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Nintendo Reveals Wii U's Miiverse Social Network
chrb writes "Nintendo has announced that its new Wii U console will feature a social network called the Miiverse in which users can video chat, see what others are playing, share game content and swap tips." And with a nod to Zawinski's Law, "The redesigned Wii U GamePad features dual sticks, a touch screen that supports finger and stylus interaction, motion and gyroscope sensors, and the ability to act as a TV remote. The Wii U GamePad has its own dedicated Web browser and can share images and video to a TV so that everyone can enjoy the shared content."
Only thing worth playing on that machine is the free bowling game that came w/ it
As long as you're invoking Zawinski's Law, where's the email client?
Good, inexpensive web hosting
It looks terrible and it's going to flop.
I'm gonna start this thread with some good 'ol flamebaiting. Well kinda.
I think Nintendo lost their relevance. They owned casual with the Wii. They failed to realize casual gamers are just that: casual. They have no allegiance. Words with friends on their iPhone is good enough now. Or Cut the Rope. They don't feel the need to buy a second box when their smartphone is good enough and games cost $1 or free.
People have moved on. Adding more gyroscopes or screens wont' help.
But that's an observation. But I have my bias. I moved on from Nintendo after I played Mario Kart 96 and Zelda 47.
The Wii U GamePad has its own dedicated Web browser and can share images and video to a TV so that everyone can enjoy the shared content.
Sounds like a good resource for getting First Goatse photos. You could do it with your whole family!
Wii U ... as in F**K U ???
The Wii was all family friendly and then late horrific rated M games like House of the Head Overkill where every third word was a swear word. That shocked everyone but it was to attract hardcore gamers. Who are they trying to attract with video chat? People banned from chat roulette? I'm sure the creators of that were thinking "oh boy, people will connect and learn about other cultures and there might be a weirdo or two but otherwise it'll basically be 99% Starbucks customers. WRONG! Freaks and pervs aren't outside in public being social, they're inside on their PC and Wii so I'm sure the video chat will be shut down. The only question is, before or after the class action law suit by parents?
So which incumbent social media giant will drag Nintendo into litigation over patent infringement first?
At first I read it as "Nintendo Reveals Wii U's Metooverse Social Network", so I took a closer look, and yup. I read it right.
I thought the same thing about the iPad. Never overestimate the average consumer's taste.
I think the thing we should not overestimate is the intelligence of the Slashdot technoratii, who are miffed there is some corner of technology they cannot lord over others, and that average people can actually make significant use of computing devices. How unfair!
"There is more worth loving than we have strength to love." - Brian Jay Stanley
It's questionable if MS and Sony have really come out ahead of this or not given the systems cost. The only real reason why MS and Sony aren't releasing a new system this year is that they still haven't made up for all the losses they incurred from the last round.
If Nintendo ever fixes its issue with 3rd party developers then Sony and MS will have to worry since that is the only thing making their system relevant enough to stay in the market. Their 1st party development is lack luster and Nintendo can practically print money without the aid of 3rd parties.
They have only had ONE year with an operational loss. Look at what's happened in Japan in the last year tsunami/nuclear disaster, Every major industry in Japan has been in the red.
To add to your flaimbait. You have to be retarded and ignorant of the history to make the claim that Nintendo will be irrelevant. They've ether been irrelevant for the last 20 year or they haven't been and probably won't be.
Now I can video chat with other mouth breathers about how fucking awesome Zelda 87 is even though the controls are shit, the graphics are only a half notch above last gen and the storyline is meant for a 6 year old
pass
I'm betting they are the first to fully integrate ipod/iphone, android and dozePhones as controllers.
Apple will be their main competitor in this regard with Apple TV.
Sony, Microsoft and Apple will all have the lock-in disease and only work with their branded devices. Nintendo will be the only one to be all inclusive. Thank goodness for competition!
Just my guess...
One of the reasons the Wii sold was a gimmick. People were interested in the "wave the stick" around method of control. They bought it because it seemed cool, and wasn't too expensive. However that was a gimmick over all. Notice there's been no massive rush to a similar system the world over. That is because it really isn't that great. For a few games you find it is a superior method for control, but for the more part it is just different. Instead of pressing a button to do X, you make a certain motion. Ok, fine, whatever. Nothing revolutionary though.
Also like most gimmicks, it fades with time. The novelty wears off and it actually can become rather annoying. Like in Zelda it was a real pain to have to keep doing that sweep motion to do a spin attack rather than just press a "spin attack" button. That aside once the novelty wears off you are left with a below average console. It doesn't support HDTVs, it doesn't have full surround support (just Pro Logic), the graphics are pretty low level.
As such in the long run it has been sputtering out a bit. Ok fine again no big deal. Nintendo made a lot of money on it and that's really all they need to do. It was a success... However it really isn't a success to try and emulate.
Well that's what they are trying to do. Rather than make a solid console and market that, they are again going for a gimmick, this time with the whole silly "tablets as controllers" thing. I just don't see it working. For one, it is rare for the love of a gimmick to strike a second time around since it is as much luck with what consumers happen to be interested in as anything. Then there's the fact that tablets aren't novel to consumers. They are all over the damn place.
Motion control was novel. Most people had never seen anything like the Wiimote. It wasn't new actually, Gyration made mice that were motion control mice for a long time (no need for an optical sensor either). However it was new to the public. So that made the gimmick more interesting. They'd never seen it and wanted to play with it.
Tablets though, well just look at Apple's balance sheet, that'll tell you all you need to know about how many consumers have encountered tablets. It isn't something that'll make them say "Oh I need to try that!" since most of them have already tried it (and may indeed own a tablet).
I think the Wii U is going to flop on account of that. It's hoping for success on a gimmick, like the Wii had, and I don't think that'll work twice around.
If you squint your eyes, the E3 logo in the /. summary looks like Bart Simpson.
Wow, it's very social. I can watch others, others can watch me, and we can, I don't know, trade stuff and... and...
Yeah, I'll stick with MAME.
sure, just email your friend your 15 digit friend code and then if you want to play a game together simply email your 15 digit game code! you can even share a picture or a comment by exchanging a simple 15 digit post code! the future is now!
This is a joke. I am joking. Joke joke joke.
All of the Nintendo haters need to calm down. I started playing Nintendo at the age of 6 or 7. When I was that age we WERE Nintendos customers. Most importantly we could actually play the games Nintendo was putting out. Now that I'm a father, and stick my son in front of any console on the market that's not a Nintendo and expect them to play a game? It's impossible. In fact, anyone that isn't a 16-35yr old male that's played video games for most of their life is going to have trouble grasping most games these days. Nintendo realized that and hence the WII. My kids can play it. My mom can play it. There's nothing wrong with that. This is what Nintendo always was. They realized that if they kept chasing the other console companies the industry would eventually paint itself into a corner. Is it for the hardcore gamer that plays nothing but FPS all day? No... but that's ok. There's room for what they've done... a lot of room.
There were a lot of other games which I found worth playing (I didn't get around to any of the games on that list):
Metroid Prime: Collector's Trilogy --- amazing repacking of 3 classic games w/ new motion controls which add quite a bit of depth to the game
The Conduit --- the first person shooter for the Wii
Goldeneye --- Amazing remake which is even better for having motion controls and Wii Zapper support
Red Steel 2 --- the first game to make use of the Wii Motion Plus and get swordplay as more than a simulation (I'm looking at you Wii Sports Resort) right
Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword --- the ultimate action adventure game w/ swordplay, archery and more
If Xenoblade Chronicles had been available first quarter in North America, Nintendo probably would've been profitable --- still waiting to see how The Last Story sells (though I'm still raging about the developer not having an option of using IR aiming for the crossbow in that) and really wish Pandora's Tower would come to NA.
William
Sphinx of black quartz, judge my vow.
I know the Wii made Nintendo several dozen fuckjloads of money, but they won't get a penny from me if they continue to focus on first-party rehashes of their old franchises. Which is exactly what it looks like they're doing.
Zack & Wiki
Except the "Wiki" part was misleading. Because it was for a console, players could not edit the levels, unlike every single other "Wiki" out there. Even LittleBigPlanet for PS3 reportedly had more Wiki than Zack & Wiki.
Oh wait, no, I mean the other thing, they totally HAVEN'T changed gaming. Only a few titles even use them, even less use them in any sort of real fashion, and those that do use them in a real fashion are often gimmick type games.
Ya, MS and Sony hopped on the bandwagon because the Wii was doing well (though for Kinect that's arguable, they started developing it in 2005). However neither have made a splash gaming wise. By and large games continue to be controller based as they've always been.
Sales figures back this up too. There've been 67 million 360s sold, but only 18 million Kinects, and more than a couple of those were sold for research using Windows, not the Xbox. Likewise back in the day the Wii outsold the other consoles considerably, to the point it is still the sole most sold of this generation (though the PS2 is the most sold over all) but lately both the PS3 and the 360 have been outselling the Wii individually.
The Wii was a success financially, and as with most successful gimmicks it got people interested in the gimmick. However it clearly is a gimmick as it is fading fast. I mean if it really were such a revolutionary method for gaming, why wouldn't the Wii U be all about it? Why would there be a completely different kind of controller? While yes the new tablet does have a gyroscope and accelerometer in it, it is very much not designed for motion control. It is designed for touch screen and for classical stick control.
I haven't run into an HDTV that doesn't have component yet
Part of the problem is that Nintendo uses a proprietary connector that no one else uses. Remember the old saw about Monster cables being overpriced? It's not true on the Wii. Monster's component cable for the Wii was cheaper than Nintendo's.
Nintendo did a better job of locking down the DSi and 3DS than it did the DS and Wii. I don't see Linux or any other copylefted software getting ported to Nintendo platforms any time soon.
The problem isn't Microsoft (360) and Sony (PS3). The problem is Kodak. As an analog imaging company, Kodak was at the top of its class. Then the world slowly turned digital, but Kodak refused to go with the flow.
Nintendo's rivals aren't so Microsoft and Sony as the whole gadget ecosystem. As smartphone, tablet, and maybe even (Google) glasses become more powerful, there go the developers. So unless Nintendo transforms the Wii into a gaming cum kitchensink platform, it's in danger of becoming extinct. This is perhaps the motivation behind the Miiverse.
The think was, the phone, even if purchased that day brand new, had a lower dollar value than a Nintendo DS with a dozen games.
Including the ETF that you'd pay for not having a 24-month voice and data contract? It took three years for Android to get a serious competitor to the iPod touch.
"The redesigned Wii U GamePad features dual sticks, a touch screen that supports finger and stylus interaction, motion and gyroscope sensors, and the ability to act as a TV remote. The Wii U GamePad has its own dedicated Web browser and can share images and video to a TV so that everyone can enjoy the shared content."
But no bottle opener. For shame.
Oblig me-too fanboy attack:
Why don't you just change your name to Wiilliam?
Let's see if i've got this all figured out.
Nintendo: Kiddie games, outdated tech, milk their franchises to death (unlike the franchises of all the other companies which are handled _totally_ responsibly.)
Sony: Overpriced, installs rootkits and disables components of their systems after you've already bought them, gives your credit card number away to hackers.
Microsoft: The original borg, convicted monopolist and patent troll, Windows sucks and the XBox keeps suffering hardware failures.
Apple: The new borg, walled garden and patent troll, designed for hipsters.
Linux: The one true system, but ported games are frequently buggy and often just don't work at all. (This is of course all the fault of the people who made the games.)
I guess as a responsible geek i'm not supposed to be playing any games at all?
This Space Intentionally Left Blank
http://wiibrew.org/wiki/Wii-Linux
I admit that I mistyped. I meant to say "ported to newer Nintendo platforms", as I tried to imply with my mention of a poor "job of locking down [...] the DS and Wii". I'm aware that Linux has been ported to DS and Wii, just not to DSi or 3DS without using the DS backward-compatibility mode.
Already had Linux on my 3DS for roughly three months.
Is it the version that runs in DS backward-compatibility mode using a 3DS compatible DS flash card? If so, it can see only the 4 MB of RAM available to DS programs.
You mean you haven't already figured out the Wii's pinouts and built your own set of component cables?
In the real world, having a connector manufactured to fit the connector costs money.
What the hell kinda geek/nerd are you?
As CronoCloud has repeatedly explained to me on this board, geeks alone do not a market make. Video game consoles are aimed at the mass market, not geeks who have probably already set up a PC as a monitor anyway.
And it (iPad) doesn't run Linux.
Oh really?
I don't see why people continue to think that a device that is physically in hand can have any lasting restrictions whatsoever for the technically inclined. So it is, so shall it always be. That's why complaints that any given device is "locked down" is so laughable.
"There is more worth loving than we have strength to love." - Brian Jay Stanley
The point is simply that we shouldnt HAVE to jump through hoops to do thats that were trivial years ago
You don't have to. You can buy some other device where it is still trivial to do whatever.
But for the good of the VAST majority of the population who does not want or need this ability, there should be an option for them to be able to buy devices where installing stuff like this is tricky, so they cannot mess it up. It is the ONLY way for computing to advance beyond adolescence and truly become prevalent in people's lives.
But the REAL point is that you can still do ANYTHING you want with any device, even if it's locked down. It does not matter in the end if it takes some extra work, because you only have to do that once and then you can continue to use the modified device as long as it lasts. Because the amount of extra work required to do this is in the end a tiny fraction of a percentage of the lifespan of the device, complaining is both pointless and really whiny.
"There is more worth loving than we have strength to love." - Brian Jay Stanley
First, they boast at E3 that it is all about the games, and then announce Hulu and Netflix integration along with social networking features. Those are not games IMHO.
Second the Wii U tablet is absolutely retarded. Every picture I have seen looks huge in the hands of an "adult", how is some 5 year old going to hold on and use it for play? Nintendo has absolutely no concept of good industrial design. How Nintendo can release "that" monstrosity in the era of slick, ultra-thin tablets and phones is beyond me and screams of the fact that Nintendo obviously still assumes gamers are 5 - 13 years old. Nintendo remains the Fisher Price of gaming.
What is most underwhelming about Nintendo is that in spite of the huge windfall Nintendo received from Wii sales, they are now reporting financial losses and have obviously not invested that windfall into creating an innovative new product. They took a DS and turned it into a game controller and will offer a moderate update of the Wii and have to audacity to claim it a new generation of game console.
I haven't thought of anything clever to put here, but then again most of you haven't either.
You should check vgchartz sometime for a taste of reality.
Vgchartz will demonstrate:
1) game to console ratio on Wii is far lower than the other 2 (casual gamers don't game much, so it makes sense).
2) few games on the Wii get anywhere close to 1 million sales while a dozen or so have millions. That dozen is your list (please don't bother nitpicking some minor imperfection in this point).
There is a lot to learn about the global and national ways that 'gaming' goes on. Trends of many facets can easily be illustrated. For your entertainment, follow the ps3 vs 360 system sales, but attempt to visualize the fail rates, and you will see why the attach rates (game to console) on the ps3 have been much higher..... ps3 sales only passed 360 sales a bit over a year ago, but way more of the 360 sales are replacements for broken ones, and no new games are bought (same gamer). Thus, functional ps3s IN USE may actually have been a majority over 2.5 years ago.
Rockon.