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[HolyTaco]

Quite amazing that we're stuck with DirectX 9 technology until 2014.
Well, maybe Wii U will bring us DirectX 10 glory at least.

Direct X is a compilation of MS programming libraries (Direct 3D is graphics). You can't use it in non MS environment, i.e. no DX for Nintendo or Sony hardware. Most of the big devs are using their own tech with consoles these days and coding at extremely low levels, which is why console games have kept advancing while the hardware hasn't. PC relies on abstraction layers like Direct X because the hardwares so varied coding at low levels doesn't work

 

[GavinGT]

LoL Why?.

It's not going to significantly outpower PS3 and 360, it won't cater to the hardcore, and it's not directly stepping on Microsoft's toes as far as Kinect. Plus, it seems destined to end up like the 3DS, at least that's how I see it. The name alone makes me think they're making bad decisions here.

 

[Loonz]

It's not going to significantly outpower PS3 and 360, it won't cater to the hardcore, and it's not directly stepping on Microsoft's toes as far as Kinect.

How do you fucking know that?. Where did you get that info?. "It won't cater to the hardcore"... what the hell man. Sorry but you don't know shit, we don't have a clue about the software of the console yet, the strategy of Nintendo for it or any meaningful piece of info at all. We just know that it exists and has a pad with a screen.

 

[Para bailar La Bomba]

We don't know Nintendo's pricing scheme for WiiU yet. PS3 and Xbox 360 will be cheaper than now by the time WiiU is released, that's for sure. I wouldn't bet at WiiU having a too steep price difference against those, and again, by when the PS4 and 720 (tentative names) are finally released Nintendo could play the "it's cheaper and already has catalog" card again.

True provided Nintendo are able to demonstrate sufficient product differentiation from the the existing consoles (the current Wii included). Technically is it an $100 better machine than the PS3? Or will it rely on it's gimmicks like the Wii did?

 

[GavinGT]

How do you fucking know that?. Where did you get that info?. "It won't cater to the hardcore"... what the hell man. Sorry but you don't know shit, we don't have a clue about the software of the console yet, the strategy of Nintendo for it or any meaningful piece of info at all. We just know that it exists and has a pad with a screen.

You act like you've never heard of this company called Nintendo.

 

[BlazingDarkness]

If Nintendo can give a competitive price to even the 360/PS3 and have a good software launch lineup, they can avoid the supposed 3DS fiasco

They'll need either a new casual hit which brings in the Wii demographic (and overcomes the initial price of the system) or some exclusive first/third party titles to capture the hardcore, who would be willing to be an early adopter - but a load of ports isn't going to cut it, so hopefully that's not Nintendo's idea of catering for the hardcore market.

 

[Loonz]

True provided Nintendo are able to demonstrate sufficient product differentiation from the the existing consoles (the current Wii included). Technically is it an $100 better machine than the PS3? Or will it rely on it's gimmicks like the Wii did?

If this current gen is anything to go by I would say that Nintendo not only differentiated the Wii quite well from the others, they also were able to make its "gimmick" matter more for the common user that anything.

Now, as an advanced user I don't care much for some games Nintendo and others released on the Wii (party games in particular), but I don't pretend to be the mainstream.

Anyway, that's another discussion I won't enter into. The topic is that, according to Skyrim boss, if PS4 and 720 are released in 2014 then WiiU will have almost 2 years for itself as the most advanced console on the market. 2 years.

 

[Cygnus X-1]

If Wii U will be successful: 2013.
If not: 2014.

 

[Loonz]

You act like you've never heard of this company called Nintendo.

And you act as if you know everything. And sorry, but right now you (and I) know shit about WiiU.

They'll need either a new casual hit which brings in the Wii demographic (and overcomes the initial price of the system) or some exclusive first/third party titles to capture the hardcore, who would be willing to be an early adopter - but a load of ports isn't going to cut it, so hopefully that's not Nintendo's idea of catering for the hardcore market.

Why is this a problem for Nintendo and not for the others?. I mean, somehow MS and Sony will have to convince people to buy their new consoles when they're released. Why are we assuming that this will be easier for them than for Nintendo?. Because I don't think it will be easy for anyone, unless economy goes really better than currently goes by then.

 

[protonion]

I don't really care. I have not felt the need for new hardware.
I remember in previous gens although I was blown away at first,about two years in I wanted more. And more importantly, developers wanted more.
I mean PS2 at fisrt was awesome. Then soon gta came with bad graphics at 15 fps and we realised that it would hold back developer's vision.

But now I haven't seen why we need something more. Games have yet to surpass hardware.

 

[Mr_Brit]

20nm or bust.

 

[mxgt]

If we have the same crappy hardware for almost 10 years.. christ.

 

[Dennis]

Console gaming seems to be ailing.

8 years between the beginning of this gen and next-gen.

So next-next gen in about 20 years?

True hardcore gamers have long been bored with the sub-HD consoles and long for new tech but the masses are content with Wii graphics.....

 

[BlazingDarkness]

Why is this a problem for Nintendo and not for the others?. I mean, somehow MS and Sony will have to convince people to buy their new consoles when they're released. Why are we assuming that this will be easier for them than for Nintendo?. Because I don't think it will be easy for anyone, unless economy goes really better than currently goes by then.

Quite simply because the WiiU is positioned as an inbetween from this generation of hardware and the next generation of hardware. They need to convince both consumers and developers that their hardware is worth investing in - when there's cheaper consoles available right now, for consumers, and more powerful hardware available in the very near future for developers.
They also have the task of capturing the casual demographic again which largely dropped the Wii like a rock, with inventive new software, and the task of taking away from Sony/MS more hardcore demographic - and with Nintendo's relations with third parties in the past it'll be an uphill struggle.

 

[Majine]

If this is true, this means that WiiU will be ¿2 years alone in the market?.

Iwata: "Laughs"?

Wii U is a current-gen system. Many of the games on it will most likely appear on PS360 aswell, so it's hardly gonna be alone in that regard.

 

[HolyTaco]

Console gaming seems to be ailing.
True graphics whores have long been bored with the sub-HD consoles and long for new tech but the masses are content with Wii graphics.....

fixed

 

[antonz]

Quite simply because the WiiU is positioned as an inbetween from this generation of hardware and the next generation of hardware. They need to convince both consumers and developers that their hardware is worth investing in - when there's cheaper consoles available right now, for consumers, and more powerful hardware available in the very near future for developers.
They also have the task of capturing the casual demographic again which largely dropped the Wii like a rock, with inventive new software, and the task of taking away from Sony/MS more hardcore demographic - and with Nintendo's relations with third parties in the past it'll be an uphill struggle.

Casuals hardly dropped the Wii like a rock. The industry including Nintendo greatly fucked up in handling of the console. Even with its now "shitty" sales Nintendo managed to send out nearly just as many units to retail as Sony and MS did with their consoles.

The mishandling of the Wii by the industry at large is a deciding factor in the decline of the industry

 

[maniac-kun]

Console gaming seems to be ailing.

8 years between the beginning of this gen and next-gen.

So next-next gen in about 20 years?

True hardcore gamers have long been bored with the sub-HD consoles and long for new tech but the masses are content with Wii graphics.....

After the Witcher 2 PS3 and 360 games look like Wii to me.

 

[Loonz]

Quite simply because the WiiU is positioned as an inbetween from this generation of hardware and the next generation of hardware.

Where do you get this?. "Positioned". Wow. Apparently you know even how the WiiU is going to be positioned.

2 years alone in the market. Thanks Sony and MS.

 

[BlazingDarkness]

Casuals hardly dropped the Wii like a rock. The industry including Nintendo greatly fucked up in handling of the console. Even with its now "shitty" sales Nintendo managed to send out nearly just as many units to retail as Sony and MS did with their consoles.

The mishandling of the Wii by the industry at large is a deciding factor in the decline of the industry

I meant in terms of momentum, it didn't see a steady decline after a saturation point, if it did then we wouldn't have seen the WiiU yet IMO
My point was that the Wii has lost it's buzz, the casual demographic is pretty fickle at the best of times, it'll be hard selling new hardware to them with just more of the same stuff.

Where do you get this?. "Positioned". Wow. Apparently you know even how the WiiU is going to be positioned.

2 years alone in the market. Thanks Sony and MS.

Common sense?
Release after current gen Sony/MS hardware, before next gen Sony/MS hardware
Better hardware than current Sony/MS hardware, weaker hardware than next gen Sony/MS hardware
Will no doubt be subject to up-ports from current gen systems, and down-ports from next gen systems

Yep, seems pretty inbetweeny to me

 

[Loonz]

Wii U is a current-gen system. Many of the games on it will most likely appear on PS360 aswell, so it's hardly gonna be alone in that regard.

LoL. Tell me more please.

 

[FoxSpirit]

2014? Fuck yeah.
That could mean 24nm chips. Much power with low wattage and costs. I want this to be a proper jump, especially considering how freaking long next gen is posed to be. You think this gen is long? Oh boy.

I suspect next gen to last the longest ever on the pure benefit of graphic improvements taking more and more power for less and less return. So this better be a good one.

 

[DonMigs85]

Direct X is a compilation of MS programming libraries (Direct 3D is graphics). You can't use it in non MS environment, i.e. no DX for Nintendo or Sony hardware. Most of the big devs are using their own tech with consoles these days and coding at extremely low levels, which is why console games have kept advancing while the hardware hasn't. PC relies on abstraction layers like Direct X because the hardwares so varied coding at low levels doesn't work

True but in terms of feature set the RSX is still DX 9.0c level (no unified shaders or tesselation) and Flipper/Hollywood is still somewhere between DX7 and 8. Even if they use OpenGL there's a limit to which extensions will actually work.
Anyway as for Wii U, the longer it takes for the other successors to come out the better their chances, IMO.

 

[Radec]

Here we go again with Fantasy Gaming Land!

The Market changes, who knew that the PS2 would destroy the competition ? who knew that the 360 will dominate NA ? who knew the Wii will eclipse the 360 and PS3? And I can still remember how you guys said that Sony will never recover from the "master key/jailbreak" fiasco, and how they need to change it's architecture. And look at now..

All I'm saying is we cannot predict how the Wii-U will perform and how can it affect the PS4 and 360-2.

Even if it has a great game launch lineup, what if the people sees the Wii-U as just another add-on to the Wii ?

 

[[Nintex]]

Right, now watch MS roll that thing out with Halo 4 next year.

 

[GavinGT]

Right, now watch MS roll that thing out with Halo 4 next year.

No way. 360s are flying off shelves like never before. Not until we see significant, sustained drops in 360 sales will Microsoft even cement their hardware specs. From there, it would take upwards to two years to get the console to market.

 

[Rad-]

I'd like a generation where every console launches (about) the same time. Just for the hell of it.

 

[French]

No way.

2013 for both.

 

[Raide]

No way. 360s are flying off shelves like never before. Not until we see significant, sustained drops in 360 sales will Microsoft even cement their hardware specs. From there, it would take upwards to two years to get the console to market.

Drop the 360 to crazy money, release new system Winter 2012, ride the continued 360 cashflow to next next-gen dominance. They could have 2 systems running in the same marketplace, one for people who want to jump into HD at a budget price and get all the stuff the 360 will continue to offer, and they will have a next-gen system for the hardcore fans.

 

[Lovely Salsa]

The 3DS fiasco shows that consumers aren't particularly brand loyal, price comes first
Also, if the WiiU is subject just to up-ports prior to Sony/MS next consoles then it'll have a hard time shining as newer technology

Umm no, games comes first. 3ds had probably the shittiest launch in history, that + it was expensive.

 

[Medalion]

Umm no, games comes first. 3ds had probably the shittiest launch in history, that + it was expensive.

It was mostly the price...and then the fact the launch was slim pickins

 

[Always-honest]

No way.

2013 for both.

Announced in 2013 , for sure.

 

[Sintoid]

I feel quite happy with this console gen... except for powerful graphics I can't see anything of appealing in a new hardware generation... Is that the only reason for having a new console?

 

[BlazingDarkness]

Umm no, games comes first. 3ds had probably the shittiest launch in history, that + it was expensive.

It's price that initially sells hardware IMO, and then software that sustains it

 

[daffy]

Console gaming seems to be ailing.

8 years between the beginning of this gen and next-gen.

So next-next gen in about 20 years?

True hardcore gamers have long been bored with the sub-HD consoles and long for new tech but the masses are content with Wii graphics.....

True hardcore gamers?

 

[Dreamwriter]

You act like you've never heard of this company called Nintendo.

As do you. Nintendo, the company that has targeted hardcore gamers for their entire video game career. That tried to *add* casual gamers (and veteran gamers) with Wii, while still releasing the occasional hardcore games themselves (it was third party publishers who chose not to release hardcore games on Wii). Nintendo, the company that announced that the Wii-U would bring back the core gamers, and announced a number of hardcore gamer franchises as launch titles (like Darksiders II, Assassin's Creed, Ninja Gaiden, Batman, Tekken).

Having said that, some people are giving Nintendo the win if they get out on the market first. Might I point your attentions to Dreamcast, first of the PS2 generation? How about XBox 360, first of the Wii generation? Being first to market doesn't guarantee victory, it's just one advantage. It also gives your competitors a target to beat - they see your price, your features, your weaknesses.

 

[Finaika]

True hardcore gamers?

PC gamers in other words.

 

[GavinGT]

Drop the 360 to crazy money, release new system Winter 2012, ride the continued 360 cashflow to next next-gen dominance. They could have 2 systems running in the same marketplace, one for people who want to jump into HD at a budget price and get all the stuff the 360 will continue to offer, and they will have a next-gen system for the hardcore fans.

Cutting the 360 price drastically reduces profit. If they cut by $50 and sell 15 million 360s that year, they've just forfeited .75 billion dollars. Factor that in with R&D costs for the next console, billions of dollars still lost in the Xbox business, current economic conditions, and the unstable state of the videogame industry, and it's clear to see that Microsoft wants to play this generation out as long as possible.

 

[dragonelite]

I feel quite happy with this console gen... except for powerful graphics I can't see anything of appealing in a new hardware generation... Is that the only reason for having a new console?

There are always people quite happy about old tech.
If i didn't explained or talked my parents over to get digital television they would still just like sd tv on a hd screen.

It not untill you see 1080p content and more enhanced physics and shading tech to realize how weak current gen consoles are.

 

[Always-honest]

PC gamers in other words.

No, those would be referred to as "Gods of gods" ofcourse.

 

[BruiserBear]

I have a hard time believing we're not going to see a new PS or Xbox for another 3 years. I think 2012 is still a possibility for a new Xbox, and I'd be shocked if we didn't see it by 2013.

 

[Natiko]

2014? I don't even want to wait until 2013. Ugh

 

[Stahsky]

PC gamers in other words.

We are your sword. Your shield. We are your future.

 

[sTeLioSco]

we will know from the pricedrops this holiday....

example:
249$ ps3 -> ps4 2014
199 -> 2013

no pricedrops from either sony/ms,again 2014

 

[Fjordson]

Fine by me as long as the games keep coming. Don't give two shits about next-gen visuals. Games look great now.

 

[StuBurns]

I think this would be for the best, the longer they can hold out, the more the jump is going to be in performance, and the further they can distance themselves from the WiiU in terms of tech, it could be far enough to force it to have different software.

 

[miksar]

So 2013 will be the year of "4"?

 

[NaughtyCalibur]

I'm okay with this. This is the first generation I can think of where after all these years I don't feel like it's time to move on. Then again that could be because this generation I have a pretty awesome PC.

 

[ampere]

Skyrim? Is that the new game Notch is working on?

 

[The Praiseworthy]

Fine by me.... I'm not in a rush for the next generation, I'm still getting my mind blown away by some big games.