fun with your Amiibo figure versus doing something else. When we do that, we win in the marketplace." The Wii U bundle Reggie was referring to is available at Walmart, and so is the Mario Kart 8 bundle. Steve Watts is a freelance writer who keeps looking out the window to see if his Amiibos are here yet. You can read more of his keen insights by following him on Twitter and IGN. © 1996-2018 Ziff Davis, LLC. We have updated our PRIVACY POLICY and encourage you to read it by clicking here. IGN uses cookies and other tracking technologies to customize online advertisements, and for other purposes. IGN supports the Digital Advertising Alliance principles. Learn More. PlayStation 4 vs. Wii U. Launched a full year earlier than PlayStation 4 , the Wii U was the first “8th generation” video game console to hit the market. The Wii U and the PS4 differ in a variety of ways, most notably in price, internal hardware, number of games available, and the style of its controller. Another significant difference is that unlike PS4, the Wii U console is compatible with older games offered by its predecessor, the Wii. Nintendo released two versions of the Wii U console in 2012 for $299 and $349, key differences between the two being storage size and an included game. The PS4 comes in just one version costing $399, features more powerful graphics capability, more than 10 times the storage space, and the capability to play DVDs and Blu-Ray discs. Similarities between the systems include HDMI outputs, the ability to access the Internet, motion-sensing cameras, both have Bluetooth capability, and WiFi and Ethernet connectivity. Comparison chart. current rating is 4.05/5 1 2 3 4 5 (736 ratings) current rating is 3.6/5 1 2 3 4 5 (85 ratings) Consoles. Each $399 PS4 console comes with 500 GB of storage, DualShock 4 controllers, and the game Playroom – however, Playroom only works with the PlayStation Eye motion-sensing camera, which is sold separately. There are two different versions of the Wii U, which vary in price and accessories. For $299, the basic Wii U comes with a console, 8 GB of storage, a Wii U gamepad, and an HDMI cable. The $349 deluxe version includes a console, 32 GB of storage, a sensor bar, the game Nintendo Land, and stands for the console and controller. The PS4 is only available in black; the basic Wii U console comes in white, and the deluxe version comes in black. One obvious difference between Wii U and PS4 is the hardware. The PS4 sports a quicker computer processor and a more robust graphics card. PS4 has more available RAM, which means the computer can perform more functions simultaneously. The PS4 also has a stronger graphics card, allowing for more detail and variation in images. If users were to do a side-by-side comparison of PS4 versus Wii U using the same game, there would be perceptible differences in video game graphics, according to tests done by popular gaming websites. Backwards Compatibility. PS4 will not allow users to play older PlayStation games on the new system, though the company has floated the idea of offering a cloud-based service that would allow users to play older PS1 through 3 games. Conversely, Nintendo Wii U does have backwards compatibility, and users can play older Wii games. In a Nutshell. This video shows a quick side-by-side comparison of the graphics, games and consoles: Controllers. Much of the gaming power of the Wii U lies in its controllers, which sets it apart from the PS4 DualShock controllers. Gamers control the Wii U with the GamePad, which, in addition to standard game controller buttons, features a built-in 6-inch touchscreen, a microphone, camera, and sensor strip. Gamers can use all of these features to interact with the on-screen display. The GamePad also has near-field technology, which can establish radio frequency communication with other devices when in close proximity. According to Nintendo, the Wii U controller can accept credit card information simply by laying a card on the GamePad. The Gamepad offers a “second screen” experience in the palm of your hand, as it can display the game you are playing – in full color – the same way it’s shown on screen. The GamePad also comes with a stylus, which allows for precise gameplay control using the touchscreen. The PS4 DualShock features a special button that players can use to record gameplay clips. Similar to the Wii U controller, it features a touchpad for operating on-screen menu, but that touchpad does not show gameplay. The controllers also have built-in mono speakers and headphone jacks, a rechargeable lithium-ion battery, and a stereo camera interface that senses players’ surroundings. Both controllers use wireless technology and operate on rechargeable lithium-ion batteries. Motion Sensor. The Wii U includes a sensor bar that allows users to interact with games using body movements. Wii U also has an additional controller called the Wii Remote, which includes a gyroscope that senses body movements, allowing users to mimic the movements of a tennis racquet or sword, for example. The PS4 Eye is Sony’s motion capture camera, which allows players to interact with games like PlayStation Playroom. But the Eye is sold separately for $59.99. Applications. Both Wii U and PS4 offer free access to applications like Netflix, Amazon Prime, and Hulu Plus. However, users may need to pay a separate subscription rate for each of those services. Each console also offers users free access to the Internet with a web browser. Online Game Play. Both Wii U and PS4 online game play, but only PS4 requires users to subscribe to the PS+, which costs $49.99 per year. Given its launch date approximately one year before PS4, Wii U has many more games available so far at just over 200. PS4 has approximately 100 as of November 2013. However, new games are planned for each system subsequently. There are also exclusive games available for each system. For Wii U, those include Donkey Kong Country: Time Freeze, ZombiU, Yarn Yoshi, The Legend of Zelda: Wind Walker, and Super Mario 3D World. Exclusive PS4 games include Basemen Crawl, Drive Club, Earth Defense Force, Everyone’s Gone to the Rapture, Mobile Suit Gundam, The Order: 1886, Rime, and Resogun. Both Sony and Nintendo operate web stores accessible with the gaming console where users can download a selection of games. Where to Buy. You can shop for consoles, games, hardware and all accessories for PS 4 and Wii on Amazon's one-stop stores: