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Aostia said:

So, actually the only demo we are still missing is the Zapper one:

Do you think that they'll release a Link's Crossbow Training 2 for Wii U, maybe to fill the gap between WW HD and the New Zelda U, maybe with the new game's visual/tech/graphic/model, to tease us?

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FearMyWrench said:

This was kinda implemented in Game & Wario. Without the actual Zapper of course.

http://gameandwario.nintendo.com/games/shutter/

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Iwata Asks: Nintendo Land

Iwata: All right, thank you. We actually began developing Nintendo Land at about the same time as Wii U, so parts of its development story overlap. Eguchi-san, what kind of requests did you first make to Shimamura-san and Yamashita-san?

Eguchi: As I remember it, completely separate from what kind of gaming console Wii U would be, our own team performed a number of experiments with regard to gameplay using both a small screen in your hands and the television screen.

Iwata: That was back when we haven't yet decided on a concrete concept for Wii U. We experimented many things, and one of that was to see what would happen if there was another dedicated screen to a TV game console.

Eguchi: Right.

Shimamura: I thought that might come up, so I brought this as a prop today.

Eguchi: This was the start of two-screen gameplay.

Iwata: Yes. I did that, too. An experiment using the Wii Zapper controller was what inspired us to put a gyro sensor in the Nintendo 3DS system, which was in the final phases of development.

Shimamura: Yes. After development of Wii Sports Resort, Yamashita-san and I were thinking about something new that would draw upon the knowhow for Wii MotionPlus. We tested gameplay that involved moving the Wii Zapper and having images from the Wii move in sync on a monitor in your hands. It was fairly well received…

Iwata: When (Shigeru) Miyamoto-san saw that experiment, he said that he definitely wanted to put a gyro sensor in Nintendo 3DS, so even though the ship was headed out of the harbor, he called it back. This happened after the people in the hardware department had already been declared that "all features are now set!" (laughs)

Yamashita: Yeah. (laughs) We intended to present it as a Wii U project, so when it was snatched away for the Nintendo 3DS, we were sad, but also pleased.

Shimamura: But thanks to this prototype, however, we were able to explain the structure of Wii U—having a screen in your hands—and it became more compelling.

Iwata: The way that Nintendo makes hardware is to take an idea that has arisen and make something makeshift and actually try it out.

Shimamura: Right. The next makeshift thing we made for Wii U GamePad concept—a second prototype—is this.

Iwata: Behold the original form of the Wii U GamePad! (laughs)

Shimamura: It's very high-tech—a monitor and controllers stuck together by double-sided tape. (laughs)

Iwata: I remember that you made a lot of prototype software with this.

Shimamura: Yeah. If we made a list, I think there'd be about 30.

Eguchi: We used this prototype and two Wii consoles to run simulations for Wii U. EAD isn't a hardware department, but a "handicraft team" knowledgeable about hardware makes stuff like this.

Iwata: Making this prototype led to Nintendo Land, so the development period for Nintendo Land was quite long.

Shimamura: Yes, it was.

Iwata: However, rather early on, you discovered the "asymmetrical gameplay" structure for Nintendo Land that we announced at E3 this year (2012)—in other words, the fun of having one person play a different role in a multiplayer game, was discovered at a fairly early stage in development thanks to this attempt.

Shimamura: That's right. However, when we thought about what kind of product to make for Wii U, it took a lot of time to decide the direction to take for pulling everything together into a single game.

Yamashita: For example when we were developing games for the Wii console, we made the Wii Sports game with the tennis game as its center. But this time, even thought there were many fun prototype games, it was difficult to package them into one game in the same way we did for Wii Sports.

Iwata: So for Nintendo Land, inventing a new packaging format was necessary in order to pack them all into a single box.

Eguchi: Right. When we were puzzling over that, one of the staff members expressed a desire for a game that would gather Nintendo's franchises into a single spot and each franchise would have something to do with the others. It was quite a grand concept. But we were like, "How do we bring them all together?" We didn't take it too seriously.

Iwata: Right. (laughs)

Eguchi: But when we tried to figure it out in front of all the prototypes, we thought, "If we did that, it just might work," and very slowly, moved forward in that direction. (laughs)

Shimamura: That's when we started thinking about it with the phrase as "What if Nintendo made a theme park?" We tried making something like a theme park poster with a bunch of Mii characters lined up under the catch phrase of "Nintendo Land Is Now Open in Your Living Room!" and it came off nicely.

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Iwata Aks: Game & Wario

Iwata: When development started, you didn't aim to create what's now completed as the final product, did you?

Abe: No, we didn't. The original plan was that the game would come pre-installed on the Wii U console, so it wasn't actually conceived of as being part of the WarioWare series. E35 was approaching, and we began working on something that we could present and which would be easy for people to pick up and play.

Iwata: So we're talking about the E3 that took place in June 2011, aren't we?

Abe: Yes, that's right. There are 16 games in the final Game & Wario, one of which is called 'PIRATES'. We had a prototype of this game, known as 'SHIELD POSE' that we presented. You held the GamePad like a shield and blocked the arrows that flew from the TV screen.

Iwata: What was the original idea behind that game?

Abe: Well, as it would come pre-installed on the Wii U console, we didn't want to make it overly quirky. We didn't want something that would only appeal to a certain section of our customers. Our basic premise was that this should be a game that everyone could enjoy. The WarioWare team have always had free reign to come up with all kinds of zany ideas, but we now found that we had to restrain ourselves...

Iwata: So you knew that you had to apply the mental brakes, so to speak.

Abe: That's right. As this was to be a pre-installed game, our overriding priority was to demonstrate the features of the system in the clearest, most elegant way.

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L~A said:

I don't think we're ever gonna see that Zapper thing as it's :

1) GamePad is too heavy, might get uncomfortable
2) you might damage the GamePad if its drops on the ground or something. The zapper would need to be quite sturdy.

It doesn't really sound like something practical at all. It's much better on the prototype, which has just a small screen, but with the GamePad?...

Oh, and I should also add that the bird demo probably won't end up anywhere. I mean, there was nothing special about, just a showcase of the Wii U graphics. I seriously doubt it'll end up in an actual product.

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Taker666 said:

I thought the idea of a "realistic" game where you could control a bird was quite original/interesting.

It could have ended up as an Endless Ocean style game but with you controlling a bird as opposed to a diver (looking for other species/items as opposed to fish/treasure). They could have thrown in a mystical element allowing your spirit to transfer from one animal to another as you go through the game. I'd have bought it.

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