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[EatChildren]

One thing, you have to see that have a system that is 2x over another doesn't mean that you will see or have a game "two times better" (in resolution, framerate, etc, etc) ... the use of the resources to make a thing look/run two times better is more than a 2x gap.

Only to clarify, althought I think most of you know it.

The biggest unknown for me is how fast Nintendo can catch up to the hardware. The advantages developers had with both the PS3 and X360 was that the tech was relatively modern, and so earlier games, despite looking worse than what the hardware could produce, were still on par with other games on the market. Over time, as developers became more accustomed to the hardware and evolved their software technologies, we got better looking games. Nintendo really cant afford to play that same game of catch up. They need technologically proficient titles out the gate.

This could also be one of the factors that ultimately separate games between the Wii U and the PS4/XboxWhatever. Early titles on the latter two systems may be fairly easily portable to the Wii U given earlier technology understanding. But as time goes by, and developers learn to exploit the more powerful hardware of Sony and Microsoft's new systems, then we might see really significant differences between game IQ.

 

[Refreshment.01]

That has more to do with their take on building a contoller (they probably wanted to keep it simple or something) rather than cheapness... It's not a very strong example anyway.

"Not strong" according to your point of view DCKing, to me it's obvious what went there. The Dpad was too small so it was uncomfortable and the choices they made didn't ended up simplifying the design. If that was indeed their motivation, Nintendo did some incredible poor choices. Although like i said in another post the face button layout its fantastic in the GC controller and the digital clicks in the analog triggers are great. Is kind of sad, a GC pad with 2 proper shoulder buttons instead of "z", bigger cross pad and equal depressible thumbsticks would have been miles away in confort and functionality to what we have today in a 360, PS3 or Classic pad pro.

Okay. You are right that Nintendo is 'cheap' compared to their competitors in that way. What you're talking about is cheapness in accessories and accessory options, which is indeed something Nintendo could but won't improve on. That is something else than the cheapness MrBelmontvedere and me were talking about, who thought Nintendo would cut down on processing power out of sheer cheapness.

Well for the most part in terms of processing power (not getting into handhelds) Nintendo has been quite competent. GC was an amazing well thought out hardware design. The problem with the Wiiu is that they are limiting themselves in the processing department ,not necessarily because of cheapness, but more so because of that tablet type controller.

 

[m.i.s.]

A small point but, if I remember rightly, the d-pads are actually different. I think the GBA one was actually bigger...

Nah, they're identical. Right down to the arrow indentations imprinted on the surface.

As regards console controllers, would've liked to have seen the idea of a trackball in place of the right analog controller imlpemented.

 

[blu]

Let's not argue the Wii, the thing doesn't even have an ethernet port. Or the prices of their digital content.

I do understand these things save cents that when multiplied by millions save a significant amount of money but that doesn't make then any less cheap in comparison to other companies.

I never understood the 'wii is cheap - it does not even have a built-in ethernet port' when the device has built-in wifi. Seriously, people, you can pick a bunch of things in there to have a valid argument, what's with the frigging ethernet port?

 

[DCKing]

"Not strong" according to your point of view DCKing, to me it's obvious what went there. The Dpad was too small so it was uncomfortable and the choices they made didn't ended up simplifying the design. If that was indeed their motivation, Nintendo did some incredible poor choices. Although like i said in another post the face button layout its fantastic in the GC controller and the digital clicks in the analog triggers are great. Is kind of sad, a GC pad with 2 proper shoulder buttons instead of "z", bigger cross pad and equal depressible thumbsticks would have been miles away in confort and functionality to what we have today in a 360, PS3 or Classic pad pro.

What are you even arguing here? Nintendo put out the best controller of the generation, but it not being perfect was an indication of 'cheapness'? Ergonomics isn't free you know. Are the weird analogs and lack of analog triggers on the PS2 controller signs of cheapness as well? The bad D-pad on the Xbox Controller S? Come on.

Well for the most part in terms of processing power (not getting into handhelds) Nintendo has been quite competent. GC was an amazing well thought out hardware design. The problem with the Wiiu is that they are limiting themselves in the processing department ,not necessarily because of cheapness, but more so because of that tablet type controller.

All I was arguing was that Nintendo wouldn't cut down on processing power because of cheapness, happy to see we're in agreement. They will have designed the thing with a certain performance and price in mind. The tablet controller will take some budget (not that much though), so yeah that's a shame. It'll still be the most expensive base console Nintendo has ever made, and we're going to get internal hardware that shows that.

 

[monome]

This could also be one of the factors that ultimately separate games between the Wii U and the PS4/XboxWhatever. Early titles on the latter two systems may be fairly easily portable to the Wii U given earlier technology understanding. But as time goes by, and developers learn to exploit the more powerful hardware of Sony and Microsoft's new systems, then we might see really significant differences between game IQ.

AAA games depend on their presentation to make people forget about their relative short length and somewhat uninspired gameplay.
At best during its first year WiiU will get some AAA games ports with a touch of AA and some better textures if they exist for the PC version.
Then a year later, devs will have the next XBOX and will want to show off, WiiU will get pretty much on par graphics, then a year after that PS4 will be there and both MS and SONY first party studios will have games to show, obliging 3rd parties to pump out more impressive games and by then WiiU will be happy to get lesser ports if any...

Nintendo needs to buy studios, and get a broader range of Nintendo games out. Nothing tech-wise can help them since they will launch shortly before MS/SONY and are not willing to go crazy with their business plan.

 

[Maxrunner]

Circle pads are much more confortable than analog sticks, pple really need to let them go...

 

[Übermatik]

Circle pads are much more confortable than analog sticks, pple really need to let them go...

As much as I support Nintendo's continuation of the circle pads onto the WiiU tablet controller, and seeing as I don't find them too uncomfortable, I have to disagree and say that analog sticks have and always will be the best option for control.
I always feel like I'm going to break the circle pads, and they don't give you the level of satisfaction you get form that 360* feel of an analog stick.
Difficult to explain, but the 'tilt' of the stick just feels right... where as a flat analog stick is weird and unresponsive.

 

[Refreshment.01]

What are you even arguing here? Nintendo put out the best controller of the generation, but it not being perfect was an indication of 'cheapness'?

You seem to ignore points already made in previous post, i'll regurgitate again for your understanding. "Cheap" because they recycled GBA cross pads that weren't suited for a home console controller, when in the past they had really good cross pads in their controllers. And "cheap" because the answer to developers demands regarding the extra shoulder buttons was 1 gimped uncomfortable to use "z" button.

That's why i think is a fair showcase of cheapness, hope it's clear to you now.

I never understood the 'wii is cheap - it does not even have a built-in ethernet port' when the device has built-in wifi. Seriously, people, you can pick a bunch of things in there to have a valid argument, what's with the frigging ethernet port?

No problem i'll explain it to you. The thing is reduced to "convenience". So people expected the Wii to offer both connection solutions. Plus, the wired connection is more reliable for online multiplayer gaming and less dependent of issues that pop with the wireless ones. And an ethernet port was fucking cheap at that stage in time.

What i don't understand is why some of you guys are being so defensive regarding this matter, it's not some type of personal insult directed to you, just pointing out some "cheap" politics from a game company.

 

[StreetsAhead]

Nintendo needs to buy studios, and get a broader range of Nintendo games out. Nothing tech-wise can help them since they will launch shortly before MS/SONY and are not willing to go crazy with their business plan.

I feel they'd be just as well served continuing the contract model devs for games like Strikers, F-Zero GX, Luigi's Mansion 2, OoT3D and maybe set up a new internal team/studio or three.

 

[rhoq]

For Wii U Ambassadors.

Ha! Good one.

Spoiler

Sad, but true.

You don't think they've learned from their most recent mistake?

 

[monome]

I feel they'd be just as well served continuing the contract model devs for games like Strikers, F-Zero GX, Luigi's Mansion 2, OoT3D and maybe set up a new internal team/studio or three.

I blame Nintendo for having only family oriented IPs.
I would like to see a PlatinumGames buy-out for example, something that would force Nintendo to consider participating to the development of a mature game and get on with it.

 

[blu]

No problem i'll explain it to you. The thing is reduced to "convenience". So people expected the Wii to offer both connection solutions. Plus, the wired connection is more reliable for online multiplayer gaming and less dependent of issues that pop with the wireless ones. And an ethernet port was fucking cheap at that stage in time.

Erm, wii offers both connections. One of them is bundled in the shelf price, and that's the more expensive to produce. By far. The cheaper-to-produce one comes as an add-on. Some of the competition models offer exactly the opposite - whenever they have one of the options built-in, it's the cheaper eth one. If nintendo were so bent over to save cents from connectivity, they would have cut the wifi module and bundled in an eth PHY and a jack for a fraction of the price, not the other way around.

What i don't understand is why some of you guys are being so defensive regarding this matter, it's not some type of personal insult directed to you, just pointing out some "cheap" politics from a game company.

So you chose to ignore the part of my post where I said you could've picked better examples of where the wii cut corners to save cents, and decided to throw in the above shit for color? Nice.

 

[Refreshment.01]

Erm, wii offers both connections. One of them is bundled in the shelf price, and that's the more expensive to produce. By far. The cheaper-to-produce one comes as an add-on. Some of the competition models offer exactly the opposite - whenever they have one of the options built-in, it's the cheaper eth one. If nintendo were so bent over to save cents from connectivity, they would have cut the wifi module and bundled in an eth PHY and a jack for a fraction of the price, not the other way around.

Look at the bold part man, your argument falls apart, because the competition now is offering both connectivity options (ethernet and wireless) right now out of the box.

Maybe Nintendo included the more expensive option, but they cheap out in the less expensive part, which would have resulted very convenient to lots of users.

So you chose to ignore the part of my post where I said you could've picked better examples of where the wii cut corners to save cents, and decided to throw in the above shit for color? Nice.

You are choosing to concentrate on just one example i gave. There are other examples in there that goes to show how some times Nintendo take decisions on the obsessively "cheap" side. I gave GC ones, 1 related to their Digital Distribution prices and a quick 1 regarding the Wii, this is not a "how cheap Nintendo is thread" so i felt there wasn't any need to write an essay on the cost cutting measures Nintendo took with it's design.

No need to feel hurt about it or insulting me by calling my statements "shit", more so when they are facts for the most part.

 

[Maximilian E.]

Question: is Nintendo limiting themselves again with the controller?
Meaning, Nintendo seems once again be the only one with a different controller, both MS and Sony will most likely continue with new iterations of their controllers plus new versions of kinect/move.

Once more Nintendo will be the odd man out, Is this something that will be of nintys advantage or disadvantage?

And once again, Nintendo should not release wii u at more than 299.
Otherwise, people will wait and see what MS and Sony will release and Nintendo will lose potential sales.

And a 299 price point will affect performance of the machine, Nintendo will not want to release a machine with a loss..

 

[Maxrunner]

Question: is Nintendo limiting themselves again with the controller?
Meaning, Nintendo seems once again be the only one with a different controller, both MS and Sony will most likely continue with new iterations of their controllers plus new versions of kinect/move.

Once more Nintendo will be the odd man out, Is this something that will be of nintys advantage or disadvantage?

And once again, Nintendo should not release wii u at more than 299.
Otherwise, people will wait and see what MS and Sony will release and Nintendo will lose potential sales.

And a 299 price point will affect performance of the machine, Nintendo will not want to release a machine with a loss..

The controller can do everything that the other two do. Also you´re forgetting about the wiimote plus that will probably be included.

 

[Cerebral Assassin]

I already don't like using dual analogs for FPSes, but this image just reminds me how much I HATE the layout of the U Pad. Having the stick circle pad directly above the buttons just seems horribly uncomfortable. Either move the circle pad below and to the left of the buttons like everyone else, or move the button cluster over to the left some.

Yeah I can see why you wouldn't want to be able to press a button while still being able to manipulate the right stick/pad.

It is the upper limit. Nintendo will carefuly monitor how much they can get away with i.e. how low they can go with production cost, when they base WiiU on a gimmick (touch screen!). It's always about profitability for Nintendo, and huge profitability. They will not go for anything too advanced.

Also, shipping for anything more than 299$ will be a suicide, so you need to factor that in as well.

N64 was pretty powerful for its time, & that was launching with a "gimmick" too.

I blame Nintendo for having only family oriented IPs.
I would like to see a PlatinumGames buy-out for example, something that would force Nintendo to consider participating to the development of a mature game and get on with it.

Nintendo have at least one non-family orientated IP, its just they haven't used it for a while. Also buying P* would be of little use, they don't strike me to be the type to stay around developing sequel after sequel (they should have bought Bizarre Creations though, a studio which is experienced in meeting console launches with competent online modes,it would have a perfect fit in the short-term at least).

Look at the bold part man, your argument falls apart, because the competition now is offering both connectivity options (ethernet and wireless) right now out of the box.

Maybe Nintendo included the more expensive option, but they cheap out in the less expensive part, which would have resulted very convenient to lots of users. [/b]
.

It took MS 5 years to have both connectivity options, & they chose the less popular option to include(& charged a ludicrous amount for a wireless adaptor), to be honest only Sony cannot be accused of being cheap while developing their last console.

 

[Refreshment.01]

Question: is Nintendo limiting themselves again with the controller?
Meaning, Nintendo seems once again be the only one with a different controller, both MS and Sony will most likely continue with new iterations of their controllers plus new versions of kinect/move.

Once more Nintendo will be the odd man out, Is this something that will be of nintys advantage or disadvantage?

Think about it for a second. Let's say MS and Sony offers their traditional controllers plus new iterations of the alternative ones (move/Kinect) and you have Nintendo offering the tablet and Wii Remote. Developer time and resources are limited, how do they split up to support all these input options? The thing aggravates when one considers that the really interesting concepts for the tablet, the ones that are more involving than a HUD or inventory management, are so close to the core of a game design that they need to be implemented from the project early stages, i mean, is not something that it's easy to tak on to an existing project and something that requires more out of the box thinking.

And as recent history shows, third party developers are more than content to give Nintendo the shaft in regards of support.

The WiiU will net Nintendo profits no doubt about it, their high quality software releases and loyal fan base guarantees that. But that has also been the case with most of their devices. What hurts is that i will be a drop off coming from the success of the Wii, which as of right now looks like the true revolutionary concept.

It took MS 5 years to have both connectivity options, & they chose the less popular option to include(& charged a ludicrous amount for a wireless adaptor), to be honest only Sony cannot be accused of being cheap while developing their last console.

Yep, MS dudes are fucking thieves to charge as much as they did for the stupid wireless adapter, although there were other economical realities MS had to deal with since they were not packing up Xbox1 level hardware in their next gen box. The fact that remains is Nintendo will never put that ethernet port in a Wii, ever.

 

[Mr. Wonderful]

No. Just soft, delicate thumbs.

But really, the 3DS's A button is a wanker and I hate it.

This happened to me too last night! I thought only the D-Pad was bad, but then the face buttons began hurting as well.

 

[muu]

Question: is Nintendo limiting themselves again with the controller?
Meaning, Nintendo seems once again be the only one with a different controller, both MS and Sony will most likely continue with new iterations of their controllers plus new versions of kinect/move.

Once more Nintendo will be the odd man out, Is this something that will be of nintys advantage or disadvantage?

And once again, Nintendo should not release wii u at more than 299.
Otherwise, people will wait and see what MS and Sony will release and Nintendo will lose potential sales.

And a 299 price point will affect performance of the machine, Nintendo will not want to release a machine with a loss..

You may see less extensive use of the pad in multiplat games, but I don't see what the Wii pad couldn't do vs traditional controller setups. A lot of the PC ports will probably put it to good use by placing hotkeys on there, allowing controls to use a hybrid of current PC (keyboard shortcuts ahoy) and console (stick and button combo shortcuts) affairs.

It's probably best for them to take on a 299 price tag, but they may be able to get away w/ an upper limit of 349 if they can pull off a spectacular title at launch. I think there's a lot of people underestimating what can be achieved w/ a few years' advancement in tech combined w/ good art direction.

 

[Cerebral Assassin]

Yep, MS dudes are fucking thieves to charge as much as they did for the stupid wireless adapter, although there were other economical realities MS had to deal with since they weren't not packing up Xbox1 level hardware in their next gen box. The fact that remains is Nintendo will never put that ethernet port in a Wii, ever.

Why should they? The majority of people will be satisfied with Wi-Fi, & for the rest I'm sure a adapter will be available (same reason as a lack of a HDD, plenty of people will be fine with just the flash memory as long as forced installs aren't used frequently).

As for MS's "economic realities" do you think they could have made a console the size of the Wii even if they used Xbox level HW?

 

[Refreshment.01]

As for MS's "economic realities" do you think they could have made a console the size of the Wii even if they used Xbox level HW?

How is this important at all? Honest question here, i don't get what's relevant about it.

What i can tell you is the Wii with the same hardware could have been the size of a PS2 or a 360 and it would have still be the sales phenomenon it was, it just that it wouldn't made any sense to pack it in that size. The controller was the main attraction.

The majority of people will be satisfied with Wi-Fi, & for the rest I'm sure a adapter will be available (same reason as a lack of a HDD, plenty of people will be fine with just the flash memory as long as forced installs aren't used frequently).

Leave the HDD out of this, the price of a ethernet adapter and a hard drive are not even in the same realm of costs to compare them. HDD's also have the habit to maintain a fixed cost, only variation is that the density increases. By no means i'm suggesting to include the ethernet adapterin the Wii at this stage. Also please take note that even if "the majority of people will be satisfied with Wi-Fi" look at how both Sony and MS still pack the ethernet input even when they could save some small costs by cutting it. Again they choose to retain them for user convenience.

 

[Cerebral Assassin]

How is this important at all? Honest question here, i don't get what's relevant about it.

What i can tell you is the Wii with the same hardware could have been the size of a PS2 or a 360 and it would have still be the sales phenomenon it was, it just that it wouldn't made any sense to do so. The controller was the main attraction.

That was kind of my point, if Nintendo were as cheap as you suggest surely the Wii would have been larger(it must have cost more money to get that low a power output/heat etc)?

Leave the HDD out of this, cost of a ethernet adapter and a hard drive are not even in the same realm to compare them. Also i'm not sugesting to include the ethernet adapter at this stage, also look that even if "the majority of people will be satisfied with Wi-Fi" look at how both Sony and MS still pack the ethernet in even when they could save costs. Again they choose to put that in for user convinience.

But they don't put in a HDMI cable, why?(because they have to offer retailers something with a decent markup) To me that is far more important than a Ethernet port, & I suspect it is for a similar reason( even though both platforms were heavily advertised as being "HD").

 

[PetrCobra]

The controller can do everything that the other two do. Also you´re forgetting about the wiimote plus that will probably be included.

I doubt it will have clickable sticks. Sure, you can map those functions to the display, but that's a bit less comfortable.

Also, I'm not so sure about analog buttons and triggers.

For me, the display with all of its possible functions is the only thing that makes this new controller something that is not inferior to the PS3 and X360 controllers - in fact, it might end up being my favorite of the three, if it behaves like it should without any unforeseen issues, if it's sturdy enough to last a few years... if I'm not robbed of the wiimote controls in games where it is my control method of choice just because the developer was too busy putting the map and inventory on the display.

And yeah - the wiimote plus better be included. They didn't include Classic Controller with Wii which was a bad move IMO.

 

[Refreshment.01]

That was kind of my point, if Nintendo were as cheap as you suggest surely the Wii would have been larger(it must have cost more money to get that low a power output/heat etc)?

But they don't put in a HDMI cable, why?(because they have to offer retailers something with a decent markup) To me that is far more important than a Ethernet port, & I suspect it is for a similar reason( even though both platforms were heavily advertised as being "HD").

That's an easy one, Nintendo repacked GameCube hardware from 2000, which was a very small console to begin with and was in a much larger lithographic process.

But they don't put in a HDMI cable, why?(because they have to offer retailers something with a decent markup) To me that is far more important than a Ethernet port, & I suspect it is for a similar reason( even though both platforms were heavily advertised as being "HD").

You mean an HDMI output? That made sense to leave out due to the graphic capabilities of the device. Also licensing is bound to be more expensive than say the ethernet port we are discussing or an USB one.

 

[hatchx]

And yeah - the wiimote plus better be included. They didn't include Classic Controller with Wii which was a bad move IMO.

I'm thinking somewhere in the next 5 years we'll see a Wiimote ++ and a nunchuck +

 

[Hiltz]

It must be a tough call for Nintendo to move away from the Wii remote/motionplus. However, with the Wii U essentially being a Swiss Army knife of controller options, devs won't likely cry over the loss of the Wii remote. Sure, the controller is going to be supported by the Wii U, but its questionable if developers will bother to design games strictly for it.

Nintendo even said that its decision to focus on next-gen hardware depends on what it can come up with that cannot be done on current-gen hardware. I think developers are going to be happier with the Wii U controller simply because it's not as foreign to them as the Wii remote was. Dual analog is back but with exclusive features that are optional without limiting the capabilities of the game controller like the Wii remote did.

Nintendo still feels that changing the game controller is something that can be a practical and innovative game changer, whereas it views the race for cutting edge graphics as an uphill battle with no clear winner in the long run. Quite frankly, the difference in graphics was insignificant between the 360 and Ps3 to the average consumer as much as it was with the Gamecube vs. Xbox.

 

[ASIS]

I'm thinking somewhere in the next 5 years we'll see a Wiimote ++ and a nunchuck +

If it's not standard then it's pretty much useless though.

 

[ozfunghi]

How is this important at all? Honest question here, i don't get what's relevant about it.

What i can tell you is the Wii with the same hardware could have been the size of a PS2 or a 360 and it would have still be the sales phenomenon it was...

I doubt this very much. The Wii's form factor was none intrusive, none intimidating. I believe this played a not to be underestimated part in reaching their "blue ocean" target audience, setting it apart from the traditional game console - which their target audience wasn't interested in.

 

[AzaK]

Well for the most part in terms of processing power (not getting into handhelds) Nintendo has been quite competent. GC was an amazing well thought out hardware design. The problem with the Wiiu is that they are limiting themselves in the processing department ,not necessarily because of cheapness, but more so because of that tablet type controller.

There is nothing we can do about this because in effect Nintendo is making a machine that has a higher resolution than the competitors. All things being equal, to get the same fidelity as them it needs more grunt. And even if nintendo put tech as good as the 720/ps4 it would have more work to do. This is precisely why I think Nintendo won't cheap out. They need to look considerably better than 360 and PS3 and do that on two screens simultaneously.

Nintendo needs to buy studios, and get a broader range of Nintendo games out. Nothing tech-wise can help them since they will launch shortly before MS/SONY and are not willing to go crazy with their business plan.

Yeah I tend to think this too. What I want to see is for them to buy some western companies or work with them very closely to create some more mature IPs.

Maybe Nintendo included the more expensive option, but they cheap out in the less expensive part, which would have resulted very convenient to lots of users.

Yet on the otherhand with external storage they both 'cheap out' AND provide a convenient option for consumers by supporting very standard options (SD). Unlike competitors.

 

[Refreshment.01]

I doubt this very much. The Wii's form factor was none intrusive, none intimidating. I believe this played a not to be underestimated part in reaching their "blue ocean" target audience, setting it apart from the traditional game console - which their target audience wasn't interested in.

If it had a part it was a small one, it would have sold regardless. To refute your argument look at Xbox360 sales explosion thanks to the Kinect. The redesigned Xbox360 is still big compared to the Wii, it has the typical look and game console size, people is just interested in the interface and user interaction the Kinect brings to the table.

Yeah... four years AFTER Nintendo already got the same people moving in front of a tv, blurring the lines.

Doesn't matter, they did with the big ass console

 

[ozfunghi]

Yeah... four years AFTER Nintendo already got the same people moving in front of a tv, blurring the lines.

 

[FyreWulff]

It must be a tough call for Nintendo to move away from the Wii remote/motionplus. However, with the Wii U essentially being a Swiss Army knife of controller options, devs won't likely cry over the loss of the Wii remote. Sure, the controller is going to be supported by the Wii U, but its questionable if developers will bother to design games strictly for it.

This assumes that Wii Us won't come with a Wiimote+. I'm almost betting that they will so people can do asymmetric games out of the box. In fact, I bet there's probably a Wiisports style pack-in that has multi screen, asymmetric, pad-only and pad-sensor-bar games out of the box to give people an idea of what it all can do. I think Wii Sports was key to selling people on the controller in the first place.

At bare minimum, the Wii U Tablet and a Wiimote+ in each box.

My hope would be also a Nunchuck in addition to that.

 

[ASIS]

If it had a part it was a small one, it would have sold regardless. To refute your argument look at Xbox360 sales explosion thanks to the Kinect. The redesigned Xbox360 is still big compared to the Wii, it has the typical look and game console size, people is just interested in the interface and user interaction the Kinect brings to the table.

Hold up, didn't the Xbox began moving more units AFTER the redesign? When it got smaller? It's still bigger than the Wii, but it also sold less.

 

[Refreshment.01]

This assumes that Wii Us won't come with a Wiimote+. I'm almost betting that they will so people can do asymmetric games out of the box.
At bare minimum, the Wii U Tablet and a Wiimote+ in each box.
My hope would be also a Nunchuck in addition to that.

FyreWulff you hit the nail right in the head. Of course they will pack the Wii+ remote there and they most definitly pack the nunchuck there no doubts.

What i would like is a redesigned nunchuck+ with more input options like a gyro and some buttons, wireless would be the final topping in a delicious dish.

Hold up, didn't the Xbox began moving more units AFTER the redesign? When it got smaller? It's still bigger than the Wii, but it also sold less.

Nice try but no, the real explosion was due to the Kinect accessory. Redesigns tend to have a positive effect in the first months. In the case of the 360 there was also a heavy discount of the previous stock that inflated the numbers in the launch.

To sum up, if there's no interest in the home console a redesign won't change its fortunes much.

 

[FyreWulff]

The issue with a wireless chuck is that it'd have to take another slot on the Bluetooth host, hence the Move's problem where you can't actually have 4 player Movemote+Navi games on it.


bluetooth: 8 device limit, PS3 counts as 1

7 slots left

Movemote x 4 = 3 slots left

only 3 navi controllers can be connected at that point.

This is where piggybacking the Nunchuck on the Wiimote gives Nintendo an advantage - they're the only console still where you can have 4 player simultaneous motion gaming.

Now, you could do what Nyko did and have a wireless dongle that plugs into the Wiimote that connects to the wireless chuck, but Nintendo would probably not want to add another thing on to the end of Wiimotes that already have the expansion version of the M+ on them.

 

[ASIS]

Nice try but no, the real explosion was due to the Kinect accessory. Redesigns tend to have a positive effect in the first months. In the case of the 360 there was also a heavy discount of the previous stock that inflated the numbers in the launch.

To sum up, if there's no interest in the home console a redesign won't change its fortunes much.

I wasn't trying anything, I was just saying. Kinect games are no where to be found yet the Xbox is still flying off shelves (in the US at least). It's a factor of a lot of things and the redesign was obviously done for a reason.

 

[Refreshment.01]

The issue with a wireless chuck is that it'd have to take another slot on the Bluetooth host,hence the Move's problem where you can't actually have 4 player Movemote+Navi games on it.

Now, you could do what Nyko did and have a wireless dongle that plugs into the Wiimote that connects to the wireless chuck, but Nintendo would probably not want to add another thing on to the end of Wiimotes that already have the expansion version of the M+ on them.

I know about the bluetooth issue. What im suggesting is what's in bold, the Nyko method. It wouldn't present much of a problem because they could design a very small receiver to attach to the Wii remote and this way they can retain compatibility with the old Wii user base (not that it matters much). Also as time progresses Nintendo can have the option to integrate the receiver into the Wii remote like they did with M+.

The only real downside to the wireless Nunchuck that i see is the need for an extra battery.

 

[richiek]

Question: is Nintendo limiting themselves again with the controller?
Meaning, Nintendo seems once again be the only one with a different controller, both MS and Sony will most likely continue with new iterations of their controllers plus new versions of kinect/move.

It's always been this way.

-Nintendo releases newfangled control scheme
-Competitors stick with "conventional" controls, but copy Nintendo's controller for their next generation consoles
-Nintendo once again thinks outside the box with another different control scheme for their next console.

 

[EloquentM]

It's always been this way.

-Nintendo releases newfangled control scheme
-Competitors stick with "conventional" controls, but copy Nintendo's controller for their next generation consoles
-Nintendo once again thinks outside the box with another different control scheme for their next console.

Out of the box? No no no, it's called a gimmick.

 

[-WindYoshi-]

I blame Nintendo for having only family oriented IPs.
I would like to see a PlatinumGames buy-out for example, something that would force Nintendo to consider participating to the development of a mature game and get on with it.

As much as i'd like to see Nintendo buy PlatinumGames, wouldn't a lot of the creators involved with that company leave in that kind of situation? It seems that the unique bond that brought them all together was a desire for freedom, and no matter how lenient Nintendo may be in that kind of situation, it would probably destroy the "sky is the limit" type of atmosphere that I imagine P* has.

 

[Antagon]

As much as i'd like to see Nintendo buy PlatinumGames, wouldn't a lot of the creators involved with that company leave in that kind of situation? It seems that the unique bond that brought them all together was a desire for freedom, and no matter how lenient Nintendo may be in that kind of situation, it would probably destroy the "sky is the limit" type of atmosphere that I imagine P* has.

I'd much rather see Nintendo do some games in partnership with Platinum. Imagine a Mikami directed Metroid.

 

[ASIS]

Out of the box? No no no, it's called a gimmick.

How on earth is something like the D-pad,Analogue Stick, or Wiimote a gimmick?

Rumble pack? I agree, but really?

Unless you were being sarcastic then just forget about this.

 

[Anth0ny]

I'd much rather see Nintendo do some games in partnership with Platinum. Imagine a Mikami directed Sheik action game.

Fixed!

 

[Refreshment.01]

Out of the box? No no no, it's called a gimmick.

I think you were too blunt there. But with the Wii i remember being blown away by the concept video that didn't show a single game. Even people outside of gaming saw the thing and were intrigued by the idea.

Now you show the WiiU controller to some of these folks and they'll say something like: "So it's like an Ipad?!"

And that's another obstacle for Nintendo right there. Yea, "it's like an Ipad" so if someone wanted a piece of that they would just get the ipad. The only real lure are Nintendo IP's, but that would been the strong point in any case independent of whatever contraption Nintendo would have devised.

 

[EloquentM]

How on earth is something like the D-pad,Analogue Stick, or Wiimote a gimmick?

Rumble pack? I agree, but really?

Unless you were being sarcastic then just forget about this.

You see what I did there.

 

[Hiltz]

I still think Nintendo will assume that there's enough Wii remotes/ MotionPlus controllers already in the hands of gamers to be enough to justify not bundling them with the Wii U.
However, I do agree it would be a smart move to do it along with including a free game. It's just that in the past, Nintendo's made some baffling decisions like the recent 3DS circle pad attachment. Nintendo just has its moments of unpredictable brilliance and stupidity.

 

[FyreWulff]

I still think Nintendo will assume that there's enough Wii remotes/ MotionPlus controllers already in the hands of gamers to be enough to justify not bundling them with the Wii U.
However, I do agree it would be a smart move to do it along with including a free game. It's just that in the past, Nintendo's made some baffling decisions like the recent 3DS circle pad attachment. Nintendo just has its moments of unpredictable brilliance and stupidity.

Nintendo's made a bunch of attachments for their consoles over the years. The Circle Pad Pro is one of the less off-the-wall ones they've done.

 

[Hiltz]

Nintendo's made a bunch of attachments for their consoles over the years. The Circle Pad Pro is one of the less off-the-wall ones they've done.

The thing that bothers me about the circle pad pro is that it was treated as an after thought. It's as if Nintendo rushed the 3DS out without thinking clearly enough about how important a second stick/circle pad would be to a handheld that's focusing more on 3D gaming than the DS did. Actually, Miyamoto said that the reason why the 3DS lacks dual analog controls for camera control is because the gyroscope would be effective enough as an alternative solution. The thing is, not everyone is as resourceful as Nintendo is at utilizing control schemes on its own consoles. Some third-parties won't find the gyroscope to be practical enough.

 

[AzaK]

The thing that bothers me about the circle pad pro is that it was treated as an after thought. It's as if Nintendo rushed the 3DS out without thinking clearly enough about how important a second stick/circle pad would be to a handheld that's focusing more on 3D gaming than the DS did.

Nintendo: I think a single pad will suffice for most things and it will save some $. Besides we can add one next handheld cycle.
3DS launches
Sales bad, no games
Nintendo drop price, approach devs for games
Capcom: Give us another circle pad and we're all yours baby
Nintendo: Quick, make an attachment!! Make it fugly as all hell, so we can do a redesign in a couple of years and people will upgrade.