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[Nibel]

PC, for the giant library of affordable better looking, better playing third party multiplatform games, especially from the West.

Wii U, for Nintendo and quirky shit.

PS4/X720, for whichever Microsoft/Sony branded exclusives you prefer, and the handful of console exclusive games (probably from Japanese developers who cannot wrap their head around the PC market).

~fin

We both should move in together; I just need bananas from time to time though

 

[Aostia]

I agree with Eat and Aostia. Outside of Halo, MSs exclusive library is not to my liking, and as a main land European Live simply isn't worth the asking price. Sony has really started to build an amazing line of first party titles that cover a vast range of tastes. If PS4 is reasonably priced I might get it at launch, if not, somewhere down the road when The Last Guardian is released for it in 2016. ...

I'm looking forward to building a new PC once I finished my diploma thesis.
If I'm staying here I will have to install new wirings though as with the current setup, having a new PC and consoles and TV would pose a serious fire hazard lol.

Btw, I just got Spirit Camera, and holy shit, the WiiU NEEDS a Fatal Frame game. Like absolutely needs one. The immersion factor is amazing, even on the tiny 3DS screen, and the hunt for ghosts that require you to actually turn 360° in person is amazingly fun/scary.

This is probably one of the coolest uses of the Gamepad that I can imagine, because it absolutely works. A shame that the Gamepad doesn't have an outward facing camera to use for AR as the higher processing power and better quality of the camera of the WiiU would definetly improve the experience. This in particular is one area where the WiiU creates gameplay that simply isn't possible on any existing hardware.

I agree.
I don't like PC gaming, so I'll skip it as usual, but about the other factors I'm with you.
Probably Wii U will be a perfect fit also in terms of my personal "timings" with "true" next gen, considering when I'll probably enter the PS4 market (if they stay with their top notch hardware policy that means for me to wait a couple of years until an affordable price point), and considering that I bought a 3DS last year.

About Spirit camera, the fun thing is that I was absolutely thinking the same about the absolute need for a Wii U episode, but after playing Project Zero2 on the Wii, yesterday evening AHAH

 

[Roman]

Games with big budget = big price
Games with mid level price = mid level price
How can a software house hope a customer pick up...let's say...deBlob when it's priced as the next big Mario title? Nothing against the quality, it's the brand here, and a customer will almost always pick up something related to a big brand.
Along with this, there should be more and more mid-level retail projects, which can even actually sustain costs for other big projects.

I think a good example that always comes first to my mind is Scribblenauts Unlimited.
It comes out on Wii U, 3DS and PC and I don't see it selling at $50.

If New Super Mario Bros. 2 and Kingdom Hearts 3D really end up costing $29.99 that's a very good sign. I can already see Europe getting the shaft though...

 

[fabricated backlash]

I agree.
I don't like PC gaming, so I'll skip it as usual, but about the other factors I'm with you.
Probably Wii U will be a perfect fit also in terms of my personal "timings" with "true" next gen, considering when I'll probably enter the PS4 market (if they stay with their top notch hardware policy that means for me to wait a couple of years until an affordable price point), and considering that I bought a 3DS last year.

About Spirit camera, the fun thing is that I was absolutely thinking the same about the absolute need for a Wii U episode, but after playing Project Zero2 on the Wii, yesterday evening AHAH

Is it good? I also got it today in the mail, but will hold off playing it till later this evening... playing such a game while being cooked alive by the crazy heat and the fan noise driving me insane is not much fun.

I think a good example that always comes first to my mind is Scribblenauts Unlimited.
It comes out on Wii U, 3DS and PC and I don't see it selling at $50.

If New Super Mario Bros. 2 and Kingdom Hearts 3D really end up costing $29.99 that's a very good sign. I can already see Europe getting the shaft though...

Personally, 30 would be a sweet point for boxed 3DS games for me. 45€ is just robbery and not warranted. I mostly import from the UK so I rarely pay over 35€ anyway, but it would be nice to just walk into a store to buy a game, instead of waiting a week for Austrias slow ass postal service to deliver a package.

 

[Aostia]

Is it good? I also got it today in the mail, but will hold off playing it till later this evening... playing such a game while being cooked alive by the crazy heat and the fan noise driving me insane is not much fun.



Personally, 30 would be a sweet point for boxed 3DS games for me. 45€ is just robbery and not warranted. I mostly import from the UK so I rarely pay over 35€ anyway, but it would be nice to just walk into a store to buy a game, instead of waiting a week for Austrias slow ass postal service to deliver a package.

The game is freakin good for a survival horror. I'm alone (in the dark?) at home foe 3-4 days, and I admit that I'm really scared by the game
About pricing, I think that both portable and home market should decrese the SRP honestly, at least for the DD versions (unfortunately it doesnt seem that Nintendo is going into this direction, but at the same time their games are cheaper than the competitors' here in Europe)

 

[Roman]

45€ is just robbery and not warranted. I mostly import from the UK so I rarely pay over 35€ anyway, but it would be nice to just walk into a store to buy a game, instead of waiting a week for Austrias slow ass postal service to deliver a package.

Yes and I can already see it happening again.

Absolutely ridiculous if you ask me.

 

[Rösti]

Personally, 30 would be a sweet point for boxed 3DS games for me. 45€ is just robbery and not warranted. I mostly import from the UK so I rarely pay over 35€ anyway, but it would be nice to just walk into a store to buy a game, instead of waiting a week for Austrias slow ass postal service to deliver a package.

Here in Sweden, Nintendo's MSRPs (through Bergsala AB, which is the official distributor in Scandinavia) for new Nintendo 3DS games are equivalent to between 55-60€.

I expect the MSRP for new Wii U games in Sweden to be 70€. In the '90s, MSRPs for games were even higher. Bergsala has more or less monopoly in Scandinavia, so there is not much to do. In 2002, they were sentenced to pay 11 million Swedish kronor to European Commission for cartel formation between 1991-1998; they tried prevent lowering of prices of games.

 

[D-e-f-]

Personally, 30 would be a sweet point for boxed 3DS games for me. 45€ is just robbery and not warranted. I mostly import from the UK so I rarely pay over 35€ anyway, but it would be nice to just walk into a store to buy a game, instead of waiting a week for Austrias slow ass postal service to deliver a package.

Yea, totally agree! I always import from the UK as well. I know full well I'm not doing the local industry any favors with this but it's either that or waiting until the game is 10 bucks 2 years later or going with a used copy off eBay. The latter is probably worse.

3DS games for 30€ would be so much better and I probably would've bought a lot more games sooner if that had been the standard handheld-game price for DS/3DS.

 

[Aostia]

Here in Sweden, Nintendo's MSRPs (through Bergsala AB, which is the official distributor in Scandinavia) for new Nintendo 3DS games are equivalent to between 55-60€.

I expect the MSRP for new Wii U games in Sweden to be 70€. In the '90s, MSRPs for games were even higher. Bergsala has more or less monopoly in Scandinavia, so there is not much to do. In 2002, they were sentenced to pay 11 million Swedish kronor to European Commission for cartel formation between 1991-1998; they tried to prevent lowering of prices of games.

That's...crazy!
I mean, I think that more or less all the "goods" are more expensive in Sweden than in a lot of other European countries, but...that's crazy!
Here in Italy you can easily find a lot of 3ds games (especially the Nintendo ones) at the same price of the DS titles, about 39 euro. A lot of shops increased the prices compared to the DS, and put them at 44€.
Wii games were always cheaper than the HD ones, between 49 and 59 (first and third), compared to the 59/69 of the PS360 titles.
I'm expecting for Wii U similar slight increase as for the 3DS ones.

 

[Meelow]

The All Star Battle Website got updated

 

[Grampa Simpson]

Here in Sweden, Nintendo's MSRPs (through Bergsala AB, which is the official distributor in Scandinavia) for new Nintendo 3DS games are equivalent to between 55-60€.

I expect the MSRP for new Wii U games in Sweden to be 70€. In the '90s, MSRPs for games were even higher. Bergsala has more or less monopoly in Scandinavia, so there is not much to do. In 2002, they were sentenced to pay 11 million Swedish kronor to European Commission for cartel formation between 1991-1998; they tried prevent lowering of prices of games.

Don't you guys have a 25% Tax that's included in the price of the game?

I don't have very much data, but I thought the cost for foreign entities doing business (even indirectly) in Sweden was high.

 

[Sadist]

The All Star Battle Website got updated

Whatever it is I suppose it will be reveiled in the Famitsu tonight

 

[Rösti]

Don't you guys have a 25% Tax that's included in the price of the game?

I don't have very much data, but I thought the cost for foreign entities doing business (even indirectly) in Sweden was high.

Yes, there's a tax of 25% included. Or well, to be precise, to obtain merchandise you pay both a sum for the merchandise and then tax. I tried explaining this once to both colleagues and clients, it did not work well. Some parties have suggested that this tax (and for movies) should be lowered to 6% which is the current tax for literature (books).

 

[Grampa Simpson]

Yes, there's a tax of 25% included. Or well, to be precise, to obtain merchandise you pay both a sum for the merchandise and then tax. I tried explaining this once to both colleagues and clients, it did not work well. Some parties have suggested that this tax (and for movies) should be lowered to 6% which is the current tax for literature (books).

Is it collected like the american sales tax? The price on the box is $49.99, but I end up paying $54.11?

Or is the price on the box $54.11, and that includes the tax?

 

[Rösti]

Is it collected like the american sales tax? The price on the box is $49.99, but I end up paying $54.11?

Or is the price on the box $54.11, and that includes the tax?

Price on the box is what you pay, including tax. It's actually in Sweden illegal to advertise an incorrect price on the box, you can be sent to prison for that. Of course, that is only if you make it a habit, misprints and people changing price tags are things not too harshly looked upon.

 

[fabricated backlash]

The game is freakin good for a survival horror. I'm alone (in the dark?) at home foe 3-4 days, and I admit that I'm really scared by the game

That's great to hear. I'm alone in the apartment next week, when my GF is on vacation, so I'm going to enjoy it then.

Here in Sweden, Nintendo's MSRPs (through Bergsala AB, which is the official distributor in Scandinavia) for new Nintendo 3DS games are equivalent to between 55-60€.

I expect the MSRP for new Wii U games in Sweden to be 70€. In the '90s, MSRPs for games were even higher. Bergsala has more or less monopoly in Scandinavia, so there is not much to do. In 2002, they were sentenced to pay 11 million Swedish kronor to European Commission for cartel formation between 1991-1998; they tried prevent lowering of prices of games.

Now that's robbery. Are wages that much higher in Sweden or is this just another Bergsala price fixing?

Yea, totally agree! I always import from the UK as well. I know full well I'm not doing the local industry any favors with this but it's either that or waiting until the game is 10 bucks 2 years later or going with a used copy off eBay. The latter is probably worse.

3DS games for 30€ would be so much better and I probably would've bought a lot more games sooner if that had been the standard handheld-game price for DS/3DS.

I guess the last game I bought locally was SSF4 3D at the 3DS launch, but that's about it.

30 is just a good point where I still would call it premium priced, but also feel like I get my moneys worth out of it. I mean, this is mostly a psychological pricepoint, but that has a huge factor on purchases for most consumers. I also didn't buy a new 360 game in Austria since 2008. I rarely spend more than 40 € on them. I don't care for collectors editions mostly, so I'm saving quite a lot of money this way.

 

[big_erk]

PC, for the giant library of affordable better looking, better playing third party multiplatform games, especially from the West.

Wii U, for Nintendo and quirky shit.

PS4/X720, for whichever Microsoft/Sony branded exclusives you prefer, and the handful of console exclusive games (probably from Japanese developers who cannot wrap their head around the PC market).

~fin

This is my thought exactly. Microsoft and Sony are duking it out for mostly the same people. Sure some prefer Halo and some prefer Uncharted, but mostly they play multiplats.

Nintendo is their own thing. Would I like the WiiU to be this powerhouse system? Yes, within reason. I don't want a $400 console, from anyone. I have my ASUS G55V for my graphics heavy gaming fix. All I need is my Nintendo fix and I am set.

PC\WiiU for this guy over here.

 

[Log4Girlz]

We both should move in together; I just need bananas from time to time though

Oh he'll share a banana with you alright

 

[Rösti]

The English Q&A transcript from the 72nd Annual General Meeting of Shareholders is now up: http://www.nintendo.co.jp/ir/en/stock/meeting/120628qa/index.html

Something I think should be highlighted:

Finally, another issue is that the visibility of the future software lineup is unclear. During E3, titles for the overseas markets were highlighted and the titles we introduced then were only the ones to be available at the launch time and within the launch window period, which might make you wonder, “What will become of the software in the next year?” It is our intention to convey a strong message this fall with the information about the price and the launch date and then to create momentum good enough to convince our consumers to buy (the Wii U), but currently, there must be some concerns. Overall, we believe that the current share price has been determined based on what I mentioned today. In the near term, with the introduction of the Nintendo 3DS XL followed by new software titles in July and August, the most important issue is to what degree we can change the business momentum of the Nintendo 3DS in the world. Then, subsequently, when we launch the Wii U, we intend to announce the next step by saying what will happen in the future, and by doing this, we would like to change the evaluation in the market.

There also appears to be comments on power. I appear to have overlooked that from the Japanese transcript.

 

[Nibel]

Oh he'll share a banana with you alright

 

[DaSorcerer7]

http://www.game.co.uk/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/HubArticleView?hubId=170589&articleId=170590&catalogId=10201&langId=44&storeId=10151&cm_sp=WiiU-_-topnav-_-WiiU&cm_mmc=UK-Google-Game-_-Nintendo+WiiU+Pure+Brand-_-wiiu-_-e_mkwid_spSc3I7ee_pcrid_13734932474_kword_wiiu_match_e_plid_

 

[HylianTom]

http://www.game.co.uk/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/HubArticleView?hubId=170589&articleId=170590&catalogId=10201&langId=44&storeId=10151&cm_sp=WiiU-_-topnav-_-WiiU&cm_mmc=UK-Google-Game-_-Nintendo+WiiU+Pure+Brand-_-wiiu-_-e_mkwid_spSc3I7ee_pcrid_13734932474_kword_wiiu_match_e_plid_

Yes!

Between Nintendo showing equal black and white consoles at their events, and now this, black is looking more and more likely.. little things like this might not mean much for Launch Day in the end, but they're slightly encouraging.

 

[10k]

Yes!

Between Nintendo showing equal black and white consoles at their events, and now this, black is looking more and more likely.. little things like this might not mean much for Launch Day in the end, but they're slightly encouraging.

I'm gonna buy all black wii u's produced so HylianTom gets none

 

[HylianTom]

I'm gonna buy all black wii u's produced so HylianTom gets none

Aww.. no fair!

A white one it is then.. hmph..

 

[DaSorcerer7]

Yes!

Between Nintendo showing equal black and white consoles at their events, and now this, black is looking more and more likely.. little things like this might not mean much for Launch Day in the end, but they're slightly encouraging.

Thats what I'm thinking as well. Realllllly hoping black is available at launch.

 

[Hoodbury]

The English Q&A transcript from the 72nd Annual General Meeting of Shareholders is now up: http://www.nintendo.co.jp/ir/en/stock/meeting/120628qa/index.html

Easily the best question:

Question 3

"I got terribly lost coming here today. Every time I come here, I feel that you should take into consideration where many of the shareholders attending are coming from and that you may want to consider offering us some conveniences like a courtesy bus from JR Kyoto Station. As I feel this is rather an inconvenient place to visit by subway or by bus, I’d like you to consider more about this sort of thing than enriching the contents of the gifts you give to the attending shareholders."

 

[D-e-f-]

Easily the best question:

Question 3

"I got terribly lost coming here today. Every time I come here, I feel that you should take into consideration where many of the shareholders attending are coming from and that you may want to consider offering us some conveniences like a courtesy bus from JR Kyoto Station. As I feel this is rather an inconvenient place to visit by subway or by bus, I’d like you to consider more about this sort of thing than enriching the contents of the gifts you give to the attending shareholders."

aaww, nice! giftbags!

 

[fabricated backlash]

Easily the best question:

Question 3

"I got terribly lost coming here today. Every time I come here, I feel that you should take into consideration where many of the shareholders attending are coming from and that you may want to consider offering us some conveniences like a courtesy bus from JR Kyoto Station. As I feel this is rather an inconvenient place to visit by subway or by bus, I’d like you to consider more about this sort of thing than enriching the contents of the gifts you give to the attending shareholders."

I'm at a loss of words... I probably could never be the CEO of a company if that meant to deal with people like that... The fuck? Maybe complain about your incontinence as well, demand Iwata to clean your ass and powder it. Maybe nintendo branded adult diapers.

I'd probably ask this guy how much stock he has, then simply buy it and kick his ass all the way to the exit. Then I'd pay him a Taxi so he doesn't have to use those hard subway seats after all the ass kicking.

 

[Meelow]

Q12. The Wii is the best-selling console and holds the top share among the video game consoles for now, but both in Japan and overseas for about these two years, the Wii has been sometimes excluded from what is called multiplatform software and some games have been released only for the PS3 and the Xbox 360. When the Wii U has entered a mature phase four or five years later, will it be able to compete with a next-generation console by Microsoft or personal computers? I am concerned about a future situation in which a game is available for consoles other than the Wii U due to a lack of power. Please let me know what efforts you have made to avoid it.

A12. Iwata:

We have not successfully kept the momentum of the Wii for about the last two years because third-party publishers have released a smaller number of game titles and Nintendo has also decreased new games for the platform in preparation for the launch of the Nintendo 3DS and the Wii U. As the Wii has no such system as the “Miiverse” in the Nintendo Network mentioned earlier today, in which consumers have a chance to encounter new games in communication with others, the momentum temporarily provoked by a new game has easily been diminished.

We cannot promise that the Wii U will never be excluded from multiplatform software for eternity, but we can at least assure you that the Wii U will not have such a big difference as the Wii had in comparison to how, on other platforms, developers could expect very different graphic capabilities of generating HD-applicable high-resolution graphics. Other companies might launch a next-generation console with more power, but we don’t necessarily think that the difference between the Wii U and such console will be as drastic as what you felt it was between the Wii and the other consoles because there will be fewer and fewer differentiators in graphics. Naturally some consumers are very sensitive about such a small difference in graphics so that we will make efforts to make the most of the performance of the Wii U to keep up with technological innovations and not to make the system out-of-date soon. However, as the structure of the product called the Wii U is as if we are including both a video game console and a handheld device, if we were not careful about how luxurious both of them were, we could end up having to offer the price of the two hardware systems combined, which would not be an acceptable price for the consumers. We had to design it by balancing the performance and the costs.

I am not sure this is an appropriate expression, but video game consoles have long been “parasites” of TV sets at home. In other words, game consoles have used TV sets in a family instead of being equipped with their own screen. However, the Wii U will be the first console free from TV sets, in which you can play the Wii U while someone else is watching TV or you yourself can watch TV while using the Wii U. As you can experience deeper entertainment with both the Wii U GamePad and the TV screen, we would like to enrich it but, at the same time, we hope to furnish it with games you can enjoy only with the Wii U GamePad. In addition, games on two screens are not just the same with what we did for the Nintendo DS. As the TV screen can be distant from the Wii U GamePad, not like the Nintendo 3DS, we can offer different options for use. Also, in multiplayer games, a player with the Wii U GamePad will play a different role from those with Wii Remote controllers. We are thinking of what we call “asymmetric game play,” in which players have different roles in one game, like in Tag. The player with the Wii U GamePad will be able to know what other players are doing when they are playing on the TV screen. The Wii U GamePad will work as a window where you can communicate with other players in their living rooms. We say that the Wii U GamePad could be a “Social Window,” or a window to link your living rooms to others’.

Furthermore, the Wii U can change the way you use the TV set in your living room, although the Wii U is a video game system in its nature and this is just an added component. More specifically, there are currently many videos on the Internet, many of which are very interesting and suitable for family entertainment. You have seen them by PC, smartphones or tablets, but with the Wii U you can search a good movie on the Wii U GamePad, tell everyone there to see it and easily move it to the TV screen. In this way, a video-sharing website can be a great form of entertainment. In addition, the Wii U can make it easier to use video-on-demand services, where you can enjoy films and TV programs through the Internet and which are more popular overseas than in Japan. Not only by competing with other platforms only in regard to the machines’ spec. figures but proposing various ways of using the Wii U, we would like to create a future so even family members who have never touched any video game systems will consider the Wii U something that is convenient to use so that we can maintain its competitiveness for a long time.

This makes me have hope.

 

[MadeInBeats]

Easily the best question:

Question 3

"I got terribly lost coming here today. Every time I come here, I feel that you should take into consideration where many of the shareholders attending are coming from and that you may want to consider offering us some conveniences like a courtesy bus from JR Kyoto Station. As I feel this is rather an inconvenient place to visit by subway or by bus, I’d like you to consider more about this sort of thing than enriching the contents of the gifts you give to the attending shareholders."

It's been miss-translated. Tokyo Bus Guide confirmed.

 

[Hoodbury]

Arm chair CEO'ing?

Question 13:

"I don’t think that the current Nintendo is making full use of its potential. I believe that there is a way to improve your business more and more by taking advantage of what you already have. As I have a specific plan for it, I would like to make a 10-minute presentation to Mr. Miyamoto, Mr. Takeda and Mr. Iwata as soon as tomorrow if it is possible."


Seriously? I own 7 shares of your stock so let me tell you my super secret idea that will be totally awesome and save your company.

 

[EatChildren]

Seriously? I own 7 shares of your stock so let me tell you my super secret idea that will be totally awesome and save your company.

Well, you know, that is kinda how shares work in a round about way. Major shareholders can make demands to the company, and propose business ideas, and if the company is shit scared ignoring those demands will cause said person to sell stock they'll listen.

Tis the downside of being a public company.

 

[snowdog1971]

The thing is, I feel that given the mediocre power increase of the console compared to current gen HD systems, the lack of good western third party support and little information from Nintendo on what the future holds, Wii U will be once again a console primarily for Nintendo fans and the expanded audience. I don't see Nintendo getting any of the 360 or PS3 crowd and I expect those guys to wait it out until MS and Sony release their beast machines.

The power increase isn't going to be a problem imo. We know that on paper the U is around 3 times more powerful than the 360. If the 720 leaks are accurate then that will make the 720 6 times more powerful than the 360...unless I'm remembering things wrong..?

Maths isn't my strong point at all, so I may be wrong, but wouldn't that make the 720 3 times more powerful than the U..? And the Xbox was around 3 times more powerful than the PS2 last gen.

Most importantly, again according to rumours, all 3 consoles will be using GPGPUs which would mean that they're going to have a similar architecture and now that Nintendo have finally ditched the TEV Unit the console is going to have a standard rendering pipeline.

And the thing that sells consoles at the end of the day is exclusives. The U is imo going to have several system sellers during the launch and launch window - NintendoLand, NSMB U, Lego City Undercover, ZombiU and Aliens Colonial Marines...and those last 3 or 4 are going to interest the dudebro crowd imo before you take into account the likes of Madden and FIFA.

The U is likely to get the same sort of percentage of 'hardcore' gamers that the Wii had in the beginning, the important question is can Nintendo and third parties keep them..?

 

[H_Prestige]

Has it been confirmed that every game will allow streaming to the screen? I thought Nintendo already said it's up to the developer. And some of the games already demoed wouldn't even make sense since they require concurrent use of the TV and screen.

 

[HylianTom]

Still can't believe I'm excited about ZombiU. If someone had told me months ago that I'd be looking forward to Ubi's launch game (of all developers!), I'd've thought they were on something, haha..

 

[axisofweevils]

The answer to Question 9 is especially interesting.

Finally, another issue is that the visibility of the future software lineup is unclear. During E3, titles for the overseas markets were highlighted and the titles we introduced then were only the ones to be available at the launch time and within the launch window period, which might make you wonder, “What will become of the software in the next year?” It is our intention to convey a strong message this fall with the information about the price and the launch date and then to create momentum good enough to convince our consumers to buy (the Wii U), but currently, there must be some concerns. Overall, we believe that the current share price has been determined based on what I mentioned today. In the near term, with the introduction of the Nintendo 3DS XL followed by new software titles in July and August, the most important issue is to what degree we can change the business momentum of the Nintendo 3DS in the world. Then, subsequently, when we launch the Wii U, we intend to announce the next step by saying what will happen in the future, and by doing this, we would like to change the evaluation in the market.

 

[Meelow]

The answer to Question 9 is especially interesting.

Definitely the Fall Conference.

 

[DaSorcerer7]

Definitely the Fall Conference.

Construction of a second hype train is currently under way. Right, Nibel?

 

[Meelow]

Construction of a second hype train is currently under way. Right, Nibel?

I'm scared to jump on the hype train.

 

[bachikarn]

So basically "wait till Space World"

 

[Nibel]

Construction of a second hype train is currently under way. Right, Nibel?

I'm scared to jump on the hype train.

Don't worry dude, the first time it's always the hardest!

(Btw. we crashed like 3 times this year, right? GDC, first (or second) ND and E3 :lol)

 

[D-e-f-]

Has it been confirmed that every game will allow streaming to the screen? I thought Nintendo already said it's up to the developer. And some of the games already demoed wouldn't even make sense since they require concurrent use of the TV and screen.

No, not every game will let you play completely on the controller. This is a separate system feature called Off-TV Play. So far, I think, only Scribblenauts, Trine 2, Mighty Switch Force HD and NSMB.U are officially supporting it. Games like P-100 and ZombiU cannot be played on the GamePad only for the obvious reason that the touch screen is integrated as a central part of the gameplay experience and you absolutely need both screens.

The power increase isn't going to be a problem imo. We know that on paper the U is around 3 times more powerful than the 360. If the 720 leaks are accurate then that will make the 720 6 times more powerful than the 360...unless I'm remembering things wrong..?

Maths isn't my strong point at all, so I may be wrong, but wouldn't that make the 720 3 times more powerful than the U..? And the Xbox was around 3 times more powerful than the PS2 last gen.

you must've missed the part where (I thought) we all finally learned that these random multipliers mean absolutely NOTHING because all the various components are so different and don't equate to a random number that can be quantified.

a sandwich tastes 4 times better than a cheeseburger. what does that mean? exactly: nothing!

 

[Meelow]

Don't worry dude, the first time it's always the hardest!

(Btw. we crashed like 3 times this year, right? GDC, first (or second) ND and E3 :lol)

Wait what was wrong with Nintendo Direct?.

And the real disappointment of GDC was EA's conference...I will never hype for a EA conference after GDC.

 

[Rösti]

Now the 30 day opposition period regarding most (not all) US Wii U trademarks has begun. The marks were published in USPTO's Official Gazette today. Begins on page 494: http://www.uspto.gov/web/trademarks/tmog/20120703_OG.pdf

It gives some information about the composition of the logo:

THE COLOR(S) GRAY AND BLUE IS/ARE CLAIMED AS A FEATURE OF THE MARK.THE MARK CONSISTS OF THE WORD "WII" IN GRAY STYLIZED LETTERING FOLLOWED BY A BLUE RECTANGLE WITH ROUNDED CORNERS DISPLAYING THE LETTER "U" IN WHITE STYLIZED LETTERING WITH THE UPPER ENDS OF THE "U" BEING FLUSH WITH THE UPPER EDGE OF THE RECTANGLE.

This is however not how the Wii U logo used in E3 2012 related papers was formatted. That did not feature any "U" in white stylized lettering, it was just a path. Not that it matters, just pointed it out as a "fun" fact.

 

[DrWong]

Some Wii U related stuff here > GameStop CEO: Google's tablet is a "gamechanger"

Q: What do you think the prospects are for the back half of 2012? It's been a tough year so far, do think that's because of the releases or some other factors?

Paul Raines: For the first half the NPD data has certainly not been tremendously positive. I think part of that is that title count is much lower than previous years, and the late console innovation levels are slowed. I think the back half is pretty encouraging; we're in the midst of looking at our forecast and we feel like it will be a decent back half. I think the Wii U is a big piece of that. In spite of not a great presentation from Nintendo - it was not as well received as we would have hoped - we like the gameplay. Nintendo has been downstairs here today showing off some new content, and there's nothing I can really discuss but our team is pretty excited about the gameplay coming on the Wii U. That has me pretty optimistic about the holiday.

Q: Nintendo may not have the greatest presentations in the world, but they have a way of getting around that with good games.

Paul Raines: No doubt about it. You can imagine at our place, our team has seen every major console launch in history going back to Atari, so our team is a pretty tough judge. People here never count out Nintendo; we've learned that through the years. So I wouldn't count them out on this one either.

Did you see the Pikmin demo up on stage? The gameplay didn't look great on stage, but I went upstairs with Nintendo later and was playing Pikmin and that's fabulous. First of all, the graphics are fabulous, almost 3D-like, and then the gameplay is very cool. I had a map on my Wii U tablet, and I could run around and find the Pikmins where they were, and I was actually attacking the big worm with my nunchuk and my controller. The asymmetric gameplay - I call it the 'tethered tablet' gameplay' - that's going to be a whole new dimension and I'm not sure people get that yet. But give them time, they will.

Q: My guess is that Microsoft and Sony will keep their powder dry until Nintendo announces their price point. Do you have any idea when that will happen?

Paul Raines: Right, right. You know, they're very close. I'm not sure why Nintendo didn't announce it at E3, but we have not received any other data. One of the things that's going to be different on this console cycle that's never existed before is if you think about the 18 million PowerUp Rewards members that GameStop has in our system, if you look at them they collectively about 24 million consoles. There's billions of dollars of trade credits that can subsidize the launch of the Wii U. We're busy working with them and Microsoft and Sony on the upgrade cycle. There's never been this amount of currency in the market to buy new consoles.

 

[Effect]

Construction of a second hype train is currently under way. Right, Nibel?

People really should just let that train fly right by them. People really should not hype anything else regarding the Wii U. Let Nintendo work on doing it themselves. Let them actively try to sell the system this time around instead of creating an environment where they feel they just need to show up and people will be happy. Don't be taken advantage of or used.

 

[GameplayWhore]

(Btw. we crashed like 3 times this year, right? GDC, first (or second) ND and E3 :lol)

I think we're fresh out of trains. I recommend building a Hype Clown Car. It has crash-resistant bumpers and would best reflect the state of the industry right now.

PC, for the giant library of affordable better looking, better playing third party multiplatform games, especially from the West.

Wii U, for Nintendo and quirky shit.

PS4/X720, for whichever Microsoft/Sony branded exclusives you prefer, and the handful of console exclusive games (probably from Japanese developers who cannot wrap their head around the PC market).

~fin

One of the reasons why people like consoles is that they can drop two hundred bucks and are set for half a decade for any game they buy with the correct logo on the box, without having to worry about issues like compatibility and upgrading and so forth.

Your solution involves dropping over a thousand bucks on multiple devices. It's not a bad strategy, but it certainly doesn't appeal to those of us who aren't independently wealthy.

 

[Oddduck]

After reading Emily Rogers new article, http://www.notenoughshaders.com/2012/07/02/the-rise-of-costs-the-fall-of-gaming/ I think it's pretty clear that developers will have a hard time using up all that the PS4/XB3 consoles have to offer in terms of graphics, I'm pretty sure smaller developers will skip the extra details all together and the quality of the games will not dramatically improve from a graphics perspective. It's surprisingly well documented what this generation has done to dev houses and what the future looks like. Particularly that Naughty Dog quote about their darkest days is very enlightening.

That's actually pretty good article in the defense of the Wii U's third party support.

I mean the biggest argument against the Wii U is it will lose tons of 3rd party support because of power. But this article lays it out brick by brick about how publishers can't break even on development costs in current gen so how can every studio be willing to double/triple their costs next gen.

 

[lord]

This is my first post, hello all

In my modest opinion, despite all of the doom and gloom surrounding the Wii U on the internet, I think Nintendo will be fine. Maybe they will no longer be the Nintendo that people on this site want them to be, I think Nintendo is trending to be a some kind of home software corporation. Wii Fit style, I mean, that thing sold 43 million, much more than a Metroid or Zelda title. It probably is even cheaper to develop. This casual market is more profitable and drives much more growth than the traditional industry. Even if this happens, they will always strive to maintain their core audience. The people that bought the Gamecube or the N64, you know, Metroid/Zelda people.

I do hope, for their own good, that they try to keep a shorter console cycle since the platform is underpowered. Wii U should have been released last year. I want this to so they keep up with the presumably more powerful xbox/ps. This would help to eliminate the perceived loss of steam that ocurred during the Wii's final years, which the CEO recognized as a problem.

 

[Effect]

That's actually pretty good article in the defense of the Wii U's third party support.

I mean the biggest argument against the Wii U is it will lose tons of 3rd party support because of power. But this article lays it out brick by brick about how publishers can't break even on development costs in current gen so how can every studio be willing to double/triple their costs next gen.

Publishers/developers have unrealistic expectations. I will not be surprised if they continue to chase the big money and all but a few fail again.

If they are willing to increase budgets to match the required effort to take advantage of new tech, they are either going to increase prices on the games, or monetize gamers like crazy.

They'll do both because they can.