Wii U Critical Mass

Nintendo released the Wii U in North America on November 18, 2012. Up until mid-2014, sales were about as lively as the Duke Nukem Forever multiplayer community.

But then Nintendo released Mario Kart 8 and, one month later, handily won E3 even with a phoned-in virtual performance. Nintendo announced enough upcoming Wii U titles that, in addition to their already-released library, opened the gates for the Wii U. Suddenly Wii U reached critical mass (finally) in terms of available software worth playing. Wii U took New Super Mario Bros. U, Super Mario 3D World, Donkey Kong Country Tropical Freeze, The Wonderful 101, and their recent Mario Kart 8 victory and announced the addition of Super Smash Brothers, Bayonetta 2, Splatoon, Yoshi's Wooly World, Hyrule Warriors, Xenoblade Chronicles X and Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker.

Finally, the Wii U has enough established and upcoming titles to warrant buying in. Enough so that after E3, the Mario Kart 8 Wii U bundles immediately sold out online and in stores. For three months in my area it was nearly impossible to find a Wii U, and I was even looking at pre-owned inventory! Hardware prices haven't been dropping much, either.

Where is that invisible "worth it" line drawn? About five or six titles. Once a console has enough software that you can spend more on games than the actual hardware, it's worth buying. Say 5 games x $50 = $250 makes the basic 8GB set worth purchasing.

Sure, Wii U still lacks in "hardcore" games (though it does have Call of Duty: Ghosts!). However, I recently rediscovered Nintendo's fun factor. Having grown so jaded and bored with most games lately (such as the aforementioned Call of Duty: Ghosts), I recently plunked down $200 for a used 8GB Wii U, a spare controller, and Super Mario 3D World. I find myself having a surprisingly good time. Nintendo is still innovating gameplay here while the shooter franchises of the world continue to stagnate. I want to keep exploring this crazy, silly world Nintendo created. I've been smiling! I hardly ever smile. Further adding to the fun, the game attracted my wife's interest so we finally have something she's interested in playing together. There's another hidden win in Nintendo's pocket: so many of their games are co-op you can play with friends.