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[bgassassin]

Ok i get the point those games prob couldn't run on Wii but if the resolution was reduced to SD and some of the textures scaled back then i don't see a problem at all with the statement.

My point is that there was nothing on show to suggest 'this is not only a generational leap over PS360 but a massive leap over the original Wii'.

The rumoured specs of Wii U on the speculation threads just before E3 were '1.5GB of Ram, Tri Core CPU and a 480 FLOP GPU', (thats 17 times more Ram and 40 times the power of the original Wii GPU), did they show anything off at E3 2012 that came anywhere close to 40 times the power graphically ?, if so i must have missed that part...

To go from the Zelda and Bird tech demos at E3 2011 to Nintendo Land and NSMB U at E3 2012 shows a massive shift in Nintendo's attitude and strategy towards Wii U imo.

People won't accept it but i think those tech demos from E3 2011 were running on Wii U 'target hardware'.

I personally think they went with a much weaker / slower clocked GPU in Wii U than the one that was used to show those demos at E3 2011 due to manufacturing costs.

I will give them until TGS 2012 to prove me wrong and show a big IP, built from the ground up using the full power of Wii U.

Iwata boasted that Wii U is at "50% of it's power" and already putting out games on par with consoles that have had plenty of time to have development optimized for their hardware. And you're taking those specs (primarily the GPU) too matter-of-factly.

 

[Apophis2036]

Obviously its hyperbole, but I think what people actually mean by that is that you don't need WiiU level of power (or even 360, for that matter) to run Pikmin 3.

It already looks great because of its artstyle, but they can make it look even better.

I love the look of Pikmin 3 and if i get a Wii U at launch it will be the first game i buy, my point was that you didn't look at it and say 'wow now that is next gen', it was a Wii game originally remember.

Apart from some nice water / glass / fire effects and the fact it's running in HD, it doesn't look all that different from Pikmin 2 imo.

 

[Oddduck]

Pikmin 3 should have been Nintendo's opportunity to show off Wii U's graphical abilities.

Missed opportunity. It looks beautiful, but not in the way people had hoped.

People expected more from a first party game's graphics. Especially after the Zelda tech demo.

 

[IceDoesntHelp]

Ok i get the point those games prob couldn't run on Wii but if the resolution was reduced to SD and some of the textures scaled back then i don't see a problem at all with the statement.

You could say that about every game.

 

[Apophis2036]

Iwata boasted that Wii U is at "50% of it's power" and already putting out games on par with consoles that have had plenty of time to have development optimized for their hardware. And you're taking those specs (primarily the GPU) too matter-of-factly.

If it's only using 50% of it's power for things like Nintendo Land and NSMB U then why aren't multi platform games like AC 3 running @ at least 1080p / 60fps then ?.

The fact that it can't render pretty simple graphical first party titles like Nintendo Land, NSMB U and Pikmin 3 at 1080p / 30 fps is already worrying with regards to the consoles true power imo.

I think people have pretty much come to the conclusion that the Wii U GPU is 500 FLOPs at the very most, XB3 is 1500 and PS4 is 1800 FLOPs, this is going to be another Wii all over again with regards to multi platform games, esp with companies like Unreal and Crytek saying that the lowest FLOP count to run their engines next gen will be 1000.

Would it really have cost Nintendo that much extra to put a 1000 FLOP GPU chip in Wii U ?, they are already saving money on a HDD and no Blu Ray player, the least they could have done was throw in a meaty GPU, this console will more than likely have to last until around 2018 - 2020 afterall...

 

[bgassassin]

If it's only using 50% of it's power for things like Nintendo Land and NSMB U then why aren't multi platform games like AC 3 running @ at least 1080p / 60fps then ?.

The fact that it can't render pretty simple graphical first party titles like Nintendo Land, NSMB U and Pikmin 3 at 1080p / 30 fps is already worrying with regards to the consoles true power imo.

I think people have pretty much come to the conclusion that the Wii U GPU is 500 FLOPs at the very most, XB3 is 1500 and PS4 is 1800 FLOPs, this is going to be another Wii all over again with regards to multi platform games, esp with companies like Unreal and Crytek saying that the lowest FLOP count to run their engines next gen will be 1000.

Would it really have cost Nintendo that much extra to put a 1000 FLOP GPU chip in Wii U ?, they are already saving money on a HDD and no Blu Ray player, the least they could have done was throw in a meaty GPU, this console will more than likely have to last until around 2018 - 2020 afterall...

That would have been for all games. He said Wii U, not "a few titles".

 

[Apophis2036]

Pikmin 3 should have been Nintendo's opportunity to show off Wii U's graphical abilities.

Missed opportunity. It looks beautiful, but not in the way people had hoped.

People expected more from a first party game's graphics. Especially after the Zelda tech demo.

Agree with you 100%, i remember in the speculation threads people imagining Pikmin with the graphics of the Garden tech demo, what we got was Pikmin 2 in HD with some up to date graphical effects which is fine if it was along side two or three games that really showed off the power of the console but as is it's the most graphically advanced first party title.

As i said if you look at the E3 2011 tech demos and the actual games from E3 2012 it's like they had a massive shift in focus and just decided to try and go the casual route again with way out of date hardware compared to Sony and MS.

All i have said about E3 2012 and i haven't even mentioned the awful third party line up, no Borderlands 2, Farcry 3, Resident Evil 6 for 2012 and no Crysis 3, GTA V, Tomb Raider, Splinter Cell Black List and most worrying of all no Watch Dogs for 2013.

 

[Apophis2036]

You could say that about every game.

Where were the scaled down Wii versions of Assassins Creed 1, 2, Revelations and Brotherhood then ?.

 

[nordique]

Pikmin 3 is an odd game graphically. It has moments where it looks downright beautiful (the lighting effects on the leaves/fruit or the beautiful water).

But there are many moments where plenty of textures on the ground looklike a Wii game.

It looks very much like a game that started development on the Wii. But it wouldn't be possible to do some of those graphical enhancements on the Wii.

I agree it definitely started as a Wii game; Miyamoto confirmed as much and the default Wii Remote/Nunchuk control style demonstrates that.

It's pretty pretty though


Pikmin 2 (Gamecube/Wii) top
Pikmin 3 (Wii U) bottom

Pikmin 3 looks pretty good to me.

 

[Aguila]

^

I'm so excited.

 

[StreetsAhead]

I agree it definitely started as a Wii game; Miyamoto confirmed as much and the default Wii Remote/Nunchuk control style demonstrates that.

It's pretty pretty though


Pikmin 2 (Gamecube/Wii) top
Pikmin 3 (Wii U) bottom

Pikmin 3 looks pretty good to me.

Yep. People saying it's just an upscaled Wii game are crazy. Look at some of the small grass growing out of the ground in the background of the rock pikmin shot, or the boss battle shot.
Hopefully another 4-5 months of dev time from when the shots were taken will lead to even more improvements.

 

[bgassassin]

Nice comparison pics nordique. Shows a very noticeable difference.

If they could just slap some parallax mapping on the ground, that would go a looong way compared to what it looks like now.

 

[EatChildren]

Pikmin 3 looks good. But its Wii origins are pretty evident, and it looks like a current generation game through and through. Nintendo's art sells it more than the technology, and DOF is an easy way to round out the cinematic presentation while hiding asset blemishes.

It looks about as I expected.

 

[Ryoku]

If it's only using 50% of it's power for things like Nintendo Land and NSMB U then why aren't multi platform games like AC 3 running @ at least 1080p / 60fps then ?.

The fact that it can't render pretty simple graphical first party titles like Nintendo Land, NSMB U and Pikmin 3 at 1080p / 30 fps is already worrying with regards to the consoles true power imo.

I think people have pretty much come to the conclusion that the Wii U GPU is 500 FLOPs at the very most, XB3 is 1500 and PS4 is 1800 FLOPs, this is going to be another Wii all over again with regards to multi platform games, esp with companies like Unreal and Crytek saying that the lowest FLOP count to run their engines next gen will be 1000.

Would it really have cost Nintendo that much extra to put a 1000 FLOP GPU chip in Wii U ?, they are already saving money on a HDD and no Blu Ray player, the least they could have done was throw in a meaty GPU, this console will more than likely have to last until around 2018 - 2020 afterall...

Nononono. First off, you are directly comparing GPU power to FLOP rating. This is a flaw in and of itself. Second, even if FLOPs was an accurate measure of power, this would put the PS4's graphical power at 3.6 times that of the Wii U's, and the Xbox3 at 2.4-3 times that of the Wii U's. That's nowhere near the power difference between Wii vs PS360 (anyone have actual FLOP rating for the GPUs of the three consoles?). What you have to remember is that not only was Wii severely underpowered compared to its competitors, but it just did not have the proper, modern feature sets to even compete from a graphical standpoint. Wii U has all of those, and is not severely underpowered compared to the (rumored) competitors. And regarding the 1000 FLOP count, that was Epic and their UE4. Don't worry; don't listen to that bullshit. Wii U should be getting some form of that engine running on it. Think PS2-GC-Xbox situation in terms of power differences, except that all systems will have similar feature sets. Besides, what happened to games making the consoles? This is Gaf, I suppose.

 

[AniHawk]

the outside enviornments of pikmin 3 look nice, but the ground textures (holy shit i can't believe i'm actually talking about ground textures) look like they belong in a wii game. the texture work on the monsters reminds me of super mario galaxy's galaxy with the apples and caterpillar things and such.

i think the up-porting was redone as quickly as possible so the team could focus on nsmb2 and nsmbu. i can't believe those guys are releasing three games this year.

 

[AzaK]

Iwata boasted that Wii U is at "50% of it's power" and already putting out games on par with consoles that have had plenty of time to have development optimized for their hardware. And you're taking those specs (primarily the GPU) too matter-of-factly.

When did Iwata say that bg? Was he meaning that games shown at E3 are 50% of power?

Some of the stuff in Pikmin 3 looks quite nice and other stuff like that whale type creature looks like a very low res mesh. Curves are far from curves.

 

[Ryoku]

Iwata boasted that Wii U is at "50% of it's power" and already putting out games on par with consoles that have had plenty of time to have development optimized for their hardware. And you're taking those specs (primarily the GPU) too matter-of-factly.

Can I has source? :>

 

[GameplayWhore]

When did Iwata say that bg? Was he meaning that games shown at E3 are 50% of power?

Obviously Nintendo hasn't yet unlocked the GamePad's undocumented GPU.

 

[AzaK]

Obviously Nintendo hasn't yet unlocked the GamePad's undocumented GPU.

Now *THAT* would be a megaton!

 

[bgassassin]

When did Iwata say that bg? Was he meaning that games shown at E3 are 50% of power?

Can I has source? :>

http://www.nintendo.co.jp/ir/en/library/events/120606qa/05.html

Answer number 11.

Of course, because we have designed a new hardware system, we are using new technology and we are using new GPUs.　But as we have to devote significant costs to the Wii U GamePad, if we were to apply the same level of enhancement that other console manufacturers shoot for to the processing power component, the Wii U would become extremely high in price, and it would not be affordable.　In other words, we think that the way that the various console manufacturers are allocating their budgets to the hardware is different from the way that we allocate our budget to the hardware. Ultimately, we’re looking to maintain a price point for the Wii U that is reasonable in comparison to the value to be offered.

There is also another differentiation point here. While existing platforms have engines that development teams have tuned and optimized for six to seven years after their respective launches, the Wii U is a new platform that has slightly different architecture and, since development teams have only just begun development on software for it, they are only at the halfway point to utilizing its full potential. Despite this fact, however, if you look at the game “Assassin’s Creed III,” which was recently announced or shown, you can’t see much difference when you compare it with games for other companies’ systems. I hope that helps you to understand a little bit better.

 

[Effect]

You make it sound like Retro's Wii U game is already a killer app just because it's made by Retro, and yet nobody knows what they are working on.

I hope Retro's game (a game nobody has any information on) lives up to people's ridiculously insane expectations.

Well we know the quality of Retro's work. We know they are working on something big. Their first game for the Wii U, Nintendo's first HD system. Expectations are rightfully high. They have four games under their belt, all successes and highly regarded. Even unseen I don't think potential killer app is the wrong way to look at what they're working on. It's the one study Nintendo can solidly use in order to appeal to the western core gamer. They can do things that the internal Japanese studios don't seem capable of.

 

[Van Owen]

Pretty big power brick.

 

[StreetsAhead]

Well we know the quality of Retro's work. We know they are working on something big. Their first game for the Wii U, Nintendo's first HD system. Expectations are rightfully high. They have four games under their belt, all successes and highly regarded. Even unseen I don't think potential killer app is the wrong way to look at what they're working on. It's the one study Nintendo can solidly use in order to appeal to the western core gamer. They can do things that the internal Japanese studios don't seem capable of.

Like deciding to put their games in first-person, or re-designing old racing tracks.

 

[Terrell]

That's a shame. It's the first Tomb Raider game that looked genuinely interesting to me ever for some reason.

Ehhh, I think Drake Raider has actually done the opposite and soured me on Tomb Raider. Oh well.

So GameTrailers gave it's "Most Disappointing" award to Nintendo Land. One of the complains being the visuals.

I though Nintendo Land didn't looked half bad, especially the Zelda mini game.

Am I the only one thinking this?

No, you're not. Digital Foundry also said as much. There's great texture work and lighting going on throughout.

I have no interest in the Rayman/NSMBU additions. Not only do they require another player using the GamePad, but like you said, it seems made for the "Hey I'm helping" player who isn't very good at video games. Works for children and trying to get your non-game savvy girlfriend into it, but looking at from a solo player like myself, stuff like that doesn't excite me in the least.

ViewtifulJC hates playing games with others. Noted.

Also, I just don't get this stance.

Nintendo has all of its games take advantage of their control innovations: "why does everything have to have waggle in it? FUCK YOU, Nintendo."

Nintendo has games that use the controller innovations in auxiliary ways where it makes sense not to use it fully: "Why aren't you giving me enough reasons to be excited about this controller? FUCK YOU, Nintendo."

Rewatching the Rayman Legends trailer, and it made me think how cool asymmetric couch co-op could be.

Was talking to a friend. Imagine like a game built around the concept of escort missions.

One person has to hide, find alternate paths to avoid damage on the subscreen.
While the other engages in like clearing the path for them
disabling cameras
distracting guards
Locating ammo or secure locations to hide.

Would encourage constant communication.. and really make escort missions at least somewhat enjoyable.

Best example: car chase/getaway scene... one shoots out the window while the other drives, no split-screen.

All the hate on NintendoLand basically confirms to me that I'm a bit disconnected from the "core" gamer. Yeah, it shouldn't of been the finale at the press conference, but the game still looks awesome and seems to be getting great hands-on from almost everyone who has played it.

I've even come to terms with it replacing Wii Sports (as long as I get a Wii Sports U down the road).

I personally think it's the best thing Nintendo could do. Wii Sports works to get people interested in games, but NintendoLand I think bridges the game, in a minor way, between casual and enthusiast gaming experiences. The stuff in NintendoLand is more like... well, a video game, and softens people up to richer experiences, especially when they move on to games like Mario and Rayman. They won't be satisfied being a support character forever, they'll want to try the REAL deal, with an experienced gamer being a support character there to assist and encourage them, preventing the rage-quit "I just don't get it" scenarios that many people experienced at the infancy of the medium.

 

[TunaLover]

Pretty big power brick.

Holly crap, it's like 2 Wii power bricks duct taped.

 

[japtor]

Pikmin 3 should have been Nintendo's opportunity to show off Wii U's graphical abilities.

Missed opportunity. It looks beautiful, but not in the way people had hoped.

People expected more from a first party game's graphics. Especially after the Zelda tech demo.

I was hoping for Pikmin born from the fires of hell...and Gun Pikmin. Sent by Olimar to eradicate this world of humans.

If it's only using 50% of it's power for things like Nintendo Land and NSMB U then why aren't multi platform games like AC 3 running @ at least 1080p / 60fps then ?.

You'd need like 300% more power to go from 720p/30 to 1080p/60 actually...that's using ghetto math of course since I'm sure there's more to it than just raw pixels. But basically it's a significant jump needed just for that, enough that I wonder if 1080p/60 will be standard at all or whether most devs will just go with 720 (which wasn't always achieved to begin with) and use the extra power to draw prettier stuff.

Nice comparison pics nordique. Shows a very noticeable difference.

If they could just slap some parallax mapping on the ground, that would go a looong way compared to what it looks like now.

Yeah that's my only complaint with Pikmin 3 graphically. Everything else looks great, it's just the ground and some other large surfaces (like the tree stump in one shot looks flat too) that look lacking.

http://www.nintendo.co.jp/ir/en/library/events/120606qa/05.html

Answer number 11.

I read that to mean in terms of development, like the "halfway point" is more metaphorical, just getting stuff ported and/or up and running, while there's still a ways to go as far as getting the most out of the hardware. Not entirely different points, I just wouldn't take it as meaning it's literally 50% more powerful than what has been shown (but technically that wouldn't rule it out either).

 

[Van Owen]

Holly crap, it's like 2 Wii power bricks duct taped.

Yeah, personally I'd rather have a larger console with a built in PSU like PS3.

 

[Touch]

Yeah, personally I'd rather have a larger console with a built in PSU like PS3.

Same. I don't have the room for power bricks the way my shit is set up. It would basically have to lay on my desk :/

 

[TunaLover]

Yeah, personally I'd rather have a larger console with a built in PSU like PS3.

Meh, I prefer small form factor consoles, silent system that doesn't get hot quickly, I don't care about the power brick, since it's always on the floor behind the TV shelf.

 

[Oddduck]

Gamesradar did an article going through the rumors about Wii U in the last year, and the probability percentage of each rumor coming true:

http://www.gamesradar.com/wii-u-rumor/

I thought it was a neat little read.

Also on March 12th, Forgetthebox said "At least 3 new IP's" http://www.forgetthebox.net/mag/cul...-least-three-new-franchises-for-the-wii-u.php They also said Nintendo would show 10-11 games at E3.


They probably meant these since their all published by Nintendo:

New IP's published by Nintendo

1) Nintendo Land
2) Project P-100
3) Lego City Undercover
4) SiNG
5) Game & Wario
6) Wii U™ Panorama View

Existing IP's published by Nintendo

7) Ninja Gaiden 3
8) Pikmin 3
9) New Super Mario Bros U
10) Wii Fit U

Retro's game probably could have been the 11th potential game, and that's why Forgetthebox wasn't sure if it would be 10 or 11 games. I bet they didn't know if it would show up or not.

"Nintendo will be publishing/releasing four Wii U games of their own before the end of 2012" - Forgetthebox

They also mention 70 games in development, but they never say 70 games at E3.

 

[bgassassin]

I read that to mean in terms of development, like the "halfway point" is more metaphorical, just getting stuff ported and/or up and running, while there's still a ways to go as far as getting the most out of the hardware. Not entirely different points, I just wouldn't take it as meaning it's literally 50% more powerful than what has been shown (but technically that wouldn't rule it out either).

I see your reasoning, but for him to say full potential, give reasons beforehand supporting the claim, and compare it to the other consoles I can't see it being metaphorical. Maybe hyperbolic, but not metaphorical. Other than that I think you are saying the same thing as me. And it doesn't take from the fact that Iwata made the claim.

 

[Phife Dawg]

Yeah, personally I'd rather have a larger console with a built in PSU like PS3.

Power brick = less heat where you put the console, less space needed for the console, if brick bricks you only need to replace the brick and not send in the console, can be hidden behind cupboard unlike huge console

Each to his own though.

 

[Agent Unknown]

Those Pikmin comparison pics were helpful. It may have started as a Wii project but darned if it don't look pretty.

Pretty big power brick.

That is a monster. What is this from?

And will you look at the gorgeous black Gamepad and console? Please let this indicate black for launch.

 

[Dreamwriter]

Like deciding to put their games in first-person, or re-designing old racing tracks.

It was Nintendo of Japan that made the decision to change Metroid Prime to be first person, and Retro Studios fought tooth and nail against it, even having people leave the company over it when Nintendo forced it on them. As I understand it, the first Metroid Prime was very much a product of Nintendo reps (including Miyamoto) having to come in and make the game fun.

Admittedly, that was kind-of a different Retro than we have today, but I personally don't think you can say Retro by themselves made 4 great games. Retro had a LOT of help making their first one, and of course the next two games were just evolutions of that first one. It's why I always wonder where people get the idea that just because Retro Studios is working on a game, that it's going to be epic and awesome, as if they are one of the best developers out there. It's very possible that they are great, but I don't think we've seen enough from them to make that call yet.

 

[Oddduck]

It was Nintendo of Japan that made the decision to change Metroid Prime to be first person, and Retro Studios fought tooth and nail against it, even having people leave the company over it when Nintendo forced it on them. As I understand it, the first Metroid Prime was very much a product of Nintendo reps (including Miyamoto) having to come in and make the game fun.

Admittedly, that was kind-of a different Retro than we have today, but I personally don't think you can say Retro by themselves made 4 great games. Retro had a LOT of help making their first one, and of course the next two games were just evolutions of that first one. It's why I always wonder where people get the idea that just because Retro Studios is working on a game, that it's going to be epic and awesome, as if they are one of the best developers out there. It's very possible that they are great, but I don't think we've seen enough from them to make that call yet.

I always felt people give too much credit to Retro for MP Trilogy, and not enough credit to Nintendo.

I saw an article where a Retro employee talked about how tough it was to deal with Miyamoto during Metroid Prime 1's development because he rejected so many of their ideas. Which is a good thing. It made Metroid Prime the great game it is today.

 

[Agent Unknown]

It was Nintendo of Japan that made the decision to change Metroid Prime to be first person, and Retro Studios fought tooth and nail against it, even having people leave the company over it when Nintendo forced it on them. As I understand it, the first Metroid Prime was very much a product of Nintendo reps (including Miyamoto) having to come in and make the game fun.

Admittedly, that was kind-of a different Retro than we have today, but I personally don't think you can say Retro by themselves made 4 great games. Retro had a LOT of help making their first one, and of course the next two games were just evolutions of that first one. It's why I always wonder where people get the idea that just because Retro Studios is working on a game, that it's going to be epic and awesome, as if they are one of the best developers out there. It's very possible that they are great, but I don't think we've seen enough from them to make that call yet.

Yeah, they definitely got a lot of help from Miyamoto and then later helpful supervision from Kensuke Tanabe who should still be there/on board since he helped with DKCR. And of course having Kenji Yamamoto as a composer for all of your games = instant epic win. They still are obviously amazingly talented though, all the babysitting and tutoring in the world isn't going to turn a completely dysfunctional brat into a prodigy.

It would have been interesting if they'd had Sakamoto come in to crack skulls instead of Miyamoto.

edit: Anybody remember way back in the day, the supposed ultra whiny insider account from an anonymous Retro dev who contacted a fan site and said when Miyamoto arrived "It was like Emperor Palpatine visiting the Death Star." lol

 

[Instro]

Kenichiro Takaki (Marvelous): Said that the Wii U gives the chance for many unique ideas -- using the control pad to observe bishojo girls, for instance.

Awwww yea.

 

[StreetsAhead]

It was Nintendo of Japan that made the decision to change Metroid Prime to be first person, and Retro Studios fought tooth and nail against it, even having people leave the company over it when Nintendo forced it on them. As I understand it, the first Metroid Prime was very much a product of Nintendo reps (including Miyamoto) having to come in and make the game fun.

Admittedly, that was kind-of a different Retro than we have today, but I personally don't think you can say Retro by themselves made 4 great games. Retro had a LOT of help making their first one, and of course the next two games were just evolutions of that first one. It's why I always wonder where people get the idea that just because Retro Studios is working on a game, that it's going to be epic and awesome, as if they are one of the best developers out there. It's very possible that they are great, but I don't think we've seen enough from them to make that call yet.

That was my point in response to Effect's comment - Retro, while no doubt talented - doesn't make their decisions in a vacuum and not everything they do is gold.

I was particularly responding to the 'do things Japanese studios can't' bit.

 

[Aostia]

Hi guys, yesterday I had the chance to try the Wii U (and the 3ds incoming games, of course), so if you have questions, I'll be happy to reply you.
Maybe I'll post my impressions later, nothing new obviously.

 

[Agent Unknown]

Hi guys, yesterday I had the chance to try the Wii U (and the 3ds incoming games, of course), so if you have questions, I'll be happy to reply you.
Maybe I'll post my impressions later, nothing new obviously.

Did you get to play Mario? If so, does the game force you to shake the Gamepad for power up stuff?

 

[blu]

Have you seen the P-100 section I was talking about? It's here at 5:50. The main screen stays in the isometric perspective, while the GamePad screen takes an over the shoulder interior viewpoint, and you have to work with conjuction to both of them. Now I guess you do like a split screen or a little screen that shows you the numbers, but I think stuff like that is cool and can possibly lead to other interesting uses in the game.

Yes, I've been closely following all P-100 media. I you find that cool, I'm glad it works for you. I still think game's big advantage of the pad is in the touch controls.

I have no interest in the Rayman/NSMBU additions. Not only do they require another player using the GamePad, but like you said, it seems made for the "Hey I'm helping" player who isn't very good at video games. Works for children and trying to get your non-game savvy girlfriend into it, but looking at from a solo player like myself, stuff like that doesn't excite me in the least.

While it works for less skilled players, it also works for game-savvy people as well - a good 'helping' player can do things with the touch controls that are virtually impossible with a stick/d-pad. And yes, I've played Trine. A skillful rayman/NSMBU helping player essentially unlocks new skilled game styles, limited only by the players' imagination: team speedruns, no damage runs, you name it.

 

[Aostia]

Did you get to play Mario? If so, does the game force you to shake the Gamepad for power up stuff?

I've played only with the gamepad, both in multi and 1 player only
In multy, it's not so interesting: I prefer the interactions that Rayman offers, because they seems to involve the 5th player more and in a more funny way
In single player, you play normally with analog and buttons, you don't have to shake the gamepad to activate anithing (maybe it's optional, but not mandatory because I activated the flying squirrel power up with a button)

 

[Ashler]

Wii-U is now listed @ Amazon.de for 399€, here

Contrary to the previous amazon.co.uk listing, this looks pretty official... from the page layout, detailed information and game titles listing.

Edit: First paragraph on the item description translates to:

"Important information about Wii U:

Please note that Nintendo has not yet provided retail price and the price may drop even more. You always benefit from our Pre-order Price Guarantee: Get the best price available between the time of your order and the release of the console. According to recent information, the console will be released before Christmas. "

So yeah, this is just a price place holder.

 

[Agent Unknown]

...you don't have to shake the gamepad to activate anithing (maybe it's optional, but not mandatory because I activated the flying squirrel power up with a button)

Awesome, that's a relief to know that, thanks!

In single player, you play normally with analog and buttons, you

Just analog on Gamepad or can you play with the Dpad too?

 

[disap.ed]

Hi guys, yesterday I had the chance to try the Wii U (and the 3ds incoming games, of course), so if you have questions, I'll be happy to reply you.
Maybe I'll post my impressions later, nothing new obviously.

Did you play with the WiiU Controller Pro? Does it have rumble?

Wii-U is now listed @ Amazon.de for 399€, here

Contrary to the previous amazon.co.uk listing, this looks pretty official... from the page layout, detailed information and game titles listing.

Wow, I really doubt this is the real price, but if yes they have lost their mind.

 

[User Tron]

Wii-U is now listed @ Amazon.de for 399€, here

Contrary to the previous amazon.co.uk listing, this looks pretty official... from the page layout, detailed information and game titles listing.

Bitte beachten Sie, dass Nintendo noch keine unverbindliche Preisempfehlung herausgegeben hat und der Preis noch sinken kann.

Please note that Nintendo has not announced an official price and that the price may decrease.

 

[Aostia]

Awesome, that's a relief to know that, thanks!



Just analog on Gamepad or can you play with the Dpad too?

Sorry: you play with the Dpad, not with analog. My mistake. And I don't know if with the remote you have to shake (I'll try to ask about this one of my colleagues that played with the remote!)

Did you play with the WiiU Controller Pro? Does it have rumble?

No rumble yesterday. I don't know if the gamepad was not final, or if there was no game with rumble features.

 

[Ashler]

That would be an insane price. No way. Wii U might be dead on arrival at that price. Unless everyone in the company has gone completely nuts, there's no way they're gonna sell it at that price.

I agree, no way will I get a Wii U for 400€, specially considering that launch line-up. Hope the price is just a placeholder.

Also, just ran it through google translation, and it appears that it is, in fact, a placeholder only. I also updated my original post.

 

[User Tron]

preordered

 

[Agent Unknown]

Sorry: you play with the Dpad, not with analog. My mistake. And I don't know if with the remote you have to shake (I'll try to ask about this one of my colleagues that played with the remote!)

Thanks! I was worried because in an interview with IGN Tezuka talked about how 'you can shake the Gamepad to get a boost with the Squirrel suit.' So must just be optional. I don't mind shaking the Wiimote much but being forced to shake the Gamepad would have been awful.

No rumble yesterday. I don't know if the gamepad was not final, or if there was no game with rumble features.

Did the Wii U Pro controller feel comfortable/natural? How did the button/stick placement feel? Thanks for these great impressions! Was this a Club Nintendo invite or your job?