IMO i don't see how 2015 is the Wii U at full steam when they have already burned through Mario Kart and Smash. I don't follow a ton of gaming news, but these titles that have been announced just don't do much for me. Where the hell is Metroid for starters?

I mean in terms of volume. There's almost a first party release a month. Definitely agree that their biggest franchises are not represented, of course. Splatoon has potential to be their next big thing, though, and Yoshi's Wooly World, Starfox, and Xenoblade Chronicles X are pretty exciting. Mario Maker could be neat. We've gotten a Kirby game this year too, and there's the possibility for further 2015 announcements at E3 (a remaster, a smaller Treasure Tracker-style game, etc.). I honestly think that 2015 will be the Wii U's best year for software, even if the marquee value isn't nearly as high.

I don't think a Metroid announcement is far off, though we might not hear anything this year. The word is that Retro is building a Wii U game from a brand new engine. Next Level built a Metroid prototype and put together that concept art that was floating around, although that apparently didn't go anywhere, and it was supposedly for the 3DS anyway. Miyamoto and Takahashi have hinted that there are plans to accommodate both the 2D and 3D styles of Metroid play.

Yeah, they announced in the most recent Nintendo Direct that Fatal Frame V would be localized for the US.

There are two possibilities that I see. The first is that there's a common architecture between handheld and console, which would make it easier to port games from platform to platform, but they're still "distinct". Some/many games will be buy-once-play-anywhere, but some games will be handheld-only, and some games will be console-only. The common architecture in this case is meant more for ease of porting rather than anything consumer-oriented. If this is the case, the handheld would undoubtedly launch first.

The other possibility is that, again, there is a common architecture between handheld and console, but it's more iOS-like in nature. All games (maybe with a tiny handful of exceptions) are buy-once-play-anywhere: playable on handhelds and consoles, scaling to suit the hardware being used at the moment. NX is a straight-up platform rather than a piece of hardware. I think this could be a tremendous differentiator for Nintendo. If this were to happen, I'd expect the hardware to be staggered a bit...maybe handheld at the end of 2016 and the console sometime in 2017.

Adding fuel to the joint architecture theory...Unity was just announced for 3DS. I think that is a small step toward that goal with the NX.

have 3ds's be the controllers for the NX!

So I'm getting a WiiU for my kid's birthday next week...and also for myself, but shhhhhhhh.

Buying the refurb with Mario and Nintendoland for $225 and already have plenty of Wii peripherals. Anything else I should get?

Also want to get him Smash Bros and Mario Kart, so if anybody knows of any deals this week or next, please advise.

The refurbs don't come with a charging cradle for some bizarre reason. It's not essential for the gamepad, but I bet you'll find it convenient. The price swings up and down on Amazon. I bought one for my kid sister's Wii U for something like $4 last year; now it's around $7.

Amazon has Super Smash Bros. for the Wii U for $44.96, although it won't ship until April 20th. (Look under 'More Buying Choices'.)

Excellent. Thanks for tips. As long as the tablet comes with some means of charging, I'm good for now.

Nice call on Smash Bros. Ordered. His birthday is the 24th, and I have Prime, so that should work out alright. I'll either get him Kart later or let him buy it with his bday money.

Obvious question that I should probably just google, but are most of the games playable on the pad without the TV, or is that pretty limited? If they are, I might just set it up in the living room.

Thanks again. Contrary to what people here think, I'm actually a Nintendo fanboy. I just never understood what they were thinking with the WiiU hardware...or why they won't make proper god damn Metroids, but that's another discussion.

Yeah, everything you need is in the box. You'll just have to physically plug in the gamepad to charge it. Because the battery life is pretty short, it's pretty handy to just drop it on the cradle instead of reaching for a cable every time. Unless you play in very short bursts, you'll have to charge it every 1-2 sessions. The battery life can be exasperating if you wanna marathon something. I liked playing Wind Waker HD with the gamepad because of the convenient map/inventory, and the battery life just couldn't keep up with me. Because it's a tablet, I can't just have it tethered to the system and charge either.

The overwhelming majority of games support off-TV play. It's only the handful of games that really use the gamepad and TV together -- Game & Wario, Nintendo Land, Zombi U -- that require both. The Cave is the only game I know of that seems like it should support off-TV play but doesn't.

There are some games where off-TV isn't ideal -- Pikmin 3, for instance -- but the option is still there.

I'm not sure that Nintendo understands what they were thinking either.

Awesome intel. Thanks!

I'll probably just set it up in his bedroom since I also just ordered a Gamecube adapter for Smash.

Two questions:

1. Does Lego City: Undercover still have those long loading times?

2. Can I use my old Gamecube controller in order to play Super Smash Bros or do I have to buy the new one?

Can't speak from personal experience, but nosing around recent posts on GameFAQs and Reddit, the load times are still insanely long. Reportedly it's slightly faster when downloaded rather than playing off a retail disc. (This one's on my must-get list, but I don't know if I'll ever have the time, alas.)

You can use GameCube controllers, but you'll have to buy an adapter. The first-party adapters are tricky to find, but there are some third-party solutions.

I'm loving the fact that my local library has games for free, but Mario Kart 8 is starting to get boring with just myself.

Finally got a Wii U. I haven't gotten the chance to play anything yet, however. I agree with the general consensus: this thing may be "refurbished," but it looks and feels brand new!

My network ID is eric.n128, if anyone is interested in kicking my ass in Super Smash Bros.

That's good to hear. I just ordered a refurbished 3DS (Yoshi edition) from them. It's a birthday gift for my daughter, so hopefully it's in good shape.

I'm always up for Smash. I'll add you tonight. My ID is TSDMike

I started Earthbound over the weekend after Ive had it for months. The difficulty and obtuse objectives really make it feel a Souls game from Nintendo. I'm probably 4-5 hours in. I've been using the players guide to point me in the right direction. Its really good, but its not for someone new to JRPG's

Best Buy is getting an exclusive Splatoon bundle (+ Nintendo Land) for $299.

Is that the closest we've gotten to an official price drop or are they usually $299 now?

9 out of 10 games from 1985 - 1995 were more or less "Souls" games. I think that's why I loved BBorne so much.

Everything I've read about Splatoon sounds good, but everything I've seen of Splatoon looks dumb and lame.

It's been $299 since September 2013.

Awww...I think it looks amazing. I'm not interested in the online multiplayer aspect, though, so I'm hoping it holds up solo (since there is some kind of campaign) and/or local multiplayer.

That's right, it dropped $50 a week after I sold mine. Poor bastard.

I'm not interested in multiplayer of any stripe. If the reviews indicate a solid solo campaign, I'll probably pick it up.

The 4.0 patch and the second batch of Mario Kart 8 DLC are out now. If you keep seeing a message in the in-game store telling you that the DLC isn't available yet, quitting the game and restarting did the trick for me. (I had to do it a couple of times.) First you download the patch, and the DLC prompt (if you preordered) will come up when the game launches. Two separate downloads.

Super Smash Bros. for $31 over at Newegg

http://slickdeals.net/f/7816769-supe...do-wii-u-30-98

So what's up with the GameCube Adapter thing. Does it work with anything else other than Smash Bros?