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[walking fiend]

I'm saying, give a piece of hardware a capable means of accessing the internet (in the 360's case, it was ethernet... everyone has that) and you can show your consumer base how powerful your network really is.

not really, my router is at least 6 meters away from TV, so if my wii did have ethernet istead of wireless, I needed to get 6 meters of cable; not only it would have costed me more than wii lan adapter to get a good cable, it would have been an eyesore.

I don't really understand why you are trying to make it look something bigger than what it is. in this age of smartphones, ipads, laptops, etc, I expect the most of people are using wireless access points.

Wii U failed to impress me. I still don't understand how it will change gaming a bit.

The controller is just a souped up version of the GameCube-Game Boy Advance game link fiasco, and beside the controller, there's nothing new.

You're not impressed by HD graphics today, it's standard since several years back. Why should anyone buy a Wii U to play the next Battlefield when they can play that game on the 360?

Neither Nintendo or any third party has explained how the controller is going to make games more fun. The only things they've said are "it opens up a lot of posibilities" and "I have so many ideas I would like to try out". There's nothing concrete.

lol.

 

[phosphor112]

You certainly are a visionary. If that's really your standpoint, you probably won't need a new console until holodecks become a reality.

Consumers aren't supposed to be visionaries. Companies that sell products are supposed to tell a consumer what makes their product better than the others, and if they fail to impress, then it's not the consumers fault.

 

[Krev]

Unfortunately (maybe) when a company, or anything, gets that big, it tend to become much more conservative. They know how successful sequels/iterations to established franchises are going to be, roughly, making them a much easier sell to share-holders/the board.

Still, Sony are doing very well now, and they've got a bunch of new IPs in development right now for Vita and PS3. You could argue that they have much more money to throw around and lose than Nintendo, but many of these new Sony funded games are modestly budgeted. Nintendo could do the same with a bunch of great concepts from indies.

But if people showed support for stuff (say Rolling Western gets 500,000 downloads, or Miyamoto's new IP sells 5 million copies) it might encourage more of that sort of thing, but it could also lead to more of those games coming out.

I fear it's the latter.

 

[StevieP]

Still, Sony are doing very well now, and they've got a bunch of new IPs in development right now for Vita and PS3. You could argue that they have much more money to throw around and lose than Nintendo, but many of these new Sony funded games are modestly budgeted. Nintendo could do the same with a bunch of great concepts from indies.

They're investing more in new IPs because they don't have the stable that Nintendo does. Uncharted (3), Resistance (3), Infamous (2), Gran Turismo (5) nor Sly Cooper (5) have the kind of brand power that many of Nintendo's creations do.

 

[wsippel]

Consumers aren't supposed to be visionaries. Companies that sell products are supposed to tell a consumer what makes their product better than the others, and if they fail to impress, then it's not the consumers fault.

Companies sell new products on promises. That's nothing new. You either believe them or you don't. If, say, Audi presents a new car, you won't know if it's as awesome as they say until you actually drive one. Until you sit in the driver seat, you have to imagine things based on the promises - or not. Same thing.

 

[sfried]

I fear it's the latter.

And why is that? Haven't indies taken concepts from newer Nintendo IPs before and try to build on to of them?

 

[walking fiend]

Consumers aren't supposed to be visionaries. Companies that sell products are supposed to tell a consumer what makes their product better than the others, and if they fail to impress, then it's not the consumers fault.

consumers aren't supposed to be on the verge of being labeled with mental retardation either. If he thinks Wii U controller is only a souped up version of Gamecube - GBA connection, he is not just 'not visionary'. Or he is trolling or he is talking about something he has no idea of.

Neither Nintendo or any third party has explained how the controller is going to make games more fun. The only things they've said are "it opens up a lot of posibilities" and "I have so many ideas I would like to try out". There's nothing concrete.

yes, they have talked, we have seen.

 

[Krev]

And why is that? Haven't indies taken concepts from newer Nintendo IPs before and try to build on to of them?

Sorry? I was saying that if The Rolling Western and Miyamoto's game sell well they will probably just make those a new part of their list of franchises to milk rather than taking it as a sign of the importance of new IPs.

They're investing more in new IPs because they don't have the stable that Nintendo does. Uncharted (3), Resistance (3), Infamous (2), Gran Turismo (5) nor Sly Cooper (5) have the kind of brand power that many of Nintendo's creations do.

I like to believe that it's partly because Yoshida believes in the need for creativity and fresh concepts. IIRC he's the one who got Ueda into directing and championed Ico. Maybe I'm just naive.

 

[bgassassin]

Resident Evil 4 plays much better with the Wii Remote. If you've played any GTA-style games (Godfather Blackhand edition) - it is way way way better than playing with dual-analog. Sure, you have to use the d-pad to manipulate the camera but it wasn't awful. The amazing motion control in that game far outweighed the annoyance of slightly less precise camera movement. It actually made playing GTA4 less enjoyable for me when I had to go back to dual-analog.

The bold was one of the main reasons why I wanted an improved nunchuk that was just like the Wiimote. The camera could have been easily mapped to it and all you would have to do is move/point it in the direction you want to look.

 

[phosphor112]

Companies sell new products on promises. That's nothing new. You either believe them or you don't. If, say, Audi presents a new car, you won't know if it's as awesome as they say until you actually drive one. Until you sit in the driver seat, you have to imagine things based on the promises - or not. Same thing.

Not really. When a company releases any product (in this case, your Audi) they talk about specs... Well this one has a Lambo V10 in it, with 580bhp, topping out a 195mph, etc etc. They also have demonstrations. Hey, our new Audi went around the Nurburgring in 7'20' or something, that's fast. Same concept can be applied to even Mighty Putty, or a swiffer jet.

I mean, we gotta keep in mind, the Wii U announcement is like a new press release for a car.. at most it just shows how the car looks, and makes those "promises." It'll be next year that they show the demos and specs (hopefully). If not, then... well.. it's their loss I guess.

 

[shandy706]

not really, my router is at least 6 meters away from TV, so if my wii did have ethernet istead of wireless, I needed to get 6 meters of cable; not only it would have costed me more than wii lan adapter to get a good cable, it would have been an eyesore.

I don't really understand why you are trying to make it look something bigger than what it is. in this age of smartphones, ipads, laptops, etc, I expect the most of people are using wireless access points.


lol.

Reading through your posts, you seem to just be making excuses. You're also missing people's points entirely. Earlier the guy talked about being in his dorm...his point wasn't the "type of wifi", yet you said you weren't talking about that type of wifi setup.

His point was that he really needs a LAN port if he's going to do any serious online gaming...and the Wii U may not have one. Soooo, how do you suggest he games online in his dormroom, if the only possible way to do so without massive lag is through LAN?

20' of LAN cable can be had for like $5...it's not expensive, and if the Wii and the upcoming Wii U had/have LAN it would be an option for those that NEED it, versus costing more just to access it.

SERIOUS hardcore gamers, especially highly competitive ones and those that play on organized teams would NEVER use wireless to competitively play their games.

If the Wii U wants to get back the competitive online gaming market, LAN is a must. My home has 4 wireless systems running in different rooms, but my 360 in the Living Room is hooked up with WIRED LAN directly to my router and cable modem. I have a 30Mb/sec internet connection and when it comes to online play I would never trade wifi for cable on that system.

 

[FairXchange]

I think the first-person gyroscopic control seen in Ubi's "Killer Freak from Outer Space" has great potential to impress gamers.

Hell, using the gyro to inspect the environment in OoT on 3DS still gives me a kick, so playing a FPS with that method seems very intriguing to say the least.

I think the combination of the Wii U's hardware capability, mixed with the numerous uses of the tablet make for a very promising piece of technology. I haven't been highly interested in Nintendo products for some time, but that has definitely changed in the past few months.

 

[StreetsAhead]

Still, Sony are doing very well now, and they've got a bunch of new IPs in development right now for Vita and PS3. You could argue that they have much more money to throw around and lose than Nintendo, but many of these new Sony funded games are modestly budgeted. Nintendo could do the same with a bunch of great concepts from indies.

It could also be that Sony doesn't/didn't have as many recognizable, successful 1st party games as Nintendo does and they want to build that brand power.

I fear it's the latter.

I take it back, of course it's the latter. But that's the problem, buying original games encourages sequels from publishers who like money/sales/attention which leads to the problem we're talking about now. It's a vicious cycle, but maybe an unavoidable one.

 

[bgassassin]

.

 

[walking fiend]

Reading through your posts, you seem to just be making excuses. You're also missing people's points entirely. Earlier the guy talked about being in his dorm...his point wasn't the "type of wifi", yet you said you weren't talking about that type of wifi setup.

His point was that he really needs a LAN port if he's going to do any serious online gaming...and the Wii U may not have one. Soooo, how do you suggest he games online in his dormroom, if the only possible way to do so without massive lag is through LAN?

you buy a 13$ adapter, or you already have a wireless access point in there, connected to your LAN cable.
edit: oh, yes, it MAY not have one, I didn't read that. Yes, it may not have one. There are 4 usb ports, and yet they MAY move backward from wii.

and there's no massive lag when you use even an average wireless access point. How much latency difference do you think is introduced by using a wireless access point? do you have any idea?

20' of LAN cable can be had for like $5...it's not expensive, and if the Wii and the upcoming Wii U had/have LAN it would be an option for those that NEED it, versus costing more just to access it.

not a good cable, HDMI cables come in varying prices as well. 13$ adapter isn't expensive either. There are 7$ ones if you can't afford, however.

SERIOUS hardcore gamers, especially highly competitive ones and those that play on organized teams would NEVER use wireless to competitively play their games.

when you are in serious a tournament, yes (mostly because reliability issues, not performance); otherwise, you may test for lag, bandwidth, etc, and they won't differ in a 'conceivable' degree; that is when you play with people that have an average distance latency of 30ms.

If the Wii U wants to get back the competitive online gaming market, LAN is a must. My home has 4 wireless systems running in different rooms, but my 360 in the Living Room is hooked up with WIRED LAN directly to my router and cable modem. I have a 30Mb/sec internet connection and when it comes to online play I would never trade wifi for cable on that system

what percentage of people have 30Mb/sec internet? that percentage can definitely afford 13$ adapter, if not, the 7$ one.

 

[Jokeropia]

Regarding WiFi vs LAN, I have a 100 mbps fiber connection at home and when I connect through my wireless router I get ~60-65 mbps in online bandwidth tests compared to ~90 mbps when connected by cable. Apart from my computer where I want the highest speed possible, any device that supports WiFi out of the box I tend to set up that way.

Obviously it doesn't hurt to have some options, but for me personally I don't care. I prefer WiFi only to ethernet only, though.

 

[wsippel]

Not really. When a company releases any product (in this case, your Audi) they talk about specs... Well this one has a Lambo V10 in it, with 580bhp, topping out a 195mph, etc etc. They also have demonstrations. Hey, our new Audi went around the Nurburgring in 7'20' or something, that's fast. Same concept can be applied to even Mighty Putty, or a swiffer jet.

I mean, we gotta keep in mind, the Wii U announcement is like a new press release for a car.. at most it just shows how the car looks, and makes those "promises." It'll be next year that they show the demos and specs (hopefully). If not, then... well.. it's their loss I guess.

I expected this reply. Even those specs tell you pretty much nothing at all. They might as well not tell you. You have no idea how that much power feels in that particular car, considering the weight, aerodynamics, gears and tires. You don't even know if it's comfortable. You see the seats and imagine they might be comfortable. And probably the most important question: would it be fun driving that car? All you have is your imagination - you have a vision. Or you don't. Up to you.

 

[shandy706]

what percentage of people have 30Mb/sec internet? that percentage can definitely afford 13$ adapter, if not, the 7$ one.

I certainly understand all your points, I don't think it's a matter of affording one, it's a matter of why would one not be included?

It's a bit silly not to be included as it's older than the standard...heck..it's practically free in current motherboard design.

I'm sure it's a good way to make money selling adapters though.

 

[walking fiend]

I certainly understand all your points, I don't think it's a matter of affording one, it's a matter of why would one not be included?

It's a bit silly not to be included as it's older than the standard...heck..it's practically free in current motherboard design.

I'm sure it's a good way to make money selling adapters though.

because with this line of reasoning, they should include many other incremental improvements or add optional features, LAN socket being only one of them, that little percentage of the buyers care about, but everyone will be forced to pay.

 

[lunchwithyuzo]

It could also be that Sony doesn't/didn't have as many recognizable, successful 1st party games as Nintendo does and they want to build that brand power.

Sony and Nintendo just have different approaches when it comes to franchising. Sony generally tries to introduce more major new IPs per gen, but then they also iterate on those games with much greater frequency. Nintendo does tend to rely on legacy brands more, but then they also tend to only release one or two series installments per hardware platform.

Now there are obvious exceptions on each side, something like GT is handled in a more Nintendo-like fashion while something like Mario Party tended to take a more Sony-like approach, but that's still the general rule.

 

[Kyzer]

Wii U failed to impress me. I still don't understand how it will change gaming a bit. The controller is just a souped up version of the GameCube-Game Boy Advance game link fiasco, and beside the controller, there's nothing new.

You're not impressed by HD graphics today, it's standard since several years back. Why should anyone buy a Wii U to play the next Battlefield when they can play that game on the 360?

Neither Nintendo or any third party has explained how the controller is going to make games more fun. The only things they've said are "it opens up a lot of posibilities" and "I have so many ideas I would like to try out". There's nothing concrete.

Okay, since you cant seem to figure it out yourself, I'll lay out in plain words what the new features theyre talking about are, and how its different than GC-GBA (lol)

You can play console games without the TV.
You can play using the Wii U tablet as a DS-like screen.
It has two sticks, so now Wii U can get all the standard third party fare that the other consoles enjoy.
You can play using Wii Remotes as well.
It's more powerful than current gen consoles, and therefore you can do new things.

So. In short. It's Nintendo's "everything" machine. It will have the capacity for all the casual and family games, as well as have the horsepower and new gameplay options to bring in developers to make games for the hardcore gamers.

Now that I've given you the benefit of the doubt and TOLD you what these "mysterious" features are that the developers are talking about that you can't seem to figure out yourself, if you have something bad to say, then I think you would have been better off saying "I don't like the Wii U because _____" rather than trying to act like developers dont know what theyre talking about and that Nintendo is making things up and that youre the only one whos right in the entire gaming community.

 

[lunchwithyuzo]

They were actually the prototype team of Wii Play Motion. They developed Teeter Ball and then cooperated with the other devs for the other mini games. I am not 100% sure if they are programming the Rhythm Tengoku Wii game. But hopefully This talented group gets some more resources and we see big things from them in the future. Sakamoto!

I'd put money on Tomodachi Collection 3DS. I hope they reuse the Project M partnerships for a 3DS Metroid as well.

Could be anything. But something tells me Donkey Kong Country Returns has a quick sequel left in it for Wii U or 3DS.

I may be in the minority, but I think DKCR2 would make the perfect Wii sendoff title for holiday 2012. From what I understand Retro has two full teams now too, so there's no reason the smaller group couldn't pump that out while the larger team works on their Wii U game. I'd like to see what they might do with F-Zero actually.

 

[shandy706]

because with this line of reasoning, they should include many other incremental improvements or add optional features, LAN socket being only one of them, that little percentage of the buyers care about, but everyone will be forced to pay.

That's a bit silly though. LAN is a basic feature of gaming/console/PC hardware..not some fancy new addition.

They could produce a system for say...$299 if it did or did not have a LAN socket.

Adding blu-ray, that would be expensive...adding a huge hard drive, expensive....adding a coffee maker and personal assistant with artificial intelligence and communication speaker would be expensive.

Comparing the above is as silly as saying a LAN socket would change the base price of a console beyond a few pennies.

 

[Zoramon089]

The bold was one of the main reasons why I wanted an improved nunchuk that was just like the Wiimote. The camera could have been easily mapped to it and all you would have to do is move/point it in the direction you want to look.

If a game NEEDS the precision of an analog stick for it's camera then that's a problem. Camera controls should really only be for adjusting, not to make up for bad camera AI

 

[StevieP]

If a game NEEDS the precision of an analog stick for it's camera then that's a problem. Camera controls should really only be for adjusting, not to make up for bad camera AI

That's why I didn't have too many issues with it on the d-pad in Godfather. And why aiming with the second analog stick in GTA4 sucked in comparison.

 

[walking fiend]

That's a bit silly though. LAN is a basic feature of gaming/console/PC hardware..not some fancy new addition.

They could produce a system for say...$299 if it did or did not have a LAN socket.

Adding blu-ray, that would be expensive...adding a huge hard drive, expensive....adding a coffee maker and personal assistant with artificial intelligence and communication speaker would be expensive.

Comparing the above is as silly as saying a LAN socket would change the base price of a console beyond a few pennies.

LAN adapters apparently sells at more than at least an order of magnitutde (on Amazon) less than Wii, so it is not basic, or else it would have sold more. And buy incremental, I didn't mean a HUGE harddrive: a 16GB flash instead of an 8GB, addition of DVD playback, blue-ray is in the same ballmark of increasing flash size, including HDMI cable, increasing the clock of the CPU by 10% (and then another 10%), etc.

let's say it costs 2-dollars to add this. selling 100 million consoles would cost them 200 million dollors. This amount of money is enough to budget several triple-A title games. So they don't add this. Even as a consumer, I prefer them to make several triple-A titles instead of spending 2-dollars on something that I don't have any use for, the rest of the consumers would prefer not to pay for tht to say the least.

 

[Hiltz]

I'd put money on Tomodachi Collection 3DS. I hope they reuse the Project M partnerships for a 3DS Metroid as well.



I may be in the minority, but I think DKCR2 would make the perfect Wii sendoff title for holiday 2012. From what I understand Retro has two full teams now too, so there's no reason the smaller group couldn't pump that out while the larger team works on their Wii U game. I'd like to see what they might do with F-Zero actually.

I think Nintendo's going to send the Wii to a slow death. There's a few announced games for 2012 but nothing big and that's probably what the situation is going to be like for the rest of the year. If Monolith Soft is confirmed to be working on a Wii U project, then I'm willing to bet that Retro Studios is as well.

 

[walking fiend]

I think Nintendo's going to send the Wii to a slow death. There's a few announced games for 2012 but nothing big and that's probably what the situation is going to be like for the rest of the year. If Monolith Soft is confirmed to be working on a Wii U project, then I'm willing to bet that Retro Studios is as well.

probably not in japan, DQ alone will make that not happen. I believe they don't want to have another 3DS situation again.

 

[evangd007]

And you know they are going to make 50+ on each console at launch. Yeah, they aren't as big of a company as MS or Sony to take the risks, but all they have ever done was made money, and big amounts of it too. They are selling the Wii how much now? 150? They are at least getting 100 out of each sold.

By profitable they mean not at a loss. In 2008 each Wii sold made $6 in profit for Nintendo. They need to push volume with that kind of margin.

 

[lunchwithyuzo]

I think Nintendo's going to send the Wii to a slow death. There's a few announced games for 2012 but nothing big and that's probably what the situation is going to be like for the rest of the year. If Monolith Soft is confirmed to be working on a Wii U project, then I'm willing to bet that Retro Studios is as well.

The only 2012 Wii game Nintendo announced is Mario Party 9. There's also possibly western versions of The Last Story and Pandora's Tower, at least for Europe. I think we may also see Dragon Quest X in 2012 in the west though.

Retro's large enough now though that they could handle doing both DKCR2 and a Wii U game though. It's not a one or the other type thing.

 

[Oppo]

fucking hipster horses. pfff.

on the question of wired ethernet – the Wii did just fine without it. I played for 5 years using the PS3 WiFi and really couldn't see any problems. A USB-Ethernet adaptor (reasonably priced, which it looks to be) isn't a dealbreaker. Think of it like buying a better cord for your TV.

I guarantee you the # of Wii players who even know what "ping" is, much less to test for it, is vanishingly small. These aren't StarCraft players, they're regular mortals

 

[ShockingAlberto]

I am always a little surprised that anyone expects to be sold on a system long before any games are shown for it, much less playable in final forms.

I honestly can't think of a system where I was incredibly impressed by the initial showing. Maybe N64, but I almost entirely blame Next-Generation for that.

 

[Hiltz]

I was specifically referring to games Nintendo would release, but I guess there wasn't anything else announced for next year besides Mario Party 9.

XSEED's expressed interest in wanting to localize Earth Seeker and Rodea Sky Soldier, but hasn't confirmed any plans yet.

 

[Boerseun]

I think Nintendo's going to send the Wii to a slow death. There's a few announced games for 2012 but nothing big and that's probably what the situation is going to be like for the rest of the year. If Monolith Soft is confirmed to be working on a Wii U project, then I'm willing to bet that Retro Studios is as well.

As a PAL gamer, these are some of the Wii titles I'm looking forward to:

• Dragon Quest 10
• Family Fishing
• Fortune Street
• Go Vacation!
• Kirby Wii
• Last Story, The
• Legend of Zelda, The: Skyward Sword
• Mario Party 9
• Pandora's Tower
• Rhythm Heaven
• Rodea: The Sky Soldier
• Xenoblade Chronicles

That is in my opinion a great list to close out this gen with. Also note that most of those titles will be published by Nintendo.

 

[blu]

ITT: 'competitive' gamers bitching about a $20-ish eth peripheral. Oh, the hilarity.

 

[Hiltz]

As a PAL gamer, these are some of the Wii titles I'm looking forward to:

• Dragon Quest 10
• Family Fishing
• Fortune Street
• Go Vacation!
• Kirby Wii
• Last Story, The
• Legend of Zelda, The: Skyward Sword
• Mario Party 9
• Pandora's Tower
• Rhythm Heaven
• Rodea: The Sky Soldier
• Xenoblade Chronicles

That is in my opinion a great list to close out this gen with. Also note that most of those titles will be published by Nintendo.

Yes, as far as this year goes, PAL and Japanese gamers have it good. Well, at least in the sense that you're getting all of these games. Of course, Japan's been the least affected by the software drought. Hopefully, we won't have to wait long for DQ X's release next year.

 

[phosphor112]

I expected this reply. Even those specs tell you pretty much nothing at all. They might as well not tell you. You have no idea how that much power feels in that particular car, considering the weight, aerodynamics, gears and tires. You don't even know if it's comfortable. You see the seats and imagine they might be comfortable. And probably the most important question: would it be fun driving that car? All you have is your imagination - you have a vision. Or you don't. Up to you.

Lol, keep thinking specs have nothing to do with expectations. Specs, measurements of the seats, of course give you an "idea" of how i may feel to drive, but it still gives you an expectation, as opposed to dicking around, which is what exactly Nintendo is doing.

 

[Koren]

I don't really understand why you are trying to make it look something bigger than what it is. in this age of smartphones, ipads, laptops, etc, I expect the most of people are using wireless access points.

With 'most', you're probably right, but it still bothers me a bit. Even should I use wireless to go from router to the TV area, I would still use an wireless > ethernet bridge to distribute internet access to all my devices.

The simple fact that more and more devices uses wireless means that it's getting less and less efficient. With "always connected devices", it's even worse. There's more and more packets collisions and packets losts, decreased quality of service and bitrates, increased pings.

I really think that if you have more than a single device in a place, you should think about using a wireless bridge and then use wired. You even get a better antenna for all you devices, increased security, better upgrading possibilities, etc. I'm not sure that in 10 years, current WiFi will be usable (DS WiFi mostly won't work anymore with WEP issues!) while I'm pretty sure that you'll find ethernet solutions.


That being said, I have no gripe with Nintendo not including a wired solution in the box, and relying rather on wireless. But I would have liked easier access to the ethernet adapter, it's not common in shops.

 

[EloquentM]

You certainly are a visionary. If that's really your standpoint, you probably won't need a new console until holodecks become a reality.

Haha I was just about to type something similar to this. Kudos.

 

[rhoq]

I mean, we gotta keep in mind, the Wii U announcement is like a new press release for a car.. at most it just shows how the car looks, and makes those "promises." It'll be next year that they show the demos and specs (hopefully). If not, then... well.. it's their loss I guess.

I really hope that demos and specs are revealed way before next year. The longer Nintendo waits to release the Wii U, the less of a chance it has to compete. Let's face it, Nintendo got lucky with the Wii this generation. Now that Microsoft and Sony have both borrowed from the innovations that Nintendo made with the Wii and implemented their own variations of motion control, Nintendo can't just rely on a gimmick to save them.

It's already speculated that the Wii U is only slightly more powerful than the PS3 and will more than likely be underpowered compared to the PS4 and neXt-Box. My impression from the Wii U reveal is that it brings the DS experience to your living room. People have been able to get that since the Fall of 2004. Nintendo is going to have to "wow" a lot of people with the Wii U (I am a Nintendo fanboy for life, so they already have my money). The Wii changed the game, and had the "wow" factor due to it's unique controllers. Nobody, except the HD snobs cared much about the specs. Unfortunately, an under-powered console/control gimmick is not going to win them the upcoming gaming generation.

Nintendo needs to start showing this thing off soon. They need to release more concrete details of it's online experience and services. A release date and price point needs to be announced before the end of this year. If this thing isn't in stores by Sunday July 1, 201, I don't see it making much noise - especially if the Sony & Microsoft rumors are true and they are lurking on the horizon. The whole idea of announcing the Wii U was for Nintendo to get a head start on the next generation. If Sony & MS announce their next-gen machines at E3 2012 with a Fall 2012 release date, Nintendo is back to where they started prior to the original Wii's launch.

 

[Vinci]

Consumers aren't supposed to be visionaries. Companies that sell products are supposed to tell a consumer what makes their product better than the others, and if they fail to impress, then it's not the consumers fault.

It's not about 'better.' Never has been. Well, maybe for simpletons who see one number turn into another higher than it, but not for average consumers.

 

[AzaK]

SERIOUS hardcore gamers, especially highly competitive ones and those that play on organized teams would NEVER use wireless to competitively play their games.

And of the 10's of millions of future Wii U owners, how many of those are going to be that serious and play in competitive teams regularly where a few milliseconds ping matters?

Wireless is fast, pretty reliable and extremely convenient for almost everyone's gaming needs. I'm totally happy with a wireless only console.

 

[lunchwithyuzo]

Yes, as far as this year goes, PAL and Japanese gamers have it good. Well, at least in the sense that you're getting all of these games. Of course, Japan's been the least affected by the software drought. Hopefully, we won't have to wait long for DQ X's release next year.

Say what? Japan's release schedule is absolutely barren and hardware sales have flatlined to 5-10k weekly. Wii's a dead system in Japan, which is completely unlike America and Europe.

 

[AzaK]

Consumers aren't supposed to be visionaries. Companies that sell products are supposed to tell a consumer what makes their product better than the others, and if they fail to impress, then it's not the consumers fault.

The problem is, gamers are used to being impressed by one thing - graphics - and Nintendo didn't have enough of that to show (And Wii U may also not be such a leap as for people to notice, especially over a compressed live video stream).

Graphics are easy to notice, you look at the Wii, then the 360 and it's obvious right? So gamers to "Oh, the 360 must be better cause I want better graphics!" (Totally valid desire and easy to make a decision on). Gamers are also very myopic, so when they see a controller that looks different to what they've used in the past, they are not just skeptical, but outright dismissive. They are unwilling to invest the brainpower, or open-mindedness to explore the possibilities and accept it as something different that might offer them additional fun.

That is why I believe that if the Wii U came out with an amazing online, the controller proved it was "worthy", had all the additional benefits that the screen/camera/gyros offer, and there were tonnes of 3rd party games that maybe 2 gamers in the world would stop playing their P60 for a Wii U.

So, in effect I don't think it really matters that Nintendo doesn't try and tell us why the Wii U is more amazing than the other consoles. Most of us have made up our mind already anyway.

 

[rhoq]

And of the 10's of millions of future Wii U owners, how many of those are going to be that serious and play in competitive teams regularly where a few milliseconds ping matters?

Wireless is fast, pretty reliable and extremely convenient for almost everyone's gaming needs. I'm totally happy with a wireless only console.

I've never had an issue with wireless for XBox 360, PS3 or Wii online gaming.

 

[Hiltz]

Say what? Japan's release schedule is absolutely barren and hardware sales have flatlined to 5-10k weekly. Wii's a dead system in Japan, which is completely unlike America and Europe.

As far as new games go, they've had more good ones to pick from than PAL and NA gamers have this year. That's all I meant to say. PAL's going to get XenoBlade and Last Story of course, and perhaps even Pandora's Tower. Japan has been hit by the software drought, no question about it. I never mentioned anything about hardware sales. That's a different story.

Japan's had games like Last Story and Pandora's Tower for months now. Rhythm Heaven Wii is coming out over there later this month while NA and PAL gamers have to wait longer for. Even in this bad situation, Japan has it better than everyone else.

North America has had games like de Blob 2, Conduit 2, and Mario Sports Mix. That's about it. Nothing big or truly great to choose from.

 

[bgassassin]

If a game NEEDS the precision of an analog stick for it's camera then that's a problem. Camera controls should really only be for adjusting, not to make up for bad camera AI

I agree about the last part, but looking at what they did with the Upad on the Garden demo, it seems that method would be pretty precise. In fact it looks more precise than an analog stick.

 

[bgassassin]

Crytek not sure what Nintendo's strategy is for the "hardcore" gamer.

http://www.nowgamer.com/features/967965/exclusive_crytek_interview.html

Crytek’s interested in the Wii U. What do you make of the platform?

CJ: It’s something we’re really interested in. There are a load of Nintendo fans at Crytek, right up to the top of the company. We were unfortunately unable to support the last generation of Wii because it would have been quite an engineering effort to take the engine down to that level of hardware.

So we were quite excited to see a new level of hardware come out that we think we can support, do some good stuff with, and it’s something we’re currently experimenting with.

So you’ve got Wii U dev kits?

CJ: I haven’t seen them myself.

Is there a market for core gaming on Wii U?

CJ: I really hope so but I don’t think it’s a necessary part of their strategy. The Wii is great at the games people like playing on it. I’m not sure yet what Nintendo’s strategy might be for hardcore.

I don’t know if we’ll see flagship core titles on that platform – as a fan of Nintendo I’d love to see it personally, but I also enjoy playing the non-core titles a great deal.

Whether or not we need core titles as well, we’ll see. That’ll be up to the consumer. But if you can get the same visual quality from Wii U as from other platforms, then why not?

So we could see a colourful, CryEngine 3-powered Wii U platformer from Crytek?

CJ: Well, never write anything off. We’re experimenting all the time; we have a large number of very creative people with a lot of great ideas at the studio. Never say never; we’ll have to wait and see.

 

[Mr_Brit]

Crytek apparently does not have dev kits; also not sure what Nintendo's strategy is for the "hardcore" gamer.

http://www.nowgamer.com/features/967965/exclusive_crytek_interview.html

That's a big mistake. Middleware developers should have been the first non Japanese companies to get dev kits. Good middleware is the key to getting good first party support, without it Nintendo might as well say goodbye to receiving big multiplatform games.

 

[Rolf NB]

This is wired:

ron@boat:~$ ping 192.168.1.1
PING 192.168.1.1 (192.168.1.1) 56(84) bytes of data.
64 bytes from 192.168.1.1: icmp_req=1 ttl=64 time=0.543 ms
64 bytes from 192.168.1.1: icmp_req=2 ttl=64 time=0.616 ms
64 bytes from 192.168.1.1: icmp_req=3 ttl=64 time=0.418 ms
64 bytes from 192.168.1.1: icmp_req=4 ttl=64 time=0.553 ms
64 bytes from 192.168.1.1: icmp_req=5 ttl=64 time=0.371 ms
64 bytes from 192.168.1.1: icmp_req=6 ttl=64 time=0.508 ms
64 bytes from 192.168.1.1: icmp_req=7 ttl=64 time=0.528 ms
64 bytes from 192.168.1.1: icmp_req=8 ttl=64 time=0.528 ms
64 bytes from 192.168.1.1: icmp_req=9 ttl=64 time=0.485 ms
^C
--- 192.168.1.1 ping statistics ---
9 packets transmitted, 9 received, 0% packet loss, time 7997ms
rtt min/avg/max/mdev = 0.371/0.505/0.616/0.073 ms

...and this is wireless:

ron@pad:~$ ping 192.168.1.1
PING 192.168.1.1 (192.168.1.1) 56(84) bytes of data.
64 bytes from 192.168.1.1: icmp_req=1 ttl=64 time=0.926 ms
64 bytes from 192.168.1.1: icmp_req=2 ttl=64 time=1.10 ms
64 bytes from 192.168.1.1: icmp_req=3 ttl=64 time=1.07 ms
64 bytes from 192.168.1.1: icmp_req=4 ttl=64 time=1.09 ms
64 bytes from 192.168.1.1: icmp_req=5 ttl=64 time=1.08 ms
64 bytes from 192.168.1.1: icmp_req=6 ttl=64 time=1.09 ms
64 bytes from 192.168.1.1: icmp_req=7 ttl=64 time=1.08 ms
64 bytes from 192.168.1.1: icmp_req=8 ttl=64 time=1.15 ms
64 bytes from 192.168.1.1: icmp_req=9 ttl=64 time=1.07 ms
^C
--- 192.168.1.1 ping statistics ---
9 packets transmitted, 9 received, 0% packet loss, time 8011ms
rtt min/avg/max/mdev = 0.926/1.076/1.158/0.073 ms

If you think wireless has any impact whatsoever on your ability to game, you're a fucking idiot and there's a host of interesting business proposals I would like to make to you.