Wii U should’ve been released ‘2 or 3 years ago’

Is the Wii U about to "Dreamcast" themselves in the race for next-gen consoles?

In the latest episode of Pach-Attack, video game analyst Michael Pachter suggested that the Wii U is 2 or 3 years late when responding to a fan who asks if the Wii U's release might be premature and result in a flop.

"The reason that you’re saying that it’s premature, I think you’re really trying to suggest that it’s not going to sell well," he said.

Pachter, instead, suggests the Wii U is not premature and that the console's late release and mediocre power might be it's downfall.

"I don't think that this is a premature console," he said.  "I think that this is a really late term console.  I think this console should've been born 2 years ago or 3 years ago."

Pachter invites you all to do a quick search on the "Wii 2" and "Pachter" for his original opinion.

"I was calling for it in 2009 and that didn't happen.  So I was calling for it in 2010 and then that didn't happen.  So now we're looking at 2012 – wow.  2 or 3 years late, not premature.  Bad call there."

The fact that the Wii U is considered the start of the next generation of consoles and still has features just on par with current gen systems might result in lower sales – especially at its rumored high price point.

“I think that if in fact it’s a lot like an Xbox 360 in terms of graphics, frame rate and control scheme, then it’s probably not going to sell well unless it’s priced a lot cheaper, and I don’t think they’re launching the console at $150," Pachter explained.

“So, yeah I think they are about to Dreamcast themselves. I don’t think Wii U is going to be as popular as probably Nintendo thinks it’s going to be. Question is, what does Nintendo do next, and I don’t know the answer yet," he concluded. "Let’s see how Wii U sells, and I’m not going to predict this demise until I know pricing and features. When I know more about it, I’ll offer a better opinion.”

The Wii U's release date or pricing has not yet been announced by Nintendo, but company President, Satoru Iwata, did confirm that the new system will launch in major markets by the end of 2012.