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New Nintendo HD Console Rumors Abound
pcgfx805 writes "Game Informer has reportedly received word from 'multiple sources' that a new HD console from Nintendo will be debuting at this year's E3. They report on conflicting information regarding the power of the console compared to the other current-gen consoles, but go on to speculate that 'Either way it will offer competitive specifications.'"
This year's E3 is scheduled for June 7-9.
As long as they have Mario games I'll piss my money away on it.
They'd better have backwards compatibility, a quick and easy way for me to transfer my Wii game saves and a damned good Final Fantasy game (stick it, Sony!) at launch or it's not going to work to distract me from my iPad.
I have no doubt Nintendo will make a next-gen console, and I have no doubt it'll support HD. None of this is really new or interesting.
However, my questions are:
1. Will it support backwards compatibility with the Wii? (I expect it will.)
2. Will it allow save games to be copied off the Wii onto the new console? (AFAIK, this only applies to games with online components, but some game saves are locked to the console.)
3. Will it allow Virtual Console and WiiWare purchases to be transferred?
That last one is a deal-breaker for me. If you can't copy your existing digital purchases off the Wii onto whatever the next-gen Nintendo console is, forget it.
This is one thing that Microsoft and Sony do right: all you need to do to use your digital purchases on a new console is log in.
With Nintendo, you simply can't use them on anything but the original hardware. And if the hardware fails (which has happened to me twice), your only recourse is to ship it back to Nintendo and have them fix it, or lose any downloaded games you may have purchased.
You are in a maze of twisty little relative jumps, all alike.
Its quite obvious to do, how long they can hold on to standard definition formats ? They had to make a move and they have to make it fast before ps4 and xbox720 chomps away the next gen.
I blog about breaking computers at Pro Hack
Did you actually (sarcastically) say game systems aren't about fun? You do realize how sad that sounds? There is nothing sadder then a gamer that doesn't waste his life on fun...
Metroid in HD... sweet... :O
tl;dr
My bet is that this is the first console to really lunge at a complete online storefront pushing casual games.
In the era of Netflix and Apple's AppStore model of buying games at GameStop needs to officially die. Nintendo is poised to be the first to put online sales above all others because they're the least reliant on third party publishers.
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Dude. Nintendo actually helps you and your serious gaming. By diverting all the casuals on a single system they ensure your PSBox market is not marred with family games.
Yet another article that starts on the premise that Nintendo is somehow losing the console market, and needs to do something quickly to curb MS's and Sony's dominance. It also ignores the large install base where people either bought the Wii knowing it was already the "loser" in horse power, or just didn't even know about it (your "grandpa playing wii sports" stereotype, if you prefer). Those people don't really need more horse power for the sake of it.
My guess is all those people saying that are just bitter 360 and PS3 owners that refused to buy a Wii because of pride; after all, it can't have good games if the graphics suck, right? Oh, brb, I wanna play some more Mario Kart, Monster Hunter Tri and Mario Galaxy.
It's a 'natural' progression unless people are missing things. The Gamecube was, in all honesty, a performance upgrade on the N64. It offered nothing more than better graphics and a slightly altered controller - it still maintained the 'amazing idea' of the analogue stick even with the new controller.
The N64 however was a 'revolution' vs. the SNES which it replaced.
Whilst I agree that Nintendo historically have a 5-6 year release schedule for consoles, they tend to go in leaps of two in respect of 'revolutions':
NES > SNES (graphics only upgrade really for the SNES)
N64 > Gamecube (N64 brings 3D and anaolgue, Gamecube enhances graphics)
Wii > WiiHD (Wii brings motion control, WiiHD enhances graphics)
Each subsequent iteration of the above pairs has pretty much just improved on the original concept before, a further 10 or so years from the original pair item release, they produce a new concept.
I see no reason to doubt that a WiiHD is planned, though the only area I would be dubious on is the BluRay option, I personally think this would put the price somewhere unacceptable given the 360 manages perfectly fine without one. Technology would allow the Wii form factor to be maintained but with a suitable spec upgrade of the internals - faster CPU, possibly more RAM, internal storage, job done. Changing the controller at this stage would seem pointless unless it is a suitably subtle re-design assuming that MotionPlus would be built in - HD screen on the controller? No chance, this would ruin the size of the WiiMote - best case would be a small LCD screen but even then I can't see this doing much more than decreasing controller battery life and adding more weight.
As for me, yes please a FullHD, HDMI equipped, WiiHD ready for Christmas Mr Santa! (So long as it upscales and anti-aliases existing Wii games!).
I will be pissed if Nintendo releases anything but a console with power equivalent to the current generation. The last thing I want to do is worry about how I'm going to convert my AC supplied power into whatever new fandangled, "innovative" power Nintendo comes up with.
Makes me wonder why there are no hits on Google for goatscape rendering....
Two things are infinite: the universe and human stupidity, though I'm not yet sure about the universe. - A Einstein
I suppose that this is one unintended benefit of releasing an underpowered console for the current generation.
Nintendo is releasing a new platform at a point when the 360 and PS3 platforms are starting to stagnate, resorting to parlor tricks like the Kinect and Move to cover up the fact that it's not economically viable to release a new "next generation" platform at this point in time.
If they handle the new home console the same way they handled the 3DS, many people should be very happy. Backwards compatibility, data transfers, a more fully-featured eShop with non-game media, and a large assortment of large titles and large window titles... I'm looking forward to it.
You are seriously downplaying the advances in each case. Please do not be fooled by retrospective appearances.
The SNES was a major leap forward from the NES. Major. It's difficult to really stress this enough. Nintendo were riding high from the huge success of the NES and built a worthy successor. The breadth, depth and variety of SNES games is a testament to the capability of the system, capability which simply did not exist on the NES in any fashion.
Mode 7 is the obvious feature here, but the sheer level of improvements in basic functionality opened up a new world of potential in games. Just compare say, Super Metroid, with the original game, or consider the entirely new Genre's like 2D fighters which came to consoles during this time. The NES could not have supported these games or anything even resembling them.
The Gamecube is similar, though comparisons with contemporary rivals can skew things. However, it suffices to say that even a game like Luigi's Mansion would never have fit on the N64.
May the Maths Be with you!
In addition, this console will also support the 3D functionality of the the 3DS. While you are playing, simply have two of your friends lift the flatscreen TV from each side and position it at various angles while you stand stationary.
"There ought to be limits to freedom." -George W. Bush
Announcing a new console at this years E3 is all well and good, but announcing that it is coming out in LATE 2012 is giving themselves 1 1/2 years for people NOT to buy a Wii before then, even with the previously rumored $150 price cut. Might also cause some people to hold out on a new Zelda purchase waiting for the HD version (which they should be making).
Nintendo should definitely add some more features to appeal to the older gamers. I grew up with nintendo, love the mario / zelda franchise, and have owned every single one of their consoles. The Wii, while revolutionary for its time for its motion controls, was a bit behind in the graphics / processing department. Thank god it at least had component video outputs but even then it doesn't do justice to those of us who have large HD sets.. However as an aging (30-something) gamer, my tastes have changed. Sometimes after a rotten day at work futzing with IDEs, I want to decompress with a FPS, blowing stuff up with occasional blood and gore. Or perhaps after navigating through a bunch of idiot socialites blocking the grocery store coffee aisle I want to play stuff like mass effect w/ foul language and pseudo-nudity. (Big boobed, aliens in painted-on bodysuits FTMFW! And yes, I do enjoy a cartoonish games (like mariokart) w/ friends when we all get together during special occasions. Some suggestions for Nintendo: 1) improve online play - lose the 'friend code' nonsense. 2) incorporate some sort of HDD / flash drive to store games to *entirely* eliminate need to change discs. this would be HUGE in my opinion. Even if its an add-on module, at least give us an option. I can see this posing some piracy concerns though. 3) incorporate HDMI and digital output. Cut the whole "Composite Video and RCA Stereo out" cord 4) Gig-E jack on back. wireless is OK but some of us actually have dedicated ethernet drops behind our entertainment centers for this very purpose. 5) allow linking up of multiple consoles to improve localized multiplayer gameplay and allow use of more than one screen, more than 4 players at parties and such. and finally... 6) for the love of god, please let Mario and Link get laid one of these games. They've been saving those freakin princess girls for almost 30years now and they never put out. WTF is up with that?
any new zelda would probably get the twilight princes treatment, skip release for the current gen, polish it up a bit, and release early on the next-gen console
People, what a bunch of bastards
2 is pronounced "ni" in Japanese.
Now read Wii2
I thought that was the Wii...
It's spelled goatsescape, that's why. It's the whole reason the Wii was standard def - they discovered an amazing rendering algorithm using goatse-based graphics (hence the term goatsescape) which would have revolutionized GPU technology everywhere, until they realized that if it were high def then users would be able to see that each pixel is actually goatse so it would kill sales. That is the real reason the Wii is standard def. Of course, at the time they overestimated consumers' intelligence and did not realize that 99% of the marketplace is comprised of drooling mouth breathers who would proceed to connect their $3,000-$5,000 high definition televisions to components using the composite NTSC ports.
The Christian Right is Neither (Christian nor right). See: Matthew 23, Matthew 25, Ezekiel 16:48-50
The NES had 2d fighters. TMNT Tournament was one I played a lot of. 2D fighters were not new to the console with the SNES.
Did you actually (sarcastically) say game systems aren't about fun? You do realize how sad that sounds? There is nothing sadder then a person that doesn't waste his life on fun...
Fixed that for you.
From Wikipedia, the SNES version was released December 1993. The NES version was released February 1994. The NES version actually came after the SNES version, in the last year of the NES's 'official' life.
Basically, the NES TMMT Tournament Fighter is the bastardized version of the game. It's just as they put games on GameCube, PS2, Xbox, and GameBoy Advance. One of these things is not like the other.
Which was a terrible port of a vastly superior SNES game. The gameboy had mortal kombat too. I don't know if these examples really count.
His overall point was that the super nintendo was vastly improved platform compared to the nes, not a mere graphical upgrade.
The comparison between super metroid and metroid is an excellent one. Or compare super mario 3 (the nes's most advanced game at the time) to super mario world. (a launch game)
The only generation that was not a huge leap forward was the Wii. Even the gamecube was as much of a jump (actually more so) as the PSX to PS2 was. Nintendo seems more interested in introducing new forms of gameplay much more than improving the relative power of their machines. Even the 3DS is not much more improved than say a PSP graphically. In fact it has a lower resolution.
zosxavius photography
I'm having a hard time believing something and you sound like you could confirm it:
Does Call of Duty 4 actually exist? As in, they made the same game 4 times with insignificant changes and morons like you actually keep buying it in large enough numbers to make it profitable?
In defense of the article, it did have some concrete conclusions, e.g.:
"There are conflicting reports, however, as to whether its graphics will be comparable to those on the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 – meaning it could surpass or fall short of those systems.
So some random rumours, about something that may or may not happen at some or other time, this way or another...
This is /. front-page how exactly?
It generates comments.
"I like to lick butts!" by MobileTatsu-NJG (#32700246) (Score:5, Informative)
You sure you want to make that argument to defend a console that plays the thirteenth through fifteenth mainline Mario games and the twelfth and fifteenth mainline Zelda games?
Rob
Announcing a new console at this years E3 is all well and good, but announcing that it is coming out in LATE 2012 is giving themselves 1 1/2 years for people NOT to buy a Wii before then, even with the previously rumored $150 price cut. Might also cause some people to hold out on a new Zelda purchase waiting for the HD version (which they should be making).
They're not doing anything out of the norm. The bigger concern is they tell their competitors how to update their machines to minimize the impact. (see Rumble Pak.)
"I like to lick butts!" by MobileTatsu-NJG (#32700246) (Score:5, Informative)
You've obviosuly never done serious game development
Sorry, I was under the impression that /. was a site for nerds of all backgrounds, not just game development nerds. Apparently I was mistaken.
"I'm not sure I like the fugnutish tone you used in your post!" -RogL (608926)-
Then shouldn't they call it the Wiiii?
The CPU was also a 16-bit version of the processor used in the NES at double the clock speed, and additionally the SPC sound system developed by Sony in the SNES was incredibly state of the art hardware at the time. It was actually a complete co-processor, with it's own 64kb of memory and sophisticated DSP chips. Compare some SNES soundtracks to the FM beeps and blips of the Sega Genesis (not to say beeps and blips aren't awesome), but yeah, I suppose if you disregard the substantial CPU improvement, and the revolutionary graphics and sound improvements it's really nothing special.
The Mario games tend to change up quite a bit between iterations, but I'll conceed on the Zelda point. And yet...I must have it!
When Wii 3 to come out, then I can make jokes about being the third wheel. "I wanna play the Wii." "Mii too." "Mii three."
What do you mean, "skip release"? Twilight Princess was released on GC (and Wii).
"Wait until he starts on another kick, then reply to him as an AC. It's the new meme". - by tomhudson (43916) on Sunday May 09 2010, @08:29PM (#32150544) Homepage Journal
QUOTED FROM -> http://slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=1646272&cid=32150544
i just want a shit ton of tessellation.
mmm metroid.
This has got to be the most un-hyped released of a gaming machine in some time.
I hope Nintendo releases something amazing, because from the sounds of the market, the competition is not looking to release anything for a while.
Latest rumours includes a controller with a 6" touchscreen display on it.....
Considering that TMNT Tournament was a multi-system simultaneous release(NES, SNES, Genesis, and possibly others that I don't know about), it doesn't really count. You also can't compare the NES version to the SNES version. There just wasn't enough room for highly detailed sprites, and you only had two action buttons to work with as opposed to the 6 that the SNES had. At least with the SNES they were able to make (near)True to Arcade ports of some of the big names like Street Fighter II and Mortal Kombat (this is where the "nearly" comes in).
Puu.
"...And who wants to make buttprints in the sands of time?" ~Bob Moawad
Will offer competitive spec's, at a time when both Microsoft and Sony will leap-frog them again with new next-gens in a year or two.
I am sure Nintendo will do to the Wii what they have been doing to the DS for years, incremental and often trivial updates to hardware in order to encourage a new round of frenzied buying by stupid kids that don't know better. Most likely this console will be a Wii with an HDMI port, nothing more, nothing less.
Sounds like a good plan to me.