Sony’s PlayStation 4 and Microsoft’s Xbox One have been receiving the lion’s share of interest from media outlets and consumers alike. But Nintendo’s little console that could, the Wii U, might end up winning this generation’s console wars, even though the system is struggling mightily in commercial sales.
Sure, the Wii U doesn’t have a typical control setup like the Xbox One or PS4, its innards are not as powerful, and it doesn’t accommodate as many third-party games. But the basic Wii U is $100 cheaper than its Xbox and PlayStation counterparts, and it’s got a ton of upsides (see: games).
It’s backward compatible with Wii games
There’s so much the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One can do, but one thing they can’t do is play previous-generation titles. Sony and Microsoft are finding workarounds to this issue — for the most part, the companies are releasing costlier next-gen versions of its older games while offering trade-in systems for current owners — but at least Nintendo offers a full catalogue of Wii U and Wii games, as well as access to even more classic titles available over its online platform, called the Virtual Console.
The best of Wii includes several fantastic titles: "Super Mario Galaxy 1" and "2." "The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess" and "Skyward Sword." "Okami." "Resident Evil 4" and the "Metroid Prime" trilogy. You could play these games for hours — and if you've never owned a Wii, you should absolutely try these games.
The Homebrew Channel
You might not know it, but the Wii U might be the most hackable game console out there right now. If you have an internet connection and a free SD card, you can activate classic game emulators, cheat engines, DVD players, and even Wii-specific Linux distributions. And if you’ve stored any old games on a USB stick, The Homebrew Channel can help you play those games, too. These homebrew options are easy to access: With the simple LetterBomb hack (HackMii has the full set of instructions), you’ll be able to activate The Homebrew Channel and an application called Homebrew Browser, which acts as an alternative marketplace to download popular apps, games, and emulators.
Cross-buy games
Nintendo just released its first “cross-buy” game for the Wii U, which means if you purchase the game for Nintendo’s handheld 3DS, you’ll receive the Wii U version for free as long as you have your Nintendo Network ID set up across both platforms. While the first game, “Squids Odyssey,” is nothing too fancy — it’s more or less "Angry Birds" with some RPG gameplay aspects — the promise of more cross-buy games is a great reason to own a Wii U (and, by extension, a 3DS).
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