Iwata Confirms Nintendo Network, New Wii U Controller Functions

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Iwata Confirms Nintendo Network, New Wii U Controller Functions

Posted by Soulskill on Friday January 27, 2012 @03:52AM from the get-us-some-of-those-networks-everyone-likes dept.

New submitter DeanCubed writes "In a Nintendo investor meeting, CEO Satoru Iwata confirmed a new Nintendo Network for the company's 3DS and upcoming Wii U game systems. This includes multiple user accounts per console (not tied to hardware, a first for Nintendo) and digitally distributed retail software releases for their online store. Iwata also noted that the Wii U's tablet controller will feature NFC (Near Field Communication) functionality, allowing the ability to use figurines and cards to input visual data to the console. They are hoping to use this to make micro-transactions for paid DLC easier."

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Online network OK. But what about the Wii-U? by RogueyWon · 2012-01-27 03:56 · Score: 5, Interesting

Having read both TFA and a few other more detailed articles out there (Eurogamer has a good one), the Nintendo Network looks like a good thing, albeit one which is many years overdue. It'll be good to have the it there, but it's hard to see anybody getting excited about it, given that at best it will bring functionality on a par with Xbox Live and the Playstation Network.
I think the Wii-U is a cause for greater concern. It's going to be launching in difficult economic times. The 3DS did that last year and its initial sales were poor. They've now recovered a bit (though they're still below forecast), but only at the expense of Nintendo having to sell the system at a loss. Now, selling at a loss isn't exactly a bad strategy (it worked wonders for Sony with the PS2), but it's very much counter to Nintendo's historic strategy. The Vita, also launching in difficult times, has had a poor Japanese launch despite a really quite good launch-games lineup. Having seen what the Vita can do, I very much want to own one - but I'll be surprised if its US and European sales don't fall well short of targets. I get the feeling that 2012 is going to be a really bad time to be launching a console - most people are unlikely to be feeling any kind of real economic recovery during the year. Microsoft and Sony have clearly decided to hold on and wait in the hope of a kinder economy; Nintendo, with Wii sales exhausted and their finances at an all-time low, don't have that option.
But more worrying still is the lack of a real public narrative around the Wii-U. The Wii had one of these. Motion control was easily grasped. You could watch somebody demonstrating one - or try a demo unit yourself - and "get" the concept instantly. If you actually used the thing more extensively, you'd come up against its limitations very quickly; the motion control was imprecise and in many cases placed a barrier between the player and the game that meant it ended up less immersive than traditional controllers. But by then, the sale was made. The Wii-U is a much harder concept to grasp. It's a home console which has some tablet-ish features. But how will it work with a room full of people? What will the tablet actually add to the games? And how is it going to be fun at a party with a room full of people with a few drinks inside them?
There are actually answers to those questions if you look around enough at the material that's been made available. But they're not simple answers and they're not easily communicated. On that basis, I just cannot see the Wii-U replicating the success of the Wii's early years. I'm also unsure that the pitch to the more traditional "gamer" crowd will work. There's a lot of frustration with the current generation's techological limitations. But I don't sense any confidence that Nintendo - who, let's not forget, have spent the time since the Wii's launch neglecting this demographic - are the people to usher in the next generation. I also find it hard to imagine developers doing much with the Wii-U's hardware - which is better than the current generation, but not by a huge margin - putting much resource into developing games for it that actually push it beyond what the 360 and PS3 can do. More likely, it will just get a lot of PS3/360 ports, which present little compelling reason for the "gamer" crowd to jump ship from their existing platforms until those get replaced.
The 3DS also suffered from a mis-managed message at launch. It was launched on the basis of "look 3d!" rather than "look, more powerful DS with better graphics". People weren't interested in 3d. A better DS is a stronger pitch and Nintendo have had more success with the 3DS since they switched to it. But I'm struggling to see what the pitch is with the Wii-U.
I've been wrong on calling "Nintendo are doomed" before. But I'm finding it very hard to see a convincing path to success for the Wii-U. The Wii was the right product at the right time (I admit it took me a while to recognise this). But for Nintendo to capitalise on that success, I think they needed to have a replacement ready by the back end of 2009 or early 2010 at the latest. As it is, they've endured a pretty grim second half of this console cycle and are in a very risky position now.
1. Re:Online network OK. But what about the Wii-U? by tepples · 2012-01-27 04:02 · Score: 3, Insightful
  
  at best it will bring functionality on a par with Xbox Live and the Playstation Network.
  And probably not even that. Though Wii has WiiWare, which compares to Xbox Live Arcade, I don't see Nintendo introducing a counterpart to Xbox Live Indie Games any time soon.
  
  I think the Wii-U is a cause for greater concern. It's going to be launching in difficult economic times.
  I was under the impression that toys were one of the more recession-proof sectors of the economy. What kind of economic times was the Super NES launched into?
  
  It's a home console which has some tablet-ish features.
  As I understand it, it's the evolution of the GBA-as-a-controller concept that the GameCube tried
  
  But how will it work with a room full of people?
  Only one player can use the tablet. Other players can use a Wii Remote+Nunchuk or the Classic Controller. How does the PC work with a room full of people?
  
  What will the tablet actually add to the games?
  
  For one thing, ability to play while the TV is in use. For another, the same thing that the second screen of the DS added in 2004.
  
  And how is it going to be fun at a party with a room full of people with a few drinks inside them?
  Developers of games for Xbox 360 and PS3 have allegedly already been ignoring this market, making games whose only multiplayer is online because they can sell more copies that way.
2. Re:Online network OK. But what about the Wii-U? by RogueyWon · 2012-01-27 04:11 · Score: 1
  
  This is interesting stuff - but it just serves to illustrate the problem. All of the questions I asked can be answered (as I said in my original post). But the answers don't fit into a simple narrative. And not all of the answers are particularly satisfactory or exciting. And when it comes to the last question (how it works with a room full of people), you basically have to just point out that developers for the 360 and PS3 have neglected the same market.
  This is valid and true. But the point is that the "non-gamers" who bought the Wii (and never used it much once the novelty wore off) aren't going to buy the Wii-U because they feel neglected on the other platforms. They don't really care about the other platforms. They're not gamers - that's the whole point. They bought the Wii because "look, you play games by jumping around and waving your arms and that looks fun". There's no equivalent pitch out there for the Wii-U and that makes me suspect that Nintendo will not replicate the massive sales they saw in the Wii's first 3 years.
3. Re:Online network OK. But what about the Wii-U? by CastrTroy · 2012-01-27 04:14 · Score: 1
  
  How does the PC work with a room full of people?
  A PC Doesn't work with a room full of people. The only time I've seen a PC work with a room full of people is when It's a LAN party, and each person in the room has their own PC.
  
  --
  
  Anthropic principle: We see the universe the way it is because if it were different we would not be here to see it.
4. Re:Online network OK. But what about the Wii-U? by RogueyWon · 2012-01-27 04:18 · Score: 2
  
  I remember some pretty fun experiences with a PC and a room full of people back in the early/mid 90s with the Battle Isle games (which I did a journal post on the other week).
  Now admittedly, it was a room full of very nerdy people who actually found hex-based turn-based strategy games fun, but still...
5. Re:Online network OK. But what about the Wii-U? by tepples · 2012-01-27 04:24 · Score: 1
  
  A PC Doesn't work with a room full of people.
  In theory it can when games are programmed to make the most of a home theater PC by reading more than one USB gamepad. But as the Cracked article explains, big-name video game developers have been reluctant to cater to the HTPC market.
6. Re:Online network OK. But what about the Wii-U? by oGMo · 2012-01-27 04:25 · Score: 1
  
  People weren't interested in 3d.
  
  I agree fully with the majority of your post. In fact, I think this is the only sentence I don't. People want 3D. But they want the 3D that's in Star Wars and science fiction, not the 3DS. I actively sought out a 3DS in Best Buy just to see the 3D, because while I've never been interested in touch and motion control as particularly useful to gaming, I think that 3D certainly could be.
  But spending 30 seconds using a 3DS and playing Pilotwings Resort, it's clear from the dizzying headache that these are not the three D's I'm looking for. And I'd have to say that Nintendo probably sold fewer because people were more interested in 3D, and turned off by the demo units, than simple lack of interest in 3D. I'm personally waiting to see if the inevitable 3DSP Lite+ XL Platinum Shiny Edition is any better in this regard. Til then the Vita should do nicely.
  
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7. Re:Online network OK. But what about the Wii-U? by Anonymous Coward · 2012-01-27 04:46 · Score: 0
  
  Emulators and a big screen HDTV.
  You can thank me later.
8. Re:Online network OK. But what about the Wii-U? by Ihmhi · 2012-01-27 04:55 · Score: 1
  
  Just to be pedantic, but there's nothing stopping you from hooking up four USB gamepads to a USB hub, loading up ZSNES, and getting some four player Turtles in Time action going on.
  Pretty much any console prior to the current generation is playable on the PC, so... yeah. Why have 10 or 15 consoles hooked up to the television when you could instead just have one PC with a bunch of emulators and ROMS and some USB controllers? And that's not to mention all of the games you can play exclusive to the PC that are fun in their own right, such as Frets on Fire.
  
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9. Re:Online network OK. But what about the Wii-U? by Bagels · 2012-01-27 04:57 · Score: 1
  
  I've heard rumors that Nintendo might go to an app-store model for the Wii U that would presumably be a lot more open and XBLIG-ish than their current system (wherein they won't even consider giving you a dev kit unless you're an established development company with a dedicated office, etc.). If they actually did that they'd have to eat a bit of crow, though; Iwata and co. have come out against the app store model in the past pointing at all the crap that winds up making it through. Perhaps they're realizing that being an 'established' company doesn't prevent one from dishing out the shovelware, though, even as they lose out on indie hits like Tiny Towers that might not have made their licensing cut.
  
  --
  --- Bwah?
10. Re:Online network OK. But what about the Wii-U? by djdanlib · 2012-01-27 05:10 · Score: 1
  
  Simple, hotseat gaming a la Worms Armageddon / Worms World Party! We had some good times with that game back in the day...
11. Re:Online network OK. But what about the Wii-U? by Anonymous Coward · 2012-01-27 05:14 · Score: 0
  
  Developers of games for Xbox 360 and PS3 have allegedly already been ignoring this market, making games whose only multiplayer is online because they can sell more copies that way
  They ignore that market because nobody cares about it. Seriously, playing video games at a party? You'd have to attend some pretty damn poor parties for someone to bust out a game console.
12. Re:Online network OK. But what about the Wii-U? by basscomm · 2012-01-27 05:26 · Score: 1
  
  Just to be slightly more pedantic, one thing would stop you: the SNES version of Turtles in Time was a 2 player game.
  
  --
  http://crummysocks.com
13. Re:Online network OK. But what about the Wii-U? by Liam+Pomfret · 2012-01-27 05:36 · Score: 1
  
  How much of the 3DS's poor launch can be explained by a poor economic climate, and how much can be explained by having a relatively poor selection of games on release? The 3DS sales started to go up after the price drop, but they only started their spike when Super Mario Land 3D and Mario Kart 7 came out, a spike which was perfectly timed to disrupt the Vita's launch in Japan. To me, that suggests that the real determining factor behind how strong the Wii U launch will be is what games they have available on release day.
14. Re:Online network OK. But what about the Wii-U? by Anonymous Coward · 2012-01-27 05:55 · Score: 0
  
  Well the controller is a primary area where Nintendo can push their online initiative as if it were different. Your wife can watch law and order while you communicate online with friends, shop for new games, watch netflix, or even play some sorts of games. This pushes it away from the environments of xbox live or psn just because now it doesn't need to be tied to turning on the tv to do the basics. A friend can send a request for you to play Diablo 3 with him and you can even reply "not now, we are watching Sherlock Holmes" without having to turn the channel to do so. This is different. This WiiU pad has controllers, buttons, a camera, speakers, a mic, motion controls, touchscreen, and NFC (for credit cards and ideas like Spyros toy idea). If they package this in the box with the more convenient but limited wiimoteplus and nunchuk then we have a system where we can swing the bat in a baseball game while the catcher has to actually line up the catch in his screened controller. I honestly think this is how Nintendo will win. They will combine two technologies like the HD of modern consoles and the wiimote and add some new abilities like simple communication while the tv is on something else to allow gamers to stay connected at all times.
  I think portables performance have less to do with the economic situation they are launching in and more about the fact that portable gamers aren't as concerned with pretty graphics. There is a reason the gameboy survived as champ for ten years and was only beaten by a color version even then. It had a long battery life, original car-ride type ideas, and it was reasonably cheap to develop for. Many devs are ignoring this now to make a modern console in your hand but forgetting battery life (both 3DS and VITA last considerably less than predecessors), cost concerns, and the actual market.
  I don't see this plan failing unless Nintendo listens to too many nay-sayers. I think pushing power over price would be a mistake though we need something the 360 and ps3 devs can easily port to, I think not including the two controllers in the box would cause confusion and more importantly make nintendos commitment to multiplayer gaming (mario kart, wii sports, smash bros, super mario bros) seem less relevant when in fact it is one of those things they do best, and I think they should avoid catering to the few.
  I imagine this as the box. The WiiU pad, The Console, The Wiimoteplus and nunchuk, and included demos like the hide and seek demos and maybe a wii sports compilation and this thing would sell like hotcakes because it's for friends, for families, and then it can continue on by getting the hardcore titles like Ninja Gaiden, Call of Duty 4, or Darksiders 2 in HD.
15. Re:Online network OK. But what about the Wii-U? by Turken · 2012-01-27 06:09 · Score: 2
  
  A PC Doesn't work with a room full of people. The only time I've seen a PC work with a room full of people is when It's a LAN party, and each person in the room has their own PC.
  There are a few other instances that come to mind -- "You Don't Know Jack" for one. Sure, three people on the keyboard at a time might have been a little cramped, but it made the punching/shoving to keep from getting badly "screwed" all the better. Also any hot-seat games work as a group. Or classic adventures, where others can shoulder-surf and give their (often unwanted) advice.
16. Re:Online network OK. But what about the Wii-U? by Turken · 2012-01-27 06:17 · Score: 2
  
  I think the 3DS would have done better if they had also designed the demo unit stands to allow for more flexibility in holding and viewing the unit.
  Just like you, I sought out a demo of the 3DS when it first came out, and from the Best Buy demo station was not impressed and generally uncomfortable with viewing the screen. However, after my wife bought me one for Christmas and I've had a chance to play it while sitting down with the unit right in the "sweet spot" instead of awkwardly crouching over a too-low off-angle rigid kiosk, I've come to LOVE the 3D graphics, and can easily play for hours (unfortunately limited by the battery) without any problem.
  Now that I'm used to the small-screen glasses-free 3D tech, I can't wait for it to get adopted in more devices. It could really do wonders on the right phone/tablet.
17. Re:Online network OK. But what about the Wii-U? by Anonymous Coward · 2012-01-27 06:46 · Score: 0
  
  Developers of games for Xbox 360 and PS3 have allegedly already been ignoring this market, making games whose only multiplayer is online because they can sell more copies that way
  They ignore that market because nobody cares about it. Seriously, playing video games at a party? You'd have to attend some pretty damn poor parties for someone to bust out a game console.
  But we seem to have forgetten that this has been Nintendo's base and saving grace with all their consoles. They've never had a good (or in most cases, any) online gaming presence. They catered to the "Family" and "Friends coming over" markets. I'd hate to guess the number of times I've taken a Nintendo console to grandma and grandpa's house on Thanksgiving or Christmas, just so the nieces and nephews had something to do. Then after the nieces and nephews went to sleep, watched as the adults had their fun with it (especially after drinking a little too much wine).
  So I have to give Nintendo credit for not throwing this basic ability away like so many of their counterparts have. Even though the Xbox360, PS3 and the Wii have the capability of connecting up to 4 controllers, how many people here can honestly say they've had 4 controllers connected to the Xbox360 or PS3 at the same time?
  Nintendo made the only truly "social" console out of the group, the other 2 are nothing more than the "Facebook" equivalents of a console.
18. Re:Online network OK. But what about the Wii-U? by Anonymous Coward · 2012-01-27 07:15 · Score: 0
  
  Nintendo should have done a few more first party titles over the years that have the "look, you play games by jumping around and waving your arms and that looks fun" factor. They could keep selling Wii games for decades without a new console if they re-released the current Wii with HDMI.
19. Re:Online network OK. But what about the Wii-U? by Anonymous Coward · 2012-01-27 07:25 · Score: 0
  
  The launch line-up of the Vita isn't "quite good" for the Japanese market, but rather bad. It also has no really big upcoming release like the 3DS had with Mario games and Monster Hunter. There currently just isn't much to entice Japanese customers to pick up a handheld console for 250kJPY, when the much cheaper alternative has all the big franchises coming out for it.
20. Re:Online network OK. But what about the Wii-U? by Anonymous Coward · 2012-01-27 07:36 · Score: 0
  
  I bought my 3DS solely to play Super Mario 3D Land. I was disappointed it didn't come out for Wii without 3D.
21. Re:Online network OK. But what about the Wii-U? by DarkOx · 2012-01-27 07:40 · Score: 1
  
  I realize Cracked is not exactly a hard news source but the basic statement is true. The big-name video game developers have not really released any 'deliberately' HTPC friendly titles.
  I would hazard that has allot to with the fact the HTPC comes with all the control limitations of a console -AND- the potential hardware compatibility, and performance problems of a PC. Sounds a recipe for an experience that is going to be at best slightly better than current generation consoles and a total headache at worst.
  At some point the consoles are going to have the video hardware to provide a stereo photo real experience at 1080P, the P3 is already knocking on the door. At that point the idea of developing at HTPC title is truly dead. There were be near zero potential to gain anything but headaches.
  
  --
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22. Re:Online network OK. But what about the Wii-U? by nthwaver · 2012-01-27 08:19 · Score: 2
  
  Time passing is narrative enough. Wii is crusty, people are ready for something new. Especially gamers who are often young, for whom 6 years is an eternity. But I'm personally looking forward to Wii-U because then original Wii will be cheaper and I can finally afford to play Mario Galaxy :P
23. Re:Online network OK. But what about the Wii-U? by SoftwareArtist · 2012-01-27 09:17 · Score: 2
  
  The Vita, also launching in difficult times, has had a poor Japanese launch despite a really quite good launch-games lineup.
  The Vita (and 3DS) have a much bigger problem than hard economic times: the explosion in smartphone gaming. Why buy a dedicated handheld gaming device when you already have a perfectly good handheld gaming device that you already carry with you everywhere you go? The Vita is a bit more powerful than most current phones, but that will stop being true once Tegra 3 based phones become widely available. About the only thing dedicated handhelds have over phones is better controls. I think the Xperia Play is a much better approach: it's a completely standard Android phone, except where some phones have slide-out keyboards, it has slide-out gaming controls. It's a better gaming experience than other phones for people who are really into games, but also works fine for all the other things you use your phone for. You still only need one device. I think that's where the future of mobile gaming is.
  
  --
  "I'm too busy to research this and form an educated opinion, but I do have time to tell everyone my uninformed opinion."
24. Re:Online network OK. But what about the Wii-U? by Anonymous Coward · 2012-01-30 04:32 · Score: 0
  
  Jesus Christ, dude.
25. Re:Online network OK. But what about the Wii-U? by tepples · 2012-02-01 03:49 · Score: 1
  
  What I fear is that the market will segment into one set of platforms (consoles) just for major label games and one platform (PC) just for indie games. This will make it less likely for people who play major-label games to try indie games at all.
Re:What about kiddie games? by masternerdguy · 2012-01-27 03:59 · Score: 0, Troll

Nope, because Nintendo is the suck. Here come the modpoints.

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NFC security? by Necroman · 2012-01-27 04:00 · Score: 1

I don't have any practical experience with NFC, but couldn't someone put a NFC reader up to unopened game boxes that have DLC codes in them and steal the codes? Is there a cheap and easy way to prevent people from doing something like this?

--
Its not what it is, its something else.
1. Re:NFC security? by Anonymous Coward · 2012-01-27 04:13 · Score: 1
  
  The codes are actually a hashed key. You need the real key inside the package to make them work, because unlocking the hash gives you the key you need to register the product. NFC salted hashes are useless if you steal them because they tell you HOW to decrypt the real DLC code, not what the original DLC code is. Hope this helps.
2. Re:NFC security? by zorg50 · 2012-01-27 04:14 · Score: 1
  
  Is there a cheap and easy way to prevent people from doing something like this?
  Adding a switch or button on the device that controls NFC could prevent that functionality from being activated until the box is opened.
3. Re:NFC security? by Anonymous Coward · 2012-01-27 04:33 · Score: 0
  
  Foil lined bag. Cheap. Easy.
4. Re:NFC security? by Anonymous Coward · 2012-01-27 04:34 · Score: 0
  
  There's a printed PIN you need to enter after the NFC scan, and that's sealed in the box.
Re:What about kiddie games? by masternerdguy · 2012-01-27 04:02 · Score: 1

Keep telling yourself that. 99.99% of our lives will be nothing but a birth, marriage, and death certificate in 200 years. Some historian will probably use those to do some revisionism on this period.

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Out of band initiation by tepples · 2012-01-27 04:07 · Score: 1

99.99% of our lives will be nothing but a birth, marriage, and death certificate in 200 years.
Which is why Facebook has introduced timelines, and Ancestry has indexed old historical documents. Historians will have a lot more to go on.
But historically, Nintendo has been opposed to the sort of public social interaction and sharing seen on Facebook. On DS and Wii, players cannot communicate unless they have mutually exchanged friend codes out of band.
1. Re:Out of band initiation by badboy_tw2002 · 2012-01-27 04:48 · Score: 1
  
  "Which is why Facebook has introduced timelines"
  I can see it now, a Ken Burns-esque narrative flashing up pictures of people playing beer pong and puking, and a deep voiced narrator saying with the utmost gravitas:
  "Oh Em Gee, I can't believe I got so super smashed last night. Wut did I do? Seriously? Who's got the pics? El Oh El"
  - Bob Henderson, August 5th, 2012
2. Re:Out of band initiation by ackthpt · 2012-01-27 05:10 · Score: 1
  
  "Which is why Facebook has introduced timelines"
  I can see it now, a Ken Burns-esque narrative flashing up pictures of people playing beer pong and puking, and a deep voiced narrator saying with the utmost gravitas:
  "Oh Em Gee, I can't believe I got so super smashed last night. Wut did I do? Seriously? Who's got the pics? El Oh El"
  - Bob Henderson, August 5th, 2012
  Weird. Not like I'm going to continue building the empire in Chemical Engineering my father began...
  
  --
  
  A feeling of having made the same mistake before: Deja Foobar
3. Re:Out of band initiation by Liam+Pomfret · 2012-01-27 05:43 · Score: 2
  
  Nintendo hasn't been opposed to public social interaction and sharing. The entire Pokémon franchise is arguably built on that concept. The reason they've stayed away from direct online interactions has mainly been because of fears over how those services will actually be used. ie. They didn't want parents to hear their kids being exposed to bad language or sexual predators over a Nintendo service. Were those fears of Nintendo justified? Given how many FPS gamers seem to behave, they probably did have some legitimate reason to be concerned there.
  
  Having said that however, it's clear from more recent efforts, such as the direct voice communication inbuilt in Pokémon Black & White, and the communication features included in the last 3DS update, that they're starting to open themselves up there. I'm sure it'll continue to go at a glacial pace that will continue to frustrate "hardcore" gamers, but in terms of selling to the "family" market it actually does make some sense.
Re:What about kiddie games? by VortexCortex · 2012-01-27 04:12 · Score: 1

But, will it have games geared for people OVER 5 years old?
Games for people over 5 are called school and career, where winning and losing have a deeper meaning and there are few second chances.
You could say the same thing about TV / Movies, Sports, Art etc... and you'd still be wrong in every instance. Games are entertainment. Entertainment has always been an important part of human culture. Be thankful that your schooling and career are so joyful and interesting that you never need entertainment... Not everyone is so fortunate.
Disappointing with no Wii support by edmicman · 2012-01-27 04:14 · Score: 3, Insightful

I feel like the online component is a place where Nintendo had an opportunity to excel and they completely dropped the ball. The Wii had connectivity all along. It's storefront worked fine. But that was all. The Opera browser sucked, and still sucks. First they charged for it, but because it sucked they finally gave it away. You could add friends somehow, but it was some convoluted confusing manner of trading codes with each other and typing them in onscreen. They had downloadable games but no support for downloadable content (I'm looking at you, myriad of trivia games). Why? The Wii could have been a pioneer in living room web browsing and content but had nothing of it. It seems like Niintendo didn't thing this 'Internet' thing was going to take off or something.
And so now, they start to make an attempt at an online component but it's not going to be available to the millions of units already out there. Sigh....
1. Re:Disappointing with no Wii support by Iceykitsune · 2012-01-27 04:19 · Score: 1
  
  adding this functionality to the wii and ds/dsi would involve completly re-writing the os, which i doubt nintendo will do this late in the consoles life.
  
  --
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2. Re:Disappointing with no Wii support by Anonymous Coward · 2012-01-27 04:40 · Score: 0
  
  No it wouldnt, it would involve creating a new "app" for the wii that people can download for free like they did with the internet browser.
3. Re:Disappointing with no Wii support by Enderandrew · 2012-01-27 05:03 · Score: 1
  
  What about multiplayer in games? The Wii doesn't multitask. It can't have the app running while also playing Mario Kart to translate the new user accounts and connectivity to existing Wii games.
  
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4. Re:Disappointing with no Wii support by Anonymous Coward · 2012-01-27 06:14 · Score: 0
  
  It didn't take off. Microsoft spent more then they make. Nintendo didn't want to make that investment. It's a buzzword. The number one selling online games are mario kart wii and smash bros wii. Sure there online sucks but its indicative of a market that just doesn't care about online unless your game is named Call Of Duty something. If we continue to pretend like every game that is online is winning then we are just being delusional. Nintendo needs to change the perception of their network but they only need do a little more then they do now to break out of this. Get rid of codes (done), put the interface for communicating with friends somewhere other than the tv (done), let publishers put their money where their mouth is and don't waste personal revenue on a network that just won't make a profit for Nintendo (done). I think this is a winning business plan.
5. Re:Disappointing with no Wii support by Anonymous Coward · 2012-01-28 14:39 · Score: 0
  
  The lack of DLC was actually something I desired in the Wii. I'd rather they not gut the games to sell us the extra bits for extra over the full retail price.
6. Re:Disappointing with no Wii support by trdrstv · 2012-02-03 04:18 · Score: 1
  
  What about multiplayer in games? The Wii doesn't multitask. It can't have the app running while also playing Mario Kart to translate the new user accounts and connectivity to existing Wii games.
  but the Wii U will be significantly more powerful and hopefully they can add this functionality (and at least make VoIP a system level function like the 360) to former Wii games that supported online MUTE play. Love Mario Kart Wii and most of my friends have it, but we never play it online sue to the lack of voice support.
Re:What about kiddie games? by RogueyWon · 2012-01-27 04:26 · Score: 1

The cynic in me wants to say that if "school" was a game, it would be one which flashed up big signs saying "YOU WIN" and "1,000,000,000 POINT BONUS MULTIPLIER" every few seconds, until suddenly it was over and around 75% of players were then faced with a sign saying "Game over. Guess you sucked after all."
But then, I'm a hopeless cynic.
Nintendo.. by RightSaidFred99 · 2012-01-27 04:35 · Score: 0

They better come out with this quick. It's amazing how quickly they crashed and burned with the Wii. This is what I call an "I told you so" post.
It seems like only a year ago (and it probably was) when any time you said the Wii was in trouble someone would come and tell you how wrong you are and that the Wii is "totally pwning Xbox and PS3". I think anyone could see the trouble was heading to within 1 year of the Wii coming out, but nooooooo. "Oh, you don't know how much the Wii is dominating Xbox/PS3!".
Well, no - it wasn't. It was selling at a small profit for Nintendo but nobody was buying very many games. It was old technology, it looks like crap. It was a gimmick that flashed brightly for a while because of the innovative controller, then it died almost as quickly.
Nintendo needs the U _now_ and they need it to be ~25% more powerful than current generation gaming consoles. I wish them well, I think 3 major platforms is perfect and want them to stick around but I was a bit annoyed by the blinders people had regarding the Wii.
1. Re:Nintendo.. by Piata · 2012-01-27 04:51 · Score: 5, Informative
  
  Crashed and burned? They have sold 95 million Wii's http://kotaku.com/5879478/the-wii-will-sell-a-hundred-million-eventually
  Nintendo did dominate the Xbox and PS3 to the point where both Sony and Microsoft felt the need to incorporate motion controls. Nintendo also made money on every system and if the Xbox 720 rumours are true, Microsoft appears poised to follow in Nintendo's footsteps with the next console cycle. The Wii did fizzle out toward the end of it's life but it's still a great console that shook up the industry far more than the PS3 or Xbox could ever hope to.
  If anything I'd argue the Wii U is the lacklustre console. The Wii is a pretty hard act to follow but this is Nintendo after all and they could easily pull off a SNES here. Only time will tell but as far as the Wii is concerned, I'd hardly call it the flop you imply it is.
2. Re:Nintendo.. by RogueyWon · 2012-01-27 04:51 · Score: 2
  
  I agree with your point about the perception of the Wii's performance as opposed to the reality.
  What people don't tend to realise is that there are two broad ways to make money from a console. The "Nintendo" model and the "everybody else" model.
  The Nintendo model is to sell the system at a profit - even if not a huge one - and then sell first-party games at it for a profit. This has to be quite an aggressively focussed approach and it generally results in putting out hardware that third party developers aren't interested in. But this doesn't matter, because you're making money off your own efforts. Nintendo didn't do so great with this strategy with the N64 and Gamecube, but it worked perfectly with the Wii, for the first 3 years. If they'd had a successor ready to go and repeat the trick in 2009/10, they could have made life very difficult for Sony and Microsoft. It's a "quick win" strategy - to sell consoles at a profit on day 1 these days, you need either a very high price point (3DS) or very weak hardware (Wii). If you go for the latter option, you will go obsolete quite quickly - so better stack up those early profits.
  The "everybody else" strategy with console profits is to sell the hardware at a loss, not worry too much about first-party games development, but let third party games developers make your money for you. Remember, MS and Sony cream a good chunk of cash off every third party game sold for their system. Their only investment in producing those games has been a trivial amount of cash on certification. If the system is successful in attracting third party developers, then it becomes a source of "free money". This is a slower-burn strategy. Third party developers are nervous early in a console cycle, while the installed base is still small. You have to suck up a loss in those years. But then you've got a cash-cow out there and you can just sit back and milk it with minimal effort.
  My instinct is that while Nintendo may exit this generation with the largest installed base, in overall terms, they may well be looking at chugging home in third place again, because they waited too long to jump to their next generation hardware (and had to do so in poor circumstances).
3. Re:Nintendo.. by RyuuzakiTetsuya · 2012-01-27 05:02 · Score: 2
  
  Nintendo needs the U _now_ and they need it to be ~25% more powerful than current generation gaming consoles.
  They need the Wii U now and they don't need it to be really any more powerful. I mean it'll make sense to make it more powerful, but does it *need* to be more powerful?
  They need games. Bad. The problem with the Wii was that everyone's grandma bought one for Wii sports and never picked up another wii title after that.
  I think that more powerful hardware will lead to more developers signing up, but, keep focus on what's actually important here.
  Games.
  Also an HDMI socket would be nice too.
  
  --
  Non impediti ratione cogitationus.
4. Re:Nintendo.. by icongorilla · 2012-01-27 05:03 · Score: 1
  
  For a console that crashed and burned, it sure is following the same standard patterns of a normal 5-year Nintendo console lifecycle. I'm pretty sure they were still much more profitable this generation than the GameCube generation even including this years sales.
  I found the trick with Wii games was to go into them with an open mind and try not set too many expectations. You'll enjoy them a lot more that way. There is a distinct culture difference in Wii games that just flies over the heads of many people. (Example: Nintendo games tend to read like a book. They don't do voiced dialog. That is not necessarily a minus even though people like to pretend it is.)
  We are seeing a lot of paragrim shifts in software from the tablet interfaces appearing in projects such as Gnome 3 and the motion controls appearing in the Wii or Kinect. The holdouts will only move forward kicking and screaming.
  
  --
  The thought of hanging myself at my student loan organization doesn't bug me as much when I think it might make a differ
5. Re:Nintendo.. by Gravatron · 2012-01-27 05:09 · Score: 1
  
  The wii sold well, but was a terrible console. It just had masterful marketing by Nintendo. Ms realized this for Kinect, and poured a ton into marketing it as well.
  
  But if you look at the wii itself, it was underwhelming from day 1. Poor game selection, save for a handful of first party titles, and the novelty wore off fast. It was bought, played for a few weeks to months, then sat on the shelf collecting dust for the rest of the generation.
6. Re:Nintendo.. by Gravatron · 2012-01-27 05:15 · Score: 1
  
  Actually, they waited about the right amount of time. The problem is, MS and Sony are waiting a year longer, putting Nintendo into dreamcast territory. showing their cards this early means both their rivals know exactly what is on the table and how to counter it. Ms will most certainty push their 'console as the entertainment system for the family' angle, and bundle in Kinect, while sony will probably bundle in their own camera, as well as continue their multimedia path and PSV/ps3/4 inter connectivity.
7. Re:Nintendo.. by sexconker · 2012-01-27 05:16 · Score: 2
  
  They better come out with this quick. It's amazing how quickly they crashed and burned with the Wii. This is what I call an "I told you so" post.
  It seems like only a year ago (and it probably was) when any time you said the Wii was in trouble someone would come and tell you how wrong you are and that the Wii is "totally pwning Xbox and PS3". I think anyone could see the trouble was heading to within 1 year of the Wii coming out, but nooooooo. "Oh, you don't know how much the Wii is dominating Xbox/PS3!".
  Well, no - it wasn't. It was selling at a small profit for Nintendo but nobody was buying very many games. It was old technology, it looks like crap. It was a gimmick that flashed brightly for a while because of the innovative controller, then it died almost as quickly.
  Nintendo needs the U _now_ and they need it to be ~25% more powerful than current generation gaming consoles. I wish them well, I think 3 major platforms is perfect and want them to stick around but I was a bit annoyed by the blinders people had regarding the Wii.
  Nintendo profited from every Wii made. Sony and MS lost lots of money on every PS3 and 360 sold until recently.
  The global attach rate for the Wii is about 7.7, while it's around 8.5 for the PS3. The 360 has an attach rate of about 9.2 in the US, and less globally (I don't know the number).
  The Wii has sold about 100 million units and the PS3 and 360 are sitting at around 60 million units.
  Nintendo is the developer of most of the top-selling games on the Wii, so they get 100% of the profit.
  For the PS3 and 360, the bulk of softare sales are for games developed by 3rd parties - MS and Sony only see the royalties from those sales.
  Here's a chart for you (old, but still reflective of the situation):
  http://www.gamasutra.com/blogs/edit/img/images/blog/5615/profit_chart_consoles.jpg
8. Re:Nintendo.. by Anonymous Coward · 2012-01-27 05:41 · Score: 1
  
  > Games.
  Dead Space: Extraction
  Donkey Kong Country Returns
  ExciteBots: Trick Racing
  Lara Croft - Tomb Raider: Anniversary
  House of the Dead: Overkill
  Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess
  Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword
  Mario Kart Wii
  Okami
  Rayman Raving Rabbids
  Rogue Trooper: Quartz Zone Massacre
  Super Mario Bros. Wii
  Super Mario Galaxy
  Super Mario Galaxy 2
  Tetris Party Deluxe
  Wario Land: Shake It!
  Worms: Battle Islands
  You were saying?
9. Re:Nintendo.. by Belial6 · 2012-01-27 05:57 · Score: 3, Insightful
  
  A certain segment likes to claim that no one ever played their Wii, but that is clearly not correct. If no one played their Wii, no one would have bought games. The companies making games would have seen that every game after the initial release just sat on store shelves. Game development would have died out withing 12 months. Retail stores would have seen that they never sold any Wii games, and would have stopped using valuable shelf space for them.
  
  That has not happened. Go into any Toys R Us, Target, Costco, Gamestop, K-Mart, WalMart, etc... They all have very large Wii sections. This is even now when the Wii is at the end of it's life, and it's successor has already been announced. Making the claim that all of these stores have been dedicating huge amounts of valuable shelf space to a product line that doesn't sell is a might extraordinary claim, and thus needs more evidence than an anecdote from members of a minority group.
  
  My own anecdote is that I got my household a 360 for Christmas this year. On Christmas day, we spent about 45 minutes enjoying the 360, and appreciating how cool the Kinect is. We then spent about 3 hours playing Fortune Street on the Wii.
  
  The Wii was terrible like the 2600 was terrible.
10. Re:Nintendo.. by Belial6 · 2012-01-27 06:01 · Score: 1
  
  The fact that tons of other games were produced, and stores committed years of very valuable shelf space to them is pretty good proof that you are completely wrong that no one bought anything beyond Wii sports.
11. Re:Nintendo.. by GrumpySteen · 2012-01-27 06:12 · Score: 1
  
  But look at this
  Wii sales in 2011 were clearly far below sales in 2010 At least for the Chistmas season. They "crashed and burned" almost as low as Xbox and PS3 during the Christmas season. Clearly Nintendo is in trouble!
12. Re:Nintendo.. by RyuuzakiTetsuya · 2012-01-27 06:26 · Score: 1
  
  err no?
  There's the non gamer market that didn't buy games beyond what was packed in with the console. The attach rate for the Wii isn't that bad, it's actually way better than the 360's. I was working on some faulty preconceptions.
  But ultimately my point was that what's important to the Wii U is what's ultimately important. Games.
  
  --
  Non impediti ratione cogitationus.
13. Re:Nintendo.. by Turken · 2012-01-27 06:26 · Score: 1
  
  And what about the recent announcement by THQ that they're no longer going to develop licensed games aimed at kids because the money just isn't there?
  (Although my personal opinion on that bit of news is that they're merely looking for a scapegoat to blame for bad sales when the real culprit is crappy derivative programming that parents finally caught on to)
14. Re:Nintendo.. by Anonymous Coward · 2012-01-27 06:34 · Score: 0
  
  "Crashed and burned" in this case appears to mean "I didn't like it."
15. Re:Nintendo.. by Anonymous Coward · 2012-01-27 07:08 · Score: 0
  
  Is that so surprising given that they announced a new console a few months before then? A backwards-compatible console, mind you. If a person were interested in the Wii, they'd either (1) wait for the WiiU, (2) wait for the price drop on the Wii when the WiiU comes out. I'll be shocked if the same thing doesn't happen to the XBox next Christmas (so long as the 720 is backwards-compatible and not as user-unfriendly as the rumors say).
16. Re:Nintendo.. by Anonymous Coward · 2012-01-27 07:09 · Score: 0
  
  Nintendo is following their most successful console ever. This isn't a dreamcast situation. Dreamcast didn't die because of dreamcast, it died because of sega cd, 32x, saturn, and finally by spending their biggest money ever on ShenMue which was not quite the title F.r.e.e. promised it would be. Dreamcast died because Sega was never Nintendo. Sonic was amazing but never grew unlike Mario and nintendo has about 50 other unique franchises that also sell better than Sonic which Sega just never had. I loved the dreamcast but if you think it died because it released earlier than you aren't paying attention.
17. Re:Nintendo.. by TheSkepticalOptimist · 2012-01-27 07:15 · Score: 1
  
  Its more like crashing and burning
  What would be interesting is to see how much money the platform has generated aside from high console sales. While PS3 and Xbox have not sold as many consoles, I would argue that overall those platforms have been far more profitable in the long run. Xbox has their Live subscriptions, Sony has Home generating a solid amount of money through micro-transactions. There is a lot more activity in game development on PS3 and Xbox. Finally both Sony and Xbox re-invigorated their platforms with motion control at a time when people got sick and tired of the Wii.
  Overall I think most people bought a small handful of titles for the Wii while people with a PS3 or Xbox360 have purchased far more software in the same amount of time, that is more important to overall success. Game developers have been pulling away from Nintendo development due to low profitability, Nintendo is going to shrink to almost a walled-garden platform where only Nintendo and a select few will want to develop for Nintendo consoles.
  Look, not saying Nintendo is going bankrupt, but you can't continue to compare Nintendo to Sony or Microsoft, Nintendo has created its own market intended for kids, period. While some adults might enjoy a few kiddie titles, Nintendo has pretty much given up on adult gamers, and it looks like that is not going to change. If you are going to purposefully limit your market then you are going to limit your success, period.
  
  --
  I haven't thought of anything clever to put here, but then again most of you haven't either.
18. Re:Nintendo.. by spire3661 · 2012-01-27 07:56 · Score: 1
  
  The attach rate on the wii is HORRIBLE in the extreme. IN this metric PS3 and XBOX DESTROY nintendo.
  
  --
  Good-bye
19. Re:Nintendo.. by spire3661 · 2012-01-27 08:00 · Score: 1
  
  THe problem is, not only is nintendo going up against Sony and MS, they are going up against Apple and Android too. Those Kal-El tablets are going to be BEAST for gaming. HDMI out, bluetooth controllers, its gonna be killer. The 7" Kal-el (penta core) Asus MeMo is gonna sell for $250. Its going ot be a very bumpy road for nintendo.
  
  --
  Good-bye
20. Re:Nintendo.. by Anonymous Coward · 2012-01-27 08:01 · Score: 0
  
  I agree with your point about the perception of the Wii's performance as opposed to the reality.
  Go figure; you agree with something that confirms your bias.
  Nintendo will do well whether it ends up in 1st place or 3rd place in any generation. It will release the kinds of games that it's famous for for each generation of its devices. If 3rd party developers have any sense, they'll release decent titles for the Wii U, but they probably won't for some inexplicable reason. It doesn't take Nostradamus to predict this stuff. If you don't like this situation, just don't buy a Wii U, but your predictions bear no resemblance to history and reading your "Nintendo is teh doomed!" rants gets really old.
  --Jeremy
21. Re:Nintendo.. by soupforare · 2012-01-27 09:23 · Score: 1
  
  Now all that's left to see is if the Wii U will be Nintendo's 7800.
  
  --
  --- Do you believe in the day?
22. Re:Nintendo.. by RogueyWon · 2012-01-27 09:32 · Score: 1
  
  Seen their financial results lately?
  Yeah.
  If the Wii-U fails, they're out of the hardware market. They survived the Gamecube generation because of the GBA and the DS, which they were selling at a hardware premium, with a solid 3rd party software lineup bringing them in free money. The 3DS is... finally... selling (though not quite as well as expected). But it's selling at a loss and with a pretty crap 3rd party lineup.
23. Re:Nintendo.. by Anonymous Coward · 2012-01-27 09:48 · Score: 0
  
  95,000,000 * 7.7=731.5 million
  65,000,000 * 9.2(wishful thinking)=598 million
  Hrm. Seems like the Wii is selling more games.
24. Re:Nintendo.. by Anonymous Coward · 2012-01-27 11:02 · Score: 1
  
  I disagree about underwhelming.
  My own anecdotal piece: I went through four years of college, and the Wii was a popular item through all four years. Granted it was a very small selection of group games (MarioKart, Smash Bros, New Super Mario Bros, etc), and sometimes we'd watch someone playing a single player (Zelda, Mario Galaxy, etc) but the Wiis I saw in college were not dust collectors.
  My own anti-anecdotal piece: my own Wii has largely been collecting dust. I don't have most of the group games (or the groups to play them). Though I have pulled it out again for Skyward Sword that I got for Christmas. While my Wii may not be getting a ton of use, I don't regret getting it and don't think it was just a mere novelty.
25. Re:Nintendo.. by Belial6 · 2012-01-27 11:37 · Score: 1
  
  What about it?
26. Re:Nintendo.. by Belial6 · 2012-01-27 11:47 · Score: 2
  
  No, it wasn't. The stores listed about attest to that, and have put huge amounts of money behind their view of the subject.
27. Re:Nintendo.. by Belial6 · 2012-01-27 12:22 · Score: 1
  
  Now THAT is the real question. Of course, that is the risk that each system faces when it is released.
28. Re:Nintendo.. by Anonymous Coward · 2012-01-27 14:16 · Score: 1
  
  erm, yes the first loss in 30 years... oh no shut down the whole company!
  Come on, don't be so naive, Nintendo is sitting on a huge pile of cash from all their previous successful (at least financially) generations, they can afford to innovate and try to push the envelope. I'm glad they do it! They'd easily survive a Wii-U "failure", they have a great knack of making money consistently.
29. Re:Nintendo.. by RightSaidFred99 · 2012-01-27 15:12 · Score: 1
  
  Wow, you still don't get it. It crashed and burned. Have you seen Nintendo's financials? They are _hemorrhaging_ money. Sony and Microsoft are still selling well, Nintendo is dead in the water unless they come out with a new one quickly.
30. Re:Nintendo.. by RightSaidFred99 · 2012-01-27 15:14 · Score: 1
  
  Have you seen Nintendo's financials? They are in trouble, which is why they need to develop a new console asap. How long did the Wii last compared to the Xbox or PS3, can you remind me?
31. Re:Nintendo.. by RightSaidFred99 · 2012-01-27 15:15 · Score: 1
  
  No, it means Nintendos financials are crashing and burning because, among other things, the Wii isn't make them shit for money.
32. Re:Nintendo.. by GrumpySteen · 2012-01-27 15:40 · Score: 2
  
  Yes, I have seen their financials. I think you've confused Nintendo's corporate losses with Wii sales, but the truth is that a combination of currency exchange rates, slow 3DS sales and lower game sales than expected are to blame for that.. Without the Wii sales, their losses would have been much heavier.
  The Wii somehow still sold in greater volume than the Xbox and PS3 over this past Christmas season. Nintendo has sold 95 million units to date... just a bit less than twice as many units as either Xbox or PS3 have sold. The question "How long did the Wii last compared to the Xbox or PS3?" makes no sense since the damn thing hasn't stopped selling.
33. Re:Nintendo.. by Anonymous Coward · 2012-01-27 20:11 · Score: 1
  
  Ummm - the Wii destroyed on the attach rate also.
  It had 132 different games that sold over 1 million copies, 2 that sold 10 million plus, 4 that sold 20 million plus, and 2 that sold over 30 million copies (and I'm not counting Wii Sports here).
  It also had another 18 games that sold 900k+ copies.
  Sony would have sold their mothers to have that kind of sales performance.
  Next time its best to keep quiet when you don't know what you're talking about.
34. Re:Nintendo.. by Anonymous Coward · 2012-01-27 20:19 · Score: 1
  
  Hahahahahahaha - their financials are because their money is in USD holdings, and due to the strong Yen, and piss-poor US dollar, there is an $864 million FX loss on the currency conversion.
  But, you probably don't understand a word of what I just said.
35. Re:Nintendo.. by RogueyWon · 2012-01-27 20:45 · Score: 1
  
  Shareholder owned companies don't get to sit on huge piles of cash for long. Those little things called "dividend payments". Sega went from "mega-successful console manufacturer" to "out of the hardware game" very quickly indeed in similar circumstances.
36. Re:Nintendo.. by Anonymous Coward · 2012-01-31 22:14 · Score: 0
  
  Ummm dude - the only reason they made their FIRST LOSS EVER is because of the strong Yen and the weak dollar, where all their holdings are. They have a paper loss of $864 million on FX conversion for their Japanese financials. I.e. if they didn't apply the conversion to Yen, and reported in USD they wouldn't have made a theoretical FX loss.....
  You need to read up a bit more on things before bleating your misinformed rhetoric.
Wii-U - Lots of opportunities by StoneyMahoney · 2012-01-27 04:41 · Score: 5, Interesting

"The 3DS did that last year and its initial sales were poor."
The 3DS may have had sales figures that weren't as good as they were expecting, but having sold 15million units quicker than either that Wii or the DS, I have to wonder just what those forecasters were smoking at the time. The attach rate of the console was pretty poor at first but that was mainly because the hardware launched without any first-party titles alongside it.
"What will the tablet actually add to the games?"
Rephrase that question to what will the Wii-U bring to tablet games, and keep in mind how popular the touch screen has become as a gaming interface in the mobile arena. I think that's a smart angle to go for. Nintendo promised the world with motion controls, disappointed everyone at first, but then lived up to that promise (for a price) with MotionPlus. Considering that Wii-U works with Wiimotes, MotionPlus might get a chance to shine and revitalize enthusiasm for motion control like Kinect did.
"I'm struggling to see what the pitch is with the Wii-U."
That's probably because they haven't pitched it to us yet.
1. Re:Wii-U - Lots of opportunities by Gravatron · 2012-01-27 05:06 · Score: 1
  
  a lot of the farcasts were based on the current situation. In japan, per nintendo's own numbers, it took 19 weeks to move a million, and 35 weeks to move 2 million. So for 34 weeks, it was shipping less week to week, by far, then the DS for the same time frame, and well below the wii's timeframe.
  
  Once they slashed the price, and then released the first major first party games, things started to do well. But till then, Nintendo looked to be in trouble.
3D Wii U Controller vs NFC by Anonymous Coward · 2012-01-27 04:50 · Score: 0

When I heard about the new controller functionality, I thought, "Hey, the 3D in the 3DS actually turned out to be pretty cool, I hope that's what they're talking about." Much to my disappointment, it turned out to be something lame. I should have known better.
Re:BWAHAHAHAHA! I pissed myself! (It said Wii U!) by sexconker · 2012-01-27 05:02 · Score: 1

On a more serious note: I really hope Nintendo will have some good games this time.
Because that dumb Mario five...thousandth edition thing they do with all of their titles, is really sucking.
Everything is so childish and dumb. For a grown-up, the thing is utterly useless.
Sometimes it feels like the music they listen to in the future in Demolition Man. You know, with every "band" being a childrens' choir.
What seems to be your boggle? Your face is all tense and angry, like you need to go use the three sea shells. Perhaps some music will enhance your calm.
Good things from the garden
Garden in the valley
Valley of the jolly green giant!
Re:Wii U hardware power by Enderandrew · 2012-01-27 05:05 · Score: 1

I don't anticipate buying the Wii U and hate the single tablet controller. I think it is a stupid decision. But they have a lot of third party developers confirmed to be making Wii U games well before the hardware is ready to launch.
And this won't be two Wii's. The hardware is considerably faster.

--
http://blindscribblings.com - Tasty pop-culture in conceptual fashion.
Re:What about kiddie games? by CanHasDIY · 2012-01-27 05:31 · Score: 1

But, will it have games geared for people OVER 5 years old?
Games for people over 5 are called school and career, where winning and losing have a deeper meaning and there are few second chances.
From the ESA report:
Around 68% of U.S. households now play computer or video games and it's not just the youngsters in the family that are doing so. While the average age of a gamer is 35, over a quarter (26%) is age 50 or over. The bulk of gamers are in the 18 to 49 year age range.

Dammit, how dare I challenge your preconceived notions with abhorrent facts! What a cad I am!

--
An enigma, wrapped in a riddle, shrouded in bacon and cheese
Re:What about kiddie games? by Belial6 · 2012-01-27 05:39 · Score: 1

Your comparing school to old school gaming where you could actually lose. School is more like MMORPGs. Nobody "loses" no matter how bad they are, and winning just means you spent enough time grinding.
old school by P-niiice · 2012-01-27 05:47 · Score: 1

next gen is going to suck. I hope these next devices don't sell. All I want is a console I can put my game into and play it on some controllers. i hate motion control. really, i hate it. I hope microsoft or Sony bring gaming next gen. nintendo is a lost cause
Re:Wii U hardware power by Liam+Pomfret · 2012-01-27 05:49 · Score: 2

Considering the comparisons made by journalists between the Wii U and "XBox 720" specs are that there's only about a 20% difference in power between the two (about the same difference between PS2 and the original XBox), I'm calling bullshit on your statement.
When I heard about NFC in the controller... by Liam+Pomfret · 2012-01-27 06:02 · Score: 1

...the first thing I thought of was "Skylanders".
Skylanders uses RFID for its "Portal of Power", not NFC, but NFC is essentially just building on RFID anyway, and is backwards compatible with existing RFID infrastructure and tags. The "Portal of Power" may have been a gimmick, but it was a very profitable gimmick that was popular with the kids. Incorporating that kind of functionality direct into the Wii U controller is a stroke of sheer genius from Nintendo, IMO. RFID tags are cheap. $0.15 for a passive (unpowered) tag, $0.50 for an active tag. It'd be quite inexpensive for developers to incorporate those into their products and merchandise to have them interact with games on the Wii U.
More Important Question... by Anonymous Coward · 2012-01-27 06:13 · Score: 0

A more important question for the Wii-U is does it support 2 or more Wii-U controllers, that hasn't been defined yet.
If this machine doesn't support 2 or more tablets connecting to the console, it will fail.
Re:Wii U hardware power by Turken · 2012-01-27 06:36 · Score: 1

You almost had me there for a second. But two things you failed on:
1) "Posting anonymously to dodge NDA" -- If you're really in a development situation with an NDA, you would know that anything you write at work can be read by the boss and merely "posting anonymously" is still an incredibly risky move that could very easily get you fired. Any developer with even an iota of intelligence wouldn't take that risk just to troll on slashdot.
2) "two wiis" -- rehashing the old and tired insult that the next generation of Nintendo hardware is merely "Two current-generation units duct-taped together" was soooo 2005.
But good luck on your next trolling run!
Re:BWAHAHAHAHA! I pissed myself! (It said Wii U!) by Anonymous Coward · 2012-01-27 06:45 · Score: 1

Donkey Kong, Mario, Excitebike, Zelda, Kirby, Metroid, Fzero, Star Fox, Pilotwings, Kid Icarus, Pokemon, Earthbound, Fire Emblem, Animal Crossing, Pikmin, 1080, Wave Race, Super Smash Brothers, Wii Sports, Xenoblade, Battalion Wars, WiiFit, Endless Ocean, and yet you say they just rehash Mario. This is a firm with the largest catalog of diverse and successful games ever made and yet you make it seem like they rely on a singular franchise.
Re:Wii U hardware power by Anonymous Coward · 2012-01-27 06:50 · Score: 0

As a former game dev with extensive GC/Wii experience what I want them to do is this:
Take the current CPU, shrink to 22nm or 28nm and clock the piss out of it. 2.5GHz+ please.
Put 4+ of those CPUs on the die. It shouldn't be a problem because it's a simple CPU.
Perhaps add 4 way SIMD to the Paired Singles pipeline. It would be nice but not essential.
Shrink the current GPU and stick it in an unloved corner of the die. It's essentially a DX7 part so it also it a tiny chip.
Put whatever GPU with 1024+ stream processors ATI will license them.
4 gigs of RAM, UMA architecture.
Using the same CPU but shrunk will allow perfect backwards compatibility if you keep the old GPU hanging around. The old GPU is crap by today's standards but at least it's tiny.
It will still have less silicon then a PS3 so it shouldn't be too expensive to sell.
Now I have no idea what Nintendo is doing. I've been out of the industry for over a year now, but I would hope they are smart enough to do something like this.
Meh by TheSkepticalOptimist · 2012-01-27 06:59 · Score: 1

Couldn't be less enthused about a new console then Wii-U. Wii turned into a huge disappointing largely because of the strict adherence to produce juvenile games and a stunning reality that Nintendo invested $0 into any innovation outside motion control. Wii is last Nintendo product I will own, period.

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I haven't thought of anything clever to put here, but then again most of you haven't either.
1. Re:Meh by diamondmagic · 2012-01-27 15:24 · Score: 1
  
  But TFA kinda just disproved your notion that Nintendo is investing zero into innovation... where have you been the last two E3s?
  I've been perfectly happy with the systems and games they've been putting out, but maybe that's just me.
  
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  Wonder what the public key field is for?
Super NES cartridges don't fit in a PC by tepples · 2012-01-27 07:00 · Score: 1

there's nothing stopping you from hooking up four USB gamepads to a USB hub, loading up ZSNES, and getting some four player Turtles in Time action going on.
1. Turtles in Time for Super NES came out before the multitap, as basscomm pointed out. 2. Super NES cartridges don't fit in a PC without an obscure German adapter sold only online.

And that's not to mention all of the games you can play exclusive to the PC that are fun in their own right
Do you know of a list of worthwhile PC-native games supporting two to four gamepads?
As a gamer by VickiM · 2012-01-27 07:19 · Score: 1

I will respond to this information with a true gamer's response: I will buy a Wii U the day Pikmin 3 is released. Basically, content is king. I know people bash the Wii a lot, but I realized when organizing my shelves the other day that my SO and I have managed to collect more Wii games than I've had for any other system in my life. Some were great, some were so-so, but I don't regret any of the purchases.
Innovative enough? by SpinningCone · 2012-01-27 07:40 · Score: 1

The wii was a success due to the innovative new controls and a comparatively low pricepoint. admittedly the wii can be a lot of fun. firing up wii sports with people who would never normally touch a game (my dad and others) was great. and there are some good games out there.
however that time is over. looking at gamespot wii has had almost no good 3rd party games out in a while. i haven't bought a new one in ages. and Skyward sword while an ok Zelda game hit me hard because i played skyrim at the same time and i realized how weak the wii was in a hardware sense. even going for the artistic semi cel shaded style Zelda:SS has mediocre graphics and some abysmal interface shortcomings (selling insects was such a ridiculously cumbersome task it wasn't even worth trying). all i could do was wonder was how beautiful SS could have been with the power of a modern PC.
the problem i see with the wii-u will be hardware limitations. i wonder if it will even match the existing 360 or PS3 for graphics. if it doesn't it will be crushed when PS4 and 720 get released and all the AAA titles skip over it again. as for the handheld gimmick they have tried pushing since the GCN/GBA days and i don't se it ever being that relevant in singleplayer and too limiting in multiplayer.
1. Re:Innovative enough? by Anonymous Coward · 2012-01-27 12:05 · Score: 0
  
  Thing is most of the AAA games are utter shite, the ones that aren't you can get for a pretty modestly speced pc far cheaper.
  (Others are useless with a pad but fairly good with mouse / keyboard.)
  Wheras the Nintendo games you cannot get for anything else.
  (I will get a Wii if the Dragon Quest game is released on it or else a Wii-U - I got a DSi-XL to play the last Dragon Quest)
  I sort of want a 360 as a media centre extender but that is it (And only so far as it is the cheapest decent option).
  Don't think it will be another Dreamcast.
Re:BWAHAHAHAHA! I pissed myself! (It said Wii U!) by spire3661 · 2012-01-27 07:52 · Score: 1

I wanna eat bacon and butter and BUCKETS of cheese, okay? I want to smoke a Cuban cigar the size of Cincinnati in the non-smoking section. I want to run through the streets naked with green Jell-o all over my body reading Playboy magazine. Why? Because I suddenly might feel the need to, okay, pal?

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Good-bye
Pokemon MMORPG by Nyder · 2012-01-27 09:23 · Score: 1

All Nintendo has to do is make a Pokemon MMORPG and they got the killer app for the Wii-U and the Nintendo Network.
Unless of course, they try to make it a WoW killer.

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Be seeing you...
Re:Wii U hardware power by Anonymous Coward · 2012-01-27 10:59 · Score: 0

I'm actually not trolling and I know the whole two gamecubes thing makes it hard to swallow but there it is. Poe's law, trolling provision, I guess. Obviously it is not literally two Wiis, but the CPU is made up of two PowerPC cores, each roughly identical to the Wii's Broadway. They are not POWER 7s or anything like fan sites are speculating. The GPU is a low power AMD 5000 series derivative. Everything is instruction compatible with the Wii.
Also, I didn't say it was my NDA! I'm not that stupid. My employer is entirely unaffiliated. I'm covering for a friend, just in case. Obviously there's nothing I can do to convince you of what I'm saying, but time will tell. I will accept flowers and chocolates come the end of the year.