Real Talk Nintendo: Coda

In our last video my brother and myself came down like a tonne of bricks on Nintendo. After Thursday’s information filled Nintendo Direct broadcasts I’m feeling a little more optimistic about the Wii U. Why? I think it boils down to the following couple of points.

Bayonetta 2 Wii U Exclusivity

The announcement that’s had everyone talking. Though a lot of Nintendo haters have been raging that the sequel to the wonderful and frenetic Bayonetta won’t be coming to other platforms it is widely believed that Sega had cancelled the project months ago and that The Big N’s involvement essentially resurrected the project, saving it and the franchise from an undeserved death. You’re welcome, Bayonetta fans.

This was bold move by Nintendo that has personally restore some faith in me that it still has the ability to surprise us.

Monster Hunter Exclusivity

If you haven’t heard of it yet, Monster Hunter is Capcom’s Phantasy Star Online-esque series which is insanely popular in Japan. Seriously, it’s up there with Dragon Quest as one of the nation’s highest selling franchise’s and it single-handedly kept the Playstation Portable alive after Sony’s troubled device had fizzled out in the rest of the world.

Nintendo seems to have wrestled the series away from Sony platforms what with Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate confirmed only for the 3DS and Wii U and Monster Hunter 4 only currently announced for the former. If The Big N can continue to keep it exclusive to its own platforms this would be a massive get in Japan going forward. If Ultimate and 4 can achieve even half of the success of its predecessors when released in the West Nintendo will be sitting pretty.

… and some of the things I’m still worried about

Of course, Nintendo have by no means turned things around. The system’s launch prices seem a little expensive given its paltry flash-based storage capacity and still vague horsepower. There isn’t really a day one killer app despite a launch window line-up that has a little something for everyone. While saying a lot of the right things about the online infrastructure this aspect also remains mostly a mystery.

Until I’ve got a quality HD sequels to Super Smash Bros and The Legend of Zelda (or, god forbid, some exciting new titles) in my hands I won’t be fully behind the system. However, after last Thursday I’ll feel a lot better about myself when I put in for my pre-order.

What are your thoughts?