Author Topic: Wii Lite - a Hypothesis  (Read 30230 times)

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Offline Deguello

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Re: Wii Lite - a Hypothesis
« Reply #25 on: June 18, 2009, 12:55:29 AM »
Quote
If Nintendo made a Wii2 with both media, DVD for Wii & SD for Wii2, I don't see them phasing out a DVD drive completely until Wii3.
or at best, late cycle Wii2 as a Wii2lite.

Bingo, and think about the Wii2Lite or whatever.  With the DVD drive gone, how big would a Wii be?  Now that would turn heads.
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Offline BlackNMild2k1

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Re: Wii Lite - a Hypothesis
« Reply #26 on: June 18, 2009, 01:02:47 AM »
How small would you really want it to be?
It's a console and needs to have a visible presence in the entertainment center.
Otherwise you miss out on scenarios like:
"Hey is that a Wii!!?? You wanna play WiiSports Roid Rage!!!?"

Offline Stratos

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Re: Wii Lite - a Hypothesis
« Reply #27 on: June 18, 2009, 01:05:30 AM »
If they go much smaller for consoles they will start competing directly with handhelds, mobiles and iPods.
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Offline Deguello

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Re: Wii Lite - a Hypothesis
« Reply #28 on: June 18, 2009, 01:07:40 AM »
Maybe.  But that also means they could fill the extra space in the Wii2 with Banana Cream.  Get that hard to reach Bakery demographic.
« Last Edit: June 18, 2009, 01:11:03 AM by Deguello »
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Offline Stratos

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Re: Wii Lite - a Hypothesis
« Reply #29 on: June 18, 2009, 01:11:50 AM »
Are you mocking my thought or just this entire threads conversation?

Maybe you werre just making a general joke and it flw over my head. I don't know. I'm sick and a little slow today so sorry if I ruined your joke.
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Offline Deguello

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Re: Wii Lite - a Hypothesis
« Reply #30 on: June 18, 2009, 01:19:37 AM »
I was just making a joke at the extra space taking the DVD drive out.  I guess they could fill it with more RAM or something.  I see BlacknMild's point, while there are benefits to smaller consoles (particularly to the ability to ship more of them at a time) there is a size that any lower would make the buyer suspicious, and the Wii is it.

Oh and an even BETTER idea.  4 parallel SD Cart slots for the main media entry.  Could be a console for the family, with Madden loaded in for Dad in slot 1, Professor Layton and the Imposing Evil Thing for Mom in slot 2, BloodScream for the pissant teenage son in slot 3, and POKEYMANS for little sis in Slot 4.  OR, Hardcore gamers having 4 different games from 4 different genres loaded at once.  An even better Wii Menu, of sorts.
« Last Edit: June 18, 2009, 01:21:41 AM by Deguello »
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Offline that Baby guy

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Re: Wii Lite - a Hypothesis
« Reply #31 on: June 18, 2009, 01:47:57 AM »
Really, though, I'd like to see something expandable.  Something there for one purpose:  Game expansions.  A la Ms. Pac-Man.

There's several possibilities, but the idea would be that one device slot would be for the game, and the second would actually be the priority device, it's code is loaded first, and directs the first slot's code.  Ms. Pac-man, I repeat, was done this way, and it was essentially what the 64 DD was planned to do, but it would mean game expansions would be possible.  Super Mario Galaxy 2, for example, could be sold as an add on, since the engine, and so much of the data used would be on Galaxy, it would be cheap and efficient just to release the sequel on a small expansion SD card device, or whatever method.

If you don't understand, think Sonic 3 and Sonic & Knuckles.  Actually, throw in Sonic 2, as well.  Connecting Sonic 3 and S&K together meant you could play S3&K, allowing more characters and stages.  As a bonus, S&K took Sonic 2's stage data, and put in Knuckle's character specifications and art, creating a new twist on a classic game.  If Nintendo allowed at least two ports, it could potentially mean that S&K compatibility between games.  While it's unlikely to happen, it would be a unique experience to play as Mario, with SMG's camera, through a Metroid Prime game, wouldn't it?  Well, this would take minimal effort, and the actual ability to do so would only have to be implemented in one of the games.

An additional benefit is obvious:  Why would someone sell their games if they become greatly cross compatible with future games?  You would effectively eliminate a major portion of those resellers if you extend value of their games, and this would be a cheap and effective method.

It's a pipe dream, but it would be awesome, regardless.

Edit:  Come to think of this, I might not be too far off.  The DSi was originally planned to hold two DS cartridges.  I couldn't fathom what reason they'd have for that, but maybe that was the plan?  Nintendo ultimately decided that size and appearance mattered more on a handheld platform, but with a console, as BnM said, you want it to take up a certain amount of shelf-space.  Since the Wii is GC 1.5, I'd shell out money for a GC 2.0 that had games primarily on SD cards, or some small media, if it allowed for the games to be compatible with each other in a serious expandable manner.  Add in DVD functionality, upgrade the processors a bit more, and I'd be sold.  I'd suppose it would almost reach the 360's raw power, but the big feature would be in the expandability options :D

Offline ShyGuy

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Re: Wii Lite - a Hypothesis
« Reply #32 on: June 18, 2009, 02:01:10 AM »
Back in 2005, part of me thought the Nintendo Revolution was going to be a laptop. Part-portable, part-console. It's technically possible. Do a google on nVidia Tegra, amazing stuff.

Offline KDR_11k

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Re: Wii Lite - a Hypothesis
« Reply #33 on: June 18, 2009, 05:09:38 AM »
Cutting out retail at this point would be absolutely retarded.  This is why the PSP Go will absolutely fail.

However you have stumbled upon a good idea for the next Wii console!  No, not digital downloads.  Cartidges!  Yes, Nintendo should go back to carts.

As far as I'm concerned, Optical media has far overshot any gamer's or developer's real need for space.  Solid State prices are dropping very quickly, with a 4 GB SD card running about $5 in some places.  By 2012, the price of... say a 16-32GB SD card could be around $8 wholesale.  And that is PLENTY for video games.  Sure you won't be able to get a Dual-Layer Blu-Ray's worth of space, but that much space isn't necessary anyway.

The Benefit of these carts would be the joyous loading times of the DS, less moving parts which means little chance for DREs, more reliable hardware, a retail presence, and the loveliness of actually owning a product you bought with money.

It's really a no-brainer to me.

I don't think carts actually load faster than discs, the cart-based games were just significantly smaller than the disc based ones (and of course early disc drives sucked).

Offline that Baby guy

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Re: Wii Lite - a Hypothesis
« Reply #34 on: June 18, 2009, 05:20:45 AM »
Nah, discs have loading issues.  If you were, for example, to put Brawl on a hard drive, and play it over your Wii over USB 2.0 cable, let's just imagine that scenario is possible... Well, the point is, in most instances, the loading times would be much less in duration, and in some cases, non-existent.  For example, after chooses a multiplayer Brawl and picking the stage, the disc would have a few seconds of loading time, but a HDD would load the match almost instantaneously.

...But that's all hypothetical?

Offline Deguello

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Re: Wii Lite - a Hypothesis
« Reply #35 on: June 18, 2009, 05:46:40 AM »
KDR, The Blu-Ray drive in the PS3 is a 2x, which reads 9 MB/s, and the PS3 is already expensive enough with drive the price up with an improvement on speed.  The 360's DVD drive is a 12x, which is 16 MB/s, provided it's not a dual layer disc.

Current SD Cards have a max Read speed of 45 MB/s, with the new SDXC cards sporting a max of 100 MB/sec and the possibility to raise it to 300 MB/s.  It would be no contest.  It would be nothing for Nintendo specify a proprietary SD format focused on read speed at the expense of write speed, which would be used mainly for saving.
« Last Edit: June 18, 2009, 06:24:28 AM by Deguello »
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Offline Chozo Ghost

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Re: Wii Lite - a Hypothesis
« Reply #36 on: June 18, 2009, 10:09:31 AM »
I don't think they should remove the GC compatibility per se, but I wouldn't mind if they stripped out the GC card and controller ports and just let you use the classic controller and regular wii storage for saving your GC games. That's all Nintendo has to do... and maybe release some new wavebird thing that works with the Wii's built in bluetooth capability. Then they could stop making the classic controller and just use that for all VC and GC games.

Then everyone would be happy, and by stripping out the redundant GC ports they might be able to shave off some of the wii's manufacturing costs.
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Offline Chozo Ghost

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Re: Wii Lite - a Hypothesis
« Reply #37 on: June 18, 2009, 10:13:50 AM »
If they go much smaller for consoles they will start competing directly with handhelds, mobiles and iPods.

I think what we are going to see in the future is consoles and handhelds becoming one and the same. Consoles like the Wii 2 will be the size of a Nintendo DS, and will work just like one, but it will also be possible to hook them up a TV and to use controllers with them. These future "consoles" can instantly become handhelds just by unplugging them from the TV and then opening up their clam shell design to reveal their tiny built in screens.

Then you can play it in the car or on the bus on your way to your friends house, and then when you're there just fold it back up and hook it up to his tv and break out a couple controllers and you're back in business.
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Offline BlackNMild2k1

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Re: Wii Lite - a Hypothesis
« Reply #38 on: June 18, 2009, 11:45:40 AM »
Ohh yeah, I can see it now, I'm gonna pull my Wii2 out of my pocket and flip the screen open.
Then I'm gonna ask my friend to hold it for me while I pull out my WiiMote. Now people sitting next to me will be frantically dodging my waggling swings as I struggle to see whats on the screen.

"can you hold it closer!?" I would say to my friend. " I can't see the screen"
*whack*
"whoops, you got too close!"


not gonna happen. Just because the Wii is small enough to become a handheld, doesn't mean it should become one.
But if it makes you feel any better, the DS2 should have GC capable graphics with a good battery life.

Offline Deguello

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Re: Wii Lite - a Hypothesis
« Reply #39 on: June 18, 2009, 01:37:19 PM »
Oh yeah I totally forgot about Nintendo's patent with that InPhase company.  They are working on a "holographic storage system" which everybody was absolutely sure was going to be Nintendo's Wii "storage solution" until they just let out SDHC compatibility.

Nobody seemed to research much after that, but apparently these guys are working on some kind of holographic disk drive, with a media that starts at 300 GB and a transfer rate of 20 MB/s, with goals of 1.6 TB and 120 MB/s.

But of particular interest is this section from InPhase's website's FAQ.

Quote
What is the future of holographic data storage?
Holographic storage is unique because of its flexibility. The medium can be the size of a postage stamp, a credit card, or a very large platter. It is all defined by the requirements of the application. As the technology matures, it could be found in a broad range of applications from the home consumer to super computing environments.

Credit Card, eh?  Obviously Nintendo doesn't need 300 GBs.  But a custom job from 16-32 GBs?  With 120 MB/s transfer rate?  Maybe I was right after all.
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Offline BlackNMild2k1

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Re: Wii Lite - a Hypothesis
« Reply #40 on: June 18, 2009, 02:11:19 PM »
Postage Stamp sized games for the portable and Credit Card sized games for the Home console would be perfect and compact on both fronts.
It would be the last storage media needed for quite a few generations, so I hope that whatever Nintendo has planned on the CPU/GPU side of things is infinitely upscalable powerwise so that there is a built in BC for the foreseeable future.

If Nintendo went with something like that, do you think MS would license BRD from Sony to catch up in storage capacity & HD media playback?

Offline Chozo Ghost

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Re: Wii Lite - a Hypothesis
« Reply #41 on: June 18, 2009, 02:51:24 PM »
Ohh yeah, I can see it now, I'm gonna pull my Wii2 out of my pocket and flip the screen open.
Then I'm gonna ask my friend to hold it for me while I pull out my WiiMote. Now people sitting next to me will be frantically dodging my waggling swings as I struggle to see whats on the screen.

"can you hold it closer!?" I would say to my friend. " I can't see the screen"
*whack*
"whoops, you got too close!"


not gonna happen. Just because the Wii is small enough to become a handheld, doesn't mean it should become one.
But if it makes you feel any better, the DS2 should have GC capable graphics with a good battery life.

When its in its handheld form it wouldn't use a controller. It would probably be like the DS and use a touchscreen, but I think Nintendo could take this a step even further and convert the Stylus into a miniature sort of wii-mote which would obviously have to be stripped down in order to make it small enough to be held like a stylus and to be portable. Think of it as a wii-mote/stylus hybrid that only has like one or two buttons because that's all there is room for on it.

Games played in handheld mode would play very differently than when they're played in console mode. You'd probably still have games that would be deisgned for just one mode of play and wouldn't work in the other, but there might also be games where they offer both modes.

But then someone might say, "well, why not just keep the handhelds and consoles separate from each other like they are now?" In response to that I would say its better to have a system that can morph into both because then you only have to buy ONE system instead of two, which means you don't have to spend as much. Its also better because your game library can be limited to just one device, and game developers can just target that system instead of making two different versions... even though that one game might operate in different modes of play.

And as for the mini-wii-mote/stylus thing I proposed, I don't think you'd have problems with people swinging it around violently and causing injury, because 1) it would be very tiny and wouldn't hurt anyone even if it did hit them and 2) since its tiny you would hold it between your thumb and forefinger and move it like a stylus instead of a club or a sword.
« Last Edit: June 18, 2009, 02:55:47 PM by Chozo Ghost »
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Offline Stratos

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Re: Wii Lite - a Hypothesis
« Reply #42 on: June 18, 2009, 03:00:10 PM »
If you make a handheld/console hybrid, you would just need to connect it to a television for the console experience. A lot of new TV's are compatible with networks, even wireless ones. So it could be very feasible to make a system you hook up to your TV and use regular controllers/Wiimotes for, then unhook the hybrid system to play more DS style on the go.

All of the games could theoretically be on SD Cards since those can theoretically go up to 2Terabytes.

Some games can be more designed for 'on-the-go' play, and others can be more designed for 'sitting-in-front-of-the-TV-with-family' play.

Even if they kept the two major input systems-touch and motion- you can have Wiimotes for motion and the hybrid system can have a touch screen or two on it.
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Offline ShyGuy

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Re: Wii Lite - a Hypothesis
« Reply #43 on: June 18, 2009, 03:31:10 PM »
Wii 3 will be a TV channel on your cable box. BERIEVE

Offline Stratos

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Re: Wii Lite - a Hypothesis
« Reply #44 on: June 18, 2009, 03:33:19 PM »
Wii 3 is part of that "Gaming Cloud" project.
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Offline NinGurl69 *huggles

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Re: Wii Lite - a Hypothesis
« Reply #45 on: June 18, 2009, 03:46:23 PM »
Wii 3 is Nintendo's final phase in destroying the industry.

Wii 3 is when gamers go outside.
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Offline Chozo Ghost

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Re: Wii Lite - a Hypothesis
« Reply #46 on: June 18, 2009, 05:39:52 PM »
Wii 3 is Nintendo's final phase in destroying the industry.

Wii 3 is when gamers go outside.

By the time we get to Wii 3 I think it will be a system where you wear a virtual reality thing on your hand and you wear something like the power glove, except its infiniely more advanced.. and maybe there are power boots too for your feet, and there aren't any controllers whatsover because you would have 1:1 movement of your body controlling the movement of Mario in the visor, so controllers and even televisions themselves would be obsolete.
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Offline jakeOSX

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Re: Wii Lite - a Hypothesis
« Reply #47 on: June 18, 2009, 07:44:55 PM »
Wii 3 will hopefully be called something else.


Offline Stratos

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Re: Wii Lite - a Hypothesis
« Reply #49 on: June 18, 2009, 09:01:46 PM »
Wii 3 will hopefully be called something else.

ThWii?

The Wii 3 will be three Wiis taped together and people will be whinning about how it is a 'last gen console' that has HD but does not support the new and awesome Uber-Definition format.
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