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

[Ceric]

Consoles also share their ram for Graphics and doing stuff.

The big difference is that Consoles are so Graphic oriented that most of the time they don't even put in general purpose oriented RAM anymore.  You can get Graphic cards with 2 gigs of the best memory Nintendo could use.  Which they won't.

Frankly sharing the memory will always make it a give or take between graphics and logic style operations.

I stick by 4 gigs because I believe their be benefits in splitting the bugger aparts.

[Adrock]

I don't expect anything more than 2GB and I think that's a stretch. Since this is Nintendo and they like having odd amounts of RAM, they'll probably put 1.796418GB of RAM.

[BlackNMild2k1]

A good graphics card miniaturized down to a chip with 1GB of really good ram (GDDR5) is gonna cost you atleast $100+

Asking for 2-3GB of that same RAM is gonna make this system cost like a launch PS3.
It's also not really necessary (all though more RAM is always useful) since the GPU and the CPU will be optimized for efficiency through an extremely short pipeline with tons of bandwidth and lots of eDRAM.

It's rumored that Wii U is a SoC design and is being dev'd up in India where both AMD & IBM have factories right next to each other (IBM/AMD fusion chip!?). So after hearing that, it's possible that with fast enough memory, you don't really need as much as it just would be sitting there empty most of the time if your software is optimized to used it correctly. 4GB (especially on the WiiYuu) would be overkill (& really expensive), and we all know that Nintendo doesn't do overkill (or really expensive).

[MaryJane]

4GB is a lot, but 2GB would probably be good to handle all the things Nintendo wants the system to do, and there's still more they haven't told us.

[Adrock]

Nintendo does really expensive. Didn't you, like me, just recently sell a kidney for a brand new 3DS?

[BlackNMild2k1]

I did, but they promised to give a significant portion of it back in about a week.
They even sweetened the pot by throwing in some free goodies for the inconvenience.

[Stogi]

So did Ubisoft just confirm achievements as well as being able to use the screen with the TV off to check in on friends and join games?

Basically, did they just confirm what we hoped the Wii U Tablet could do?

[marty]

I'm wondering if there will be a headphone jack on the controller or if we'll be stuck with whatever (most likely POS) speaker nintendo uses.

[Ceric]

I'm wondering if there will be a headphone jack on the controller or if we'll be stuck with whatever (most likely POS) speaker nintendo uses.

The Headphone Jack has already been found.  Though the 3DS speakers really aren't that bad.

[Caterkiller]

So did Ubisoft just confirm achievements as well as being able to use the screen with the TV off to check in on friends and join games?

Basically, did they just confirm what we hoped the Wii U Tablet could do?

I'm saying yes to all of the above. So hyped!

[BlackNMild2k1]

Peter Moore is HYPED about WiiU
Controller is the key, UI is what it's all about.... something something diminshing returns something something
http://www.industrygamers.com/news/nintendo-wii-u-wont-be-transitional-platform-says-peter-moore/

"People will start talking about it being a transitional platform. And I don’t think that’s going to be the case, and here’s why... I think the [tablet] controller [is huge]. This is not about specs anymore... This is about, as it was with the Wii, is the controller a unique way of enjoying a game experience, regardless of what the graphic fidelity is?"

"Look, you saw Battlefield - how much better could this stuff look at some point? There’s a point of diminishing returns... I don’t even know if there’s anything better than 1080p. In the early days of our industry, this stuff was absolutely about how much better the games looked - shinier helmets, greener grass – but I’ve been around long enough to know that seeing your breath in a football game is a huge deal. But that’s no longer the case any more.
Now it’s about interfaces. Now it’s about building a community in a rich, powerful,way. And now it’s about, 'What is the way we can control the game?' You’ve seen that with Move, you’ve seen it with Wii MotionPlus more recently, and you’ve certainly seen it with Kinect."

"And Nintendo’s job, quite frankly, is to build a better mousetrap with regards to the way that we use the controller. So I don’t know what Xbox and PlayStation’s plans for their next platforms are, but it’s not going to be hanging on graphic fidelity. I guarantee you that."

"It’s critically important to us and we are relieved, if anything else, that they have made a huge commitment that they have presented to us... Online certainly was not a factor with the Wii, as you know; although they had capabilities, it just wasn’t there at the level that both Xbox Live and PlayStation had.
But I think Nintendo totally gets that multi-player, building community, co-op play, having the ability to bring games that are deeper - all of these things are now very important."

[BlackNMild2k1]

Nintendo hopes to use the "Power of Suggestion" on 3rd Parties
http://www.videogamer.com/news/nintendo_hopes_third_parties_open_to_new_ideas_on_wii_u.html

"Of course we'll support them technically, giving any development assistance they require, but each third-party has their proven franchises - the franchises that have done really well for them," said Eguchi. "I'm hoping they'll be open to hearing suggestions, ideas from Nintendo on how to really take advantage of the Wii U's features and offer the public maybe a different spin on those already proven franchises."

Nintendo will no doubt be hoping that developers have the same problem as the director of Super Mario Land 3D, who has too many ideas for Super Mario on Wii U.

Glad to see that Nintendo is willing to share. That a big part is being able to play nice with others.

[Ian Sane]

Peter Moore is actually making me upset with his talk about how "the controller a unique way of enjoying a game experience" and lots of stuff about controls and interfaces and such.

You dipshits talked up the same bullshit about the Wii and Move and Kinect and all we get is a bunch of half-baked gimmicky nonsense that controls like ****!  If all this controller **** mattered to you guys so much how come this gen every dev's best games (Nintendo being the obvious exception) went for broke with graphics and presentation and used normal controls?  Move and Kinect are worthless.  The Wii would be the same thing if it wasn't for Nintendo's involvement.

You can talk all you want about the Wii U screen controller but I don't believe for a second that third parties will use it any way that is even remotely worth a ****.  I don't think even Nintendo will.  I much prefer it when third parties go on and on about the specs because I trust them to make great conventional games if they've got powerful specs.  We want EA to just make their best games for the Wii U.  If they focus on making unique Wii U experiences, we're fucked.  We need REAL Madden, for example, if the Wii U is to go anywhere.

[Ceric]

...
We need REAL Madden, for example, if the Wii U is to go anywhere.

Well you done it know Ian.

Anyways. *shrug* In one of the games I'm playing right now they offer very traditional controls and controls with the Wiimote and Nunchuck that have you twisting to do actions.  I actually prefer the Wiimote on it seems.

[MaryJane]

So did Ubisoft just confirm achievements as well as being able to use the screen with the TV off to check in on friends and join games?

Basically, did they just confirm what we hoped the Wii U Tablet could do?

My hope is that it can stream Netflix or other video to the TV and a game to controller, but yeah general TV-off game related stuff is good.

Peter Moore is actually making me upset with his talk about how "the controller a unique way of enjoying a game experience" and lots of stuff about controls and interfaces and such.

You dipshits talked up the same bullshit about the Wii and Move and Kinect and all we get is a bunch of half-baked gimmicky nonsense that controls like ****!  If all this controller **** mattered to you guys so much how come this gen every dev's best games (Nintendo being the obvious exception) went for broke with graphics and presentation and used normal controls?  Move and Kinect are worthless.  The Wii would be the same thing if it wasn't for Nintendo's involvement.

You can talk all you want about the Wii U screen controller but I don't believe for a second that third parties will use it any way that is even remotely worth a ****.  I don't think even Nintendo will.  I much prefer it when third parties go on and on about the specs because I trust them to make great conventional games if they've got powerful specs.  We want EA to just make their best games for the Wii U.  If they focus on making unique Wii U experiences, we're fucked.  We need REAL Madden, for example, if the Wii U is to go anywhere.

The Wii U has traditional controls. It has all the buttons the others have (except maybe the L3/R3?) but with a screen in the middle for added depth. If it helps, think of it as GC/GBA connectivity, but with better graphics, more buttons, and more games to support the feature. I doubt every game is going to force you to use the screen, so you might be able to completely ignore it, and let the rest of us have all the fun, while you're miserable... as always.

[Adrock]

You dip****s talked up the same bull**** about the Wii and Move and Kinect and all we get is a bunch of half-baked gimmicky nonsense that controls like ****!  If all this controller **** mattered to you guys so much how come this gen every dev's best games (Nintendo being the obvious exception) went for broke with graphics and presentation and used normal controls?  Move and Kinect are worthless.  The Wii would be the same thing if it wasn't for Nintendo's involvement.

You can talk all you want about the Wii U screen controller but I don't believe for a second that third parties will use it any way that is even remotely worth a ****.  I don't think even Nintendo will.  I much prefer it when third parties go on and on about the specs because I trust them to make great conventional games if they've got powerful specs.  We want EA to just make their best games for the Wii U.  If they focus on making unique Wii U experiences, we're fucked.  We need REAL Madden, for example, if the Wii U is to go anywhere.

Welcome to Sesame Street, kids! The word of the day is "****."

[Ceric]

You dip****s talked up the same bull**** about the Wii and Move and Kinect and all we get is a bunch of half-baked gimmicky nonsense that controls like ****!  If all this controller **** mattered to you guys so much how come this gen every dev's best games (Nintendo being the obvious exception) went for broke with graphics and presentation and used normal controls?  Move and Kinect are worthless.  The Wii would be the same thing if it wasn't for Nintendo's involvement.

You can talk all you want about the Wii U screen controller but I don't believe for a second that third parties will use it any way that is even remotely worth a ****.  I don't think even Nintendo will.  I much prefer it when third parties go on and on about the specs because I trust them to make great conventional games if they've got powerful specs.  We want EA to just make their best games for the Wii U.  If they focus on making unique Wii U experiences, we're fucked.  We need REAL Madden, for example, if the Wii U is to go anywhere.

Welcome to Sesame Street, kids! The word of the day is "****."

No... Its still MUNAAAAY!

[ThePerm]

i can see not thinking of many uses for gyro controlls, because there isn't alot that work well to be honest, but complaining about a touch screen? Its basically a regular controller, with an awesome accessory. The only things i ever enjoyed with the gyro were aiming Links bow(eh), and wii sports bowling(awesome).

A touch screen however, is inventory control without having to pause the game, a map without taking up the screen, infinite buttons, added use context touch controls, gui interface for an in game pda, a sniper scope, a rearview mirror, 3d augmentation. While gyro could be considered a gimmick, touch screen can add some depth to games. Now i would have been up in arms if there was no joystick because touch screens are no substitute, but there is a joystick(and its not actually a slidepad as rumors would have you believe in the first week)

[MaryJane]

A touch screen however, is inventory control without having to pause the game, a map without taking up the screen, infinite buttons

Mind blown.

[ThePerm]

also, i expect Nintendo to take their Wii Channels idea to the next level. They tested the water with netflix, and the Nintendo Channel, but imagine if Nintendo really got together with television content providers and hooked us up with ala cart television channels. I'd imagine if Hulu or netflix managed to do some sort of online streaming service where you get the main television networks streamed, plus on demand shows like currently available, combined with your pick of your top 30+ streamed cable channels it would be an awesome service. Im not sure how much we pay for our Dish Network, but its over priced. A lot of the channels are just filler with no actual content, giving the illusion that we have more channels then we actually do.  I kinda miss the days of 30 channels. Also pay-per-view for new movies..but keep it cheap..put redbox out of business.

another good deal would be 9 dollar bundle of 30 channels, and if i want a single channel and not the rest of a block thats 75 cents a piece per month, Premium channels would have to get a fair rate.

[Chozo Ghost]

The thing I hope 3rd parties (1st and 2nd parties too) keep in mind in regards to utilizing every feature of the Wii U controller is that they don't necessarily have to, and they shouldn't feel obligated to do so. If the features make sense in a game, then by all means use them, but don't feel obligated to tack them on or shoehorn them in when they aren't necessary and just make things more cumbersome and stupid.

If you look at DS games from the first few years you can see what I mean about touchscreen controls being tacked on or forced in. But thankfully, over time developers seem to have accepted that the touchscreen is an optional feature and not necessary, so in later years the DS library started to have more and more games where the touchscreen was either not used at all or only used in a minimal way, and that's great something like that makes sense with some games but not for everything. Hopefully developers on the Wii U will similarly not feel obligated to force gimmicks in their games if they don't serve a worthwhile purpose in improving the game. If it doesn't make sense the Wii U controller is still perfectly functional as a standard controller.

[ThePerm]

yeah, controllers are not about making a game fun, they are about being useful to games. The games should be fun, but controllers don't make good games, good design makes good games.

Like take eternal darkness for instance...didnt the magic system have some cumbersome controls? What if the spells were assigned to buttons on the touchscreen while the rest of the game just played normally. I would always have the 3 spells dedicated to the hot keys on the d-pad, but i would always have to rotate the inventory of spells and weapons a lot. With this it would make it a ton easier. You always had to stand still to do spells anyhow, and that was probably only engineered that way because the spell controls were cumbersome. At the same time I loved the spell system.

[BlackNMild2k1]

Darksiders II at top spec'd PC levels?
http://www.officialnintendomagazine.co.uk/29257/darksiders-2-wii-u-preview/

Developers Vigil are still early in their plans for the Wii U version of Darksiders 2, but are excited about the potential of the controller's touchscreen being linked to Death's equipment. You might perhaps be able to drag and drop armour and weapons onto his body - while watching the character on your TV gradually getting tooled up as you do so.

After only a few weeks with the Wii U development kit, however, the team were genuinely buzzing with excitement - the graphics looking to match the top-spec PC iteration and the code working remarkably well on the hardware. It's early doors yet, of course, but the signs are that, for non-Nintendo developers, the Wii U is great system to work with - a far cry from the 'new hardware issues' that other consoles (most notably the PlayStation 3) have presented for third-party developers in the past.

Darksiders II development comments are all over the place. I could've sworn they just said that they aren't improving the visuals over the PS360 version.... but then who knows when this preview was written, even if it was just published today.

[BlackNMild2k1]

Who wants some HYPE Juice!? Better bring a cup, because this is tasty.

Multiple WiiU Controllers per system & with onboard Memory!?
At least that is what Nintendo Canada was alluding to.
http://www.examiner.com/canada-nintendo-in-canada/nintendo-talks-upcoming-wii-games-friday-launches-wii-u-anniversaries-more

Shifting focus to the Wii U, I noted that at E3, much of the focus was on the new controller. With that, I asked if they were also looking to continue the Wii direction of games on the system with more new titles which focus on the Wii Remote and Nunchuk controllers than on the newer controller, which had reportedly been limited to the use of one per system. After all, the Wii gained quite a following, and it would be a shame to see that direction abandoned before it is fully explored.

"Let me correct something that is a misconception," Ryan began. "We said that the Wii U system will come with one Wii U controller, but we haven't said that you can only use one Wii U controller. The fact is that if the developer makes a game or an experience that uses more than one, then anything is possible."

"What we've also talked about is to imagine taking some of the experiences you've had at your own home, putting them on your Wii U controller, and taking that with you somewhere else. That would again get rid of that myth and misconception that only one can be used. So, the possibility is there, but the system will only come with one at this point."

I asked him to elaborate on what he meant, as Nintendo Global President Satoru Iwata had previously noted in response to people talking about taking the Wii U controller with them to the washroom or bedroom to play might have a difficult time getting that kind of range out of it. So what then does he mean by "taking the Wii U experience with you?"

"Okay, so that I can elaborate on. The Wii U is not a portable handheld device you're going to take with you in transit or into a proximity away from the Wii U console, but you can take content from your console, put it on your Wii U controller, take it with you somewhere else, and be able to upload it. That technology is possible."

I likened it to the Wii Remote, which has a small amount of memory for storing Miis and the like, and he noted it is "similar, but that's kind of basic, what you can do with the Wii Remote. Taking a Mii with you is cool and fun, but this has the possibility to do more... not on the go, but once you get somewhere else where you take your stuff to someone else's environment, it's definitely possible."

As an example, I put forth the possibility of loading up your team and plays in Madden and taking it to a friend's house (who also has a Wii U, of course), and both being able to play from their own controller.

"It's hard for us to commit to anything concrete, but yes, it's a possibility because the controllers are compatible. It's possible to have that kind of experience."

2 Controllers per system & onboard memory (SD card slot maybe?).
Is Nintendo gonna get this part of the console right!? This and online are the two most important things that Nintendo needs to nail with the WiiU and multiple controllers with storage is a very big step in the right direction.
Now we all we need (as far as the controller is concerned), is Netflix streamable to the controller along with an HDMI in to allow another outside source (such as a DVD player or cable box) to also be streamed to the controller, and you have a runaway success on your hands.

So many possibilities have been brought up over the last few weeks, it's crazy.

[Adrock]

Wii U was revealed a little over 2 months ago. Assuming this is true, it sounds like Nintendo heard all the negative reaction to the whole one-tablet-controller-per-console thing and said, "Aaaaaaand back to the drawing board." Otherwise, they would have cleared this up weeks ago instead of dropping all of those cryptic comments. Maybe they have learned something. Here's hoping...