[pestul]

After all the many hours spent following these wonderful threads leading into my anticipation of the E3 conference.. I will now miss it while on vacation in Cuba lol. Our trip had to be rescheduled due to fog delays and we now leave on June 2nd. :S

On the flip side, that is going to be one hell of a rush coming back on the 10th and trying to burn through all the juicy info.

[TheGreatMightyPoo]

I understand what you mean. Graphics isnt everything, but it sure can be nice to have, and also increase the enjoyment of the game (due to the graphics giving a better atmosphere etc. in the game).

I'm moreso downplaying the urgency of having better visuals and irked by such a focus on them rather than saying they don't matter.

Others may feel differently but I think while cinematic gaming has never been bigger, really great ideas and design in games haven't progressed as far as I think they should.

I love great looking games but not at the expense of innovation.

I'm just perplexed that some think it's time for much better graphics.

Nintendo fans saying that is perfectly alright and understandable as we are used to the lackluster majority of Wii offerings but I can't see how fans of the other systems are "sick" of what their games output.

[IdeaMan]

[IdeaMan Info] About the disc drive, the supports used for studios titles at E3 2012, dev kits, etc.

It's the following content of this post

Wii U units and software brought at E3 2011 (system "history" infos, leading to new tidbits about the storage situation) - Apparently, the titles & demos present at E3 2011 (maybe not all) were brought to the show on SD cards - The port on the Wii U was made accessible for studios to run their content. I'm not sure if their projects worked directly from SD cards, or were then transfered to a flash memory or another storage to be launched from those instead. - It seems no optical medias were involved at E3 2011. Wii U pseudo bluray weren't there at all. Some people could have thought, for certain demos, with the little LED lightened, etc. that such discs were present in the drives and that these were working, loaded the data & all, but it probably wasn't the case. - With the latter information, it's plausible that Wii U brought didn't housed an optical drive. They surely were just the dev kits in a special form (surely the hardware removed from those big boxes and deprived of all the development stuff) with the activated at the time SD cards port. - There's also a possibility that for several demos (in roundtables, etc.), real dev kits (i think lherre talked a little about this in the first thread) were hidden behind, and directly plugged to the TV's, with the software brought & stored through digital means (storage, flash, Host PC linked to the dev kits containing the content, emulating a normal drive, perhaps the hypothetic access times, etc.) - About the optical drives, in the less likely scenario (see the last point + the following message in some days) that they were inside, they could have been not-yet-working-models, placeholders. This could indicate an optical storage situation still in flux at the time, still in the designing process. - This could reinforce the hypothesis that the Wii U cases were just "mock-up", boxes rather quickly built to contain and hide the hardware they intended to bring at E3. It's a clear hint toward a possible change of the system appearance come E3 2012. - Obviously, the situation has evolved since then, but not quickly after. This point will be made clearer in a following message about the optical storage of the Wii U.

So as promised in this last point, i'll elaborate further:

- Third-parties studios are currently receiving (if it's not the case, it will be very soon) Wii U "bluray" readers, writers, and discs.
- They must bring their projects on those Wii U supports at E3 2012. It's an obligation, by Nintendo. It means the rumors that games could be brought through other means are false (or concerns only a certain type of content, like digital distributed titles).
- There was a delay, like the mass production dev kits, in their arrival. Studios were waiting for this equipment since several weaks.
- They didn't came with the latest dev kits
- On the contrary to the mass production Wii dev kits (the green ones) that featured a disc drive, the Wii U dev kits still don't have one. The reader is separated.
- No confirmation nor denial of 50GB discs capacity.


Now some analysis, speculations/assumptions, and other infos:

- The Wii U units you'll see at E3 2012 will include optical drives, and the software demonstrated will be loaded from discs inside those, at least for retail titles.

- Wii U games were developed on dev kits linked to a host pc (running the SDK, the development tools, etc.), and it's possible the access/loading times were emulated, until now, as they will/have received the real support from which the software will be played. Let's hope this drive will be fast enough.

- It's not uncommon for developers to receive the medias, the storage of a new system rather late in its designing process. But here, the apparent delay is another element that could hint to a certain amount of time spent for either the engineering (physical modifications on the discs ? building of a proprietary file system that took longer ?), the manufacturing (burners, etc.) or the supplying, of these Wii U "bluray".

- Wii and some other consoles have seen their dev kits sizes shrank with each revisions, from the first Wii big box to the last, very smaller (basically, a retail unit, i'm talking proportion wise). For the Wii U, it's not the case, it seems the mass production dev kits have roughly the same dimensions that the firsts, only the color (and other things) have changed. And as they still don't feature a disc-drive + as they are tagged final so the components are stable now, it means the internal volume, the heat & cooling situation, are the same as in the first dev kits (with overheat problems, placeholder chips, etc.), but this time with the finished versions.

Pure speculation but it could means that even with those really optimized components (maybe smaller chips process, etc.) the coolings needs are such that the dev kits size hasn't decreased, therefore indicating positive info on the hardware capabilities. It could also be simply explained by a choice of Nintendo to keep the same type of boxes, materials (to save some fabrication costs), and just pimp it quickly to another color and that's all.

- The fact that these latest dev kits aren't incorporating a drive could means that another revision will launch after, certainly like the Wii green models, designed like the retail console, and with an optical drive this time. But as the recently arrived kits are tagged "mass production", these hypothetic following models certainly won't come with extensive hardware changes.

So, imagine, your so-much anticipated and dreamed titles, being burned right now on Wii U discs, and soon being brought at E3 to blow you away ! Let the hype embrace us !!!!

[TheGreatMightyPoo]

I have no idea what IdeaMan ever posts but it's so thorough that I tip my cap.

[BlackJace]

Wii U "bluray" readers, writers, and discs.

This should bode well. Thanks IM.

[BY2K]

So we'll also see the console's final design.

[TheGreatMightyPoo]

You guys think the system will be the same exact color this E3???

[lordfroakie]

I have no idea what IdeaMan ever posts but it's so thorough that I tip my cap.

Bluray

[lednerg]

Oh well, so much for a June launch.

[EloquentM]

Well sure. I only speak in truths. You just have to figure out for which reality is all.

The dimension where everyone is a hippie.

[GDGF]

You guys think the system will be the same exact color this E3???

I'm hoping for a charcoal grey or black one myself.

[JohnTinker]

Some asshole junior bumped the Kotaku Pikmin 3 thread and i thought there had been a new leak and my heart soared. When I realized the thread was old I was devastated. Damnit juniors!

[Plinko]

Interesting news about the dev kit staying the same size.

[Smiles and Cries]

Oh well, so much for a June launch.

there are people who still believed in this? :)

[Conor 419]

Oh well, so much for a June launch.

=/

[DrWong]

there are people who still believed in this? :)

Fool people. It will be in September...

[Instro]

So we'll also see the console's final design.

I wonder if it has changed significantly then. Dev kits have not shrunk or changed and are missing disc drives, then the retail unit will be bigger than what we saw at E3 2011 right? It might provide us another reason for them only focusing on the controller last E3 if the box itself is going to be a much different design.

[Izick]

Oh well, so much for a June launch.

Didn't a console release like the next day after it was announced? I thought it was the Saturn, but I don't think that's right, because I remember Sony setting their date one week ahead to bone them.

[Cheesecakebobby]

Hopefully some of the games on the showfloor will have quick loading times, and then we'll at least know that the disc reading speed is fine...

[shadyspace]

Didn't a console release like the next day after it was announced? I thought it was the Saturn, but I don't think that's right, because I remember Sony setting their date one week ahead to bone them.

It was the Saturn and it was the stupidest shit ever.

[lednerg]

^ Yeah, the Saturn launch was quite ridiculous.

there are people who still believed in this? :)

No

NO.

[IdeaMan]

Hopefully some of the games on the showfloor will have quick loading times, and then we'll at least know that the disc reading speed is fine...

it's a point people attending to this E3 must keep an eye on yes.
It will be faster than PS3 bluray, that's for sure
But will it be "Nintendo Fast", the Nintendo stressing so much during its history on this parameter ? Let's hope.

[brochiller]

Hopefully some of the games on the showfloor will have quick loading times, and then we'll at least know that the disc reading speed is fine...

Nintendo's always been pretty good about loading times and I expect this to continue with Wii U.

[GDGF]

It was the Saturn and it was the stupidest shit ever.

Yeah, it was a dumb move, especially allocation wise.

It was kind of cool to suddenly see it in TRU a couple of days before E3* when everybody thought it would be out in September, though.



*The launch wasn't coordinated very well with the retailers.

[TheBigG753]

Didn't a console release like the next day after it was announced? I thought it was the Saturn, but I don't think that's right, because I remember Sony setting their date one week ahead to bone them.

Sony's response was they announced the PSX would be 100 bucks cheaper.

[daCuk]

Hope Nintendo understands the need to be more open about its new console, and that all doubts and questions (besides price), get answered at this E3.

[Coolwhip]

With all the talk about Microsoft focusing on becoming an entertainment hub, I wonder if Nintendo might actually manage to beat them to the punch. Yeah, lulz, it doesn't even play DVDs - nobody gives a fuck though. My reasoning is pretty simple: They have the better box for the purpose. Small, subdued design, (hopefully) quiet, always on, always connected. It also has the best possible controller for such a device. It's also not like Nintendo has anything against media content - they have several partnerships with content providers all over the world (Netflix and Hulu in the US, BBC, Sky and Eurosport in Europe, Fuji and dentsu in Japan). And probably most important of all: They don't compete with any traditional media corporation and they don't have any agendas to push.

Nothing stops MS from just getting a tablet controller of their own though.

[TheGreatMightyPoo]

I'm hoping for a charcoal grey or black one myself.

I'd be all for the former.

[frankie_baby]

Sony's response was they announced the PSX would be 100 bucks cheaper.

Wasnt the entire press conference just someone walking on stage saying the price and walking off?

[Conor 419]

Nothing stops MS from just getting a tablet controller of their own though.

Yet I imagine the Wii U will be cheaper, have a more open online infrastructure, it'll also have a years worth of software and sales.

[ElTopo]

I'm hoping for a charcoal grey or black one myself.

Gold. You all know you want it, don't deny it.

[MisterHero]

So the devkits are almost (if not) finalized, and that devs have to bring copies of their games that run from the console rather than machines that emulate supposed specs?

Good, maybe some newer games won't get mistaken for PS360 footage this time around :P

[shadyspace]

"Fuck you guys, we're rocking this shit back to purple *Purple Rain starts playing* *Reggie dances off stage*"

[Izick]

Ah okay, I see, and wow, that was some dumb shit.

[royalan]

So, if I'm following IdeaMan's speculation correctly, it all but confirms that we're going to a different-looking Wii U this E3....right?

[BY2K]

"Fuck you guys, we're rocking this shit back to purple *Purple Rain starts playing* *Reggie dances off stage*"

[Izick]

That purple/blue one looks sexy.

[IdeaMan]

I wonder if it has changed significantly then. Dev kits have not shrunk or changed and are missing disc drives, then the retail unit will be bigger than what we saw at E3 2011 right? It might provide us another reason for them only focusing on the controller last E3 if the box itself is going to be a much different design.

The dev kits are bigger than the Wii U E3 2011 cases. Not 10x bigger, but clearly bigger. Now, i haven't seen the insides of those big boxes, maybe the board & the components takes only 60% of the volume you know, and they could have fitted on the Wii U units we saw last year. Or they were forced to remove some stuff dedicated to development in order to insert the hardware on those. We can't conclude anything on this point, it's just for the pleasure to speculate :)

Maybe Nintendo were in rush, and they didn't had the time to polish the mass production dev kits, to tailor them to the hardware inside (the end result could have taken less room, like the reduction in size of the Wii dev kits) and just re-skinned the previous ones with some alterations here & there. Maybe it's for cost efficiency, etc.

[BlackJace]

I would love that silver color. Oh and if it had a black stripe running down it like the SNES, maaaan I'd get that so fast.

[SolidSnakex]

Wasnt the entire press conference just someone walking on stage saying the price and walking off?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7NS30uwn2Xg#t=7m50s

[HylianTom]

My color preference, in order:
1) Midnight Purple
2) Silver
3) Dark Green
4) Black

Most realistically.. black.

[shadyspace]

I will gleefully buy any color that is not white. I'm talking Polly Pocket Pink here, people.

[TheGreatMightyPoo]

I will gleefully buy any color that is not white. I'm talking Polly Pocket Pink here, people.

[Cheesecakebobby]

I want a version with no case at all, like the raspberry pi.

[Smiles and Cries]

I bet it looks nothing like this when we see it again

[Linkhero1]

My color preference, in order: 1) Midnight Purple 2) Silver 3) Dark Green 4) Black Most realistically.. black.

We have similar taste in colors. :)

[BY2K]

I bet it looks nothing like this when we see it again

You mean the color or the overall design?

[shadyspace]

Look at how awful Zelda 64 looked guys: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2aXa5...eature=related

[Redford]

Just give me jet black with white accents. Either matte or gloss is fine.

[wsippel]

Nothing stops MS from just getting a tablet controller of their own though.

And nobody would buy it. Also, the other points are things Microsoft can't "fix" that easily.