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[devildog820]

Kennedy says that Nintendo gets social gaming. I don't really think they do. They have some hits with Nintendogs and Pokemon. But those all require co-location. Online is a big part of social gaming and WiiSpeak, Friend Codes, console based accounts rather than server based accounts, etc. are all examples of how Nintendo hasn't gotten it in the past. XBL and PSN get it. I would say MS's implementation with XBL is the nicest out right now. I'm hopeful Nintendo can change, but they seem to be too worried about a sensationalist Fox News report about how a pedophile used a 3DS to hook up with a kid.

 

[[Nintex]]

Just like controllers to the wiimote right? Nintendo has done it before with controllers and dual screens so why not online?

They'd need a company to help them out maybe Wei Yen from AiLive is up to something like that but on their own there's no way they'll manage to make such a leap. Remember that before the Wii they had gyro's for the GBA and were already experimenting with motion controls on the GameCube. I'm aware of the Star Road rumors but I believe some GAF members can/will(?) back me up when I say that when Mario Kart DS came out, Nintendo EAD had a single network engineer working on the online portion of the game to coordinate with some outside firms. Nintendo hasn't spend much on online gaming, always put the priority on something else like local multiplayer. So unless Wei Yen spend his days working on such a system, there's no way Nintendo will manage to have such a infrastucture at launch.

 

[Skiesofwonder]

To think that Nintendo would go from friendcodes, unsorted friend lists(see 3DS), no communication between players online and no support for other online feature even the Dreamcast had to some sort of incredible online system allowing you and your friends to drop in and drop out of Mario Kart matches at any time is simply crazy.

Nintendo never took online gaming seriously. They have always cited that local-gaming is better, more fun, and more practical (at this point). But if Nintendo has found some way to create an online experience that they believe truly rivals local multi-player, then I have complete faith it will be revolutionary and awesome.

Like someone mentioned before, could you imagine playing against three people around the world in the New Super Smash on your big screen with all your opponent's faces, voices, and reactions being streamed onto your controller? It would be awesome. The rumored controller has a TON of potential for not only gameplay, but also social aspects, menus, online, etc.

I also really believe there is a lot to Iwata's "We thought we could do it on our own, but we were wrong. I can talk more about that at E3" comment. I expect a major partnership from Nintendo at this E3, and I expect it has something to do with this.

I'm starting to believe GAF.

 

[Net_Wrecker]

GCN's A and B are so rad. Take an SNES button layout. Are the main buttons B/A or Y/B? Depends. The entire PlayStation controller family has gone on for 15+ years unsure from game to game and region to region whether X means "Strike out! Cancel" or X "marks the spot! Confirm". With GCN there's no doubt. The big green button is your main/confirm button, and the little red satellite is the secondary/cancel button. Occasionally a game would do something like have Y be cancel, but those games were forced to wear dunce caps.

Only in cases like Street Fighter where you have some parallel (row of punches in ascending strength, row of kicks in ascending strength) do I think the GCN layout is clearly at a disadvantage.

Having an chain of hierarchy in the face buttons helped made it more logical.

It's not like with the SNES-style button scheme, where either B or A could be the main action, or backwards with the 360 controller.

With the Gamecube, not only was it harder to miss and press the wrong button, you knew where the main and most important function was going to be (unless the developer was stupid).

The only times I've even had that issue were with Japanese developed games. Almost everything else after it was established has been the "bottom" button for confirm/jump (X for PS, A for Xbox), and the "right" button for deny/go back (O for PS, B for Xbox).

 

[Instro]

didn't 01net say based on R700, well a 4770 and 4870 is significantly more powerful than a 360

Yeah they did. All sites are reporting the same thing with regards to the gpu line, which is why I dont understand 01net's position. Perhaps when they say "notch" it is more than we are assuming it to mean. Its a pretty vague term tbh.

Regardless Im more inclined to believe IGN at this point, who havent waffled on the power of the system at all, and apparently confirmed it with multiple sources.

 

[Chet Rippo]

Having an chain of hierarchy in the face buttons helped made it more logical.

It's not like with the SNES-style button scheme, where either B or A could be the main action, or backwards with the 360 controller.

With the Gamecube, not only was it harder to miss and press the wrong button, you knew where the main and most important function was going to be (unless the developer was stupid).

What are you, an elephant?

 

[brochiller]

Nintendo never took online gaming seriously. They have always cited that local-gaming is better, more fun, and more practical at this point. But if Nintendo has found some way to create an online experience that they believe truly rivals local multi-player, then I have complete faith it will be revolutionary and awesome (if they are truly going that route).

Like someone mentioned before, could you imagine playing against three people around the world in the New Super Smash on your big screen with all your opponents face, voice, and reaction being streamed onto your controller? It would be awesome. The rumored controller has a TON of potential for gameplay, social aspects, menus, etc.

I also really believe there is a lot to Iwata's "We thought we could do it on our own, but where wrong" comment. I expect a major partnership from Nintendo at this E3, and I expect it has something to do with this.

I'm starting to believe GAF.

Your post has successfully made me anticipate E3 even more than I was. Dammit.

 

[Deleted member 74300]

Now I wonder if it will let us have more than 4 players in some games with everyone getting their own screen and all that. Imagine an 8 player Mario Kart at home.

 

[Vinci]

Your post has successfully made me anticipate E3 even more than I was. Dammit.

We've been discussing that possibility for a while now. haha.

But yes, the controller has a ton of potential, given it's able to actually show the game. That's all it comes down to. If it's able to do that, the possibilities just expand from there.

 

[ksamedi]

Nintendo never took online gaming seriously. They have always cited that local-gaming is better, more fun, and more practical at this point. But if Nintendo has found some way to create an online experience that they believe truly rivals local multi-player, then I have complete faith it will be revolutionary and awesome (if they are truly going that route).

Like someone mentioned before, could you imagine playing against three people around the world in the New Super Smash on your big screen with all your opponents face, voice, and reaction being streamed onto your controller? It would be awesome. The rumored controller has a TON of potential for gameplay, social aspects, menus, etc.

I also really believe there is a lot to Iwata's "We thought we could do it on our own, but where wrong" comment. I expect a major partnership from Nintendo at this E3, and I expect it has something to do with this.

I'm starting to believe GAF.

Yeah, it really does have lots of potential. At this point, I don't even care that much for motion controls anymore if you think about how much potential this second screen has. Still would be absolutely awesome if they packed a better motion setup as an extra in the package. Nintendo could make a ton of money from accessory sales.

 

[JoshuaJSlone]

What are you, an elephant?

It's less about missing as in "Ooops, aimed my finger wrong!" and more about "Which of these identical-feeling buttons does which action?" More an issue when returning to a game after not having played it a bit.

 

[IchigoSharingan]

IGN is now stating that "Multiple sources" have said the system is "significantly more powerful" than current systems.

Makes sense. If they want the experience to be as seamless as they want, they need a powerful GPU, and even better GDDR with it. System DDR wouldn't cut it.

 

[devildog820]

Nintendo never took online gaming seriously. They have always cited that local-gaming is better, more fun, and more practical at this point. But if Nintendo has found some way to create an online experience that they believe truly rivals local multi-player, then I have complete faith it will be revolutionary and awesome (if they are truly going that route).

Like someone mentioned before, could you imagine playing against three people around the world in the New Super Smash on your big screen with all your opponents face, voice, and reaction being streamed onto your controller? It would be awesome. The rumored controller has a TON of potential for gameplay, social aspects, menus, etc.

I also really believe there is a lot to Iwata's "We thought we could do it on our own, but where wrong" comment. I expect a major partnership from Nintendo at this E3, and I expect it has something to do with this.

I'm starting to believe GAF.

It would be awesome if you could immediately link up with friends playing the same game. I doubt it would be "drop in and out" quickly, but no more booting the game, finding a server, etc. Your friend is playing Call of Duty, you tap/click/press on that and boom, puts you in the queue for the next match, etc. Just like if you picked up a second controller in the same room.

Although, in the past, the hype far outpaces the actual capabilities. I remember thinking about all the coolness of the Wiimote and how it would change everything. Then I found out about the lack of 1:1, etc. Still cool, but not nearly so.

 

[Dr.Palutena]

you know i could spend all my day thinking of awesome uses for the controller but they will all depress me when in the end all anyone does with it is use it as a map or HUD dump. meh no point in being pessimistic just yet i suppose.

 

[Relix]

didn't 01net say based on R700, well a 4770 and 4870 is significantly more powerful than a 360

Indeed. The jump is quite astronomical. It would indeed be a few steps over current gen consoles. I am already drooling for Zelda in glorious HD... Mario with a similar style to Galaxy... a new franchise... Come Nintendo step up your damn game =P

 

[Instro]

Nintendo never took online gaming seriously. They have always cited that local-gaming is better, more fun, and more practical (at this point). But if Nintendo has found some way to create an online experience that they believe truly rivals local multi-player, then I have complete faith it will be revolutionary and awesome.

Like someone mentioned before, could you imagine playing against three people around the world in the New Super Smash on your big screen with all your opponent's faces, voices, and reactions being streamed onto your controller? It would be awesome. The rumored controller has a TON of potential for not only gameplay, but also social aspects, menus, online, etc.

I also really believe there is a lot to Iwata's "We thought we could do it on our own, but we were wrong. I can talk more about that at E3" comment. I expect a major partnership from Nintendo at this E3, and I expect it has something to do with this.

I'm starting to believe GAF.

With Nintendo's over protectiveness when it comes to children, theres no way that would happen sadly.

 

[ksamedi]

It would be awesome if you could immediately link up with friends playing the same game. I doubt it would be "drop in and out" quickly, but no more booting the game, finding a server, etc. Your friend is playing Call of Duty, you tap/click/press on that and boom, puts you in the queue for the next match, etc. Just like if you picked up a second controller in the same room.

Although, in the past, the hype far outpaces the actual capabilities. I remember thinking about all the coolness of the Wiimote and how it would change everything. Then I found out about the lack of 1:1, etc. Still cool, but not nearly so.

If you think about how Nintendo wants to make console gaming more accessible ans casual, than this makes perfect sense.

 

[Plinko]

With Nintendo's over protectiveness when it comes to children, theres no way that would happen sadly.

I honestly think they've finally come around. Also, parents wouldn't have to worry with code-based parental controls.

 

[thehillissilent]

It would be awesome if you could immediately link up with friends playing the same game. I doubt it would be "drop in and out" quickly, but no more booting the game, finding a server, etc. Your friend is playing Call of Duty, you tap/click/press on that and boom, puts you in the queue for the next match, etc. Just like if you picked up a second controller in the same room.

Although, in the past, the hype far outpaces the actual capabilities. I remember thinking about all the coolness of the Wiimote and how it would change everything. Then I found out about the lack of 1:1, etc. Still cool, but not nearly so.

EDIT: Even though you can do this now with PC, Xbox Live, and PSN

The funny thing is that this sounds like OnLive and what they are aiming to do with streaming. They want to make it easier from people to drop in and out of games. They want people to be able to join a game just by joining a stream they were watching.

 

[Vinci]

I honestly think they've finally come around. Also, parents wouldn't have to worry with code-based parental controls.

If there's a toggle, it will by default be on 'child safe' - not the other way around.

 

[Pancakes R Us]

Nintendo never took online gaming seriously. They have always cited that local-gaming is better, more fun, and more practical (at this point). But if Nintendo has found some way to create an online experience that they believe truly rivals local multi-player, then I have complete faith it will be revolutionary and awesome.

Like someone mentioned before, could you imagine playing against three people around the world in the New Super Smash on your big screen with all your opponent's faces, voices, and reactions being streamed onto your controller? It would be awesome. The rumored controller has a TON of potential for not only gameplay, but also social aspects, menus, online, etc.

I also really believe there is a lot to Iwata's "We thought we could do it on our own, but we were wrong. I can talk more about that at E3" comment. I expect a major partnership from Nintendo at this E3, and I expect it has something to do with this.

I'm starting to believe GAF.

As exciting as this sounds, this is Nintendo we're talking about. A company that is, as mentioned by a recent poster in this thread, afraid of Fox news reports citing their systems as tools for pedophiles. Showing users on the small screen and the game on the big screen? Just think of all the genitals that could be on display. I'll be surprised if Nintendo even goes near this with a barge pole.

 

[Net_Wrecker]

It would be awesome if you could immediately link up with friends playing the same game. I doubt it would be "drop in and out" quickly, but no more booting the game, finding a server, etc. Your friend is playing Call of Duty, you tap/click/press on that and boom, puts you in the queue for the next match, etc. Just like if you picked up a second controller in the same room.

Although, in the past, the hype far outpaces the actual capabilities. I remember thinking about all the coolness of the Wiimote and how it would change everything. Then I found out about the lack of 1:1, etc. Still cool, but not nearly so.

What's so different with that and what we already have with the Xbox 360 though? As long as there's an open spot, I can boot the game and immediately join someone on my friends list from their profile. Aside from not seeing their face (which would just be kind of awkward to have someone just STARING into the controller :lol), we have that capability already. There are queues already as well in something like Halo Reach.

Plus unless they're magically developing games that are endlessly expandable in player count, there will always be a wait as long as the room is full and the matchmaking is good.

 

[Lord_Byron28]

Kennedy says that Nintendo gets social gaming. I don't really think they do. They have some hits with Nintendogs and Pokemon. But those all require co-location. Online is a big part of social gaming and WiiSpeak, Friend Codes, console based accounts rather than server based accounts, etc. are all examples of how Nintendo hasn't gotten it in the past. XBL and PSN get it. I would say MS's implementation with XBL is the nicest out right now. I'm hopeful Nintendo can change, but they seem to be too worried about a sensationalist Fox News report about how a pedophile used a 3DS to hook up with a kid.

Wii Sports, Mario Kart and NSMB were the biggest social games last gen(speaking in terms of games on 360,PS3 and Wii). They get a major part of it. Online they've always been incompetent with but their social multiplayer games have been a lot more succesful than anyone elses.

While some of the stuff Kennedy has to say are very interesting. I'd still be quite shocked if Nintendo did this and executed it well. Nintendo has a lot of great ideas in concept that fail in execution. However, Nintendo making a big move to pursue online social gaming should be interesting to see what they come up with regardless of how well it does.

 

[JambiBum]

I really love this design. tall or short.

Now if someone could make a charging stand for it so that the controller will sit upright (Like my DroidX) when not in use and then the IR sensors on the controller can also double as a sensor bar, and the controller screen could double as an alternate display, that would be perfect.

I hope you see this. Where did you find that stand for your droid? I would love to have that.

 

[yoopoo]

I honestly think they've finally come around. Also, parents wouldn't have to worry with code-based parental controls.

Err now they haven't...they just released the 3DS which has friend codes...to protect the children.

 

[Plinko]

If there's a toggle, it will by default be on 'child safe' - not the other way around.

As a video game console probably should be, no? Wouldn't an adult be more apt to know how to toggle this to "on" than a child?

 

[Opiate]

I actually think very few people would argue that local multiplayer is less fun. It's the practical part that is clearly untrue, to me.

Consider conversation, as an appropriate analogy. Obviously, talking to someone face to face is best; not only does it evoke stronger emotions, but also provides people with feedback from facial expressions. It's nice to be around people.

However, it is not practical to transport every single person you want to talk to directly and instantly to your location at all times, which is why we have phones. Is talking on the phone as nice as talking in person? Typically it is not. But it is far more practical in a modern world.

The same is true of gaming. Would I love to actually be in the same room with my friends every time we play games together? Yes, that would be nice. However, we are now grown adults who may only get an hour or two a night of free time and cannot afford to spend 50% of that time just getting over to your friend's house. This is before we talk about playing strangers, which might be akin to going to Central Park to find Chess competition.

Playing online is simply more practical for adults in a modern world and I cannot imagine how anyone can argue otherwise.

 

[Soulscribe]

If Nintendo wants people to actually buy a second controller (let alone a third or fourth) then that screen is going to have to be mega cheapo to make. That's why I'm a bit skeptical about the screen's abilities. Even the Wii speaker was a touted feature for the controller and it was pretty fucking terrible. Unless Nintendo's going to sell 70-100 dollar controllers, that screen is going to be pretty damn low-res.

And I'm still not entirely sure how the "streaming" is supposed to work; like do you actually transfer the visual source from the TV to the controller and just take the thing with you, or does the system have to be on and you have to be within a certain distance, or is i-... I don't know. Help

 

[Plinko]

Err now they haven't...they just released the 3DS which has friend codes...to protect the children.

One friend code period and we have no idea what else they're bringing with the May update.

I've got to be quite honest--I don't get what is so bad about the "1 friend code per console" rule. You take 2 minutes to plug in a 12-digit code and you're done.

 

[brochiller]

We've been discussing that possibility for a while now. haha.

But yes, the controller has a ton of potential, given it's able to actually show the game. That's all it comes down to. If it's able to do that, the possibilities just expand from there.

Yeah I've thought about that before too, and while I thought it would be very cool it wasn't enough to warrant the inclusion of a 6'' screen on the controller. It's the combination of all these possibilities that we've been discussion (and mockups that don't look like shit) that really has me excited to hear what Nintendo has in store.

As long as they come through with the design of the controller itself, I think this console could have just as much of an impact as the Wii did.

 

[FunkyPajamas]

I'm starting to believe GAF.

Huge mistake.

 

[wrowa]

The only times I've even had that issue were with Japanese developed games. Almost everything else after it was established has been the "bottom" button for confirm/jump (X for PS, A for Xbox), and the "right" button for deny/go back (O for PS, B for Xbox).

You aren't playing much with Nintendo consoles, are you? Nintendo uses the bottom button for deny and the right button for accept. When you are switching oftenly between, say, DS games and 360 games it really can become confusing.

 

[grkazan12]

After reading the speculation posts about nintendo working with someone else on improving their online infrastructure,I would have to say that that's pretty interesting and plausible. I think that's nintendo's best bet into capturing the COD or hardcore online audience. Online multiplayer games,social gaming, and even downloadable titles are things that nintendo doesn't want to ignore. I'm probably wrong, but I just bought my ticket for the Hype train that's headed to E3.

 

[Plinko]

After reading the speculation posts about nintendo working with someone else on improving their online infrastructure,I would have to say that that's pretty interesting and plausible. I think that's nintendo's best bet into capturing the COD or hardcore online audience. Online multiplayer games,social gaming, and even downloadable titles are things that nintendo doesn't want to ignore. I'm probably wrong, but I just bought my ticket for the Hype train that's headed to E3.

That is what puzzles me about the article, though. Sam Kennedy speculated on a podcast that people would still want to play COD on 360/PS3.

If Kennedy's new speculation about streaming is true, I have to think people would rather play this way.

 

[Vinci]

I actually think very few people would argue that local multiplayer is less fun. It's the practical part that is clearly untrue, to me.

Consider conversation, as an appropriate analogy. Obviously, talking to someone face to face is best; not only does it evoke stronger emotions, but also provides people with feedback from facial expressions. It's nice to be around people.

However, it is not practical to transport every single person you want to talk to directly and instantly to your location at all times, which is why we have phones. Is talking on the phone as nice as talking in person? Typically it is not. But it is far more practical in a modern world.

The same is true of gaming. Would I love to actually be in the same room with my friends every time we play games together? Yes, that would be nice. However, we are now grown adults who may only get an hour or two a night of free time and cannot afford to spend 50% of that time just getting over to your friend's house. This is before we talk about playing strangers, which might be akin to going to Central Park to find Chess competition.

Playing online is simply more practical for adults in a modern world and I cannot imagine how anyone can argue otherwise.

I don't think saying, "Local multi is more fun than online multi" is equivalent to ignoring the inherent difficulties related to that endeavor, though. Ideally, we would eventually find some way to combine the two. Sony and MS got one side of the equation figured out, while Nintendo has a death grip on the other side.

 

[wwm0nkey]

Dice talking about Battlefield 3

“We are already there; if they were to release a new console tomorrow the engine would scale onto that platform because we have been looking at not only the PC technology today but also speculating what will happen tomorrow when it comes to these things. So everything from streaming technologies, rendering technologies is scalable onto future platforms.”

hmmmmmmm....

 

[ksamedi]

If Nintendo wants people to actually buy a second controller (let alone a third or fourth) then that screen is going to have to be mega cheapo to make. That's why I'm a bit skeptical about the screen's abilities. Even the Wii speaker was a touted feature for the controller and it was pretty fucking terrible. Unless Nintendo's going to sell 70-100 dollar controllers, that screen is going to be pretty damn low-res.

And I'm still not entirely sure how the "streaming" is supposed to work; like do you actually transfer the visual source from the TV to the controller and just take the thing with you, or does the system have to be on and you have to be within a certain distance, or is i-... I don't know. Help

I think it's supposed to be used in the home environment, so I don't expect the controller to stream games outside. That would make it pretty expensive.

 

[Synless]

I wonder when they are going to do pre-orders for this thing, after E3?

 

[thehillissilent]

Dice talking about Battlefield 3

hmmmmmmm....

That could mean Wii2 or OnLive/Gaikai, but since EA abandoned OnLive, it would be Gaikai.

 

[Plinko]

Dice talking about Battlefield 3

hmmmmmmm....

GAF would explode.

 

[Net_Wrecker]

You aren't playing much with Nintendo consoles, are you? Nintendo uses the bottom button for deny and the right button for accept. When you are switching oftenly between, say, DS games and 360 games it really can become confusing.

Well if the majority of games on the other consoles goes the other way, and a sort of unconfirmed standard has been set, it's up to NINTENDO to follow it. If they then build a controller which also goes in their own direction, they take full responsibility when games developed using the "standard" don't work as well on it, or if developers go away from their console completely.

 

[Nabs]

Dice talking about Battlefield 3

hmmmmmmm....

It's a different kind of streaming.

We’re streaming all the data. There’s not a single frame where nothing streams. From textures to objects to weapons to sounds and animations … it scales down pretty well. All of the core systems will use streaming, so it’s more of a question of how often you have to stream, and how big are those packages. The engine is built with that taken into account.

They've been talking about streaming data for a few months now.

 

[Plinko]

I wonder when they are going to do pre-orders for this thing, after E3?

Once they announce a date and price is when Amazon puts up its preorders. If they're talking June 2012, we probably won't see a price (and preorders) until November.

 

[wwm0nkey]

That could mean Wii2 or OnLive/Gaikai, but since EA abandoned OnLive, it would be Gaikai.

Im pretty sure BF3 will hit the new Nintendo console. The question is, what if this version has 64 players :lol

 

[grkazan12]

Dice talking about Battlefield 3

hmmmmmmm....

From when is that article from? and couldn't he just be talking about streaming the engine instead of the controller?

 

[wsippel]

To think that Nintendo would go from friendcodes, unsorted friend lists(see 3DS), no communication between players online and no support for other online feature even the Dreamcast had to some sort of incredible online system allowing you and your friends to drop in and drop out of Mario Kart matches at any time is simply crazy.

If there's any truth to what Kennedy wrote, I assume 3DS' online might be as barebone as it is because Nintendo plans to integrate it with their new online infrastructure in the future. A unified friend list between 3DS and Café and potentially cross platform messaging (maybe even including PCs and, by extension, smartphones) would be very nice.

 

[Net_Wrecker]

Dice talking about Battlefield 3

hmmmmmmm....

Streaming huge worlds/maps and data, not streaming video.

 

[Soulscribe]

I think it's supposed to be used in the home environment, so I don't expect the controller to stream games outside. That would make it pretty expensive.

yeah, but that would make it a pretty superfluous feature I'd think.

 

[Teknoman]

This is awesome. I can't wait to be playing a game and watching a friend of mine die in Zelda and proceed to call him a noob.

It would be awesome for spectator mode in certain games.

 

[brochiller]

If there's any truth to what Kennedy wrote, I assume 3DS' online might be as barebone as it is because Nintendo plans to integrate it with their new online infrastructure in the future. A unified friend list between 3DS and Café and potentially cross platform messaging (maybe even including PCs and, by extension, smartphones) would be very nice.

I wouldn't expect the PC/smartphone integration. Nintendo has to get its online service up to par with its gaming platforms before it can start to think about expanding.