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[cyberheater]

WiiU will be on the market for 1+ years before MS and Sony's next consoles come out. Even when they come out, it will be another year forthw huge third party games to be released.

I'm willing to bet there are more 3rd party games being developed for PS720 right now then for WiiU. It also wouldn't surprise me that after 3 months of release of the next HD twins, they'll have more 3rd party games then WiiU.

 

[RedSwirl]

What do you guys think could happen if Nintendo does a better job of advertising Virtual Console on the Wii U? I think we can agree that the problem with it on the Wii (aside from the lack of releases lately) is that they don't really advertise the games unless customers deliberately walk into the Wii Shop.

The 3DS does a little bit better by giving games big showcase images and though that Nintendo Zone update thing, but I hope they use the Wii U's new screen real estate to really put some of those games at the forefront. I think it's kind of a nice chance for lapsed games to instantly see some of the classics up there as soon as they log on. This is assuming that the Wii U will carry over the Wii's entire VC library.

This is an anecdotal example, but I'm trying to convince my brother to get a Wii U this fall because he basically stopped playing games after the SNES, and most of his favorite games are already up on VC. It'd be nice for him to know that as soon as he turns the thing on.

 

[majik13]

I thought switching the video outputs of the TV and gamepad was built into the operating system, no additional development work is needed. Isn't there a button on the gamepad that does the switch?

quickly tapping the home button switches the input. This is what they did in Rev3 ME3 video interview.(first time I saw it done) I suppose holding the home button brings up the hom emenu or something.

 

[Qurupeke]

WB Games Montréal (Batman Arkham City: Armored Edition)
no track record whatsoever (aside from a browser game) since it's a brand new studio

Quite disappointing. I wanted it to be developed from Rocksteady, as the PS360 version... I haven't bought AC yet just for this. I hope that WB will do a good job.

 

[Jumpman23]

I agree but if they drop Wii price before or right at Wii U launch it might confuse some consumers even further. They might buy the much cheaper Wii over the Wii U.

That is certainly a good possibility. However, I'd suspect the other 1st parties to drop prices as well though shortly after the Wii U pricing announcement in an attempt to siphon some of Nintendo's gas. If both Sony and Microsoft drop the PS3 and Xbox 360 base unit prices, Nintendo will look silly keeping the Wii at $149 (even if it has a pack in).

 

[Yuripaw]

That is certainly a good possibility. However, I'd suspect the other 1st parties to drop prices as well though shortly after the Wii U pricing announcement in an attempt to siphon some of Nintendo's gas. If both Sony and Microsoft drop the PS3 and Xbox 360 base unit prices, Nintendo will look silly keeping the Wii at $149 (even if it has a pack in).

I don't know if I think this will happen, because isn't it true that some retailers aren't even being sent more new Wiis to have in stock? Already seems to me that Nintendo is cutting the presence of the original Wii to make way for the Wii U.

On another note, one thing I realized about this entire generation that really kinda sucks is we haven't had a system reach the $99.99 mark at all. Not counting the price of used system, none of them, even the Wii have been willing to price it at that, really?

 

[D-e-f-]

Quite disappointing. I wanted it to be developed from Rocksteady, as the PS360 version... I haven't bought AC yet just for this. I hope that WB will do a good job.

It's a waste of their time, honestly. That's what port-studios are there for. All they need to do is bring the game over and get it running smoothly, you don't need an award winning team for that and stall their work on new stuff with a port.

 

[Phife Dawg]

I always liked the weird idea that they'd include some sort of StreetPass capable NFC tag. You know, a small device you put on your keychain. You'd use it to log into your Nintendo Network account, but you'd also carry it with you at all times, StreetPassing with other Wii U users. You could also use it to buy DD games in shops. Buy the game, hold your keychain to a NFC reader, and the purchase will be tied to your account. Your Wii U at home wakes up and downloads the game, and it's there and ready to go when you get home. Would also be an amazing marketing tool.

In regards to Streetpass I think two chips can't communicate with each other (one device has to be powered). But even if it is possible you have to be quite near for NFC to work properly in my experience, so it would be problematic.

 

[10k]

What would it take for a 3rd party game to sell the most on Wii U, or even just do well on Wii U?

The port would need to receive the same effort as other other ports. No features being sacrificed, not forcing the GamePad to be used, etc. dont use the rookies, the B-Team or C-team to develop the game. The last third party multiplat game I remember being treated all equally and selling the most on GameCube was Soul Calibur II with Link as the guest character. It got all features the Xbox and PS2 versions got.

http://ca.ign.com/articles/2004/01/24/graphs-soulcalibur-ii-sales

GCN had a much smaller install base then PS2, so keep that in mind.

 

[Yka]

I always liked the weird idea that they'd include some sort of StreetPass capable NFC tag. You know, a small device you put on your keychain. You'd use it to log into your Nintendo Network account, but you'd also carry it with you at all times, StreetPassing with other Wii U users. You could also use it to buy DD games in shops. Buy the game, hold your keychain to a NFC reader, and the purchase will be tied to your account. Your Wii U at home wakes up and downloads the game, and it's there and ready to go when you get home. Would also be an amazing marketing tool.

Great idea! Maybe government could also use these to track us! It could be called Mark of the U!

Devil boy says: "Sounds really good, I gotta tell this to Papa!"

P.S. Sorry... too much coffee today. =)

 

[D-e-f-]

The port would need to receive the same effort as other other ports. No features being sacrificed, not forcing the GamePad to be used, etc. dont use the rookies, the B-Team or C-team to develop the game. The last third party multiplat game I remember being treated all equally and selling the most on GameCube was Soul Calibur II with Link as the guest character. It got all features the Xbox and PS2 versions got.

http://ca.ign.com/articles/2004/01/24/graphs-soulcalibur-ii-sales

GCN had a much smaller install base then PS2, so keep that in mind.

according to vg chartz data, the PS2 version managed to sell more in the end (2.06m vs. 1.5m)

http://www.vg chartz.com/game/5713/soulcalibur-ii/

not sure how accurate this is, though.

edit: the fact that this site is banned doesn't really help lol

 

[JordanN]

Reading the last few pages, where does the idea Nintendo forces controls on developers come from?

DS didn't have it. Wii didn't either. 3DS doesn't.

So...

 

[snowdog1971]

Overall quality support from 3rd parties was underwhelming though. Sure it had thrbodd gem, but a lot of quality titles that were on the other platform never saw the light of day on the Wii. I think people are afraid that it'll happen again. I know for a fact that sports games on the Wii were beyond terrible (i.e., PES, Madden, etc...).

You're seriously wrong about Pro Evo. After playing Pro Evo with pointer controls playing any other football game on any other console is a serious letdown. And Tiger Woods on the Wii is streets ahead of the other SKUs.

The main problem that the Wii has had this gen is that thanks to Hollywood using fixed functions instead of unified shaders the Wii has a nonstandard rendering pipeline making porting to and from the console a great deal of hard work. The U won't have this problem.

 

[D-e-f-]

Reading the last few pages, where does the idea Nintendo forces controls on developers come from?

DS didn't have it. Wii didn't either. 3DS doesn't.

So...

It came from semi-trolling

Glad that discussion died down. Let's move on! Gotta prepare for the next hypetrain derail!

 

[Father_Brain]

The port would need to receive the same effort as other other ports. No features being sacrificed, not forcing the GamePad to be used, etc. dont use the rookies, the B-Team or C-team to develop the game. The last third party multiplat game I remember being treated all equally and selling the most on GameCube was Soul Calibur II with Link as the guest character. It got all features the Xbox and PS2 versions got.

http://ca.ign.com/articles/2004/01/24/graphs-soulcalibur-ii-sales

GCN had a much smaller install base then PS2, so keep that in mind.

But what the SCII example shows is that parity isn't enough. The GC version sold best because it had an exclusive character who was a far bigger draw than Heihachi or Spawn, the respective exclusive characters in the PS2 and Xbox versions. Had all three versions really been feature-identical, the GC version would probably have sold worst by a decent margin, as was the case for nearly all other PS2/Xbox/GC multiplatform titles not aimed at a family audience.

 

[Glorified G]

You're seriously wrong about Pro Evo. After playing Pro Evo with pointer controls playing any other football game on any other console is a serious letdown. And Tiger Woods on the Wii is streets ahead of the other SKUs.

He's seriously not. The way some people (and you) hyped up the control scheme I was expecting the end all be all of controlling soccer games. But in reality, I got a different yet entertaining way to play the game. Maybe it was because my experience in the past playing pro evo on the ps2, but the wii version is seriously overrated.

The main problem that the Wii has had this gen is that thanks to Hollywood using fixed functions instead of unified shaders the Wii has a nonstandard rendering pipeline making porting to and from the console a great deal of hard work. The U won't have this problem.

The main problem that the Wii had this gen is that thanks to the gamecube, third parties written off they system and never thought the demographics was there to sell their games.

 

[Übermatik]

Okay, I'm back from holiday. Lessgo. RETRO's new game or bust.

Also, anyone know when the event is GMT/BST?

 

[Cerebral Assassin]

He's seriously not. The way some people (and you) hyped up the control scheme I was expecting the end all be all of controlling soccer games. But in reality, I got a different yet entertaining way to play the game. Maybe it was because my experience in the past playing pro evo on the ps2, but the wii version is seriously overrated.

As someone who has been playing Pro since the SNES, the Wii version is the only one that solves the problem all football titles have; the terrible A.I. Add that to the fact that Pro(HD versions) has declined since the PS2 & it is no surprise that people talk the game up.

 

[EuroMIX]

They will run through the system and to be more specific the GPU just like all the other content processed and then output to your choice of HDMI or component cables. I can't be 100% sure though because we don't know if emulation is hardware, software, or using a mix of both. Both seems likely.

The issue might be 50hz PAL support. Games like Sonic 1 and Ecco, probably because of how early on the were made, don't seem to support 60hz. I think that what the Wii has to do is, if you're running in 60hz through composite it probably switches back to 50hz for those games, but that isn't supported for component or HDMI. Strange thing is, I believe some games were updated to support component, but many still lack this capability. This is why I'm worried, because I don't see how this will be fixed for the Wii U. I can only guess that the only way to make them fully compatible would be to include NTSC ROMs instead of the original PAL ones, or something.

It does make me wonder why would it NOT be possible to render a Wii game or VC game to the Gamepad if you can already switch from displaying to TV to display on the gamepad?

The argument is probably less a matter of how than if, seeing as it's Nintendo.

 

[Terrell]

I would make a petition that Starfox should be more aerial focused.

I don't know how miyamoto justifies the idea of turning it into another FPA like zelda, i think it was not a good idea. Starfox Adventures should be renewd and Starfox should stay aerial only. I am always for having separation rather than all-in-one.

Ground missions would be fine if they weren't so TERRIBLE. The fact you had Fox basically shooting anti-aircraft missiles into the air? Terrible. They were also overtly long and drawn out sequences. There's a way it can be done, but it needs to be smarter in implementation.

But more importantly, if the game is all-vehicle (sorry, I liked the Landmaster sections in 64), they need to do something to really make it a standout from previous Star Fox games.

Better than buying the Wii U if it has no games except a few Nintendo first party titles. Just look at the Vita, imagine if the same thing happens to the Wii U.

You just stick to that idea that the predecessor of the most successful console of this generation is going to have Vita-like sales. We'll see how far that takes you.

It works both ways, because when third parties look at the predominant demographic of the Wii owners, do they see a reason to produce quality titles? I'd argue that they'd have a pretty good case against it. Why develop and market games to the Wii demographics when the PS360 owners are predominantly young and willing to spend money on games?

Maybe the Wii owners may not see it this way or may not even care, but developers care.

Because PS360 hardcore players in the demographic you speak of are a finite market that doesn't grow at the same rate as others?

The 18-35 enthusiast demographic consists primarily of people who started gaming 10 or more years ago and are getting to an age when their ability to dedicate playtime to the hobby dwindles significantly. They will become more likely to buy fewer games as time goes on. The problem with this is that you need new enthusiast players to come in and replace their dwindling numbers.

The trick is to bring in those new enthusiast players, you need to convert casual players. And Nintendo has a significant chunk of that market almost entirely by the balls.

So reliance on an ever-dwindling population of players without repopulating their numbers through diversification into platforms with casual players is not healthy for anyone.

 

[Fourth Storm]

No.

Kind of dismissive, aren't we? You must have alot of confidence in your sources, seeing as that lherre, Prophecy2k over at Beyond3D, and the (old) leaked specs sheet are all saying 1.5 GB total, and Eurogamer seems to imply it. Even Ideaman is not so sure anymore.

Even if it's merely a framebuffer, there can still be a massive BW associated with that: a single non-HDR RGBA 720p target @30fps, zero overdraw and write-only pixels is merely 220MB/s. Make that a more reasonable x3 overdraw and it's already ~700MB/s. Make that read-modify-write (z-buffers can't be anything else) and it immediately doubles to 1.4GB/s. Add two more similar targets and it's 4.5GB/s. Make them half-precision HDR and BW jumps to 6.75GB/s. Add some FSAA to one of those targets and the numbers can start approaching 8GB/s (note that I'm not adding the effect from Nx FSAA as a dumb Nx multiplier as depending on the actual AA algorithms involved and possible extra circuitry, those can use clever lossless compressions). And we haven't even begun talking about pathological BW hogs like deferred shading algorithms! .. Ok, well, we did specify 3 targets : ) But the thing is, all that BW not being served by the UMA pool leaves more of the latter's BW for actual texel cache feeds.

All that said, no, I don't expect U-GPU's edram to be a mere framebuffer.


So do I. But not necessarily 'plain' DDR3 - could be gDDR3 as well.


Samsung, for one, have faster 4Gb parts (@20nm) on their '12 roadmaps, if their site is to be believed. If you followed the above link, though, their 2Gb/s gDDR3 has been readily available in 2Gb packages.

Thanks for the lesson on framebuffer. So I now see there is something significant to be gained there, but wouldn't Xbox 360 also have this advantage? Granted, developers had to use tiling to achieve those results, but still...

Regarding gDDR3, I don't doubt there are 4 gigabit chips in the pipeline, but I cannot find what seems to be necessary - 4 gigabit chips with a 32 bit interface. I see alot with 8 or 16 bit interfaces, presumably because they're meant to be soldered onto a 64-bit DIMM with at least 7 other chips. Only thing that's turned up for me is Micron has 800 Mhz chips w/ those specifications.

That depends entirely on the bus width and clock speed. DDR3 at 750MHz on a 128 bit bus will give you both higher bandwidth and lower latency than GDDR5 at 500MHz on a 64 bit bus. Of course there's no point putting GDDR5 on a 64 bit bus, but I hope you get my point.

Anyway, DDR3 and GDDR5 are the only options for a console releasing this year, and not only is DDR3 cheaper, but I'd guess Nintendo would prefer the latency benefits of DDR3 in any case. Furthermore, having it as a common pool is cheaper, makes things easier on developers, and allows Nintendo to free up RAM from the OS for games with firmware upgrades down the line.

I agree with the second paragraph. I read someone claim that GDDR5 is 4x as expensive. Don't know how accurate that is but seems reasonable. Why did you choose 500 Mhz as a theoretical speed for GDDR5, though? Even the chips embedded on the low power e6760 run at 800 Mhz...

 

[Jumpman23]

I don't know if I think this will happen, because isn't it true that some retailers aren't even being sent more new Wiis to have in stock? Already seems to me that Nintendo is cutting the presence of the original Wii to make way for the Wii U.

On another note, one thing I realized about this entire generation that really kinda sucks is we haven't had a system reach the $99.99 mark at all. Not counting the price of used system, none of them, even the Wii have been willing to price it at that, really?

Even more reason for a Wii price cut, clear out the retail channels?

Also, technically speaking there is a $99 Xbox 360. However, it requires a 2 year contract which in the end balloons the price so it doesn't 100% fit your description.

 

[Dreamwriter]

The main problem that the Wii had this gen is that thanks to the gamecube, third parties written off they system and never thought the demographics was there to sell their games.

No, the person you quoted was correct. The Wii was an entirely different architecture from XBox 360, PS3, and PC. If you wanted to port a game to Wii it required writing a whole new engine just for the Wii version, and then recreating a number of assets as well. It was almost as expensive as writing a new game from scratch (which oddly enough was Nintendo's excuse for the Wii's architecture, that it'd be cheap to develop for because it didn't support any of the expensive high-end graphics). This is a problem the Wii U avoids, it'll once again be cheap enough to port games to the Wii that it'll be worth it even if only a small number of people buy the games.

Developers don't "write off" a brand new game system based on the past, otherwise how did Nintendo lose the market in the first place? How did they gain it back? Each generation is a completely new playing field, and developers know this.

 

[Glorified G]

No, the person you quoted was correct. The Wii was an entirely different architecture from XBox 360, PS3, and PC. If you wanted to port a game to Wii it required writing a whole new engine just for the Wii version, and then recreating a number of assets as well. It was almost as expensive as writing a new game from scratch (which oddly enough was Nintendo's excuse for the Wii's architecture, that it'd be cheap to develop for because it didn't support any of the expensive high-end graphics).

Different architecture is completely irreverent. If the third parties don't think there is an audience there to sell their games they're not going to port it over, period. GTA III is a prime example that could have no problem being ported over to the gamecube with no hardware deficiency involved and it didn't happened.

 

[Hieberrr]

Because PS360 hardcore players in the demographic you speak of are a finite market that doesn't grow at the same rate as others?

The 18-35 enthusiast demographic consists primarily of people who started gaming 10 or more years ago and are getting to an age when their ability to dedicate playtime to the hobby dwindles significantly. They will become more likely to buy fewer games as time goes on. The problem with this is that you need new enthusiast players to come in and replace their dwindling numbers.

The trick is to bring in those new enthusiast players, you need to convert casual players. And Nintendo has a significant chunk of that market almost entirely by the balls.

So reliance on an ever-dwindling population of players without repopulating their numbers through diversification into platforms with

casual players is not healthy for anyone.

But the new demographics that the Wii brought in is not sustainable. You can't convert those people into "gamers". Sure a small percentage, but it was the simple games that enticed them in the first place. If you take that same mentality and aply it to the Wii U, what's to stop 3rd party developers from developing the same games?

There's a real possibility that the Wii U flops software wise. Nintendo has done some things like better hardware and a more traditional controller design, so that should help.

The Wii was without a doubt a success hardware wise, but a complete flop software wise for third party developers.

EDIT: I'm just saying that from a third party dev's point of view, the Wii U is a huuuuuuggee risk

 

[ozfunghi]

Kind of dismissive, aren't we? You must have alot of confidence in your sources, seeing as that lherre, Prophecy2k over at Beyond3D, and the (old) leaked specs sheet are all saying 1.5 GB total, and Eurogamer seems to imply it. Even Ideaman is not so sure anymore.

Where dit lherre state this? And what spec sheet? The one saying 3GB for the devkit?

And BG isn't saying it won't/can't be 1.5GB, he simply doesn't agree that it seems to be set in stone.

 

[japtor]

But the new demographics that the Wii brought in is not sustainable. You can't convert those people into "gamers". Sure a small percentage, but it was the simple games that enticed them in the first place. If you take that same mentality and aply it to the Wii U, what's to stop 3rd party developers from developing the same games?

There's a real possibility that the Wii U flops software wise. Nintendo has done some things like better hardware and a more traditional controller design, so that should help.

The Wii was without a doubt a success hardware wise, but a complete flop software wise for third party developers.

EDIT: I'm just saying that from a third party dev's point of view, the Wii U is a huuuuuuggee risk

Every new console is a risk. If everything was predictable generation to generation the Wii would've bombed while the PS3 ruled the world again.

 

[Hieberrr]

Every new console is a risk. If everything was predictable generation to generation the Wii would've bombed while the PS3 ruled the world again.

I'm not talking about the console though. I'm talking about third party support, which did bomb. Really hard.

I'm all for innovation as long as you don't alienate your business partners.

 

[blu]

Thanks for the lesson on framebuffer. So I now see there is something significant to be gained there, but wouldn't Xbox 360 also have this advantage? Granted, developers had to use tiling to achieve those results, but still...

Yes, Xenos too had that advantage. Tiling there, though, was not just some nuisance that devs just had to implement and everything was all peachy again. In contrast to 'purebred' tilers like IMG's, tiling is a stalling operation on Xenos - the price of each tile resolve there is about as high as a full embedded fb resolve, because they're essentially the same thing. A tile/fb resolve is essentially a designated memexport drawcall, which, in the case of a tile, is also a mid-frame fence op - you have to wait for all drawcalls to the tile to complete before you do your tile resolve, then you resume with the GPU's program for the next tile. A bubbly process all in all.

Regarding gDDR3, I don't doubt there are 4 gigabit chips in the pipeline, but I cannot find what seems to be necessary - 4 gigabit chips with a 32 bit interface. I see alot with 8 or 16 bit interfaces, presumably because they're meant to be soldered onto a 64-bit DIMM with at least 7 other chips. Only thing that's turned up for me is Micron has 800 Mhz chips w/ those specifications.

Frankly, I don't think nintendo would need to be aiming for such fat IO and densities - gDDR3-2133 @ a 96bit bus would be already 25.6GB/s.

 

[Terrell]

But the new demographics that the Wii brought in is not sustainable. You can't convert those people into "gamers". Sure a small percentage, but it was the simple games that enticed them in the first place. If you take that same mentality and aply it to the Wii U, what's to stop 3rd party developers from developing the same games?

[...]

EDIT: I'm just saying that from a third party dev's point of view, the Wii U is a huuuuuuggee risk

How did you start gaming exactly? Because I started gaming because of my mom and grandfather and their favorite game of all time, Mr. Do for the Colecovision. This, followed shortly thereafter by the likes of Pacman and other early arcade games and the Activision game line on the Atari made me a casual gamer.

To say these games are overly complex would be a downright lie. They are simplicity with huge leagues of depth, as they steadily become more difficult as you keep playing (a concept modern games really don't seem to grasp too often). They prepped me for more.

Then the NES came along, and so did Super Mario Bros. It was a step up from these older titles, for sure. But a HUGE one? No, because I had been prepared. And with that, I was officially an enthusiast gamer.

My story is not unique, it's how almost ALL of the enthusiast gamers of my generation came to be. And we are no small percentage.

So when my generation hears that "casual gamers don't usually become hardcore/enthusiast gamers" like you just said, we laugh, because we were the ones who got our parents to buy an NES and actually SAVED the industry from collapsing in on itself.

To the original point, Wii Sports' #1 failing was that it was simplicity without depth. Was it fun? Yeah, absolutely, but there is very little that one can build from the experience.

NintendoLand seems to be the game that does what Mr. Do did for me... take something simple and give it enough depth and progressive difficulty to build into enthusiast play.

 

[luffeN]

I always liked the weird idea that they'd include some sort of StreetPass capable NFC tag. You know, a small device you put on your keychain. You'd use it to log into your Nintendo Network account, but you'd also carry it with you at all times, StreetPassing with other Wii U users. You could also use it to buy DD games in shops. Buy the game, hold your keychain to a NFC reader, and the purchase will be tied to your account. Your Wii U at home wakes up and downloads the game, and it's there and ready to go when you get home. Would also be an amazing marketing tool.

You magnificent bastard. When I read about NFC today in the Wii U thread and about Skylanders and stuff I had the idea about an NFC Mii which you can put on your keychain and carry over to your friend and also StreetPass other Miis with it. I also thought that you could maybe take the uPad with you to do some Mii organizing or whatever with NFC chips.

 

[IdeaMan]

Kind of dismissive, aren't we? You must have alot of confidence in your sources, seeing as that lherre, Prophecy2k over at Beyond3D, and the (old) leaked specs sheet are all saying 1.5 GB total, and Eurogamer seems to imply it. Even Ideaman is not so sure anymore.

Well, i was never sure of an amount which was - when i talked about it - a work in progress. What i was sure, and stated as such in a thread in gaming many months before those "reveal" by eurogamer & co, is that the first batch of Wii U games are developed with 1GO for them.

It's like i explained, because of a new tidbit i've heard, about the possibility to activate some sort of "retail condition" in the dev kit, that i decided to do a small assessment of all the scenarios possible (including 1GB total) about the ram.

But it doesn't stop me to be even more enthusiast about this console technically than before, considering how much improvement my sources managed to reach for their projects since the beginning of the year.

 

[Jackano]

So a call to GAF concensus:
When the Wii U will came out, how are the odds that tranfer of my Wiiware/VC stuff from my old Wii will pass throught the same kind of weird system than for the DSi/3DS->3DS(XL)? 100%?

 

[Übermatik]

So a call to GAF concensus:
When the Wii U will came out, how are the odds that tranfer of my Wiiware/VC stuff from my old Wii will pass throught the same kind of weird system than for the DSi/3DS->3DS(XL)? 100%?

Don't get your hopes up.

 

[The_Lump]

A brand new console and people are advising we keep our expectations in check. *Sigh*, gone are the days where we can actually treat ourselves to a little hype.

We knew about Galaxy, Metroid Prime 3 Smash Bros and more all within the time frame we've had knowing about the Wii U. Pathetic.

We have to see RETRO'S new game, and I WILL expect it. Someone has to keep the faith.

I'm with you on this.

 

[KennyLinder]

Anyone thought that the different price options (if true) could be different storage sizes? I was thinking, if they are going to offer all 1st party and many 3rd party games digitally, we are going to need shit tons of storage.

 

[ScreenSplitter]

So a call to GAF concensus:
When the Wii U will came out, how are the odds that tranfer of my Wiiware/VC stuff from my old Wii will pass throught the same kind of weird system than for the DSi/3DS->3DS(XL)? 100%?

I don't think they expect us to power up both our Wii's, have separate monitors set up and both connected to the internet... right?

I mean I only have like 5 VC games on there, but I still want them transferred over. My guess; they release a "Wii U Transfer App" on the internet and on the Wii Shop. You can put it on your SD card, and using it select what you want to take to your Wii U. Its bound by serial numbers to prevent abuse etc.

 

[RedSwirl]

So a call to GAF concensus:
When the Wii U will came out, how are the odds that tranfer of my Wiiware/VC stuff from my old Wii will pass throught the same kind of weird system than for the DSi/3DS->3DS(XL)? 100%?

I'd say the chances are virtually 100%. Didn't Nintendo already say something about this?

I don't think they expect us to power up both our Wii's, have separate monitors set up and both connected to the internet... right?

I mean I only have like 5 VC games on there, but I still want them transferred over. My guess; they release a "Wii U Transfer App" on the internet and on the Wii Shop. You can put it on your SD card, and using it select what you want to take to your Wii U. Its bound by serial numbers to prevent abuse etc.

You can transfer all the contents of one PS3 HDD to another, but you have to have two PS3's powered on in order to do so. I think they have the procedure set up so that you only need a display for one of them, but I'm not sure.

 

[The_Lump]

Anyone thought that the different price options (if true) could be different storage sizes? I was thinking, if they are going to offer all 1st party and many 3rd party games digitally, we are going to need shit tons of storage.

I fully expect Nintendo branded HDDs at some point. So yeah I personally believe storage could be a reason for different sku's.

 

[ozfunghi]

But it doesn't stop me to be even more enthusiast about this console technically than before, considering how much improvement my sources managed to reach for their projects since the beginning of the year.

You promised me in a PM that you'd come back to that later, with a more specific description than "great great"... So, how many % in frames did the framerate increase?

 

[Always-honest]

Can you keep your Mii on the Wiimote and the release it in HD on the WiiU?

 

[ScreenSplitter]

You can transfer all the contents of one PS3 HDD to another, but you have to have two PS3's powered on in order to do so. I think they have the procedure set up so that you only need a display for one of them, but I'm not sure.

I guess that won't be such a problem. Who knows whether it'll even be in at launch, the 3DS didn't have the feature (Wow that launch was fucking botched the more I think about it).

I just want sweet, sweet Super Metroid & Super Mario RPG day 1!

 

[japtor]

I'm not talking about the console though. I'm talking about third party support, which did bomb. Really hard.

I'm all for innovation as long as you don't alienate your business partners.

That's what I was referring to, third parties bet based on the previous generation and got bit. There's no guarantee they'll do the same this time, the gamer dynamic for the systems can change, etc.

Don't get your hopes up.

Get hyped up about random stuff instead?

(they already said you'd be able to transfer stuff, I imagine it's poorly done like the 3DS stuff but it's still something)

Anyone thought that the different price options (if true) could be different storage sizes? I was thinking, if they are going to offer all 1st party and many 3rd party games digitally, we are going to need shit tons of storage.

Possible but three tiers just for different storage points seems excessive, it'd be more cost effective to do just one drive size (and considering the cost of drives, none would be preferable). Of course extra controllers and balance board can also be differentiators on top of the drive.

 

[ViewtifulJC]

A brand new console and people are advising we keep our expectations in check. *Sigh*, gone are the days where we can actually treat ourselves to a little hype.

We knew about Galaxy, Metroid Prime 3 Smash Bros and more all within the time frame we've had knowing about the Wii U. Pathetic.

We have to see RETRO'S new game, and I WILL expect it. Someone has to keep the faith.

Don't get your hopes up.

heh

 

[FacelessSamurai]

Today I stumbled across the info that Demiurge is doing the Aliens:CM Wii U version so I decided to create a little overview over how the ports of the current-gen games are being handled across the board.

Straight Right/Tantalus Media (Mass Effect 3)
Straight Right itself is still pretty young but they're a sister company to Tantalus Media who are an experienced port-studio, mainly doing handheld ports but also responsible for the Xbox version of Unreal II, for example.

WB Games Montréal (Batman Arkham City: Armored Edition)
no track record whatsoever (aside from a browser game) since it's a brand new studio

Demiurge Studios (Aliens: Colonial Marines)
Lots of Unreal Engine experience, started out by making a UT2004 mod, then helped out with the first Brothers in Arms games, the BioShock intro area, Mass Effect PC port + DLC, Arena Mode in Borderlands, Titan Quest, Rock Band.

Vigil (Darksiders II)
We haven't heard much from them regarding the Wii U version but from what they've talked about, they only have a small team from withing Vigil working on the game so no external port-house seems to be working on this.

4A Games (Metro: Last Light) (development on hold)
Let's not totally write this game off, even though it has been put on ice indefinitely. Apparently it was due to lack of resources which means it probably was worked on by 4A themselves again.

Ubisoft Montreal Studios (Asssassin's Creed III)
This is also ported in-house.

EA Canada (FIFA 13)
Also seems to be developed in-house.

EA Tiburon (Madden 13)
My Google search told me that the Wii U version is being handled by a dedicated team within EA Tiburon.

Anything I've missed?

Was this even useful? I just did it because I was curious, no idea if collecting this info had any greater purpose or potential use, though

About this, I know someone working on one of those ports that has told me that working on Wii U has been a real pain in the ass so far and that most of the team members haven't really liked their experiences developing for Wii U. Apparently almost all documentation is in japanese and Nintendo hasn't been that much of a big help. So I won't be surprised if most ports are sub par at launch.

 

[ScreenSplitter]

About this, I know someone working on one of those ports that has told me that working on Wii U has been a real pain in the ass so far and that most of the team members haven't really liked their experiences developing for Wii U. Apparently almost all documentation is in japanese and Nintendo hasn't been that much of a big help. So I won't be surprised if most ports are sub par at launch.

Again though, no offence to you or your friend but this is anecdotal might be true evidence from one guy who might be either inexperienced or have a particularly tough job. I know you can't lend any credence by naming him or the studio/game he's working at, but you'll have to accept my scepticism in kind.

I've heard much less issues with porting than I did with the PS3 when it first launched.

 

[Terrell]

I don't think they expect us to power up both our Wii's, have separate monitors set up and both connected to the internet... right?

I mean I only have like 5 VC games on there, but I still want them transferred over. My guess; they release a "Wii U Transfer App" on the internet and on the Wii Shop. You can put it on your SD card, and using it select what you want to take to your Wii U. Its bound by serial numbers to prevent abuse etc.

My guess is:

Download Wii Shop Transfer app on your Wii and launch it. It notifies you: "this will shut down your Wii console and the next power-on of the Wii will prep it for transfer. Please connect your WiiU and find the Transfer app to begin data migration. Please ensure that your Wii console is configured for Wi-Fi or connected via USB cable."

You plug in and start your WiiU. It prompts you if you have a Wii to transfer data from and gets the app after setup. You launch it. "Please power on your Wii console now to begin transfer."

Done.

 

[ScreenSplitter]

My guess is:

Download Wii Shop Transfer app on your Wii and launch it. It notifies you: "this will shut down your Wii console and the next power-on of the Wii will prep it for transfer. Please connect your WiiU and find the Transfer app to begin data migration. Please ensure that your Wii console is configured for Wi-Fi or connected via USB cable."

You plug in and start your WiiU. It prompts you if you have a Wii to transfer data from and gets the app after setup. You launch it. "Please power on your Wii console now to begin transfer."

Done.

Yeah it will be something like this hopefully. Also, do you think we'll be able to pick and choose what we transfer? Not everything I own on the Wii is mine, I don't want to be a dick and steal my brothers VC games.

 

[Terrell]

Yeah it will be something like this hopefully. Also, do you think we'll be able to pick and choose what we transfer? Not everything I own on the Wii is mine, I don't want to be a dick and steal my brothers VC games.

3DS lets you do a custom transfer, can't see that being different.

 

[ScreenSplitter]

3DS lets you do a custom transfer, can't see that being different.

Huge success! Good. Then I will be literally transferring two things (Super Metroid & Mario RPG). Should be some excellent games to play on the Wii U Pad whilst I make my breakfast. Damn I love the concept of this thing!