[Hiltz]

Wow, and I thought Sony Defense Force was strong and stupid in the Vita threads. Anyway.. I've lost some of the latest (all) rumours. Do we know something about RC? I remember reading something like we won't be able to play Wii games in HD, that's bullshit right? And they cut GC support amirite? And I guess we don't know if their store will be smarter than the one we have now, or if they'll make us pay for online gaming like MS, or if they'll make more DD games and port more old games, or if we'll be able to transfer our licenses from Wii to WiiU. Right? (I just threw in all the things I'm wondering about)

- It was confirmed by Reggie and by a Nintendo PR guy that Wii U will not play Wii games in HD.

- It's highly unlikely that Nintendo would charge us to play online especially with the 3DS's remaining free. However, Nintendo has not commented on it yet.

- “Also for the Wii U, we are planning to introduce a personal account system compatible with Nintendo Network. With this, for example, the ease of using a video game system when the hardware is shared by multiple family members, which has been a challenge we needed to tackle, shall be improved, and we will also be able to construct and offer the system by combining a variety of different services and content.” - Iwata

- Nintendo revealed the Nintendo Network, a new and flexible online platform for Wii U and 3DS. It's basically Nintendo's answer to having addressed third-party issues over the restrictions and regulations on the DS and Wii's online services. Mario Kart 7 already uses the Nintendo Network for offering features like online communities and contests.

- Wii U will support with micro-transactions via Nintendo Network . Reggie Fils-Aime stated that Nintendo's own development policy is that it won't resort to DLC as a way to force consumers to pay to have a complete game experience later. Third-parties will basically be free to do as they please as long that they have a trustworthy relationship with consumers. In addition, Iwata said that they are also "considering the future possibility of digital distribution of packaged software aka software download sales." He pointed out that the concept is already implemented into the design of the 3DS and will be preparing the same for the Wii U. However, they have not yet started it (this was reported last month during Nintendo's financial meeting)

- According to Iwata, "If we can provide a system in which consumers can use such e-money," he said, "they will far more easily be able to make payments than by entering credit card numbers or purchasing the Nintendo Prepaid Cards at stores." In addition, Nintendo's shown potential interest in possibly wanting use the Wii U's NFC technology to make online purchases a more convenient process.

- There's rumors that Nintendo may have plans to offer a dedicated app store on Wii U and an e-card reader . It would apparently include an ebook service (Nintendo Power magazine, instruction manuals, strategy guides, and comics) and ported iOS content. So far, Nintendo hasn't comment on the rumor.

- While its not actually confirmed, Wii U will likely get Netlfix and Hulu support, further expanding Wii U's online features.

- In my opinion, the chances are very good for the Wii U to get more announced current-gen ports (both new and old). It has after all, become a common practice among third-parties as it provides an easy way for them to make a quick buck on the early adopters. It's probably going to be all the more tempting given how Wii U is apparently going to be easy to develop for and multiplatform support being used more often by third-parties. It's been worthwhile for companies like Capcom who benefited by porting RE 4 to the Wii which actually sold more copies than the GC version (300k more) and was one of the Wii's overall best selling core games. So third-parties don't have much to loss even if they only ship a limited amount of copies of some 360 and PS3 ports.

[Jarsonot]

No we don’t, but seeing as they’re supporting normal Wii Remotes, and there’s already two iterations of that one, I can’t see them making a third. Also Wii Remote Plus is fine as it is, they just need to make Motion Plus a requirement (also won’t happen).

I know a lot more people have wii remotes than wii plus, but I think Nintendo is obviously going that way.

At first I was going to say that a new console launch is a great time to start "enforcing" the new required regime of motion plus, but then thinking about it more... A lot of people have the regular wii remote - will they be willing to risk alienating all those people?

I'm glad I don't have to make that decision. On one hand, motion plus puts a lot more on the table for developers to play with, and is obviously the way forward if Nintendo is going to pursue motion controls. On the other hand, the casual market space is huge, was arguably the wii's bread and butter. Do you risk trying to sell a system to a family where their wii remotes no longer work for wii u games unless they buy a dongle for each one?

Probable middle ground would be a gradual phase-in I suppose.

I for one appreciate the novelty of motion controls, and see that for some things they can be great. But man, I'm hoping that nintendo's pursuit of third party developers means that we can somewhat put the damn wii remote down for awhile and just use a regular controller. =)

(When I think of Nintendo games i love, motion controls do not make the list.)

[Disorientator]

I was doing this... (for no specific reason)



....and then it hit me that with the touch screen you can do this:



Instantly realized I'm an idiot and closed Excel, saving nothing but my money to hand it over to Iwata and Friends, when they finally decide to launch WiiU.

If the accelerometer, magnetic and gyro sensors, camera and everything else weren't enough, the touch-panel - a first for a home console's main controller (probably others will follow) - puts Wii U's controller in a league of its own.

Devs, the ball is in your feet now.

[Log4Girlz]

- It was confirmed by Reggie and by a Nintendo PR guy that Wii U will not play Wii games in HD. - It's highly unlikely that Nintendo would charge us to play online especially with the 3DS's remaining free. However, Nintendo has not commented on it yet. - “Also for the Wii U, we are planning to introduce a personal account system compatible with Nintendo Network. With this, for example, the ease of using a video game system when the hardware is shared by multiple family members, which has been a challenge we needed to tackle, shall be improved, and we will also be able to construct and offer the system by combining a variety of different services and content.” - Iwata - Nintendo revealed the Nintendo Network, a new and flexible online platform for Wii U and 3DS. It's basically Nintendo's answer to having addressed third-party issues over the restrictions and regulations on the DS and Wii's online services. Mario Kart 7 already uses the Nintendo Network for offering features like online communities and contests. - Wii U will support with micro-transactions via Nintendo Network . Reggie Fils-Aime stated that Nintendo's own development policy is that it won't resort to DLC as a way to force consumers to pay to have a complete game experience later. Third-parties will basically be free to do as they please as long that they have a trustworthy relationship with consumers. In addition, Iwata said that they are also "considering the future possibility of digital distribution of packaged software aka software download sales." He pointed out that the concept is already implemented into the design of the 3DS and will be preparing the same for the Wii U. However, they have not yet started it (this was reported last month during Nintendo's financial meeting) - According to Iwata, "If we can provide a system in which consumers can use such e-money," he said, "they will far more easily be able to make payments than by entering credit card numbers or purchasing the Nintendo Prepaid Cards at stores." In addition, Nintendo's shown potential interest in possibly wanting use the Wii U's NFC technology to make online purchases a more convenient process. - There's rumors that Nintendo may have plans to offer a dedicated app store on Wii U and an e-card reader . It would apparently include an ebook service (Nintendo Power magazine, instruction manuals, strategy guides, and comics) and ported iOS content. So far, Nintendo hasn't comment on the rumor. - While its not actually confirmed, Wii U will likely get Netlfix and Hulu support, further expanding Wii U's online features. Apparently, the Wii's the most popular current-gen console for netflix users so Nintendo's relationship with those entertainment services - In my opinion, the chances are very good for the Wii U to get more announced current-gen ports (both new and old). It has after all, become a common practice among third-parties as it provides an easy way for them to make a quick buck on the early adopters. It's probably going to be all the more tempting given how Wii U is apparently going to be easy to develop for and multiplatform support being used more often by third-parties. Capcom benefited by porting RE 4 to the Wii which actually sold more copies than the GC version (300k more) and was one of the Wii's overall best selling games. So they really don't have much to loss even if they only ship a limited amount of copies.

I think the Wii U's long term success will be tied to the strength of its app store.

[Lupin the Third]

I was doing this... (for no specific reason) ....and then it hit me that with the touch screen you can do this: Instantly realized I'm an idiot and closed Excel, saving nothing but my money to hand it over to Iwata and Friends, when they finally decide to launch WiiU. If the accelerometer, magnetic and gyro sensors, camera and everything else weren't enough, the touch-panel - a first for a home console's main controller (probably others will follow) - puts Wii U's controller in a league of its own. Devs, the ball is in your feet now.

Well, nothing but that screencap of your work, anyway....

[Disorientator]

Well, nothing but that screencap of your work, anyway....

A proof, left behind for future generations to ponder.

[DXB-KNIGHT]

I want a sequel using the U pad.

[Terrell]

- It was confirmed by Reggie and by a Nintendo PR guy that Wii U will not play Wii games in HD.

Aren't the words "Reggie" and "PR guy" one in the same?

In all fairness, they could have been talking about it not being possible on the current dev kits of that moment.

If they release GameCube titles as VC content, it would require a per-game software emulation method anyways, may as well optimize those for HD. But if they do it for GameCube games, having Wii titles right next to them looking worse than stuff from 10 years ago would be an embarrassment.

[Mokka]

What magnetic sensor? Is this the NFC sensor or something else?

[Disorientator]

What magnetic sensor? Is this the NFC sensor or something else?

Not sure.

Up until you mentioned NFC, I thought it would be some sort of magnetic compass chip or something.

(isn't this from WiiU pad's patent?)

[CrAzY FiNgErS]

we need something to talk about so people can lay off Sony talk in a WiiU thread. GDC can't come soon enough. I am really looking forward to the WiiU because the Upad solves an issue I been having with my vision. I have a nice HDTV and cannot even use it to play games because I can't see shit. Hoping the UPad helps me play more... I am 3DS exclusive so far. Skipped Zelda SS until I can play it on WiiU :| Hurry up NINTENDO

I keep reading about GDC in this thread. Why can't it come soon enough? Nintendo isn't going to reveal anything too big there with E3 right around the corner are they? Sure Nintendo is going to be there, but they were at CES too. Is Iwata going to speak there? If not I fail to see how much information we are going to get about the Wii U without him having a keynote speech or something.

[Mokka]

Not sure. Up until you mentioned NFC, I thought it would be some sort of magnetic compass chip or something. (isn't this from WiiU pad's patent?)

Oh, yeah you're right a compass. Didn't think of that.

[Smiles and Cries]

I keep reading about GDC in this thread. Why can't it come soon enough? Nintendo isn't going to reveal anything too big there with E3 right around the corner are they? Sure Nintendo is going to be there, but they were at CES too. Is Iwata going to speak there? If not I fail to see how much information we are going to get about the Wii U without him having a keynote speech or something.

don't kill the dream of a new huge thread full of blowout WiiU (or new name here) news

they have to say something or I'm buying a Vita :(

[JoshuaJSlone]

It'll be $99 by the end of the summer. No question.

You don't think they'll stop by $129? GameCube skipped it, but that was disaster mode, not end-of-generation coasting.

I strongly disagree with the long-term prospect: markets that turn into stable monopolies are doomed in the long term.

Sony going away wouldn't mean a long-term monopoly any more than when Sega went away. Hell, if we went to the extreme and pretended every PS3 sale was instead an additional Wii sale, it would still only be ~PS2 level dominant.

[MDX]

Who do you think is handling the UI for the WiiU?
And actually, who did it for the Wii?



.

[z0m3le]

So, I read every page and every post before I post, I think I'll just read the previous page from now on so I can become part of the discussion. My posts are always days apart, and I'll never get rid of this junior title if I don't.

Wii launch:

So, let me comment on the last 20 pages or so, I was 21 when the Wii launched (same age as ACE who doesn't have this thread posting problem, maybe I should ask him to teach me.) I've played video games since I was 4 (at least by myself) I have 2 older bothers, so there was always a console in my house. I've owned every Nintendo console home and portable, that includes VB. First game I ever beat was Gradius, followed by Zelda 2. I still remember beating Gradius lol don't know if anyone remembers beating their first game, but it was a big accomplishment for me. Anyways I fell in love with games so bad that now I am attempting to make my own, thanks to Android and iOS.

I really think Reversible covers should be standard with games with large fan bases, and hopefully anything from Monolith.

Console Specs: (am I up to date?)

CPU: 3.5ghz 3 cores? IBM power7-based custom /w 32MB edram.
GPU: If 40nm; based on HD4870 ~1.2Gflops / If 28nm; based on HD7770 ~1.2Gflops
Ram: >1GB; most likely looking at 1.5GB GDDR3 (unless GDDR5 prices work out better in the long run as GDDR3 will likely be scarce during this consoles life span.
HDD: Minimum 8GB flash, my best guess however is 16GB flash to ensure Gamecube downloads + DLC.

Wii U market leader:

Wii U or whatever it ends up being named could easily dominate the market this upcoming gen thanks to a year head start, I think this will likely come down to two things, Devs multiplating their games to it early on, and Nintendo getting out their big hitters, if Wii U can sell out for the first 6 months, than there is a good chance the market will expect it to succeed the Wii in all fashions, Sony might even help Nintendo accomplish this by not releasing PS4 before 2014... Think about this, if Wii U has a year head start, and Xbox3 comes out ~10m-15m consoles behind Wii U, and Xbox3 isn't even twice as powerful as Wii U (right now it's ~20% more powerful by our best rumors, ending up only 1.5x stronger if it does, won't push it into looking much different and will end up leaving Wii U as the base console for the generation because PS4 is still a 2014 console.) Devs will likely focus all their engines at working on Wii U- down porting to 360, PS3 and cross porting to Xbox3.

Game industry's future outlook:

I don't think Sony should go third party, there isn't much money there for them, I mean it would make no sense for them to pull out of the hardware business, Playstation while being stained is Sony's strongest brand, so as long as they don't bankrupt I see them sticking it out, however I do see Apple eventually pushing its way into the market more forcibly in the future, between Apple TV (the actual TV we will see this year) and their "i" products, I can see them getting ports of bigger games, hopefully apple creates a classic controller of sorts, or they could really hurt gaming, I think Nintendo putting a tablet in their controller really is the best way to combat Apple's encroachment, and even puts pressure on Vita's better graphics handheld at the same time.

Wii U local multiplayer hopes:

I don't see why Nintendo can't release a 3DSxl in 2013 that would have a widescreen on top that is around the same size as the Upad's 6.2inch screen, all it would really need is to match the resolution with something that is >5" on the top screen, you could even use the Wii U to play 3D versions of your game through the new handheld, it would sync locally only obviously, and when you take it with you, you'd have a large 3DS with a bigger battery, sure it would be a premium model, and sell @ ~$200 but I think it would be a very cool option for a 3rd and 4th player. This should be Nintendo's ultimate syncing goal with their handheld meets home console, and it should be very very big in japan.

[CrAzY FiNgErS]

don't kill the dream of a new huge thread full of blowout WiiU (or new name here) news they have to say something or I'm buying a Vita :(

Haha, ;)

Seriously though I want them to spill the beans on some basics myself, but to spill too much so close to E3 would kind of ruin the impact E3 would have. They don't want to have information overload at E3 either so sometimes they announce things ahead of E3 to get it out of the way before the main event. Maybe they will announce they are using Steam/Origin for the backbone of the Nintendo Network. That would be exciting no? That's been speculated before and it wouldn't come as a big suprise to get it out of the way before E3. The Re-revealing of the Wii U at E3 has to have maximum impact to make people forget how awful last E3 was when it was first shown. To do that the big guns aint coming out till then imo.

[Übermatik]

Hi guys I-OHMYGOD what happened in here.

Snesfreak? Welp...

Sigh, we REALLY need some new news...

[Sadist]

15 Days till GDC :P

[Mokka]

Haha, ;) Seriously though I want them to spill the beans on some basics myself, but to spill too much so close to E3 would kind of ruin the impact E3 would have. They don't want to have information overload at E3 either so sometimes they announce things ahead of E3 to get it out of the way before the main event. Maybe they will announce they are using Steam/Origin for the backbone of the Nintendo Network. That would be exciting no? That's been speculated before and it's wouldn't come as a big suprise to get it out of the way before E3. The Re-revealing of the Wii U at E3 has to have maximum impact to make people forget how awful last E3 was when it was first shown. To do that the big guns aint coming out till then imo.

Maybe I'm the only one but I didn't think last years E3 presentation was awful.
On the other hand I am also part of the minority who watched the whole presentation and not just the marketing video in the middle of it. Therefore I didn't question if it was an add-on for Wii or a new console.

[Übermatik]

15 Days till GDC :P

*Squee*

Can't wait... starting to get a lil' bit hyped now. Hopefully something emerges from this Nintendo/AMD/Crytek partnership.

[CrAzY FiNgErS]

Maybe I'm the only one but I didn't think last years E3 presentation was awful. On the other hand I am also part of the minority who watched the whole presentation and not just the marketing video in the middle of it. Therefore I didn't question if it was an add-on for Wii or a new console.

Yeah, it didn't confuse me at all, but they kept showing videos of Wii like games with Wii like graphics. On top of that they showed PS3/Xbox 360 trailers of games coming to Wii U. Sure we got to see the functionality of the the Wii U tablet, but I don't think that was enough and Nintendo knows it. That's why Iwata appologized for the introduction. He is a smart business man and he knows they screwed up when they first revealed the Wii U. When they re-introduce the Wii U at E3 expect bigger and better things baby!

[z0m3le]

Maybe I'm the only one but I didn't think last years E3 presentation was awful. On the other hand I am also part of the minority who watched the whole presentation and not just the marketing video in the middle of it. Therefore I didn't question if it was an add-on for Wii or a new console.

I'm with you Mokka, I thought it was pretty exciting, I'm also glad they won't upgrade Miis too much, I think some of the backlash came from the look of those games, while the look will overall improve, I don't want my Mii to not have it's silly look, I can always trust Nintendo to understand those sort of things though.

I think the only e3 I really didn't like from Nintendo was the Wii Fit e3... as long as they don't do that or go insane like MS in 2010? with the weird as hell presentation where they basically had to give everyone a free xbox slim to save themselves from exile, I will be happy with e3.

Yeah, it didn't confuse me at all, but they kept showing videos of Wii like games with Wii like graphics. On top of that they showed PS3/Xbox 360 trailers of games coming to Wii U. Sure we got to see the functionality of the the Wii U tablet, but I don't think that was enough and Nintendo knows it. That's why Iwata appologized for the introduction. He is a smart business man and he knows they screwed up when they first revealed the Wii U. When they re-introduce the Wii U at E3 expect bigger and better things baby!

Iwata apologized because people literally thought it was an add-on, he didn't focus enough on the box, I agree with you that this year will be huge, we will likely see trailers for the next Mario, I am not sure about Zelda yet, but what Retro is working on has me excited, just these big devs saying that this is going to be their crowning achievement has my hype level through the roof for it. Hopefully it ushers in a new IP for Nintendo at a similar level to Mario, Zelda, Metroid.

[Gianni Merryman]

15 Days till GDC :P

Speaking of which, I reckon Nintendo at GDC may show some new stuff for 3DS - i.e. launch dates, footage and details for already announced games and new unannounced games - keeping secretive about WiiU until E3.

I would like them to show off WiiU just because I cannot stand the hype anymore, but thinking of it rationally, right now it's 3DS that needs more steam in order to keep the momentum - that's to say they need to announce some big titles for Q3 and Q4 2012 - furthermore IIRC they stated it clear that they were going to reveal WiiU at E3, so I wouldn't put my hopes too high.

[Sadist]

I'm not expecting a lot at GDC, because it's confirmed that the booth will have a lot of 3DS units.

Guess they'll be showing off Kid Icarus/Luigi's Mansion 2/Spirit Camera and possibly Paper Mario/Mario Tennis.

[Rhod]

I'm not expecting a lot at GDC, because it's confirmed that the booth will have a lot of 3DS units. Guess they'll be showing off Kid Icarus/Luigi's Mansion 2/Spirit Camera and possibly Paper Mario/Mario Tennis.

You are wise.

Hopefully something emerges from this Nintendo/AMD/Crytek partnership.

GDC sales rep contacts Nintendo events rep: Same booth this year? Sure! OK cool. Repeats for Crytek. The end.

[Smiles and Cries]

Haha, ;) Seriously though I want them to spill the beans on some basics myself, but to spill too much so close to E3 would kind of ruin the impact E3 would have. They don't want to have information overload at E3 either so sometimes they announce things ahead of E3 to get it out of the way before the main event. Maybe they will announce they are using Steam/Origin for the backbone of the Nintendo Network. That would be exciting no? That's been speculated before and it's wouldn't come as a big suprise to get it out of the way before E3. The Re-revealing of the Wii U at E3 has to have maximum impact to make people forget how awful last E3 was when it was first shown. To do that the big guns aint coming out till then imo.

I do agree that they wont share that much at GDC but they do need something saving everything for E3 is not as important as keeping a fever high hype on a launch year.

I think hardware launches are more fun than E3 anyway so I am looking forward to any info I can have on the hardware. You can always have a bad E3 Presentation no matter how good your products are. I much rather have consistant news.

[z0m3le]

Speaking of which, I reckon Nintendo at GDC may show some new stuff for 3DS - i.e. launch dates, footage and details for already announced games and new unannounced games - keeping secretive about WiiU until E3. I would like them to show off WiiU just because I cannot stand the hype anymore, but thinking of it rationally, right now it's 3DS that needs more steam in order to keep the momentum - that's to say they need to announce some big titles for Q3 and Q4 2012 - furthermore IIRC they stated it clear that they were going to reveal WiiU at E3, so I wouldn't put my hopes too high.

I think Nintendo will do fine with the games we know about this year for 3DS, the competition in the handheld market isn't a problem really, 3DS has already started to roll down the mountain, by this time next year, it will be an unstoppable cartoon-ishly big snow ball, all they really need to show us is a new Zelda for the thing, and I think people will be more than happy.

Wii U on the other hand, has to win over the PS360 users as much as it can in the 18months following this e3, if it can hit ~12m units before Xbox3 comes, Nintendo has a high chance of leading next gen, especially if PS4 is a 2014 console, but Nintendo will need that head start, so devs can focus on creating their new tools for it, and down porting to the HD twins and cross porting to the Xbox3, it's the only logical route for the devs to take at that point, unless I'm overlooking something.

-Misread your post, thought you meant they should focus on 3DS at e3, I agree with you 100%

[Nilaul]

Does it really matter?

http://source.theengineer.co.uk/elec...005836.article

Spec talk, a polish company blew intel tech out of the water. 56 percent faster then intel at the same clock frequency.

It may be too late for Wii-U to impliment this but what about ps4 or xbox3?

[Übermatik]

I'm not expecting a lot at GDC, because it's confirmed that the booth will have a lot of 3DS units. Guess they'll be showing off Kid Icarus/Luigi's Mansion 2/Spirit Camera and possibly Paper Mario/Mario Tennis.

When did this happen? Source?

[11redder]

You don't think they'll stop by $129? GameCube skipped it, but that was disaster mode, not end-of-generation coasting. Sony going away wouldn't mean a long-term monopoly any more than when Sega went away. Hell, if we went to the extreme and pretended every PS3 sale was instead an additional Wii sale, it would still only be ~PS2 level dominant.

PS2 took 5 years and 9 months to reach 100m units, which gives Wii until Aug 19th 2012 to catch up, which it won't do at the pace its been selling since the start of 2011. The weird thing about the PS2 was that it sold an additional 50m units after the then next gen started.

If you're taking percentage of sales, if this generation ended right now and not a single additional unit of PS360 was sold going forward, Wii would have to sold more than 420m units ltd to match the PS2's level of dominance or 230m ltd to have the same unit lead over the competition combined.

[Sadist]

When did this happen? Source?

Damn, I know I read it somewhere... can't find it.

[wsippel]

Does it really matter? http://source.theengineer.co.uk/elec...005836.article Spec talk, a polish company blew intel tech out of the water. 56 percent faster then intel at the same clock frequency. It may be too late for Wii-U to impliment this but what about ps4 or xbox3?

It's not 57% faster, it's 57 times faster. But it's an 8051 clone - an 8bit microcontroller from 1980. Those things are still in use, as USB controllers and such, but completely irrelevant here.

[Nilaul]

It's not 57% faster, it's 57 times faster. But it's an 8051 clone - an 8bit microcontroller from 1980. Those things are still in use, as USB controllers and such, but completely irrelevant here.

My bad lol xD

[z0m3le]

Speaking about CPUs, I assume the rumor about IBM making 1 CPU for consoles and trying to sell it to Nintendo, Microsoft and Sony makes the most sense... I am pretty confident that Nintendo would buy a CPU that is being used by Xbox3, and I don't think Microsoft would have any real problem with it, as long as it can easily emulate 360... We know Wii U is easy to port from 360 games, so this wouldn't surprise me in the least... Sony however, will probably continue to push Cell, and maybe it's smart to do so, PS3 was under powered GPU wise, but it came out slightly more powerful thanks to Cell. -Does anyone know where this IBM rumor came from, I read it here in this thread or the previous one, maybe bg posted it? (since he does love IBM CPU talk)

btw, pretty sure Xbox3's hardware is pretty much locked in at this point, setting side very minor adjustments, they already have dev kits out if IGN is to be believed.

[Gianni Merryman]

I think Nintendo will do fine with the games we know about this year for 3DS, the competition in the handheld market isn't a problem really, 3DS has already started to roll down the mountain, by this time next year, it will be an unstoppable cartoon-ishly big snow ball, all they really need to show us is a new Zelda for the thing, and I think people will be more than happy. Wii U on the other hand, has to win over the PS360 users as much as it can in the 18months following this e3, if it can hit ~12m units before Xbox3 comes, Nintendo has a high chance of leading next gen, especially if PS4 is a 2014 console, but Nintendo will need that head start, so devs can focus on creating their new tools for it, and down porting to the HD twins and cross porting to the Xbox3, it's the only logical route for the devs to take at that point, unless I'm overlooking something. -Misread your post, thought you meant they should focus on 3DS at e3, I agree with you 100%

As for now 3DS's outlook for 2012 is good, but aside from Animal crossing - but mainly in Japan to some extent - there are no games expected to be big sellers like Mario Kart 7, Super Mario 3D Land and Monster hunter 3G.

Luigi's mansion and Paper Mario and may turn out to be great games and Kid Icarus has got the potential to grow up to be a popular IP, but they're hardly appealing to mass market and Nintendo should have more tricks up its sleeve if it wants to keep steadily the lead in the handheld market; OK, for the time being 3DS is faring well but Nintendo cannot rest on its laurels, by November-December 2012 3DS will need something else than Mario kart 7 and SM3DL, and the new 2D Mario game could do the trick, and I expect them to make some other surprise between GDC and E3.

On the other hand, WiiU supposedly isn't going to launch before June, so simply they don't need to hurry to leak anything until E3, by the way I suppose they don't want to give away any informations beforehand not to give their competitors time to take the appropriate steps to counter them with their new consoles - i.e. they may implement some WiiU's new features on the fly on PS4/NextBox - so most likely they'll have their lips sealed until E3.

[Salvadora]

As for now 3DS's outlook for 2012 is good, but aside from Animal crossing - but mainly in Japan to some extent - there are no games expected to be big sellers like Mario Kart 7, Super Mario 3D Land and Monster hunter 3G. Luigi's mansion and Paper Mario and may turn out to be great games and Kid Icarus has got the potential to grow up to be a popular IP, but they're hardly appealing to mass market and Nintendo should have more tricks up its sleeve if it wants to keep steadily the lead in the handheld market; OK, for the time being 3DS is faring well but Nintendo cannot rest on its laurels, by November-December 2012 3DS will need something else than Mario kart 7 and SM3DL, and the new 2D Mario game could do the trick, and I expect them to make some other surprise between GDC and E3. On the other hand, WiiU supposedly isn't going to launch before June, so simply they don't need to hurry to leak anything until E3, by the way I suppose they don't want to give away any informations beforehand not to give their competitors time to take the appropriate steps to counter them.

Monster hunter 4?

[MoogleWizard]

It's not that hard for the 3DS to keep the lead in the handheld market, since there is no competition ;-). I know there is the Vita, but I doubt that it will ever be a threat to Nintendo, Sony knew this as well, that's why they've decided to cater to a different (niche) market.

[z0m3le]

As for now 3DS's outlook for 2012 is good, but aside from Animal crossing - but mainly in Japan to some extent - there are no games expected to be big sellers like Mario Kart 7, Super Mario 3D Land and Monster hunter 3G. Luigi's mansion and Paper Mario and may turn out to be great games and Kid Icarus has got the potential to grow up to be a popular IP, but they're hardly appealing to mass market and Nintendo should have more tricks up its sleeve if it wants to keep steadily the lead in the handheld market; OK, for the time being 3DS is faring well but Nintendo cannot rest on its laurels, by November-December 2012 3DS will need something else than Mario kart 7 and SM3DL, and the new 2D Mario game could do the trick, and I expect them to make some other surprise between GDC and E3. On the other hand, WiiU supposedly isn't going to launch before June, so simply they don't need to hurry to leak anything until E3, by the way I suppose they don't want to give away any informations beforehand not to give their competitors time to take the appropriate steps to counter them with their new consoles - i.e. they may implement some WiiU's new features on the fly on PS4/NextBox - so most likely they'll have their lips sealed until E3.

Yeah, I see it just as you do, until E3, Nintendo should just push 3DS, at E3, they should give us something like Zelda 3DS and DKCR3D, even if these games hit around this time next year, that should secure the steam for 3DS, with NSMB coming this year and paper mario, kid icarus and luigi's mansion is perfect. I am interested to see what Ubisoft does with AC, if they bring it over to 3DS in all it's glory, it's possible for the first time on a handheld from nintendo... also COD and some other games will sow up the western market well.

I think you could be right about Wii U, but Sony and Microsoft are so far out, I think they will be able to add stuff even after Wii U launches, remember six-axis... nothing is going to stop those companies from copying, Microsoft already has a tablet controller that they might sell separately, which to honest makes a ton of sense as Devs will code all their ports with the option, since the coding will basically already be there from the Wii U version.

[Aizu_Itsuko]

Are you trying to act like a psychologist or something?

No, actually hoping he loses some of the vitriol. It would be good for him too.

Nah, he'll just do what we all do. Clear our GAF cookie and F5 while thinking of great things to post, but unable to do so.

I guess I like being an optimist.

[Gianni Merryman]

Monster hunter 4?

I don't think they'll launch Monster hunter in 2012.

First of all, enough evidence of it methinks is that MH3G is going to be launched in Western countries in fall 2012 - it would make more sense for several different reasons to release MH4 worldwide instead if it was about to be released in a few months - so I think in the meantime they'll probably keep milking it in Japan releasing a budget edition to prepare the ground for Monster Hunter 4, that may hit the shelves in Japan by May 2013 - but it could be even later than that.

Aside from this speculation, just think that pretty much all we have from MH4 is just a short teaser; for all we know it could have nothing to spare with the final build, and if we have to assume they're doing it up from scratch, with a completely new engine and new gameplay features from Tri, in my understanding they're going to need more than only a year to complete the game's development, unless they rushed it(and I think that's not the case).

[Salvadora]

I don't think they'll launch Monster hunter in 2012. First of all, enough evidence of it methinks is that MH3G is going to be launched in Western countries in fall 2012 - it would make more sense for several different reasons to release MH4 worldwide instead if it was about to be released in a few months - so I think in the meantime they'll probably keep milking it in Japan releasing a budget edition to prepare the ground for Monster Hunter 4, that may hit the shelves in Japan by May 2013 - but it could be even later than that. Aside from this speculation, just think that pretty much all we have from MH4 is just a short teaser; for all we know it could have nothing to spare with the final build, and if we have to assume they're doing it up from scratch, with a completely new engine and new gameplay features from Tri, in my understanding they're going to need more than only a year to complete the game's development, unless they rushed it(and I think that's not the case).

They have 2 teams. MH4 was developed alongside 3G, Its entirely possible.
Edit: I expect a Pokemon game in september.

[Gianni Merryman]

It's not that hard for the 3DS to keep the lead in the handheld market, since there is no competition ;-).

Nintendo can't be too much self-confident and take the success for granted, and the supposed lack of competitors should not be an excuse for a poor effort software-wise, people are not going to buy 3DS without games just for the sake of it - even if Vita was discontinued theoretically - it takes more than that.

I know there is the Vita, but I doubt that it will ever be a threat to Nintendo, Sony knew this as well, that's why they've decided to cater to a different (niche) market.

It's not just the Vita - by the way many of us, me included, considered back in the day PSP doomed for good, yet it fared quite well in Japan overall, so I wouldn't write it off too early - or IPhone, IPad, smartphones or tablets; regardless of what its competitors do, in order to keep the lead, Nintendo ought to bring out new good-quality games on a regular basis, never leaving any hole in 3DS's line-up schedule like they did with Wii, that was the best selling platform yet it has had a very embarassing lack of software for some long periods.

[z0m3le]

Nintendo can't be too much self-confident and take the success for granted, and the supposed lack of competitors should not be an excuse for a poor effort software-wise, people are not going to buy 3DS without games just for the sake of it - even if Vita was discontinued theoretically - it takes more than that. It's not just the Vita - by the way many of us, me included, considered back in the day PSP doomed for good, yet it fared quite well in Japan overall, so I wouldn't write it off too early - or IPhone, IPad, smartphones or tablets; regardless of what its competitors do, in order to keep the lead, Nintendo ought to bring out new good-quality games on a regular basis, never leaving any hole in 3DS's line-up schedule like they did with Wii, that was the best selling platform yet it has had a very imbarassing lack of software for some long periods.

I think they are doing that, and I think they have a zelda and possibly something like DKCR3D for next year, I forgot about Pokemon, that should be coming this fall "grey" right? so I think 3DS is actually covered, I'd also be surprised if a Monolith game didn't come out before the end of 2013, so we should see a pretty solid line up for the next 20 months from now., but i think we are hearing you loud and clear, it's just that Nintendo's competition in the handheld market should allow them to focus on their home console this year for launch, because Wii U being a success could be control over the entire game industry.

[snowdog1971]

No we don’t, but seeing as they’re supporting normal Wii Remotes, and there’s already two iterations of that one, I can’t see them making a third. Also Wii Remote Plus is fine as it is, they just need to make Motion Plus a requirement (also won’t happen).

Normal remotes aren't compatible, only the new ones with MotionPlus built-in or old remotes with a MotionPlus expansion...pretty sure I heard that but can't remember where now.

[Gianni Merryman]

They have 2 teams. MH4 was developed alongside 3G, Its entirely possible.

You may be right there, I am not dismissing any possibility it may be out by end 2012 altogether, although to say it all I am not even expecting any footage of MH4 at E3: way too early, moreover they still have to make the most out of Monster hunter 3G, building up too much hype on MH4 right now may divert attention from the game that's been selling already better than Capcom's expectations and may keep selling for more months to come, unless a new game should be drawing near.

Edit: I expect a Pokemon game in september.

A new main Pokemon? I don't think so.
A sort of port from DS, like rumoured Grey? Maybe.
A Pokemon spin-off(Pokemon dash, Pokemon A/R, Pokemon snap)? Maybe

[-Pyromaniac-]

I'm not expecting a lot at GDC, because it's confirmed that the booth will have a lot of 3DS units.

people say that about everything that isn't E3. "guys don't expect much, it's just an investors briefing" lol. I expect plenty more details on the wiiU regarding anything that isn't about games.

[Salvadora]

[QUOTE=Gianni Merryman;35274230][QUOTE=Salvadora;35273797]They have 2 teams. MH4 was developed alongside 3G, Its entirely possible.

You may be right there, I am not dismissing any possibility it may be out by end 2012 altogether, although to say it all I am not even expecting any footage of MH4 at E3: way too early, moreover they still have to make the most out of Monster hunter 3G, building up too much hype on MH4 right now may divert attention from the game that's been selling already better than Capcom's expectations and may keep selling for more months to come, unless a new game should be drawing near. A new main Pokemon? I don't think so. A sort of port from DS? Maybe. A Pokemon spin-off(Pokemon dash, Pokemon A/R, Pokemon snap)? Maybe

It will be 2 years since the last big Pokemon game, It's coming.

[MoogleWizard]

Nintendo can't be too much self-confident and take the success for granted, and the supposed lack of competitors should not be an excuse for a poor effort software-wise, people are not going to buy 3DS without games just for the sake of it - even if Vita was discontinued theoretically - it takes more than that. It's not just the Vita - by the way many of us, me included, considered back in the day PSP doomed for good, yet it fared quite well in Japan overall, so I wouldn't write it off too early - or IPhone, IPad, smartphones or tablets; regardless of what its competitors do, in order to keep the lead, Nintendo ought to bring out new good-quality games on a regular basis, never leaving any hole in 3DS's line-up schedule like they did with Wii, that was the best selling platform yet it has had a very imbarassing lack of software for some long periods.

You're right, but I hope Nintendo has learned their lesson, the line-up looks pretty good so far, there's Kingdom Hearts, Metal Gear, Kid Icarus, Tekken coming in the next weeks. We know Monster Hunter 4, Zelda, new Marios, Pokémon, Animal Crossing are bound to come and if the DS is anything to go by, third parties probably won't abandon the 3DS either.
As for the Vita: I know the PSP did surprisingly well, but even as the surprise hit that it was it still sold less than half of the DS. And since the Vita is doing worse now and targeting a different demographic - and since Nintendo took a big slice of that demographic with games Monster Hunter (one big reason why the PSP did so well in Japan) or Resident Evil - there's really not much for them to worry about from Sony's side IMO.

Btw: I don't consider phones real competition, they are everyday devices that everyone owns/needs. Until I can play Nintendo games on an iPhone it will never be a substitute, especially not when the only way of input is the touch screen. Sure, iOS and Android may take some sales from handhelds, but a cellphone and a dedicated gaming machine are still different things.
And as long as there are kids, there'll be a place for Nintendo handhelds - I bought two 3DSs for christmas for my little brother and my little cousin, if I had given them an iPhone instead they would have thrown it against the wall since they can't play Nintendogs, Pokémon or Mario Kart with their friends on a phone.

[Shin Johnpv]

Console Specs: (am I up to date?) CPU: 3.5ghz 3 cores? IBM power7-based custom /w 32MB edram. GPU: If 40nm; based on HD4870 ~1.2Gflops / If 28nm; based on HD7770 ~1.2Gflops Ram: >1GB; most likely looking at 1.5GB GDDR3 (unless GDDR5 prices work out better in the long run as GDDR3 will likely be scarce during this consoles life span. HDD: Minimum 8GB flash, my best guess however is 16GB flash to ensure Gamecube downloads + DLC.

I do believe the 32MB of edram was associated with the GPU and not the CPU. The CPU supposedly has 3MB of L2 Cache broken up in an asymmetrical way. IE something like 1.5MB to the main core and 756KB to each of the other cores. Though we've had no word on how it breaksdown and those amounts are just examples.