Wii U

No, my cat did not walk across the keyboard to make the title of this post.  For those not in the know Wii U is the next Nintendo console, I am excited for this.  Not only is Nintendo changing the way people play games (again!) but changing the way people interact with their TV.

I have long been a Nintendo fan.  I got my first NES just after we moved to Buckhorn as a kid.  I had to scrape bits of bark off the side of the log house in order to earn this system. It was the greatest thing ever.  For a long time all we had for it was Super Mario Bros. and the Duck Hunt combo game, and that was enough.  I played those games to death.  If you were not old enough to have Super Mario Bros be a part of your childhood, and I mean the first one, you have been deprived of something amazing. 

There were no hints, no cheats, no save points or continues.  You either beat the game before you ran out of lives, or you didn’t and then you tried all over again.  Perseverance, was key along with exploration.

I Got the Super NES as a Christmas present one year.  I would wager that besides clothes that I would have needed anyways that was the only thing under the tree for me.  I remember that it was Christmas because I recall taking the controllers to bed with me at night so that my brother couldn’t play it while I was sleeping.  He had a Sega (which sucked) and kept it in his room where I couldn’t play it anyways.  It took me ages and visits to friends houses to figure out all the secrets in Super Mario World.  And by ages I mean more than a year or two to finish all 96 endings to the levels.

I didn’t get the N64 until years after it came out, like the same release time as the Gamecube.  My dad refused to buy one for me, and at the time I didn’t have the means to get a job really, so that was that.  And really, now that I look back, good parenting.  We had a game system and a computer in the house, was and N64 necessary?  Nope.  Did my dad cave to all the whining and carrying on that I did? Nope. Parenting win.  Even if I was not very happy about it at the time.  Eventually I got an N64 and then later a Gamecube.  Both amazing.  I’ll be sure to expand on the adventures my friends and I had with the Gamecube at some point.

When Wii was announced it was amazing, a new way to control games, everyone, inculding most moms were won over and it was something that everyone had to own.  I was one of those people and so on a cold and a bit snowy Saturday night in November of 2006 I sat outside of Wal-Mart all night to be the 8th person in town to get my hands on a Nintendo Wii.  It was totally worth the wait.  I was blown away with the control, it was something so new and intuitive, very cool.  I am happy to say I did score a perfect game on Wii bowling once, while I was sick over that Christmas.

Now comes Wii U.  Thankfully I was able to get a pre-order in, the 3rd one at the Ebgames nearby.  I won’t have to sit in the cold over night, though I might cruise the line with my 3DS and pick up street passes.  The innovation this time?  A touch screen in the controller (that still does all the things the Wii remote does)  it opens up a wide array of game play options.  The other thing that Nintendo held up as amazing in their press event yesterday was Nintendo TVii.  The console can integrate your netflix, hulu plus, cable and DVR.  It really does look very cool and while my wife kinda shrugged her shoulders when I was telling her about it I think it will be nifty.

For the first time since 1996, A Nintendo console launches with a Mario game, New Super Mario Bros. U.  It’s an understatement to say that Mario games are fun.  I’m really looking forward to it and the whole experience that it promises with it’s interconnectivity to the larger Nintendo online experience.

So, yeah, this is awesome news, and will take up a lot of those cold hours in the winter when biking is not possible and there is no NHL to be watching on TV.