Rumor: New Wii U controller (analog sticks)?

The screen looks fine to me. 800x480 is pretty low, but the screen won't be as close to you as a phone is, so it should be absolutely fine. From pictures I've seen, it has good viewing angles, too.
 
So the news here is that analog sticks are confirmed, and yet people are still going back to complaining about the screen like the thing was just revealed today.
 
So Nintendo is the inventor of tablets pcs...?
Explain how did you reach to that conclusion from my post? That's reaching. I'll humor you anyway PdoMichel. Nintendo was experimenting with a lot of the WiiU concepts for a long time. In the N64 days there was a prototype of an LCD attachement for the controler and there was GBC/N64 interactivity via the transfer pack. Then in the GC days GC/GBA connectivity using the hanheld as a controller with a screen. At this stage ideas like assymetrical local multiplayer were implemented, sub screen item management. After the succes of the DS and gaming embracing touch interfaces Nintendo was considering releasing something similar for the console space even before the Wii.

That is the point im trying to get across.
I don't by any means think that they should have included a highly expensive screen in the Wii U. Nintendo's approach is the only one that makes economic sense. However, I do think it's worth considering how people are going to perceive this device as tablets with high PPI screens become more and more widespread over the coming console generation.
Screen resolution is fine for the WiiU. People acostumed to the type of display in an Ipad 3 would still be disappointed by the 1080P tv display. Anyway is not like the Ipad 3 runs their games at native resolution since it doesn't have the hardware muscle to do it. Same goes for the WiiU, the system wouldn't be capable enough to take advanatge of a HD subscreen.
 
So the news here is that analog sticks are confirmed, and yet people are still going back to complaining about the screen like the thing was just revealed today.

I'm not actually complaining about the screen. I'm just pointing out that the descriptions of this "awesome new hi rez screen' were a little whack, relative to what's actually out there.
 
I don't by any means think that they should have included a highly expensive screen in the Wii U. Nintendo's approach is the only one that makes economic sense. However, I do think it's worth considering how people are going to perceive this device as tablets with high PPI screens become more and more widespread over the coming console generation.

It's an unfortunate side effect, but if you're going by that logic all current gen consoles should have been abandoned in favor of PC's a long time ago, or all HDTV's abandoned in favor of 3D. Just because better tech exists doesn't mean that has to be the gold standard, nor does it create as deep a sense of product inferiority as some might have you believe. Not all consumers are sheep.
 
Having dealt extensively with CS for Nintendo, Microsoft and Sony in the past, I would greatly dispute the notion Nintendo somehow cares less about their consumers.
 
How much do retina displays cost to manufacture? Like the ones used in the Vita en recent iOS devices? Are there any guestimations?

A quick search gives me 40 bucks for the iPhone4S screen, and 87 bucks for the iPad screen.

Personally I think that controllers shouldn't be directly compared to handheld devices in that regard. If a retina display means a 100+ dollar controller, I'll say no to that. Sorry. I'd rather have them stick to the current resolution then.

It's not only a cost issue. The WiiU has to render that second screen, so 1080p, or whatever the hell you guys want, would mean that even more resources would be spent on that second screen.

A retina display for a secondary screen would be really stupid.
 
Explain how did you reach to that conclusion from my post? That's reaching. I'll humor you anyway PdoMichel. Nintendo was experimenting with a lot of the WiiU concepts for a long time. In the N64 days there was a prototype of an LCD attachement for the controler. Then in the GC days GC/GBA connectivity using the hanheld as a controller with a screen. At this stage ideas like assymetrical local multiplayer were implemented, sub screen item management. After the succes of the DS and gaming embracing touch interfaces Nintendo was considering releasing something similar for the console space even before the Wii.

I see still no connection between this and the iPad of Apple.
 
Jesus fuck the tech-frothing on this board never ceases to amaze me. Noone ever considers cost. I don't think anyone here wouldn't like a higher res screen in an ideal world (just like dual crossfire sli GTX 680's and an oc'ed 4.5 GHz ivybridge core i7 2500k and 16GB GDDR5 2GHz RAM and a 500GB SSD and you get the picture), but those "colour screen devices" you mentioned are entirely self-contained (not requiring an additional box to pay for) and cost hundreds of dollars by themselves. I don't know about you, but I don't want to pay $150+ for a controller. "Buh buh buh I have disposable income dirty worthless poors" Congrats, but last I checked most people in this economy don't, including myself, so pardon me if I have an opinion contradictory to yours. "Buh buh buh you don't know the BOM neener neener" Nope, and neither do you, but it's reasonable to assume that a lower res screen = lower cost for what's already a feature-packed device (and what will surely cost a hell of a lot less than a PS3/4 + Vita combo). I'm not defending the current screen resolution outright (I think it could probably be slightly higher, and closer to 16:9, and remain affordable), but the level of tech some of you guys want in this are beyond fucking ridiculous. It's nice to want things.

Jesus fuck, relax :)

You're right, I didn't bring cost into the equation at all.. so all of that above... is you. I didn't have anything to say about BOMs and the like.

on a related note, most consumers will not go through the gymnastics above. they'll look at the screen and compare it to an iPad or their Android phone or whatever. "Fairly" or not.
 
Looks good as long as you have monster hands

w1ncq.jpg


Monster hands?
 
I see still no connection between this and the iPad of Apple.
Nintendo gets compared to Apple because they include a screen in a controller now. Yet everything pointed, for decades even, that they eventually will do so when technology factors like costs and convenience will allow it.

So the screen in a Nintendo controller would've happened even in a world where the Ipad doesnt exists.

Clear enough now?
 
Well, yeah, that's what I mean. Not a big difference.
While higher resolution I can understand it would be nice, I honestly don't get most of the complaints about PPI. I have a 10" Xoom tablet that only has 160ppi and it hasn't been anywhere near to be the end of the world like some people here are making the Wii U controller's 158ppi to be...
 
Gosh, I still feel burned about that move. I was thinking on crushing my 3DS with my car that day, but I calmed down.
You still got a bunch of free games out of it. How many hardware providers ever compensated early adopters for price drops before? I know Apple did with the original iPhone ($50 gift certificate iirc), and Sega sent out free VF Remix to early Saturn adopters, but I can't think of anything else?
 
Yeah, but if you don't notice, you don't need a high DPI screen to begin with. If you notice (or look closely), sub native always looks worse than lower native resolution.
For noticing pixels, i agree. But there is a difference between "looking good enough" and "looks a lot better". Just because native resolution might look better, then it doesnt mean that everything else looks really horrible.


I would. Also, those Vita games that are rendered at sub-native resolution really suffer for that.
Then we disagree. Which Vita games have you tried by the way? The direct screenshot doesnt do the game any justice. It looks far from that on the device.
 
Nintendo gets compared to Apple because they include a screen in a controller now. Yet everything pointed, for decades even, that they eventually will do so when technology factors like costs and convenience will allow it.

So the screen in a Nintendo controller would've happened even in a world where the Ipad doesnt exists.

Clear enough now?

To be fair I think the white hardware and aping of Apple's marketing might have something to do with that as well (the comparison, that is). I agree with your second point though.
 
To be fair, Nintendo is known to sell their hardware at a much higher price than what they spend producing it. As a business point of view, it's a great method, but they could easily diminish the gap of production cost and selling price, and still earn a bit of profit with the hardware (a small one). They would still get a large profit from games and accessories. Look at the 3DS, they obviously sold it at a much higher price, and they slashed $80 off it. They could've easily just slash $50 and sell it for $200 and keep a small profit (or break even). Like I said, what Nintendo is doing is smart for a company so good for them, but you can't blame me for wishing they cared about the consumer (and yes, I know no company really cares about their consumers)

The 3DS is being sold at a loss though. So while Nintendo usually goes for a profitable console at launch strategy, they aren't stubborn to it. They already said they won't make the same mistake with the WiiU as they did with the 3DS, regarding the high initial price point to make an extra buck.

So while it's definitely true that the past 10 years, Nintendo has been the "cheap" one of the big three, don't automatically assume they're greedy cheapskates in every possible way.


Also, and this is pure conjecture from my part, I always wonder if Nintendo is less good in negotiating good deals with its hardware deliverers, compared to Sony and especially Apple, who can pretty much "demand" a certain price point as they are just a too powerful force in the industry.
 
How much do retina displays cost to manufacture? Like the ones used in the Vita en recent iOS devices?
Vita doesn't have retina display (marketing term with a somewhat loose definition). My phone has a 1200x800 screen and you don't see me calling the vita outdated. Infact, I would have taken a lower resolution if that means no upscalling artifacts on my Uncharted. :(

This are gaming screens, how sharp the texts on it looks takes a second seat to the on-screen complexity and image quality. Just look at how much NOVA 3 had to get downgraded in order to run on the iPad 3... And people already complain about Wii U "power" but want a retina display and 2+ controllers for console and low price? I want a free Ferrari.
 
Question.

In regards to displaying on the tablet..especially when it comes to moving the entire game to the controller ala the Zelda clip...


...do we know if if the image is then being rendered in 480p and streamed at 480p to the controller?....or is the game still being rendered in 720p/1080p and streamed at 480p (much like how you can upload a HD video to youtube which can then be streamed in a lower resolution)?

I thought it interesting as obviously if the game image can be rendered in HD and that image converted to a 480p video stream,then you're not going to get the jaggies you'd get from a rendered 480p image.
 
For noticing pixels, i agree. But there is a difference between "looking good enough" and "looks a lot better". Just because native resolution might look better, then it doesnt mean that everything else looks really horrible.
Doesn't change the fact that it makes zero sense to use a screen that's higher resolution than the content you plan to feed it.
 
Question.

In regards to displaying on the tablet..especially when it comes to moving the entire game to the controller ala the Zelda clip...


...do we know if if the image is then being rendered in 480p and streamed at 480p to the controller?....or is the game still being rendered in 720p/1080p and streamed at 480p (much like how you can upload a HD video to youtube which can then be streamed in a lower resolution)?

I thought it interesting as obviously if the game image can be rendered in HD and that image converted to a 480p video stream,then you're not going to get the jaggies you'd get from a rendered 480p image.

Either or.
It depends on what a developer chooses to do.
If it's only being displayed on the Sub Screen, then it'll likely be downsampled (which would give it free AA).
If something is being displayed on both the TV and Subscreen, though, then it'll likely display at 480p on the controller.
 
Then we disagree. Which Vita games have you tried by the way? The direct screenshot doesnt do the game any justice. It looks far from that on the device.

I own a Vita, and direct feed shots are an accurate representation of the IQ, sans color saturation. The Vita screen doesn't make the scaling artifact to suddenly disappear. It really hurts UC:GA and Unit 13 looks.
 
You still got a bunch of free games out of it. How many hardware providers ever compensated early adopters for price drops before? I know Apple did with the original iPhone ($50 gift certificate iirc), and Sega sent out free VF Remix to early Saturn adopters, but I can't think of anything else?

So did the people who bought it at $170. They would buy it less than 30 days before the price change, after price drop they would go to the store and honor it, and get the same games I did. If Nintendo would've said: "The price drop is today and those who bought it more than 30 days ago will get free games! Those who bought it in less than 30 days will get a $50 refund (or the whole $80)"

They could have even given those launch day buyers even more free games than those who bought it afterwards. They could have made a chart with the month you bought it. If you bought it under one month, you get 5 games, two months ago get 10 games, launch month gets 15 games.
 
To be fair I think the white hardware and aping of Apple's marketing might have something to do with that as well (the comparison, that is). I agree with your second point though.
It's good that you agree with my point since i think is fairly reasonable.

I find the white thing and apple comment funny. This is not neccesarily true and im reaching here :) but the iMac always remind the me of when Nintendo relesead the color line up for the GB. It burned that way into my mind. XD
Question.

In regards to displaying on the tablet..especially when it comes to moving the entire game to the controller ala the Zelda clip...


...do we know if if the image is then being rendered in 480p and streamed at 480p to the controller?....or is the game still being rendered in 720p/1080p and streamed at 480p (much like how you can upload a HD video to youtube which can then be streamed in a lower resolution)?

I thought it interesting as obviously if the game image can be rendered in HD and that image converted to a 480p video stream,then you're not going to get the jaggies you'd get from a rendered 480p image.
Game dependant. In Zelda case since it's the same image it just downscales the HD image to 480p so you get a super sampling effect. When multiple points of view are rendered the WiiU renders the subscreen content at 480p.
 
Fun fact: Modern resistive touchscreens are faster
With a stylus.
more precise
With a stylus.
multitouch
Which is going to be useless if you're taking advantage of the precision of the touchscreen, since you'll be holding a stylus!
This is my big problem with the Wii U controller. If you want to use the advantages of a resistive touchscreen that Nintendo supposedly thought were so important, you need to devote a hand to the stylus, preventing you from using one side of the controller. A capacitive touch screen would allow for more game design flexibility.

It's an unfortunate side effect, but if you're going by that logic all current gen consoles should have been abandoned in favor of PC's a long time ago, or all HDTV's abandoned in favor of 3D. Just because better tech exists doesn't mean that has to be the gold standard, nor does it create as deep a sense of product inferiority as some might have you believe. Not all consumers are sheep.
I don't think those are good comparisons, because high end PC gaming and 3DTV are niche, and tablets are fast becoming very mainstream.
That said, it's going to be a very long time before screen technology like that seen in iPad 3 becomes widely used across a variety of devices, so Nintendo should be fine.
 
With a stylus.

With a stylus.

Which is going to be useless if you're taking advantage of the precision of the touchscreen, since you'll be holding a stylus!
This is my big problem with the Wii U controller. If you want to use the advantages of a resistive touchscreen that Nintendo supposedly thought were so important, you need to devote a hand to the stylus, preventing you from using one side of the controller. A capacitive touch screen would allow for more game design flexibility.
Nope: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QjMvJzF4e6o
 
What were the thinking with that older design? that flat piece seems very uncomfortable. Good thing they changed it.

I think it was just a rushed prototype. A lot of the tech demos at E3 involved moving the tablet around and such so I think they got away with the lack of ergonomics then, but we'll be seeing a lot of traditional games this E3 I reckon so the new design is certainly welcome.
 
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