With the launch of Xbox One and PS4 on the horizon, evaporating third-party support, and an embarrassing software drought for most of its first year on the market, there seems to be very little reason for gamers to spend $350 to pick up a Wii U. In defense of the struggling console, I can think of at least three reasons.
1. Pikmin 3. Nintendo’s last great original franchise is an irresistibly charming and surprisingly violent strategy game. You play as an explorer who commands an army of tiny creatures called Pikmin and uses them to battle, solve puzzles, and carry treasure. In the long-awaited third entry, there are new Pikmin types, but more importantly, there are three explorers, opening up the strategy design to allow much more complex multitasking. You can switch control between the three explorers on the fly and control different Pikmin units simultaneously. I anticipate hectic, frenzied exploration as the minutes tick toward sunset each day. I bought a Wii U at launch just so I could play this game. It’s been nearly 10 years since we got a new Pikmin game, and though the delays have been disappointing, there is no doubt in my mind that Pikmin 3 will be one of the best games of the year.
2. You like platformers. Wii U launched with a fantastic new 2D Mario titled New Super Mario Bros. U. This summer, Nintendo released New Super Luigi U, a $20 DLC for New Super Mario Bros. U that makes Luigi the star of 80 difficult, redesigned levels. And this fall, there are a slew of platformers headed to the console: Rayman Legends, Sonic Lost World, Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze, and, last but not least, Super Mario 3D World. Sure, you get a handful of platformers on competitors’ consoles (Rayman Legends, for instance), but Nintendo consoles feel like welcoming homes for the genre, the Wii U perhaps more so than ever. And nobody can design a platformer like Nintendo can.
3. You are a Nintendo fan. Let’s face it. Since the N64-era on, the real reason to own any Nintendo console is you like Nintendo games. There is always an occasional third-party exclusive that is nice to have, but third-party support is never the reason to own modern Nintendo consoles. The Wii U will be no different. Eventually, we will get a new Zelda and a new Metroid, and it will all be worth it. Your purchase will be validated with quality software you can’t get anywhere else. I can think of other reasons to own a Wii U (the gamepad is actually cool, I swear!), but this is the reason. The only reason you need.
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