Why Wii U is a Next Gen Console

Episode 1 of the new video series, The Game Capsule TV. The argument stops here as we learn what the word "generation" means, and why it makes the Wii U a "next gen" console

[jcnba28]

Every sane person knows the Wii U is a next generation console. The people that say otherwise are just fanboys trying to hate, simple as.

[LOL_WUT]

Still in denial huh? Developers have publicly come out and stated this there is no conspiracy going on it's the truth. ;)

[lilbroRx]

No, some developers who have never made games for it have said.

Its as credible as me saying the same of the PS4 without working on it testing what it can do.

The people who have made good games on it say it is next gen. The people who work under EA or not on Nintendo hardware at all said it isn't.

I'll take the opinion of the person with hands-on experience.

[-Mika-]

I agree. Insomiac and plenty of developers think the WiiU is a current gen console. If developers think it a current gen console, than nothing more needs to be said.

@ PopRocks359 and the fanboys with the Zelda avatars

When people think of next gen. They think of noticble improvement over the console they currently have. When ps1 owners saw the dreamcast or the ps2. They saw a next gen console. When ps2, xbox and GC owners saw the ps3 and 360. They saw a next gen console. When ps3/360 users look at the wiiU. They don't see a next gen console. To alot of gamers, in order for a console to be labeled as next gen, There needs to be a noticble difference in terms of power and features. The WiiU is lacking in both. This is why alot of gamers lable it as current gen.

[mikeslemonade]

Is IPHONE 5 a next generation system? No. If it's not playing the majority of the current gen games then it shouldn't be considered a next generation system along the likes of PS4 and Xbox 720. WiiU is current gen since it's playing mainly the current gen games out right now and is losing a lot of support from the next gen game development.

[andrewer]

Really, what is next-gen for you people? Why complicate it? It just means after the previous one ffs. It's called next-gen, not more-advanced-than-that-previo us-hardware-over-there, or even "better-one". If it meant "better-one" I wouldn't even call PS3 a next-gen because of the awesomenessessess(lol) of the PS2. God damn it.

[Brasi1989]

@-Mika-
The WiiU is classified, by your description, "Next Gen". Their is a noticeable difference in features. MiiVerse, the GamePad, Nintendo TVii, are just to name a few. The noticeable difference in terms of power has yet to be seen. Go back and look at end of cycle X-Box games and compare them to launch X-Box 360 games. These things do take time. But if we go solely by specs then, still, yes the WiiU should be considered "Next Gen". The CPU may be slower than the 360 and PS3 however with technological advancements the speed becomes irrelevant. Look at Intel vs AMD processors with the same speeds.

[CouldHaveYelledUiiW]

@-Mika-

1ST)

My Avatar is not Zelda-
Look closer-
it was created by a former games company whose name began with a "V"
in homage to the game you mentioned.

2ND)
We all know what you mean but it is an aberration of the meaning of the word "generation".

We have to fight the meaning because if we don't people push it even further.

-Some still can't admit that the WiiU is more powerful than current Gen.

-Companies have lied and then recanted stating that the WiiU can't run their "SCALABLE to SMART Phone" Engines.

The thing that is clear is that some companies have decided not to put the work in- Fine- They just shouldn't trash the WiiU in order to justify their personal choices.

All last Gen many games were designed for PC max specs but received a downgraded version for consoles- so how is it now impossible to do the same thing for WiiU.
Ex. Watch_Dogs is on PS3- PC... how is this possible?

Developer choice that's How.

[jameson12345]

Some have said it is(Activision and Ubisoft for example, and even EA at one point), some say it isn't (Like EA now, and a couple others)

[Legend_Killer]

developers who have never attempted making games for it call it a current gen console. all they do is port old games that can be enjoyed elsewhere and dont even release DLC. If WiiU's first party games show next gen graphics then we'll see the truth abt these devs.
E3... Can't wait

[MEsoJD]

Wii-U sure feels current gen to me.

To me a gen represents a certain range of graphics/hardware across systems.

- Sega Genesis, super nintendo

- Saturn, Playstation, nintendo 64

- Dreamcast, Playstation 2, Xbox, Gamecube,
mid- wii(graphics capibility around the same, but better online functionality)

- Playstation 3, Xbox 360, WiiU

- Playstation 4, Xbox ???

To each his own. I just may purchase a WiiU if Nintendo changes it's network policy to have games tied to accounts, a price drop, making the gamepad optional in system purchase(the thing cost like 120 to replace and I have no interest), announce original ip and revive neglected. Unlike past Nintendo consoles, Smash Bros is not going to be enough to warrant a purchase.

[JuleyJules]

i like how you conveniently leave wii out of last-gen and toss in wiiu lumping the wii in the previous gen. It was the next-gen over the gamecube. the last gen was wii/ps3/360 as they came out in 2005/06. Next-gen for consoles is WiiU/PS4/Xbox 720 (or whatever). They're out in 2012/13. It simply has to do with when they're released. For Nintendo the Wii U is a big leap forward over the Wii - their last-gen console.

[MEsoJD]

@JuleyJules

This is how I've always viewed gens pertaining to systems. A gen for me consist of systems hardware/graphics that are similar or not too far apart from each other. Given the specs and released footage of ps4 and the soon to be announced xbox, their leap is obvious. Anyone I think my first comment was pretty self exclamatory. Oh wells... :)

[slaton24]

to MEso this is not directed to you....guys next gen means the new console release in two years lets say the wiiU2 comes out than its a next gen than the wiiu will be current gen...specs and power isn't the next gen just the console release....by the way cant wait for ps4 and after that I still plan on buyin a wii U.

[PopRocks359]

It's part of the eighth generation of video game consoles while its predecessor was in the seventh. That's really all that needs to be said on the matter.

[Kingthrash360]

of corse this is next gen! just the weakest of the next gen and slightly stronger than the current.....I dont remember this convo with the wii and it was basically the same difference in power.
I see it like this if apple calls iphone 5 the next gen phone after iphone 4 the wiiu is definitely next gen...
last point look up at both the comments above these guys have it right 100%

[Gr81]

Not Next Gen..anymore. It is current gen, as Wii/PS3/360 are last gen. And PS4/Infinity will be current gen once released.

[CouldHaveYelledUiiW]

It's a shame when you have to break-out the dictionary-
especially for such a common word a "generation".

[Hicken]

Generation has an additional meaning when speaking of technology.

Yes, the Wii U is part of the eighth generation of consoles, and is Nintendo's next generation of console. Therefore, chronologically, it's next gen.

However, from a technological standpoint, the Wii U is closer to consoles in the chronological generation before it than the consoles it'll be competing against. Therefore, it's also current gen.

Both sides are right, in this case. It's simply a matter of the two sides realizing this.

Edit: Honestly, though, if this question REALLY needs asking so frequently, then it's not as simple a "yes" as many people want to make it seem.

[NYC_Gamer]

Wii U is a next gen Nintendo console but many of us don't view it as next gen hardware wise

[Ck1x]

By your standards then PS4 & 720 aren't really next-gen either, because neither system will be ground breaking specs wise... Then that applies to them as well that each system is only the Next-gen Playstation and the Next-gen Xbox. As someone else stated, all of this nitpicking is making this more complicated than it needs to be and is just pointless! At the end of the day all 3 consoles will be 8th generation systems and there's nothing that will make this untrue.

[jetlian]

This isn't complicated. Wiiu maybe be released during this coming gen but the tech is last gen!

If I make a model t level car and release it today NOBODY will say its current gen NOBODY. Wiiu is date tech from last gen, period!

Edit: for all the but it is next gen for a nintendo system nintendo doesn't exist in its own bubble and by comparison its last gen

[_QQ_]

@jetlian all consoles look like childrens toys compared to pc when it comes to specs so why even have this debate, just wait to see which has the better games.

[MasterCornholio]

Just like Ouya is a next gen console.

Motorola RAZR i

[Lionalliance]

It's not sadly.

[Kiddcarter]

This video is point less, and the guy in it comes off like a dick, anyway of course the Wii u is next gen, console cycle wise, however tech wise its a few years behind, so when people say its not next gen they mean tech wise....

[Jek_Porkins]

It's a next generation console because it's the console that came after this generation. "Next gen" isn't a term used to describe the actual tech inside, that doesn't matter, although there is always an improvement from generation to generation. The simple FACT is that the Wii U is the next generation console from Nintendo.

[Krew_92]

Next generation. Anyone with a brain can see, Nintendo Wii ---> Nintendo Wii U the console leaped to a new "generation" of the former console. Thus making it a next generation console of the Nintendo console products.

Although it's not as powerful as we would like it to be, truth is it still is a next generation console for Nintendo. Just because your favorite company hasn't released your console yet doesn't mean this one isn't next generation. It took a year for the PlayStation 3 and Wii to come out, the Xbox 360 was still considered a next generation console, why not the Nintendo Wii U?

When it comes down to it, it's just people who want to rip on the Wii U, people who are either A. Jealous that Sony or Microsoft hasn't released their next generation console (Yes I pulled the jealousy card.), or B. Trolls.

I myself don't own a Wii U, but acknowledge its existence, and don't mind its company either. Let people choose what they want to play.

This issue as irrelevant as when people wanted to see Barrack Obama's birth certificate, just so plain stupid.

[zippycup]

i think it is a next gen console because it came after the last gen and when ps4 and next-box comes out it will still be a next gen console but an underpowered one

i love metroid Zelda Mario as much as the next guy but i can honestly say i hardly played any of them on Wii i just did not like all the gimmicks and the controller

the pro controller was nice i just hated that you had to connect to the wii mote

i wish Nintendo would stop making consoles and put all there resources to just making the games for other consoles i would love to play Zelda Mario metroid whit my ps3 controller

and yes om a Sony fan-boy so just go ahead and do like Johny storm and flame on

[Gamesgbkiller]

It is a next gen console for NINTENDO at least.

Next gen Wii U = Ps3 + XBOX360 this gen

So NINTEDNO is late.

[Krew_92]

Heck if you want to go back, Nintendo has a few generations ahead of Sony and Microsoft.

Nintendo started in the first generation with the Color TV Game series 1977 to 1980.

They later came back and released the Famicom, and NES in 1983 and 1985 respectively.

Sony didn't come into play until the fifth generation, and Microsoft until the sixth generation.

I agree with you that it's next generation for Nintendo, but saying that the Wii was sixth generation and the Wii U is seventh generation is kind of silly. The tech behind a console doesn't give it the generation.

In the fourth generation, when the Sega Genesis came out, it was powerful and better in every way than the NES (power that is) and then when the SNES came out, that was better than the Sega Genesis in every way (again in system power), that didn't make the Genesis third generation now, and the SNES fourth generation.

Console power should not indicate the generation, that's just the point I'm trying to convey to everyone.

[BeZdaBest]

im assuming the people who say the wiiu is last gen... are plain ignorant or have a bone to pick with nintendo... they take any little thing and blow it out of proportion just to make nintendo look bad.. but in turn are making themselves look like a bunch of dummies...

[Gamesgbkiller]

The whole gen thing is just stupid in the first place.
I agree with you and the point is that Nintendo made a mistake with the Wii U.

[KillrateOmega]

Did this topic really necessitate an article and video to be made for it?

[BosSSyndrome]

Unfortunately...

[josephayal]

Like the PS4 and XBOX 720 the Wii U can do 1080p

[etowntwo]

I just can't see myself ever buying a WiiU.

But who knows, in a couple years with price drop and awesome 1st party Nintend . Games, maybe ill eat my words and get one.

[Subzero200]

?Why Wii U is a Next Gen Console"

Do you people know how stupid you sound when you say things like this? It has been out since last year making it current gen now.

[NBT91]

One year doesn't = an entire generation.
I am 21 years old, not 21 generations old.
It's not even a year old for that matter.

[NBT91]

I don't know but it's fun which is good enough for me.
All it needs is more games, which is happening gradually.

[BeZdaBest]

who ever is saying wiiu isnt nextgen needs to go back to school and learn the definition of generation

http://www.thefreedictionar...

5.
a. A stage or period of sequential technological development and innovation.
b. A class of objects derived from a preceding class: a new generation of computers

[7uff1]

Are we seriously talking about this again?

[MadMen]

Technically it is

but if you put 1 more hz, 1 more mb of ram and a new name it is.

Whats the real truth, its lame and a failure either way.

[sephx22]

Next-gen has a different meaning for gamers, trying to explain things with a dictionary will do no good.

[BuffMordecai]

Up until the Wii, next gen meant the next leap in tech from the previous generation, not baby steps. Its next gen in name only, you are only fooling yourself if you think otherwise. Granted, this won't stop me from picking one up because of Nintendo's stellar IPs.

[JohnApocalypse]

Doesn't feel next gen

[skyrimer]

At this point, it doesn't matter much anymore, WiiU is a non player now, it's not even going to be at E3, the console is developed for taking advantage on the tablet and that concept has failed, developers don't care about it, so now you only get old tech console with few games at top price. I can't see it going anywhere, and when E3 dust is settled, WiiU games will be almost embarrasing to look at.

[Shok]

"it's not even going to be at E3"

The lack of reading comprehension continues lol.

[megamanX2]

It current gen fucking retards? the next xbox is nextgen till it gets released, and then it will also be current gen.

"Some still can't admit that the WiiU is more powerful than current Gen"

lol i thought the ps3/360 was next gen now its current? make up you minds morons.