Topic: Rumor Round-up: Nintendo's Next Console

[Crimm]

Keep in mind, the literal French text says it replaces the sensor bar. There's a lot of ways to interpret that, and many sites took it to mean that the controller could be used as the sensor bar for Wii games. As I read it, admittedly with limited understanding of the language, it was saying that pointing could be done entirely within the controller instead of having a device broadcast out.

[Stogi]

"It replaces the sensor bar."

I guess that's not as intriguing. That could mean that part of the control is something like Kinect or Move.

[GoldenPhoenix]

The main problem I have with the 6" screen on the controller is the cost. Everyone is going to buy multiple controllers for their system, so wouldn't they all have this 6" screen? Seems like it would skyrocket the price, I can imagine it costing 90-100 for one controller

[Arbok]

The main problem I have with the 6" screen on the controller is the cost. Everyone is going to buy multiple controllers for their system, so wouldn't they all have this 6" screen? Seems like it would skyrocket the price, I can imagine it costing 90-100 for one controller

Nintendo might not actually care about the high controller price too much. In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if they were prepping a new "Wii Play"-like game for the system where people can feel better about swallowing a high controller price as long as a free game is included.

Its a model that worked on the Wii, although I'm not sure that would fly if it reached a total price of $100.

[Crimm]

As a company, they're very cost conscious. I doubt we're going to get $100 controllers.

[Chozo Ghost]

The main problem I have with the 6" screen on the controller is the cost. Everyone is going to buy multiple controllers for their system, so wouldn't they all have this 6" screen? Seems like it would skyrocket the price, I can imagine it costing 90-100 for one controller

I was thinking they could sell the screen separately from the controller, just like how they do with the nunchuck thing. Many games (probably most) would not require or even use the screen, so it doesn't necessarily need to be fused into the controller. This way the controller can be $50 or less, but then you can buy the screen later on for an additional $50. So it would still be $100 total, but you wouldn't have to pay it all at once. The screen could be offered in as a bundle deal with games, kinda like what was done with Wii Play and the Balance Board and Wii Wheel and so on.

Would a $100 controller fly with consumers? It would if it could be paid for in installments. This strategy has already been proved to be extremely successful with the Wii. The 'mote only costs $50, but then you have to add a $20 'chuck and a $20 classic controller and a $10 wheel, and a $20 zapper and it all adds up. You might not pay it all at once, but on the Wii you very much do spend $100 easily on your control setup but people can swallow this because its done in installments and not all at once.

[BlackNMild2k1]

If it's not bundled in and part of the main control solution, then it won't be heavily supported by the software making it about as useful as the Balance board, M+, Motion Camera & the uDraw tablet, which would be only for the few handful of games that actually use those things.

Either bundle it in from the start, or don't bother.


If your gonna innovate with a screen in the controller/tablet streaming or whatever, it needs to be part of the base SKU otherwise it just becomes another optional and often ignored peripheral.

[Ceric]

I agree with BnM.  If you want support it needs to be the standard.

[NWR_insanolord]

I think he's saying you bundle it with the hardware, but sell it separately for additional controllers. That way everybody has one, but not necessarily more than one, so you couldn't assume there were multiple individual screens for local multiplayer.

I also, while typing this post, figured out what the bundled game to show off the screen in the controller will be: Pac Man Vs. 2. Hell yes.

[BranDonk Kong]

Saying this however, if the Wii2 doesn't support GC games they'll have to think of a way to stop people putting the disks in and screwing up the drive.

It wouldn't mess up the drive. It could just do what the current Wii drive does whenever an object that isn't a disc is inserted and eject it right away.

I don't know which Wii you're talking about, but I've fixed at least a dozen that were damaged from non-discs being inserted in them. I think you meant to say "whenever a disc that isn't a Wii or GameCube game..." because it doesn't like to eject plastic toy music discs, bobby pins, checkers, toothpicks, etc, etc.

Anyway, if Project Cafe is backwards compatible with the Wii, then there's really no reason to not make it backwards compatible with the GameCube. Then again, there's no reason to make it BC with either console, since there's already 80 bazillion Wiis out there, and they all play GameCube games. My guess is that it will be backwards compatible, via software emulation and having some common hardware too, but it will only use Wii Remotes for playing Wii games, the Wii sensor bar will work with it (or there will be one built into the new console), and GameCube games will be played using the classic controller.

[Mop it up]

Well if it's a small object then it's likely to get stuck in there, but it will attempt to eject it.

[Morari]

Saying this however, if the Wii2 doesn't support GC games they'll have to think of a way to stop people putting the disks in and screwing up the drive.

It wouldn't mess up the drive. It could just do what the current Wii drive does whenever an object that isn't a disc is inserted and eject it right away.

I don't know which Wii you're talking about, but I've fixed at least a dozen that were damaged from non-discs being inserted in them. I think you meant to say "whenever a disc that isn't a Wii or GameCube game..." because it doesn't like to eject plastic toy music discs, bobby pins, checkers, toothpicks, etc, etc.

The Wii's optical drive sucks anyway. Everyone I know has had their drive fail at least once. Most were covered under warranty, but some have happened only recently and were thus repaired out of pocket. It's not a hard job, but those drives do cost about $50, so it's no small price.

[Stogi]

None of these rumors make any sense. The HD one; ok sure. The release on 2012; probably. But a controller with a screen, all the necessary buttons for today's games, a camera, sensor bar, that can stream full games and has better motion detecting than the Move. It's too much. Way too much.

[Chozo Ghost]

If we're looking at a $100 controller then the odds of the console's MSRP being $299 are even less likely. That would mean the console itself could be worth no more than $200, and if that's the case how powerful could it be? The only way you would pay $299 and get a console that was worth $299 is if the $100 controller were omitted from the SKU. Somehow I don't think that would go over well with consumers. Its bad enough not to get a game bundled with the system, but to not have a controller either would be even worse. Consumers don't want to be SKUed with a controllerless SKU.

So if the controller is truly worth $100 then the console MSRP may be as high as $399. But my guess is the whole screen on the controller thing is probably just a bunch of crap, unless its something really simple and inexpensive.

[Ceric]

If we're looking at a $100 controller then the odds of the console's MSRP being $299 are even less likely. That would mean the console itself could be worth no more than $200, and if that's the case how powerful could it be? The only way you would pay $299 and get a console that was worth $299 is if the $100 controller were omitted from the SKU. Somehow I don't think that would go over well with consumers. Its bad enough not to get a game bundled with the system, but to not have a controller either would be even worse. Consumers don't want to be SKUed with a controllerless SKU.

So if the controller is truly worth $100 then the console MSRP may be as high as $399. But my guess is the whole screen on the controller thing is probably just a bunch of crap, unless its something really simple and inexpensive.

Would have to be.

I mean if you think about it there is a basic laundry list that must happen:
1. HD (You can't buy an SD TV really anymore.)
2. Better Motion Controls then the Competition aka Move in this case
3. Someting beyond motion tech because of Kinect (if Kinect hadn't came out a full iteration would be less a no-no but, it shifted the game and made it a capital time to strike at there market because its sort of the same move Nintendo did with the Wiimote.  Someone name a non-casualish game that really can use Kinect well as its main control scheme.)
4. More storage (games and system)

Once you start going through the checklist it makes more sense.

Also a controllerless SKU would be shooting yourself in the foot. I also still hold Nintendo will not make there customery profits on the controller this time.  Profit just not as much initially because the need to strike while the iron is hot.

[NWR_insanolord]

Nintendo's certainly not going to take a loss, but they'll settle for a lot less than the huge margins they're making on the 3DS.

[SilverQuilava]

Maybe the new system will allow 3d on any television without glasses. I mean, Nintendo HAS been blowing our minds lately with all the new things in recent years like the 3ds. It kinda seems routine now doesn't it? Which is increasingly awesome. We'll probably be having dinner with a real Mario in our homes within 10 years.

[Caterkiller]

In a recent interview Reggie said something about not having 3D as the main draw like 3DS. I don't remember exactly but every site took it as no 3D at all.

[Chozo Ghost]

If anyone can look through any patents Nintendo has filed over the last few years that can provide some clues about what might be put in the console. For example, does anyone know if there have been any patent filings regarding a touch screen controller? What other patents have Nintendo filed recently that may provide some clues on what they're up to? Of course, you have to accept that not every single patent that Nintendo files for is actually going to end up used in a finalized product, but it can give some ideas anyway.

[Ceric]

If anyone can look through any patents Nintendo has filed over the last few years that can provide some clues about what might be put in the console. For example, does anyone know if there have been any patent filings regarding a touch screen controller? What other patents have Nintendo filed recently that may provide some clues on what they're up to? Of course, you have to accept that not every single patent that Nintendo files for is actually going to end up used in a finalized product, but it can give some ideas anyway.

The Touchscreen controller patent may actually already be covered by patents for the DS.  Considers how they did them.

[Crimm]

In a recent interview Reggie said something about not having 3D as the main draw like 3DS. I don't remember exactly but every site took it as no 3D at all.

Over the last few years I've learned not to take what Nintendo execs say at face value, especially when they're being vague. It's usually best to just wait them out until they're ready to actually say something (or as in the case of the 3DS, someone forces their hand).

[BlackNMild2k1]

Patents:

Wii Light: Ambient and Game controlled lighting system
HDD Game Storage: Copying Retail Games directly to a HDD and then accessed through a special filing system with boxart & rating info

Horseback Riding Controller accessory: .... just look at the pic 
Football Controller: Squishy football controller accessory, like the steering wheel, bowling ball, tennis racket, etc etc

Vitality Sensor Game:
Balance Board Motorcycle Game:



Reggie says 3D will not be Wii2 selling point:

Fils-Aime said "Glasses-free is a big deal. We've not said publicly what the next thing for us will be in the home console space, but based on what we've learned on 3D, likely, that won't be it."

[Chozo Ghost]

Note that Reggie isn't saying that the Wii 2 *won't* support 3D. He's just saying that isn't going to be the selling point of it. Which makes sense, because at this point its not an amazing new innovation anymore. Other consoles have already been doing it.

[BlackNMild2k1]

No to sound like a dick, but is that a *Note* to yourself?
because no one even mentioned Wii2 not supporting 3D

In a recent interview Reggie said something about not having 3D as the main draw like 3DS. I don't remember exactly but every site took it as no 3D at all.

Reggie says 3D will not be Wii2 selling point:

Fils-Aime said "Glasses-free is a big deal. We've not said publicly what the next thing for us will be in the home console space, but based on what we've learned on 3D, likely, that won't be it."

In fact Iwata pretty much already confirmed that 3D will be doable in the next system (as it is already possible in Wii and GC)
http://www.andriasang.com/e/blog/2010/06/17/iwata_on_3d_wii/

The paper asked Iwata if Nintendo was planning on making Wii 3D compatible.

Responded Iwata: "If you display a 3D image, the image quality becomes extremely bad, so we'd probably do it with the next system. We're thinking that the timing should be once the 3D television adoption rates crosses the 30% mark. We're looking at the adoption trends."

[Bman87301]

Okay, here's my thoughts on this:

Some of these details are so off-the-wall and impractical that I'd easily assume they were just another  part of the regular flow of misinformation constantly being spread across the Internet-- except there seem to be way too many consistencies from too many independent sources for it not to have some legitimacy. Having a controller that has motion controls, dual analog sticks, and a 6-inch touch screen can't possibly be part of the same hardware. I'm thinking it's one of two possibilities: Either Nintendo has purposely concocted multiple false leaks to throw the press off, or at some of these features are in fact for a separate peripheral, and not part if the standard controller. My guess is that the touch-screen is something separate, and the rest will all be part of what will essentially be the standard controller. After, piecing all the reports together (excluding the touch screen), and using some common sense, I've concocted my own concept design:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v292/bman87301/cafe-1.jpg

Basically, it's an update of the Wii remote design, but more ergonomically shaped, and with an added 3DS-style analog circle slider as well as additional face buttons and a shoulder button (when it's on its side), which more or less removes the need for a separate Classic Controller. The B trigger is now analog-pressure sensitive. The Nunchuk is essentially the same only now with a phone-styled coiling cord, and an analog Z button (to go along with the analog B on the remote).

P.S. In case you can't tell, the button on the very top, above the D-pad and Circle slider on the remote is the POWER button.