Topic: Wii U in Review (News & Rumor Consolidation)

[shingi_70]

The xbox has grown considerable in brand minshare, its still not touching the wii. That as a really big advantge point and I do agree with the ui. I was talking to someone about fitness software and compaing the nike+ kinect to wii fit u. And the person pretty much said that they were getting wii fit u because of the more friendly and easy going menus and trailer compared to the nike one which was aimed at more somewhat hardcore workouts.

But microsoft is going in hard with getting their ui out there.


Question does the wii u controller have any memory in it. If not nintendo has made one of the worst mistakes from a usability standpoint.

[BlackNMild2k1]

Question does the wii u controller have any memory in it. If not nintendo has made one of the worst mistakes from a usability standpoint.

Care to elaborate on why it would need it and why not having it would be "the worst mistake"?

[Evan_B]

Smartglass is a "smarter" way of implementing the idea, but again- the Wii U is a whole bundle. It's the whole shebang. You don't need to buy a tablet or a smartphone to hook this system up- it's all there for you. And it's probably going to be way cheaper of an investment, when you factor in that casual gamers have all their wii remotes, balance boards, and whatnot, now all they need is this bundle that will undoubtedly be cheap (cheaper than a Kinect/360 bundle, most likely), and more accessible.

The Kinect may be a cool piece of tech, but I just don't see it having "hardcore" basis- and Nintendo has at least established that motion controls can go hand-in-hand with core gaming experiences (the FPS was really the first of these to succeed, Zelda was another proving ground) while pretty much all of the Kinect "core" games have been wonky as hell.

...IMO.

[Ymeegod]

The console has the storage slots so why would the gamepad need one to? 

Did Nintendo ever state the distance the gamepad would function from the console?  If it's 50-100 feet then I might have some use for it since I would be able to play on my patio out back . 

[shingi_70]

Question does the wii u controller have any memory in it. If not nintendo has made one of the worst mistakes from a usability standpoint.

Care to elaborate on why it would need it and why not having it would be "the worst mistake"?

Not treally amistake. One of things they showed was using the controller to play games right. Well think of the channel system like the mario kart or wii fit channels. Think if those weren't on the system but installed until the controller. So even though I don't have wii fit u in my wii u in the morning I could still check my weight and do some light yoga that's recorded while. I'm not using the tv. And when the wii u is turned on the data is synced to the disc based stuff.
Its not really a mistake but squandered opprounity to further push this paradigm.

And it wouldn't be a hardrive in the gamepad but something like cache of flash memory and a small amount of ram.

On the smartglass and kinect note, I would say smartglass isn't that big of an investment since so many people already have smartphones and tablets. I keep hearing people use that argument like mobile computing is niche space and quite a few people own 360s and microsoft is tying to fostor that. And what's makes you think the wii u will be cheaper than a kinect/ 360. Its currently $299 and will porbably have a price drop as well as more retailers are adpoting the $99 xbox stuff.
I do agree that kinect in its current state sucks for most games, but developers have smartly are going with miminal motion and mostly voice controls instead which work great.

And voice controls/motion are great for non gaming functions which is where kinect shines. Like the video I posted eariler from the verge or microasofts or the microsoft press video.

[ThePerm]

Nintendo hasn't missed out because those things can be done on 3DS.

The wii u controller is a cheap super fast touch screen display, it is not a system itself. 30 fps for 2 gamepads is plenty to deal with. Just because the system says its not on doesn't mean its not on.

[BlackNMild2k1]

Iwata Promises Low Priced Wii U and 3DS Profitability This Year
http://andriasang.com/con1ns/iwata_yomiuri/

Nintendo has not yet announced a price for the Wii U, but all signs are pointing towards "reasonable." In an interview that appeared in today's Yomiuri Shimbun daily, CEO Satoru Iwata said of the company's pricing strategy for the Wii U, "We won't make the same mistake that we did with the 3DS, which was considered relatively high by consumers."

Regarding the system itself, Iwata promised that Nintendo would "have an appealing product at launch." He noted that thanks to its special tablet-style controller and the inclusion of social network style functionality, "it's like no other system before it."

I'm sticking with somewhere between $299.99 - $349.99

[Kairon]

I'm still sticking to $299.99.

[Stogi]

From a fan stand point, I hope it's a buck. From an investor stand point, I hope it's $300 with a pack-in game.

[Adrock]

I'm thinking $349.99 bundled with Nintendo Land.

[BranDonk Kong]

$250.

[Chozo Ghost]

From a fan stand point, I hope it's a buck.

What kind of fan would want to see Nintendo go bankrupt?

[Ian Sane]

From a fan stand point, I hope it's a buck.

What kind of fan would want to see Nintendo go bankrupt?

How about Nintendo just provides free Wii U's to the NWR forumers just to, you know, get word of mouth going?   See, that pipe dream scenario wouldn't bankrupt them.

Seriously though I just want to get good value for the price.  For example I would rather pay more for hardware I know will compare with the next gen than to pay less for something that will have no third party support in the long run.  I don't want Nintendo cheap out on anything so as to have a large profit margin on the system sales.  Don't bork the hardware to line your pockets.  I don't want Nintendo to sell at a loss and I don't expect them to just break even.  Make a profit but don't jerk me out of decent hardware to do it like you did with the Wii.  And if you're making us pay for that fancy controller, it better be worth our while.  Pikmin 3 supposedly controls BETTER with the Wii Remote/Nunchuk.  That better not be the norm.  You make us buy it, you make it worthwhile.  Don't force it's usage either.  If you couldn't come up with good ideas to use it with then you should have bothered with it in the first place.  I have no interest in paying extra for a marketing gimmick.

[NWR_insanolord]

Pikmin 3 controlled better with the remote/nunchuk, but every other game I played worked well with the GamePad, with some of the games on display (Zombi U/Nintendo Land/Rayman specifically, as well as others) using it in ways that make the game better that wouldn't be possible without it. Still, if a game would benefit from pointer controls, which a lot do, that should be an option.

[Ceric]

$300
Does all the Media things that my PS3 does
Plus the Gamepad has all the functionality of a Harmony remote.

Sold.  It be a No-Brainer for me. Even if I never buy a single game for the system. Considering I'm here that probably wouldn't be the case.  The big question becomes if I have to camp out at a Wal-Mart again or if I can just Pre-Order from Amazon for it on Day 1.


On the earlier mention of Smartglass I be worried about Wi-Fi streaming tech.

[Evan_B]

For 300 bucks, it would be a steal. 350, I think that's a pretty fair price- at least, with a pack-in. But if 300 is just the console, that's okay with me.

[Louieturkey]

Pikmin 3 controlled better with the remote/nunchuk, but every other game I played worked well with the GamePad, with some of the games on display (Zombi U/Nintendo Land/Rayman specifically, as well as others) using it in ways that make the game better that wouldn't be possible without it. Still, if a game would benefit from pointer controls, which a lot do, that should be an option.

We have to remember that Pikmin 3 was originally a Wii game, so it kind of makes sense that it controls better with the wiimote.

[BlackNMild2k1]

Deadpool Announced (and its coming to Wii U)
"Suck it Wolverine" - Deadpool
Trailer: http://www.ign.com/articles/2012/07/14/comic-con-deadpool-video-game-announced-trailer

confirmation is in one of these live blogs from the CCSD Panel:
http://marvel.com/news/story/18982/sdcc_2012_liveblog_central

"You will be able to play on the WiiU!"

and in other news:
Firebrand Games (NFS: The Run000, Nascar Unleashed) is developing for Wii U
http://www.firebrandgames.com/octane.htm

Octane 5 is now supported on all of the High Definition Consoles: PlayStation 3 and PlayStation Vita, Xbox 360, and Nintendo Wii-U (coming shortly).

[Disco Stu]

Deadpool Announced (and its coming to Wii U)
"Suck it Wolverine" - Deadpool
Trailer: http://www.ign.com/articles/2012/07/14/comic-con-deadpool-video-game-announced-trailer

That trailer was...not good.  I don't if I'm just getting lamer as I get older, but the violence in many modern video games makes me uncomfortable.

[ShyGuy]

It needs a more cartoonish artstyle to go with Deadpool's hijinks.

[SonofMrPeanut]

Deadpool Announced (and its coming to Wii U)
"Suck it Wolverine" - Deadpool
Trailer: http://www.ign.com/articles/2012/07/14/comic-con-deadpool-video-game-announced-trailer

confirmation is in one of these live blogs from the CCSD Panel:
http://marvel.com/news/story/18982/sdcc_2012_liveblog_central

"You will be able to play on the WiiU!"

It actually hasn't been announced for any platform yet (don't worry, I made the same mistake earlier).

Q: Deadpool is awesome. I wanted to ask about the Kinect game. Can I play? (a fan in a wheelchair asks)

By "the Kinect game," they are referring to Avengers: Battle for Earth which will also be coming to Wii U.

[MagicCow64]

It needs a more cartoonish artstyle to go with Deadpool's hijinks.

Yeah, it looked like they lifted the art design from an original Xbox movie tie-in game.

[Kairon]

Deadpool Announced (and its coming to Wii U)
"Suck it Wolverine" - Deadpool
Trailer: http://www.ign.com/articles/2012/07/14/comic-con-deadpool-video-game-announced-trailer

confirmation is in one of these live blogs from the CCSD Panel:
http://marvel.com/news/story/18982/sdcc_2012_liveblog_central

"You will be able to play on the WiiU!"

It actually hasn't been announced for any platform yet (don't worry, I made the same mistake earlier).

Q: Deadpool is awesome. I wanted to ask about the Kinect game. Can I play? (a fan in a wheelchair asks)

By "the Kinect game," they are referring to Avengers: Battle for Earth which will also be coming to Wii U.

Deadpool Announced (and its coming to Wii U)
"Suck it Wolverine" - Deadpool
Trailer: http://www.ign.com/articles/2012/07/14/comic-con-deadpool-video-game-announced-trailer

confirmation is in one of these live blogs from the CCSD Panel:
http://marvel.com/news/story/18982/sdcc_2012_liveblog_central

"You will be able to play on the WiiU!"

It actually hasn't been announced for any platform yet (don't worry, I made the same mistake earlier).

Q: Deadpool is awesome. I wanted to ask about the Kinect game. Can I play? (a fan in a wheelchair asks)

By "the Kinect game," they are referring to Avengers: Battle for Earth which will also be coming to Wii U.

Thanks for pointing that out SonOfMrPeanut. DANG!

[ShyGuy]

Uh-Oh get ready for another round of naysaying from our anti-Nintendo trio.

Tekken producer Katsuhiro Harada on the Wii U hardware:

"As far as graphical processing and such, it's not much of an issue. But as far as the CPU goes, the clock is kinda low.

"I guess they're trying to keep power consumption down so we have to come up with creative ways to get around that and that's taking a little bit of time."

When asked whether it was lower than that of the Xbox 360 or PS3, he replied: "Maybe a little bit."

"For example on PS3 it was kind of difficult at first, but if you made good use of the different cores, you could split up the processing tasks and you could achieve very good effects. But this is kind of a different issue than that."

http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/gaming/news/a392539/wii-u-processing-speed-low-compared-to-360-ps3-says-tekken-producer.html

I take it the out-of-order CPU in the Wii U is clocked low and one must do more than a quick and dirty port to take advantage of its power.

[BranDonk Kong]

That's old (at least as far as things being old on the internet are concerned), Iwata did also say that they went with a slower CPU to keep costs down...which I think is a cop-out. But also keep in mind that clock speeds don't mean anything like they did when it was the PS2/Xbox/GameCube era (and really didn't matter then since the GameCube's 400Mhz PowerPC CPU was basically the equivalent of the Xbox's 733Mhz Celeron).