I know I've written this before, but it struck me once again today while testing one of Duncan's new "Super Mario Maker" levels: I vastly prefer the Wii U to the Switch.

Every piece of hardware has its own "feel", like the way it looks cosmetically, the way the controller feels, the way the game outputs visuals, tactile elements which might be present, and so on. There's just something about the Switch which is extremely off-putting to me, where it seriously distracts me from enjoying games on it. It's just not fun to play games on the Switch, and I'm not altogether sure why. I feel the same way about some other systems too, like the Super Nintendo.

The Wii U has the opposite effect on me. Its white casing looks great sitting beneath my TV. I really like the feel of the gamepad, and even the looks of it, again in white. Having a second screen on the controller is fantastic for maps and added HUD elements, not to mention when it's integral to the gameplay, such as in ZombiU. I really like the tactile feel of the buttons, and how you can-- and I have-- a hard drive plugged into it.

I even prefer the user interface, even given the fact that it's basically totally broken ever since Nintendo took down Miiverse. Speaking of Miiverse, that was my favorite feature of any console, maybe ever. I remember sitting on there during launch week, looking at all of the cool "I wonder how you get over there?" screenshot-filled posts from the aforementioned ZombiU.

Of course, isn't this the story of my life: pretty much everything I like-- music, choice of movies, electronic gadgets-- everybody else hates. And everything which other people like, is pretty unappealing to me. It's not even me being contrarian either: I didn't know metal was a niche genre when I fell in love with it, and for all I knew, things like the 3DO and Wii U were going to be huge successes at the times which I'd bought them!

In any event, my next two game purchases might be Wii U games: "Deus Ex: Human Revolution Director's Cut", and "Donkey Kong: Tropical Freeze". The latter is even available on the Switch, and I'd rather buy the Wii U version! I also might pick up a Wii remote, and re-play through "Metroid Prime Trilogy", which was the only Wii game I'd kept way back when I'd sold that system.