Minecraft Hits the Wii U

[Guest]

So as a lot of people know, Nintendo has finally gotten their dip into the Minecraft world and want in on that cash cow. Minecraft Wii U hit stores on the eShop on the 17th and is the latest version of Minecraft to come out. Minecraft Wii U came about 4 years after the initial full release and about 6 after the public alpha was made available. While a 360 and PS3 version of the game was made available in 2013, and a PS4 and Xbox One version made available in 2014 the Wii U staggers behind as dead last. Mojang has already more or less confirmed though that the Wii U version of the game will get last dibs on updates for the console versions due to increased popularity on other platforms.

 

Now the question is: is it really worth it to get Minecraft on the Wii U? Well the answer is pretty much: no unless you legitimately have no other way to play the game.

 

• The Wii U version of the game is more expensive. At $10 more, you're essentially paying for more skins, but you're also paying more for a game that will always be lagging behind the other versions in terms of content updates.
• The Wii U gamepad is not used in any creative way. Now many people will argue that this is a constant back and forth argument. Developers will often skip porting a game to the Wii U due to not wanting to bring special features to the gamepad, but then people will insist that they don't need to. But then when they port a game to the Wii U and DON'T use the gamepad, people criticize it for not using the gamepad. The truth is, that developers should take advantage of the gamepad on CERTAIN GAMES where it is obvious that there is a very easy way they could do it. In Minecraft's case, it could easily be used for inventory management or block building, however it essentially is the same version of the game that other consoles get but it'll be an older version all the time.
• Minecraft while still popular won't really do much for Nintendo I think. It's not going to sell consoles that's for sure when other versions are available that are more accessible. Minecraft as ReviewTechUSA put it bluntly: "...Is like that girl in high school you never got to sleep with and always wanted to, but now a few years have passed and she's become the village whore whom everyone has been with and now that you can have a turn at her, you really don't want to anymore..." To put it simply: the Minecraft craze is kind of dying for the older fans it seems. While it's still popular with merchandising and such, I am noticing a significant drop in the average age of players. Most of the older fans have moved onto different games and a majority of people playing are like 12 these days it seems. It's not really a "hardcore" title that is going to get people to buy a Wii U that didn't already have one.
• Most people that own a Wii U own another console at this point. So if they want to play Minecraft they will probably play it on that. I know a few people here that own a Wii U and an Xbox One that would prefer to play on the Xbox One.

[Megas 28,157]

Better late than never I guess

 

But being $10 more, especially without proper Gamepad integration(which people were actually hoping for), is bullshit

Edited December 21, 2015 by Santa Megas

[Unikitty 1,212]

Without them utilising the gamepad properly(something that I thought was a clearly sensible decision from the get-go), there is absolutely no reason for me to buy it on WiiU. I have it on x360 and xOne, as well as PC. There is nothing that it would grant me beyond these, save for maybe some Nintendo exclusive skins. But I don't even use DLC skins/textures in the other console versions.

[Ashen Pathfinder 16,165]

I'm not sure if it's even technically possible, but I would believe it would've been more benficial on the 3DS instead of the Wii U; especially with rumors of the NX seemingly around the corner. That said it's not bad that Nintendo finally has a Minecraft port; it's just WAY too late to mean anything at this juncture.

[Pinkiest Pie 405]

I'd much rather play my PC, it costs less, it has more things to do. Why on earth would I buy the Wii U?

[Guest]

I'm not sure if it's even technically possible, but I would believe it would've been more benficial on the 3DS instead of the Wii U; especially with rumors of the NX seemingly around the corner. That said it's not bad that Nintendo finally has a Minecraft port; it's just WAY too late to mean anything at this juncture.

Minecraft is kind of a RAM intensive game, so chances are it won't run on the 3DS.

[Kyoshi Frost Wolf 42,203]

My nephew will be all over this since my dad got him a Wii U for christmas, but why the hell this is $10 more than nearly every other version is really beyond me. There is absolutely no reason to why it is $10 more, but I have the game on Xbox One already anyways, which by the way I got for $5 thanks to own the 360 version. So this version is not on my radar, but I do think it is good it is on that system already. 

 

Unless the price hike is due to Microsoft being the publisher. That could be the case.

[Celtore 2,770]

A price increase would make sense if they took advantage of the gamepad. Even something as simple as placing the inventory down there and allowing the player to use it to organize their inventory and held items. It doesn't ruin the game because those controls are absent, but it's still a fairly poor showing when taking the price discrepancy into mind.

 

I've never really seen the appeal in the console or mobile versions at all though because I have the definitive PC version. But hey, nice to see Nintendo finally hop on that bandwagon even if it is several years too late.

Edited December 23, 2015 by Celtore

[Alex Z 849]

I'm with ReviewTechUSA on this one. Why didn't they release it on the Wii U two years ago?