I'm a Nintendo-fan. Always have been, always will be. Yeah, the games are childish and cartoon-y much of the time, but that's the way I like it. Plus, I'm a bigger fan of the Mario/Metroid/Zelda franchises than any Sonic or Halo thing.
Ditto (though I still <3 classic Sonic games and enjoyed Sonic Colors as well).
Our family jumped on the Wii bandwagon last December, shortly after the Wii-U came out. I'm rarely the first to jump onto any platform, or game for that matter, so the Wii at $89 was my choice over the $199 Wii-U (I think that's what they were selling for). At the time, the Wii-U didn't have a whole lot of titles, and nothing really big announced, so I didn't feel like I was missing out on anything. Since then, they still haven't had many releases, and it has reduced confidence in the Nintendo franchise, caused their stock prices to drop, and turned many towards the Sony/Microsoft offerings.
The Wii U suffers from the same problem as the Vita: Not knowing their target market.
Who's going to buy the Wii U? "Core" gamers? Not likely. They may have picked up a Wii, but almost without exception they also owned a PS3 or Xbox 360 or gaming PC (or a combination thereof). Casual gamers? Nope, they've moved on to mobile. Parents? Possibly, but it's easier to convince a parent to buy a $200 tablet or give a child a hand-me-down smartphone and buy $1-$2 games than a buy $250 console with $50 games for kids that likely have a short enough attention span for mobile games to suffice. (And parents would very likely consider a 2DS for a child long before a Wii U.) Nintendo fans? Maybe, but if you're going to invest in a current Nintendo platform, 3DS is (IMO) the obvious choice over the Wii U.
Few "must-have" exclusive games = low hardware sales = small install base = developers scared off = fewer "must-have" exclusives games--and so the spiral continues.
Will I end up getting one for a Monolithsoft exclusive title? Maybe. If Monolithsoft announced Soma Bringer 2 for the 3DS tomorrow AND Nintendo guaranteed a NA localization, I'd probably set aside $500 on the spot for two 3DS XLs and 2 copies of the game. Put another way: I really, really like recent Monolithsoft games.
Would I buy the Wii U for a new (and I mean entirely new) Zelda game? Probably not, after Skyward Sword. I enjoyed SS but the pacing was rubbish and I just wanted to be done with it by the time it was over--which was a shame, because the first several hours of the game were really, really fun to play.
Would I buy the Wii U for the next Super Mario Galaxy game? Probably not, even though I <3 SMG1 and SMG2. Mario games are great, but I don't think they're worth $300.
That said, I'm probably not upgrading consoles for a while. I spend all of my time on PC games, and my kids haven't quite figured out how to play Wii games (which is surprising for my 7-year-old!), so I'm not in any big rush.
Completely understandable.
There are times when I wish I had a PS2/3, though. I fell in love with the Katamari series, which I've only seen offered on the Sony consoles (although there is now an app on iTunes which has piqued my interest)
Katamari Forever is a fantastic game, even if it doesn't have quite the same charm as the first two entries in the series.
And who doesn't enjoy Katamari in 1080p? Soulless robots, that's who.
The Katamari iPhone game? Don't bother.
IMO, the PS3's exclusives are much more interesting to PC gamers, who already have the best first-person shooters (no disrespect to Halo fans or thumbstick players intended).
and some of the Final Fantasy and Dragon Quest series were released on Playstation, and I wouldn't mind trying them out. I'm an RPG guy, but the genre has been getting slower, longer, and too story-based for my liking. Take me back to the original FF or Dragon Warrior I-IV on NES. FF7 was where I started losing interest, and I played FF8 briefly, but it never took, and now with the subscription model....bleh! I'll keep my cartridges, run the old-school games on my PC emulator at 8x speed, sit back and sip on my root beer while I slash and hack my way to max level - usually in about an hour or two. Booyah!
I think we must be around the same age.
Back when I was 13, 14, 15 years old--in the heyday of SNES RPGs--I could afford the time to play through a 60-hour game. I excused the filler and padding (yes, I am talking about random encounters, which should have died and stayed dead the day Chrono Trigger was released) then; I can't excuse it now, when my gaming time is so very limited and there are so many great games available.
I personally don't think any FF after 6--with the exception of 9, and even that drags on in places and has a disappointing ending, IMO--is worth the time it takes to play it. FF7, like Ocarina of Time, is really a game that you had to play when it was current to appreciate it. Now, it just seems dated. Yes, those games influenced everything that came after, but UGH RANDOM ENCOUNTERS and UGH WATER TEMPLE.
So I'm right there with you.
Fortunately, I found new favorite franchises to replace those that dropped off. That's one of the great things about gaming: If someone drops the ball, someone else will pick it up and run with it. If Nintendo refuses to make another proper Metroid (Metroid Prime games are fine, but it's not the same), indies will make games like Bunny Must Die, Ghost Song, and Cave Story. If Nintendo makes a mediocre Zelda game, talented people create Okami. If Square Enix poisons everything it touches, then Atlus breathes new life into a genre.
