PS4 vs Xbox One vs Wii U: Episode 5 #Helpful Post

With four episodes down, I think it’s about time to add a new challenger. How does the

Wii U stack up with the PS4 and Xbox One? Nintendo took a totally different approach

than Sony and Microsoft this generation. Not only is it almost comically smaller than the

Xbox but you might notice the controller is just a little different. The Wii U uses the

Gamepad which is a hybrid controller and tablet, it’s a clever piece of tech that gives you

a lot of extra features on top of being able to stream gameplay from the console. It works

well, there’s next to no latency and it frees you up to play a lot of games on the

Gamepad without needing to use a TV. It’s also where you can use Amiibo, they’re not

really needed for most games but they look cool and can unlock new characters or levels.

The controls are fine but it’s a massive controller, it can be a bit uncomfortable

to use for longer periods and you’ll need to charge it far more often than the others.

One of the bigger problems with the Gamepad is the price, it’s included with the Wii

U but because it’s necessary that means the Wii U costs basically as much the PS4

and Xbox One. On paper it just can’t measure up, the Wii U has a far less powerful CPU,

graphics and only a quarter as much RAM as the others making it closer to a last gen

console in the spec department. It also only comes with 32 gigabytes of storage meaning

you’ll probably have to take advantage of an external hard drive. One area where it

does have a big advantage is with power usage, the lower end specs help it to need far less

power especially while gaming. And that’s really where it shines, titles like Smash

look far better than you would expect based on the specs and games like Xenoblade do an

impressive job of pushing the hardware to the limit with totally respectable graphics.

Nintendo’s art style like in Splatoon also goes a long way toward evening the gap. The

first party games are absolutely the strongest part of the Wii U, Nintendo has assembled

a huge library of killer games like Mario Kart. You’ll also find a few third party

titles such as Watch Dogs which are solid but few and far between, especially when you

compare to what the games look like on the PS4 the Wii U really can’t hold up. There

are some games that are shared but things like Minecraft came out years later and is

bizarrely $10 more than the others. Other AAA titles just aren’t here, if you get

a Wii U you’ve got to be serious about Nintendo games. There is a solid selection of Virtual

Console titles though with everything from NES to Wii, the games can be on the slightly

expensive side but the emulation is solid and it’s nice to be able to not only play

games on the TV but also on the Gamepad. You also essentially have a full Wii built in,

hook up a Wiimote and you can get into the old school Wii menu and play your discs with

a clean HDMI output. The Xbox is just starting to add backwards compatibility and the PS4

uses the less than stellar PS Now so if you have a big Wii game library the Wii U has

you covered. On the other hand the interface is usable but feels a full step behind the

others, it’s a bit less serious but things like multitasking and just moving around is

noticeably slower than the others. Put it beside the PS4 and things are much more grown

up with a more mature online store with a far better selection. The same goes for the

new Xbox One interface, it’s a lot better for multitasking and it also does much better

with media, you’ll find the basic apps on the Wii U like Netflix, YouTube and

Hulu but not things like Twitch and Spotify which is a bit of a shame. It doesn’t support

DVDs or Blurays either, if you’re serious about media the Wii U just isn’t your console.

Games are the biggest strength but also the biggest weakness of the Wii U. On one hand

you’ve got killer titles like Mario Maker and Smash but on the other you have next to

no third party support for big games. The Wii U makes way more sense as a second console

alongside a PlayStation, Xbox or even PC but with it’s replacement looming on the horizon

now might not be the greatest time to invest in the Wii U. With five videos down the console

comparison is nearly at a close but stay tuned, there’s one last episode to determine the winner.