NINTENDO BOSS says WII U is start of next console generation. I laugh.

Wii U is the “start of the next console generation” like the Dreamcast was the forerunner of the PS2 and Xbox. Sort of, but not really. That hasn’t stopped that Reggie Meme Generator boss guy of Nintendo from claiming the console features everything from “an overpriced tablet as a controller” to “the ability to not cure cancer.”

Kotaku:

The Wii U is not the last of the first wave of high-def consoles that began with 2005’s Xbox 360 and 2006’s PlayStation 3, according to Reggie Fils-Aime. It’s the first of what comes next.

“This is absolutely the beginning of a new generation,” Fils-Aime told me during a quick interview late Saturday night, just minutes before the official launch of Nintendo’s sixth home console. “With the innovation we’re bringing to bear, with the social community we’re bringing to bear, [and] with the video entertainment we’re bringing to bear, I think this is the start of a new generation. I think those who say otherwise are clearly trying to preserve sales on their current hardware. This is definitely the start of a new day.”

Those who beg to differ may wind up caught in semantics or in an un-winnable argument about whether a Wii U, destined to be vastly out-powered by the next PlayStation and Xbox as soon as late next year, is really the beginning a new gen. But it’s undeniable that Wii U is a new chapter for Nintendo and, as with any new console, a big risk.