The Fight for Second Place: Xbox One vs. Wii U

(Image credit; 4.bp.blogspot.com)

In terms of sales, the PlayStation 4 is far ahead of its peers. Recent statistics show that Sony’s beastly machine has 40% more sales than Xbox One according to ArsTechnica. We believe that the ‘console war’ is now being fought between Nintendo’s Wii U and the Xbox One. It may get even more cutthroat as Microsoft’s CVP Yusuf Mehdi recently announced on Xbox Wire that Xbox One shipments to retailers are nearing 10 million. However, this does not give us any indication of consumer sales.

If we compare hardware, there is no question the Xbox One offers more power and graphical capability than the Wii U. The one thing favoring Nintendo’s little monster is that it is loaded with exclusives. Most recently, the stylish fighter ‘Bayonetta 2’ was released on the Wii U and became an instant hit and its 95/100 Metacrtic rating proves it. ‘Super Smash Bros.’ has already scored 85/100 rating on Metacritic and hopefully it will repeat the success when it releases on the Wii U on the 21^st of November.

The Xbox One may not have as many exclusives as the Wii U but some of their best include ‘Forza Horizon 2’, ‘Sunset Overdrive’ and ‘Halo: Master Chief Collection’. This year’s biggest Xbox One exclusive was ‘Titanfall’. Unfortunately, its sequel is reportedly going multiplatform.

But are gamers always looking for exclusives? Some may argue that exclusives offer a unique selling point for consoles. However, since the launch of Xbox One and PS4 in November 2013, the multi-platformers performed better especially ‘Assassins Creed 4: Black Flag’, ‘Battlefield 4’, ‘FIFA 15’, ‘Destiny’ and ‘Watchdogs’. ‘Assassins Creed Unity’ is one of the hottest third-party titles going into the holiday season. ‘Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare’ has already scored 83/100 on Metacritic and is a smash hit.

None of these new multi-platform titles are making their way to the Wii U. However, this does not help the Xbox One either because some gamers may chose to play the multiplatform hits on the relatively powerful PS4. The PS4 has sold 13.5 million units according to Sony’s official figures and there were fewer exclusives released on it as compared to the multi-platform titles. Thus, both Nintendo and Microsoft will battle it out on exclusives.

According to a report by Tech Times in June, the Wii U is on second place. When speaking to the Seattle Times, Nintendo of America president Reggie Fils-Aime said, “We think that the Wii U has a long and vibrant life in front of it. What it needs are games like Mario Kart 8 and Super Smash Bros for Wii U and Splatoon - those types of games that can really drive the installed base. We believe if we can do that effectively the Wii U has a long and robust life”.

Microsoft Xbox division head Phil Spencer will need to make sure they have the quality of exclusives to match Nintendo otherwise they may fall behind in the console race. The hotly-anticipated ‘Halo 5: Guardians’ and ‘Quantum Break’ look promising and a new ‘Gears of War’ will be greatly welcomed by fans.

According to The Motley Fool, the Xbox One is “a lost cause”, but Mr. Mehdi will surely disagree! 

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Wii like to Move your Kinect

I know the title does not make sense, but for anyone familiar with videogaming, they would instantly recognize that I am speaking of the new motion control gaming fad that has exploded in the last few years. It was in 2006, when Nintendo launced the Wii to great critical acclaim and the sales proved it was possibly the company's biggest hit console since the Nintendo 64 launched in 1996. Wii brought back the classic gaming of yesteryear where it was all about family entertainment. It was the 1980s and early 1990s, where the family would always get together to play video games. Anyone remeber Duck Hunt? the classic shooter, in which one would aim a light gun to shoot virtual ducks. The Wii brought all that back with their new take on motion controlled gaming, where with just an infra red device that corresponds with your motion controlled remotes: Wii-mote, you can become a golf player, bowler, Pete Sampras and even a Jedi Knight. The remote could basically be used for any thing like a golf club, tennis racket or a light saber. The idea behind the name was simply "We" because it brought back party gaming for all ages. It did not require big HDTV sets like the Playstation 3 and XBOX 360 to utilize its full potential.

The Wii became a phenomenal success upon its launch, eclipsing Microsoft and Sony's next gen game console powerhouses in sales and popularity. The rival consoles were more powerful and could show the best graphics if you had a HDTV at home. Realizing the popularity of motion gaming, Sony and Microsoft decided to bring out their own rival consoles to compete with the Wii. However, these would simply be add on devices to their current consoles. It was news that Sony had apparently been working on similar technology before the Wii launched and it was even highlighted in the new PS3 dual shock 3 controller, which was known as Sixaxis initially because for certain games, one can tilt the controller using it as a steering wheel or a fighter jet throttle. Eventually in 2010, Sony launched the Move add-on to their PS3 console, which basically used similar Wii-mote styled motion controllers with a glowing ball that corresponded to a webcam set on top of your television set. It was said to be more accurate than the Wii backed by the awesome power and graphics of the PS3. Move was followed by Microsoft's X360 add-on device codenamed Project Natal launced as simply Kinect. This took motion gaming one step further. It made the gamer, the controller. A rod style attachment on top of your TV would accurately via a digital camera and possibly infra red would capture all your movements, similar to motion capturing in movie and video games. Basically there would be no controller, but your own body and hands would be used to play Kinect games. It allowed the use of voice commands, as well as the ability of using one's hands to change menus in the XBOX 360's main menu/ GUI interface.

At this point, Wii has also improved their own console with the addition of Wii Motion Plus controller. The Wii still leads the motion gaming market because of an established library  of games since 2006, while their rivals have launched their add - ons only less than a year ago. At this time, we will need to wait for newer titles from Nintendo's rivals and see an eventual winner of the new console wars. It is also important to note that Nintendo has announced the new WiiU to be launched next year which would improve on motion controlled gaming and include the capabilities to show high definition graphics that would rival the PS3 and X360. It is an exciting time for gaming, especially for me since I have literally grown up with a  joystick. Clearly, a gaming revolution is about to happen, and its definitely going to be for the best. 

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