Topic: Wii U - e3 is over... now what?

[Chozo Ghost]

If you think someone would stop caring about Mass Effect 2 once Mass Effect 3 is coming out, you clearly don't know anything about the series. It's really meant to be played in order, transferring your character from the first to the second to the third. I'm not sure why they bothered to make 2 for PS3 without being able to do the first, but it would be even stupider to start with the third one.

I heard the PS3 version of ME2 includes a comic book or something to fill players in on the backstory which they missed out on due to ME1 not being available for the PS3. Something like that could be also done for the Wii U.

I don't see why it should be any issue at all to bring ME2 and ME3 to the Wii U since it shares the same architecture so porting it over is a trivial task. There's really no reason for them not to do it, and EA is the sort of company which tends to support every system anyway, so I think that's likely. They want to make money and if the game is already complete and if its a trivial task to port it over then why wouldn't they?

[ymeegod]

It's a bit different that watching a movie because you don't have any say on the outcome, sure ME3 will have some sort of genertic story line with some sort of recap but you'll still miss out on the bonds that formed and that's where ME shines--the drama. 

As for steam, Nintendo doesn't use DX so all those games have to be recoded to being with (Nintendo uses it's own libarary so it's not even comparable to opengl but it's somewhat similar. 

What worries is about the WII U is the launch titles, hopefully nintendo sees the error with the 3DS--it wasn't the price point that killing it--it's the software.  Hopefully nintendo has a better showing at TGS with actual game announcements for the WII U.

[ymeegod]

"Wii U since it shares the same architecture "

?  Where'd you hear that from?  Nintendo uses it's own, Sony does too--both are opengl based but there like apples and oranges in the end.  That's like saying Mac gets everything the PC does because they're both computers. 

[Chozo Ghost]

"Wii U since it shares the same architecture "

?  Where'd you hear that from?  Nintendo uses it's own, Sony does too--both are opengl based but there like apples and oranges in the end.  That's like saying Mac gets everything the PC does because they're both computers. 

It is a fact. They all use the PowerPC architecture.

[TJ Spyke]

What worries is about the WII U is the launch titles, hopefully nintendo sees the error with the 3DS--it wasn't the price point that killing it--it's the software. Hopefully nintendo has a better showing at TGS with actual game announcements for the WII U.

A lot of game announcements have already been made for Wii U, so no one should be concerned.

[Kytim89]

The only reason thta I mentioned the Steam service is because it seems to be the quickest and easiest way for third parties to move theoir dated games to the Wii without the hassle of reatail. For example, EA could put Mass Effect 3 onto the Wii U, but because Mass Effect 2 will be a dated product by then, putting it on retail with the Wii U logo might prove to be non-profitable. Hell, if Nintendo could conince all third parties to do this then Nintendo very well could close the gap of two generations on a single console. The only downside to this project would be download times.

[NWR_insanolord]

If you think someone would stop caring about Mass Effect 2 once Mass Effect 3 is coming out, you clearly don't know anything about the series. It's really meant to be played in order, transferring your character from the first to the second to the third. I'm not sure why they bothered to make 2 for PS3 without being able to do the first, but it would be even stupider to start with the third one.

That sounds a bit like not being able to watch Toy Story 3 because you haven't watched 1 and 2. I'm sure you can watch the 3rd without seeing the first two and still enjoy it.

There aren't a lot of plot threads strung between the Toy Story movies. They're fairly standalone.

These games are built around the idea of the events in one game having an impact in later ones, about your choices meaning something. Not playing the first two takes a lot away from the third. You could probably enjoy it that way, but you shouldn't want to play it that way.

[broodwars]

I heard the PS3 version of ME2 includes a comic book or something to fill players in on the backstory which they missed out on due to ME1 not being available for the PS3. Something like that could be also done for the Wii U.

I've beaten the PS3 version of Mass Effect 2, and the "interactive comic" is a pitiful attempt to retell the most bare-bones of story elements from the first Mass Effect and in the end you only "import" 5 basic main story choices, often without a lot of the context that actually surrounded those choices in the original game.  As someone who has also beaten the game on the 360 with the Mass Effect 1 import data, I can tell you that the game is a lot less engaging and meaningful without the Mass Effect 1 data import.

The 360 is pretty cheap nowadays, as are the 360 and PC versions of Mass Effects 1 and 2.  Buy those versions instead and enjoy the story the way it was meant to be told, rather than demanding that Bioware waste their time; manpower; and considerable talents trying to reward you for not buying their last two Mass Effect games.

unless you could transfer your data to the internet and from the internet to the wii u

If Bioware didn't do that for the PS3 version of Mass Effect 2, they're definitely not going to waste their time doing that for a Wii U version of Mass Effect 3.

[NWR_insanolord]

The 360 is definitely worth owning, if only for XBLA. $200 plus a bit more for a couple USB flash drives is a bargain for what will become available to you.

[Ceric]

I'm actually hoping that Nintendo pulls a Wine type of move and have an API set that pretty much is DirectX but really just wrappers to their other API.

[MaryJane]

There aren't a lot of plot threads strung between the Toy Story movies. They're fairly standalone.

Standalone in that it's the same story in all three?

[Ian Sane]

For PS360 ports I figure the Wii U will get the current titles as multiplatform releases.  There might be some titles that are like six months old that get released around the Wii U launch.  But the older stuff is probably not going to be there.  I think there isn't much of a market for it.  Most people that wanted those games own an Xbox 360 or a PS3.

I would be afraid of third parties releasing old games on the Wii U that don't sell because the target demo already owns them on another system.  And I don't want third party support to be decided based on that.  It's best we get a fresh start with the current games.  New multiplatform games have a better chance of selling well than old PS360 ports.

And once the Xbox 360 successor comes out the old system will be dirt cheap and you can pick up the best games then.  I do that every generation.

[TJ Spyke]

The 360 is definitely worth owning, if only for XBLA. $200 plus a bit more for a couple USB flash drives is a bargain for what will become available to you.

I do recommend a Xbox 360, but strongly disagree that Xbox Live Arcade is reason enough (unless you can get a 360 for like $50 or less).

Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 offer full retail games as digital downloads now, so I see no reason Nintendo and Electronic Arts couldn't offer the first two Mass Effect's as downloads (or my previous idea of all three ME games in one package).

[Stogi]

Does multi-touch actually add anything? You already have several buttons. The only thing I can see being used is the pinch to zoom.

[Ceric]

Does multi-touch actually add anything? You already have several buttons. The only thing I can see being used is the pinch to zoom.

ST:TNG style interface?  That would be the biggest for me because 6 inches could be a small regular keyboard.  Also how else will you play Air Hockey just on the uMote?

[Kytim89]

The 360 is definitely worth owning, if only for XBLA. $200 plus a bit more for a couple USB flash drives is a bargain for what will become available to you.

I do recommend a Xbox 360, but strongly disagree that Xbox Live Arcade is reason enough (unless you can get a 360 for like $50 or less).

Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 offer full retail games as digital downloads now, so I see no reason Nintendo and Electronic Arts couldn't offer the first two Mass Effect's as downloads (or my previous idea of all three ME games in one package).

If these companies offered the older games via download then I could catch up onfive years worth of games in about a single year. I also see the Wii Shop channel taking on features similar to Steam.

[hrdcrgamer]

Right now it's difficult to determine with certainty whether the Wii U will be a smashing success like the predecessor. Ultimately, I believe that it will depend on whether or not Nintendo can deliver the games!

[broodwars]

Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 offer full retail games as digital downloads now, so I see no reason Nintendo and Electronic Arts couldn't offer the first two Mass Effect's as downloads (or my previous idea of all three ME games in one package).

The first Mass Effect will never, ever be on a Nintendo console, unless somehow Nintendo decides to buy Microsoft .  Microsoft owns the publishing rights to the original Mass Effect, so unless Electronic Arts decides for some reason to commission Bioware to completely remake the game from the ground-up with completely new resources, that game's going to remain exclusive to the PC and Xbox 360.  I suppose Electronic Arts could purchase the publishing rights from Microsoft, but I don't see Microsoft giving those up for a reasonable price when it only makes their platforms look good.

[BlackNMild2k1]

What if they make a Special Edition. Wouldn't that bypass the exclusive publishing rights?


or if they release all three as a combined trilogy that has been combined into one long ass game.
Would that weasel them past the MS security and lawyer team?

[Chozo Ghost]

Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 offer full retail games as digital downloads now, so I see no reason Nintendo and Electronic Arts couldn't offer the first two Mass Effect's as downloads (or my previous idea of all three ME games in one package).

The first Mass Effect will never, ever be on a Nintendo console, unless somehow Nintendo decides to buy Microsoft .  Microsoft owns the publishing rights to the original Mass Effect, so unless Electronic Arts decides for some reason to commission Bioware to completely remake the game from the ground-up with completely new resources, that game's going to remain exclusive to the PC and Xbox 360.  I suppose Electronic Arts could purchase the publishing rights from Microsoft, but I don't see Microsoft giving those up for a reasonable price when it only makes their platforms look good.

So this is the reason why ME1 didn't appear on the PS3. But that little detail did not stop them from bringing ME2 to the PS3, or bringing ME3 to the PS3 (which they are going to). And since that is the case on the PS3, I don't see any reason why it can't be that way on the Wii U as well. Especially since with the similar architecture porting it over should be a breeze. There's very little downside in doing it, and it doesn't have to sell much at all in order to be profitable.

I'm sick and tired of hearing the argument "but people already played it on the 360/PS3 so it won't sell". I'm sorry, but that's not true of everyone, because not everyone owns a PS3 or 360. The Wii fanbase which is made up of people who owned a Wii and nothing else is a completely untapped market for games like Mass Effect, so when this market upgrades to the Wii U there will be millions of new consumers who have never played the game before and will now be able to for the first time ever. It would be stupid not to seize the opportunity to make money by catering to them.

[broodwars]

What if they make a Special Edition. Wouldn't that bypass the exclusive publishing rights?


or if they release all three as a combined trilogy that has been combined into one long ass game.
Would that weasel them past the MS security and lawyer team?

It would probably depend on how much of the original game Microsoft owns the rights to.  If Microsoft as publisher owns the rights to the resources that make the original Mass Effect, that would force Bioware to completely recreate the game from the ground-up without using any of the original materials.  Or Microsoft might just own the publishing rights to the game called Mass Effect that they released years ago.  It depends on the publishing agreement.  I'm going to say it's probably closer to the former, since Bioware stated that they couldn't bring the game to the PS3 back when they were making the PS3 version of Mass Effect 2.

[broodwars]

So this is the reason why ME1 didn't appear on the PS3. But that little detail did not stop them from bringing ME2 to the PS3, or bringing ME3 to the PS3 (which they are going to). And since that is the case on the PS3, I don't see any reason why it can't be that way on the Wii U as well. Especially since with the similar architecture porting it over should be a breeze. There's very little downside in doing it, and it doesn't have to sell much at all in order to be profitable.

The downside to bringing the game to the Wii U is that no one will buy it, and the same would happen with Mass Effect 2 if it were ported to the Wii U just from the multi-year release gap.  Sorry to be that blunt, but if you really cared about this franchise you already own the games on at least one of the three platforms it's already out on.  If this is a franchise you're really interested in, why would you wait to buy the last 1/3 of the franchise on a platform where there will be no import data (and several months to a year later)?  You get a space opera finale where you shoot a bunch of aliens with guns, and characters lecture for hours about events you weren't there to witness.  It's not a great introduction to the franchise for newcomers.  I'd rather that the Wii U sit out on Mass Effect 3, which is the END of a major story arc, but be right there for the start of a NEW Mass Effect story arc with the next game in the franchise.  Hell, maybe the Wii U could be the flagship system for this new Mass Effect.

I didn't agree with EA bringing Mass Effect 2 to the PS3 because they couldn't bring over the original game, but as they (not Microsoft) were the publishers for the game on 360 they had every legal right to.  And in all fairness, the first Mass Effect is a pretty terrible game that just happens to have a good story and characters, as well as choices that would pay off in later games.  You miss a lot by starting the series with the 2nd game on PS3, but at least you only miss 1/3 of the whole story and you start with a good game.

[Chozo Ghost]

You're making me feel like an idiot, because I recently bought ME2 for the PS3 after Amazon dropped the price. Though I haven't played it yet. But I don't have a 360, and my PC isn't powerful enough for it so this was my only option.

[broodwars]

You're making me feel like an idiot, because I recently bought ME2 for the PS3 after Amazon dropped the price. Though I haven't played it yet. But I don't have a 360, and my PC isn't powerful enough for it so this was my only option.

Like I said, the PS3 version isn't a terrible way to play Mass Effect 2, though I did find the QA on the title to be rather suspect with numerous crashes I never ran into on 360 (not to mention the really terrible bugs on one of the Overlord DLC mission, where your ship can fly and sink right through terrain).  It was a good game on the 360, and it's a good game on PS3.  But it's a far better game on 360 (and PC) since you can import your Mass Effect 1 data, and you do yourself a disservice by playing the definitively lesser version.  But if you're not going to buy a 360, the PS3 version is certainly serviceable.

To make it worse, the default Shephard in Mass Effect 2 is a Renegade.  So when you import your 5 Mass Effect 1 comic choices on the PS3 version, all the other choices in the game are either forgotten altogether or defaulted to Shephard being a dick.  Characters who should be warm and inviting to you as an old friend with a long history are sometimes more cold and distant than they'd otherwise be.  As someone who routinely plays Paragon-type characters, that really rubbed me the wrong way when I played the PS3 version.

[Chozo Ghost]

If I hadn't already bought the PS3 version I might consider buying a 360 just for that reason, but since I already have it on the PS3...

But if you're not going to buy a 360, the PS3 version is certainly serviceable.

That's the thing about it coming to the Wii U. It may not be the best version, but if its serviceable then why not? Hopefully Microsoft's exclusive rights to ME1 will expire at some point within the near future. It would be great if they expired before the Wii U is released or soon after, because then EA could bring the whole complete trilogy to that system. It would be great to have all three games and all DLC on one single disc, and with the Wii U's 25gb per disc capacity it could probably be managed.