WiiU as modern Atari 7800

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scotland
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WiiU as modern Atari 7800

Postby scotland » May 4th, 2016, 9:09 am

Just thinking the WiiU is like this generations Atari 7800. The odd controller, small but devoted fanbase, relatively underpowered, a distant third in consoles sold,a library that still has some fun games, but many games that many feel should have been better (karateka and double dragon), backwards compatible to their highly successful but solidly obsolete predecessors (which can be both good and bad), poorly marketed, etc.

Hardcore Sadism
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Re: WiiU as modern Atari 7800

Postby Hardcore Sadism » May 7th, 2016, 4:13 am

I'd say it's a cross between the 7800 andthe original Wii all over again.

Otherwise I agree.

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VideoGameCritic
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Re: WiiU as modern Atari 7800

Postby VideoGameCritic » May 9th, 2016, 11:23 pm

I would actually say it's more comparable to the Dreamcast!
Think about it. It's fun and has great games, yet is overshadowed by its two more powerful competitors.
Perhaps like the Dreamcast it will be held in high esteem in the future.

Also, the VMU was kind of the forerunner to the Wii U control pad.

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ActRaiser
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Re: WiiU as modern Atari 7800

Postby ActRaiser » May 10th, 2016, 8:50 am

Funny, I originally predicted the Wii U would turn into the Dreamcast and be gone after two years. BUT, seeing as it's lived 4 years already that far surpasses the original kill date for the Dreamcast.

I'll side with Scotland on this. The Atari 7800 ended production in January 1992 nearly 8 years after its original planned roll out. Now, compare that with the Dreamcast which Sega killed after 2 years.

But in any case arguments can be made on both sides. I love the fact that there's far less shovelware on the Wii U. And what's there is mostly high quality titles. At the end of the day it's a good system, even if mine locks up on me from time to time.

Funkmaster V
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Re: WiiU as modern Atari 7800

Postby Funkmaster V » May 10th, 2016, 10:00 am

The 7800, Dreamcast, and Wii U are three of my favorite systems.

The Wii U and 7800 are technically superior to their more popular, previous counterparts, they both have funky controllers, both were marketing disasters, both have tremendous games, and both made little impact on the market.

You could say the same thing about the Dreamcast, though, except that the Wii U and 7800 have that backwards compatibility to the two most popular systems' library of all time.

The more things change, the more they stay the same. It's interesting that I gravitate towards third place systems

Funkmaster V

Sut
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Re: WiiU as modern Atari 7800

Postby Sut » May 13th, 2016, 3:08 pm

Funkmaster V wrote:The more things change, the more they stay the same. It's interesting that I gravitate towards third place systems

Funkmaster V


Interesting, I suppose having smaller libraries with an high ratio of quality titles helps.

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VideoGameCritic
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Re: WiiU as modern Atari 7800

Postby VideoGameCritic » May 13th, 2016, 3:58 pm

Much like the Dreamcast, it should be possible to collect the entire Wii U library.

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Atariboy
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Re: WiiU as modern Atari 7800

Postby Atariboy » May 16th, 2016, 5:00 am

Sadly unlike the Atari 7800, homebrewers won't end up outdoing Nintendo 20 years after the Wii U is discontinued. So I don't agree with this analogy at all. ;)

Wallyworld
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Re: WiiU as modern Atari 7800

Postby Wallyworld » May 16th, 2016, 6:26 pm

I agree with Dave. I see a lot of parellels with the Dreamcast. Only reason WiiU didn't die after 2 years is because Nintendo is loaded with cash a whereas Sega was broke.

tortimer
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Re: WiiU as modern Atari 7800

Postby tortimer » September 3rd, 2016, 11:42 am

That's an interesting analogy. I tend to look at the WiiU and feel that it's more a victim of branding and perception than anything related to hardware and game library. Its true legacy will probably be a long time coming and, if nothing else, it gives Nintendo some worthwhile things to build upon.


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