I bought a Wii U on Sunday and have been using it for the past couple of days. There have been a few very minor launch hiccups but overall it's awesome and I would highly recommend it for a family gaming console. It does everything the "big boy consoles" can do and more, plus has those great Nintendo exclusives. If your son loves Lego games, he might be interested in the upcoming Lego City Undercover game, which is a Wii U exclusive. It's an open world Grand Theft Auto type game done in the familiar lego style.
I'd be happy to answer any questions you have.
He was just mentioning that last night. Forgot that it was going to be an exclusive. :inchestowardsWiiU:
To address your original concerns, the Wii U is definitely more advanced than either the PS3 or Xbox 360 and offers play experiences neither machine can replicate... That won't be the case when their next gen machines come out, but if choosing between the three consoles that exist right now, it's not really a contest. Nintendo has also been pushing hard to shed that "gaming for kids" image and have a number of so-called "hardcore" titles either available now or scheduled for release. They're not shying away at all from blockbuster third party games and Mature-rated content from the looks of things. But at the same time they seem very focused, perhaps overly so, on providing a safe, friendly and fun gaming environment, especially online. They also have the best slate of exclusive family-friendly IPs, bar none. I think for someone with kids it's the clear choice.Yes the Miis are still around, and they still look pretty dumb, but not as bad as they did on the Wii, and when they're dropped into game action in Nintendoland it's actually pretty fun, IMO.
Obviously the software library for the Wii U doesn't compare to what's available on the other consoles. Your game choices would be pretty limited over the holidays. But it is backwards compatible with your Wii library and all your Wii accessories will work with the new system (including controllers).
If you're investing in a new gaming system, do you want to have a more powerful machine at the beginning of its life cycle, or six+ year old technology that is going to be replaced sometime in the next couple of years? Based on what I've seen out of the Wii U so far, it definitely looks like a system that will grow with your son as his tastes change over the next while and provide satisfying gaming experiences for both of you for years to come.