Yeah.. when you have a gaming media that's singing the talking points and arguments against you like a relentless choir, engraining these these thoughts into the "core" crowd, the job gets very very tough. I still don't agree with the idea that Nintendo has to "play nice" with the outlets that stab and punch at 'em whenever they get a chance.
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Wii U Speculation thread IV: Photoshop rumors and image memes
- Thread starter Sadist
- Start date
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GameplayWhore
Member
Fine by me. Fellow at my last house party taught me that you can just cook cheap wine and add spicey stuff and flaming sugar and then it tastes good. Well, as good as wine can possibly taste, I guess.
Perhaps you forget, but we just had a huge leak of what looks like an amazing game. And an interview from a dev suggesting that the surprises to the end user will be plentiful. And more data on the Autodesk middleware. And strong hinting about Sega's racing game coming to the system. And a list of pre-E3 events which could spark new news. And confirmation that Frontier is working on a Wii U project. And an update on Monolith's work. And that's all after the pretty decent list of news coming out of Nintendo's annual report and the Q&A. It's only been a couple business days since then.
It's not like we're not getting news or leaks.
No games, just HYPE.
Skiesofwonder
Walruses, camels, bears, rabbits, tigers and badgers.
Yeah I'm usually like that but this thread just makes the wait seem so much longer for some reason. A month seems like forever.
I'll start taking your approach though a week before E3.
AceBandage
Banned
What was the update on Monolith, exactly?
GameplayWhore
Member
Well, if you didn't break so often, we wouldn't have to repurchase you all the time!
I'd think it a pretty dumb move. Nintendo's last system to launch in other than the 4th quarter had teething problems. It's sort of nice to explode out the gate.
Then again, you guys should know by now the two conditions under which I'd totally accept a late launch.
They are hiring some new positions for their games. Also, if it wasn't confirmed before, the website confirms that the new Kyoto studio is making a 3DS game.
GameplayWhore
Member
Hmm. #15391, lemme look it up…
It seems to be information on what they're hiring for. here's the link
-Pyromaniac-
Member
I never doubt nintendo can release 2 good "core" oriented games. Lets see them sustain it along with 3rd parties for a full generation is what I'm saying.
I disagree though that ANYONE should blame consumers. The company pushes the perception, he even admits that they specifically focused too much in one area causing the backlash. When it comes to consumers and consumer products, it's 99% up to the company to decide how they look.
Sony did a great job of completely revamping their image midway through this generation.
AceBandage
Banned
Smiles and Cries
Member
I'd think it a pretty dumb move. Nintendo's last system to launch in other than the 4th quarter had teething problems. It's sort of nice to explode out the gate.
Then again, you guys should know by now the two conditions under which I'd totally accept a late launch.
well yeah this would be a huge problem, and there is no signs of delays as far as we know
I am just getting a major megaton meltdown out of the way by asking about a Spring 2013 delay
it would need GTA V to smooth out the damage lol
GameplayWhore
Member
Yep, they mention that. Also experience with Havok for their Tokyo Wii U title.
Both the 3DS and Wii U games mention "battle scenes" and possibly other things which imply that both may be jRPGs.
Sony's image is still pretty far gone from what it used to be.
ColdBlooder
Banned
Seriusly, whats a Month after you suffered through the insane drought for 11 Month already?
(With 2 tiny drops of water in January and April)
(With 2 tiny drops of water in January and April)
Skiesofwonder
Walruses, camels, bears, rabbits, tigers and badgers.
I said substantial news. Rayman Legends leak and Q&A are the only ones that fit that description, the only two worthy of it's own thread. We have no other Q&A coming up, and I doubt any one is going to allow such a huge leak again like RL, and especially UbiSoft which I'm sure got a nasty letter about the whole ordeal.
Nintendo seems very set on starting the hype for Wii-U at E3, and I think they are doing everything in their power to keep everything quite until then. May is going to be a long and shush month IMO.
Smiles and Cries
Member
I don't think people give Microsoft enough credit for taking Sony to where it is now, they had as much to do with it as the missteps Sony made
-Pyromaniac-
Member
their brand isn't as strong as it used to be, definitely. But lets not deny that they didn't completely revamp a lot of perceptions and a lot of their image midway through this generation, especially with core gamers, that probably saved them. Just saying. Nintendo had a choice. They made theirs. No one's fault but theirs.
Good that Iwata admits it, now lets see them change it. I fully expect the launch/window to be great, but I'm looking for the latter years being just as strong.
AceBandage
Banned
Sony's marketing for pretty much the entire generation was horrendous. Add to that the fact that Sony barely supported their handheld and you have a company that basically just sabotaged itself. MS certainly pounced on it (then went crazy the last few E3s) but it was far more Sony's own doing.
ColdBlooder
Banned
Well the only new 2 things from the trailer was the "announcement" of the WiiU port and the second one that it has NFC features.
And NFC in the WiiU, we already knew since January.
In retrospect, its not mindblowing for a leak but still very nice and unexpected!
Anything else that the console might have as a feature is still a secret. That propably will remain this way till June 5th
GameplayWhore
Member
*clicks "Quote"*
*fails*
*clicks "Quote" above that*
*fails*
*third time's the charm*
Woohoo, it finally worked!
Hmm. Did they? I know that people on message boards seem to dislike them less, but I don't see much that's changed among my admittedly anecdotal list of real life gamer friends. Basically, the system is cheaper, and people I know recognize that (if they notice the PS3 at all). But little of their image revamping, if that has happened to any substantial extent, seems to have had much of a palpable, measurable result. Their now phenomenally cheaper system is selling faster than it did at full price but not by a staggering amount, and their financial bottom line in their "Consumer Products and Services" division suggests that they still have to bleed staggering amounts of money in order to sell their systems. If they had a good reputation, much less a great one, they should not be needing to lose money in their division in order to offload their hardware.
*fails*
*clicks "Quote" above that*
*fails*
*third time's the charm*
Woohoo, it finally worked!
Hmm. Did they? I know that people on message boards seem to dislike them less, but I don't see much that's changed among my admittedly anecdotal list of real life gamer friends. Basically, the system is cheaper, and people I know recognize that (if they notice the PS3 at all). But little of their image revamping, if that has happened to any substantial extent, seems to have had much of a palpable, measurable result. Their now phenomenally cheaper system is selling faster than it did at full price but not by a staggering amount, and their financial bottom line in their "Consumer Products and Services" division suggests that they still have to bleed staggering amounts of money in order to sell their systems. If they had a good reputation, much less a great one, they should not be needing to lose money in their division in order to offload their hardware.
Smiles and Cries
Member
-Pyromaniac-
Member
They went from the super expensive console that had no games to actually almost catching up to microsoft, having tons of content, the most exclusive content (most of which is high quality), and they went from super expensive to "best value" with built in wifi, bluray player, large harddrive, free online gaming, and so on for a price that was very competitive with the xbox.
Their sales completely turned around. So yes, your anecdotal evidence is just that...
They unleashed tons of first party content almost relentlessly, dropped the price, revamped their marketing campaign. They went all out. It probably saved them.
The problem with analyzing Sony's mindshare performance this gen is that it's impossible to determine how effective their strategies were at mitigating the Playstation brand's downward spiral and how much of their success can be directly attributed to lingering threads of their dominant status from last gen. Nintendo is comparatively easier to look at because they had a meteoric rise from 3rd place scrubs to 1st place champions and then within the last 1-2 years went back down to little more than a consumer afterthought.
To give sony credit though, they've certainly tried to do everything right since the catastrophic launch of the PS3.
I'd still argue though that Nintendo mindshare is far from horrible in japan. They've got problems over there but they're still a much larger figure in Japan than they are elsewhere in the world at the moment.
To give sony credit though, they've certainly tried to do everything right since the catastrophic launch of the PS3.
I'd still argue though that Nintendo mindshare is far from horrible in japan. They've got problems over there but they're still a much larger figure in Japan than they are elsewhere in the world at the moment.
-Pyromaniac-
Member
the mark of any fad
Precisely. I'll suffer through the final stretch for that thrilling hour+ of surprises.
Nintendo revealing surprises now? Talk about foot shooting!
Fourth Storm
Member
Warning: Rant Incoming!!!
So the final form factor of the Wii U is set to be unveiled at E3. I'm hyped, and regardless of hardware specs, I'm ready to be blown away. There has been one thing that has been bugging me, however: we still have not gotten confirmation that the system will support two controllers, or that Nintendo will somehow sell them individually.
I see this as the system's true Achilles heel. This is something that consumers will immediately notice, and it will not be in a good way. Nobody is going to care that Nintendo are trying to save parents a few bucks when their kids break the tablet controller fighting over who gets to use it. And if it breaks, then what? Nintendo better at least offer a trade-in/repair program at retail outlets, because their customer service is gonna get smacked hard if not.
We've been going over some ideas regarding asymetrical multiplayer, and alot of them are really neat. That's not going to count for jack shit, though, in the mass market. Perhaps that is going a bit far, but it's going to be an extremely tough sell on consumers. Nintendo have a hard enough time communicating how 3DS is a true successor. They will certainly have an uphill battle in communicating how 1 new controller is better than 2 (or 4). In the cases of Mario Kart or Madden, the limits of only allowing one controller will be spotlighted. It's an embarrassing situation, and no amount of damage control will be able to hide that. Asymmetrical multiplayer does have the potential to offer new experiences, but it is simply not as enticing a proposition as Nintendo believe it will be.
It's been nearly a year since last E3, where numerous members of the press and development community expressed befuddlement over Nintendo's choice to limit the DRCs to one per system. They have had ample time to modify the hardware so that 2 controllers are possible, but wsippel's info that the DSP is only prepared to send a mono sound signal when 2 DRCs are in play indicates that perhaps Nintendo are not taking this concern seriously enough.
When Nintendo unveil the final form factor of the Wii U and controller, it is imperative that they show two DRCs side by side w/ the system itself. We here in this thread know that the manufacturing cost of the DRC is not outrageous. With the presumed new stream of low-risk revenue coming from digital downloads, Nintendo should sell DRCs separately at cost or only slightly above cost. If they only ship a limited quantity at first and target it only at core players, that might work out, since it seems that many of the launch titles will only utilize 1 DRC anyway. If, however, Nintendo stubbornly stick to their guns on this issue, as they have with others in the past, I have a very strong feeling that it will come back to bite them in the ass.
So the final form factor of the Wii U is set to be unveiled at E3. I'm hyped, and regardless of hardware specs, I'm ready to be blown away. There has been one thing that has been bugging me, however: we still have not gotten confirmation that the system will support two controllers, or that Nintendo will somehow sell them individually.
I see this as the system's true Achilles heel. This is something that consumers will immediately notice, and it will not be in a good way. Nobody is going to care that Nintendo are trying to save parents a few bucks when their kids break the tablet controller fighting over who gets to use it. And if it breaks, then what? Nintendo better at least offer a trade-in/repair program at retail outlets, because their customer service is gonna get smacked hard if not.
We've been going over some ideas regarding asymetrical multiplayer, and alot of them are really neat. That's not going to count for jack shit, though, in the mass market. Perhaps that is going a bit far, but it's going to be an extremely tough sell on consumers. Nintendo have a hard enough time communicating how 3DS is a true successor. They will certainly have an uphill battle in communicating how 1 new controller is better than 2 (or 4). In the cases of Mario Kart or Madden, the limits of only allowing one controller will be spotlighted. It's an embarrassing situation, and no amount of damage control will be able to hide that. Asymmetrical multiplayer does have the potential to offer new experiences, but it is simply not as enticing a proposition as Nintendo believe it will be.
It's been nearly a year since last E3, where numerous members of the press and development community expressed befuddlement over Nintendo's choice to limit the DRCs to one per system. They have had ample time to modify the hardware so that 2 controllers are possible, but wsippel's info that the DSP is only prepared to send a mono sound signal when 2 DRCs are in play indicates that perhaps Nintendo are not taking this concern seriously enough.
When Nintendo unveil the final form factor of the Wii U and controller, it is imperative that they show two DRCs side by side w/ the system itself. We here in this thread know that the manufacturing cost of the DRC is not outrageous. With the presumed new stream of low-risk revenue coming from digital downloads, Nintendo should sell DRCs separately at cost or only slightly above cost. If they only ship a limited quantity at first and target it only at core players, that might work out, since it seems that many of the launch titles will only utilize 1 DRC anyway. If, however, Nintendo stubbornly stick to their guns on this issue, as they have with others in the past, I have a very strong feeling that it will come back to bite them in the ass.
the mark of any fad
Ugh. Not really. I've said this so many times...but the Wii was supremely dominant on the market for 4 years out of its entire 6 year run. And while that might seem like a fad, it's decline can be directly contributed to a lack of support from nintendo themselves. Those assholes jumped ship at the beginning of 2011.
-Pyromaniac-
Member
I would call the PS2 supremely dominant. I'd just call the Wii dominant.
But yeah I agree.
Fourth Storm
Member
I agree. If Nintendo had released Wii U holiday 2011 and 3DS holiday 2010, it's possible the losses could have been averted. Instead, they tried to milk Wii for one more year, when their cycles have traditionally been 5 years. When the Gamecube was tanking, GBA was there to keep them in the black. When 3DS had its rocky start, Wii was simply not up to the task.
JosephManderley
Member
Am I the only one who really hopes the console's design has undergone a big change?
I really don't want it to look anything like the Wii. I think part of the 3DS's early problems were that it looked to much like a DS. I think the Wii U should look very different from the Wii, with perhaps the blue light around the disc slot remaining as an "iconic" feature.
I really don't want it to look anything like the Wii. I think part of the 3DS's early problems were that it looked to much like a DS. I think the Wii U should look very different from the Wii, with perhaps the blue light around the disc slot remaining as an "iconic" feature.
I think this falls more along the lines of Ninty transitioning resources over to Wii U development more than anything. Regardless of whether they released Wii U last year or this year there would still be a gap of no software in the final year of Wii...
They already said last E3 that the console itself was a prototype design...
Fourth Storm
Member
I agree and am hopeful for some alterations to the design. The fact that an investor named the 3DS case design as an issue, and that Iwata seemed to take the concern seriously, leads me to believe there's a decent chance. Just how different it ends up looking is anyone's guess.
Yeah, this is the sad sad pitfall of having a large majority of the worthwhile software come from 1st party teams. Those transition years hurt way more.
I would like that very much. And to beat a dead horse, some color on the console's plastic would be immediately distinguishing. Black, blue, purple, green, orange.. just give us something other than white!
Hell, if I had to choose between a name change and a guarantee of different colors on Launch Day, I'll take a purple Wii U please!
test_account
XP-39C²
I see that situation. I experienced cheaters on MW2 on PS3 later on and it really ruins the fun. Luckily for me, i didnt play MW2 activly then, i just tried it again because of the reports of cheaters. The cheats even included god mode, making it impossible to kill them.
I'm not sure that Iwata specifically mentioned code-cards, but he did mention wholesale and digital distribution for retailers, so i assumed that it is something that the retailers have to buy in advance. Unless he only ment wholesale of physical copies, but that wasnt clear from what i've read.
Maybe this is how it works. Hopefully they will tell more about it at this year's E3.
Dreamwriter
Member
I don't think it makes any difference what it looks like, it's what the packaging looks like, because that's what people see in stores. It doesn't matter much if someone is confused in the home of a Wii-U owner, only if they are confused in the store.
But I agree that personally, I'd like it to look different.
Fantastical
Death Prophet
GameplayWhore
Member
Hm. They sold (to retailers, which I think is all we have to work with on a global basis) about 8.7m systems in their first full calendar year (2007), about 10.7m in the calendar year after that (2008), 12.4m after that (2009), 14.4m in 2010, and 14.1m in 2011. Mostly year on year improvements, but if their image were really improved, I still maintain that they wouldn't need to take massive losses nearly every quarter currently to sell the product. I think that the lion's share of the increase can be explained as due to simply becoming a cheaper product.
(for comparison's sake, contemporary console Xbox 360's first full calendar year was 8.9m, and its most recent full calendar year was 14.9m, approximately the same overall increase as for the PS3)
Granted, Sony had to go through tremendous efforts to avoid further losing consumer interest while their prices were higher than most customers were willing to buy at. They get credit for that, certainly.
What if they did it the other way? My impression is that the DS still had a decent amount of life left in it when its successor was announced, and the Wii did not. They could have taken resources from the teams making DS games to help work on the Wii U, especially since the DS actually had a healthy third party ecosystem, and then they'd have at least a little bit of resource left over to work on Wii games.
edit: That sad guy is very bouncy. What, is there an earthquake going on?
So the question is, which concept art (floating castle and crashed UFO) is for the Wii U and which is for 3DS?
Dreamwriter
Member
I disagree with your rant. While as a developer I immediately thought of a couple cool ideas for two to four controllers when I first saw it, and I'm disappointed in the lack, I don't think the mainstream audience would give a fig about it. Especially with Mario Kart - why do you bring that up as something that would highlight the limit? Mario Kart works perfectly well without a second screen, even on DS and 3DS I *never* look down at the bottom screen. And nobody thinks about replacement parts when learning about a system or even buying it. Maybe in a few months after launch some news stories might start coming out about it. And Nintendo said they would treat the controller as part of the main console - its repair/replacement options will be exactly the same as if your console stopped reading discs. That's always cheaper than buying a replacement yourself anyways, even when replacing the entire console, the Wii non-warranty replacement cost was $75 even from day one.
And us developers aren't befuddled by Nintendo's choice to only support one controller, we know exactly why they did it - because of network bandwidth, reliability, and of course the GPU power needed to render three complete scenes at once. It's obvious that by limiting the system to only one screen, Nintendo was making life a LOT easier both for themselves and developers, and in the process enabling higher quality graphics because no developer would have to decide between better graphics or supporting multiple controllers.
Hard to say, there's no guarantee that either piece of art is for an actual game. Having said that, the castle art was done by Honne who is supposedly heading the Kyoto studio. So Honne's game is probably the 3DS one, unless he was only in Kyoto to help the studio get up and running.
Smiles and Cries
Member
we are going to need a countdown in the next thread... how long does this one have left? A week?
As long as there's a lot of content for the 3DS, I think I can wait. I really doubt they would delay it until 2013 though.
GameplayWhore
Member
Half that at best
unless HylianTom and AceBandage go on a sudden vacation
Haha.. no vacation this year. Nearly all of my PTO at work is gaming-related:
- E3 (2 days)
- Symphony of the Goddesses (3 days)
- Pre-order Day (2 days)
- Launch Week (5 days)
I have this thread with me at all times via iPad (and I'm loving the MobileGAF app!)
AceBandage
Banned
It'll by closed be Friday. The thread will have lasted only a few weeks. Compared to seven months for the first speculation thread. If the trend continues, thread 5 will last roughly two weeks.
Smiles and Cries
Member
must not get an iPad... must not get an iPad...
my life is stuck here enough as is mmmm
Smiles and Cries
Member
What about stuff like Madden? I'm not a developer, but displaying a crude map of the field and being able to set up plays on two DRCs would not take a big amount of resources.
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