• Hey, guest user. Hope you're enjoying NeoGAF! Have you considered registering for an account? Come join us and add your take to the daily discourse.

The Wii U Speculation Thread VI: The Undiscovered Country

Status
Not open for further replies.
Q

qizah

Unconfirmed Member
N6cXs.jpg


What do they mean by software showcase? Just extended sizzle reels like their web stream has been playing after the last few presentations? And isnt this during the usual roundtable chat time?

I wonder if this is some exclusive stuff on their E3 hub. I don't really remember last years, but I remember some stuff was up there before anywhere else.
 

radcliff

Member
Maybe we can pass some time by guessing what development teams at Nintendo are working on:

EAD 1 – Hideki Konno- known for Mario Kart and Nintendogs- Should be developing Mario Kart Wii U. I expect it to be one of Nintendo’s big 2013 holiday titles.

EAD 2 – Katsuya Eguchi- known for Animal Crossing, Starfox Command, Wii Sports/Music/Sports Resort- Katsuya seems to be the spokesperson for Wii U similar to how Hideki Konno was for 3DS. I expect him to be working on the tech demos we saw last year (Battle Me, Chase Me, etc.) into a game to showcase one of the system’s selling points, asymmetrical gameplay. He should also be responsible for the already announced Animal Crossing 3DS.

EAD 3- Eiji Aonuma- know for Legend of Zelda series- Most likely working on Zelda for Wii U. Iwata said he would like the game to be developed in 3 years, rather than the 5 it took for Skyward Sword. Could this be the big Wii U holiday title for 2014?

EAD 4- Hiroyuki Kimura- known for New Super Mario Bros. series, Super Mario GBA remakes, & Big Brain Academy. Iwata has already announced New Super Mario Bros. 2 for 3DS and we should expect it from this team. Also, the Pikmin director (Shigefumi Hino) also reports to this group so we should also expect Pikmin 3 for Wii U from this group.

EAD 5- Tadashi Sugiyama- known for Wii Fit, and collaborations on Steel Diver and Starfox 3DS. Given this group’s output, it could be that this is the smallest of the main EAD teams. Miyamoto recently said he would like to work with smaller, younger teams. Add the fact that the Starfox and F Zero artist (Takaya Imamura) works with this group, and maybe this is the team working on Miyamoto’s new fabled character based IP?

EAD Tokyo 1- Takao Shimizu- known for Starfox 64, Donkey Kong Jungle Beat, Super Mario Galaxy- Since Galaxy 1 in 2007, this team has been silent except for the GREZZO collaboration on Zelda OOT 3D. My assumption is that we will see the next 3D Mario game around Wii U launch and it will come from this group.

EAD Tokyo 2- Yoshiaki Koizumi- known for Zelda OOT, Zelda Majora’s Mask, Super Mario Sunshine, Super Mario Galaxy 2, Super Mario 3D Land. He has expressed interest in developing Zelda once again. Given his team’s proximity to GREZZO, and GREZZO’s previous experience working with the Zelda series, I think the first original 3DS entry for Zelda may come from this group while Aonuma focuses on the Wii U version.

SPD 1- Yoshio Sakamoto- Known for Metroid, Wario Ware, Rhythm Heaven. I would expect a Wii U Metroid about a year into the system’s life, and a collaboration with Intelligent Systems for a WarioWare 3DS sometime next year.

SPD 2- Hitoshi Yamagami- Known for Brain Age and collaborations with Japanese 3rd parties (Ganbarion, Arka, Tose, Treasure, etc.). I would think the Brain Age- Devil Training game would be from this group. And while I would hope for a new Sin & Punishment, I unfortunately don’t think sales of the Wii version helps its cause. Maybe Hitoshi could team up with Treasure or Platinum Games for Starfox? The former would be a perfect fit for the series, while the latter has expressed interest in working on it.

SPD 3- Kensuke Tenabe- Known for working with western 2nd and 3rd parties. Retro’s new game, hopefully a new IP to lure the core crowd Nintendo seems focused on this upcoming generation, should be under Kensuke’s tutelage. I would also expect Luigi’s Mansion 2 (Next Level Games) to come from here as well. For guesses, I would expect a racer from Monster Games for Wii U and Eternal Darkness II (Silicon Knights).

SPD 4- Hiroshi Sato- known for Mario Party- I would assume we will see a Mario Party 3DS

HAL- Known for Kirby, Mother, and Super Smash Bros.- Will probably work with Sora on Super Smash Bros. 3DS/Wii U. I would also expect a Kirby game at some point in 3DS’ and Wii U’s life.

Intelligent Systems- known for Paper Mario, Fire Emblem, and Advance Wars- We already know they are working on Paper Mario 3DS and that Fire Emblem has already released in Japan. We will hopefully hear about an American localization for FE and a date for Paper Mario. Longshot- with Devil’s Third cancelled and Itagaki on record saying he likes the Battalion Wars series, maybe IS teams with Valhalla to create a new Battalion Wars?

Sora- Known for Super Smash Bros and Kid Icarus Uprising- Already announced to be working on Super Smash Bros for 3DS/Wii U.

Monolithsoft- Known for Xenosaga, Baten Kaitos, Diaster: DOC, Xenoblade Chroncles. I believe one of their 3 teams is working on the Project X for 3DS. The other 2 teams are believed to be working on a Wii U and 3DS game.

Pokemon Co. (Gamefreak/Creatures)- Pokemon Black and White 2- The question on most people’s mind is when we will see a mainline Pokemon created solely for the 3DS.

NST- known for Mario vs. DK, Wave Race Blue Storm, 1080, Metroid Prime Hunters. Recently hired Sonic co-creator, Hirokazu Yasuhara. With his work on the Jak and Uncharted series, could we see a new action IP from NST? I would imagine a 3DS Mario vs. DK is an inevitability as well.

Misc.:
Good Feel- known for Wario Land: Shake It and Kirby’s Epic Yarn- Yoshi’s Island 3DS or Wii U?
Alpha Dream- Known for Mario & Luigi and Hamtaro series- Since Paper Mario is already coming to 3DS, maybe AD is working on Hamtaro 3DS? Nintendo may not want a Paper Mario and M&L released near each other, so this would be a way to space those releases out.
BrownieBrown- Known for Sword of Mana, Heroes of Mana, Magical Vacation series, Blue Dragon Plus, Mother 3, Prof Layton & Last Scepter - Working on Fantasy Life 3DS with Level 5
 

magash

Member
Because your disingenuous UE4 nonsense is as transparent as it is annoying. If you believe UE4 is only going to run on PC, and is not targeting at the very least Microsoft's next generation system, then you are a fool. It is a foolish assumption to make.

But you see EC I never made any assumptions. All I said was:

UE4 currently runs on a single GTX 680 GPU. Why are people expecting UE4 to run on any of the next gen consoles? A GTX 680 GPU is beyond any GPU that will be used for the next gen consoles.

As things currently stands only the PC is suitable for UE4.

I just posted facts that we currently know about UE4. Will a version of UE4 work on the next xbox only Epic knows.
 

onilink88

Member
Both the DS and Wii were retrofitted in to a lot of schools as teaching aids (pretty much only in Japan, though).

Oh, really? That's pretty neat. D:

Also, regarding the issue of Monolith's next game making it out of Japan, wouldn't that be in their best interests (for their Wii U game, at least)? I mean, it'd be kinda risky counting exclusively on domestic sales to recoup dev costs and whatnot, wouldn't it?
 

AntMurda

Member
Iwata on FPS games:
It is a reality that some of these [wartime shooting] games sell 10 million units per year in [the West], and this is one valid type of video game genre. I would personally feel sad if all video games became something like that, but on the other hand, I do not think such games should disappear.

Sounds like he'd rather not get in to it to me. He doesn't hate the genre, just that why would he have his companies make games in such a crowded market?

Your title does not necessarily refer to the subject. Iwata is clearly discussing Call of Duty (military online shooting deathmatch dudebro) which is one style of the FPS genre. Metroid Prime 2 and Metroid Prime Hunters and Geist are all multiplayer FPS games that derive from the same formula anyway. It would be in Nintendo's best interest to take Metroid Prime, remove the license, and take that technology towards making something more mass market outside of the cult Nintendo fanbase. Not Call of Duty, but not a "Kid Icarus" or "Metroid" first-person shooter either.
 
Oh, really? That's pretty neat. D:

Also, regarding the issue of Monolith's next game making it out of Japan, wouldn't that be in their best interests (for their Wii U game, at least)? I mean, it'd be kinda risky counting exclusively on domestic sales to recoup dev costs and whatnot, wouldn't it?

This as well, yes.
With the high Yen and the added cost of HD development, we'll likely see more of Nintendo's games release internationally on the Wii U.
 
I feel like I would play more Pokemon if they finally made a home console version of the RPG

I have yet to finish one Pokemon game I have purchased a few of them in the past but never got to the end

WiiU's uPad is perfect for this
 

Anth0ny

Member
EAD 3- Eiji Aonuma- know for Legend of Zelda series- Most likely working on Zelda for Wii U. Iwata said he would like the game to be developed in 3 years, rather than the 5 it took for Skyward Sword. Could this be the big Wii U holiday title for 2014?

EAD Tokyo 2- Yoshiaki Koizumi- known for Zelda OOT, Zelda Majora’s Mask, Super Mario Sunshine, Super Mario Galaxy 2, Super Mario 3D Land. He has expressed interest in developing Zelda once again. Given his team’s proximity to GREZZO, and GREZZO’s previous experience working with the Zelda series, I think the first original 3DS entry for Zelda may come from this group while Aonuma focuses on the Wii U version.

I really hope it's the opposite. Koizumi working on a console Zelda would be better than Retro.
 

Gravijah

Member
I feel like I would play more Pokemon if they finally made a home console version of the RPG

I have yet to finish one Pokemon game I have purchased a few of them in the past but never got to the end

WiiU's uPad is perfect for this

have some other dev develop one and keep game freak away.
 

He doesn't have one.

You guys know what a showcase is, right? They'll be showcasing software that they've announced. This is just like last year when they did videos after the E3 conference that had developer interviews and footage from stuff that was announced.

Any announcements after the conference will from from Miyamoto's Roundtable and the Developer Discussion with Eguchi.
 
This is the stuff of nightmares.

No, those Kirby pictures are the stuff of nightmares. Thanks for ruining Kirby for me yall.

Also: This was moved to community yet the thread is starting to get as fast as it was in the gaming side! How dare you all! I can't keep up with this thread anymore!
 

EatChildren

Currently polling second in Australia's federal election (first in the Gold Coast), this feral may one day be your Bogan King.
But you see EC I never made any assumptions. All I said was:

I just posted facts that we currently know about UE4. Will a version of UE4 work on the next xbox only Epic knows.

This is what I mean by disingenuous. With statement like "Why are people expecting UE4 to run on any of the next gen consoles? A GTX 680 GPU is beyond any GPU that will be used for the next gen consoles" it's pretty clear you're making your own assumptions while downplaying the obvious likelihood that UE4 will run on next generation consoles from Microsoft and Sony.
 
I saw wsippel mention this in another thread, sounds like it will something available to in house studios as well as 3rd parties?



According to Shikimaru Ninja I believe.

Third parties can use it, yes. Most opt not to, though, since it means learning a new engine that is only good for one system.

And you are correct (from thread V):

Shikamaru Ninja
任天堂 の 忍者
(05-21-2012, 08:51 PM)

#19571
Nintendo Press Conference
Developer Round Table
Nintendo E3 Showfloor Video Summary
Nintendo E3 Video Interview with Katsuya Eguchi (some new Wii U game)
 
This is what I mean by disingenuous. With statement like "Why are people expecting UE4 to run on any of the next gen consoles? A GTX 680 GPU is beyond any GPU that will be used for the next gen consoles" it's pretty clear you're making your own assumptions while downplaying the obvious likelihood that UE4 will run on next generation consoles from Microsoft and Sony.
...and Nintendo
 

Fantastical

Death Prophet
Third parties can use it, yes. Most opt not to, though, since it means learning a new engine that is only good for one system.

And you are correct (from thread V):

Shikamaru Ninja
任天堂 の 忍者
(05-21-2012, 08:51 PM)

#19571
Nintendo Press Conference
Developer Round Table
Nintendo E3 Showfloor Video Summary
Nintendo E3 Video Interview with Katsuya Eguchi (some new Wii U game)

He was guessing.
http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showpost.php?p=38083323&postcount=19603
The Eguchi interview and software showcase likely won't be that interesting compared to the first two. One will be a pre-recorded video like last year (konno), and the other will be video montage of the e3 demos most likely.

He's probably right, but don't act like you know stuff definitively when you don't.
 
Q

qizah

Unconfirmed Member
This isn't really Wii U related but I've been thinking of picking up NPC: Pikmin and Pikmin 2 in anticipation for Pikmin 3's release (despite knowing nothing, I think it's pretty much confirmed it will be here soon).

I actually had NPC: Pikmin but I never gave it a fair shake and sold it shortly after. Currently, it goes for about $30 online at Amazon.ca. It was pretty fun but I heard Pikmin 2 is far better. Is Wii Selects: Pikmin 2 out already? I tried looking at Bestbuy.ca and Amazon.ca and didn't find it.

Anyway is it worth picking up both the first and second or is will I be okay playing just Pikmin 2? I picked it up at a time where my gaming tastes were more narrow and I was less open to different experiences.
 

Instro

Member

Nope, I didn't realize someone had answered that post. Good idea for them anyway, easier development for 1st parties and all that. For 3rd parties, they've now been given free middleware and have an engine they can license directly from Nintendo, should be fairly useful for small devs who are looking to make WiiU titles.

I wonder if it will be mentioned at E3 at all.
 
the tension in these final days is getting amusing even I almost lost it last night with those creepy kirby posts lol

but damn everyone is antsy this morning
 
Nope, I didn't realize someone had answered that post. Good idea for them anyway, easier development for 1st parties and all that. For 3rd parties, they've now been given free middleware and have an engine they can license directly from Nintendo, should be fairly useful for small devs who are looking to make WiiU titles.

I wonder if it will be mentioned at E3 at all.

They'll likely say something along the lines of "We're working closely with third parties to bring everyone the best experiences possible."

They never really give us a look behind the curtain (except via Iwata Asks).
 

Fantastical

Death Prophet
My god.
Do I really have to put "I think" or "Probably" in front of every post now?
Geeze, guys, mellow out.

When you don't know something, yes that's what I expect. You used "show floor" which is very specific, and not exactly what Nintendo did last year (they showed videos of demos in a white room), so yes I questioned it and it seemed you got the information from someone who was guessing.
 

magash

Member
This is what I mean by disingenuous. With statement like "Why are people expecting UE4 to run on any of the next gen consoles? A GTX 680 GPU is beyond any GPU that will be used for the next gen consoles" it's pretty clear you're making your own assumptions while downplaying the obvious likelihood that UE4 will run on next generation consoles from Microsoft and Sony.

Ahhhh I see your point . Is it safe to assume a version of UE4 will appear on next gen consoles? probably, most likely, EPIC will have to be fools not to make it run on all capable devices. As things stand only a GTX 680 was used to run the UE4 tech demo.

Is it also safe to assume that a GTX 680 gpu will appear on any of the next gen consoles? this is highly unlikely mostly because of cost, size and thermal issues.
 
although I'm not 100%, something tells me nintendo would have to be pretty weird not to do their best to get UE4 running on their console in some capacity. It's basically the most obvious thing on their to-do list.

I thik Epic communicated to Nintendo and they did some tweaks that would be my best hopes and speculation about what we should be looking at but still far from a guarantee

its seems like we won't ever drop the UE4 topic until we get official word

GDC is a long ways off
 

GameE

Member
Im nervous, I think this E3 is gonna disappoint a lot of people because its being hyped way too much
I should stop the pessimist talk >_>
 

IdeaMan

My source is my ass!
all devs should already know that the more time spent polishing a game the better it can look there are still limits to that due to tech and engine but still PS360 can push snow/sand storms no big deal of how this is going to make a major bump with WiiU if the Engine and Assets are limiting the visuals

Vigil told us all we needed to know about how much time and money they are willing to spend to scale up the WiiU version "None" they said "Just As Good" <--- that seems good enough for them. To speculate on basic end of dev cycle polish is setting ourselves up for a letdown when they have told us already they have no plans to boost a better version

I'm not talking specifically of Vigil and Darksiders 2 :)

My message wars articulated like that:

1) "see, in the development of DS2, they were able, thanks to additional time, to implement visual things that improve the aesthetic of the game"

2) "i was told it was the "same" for all the Wii U projects my sources are working on (well, it's common for every development), that they are waiting for the final stages of their work to implement some visual effects, graphical things. And they said to me that maybe, they could take advantage of features solely available on Wii U at this specific step, so it could widen the gap between the versions"

______________

Oh and all this UE4 talk is getting so old, i really hope there will be a diversification of engines in the next generation, between UE3.X/UE4, CryEngine, Frostbyte (which is really formidable), etc.
 
I thik Epic communicated to Nintendo and they did some tweaks that would be my best hopes and speculation about what we should be looking at but still far from a guarantee

its seems like we won't ever drop the UE4 topic until we get official word

GDC is a long ways off
that's what I think. I think they've been able to get it running in some form. But Epic still wants the engine to be better and wants one of the consoles to be the show-piece for it, and they are probably looking to MS and/or Sony to do it.
 
Ahh yes... The nerve wrecking part that starts close to E3.... it has offically inflitrated this thread!

Guys, calm down. We are just 10 days away... Suck it up until then. Its to early for meltdowns!
 

EatChildren

Currently polling second in Australia's federal election (first in the Gold Coast), this feral may one day be your Bogan King.
I am fairly certain Microsoft has internal studios already planning to use UE4 for game development. Microsoft's relationship with Epic is paramount. Whatever stands now doesn't change the incredibly high, almost guaranteed probability of Unreal Engine 4 running just fine on the Xbox 720.

...and Nintendo

Nintendo will be low priority. PC stability, then Microsoft, then Sony, and if Epic feels it necessary (and possible) then the Wii U.
 
although I'm not 100%, something tells me nintendo would have to be pretty weird not to do their best to get UE4 running on their console in some capacity. It's basically the most obvious thing on their to-do list.
I am 100%. Nintendo should have to do nothing whatsoever to get UE4 running on their hardware. One of the big advantages that Epic always touts to developers about their engine is how scaleable it is, so even current-gen systems should be able to run UE4 games (no developer would ever be interested licensing an engine that required a $500+ graphics card). The only reason it wouldn't work out of the box would be if the Wii-U's architecture were just way different from everything else, as was the case with the Wii. And we already know that isn't the case.
 
Oh and all this UE4 talk is getting so old, i really hope there will be a diversification of engines in the next generation, between UE3.X/UE4, CryEngine, Frostbyte (which is really formidable), etc.

I got the impression UE3 was kind of broken anyway...or at least incomplete. Seemed like every dev studio that was using UE3 would always say in interviews, "Yeah, we're using UE3 and some of our own stuff." And then there's the whole Denis Dyack thing, which (although all of GAF hates him) probably has SOME merit.

I would hope UE4 is more of what UE3 seemed to be, so studios will pass on it in favor of something else.
 
I'm not talking specifically of Vigil and Darksiders 2 :)

My message wars articulated like that:

1) "see, in the development of DS2, they were able, thanks to additional time, to implement visual things that improve the aesthetic of the game"

2) "i was told it was the "same" for all the Wii U projects my sources are working on (well, it's common for every development), that they are waiting for the final stages of their work to implement visual effects, graphical things. And they said to me that maybe, they could take advantage of features solely available on Wii U at this specific step, so it could widen the gap between the versions"

______________

Oh and all this UE4 talk is getting so old, i really hope there will be a diversification of engines in the next generation, between UE3.X/UE4, CryEngine, Frostbyte (which is really formidable), etc.

stop it Lex Luthor! I will not listen to you Hyping my hopes up

I want to keep things in check, unless you have a list of good stuff you know about
 
I am 100%. Nintendo should have to do nothing whatsoever to get UE4 running on their hardware. One of the big advantages that Epic always touts to developers about their engine is how scaleable it is, so even current-gen systems should be able to run UE4 games (no developer would ever be interested licensing an engine that required a $500+ graphics card). The only reason it wouldn't work out of the box would be if the Wii-U's architecture were just way different from everything else, as was the case with the Wii. And we already know that isn't the case.

That's not exactly it.
The Wii didn't have even close to a feature set that could run UE3.
The Wii U should be a lot closer, but UE4 is being made to run more on DX11 type cards, so they might have to add a few things to get it up there.
 

EatChildren

Currently polling second in Australia's federal election (first in the Gold Coast), this feral may one day be your Bogan King.
I got the impression UE3 was kind of broken anyway...or at least incomplete. Seemed like every dev studio that was using UE3 would always say in interviews, "Yeah, we're using UE3 and some of our own stuff." And then there's the whole Denis Dyack thing, which (although all of GAF hates him) probably has SOME merit.

Like a lot of engines, it was a bit of a mess in the early days. Silicon Knights and others struggled as the engine wasn't very well optimised for console builds, at least not to third parties, and had quite a few bugs. Over time, as the engine grew, these were ironed out. As it stands today UE3 is arguably the best middleware available to third parties in the west, especially thanks to Epic's support documentation.

I figure with UE4 they will try and right a lot of UE3's launch woes. Greater stability for Microsoft's system, for example.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Top Bottom