New Geek Toys – The iPhone 5/Wii U Edition

It’s nearing the holidays, so that means it’s time for New Geek Toys!  Hit the jump to read my thoughts on Apple and Nintendo’s offerings. 

So, yesterday Apple announced all new (in most aspects) phones and iPods in the form of the new taller, iOS 6 powered iPhone 5 and iPod Touch as well as taller iPod Nanos and the same-except-for-the-color iPod Shuffle.  The iPhone 5 seems to be a much better upgrade to the iPhone than the 4S was for the 4, and having a Retina display and faster processor on the iPod Touch certainly makes that a better choice if you want iOS but not the phone.

As for the Nano — I’m surprised that they got rid of the square watch version so soon.  They seemed gung-ho on this form factor, and now it’s gone.  If anything, I’m surprised it didn’t become the new Shuffle, because really, I have to think that most people want the ability to choose songs as well as shuffle them.  Still, you probably wouldn’t get the square Nano down to $49.  The new Nano is taller once again and looks a lot like the previous tall Nano, save for touch screen instead of the click wheel.  No iOS 6, though, which begs the question if the smaller size trumps iOS functionality.

Then, this morning, Nintendo announced the price and availability of the Wii U — $299 for the basic edition, $349 for the deluxe (which includes more storage space, free download points, and probably other stuff, too).  The surprising thing is that they aren’t including the Remotes in these bundles; those you’ll have to buy separately.  One one hand, kudos for Nintendo for not making you buy new Remotes if you already have them for your Wii.  On the other hand — really, Nintendo? You can’t even throw a bone and include one Remote for the newbie who bypassed the Wii because of [insert reason here]?  Seems a bit silly.

The new Mario game looks like a new Super Mario World, which is awesome.  Bayonetta 2 is a Wii U exclusive, if you care (I don’t; never heard of the first one).  Transformers: Prime is a Nintendo franchise exclusive, which is cool.  Plus, Nintendo TVii allows live TV watching as well as Tivo, Hulu, Amazon and Netflix streaming to the Wii U gamepad, which admittedly, is pretty cool — if you don’t already have a Slingbox or tablet.

The price seems a bit much, but then again, all new video game consoles have a high price.  I expect Holiday 2013 will see the first price drop to $250/$300 or even $225/$275.  I doubt we’ll see the basic package at $200 for at least a while.

So, what are your thoughts?  Are you going to stand in line for any of these Apple products?  Is Nintendo overestimating how much people want HD and another tablet?  Sound off in the comments or the polls!

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