Traveling is something that is done by almost every human being in one form or another. Some travel within their cities, some travel from country to country. Ever since the introduction of handheld gaming in the form of portable gaming devices such as Nintendo 3DS and PlayStation Vita or smartphones, people use their traveling time to keep themselves occupied and busy by playing games on their devices or browsing the internet. However portable gaming devices aren’t as powerful as the home consoles.
Many own consoles at homes which sport a variety of best looking games on the system, both marveling in the visuals department as well as the scope and freedom of gameplay as opposed to the restricted gaming on the handhelds. The only limitations these powerful consoles pose is that they need an output device to project their output onto which includes monitors and TVs. What if you were to leave on a long journey while you just got your favorite game on the platform and you got to the best part? You’ll be forced to leave the console at home as it would serve no purpose whilst in the middle of your journey as it will lack a screen for the output and a power source.
Such limitation didn’t apply to one individual who was traveling and had a layover at the Detroit airport. Instead of waiting or whipping out his cellphone to pass the time, he spotted a power outlet near his chair and he immediately set up his Wii U. The Wii U can display the main gameplay of the game on its Wii U Gamepad even if there is no screen present for the Wii U to project output onto, called Off TV Play. The Wii U Gamepad sports a 6.2 inch screen with speakers present on the Gamepad as well as an option to plug headphones in.
With just plugging in the Wii U, the guy set up cozy in his chair and started playing The Wonderful 101, developed by Platinum Games and directed by Hideki Kamiya, exclusively for the Wii U. With what appears to be an airport whiskey by his side, his lack of a TV screen medium didn’t stop him from enjoying the game and passing his time.
Which brings us to question that why didn’t Nintendo advertise this feature and innovation more to turn more customers in favor of buying a Wii U? Wii U was released last year on November 30th 2012. It is the first entry in the eight-generation of video game home consoles and is set to compete against the mighty PlayStation 4 and Xbox One which are being released this year.
Ever since Wii U’s released it has struggled a lot in the sales department and is lacking serious third-party support on its platform and is trying to stagger back on its feet ever since. It’s predecessor, the Wii brought motion gaming innovation to the market and enjoyed a lot of commercial and financial success.
To date no home console is playable portably without a power source and a screen medium, while lacking a power source for portability, Wii U definitely takes a step forward by eliminating the need of a screen medium to play and thus one would only require to find a power source and just plug in and play away.
Should Nintendo have advertised its Off TV Play feature more aggressively to aware the masses that it indeed does have an advantage to own? Would Wii U have made a difference if it were to release this year alongside the PlayStation 4 and the Xbox One? What if Nintendo comes up with a battery power pack for Wii U itself to eliminate the hurdle of finding power source as well? Will it all help with the sales of the Wii U?
What do you guys think? Let us know in the comments below.
