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[AranhaHunter]

Let me run it down for you:

Uneducated Mom walks into store to buy the latest console for little Jimmy.
Sees the Wii U and thinks "We had lots of fun with the Wii! I'll get that!"
Clerk asks "Do you need any accessories?"
Mom sees the $100 controller, nearly faints and says "Jimmy doesn't need this that badly."

Yeah...

Hardcore gamer buys WiiU
Hardcore gamer calls his boy to play Madden with him
His boy can't play Madden with him using the same controller he's using
Hardcore gamer plays against his boy anyways with his boy using the Wii classic controller
Hardcore gamer loses, throws a tantrum and throws his WiiU controller at the wall
Hardcore gamer goes to Gamestop to buy a new controller, gets told he cannot buy a new controller.



I hope Nintendo rethinks its strategy or the quote in the OP is somehow wrong because this is just stupid.

 

[AceBandage]

Hardcore gamer buys WiiU
Hardcore gamer calls his boy to play Madden with him
His boy can't play Madden with him using the same controller he's using
Hardcore gamer plays against his boy anyways with his boy using the Wii classic controller
Hardcore gamer loses, throws a tantrum and throws his WiiU controller at the wall
Hardcore gamer goes to Gamestop to buy a new controller, gets told he cannot buy a new controller.



I hope Nintendo rethinks its strategy or the quote in the OP is somehow wrong because this is just stupid.

Hardcore gamer needs serious therapy...
Do... you people REALLY throw your controllers?

 

[RoninChaos]

And they won't. They'll make new accessories. Continue to sell old ones.
They'll make a new Classic Con Pro for the Wii U. They'll make new shells like the gun holster shown at the conference. They'll make a new WiiMote even, I bet.
They aren't locking themselves out of anything here.

Okay. Let me slow it down for you.

There is no way Nintendo would decide to not sell the controller by itself, despite how expensive it might be, because there is money to be made by selling the controller seperately.

That's all I'm saying. You're saying it makes sense for Nintendo NOT to sell it, and that's retarded, because Nintendo likes making money, and can make money from selling extra controllers.

Make sense?

 

[C.Dark.DN]

Handhelds should have taught people to not throw controllers by now. But, yeah, I'm a lot less careful with console controllers.

 

[Ninja Scooter]

Hardcore gamer buys WiiU
Hardcore gamer calls his boy to play Madden with him
His boy can't play Madden with him using the same controller he's using
Hardcore gamer plays against his boy anyways with his boy using the Wii classic controller
Hardcore gamer loses, throws a tantrum and throws his WiiU controller at the wall
Hardcore gamer goes to Gamestop to buy a new controller, gets told he cannot buy a new controller.



I hope Nintendo rethinks its strategy or the quote in the OP is somehow wrong because this is just stupid.

Hardcore gamers bought Xbox360
Hardcore gamers 360 broke
Hardcore gamer went online and bitched about it, but ultimately sent out for a box, sent it in for repairs, and eagerly awaited it's return so he could play Xbox360 again and give Microsoft more money.
Hardcore gamers don't need to be catered to.

 

[AceBandage]

Okay. Let me slow it down for you. Maybe a paragraph was intimidating.

There is no way Nintendo would decide to not sell the controller by itself, despite how expensive it might be, because there is money to be made by selling the controller seperately.

Make sense?

Except that they can make up all that money through accessories. Essentially, the tablet and the console are one unit as of now. This may change in the future, but as of this post, Nintendo isn't going to be selling these tablet controllers to the masses separately.

They'll treat the Console and Tablet as one unit, and just sell addons out the ying yang.

Make sense?

 

[Afrodium]

Okay. Let me slow it down for you.

There is no way Nintendo would decide to not sell the controller by itself, despite how expensive it might be, because there is money to be made by selling the controller seperately.

That's all I'm saying. You're saying it makes sense for Nintendo NOT to sell it, and that's retarded, because Nintendo likes making money, and can make money from selling extra controllers.

Make sense?

If the Wii U can only stream to one controller, then a user only needs one controller. The only time someone will be in the market for a new one will be if it breaks. Because of this, there's no reason for it to be sold at stores. Retailers won't like them taking up shelf space. However, this doesn't mean replacement controllers won't be sold through Nintendo. Nintendo can still make money off of controller sales without upsetting retailers or confusing the public as to whether or not the Wii U is a Wii add-on or a new console.

 

[AranhaHunter]

Hardcore gamer needs serious therapy...
Do... you people REALLY throw your controllers?

That was a common occurrence during our Madden tournaments in college.

 

[RoninChaos]

Except that they can make up all that money through accessories. Essentially, the tablet and the console are one unit as of now. This may change in the future, but as of this post, Nintendo isn't going to be selling these tablet controllers to the masses separately.

They'll treat the Console and Tablet as one unit, and just sell addons out the ying yang.

Make sense?

Jesus, what the hell do you think I'm saying? I can't put it any more plainly than I did above.

What exactly do you think I'm saying? What exactly are you arguing? Where did I say Nintendo couldn't recoup the money for the tablet controller and thus they'd need to so by selling accessories? Your first sentence makes absolutely no sense because you're arguing against something I didn't even say.

So, one more time-- It makes no sense for Nintendo to refuse to sell the tablet controller seperately for people who want to buy it because the sale of an extra tablet controller would be an added revenue stream for Nintendo.

 

[AceBandage]

Jesus, what the hell do you think I'm saying? I can't put it any more plainly than I did above.

What exactly do you think I'm saying? What exactly are you arguing? Where did I say Nintendo couldn't recoup the money for the tablet controller and thus they'd need to so by selling accessories? Your first sentence makes absolutely no sense because you're arguing against something I didn't even say.

So, one more time-- It makes no sense for Nintendo to refuse to sell the tablet controller seperately for people who want to buy it because the sale of an extra tablet controller would be an added revenue stream for Nintendo.

I get exactly what you're saying. You think Nintendo would want to sell as many tablets as possible to make money. Except, if they can't be used, then they can't be sold. So just making them and having them sit on shelves is pointless and a waste of money.
Get it?
They can still sell them online as replacements, but they won't be sold en mass like the Wii Remote.

 

[RoninChaos]

If the Wii U can only stream to one controller, then a user only needs one controller. The only time someone will be in the market for a new one will be if it breaks. Because of this, there's no reason for it to be sold at stores. Retailers won't like them taking up shelf space. However, this doesn't mean replacement controllers won't be sold through Nintendo. Nintendo can still make money off of controller sales without upsetting retailers or confusing the public as to whether or not the Wii U is a Wii add-on or a new console.

So now the retailers would be mad because controllers would take up space on their shelves?

You can only play a one player game with one remote, not two, but that doesn't mean that people wouldn't like the option of replacing something that was lost/broken etc. via retail.

What does Nintendo gain by not offering these controllers to the public via retail besides pissing off people who want to buy an extra unit at retail instead of having to wait for it to be shipped out from washington?

I honestly feel like I'm being trolled by you and Acebandage.

 

[DrLazy]

Tech question:

If it is a bandwidth issue, would it matter if none of the controllers were actually using the screens?

So could 4 controllers all be used with no screens, similar to 4 gamecube controllers?

I want Nintendo to elaborate on what the rationale is behind not allowing more than one player to use the screen.

Is it a technical limiation? A cost limitation (controllers too expensive). Some combination of both?

 

[ivysaur12]

None of their retail plans have been hashed out yet. So...

 

[AceBandage]

Tech question:

If it is a bandwidth issue, would it matter if none of the controllers were actually using the screens?

So could 4 controllers all be used with no screens, similar to 4 gamecube controllers?

I want Nintendo to elaborate on what the rationale is behind not allowing more than one player to use the screen.

Is it a technical limiation? A cost limitation (controllers too expensive). Some combination of both?

Without streaming video, they could easily use 4 controllers normally, yes.
Though, it would make more sense from a business standpoint to just make a screen less controller and sell it for like $50.

So now the retailers would be mad because controllers would take up space on their shelves?

You can only play a one player game with one remote, not two, but that doesn't mean that people wouldn't like the option of replacing something that was lost/broken etc. via retail.

What does Nintendo gain by not offering these controllers to the public via retail besides pissing off people who want to buy an extra unit at retail instead of having to wait for it to be shipped out from washington?

I honestly feel like I'm being trolled by you and Acebandage.

Having product sit on shelves and not be sold is NEVER good business. End of story, end of discussion.

 

[Sho_Nuff82]

We live in a world where people paid $59.99 for plastic guitars with 4 buttons, and some people regularly pay twice as much for quality arcade sticks. MS' most recent controller revision had an outrageous MSRP of $64.99.

I'm pretty sure Nintendo could get away with selling extra controllers for $60+ MSRP, and I doubt this thing costs more than that.

I get exactly what you're saying. You think Nintendo would want to sell as many tablets as possible to make money. Except, if they can't be used, then they can't be sold. So just making them and having them sit on shelves is pointless and a waste of money.
Get it?
They can still sell them online as replacements, but they won't be sold en mass like the Wii Remote.

Why would Nintendo, a company that is notoriously profit-driven, eschew the chance to make more money by selling new tablet controllers for a profit instead of a tablet-free classic controller? If it was the only option for additional controls, people would buy it anyway, just like they bought the $60 Wiimote/nunchuck combo.

 

[Sianos]

The thing that makes me doubt this the most is that Iwata is "looking for ways to use the tablet controller for two player games".

Prehaps instead of four player splitscreen we'll just have two? [/wishfulthinking]

 

[Smiles and Cries]

This must be a DS Your TV+ Controller are just bond together LOL

seriously they may do this at first but them when a major game needing two of these comes along they bundle it with the game extra pricy

How much was the Balance Board at first?

 

[UltimaPooh]

This controller is an easy in for developers of MMO's and RTS.

I am looking at you Blizzard. How about you port Diablo III and Starcraft 2 to this thing?

 

[perfectchaos007]

Maybe it just wont be in retail. If people are wanting to give nintendo money, Nintendo should have that option available.

 

[Mariah Carey]

Hardcore gamers bought Xbox360
Hardcore gamers 360 broke
Hardcore gamer went online and bitched about it, but ultimately sent out for a box, sent it in for repairs, and eagerly awaited it's return so he could play Xbox360 again and give Microsoft more money.
Hardcore gamers don't need to be catered to.

Dinosaurs eat hardcoare gamers
Casuals inherit the earth

(Edit)

 

[frAntic_Frog]

Thank god gaf hates it, this way we know it will be a success.

after how wii owners got burned by nintendo this gen (shortest console lifespan, utter lack of 3rd party, nonexistant online) and by the thick layer of dust collecting on soccer mom's wiis.....you really expect people to jump on Wii U?

 

[brochiller]

We live in a world where people paid $59.99 for plastic guitars with 4 buttons, and some people regularly pay twice as much for quality arcade sticks. MS' most recent controller revision had an outrageous MSRP of $64.99.

I'm pretty sure Nintendo could get away with selling extra controllers for $60+ MSRP, and I doubt this thing costs more than that.

I really think technical limitations are what's limiting the games from using more than one screen controller per game. Streaming to one controller is one thing, but multiply that times four and that would require a lot more power from the console in order to render that many screens at once.

 

[AceBandage]

We live in a world where people paid $59.99 for plastic guitars with 4 buttons, and some people regularly pay twice as much for quality arcade sticks. MS' most recent controller revision had an outrageous MSRP of $64.99.

I'm pretty sure Nintendo could get away with selling extra controllers for $60+ MSRP, and I doubt this thing costs more than that.



Why would Nintendo, a company that is notoriously profit-driven, eschew the chance to make more money by selling new tablet controllers for a profit instead of a tablet-free classic controller? If it was the only option for additional controls, people would buy it anyway, just like they bought the $60 Wiimote/nunchuck combo.

Because a camera free, LCD screen free controller costs basically nothing to make, and can be sold for a higher profit margin that the tablet controllers.
Simple economics.

 

[Affeinvasion]

Wii U controller for single player
Wiimotes for multiplayer
Wii U + wiimotes for 5 player: Gamemaster vs. PC type multiplayer. (Make a D&D game!)

 

[Krowley]

So now the retailers would be mad because controllers would take up space on their shelves?

You can only play a one player game with one remote, not two, but that doesn't mean that people wouldn't like the option of replacing something that was lost/broken etc. via retail.

What does Nintendo gain by not offering these controllers to the public via retail besides pissing off people who want to buy an extra unit at retail instead of having to wait for it to be shipped out from washington?

I honestly feel like I'm being trolled by you and Acebandage.

If they put them up for sale in the store, people will shit bricks when they bring them home and find can't use them.

Especially if they're really expensive.

Imagine a mom who spends 70 or 100 bucks to buy 3 of these things and then finds out she can only use 1. It would lead to mass-confusion.

 

[RoninChaos]

Without streaming video, they could easily use 4 controllers normally, yes.
Though, it would make more sense from a business standpoint to just make a screen less controller and sell it for like $50.





Having product sit on shelves and not be sold is NEVER good business. End of story, end of discussion.

Both of you are assuming there would be no demand for the controller because it comes with the system and you're both justifying your argument via that rationale and it's a bullshit rationale. Controllers break. That screen can be cracked. It can have a drink spilled on it. It's batteries can stop working. There are multiple things that can happen to it and it is utterly stupid to assume that it wouldn't be sold at retail or that they would sit on shelves simply because they already come with one.

 

[DR2K]

Let me run it down for you:

Uneducated Mom walks into store to buy the latest console for little Jimmy.
Sees the Wii U and thinks "We had lots of fun with the Wii! I'll get that!"
Clerk asks "Do you need any accessories?"
Mom sees the $100 controller, nearly faints and says "Jimmy doesn't need this that badly."

Yeah...

What happens when little Jimmy breaks the controller and mommy finds out she has to buy a whole new system just to get another controller?

 

[Withnail]

I think people expecting this to be sold separately are misunderstanding what this "controller" actually is. It's more an extension of the console itself than a controller in the traditional sense. If you break it you probably need to send it to Nintendo to get it fixed, just like the console.

From what I can gather this is not really going to be the primary control method for all games anyway. Sure there will be lots of games that make use of it but there will also be many WiiU games that primarily use Wiimotes and probably some that are best played with the Wii Classic Controller. They are the accessories here.

WiiU is really WiiHD with a twist (the twist being the portable extra screen).

 

[onken]

What happens when little Jimmy breaks the controller and mommy finds out she has to buy a whole new system just to get another controller?

Send it for repairs?

 

[RoninChaos]

If they put them up for sale in the store, people will shit bricks when they bring them home and find can't use them.

Especially if they're really expensive.

Imagine a mom who spends 70 or 100 bucks to buy 3 of these things and then finds out she can only use 1. It would lead to mass-confusion.

And she can't turn her ass around and go return them?

So now we're in the realm of argument that states that the controller is going to be so expensive that it won't be sold in stores. The same realm that thinks the price tag would cause people to lose their minds over the sticker shock of a $100 dollar controller, but there's a mom out there who would drop 300+ on the console then another 300 on controllers?

Really?


REALLY?!

 

[odhiex]

Please, Nintendo ... please Confirm the support for The Classic (pro) controllers..

Then probably... you can attract more Hardcore fans with already comfortable with the traditional analog sticks controllers.. like me.

You see... I like innovations but also like the traditional way of playing videogames

 

[AceBandage]

What happens when little Jimmy breaks the controller and mommy finds out she has to buy a whole new system just to get another controller?

Nintendo will, of course, sell them online. They sell anything and everything online on their store.

Please, Nintendo ... please Confirm the support for The Classic (pro) controllers..

Then probably... you can attract more Hardcore fans with already comfortable with the traditional analog sticks controllers.. like me.

You see... I like innovations but also like the traditional way of playing videogames

They already did... All Wii accessories work on the Wii U.

 

[totowhoa]

That was a common occurrence during our Madden tournaments in college.

When I was in college we would just slap our bitches and tell them to pick a better play, and it cost way less then your nonsensical method. We never threw our controllers into the wall in the middle of the tourney, despite out gamer rage.

Time to grow up.

 

[MetatronM]

Hardcore gamer buys WiiU
Hardcore gamer calls his boy to play Madden with him
His boy can't play Madden with him using the same controller he's using
Hardcore gamer plays against his boy anyways with his boy using the Wii classic controller
Hardcore gamer loses, throws a tantrum and throws his WiiU controller at the wall
Hardcore gamer goes to Gamestop to buy a new controller, gets told he cannot buy a new controller.



I hope Nintendo rethinks its strategy or the quote in the OP is somehow wrong because this is just stupid.

It's Nintendo's fault if you're pathologically violent? For real?

Maybe you shouldn't throw shit you pay hundreds of dollars for around the room.



Anyway, it seems like there's a lot of finer details they haven't worked out yet on just how Wii U is going to work at retail. They've got a year or more to sort it out. Next E3 is probably going to be its full coming out party.

 

[civilstrife]

This controller is an easy in for developers of MMO's and RTS.

I am looking at you Blizzard. How about you port Diablo III and Starcraft 2 to this thing?

Yup. Tablet + Wiimote pointing= perfect RTS and MMO setup on Consoles.

BRING. IT.

Spoiler

They won't

 

[Krowley]

And she can't turn her ass around and go return them?

So now we're in the relm of argument that states that people will have sticker shock at the suspected 100 dollar price tag for the controller, but there's a mom out there who would drop 300+ on the console then another 300 on controllers?

Really?


REALLY?

Exactly, and then stores will get pissed because people are constantly returning these, and they'll stop stocking them.

they'll basically be using shelf space for a product that they can't sell without warning people in advance that they shouldn't buy it. Unless the controllers tear up all the time, they'll almost never sell any of them.

And for the record.. I never made the sticker shock argument. I think the reason for only allowing one controller is a technical issue with the streaming.

 

[brochiller]

When I was in college we would just slap our bitches and tell them to pick a better play, and it cost way less then your nonsensical method. We never threw our controllers into the wall in the middle of the tourney, despite out gamer rage.

I may have to try this method...

 

[Replicant]

Almost spit water into my monitor.

 

[gerg]

What happens when little Jimmy breaks the controller and mommy finds out she has to buy a whole new system just to get another controller?

I'm certain you won't have to buy a new system to get another controller. Just because spare or new controllers won't be available at retail doesn't mean that it will be impossible to get one (without a console) in case your first breaks.

In this thread, it seems, people are forgetting the difference between "sold" and "available".

 

[Affeinvasion]

Both of you are assuming there would be no demand for the controller because it comes with the system and you're both justifying your argument via that rationale and it's a bullshit rationale. Controllers break. That screen can be cracked. It can have a drink spilled on it. It's batteries can stop working. There are multiple things that can happen to it and it is utterly stupid to assume that it wouldn't be sold at retail or that they would sit on shelves simply because they already come with one.

what happens when you break your DS? Do you just buy a new one or do you send it in for repairs? People need to stop thinking of the tablet as a peripheral and more as an integral part of the system.

 

[Sianos]

WiiU is really WiiHD with a twist (the twist being the portable extra screen).

Yeah, I guess you are right. :\

It's still extremely dissapointing, though.

 

[AceBandage]

Exactly, and then stores will get pissed because people are constantly returning these, and they'll stop stocking them.

they'll basically be using shelf space for a product that they can't sell without warning people in advance that they shouldn't buy it. Unless the controllers tear up all the time, they'll almost never sell any of them.

Are you guys expecting everyone to be using the tablet as a Frisbee or something? Geeze.

 

[brochiller]

Yup. Tablet + Wiimote pointing= perfect RTS and MMO setup on Consoles.

BRING. IT.

Spoiler

They won't

Are you proposing you set the tablet down and use it as your inventory system while using the Wiimote at the same time?

 

[totowhoa]

Are you guys expecting everyone to be using the tablet as a Frisbee or something? Geeze.

Thought it was a coaster?

 

[RoninChaos]

Exactly, and then stores will get pissed because people are constantly returning these, and they'll stop stocking them.

they'll basically be using shelf space for a product that they can't sell without warning people in advance that they shouldn't buy it. Unless the controllers tear up all the time, they'll almost never sell any of them.

And for the record.. I never made the sticker shock argument. I think the reason for only allowing one controller is a technical issue with the streaming.

So now they'll stop stocking the controllers because people return them, not because they're prohibitively expensive?

So you're going to keep rolling with your argument of a mom who would drop 600 dollars on a nintendo console and controllers? No games, no cables, nothing. Just console and controllers?

 

[Affeinvasion]

Are you proposing you set the tablet down and use it as your inventory system while using the Wiimote at the same time?

It's feasible.

 

[Al-ibn Kermit]

USB cables are only a couple dollars retail for 10 foot cable so even if bandwidth was an issue, Nintendo could still do it with a wired connection (and charge the battery at the same time).

Also, I believe that one of the EA developers in the E3 press conference talked about how cool it would be for each player to set up their own plays using the tablet controller. In which case, you'd need at least two tablets connected to the WiiU at once. I don't think they'd have a developer talking about such a feature in their own E3 show if their console wasn't capable of it.

Earlier in this thread, somebody suggested that the Nintendo rep may have been asked if it was possible to buy the WiiU system without the tablet controller and his answer was mistranslated or something. That doesn't sound unlikely.

 

[brochiller]

Thought it was a coaster?

I thought this thing was supposed to make me coffee WTF!?!?

 

[Krowley]

Are you guys expecting everyone to be using the tablet as a Frisbee or something? Geeze.

You misunderstood me.

People will be returning them because the system will only work with one screen controller at a time, so when they accidentally buy one for multiplayer, they'll get home and find out it doesn't work.

Nintendo could label these things with stickers and bright red lettered warnings, and people would buy it anyway.

 

[scitek]

I kinda get the feeling the rep meant the system won't be sold without a controller. i.e. it WILL be bundled with the system, not "the controller won't be available for purchase separately, period, end of story."