Wii U’s First TV Commercial Is, Um, Awful

43 responses to “Wii U’s First TV Commercial Is, Um, Awful”

1. 

   Jake

   October 22, 2012 at 11:33 am

   Crummy minigames on the bottom screen while you play ZombiU? Using the motion controls to look for clues when you could have used the right analog stick like in the 360/PS3 version? Shooting at the screen…? That’s the highlights of the WiiU?

   Being able to swap the screen to the gamepad is cool. Everything else looks gimmicky, and it doesn’t bode well for the system. It’ll be 3DS all over again.. I never even touch that thing anymore. Same goes for my Vita.

   Reply
   1. 

      Sam

      October 22, 2012 at 12:16 pm

      The “mini games” aren’t mini games. They’re just using the GamePad to heighten tension. You can’t look at both screens at once. So while you’re unlocking a door on the GamePad, for instance, a glance up to the TV screen might show nothing, but next glance shows a horde of zombies coming up behind you… It’s part of the idea of the game, have you seen any videos if it?
      Besides, this “gimmicky” stuff is what the casual gamers love. And that’s what the commercial is targeted at. People who don’t know what the Wii U is and haven’t been following gaming news for the past year or two. Mainstream and hardcore gamers mostly probably decided months ago if they were getting a Wii U or not.

      Reply
      1. 

         ecto-1

         October 22, 2012 at 2:00 pm

         I guess you are right about the casual gamers wanting gimmicks. Its probably why Nintendo sell consoles with poor, outdated hardware with a high price based on gimmicks and people love it… Oh look our handheld has two screens (DS), Oh look, our console has wiggle waggle, oh look, our handheld is now 3D! Oh look, our home console now does everything your other consoles do, but with 2 screens, and for the same price you can buy a Vita and PS3 and use cross play for a similar experience…. All this, and the majority of your favorite games from our other consoles will be remastered for this one! Yeah. Sounds cool. I’d only get one as a second or third console. Just cause of better exclusives on other platforms.

         Reply
         1. 

            dknight1000

            October 22, 2012 at 2:19 pm

            Didn’t both Sony and Microsoft rush to add wiggle waggle style controls to their machines?

            As for outdated hardware, that’s not true either, they release hardware that is not cutting edge but competent. When the PS3 came out it was $1000 because it’s hardware was so advanced, Nintendo aimed for $400 the place where most people can afford to buy it.

            Oh and just how do you get a PS3 and PSP Vita for $350? A PS3 is $300 (12gb) and a Vita is $300 (LBP pack) (based off the cheapest deal on EBgames Australian website) which is $600 in my maths… even 2nd hand they come out higher.

            As for the DS, they pioneered the handheld touchscreen, something Sony added to their machine. Maybe the next PSP will have 3D. Nintendo don’t always make the best decisions, but Sony always copy the good ones like SNES shaped Controllers, Analogue sticks, Rumble, Motion Based Controls, Touch Screens.

            Reply
            1. 

               ecto-1

               October 22, 2012 at 2:39 pm

               This is true, but at least Microsoft and Sony add gimmicks as gimmicks and not the key selling feature.

            2. 

               ecto-1

               October 22, 2012 at 2:59 pm

               Hey… Other ecto-1. these things happen to work well when developers use them properly? have you seen what say… Criterion did with NFS and kinect? yes, it is gimmics, but its there cos it can be used well and it can be fun. Also, Sony should drop the price of thier consoles if they want to play the whole “The ps3ta is a wii U!” card. but yes, they could of atleast used slightly newer hardware or maby suported DVD playback or included a HDD in the Wii u tho.

            3. 

               ecto-1

               October 22, 2012 at 3:04 pm

               What the other ecto says.

            4. 

               ecto-1

               October 22, 2012 at 3:05 pm

               My last comment will be that the console isnt bad per say, just that its coming out way too late to be worth while having for more than a year or maybe 2 at a push, and thats a shame.

            5. 

               johnny

               October 22, 2012 at 4:05 pm

               playstation didnt Rush there controllers. sony has been using the same controleers since the 90’s, just with analog sticks and vibrating controllers now. Microsoft didnt copy anyone either.

               Nintendo take advantage to rip of customers. what you are all forgeting, the Wii U Gamepad is gonna cost over $200, how is that fair. you get one with ur console but cant buy another controller untill later next year or so. the whole idea of the Wii U sucks, but as usual, nintendo can make the idea sound great.
               people dont wanna look at there controller for 20secondd cause they have to and look back up. No one wants to have to sticks there controller in there face to aim with there weapons.
               Nintendo ripped us off with the Wii and now you idiots are falling for it again.

               Atleast Sony care about there customers more then Nintendo and Microsoft. I dropped my PS3 and they still replaced it.

               And the PS3 might have been $1000 at launch but it wad still selling and is now a million copies behind Xbox.
               If nintendo or microsoft released a $1000 console, no one would buy it.

               and for the price of buying a Wii U and seperate controller you are looking at $600.

               And how is Sony having Touchscreen on the Vita copying Nintendo. You can bitch and complain that this company copied this and that company copied that. How the fuck could you possibly know where Sony got the idea.
               quiet frankly, sony has pulled of the Handheld Touchscreen Console better then Nintendo.

               the DS has to have a stupid stick to use touchscreen, that isnt real touchscreen, but the Vita you can use your fingers and its alot more fun and innovative then the DS.
               All you hardcore fanboys need to get over this copying shit cause it is sooo bloody pathetic. all I do is laugh at ya fanboys. Get a life and stop bullshiting so that you can hope to turn people towards you fav console. cause in the end, Sony have had the best Exclusives since the PSOne and still do have the best exclusives. You can try to contradict my statement but you cannot contradict a whole industry. Even Microsoft Developers have said so.
               Hahahaha Sony will always be the greatest so suck on my left testicles and eat my pubic hairs and enjoy it.

            6. 

               terrak

               October 22, 2012 at 5:55 pm

               Your so clueless i dont know where to start

               Sony and Microsoft Didnt copy anything? Not that it matters because competition is important but lets get the facts straight, they did copy, they copied many things from what Nintendo (who introduced analog sticks, rumble, motion control). Saying neither company copied something? Fail

               Wii sold because people wanted to buy it. Guess its hard for a fanboys to believe but thats your problem not the customers that bought it. I guess your so full of yourself you believe you know whats right for everybody. Another fail for you

               The Wii U is an attempt to add something new to the gameplay. Some are hit and miss i agree but others can improve and change the way we play game. Its a fact that in some instances touch screen is a better way of interacting with a game compared to standard analog controls.

               Wii U integrates touch screen so that developers can now add new things to games. How many high profile games can we have sequel after sequel of just upgrading the graphics? The Wii U game pad give the developers something new to work with and if they are clever they can use it in interesting ways and make the game different. Obviously that is an optimistic assessment but the possibility is there.

               Wow you would buy a console at $1000? Just get a PC at that price and it would wipe the floor with a console and have more utility too. I wont even bother with the rest of that argument its just fanboy nonsense

               If you bought a Wii U and another gamepad controller you would have 3 screens to play with which is more multiplayer ability then any current console is capable off. You pay alot for it yes but if there are games to support it it will offer gaming experience you cant get on the other console. Obviously if you dont want to spend that type of money you can get a pro controller and get the same gaming experience you would get on a ps3/360 for about the same money. Another ridiculous point you made

               Though copying isnt a big deal the fact is sony did copy – its a fact you cant just sweep under the carpet. The first psp didnt have a touch screen, the vita does. The DS has had a touch screen from the start and its been out for longer then psp. Hence sony did copy, whether you accept the facts is not my problem

               Anyway believe what fantasy you like, love sony if that makes you happy. If you like men sucking your private parts thats up to you. But i did enjoy taking apart your weak and baseless arguments, you just make it so easy.

            7. 

               RocK_M

               October 22, 2012 at 9:04 pm

               Just a few things to add

               Sure Sony started selling PS3.. straight after the price drop. After the initial fanboy rush because of “limited supply” no one would touch the PS3 months after release until they got a price cut.

               Second PS3 is about 4 million units behind 360 at this point. Still a fairly big gap IMHO

               Oh and lawlz.. you “need” a stick to use the touchpad on a DS? Apparently no one has informed the previous person that stylus pens have been in use since time in memorial on almost all touch type tech such as tablets and smartphones but I guess those aren’t “real” touchscreen technologies as well eh? Oh and the DS is *still* useable w/o using a stylus just like all the other tech products I mentioned.

            8. 

               wheres_

               October 24, 2012 at 3:38 am

               @johnny

               “Sony have had the best Exclusives since the PSOne”

               BfffHAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA.

               As long as your having fun with them that’s ok, but a lot of PC and Nintendo fans would argue a slightly different story- probably with facts too.

            9. 

               wheres_

               October 24, 2012 at 3:41 am

               Also I am partial to my nintendos but that ad was terrible, really terrible.

         2. 

            Joe

            October 22, 2012 at 7:12 pm

            Yeah sorry, no one owns a vita for this cross play to really catch on.

            The original Wii has been proclaimed dead a year ago, yet it is still outselling Vita. So none of this Ps3 can tack this on / smartglASS catch ups are going to work.

            While the haters act too Cool for Nintendo, they will continue to miss out of some of the most solid gaming experiences of every generation.

            I play games, not consoles.

            Reply
   2. 

      RocK_M

      October 22, 2012 at 8:39 pm

      So let me get this straight…

      on RE1 when you had to input a code in to open the door on the Bee room it was a “puzzle”. You could stay on the input screen for as long as you can and the bees will be nice enough to just wait until u exit the screen then proceed to attack you again… but hey it was still cool.

      Now on WiiU we have to input the code in real time and if we stop paying attention or take too long we get mauled by zombies putting real tension on the need to actually get the code done right and fast….. but it’s a “mini game” and “gimmicky?”

      Reply
2. 

   andy

   October 22, 2012 at 11:34 am

   Hmm was not to bad. Only bit that was cringe worthy was the guy saying “spin spin spin spin” with the shurikens. Could have at least been saying pew pew >.>

   Reply
3. 

   phlaiman

   October 22, 2012 at 11:39 am

   Most UK tv looks and sounds like this ad. It is more a statement on their media than anything else. The only thing they did wrong here was not feature any Mario – of which every parent in the world recognises.

   Reply
   1. 

      Jake

      October 22, 2012 at 11:41 am

      What, that was Mario’s brother ‘Steve’ riding Yoshi back there?

      Reply
      1. 

         phlaiman

         October 22, 2012 at 11:58 am

         It really wasn’t s prominent as usual.

         Reply
         1. 

            A

            October 22, 2012 at 2:12 pm

            Maybe they’re getting worried that people will realize Nintendo has been selling new hardware every few years on the backs of only a small handful of repeated IPs?

            Reply
4. 

   rowjack

   October 22, 2012 at 11:54 am

   fallout game with the wiiu would be good, use the touch pad as the pitboy

   Reply
   1. 

      tails

      October 22, 2012 at 12:51 pm

      “Preorder now for wrist band allowing you to mount your controller like a real Pip-Boy 3000!”

      That would be pretty good.

      Reply
5. 

   bjg

   October 22, 2012 at 11:55 am

   I blame sony for this

   Reply
6. 

   brent3000

   October 22, 2012 at 11:56 am

   SPING SPING SPING!!!

   Reply
7. 

   dmac

   October 22, 2012 at 12:25 pm

   so it’s a ds, but for a tv 😐

   Reply
   1. 

      Joe

      October 22, 2012 at 7:19 pm

      Yes Einstein! Just like the Vita is a PS3, without the TV!

      I can almost hear the pathways in your brain forming!

      Reply
8. 

   Foggy

   October 22, 2012 at 12:28 pm

   Wow. That was terrible.
   Like a cross between a childrens toy ad and something from the 80’s.

   I think they’re going to run into all kinds of trouble if they don’t start selling the console off the back of the games. This is the problem that Sony are having with the Vita.
   They should be running 30 second spots hyping individual games and showing the console and the controller at the same time.

   Reply
   1. 

      Sam

      October 22, 2012 at 1:38 pm

      This is their first TV ad. It’s to raise general awareness, make it clear it’s a new console and not a Wii add on, so on. They’ll probably do focus on individual games later in the coming month before release.

      Reply
9. 

   foetoid

   October 22, 2012 at 1:40 pm

   Sigh Kotaku. The first ad is always going to be aimed at the people who don’t yet know much about the WiiU. The casuals and non-gamers. The core gamers already know everything, so the ads have to appeal to the masses of casuals and non-gamers that dont follow the gaming news. This was also meant to be shown during X-Factor, the biggest show in the UK tuned-in by casuals by the hundreds of thousands. So yeah, the ad was actually pretty perfect for its target audience, it showed off some features, some games, and the ads will get better closer to launch.

   Reply
10. 

    jjr

    October 22, 2012 at 1:44 pm

    Was it just me or did anyone see the random Brad Pitt at the start?

    Reply
    1. 

       Foggy

       October 22, 2012 at 2:11 pm

       I thought it was a hidden Fight Club reference, I was half expecting to see a penis spliced into one of the frames.

       Reply
11. 

    Dr_Stef

    October 22, 2012 at 1:50 pm

    +1 for Brad Pitt’s bearded face at the beginning.

    Reply
12. 

    shpeshal_ed

    October 22, 2012 at 1:56 pm

    Was that ad made in 1994 and sealed in a time capsule that was accidentally discovered by Reggie?

    Reply
    1. 

       ecto-1

       October 22, 2012 at 2:02 pm

       It could have been… the hardware is nearly old enough. (Joke)

       Reply
13. 

    harts

    October 22, 2012 at 2:02 pm

    They had huge, wafer thin flat screen TV’s and Gamepads in 1994? Man, I missed out!

    Reply
14. 

    Nus

    October 22, 2012 at 2:12 pm

    “Fight to stay alive in real time”.
    How could this even be considered a feature?

    Reply
    1. 

       Herox95

       October 22, 2012 at 7:28 pm

       Oooh dodgy… this IS a feature, it is meant to make it a HORROR scheme (it doesn’t scare me!), though sometimes it CAN be annoying, but in the experience, you’ll get used to it, just like people did to iPoone 😉 (LOL, iPoo, get it?)

       Reply
15. 

    drsleepless

    October 22, 2012 at 2:32 pm

    It’s not that bad, it’s just not that good. An add would not sway me on a purchase or not.

    Reply
16. 

    hayden

    October 22, 2012 at 2:43 pm

    I think the English accent makes any TV commercial sound bad.

    Reply
17. 

    Nothemama

    October 22, 2012 at 3:53 pm

    Im a huge Nintendo fan but I gotta say that was shite!

    Reply
18. 

    Jesse

    October 22, 2012 at 4:26 pm

    0_______________________________o

    Reply
19. 

    germinalconsequence

    October 22, 2012 at 7:39 pm

    It’s an 80’s ad that somehow had all the fun sucked out of it. Not even one scene of a kid holding the controller at arms length, looking like the Tv was trying to blow him away.

    Reply
20. 

    Dueler

    October 23, 2012 at 11:44 am

    It reminds me exactly of the AR:MAX ad’s that made me hate UK advertising in the first place.

    Reply