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

[Mop it up]

I don't understand why they are using circle pads for their home system controller. The only reason it was made for the 3DS is because it is a portable device, and therefore they had to create a smaller alternative to an analogue stick. But there's no reason to use them on a home system controller.

And now we know why most Western developers never supported the DS. From the comments they made about how innovative and new the second screen is, they were clearly never told of its existence.

To be fair, the technology of the DS was comparatively limited, so companies couldn't create the games they wanted to make. From what we've seen of the Wii U it appears to be a viable platform, so we'll soon see if that was really true or if they just can't stand touch screens.

[SixthAngel]

I don't understand why they are using circle pads for their home system controller. The only reason it was made for the 3DS is because it is a portable device, and therefore they had to create a smaller alternative to an analogue stick. But there's no reason to use them on a home system controller.

I think it has circle pads so they don't get in the way when you use the touchscreen.  If the U didn't have a flat profile any time you draw something or move your hand over to touch something you would probably hit an analog stick which would both be uncomfortable and do something in the game you don't want.

[Mop it up]

I s'pose that is one possibility, but it seems like the sticks are placed high enough that it would not be an issue. Without being able to hold it, it's tough to say.

[SixthAngel]

The U isn't always supposed to be held one way though.  In the video they had some people playing backgammon (or was it Go?) with the two people using it from different sides.  When it showed the guy drawing Link analogs definitely would have gotten in the way.  There is also always the chance that games ask you to play book style like the DS which would make them a big pain in the ass.

[Mop it up]

In that case, the sticks can be placed inside a well or something then. This isn't a portable so it doesn't need to be thin like a DS, it can have a little bit of bulk to it.

[Ceric]

Nintendo has been trying out the Circle pad style since the NES with the NES Max  Which I dearly loved.  I'm fairly sure if it was more viable at the time we would have seen Circle pads instead of Analog stick back in the N64 days.

Also by having the uMote use circle pads; it gives a lower profile so its more of a slide to the touchscreen; take up less space internally then recessed analog sticks; allow Nintendo not to have to manufacture and support 2 different standards that do the same thing; I'm fairly sure Nintendo owns all the patents and other bits for this technology so they wouldn't incur licensing.

Mark my word, the 3DS and the uMote will use the exact same Circle pads with newer models of the 3DS shipping with the better uMote Circle pad.  Like they have made minor incremental improvements before.

I've never been super fond of analog sticks either so I'm a little bias.  I've been pining for a NES Max style control again for a while.

[Ian Sane]

I don't understand why they are using circle pads for their home system controller. The only reason it was made for the 3DS is because it is a portable device, and therefore they had to create a smaller alternative to an analogue stick. But there's no reason to use them on a home system controller.

Nintendo is doing this for the same reason the Gamecube controller got stuck with the GBA's shitty small d-pad: to save money.  If they use the same circle pads for the 3DS and the Wii U then they only have to make one part and use it on both systems.

[BlackNMild2k1]

It's not the same circle pad though. It's slightly different.

The pad is thicker, has a deeper concave and a wider range of motion for more accuracy.
I saw some comparative pictures. I'll post them if I run across them again.

[Ceric]

Its like a hand tossed pizza to a Deep Dish.  Still think that eventually the 3DS will use the same one even if its a slight revision.

[Mop it up]

Yeah, I did see that article posted a bit back about how the circle pads were being tweaked and would be better than the 3DS circle pad. Still, I find sticks more comfortable to use, which also makes them more accurate. That's just my personal preference, though.

Nintendo has been trying out the Circle pad style since the NES with the NES Max

I'm surprised that controller was licenced by Nintendo. We had one of those and it was absolute trash. The buttons felt really loose, the D-pad circle thing was uncomfortable, and the slide pad had no resistance which made it far less accurate than a D-pad. It eventually got destroyed when my brother threw it at the wall in anger (probably from playing Mega Man). Just one toss was enough to cause all the buttons to fly out of it, which is pretty pathetic, considering how many times he chucked our regular NES controllers and they all still work fine today.

[MegaByte]

It wasn't just licensed, it was made by Nintendo.

[UltimatePartyBear]

That sounds more like anger management issues than manufacturing defects to me.  The NES Max was awesome, especially as a cure for Nintendo Thumb.  If there had only been a SNES Max, I might have been able to play fighting games.

[Mop it up]

It wasn't just licensed, it was made by Nintendo.

Meh, to me, same thing.

That sounds more like anger management issues than manufacturing defects to me.

Sure, it didn't break through normal use, but the point was that it wasn't up to the usually high standards of durability for a Nintendo product.

[UltimatePartyBear]

It couldn't stand up to a single wanton act of destruction, so it sucked.  Apparently I have a mutant gene that made me the only kid in the world who was careful with my toys.  I had a copy of The Immortal that didn't work past stage 2 because someone spilled Pepsi in it.  My respect for humanity has never fully recovered.

[TJ Spyke]

It wasn't just licensed, it was made by Nintendo.

Meh, to me, same thing.

Maybe, but I know you know the difference. It's like how the Nyko Wand is licensed by Nintendo, but not made by them.

Anyways, don't get mad at a product for being destroyed when someone throws it, be mad at the person throwing it. If someone took my iPod Touch and threw it against the wall, would I be mad at the person or Apple if it broke? Simple: the person who threw it. I don't get why anyone would ever throw a controller, and I would punch someone if they threw my controller. I never threw anything that belonged to me unless it was supposed to be thrown.

[Mop it up]

It couldn't stand up to a single wanton act of destruction, so it sucked.

Except, as I said, that wasn't the main issue I had with it. The buttons and such were loose and inaccurate since we got it. Compared with Nintendo's normal controllers, which were a lot more resilient, then yes, it was not a good controller in my eyes.

Maybe, but I know you know the difference. It's like how the Nyko Wand is licensed by Nintendo, but not made by them.

Yeah, I know there is a difference, but I've always figured that the licencing for accessories worked differently from games, at least during the NES era. I figured that in order to be officially licenced, the product had to conform to Nintendo's strict standards. Though I don't know for sure if that were the case.

Also, I'm not mad at the product, or my brother, because as I said, I didn't like the controller. So I didn't really care that he broke it, since we had several regular ones. I was just using it as an example to show that the controller is not as durable as the normal controller.

[SixthAngel]

I didn't realize that this came from the Max pad.
Nintendo really doesn't let any r&d go to waste do they.  Looking back it seems like a lot of stuff we have now started out with a Nintendo accessory that just wasn't up to snuff yet.
Max - circle pads
power glove - Wii remote
Wave bird - every controller
snes cd add on -psone
Anything else you can think of?

Can you think of anything else Nintendo made in the past that they could or should bring back when the technology around it gets better?

[Mop it up]

These might be a stretch, but...

Power Pad = Balance Board? I s'pose they have different uses, but they are still controllers for your feet.
Zapper = Wiimote Pointer? The pointer works excellently as a gun and better than the Zapper ever was.

Oh, and the NES four-player adapter and SNES Multitap are now built-in features of every system. Also Virtual Boy = 3DS, but that's an obvious one.

Beyond that, I would say that the SNES's Satelliview add-on was a precursor to Nintendo's online shops. I don't really know how it worked, though I know it had some episodic content so it may not be exactly like it. There was also the Nintendo Power cartridge for the SNES and Game Boy, another device somewhat similar to digital distribution. You could take it to a store and download 1-8 games on it depending on their size, and once you finished playing them you could go back to the store and overwrite them with more games. That may be more like how Nintendo's shops work now, except you don't have to go to a store to download stuff.

[UltimatePartyBear]

The buttons and such were loose and inaccurate since we got it. Compared with Nintendo's normal controllers, which were a lot more resilient, then yes, it was not a good controller in my eyes.

Maybe you had a bad one, because mine was great, and I could never go back to the regular controller after using it.

Max - circle pads

The Max's circle pad was just a slider sitting on top of a regular D-pad.  Sliding it alone did nothing.  You had to press down.  It mostly took the friction away from the skin of your thumb.  However, the look and feel was certainly an inspiration.

power glove - Wii remote

The power glove (which was so bad) was not Nintendo's.  I think Nintendo toyed with another motion sensing controller, though.  I remember seeing pictures in Nintendo Power of a kid punching the air in front of an L-shaped doohickey.

Zapper = Wiimote Pointer? The pointer works excellently as a gun and better than the Zapper ever was.

The technology in the Zapper is way too different in my opinion, though there was a gun controller that used similar tech to the Wii Remote available for the PS2, so one might say the quest for a gun controller that worked with non-CRT screens ultimately led to the Wii Remote.

[SixthAngel]

Superscope - Wii remote pointer  I guess the thing you plug in was an infrared receiver not emitter.  Sounds pretty close though.  If it functioned anything like the Menacer, which I had, you could make it put a target on the screen to choose games or shoot like a more laggy Wii remote.

I didn't realize that Nintendo didn't make the powerglove.  it was featured in so many things as well as the Wizard so I guess I just assumed.

[Mop it up]

SNES Mouse = using the Wiimote pointer like a mouse? Probably still a stretch, but at least I'm thinking.

[SixthAngel]

So ten years from now they'll go from the defunct vitality sensor to the futures new full body scan technology.

[Chiller]

The power glove (which was so bad) was not Nintendo's.  I think Nintendo toyed with another motion sensing controller, though.  I remember seeing pictures in Nintendo Power of a kid punching the air in front of an L-shaped doohickey.

U Force?  I don't think that it was actually made by Nintendo, though.  I knew a kid who had one.  What a piece of garbage it was.  The only fancy controller that I ever used was the NES Advantage, which I still have.

[TJ Spyke]

Chiller is right, the U-Force was from Brøderbund. I had heard of it before, but never knew what it looked like until I just looked it up on Wikipedia.

[Ceric]

It wasn't just licensed, it was made by Nintendo.

Meh, to me, same thing.

That sounds more like anger management issues than manufacturing defects to me.

Sure, it didn't break through normal use, but the point was that it wasn't up to the usually high standards of durability for a Nintendo product.

The buttons and such were loose and inaccurate since we got it. Compared with Nintendo's normal controllers, which were a lot more resilient, then yes, it was not a good controller in my eyes.

Maybe you had a bad one, because mine was great, and I could never go back to the regular controller after using it.

Agree, you had to have had a bad one.  I had 2 myself but, 1 I specifically used primarily.  I logged a lot of hours on it and I really wouldn't be back to the NES pad unless I had too.  I've also chucked the Max my share of times and it still looks like it did out of the box no real problem.  The Max is lighter then the NES Pad if memory serve.  I just get it out tonight.

UltimatePartyBear, have you gotten to play the 3DS yet?  I be curious to get your reaction on using the Circlepad for GB games and DS games where its substituting the d-pad as a fellow NES Max veteran.  I prefer it  but that's pretty widely known.