Well that E3 kind of sucked. I don't remember any wii games at all and the wii u doesn't seem that cool at all. I mean you can keep playing while someone else watches the TV. Who in the hell doesn't have more than one TV and if you can't have more than one why the hell are you buying a video game system?
Laying it on the floor and showing where your golf ball lies is kind of cool but I don't like golf.
Still, I get what they're trying to do. They're trying to stay in the console fight, maintain that link to casual gamers, stem off any potential tide of casual gamers to tablets, and bring their portable gamers more into the fold.
Lots of fronts to fight there. I think Nintendo's focus on so many areas gives Microsoft and Sony an edge in the console wars as they can simply develop better hardware and let the other features arrive later as accessories.
P.S. If that controller could also play DS games...that would be pretty cool. Still, that controller is nothing new. Sure it does some newish things, but controllers with screens on them have been done before.
“Every record been destroyed or falsified, books rewritten, pictures repainted, statues, street building renamed, every date altered. The process is continuing day by day. History stops. Nothing exists except endless present in which the Party is right.”
By the way, you want to know where Nintendo, and others, have really fucked up?
Games that appealed to everyone like Super Mario Bros. Here's a game that EVERYONE played and enjoyed. So why did Nintendo lose a lot of that casual audience (not counting the people who stopped by for a minute to try out the motion controller stuff, and really how many people still play with their Wii?)?
Because they are taking these casual games and making them for hardcore gamers. Casual gamers don't want to master a level by playing through it dozens of times just to earn some random power up. They don't want to replay level after level that is so ridiculously hard that most quit playing the game altogether.
That's where Nintendo has failed and their catch 22. They have to "advance" the game play, but I think they took it way too far. I know so many non-gamers who loved Super Mario Bros., but when they try playing any of the newer versions they always say it's way too hard and/or that there's too much going on.
The games just aren't accessible to casual gamers anymore. I think Nintendo's developers are too close to the line that they can't see it for what it has become.
I think Nintendo would be wise to start a "Retro Mario" line. Something that takes the series backwards to reconnect with casual gamers.
Oh, and everything I just wrote applies to the Zelda series too. They need to get back to basics because their gimmick isn't going to win them the casual audience, and their sales figures prove that their lineup of software is not only small, but nobody played them.
“Every record been destroyed or falsified, books rewritten, pictures repainted, statues, street building renamed, every date altered. The process is continuing day by day. History stops. Nothing exists except endless present in which the Party is right.”
It's silly not to include video playback capabilities. Although I do agree with the choice to skip out on DVDs and Blu-Ray. No need to tie yourself to one old medium like that. In fact they should move to purely digital games IMO.
But it should still come with network playback capabilities at a minimum. Game consoles are more than just games these days, they're little media centers.
"ATTENTION: Customers browsing porn must hold magazines with both hands at all times!"
$300 for the 8 GB model.
$350 for the 32 GB model.
Seems a bit pricey no matter how fancy the new controller is.
Also while there won't be any games that use two Wii U pads at launch they are being developed and the extra pad is being sold for $175 US in Japan.
Not to mention the Wii U Pro Controller which looks like a 360 controller and will be for the more traditional "Hardcore" games and that will be $50.
They aren't putting a gun to my head and making me buy everything but $575ish to get the full experience out of the games and what is still a tiny hard drive seems a bit much for a Nintendo system.
That sound you heard at the announcement was the market not caring.
I don't know who Nintendo's core audience is anymore. What's worse is that I don't think Nintendo does either.
“Every record been destroyed or falsified, books rewritten, pictures repainted, statues, street building renamed, every date altered. The process is continuing day by day. History stops. Nothing exists except endless present in which the Party is right.”
Welp.... I remember when the Wii came out, prior to release there was a big "WTF, uh....yeah" vibe from it.
True, but to be fair, while the Wii's motion technology impressed people, that was the only part of it that impressed people.
The technology next to the X-Box 360 and the PS3 was a joke. The controller itself, when used for things other than motion games, sucked. The motion games themselves weren't balls on accurate either.
The Wii sold a ton of units mainly because it was a fantastic tool for hospitals. It was a fun way for rehabilitation patients and the elderly to exercise.
However, Microsoft's movement technology has far surpassed Nintendo's.
I mean, this looks like a Wii that you use your poorly designed, bulky DS to play...
“Every record been destroyed or falsified, books rewritten, pictures repainted, statues, street building renamed, every date altered. The process is continuing day by day. History stops. Nothing exists except endless present in which the Party is right.”
Leisher wrote:However, Microsoft's movement technology has far surpassed Nintendo's.
Really? Because even if I'm being kind, the kinect in my house still gets a charitable rating of "blows goats."
Diogenes of Sinope: "It is not that I am mad, it is only that my head is different from yours."
Arnold Judas Rimmer, BSC, SSC: "Better dead than smeg."
Diogenes of Sinope: "It is not that I am mad, it is only that my head is different from yours."
Arnold Judas Rimmer, BSC, SSC: "Better dead than smeg."
Leisher wrote:However, Microsoft's movement technology has far surpassed Nintendo's.
Really? Because even if I'm being kind, the kinect in my house still gets a charitable rating of "blows goats."
Yeah, seriously.
Every big gaming site, mag, whatever all rate the Kinect much higher than the Wii.
It has to do with the technology involved, the hands free, and the voice activation stuff.
While Nintendo is hoping you want to buy a console, so you can get a MASSIVE DS, and control your TV with it, Microsoft is hoping you just want to sit on your couch and shout out things like "X-Box" or "Price is Right"....
“Every record been destroyed or falsified, books rewritten, pictures repainted, statues, street building renamed, every date altered. The process is continuing day by day. History stops. Nothing exists except endless present in which the Party is right.”
Maybe kinect > Wii, but they still both suck for me.
Diogenes of Sinope: "It is not that I am mad, it is only that my head is different from yours."
Arnold Judas Rimmer, BSC, SSC: "Better dead than smeg."
The kinect hardware and base-level processing software is brilliant. There are some movie companies that have started doing all their motion capture with kinects instead of the silly balls-on-your-elbows stuff. With custom software, they can be much better.
It's Microsoft and the game companies writing crappy control schemes and drivers that make kinect suck when used in the manner it was intended.
"ATTENTION: Customers browsing porn must hold magazines with both hands at all times!"
Kid got one for xmas, I spent a chunk of time today setting it up and updating it.
Got the deluxe edition, which comes with a few more accessories, and the game "Nintendo Land" which is a handful of simpler games sort of designed to be multid.
Kid was excited to play online with a friend of his, so I just spent an hour updating the parental settings, figuring out how to navigate the Mii friend list, etc... and we couldn't figure out how to hook up in-game.
Finally took it to google: turns out Nintendo did not want this game to have online multiplayer, because they felt these games would be enjoyed more if the players are all in the same room together.
How very Apple of them, telling us how we want to be playing the game. I'm a little irked about this.
Haven't looked into his Mario Brothers U multi-options, yet... better be able to online-multi, or I am going to be talking down this otherwise interesting platform everywhere I can.
"Be bold, and mighty forces will come to your aid."
My research suggests Nintendo is too "lazy" to include online multi in most of their games, so I'll just stop mentioning that now.
Having screwed around with it for a few hours, here's a few random things:
Like:
- 1080P resolution... finally. Welcome to 5 years ago, Nintendo.
- HDMI cable comes in the box.
- Netflix and shit, and I think you can add more apps. Haven't explored it much yet, but some shit is there, so one assumes more shit is available. Yeah, the old Wii had Netflix, but who wants to bother when you have to watch HD stuff through RCA jacks?
- There is a "TVii" app that I have looked at, but not yet fully explored... it asked me what TV provider I had, and what time zone I was in, then asked me what shows I liked, then told me a bunch of shit that was available to watch, and did I want to? I was going to explore it more, but it told me to set up my TV-remote-control ability first, which I couldn't do because it didn't recognize my TV. Sort-of-dislike there in that last part, but I want to explore it more.
- Charging cradle for the remote (deluxe model only, I think).
- Plays original Wii games... backwards compatible.
- Original Wiimotes work on this.
- Saved games and shit can be ported over from your old Wii.... but they get erased from the old Wii, and you can't port them back.
Dislike:
- The hand-held console with the touch screen can do all kinds of things, including act as a universal remote for your TV and cable box. Which would have been a lot more fun if it could recongize my Sharp-brand flat screen TV that is about a year old. Went through 27 Sharp codes trying to get it to work. Near as I can tell there is no reason this handheld console could not also be a universal remote, which would actually blow a Harmony away at this price point. But they didn't do it. Not impressed.
- No RJ-45 jack... my gigabit LAN goes to waste on a Nintendo system yet again. It's either wifi, or I imagine Nintendo will sell you a USB dongle that will take an ethernet cable. I am guessing the price is $45.
- still wont play a DVD.
- Appears that the remote will control the TV, and it will control your cable box, but it will not control a receiver, which a lot of people are complaining about. Had occurred to me, but again, since it doesn't know my TV I hadn't hit that hurdle yet.
- Saved games and shit can be ported over from your old Wii.... but they get erased from the old Wii, and you can't port them back.
I don't know. I hope they add a little functionality to this shit in NEAR future firmware updates, but I really have no reason to be hopeful about that.
If you love love LOVE the Wii, upgrade to this. If you have a PS3 or an XBox and DON'T have a burning desire to play Mario titles, skip this.
Edited By GORDON on 1356661923
"Be bold, and mighty forces will come to your aid."
I believe that the touch pad can only be a universal remote for two devices and if you haven't discovered yet there is no online multiplayer in Mario wii u.
As for the apps. Consider yourself lucky Netflix and TVii weren't suppose to show up until March originally and there is Hulu Plus but the Wii was suppose to have a ton of apps and that died out pretty quickly.
