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A look on Wii U Netflix: Gamepad destined to be your best movie companion ?

Everyone talking about how Smartglass already makes this obsolete should probably realize that a whole lot of people still don't own tablets.

Right now, over 300 million people own a tablet or a smartphone. Zero people own a Wii-U. Hell , Apple alone has sold over 315 million iOS devices...
 
Right now, over 300 million people own a tablet or a smartphone. Zero people own a Wii-U. Hell , Apple alone has sold over 315 million iOS devices...

Hahahaha, you seriously think there are 300+ million people with Windows Phone? If I remember it isn't compatible with iOS or Android...
 

jehuty

Member
Do people on this forum actually talk to each other or just at each other?

There are lots of options this generation to do all of these things. I agree that people interested in a set top box or media center should likely look elsewhere, but some people DID enjoy checking their weight on Wii fit each day. Some people will use the WiiU for netflix and other media for whatever reason.

There are 2 tablets, 2 smartphones, 2 laptops, 1 computer and several gaming consoles in my house. I have used netflix on almost every single one of them for various reasons. Consumers aren't always going in the logical direction or use the thing that is "best."

So what are some of the areas of the market where this might work? The only way I can see this as being a big deal is with kids. The screen is cased in plastic and doesn't have many actual electronic parts inside. This seems like a pretty durable way to let kids watch something on netflix while their parents do something else on the TV or do something else entirely.

Any other ideas?

You know I never really post in the Gaming side because it involves very little actual conversation and you pretty much summoned up how I feel.

The very fact that its Nintendo doing anything sets so many people on edge and its hilarious. Nintendo could have came out with a system that has all the bells and whistles as a current high end PC, along with a Gamepad that's is comparable to the Ipad3, all under $300 and people would still find a reason to spread doom and gloom about it.

Like you I owe plenty of gadgets and tend to use most of them in the ways they were intended to be used. But that's just the thing, I actually use all of them. Some posters in here don't seem to understand that when someone buys something they tend to use it as long as they see a reason to keep using it. With that being said, how many people are going to buy a WiiU and not actually use the features that the Gamepad enables? Who cares if there are tons of other devices that do the same thing and maybe even better. The fact remains that the latter is not going to keep the vast majority of users from actually using the Gamepad in ways it was intended to be used.

I think its gonna be very cool to be able to play a game I want or watch netflix while other people are using the main T.V. I mean really, how far does Nintendo say you can you the Wii remote from the system as opposed to how far it works in real life? And as for battery life, like Nintendo wont come out with a battery+ or some other company won't jump on that opportunity.

Some of you guys just have to accept that the WiiU will likely do more than fine lifetime system sales. I will be the hot new thing this holiday season and be sold out everywhere. There will be an initial hype among the general populace and Nintendo may or may not be able to capitalize on that in the long run. I mean for Christ sake, the balance board sold like crazy and that was just a peripheral.

So to answer the Op's question, Will the Gamepad be the best movie companion? I say when it come to streaming movies and such, it will have a huge impact (meaning probably yes). Not so much on downloaded movies me thinks. Just look at how many "casuals" bought the Wii. Even if just half of those consumers show up they still will be using all of its features like crazy. Then look at how many people used things like Netflix on the Wii. On the WiiU it will be undoubtedly better and the fact you can take it around with you (however limited its range may be) will sit well with mom/dad and the kids (not to mention people that live with roommates). Hell I use my computer monitor as my main T.V and I think most people don't even bother to have a T.V in their room. Nintendo may stumble at times but they aren't stupid. Plus add all the usual Nintendo bells and charms, and I can easily see the majority of people who will own a WiiU suing its streaming abilities to its highest potential.

Gaf sometimes needs to really understand that we are as a whole are a very small part of the gaming audience. You would think after many people thought that the Wii was a dumb name and that it would flop that they would have learned by now. Never underestimate how the general public will react to the most trivial things. And if that trivial thing becomes the de facto popular thing (think Iphone/IPad, Kindle etc) then its pretty much game over (think Wiimote as opposed to kinect). Nintendo is very smart to has the WiiU to come out first. Capture the mind share of this "new" device before the competitors come out with something similar.
 
I'm not against the Multimedia features that will arrive with the Wii U but rather am simply arguing that these features are neither revolutionary nor what Nintendo should focus on in marketing the device. Its the equivalent of Sony advertizing the PS4 plays DVDs or is wifi enabled. Any device worth its salt will have these apps and features that arrives in 2012 and beyond.

Are the features nice? Yes. Will they come in handy? Yes. Are they the difference maker? No. Theyre not revolutionary. Theyre not going to cause te Wii U sales to reach the heights of Wii. Theyre nice to have but nothing more.
 

Raistlin

Post Count: 9999
Like I said...this is no different than consoles playing DVDs and streaming Netflix and Hulu but no one seemed to care about those. How come people are all of a sudden against multimedia convergence in consoles?!
I disagree with your assessment. There historically and continues to be all sorts of discussion about the multimedia capabilities of consoles. Both in terms of the actual performance of the particular feature or app in question, and even the higher level discussion of whether convergence is a good idea at all.

I would say the more detailed discussion of performance, etc tend to happen in the OT more often though?





Everyone talking about how Smartglass already makes this obsolete should probably realize that a whole lot of people still don't own tablets.
Everyone talking about SmartGlass realizes that it also works on smartphones.

Though that's an oversimplification of the discussion anyway.
 
It can be for some people...after all, don't people here claim casuals/non-gamers geeks might be too stupid to realize the Wii U is a brand new console?

You think people have trouble installing apps on their ios device?

Really puts the number of Angry Birds downloads in perspective if people struggle with figuring out how to download the game.
 

ASIS

Member
I'm not against the Multimedia features that will arrive with the Wii U but rather am simply arguing that these features are neither revolutionary nor what Nintendo should focus on in marketing the device. Its the equivalent of Sony advertizing the PS4 plays DVDs or is wifi enabled. Any device worth its salt will have these apps and features that arrives in 2012 and beyond.

Are the features nice? Yes. Will they come in handy? Yes. Are they the difference maker? No. Theyre not revolutionary. Theyre not going to cause te Wii U sales to reach the heights of Wii. Theyre nice to have but nothing more.

Nintendo hasn't marketed this though. E3 came and went and they didn't talk about these multimedia features.
 
You think people have trouble installing apps on their ios device?

Really puts the number of Angry Birds downloads in perspective if people struggle with figuring out how to download the game.

If people can't distinguish the Wii U from the Wii, something that would require the most minimal of effort in Google, I'm sure there are people who have trouble installing apps as well. My grandma recently got a tablet and had to have me and my brother show her how to do pretty much everything at first

you remember wrong :\

Ok, I stand corrected
 

Cipherr

Member
Yes ... I done fucked up.


Sorry. I had just started catching up on the thread and was sprinting through multi-quoting along the way since I was seeing a fair amount of misinformation, hyperbole, etc going on ... and fucked up.

Would you prefer I remove the stupidity, or leave it as a sign of my shame?

Im gonna delete my post actually, I posted that after I got reamed by a pack of wasps in Diablo 3 Inferno Act II so I was way more hostile than necessary.
 
This was stupid on the smartglass, and it is stupid on the Wii U.
The bit about reading up about actors and the show while it's playing that is, not necessarily using the tablet as a remote.
 

J.W.Crazy

Member
Right now, about 300 million people own a tablet or a smartphone. Zero people own a Wii-U.

Is a smart phone really comparable to the Wii U gamepad? If one of the complaints is that you could have a bigger, better screen with a tablet why even bring up smart phones?

Don't forget the Wii U has a touch screen tablet like device with buttons, not just a screen. Certainly a bigger screen in HD might be worth sacrificing the buttons but a smaller screen would be a downgrade for most people, even if it were HD and ignoring the loss of buttons.

I know smartglass works with smart phones, but why would someone choose that over full integration with a bigger, more versatile device? Obviously if you already have a 360 it's cheaper, but when the 720 comes out what's more appealing, buying a new console to use with your old phone or buying a new console that comes with a fully integrated tablet like device?

I can see the argument for standalone tablets, but I just don't see many people seriously using their smart phone as the main controller for their living room.
 

lednerg

Member
Netflix on the Wii was incredibly popular, and the Wii U version looks great. For less than the price of an iPad (most likely) you get the basic Netflix functionality of an iPad with an Apple TV. I really don't see the point of arguing about it.
 

QP3

Member
Say I take my gamepad upstairs to watch a movie on it (with my Wii U being downstairs) and decide that after the movie is finished,

I want to get a little gaming in before going to bed. Can I play that game right on the gamepad without having to go back downstairs?
 

chubigans

y'all should be ashamed
Say I take my gamepad upstairs to watch a movie on it (with my Wii U being downstairs) and decide that after the movie is finished,

I want to get a little gaming in before going to bed. Can I play that game right on the gamepad without having to go back downstairs?

I will be shocked if the WiiU's range extends that far, honestly.
 
Netflix on the Wii was incredibly popular, and the Wii U version looks great. For less than the price of an iPad (most likely) you get the basic Netflix functionality of an iPad with an Apple TV. I really don't see the point of arguing about it.

Netflix on Wii was incredibly popular because so many people already owned them when Netflix started expanding device compatibility. No one is going to spend $300 for Netflix, not when they can get a Roku for $50. The tablet interoperability is a novelty, not something a consumer is going to go in search of.
 

marc^o^

Nintendo's Pro Bono PR Firm
But for those people, there are alternatives that are objectively better in many aspects.

Obviously ones' personal requirements and disposable income (depending on what other sorts of gear you already own) come into play. Certainly for some people this will be a great set-top box ... for others, they'll want to look elsewhere.
As I said, compared to smartphones/tablets, GamePad will be objectively better to play games, to offer a convenient way to check weight (40 millions balance board owners may find it appealing), to draw notes, to control the TV, to set individual accounts and belong to the whole family. These are exclusive features compared to an iPad, there will be more (the NFC capability may be used for interesting purposes). GamePad is different enough not to be seen as a cheap alternative for poor people. It has its own value.
 

lednerg

Member
Say I take my gamepad upstairs to watch a movie on it (with my Wii U being downstairs) and decide that after the movie is finished,

I want to get a little gaming in before going to bed. Can I play that game right on the gamepad without having to go back downstairs?

Depends on the game. Nintendo isn't forcing devs to add Gamepad-only functionality into their games. But yeah, if you want to get in a quick gaming session after your movie, you could do it right from the Gamepad without having to touch the console.
 

QP3

Member
Netflix on Wii was incredibly popular because so many people already owned them when Netflix started expanding device compatibility. No one is going to spend $300 for Netflix, not when they can get a Roku for $50. The tablet interoperability is a novelty, not something a consumer is going to go in search of.

Depends on the game. Nintendo isn't forcing devs to add Gamepad-only functionality into their games. But yeah, if you want to get in a quick gaming session after your movie, you could do it right from the Gamepad without having to touch the console.

Ok thanks. If the feature is possible, with an acceptable range, that would be pretty sweet to me.
 
I know smartglass works with smart phones, but why would someone choose that over full integration with a bigger, more versatile device? Obviously if you already have a 360 it's cheaper, but when the 720 comes out what's more appealing, buying a new console to use with your old phone or buying a new console that comes with a fully integrated tablet like device?

I can see the argument for standalone tablets, but I just don't see many people seriously using their smart phone as the main controller for their living room.

How about buying one that actually works with next generation games? ;)

Seriously, The number of people who are going to buy a 720/Wii-U for marginally enhanced Netflix is incredibly low. Netflix is already on almost every device sold in the last two years. Nobody is going to drop $300 + to be able to look up info on movies marginally faster.


Which puts the maximum possible userbase for smartglass this at about 30 million people.


So 30,000,000 more than userbase for the Wii-U.
 
52% also own Smart Phones. We don't know the exact overlap, but in any case the potential user base is already larger than that of Kinect, and at least 30 million ahead of WiiU.

We know it can't be greater than 40 million because thats how many Live users there are, and if you don't have live you ain't using smartglass.
 

lednerg

Member
Netflix on Wii was incredibly popular because so many people already owned them when Netflix started expanding device compatibility. No one is going to spend $300 for Netflix, not when they can get a Roku for $50. The tablet interoperability is a novelty, not something a consumer is going to go in search of.

I don't think anyone is expecting people to buy a Wii U solely for Netflix. It's just another thing which adds value to it.
 
Say I take my gamepad upstairs to watch a movie on it (with my Wii U being downstairs) and decide that after the movie is finished,

I want to get a little gaming in before going to bed. Can I play that game right on the gamepad without having to go back downstairs?

Has nintendo extended the range of the wiiu gamepad beyond what they originally said it was which was the same room ?
 

ari

Banned
Netflix on Wii was incredibly popular because so many people already owned them when Netflix started expanding device compatibility. No one is going to spend $300 for Netflix, not when they can get a Roku for $50. The tablet interoperability is a novelty, not something a consumer is going to go in search of.

i don't think anyone is buying a wii u for netflix.

EDIT: what the fuck is up with the smartglass argument? people think that tablet users that is xbox live users is gonna use this shit? really?
 

beast786

Member
Nice, BUT my concer would be of its battery life. I will always use my iPad before wii u pad for Netflix, both because of better resolution and battery life.
 
i don't think anyone is buying a wii u for netflix.

EDIT: what the fuck is up with the smartglass argument? people think that tablet users that is xbox live users is gonna use this shit? really?

When a game like Fallout 4 gives me content available via smartglass I certainly will.
 
Either you're too lazy to look up info on it, haven't paid attention to anything said in this thread, or are purposely being obtuse.

No, it's smart glass that's obtuse. not everybody owns a tablet. Who says it's gonna run properly on my 2 year old Nexus one, iphone 3gs etc. Nothing. Meanwhile, Wii u provides everything out of the box.
 

ari

Banned
No, it's smart glass that's obtuse. not everybody owns a tablet. Who says it's gonna run properly on my 2 year old Nexus one, iphone 3gs etc. Nothing. Meanwhile, Wii u provides everything out of the box.

but but..if tablet owners have xbox 360, that means its already good to go....right? right? lol

people in here have no idea what smartglass is capable of but a wifi connection connecting to a xbox 360 through a router via app. Such a me-too creation design solely because of the gamepad.
 

v0yce

Member
Nobody's saying this is the most amazing thing ever omg Nintendo won next-gen confirmed. It's a nice app with good sensible features designed for the console's strengths and is a plus for people who already want to get a Wii U.

Did you read the title of the thread you're posting in?
 
If I bought a movie through Itunes will I be able to send it from my ipad to my tv through the Xbox? I doubt it. Apple TV's there for that.
 

Raistlin

Post Count: 9999
Is a smart phone really comparable to the Wii U gamepad? If one of the complaints is that you could have a bigger, better screen with a tablet why even bring up smart phones?

Don't forget the Wii U has a touch screen tablet like device with buttons, not just a screen. Certainly a bigger screen in HD might be worth sacrificing the buttons but a smaller screen would be a downgrade for most people, even if it were HD and ignoring the loss of buttons.

I know smartglass works with smart phones, but why would someone choose that over full integration with a bigger, more versatile device? Obviously if you already have a 360 it's cheaper, but when the 720 comes out what's more appealing, buying a new console to use with your old phone or buying a new console that comes with a fully integrated tablet like device?
I think obviously there are advantages to the larger screen (even if it's lower res) and the inclusion of buttons that aren't on standard phones or tablets. However this thread is discussing the Netflix integration, and more generally, using of the pad as a companion for media regardless of service. So while the larger screen and especially buttons are clear advantages of some use-cases (games being obvious), where is the advantage for what was being demonstrated by Nintendo regarding media?

The Netflix capability wasn't shown to have any sort of deep, real-time integration like HBO Go or MS's video service - it was simply a controller for searching and controlling Netflix. I don't see why a smartphone is any less serviceable for what is being discussed here.

I can see the argument for standalone tablets, but I just don't see many people seriously using their smart phone as the main controller for their living room.
This is the sort of thing I've been trying to rectify in this thread. I'm not saying it's intentional, but there's a lot of hyperbole about the capabilities of the Wii U pad that don't match reality when you think about the bigger picture.

The Wii U Pad is not a universal remote control in the conventional sense, and has limited usefulness.

1) Other than controlling the Wii U (and therefore certain apps like Netflix), the only known device it can control is a TV. And even then there doesn't appear to be any capability for deeper control of the TV beyond channel, input, and volume. The only other known feature is a channel guide for those using ATSC (or it's equivalent in your region). Essentially what your TV natively decodes OTA. There is no indication it will have customizable layouts ... because it doesn't need them since it can't control other devices.

2) It's battery life is terrible for usage as a remote. There's really no bones about it.

3) They wasted away the one advantage it would have versus conventional smartphones and tablets as a remote - they could have used some of the hard buttons for common remote tasks like volume and channel +/- but it appears they didn't since it's on the touchscreen. Obviously that could change with a software update but the fact it's not already there combined with #1 above shows how far away this (and Nintendo) is from a universal remote. This feels pretty tacked on, and even if they do start expanding the functionality does anyone really expect Nintendo to be competitive with some of the more serious RC solutions? They don't have expertise in it, and in general Nintendo doesn't have a great history in terms of multimedia functionality and utility.



So really, it's remote control aspects are only useful when you're using Wii U or basically have nothing else hooked up and just use OTA TV.
 

ari

Banned
im positive that tv remote thing is gonna be big with the casuals. Also, Raistlin, the gamepad is a RF? universal remote. That should work with every device that has a rf receiver.

The only negative for the remote is the range and the battery power. Also, i could be wrong. I thought i saw a sleep button on the gamepad...whatever, i'm sure one can just dock the gamepad when not using. :/
 
I thought I recall reading the UPad didn't work outside of the same room?

So I'm not sure where the comments about watching in bed come from - unless you already have the WU in your bedroom.
 
Such a me-too creation design solely because of the gamepad.

Smartglass is just the natural evolution of the 3 screens and a cloud strategy that Microsoft has been touting for the last half of a decade. They've been talking about connecting your tv, phone and computer since before anyone knew the WiiU was going to happen.
 
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