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Nintendo looking into games that support two Wii U controllers

Lan_97

Member
gimz said:
exactly, i was hoping there will be more game like that to be on WiiU, and they should let people use 3DS as a controller as well, so people who already has their 3DS can jump right in, and needless to buy extra controllers
This is want I wanted since they first introduced the DS. Ridiculous that FFCC on Wii didn't even do this.
 
It's good to see they're looking into it, at least.

For a company like Nintendo that has consistently supported local multiplayer - even as the rest of the industry began favoring online multiplayer - this seems like something that they definitely need to address.

Also, they'd be losing out on a ton of potential revenue if there's no reason to buy another touch screen controller. That has to be a concern for them as well.

Thankfully, there's still a lot of time before launch.
 
Buckethead said:
If they have good online no one will care.

On consoles I prefer local multiplayer. Guardian Heroes, Saturn Bomberman, NSMB, Super Monkey Ball 2, Mario Kart, Timesplitters 2, Smash Bros, Death Tank, Fighters Megamix, absolutely nothing has come close to the fun I have had with these games.

It would be a shame if local multiplayer went away, as its the best multplayer.
 
BertramCooper said:
It's good to see they're looking into it, at least.

For a company like Nintendo that has consistently supported local multiplayer - even as the rest of the industry began favoring online multiplayer - this seems like something that they definitely need to address.

Thankfully, there's still a lot of time before launch.


And it's still FULLY capable of local multiplayer. Infact, even more so than other systems, because it can support up to 5 people.
But it's mostly going to be like on the Wii or 360 or PS3 with more traditional controls.
 

Thraktor

Member
My guess is that, to keep lag down (they specifically said "no lag" during the conference), the visuals for the controller's screen are being streamed uncompressed. This means that they're going to need some sort of wireless technology that can handle around 184Mbps* with no hiccups over a few metres. That's just about doable for one controller, but two controllers would require 368Mbps, which is stretching feasible current tech, and four would require 736Mbps, which is probably stretching the channel capacity of air in an average living room.

So, the console is probably designed around a single controller, with the possibility for a second if they, for instance, reduce the colour depth. Doing any more than that would require compression, which would increase lag, increase system and controller cost, and decrease image quality.

*Very rough estimate: 800px x 480px x 16bit colour depth x 30fps = 184Mbps
 
I'd be very surprised if they don't support 2. Local multiplayer isn't something Nintendo wusses out on. If they have to delay the system a few months to get it working, they'll probably do that.

That said, they'll probably stop at 2 if the tech is going to be an obstable.
 

freddy

Banned
TheUnknownForce said:
I think what throws people off is how Nintendo sees the Wii U.

Wii = We, as in we are playing together on the Wii with Wii controllers
U = You, as in you are playing on a screened controller by yourself or with unique properties compared to the rest.

My guess is that Nintendo believes that one U controller is needed, specifically because the purpose of the system would be to make the system a solitary experience when necessary as well as useful in multiplayer situations.

Of course, I do feel that multiple U controllers might be good. Perhaps the Wii U can't stream content to 4 controllers at once?
That's pretty much how I see it. They are giving some gamers what they asked for and the others that were happy with Wiimotes will be fine as well. The only ones who will miss out are the guys who wanted traditional blockbuster games using the Wiimotes. In fact those people may be even worse off now.
 
DeaconKnowledge said:
No.

The console can't handle streaming content and data from the base unit to four separate tablets.

well that's kind of what I meant. Frankly it doesn't effect me personally, as an adult gamer, local multiplayer gaming sessions are few & far between these days. But it's disappointing for the Koopalings.
 

WillyFive

Member
BertramCooper said:
Also, they'd be losing out on a ton of potential revenue if there's no reason to buy another touch screen controller. That has to be a concern for them as well.

You still have to buy more Wii remotes, since that's what the WiiU uses.
 

Jimrpg

Member
it was weird they showed one wii u controller with other wii remotes...

it really seems a bit half assed...

reminds me of wii fit - why limit it to one board per console - u can bet people want to play this with ppl and not take turns...

why does nintendo do this?

and why would u play multiplayer when one person gets the screen...

i remember back in the old days when i used a crappy third party genesis controller and my bro used a nice first party one when we played together. that was crap...

when i saw the wii u - i was thinking four swords... but not one game they showed was like this... instead they showed you waving the controller around again...and now its a big and bulky and not very well contoured to your hands...

and stylus? who's going to hold that in one hand??? Manute bol?

i guess im ranting... but hmm... when they released wii it was pretty cool... and this seems... well way more poorly designed... there's potential here... i hope they fulfil it...

hmmm - whats stopping PS3 and PSVita doing the same thing?? i bet they add some functionality in there. and $249 for the PSVita - alot of people are probably going to get one!
 
Nosotros
Nosotros Usted
Nosotros Vosotros

......



I can definitely see why two or more new controllers could be useful at the same time.

Something like Madden / PES where each player has his/her own tactics/playbook on the new controller.
 
If any of you are into home theater, you already know why they are hesitant to confirm multiple screens/controllers in action - the unreliable nature of streaming video in real time wirelessly. I'm looking at you HDMI wireless.

Try to stream HD video on the fly over the air. Bandwidth be damned, you'll still run into problems with sync and dropouts.

I think it's pretty amazing they've got one HD(esque) signal they're going to throw around. I would assume the 1080p rendering is happening at the console and then they are sending the native resolution out over the air to the controller. Still pretty remarkable.

I bet if they want to go with multiple touchscreen controllers, they'll go wired.
 
The good thing about this is that it will hopefully encourage devs to include nunchuk+pointer controls into their games. Looking at you, shooters.
 

JGS

Banned
Stitch said:
one player with a wii-u controller and 4 with a wii remote. doesn't sound so bad.
It sounds horrible to me for some games. They should work hard to fix it if possible. It didn't even dawn on me thus would be the lone option even though I figured the controller itself would be too expensive for me to buy a second one immediately.

However it could be a case of passing the controller around for some games.
 
Iwatas Magic Sports Coat said:
well that's kind of what I meant. Frankly it doesn't effect me personally, as an adult gamer, local multiplayer gaming sessions are few & far between these days. But it's disappointing for the Koopalings.

Eh, I see what you're saying (Though I don't care: in fact, i'm calling infinite shotgun on using the tablet in my house right now) However just looking at that thing you can tell it's expensive as fuck and I doubt i'd want to get another one even if I had the option.



Freezie KO said:
The good thing about this is that it will hopefully encourage devs to include nunchuk+pointer controls into their games. Looking at you, shooters.

Completely 100 percent agreed. This is the marriage that i'm most excited about; the Wiimote with up to date online enabled shooters.
 

Boney

Banned
Only 1 controller huh...

Wonder if they're gonna stick with the CC pro or get a new dual analog controller there.

hey stump, when do we get our avatars back?
 

Epcott

Member
Thank goodness they're considering it. I hope they're able to get it at least up to 4 (a FPS or New Super Mario Mii would be fantastic this way).

I mean (for now) the big draw and focus is on the controller. They may be expensive, but the gamer should decide if they want to buy more, not the developer decide how many are to be used simultaneously for fear of expense. Though if its a hardware issue, I suppose it can't be helped.

I mean, if they had decided that the Wii would only support one Wiimote, while other players can only use GCN controllers, meltdowns would have ensued.
 

Jimrpg

Member
AceBandage said:
How about the huge power cost to get 4 different screens running at a time?
You'll still be able to do multiplayer on the system, just with Wiimotes+Accessories.


if thats the reason... then its poorly designed...

four swords had a gamecube plus GBA...

which means you have the CPU IN the controller...

ie - wouldnt it be simpler for them to get everyone to buy at a minimum a $99 DS Lite as the controller or even a GBA for heavens sake...

you get your own information on your little screen PLUS the console can handle the main game...

sounds like the wii u console is powering the Wii U screen, in which case its going to hurt if you have four screens.
 
arbok26 said:
if thats the reason... then its poorly designed...

four swords had a gamecube plus GBA...

which means you have the CPU IN the controller...

ie - wouldnt it be simpler for them to get everyone to buy at a minimum a $99 DS Lite as the controller or even a GBA for heavens sake...

you get your own information on your little screen PLUS the console can handle the main game...

sounds like the wii u console is powering the Wii U screen, in which case its going to hurt if you have four screens.


GBA=>GC was:

1. Wired
2. 16 Bit graphics

Not even comparable.
 
Having a limitation of only one controller sounds really, really shortsighted. If the controller is going the focus of the experience you can't just have one person using it for multiplayer. As I've said in another thread, sports games as going to be a huge problem this way.
 
DeaconKnowledge said:
Completely 100 percent agreed. This is the marriage that i'm most excited about; the Wiimote with up to date online enabled shooters.

This is part of my problem with the Wii U though. I really like the Wiimote, but it isn't perfect. Some more buttons (surrounding the A button) and some of the precision improvements from PS Move would've been a nice upgrade when jumping into the new system.

I appreciate the idea that you can use all your old peripherals, but a new remote would've actually been a coherent direction from Nintendo. If they really care so much about input methods, you'd think they'd refine what still looks to be a focal controller of the system.
 
all they need to do is re engineer the console to include 4 of the streamin' units and up the price of the console. done.
 

jasonng

Member
AceBandage said:
I bet we'll see a $40 WiiU controller without the screen.
classic_pro_photo.jpg


Zombie James said:
Having a limitation of only one controller sounds really, really shortsighted. If the controller is going the focus of the experience you can't just have one person using it for multiplayer. As I've said in another thread, sports games as going to be a huge problem this way.

Agreed. For them to push how much innovation this new hardware can bring, it wouldn't make sense at all for the console to have limits on the U controllers.
 

iceatcs

Junior Member
thecouncil said:
that seems a little excessive. what i dont get is, WHEN DO I STOP BEING A JUNIOR!?
Some can be perm-junior like me :) It's cool

Why cool? Cos I can edit or delete my post without leaving the "Last edited by" on the bottom.

Just a multiplayer tech demo.
Ah never mind. It would be amazing if Nintendo making their own Minecraft.
 
Willy105 said:
You still have to buy more Wii remotes, since that's what the WiiU uses.
But a good portion of the people buying a Wii U already have Wii Remotes.

Nintendo needs to make sure that consumers have a reason to buy additional touch screen controllers, other than as replacements for broken ones.
 
Vyrance said:
A few (more than a few) bad apples just make the rest of us look bad. Only got approved a couple months ago personally.
This is true but this year there are some REALLY bad apples.
 
Freezie KO said:
This is part of my problem with the Wii U though. I really like the Wiimote, but it isn't perfect. Some more buttons (surrounding the A button) and some of the precision improvements from PS Move would've been a nice upgrade when jumping into the new system.

I appreciate the idea that you can use all your old peripherals, but a new remote would've actually been a coherent direction from Nintendo. If they really care so much about input methods, you'd think they'd refine what still looks to be a focal controller of the system.

I get your concern, and i'm a little bummed at no updated Wiimote tech, however I think i'd also be pissed at a slightly altered Wiimote that renders my current ones (of which I have 6, long story) Obsolete.

Perhaps they'll refresh the design a bit and/or release an add on like motion plus.
 

Thraktor

Member
Thraktor said:
My guess is that, to keep lag down (they specifically said "no lag" during the conference), the visuals for the controller's screen are being streamed uncompressed. This means that they're going to need some sort of wireless technology that can handle around 184Mbps* with no hiccups over a few metres. That's just about doable for one controller, but two controllers would require 368Mbps, which is stretching feasible current tech, and four would require 736Mbps, which is probably stretching the channel capacity of air in an average living room.

So, the console is probably designed around a single controller, with the possibility for a second if they, for instance, reduce the colour depth. Doing any more than that would require compression, which would increase lag, increase system and controller cost, and decrease image quality.

*Very rough estimate: 800px x 480px x 16bit colour depth x 30fps = 184Mbps

Just realised that any wireless streaming tech that delivers hiccup-free visuals is going to have to have a load of ECC (error-correcting code) data as well, so increase that estimate for one screen to 200-250Mbps and the others accordingly.
 
The current setup doesn't really bother me that much. Doesn't seem like many multiplayer games would be totally reliant on the screen, allowing everyone else to use a wiimote/wm + nunchuk. I think everyone is blowing the problem way out of proportion, at least for now.
 

Stumpokapow

listen to the mad man
NSQuote said:
Is it automatic?

Or did you leave out a zero? :(

It is automatic but there's also a membership length requirement which is either 3 months or 6, can't remember which. I didn't mention it before because the other poster had long surpassed the length requirement.

Boney said:
hey stump, when do we get our avatars back?

I suspect EL will turn them on tomorrow since most of the major insanity is over at this point, but really it'll just come down to analyzing server loads and responsiveness and making a call based on that.
 

Vyrance

Member
While watching the conference I was pretty underwhelmed by the device, but I'm starting to think that was only because they made its unveiling a bit confusing. Even if you can only use one of these controllers, that would be fine for someone like me who usually plays solo anyway. I could see the screen being implemented in useful ways for RPGs, strategy, sports, etc.
 

Sianos

Member
Yeah, I guess expecting four controllers is a bit much.

I still want at least two Wii Ucontrollers supported, though. At least this way we can still have screenwatchless multiplayer on a smaller scale.

Stumpokapow said:
It is automatic but there's also a membership length requirement which is either 3 months or 6, can't remember which. I didn't mention it before because the other poster had long surpassed the length requirement.

Ah, looks like I'll be waiting a while, then. :p
 
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