Wii U (game console)

[Neil]

http://e3.nintendo.com/hw/#/introduction

Confused that they seem to have lost the simple controllers found on the existing Wii that are so great for so many games!?

[Danny]

i'm utterly indifferent, leaning to mild disappointment. my apple products did this a year ago and this is being touted as next generation technology. Nintendo seems stuck in a creative rut, a well selling one but they aint trying to fix it since it doesnt need it now, but its going to get broken.
Look at zelda, love that series to death but it used to be they would make crazy changes each time, now they seem set on ocarina clones with different art directions. and they wont be bad, and therin lies the problem, if they get praise- deserved praise- they wont try for anything new anymore.

[bassman]

Like Hellsing, i'm in the "meh" category. I'll have to wait and see more before I officially don't care, though.



Look at zelda, love that series to death but it used to be they would make crazy changes each time, now they seem set on ocarina clones with different art directions. and they wont be bad, and therin lies the problem, if they get praise- deserved praise- they wont try for anything new anymore.

You can't really blame them for re-hashing Ocarina of Time. It is the best Zelda game of all time. :)

[Danny]

You can't really blame them for re-hashing Ocarina of Time. It is the best Zelda game of all time. :)

but its still there to go and be played any time y'know? give me a steampunk zelda set in a industrial revolution hyrule or something, anything that shakes it up a lot. not just a different mode of travel.

[CoinReturn]

I like that third party developers are on board from the get go, with Ninja Gaiden 3 and Battlefield 3 both included on their demo reel.

Yesterday's reveal wasn't about showing off the system's power or software, they didn't even show the actual system during the keynote. The controller was the main focus, and when combined with the Wiimote, could have interesting possibilities.

Depending on how much more powerful than PS3/360 it is, I may bite.

[Rottedfreak]

The zapper bit caught my attention where the screen acts as a sight. You can just turn the TV off and play a game this way, maybe you can have four mates over with screens of their own and play four player Left 4 Dead from anywhere in the house through WiFi. I might hold off Modern Warfare 3 on the 360 to play it with this screen though hope the options still there to play with a Wii Remote as well as a Classic Controller Pro.
However there's plenty of life in the Wii especially with the new Remote Plus, I want to see it used for swordplay in Metal Gear Solid Rising and a lightsaber game, gunplay in Resident Evil 5 and Operation Raccoon City.

[Exatreides]

I'm not impressed.

[Danny]

yeesh, the more i read the more i am kinda put off.

So far the biggest thing doing the rounds is the controller is not sold separately, because it would be too expensive to do so and is not cost effective, so god knows how you replace it when it breaks, however it also sounds like its 1 PER console and other players have to use a wiimote and nunchuck. that seems a little shitty to me.

Next almost all their HD footage of 3rd party stuff was actually video of xbox and ps3 games and the console is apparently not the powerhouse it was touted to be. Most games journalists have pointed out that, by putting it out so early, by the time the xbox 3 and the ps4 come out it will be far behind the curve. again.

Its not using blu-ray but another form of smaller media not unlike dvd. how is it going to have 'next gen' games when a current gen ps3 could be the only thing with the disc space for true current gen games?

Much as i lamented how casual focussed the microsoft conference was think about that. They are offering everything the wii did in the next year, but more streamlined and high tech. It's dull crap for me, but im not in this sizable market share they are going for. Its the folks brought into games BY the nintendo wii that will see the choice between little billy jumping about all active with his siblings till they go to bed playing kinect games, then mom and dad can use the variety of media center settings or little billy withdrawing to the corner to play zelda on his glorified gamegear controller.

I really don't know nintendo's angle this time. It is definitely being released at the wrong period in the markets current gen lifespan and sounds like a addon for the wii which equates to a collossal waste of money that doesnt seem to appeal to the casual family market OR the traditional 'hardcore' market either.


Now i love nintendo, they are responsible for a fair few of, to my mind, the best games ever made. So dont mistake this for internet fanboy wishing bad news on a company, but this just seems like a bad move for nintendo. Especially after the 3ds is apparently not selling so hot. I mean i hope they surprise us and knock it out of the park again but like most the wiis longterm staying power left me cold and this? this seems like a step in the wrong direction.

[Rottedfreak]

The controller 'not being sold separately' is their way of saying it's being sold as standard with the console, recently Miyamoto said their toying with having two players.
The specs haven't been finalized but the early dev kits are considerably more powerful then the Xbox 360.
DVD's, Wii Optical Discs and Xbox 360 discs store 8GB the Wii-U discs store 25GB.
Nintendo shouldn't have called it a Wii they said they wouldn't.

[Danny]

So there are apparently the collected confirmed things from all the sites like ign and kotaku.

25GB optical discs
USB/SD storage expansion (4 USB ports)
Fully backwards compatible with the Wii (Games, Wii Remotes, Wii Balance Boards, etc.)
Not backwards compatible with the GC
No Blu-Ray
Internal storage (No hard drive)
Saving data to SD Cards (SDHC compatible
45-nanometer 3 core IBM processor (embedded DRAM and Silicon insulator)
Supports 1080p, 1080i, 720p, 480p, and 480i resolutions
No DVD playback
Controller not sold separately
Wii U will only support the controller that comes with it
6.2-inch, 16:9 touch screen controller
Rechargeable controller
HDMI and AV Multi out ports
Custom AMD Radeon™ HD GPU
Controller has a built-in accelerometer and gyroscope, rumble feature, camera, a microphone, stereo speakers, a sensor strip and a stylus.

So really. what if that 1 controller breaks?

[shootemindehead]

Never understood the success of the Wii. Cannot believe that it's the largest selling console.

This WiiU thing fills me with the same heights of non-interest.

[blind2d]

Well Shootem, I believe the success of the Wii has to do with the success of its successors: simply put, Nintendo consoles are viewed as more "family-friendly", and thus more of the "casual" gamers buy them. Also, they have Mario and Link; very recognizable characters and household names. It's all marketing, really. Also, y'know, it was the first to have the "remote" technology on the market, so hey, again, novel and fun.
Plus Xbox and Playstation have always sucked. (<-May or may not be the opinion of this person.)

[shootemindehead]

Aye, you're correct there B2D. I think part of the Wii's success is also the girlies getting involved. To me, it's always been a girlie machine, with cutesy graphics and the pretence of "working out". We had a loan of one for a while. I really only liked the Tennis game (not the one that comes with it), but after a while it just sat there gathering dust until it went back to its owner (and back in her attic).

As a PC guy, I've always thought consoles "sucked". I still own an Xbox though (thanks Sue!) but I barely touch it. Would you believe, I have L.A. Noire still in it's box? Its plastic box, now, not the xbox :)

A new PC game is installed within hours of getting it home.

Weird that.

[Neil]

Due out end of this year, and approx twice the power of a XBox 360?!

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/technology/video-games/gaming-news/nintendo-says-wii-u-to-launch-before-2012-holiday-season/article2315561/

[krisvds]

I've always had a soft spot for Nintendo. The wii had some fine games; Mario galaxy 1 & 2, Metroid Prime 3, Zelda TP & SS,,... Also nice; Silent Hill Shattered Memories, House of the Dead Overkill, Xenoblade Chronicles, Sin & Punishment 2,...

[Danny]

Due out end of this year, and approx twice the power of a XBox 360?!

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/technology/video-games/gaming-news/nintendo-says-wii-u-to-launch-before-2012-holiday-season/article2315561/

only twice as powerful as 7 years old technology? and thats lauded? hurm.

[Neil]

only twice as powerful as 7 years old technology? and thats lauded? hurm.

Well, who knows what other bells and whistles it may have. A car with twice the power can go a lot faster if the rest of it is designed well :)

I suspect graphically it will blow the XBox out of the water, but it's what else it offer that interests me. Most importantly the control system etc. I'm AM concerned it seems to be a single player unit from early comments, which seems madness considering how well the existing Wii has done being a family/multiplayer orientated unit.

[Rancid Carcass]

I still think they should have called it the Wii Sixty... :shifty:

[AcesandEights]

give me a steampunk zelda set in a industrial revolution hyrule or something

Hell, that's a good idea and I don't even really like Zelda games.

[Rottedfreak]

You can't trust rumours one minute their saying it's twice as powerful as 360, the next their saying the 360's successor is six times as powerful as the 360 and Wii U is '20% less powerful' then that making it five times as powerful.
If it's powerful enough to do Resident Evil 6 in true 1080p with a bit of polish to what was shown in the recent trailer I'll be happy enough with it.

[Neil]

^^ Agreed!

[Rottedfreak]

So whats going on with Wii U?
My hopes are for actual game reveals at E3 rather then a bunch of tech demoes and third party games using 360/PS3 footage.
Nintendo are known for Mario, Metroid and Zelda and while they would be wise to launch their HD console with a Zelda or Mario Galaxy game but I think a new Pikmin would be a good showcase to.
http://image.com.com/gamespot/images/2009/026/954380_20090127_screen001.jpg
It might sound daft since it is a strategy game but Pikmin is one of the most accessible games going and perfect for all ages.
I really don't think they should have Killer Freaks from Outer Space as any sort of Banner title, out of good taste. I'm not saying Nintendo's kiddy just that Killer Freaks at it's core looks like a mundane FPS with all this adult humour slapped on. Resident Evil 6 would be a better choice or even Transformers Fall of Cybertron unless High Moon blow it.

[Rottedfreak]

So E3 came and went and Wii U was sort of underwhelming for a few reasons:
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1) Pikmin 3 is sort of niche, same too for Nintendoland, Project P-100 and ZombiU, I thought Nintendo would have had something else up their sleeves but there was nothing.
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2) None of the games looked next gen, while Watch Dogs and Star Wars 1313 shown hints of next gen gameplay, New Super Mario Bros U and Pikmin 3 look like they could be done on a Gamecube. Visually it's like the current gen consoles and developers are poised to build bigger worlds with more sophisticated AI through new engines such as Luminous Philosophy Engine and Epics Unreal Engine 4. Nintendo really should have had a showcase game for the system.
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3) Too many late ports, Mass Effect 3, Batman Arkham City, Ninja Gaiden 3, granted they're coming with new features like a new mission for ME3 and gameplay enhancements for NG3 but it's not enough.
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4) Years ago Nintendo revealed the 3DS and then after E3's reaction slapped a high price on it, I have a feeling they will do so again here, the problem is the platform offers less then the current gen PS3 and 360 which anyone can get for between £100 - 200.

[Neil]

^^ But a Wii has never been about top end graphics, it's been about control and playability and style of games. I didn't buy a Wii for top notch visuals. I bought it for the type of games on it and the best controller(s) around.

[Danny]

I STILL havent bought a 3DS due to lack of good games, but even that had more new, original games announced 2 years ago at its announcement e3 than this did. Right now it looks like the 3rd nintendo hardware release in a row im utterly not interested in.

[capncnut]

The little one is talking about nothing else. I'm not so crazy about it but she's head over heels in love with an Italian plumber...

[Rottedfreak]

^^ But a Wii has never been about top end graphics, it's been about control and playability and style of games. I didn't buy a Wii for top notch visuals. I bought it for the type of games on it and the best controller(s) around.

One of their goals is to get more third party support on the system and I think games like Watch Dogs and many more could make some good use of that touch screen pad for immersion.
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For example they could keep the map and inventory off the TV screen and confined to the touchscreen and have the phone/headphone instructions and espionage come from the speakers to draw the player in.
Games like that aren't coming if Wii U is not up to spec.
I would have gave an arm and a leg to have the Wiimote's IR sensor for Resident Evil 5 and 6 or some Wii Remote/Motion Plus melee play in Dead Rising 2. We never even got a lightsaber game all through the hardware not being up to spec.

[Rottedfreak]

I wish we knew more about Wii U's processing power but Nintendo seems to dodge questions and worse yet some NOA manager told a interviewer people would just take one apart anyway to find out in a interview.
But I am optimistic as it's getting ports of games they optimised on PS3 and Xbox 360 in it's launch window suggesting it is more powerful then both and some argue they began work on early dev kits before the Wii U specs were finalised. We might not see what Wii U can really do for a while yet.

Anyway my Wii U wishlist:
1) Zelda Twilight Princess - the Gamecube/Wii game in 1080p widescreen with a visual polish in some spots.
2) Dead Rising with motion plus melee and pointer shooting.
3) Command and conquer where the base building takes place on the tablet and the TV screen follows units.
4) That Motion Plus Lightsaber game already. It's loooooooooong overdue.

[Neil]

Wii U's GPGPU Squashes Xbox 360, PS3; Capable Of DirectX 11 Equivalent Graphics

http://www.cinemablend.com/games/Wii-U-GPGPU-Squashes-Xbox-360-PS3-Capable-DirectX-11-Equivalent-Graphics-47126.html

[Rottedfreak]

I do know there's been improvements to Batman and Black Ops 2 on Wii U, the developers of the latter said the Wii U version has the most advanced textures, lightening and shadowing seen on a console yet and it runs the game in 60FPS in 1080p.
I think I'll hold off Resident Evil 6 and Metal Gear Solid games juuuuuuuust in case.....

[Kaos]

An article I read a couple of weeks ago (I'll put up a link if I can find it) that said that the Wii U didn't have the graphics capabilities that current gen systems are putting out, and that the games they saw were choppy still. It does not bode well if a next gen system can't produce better graphics than a last gen system and the games are still choppy in time frame so close to production and release. I hope this system knocks peoples socks off, but I fear the stench of suck is coalescing on the horizon.

[Neil]

An article I read a couple of weeks ago (I'll put up a link if I can find it) that said that the Wii U didn't have the graphics capabilities that current gen systems are putting out, and that the games they saw were choppy still. It does not bode well if a next gen system can't produce better graphics than a last gen system and the games are still choppy in time frame so close to production and release. I hope this system knocks peoples socks off, but I fear the stench of suck is coalescing on the horizon.

Well:-
1) I've heard it is superior to the current consoles.
2) As we all know, it's more down to the games though, than the graphics. I don't care how pretty something is, if it's boring... it's boring!
3) The videos surely seem promising?

I do worry about the direction of the WiiU though! It no longer seems a multi-player family console? And how expensive will it be to put a second controller on to this thing? How much of a gimmick is the controller?

[Rottedfreak]

Wii U supposedly has a 'weak CPU'* (http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2012-09-21-a-chat-about-the-power-of-the-wii-u-with-the-developer-of-a-wii-u-launch-title) (3Ghz) and 2GB RAM (1GB dedicated to OS) with a 'strong GPGPU capable of DX11/Shader 4' according to Cinemablend. (http://www.cinemablend.com/games/Wii-U-GPGPU-Squashes-Xbox-360-PS3-Capable-DirectX-11-Equivalent-Graphics-47126.html#disqus_thread)

*The weak CPU comes from developers who admitted they hadn't optimized their game to run properly.

[Neil]

Official Nintendo Magazine reviews filtering through...ok pinch of salt since it's the official magazine but...

ZombiU (WiiU, Ubisoft): 92
Nintendoland (Wii U, Nintendo): 90
New Super Mario Bros. U (Wii U, Nintendo): 86

[Rottedfreak]

Gamespot gave ZombiU a 4.5/10, Edge gave it a 7/10.

The system has growing pains.

[Neil]

Gamespot gave ZombiU a 4.5/10, Edge gave it a 7/10.

The system has growing pains.

Very different scores!?

Growing pains?

[CoinReturn]

A 7 from Edge is like an 8 or a 9 from most publications. Seems like a very divisive game, hopefully I can grab a copy tomorrow along with system.

[Rottedfreak]

Very different scores!?

Growing pains?

Very different scores happen by reviewers. I don't think Gamespot have been kind to Nintendo in recent years.

Teething problems more like, Ninja Gaiden 3 and Mass Effect 3 are touted as 'proof' that Wii U is inferior to currently existing consoles.


IMO Nintendo need a solid roster of second party developers.

[Neil]

The reviews/comments seem to slowly be getting more negative? Anyone else picking up on this?

[Danny]

The reviews/comments seem to slowly be getting more negative? Anyone else picking up on this?

It seems the more hands on people are getting with the console the more it seems the term "next gen" was an outright lie. The hardware is crap - no doubt why nintendos kept quiet about specs- and theres a fair few 'expansion' points giving people genesis/mega drive flashbacks.
Personally i was indifferent, i thought the controller was a bit dumb, but i could take or leave the console, but by the sounds of it the console doesnt compare to a 360. something thats goddamn ancient in technology terms at this this point.

Frankly i dont see what appeal it will have to the casual audience that can get a wii or, hell, even a kinect for cheaper. It certainly isnt going to sell to the 'hardcore' crowd in record numbers because theres frankly no reason to replace your 360 or ps3 with one.

And therein lies the problem. People are looking at the wiiU, then looking at their consoles from the early 2000's and going "no thanks, im good".

Look at what happened to the gamecube when people already had the ps2, i think we will have the same thing here. It could get some excellent games, being nintendo and that still kind of accounts for something, but the competition is inevitably going to release something truly 'next gen' and this will seem like yet another awkward side step by nintendo.

[Rottedfreak]

These comparisons are taking the absolute piss.
?v=lLsEoJXn6pg
The reason Batman Arkham City is called 'Armored Edition' is because Batman AND Catwoman are in new costumes. They show off a obvious bug, crappier shadows yet better lighting.

?v=bZO33bCFwks
Whoever made this is dishonest as he has put the Wii U game up against the PS3 version NOT the PC or Xbox 360 ports.

It will be a while before we see what Wii U can really do and I doubt we'll see that from Nintendo.

[Rottedfreak]

I have been seeing lots of negativity for Wii U these past few days. People hating on it for being underpowered as seen with the ports but I can't take that serious after a mild debacle from E3 2011 where people deemed footage of Wii U third party games as inferior to the current consoles only for Nintendo's president to reveal they used footage from current consoles.
If it really was underpowered then it shouldn't be capable of handling games that are the fruits of seven years development on current consoles like it does. Batman Arkham City, Mass effect 3, Assassins Creed 3 etc, all of them just knocked out on Wii U and competent.

[Neil]

The WiiU seems to be selling very well!

http://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2013-01-11-wii-u-has-stronger-first-six-weeks-than-wii


Wii U hardware pulls in $30 million more in revenue after 41 days.

In just 41 days, Nintendo's Wii U has sold more than $300 million in revenue in the United States, up from the $270 million take the Wii brought in during the same time period. Those numbers come from the NPD Group, showing that the Wii U has sold nearly 890,000 units in the U.S, with 460,000 units sold in December. It's worth noting that the Wii U Basic retails for $299.99, higher than the Wii's launch price of $249.99.

[Mr. Clean]

I think sales will taper off in a few months and Nintendo will be crying about losses again for several years. Christmas is over and video games are starting to tip toe into the light as playing a part in all of this gun violence.

If the U.S. economically gets a hell of a lot shittier in the next couple of years like they keep saying......new xbox and sony consoles are gonna suffer major losses too.

[Danny]

Yeesh, this is looking like the gamecube all over again. Nitendos now saying their estimated sales are looking to be 2 million more than they actually sold and it seems to stem from the casual market that made the wii explode thinking that its an add on to the wii like a wii fit board like its some apple tv style box. THEIR PRIMARY AUDIENCE DOESNT KNOW ITS A CONSOLE.

They should have just called it the wii2, im sure whoever added the U monikors kicking themself right now.

[Rottedfreak]

They have got to get their act together and make massive software announcements and should open their checkbook to make it happen.
That new Monolith X trailer they shown has raised interest but they need more and quickly. Just announcing Mario and Zelda being in planning stages and showing nothing but a HD Zelda remake shows they haven't got a strategy for Wii U. They might want to cut prices on games like Mass Effect 3 and smack EA around, tell them to get off their lard butts and have the dlc ready.

[Danny]

www.eurogamer.net/articles/df-hardware-wii-u-graphics-power-finally-revealed
"we can now, categorically, finally rule out any next-gen pretensions for the Wii U - the GCN hardware in Durango and Orbis is in a completely different league"
Ouch, thats pretty damming press for nintendos hopes of recapturing the 'hardcore market'. All the more so if rumours are correct and the playstation 4 is being announced in a few weeks and its a dramatic jump in power from the wii U. Theres only so long nintendo could have run on a lack of innovation and for my money mario galaxy was the only remotely inventive game they put out since the gamecube era. People arent as sold on "yet another attempt to sell the same 30 year old mario 2d formulae" as we used to be and if its reached the point where the only way to keep investors was iwatas promise of stepping down as ceo if another quarter in a row is a loss then personally i think we might actually see something much the same as what happened to SEGA back at the turn of the century. What was once a console giant just ran out of steam and fell behind the times and ultimately becomes just another 3rd party developer.

and this is all before the orbis, durango, steambox, ouya or any of the other new up and comers show up on the market.

It's kind of a shame, but it cant really be helped when on one hang more kids know of call of duty than mario nowadays and most japanese devs think anything bombs because of some fault with the customers and never them so they never learn - just look at squaresoft and its "b-but why dont they like final fantasy 13 and its spin offs? maybe we need to make another to sway them" thinking.

I think nintendos needed a big f*cking shake up for about ten years. This will either be the wake up call they need or one more victim of the 2nd great videogame crash.

[Rottedfreak]

From that Eurogamer article:

While there's still room for plenty of debate about the Wii U hardware, the core fundamentals are now in place and effectively we have something approaching a full spec. It took an extraordinary effort to get this far and you may be wondering quite why it took a reverse engineering specialist using ultra-magnification photography to get this information, when we already know the equivalent data for Durango and Orbis. The answer is fairly straightforward - leaks tend to derive from development kit and SDK documentation and, as we understand it, this crucial information simply wasn't available in Nintendo's papers, with developers essentially left to their own devices to figure out the performance level of the hardware.

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Real time footage from Bayonetta 2
http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-cP345LBlh70/UQ9ZkVOD6YI/AAAAAAAAFNk/EKhhhDis43Q/s400/bayo2lxsy6.gif

[Neil]

^^ Sorry, all looks like current console tech. to me? ie: Nothing the XBox 360 couldn't do?

[Rottedfreak]

^^ Sorry, all looks like current console tech. to me? ie: Nothing the XBox 360 couldn't do?
And you and me may end up saying that about what's shown on the next consoles.
Monolith X (better called Xenoblade 2) is said to have a massive open world that only Wii U (and PCs) can currently do due to it's RAM, and dx11 shading which many of us consumers don't even register visually.
Metal Gear Solid Ground Zeroes, Watch Dogs and Star Wars 1313 had everyone fooled too, my jaw hit the floor when I played the Dead Space 3 demo.

[krisvds]

Power is one thing. Fun another. One doesn't necessarily rule out nor imply the other.
Nintendo will be just fine as long as they keep releasing a steady stream of quality titles.
I enjoyed the Wii. Some of the best games of these past few years were released for it; Mario Galaxy, Zelda skyward sword, sin and Punishment 2, Xenoblade Chronicles, No more heroes and Madworld to name but a few.

This looks like crazy fun BTW. Regardless of platform:


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=unwv_3i5h6I

EDIT: that eurogamer article does not mention this, straight from Jim Morrison at Chipworks, taken from Neogaf:

Been reading some of the comments on your thread and have a few of my own to use as you wish.

1. This GPU is custom.
2. If it was based on ATI/AMD or a Radeon-like design, the chip would carry die marks to reflect that. Everybody has to recognize the licensing. It has none. Only Renesas name which is a former unit of NEC.
3. This chip is fabricated in a 40 nm advanced CMOS process at TSMC and is not low tech
4. For reference sake, the Apple A6 is fabricated in a 32 nm CMOS process and is also designed from scratch. It’s manufacturing costs, in volumes of 100k or more, about $26 - $30 a pop. Over 16 months degrade to about $15 each
a. Wii U only represents like 30M units per annum vs iPhone which is more like 100M units per annum. Put things in perspective.
5. This Wii U GPU costs more than that by about $20-$40 bucks each making it a very expensive piece of kit. Combine that with the IBM CPU and the Flash chip all on the same package and this whole thing is closer to $100 a piece when you add it all up
6. The Wii U main processor package is a very impressive piece of hardware when its said and done.

Trust me on this. It may not have water cooling and heat sinks the size of a brownie, but its one slick piece of silicon. eDRAM is not cheap to make. That is why not everybody does it. Cause its so dam expensive

[Neil]

Monolith X (better called Xenoblade 2) is said to have a massive open world that only Wii U (and PCs) can currently do due to it's RAM, and dx11 shading which many of us consumers don't even register visually.
Metal Gear Solid Ground Zeroes, Watch Dogs and Star Wars 1313 had everyone fooled too, my jaw hit the floor when I played the Dead Space 3 demo.

Skyrim? Fallout? Crysis? These are all on the consoles?

Anyway, so your impression is the Wii U is leaps and bounds visually more impressive than the current consoles?

[Rottedfreak]

Need for Speed Most Wanted
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The best not release it for full price but you have to laugh when they say porting PC assetts was literally ten minutes work, I guess Batman, Mass Effect and so on took five then.

[Rottedfreak]

This past month has been odd for Nintendo Wii U, sales are said to be up in some key areas yet there's been a bit of gloominess about it's future after epic states they won't support it with Unreal 4 and EA flat out won't develop for it.
The thing is, Nintendo have a strategy and have been making deals investing in the future with rising companies.


Unity and Nintendo are cooperating to make it possible for indies to export their projects to Nintendo’s Wii U platform. Nintendo will distribute a Wii U-only version of Unity with every Wii U development kit to its in-house and external developers. They get access to the same set of Unity tools, hallmark efficiency and ease of use to create an awesome Wii U game.

Were hearing about developers losing their passion for AAA development, leaving studios and going 'indy' (small time) and while we won't see anything with the budget of Mass Effect 3, Tomb Raider, Dead Space 3 or Resident Evil 6, in some ways it's a good thing.
Nintendo are willing to support Platinum Games make Bayonetta 2 and The Wonderful 101.
All I'll say is some of the games I mentioned have been flops and with costs on PS4 and Nextbox set to soar it might be on Wii U where some future classics are born much like on NES and PS1.

[Danny]

Been another bad month for nintendo, a bunch more publishers pulling support from the console, madden - always a surprisingly large seller for nintendo - is no longer going to be on nintendos consoles and bad for them, but not bad for us, amazon has had to reduce the price to £149 because the console isnt selling.
Id say it might be a great time to pick one up, but then again with so much support being pulled as the industry is calling it "dead in the water" and "failing on a level worse than the dreamcast" it could be a waste of money. still, its a much better price for any console in this day and age.

[Rottedfreak]

Nintendo's attitude to it all sickens me.
You'd think their virtual console line up would be more then what you can already get on the regular Wii and DS systems but it isn't. No N64 or Gamecube games.
There's no TVii in Europe yet, not even a app for BBC Iplayer in the UK.
And to top it off Iwata, new CEO of NOA admits Pikmin 3 and the like are running late because their teams underestimated development needs.
Third party games came to Wii U in name only often lacking DLC and features, check out the criticism leveled at 'Injustice Gods Among Us' for example.
Know what else stuns me? yesterday Shadows of the Eternals was announced, it's a sequel to Eternal Darkness coming to Wii U and PC but it requires a kickstarter for every subsequent episode they'll release.
If I had known how badly organised Nintendo was six months ago I would have never bought Wii U, they want t get their fucking act together.
You could point out their focus is 3DS but it should be on Wii U.

[Rottedfreak]

After Xbox One, Playstation 4 reveals maybe Nintendo should consider relaunching Wii U with a new unit including a bigger hard drive with Nintendoland installed, and advertised as just a games dedicated console.
That said they would also need a damn good E3/Nintendo Direct presentation with gamer friendly exclusives, like say Metroid Blast as a full retail game gearing towards the shoot em up crowd that likes Halo and Call of Duty.

[krisvds]

After Xbox One, Playstation 4 reveals maybe Nintendo should consider relaunching Wii U as just a games dedicated console with a bigger hard drive and Nintendoland installed.
That said they would also need a damn good E3/Nintendo Direct presentation with gamer friendly exclusives, like say Metroid Blast as a full retail game gearing towards the shoot em up crowd that likes Halo, Call of Duty among others.

I believe they have that covered. Anyone not slightly interested in the likes of Bayonetta 2, The Wonderful 101, the new monolith RPG ('X'), Pikmin 3, a new 3D Mario platformer, Mario Kart, Smash Bros, ... is probably not the intended audience anyways.

[Danny]

http://mynintendonews.com/2013/06/04/nintendo-is-apparently-dropping-the-wii-u-basic-model/

Apparently Nintendo is discontinuing the basic wii U model. Who would have thought that a console with only an 8gb hard drive wouldnt sell? :rolleyes:

Not that nintendos the only one with this problem, sonys just as bad. if i can get a terrabyte harddrive for £30 online i see no reason why that shouldnt be the norm in this age of increasingly common digital downloads of increasingly large filesizes.

[Rottedfreak]

We still get basic Xbox 360's but yeah 8 and 32 GB consoles are a joke in this day and age. If Nintendo plan to launch a new model it should be one with a 1TB HDD and USB 3.0 ports for external HDDs.
Hopefully they won't do something stupid like drop Wii U and make a Wii K with 512Mb X86 CPU and GTX680 equivalent GPU with 16GB DDR3 RAM for 4K gaming.
I'm not saying they should Wii K with 512Mb X86 CPU and GTX680 equivalent GPU with 16GB DDR3 RAM for 4K gaming but if they wan't to do a Wii K with 512Mb X86 CPU and GTX680 equivalent GPU with 16GB DDR3 RAM for 4K gaming that's their business.

[Rottedfreak]

I think Nintendo's E3 should be taken as a embarrassment for them.
We saw Microsoft and Sony out U the Wii U while Nintendo have openly admitted they have no ideas for the gamepad!
Okay so they didn't do endless generic space marines vs aliens and mechs crap but the competition has variety with Knack and Project Spark.
The way I see it is they have a list of problems
- A kiddy image
- nothing new
- third parties pulling out
- costs (though PS4 and Xbox One will have hidden costs too)

[krisvds]

- A kiddy image: Sure. But there is still Bayonetta 2 and that new Monolith RPG, ... And while Pikmin 3 and Mario Kart 8 sure look family friendly you just know the playability will be up great.
- nothing new: Wonderful 101? X? ...
- third parties pulling out: This is their biggest problem, no doubt.
- costs: agreed. They need a pricedrop given the PS4's price reveal.

[Rottedfreak]

I think Wii U was a big mistake.
In 2012 Iwata had the gorm to say Wii U graphics can compete with next gen consoles (http://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2012-07-04-iwata-wii-u-graphics-can-compete-with-next-gen-consoles).
He was wrong, and when he says 'graphics' I think he means more then just visually, I'm thinking hardware and software this last gen that allowed seemingly hundreds of zombies in Dead Rising, the physics of The Force Unleashed, the AI Director in Left 4 Dead among a few gameplay enhancing things. It seems that PS4 and Xbox One are poised to do things Wii U cannot if Dead Rising 3 and Ryse were any indication.
Nintendo might be content to sit on 3DS/Wii level software (Pikmin 3, Super Mario 3D World) but third parties are not, they have long since moved on and even now outright ignore the Wii U and they might have been needed to help keep it afloat.
One poster at Allspark nailed it when he said Wii U is like watching a car crash in slow motion, it's end is inevitable.