The Last Vita Rambling This Year

Last time I rambled on the Vita, I focused on the problems it faced in a diverse market. I pointed out some things that could be done to improve the situation. I even pointed out some silver-lining in the Vita's upcoming releases, with the biggest being Assassin's Creed III: Liberation. There are others, of course, but what the Vita needs the most is a boost for this holiday season.

Thanks to aggressively-priced bundles, it did get a boost. It sold about 160,000 units during Black Friday, the most active period of the year for gift buying. This is a huge boost for a system that can only manage 50k in an average month. From a microscopic viewpoint, this is really good news. From an industry-wide perspective, this is pretty bad.

Wii U First Impressions

My friend got up early on November 18, Sunday morning so he could pick up a Wii U from GameStop the moment they opened their doors at launch. It's funny, because he didn't even pick up the Wii at launch, or the DS, but every other N-brand console and handheld where he's been old enough to buy on the day of release, he's been there. Naturally, I tagged along.

Now I've made it no secret that the Wii U hasn't generated much excitement out of me. It's hard for me to get jazzed about a system that, essentially, will just offer a resolution bump for games very similar to ones Nintendo released on the Wii. At least, that's been my attitude before I've had a chance to see one in person. But how have my beliefs changed now that it's finally out and I've had a chance to actually play with it?