I personally skipped Wii, it really didn't interest me. Dunno about Wii U yet. 360 I got as a holiday gift, so it was to no expense to me. PS3 I decided it was cheap enough and had enough games to pick it up. I don't buy consoles on first release anyway, both PS3 and 360 had issues with their launch models this gen. I'll probably wait 2 or 3 years into next until they redesign/fix problems found in the consoles, and until they lower the price. Then I'll decide if I want one or not.
If I go online it will probably be racers or WWE games, maybe shooters. Online was never a big deal for me, I just wanted the games. Although it's a interesting concept I might try one of these days.