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[AzaK]

I know I am in the vast minority here, but Wii U has really grown on me. It wisely keeps the Wii brand, and the "U" makes Nintendo (from a brand integrity standpoint) accountable.

Although I do think they should have just rolled with Wii 2.
Pikmin 3, hopefully.

I'm with you, it's grown on me. Also of all the things about Wii U, the name really is on the bottom of the 'give a shit' list for me.

Then Nintendo better have a top-notch 3rd-party exclusive to drive sales.

Pikmin and a host of multi-platform games aren't getting it done. The 3DS launch already proved that.

I don't think Pikmin is big enough, it's pretty niche.

Just imagine a mini-kinect on the padlet thanks to the front camera

And you could move your character with eyebrows and noze movements, when you stick out your tongue, you fire, etc.

It would be called Facial Motion, Face Language or Expression Control and it would be r e v o l u t i o n a r y

I think this is a pretty cool idea on the surface of it and feels like something Nintendo-esque. Even if it was just used for static Mii faces in games to show your emotion over winning/losing.

I don't know if this is an awesome idea or a horrible one...

Awesome


Regarding 3rd party exclusive for launch. Does anyone think a timed exclusive would work just as well? I ask because what about something like Diabo III or GTAV. I said timed because I can't see those companies doing exclusive with games of that magnitude.

Edit: OK for some reason I thought GTAV was coming this year.

 

[ColdBlooder]

I'm very interested in seeing how Nintendo does its marketing this time around, especially with them claiming a renewed focus on the hardcore audience. The hardcore are like small children with jealousy issues; if Nintendo spends too much time and attention on the casuals, the hardcores seem to take it very personally.

Finding that delicate balance is going to be very, very difficult.

They should have teams especially making casual stuff and teams only doing core gamer stuff. The releases of those games MUST be timed carefully though!

 

[TheExplodingHead]

First set of wii burned their chips themself and had faulty lasers/drives.
ds lite, dsi could crack AT THE HINGE. The L + R buttons were utter shit ( and it looks like they still are on 3DS).
3DS has the line, sometimes wobbly top screen.

that's not the nintendo quality that i used to know.

100% agreed. Ever since the DS Lite (really since Iwata "proper" took over) Nintendo has really dropped the ball on their historic durability/reliability. The GCN was the last of that legacy, the Wii is by far their least reliable home console and they were working with a known quantity (beefed up GCN architecture).

I'd love to see Nintendo get back to the old reliability first priority. Badly this isn't a policy of the new Nintendo, it's aesthetics and form over reliability and function.

 

[AzaK]

I'm very interested in seeing how Nintendo does its marketing this time around, especially with them claiming a renewed focus on the hardcore audience. The hardcore are like small children with jealousy issues; if Nintendo spends too much time and attention on the casuals, the hardcores seem to take it very personally.

Finding that delicate balance is going to be very, very difficult.

Yeah it will be very interesting to see how they tackle it. I think that E3 commercial is on the right track (as part of a bigger campaign of course) where the kid was playing on the TV and Dad comes in and wants to watch TV so the kid switches to the Subscreen. I didn't like how that ad was shot, as it was a little too focused on the pad IIRC and you didn't get a sense of really being in a family room, but the idea was sound.

 

[ColdBlooder]

100% agreed. Ever since the DS Lite (really since Iwata "proper" took over) Nintendo has really dropped the ball on their historic durability/reliability. The GCN was the last of that legacy, the Wii is by far their least reliable home console and they were working with a known quantity (beefed up GCN architecture).

I'd love to see Nintendo get back to the old reliability first priority. Badly this isn't a policy of the new Nintendo, it's aesthetics and form over reliability and function.

Thats a little overreacting IMO.

 

[TheExplodingHead]

Thats a little overreacting IMO.

How else do you explain their products' reliability dropping substantially compared to the older more durable products. It's obviously not as much of a priority or we wouldn't have see it happen with every new release.

 

[WrikaWrek]

Nobody knows, Nintendo probably has an idea of where they want to be already. It's safe to assume $299-$399. We also need to consider just how much they want to compete with existing hardware. If so by the time the Wii-U rolls out we can expect Xbox 360 and PS3 price cuts.

If Nintendo launches above 350$, then this is one motherfuckin kick ass machine.

 

[ColdBlooder]

How else do you explain their products' reliability dropping substantially compared to the older more durable products. It's obviously not as much of a priority or we wouldn't have see it happen with every new release.

I didn't encounter any durability problems on any newer Nintendo handhelds/consoles

 

[NeoRausch]

I belive those were demo units in an enclosed space. So no one would steal the Wiis. Never heard or experienced the laser problem though.

Huh?! I never owened a demo unit and still i'm on my third wii.

ah whatever...at least their customer service is still as awesome as ever.

 

[lenovox1]

How else do you explain their products' reliability dropping substantially compared to the older more durable products. It's obviously not as much of a priority or we wouldn't have see it happen with every new release.

Wait, do you have numbers to back that up or are you going on anecdotal evidence? Because I can't find the failure rates for the Gamecube or the Gameboy. I do wonder what suppliers Nintendo changed out during that period, and how it might have affected the quality of their product.

 

[TheExplodingHead]

I didn't encounter any durability problems on any newer Nintendo handhelds/consoles

The point was there is a ratio of faulty hardware with both the Wii and newer DS lines that didn't exist in this # with older hardware.

So it's either;

1) Absolute reliability and durability isn't as much of a policy as it was before.

2) Nintendo just doesn't have the engineers they used to, as well as enough rigorous testing before it goes on shelves.

Both policy problems though.

Wait, do you have numbers to back that up or are you going on anecdotal evidence? Because I can't find the failure rates for the Gamecube or the Gameboy. I do wonder what suppliers Nintendo changed out during that period, and how it might have affected the quality of their product.

Are you really debating this? If so, please go Google GCN failure rates vs. Wii failure rates.

 

[AzaK]

The point was there is a ratio of faulty hardware with both the Wii and newer DS lines that didn't exist in this # with older hardware.

So it's either;

1) Absolute reliability and durability isn't as much of a policy as it was before.

2) Nintendo just doesn't have the engineers they used to, as well as enough rigorous testing before it goes on shelves.

Both policy problems though.



Are you really debating this? If so, please go Google GCN failure rates vs. Wii failure failure.

Yah something's wrong for sure. Making a system that puts vertical lines on the screen when closed is appalling quality control. I have to clean mine every time I go to play it.

 

[HylianTom]

I know that if Nintendo ever wants to change back to some sort of solid state physical media for their games in the future, my heart will not be the least bit broken. Fewer moving parts? Yes please!

Every time I hear my Wii clicking as it loads from a disc, I cringe a bit in fear that something has gone terribly wrong.

 

[Plinko]

If Nintendo launches above 350$, then this is one motherfuckin kick ass machine.

Or Nintendo once again overestimating the public's drive to own one of their systems.

I don't see them making the 3DS mistake again.

Then again, I thought there was no way we'd see another repeat of "this generation" of consoles and rumors point to us seeing exactly that, so who knows.

 

[-KRS-]

ds lite, dsi could crack AT THE HINGE.

Just wanted to add that this happened to my sisters pink DS Phat as well. So it was a problem from the start. It took several years for it to happen to that specific DS though.

Though I thought that the DSi had fixed that issue.

I belive those were demo units in an enclosed space. So no one would steal the Wiis. Never heard or experienced the laser problem though.

Actually, if I recall correctly, it was caused by the network card becoming too hot while in idle mode (aka WiiConnect24 mode on) which would make the GPU overheat for some weird reason. This resulted in permanent flickering pixels on the image which were not supposed to be there. And the laser issue was that some units stopped reading dual-layer discs. I had both of these issues with my launch week Wii after a little more than a year. It was when Smash Bros Brawl came out that I noticed the laser problem because that was the first Wii game on a dual-layer disc. It did work eventually if you inserted and ejected the disc multiple times, and after that point the game just worked like normal. But every time I wanted to boot it up I had to spend like 5 minutes of inserting and ejecting the disc, getting a "No disc" message every time.

I eventually RMAd that unit and received a brand new one from Nintendo and that still works as it should.

 

[lenovox1]

Are you really debating this? If so, please go Google GCN failure rates vs. Wii failure rates.

Uh-huh. So. . . where are the numbers? ETA: Hmm, there were early problems with the Gameboy, too. . .

 

[Roo]

Huh?! I never owened a demo unit and still i'm on my third wii.

ah whatever...at least their customer service is still as awesome as ever.

Damn... really?
I'm still using my launch Wii and it runs flawlessly

 

[TheExplodingHead]

Uh-huh. So. . . where are the numbers? ETA: Hmm, there were early problems with the Gameboy, too. . .

Google is your friend. A bit busy to "prove" to you what almost everyone else already knows.

 

[test_account]

The point was there is a ratio of faulty hardware with both the Wii and newer DS lines that didn't exist in this # with older hardware.

Except with the NES toaster The 72pin connector got problems after a while. But at least that is very easy to fix oneself, no need to send it in for repair.

But hardware failure is more likely to happen once things gets more advanced, since then more things can go wrong.

 

[Schnei871]

I bought a wii day one. Have used it pretty consistently for evenings at a time since purchase and had not a single problem

 

[ColdBlooder]

Percentage consoles that were repaired or replaced
XBox 360 : 42%
PS3 : 8%
Wii : <1%

Percentage consoles repaired replaced more than once (among those who answered Yes)
XBox 360 : 55%
PS3 : 12%
Wii : 0%

Repaired more than two times
XBox 360 : 39%
PS3 : 8%
Wii : 0%

Repaired more than five times
Xbox 360 : 3%
PS3 : 1%
Wii : 0%

<1% is EXTREMELY good btw...

source: http://gorumors.com/crunchies/game-console-failure-rate-xbox-360-vs-ps3-vs-wii/

EDIT: Even more details on the numbers: http://www.nofussreviews.com/survey-results-2011

 

[TheExplodingHead]

Percentage consoles that were repaired or replaced
XBox 360 : 42%
PS3 : 8%
Wii : <1%

Percentage consoles repaired replaced more than once (among those who answered Yes)
XBox 360 : 55%
PS3 : 12%
Wii : 0%

Repaired more than two times
XBox 360 : 39%
PS3 : 8%
Wii : 0%

Repaired more than five times
Xbox 360 : 3%
PS3 : 1%
Wii : 0%

<1% is EXTREMELY good btw...

source: http://gorumors.com/crunchies/game-console-failure-rate-xbox-360-vs-ps3-vs-wii/

First things first – this is not a study from an established market research firm. Independent review site, NoFussReviews conducted a survey of over 500,000 game console owners to look into the failure rate of their consoles.

...seems like a reliable source.

 

[lenovox1]

Google is your friend. A bit busy to "prove" to you what almost everyone else already knows.

Like I said before, there aren't any numbers for Gamecube (Nintendo didn't release any. There doesn't appear to be any consumer surveys around that time.) You can't have this kind of discussion without facts.

Unless you actually know of a policy change Nintendo's made or you know about the quality of the parts Nintendo gets from its suppliers or something else other than your gut and what you see.

...seems like a reliable source.

It isn't, but people who sell warranties for electronics say 2.4% of Wiis die. I can't find numbers from a similar source for the Gamecube. I mean, even results from an Internet survey like the one ColdBlooder posted would be nice.

 

[NeoRausch]

Damn... really?
I'm still using my launch Wii and it runs flawlessly

Yup, first one was a launch unit and started to show graphic errors while playing excitetrucks and zelda tp. Strange enough: the error just accoured with smoke/dust effects and on green pixels :/

got a new one for free.

Second one stopped reading discs while i was playing xenoblade (yes i used the lens cleaner).

got a new one for 75 bucks.

as said: hardware is downhill the last years. Customes service is still pretty much the best one out there.

 

[ColdBlooder]

...seems like a reliable source.

YOU are the one too lazy to google... Seriusly... Dont like the numbers? Google yourself dude!

 

[Sadist]

http://www.forgetthebox.net/mag/culture/forum-m/rumor-wii-u-price.php

So uh... did anyone see this?

 

[HylianTom]

Or Nintendo once again overestimating the public's drive to own one of their systems.

I don't see them making the 3DS mistake again.

Then again, I thought there was no way we'd see another repeat of "this generation" of consoles and rumors point to us seeing exactly that, so who knows.

I see $350 as Nintendo releasing a console that's a bit more powerful than we expeted.. it'd also be Nintendo refusing to take a loss on each unit sold.

Previously, I was convinced on that pricepoint. But with MS and Sony potentially going the higher-end route this time around, I could see Nintendo aggressively trying to strike a contrast in consumers' eyes. The shopper could see Wii U screens for $299 and then PS4 screens for $599, and I could see many of them concluding that the difference simply isn't worth $300, troll ass warthairs and all.

Then again, with well-timed price cuts on the PS3 and 360, Nintendo is going to have to find a sweet spot. The price balancing act is more perilous this time around..

 

[Lord Ghirahim]

I got two DOA Wii systems. I trust no one.

 

[-Pyromaniac-]

http://www.forgetthebox.net/mag/cult...ii-u-price.php

So uh... did anyone see this?

can't speak on the reliability of their sources but I always maintained that 249 = pipe dream, 299 = sweet spot, 349 = pushing your luck for nintendo.

 

[Pseudo_Sam]

For the amount of units produced, the Wii failure rate was quite commendable. For the record, my Wii's GPU got some heat damage, and there are visible artifacts while playing almost any game, so I didn't escape scot-free unfortunately.

 

[TheExplodingHead]

Like I said before, there aren't any numbers for Gamecube (Nintendo didn't release any. There doesn't appear to be any consumer surveys around that time.) You can't have this kind of discussion without facts.

Unless you actually know of a policy change Nintendo's made or you know about the quality of the parts Nintendo gets from its suppliers or something else other than your gut and what you see.



It isn't, but people who sell warranties for electronics say the 2.4% of Wiis die. I can't find numbers from a similar source for the Gamecube.

I never said it wasn't my subjective take on it. I look at the recent continual problems with handhelds, and I look at the Wii (disc drive buzzing, scratching games, overheating and getting graphical artifacts from a fried GPU). I look and I see these issues were so widespread unlike they were during the GCN era and before.

What am I supposed to think? Nintendo just got lazy? Nintendo just stopped caring about quality control, or that they just had a run of bad luck? How does one rationalize this phenomena and NOT see that it's possibly due to a shift in company policy/priority.

I'm not saying this is a clinched argument, just putting it out there as an argument.

YOU are the one too lazy to google... Seriusly... Dont like the numbers? Google yourself dude!

Um hmm, so what are you arguing sir?

 

[NeoRausch]

http://www.forgetthebox.net/mag/culture/forum-m/rumor-wii-u-price.php

So uh... did anyone see this?

Huh? Better cameras?

Yes, please!

 

[Snakeyes]

At $249 it's an insta-buy for me. At $299, I'll bite at launch if the games are there. If it's $349 or more they can fuck off until a price drop and/or F-Zero.

 

[Pseudo_Sam]

Huh? Better cameras?

Yes, please!

3DS camera are so shit, it's embarrassing. Who could possibly enjoy taking photos with that thing?

 

[Fourth Storm]

My launch Wii's GPU started to overheat when I got Super Mario Galaxy 2 back in 2010. And Nintendo customer service wanted to charge me the full $70 repair fee even though it was a known issue exacerbated by the Wii Connect 24 "feature."

I still can't switch over my VC games to the new Wii I ended up buying without sending in both systems, which to me is unacceptable. Is this going to be what it's like when the Wii U padlet breaks down?

 

[NeoRausch]

3DS camera are so shit, it's embarrassing. Who could possibly enjoy taking photos with that thing?

Nintendo: Take awesome photos...IN 3D!

Me: meh, i can's see shit! Thanks, VGA!

 

[Sadist]

My launch Wii had serious problems after the release of Brawl. I sent it to Nintendo and I got a new Wii and a new copy of Brawl to boot. Pretty pleased about the service.

 

[ColdBlooder]

Fact is there is NO official failure rate for any console!

But between 2001 and 2012 with more and more people on the internet ever year, more people will come forward and share their "my console died on me" story, mayking it look like the failure rate whent up while in fact its just more people who are able to share their story.

We have NO way of comparing failure raites.

Only thing is for sure. This gen Microsoft easily outdid the PS3 and Wii combined!

 

[Pseudo_Sam]

Nintendo: Take awesome photos...IN 3D!

Me: meh, i can's see shit! Thanks, VGA!

It's frustrating because the AR possibilities are so cool, but will likely never be fully utilized in part because of the awful camera quality.

 

[Oddduck]

http://www.forgetthebox.net/mag/culture/forum-m/rumor-wii-u-price.php

So uh... did anyone see this?

So it costs $180 to make Wii U (including cost of controller) and they are targeting no less than $300.

Man Nintendo will make quite a hefty profit if that's the case.

 

[TheExplodingHead]

Fact is there is NO official failure rate for any console!

But between 2001 and 2012 with more and more people on the internet ever year, more people will come forward and share their "my console died on me" story, mayking it look like the failure rate whent up while in fact its just more people who are able to share their story.

We have NO way of comparing failure raites.

I didn't know that, thanks. I thought somebody must have thrown together the PS2/Xbox/GCN failure rates into a chart and did the same for this gen, and saw how they compared. I guess not, but anyway thanks I didn't know that.

Only thing is for sure. This gen Microsoft easily outdid the PS3 and Wii combined!

This is 10000% true. For all intents and purposes MS ran the ultimate heist of gamer dollars with their RRoD scandal, and sat on their hands for a full year before implementing the 3 year coverage for RRoD. And where were the "gaming journalists" then?

 

[test_account]

So it costs $180 to make Wii U (including cost of controller) and they are targeting no less than $300.

Man Nintendo will make quite a hefty profit if that's the case.

The $180 is estimated for the materials alone. It will cost money to assemble it, ship it, pack it etc. etc.

 

[AceBandage]

How would they have a BoM for a completely unfinalized product?
Seems fishy.

 

[HylianTom]

This is 10000% true. For all intents and purposes MS ran the ultimate heist of gamer dollars with their RRoD scandal, and sat on their hands for a full year before implementing the 3 year coverage for RRoD. And where were the "gaming journalists" then?

They were busy dancing and swinging around in circles with their free review copies of the big titles. And enjoying free slim versions of the console. You know.. the usual..

 

[Oddduck]

The $180 is estimated for the materials alone. It will cost money to assemble it, ship it, pack it etc. etc.

Good point.

The $180 figure does sound pretty believable since it doesn't include all the extra costs of packaging, shipping, labor, inventory costs, etc.

How would they have a BoM for a completely unfinalized product?
Seems fishy.

I'm sure by now they have a rough idea of what most of the materials/components will cost. In early June, they will give us the retail price, so they'll need to know the BoM to give that retail price.

 

[magash]

How would they have a BoM for a completely unfinalized product?
Seems fishy.

Exactly. Something is not right here

 

[Snakeyes]

So it costs $180 to make Wii U (including cost of controller) and they are targeting no less than $300.

Man Nintendo will make quite a hefty profit if that's the case.

I don't think so... Remember when Iwata said they learned a lesson with pricing the 3DS at $249? They were probably planning to launch the Wii U at $349 or more at first but backpedaled on the idea after the 3DS' sub-par performance.

 

[Persona7]

My launch Wii had serious problems after the release of Brawl. I sent it to Nintendo and I got a new Wii and a new copy of Brawl to boot. Pretty pleased about the service.

Yeah, my wii started spitting disks out for no reason at all and the customer service guy I talked to asked me if I had Smash Brothers Brawl and I got a free repair and disk replacement even though the wii was well out of warranty. They have a entire section on the customer service web site related to disk drive errors and dual layer games, I guess it must be a pretty big problem.

 

[Oddduck]

It would seem ridiculous for them not to know what most of the components of the Wii U costs by now.

Especially after delivering final development kits to developers.

 

[TheExplodingHead]

Yeah, my wii started spitting disks out for no reason at all and the customer service guy I talked to asked me if I had Smash Brothers Brawl and I got a free repair and disk replacement even though the wii was well out of warranty. They have a entire section on the customer service web site related to disk drive errors and dual layer games, I guess it must be a pretty big problem.

Besides the increasing number of system faults these devices have these days, I've always heard that Nintendo really takes care of their customers when there's a problem like this. Which is great, I had to go through hell (talking to people I didn't understand) trying to get my first RRoD console replaced.