Wii U Speculation Thread of Brains Beware: Wii U Re-Unveiling At E3 2012

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Thoraxes said:
It just seems like he actually got to touch a dev. kit now.
There has to be more to it than that. It can obviously run id Tech 5. Perhaps it's that the expected something more from it, such as more power?

This is a mystery we can't solve.
 
BurntPork said:
There has to be more to it than that. It can obviously run id Tech 5. Perhaps it's that the expected something more from it, such as more power?

This is a mystery we can't solve.
There is nothing mysterious about that quote. It can run the engine. No specific game projects have been decided/announced.
 
He has commented on Avatar graphics as well:

Now, if you set me down and say, "Everybody's got this monster dual card, high-end system," you know, I could do some awesome stuff on that! But then you'd have to have artists make more and more awesome stuff, and you're winding up with a $100 million game budget that you're going to lose your shirt on.

yeah, I definitely see Nextbox/PS4 going this way.
 
paulgalenetwork said:
Retro Studios is hot off a four game win streak thanks to Donkey Kong Country Returns and the Metroid Prime trilogy, but according to them, what they’re working on for Wii’s successor is “a project everyone wants us to do”.

I spoke with two different people at the Austin, Texas based first party developer for Nintendo to see if I could get any more information on the “Wii 2″ which many are calling Project Cafe. Whatever the system’s name ends up being, my sources at Retro Studios said that their company was amongst the very first to receive a development kit and that they’ve been on board developing a new project ever since.

What could they be working on? Something that “everyone wants them to do” means one of two things to me. First off, it could be a new, ‘built from the ground up’ first person shooter…something that many gamers have been begging them to do. It makes sense and the way I see it, it would be the modern equivelant to what Perfect Dark was to Goldeneye 007 on the Nintendo 64.

PD and Goldeneye were both by Rare, with 007 being from an existing frachise and rather than a sequel, the company used it as foundation for creating an original ip. I can see and personally hope that this is the case with what Retro Studios has cooking.

The second thing that I’ve seen a lot of gamers ask for is a Zelda game made by the same people that brought us Metroid Prime and Donkey Kong Country Returns. I don’t know how likely that one is, but who knows…it certainly is possible.

One thing is certain and that is us getting something great from Retro Studios. Hopefully we’ll find more at E3.

Link
 
This news is from april anyway, back when it was called Cafe or Wii 2 and Retro showed nothing at E3. Gotta wait for 2012.
 
The only game I can think of that people want is Star Fox, but I can't remember if people want them to do it.

Rolf NB said:
There is nothing mysterious about that quote. It can run the engine. No specific game projects have been decided/announced.

Yeah. Sounds to be about the business side not the console power side.

walking fiend said:
He has commented on Avatar graphics as well:



yeah, I definitely see Nextbox/PS4 going this way.

I can't tell if you're being sarcastic or not. He said going that route would balloon development costs and cause them to lose money because there would be a desire to take advantage of the hardware.

And you shouldn't have gotten banned. You were supposed to have past me in posts in this thread. :P

DaSorcerer7 said:

I had forgotten where the original article came from. I only remembered the content.
 
It could be another Metroid. People have been begging for Retro to take back the Metroid series for the last year or so, after other M came out.

Games people have been "begging" for Retro to make, from my observations:

Metroid HD
Zelda
F-ZERO
Star Fox
Kid Icarus
Star Tropics
Original IP- most commonly in FPS genre
 
Developers: Nintendo Cutting Corners with Wii U?

Nintendo has not kept it secret that they are trying to keep hardware and manufacturing costs down for the Wii U, but it looks like it this may come back to bite them.

According to reports by 01net, developers are having trouble developing games for the Wii U, due to the faulty hardware in the console's tablet controller. Evidently, the controllers wireless function is not working, and even wired controllers are having problems. Evidently, this is due to the chip that powers the controller being "too cheap", resulting in many problems for the controller and its functions.

Nintendo has reportedly sent daily software updates to developers, but problematic development still exists.

Could these issues plague the Wii U when the system launches next year? Will Nintendo fix these problems by the launch date? Nintendo is on to some innovative ideas with the Wii U; it would be a shame if faulty hardware held the system back.
http://gamrfeed.********.com/story/87672/developers-nintendo-cutting-corners-with-wii-u/
 
There is a 6 page thread about this here:
http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=442071

With comments that could be summarized nicely, such as:

blu said:
I particularly loved the 'Developers on the Brink' chapter - pure gold.

(article is written as if by somebody who's was recently teleported to planet Earth, and has no clue whatsoever of console launches. But has a good taste for drama. If the same person was around the xb360's launch, they could've wet themselves).

Basic summary: aside from the fact that a lot of it could be hyperbolic heresay and/or BS, this happens with every system and every system launch. 6 months prior to the 360 launch, developers still didn't have hardware that anywhere near resembled the final hardware. A G5 is programmed for differently than the PPE, for example.
 
I think Nintendo is trying to figure out a way to make the controller cheap yet still fully functional. That way they could sell controllers separately.
 
StevieP said:
There is a 6 page thread about this here:
http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=442071

With comments that could be summarized nicely, such as:



Basic summary: aside from the fact that a lot of it could be hyperbolic heresay and/or BS, this happens with every system and every system launch. 6 months prior to the 360 launch, developers still didn't have hardware that anywhere near resembled the final hardware. A G5 is programmed for differently than the PPE, for example.

Thanks for the link, didn't spot that thread.
 
herzogzwei1989 said:
We should be really excited for Wii U. It's the first time since 1999-2001 that Nintendo will be getting an all-new GPU into a console. I'm really excited to see Nintendo games in HD with shaders.

Lovely Salsa said:
Is anyone really excited about Wii U? I'm having a hard time getting hyped

It just seems like a console that should've been released 5 years ago

Actually, I don't think I've been this excited about a console since the N64.

I loved the GameCube hardware, but it just feels like the jump to full HD w/ modern shaders is almost as big a leap as going from the SNES to the N64.

The thought of possibly seeing Mario, Star Fox, Wave Race, Mario Kart, Zelda, 1080, F-Zero, Smash Bros., Kirby, etc. with modern graphics technologies is just extremely exciting.
 
The DSi to 3DS console transfer gives me hope that something similar will exist for Wii to Wii U adopters.

Also, if Nintendo didn't cheap out on controller hardware, they could sell it at a loss to keep it at a good price. And if they actually made competent online, they wouldn't have to sell that many controllers because people would be playing online...so they wouldn't take that big of a hit.

I'm a genius.
 
ksamedi said:
I think Nintendo is trying to figure out a way to make the controller cheap yet still fully functional. That way they could sell controllers separately.
Perhaps. Besides, it's not like console manufacturers go for the highest quality parts in general. They all have to cut cut corners somewhere to get to a price the mass market will accept. You spend as much as you need to to get hardware working optimally. If the chip isn't working no matter what workarounds Nintendo tries, I'm sure they'll switch to a higher quality chip.

You know, this might be why Carmack isn't as enthusiastic as he once was. Seeing this may have made him lose confidence in the platform and it may be trying his patience.
 
Error Macro said:
Actually, I don't think I've been this excited about a console since the N64.

I loved the GameCube hardware, but it just feels like the jump to full HD w/ modern shaders is almost as big a leap as going from the SNES to the N64.

The thought of possibly seeing Mario, Star Fox, Wave Race, Mario Kart, Zelda, 1080, F-Zero, Smash Bros., Kirby, etc. with modern graphics technologies is just extremely exciting.
It really is the biggest jump that Nintendo fans will probably ever experience. Larger than the PS2->PS3 jump, really.
 
Error Macro said:
Actually, I don't think I've been this excited about a console since the N64.

I loved the GameCube hardware, but it just feels like the jump to full HD w/ modern shaders is almost as big a leap as going from the SNES to the N64.

The thought of possibly seeing Mario, Star Fox, Wave Race, Mario Kart, Zelda, 1080, F-Zero, Smash Bros., Kirby, etc. with modern graphics technologies is just extremely exciting.

What make your list sad is that half those games didn't even release on the Wii. Better luck on Wii U? Who knows.
 
SolarPowered said:
It really is the biggest jump that Nintendo fans will probably ever experience. Larger than the PS2->PS3 jump, really.

I whole heartedly agree. Nintendo fans, including myself, really will jump on board immediately if there favourite franchise is announced, in HD graphics. Im giddy at how Zelda will look on this thing. Nothing could possiblie go wrong.
 
Ubermatik said:
I whole heartedly agree. Nintendo fans, including myself, really will jump on board immediately if there favourite franchise is announced, in HD graphics. Im giddy at how Zelda will look on this thing. Nothing could possiblie go wrong.
The only thing I worry about are software droughts and seeing how AAA HD games are more complex and expensive to produce I can't imagine Nintendo's output going up. Especially since at E3 they hadn't even started working yet on Smash Bros., Skyward Sword is SD and took them about 4 years to ship. They really need the third party support this time around and hopefully Iwata shopped around for some exclusives or farmed out some of Nintendo's more promising franchises to good studios.
 
SolarPowered said:
It really is the biggest jump that Nintendo fans will probably ever experience. Larger than the PS2->PS3 jump, really.
Eh... Don't know if that can be said yet. You have to keep in mind that the Wii is something like 2.5-3x as powerful as the PS2, while current info can put Wii U anywhere from 1.5-4x PS3. We need to see more before we can make that judgement. That said, the fact that Wii U will have features available in DX10 and possibly even DX11 means that it is bigger in someways.

It's definitely the biggest Nintendo system jump, though.
 
[Nintex] said:
The only thing I worry about are software droughts and seeing how AAA HD games are more complex and expensive to produce I can't imagine Nintendo's output going up. Especially since at E3 they hadn't even started working yet on Smash Bros., Skyward Sword is SD and took them about 4 years to ship. They really need the third party support this time around and hopefully Iwata shopped around for some exclusives or farmed out some of Nintendo's more promising franchises to good studios.
If Iwata has any sense, he'll take that one step further and put more money toward expansion and acquisitions. They have to put all of that money to use at some point.
 
BurntPork said:
If Iwata has any sense, he'll take that one step further and put more money toward expansion and acquisitions. They have to put all of that money to use at some point.
A deal like Microsoft did with Gears seems good enough at the moment. As for expansion it's a good idea but even if they expanded it's going to take a while to get actual results. And blowing all that money now doesn't seem smart. Sure Nintendo can spend more since they've been cheap for a while but their warchest could be empty very quickly if they start throwing money at things without getting returns.
 
xandaca said:
If true, then sigh. You'd think Nintendo would have learnt their lesson from the Wii remote's motion sensing being sub-standard - but then, Nintendo are having what can only be described as a year from hell.

It isn't substandard. It's THE standard. Even Move, for all its hype, has failed to beat the barebones Wii Remote across all departments.

DaSorcerer7 said:

This game sounds like that Raven Blade revival that people are always bugging them about.
 
[Nintex] said:
A deal like Microsoft did with Gears seems good enough at the moment. As for expansion it's a good idea but even if they expanded it's going to take a while to get actual results. And blowing all that money now doesn't seem smart. Sure Nintendo can spend more since they've been cheap for a while but their warchest could be empty very quickly if they start throwing money at things without getting returns.
At the same time, they have two systems that require a significant amount of time and money to develop for. Most 3DS games are outsourced, and yet they still can't keep up. We already know that they can't trust third parties either. Hell, we still can't say for sure that Wii U will still get third party support after the other next gen consoles release. After what happened with 3DS, Nintendo needs to either go big or go home.
 
BurntPork said:
At the same time, they have two systems that require a significant amount of time and money to develop for. Most 3DS games are outsourced, and yet they still can't keep up. We already know that they can't trust third parties either. Hell, we still can't say for sure that Wii U will still get third party support after the other next gen consoles release. After what happened with 3DS, Nintendo needs to either go big or go home.
Still the Microsoft way is smarter they could quickly move from Gears and Lost Oddessey to Dance Central and Kinectanimals. First party studios are usually stuck on one game/genre/franchise and you need to move fast to keep up with the market trends. Which is pretty much how Microsoft kept their lead in the US. One thing Microsoft did fuck up was their first party stable. Imagine if they had BioWare, Bizarre Creations, a productive old-school Rare, Lionhead, Turn10, Bungie and all the others they let go or closed in a wave of insanity.

I'm also not sure what Nintendo could or should buy at this point, likely candidates would be Level-5 or Namco I guess but there's not much to buy that could easily fit in.
 
[Nintex] said:
Still the Microsoft way is smarter they could quickly move from Gears and Lost Oddessey to Dance Central and Kinectanimals. First party studios are usually stuck on one game/genre/franchise and you need to move fast to keep up with the market trends. Which is pretty much how Microsoft kept their lead in the US. One thing Microsoft did fuck up was their first party stable. Imagine if they had BioWare, Bizarre Creations, a productive old-school Rare, Lionhead, Turn10, Bungie and all the others they let go or closed in a wave of insanity.

I'm also not sure what Nintendo could or should buy at this point, likely candidates would be Level-5 or Namco I guess but there's not much to buy that could easily fit in.
Good point. Still, they need to go out of the box and take a huge risk. Fans, investors, developers, and publishers have lost so much confidence in them this year, and if 01net's rumors are true, it's only going to get worse.
 
BurntPork said:
Eh... Don't know if that can be said yet. You have to keep in mind that the Wii is something like 2.5-3x as powerful as the PS2, while current info can put Wii U anywhere from 1.5-4x PS3. We need to see more before we can make that judgement. That said, the fact that Wii U will have features available in DX10 and possibly even DX11 means that it is bigger in someways.

It's definitely the biggest Nintendo system jump, though.
PS2 and Wii are operating on the same resolution with differences in stuff technical stuff which allowed them to play the same game(s) with some minor cosmetic differences(obviously the Wii has some extra umph that would ultimately give the edge to the Wii). A 2x->4x jump from the PS3 is also massive and it guarantees 720P games which HD consoles in this generation struggled to run. I'm pretty sure that some of the stuff that Nintendo will make for the WiiU will be nearly impossible to run on the 360 or PS3 when you factor in the possible applications of the tablet controller with it's own 480P resolution.

It is most definitely the biggest jump unless Nintendo decides to make a 360lite or a PS3 1.1 update.
 
BurntPork said:
Good point. Still, they need to go out of the box and take a huge risk. Fans, investors, developers, and publishers have lost so much confidence in them this year, and if 01net's rumors are true, it's only going to get worse.

Yeah, Nintendo never takes risks.
 
BurntPork said:
Good point. Still, they need to go out of the box and take a huge risk. Fans, investors, developers, and publishers have lost so much confidence in them this year, and if 01net's rumors are true, it's only going to get worse.

The Wii's success was such a safe bet, no one ever doubted them for a minute. Afterall, they kept basically the same controller design they've had since the 90s so they KNEW it would work!

I mean, you're right in that Nintendo can't play it safe, but the Wii U from everything we OFFICIALLY know is not exactly playing it safe. There is a lot of rumor and speculation though of course and a lot of supposed insider information we have NO way of verifying yet.

What frustrates me though, more and more is the COMPLETE silence of official information. As I said in the thread about Nintendo possibly cutting corners with Wii U (which I don't believe) Nintendo really DOES need to answer some questions sooner than later. If not a full unveil then at least lift the corner on something like Online plans. They say their system will be comparable to other consoles, just "check that box" well, LET us check it. SHOW US that. Kill any rumors that it won't be as good. PROVE it.

If you wont' show us a FULL game show us another little tech demo with online capability for how it will work. SOMETHING. Throw us a bone, kill the negative buzz. Get a little ENERGY and EXCITEMENT back around it.
 
It's so far off, that it won't even matter. Any 'new' info would wear out quickly. Really, the fact that showed it off at E3 with how incomplete it is was a dumb idea, but if they didn't, there was a huge gap in Wii and 3DS games. Also by showing it they made Microsoft and Sony take notice that they've got something on the way, and probably kicked their next gen plans into higher gear.

I really don't know why it's taking so long though, NCL from Mario Galaxy 2 to Zelda has worked on virtually nothing major. Wii U should have been ready this fall.
 
Error Macro said:
Actually, I don't think I've been this excited about a console since the N64.

I loved the GameCube hardware, but it just feels like the jump to full HD w/ modern shaders is almost as big a leap as going from the SNES to the N64.

The thought of possibly seeing Mario, Star Fox, Wave Race, Mario Kart, Zelda, 1080, F-Zero, Smash Bros., Kirby, etc. with modern graphics technologies is just extremely exciting.

I wouldn't expect "Full HD." It's extremely taxing on systems. I'm actually skeptical on whether or not PS4/Nextbox will hit 1080 either. It's like either doing 30fps or 60fps. There is a trade-off in graphics. Higher IQ? Or better graphics?

Boerseun said:
It isn't substandard. It's THE standard. Even Move, for all its hype, has failed to beat the barebones Wii Remote across all departments.

Wtf did I just read. Really? Considering I'm working hands on with Move.Me, I can say that your claim is false.
 
TheNatural said:
It's so far off, that it won't even matter. Any 'new' info would wear out quickly. Really, the fact that showed it off at E3 with how incomplete it is was a dumb idea, but if they didn't, there was a huge gap in Wii and 3DS games. Also by showing it they made Microsoft and Sony take notice that they've got something on the way, and probably kicked their next gen plans into higher gear.

I really don't know why it's taking so long though, NCL from Mario Galaxy 2 to Zelda has worked on virtually nothing major. Wii U should have been ready this fall.

I don't know how REALLY far off it actually is. Maybe I'm crazy but I see a summerish release next year, not a holiday release.
 
Gaborn said:
I don't know how REALLY far off it actually is. Maybe I'm crazy but I see a summerish release next year, not a holiday release.
It's not gunna debut around the time of E3, probably Fall at the earliest
 
I'm still convinced that a DKCR sequel by Retro should be the best option for Nintendo. It's not a very long game to design, and it will be a strong, beloved title for the early Wii U's life.
Of course, I understand Retro's guys, doing a sequel is less cool than new/other IP.
For my part I'm against the idea of Retro doing the "Zelda HD", but I think they can definitely handle Four/Five/Eight Swords.
 
Medalion said:
It's not gunna debut around the time of E3, probably Fall at the earliest
It is Fall at the latest. No way they wait until the very end of the year(or the next for that matter) with the Wii in a coma and on life support(which it will be by then).

They are just going to kill the Wii brand if they keep the Wii floundering out there until Fall or after with no games.
 
SolarPowered said:
It is Fall at the latest. No way they wait until the very end of the year(or the next for that matter) with the Wii in a coma and on life support(which it will be by then).

They are just going to kill the Wii brand if they keep the Wii floundering out there until Fall or after with no games.
We have seen so very little about the Wii U about actual games and the finalized hardware... I really want them to take their time to get this right and not have a 3DS situation on their hands, make everything just right
 
SolarPowered said:
It is Fall at the latest. No way they wait until the very end of the year(or the next for that matter) with the Wii in a coma and on life support(which it will be by then).

They are just going to kill the Wii brand if they keep the Wii floundering out there until Fall or after with no games.

I'm telling you man, it'll be a Jun-August release. No earlier, no later.

If I'm wrong, then you can come to my house and steal my cat or something.
 
SolarPowered said:
It is Fall at the latest. No way they wait until the very end of the year(or the next for that matter) with the Wii in a coma and on life support(which it will be by then).

They are just going to kill the Wii brand if they keep the Wii floundering out there until Fall or after with no games.
You made a point, problem is, with the 3DS (early release in the year, price tag) they havn't met the expectations. It was clear at E3 and before E3 this year they wanted do to the same thing, but today they are facing some doubts about it.
The price tag is a problem, they shouldn't offer a new "overpriced" system (and the controller will cost a lot);
They need more games;
The rumors says they are facing problems between third party developers and dev kits...

Several things that doesn't really go in the sense of the earlier release in the CY, even if it was their first plan

Also, it is very early to discuss this, but what about the idea of Super Mario Bros Mii bundled with the system?
 
Freezie KO said:
I'd love to see them revive Ice Climbers.

Ice Climbers: Polar Death X, a horror survival game set in the arctic is coming.

Retro will be working on a FPS, possibly a revival of Star tropics.

You heard it hear first.
 
StreetsAhead said:
Ice Climbers: Polar Death X, a horror survival game set in the arctic is coming.

I was thinking more Ice Climber Country Returns in HD, rather than this:

cursed-Mountain_Wii_FINAL_USboxart_160w.jpg
 
A late September launch in 2012 would be a year away. If they can't get it ready by then they had better have the greatest launch of all time in order to make up for the fatigued Wii brand that they'll be peddling to the masses who can only see Kinect.

The possibility of launching in the same year as a new MS console(2013 if they want to take their sweet time) could also spell disaster if they are trying to build a base for third parties. Late Summer is the ideal time to start moving those units next year in order for them to enjoy a decent Christmas. All they need to do is focus on making the machine dev friendly and not too costly. All they need is a handful of original/mediocre games with a first party stunner and a flood of multiplatform titles.

How they managed to fudge up their transition with all that R&D money and the Wii brand is beyond me. The hardware should have been the easiest part. If they've got problems there I'm terrified of finding out how they are doing on the online front...
Ubermatik said:
I'm telling you man, it'll be a Jun-August release. No earlier, no later.

If I'm wrong, then you can come to my house and steal my cat or something.
I've always wanted a kitty. :3
 
Medalion said:
We have seen so very little about the Wii U about actual games and the finalized hardware... I really want them to take their time to get this right and not have a 3DS situation on their hands, make everything just right

The thing is, at some point they can't keep this wall of silence up even if they had some artificial internal time line that ACTUALLY literally forbade any major talk until after the new year (something I'm not quite convinced exists in such a definite form, even if that is there preference). The gaming industry lives a lot on hype and buzz. There has been nothing but a positive buzz around skyward sword for example, and apart from being a Zelda game so you expect a certain quality you expect that they've taken their time and changed it up a LITTLE bit, it should be great.

The Wii U is slipping, in public perception terms a bit into an early PS3 mindset I think. Not in a direct comparison way, but just in the sense that... Sony's officially unveiling of the PS3 and $599 went off very, very, very, badly. It will go down as one of the most iconic, horribly bad moments of this generation. It was pricing themselves out of the market at that time and basically surrendering first place for the forseeable future. Their talk of "getting a second job to pay for it" didn't help perception either. So the buzz there was it was cheap. The buzz with gamecube was it was "kiddie" and a "lunch box" (even though I disagree with both assertions in large part that was a lot of the noise around it at the time). the 360 was of course defined early by the RROD (aside from also being defined by launching first and building their lead a bunch).

Every console builds up early first impressions, sometimes even before they're launched and that can stick with a product it's entire life cycle if you aren't careful. It's a large part of why the 3DS is now $80 cheaper than it was. I think the luke warm reception and the confusion generated by E3, though it ultimately can be fixed with their true blow out event for the console when they're ready for that STILL needs to be addressed sooner than that to at least really allay some fears (specifically either online or "only one controller) if they can FULLY address either of those issues.

If there IS a robust full online system akin to PSN or Live then show us a little taste of it. Hell, announce the death of friend codes and watch the excitement build. Of course, if there isn't it'll be more rocky but I think a lot of that is in place, enough to show anyway.

If they HAVE gotten multiple controllers working with it team up with a dev, say EA and show off an example of it in action such as madden. Seems IDEAL for a dual tablet game. Show it off. Stamp out the fear. Get a bit of positive buzz going. The negativity around the Wii U in recent days is not healthy to perceptions even if it DOES turn out false (if it's true then... well I said it's not healthy)
 
Jackano said:
Also, it is very early to discuss this, but what about the idea of Super Mario Bros Mii bundled with the system?

Depends if they have something else planned or not, al a Wii Sports. See, Super Mario Bros. Mii would sell extremely well on it's own, and would help the system to launch if sold separately. Bundle the game with the system and you lose out on the exposure and sales the game would generate. This is why I reckon the game would benefit the system more as a separate release. Whether Nintendo will bundle something else instead, I don't know.

*EDIT*

SolarPowered said:
I've always wanted a kitty. :3

Forgot to mention she died a couple of months ago... but you can still have her if you like...? :|

Wait, that's sick...
 
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