Hunting Game(s): Wii U and Vita Update

The next generation of gaming consoles is here! Or it will be this November, anyway.

The Wii U has officially been priced and given a December 18th, 2012 release date. The "basic" model is $299.99, while the black, 32 GB model is $249.99.

Ouch. I imagine the price is about what it needs to be, considering the controller has almost as many capabilities as a portable gaming device (I think), but I still feel strongly that Nintendo is going the wrong way with this. One of the best things about the Wii was that the price was so much lower than the 360 and PS3 at launch.

I'm REALLY hoping that this won't actually be indicative of next gen prices, though I suppose they have to scale somewhat. Launch prices for last gen:

At Launch (base/cheapest models)
Wii: $249.99
X-Box 360: $299
PS3: $499

The Wii U is (about) 1/5th more expensive than the Wii, meaning:

Projected Launch (Prices Rounded)
Wii U: $300
New X-Box: $360
New Playstation: $600

And that's if they scale evenly, which there's no reason to say they would. Considering the specs of the Wii U, I imagine the other consoles will blow it out of the water, encouraging them to, potentially, charge more. Let's hope not.

The Wii U looks interesting, but it out of my price range for quite some time. If any other news pops up that is pertinent, I'll post it, for now, though, I'm moving on to a small Vita Update:

I downloaded Final Fantasy 7 onto my Vita last night, yay! I haven't been checking the store lately and noticed last night that it updated with PSOne games. I'd picked up FF7 when it was on sale earlier in the Summer and so was able to re-download it last night straight from the store.

Finally on my Vita!

There didn't seem to be too many other PSOne games on the store, and even less interesting ones, but I'm happy I was able to get FF7 without having to transfer it from my MIA PS3.

I'll let folks know how its going when I have some time to play.

For next week, I'm going to do a bit of a switch up: Monday's Extra! Extra! will be about books/comic books based on Video Games and Wednesday's Hunting Game(s) will be feature my top 5 games with amazing stories.

See you tomorrow with some movie/tv news!

Hunting Game(s): Vita Update!

I know it's a day early, but the weekly video game update is here! I just found out, from the Playstation Blog, that the Vita system is getting an update later this month. The most exciting thing from this update is the ability to play PSOne classics on the Vita!

This has been one of the features I've been looking forward to most since launch -- I can finally play FF7 on the Vita (yes, I've been waiting to play the game simply because I wanted to play it on a handheld).

I'm not sure if they'll immediately open access to all PSOne games, but at least they'll be making some actual headway.

Some additional use for the rear touch pad will be nice, though I don't often use the Vita for internet browsing. I may try using the Vita as a PS3 controller, if I actually have any games that are compatible.

If Sony can keep the updates coming, I'll be much happier with my Vita!


Other Gaming News: Sleeping Dogs comes out today! I'll be holding off on picking it up until later, but I look forward to seeing fan reviews. The next big game on my horizon is Dishonored, and that doesn't release until October!

Speaking of FF7, apparently the re-released PC version is available for download now as well: Final Fantasy VII for PC. The main difference with this release is the inclusion of achievements -- I don't much care for them and am personally happy playing on the Vita at the end of the month (hopefully), but here it is for those more interesting in the PC version!