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Nintendo WiiU Price and Release Date Announced
YokimaSun writes "Nintendo has revealed the release date of the Wii U: in Japan it will launch on the 8th December, and in the U.S. it will launch on November 18th. The console will ship in two versions: a basic version with 8GB of internal memory and a Deluxe version that has 32GB of internal memory and comes with a stand and docks. Both versions have 1GB of main memory and as much again for game memory. Nintendo claims the console is 20 times more powerful than the Wii and supports 1080p visuals out the box. It comes with an HDMI cable. All existing Wii accessories will work with the Wii U, but the new Tablet Gamepad will set you back around £100/$173 when you convert yen over. The price of the Deluxe SKU is $350."
Here's a list of launch titles.
Can me an Xbox fanboy if you like, but one of the things I love about the Xbox is that it's the first console brand since the Atari that doesn't treat the U.S. (you know, the largest goddamned console market in the world) like second-class citizens. I want Xbox to "win" the console wars because it means never having to see "Releases in Japan on X date, U.S./European release dates to come later, at some point, when we get around to it."
And at least Sony showed some respect with a simultaneous release of the PS3 worldwide. Nintendo acts like this is still the 90's and Japan is still the center of the gaming universe.
What political party do you join when you don't like Bible-thumpers *or* hippies?
Come on, let's not kid ourselves here. WiiU has no real change in winning the new XboX. Did you know that the new XboX is one of history's most anticipated consumer devices and has won thousands of awards. Not to forget that you can code on it using one of the best IDE's around, Visual Studio. For free!
Did you know that the new XboX comes with Kinect2 and XNA support? Yes, it does! The new XboX is so marvelous, delicate and.. wait for it.. AWESOME that you will rock your socks.
in being a big flop.
The controller (the distinctive part of this box) is too expensive. You can by a PS Vita or a 3DS for the same price. And play on the go.
All that CPU power is almost irrelevant. 2x would be enough. 10x is not different from a 2x from the user perspective.
1080p is the maximum? No dual screen? What's all that power for?
You can buy a PS3 for less and still have a very good gaming experience.
In one question: is the WiiU a better gaming console than a PS3?
I don't think so.
Sent as ripples into the electromagnetic field. No single photon has been harmed in the process.
173$ for the handheld bit, plus 400$ for the console? Did they not notice the problems Sony had launching the PS3 at 600$? It doesn't sound like the premium/not premium difference will account for more than 50$ in the end price.
The Yen is strong and it depends on the region, so it will likely be 250/299usd and 250/299eur. It's the same with the 3DS.
I have considered ps3 and xbox360 controllers quite expensive, but this new nintendo one seems to be way beyond those.
I want Xbox to "win" the console wars because it means never having to see "Releases in Japan on X date, U.S./European release dates to come later, at some point, when we get around to it."
Yeah that's a much better criteria than actual functionality and genuine merit. Hey, I've got this new console called the FuckYouRaspberryPi and it's, um, got stuff with it and a RaspberryPi but don't you worry! It's going to release FIRST in the US for $1,000. I will send you all the pieces you need to kinda play, you even get to write the games yourself!
It was really, really stupid to post this article when it was posted. Given that the US and EU date/prices will be announced, err, in the next few minutes, why on earth was it necessary to post an article for the Japanese price announcement from overnight? Now you'll have to edit the post when the US price is announced, or post a second, redundant article.
Another poster brought up the situation that Sony had when they tried selling the PS3 initially for $600. If the new Wii is anywhere near that price point, they are going to seriously flounder with this one. Nintendo has taken the throne as the king of casual console gaming. People will not flock to something viewed as a secondary entertainment option if it blows half-a-month's pay to acquire just the console. I bought a Wii at launch and I think I paid around $600-$700 for the Wii, a complete set of controllers (plus classic pads) and a pile of games. Nintendo will need to hit that sort of mark to make it enticing to "upgrade."
the amazing bc
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I didn't say they should PRIORITIZE the U.S. How about we just get beyond the bullshit regionalism altogether and have *simultaneous* release dates worldwide, so no one is left slighted?
Here, I'll explain this to you so your feeble mind can understand. If they were to do that, they'd have to have their factories working for a month to make a certain number. Then they'd have to wait for those to ship to all corners of the world. Then they'd have to put them on sale on the exact same day. And then and only then on that day will you make money. And then what? Either they're gonna sell out or it's going to be a dud. If you want to survive a dud, the best way to do is to mitigate the cost. This makes phased roll-outs a better business idea. You can plan out how much to ship based on how well it's selling/being received.
You think that Nintendo should cater to Americans when the devices are being made in Asia by an Asian company? 'Me me me, I'm American, I deserve everything WHAAAAAAAAA!'
There's a thing called patience. The rest of the world has it. You do not.
Oh and to circumvent your further idiotic replies, some cursory research reveals:
The XBox could be equally criticized. Wait, let me translate it so an XBox user can understand: OMG, XBOX IS TEH SUXXORS!!! GO HOME GAY FAG!
So what I'm understanding is its going to cost you $350 to play the 45th super Mario game, no thanks.
If anybody hasn't seen it yet, there's a photo here.
Bogtha Bogtha Bogtha
"The price is probably set just above production costs so the company won't lose money," said Tomoaki Kawasaki, a Tokyo-based analyst at Iwai Cosmo Securities. "I'm paying close attention to whether there will be innovative software." Might this be just Nintendo pricing a new product at a level where the first kid on the block to have the new toy will be willing to spend, and the usual drop in price follows. But will there be something new here in the gaming experience, as with the Wii, that will make the gamer shell out the $?
let's rename them nintendoom.
Here, I'll explain this to you so your feeble mind can understand. If they were to do that, they'd have to have their factories working for a month to make a certain number. Then they'd have to wait for those to ship to all corners of the world. Then they'd have to put them on sale on the exact same day. And then and only then on that day will you make money. And then what? Either they're gonna sell out or it's going to be a dud. If you want to survive a dud, the best way to do is to mitigate the cost. This makes phased roll-outs a better business idea. You can plan out how much to ship based on how well it's selling/being received.
Funny that Sony managed to do it.
With what? The PS3? Nope. The Vita? Nope.
What kind of fucking troll are you?!
Well hell, that saves me at least 99 bucks, or 1200 if I really wanted to be a true Monster hunter...
...whether there's any advantage to springing for the premium console, besides the colour. Stands and charging stations will be pouring out of China PDQ. The internal storage difference means little when you factor in the SDHC card slot built into this thing. Can't say I can see anything else to fault, except perhaps the replacement price of that tablet if it gets busted. Nice it's backwards compatible with the old controllers, extends their useful life considerably (if the lifespan of this generation of consoles is anything to go by) and means any Wii'd up households are already half-way kitted out for launch day.
How to express how much I want to play Pikmin 3 without sounding like a child... hmm... can't do it. EEEEEEEEEEEEEeeeeeeeeeeeee! :(
Okay, one week apart. I would count that as pretty simultaneous.
Right. For Japan, Hong Kong, United States, Taiwan and Canada. However your original post said:
And at least Sony showed some respect with a simultaneous release of the PS3 worldwide. Nintendo acts like this is still the 90's and Japan is still the center of the gaming universe.
Did you know that there are more countries than just the United States and Japan in the world? Why don't you start looking at how badly South Korea gets hosed in these console release dates. Per capita they kill Japan and USA for gaming.
So you're nationalist bullshit post espousing respect should have an asterisk and say 'only for the one country I care about'.
It's what's stopping me simply buying a new Wii to replace my black-screened Wii. For some reason, Nintendo took this feature out.
Dying to play some Mario, Zelda, Mario Kart, Yoshi...
They were wise enough to listen to me and realize I was right. The rest of the world should be that smart.
So here's the million dollar question: will you now be a blindly rapid ignorant Nintendo fanboy and burn all your Microsoft gear?
Oh boy, a new tablet pad and more power. Big fucking deal. I would nintendo rather have shown some originality, some innovation, some sign of creativity instead to be perfectly honest.
My problem with nintendo is they havent had an original idea in literally decades.
1) Wiiu. Its a wii only with a new controller and its a tablet controller which is just taken from the recent rise in tablets like the ipad and fact everyone is jumping on the tablet bandwagon. But the wiiu is just a wii with a new controller, the wii was just a game cube with a new controller. The 3ds is just a dsi only with a 3d gimmick that was getting (at the time) with the movie industry before they 3ds even came out so again it was nintendo trying to play to a popular gimmick. But the 3ds is just a dsi, which is just a ds lite, which is just a ds and the 3ds xl is just a ds xl with each one being slightly upgraded. Nintendo just plays catch up with whats popular at the time but they pretend like they are pioneers or something.
2) Games. Every single game nintendo makes can be prefaced with "Another fucking" and it will work. For example: Another fucking mario game, another fucking pokemon game, another fucking zelda game. You see? See its funny because everyone bitches at EA, activision, ubisoft and so on for only making sequel after sequel after sequel but when nintendo does it they get on their knees with money in hand crying and praising nintendo and begging them to pinch off another hot steamy mario game in their mouths. Nintendo hasnt had a creative or original game in decades, all they do is just rehash the same old stuff over and over again with just a light new coat of paint each time, but you can still see its just the same old game.
Here is another entertaining look at my point. It paticullarly mentions mario. But it still illustrates my point about nintendo as a whole. http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/jimquisition/6147-Old-Man-Mario
Nintendo is a old, closed minded company. I grew up with the NES and gameboy when they were new and I loved nintendo. But I dont love them anymore because of simply how they are now. Ill buy a wii u in a year or so once some games have come out that are more just the same old shit and shovelware (those games will be mostly from atlus, nis I bet). So Im not writing them off, but thats too much money for yet another system based PURELY off of a gimmick and will have a shit load of terrible 3rd party games and all the 1st party games will just be the same old thing.
Im saving my money for the next playstation and xbox systems instead which wont be far behind. Ill get a wii u in a year and a half or so probablly. But I want a galaxy nexus 7, the ps3/360/pc/vita have a lot of games coming out soon I really want right and I have plenty to play still now, there is just too many other things to entertain me now that I want more than a wii u. So Ill come back in a couple years.
At least for the time being all 3 consoles are about on par which means they'll probably all enjoy the same cross-platform titles although the lack of storage space is not going to endear them to 3rd parties selling DLC or even digital copies at all. I also expect that Nintendo's usual arrogance to 3rd parties will ensure that the whiff of shovelware will haunt the platform as much as it did and does their other devices.
Say what you will, the line up of exclusive games that the Wii U will have seems pretty impressive. Nintendo looks to have pretty big names in every category of games... This could be a pretty major system.
Nintendo has said that the WiiU will be their last console.
Wii users generally bought less than a handful of titles, and played them for ver few hours, compared to other consoles with more broad development.
The "motion control" fad wave is passing.
Tablets are popular, at the moment, and look at those flashy WiiU controllers!
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Given the signifcance and blunt reality of these data points, I'm guessing this last console is a money grab. Buyer beware.
I like video games. I have been playing since the Commodore 64. New consoles come out all the time. They cost money. Usually, at launch, they are not cheap. Competition has been good at keeping console prices in a decent range over the last 2 decades (considering inflation). That aside, much of the cost of this console can be disregarded when compared to buying most other new console releases.
Those of us who like to play video games and not just pretty (or ugly, muddy) colors and shapes probably purchased more than one system last generation. Those of us that bought a Wii will be able to use everything from the old console on the new one. That means that we don't have to buy controllers so that ALL our friends can play it with us when we bring it home. I will have an existing library of games to choose from in the Wii (from games I did not pick up yet to the ones currently in my collection) to play on this console. I will already be set to enjoy this console without spending much more than the cost of the new system and tablet package.
I will likely purchase many of the ports coming to this console, mainly because I don't have the mindset of a ravenous child and blow all my money on video games as soon as they are released (this works out great for me because then there are no "dry" periods for great games). That said, I am looking forward to playing Arkham City, AC: III, and possibly NG 3 (if they can resurrect it from the pile of trash it has been initially). There are other games that I want to get for this system but they (per normal) will have to wait (thus creating even more great games to fall back on at a later time).
I like Nintendo. I like Microsoft. At times, I can handle Sony. This is about video games. There is a good chance that your like holds no stake in the successes, failure, or image of these companies. Just play the games and quit whining about every little thing that you don't like about these different companies. If you don't like the company, don't buy the product. See how simple that is? Speak with your money. I don't want to see any of these companies stop making consoles. Want to know why? I don't want stagnated progress.
TL; DR: I don't care if you want a summary. Have fun with fun stuff. It is not serious business.
Even if it's just to have 480p with no color fringing or dot crawl, it's an easy sell to current Wii owners. A component cable wasn't a big enough upgrade
How so? When I was still playing Wii, I was using a Monster component cable that was cheaper than Nintendo's own, and I got 480p with no composite encoding artifacts. (On the other hand, several NES emulators for PC take pains to emulate the NES's composite encoding artifacts.)
I know I'm not getting any younger, but seriously the text on their website is way too small.
Buying a second or more tablet controller will not be mandatory for local multiplayer experiences.
For several games, buying a second console, a second TV, and a second copy of the game is already mandatory for local multiplayer. These include Animal Crossing: City Folk and The Conduit. A lot of Slashdot users are under the impression that split-screen is on its way out in favor of online play, probably because so many of them live alone (or at least not with other gamers).
If it runs all Wii games and accepts all Wii peripherals
If the Wii Family Edition is any indication, then I don't think it takes GameCube controllers, which is a negative for people who play a lot of Brawl. Nor is it likely to support the Homebrew Channel.
"Real gamers need zelda or mario. Everything else is trash."
How many people bought The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess just for Twilight Hack?
The original NES controllers suffered badly from sweat leaking into them. But since then their hardware is pretty indestructible.
For me, the Control Stick on the N64 and the L and R buttons on the DS and DS Lite were the first to go.
But it might be in HD for the first time ever
Not exactly for the first time. Unauthorized emulators running on PC already run Wii and even Nintendo 64 games in high definition.
I don't wish ill on the company, but I hope that the WiiU is the end of Nintendo hardware, and that they'll start publishing games for other companies' hardware. Not unlike Sega. The Wii may have been an innovation with motion-controlled gaming, but it's a dubious innovation and was topped by Microsoft's Kinect (which is also dubious; I basically use mine to bark commands at my squadmates in single-player Mass Effect 3). The 3DS hasn't really been a success. Maybe it's time for them to realize that they could make serious money by putting their games on IOS, on XBLA, on PSN.
I love the Mario series, but I'm not ready to throw out my hacked Wii just yet. When I can replace my Wii with Dolphin running Wii and Gamecube games accurately on my HTPC, then I will get the Wii U for whatever the price comes down to.
I just don't want to lose out on my USB Loader vs. using actual game discs and the ability to play the two Gamecube games that I have. And I don't want to have two Wii units sitting on a shelf together.
To be completely honest, I oppose proprietary game consoles in this day and age. We no longer need a proprietary purpose built console to make gaming affordable. Modern consoles, especially those of the current generation seem to be nothing but moderate-spec'ed PCs that are locked down through various software (and hardware at times - see, X360 Hard Drives. No reason you couldn't use a "regular" SATA HDD, but you need to buy the overpriced proprietary crap). So you spend a few hundred dollars on a box that is essentially a small form factor PC that you don't really own, can't mess with or modify without being banned and everything you ever purchased deactivated (or, forced to buy another box) and that only links up to a proprietary network - you don't have the choice of saying "Sorry, XboxLive, I don't want to abide by your rules. I know, I'll connect to Bob's Xbox360 Matchmaking Extreme Network instead and play there - and paying constantly for the privilege to be locked in at every turn. The only reason to buy consoles (as opposed to other solutions) these days in my opinion, is the fact that so many titles are still "console exclusives" - basically, your games are being held hostage. If you want to play Final Fantasy, Lost Odyssey, Valkyria Chronicles etc.. you have to capitulate to the consoles. Its time for this to end.
Wouldn't it be nice if you weren't choosing which consoles you were going to buy based on which games they were expected to hold exclusive dominion over? What if every type of game was available for the PC instead, giving you the freedom to decide what hardware you wished. It would simply be a matter of recommended specs and peripherals, something that hasn't been any trouble for PC gamers for years. Those with existing computers that had the specs (CPU, GPU etc...) necessary could play the games on there, and should such a revolution occur it would revitalize the gaming PC industry with a huge infusion of cash. All those players that want "the console/TV/couch experience" would be able to build or buy a multitude of small form factor and home theater gaming PC. Peripherals would become a nice secondary market. Look at how the Xbox 360 controllers and headsets (or compatible XInput style controller) has become the "de facto" gaming controller on PC. Players just bought these controllers to play PC titles; because Microsoft was smart enough to make a USB dongle for the wireless versions and provide drivers at least on Windows (and really, make them pretty easy to implement even on Linux!) plenty of people without an X360 system buy the controllers if they want to play certain types of titles on their PC. Likewise, there are relatively simple 3rd party hacks (because the first parties lacked foresight, which is why these don't have quite the amount of presence compared to X360 pads) to use Dual Shock 3 and WiiMote+accessories on PC. In a console-less world, what if Nintendo, Sony, Microsoft and others simply became peripheral manufacturers? I'm guessing there would be a lot more unified and open technologies used - it would be simple for some developer to say "Requires a Nintendo WiiUToo Tablet or compatible multitouch tablet device" for their gametype, the way that "X360 Controller for PC or compatible supported/suggested" is prevalent in PC gaming today. We just saw the launch of Steam's "Big Picture", a "console style" UI meant to be navigated with a gamepad or remote control, which despite its beta status seems to be greatly superior to Xbox Live's UI, which has tons of ads and "value added services" squirted all over its dashboard to the point that actual tasks on the unit are typically small windows that are given inferior focus! If Steam can integrate their Big Picture with XBMC and/or MythTV for instance, that pretty much makes for a better complete "console" experience than X360/PS3 offer today! You could take it one step further with a bootable Linux distribution that incorporated Steam, Desura, XBMC and other entertainment platforms, all wrapped in a "Big Pictur
What I really want to know is two things: (1) What are the graphics capabilities and (2) What new fun input methods will there be?
Graphics: because the graphics on the current Wii are, frankly, sad. PS3 and Xbox 360 are way behind the state of the art on the PC, but that gap is small compared to the gap between either of those consoles and the Wii. I can see why a lot of game publishers wouldn't want to release for Wii: their games are going to look terrible.
Input methods: I feel this has been the great driver of success for the Wii. Where pre-Wii console gaming consisted of a joypad and maybe a gun or a steering wheel, the Wii revolutionized gaming with the Wiimote and the balance board. By now, Microsoft and Sony have copied this, and I would argue that Kinect is actually ahead of what Wii offers (though there are some things the balance board can do that Kinect can't). Is the Wii U going to offer something similarly compelling?
Please correct me if I got my facts wrong.
8GB of internal STORAGE. NOT MEMORY.
8gb of memory would put consoles finally on par with PC's. Old PC's but PC's. The Wii U either has 1.5gb or 2gb of memory. Shared of course. So, less then a high end video card, slower and shared.
The internal memory isn't also a speedy SSD but a flash drive. Holy load time batman! This thing will be SLOOOOOOOOW. And don't count on it caching from DVD to make up for DVD slow load times either, not with 8GB of storage.
The more damning thing? Tablets and phones now already come with 2gb of working memory. The Wii U ain't out yet and is supposed to last for years while the average phone/tablet will be obsolete in a year or two.
The games better be amazing... I have a Wii. It had a few amazing games... :Last Story and... oh there was 1 or 2 others but I leave it up to you to list them. If you need to think for longer then 2 seconds, I made my point.
MMO Quests are like orgasms:
You may solo them, I prefer them in a group.
Not all SSDs are alike in speed. There are slow SSDs with one cheap memory, used in USB "key" style drives, and then there are fast SSDs with multiple memories ganged up in what amounts to a RAID 0, used in 2.5" form factor PC SSDs. The term "SSD" is used for the latter more often than the former. The flash soldered to the motherboard of the original Wii was essentially a cheap, slow 512 MB xD-Picture card; saving to it was in fact slower than saving to some DS Game Cards' flash memory. (Compare WarioWare DIY, which needs three bounces to save an added game, to WarioWare DIY Showcase, which needs nine.)
Those of us that bought a Wii will be able to use everything from the old console on the new one. That means that we don't have to buy controllers
Except people who bought GameCube controllers for optimal performance in Super Smash Bros. Brawl.
I am looking forward to playing Arkham City, AC: III
By AC: III, do you mean City Folk?
and possibly NG 3
That one already came out on Virtual Console in 2008.
There is a good chance that your like holds no stake in the successes, failure, or image of these companies. Just play the games
Which is exactly how the console makers want it. They want the people at home to just play the games, not to make them. Only a token number of console games are officially moddable to any capacity, such as LittleBigPlanet, WarioWare DIY, and the level editor of Brawl.
What if every type of game was available for the PC instead
Does this include games for which a good keyboard-and-mouse control scheme hasn't yet been devised, such as fighting games and 2.5-D platformers? And does it include arcade-style games for which part of the draw is that you're playing on one screen, such as party games and (again) fighting games? Very few games support multiple mice and multiple keyboards; the only one I can think of is Rag Doll Kung Fu.
All those players that want "the console/TV/couch experience" would be able to build or buy a multitude of small form factor and home theater gaming PC.
They can now. But most people haven't felt a need to build or buy a second PC to put next to the big monitor in the living room. To them, consoles are for the living room and PCs are for desks and never the twain shall meet. I used to believe as you do, but other Slashdot users have since told me that apart from hardcore geeks, people just don't want something perceived as "a computer" in the living room. I can cite more such comments on request.
Look at how the Xbox 360 controllers and headsets (or compatible XInput style controller) has become the "de facto" gaming controller on PC.
How many multiplayer PC games actually support multiple DirectInput or XInput game controllers, as opposed to one PC, monitor, and copy of the game per player?
I'm a little disenchanted by the fact the tablet controllers, as far as I've heard, are basically single touch resistive touch screens instead of multitouch capacitive - why toss old tech besides the new?
I assume the single-touch is 1. to keep costs down and 2. to allow for drawing games that require the precision of a stylus.
I'd much rather if I could just invest in the WiiU Tablet and Pro controller
Then have someone program a tech demo of a PC game that uses a Nexus 7 tablet as its controller.
Seriously, where is your chalkboard? Have you started blubbering yet about America's freedoms being torn apart at the hands of those Japanese socialists?
Geeks spend too much time bitching about something that hasn't even come out yet. "OMG its going to suck" or "ITS GOING TO FAIL" and you haven't even gotten your hands on the console yet, nor do you have sales figures to back up your points. BECAUSE THERE FUCKING AREN'T ANY!
You could buy a 128GB flash drive throw it on there and be reasonably ok, as well SD cards have a decent amount of storage available these days. The vast majority of Hardcorez gamers are too fat and lazy to get off their ass to change something other than the disc in their consoles. Whine, complain, rinse, repeat. Oh I am sorry its too slow, I run Mass Effect on a USB flash drive on my 360 and it runs just fine, just as well as if the disc was in the drive.
Just give it time and stop being incredibly annoying about games, bitch with your wallet instead.
My guess is it's going to be a big hit over Xmas provided Nintendo makes enough units. Most parents that have kids, that have a Wii, will most likely upgrade to a Wii-U because it's Nintendo, it's what the kids have and what they like. Is this going to convert the older PS3/360 crowd? No. It's not aimed at them.
Nintendo is a family company, they always have been.
Will it be better then the new Xbox or the PS4? Probably not. But this coming Xmas, they are vaporware, the Wii-U won't be.
Me, I like my Wii, my only complain is that it doesn't do 720p or higher. Granted, I use it mostly for homebrew and emulators and the occasional pokemon game, and I really like it because it's really small and I can pack it up and take it somewhere, like to m parents when I'm visiting. But I'm probably going to wait to buy one, like I did with the Wii until it comes down in price.
And for the record, I have a Xbox 360 (jtagged, but not working currently), and I would love to have a PS3 but only for homebrew/hacking.
And I'm sure it will be around the $300 point. I think history has shown us this is the highest price you should go on consoles.
Be seeing you...
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Who said some mega corp couldn't create a private closed network to hijack the internet AND CHARGE FOR IT? XBox Live is just that. It is the old AOL over DSL scheme but runs on 1 niche device.
The cell phones are only a step behind that... People will freak when Apple makes iCloud the only online network for the iPhone and charge a fee to access it.... oh wait, nobody would pay for that and the iPhone would die. So why did XBox pull it off?
Democracy Now! - uncensored, anti-establishment news
First - Yes. There is no reason why these games should have to be restricted to proprietary consoles. There are plenty of titles that are, and far more that could be developed to work just as well on PC if the "console" didn't exist. My X360 Wireless USB Dongle by itself can handle 4 controllers+headsets. I can plug in a FightStick Tournament Edition and use it for Super Street Fighter IV Arcade Edition, or fire up MAME etc.. There is no reason why BlazBlue, Mario Kart, and other currently console only titles couldn't be released on PC. You don't have to be limited to mice and keyboards or only certain game types but for the status quo, enforced by a handful of entities, that dictates "These kind of games are for consoles, not for PC". Break that, and everything is available. Those that do break out have been shown enormous gains; especially indie titles. Take for instance how Breath of Death VIII and Cthulhu Saves the World made more in one launch weekend (or was it week) on Steam than for months on XBLA.
Second - This is a catch 22. People only put a PC in the living room if they want to do "PC stuff" on it. If all the "console" content was available on the PC, people would buy PCs; there would be many PCs that were SFF/HTPC Gaming focused that would be a better value and more flexible than currently available console. People clearly want an "entertainment box" in their living room and there is no reason that an actual PC could not fulfill that niche if the games were not limited to certain console platforms; it can easily be customized to provide a "console experience" and then expanded if users desire.
Third - This again is the problem of the type of game released. Even second-class citizen ports by Capcom offer support for multiple controllers and the like. If a game was designed with a single-screen gameplay option in mind, it would support multiple inputs. MAME for instance and associated projects all support multiple local controller inputs simply because they're replicating games that were designed nearly exclusively for local multiplayer.
Fourth - It depends on the price of the controller; If the bloody thing actually comes close to or eclipses $100, there's no reason it shouldn't be multitouch. Especially considering how much of their audience is going to be used to touch games on Android and iOS taking advantage of 5-10 point capacitive multitouch I can't see this as a good choice. If anything, this would be the thing to eat a bit of the cost upon because it is going to make the premiere "new" function of the system seem old compared to the phones and tablets people already have. As far as precision is concerned, I figure either add a multitouch digitizer (which is admittedly expensive) or simply have a high end capacitive stylus option without one. There are plenty of "drawing" games on iOS/Android that are made to be interacted with by "fingerpainting", and even art programs meant to be used with capacitive styli, that work well enough without a digitizer I can't imagine that Nintendo is going to be producing the kind of games that require professional level artistic and design precision. Thus it seems like a quality capacitive multitouch is the best way to go. Single touch resistive gaming may have been great on the NDS era, but now people are used to "mobile" games that take multitouch into account, which will only grow more dynamic as time progresses.
Lastly - I would like to see better integration with Android devices being used as secondary displays and input devices for other computers (ie. Plug in my Nexus 7 and via USB video it becomes a secondary display and multitouch controller, not unlike the kind of the USB mini-monitors sold by MIMO and whatnot. This should be possible now unless Android has locked something down... I"ll have to look into it). However, I expect that, depending on technology (ie Bluetooth) and how much the WiiU controllers are locked down, someone is going to get them working on the PC, just as the Wiimote and Dual Shoc
what makes you suggest they're not using a NAND flash memory based SSD here with the Wii U
Nothing. I was just suggesting Nintendo was using an SSD based on one NAND flash memory, as used in the original Wii and in USB flash drives, not an SSD based on multiple NAND flash memories, as used in PCs with internal SSDs. The Wii U's chassis doesn't look much bigger if at all than that of the Wii, which makes it unlikely that the multiple flash chips typical of a 2.5" SSD are present.
I can plug in a FightStick Tournament Edition and use it for Super Street Fighter IV Arcade Edition
True, Super Street Fighter IV works, but as of 2012, Mortal Kombat 2011 does not. How should we convince WB to follow Capcom's lead?
or fire up MAME
There are copyright problems with marketing a PC as ideal for running classic video games in emulation. MAME comes with only twenty games as of today, and I haven't counted how many of those allow for two players at the same time. Most end users are unwilling to buy arcade PCBs and solder together the tools needed to dump them, and advertising a product for use with illegally downloaded ROMs is likely to be viewed as "inducement" under MGM v. Grokster.
etc.
The assertion of some of these other Slashdot users is that the "etc.", the collection of worthwhile games compatible with more than one gamepad on one PC, is as of 2012 large enough to make building or buying a gaming HTPC worthwhile to home users.
There is no reason why BlazBlue, Mario Kart, and other currently console only titles couldn't be released on PC.
Sure there is. They aren't released on PC because there is no track record of demand for other games in the same genre on the PC over the past several years, which in turn is because they historically haven't been released on PC.
You don't have to be limited to mice and keyboards or only certain game types but for the status quo, enforced by a handful of entities, that dictates "These kind of games are for consoles, not for PC". Break that, and everything is available.
So if a company does decide to release a "console-style" game as a PC exclusive, how will it find enough customers willing to buy the game to make it profitable? If you want, I can link posts from other Slashdot users claiming that these customers do not exist in large numbers. For example, at one point, Wii consoles were claimed to outnumber home theater PCs by a factor of over 100 to 1.
Take for instance how Breath of Death VIII and Cthulhu Saves the World made more in one launch weekend (or was it week) on Steam than for months on XBLA.
Are those single-player or multiplayer? I understand a single-player indie game doing well on PC. But multiplayer is different because as of 2012, too few people already have a PC hooked up to a large enough monitor to fit multiple adult bodies around it.
This is a catch 22. People only put a PC in the living room if they want to do "PC stuff" on it. If all the "console" content was available on the PC, people would buy PCs
Other than legislatively banning consoles, how do you recommend breaking this catch-22?
there is no reason that an actual PC could not fulfill that niche if the games were not limited to certain console platforms
One reason is the perception that PCs need far more maintenance. Unlike consoles, PCs get viruses and fake antiviruses. Unlike Wii disc games and Xbox 360 disc games, PC disc games typically need to be "installed".
If a game was designed with a single-screen gameplay option in mind, it would support multiple inputs.
The problem here is that publishers either remove the single-screen gameplay option (as explained in the Cracked article that I linked) or simply decline to port single-screen multiplayer titles to the PC. Instead, they're more likely port titles in genres associated with multiple screens, such as FPS and RTS. Again, the catch-22 needs broken by someone with enough capital to break it.
It depends on the price of the controller; If the bloody thing actually comes close to or eclipses $100, there's no re
...In 3...2...1...
and it will be 7th december in the usa, the anniversary of pearl harbor