Awhile back we reported on how the Wii U game discs would have rounded edges. It was a fun yet pointless fact that quickly faded into my memory’s oblivion. Until I saw someone posting their love for the discs on Miiverse and couldn’t resist the temptation.
Go ahead. Try for yourself. I’ll wait right here.
Done? Okay, told you so. Now as I was saying…
Most people would say the smooth Wii U discs are cool but pointless since they don’t add any actual value for consumers beyond cosmetic appearance and a neat feeling for a split second as you pick them up. I would tend to agree, but playing devil’s advocate, isn’t this same attention to every last detail the same scrutinizing focus that made Steve Jobs’ Apple the lore of the land? In terms of gadget appearance and the finer things in consumer electronics, wasn’t it Apple (not Justin Timberlake) who brought sexy back?
I think people really appreciate this type of attention to detail, even if meaningless on the surface. When you take all the small and minor details that been perfected, their cumulative effect is much more than meaningless surface stuff. I can appreciate Nintendo for the effort, but they need to have this same level of attention throughout their console hardware, software, and user experience.
Say what you want about the Nintendo Wii U – you can love it, hate it, or anything in between – it would be hard to argue that the discs aren’t the sexiest and smoothest in the gaming world. Let’s all stop debating whether the Wii U is a huge success or failure for a moment, go pop open a game, and enjoy the one thing that EVERYONE can agree Nintendo got perfectly right.
