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

[Fatty The Hutt]

I don't think the Trilogy is going to sell especially well on any platform, but I imagine it would do the best on Wii U, at least proportionally to the install base, because the series has never been on a Nintendo platform before. People who wanted to play it on 360 and PC already did, and I wouldn't be surprised if picking up copies of the individual games on PS3 were cheaper than the Trilogy; 2 and 3 are already sub-$20 on Amazon.

Much of this is true for me and, I submit, for many. I have not played the trilogy but I would like to. Why? well a buncha reasons. Here are 5:
1. I don't own a 360.
2. I don't play PC games. I game on consoles. I know I could set it up so I could play on PC but, for many boring reasons, this is not happening.
3. I own a PS3, but then I could only play 2 and 3.
4. These games are, reportedly, each huge spawling time-consuming games. I want to get around to them but I have to consider the "right" time to do it.
5. I would be delighted for the trilogy on Wii U. I would buy that. I probably will not buy just ME3.

[NWR_insanolord]

Well the first game is coming to PSN, as well as the Trilogy collection, so you could play all three of them on PS3 once that's out.

[Fatty The Hutt]

which is another reason it does not make any sense for the trilogy to not be coming to Wii U.
(sorry for the double negative; my English teacher is rolling in his grave)

[NWR_insanolord]

Double negatives are fine as long as you use them properly. And I addressed that in the other thread; the Wii U version would be the most work and have the fewest potential sales because of the limited install base this early in the console's life, so it's plausible that EA just didn't see it as worth it from a business perspective, without regard for their opinion of Nintendo. Now of course, that doesn't explain the ME3 port...

[Ian Sane]

I can't imagine there being many people out there that:

1. Only owned a Wii this last gen.
2. Are ignorant of how connected the Mass Effect games are.
3. Are the sort of person that would be interested in Mass Effect 3 in the first place.

The people that apply for the first two are casuals, kids and bro-gamers that play nothing but CoD and Madden.  Mass Effect ain't Mario Kart.  It ain't some core game with massive mainstream appeal that everyone will just instinctively pick up on a whim when they buy a new console.  For you to even be interested in ME3 means you know your **** so you know that ME3 by itself is worthless and by launch you will probably know that the other systems will each have the entire trilogy.

This is a game for no one.  EA is either dumb as **** or this is a rigged "test".

[Kytim89]

Did Nintendo make the Wii U's CPU intenially weak to avoid their own version of the RROD? What are the chances of the PS4 and Xbox 720 both having weak CPUs for the same reason?

[tendoboy1984]

Did Nintendo make the Wii U's CPU intenially weak to avoid their own version of the RROD? What are the chances of the PS4 and Xbox 720 both having weak CPUs for the same reason?

No one knows what Sony and Microsoft are planning. I'm surprised the PS Vita isn't having any major hardware errors, considering how advanced that tech is.


And the problem with the (original) Xbox 360 wasn't the CPU itself, the entire console was constructed poorly. The chips dissipated too much heat, and the console didn't have adequate ventilation. The heat would then build up inside the console and fry the chips.

[Shorty McNostril]

Did Nintendo make the Wii U's CPU intenially weak to avoid their own version of the RROD? What are the chances of the PS4 and Xbox 720 both having weak CPUs for the same reason?

How would we know this exactly Sir?

[Adrock]

/obligatory Cliff-Bleszinski-just-left-Epic-Games-so-Nintendo-should-contact-him-immediately-with-an-offer-making-games-for-them-because-he's-already-a-Nintendo-fan post

[Sarail]

/obligatory Woohoo!

[EasyCure]

I can't imagine there being many people out there that:

1. Only owned a Wii this last gen.
2. Are ignorant of how connected the Mass Effect games are.
3. Are the sort of person that would be interested in Mass Effect 3 in the first place.

The people that apply for the first two are casuals, kids and bro-gamers that play nothing but CoD and Madden.  Mass Effect ain't Mario Kart.  It ain't some core game with massive mainstream appeal that everyone will just instinctively pick up on a whim when they buy a new console.  For you to even be interested in ME3 means you know your **** so you know that ME3 by itself is worthless and by launch you will probably know that the other systems will each have the entire trilogy.

Gee thanks for lumping me in with that group. Let's see: Kid? Nope, I'm 26. Casual gamer? Not by your intended definition. Bro-gamer? Nice term, bro, but no I really dislike those games. Guess what, your assumptions are wrong and I wouldn't mind picking up the ME3 trilogy for WiiU if it was made available. I've heard decent things about the games, I haven't played an RPG in awhile so I'm due, and I *still* have no intentions of picking up a ps3 or 360.

[Kytim89]

/obligatory Cliff-Bleszinski-just-left-Epic-Games-so-Nintendo-should-contact-him-immediately-with-an-offer-making-games-for-them-because-he's-already-a-Nintendo-fan post

I was about to mention this myself. What better way to appeal to the hardcore crowd then to have Cliffy B develope games for your system? What could he bring to the Wii U?

[Adrock]

What better way to appeal to the hardcore crowd then to have Cliffy B develope games for your system? What could he bring to the Wii U?

Honestly, Nintendo's pitch should be: make anything. I read that he wanted to take a break from game development though I wonder if there was more to it. Epic Games generally targets a certain audience so I wouldn't be surprised if Bleszinski grew tired of making testosterone games.

While Nintendo are at it, they should try to snag Shinji Mikami's new survival horror title which isn't attached to any platform currently.

[Kytim89]

What better way to appeal to the hardcore crowd then to have Cliffy B develope games for your system? What could he bring to the Wii U?

Honestly, Nintendo's pitch should be: make anything. I read that he wanted to take a break from game development though I wonder if there was more to it. Epic Games generally targets a certain audience so I wouldn't be surprised if Bleszinski grew tired of making testosterone games.

While Nintendo are at it, they should try to snag Shinji Mikami's new survival horror title which isn't attached to any platform currently.

Tomonobu Itigaki's Devil's Thirdd as well.

[Luigi Dude]

Honestly, Nintendo's pitch should be: make anything. I read that he wanted to take a break from game development though I wonder if there was more to it. Epic Games generally targets a certain audience so I wouldn't be surprised if Bleszinski grew tired of making testosterone games.

Considering how Epic keeps pumping out Gears of War games that have little differences between them, I wouldn't blame him.  Seriously, the 4th Gears will be out in a few months, making it the 4th game in a little over 6 years.  Epic is probably already planning a 5th Gears of War for the 720 and that's what made Cliffy finally snap.

[azeke]

Nintendo launched an official shop in Russia with Wii U pre-orders:
http://mir.nintendo.ru/

This is huge, since they never had an official presence before. And with free shipping across entire country which is quite a bold statement to make considering state of post service there.

Prices are comparable to European which is also a major plus since local retailers usually inflate game consoles' prices twice or even three times of it's price.

The market isn't very big though, but hey. Sony thinks it's worth a try and is very active in retail there.

Too bad i don't even live in Russia ;p

Oh and apparently there will also be a special russian edition of ND today after regular european.

[Adrock]

Considering how Epic keeps pumping out Gears of War games that have little differences between them, I wouldn't blame him.  Seriously, the 4th Gears will be out in a few months, making it the 4th game in a little over 6 years.  Epic is probably already planning a 5th Gears of War for the 720 and that's what made Cliffy finally snap.

I don't know if I agree with that. I haven't played Gears of War 3, but Horde mode debuted in Gears of War 2. I liken that addition to Raid Mode in Resident Evil: Revelaitons. In both cases, I thought the single player was good, but I wasn't crazy about them. Those modes added so much to the games and favorably changed my overall opinion of them. If you mean core gameplay, I can see where you're coming from a bit more, even if I still mostly disagree. Some of the tweaks and additions really changed the game and made it more fun.

In any case, I really wouldn't be surprised if upper management at Epic Games handcuffed Bleszinski to the series without allowing him to experiment too much which can be extremely for any artist or designer.

[Ian Sane]

What better way to appeal to the hardcore crowd then to have Cliffy B develope games for your system? What could he bring to the Wii U?

Honestly, Nintendo's pitch should be: make anything. I read that he wanted to take a break from game development though I wonder if there was more to it. Epic Games generally targets a certain audience so I wouldn't be surprised if Bleszinski grew tired of making testosterone games.

While Nintendo are at it, they should try to snag Shinji Mikami's new survival horror title which isn't attached to any platform currently.

I think "make anything" would be the ideal pitch for any dev with a proven track record.  However that doesn't sound very Nintendo like.  If Cliffy is upset with endless Gears of War games would he think that Nintendo the NSMB Factory is going to be much different?  Still a lot of devs are growing tired with the overly corporate attitude for the big publishers and are forming their own studios.  Nintendo could do quite well if they positioned themselves as the opposite of the other big boys and were the company that allowed creative artists to express themselves.  But then NOA would refuse to localize the game and the whole thing would blow up in their face.  Artist Nintendo and mainstream-mega-hit Nintendo clash pretty hard.  Would Nintendo go for your idea if it wasn't a mainstream focused title?

[Adrock]

We would probably see more departures from the NSMB factory if NCL was really restricting their teams' creativity. Who has left Nintendo recently? Some senior designers from Retro Studios left a few years ago and before that, Sakurai. I'm not aware of more though I'm admittedly going off of memory here.

NOA hasn't denied release of major games. Look at the list, all niche titles. The second they deny the release of a Zelda game, you can use that reasoning and i'll agree with you wholeheartedly. Otherwise, you're grasping at straws. Besides, a hypothetical Cliff Bleszinski title practically markets itself. I doubt NCL would approve of a budget from a big name designer and not force NOA to publish the game.

[MrPhishfood]

Would Nintendo go for your idea if it wasn't a mainstream focused title?

Nintendo certainly have made titles that aren't mainstream:
Nintendogs
Fire Emblem
Punch Out
Advance Wars
Baten Kaitos
Steel Diver
Big Brain Academy, Brain Age
Rhythm Heaven
Donkey Konga (the one with the drum accessory)
Electro Plankton (not really a game I suppose)
Animal Crossing
Pilot Wings

You could even say Smash Bros and Pikmin wasn't mainstream until Nintendo made it mainstream. I think Nintendo are more open to new ideas if they think it has potential, more so than other publishers like EA and Activision.

[Ceric]

I would argue that Brain Age, Animal Crossing, Nintendogs, and Possibly Punch Out are mainstream.

[ThePerm]

We would probably see more departures from the NSMB factory if NCL was really restricting their teams' creativity. Who has left Nintendo recently? Some senior designers from Retro Studios left a few years ago and before that, Sakurai. I'm not aware of more though I'm admittedly going off of memory here.

NOA hasn't denied release of major games. Look at the list, all niche titles. The second they deny the release of a Zelda game, you can use that reasoning and i'll agree with you wholeheartedly. Otherwise, you're grasping at straws. Besides, a hypothetical Cliff Bleszinski title practically markets itself. I doubt NCL would approve of a budget from a big name designer and not force NOA to publish the game.

if i were ncl i would give noa a bigger allowance.

[MrPhishfood]

I would argue that Brain Age, Animal Crossing, Nintendogs, and Possibly Punch Out are mainstream.

Punch Out is a bit odd, its more of a puzzle game wrapped in an an arcade action game. Brain Age, Animal Crossing and Nintendogs didn't gain mainstream approval until Nintendo took the risk to publish them.

Sure they're popular now but if Animal Crossing hadn't been made and I said I was going to make a game that had no real objective and you just live an ordinary life among animal town folk; I imagine there wouldn't be a single publisher to pick it up. Even for Nintendo it must have been some stroke of luck for a game like that to get approved.

We would probably see more departures from the NSMB factory if NCL was really restricting their teams' creativity. Who has left Nintendo recently? Some senior designers from Retro Studios left a few years ago and before that, Sakurai. I'm not aware of more though I'm admittedly going off of memory here.

My friend the Wiki says Sakurai's studio Project Sora is 72% owned by Nintendo and 28% by Sora Ltd (himself?) I would say he's still very much working for Nintendo. I think its a bit unusual he went and formed a new studio with Nintendo's support. Perhaps he wanted a bit more creative independence and/or a new work space to make his games.

[noname2200]

I would argue that Brain Age, Animal Crossing, Nintendogs, and Possibly Punch Out are mainstream.

Punch Out is a bit odd, its more of a puzzle game wrapped in an an arcade action game. Brain Age, Animal Crossing and Nintendogs didn't gain mainstream approval until Nintendo took the risk to publish them.

Sure they're popular now but if Animal Crossing hadn't been made and I said I was going to make a game that had no real objective and you just live an ordinary life among animal town folk; I imagine there wouldn't be a single publisher to pick it up. Even for Nintendo it must have been some stroke of luck for a game like that to get approved.

Brain Age aside, I don't understand what you mean by "Animal Crossing and Nintendogs didn't gain mainstream approval until Nintendo took the risk to publish them." It sounds like, at least with Animal Crossing, you're saying that a similar game wouldn't have been thought successful prior to its publication, but I'm pretty sure The Sims and Second Life predate it, and there are probably other examples as well. Nintendogs has an even more obvious predecessor in Tomagachi.

[MrPhishfood]

[size=78%]Brain Age aside, I don't understand what you mean by "Animal Crossing and Nintendogs didn't gain mainstream approval until Nintendo took the risk to publish them." It sounds like, at least with Animal Crossing, you're saying that a similar game wouldn't have been thought successful prior to its publication, but I'm pretty sure The Sims and Second Life predate it, and there are probably other examples as well. Nintendogs has an even more obvious predecessor in Tomagachi.[/size]

The sims had a hook, a progression system. There was an aim: to be successful in life, financially and socially. You didn't "have" to be successful there was no win or lose but the designer put those mechanics in there so you could progress and made sure the game pushed you in to being successful. In Animal Crossing there really isn't anything like that. Second Life is an MMO and doesn't really compare either.

As for Nintendogs. You could say Tamagochi was the predecessor to Nintendogs and that real life pets were the predecessor to Tamagochi. But Nintendo were the first ones to make a fully fledged game out of it. And "no" I don't think Tamagochi's are actually games in the same way I think tomatoes are not really fruit. Yes I know they are "technically" fruit but its not the same god dammit!