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Nintendo: Wii U's GamePad Is The Only Real Innovation This Console Cycle

Damon Bennet said:
Around the time the GBA was released I drew pictures of an imaginary console called the pacemaker (I dont really what I thought). It basically was Dreamcast successor with a touchscreen instead of the VMU.
It was also possible to play simple games on the go with the controller (as you could with the vmu).

Wii u could have been that dream, but it somehow never clicked with me
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Some might even say that said dream was cast away in some fashion.
;D
 
I don't understand why a company guy praising their own product is so shocking. Expecting him to praise the Share button is like expecting Sony to say that the 3DS is best handheld.
 
greg400 said:
That's IF you're even popular enough to have people want to watch your game which is super rare and those that do have that benefit don't even use the baked in streaming functionality.

That's a far cry from a guaranteed gameplay change.
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what with this IF ? does the feature exist and can be used? Yes ? No ?
Isn't a feature put in the front when share function was introduced to the public ? why does this "if" as anything to do with the points i'm making ?

Are you seriously expecting a radical change of gameplay from console to console ? because that never happens. For 1 zombi U , 1 splatoon or 1 TWEWY , there are dozens and dozens of games that will either don't use a feature or use it as the most basic level. Let's not fool ourselves believing that playing habits changed that much in the last decade...Aside from the recurrent need for an internet connexion.

TFRazorsaw said:
but it has not influenced control, world building, or anything meaningful beyond that, except for the wider distribution of photo mode, which is, again, something that already existed.
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ANd it never intended to. Sorry am i missing something here ? Innovation doesn't mean gameplay innovations that's a false. Believing that innovation required a change in controls is why the PS move and kinect failed HARD . You don't need to reinvent the wheel to innovate , and that's exactly WHY , the Xbone one and the PS4 are so ahead of nintendo in term of sales too. Innovating ( for the sake of it ) ,is pointless.

what matters is:
-Does the habits of the consummers change ?
-Is it a change big enough that it influence others ?

Wiimote was an innovation, wii U gamepad isn't.
Giving your console huge multimedia capabilities is an innovation ( PS2 with Dvd playback, PS3 with blu-ray playback )
-xbox live ( at the time of the 360 launch)
^^ they shaped ^^ their market, and that why those were things trully innovative

Going back to my argument , sharing IS an innovation , but it's not limited to 1 manufacturer , everyone did. Xbone can share vids, same for PS4 , wii U has miverse. It's a clear innovation. If it wasn't , the general public wouldn't have used it . Why is it innovative again ? Because it wasn't possible before on consoles. Who cares if we could do in on pc and smartphones before , if you think that way , nothing is ever innovative.
 
Definitely the Wii U pad feels like innovation can't deny that. It still sucks the wii u is considered a failure to Nintendo.
 
Wii Remote + Nunchuck >>>>>>>>>>>>>>> TurdPad

What could have been.
 
R_thanatos said:
what with this IF ? does the feature exist and can be used? Yes ? No ?
Isn't a feature put in the front when share function was introduced to the public ? why does this "if" as anything to do with the points i'm making ?

Are you seriously expecting a radical change of gameplay from console to console ? because that never happens. For 1 zombi U , 1 splatoon or 1 TWEWY , there are dozens and dozens of games that will either don't use a feature or use it as the most basic level. Let's not fool ourselves believing that playing habits changed that much in the last decade...Aside from the recurrent need for an internet connexion.
Click to expand...
The IF point is that it is not guaranteed gameplay change and needs a host of different circumstances for that to be the case (also that the people that are watching you aren't trolls who want to hinder you). This is not the same for something like games on the Wii U where the gameplay change from the gamepad on some games are apparent the second the you start playing.
 
Chindogg said:
Even if that feature was already done by the "crappy second screen" before the console was even released?
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Wii U is able to post the last 15 minutes of your gameplay to the internet through the push of a button? I'm not saying that Wii U hasn't had the ability to do so, but it's implementation in Wii U is rudimentary at best and doesn't come close to the breadth that the PS4 and Xbone does it. Being able to go into Miiverse and post little drawings and pictures is more of an extension of Mii Plaza on a grander scale. In my opinion, I don't find that innovative. Intuitive perhaps is the better word.
 
screenshot capability has been around forever on computers, so I dont see it as a gamechanger. More that the consoles were late adopting it.
 
Is plugging headphones into a controller for audio innovation? That's by far my favorite feature of all three consoles. I am never not playing with headphones now. It makes every game better.
 
axisofweevils said:
I don't understand why a company guy praising their own product is so shocking. Expecting him to praise the Share button is like expecting Sony to say that the 3DS is best handheld.
Click to expand...

Things can backfire. He is using Mario Maker as example how to create content easily and fast.

Too bad that Sony showed Dreams which let you create complete 3D worlds fast and simple with motion controller input, which is like several steps ahead of Mario Maker which could be done on the Wii with the wiimote.
 
greg400 said:
It really isn't that hard to understand and I'm getting sick of replying to people in this thread so this is my last response.

The IF point is that is not guaranteed gameplay change and needs a host of different circumstances for that to be the case (also that the people that are watching you aren't trolls who want to hinder you). This is not the same for something like games on the Wii U where the gameplay change from the gamepad on some games are apparent the second the you start playing.
Click to expand...

i'll be frank , just because a feature can be abused doesn't make it unninovative or pointless.
Also you have double standards. The garanteed gameplay change is not obligatory on the wii U gamepad either, in the end , it's different depending on the game ( just like the broadcast capabilities that varies from game to game )

As i said , for a couple of games that use the wii U gamepad differently , the vast majority doesn't. Pretty much like how broadcast help is handled on PS4 with share. i know a couple of great games that use it
 
I love the Gamepad but clearly it's RIP. I highly doubt we'll see it in this form again.

I suspect the next handheld will link up to the next console right outta the box.
 
PdotMichael said:
Things can backfire. He is using Mario Maker as example how to create content easily and fast.

Too bad that Sony showed Dreams which let you create complete 3D worlds fast and simple with motion controller input, which is like several steps ahead of Mario Maker which could be done on the Wii with the wiimote.
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That´s a lot of fanboyism for a single post.
 
R_thanatos said:
i'll be frank , just because a feature can be abused doesn't make it unninovative or pointless.
Also you have double standards. The garanteed gameplay change is not obligatory on the wii U gamepad either, in the end , it's different depending on the game ( just like the broadcast capabilities that varies from game to game )

As i said , for a couple of games that use the wii U gamepad differently , the vast majority doesn't. Pretty much like how broadcast help is handled on PS4 with share. i know a couple of great games that use it
Click to expand...

Never said it was pointless, I'm saying it's ultimate outcome on gameplay is ultimately up to an immense amount of circumstances that you have little to no control over and even when everything is in your favor it could still have little difference.

I don't have double standards, if you buy Splatoon you are guaranteed to be taking advantage of the gameplay advantages the GamePad provides. The same cannot be said for the share button/streaming.
 
But the gamepad is just a play on the second screen from the DS from all those years ago. They never put anything innovative on the damn thing. A horn and a map is all Innovative Nintendo can muster. The only coolish feature is the ability to play on the gamepad screen itself but I could do that with a PSP so that again is not innovative. What a strange comment at this point of the generation when we have NX mentions for a lot of software and they did dick all with the gamepad.
 
It's not a surprising comment, but it's a disappointing one.

I remember when Nintendo of America and Nintendo of Europe used to say things of substance to the press when it came to hardware.

Read the interviews around the DS's launch period -- those given by Reggie and Jim Merrick -- and it's a world of difference to the answers that get trotted out by the executives these days. I do wish Nintendo would be more open with these things, though I suspect the execs simply aren't allowed to say much, or don't know the deal from Japan.
 
TFRazorsaw said:
after the virtual boy, playstation move, kinect, and yes, even the wii's motion controls have either failed, failed to even really launch, or fallen by the wayside, why the hell is everyone so certain VR is gonna stick and change everything?
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Most of those were a suceess, and it's nothing like those, it's a whole new medium, try it first.
 
Wii U's gamepad is good, but it didn't really bring anything new to the table:

- Second screen gameplay was already done first by DS
- Remote play is not a feature unique to the Wii U
- Tablets much better than the gamepad were already big before the Wii U came out

So yeah, Wii U gamepad didn't really do anything that hadn't been done before, and unfortunately the market rejected it.
 
I agree in as far as off-screen play is the absolute greatest innovation for me this gen. The Wii U gamepad shares the glory with my Vita though.
 
greg400 said:
Never said it was pointless, I'm saying it's ultimate outcome on gameplay is ultimately up to an immense amount of circumstances that you have little to no control over and even when everything is in your favor it could still have little difference.
Click to expand...
It's part of the design of the feature, even if the difference is minimal , it intended purpose is to change things according to your online audience wishes and that exactly what it does.
That the change is minimal is dependant of the game and you're free to dislike this , but that's the entire purpose of the feature, giving a limited control to a group of followers. that's the POINT.

You cannot argue that you have no control over something when the feature is about giving control to a group of people.

Please don't argue that you need an audience for this , or else
i'll just post that FFCC penny-arcade picture
I don't have double standards, if you buy Splatoon you are guaranteed to be taking advantage of the gameplay advantages the GamePad provides. The same cannot be said for the share button/streaming.
Click to expand...

Both are system-wide functions whose utility depends on the game that is on the console, so i'll quietly disagree with you here.
 
aadiboy said:
Wii U's gamepad is good, but it didn't really bring anything new to the table:

- Second screen gameplay was already done first by DS
- Remote play is not a feature unique to the Wii U
- Tablets much better than the gamepad were already big before the Wii U came out

So yeah, Wii U gamepad didn't really do anything that hadn't been done before, and unfortunately the market rejected it.
Click to expand...

and yet it's the only one where it's not a glorified afterthought
 
Sure it's technically an innovation, but just because the new console controllers otherwise look the same doesn't mean it's the only one. I love my Xbone controller. It's the best controller to come out in at least a couple generations IMO.
 
R_thanatos said:
It's part of the design of the feature, even if the difference is minimal , it intended purpose is to change things according to your online audience wishes and that exactly what it does.
That the change is minimal is dependant of the game and you're free to dislike this , but that's the entire purpose of the feature, giving a limited control to a group of followers. that's the POINT.

You cannot argue that you have no control over something when the feature is about giving control to a group of people.

Please don't argue that you need an audience for this , or else
i'll just post that FFCC penny-arcade picture
Click to expand...
Post whatever shitty comic you like, nothing you will say or post will negate the fact that in order for it to have an adverse affect on gameplay while streaming you need other people to make that happen.

There are over 50 people streaming CS:GO right now on twitch with 4 viewers or less. I shouldn't even mention the more obscure games being streamed right now.

Both are system-wide functions whose utility depends on the game that is on the console, so i'll quietly disagree with you here.
Click to expand...

One function is a requirement within the game, the other isn't.
 
dickroach said:
Wii U game development's been going on for what like 5-6 years now, and Nintendo still never made one game to show that the game pad was necessary; to expand on the ideas they put into NintendoLand.

oh, and this "innovation" is essentially just a rehash of their 11 year old innovation, the DS.
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HD and 60 FPS aren't necessary too. Nonetheless they enhance the gaming experience. There are many games out there that benefit from the gamepad.
 
I gotta go with after-the-fact video saves (share button)...which the Wii U doesn't have, of course. Every time something funny happens, I hit that button and save the video. Now I have a hilarious archive of game bugs, funny physics and such.

I've been playing a Steam game the last few days, and it's crazy how much I miss that feature.

Gamepad is meh. The Wii U would be a better system without it.
 
He's not wrong. It outdoes anything the other consoles have done in my humble but honest and if I may say so, truthful opinion.

It does allow for features I think I'll miss in the future.
 
Innovation is one thing but innovation that made things better for me as a gamer is a completely separate thing. Unfortunately, the gamepad hasn't been a positive for me.
 
TFRazorsaw said:
and yet it's the only one where it's not a glorified afterthought
Click to expand...

Except remote play is better with a Vita than with the Wii U gamepad because you can actually be in a different fucking room and it'll still work.

The range is shit. I can remote play my Vita in a different state. I can't remote play my Wii U down the hall.
 
Eh I dunno, seems to me that Sony is the only one innovating and Nintendo are lazy every time the gameplay is being talked about. (Going by these kind of threads of course)

And is a button really that innovative when there are already plenty of buttons on the DS4?
 
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