[GameplayWhore]

A bit OT, but apparently the CEO of Crytek/UK put up a facebook page to save Timesplitters 4, it was going to be on Wii in addition to PS360 obviously, so certainly there's hope of a Wii U version if it happens: http://www.facebook.com/Timesplitters4PLZ/ They're aiming at minimum 100,000 likes, right now they're just over 2000. I did my part.

I'm there. I'd even be in for a kickstarter.

[clemenx]

ZombiU I know right? :O :P

:O Indeed.

[Hero of Legend]

Does this have its own thread? The way GAF talks, I would imagine more would want in.

I'd leave someone else to do a thread properly. Feel free to do so. :)

[Terrell]

Have we discussed Iwata's confirmation that you can buy DD games from other devices and have them finish downloading before you get home? I thought that it was an obvious inclusion but still totally awesome.

[Error Macro]

what about this light is impressive and cannot be done on current gen? is it the fence's shadows?

To be honest, I really don't know if it's possible on PS3/360. I was just impressed by things like the numerous light sources and the way they cast realistic shadows, the way the lightning flashes cast proper shadows, the shadows of objects cast from the player's flashlight, the reflections of light off of objects creating highlights on walls (visible in nursery), etc.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ukalSSHAfa8

[bgassassin]

Have we discussed Iwata's confirmation that you can buy DD games from other devices and have them finish downloading before you get home? I thought that it was an obvious inclusion but still totally awesome.

Didn't he indicate that at one of the Investor's meetings?

To be honest, I really don't know if it's possible on PS3/360. I was just impressed by things like the numerous light sources and the way they cast realistic shadows, the way the lightning flashes cast proper shadows, the shadows of objects cast from the player's flashlight, the reflections of light off of objects creating highlights on walls (visible in nursery), etc. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ukalSSHAfa8

All while only using half of Wii U's potential. [face_Iwata]

[Thunder Monkey]

To be honest, I really don't know if it's possible on PS3/360. I was just impressed by things like the numerous light sources and the way they cast realistic shadows, the way the lightning flashes cast proper shadows, the shadows of objects cast from the player's flashlight, the reflections of light off of objects creating highlights on walls (visible in nursery), etc. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ukalSSHAfa8

That video isn't something to be forming a basis off of.

Are there any direct-feed play-throughs of this demo?

[Terrell]

Didn't he indicate that at one of the Investor's meetings?

Yes, the most recent one that was held after E3. And he didn't "indicate" anything, he confirmed it. Though, like accessibility to Miiverse on smartphones, it won't be ready at launch, from the sound of it.

http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/news/30737

It's things like this that make me wonder where all the doom and gloom about Nintendo's online approach is coming from now.

[bgassassin]

Yes, the most recent one that was held after E3. And he didn't "indicate" anything, he confirmed it. http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/news/30737

I meant like a few months ago.

[rpmurphy]

I meant like a few months ago.

That was about the web store though, right? I don't think he confirmed they wanted to also do remote downloads of purchases via SpotPass until now.

[Terrell]

I meant like a few months ago.

I don't recall any discussion directly from Iwata about this specific feature, I think it was us filling in the blanks from previous investor meetings. Because before E3, we had no indication that Nintendo was going to provide accessibility to any direct interaction with Nintendo Network outside of their own devices.

[Fancy Corndog]

Is the Wii U going to upscale games like Super Mario Galaxy?

I'm not really planning on getting a Wii U, but if it upscales then there's no way I'll be able to pick up a Wii for SMG knowing that I could play it in HD. I'd rather wait another several years and soak it up real good on Wii U.

This seems like a silly question but I know people are already playing this stuff in HD on PC so I thought it might be likely. If so, I'm surprised more people aren't talking about and excited for the opportunity to play SMG 1/2 in HD.

[Terrell]

Is the Wii U going to upscale games like Super Mario Galaxy? I'm not really planning on getting a Wii U, but if it upscales then there's no way I'll be able to pick up a Wii for SMG knowing that I could play it in HD. I'd rather wait another several years and soak it up real good on Wii U. This seems like a silly question but I know people are already playing this stuff in HD on PC so I thought it might be likely. If so, I'm surprised more people aren't talking about and excited for the opportunity to play SMG 1/2 in HD.

From all we've heard, no, it doesn't upscale.

However, your purchasing pattern confuses me. Your plan was to buy a Wii now and then not pick up a WiiU until... when? Because it sounds to me like you could end up with a WiiU that plays both games for the same price you'd pay for them separately, price drops accounted for.

[ugoo18]

That video isn't something to be forming a basis off of. Are there any direct-feed play-throughs of this demo?

http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthre...ghlight=zombiu

[bgassassin]

That was about the web store though, right? I don't think he confirmed they wanted to also do remote downloads of purchases via SpotPass until now.

I don't recall any discussion directly from Iwata about this specific feature, I think it was us filling in the blanks from previous investor meetings. Because before E3, we had no indication that Nintendo was going to provide accessibility to any direct interaction with Nintendo Network outside of their own devices.

I guess I was misremembering. It was from a rumor.

http://www.maxconsole.com/cgi-bin/ma...RKLS0000005265

[Agent Unknown]

New Rayman Legends pics are hot.

Welcome home. And not much, the recovery has begun though. :P

[EatChildren]

Upon seeing the videos coming out of E3, the one thing that impressed me most about ZombiU's visuals was the lighting. Odd that I didn't really see anyone talking about it.

The E3 demo looked like a current gen game, through and through. That doesn't mean it looked bad, but I'm not seeing anything that makes me go bonkers.

[BlackNMild2k1]

The E3 demo looked like a current gen game, through and through. That doesn't mean it looked bad, but I'm not seeing anything that makes me go bonkers.

To me it looked slightly better than the games at the Capcom booth, but definitely nothing that will make you say WOW.

and I was at E3 playing all of Capcoms games and Zombi U was the other game I spent the most time watching/playing.

[Thunder Monkey]

The E3 demo looked like a current gen game, through and through. That doesn't mean it looked bad, but I'm not seeing anything that makes me go bonkers.

Same.

It definitely looks like a late gen current gen game though.

[snesfreak]

If only Factor 5 was still alive.

[I Stalk Alone]

I agree. Certain 3rd party racing games use analog triggers to accelerate and/or drift. The GCN had analog triggers so they would be needed on Wii U if we get GCN VC games or ports.

Why don't you just use the analogue sticks as accelerate and break and just use the pad as a normal steering wheel by rotation? The triggers can be used as gears and the secondary triggers can be used for clutch and other main options. However for GC games I agree that something will need to be done. If it is cheaper to add analogue triggers for legacy compatibility then great. If they are releasing all their gc games as new play control then it might not be needed. Personally they would be a good addition. Maybe someone should ask nintendo for clarification as cost wise it seems a very minor addition compared to retooling old games to support new play control.

[Thunder Monkey]

If only Factor 5 was still alive.

They'd pull some technical wizardry and wow everyone with a poorly playing tech demo.

[ViewtifulJC]

God DAMN you, Lair

[bgassassin]

God DAMN you, Lair

Dat Nintendo curse. At least Silicon Knights is (barely) holding on.

[snesfreak]

They'd pull some technical wizardry and wow everyone with a poorly playing tech demo.

Hey, Rogue Leader was fun.

[ShockingAlberto]

Lair's biggest problem is that it was a 2001 launch game that everyone bought for the graphics and the license with a new generation's graphics and no license.

[Thunder Monkey]

Hey, Rogue Leader was fun.

As long as they kept it simple, their games tended to be fun, just rarely very deep.

Lair's biggest problem is that it was a 2001 launch game that everyone bought for the graphics and the license with a new generation's graphics and no license.

I haven't played it since I don't have a PS3, but their GCN games generally controlled well and were fun, just really basic in mechanics.

Is that comparable to Lair?

[Jorok Goldblade]

Dat Nintendo curse. At least Silicon Knights is (barely) holding on.

The "Nintendo Curse" sounds to me like a lot of these close partner studios were much more reliant on the critiques and design assistance from Nintendo than they previously thought.

[snesfreak]

I wish someone had said "NO! GOD DAMMIT! NOOOOOOOOO!" to those horrible on foot levels in Rebel Strike.

[Thunder Monkey]

I wish someone had said "NO! GOD DAMMIT! NOOOOOOOOO!" to those horrible on foot levels in Rebel Strike.

As long as they stick to what they know Factor5 could make a good game. Formulaic and simple? Very. But still, good games.

[ElTopo]

The "Nintendo Curse" sounds to me like a lot of these close partner studios were much more reliant on the critiques and design assistance from Nintendo than they previously thought.

Still sounds better as "Nintendo Curse" instead of "Less awesome than previously thought".

[bgassassin]

Still sounds better as "Nintendo Curse" instead of "Less awesome than previously thought".

Was about to make a similar post.

[EatChildren]

The scary thing about Lair isn't necessarily Factor5's design issues or them betting on the wrong horse, but that it was to be one of many games published by Sony. It flopped, Sony bailed on the contract. Superman was cancelled because Brash went out of business.

Factor5 was arguably one of first independent developers of the generation to show how brutally unforgiving the market climate is, and how the decisions of others can spell doom for an entire studio.

[snesfreak]

I blame Australia.

[Aostia]

WOW! That looks amazing! :O

There is something about lightining in the wii u games that I really like.

Amazon.fr has Fifa 13 and Need for Speed: Most Wanted listed for Wii U. With the Criterion guy listing the Wii U on his linkedin profile I linked yesterday it's the second hint pointing to a NfS MW Wii U version >

I would really like to see big efforts from EA on the Wii U. Both for sports and racing games they focused the "real" iterations for the HD market during the Wii period, so I hope they can develop properly for the Wii U, now that the hardware allow this approach.
I know that for Dead space and so on there still a problem in terms of demographic, but for sports and racing, I mean...those are casual genres, so do the things right on the Wii U, EA!

[TheCongressman1]

Why are the Miis floating? Seriously, there are (almost?) no shadows; it makes the whole thing feel like the "floating Chinese officials" meme.

Seriously. Skyward Sword suffered from the same thing. There were character shadows, but they were very very faint.

It's strange that everything else looks so nice, but they left out their shadows.

[blu]

Seriously. Skyward Sword suffered from the same thing. There were character shadows, but they were very very faint. It's strange that everything else looks so nice, but they left out their shadows.

I think there might be shots from (at least) two builds floating around. I noticed the missing mii shadows on the very first shot I saw, but then all the later shots were fine.

[Terrell]

I think there might be shots from (at least) two builds floating around. I noticed the missing mii shadows on the very first shot I saw, but then all the later shots were fine.

Yeah, the trailer they showed at the press conference was littered with shadowing from both objects and Miis. And the lighting was... well, it was THERE. In a game featuring Miis, where very few people who intend to play it are likely to care. As with most Nintendo games, it's all about the small little touches.

Speaking of little touches, on top of actual proper bending limbs.... is that one Mii character wearing a bow tie? Does anyone remember being about to outfit a Mii with a bow tie?!

[Hero]

The scary thing about Lair isn't necessarily Factor5's design issues or them betting on the wrong horse, but that it was to be one of many games published by Sony. It flopped, Sony bailed on the contract. Superman was cancelled because Brash went out of business. Factor5 was arguably one of first independent developers of the generation to show how brutally unforgiving the market climate is, and how the decisions of others can spell doom for an entire studio.

Yeah to me this is one of the saddest closings of the gen. RS2 was and is one of the most beautiful looking games and that was GCN hardware. Would've loved some Wii stuff from them.

[fabricated backlash]

The "Nintendo Curse" sounds to me like a lot of these close partner studios were much more reliant on the critiques and design assistance from Nintendo than they previously thought.

Don't forget that many of those studios also had a pretty constant buyer base. Once leaving Nintendo they mostly weren't able to recruit a new buyer base fast enough.

But that's a free market for you.

[AzaK]

So a big chain retailer here in NZ (Dick Smith) is listing Wii U at NZD$799. Generally consoles here are roughly twice the US dollars. Of course this is likely just a placeholder but if its NZD$799 that's madness for that console. I paid that for my PS3 ($1100 at launch I think) and Wii was NZD$500 at launch.

It also lists the release date here for December 20. We got the Wii about two weeks after the US when that launched.

Edit:mightyape.co.nz says 30th Nov for release.

[Fabrik]

Guys, I'm starting to recover as well. I even played Wii Sports Resort over the week-end and had fun. Life is good. I'm Nintendo's bitch!

[DrWong]

Edit: This one? http://www.linkedin.com/profile/view?id=6727889 Not viewable by outsiders it seems, I got the link from your earlier post.

This one yes, the Wii U stuff is on the "Competences" list.

A question to the tech people: do we know how Nintendo is technically handling the retro-compatibility with Wii games? Is it software or hardware based?

Fun fact: yesterday I was reading an E3 report from an investment management company, delivered to people from the industry I guess. Nothing sensible in this report, it's more an overview with some guesses. So what's fun is the chapter dedicated to the Wii U and it says, about the hardware:

Purported leaks, however, suggest the chips has 3 cores, there 3GB of aggregate L2 RAM cache, up to 3GB of main memory, a 120 MHZ audio DSP, 802.11 b/g/n Wifi, 512 MB SLC NAND for the system and 8 GB MLC NAND for apps, and has a bridge to host PC with file system emulation. Two USB ports are on the front, and two on the back.

I think the experts mixed their "sources"...^^

[gamergirly]

Guys, I'm starting to recover as well. I even played Wii Sports Resort over the week-end and had fun. Life is good. I'm Nintendo's bitch!

LOL. That other thread has me seriously thinking about playing Wind Waker again. Might even do Twilight Princess before Wii U's release

Also for the DD, is the price going to be the same or a little cheaper than retail? Like for NSMB U?

[Aostia]

This one yes, the Wii U stuff is on the "Competences" list. A question to the tech people: do we know how Nintendo is technically handling the retro-compatibility with Wii games? Is it software or hardware based?

I could be wrong but up to now it seems that it will be hardware based, that means no modify (upscale) of old Wii games, but full backwoard compatibility with all softwares and peripherals (it becomes a Wii, once turned into backward compatibility mode, as the Wii did with GC titles and accessories)

[Nibel]

I'm starting to recover as well - watched some nice SNES speedruns and plan to get one for old time's sake

[z0m3le]

I could be wrong but up to now it seems that it will be hardware based, that means no modify (upscale) of old Wii games, but full backwoard compatibility with all softwares and peripherals (it becomes a Wii, once turned into backward compatibility mode, as the Wii did with GC titles and accessories)

This was because the hardware clocked down to gamecube speeds for complete compatibility, but Wii U has multiple cores, so only 1 has to clock down to it, leaving the menu system and other features free, especially since Wii games only require a small amount of ram and other resources... As for the GPU, we keep speculating that the Wii U's GPU has fixed function shaders built onto the chip, when we say this, we are speculating that flipper is duct taped right onto the die of Wii U's GPU, and it's fixed functions are also used for Wii U games, especially the ones that deal with lighting.

What this means, is that Wii U MIGHT still retain it's Wii U features while playing Wii and even Gamecube games, since it would be a simple matter of lowering the clock rates of these parts lower, while keeping the other resources for the Wii U OS. The technology could easily allow running apps off the tablet while you play Wii games on your TV, or vise versa.

(we haven't gotten confirmation about how the system will emulate Wii's hardware, but currently we do think Wii hardware does exist inside the Wii U)

[DrWong]

The reason I'm asking about retro-compatibility is I found a Wii U reference somedays ago on a former AMD guy Linkedin profile page, about Flipper. I think someone already reported it on a previous WUST but I'm not so sure. In any case here's the thing...

Engineer ArtX Inc 1997 – 2000 (3 years) Designer and architect for an integrated graphics northbridge. Designer and architect for the flipper graphics chip used by the Nintendo Gamecube, wii, and upcoming wii U console systems.

I think the guy edited his profile not to much time ago, adding his Wii U stuff on his 1997 entry. Does it confirms something?

[Aostia]

This was because the hardware clocked down to gamecube speeds for complete compatibility, but Wii U has multiple cores, so only 1 has to clock down to it, leaving the menu system and other features free, especially since Wii games only require a small amount of ram and other resources... As for the GPU, we keep speculating that the Wii U's GPU has fixed function shaders built onto the chip, when we say this, we are speculating that flipper is duct taped right onto the die of Wii U's GPU, and it's fixed functions are also used for Wii U games, especially the ones that deal with lighting. What this means, is that Wii U MIGHT still retain it's Wii U features while playing Wii and even Gamecube games, since it would be a simple matter of lowering the clock rates of these parts lower, while keeping the other resources for the Wii U OS. The technology could easily allow running apps off the tablet while you play Wii games on your TV, or vise versa. (we haven't gotten confirmation about how the system will emulate Wii's hardware, but currently we do think Wii hardware does exist inside the Wii U)

So, are you saying that the most probable thing will be that Wii's games will run as wii's game, but probably you'll be able to access OS system and other Wii U's functions while playing Wii's games?

[disap.ed]

The reason I'm asking about retro-compatibility is I found a Wii U reference somedays ago on a former AMD guy Linkedin profile page, about Flipper. I think someone already reported it on a previous WUST but I'm not so sure. In any case here's the thing... I think the guy edited his profile not to much time ago, adding his Wii U stuff on his 1997 entry. Does it confirms something?

Yes, WiiU = 3 Wiis ducttaped together.