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[StreetsAhead]

Yeah, I hear you - but to be fair, Red Steel was from Ubisoft Paris (Rayman Raving Rabbids 2, XIII), while Killer Freaks is from Ubisoft Montpellier (Rayman Origins, Spielberg's TinTin, BG&E2).

I sort of knew that, but it's good to hear. Hopefully it means that it'll be a more polished experience. (Don't mention BG&E2, thinking about it makes me sad just like hearing about Pikmin 3.)

The controller's touch screen will display a persistent on-screen map and interactive database, allow for fast weapon selection, display alternative puzzles and be used for the game's eagle vision.

The game will re-use assets from the PC, PS3 and Xbox 360 entries in the series.

Interesting...

 

[Cygnus X-1]

What I'm concerned about Wii U is that it seems Nintendo is unable to develop two games for each team:

EAD 1: Mario Kart 3DS
EAD 2: Starfox 3D (done, co-dev with Q-games); Animal Crossing 3DS
EAD 3: Skyward Sword (finished, after...another Zelda probably.
EAD 4: Pikmin 3 for Wii U
EAD 5: Unknown (after Wii Fit Plus, they co-dev Steel Diver with Vitei)
EAD Tokyo: Super Mario 3DS
HAL: Kirby Wii
Int Sys: Paper Mario 3DS
Monolith: Unknown Wii U game
Sora: Kid Icarus
Monster Gms: Unknown (after Pilotwings)
NLG: Luigi's Mansion 2
Creatures: Pokémon for 3DS
Retro: Unknown Wii U game

So in the end, we have only 3 Wii U games. The one of Monolith probably coming out end 2012/early 2013. Retro's game probably the same. Pikmin 3 was almost done on Wii, so it should be a launch title.

But again......the number of games Nintendo can produce is still completely inadequate for two systems.

 

[lednerg]

...
The friends list is a big deal. Just having the list isn't the kicker though, you have to be able to play, if Nintendo gets some kind of integration but they can only play other Wii-U gamers then Nintendo's in no better position then they are now. ...

(I'm not replying to you in particular, just using that as a jumping off point)

There's no way the online part of the equation is even close to being done at this point. Still, one thing I do know is that Wii U will have video chat; they even made a point to show this off in the introductory video. How it will be utilized for online gaming is anyone's guess at this moment, but it could end up being a pretty big deal since it's going to be standard equipment for every Wii U sold. From what I can tell by the statements they have made, Nintendo is going to be taking a hands-off approach with publishers online, giving them carte blanche to do pretty much whatever they like with what's available to them. (While that could mean we'd end up looking at random genitalia every three seconds in multi-player, I'm sure they'll find a way to combat the cavalcade of capricious cocks.) Just by looking at the hardware of the controller alone, Wii U is actually in a position to leapfrog the competition in terms of online interactivity. People wouldn't have to buy headsets or webcams - it's all included - plus there's an extra screen if need be.

As far as friend lists and all of that, I suppose it's really up to how cynical we feel like being when discussing that stuff. Activision's Eric Hirshberg said [let slip?] that it has a "connected universe at the back end." Sure, that's not actual concrete evidence of anything, but it sounds like he was alluding to what could be a Wii U friend list which publishers can have access to. I'm obviously just guessing at this point, though.

 

[Kunan]

Makes sense that Assassins Creed would be next fall's edition, rather than this fall's.

 

[StreetsAhead]

What I'm concerned about Wii U is that it seems Nintendo is unable to develop two games for each team:



So in the end, we have only 3 Wii U games. The one of Monolith probably coming out end 2012/early 2013. Retro's game probably the same. Pikmin 3 was almost done on Wii, so it should be a launch title.

But again......the number of games Nintendo can produce is still completely inadequate for two systems.

Don't confuse those teams not announcing games with not producing them.

EDIT:Also, I thought LM was being farmed out to Next Level games...?

And Sora's moving straight onto co-producing SSB for 3DS and Wii U once Kid Icarus is completed.

 

[Shikamaru Ninja]

So in the end, we have only 3 Wii U games. The one of Monolith probably coming out end 2012/early 2013. Retro's game probably the same. Pikmin 3 was almost done on Wii, so it should be a launch title.

Nintendo showed New Super Mario Mii, Wii U Sports, and Wii U Fit. Then it showed some other games that may wind up as Wii U Play. Then you have Pikmin. And lastly New Super Smash Bros sometime in 2013 hopefully.

But again......the number of games Nintendo can produce is still completely inadequate for two systems.

Has nothing to do with lack of R&D. It is just Nintendo's eccentric accumen on publishing all the software being presented or prototyped.

 

[Cygnus X-1]

Don't confuse those teams not announcing games with not producing them.

EDIT:Also, I thought LM was being farmed out to Next Level games...?

And Sora's moving straight onto co-producing SSB for 3DS and Wii U once Kid Icarus is completed.

Yeah, but still......Nintendo should increase the number of teams. The reason is clear: third parties are not very willingly to work on Nintendo's systems and it is in the interest of Nintendo being more independent, especially since they have lot of money in banks.

I mean: Monolith Soft was bought for 75 millions yen (source), i.e. (in 2007) for 627'615$. It's nothing compared to Nintendo's cash of billions.

It doesn't make sense to me being so conservative.

 

[StreetsAhead]

third parties are not very willingly to work on Nintendo's systems

Maybe in the past (although making special versions of software for the Wii doesn't sound unwilling to work with the console, it sounds like just lazy result of B-teams)

But, off the top of my head, for the Wii U, 3rd parties have already promised:

Aliens, Darksiders, Batman: Arkham City, Baten Kaitos, Tekken, AC, Killer Freaks, Ghost Retcon Online, and UbiSports.

That's not a bad start. Provided that the PS4 or Nextbox don't do something outrageous (like producing Avatar quality graphics) that support should continue in a way it couldn't for the Wii.

It doesn't make sense to me being so conservative.

Survival.

EDIT: Nintendo has been expanding (sakamru no ninja, made a good post on this a few pages back), and farming out development to other studios, Grezzo (although they're partial owners, I believe), or Team Ninja.

 

[fabricated backlash]

That's likely how it will be.
Nintendo will create a kind of base system where you enter your username and information, and that will be used for each service.

Which to be honest is the same as with Xbox Live at this point. Wanna play Bad Company2? Create an EA account or link your gamertag to create an EA account.

I guess it will be the same or similar story here.

Hell ubisoft even created its own set of achievements outside of the gamerscore with Uplay.

 

[DaSorcerer7]

Maybe in the past (although making special versions of software for the Wii doesn't sound unwilling to work with the console, it sounds like just lazy result of B-teams)

But, off the top of my head, for the Wii U, 3rd parties have already promised:

Aliens, Darksiders, Batman: Arkham City, Baten Kaitos, Tekken, AC, Killer Freaks, Ghost Retcon Online, and UbiSports.

That's not a bad start. Provided that the PS4 or Nextbox don't do something outrageous (like producing Avatar quality graphics) that support should continue in a way it couldn't for the Wii

Not to nitpick but Baten Kaitos is developed by Monolith Soft, which is a Nintendo first party.

 

[walking fiend]

I am 100% pro Nintendo expansion.

1. As long as it is just two consoles, it is mostly OK, but now they have 4 consoles to support and since they are not big enough, they have to abruptly stop the development for DS and Wii. Since they are the main forces behind their own devices, now that they have left it, others are following. it is bad for the image of their systems, it makes their life look so short and abruptly ended, and why shouldn't people think the same about Wii U and 3DS? in a few months, every one who buys a DS or Wii, should only expect to thrive on backlog. At this rate buying a more expensive console with a longer life cycle, sounds quite logical and hinders the lower price of their systems.

2. after they expanded the market with Wii, they can't put enough casual and core output simultaneously. I believe with the Wii U being HD and 3DS asking for 3d games instead of 2D games on the DS, and increased development time, this will become even more of an issue.

 

[lednerg]

Yeah, but still......Nintendo should increase the number of teams. The reason is clear: third parties are not very willingly to work on Nintendo's systems ...

Wii got hardly any 3rd party support because it physically couldn't handle it. It's one thing to shrink a PC game requiring 2GB of RAM to a modern console with a quarter of that. It's quite another thing to shrink that down to something like 88MB and a fixed-shader GPU like the Wii has. If 3rd parties could make Wii ports with ease, they sure as hell would.

(Keep in mind the profit-minded shift in the industry towards multi-platform games. Barely anybody is doing 3rd party AAA exclusives anymore, not on a regular basis.)

 

[StreetsAhead]

Not to nitpick but Baten Kaitos is developed by Monolith Soft, which is a Nintendo first party.

Oh, that's because I meant Ninja Gaiden. The Razor's Edge one. Don't ask how I got those confused.

 

[walking fiend]

Which to be honest is the same as with Xbox Live at this point. Wanna play Bad Company2? Create an EA account or link your gamertag to create an EA account.

I guess it will be the same or similar story here.

Hell ubisoft even created its own set of achievements outside of the gamerscore with Uplay.

The difference is that Nintendo is giving the publishers the opportunity to establish their own systems, Live doesn't have Steam or Origin. It has several benefits for publishers and Nintendo:

1. Nintendo can continue its conservative online approach in its own games, which I believe is something which they are not willing to change
2. Publishers will probably gain much more profit through this, compared to paying Microsoft
3. Nintendo doesn't need to manage the whole online themselves, they will need to bother with the hub and providing a solid infrastructure to enable deployment of 3rd party systems.

it has several benefits for the users as well:

1. They will have option to choose different types of online systems, say one may prefer the online experience EA provides for BF to that Activision provides for CoD. Option for different tastes.
2. This will almost certainly be free and everyone will pay only as much as they needed, probably won't be badgered with ads at least not in the sections Nintendo provides.
3. Competition between different publishers will lead to better experience
4. Online will be suited to the type of game
5. Developers may be able to provide cross platform multiplayer support for their systems,

what I can think of which gamers may not like:
1. smaller games by independent developers may lack adequate online
2. customers need to adapt to different systems, won't be as intergrated as Live
3. it may lack a universal achievement gallery

 

[_Alkaline_]

Wii got hardly any 3rd party support because it physically couldn't handle it. It's one thing to shrink a PC game requiring 2GB of RAM to a modern console with a quarter of that. It's quite another thing to shrink that down to something like 88MB and a fixed-shader GPU like the Wii has. If 3rd parties could make Wii ports with ease, they sure as hell would.

(Keep in mind the profit-minded shift in the industry towards multi-platform games. Barely anybody is doing 3rd party AAA exclusives anymore, not on a regular basis.)

What's the Cube's excuse then?

 

[lednerg]

What's the Cube's excuse then?

It sure as hell got a lot more ports than Wii did, so I don't know what you mean. Also, the industry wasn't as much into multi-plats as it is now, but whatever.

 

[fabricated backlash]

The difference is that Nintendo is giving the publishers the opportunity to establish their own systems, Live doesn't have Steam or Origin. It has several benefits for publishers and Nintendo:

1. Nintendo can continue its conservative online approach in its own games, which I believe is something which they are not willing to change
2. Publishers will probably gain much more profit through this, compared to paying Microsoft
3. Nintendo doesn't need to manage the whole online themselves, they will need to bother with the hub and providing a solid infrastructure to enable deployment of 3rd party systems.

it has several benefits for the users as well:

1. They will have option to choose different types of online systems, say one may prefer the online experience EA provides for BF to that Activision provides for CoD. Option for different tastes.
2. This will almost certainly be free and everyone will pay only as much as they needed, probably won't be badgered with ads at least not in the sections Nintendo provides.
3. Competition between different publishers will lead to better experience
4. Online will be suited to the type of game
5. Developers may be able to provide cross platform multiplayer support for their systems,

what I can think of which gamers may not like:
1. smaller games by independent developers may lack adequate online
2. customers need to adapt to different systems, won't be as intergrated as Live
3. it may lack a universal achievement gallery

To be perfectly honest, the longer I am on XBL the more the integrated system becomes more and more of a problem. The restrictions are becoming an actual annoyance and hold games back (like the lack of Steamworks)
Additionally XBL is becoming more and more a host for standalone communities as well. Halo Waypoint, Cod Elite, Uplay... all of those are on top of XBL and aren't limited to use on XBL. hell most of those are designed to run independently of XBL. Like Iwata said, the idea of a one size fits all approach to online systems might just be outdated by now. Look at PSN. The growth that PSN is seeing is largely due to the fact that 3rd parties have much more headroom to integrate their own features. Sure some stuff like cross game chat or party chat are missing, but those are things that could easily be added in and still give 3rd parties a chance to do what they want to do.

I agree that small developers might have problems setting up their own online system, but I really really doubt that Nintendo isn't going to provide a centralized online feature set to use for developers. Now those features might not be on par with what juggernauts like Activision or EA will be able to integrate into the system, but it should work substantially better than the Wii allready.

 

[NEO0MJ]

What's the Cube's excuse then?

The small size of the discs were one of the major reasons why the GC didn't get multi platform games.

 

[lednerg]

Gamecube still got perfectly fine versions of stuff like Splinter Cell and Madden. (Disc size did hurt it with some titles.) With Wii, some ports got watered down but most were dropped altogether. That was primarily a factor of the hardware itself, not because publishers didn't want to port to another platform.

 

[onipex]

I am 100% pro Nintendo expansion.

1. As long as it is just two consoles, it is mostly OK, but now they have 4 consoles to support and since they are not big enough, they have to abruptly stop the development for DS and Wii. Since they are the main forces behind their own devices, now that they have left it, others are following. it is bad for the image of their systems, it makes their life look so short and abruptly ended, and why shouldn't people think the same about Wii U and 3DS? in a few months, every one who buys a DS or Wii, should only expect to thrive on backlog. At this rate buying a more expensive console with a longer life cycle, sounds quite logical and hinders the lower price of their systems.

2. after they expanded the market with Wii, they can't put enough casual and core output simultaneously. I believe with the Wii U being HD and 3DS asking for 3d games instead of 2D games on the DS, and increased development time, this will become even more of an issue.

1. Third parties abandoned the Wii long before Nintendo did. Plus the backlog is a benefit to people just buying the system now. They will still have new games to choose from releasing this year.

2. 3DS already has 2D games and more are coming. Considering both the 3DS and Wii U are suppose to be easy to develop for it shouldn't be that much of a problem. To add to that Nintendo got dev kits out to third parties a lot sooner this time around.

 

[walking fiend]

I agree that small developers might have problems setting up their own online system, but I really really doubt that Nintendo isn't going to provide a centralized online feature set to use for developers. Now those features might not be on par with what juggernauts like Activision or EA will be able to integrate into the system, but it should work substantially better than the Wii allready.

Well, I am not even sure if they might not be able. Heroes of Newerth, DOTA clone, was developed by S2 which although wasn't indie, but wasn't anywhere remotely as big as Blizzard, yet it's online system is extremely solid.

What's the Cube's excuse then?

1. When Cube came out, PS2 had already gotten lots of support: FF X, DMC, MGS2, Twisted Metal, GTA; the snowball had already begun rolling.
2. Developing multiplat games was neither as easy as now (DS2 ported in 5 weeks by 3 persons), nor it was necessary (MGS, DMC, FF, GTA, all going totally 3rd party)
3. Wii U is coming after Wii, the best selling console of its generation.

 

[AceBandage]

Like I've said before. You can't compare the Wii U to any system before it.
The market has changed so dramatically that it's impossible to predict just how things will turn out this go 'round.

Though, the Wii U does have more going right for it already than the Wii or GC ever did, shoddy reveal aside.

 

[Cygnus X-1]

Like I've said before. You can't compare the Wii U to any system before it.
The market has changed so dramatically that it's impossible to predict just how things will turn out this go 'round.

Though, the Wii U does have more going right for it already than the Wii or GC ever did, shoddy reveal aside.

Right. And people who expect Wii U to benefit of third party ports just because it is easier to bring games from current HD systems are going to be disappointed. Third parties will start to move on X720 and PS4 and claim that Wii U is not powerful enough for their games. Déjà vu. Wii U is going to have ports during the first/second year of commercialization, i.e. before launch of Sony- and Microsoft's new systems.
Additionally to that, the same lame excuse that third party software don't sell on Nintendo's consoles still will heavily used. A major point will also be that Wii U is very likely not going to sell as crazy as Wii did and thus the installed base will be smaller.
X360+PS3 and X720+PS4 are combinations way more profitable than a single console. Maybe Wii U will have some ports of Vita if the handheld will be successful. Bottom line anyway is that Nintendo's systems are successful if, and only if Nintendo itself can first made them successful.

 

[mAcOdIn]

(I'm not replying to you in particular, just using that as a jumping off point)

There's no way the online part of the equation is even close to being done at this point. Still, one thing I do know is that Wii U will have video chat; they even made a point to show this off in the introductory video. How it will be utilized for online gaming is anyone's guess at this moment, but it could end up being a pretty big deal since it's going to be standard equipment for every Wii U sold. From what I can tell by the statements they have made, Nintendo is going to be taking a hands-off approach with publishers online, giving them carte blanche to do pretty much whatever they like with what's available to them. (While that could mean we'd end up looking at random genitalia every three seconds in multi-player, I'm sure they'll find a way to combat the cavalcade of capricious cocks.) Just by looking at the hardware of the controller alone, Wii U is actually in a position to leapfrog the competition in terms of online interactivity. People wouldn't have to buy headsets or webcams - it's all included - plus there's an extra screen if need be.

As far as friend lists and all of that, I suppose it's really up to how cynical we feel like being when discussing that stuff. Activision's Eric Hirshberg said [let slip?] that it has a "connected universe at the back end." Sure, that's not actual concrete evidence of anything, but it sounds like he was alluding to what could be a Wii U friend list which publishers can have access to. I'm obviously just guessing at this point, though.

Perhaps, truly we do have to wait and see.

Right. And people who expect Wii U to benefit of third party ports just because it is easier to bring games from current HD systems are going to be disappointed. Third parties will start to move on X720 and PS4 and claim that Wii U is not powerful enough for their games. Déjà vu. Wii U is going to have ports during the first/second year of commercialization, i.e. before launch of Sony- and Microsoft's new systems.
Additionally to that, the same lame excuse that third party software don't sell on Nintendo's consoles still will heavily used. A major point will also be that Wii U is very likely not going to sell as crazy as Wii did and thus the installed base will be smaller.
X360+PS3 and X720+PS4 are combinations way more profitable than a single console. Maybe Wii U will have some ports of Vita if the handheld will be successful. Bottom line anyway is that Nintendo's systems are successful if, and only if Nintendo itself can first made them successful.

I'm betting that no matter how truly powerful the next-gen system will be that not many companies are really going to max them out, I don't think a power gap this generation will be near as pronounced or fatal to a system as it was this generation.

 

[Shikamaru Ninja]

Yeah, but still......Nintendo should increase the number of teams. The reason is clear: third parties are not very willingly to work on Nintendo's systems and it is in the interest of Nintendo being more independent, especially since they have lot of money in banks.

Nintendo is expanding. Everyday. Their recruit page is rather large for both their Kyoto and Tokyo offices. We are not privy to getting updates of every new employee hired to R&D. I think you want to be reassured that "Nintendo is expanding" by them mimicking SONY or Microsoft who rely on external first-party companies as opposed to the company themselves internally developing software. Nintendo's method of growth is slower but they create talent internally and do not have to deal with buying out external companies who get fed up and start leaving.

Then outside of that, Nintendo has a myriad of companies who develop games for the Nintendo umbrella. At least 15 Japanese companies, and about 5 Western companies who have publisher relations.

The problem is will Nintendo as an international publisher give these games to you.

 

[daakusedo]

Not sure nintendo just want the last games of this gen.
So the quick spreading theory of wii and ps360 again seems too simple.

 

[walking fiend]

Right. And people who expect Wii U to benefit of third party ports just because it is easier to bring games from current HD systems are going to be disappointed. Third parties will start to move on X720 and PS4 and claim that Wii U is not powerful enough for their games. Déjà vu. Wii U is going to have ports during the first/second year of commercialization, i.e. before launch of Sony- and Microsoft's new systems.

some people think as if Crytech or Epic hate Nintendo? UE3 is already on the Wii U, Cryengine is seemingy up and running as well. The gap between Wii U and Nextbox/PS4 not only will be considerably less than the gap between Wii and 360/PS3, but most importantly it won't have an archaic architecture and development pipeline.

If Nextbox/PS4 are released before 2014, and are so powerful that dwarf the Wii U, which itself is described as the "stop-gap" between this gen and next, the ones that will not see the ports will be Nextbox/PS4, cause development cost will be so high that no one will bother with making games for them.

Additionally to that, the same lame excuse that third party software don't sell on Nintendo's consoles still will heavily used. A major point will also be that Wii U is very likely not going to sell as crazy as Wii did and thus the installed base will be smaller.
X360+PS3 and X720+PS4 are combinations way more profitable than a single console.

Most of the titles are ported to PC as well, while they don't sell nearly good as their console parts. The problem with Wii was that porting them was risky, because they had to practically redisgn the whole game for the Wii: They had to adjust for the controller, develop a new online system, use a different engine, redesign the assests, accomodate for the non-HD output, write their own internal update system, ... It was not an excuse, sure some games could sell on the Wii, but it was a risky business.

Maybe Wii U will have some ports of Vita if the handheld will be successful. Bottom line anyway is that Nintendo's systems are successful if, and only if Nintendo itself can first made them successful.

oh, what?!!!

 

[left_senseless]

was there ever any solid info on the chip set for the WiiU? I skimmed the OP, but came out with nothing.

 

[BurntPork]

What's the Cube's excuse then?

Disc size and the fact that the PS2 dominated so much of the market that there wasn't as much of a need for multiplatform games. Really, even the XBox would have been left out of quite a bit of games if Microsoft didn't throw money at publishers. Publishers dream of a one console future.

 

[soldat7]

I really hope they change their stance on Wii upscaling. I'd buy Wii U in a heartbeat if I could upscale my Wii games. :|

 

[szaromir]

Disc size and the fact that the PS2 dominated so much of the market that there wasn't as much of a need for multiplatform games. Really, even the XBox would have been left out of quite a bit of games if Microsoft didn't throw money at publishers. Publishers dream of a one console future.

Too bad the consumers lost during that generation.

 

[fabricated backlash]

was there ever any solid info on the chip set for the WiiU? I skimmed the OP, but came out with nothing.

Solid to believable rumors, nothing more nothing less.

 

[StreetsAhead]

I really hope they change their stance on Wii upscaling. I'd buy Wii U in a heartbeat if I could upscale my Wii games. :|

My understanding is that it's just too impractical to run that sort of emulation because it needs to be custom for every game. Maybe they could release some sort of HD remake equivalent, but I'm not sure - Wii U Play Screen sounds very cumbersome.

 

[walking fiend]

1. Third parties abandoned the Wii long before Nintendo did. Plus the backlog is a benefit to people just buying the system now. They will still have new games to choose from releasing this year.

2. 3DS already has 2D games and more are coming. Considering both the 3DS and Wii U are suppose to be easy to develop for it shouldn't be that much of a problem. To add to that Nintendo got dev kits out to third parties a lot sooner this time around.

- for 3rd parties I was refering to the DS 3rd party support, which, like the 1st party support, had dwindled since 3DS released; However, Wii haslacked 1st party support from Nintendo for a time now. What was the last internal casual game they 'developed' for Wii?

- None of their new internal games for 3DS are 2D. So you may now, recently they told Xevious transition to 3D took them 20 times more than what they anticipated.

was there ever any solid info on the chip set for the WiiU? I skimmed the OP, but came out with nothing.

some, but nothing specific:

IBM tells us that within the Wii U there's a 45nm custom chip with "a lot" of embedded DRAM. It's a silicon on insulator design and packs the same processor technology found in Watson, the supercomputer that bested a couple of meatbags on Jeopardy awhile back.

the Wii U's graphics duties are handled by a "custom AMD Radeon HD GPU" with a "modern and rich graphics processing core" and multi-display support.

I really hope they change their stance on Wii upscaling. I'd buy Wii U in a heartbeat if I could upscale my Wii games. :|

it is practically impossible.

 

[BurntPork]

My understanding is that it's just too impractical to run that sort of emulation because it needs to be custom for every game. Maybe they could release some sort of HD remake equivalent, but I'm not sure - Wii U Play Screen sounds very cumbersome.

New Play Res!

 

[kinggroin]

What's the Cube's excuse then?

Good question. My best answer is, image perception problem (lol lunchbox), no DVD playback, unique controller layout, no rudimentary online system, are mostly what prevented it from being the go-to multi platform console for most gamers and some publishers. It got ports, but folks would rather play those games on the ps2 or Xbox. Essentially relegating the cube to being a Nintendo player.

 

[Oppo]

I really hope they change their stance on Wii upscaling. I'd buy Wii U in a heartbeat if I could upscale my Wii games. :|

I am personally a bit disappointed that they did not pursue this. I think a clever upscaling/hi-rez Enhanced Wii Mode could have been a major selling point for the Wii U. Plus it's something that's easy for the layman to grasp: makes any Wii game look way better in HD. I think I would have bought one just for that.

 

[BurntPork]

So you may now, recently they told Xevious transition to 3D took them 20 times more than what they anticipated.

You're blowing that WAY out of proportion, you know. The issue is converting a 2D game to 3D. They thought that the conversion would be easy and cheap, but they were wrong. That has nothing to do with actual 3DS game development at all, especially in the case of polygonal games which already have depth to work with. Nintendo's not running into issues with 3D development.

Good question. My best answer is, image perception problem (lol lunchbox), no DVD playback, unique controller layout, no rudimentary online system, are mostly what prevented it from being the go-to multi platform console for most gamers and some publishers. It got ports, but folks would rather play those games on the ps2 or Xbox. Essentially relegating the cube to being a Nintendo player.

He's talking about why games weren't ported.

 

[gtj1092]

Too bad the consumers lost during that generation.

How so they got to buy one console with games for everyone.

 

[m.i.s.]

1. When Cube came out, PS2 had already gotten lots of support: FF X, DMC, MGS2, Twisted Metal, GTA; the snowball had already begun rolling.
2. Developing multiplat games was neither as easy as now (DS2 ported in 5 weeks by 3 persons), nor it was necessary (MGS, DMC, FF, GTA, all going totally 3rd party)
3. Wii U is coming after Wii, the best selling console of its generation.

Exactly right.

PS2 debut: March 2000

GCN debut: Sept 2001

That's 18 months - count them 18 long months - from the release of the successor to the most successful console ever (also the first console to be in a market leading position in Japan, USA and Europe) and the launch of Nintendo's own console.

 

[highspeeddub]

I am a long term Nintendo fan, I'd actually be in favour of Nintendo contracting.

What Nintendo is good at is making excellent games. Let them focus on that.

Nintendo's platform could become virtualised. For instance, they could release a mobile phone app that is like an emulator which allows people to purchase Nintendo games -- there are people playing Wii games on PC through emulation, why doesn't Nintendo support this?

The Wii U could actually be a gateway to this. I'm sure people will create software emulators for the controller, so that any panel device can replace the Wii U controller.

That said, the Nintendo has provided a lot of innovation in the hardware area, analog controls, rumble, motion controls.... so it would be a shame if that stopped.But, you know, they could easily release little bluetooth add-ons to be used with whatever mobile phone their emulator is running on.

I think the closed platform videogame console model that has been working since the NES is breaking down. Electronic devices are too ubiquitous now.

 

[walking fiend]

You're blowing that WAY out of proportion, you know. The issue is converting a 2D game to 3D. They thought that the conversion would be easy and cheap, but they were wrong. That has nothing to do with actual 3DS game development at all, especially in the case of polygonal games which already have depth to work with. Nintendo's not running into issues with 3D development.

s/he said that they are developing 2D games for 3DS, I thought he meant that, and I pointed out that even doing this won't be as easy as he may think.

of course developing 3D games for 3DS won't take 20 times a 2D DS game. Probably it won't even take 2 times it, if we are talking about high profile games that already take some months to develop even in 2D.

I am a long term Nintendo fan, I'd actually be in favour of Nintendo contracting.

What Nintendo is good at is making excellent games. Let them focus on that.

Nintendo's platform could become virtualised. For instance, they could release a mobile phone app that is like an emulator which allows people to purchase Nintendo games -- there are people playing Wii games on PC through emulation, why doesn't Nintendo support this?

The Wii U could actually be a gateway to this. I'm sure people will create software emulators for the controller, so that any panel device can replace the Wii U controller.

That said, the Nintendo has provided a lot of innovation in the hardware area, analog controls, rumble, motion controls.... so it would be a shame if that stopped.But, you know, they could easily release little bluetooth add-ons to be used with whatever mobile phone their emulator is running on.

I think the closed platform videogame console model that has been working since the NES is breaking down. Electronic devices are too ubiquitous now.

yes, it WOULD be a shame if they stopped!

 

[BurntPork]

s/he said that they are developing 2D games for 3DS, I thought he meant that, and I pointed out that even doing this won't be as easy as he may think.

of course developing 3D games for 3DS won't take 20 times a 2D DS game. Probably it won't even take 2 times it, if we are talking about high profile games that already take some months to develop even in 2D.


yes, it WOULD be a shame if they stopped!

Sorry. It's just that I've had to deal with people acting like it means that Nintendo can't handle 3DS development on more than one occasion.

 

[m.i.s.]

The first title was a surprise hit. And nearly 2 million units ww in 2 months isn't a bad effort.

Yes, I'm well aware of that but Nintendogs is, ultimately, a fairly shallow game and there's only so much you can do with an IP like that.

Nintendo have made serious mis-steps before such as with Animal Crossing Wii. I don't really think you can take anything as a given at this stage.

 

[bgassassin]

was there ever any solid info on the chip set for the WiiU? I skimmed the OP, but came out with nothing.

Yeah I deleted the CPU info to gain space for news.

But as has been said we still have nothing concrete, but I have looked closer at what info we do have and made posts about it.

CPU - This one is small. And an amendment I would make to the end of that post is that I found out IBM is supposedly able to add up to around 125MB (I hope the conversion is correct) of cache to a processor thanks to their new method.

GPU

 

[MDX]

I really hope they change their stance on Wii upscaling. I'd buy Wii U in a heartbeat if I could upscale my Wii games. :|

Why bother upscaling it when they can stream it to the controller?

 

[BurntPork]

Why bother upscaling it when they can stream it to the controller?

They can't. That's software-dependent, not hardware dependent.

 

[StevieP]

Your TV will upscale it for you the same way a WiiU would. Re-rendering at a higher resolution, as per dolphin, is impractical as it is expensive and on a per-game basis.

 

[Hiltz]

I didn't' even think about being able to stream virtual console, Wiiware, & Wii U downloadable games on the Wii U controller. That would be awesome if Nintendo allows for such a quick, easy and cheap way to get gamers excited about Wii U's downloadable service.

One minute your playing Ocarina of Time and the next you've got Angry Birds on it!

 

[BurntPork]

We're never going to get leaks about those dev kits, are we?