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Well for Japan at least: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-19583826

Update: US 18 November, EU 30 November and Japan 8 December

300 bucks for barebones, 350 for one with slightly less tiny internal storage, a game and a stand for your controller that some kid will break.

Controllers are likely to cost about 150 bucks based on the yen translation of 180 or so dollars for the Japanese version.

So you want two controllers and a game, 500 bucks. I'll wait for a price drop in the spring, if at all.

OOOOUCH.

So, Nintendo bids Europe a hardy go fuck yourself by pricing the Wii and 300 and 350 Euros for the SKUs respectively.

That $=€ conversion rate in the tech industry is killer.

Frank said:

300 bucks for barebones, 350 for one with slightly less tiny internal storage, a game and a stand for your controller that some kid will break.

Controllers are likely to cost about 150 bucks based on the yen translation of 180 or so dollars for the Japanese version.

So you want two controllers and a game, 500 bucks. I'll wait for a price drop in the spring, if at all.

Click to expand...

Hard to say at the moment how much you'll need two of the gamepad controllers. You'll only need two if the game is designed to use two of them, otherwise normal Wiimotes/Wii Pro controllers are all you're going to need.

I couldn't give 2 shits about the Wii-U TBH.

I'm actually impressed with them getting some killer apps for it. Monster Hunter 3 means they basically have a license to print money in Japan and Bayonetta 2's exclusive deal is gonna bring in the action fans. This is on top of ZombiU's impressive looking use of the controller...

If I had the money, I'd probably get one.

Reverent-one said:

Hard to say at the moment how much you'll need two of the gamepad controllers. You'll only need two if the game is designed to use two of them, otherwise normal Wiimotes/Wii Pro controllers are all you're going to need.

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That's another reason to be annoyed. It doesn't come with a sensor bar.[DOUBLEPOST=1347553650][/DOUBLEPOST]

AshburnerX said:

I'm actually impressed with them getting some killer apps for it. Monster Hunter 3 means they basically have a license to print money in Japan and Bayonetta 2's exclusive deal is gonna bring in the action fans. This is on top of ZombiU's impressive looking use of the controller...

If I had the money, I'd probably get one.

Click to expand...

Yeah, that's Japan, but Bayonetta didn't set the world on fire (less than 500 k sales in NA and a massive 90 K in Japan) and Monster Hunter means nothing here.

I loved Bayonetta, excited for 2.

I'm sure you are.

I liked Bayonetta for as little as I played it but I couldn't imagine shelling out for a new console for it. Especially one as dubious in my opinion as the WiiU, which looks to me like a Dreamcast 2.0.

Frank said:

That's another reason to be annoyed. It doesn't come with a sensor bar.

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So you're good if you already had a Wii, and if not, you'll either need to buy a less than $10 sensor bar and a $40 controller or two for multiplayer, or a $50-75 non-Wiimote controller. Seems pretty standard for a console.

Nickel and diming for necessary accessories always annoys me.

Understandable, but it seems like no console maker considers extra controllers neccessary. And given that the alternative is to raise the price of the package by including things that not everyone will need, it looks like the best option.

I loved the Dreamcast too T_T

Frank said:

That's another reason to be annoyed. It doesn't come with a sensor bar.

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Except it does. Both basic and deluxe sets include a sensor bar.

Oh, then what I had read was bad information. Yay, games journalism.

Huh, I saw the same thing. Looks like it's only in Japan that it's not coming with a sensor bar. Either that or Kotaku is totally wrong.

It's probably just Japan. Nintendo is probably banking on most Japanese gamers to already have a Wii. They did the same thing with the 3DS LL, it didn't come with a battery charger but it uses the same charger as a normal 3DS, so they expected gamers to already have one.

Underpowered, too little storage, no Blu-ray, no multi-touch, horrible history of online support... Why am I supposed to be excited about this?

It comes with an HDMI cable? Welcome to last generation Nintendo.

2GB of RAM... so hopefully the others will have 4... meaning at least 2 years when PC ports won't suffer much from ram limitations...

http://wiiudaily.com/2012/09/wii-u-specs-2-gb-memory-75-w-power/

PS, they really should do this: http://art.penny-arcade.com/photos/i-H43Rv38/0/L/i-H43Rv38-X3.jpg

No games I'm honestly excited about yet. Zombie-U looks kind of interesting, but I'd like to see more of what the gameplay is really about first. No interest in Monster Hunter, and I wonder how "exclusive" Bayonetta is actually going to be.

If it's genuinely exclusive, that's something. If it's "exclusive", and I can wait a few months before it comes out for consoles I already own, I can wait.

The TV/DVR integration is interesting, if I can trade in my DirecTV box and use a Wii U instead. However, it begs the question of what kind of external connectivity will be offered by the WiiU. Anyone who has ever tried watching an HD movie over a USB2 connection can tell you it's not always so great. If there's a USB 3 or eSata port (or even a Thunderbolt port) in the back, that would be pretty awesome. The USB stick expandability mention would be much less annoying if there were more space in the onboard system.

Having that TV/DVR support is a little weird when there's no Blu-Ray support.

I'm always excited to play Nintendo games. That's really the only justification necessary to be excited about the console.

figmentPez said:

Underpowered, too little storage, no Blu-ray, no multi-touch, horrible history of online support... Why am I supposed to be excited about this?

It comes with an HDMI cable? Welcome to last generation Nintendo.

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I'm not saying you're wrong, but that's what everyone said about the Wii. Nintendo wins people over with the games, not the console.

I am looking forward to the Wii U but not because if the controller or anything like that. Truthfully the main reason I am buying the system is for Nintendo's main franchise titles (Mario, Zelda, Pokemon,Animal Crossing, Super Smash Bros., etc) and if it wasn't for those titles the system would not be purchasing the system (at least not for awhile). But despite all that I will probably purchase the system day one and Nintendo will win my money without having to make any real changes (at least not the changes real gamers want) because I am a sap apparently.

Shakey said:

I'm not saying you're wrong, but that's what everyone said about the Wii. Nintendo wins people over with the games, not the console.

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I'm not saying they won't sell systems. I'm just saying I won't be one of the early adopters this round, and probably won't buy one ever.

"Nae Mario! Nae Peach! Nae Wii! Nae WiiPoints! We willna' be fooled agin!"

Maybe if Nintendo games meant anything anymore.

New Super Mario Brothers is the laziest fucking franchise in existence. It's a watered down, awkwardly controlling, awful level designed filled license to print money.

And I guess the console doesn't support (and may never support) a second WiiU pad. So the system will be forever be one kid playing with Fortress Maximus and 3 getting the shaft with Bumblebee, Cliffjumper and Huffer.

Nintendo's already stated that it can support 2 Wii U pads.

Yeah, once again bad reporting.

It's not that it can't, it's that they just won't be selling gamepads in North America.

They won't at launch anyway. But there also are no games available at launch that can use a second one, so North American people aren't missing out on much.

SpecialKO said:

If it's genuinely exclusive, that's something. If it's "exclusive", and I can wait a few months before it comes out for consoles I already own, I can wait.

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Console exclusivity deals are usually at least 1-2 years for a full title or one-two months for DLC. After that, you MIGHT see it move to a new console... but I could see them integrating rhythm game elements into Bayonetta's boss fights using the tablet. Like you have to do timed presses ala Ouendan/Idolmaster in order to perform her big finishers. Then again, I could see them making you use the Wiimote + Nunchuk to replicate her dance moves.

I'm going to celebrate the console's release by sitting down and watching Kung Pow: Enter the Fist.

AshburnerX said:

Console exclusivity deals are usually at least 1-2 years for a full title or one-two months for DLC. After that, you MIGHT see it move to a new console... but I could see them integrating rhythm game elements into Bayonetta's boss fights using the tablet. Like you have to do timed presses ala Ouendan/Idolmaster in order to perform her big finishers. Then again, I could see them making you use the Wiimote + Nunchuk to replicate her dance moves.

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Going by ZombiU, it's probably going to be about 6 months.

All that system-specific integrated stuff might make it take longer, but will they bother?

I can't even imagine ZombiU on another console, unless you just made your inventory pop up on the same screen as the gameplay (meaning you'd have NO WAY of knowing when Zombies are coming).

Am I late to this party? Why, yes, yes I am.

But I can still complain right?? Honestly, I could care less about the Wii-U, I'm just not interested. I am, however, in a tizzy about Bayonetta 2 being an exclusive. I will cry the biggest tears humanly possible ever if it truly is exclusive. Because I will not spring for a new console just for that game, I just won't. But I adored the first Bayonetta and have wanted a sequel since the moment I beat the game. C'mon, really Nintendo? And the creators comments about how they would 'like to get the game to as many players possible', well being an exclusive ain't that, I'm sorry you fools.

I will keep my fingers crossed so very hard that it will get ported. My little brain just...*le sigh*

Don't break your fingers. Bayonetta 2 is published by Nintendo, it will be a an exclusive for a very long time.

chris said:

Don't break your fingers. Bayonetta 2 is published by Nintendo, it will be a an exclusive for a very long time.

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I keep forgetting how snuggly Nintendo and Sega have been in recent years.

To be honest, I don't think I'd want to play Bayonetta with Wii/Wii U controls. It's already a sufficiently challenging game with controls that are responsive.

Sega is done with Platinum. People are speculating that Nintendo may acquire Platinum.

Nintendo really could use a 2nd party studio that produces less family oriented games. Kind of like Miramax is to Disney. Platinum could be just the right fit.

Frank said:

I liked Bayonetta for as little as I played it but I couldn't imagine shelling out for a new console for it. Especially one as dubious in my opinion as the WiiU, which looks to me like a Dreamcast 2.0.

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You think so?

Frank said:

Oh, then what I had read was bad information. Yay, games journalism.

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Frank said:

Yeah, once again bad reporting.

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My suggestion, stop reading kotaku.

I don't read Kotaku. It was elsewhere.[DOUBLEPOST=1347712895][/DOUBLEPOST]

Covar said:

You think so?

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And by that, I think it's a stopgap, where for a year or so we'll get the best versions (not counting PC, natch!) of current gen games, then the actual next gen consoles come and it gets utterly abandoned by the 3rd parties. Not in the complimentary way.

I've got nothing then.

Given that you just described a better version of the situation the Wii had to deal with, since it never had graphical superiority (or even equivalence) in it's run, that doesn't exactly bode ill for the Wii U.

Yeah, but the Wii had the huge amount of people who never bought video game consoles before. Tapped into that mom market and such where people played a lot of Wii Sports and not much else. I don't think the WiiU will match it.

The Wii was also pretty cheap compared to the PS3 and 360. This time they are going for the full $300 price point (even higher if you want the version actually worth getting), so it's not going to fly off the shelves quite as fast.

The Wii's gimmick was also easy to explain and demonstrate to non-gamers. The Wii-U is a much tougher sell in that way. Not saying it can't be done, but Nintendo is going to have to really be on the ball with their messaging.

SpecialKO said:

The Wii's gimmick was also easy to explain and demonstrate to non-gamers. The Wii-U is a much tougher sell in that way. Not saying it can't be done, but Nintendo is going to have to really be on the ball with their messaging.

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Apple already explained touchscreens to almost all non-gamers...

@Li3n said:

Apple already explained touchscreens to almost all non-gamers...

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That's not what they need to explain. They need to be able to explain what the Wii-U Gamepad actually does and how it does it differently from everything else.

Just saying "it's a touch-screen" would actually be very bad messaging, because phones and tablets can already be touchscreen gaming devices.

The Wii-U's main benefit that other products don't have is true second-screen interoperability, and that's something that's pretty hard to explain to people, especially the 50 million who already have tablets, the 20-30 million who specifically have iPads, and the millions of them who have both an iPad/iPhone and an Apple TV.

Compare & contrast with, "swing your arms and hit that baseball".

Example one, I had dinner with two friends of mine who are parents of three kids. They have a Wii. The husband asked me about the Wii and what I thought about the press conference unveiling thing. He thought Reggie was boring and there was no way he was going to buy something like that with his kids being the hurricanes of destruction younger kids are.

That's one of my concerns as well. Unless that tablet can take the force of an angry 8 year old throwing into the wall when they lose without breaking (like a Wiimote can), parent's just aren't going to buy it for their kids. I will NOT spend $100+ on a replacement tablet and I doubt they will too.

I do wonder about that, actually. Pure anecdotal, but I see parents in parks letting their kids play with tablets all the time. Not necessarily iPads, but almost every tablet in the world worth having at all is more than $150. E-readers even more often (though admittedly, were I a parent, I would buy a cheap Kindle just to encourage my kids to read with the knowledge that it's relatively hard to bust up and relatively cheap if they do manage to actually break it).

SpecialKO said:

I do wonder about that, actually. Pure anecdotal, but I see parents in parks letting their kids play with tablets all the time. Not necessarily iPads, but almost every tablet in the world worth having at all is more than $150. E-readers even more often (though admittedly, were I a parent, I would buy a cheap Kindle just to encourage my kids to read with the knowledge that it's relatively hard to bust up and relatively cheap if they do manage to actually break it).

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Yeah, but would they let their kids use it again after they broke the first? $150 is not the kind of thing you want to spend more than once on an item.

Nintendo is pretty good at making their shit durable though.

Dei said:

Nintendo is pretty good at making their shit durable though.

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Well yeah, they know the age of their main audience.

I remember people getting mad cause kids tossed their wii motes through the TV when the Wii first came out. Isn't that why they have a stronger strap now?

Yes it is. And the rubber cover around the Wii-mote and all that.

Shakey said:

I remember people getting mad cause kids tossed their wii motes through the TV when the Wii first came out. Isn't that why they have a stronger strap now?

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It is, but considering tests showed the original strap could hold over 25 pounds before snapping, I'm guessing those kids were playing without the strap.

Maybe the Wiimote threw the kid.

Quotemander Prime said:

It is, but considering tests showed the original strap could hold over 25 pounds before snapping, I'm guessing those kids were playing without the strap.

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25 lbs is pretty weak. Especially when measured against the G forces generated by a hyperactive, flailing child...

sixpackshaker said:

25 lbs is pretty weak. Especially when measured against the G forces generated by a hyperactive, flailing child...

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That was for the cord to snap, and the kid would've had to be pulling at it--I don't think so. And then if you mean where the cord hooks into the Wiimote, the kid had plastic.

Again, it sounds like kids weren't using the strap and it flew out of their hands. And from having kids over, or being at their houses, and seeing them pick up the Wiimotes, start playing, and have to be reminded again and again and again and again and you see where this going to put on the strap on your wrists, you goddamn kids, or I swear next time I'll throw the fucking Wii out the window!

Hell, my sister was over 20 when my mom got a Wii at her house and she still couldn't remember to use the wrist strap until she flung the Wiimote up and broke the ceiling light.

People just don't learn until they fuck up.

I'd love to see Nintendo succeed with this thing, but there's absolutely nothing announced for the system so far that has me interested. I don't especially care for the New Mario Bros. games, they don't feel like anything special to me. I'd like to see more innovative takes like the jump they made to mario 64, Galaxy, etc. I don't really care about HD, I want games worth playing.

ZombiU is basically the only title for launch that I feel even approaches doing anything "innovative" with the tablet. I doubt it's going to be the system seller Nintendo wants, but at least it's TRYING.

SpecialKO said:

That's not what they need to explain. They need to be able to explain what the Wii-U Gamepad actually does and how it does it differently from everything else.

Just saying "it's a touch-screen" would actually be very bad messaging, because phones and tablets can already be touchscreen gaming devices.

The Wii-U's main benefit that other products don't have is true second-screen interoperability, and that's something that's pretty hard to explain to people, especially the 50 million who already have tablets, the 20-30 million who specifically have iPads, and the millions of them who have both an iPad/iPhone and an Apple TV.

Compare & contrast with, "swing your arms and hit that baseball".

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Because showing 2 people using Wiimotes with a 3rd controlling their environment from the Gamepad is hard to do?

As long as the know how to use the touchscreen letting them know what to use it for is a lot easier.

That's why atm their actual biggest problem is people not understanding that the gamepad isn't an accessory for the Wii but one for a new console.

Quotemander Prime said:

It is, but considering tests showed the original strap could hold over 25 pounds before snapping, I'm guessing those kids were playing without the strap.

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Sure, it was the kids breaking the TV's and not their parents not admitting they broke their TVs because they where embarrassed...

@Li3n said:

Sure, it was the kids breaking the TV's and not their parents not admitting they broke their TVs because they where embarrassed...

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This is also possible. My point is that the strap wasn't used.

And now I remember that Photoshop of a baby with a black eye caused by a parent's Wiimote flinging.

@Li3n said:

Because showing 2 people using Wiimotes with a 3rd controlling their environment from the Gamepad is hard to do?

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You talk like that's nothing, but it's actually really hard to do. When they first revealed the Wii-U, they showed a clip of stuff at E3, then gave a 30 min speech about it, then showed another clip of it, and lots of industry folks still didn't have a clear idea. The non-clued-in folks who don't really read reviews of gaming press (i.e. a ton of the people who bought the Wii) are going to have similar problems, and Nintendo won't be able to talk at them for 30 min.

That's why atm their actual biggest problem is people not understanding that the gamepad isn't an accessory for the Wii but one for a new console.

Click to expand...

This is actually the same problem. How the Wii-U is a different discrete experience and how it works are the same question from a marketing perspective.

Maybe they should've given the console a new name.

They probably had issues trying to name it the "Yu".

SpecialKO said:

You talk like that's nothing, but it's actually really hard to do. When they first revealed the Wii-U, they showed a clip of stuff at E3, then gave a 30 min speech about it, then showed another clip of it, and lots of industry folks still didn't have a clear idea. The non-clued-in folks who don't really read reviews of gaming press (i.e. a ton of the people who bought the Wii) are going to have similar problems, and Nintendo won't be able to talk at them for 30 min.

Click to expand...

As i recall at the start Nintendo just sucked at showing what the gamepad screen could bring to the table...probably because they didn't have any working games that used it well yet...

Some of the videos since then did better.

Of course PA did a lot better: http://art.penny-arcade.com/photos/i-H43Rv38/0/L/i-H43Rv38-X3.jpg

SpecialKO said:

This is actually the same problem. How the Wii-U is a different discrete experience and how it works are the same question from a marketing perspective.

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But that's because making people understand it's a new console with new controls solves both problems... not because it's the same problem.

No one says MS's or Sony's attempts at using tablets/smartphones to control their old consoles are confusing.[DOUBLEPOST=1348401086][/DOUBLEPOST]

Quotemander Prime said:

This is also possible. My point is that the strap wasn't used.

And now I remember that Photoshop of a baby with a black eye caused by a parent's Wiimote flinging.

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I seem to remember pics of broken straps though...

@Li3n said:

I seem to remember pics of broken straps though...

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I remember pictures of neatly cut straps that people said happened when they were using it.

We had a first-release Wii, with the original, non-cushioned Wiimotes and the original straps. Those things were solid.

Quotemander Prime said:

I remember pictures of neatly cut straps that people said happened when they were using it.

We had a first-release Wii, with the original, non-cushioned Wiimotes and the original straps. Those things were solid.

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Hmm: http://kotaku.com/217028/wiis-faulty-controller-straps

@Li3n said:

Hmm: http://kotaku.com/217028/wiis-faulty-controller-straps

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I like how the faulty strap broke, yet his solution was to no longer allow the kids to play for the time being.

Quotemander Prime said:

I like how the faulty strap broke, yet his solution was to no longer allow the kids to play for the time being.

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Well of course, how else are they gonna learn about life if you don't arbitrarily punish them for things that aren't really their fault...

To add to Miseur Prime's point, with the Wii, they told me "It's motion controls, you can swing the controller and stuff," and I went, "Ah! That is cool!"

For the Wii U, I have been told, "The controller has a screen, and you control stuff separately from the screen," and I go, "Oh. What? Why? Like menus and things? Or what?"

See, I'm a hip happenin' gamer, and I don't really understand how it works or what it's for. Wii U will not in ANY way sell like the Wii did. With the Wii, both me and my parents wanted one, so we bought two. With this one, neither I nor my parents are interested at all.

Propogate and extrapolate!

@Li3n said:

But that's because making people understand it's a new console with new controls solves both problems... not because it's the same problem.

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We're both talking about product differentiation. Differentiation is making people understand what it is, and then how it's different (if it's different). Since Nintendo isn't generally stupid, and they've made the second-screen concept a key part of their console design philosophy, explaining it and making the value of it clear is going to have to be a key part of their marketing.

The Wii-U has a bit of a unique problem compared to the 720/PS4 because a huge part of the Wii's install-base are non-gamers/non-premium gaming customers, and second-screen interoperability (and as you mentioned, making it clear it's not a Wii accessory) is something that's going to be key to get those people to re-purchase. Xbox and Sony won't have that problem unless they set out to take those people from Nintendo, and it doesn't seem like they're really going to beyond a couple gimmicks like Wonderbook.

No one says MS's or Sony's attempts at using tablets/smartphones to control their old consoles are confusing.

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Actually, after E3, lots of people were saying it about SmartGlass, and confusing it with Surface. Since then, MS has simply come out and said, "Surface is a Tablet PC" and has stopped really talking about SmartGlass since the app platform isn't ready yet anyways.

Sony's attempts seemed clearer, but Vita sales don't haven't improved since they started running those commercials.

PS4 better be a long ways off still since PS3 has plenty of power to it. I feel like I've barely had this thing.

doomdragon6 said:

To add to Miseur Prime's point, with the Wii, they told me "It's motion controls, you can swing the controller and stuff," and I went, "Ah! That is cool!"

For the Wii U, I have been told, "The controller has a screen, and you control stuff separately from the screen," and I go, "Oh. What? Why? Like menus and things? Or what?"

Click to expand...

That's because "stuff" is a very generic term, which is why they need to make better videos to show what the gamepad does.

SpecialKO said:

We're both talking about product differentiation. Differentiation is making people understand what it is, and then how it's different (if it's different). Since Nintendo isn't generally stupid, and they've made the second-screen concept a key part of their console design philosophy, explaining it and making the value of it clear is going to have to be a key part of their marketing.

The Wii-U has a bit of a unique problem compared to the 720/PS4 because a huge part of the Wii's install-base are non-gamers/non-premium gaming customers, and second-screen interoperability (and as you mentioned, making it clear it's not a Wii accessory) is something that's going to be key to get those people to re-purchase. Xbox and Sony won't have that problem unless they set out to take those people from Nintendo, and it doesn't seem like they're really going to beyond a couple gimmicks like Wonderbook.

Click to expand...

Product differentiation covers a lot more then that: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Product_differentiation#Rationale


Which means you can differentiate in a lot of ways, so while from a marketing perspective you can treat the problems under the same marketing type, it doesn't mean they're the same problem...

Explaining how to use the gamepad without making it clear it's for a new console won't really help people understand it's not a accessory for the Wii.

SpecialKO said:

Actually, after E3, lots of people were saying it about SmartGlass, and confusing it with Surface. Since then, MS has simply come out and said, "Surface is a Tablet PC" and has stopped really talking about SmartGlass since the app platform isn't ready yet anyways.

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So they where confusing it with another tablet related MS thing? No wonder i didn't notice that.

@Li3n said:

Explaining how to use the gamepad without making it clear it's for a new console won't really help people understand it's not a accessory for the Wii.

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Which is why they really have to do both.

SpecialKO said:

Which is why they really have to do both.

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Well of course they do, better safe then sorry is the best policy for a reason.

My point was that it's not going to be that much harder then motion controls (as in explicitly show everyone the way it can used).

What will require more work is making the video, as showing someone waiving a stick around is much easier then showing them using a touch-screen,but as a concept to be assimilated by the human mind it's about the same (as long as the minds are familiar with touch-screens, sticks being universal, hence my apple comment at the start).

Shakey said:

I remember people getting mad cause kids tossed their wii motes through the TV when the Wii first came out. Isn't that why they have a stronger strap now?

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We heard you threw your Wii-mote through your TV screen. So we put a screen in your Wii-mote so you can throw your TV through your TV.

Nintendo released a 14 minute video detailing everything about their new and (hopefully) improved online network:



TLDW: No more friend codes, Nintendo user ID linked to Mii to access downloadable content from anywhere including smart phones, can transfer Wii VC data to Wii U.

I'm not super thrilled at the public social network thing when I have kids playing. Hopefully it will be controllable based on Mii account. I don't mind my son having access to his friends (and I'd rather not have to have them on my friends list just so he can play with them if need be), but I don't want him to have to be completely open to the public if I choose to let him use a Nintendo ID.

So any specs yet, there seems to be a real drought of info o the Wii U lately.

Not any good news, but apparently the WiiU ports of Ninja Gaiden 3 and Mass Effect 3 are absolute technical messes. Worse even, than the Ps3 versions.

That bullshit they spouted at E3 about it being super easy to port 360 versions over to the WiiU was apparently that, bullshit.

And considering the technical messes Assassin's Creed 3 and Black Ops 2 already are, I can't imagine it's smooth sailing ahead for WiiU owners looking for anything outside of 1st party games.

Frank said:

Not any good news, but apparently the WiiU ports of Ninja Gaiden 3 and Mass Effect 3 are absolute technical messes. Worse even, than the Ps3 versions.

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Where are you seeing the reports of Ninja Gaiden 3 being a "technical mess"? The reviews I've seen make out the pre-existing issues of the game as the biggest problems, and even then some say the Wii U version is better than the existing versions. It might not look quite as good, but that could simply be a result of typical launch day game unfamilarity with the system

Visually, Ninja Gaiden 3 is hardly going to make your PS3 and Xbox-owning friends envious. In fact, Razor’s Edge is arguably uglier than its cousins, with bland textures and a bad case of the “jaggies” combining to create a muddy look that would’ve been called out seven years ago during the Xbox 360’s launch. Still, the framerate stays (mostly) smooth, which is crucial for a game like this. Plus, at this stage it’s nice – if admittedly a novelty – to be playing a Nintendo game in high-definition.

"- Muddy visuals, jaggies, occasional framerate stutters"

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IGN

Early Wii U adopters can rest easy in that this iteration of Ninja Gaiden 3 can visually stand on equal footing with its other console siblings, at least until too many things start happening at once. The framerate noticeable stutters at times when the screen starts to bustle with activity -- an unfortunate circumstance that shows up especially whenever rocket-totting enemies appear. It's weird because sometimes you almost expect everything to chug, but it doesn't. A helicopter boss battle in the second chapter ran fine at times, but would suddenly slow down out of nowhere. It's difficult to pinpoint the cause of these slowdown issues, but they happen. The slower combat speed shows off a visually satisfying combat system, an unexpected outcome, for sure. I wonder if the results will inspire some ambitious YouTube producer to make slowdown videos of other visually stimulating video games.

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1-UP

Not ringing endorsements.

Which don't sound close to calling it a technical mess. Again, sounds like some minor visual issues (IGN can only say it's "arguably uglier", so it doesn't sound like a huge difference), potentially resulting from launch day unfamilarity with the system.

I guess I have higher standards for a brand new console than arguably uglier than a version on a 7 year old console.

Although it is not a huge deal they have delayed Nintendo's TVii

http://www.engadget.com/2012/11/16/nintendo-tvii-delayed/

Frank said:

I guess I have higher standards for a brand new console than arguably uglier than a version on a 7 year old console.

Click to expand...

I didn't say you couldn't, but your characterizations of the reviews didn't match what I was seeing, with reviews generally more favorable to the Wii U version than the Xbox360/PS3 versions. Personally, I'll be more concerned depending on feedback to new games, rather than ports of older ones. Also, as ME3 is concerned, more not done by EA.

Hylian said:

Although it is not a huge deal they have delayed Nintendo's TVii

http://www.engadget.com/2012/11/16/nintendo-tvii-delayed/

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As much good as patches have done for the world, on consoles they've been nothing but an excuse to release things before they're God damn finished.

I'm just not excited for this console at all. Maybe when a new Mario or Metroid hits, but until then, I've seen nothing that warrants me getting one of these.

ZombiU is basically the only game I've seen for the WiiU that is doing ANYTHING interesting with the tablet. It's also the only game I'm at all interested in.

Not to shit on the Wii-U some more, but

At first I was like, "that first screenshot just hasn't finished rendering yet." And then I realized, "it shouldn't have to take the time."

So pretty much another Nintendo console that's going to survive chiefly on the first-party games. Good luck, Nintendo. You're gonna need it.

CynicismKills said:

I'm just not excited for this console at all. Maybe when a new Mario or Metroid hits, but until then, I've seen nothing that warrants me getting one of these.

Click to expand...

You're in luck, a new Mario hits today.

Piotyr said:

You're in luck, a new Mario hits today.

Click to expand...

Yeah, but it's one of the "New Super Mario Brothers" line which are really really boring.

I just got one...will let you know if it holds up.

I guess I should have specified a Mario game that's not another New Super Mario Bros., because they refuse to change the playstyle of those from one to the next.

I'd like those games if they didn't have that God awful "WAH!" sound samples FUCKING EVERYWHERE.

I've got the first one on Wii and the one released on DS, and they both play nearly identical. At least with the other numbered versions of Mario games the gameplay felt a bit fresh each time. These are sad cash-ins.

I actually am enjoying the new mario, it is all kinds of nostalgic fun.

The wii u feels like too little too late for me. It's great that nintendo has finally caught up to the other two in terms of power, but it seems like they are going to be left in the dust once the ps4/xbox720's come out. I know that with the wii current, power wasn't the goal and it created it's own market by enticing casuals into gaming and relying on their core titles. However, I think for that casual market at least, smart phones and tablets have taken that crowd over now, and there doesn't seem to be much that the wii u offers to pull in the "hardcore" crowd that they can't already get on the current PS/Xbox and won't, almost undoubtedly, be able to get better on the next versions.

I think we're still a couple years from the next-gen of Playstation or Xbox.

But I doubt a lot of people with those systems are going to buy a Wii U for third-party games they could play on the other systems. I don't know how strong Nintendo's pull is with their own stuff for that matter. I got rid of my Wii knowing that Skyward Sword would be out a month later. I loved Bayonetta, but I'm not getting a Wii U just to play the sequel.

Quotemander Prime said:

I think we're still a couple years from the next-gen of Playstation or Xbox.

But I doubt a lot of people with those systems are going to buy a Wii U for third-party games they could play on the other systems. I don't know how strong Nintendo's pull is with their own stuff for that matter. I got rid of my Wii knowing that Skyward Sword would be out a month later. I loved Bayonetta, but I'm not getting a Wii U just to play the sequel.

Click to expand...

I haven't finished a LoZ since Minish Cap. Got maybe 60% into TP and just got bored, have no real interest in Skyward Sword. If they give me something on par with Mario Galaxy or Metroid Prime, I might start considering the system, but they'd have to be ridiculously amazing.

I will admit a new Smash Bros would probably do a lot of convincing, though.

CynicismKills said:

I haven't finished a LoZ since Minish Cap. Got maybe 60% into TP and just got bored, have no real interest in Skyward Sword. If they give me something on par with Mario Galaxy or Metroid Prime, I might start considering the system, but they'd have to be ridiculously amazing.

I will admit a new Smash Bros would probably do a lot of convincing, though.

Click to expand...

Smash Brothers Brawl was a big draw for the Wii, but I never had as much fun with it as I did with Melee. The movement was off for some reason--it never felt as smooth. Not sure why. Also didn't care for the characters' limit breaks.

Twilight Princess was a huge disappointment and while the last couple of bosses were the highlight of the game, you weren't missing much. Nintendo did a better job with the DS games than Twilight Princess. If it weren't for the timed portions in the Ocean Palace, I'd want to go through Phantom Hourglass again.

Honestly, what I really want is a DS Metroid side-scroller. I'd never want anything else out of Nintendo if I could just have a new Metroid.

So, I had the chance to try the Rayman demo in Gamestop a few days ago. And I've watched a 10-minute gameplay video of Zombie U (which sounds less like a video game and more like a university for zombies).

Honestly, I've yet to be sold on this gimmicky crap. It feels very counter-intuitive to have to keep looking between two different screens. I already know that, for myself, that sort of thing would not only hard to keep keep up with, but would take me out of any narrative the game is trying to tell. Watching the Zombie U gameplay, for example, it kept having this message pop up on the screen that said, "Look at your Wii U controller" while the character would just stand there doing nothing on the main screen like they forgot what they were doing. I assume the controller screen showed things like crosshairs for shooting and the insides of things she was searching (a crate or her backpack), but that would require looking at more than one screen at a time.

The same can be said for Rayman. It kept reminding me to look at the screen and honestly, I kept forgetting to because I was trying to play it like a regular game with a controller. Honestly, I kept my head down most of the time, looking at the gameplay on the controller rather than the 20" television. It might as well be a portable device, if that's the case. But then, when I actually needed to look at the main screen and not the controller, there was no indication of such on the controller screen.

So yeah, to say that all my concerns and worries about this gimmicky crap has been realized and, in fact, exceeded my expectations does not bode well for it. I'm sure tech geeks will think it's neat, but in terms of creating any kind of good gaming experience that isn't frustrating? I have a feeling the Wii U will not be able to do anything but create frustrating scenarios.

Looking at two screens on a DS works because they're about an inch and a half long and right next to each other, both within your vision. Wii U wants you to alternate between looking ahead and looking at your lap. Doesn't work.

CynicismKills said:

I will admit a new Smash Bros would probably do a lot of convincing, though.

Click to expand...

Nope, it's going to be on 3DS (and being made by Namco I believe).

AshburnerX said:

Nope, it's going to be on 3DS (and being made by Namco I believe).

Click to expand...

It's going to be on both Wii U and 3DS with cross-platform play, and co-developed by Namco and Sora Ltd. (who made Brawl).

I am using my Wii U to post this

Hylian said:

I am using my Wii U to post this

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Pfft, my toaster can post on halforums.

Ugh, the more I read about the Wii-U's hardware, the less interested I become.

Shoddy, low end RAM that runs 43% slower than the PS3's XDR RAM.

So, expect more nonsense like that shitty texture loading Batman Arkham City. 1st party only box.

Do people even buy a nintendo console expecting it to be the best? The last time they did anything graphically innovative was Mode 7.

I'll get one eventually for the first party titles, but really, that's been the case from the Game Cube forward.

Gamecube actually had some great games, though. Wii is where Nintendo basically had the only solid titles.

What I am most curious about is when Nintendo suddenly got all the third party developers on board again. Checking out the games list I see Bayonetta 2, Assassins Creed 3, Tekken Tag, Black Ops 2, even older games like Arkham City and Mass Effect 3. Why did they start doing this after I decided to abandon consoles forever? Arg.

I would be highly suspicious of 3rd part devs on Wii for the exact reason that Bowielee mentioned. Wii is not, and is not expected to be, high end hardware. I don't think that the developers will intentionally scale back their games to fully fit the Wii hardware, and they won't completely rewrite the game just to fit the Wii, so that would make me think that these games will likely run poorly on the Wii.

ScytheRexx said:

What I am most curious about is when Nintendo suddenly got all the third party developers on board again. Checking out the games list I see Bayonetta 2, Assassins Creed 3, Tekken Tag, Black Ops 2, even older games like Arkham City and Mass Effect 3. Why did they start doing this after I decided to abandon consoles forever? Arg.

Click to expand...

Platinum Games (and Bayonetta) is basically going 2nd party for Nintendo this generation, I believe... once Metal Gear Rising is done anyway.

Necronic said:

I would be highly suspicious of 3rd part devs on Wii for the exact reason that Bowielee mentioned. Wii is not, and is not expected to be, high end hardware. I don't think that the developers will intentionally scale back their games to fully fit the Wii hardware, and they won't completely rewrite the game just to fit the Wii, so that would make me think that these games will likely run poorly on the Wii.

Click to expand...

While the Wii U isn't high end hardware, it doesn't take much to be as good or better than the other currently active consoles. So developers may not need to intentionally scale back their games for now. Once the next gen of xbox/PS comes out, sure, but there's still some time before that happens.

I think, more importantly than graphics, is how these late-release cross-platform games will utilize the touchpad/Wiimotes. They were designed with normal controllers in mind, I imagine, and at most would probably slap a map or inventory on the touchpad and call it a day.

CynicismKills said:

I think, more importantly than graphics, is how these late-release cross-platform games will utilize the touchpad/Wiimotes. They were designed with normal controllers in mind, I imagine, and at most would probably slap a map or inventory on the touchpad and call it a day.

Click to expand...

Sounds like the early days of the DS. And you're right.

Or the Wii. Nintendo's systems bring out plenty of shovelware that use the gimmick but don't do anything worthwhile with it.

I only Have nintendoland and Super Mario Brothers Wii-U. Nintendoland feels like a giant party game tech demo, Super Mario Bros feels like more of the same without a full set of players or someone on the pad helping you. It is kind of cool being able to play the game on the pad, I have used this feature multiple times while away from the tv doing stuff to pick up and play. I hope to pick up some other games soonish.

I picked up Scribblenauts for my son, which he will love the crap out of, but he can't use it until Christmas since it's going under the tree.

ScytheRexx said:

What I am most curious about is when Nintendo suddenly got all the third party developers on board again. Checking out the games list I see Bayonetta 2, Assassins Creed 3, Tekken Tag, Black Ops 2, even older games like Arkham City and Mass Effect 3. Why did they start doing this after I decided to abandon consoles forever? Arg.

Click to expand...

I dunno, they're there, but it's incredibly half-hearted so far.

EA is being especially passive aggressive with how shoddy their Wii-U titles are.[DOUBLEPOST=1353469416][/DOUBLEPOST]Quote from one of the Metro: Last Light devs

Chief technical officer, Oles Shishkovtsov, explains why Metro’s sequel won’t be appearing.

“[The] Wii U has a horrible, slow CPU,” explained Shishkovtsov. “We had an early look at it, we thought we could probably do it, but in terms of the impact we would make on the overall quality of the game – potentially to its detriment – we just figured it wasn’t worth pursuing at this time. It’s something we might return to. I really couldn’t make any promises, though.”

Despite Nintendo’s console offering Metro: Last Light new experiences to its players with it dual screens, when asked Shishkovtsov was adamant that the Wii U would ever seen Metro: Last Light when asked directly.

“We had an initial look at the Wii U, but given the size of the team and compared to where we were last time, just developing for the Playstation 3 is a significant addition.”

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[DOUBLEPOST=1353469649][/DOUBLEPOST]One of the funny parts is even with all the cost cutting Nintendo's done with the Wii-U (shoddy RAM, the shameless downsizing of the tablet's battery), they're still eating a loss on each one sold, something Nintendo avoids usually.

Bones said:

I only Have nintendoland and Super Mario Brothers Wii-U. Nintendoland feels like a giant party game tech demo, Super Mario Bros feels like more of the same without a full set of players or someone on the pad helping you. It is kind of cool being able to play the game on the pad, I have used this feature multiple times while away from the tv doing stuff to pick up and play. I hope to pick up some other games soonish.

Click to expand...

So, like having a handheld.

pretty much...except I would never spend money on a handheld as the amounts of time I want to play video games while I am at work and school is basically zero. it is just kind of neat. I get that all of you have already decided it is crap, but I really just want it for the occasional time I want to play something. I am not as hardcore as I use to be and not anything compared to the rest of you apparently.

I'm just really bummed out about it. I was expecting it to be at least more powerful than the current gen consoles. To be a Dreamcast of this generation. To have some really fantastic first party games and slightly better versions of the multiplat stuff. So far, it doesn't even have the amazing first party stuff and Nintendo has announced bupkiss in that department (outside of Pikmin) and the multiplat stuff is downright worse. All for a tablet controller that has 3 hours of battery life.

Bones said:

pretty much...except I would never spend money on a handheld as the amounts of time I want to play video games while I am at work and school is basically zero. it is just kind of neat. I get that all of you have already decided it is crap, but I really just want it for the occasional time I want to play something. I am not as hardcore as I use to be and not anything compared to the rest of you apparently.

Click to expand...

There's a difference between -being hardcore- and not settling for 7yr old graphics on a new system just because it morphs into a handheld and has a gimmick that will never see real potential.

Frank said:

I'm just really bummed out about it. I was expecting it to be at least more powerful than the current gen consoles. To be a Dreamcast of this generation. To have some really fantastic first party games and slightly better versions of the multiplat stuff. So far, it doesn't even have the amazing first party stuff and Nintendo has announced bupkiss in that department (outside of Pikmin) and the multiplat stuff is downright worse. All for a tablet controller that has 3 hours of battery life.

Click to expand...

You mean other than AC3, DS2, and BO2? All of which look about the same, just slightly different enough that there are people arguing that either side looks just a bit better.

Reverent-one said:

You mean other than AC3, DS2, and BO2? All of which look about the same, just slightly different enough that there are people arguing that either side looks just a bit better.

Click to expand...

The screenshots that were posted really prove it's not just a slight difference. FYI they shouldn't look -a little worse but not really that different- they should be better on newer hardware.

Gilgamesh said:

The screenshots that were posted really prove it's not just a slight difference. FYI they shouldn't look -a little worse but not really that different- they should be better on newer hardware.

Click to expand...

Notice Arkham City isn't one of the games I mentioned. But then, Arkham City on Wii U is a port of a game that's been out for a year already on other systems (so how many sales are they expecting to get?) and was outsourced to another developer. Probably not one they put a much effort into. Black Ops 2, on the other hand, probably gives the edge to the Wii U over the other consoles.

Wii-U Darksiders 2 has a lower FPS than the 360 or the PS3 version.

Wii-U Blops 2



360 Blops 2



As for Assassin's Creed 3, I can't find anything on it so maybe it is in better shape (considering what a buggy mess it is anyway).

Bones said:

pretty much...except I would never spend money on a handheld as the amounts of time I want to play video games while I am at work and school is basically zero. it is just kind of neat. I get that all of you have already decided it is crap, but I really just want it for the occasional time I want to play something. I am not as hardcore as I use to be and not anything compared to the rest of you apparently.

Click to expand...

I play my handhelds largely at home. It's cheaper and the games are more "occasional time" friendly than at-home console games. Just seems odd to pay so much more money for about the same thing if that's what it's to be used for, especially if you're carrying it to the kitchen or around the house.

I would like it if the Wii U was good, but Nintendo seems to have its head up its ass this year. Hopefully they'll fix that.

Reverent-one said:

Black Ops 2, on the other hand, probably gives the edge to the Wii U over the other consoles.

Click to expand...

Now I'm guessing you're just kidding/trolling?

I just said it's not good enough for a brand new piece of console hardware to be even in the realm of closeness to 10yr old tech. It's why people are calling it bad. I'll go a step further, most titles are rehashes of games with no innovation. The good games that come out are very few and far between, usually further ruined by gimmick.

It's not just the Wii U that does this obviously, see Mass Effect 3 and Kinect, but at least Microsoft gives you the option to ignore the gimmick.

Frank said:

Wii-U Darksiders 2 has a lower FPS than the 360 or the PS3 version.

Click to expand...

Really? Huh. Do you have a source for that?

Gilgamesh said:

Now I'm guessing you're just kidding/trolling?

Click to expand...

I'm guessing you didn't watch the video in the link?

Reverent-one said:

I'm guessing you didn't watch the video in the link?

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You should read the added edit.

I also call 100% bullshit on -PC- being added on there.

Gilgamesh said:

You should read the added edit.

Click to expand...

Ah, I see, you were discussing a different point than me. Understandable.

I also call 100% bullshit on -PC- being added on there.

Click to expand...

The article along with it points out that same thing.

Reverent-one said:

Ah, I see, you were discussing a different point than me. Understandable.

Click to expand...

Am I? Perhaps you would clarify your point? Is it that the WiiU is lesser/equal/slightly greater than 10yr old tech and that's ok/good/impressive?

Now I should clarify again, I don't think graphics is what MAKES a good game at all, and Nintendo has some really great first party games. Problem with that? We see ONE of those branded games per generation, MAYBE 2.

I'm merely responding to Frank's statement of the multiplat stuff being downright worse. That's it. I'm not getting into how much better the Wii U stuff should be and whether or not it is.

Quotemander Prime said:

Just seems odd to pay so much more money for about the same thing if that's what it's to be used for, especially if you're carrying it to the kitchen or around the house.

Click to expand...

I was trying to be polite, I use the portable feature to continue playing while I am on the can. as far as the portable systems go, I dont really see the point to buying a portable system you are going to only use at home, when I can use the wii for modern gaming plus scratching my retro gaming itch when I feel it without having to break my old systems and games out of storage.

Gilgamesh said:

There's a difference between -being hardcore- and not settling for 7yr old graphics on a new system just because it morphs into a handheld and has a gimmick that will never see real potential.

Click to expand...

that's not an issue for me as I have an extremely powerful PC, I dont have to settle for anything, The nintendo is for nintendo games and stuff I am not going to see on the PC, that looks like it would be fun to play. all the CoD and AC of the world will eventually show up on the PC, if they dont oh well no biggie.

There's a lot of framerate complaints with the 360 and PS3 versions as well.
http://www.ign.com/articles/2012/08/14/darksiders-ii-review
http://community.darksiders.com/go/thread/view/138731/29315251/?pg=last

The Wii U version also has increased draw distances for textures. So there seems to be a bit of a give and take between them, perhaps brought on by not doing much optimizing for the different consoles.

Bones said:

that's not an issue for me as I have an extremely powerful PC, I dont have to settle for anything, The nintendo is for nintendo games and stuff I am not going to see on the PC, that looks like it would be fun to play. all the CoD and AC of the world will eventually show up on the PC, if they dont oh well no biggie.

Click to expand...

Which is exactly what I said in a later reply. A Nintendo system is no longer about the -future- of gaming, it's for a very small niche product that's rarely even put out. This is a shame because at one point, Nintendo was the lead in graphics and would put out 4-5 First Party Main titles per generation.

I thought they still did? last generation we got Super Mario Galaxy 1 and 2, Legend of Zelda Skyward Sword, Animal Crossing: City Folks, Donky Kong Country Returns, Mario Kart Wii, New Super Mario Brothers Wii, Super Smash Brothers Brawl, two Kirby games, and Metroid Prime 3 off the top of my head.

Bones said:

I thought they still did? last generation we got Super Mario Galaxy 1 and 2, Legend of Zelda Skyward Sword, Animal Crossing: City Folks, Donky Kong Country Returns, Mario Kart Wii, New Super Mario Brothers Wii, Super Smash Brothers Brawl, two Kirby games, and Metroid Prime 3 off the top of my head.

Click to expand...

That's what I mean:
1 Zelda
1 Metroid
etc

usually there is only one or two a generation...so I dont get the point. on second thought are you trying to troll? I dont get it? you changed your criteria after the fact from your original statement of "4-5 First Party Main titles per generation."

Bones said:

usually there is only one or two a generation...so I dont get the point. on second thought are you trying to troll? I dont get it? you changed your criteria after the fact from your original statement of "4-5 First Party Main titles per generation."

Click to expand...

Zelda/Zelda 2 - NES
Ocrania of Time/Majora's Mask - N64
Wind Waker/Twilight Princess/4 Swords - Gamecube
Oracle of Ages/Seasons - GBC
Phantom Hourglass/Spirit Tracks - GBDS

Then Wii hit:
Remade Twilight Princess/Skyward sword (right at the end of the dev cycle)

I can make this type of example for alot of Nintendo's first party big names from NES to GBDS then it just stopped dead on Wii. I'm hoping WiiU doesn't do the same thing but it looks like a trend that may form.

that didnt answer my question but ok. is your conjecture that they should have developed a third orginal zelda title on the wii?

Bones said:

that didnt answer my question but ok. is your conjecture that they should have developed a third orginal zelda title on the wii?

Click to expand...

Don't you mean a second?

I did answer your question, Wii made less main party titles than previous generations. I'm hoping WiiU doesn't follow the same formula because those titles are the only reason to buy the console in the first place. If I have less than a handful of games worth purchasing a console over, what's the point?

For the record, there were 4 Metroid games released on the Wii if you count the Wii-ified versions of Prime 1 and 2. Unfortunately one of them was Other M (thanks for nothing, team ninja).

Bowielee said:

For the record, there were 4 Metroid games released on the Wii if you count the Wii-ified versions of Prime 1 and 2. Unfortunately one of them was Other M (thanks for nothing, team ninja).

Click to expand...

Yes, I was a bit baffled by the 1 Metroid comment.

ScytheRexx said:

Yes, I was a bit baffled by the 1 Metroid comment.

Click to expand...

You wouldn't be if you played Other M, hahaha am i rite

What I believe Gilg is saying is that before Nintendo was a good system because it was those games and ALSO top hardware and third-party games.

Now it's just those games, and it seems like you have to decide if the latest Nintendo console is worth getting for two Marios, two Zeldas, two Metroids over the course of five or six years.

I'm sure at some point I will get a Wii U for those games so long as there aren't pretty much the same games coming out for cheaper on the (less expensive) 3DS. But it's going to be cheaper than it is now and it's going to actually have games I want to play.

Bones said:

I was trying to be polite, I use the portable feature to continue playing while I am on the can.

Click to expand...

There was a poll on this forum about how people wipe their asses. I think you're in the clear .

Quotemander Prime said:

What I believe Gilg is saying is that before Nintendo was a good system because it was those games and ALSO top hardware and third-party games.

Now it's just those games, and it seems like you have to decide if the latest Nintendo console is worth getting for two Marios, two Zeldas, two Metroids over the course of five or six years.

Click to expand...

This is my problem, really. I'm not going to pay 300+ dollars for a system I'm only going to buy 6 games for. Being able to re-acquire old classic games is nice, but I actually still OWN these games. I can just hook up an old system to play them.

I just learned you can't play VC games on the pad.

That's a continuing bummer.

Damn it, I wanna like you Wii-U. Why you gotta be this way Nintendo?

Frank said:

I just learned you can't play VC games on the pad.

Click to expand...

That would be one of the few reasons I had thought of as to why I might want it. Since you can't, there goes another reason out the window.

Just didn't get excited about this one. At all. It was just a "meh, nothing new" when I saw news about it.

Frank said:

I just learned you can't play VC games on the pad.

Click to expand...

Why the hell not? I thought one of the major features of the WiiU was "free up the television so others can watch TV while you play."

I don't see why it shouldn't be able to play on the tablet. The tablet is just a screen that the content is streamed to.

Bad Nintendo. Bad.

They may patch it in. The WiiU is clearly capable of it.

So... anyone got any actual gameplay vids... because really, pictures with textures not loading is a bad way to actually see ow the games actually run.

Oh and 2 GB OF RAM... YAY!!!! Now lets just hope the other 2 go with 4GB.

Frank said:

Not to shit on the Wii-U some more, but

Click to expand...

The Wii U guy got lucky Batman could grab on (see 1:26): http://www.gametrailers.com/reviews/ffp51k/gametrailers-com-review

But these are clearly bugs.

The WiiU doesn't have analog triggers... WUT?

I don't think I'll ever be buying a WiiU, it just lacks too many things that it really should have.

Eh, I've already made up my mind to get one after the holidays.

Bowielee said:

Eh, I've already made up my mind to get one after the holidays.

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I'd love to hear the Pro-Reasons.

Also do you already own a PS3/360 or gaming PC?

All of the above with the exception of the 360. I'm getting it for the exclusives. To me, it's worth it. I bought the game cube pretty much exclusively to play Wind Waker and Metroid Prime.

Luckily GC had some pretty great stuff on it outside flagships. I'd love to be able to say the same for Wii, but I think the only non-Nintendo game I got super into was the sequel to Symphonia, which is alright at best.

Okami and Xenoblade chronicles are the only 2 non-mainstays that I recall playing and having a great time with. So, yeah, I'm fully aware I'm buying the console for the mainstays, but on the Wii, I have Super Mario Galaxy 1 and 2, Metroid Prime 1,2,3(the Wii ports were far superior to the gamecube versions), Twilight Princess, Skyward Sword, the Wii sports titles, any number of Wiiware titles.

So, all in all, it was far from being a waste of money to get one. I assume the WiiU will be the same. ZombiU is already getting rave reviews, and I look forward to new Zelda and Mario (outside the "New Super Mario Brothers" series) games using the new hardware. Actually, because I have a pretty hefty gaming PC, the only reason I have ANY consoles are for the exclusives.

Gilgamesh said:

Also do you already own a PS3/360 or gaming PC?

Click to expand...

Is there ever any other reason then exclusives if you actually have a good gaming PC?

Bowielee said:

Okami and Xenoblade chronicles are the only 2 non-mainstays that I recall playing and having a great time with. So, yeah, I'm fully aware I'm buying the console for the mainstays, but on the Wii, I have Super Mario Galaxy 1 and 2, Metroid Prime 1,2,3(the Wii ports were far superior to the gamecube versions), Twilight Princess, Skyward Sword, the Wii sports titles, any number of Wiiware titles.

So, all in all, it was far from being a waste of money to get one. I assume the WiiU will be the same. ZombiU is already getting rave reviews, and I look forward to new Zelda and Mario (outside the "New Super Mario Brothers" series) games using the new hardware. Actually, because I have a pretty hefty gaming PC, the only reason I have ANY consoles are for the exclusives.

Click to expand...

In the long run the Wii paid off for me for most of the same games you listed (though I haven't gotten Xenoblade yet, sadly).

<3 Okami. Gotta get the HD version for my PS3 at some point.

I feel like the Wii would've been better for me had I still been living at my mom's house with my siblings. As it was, my wife and I got one when we moved in together and then it felt like we had to make ourselves play Smash Brothers Brawl and Mario Kart to justify the thing. I did play through Mario Galaxy, Pokemon Battle Revolution, and Okami, but I didn't feel the Wii was overall money well spent.

I heard The Last Story was pretty great too.

I have or had every Nintendo console, mostly for the Zelda games. (Ok I didn't own a Virtual Boy, but I did rent it once). I even still have my old brick original Gameboy, but I have no idea if it still works. My Gameboy color does though, but the battery in my copy of Pokemon Yellow is dead so I can't save D: )

Dei said:

I have or had every Nintendo console, mostly for the Zelda games. (Ok I didn't own a Virtual Boy, but I did rent it once). I even still have my old brick original Gameboy, but I have no idea if it still works. My Gameboy color does though, but the battery in my copy of Pokemon Yellow is dead so I can't save D: )

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You know you can replace those batteries, right?

AshburnerX said:

You know you can replace those batteries, right?

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Sure if I had the right tools to take it apart, which I do not.

Dei said:

Sure if I had the right tools to take it apart, which I do not.

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A screwdriver?

It has the weird pentagon bolt thingy it in, it's not a screw.

Yeah, they use hex bolts.

...Maybe I should inspect my GBA cartridges.

I may pick up a Wii-U one day, but only after returning to the states. If I can't once again buy a non-chipped system where I can use online features freely, I'll go nuts. I don't care (much) that my games only cost $1 that way.

Reggie is straight out lying now.



2:30 into this video.

You mean 2:35 when he mentions CoD... from what i saw Black Ops 2 looks as awful on all systems.

Frank said:

Reggie is straight out lying now.



2:30 into this video.

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Yeah, stating that it has better graphics than the 360 or PS3 is flat out a lie, or he's an idiot, either way. Then again, he's always been pretty much an idiot.

That being said, I'm in the process of downloading the update for my brand new WiiU....

It actually does work as a remote for my TV, which is pretty awesome.

A remote with 3 hours of battery life.

Marcan, the guy who was pretty much the main Wii hacker has pretty much cracked the Wii wide open.

Wii U codenames worth knowing: system Cafe, CPU Espresso, GPU/SoC/etc. Latte, ARM secure processor Starbuck (we made that one up).

1.243125GHz, exactly. 3 PowerPC 750 type cores (similar to Wii's Broadway, but more cache).

GPU core at 549.999755MHz.

we're calling the WiiU security processor the Starbuck (vs. Starlet on Wii). And it seems to be about equally vulnerable, too

sorry, I'd rather not talk about how I got that yet. It doesn't involve leaks, it involves Wii U hacks

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The insanely low clock speed pretty much explains why the Wii-U is shit at doing 360 and PS3 (consoles much more CPU dependent than GPU) ports and explains why it's power consumption is so itty bitty.

Eh, I have a plug in right next to my couch, I don't really care if I have to keep the controller plugged in.

Bowielee said:

Eh, I have a plug in right next to my couch, I don't really care if I have to keep the controller plugged in.

View attachment 9114

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It's not a matter of haters going to hate, it's a matter of they could do better but don't have to because people accept half-quality work.

When I read good news about that Wii that doesn't just involve saying that Nintendo games are only there yo I'll post it here too. I just haven't seen any on GAF, where I get most of my gaming news from (same with the other big sites).

The people shitting on the WiiU are the same people who've been shitting on everything since the N64 or gamecube, depending how much of a hardon they had for RE4 when it was a GC exclusive.

Bowielee said:

The people shitting on the WiiU are the same people who've been shitting on everything since the N64 or gamecube, depending how much of a hardon they had for RE4 when it was a GC exclusive.

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Um no? I loved my Gamecube.

I've already said earlier in the thread, the only reason I have any consoles at all are for the exclusives, so the power of the system doesn't really matter to me as long as I can get the games.

Bowielee said:

I've already said earlier in the thread, the only reason I have any consoles at all are for the exclusives, so the power of the system doesn't really matter to me as long as I can get the games.

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He was talking about the bullshit hardware battery, not the power of the system. You defended that by saying you were right next to a socket and he was just -hating-.

The haters gonna hate thing was just in general about the anti-nintendo rage represented here in the thread.

I love Nintendo. I also love my brother.

Both have been making bad decisions lately. Doesn't mean I've stopped loving them; I just want them to make better choices.

On weirder Nintendo note:

Exclusive to Canada comes this piece of shit.



A top-loading, no internet supporting whatsoever, no backwards compatibility having Wii. Retailers in Canada have already stopped selling normal Wiis (Best Buy and Futureshop are the only ones I've checked, I can't imagine Gamestop or EB will stop selling normal Wiis until there are none left).

At least when Sony went mini for the PS2 (for almost exactly the same price drop as the Wii to Wii mini has gone through) the only thing it didn't support was the hard-drive (which nothing other than FF12 needed anyway) and actually added the ethernet adapter to the console and still maintained it's ability to play PS1 games.

Nintendo has a weird fixation on shrinking consoles. This seems to fall into the GameBoy Micro category of "Uselessly Small."

Also the WiiU is the first Nintendo console I've really had zero interest in. I still play games on the Wii and am hoping to get Last Story or Xenoblade this year (both of which will keep that system alive a lot longer for me).

I wouldn't have a problem with it if it wasn't phasing out the superior version of the console (people don't often say that about the Wii I bet). I know I'd rather pay the 50 bucks for access to the VC and Wiiware and have the GC backwards compatibility. Hell, people pay more for Xbox Gold and that shit is basically paywalling stuff that shouldn't fucking cost extra (like Netflix access and stuff).

Bowielee said:

The haters gonna hate thing was just in general about the anti-nintendo rage represented here in the thread.

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Seems more like Anti-Wii U than Anti-Nintendo?

Not all of the Wii consoles are GC compatible. The new bundles are not. See the bottom post.

http://techforums.nintendo.com/thread/12722

grub said:

Not all of the Wii consoles are GC compatible. The new bundles are not. See the bottom post.

http://techforums.nintendo.com/thread/12722

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That's shitty.

I just don't get why everyone tries to phase out BC. 360 only works with a handful of XBox games, PS3's was phased out quickly, and now apparently Nintendo is following suit. I guess it's to push PSN/Marketplace/Virtual Console sales, but it's a shitty practice. I'd love to see more systems work like the PS2 in terms of compatibility.

CynicismKills said:

I just don't get why everyone tries to phase out BC. 360 only works with a handful of XBox games, PS3's was phased out quickly, and now apparently Nintendo is following suit. I guess it's to push PSN/Marketplace/Virtual Console sales, but it's a shitty practice. I'd love to see more systems work like the PS2 in terms of compatibility.

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Since the new Wii doesn't support virtual console, I'd say probably no.

The real reason is simple. Cost. It's cheaper to not have to include backwards compatibility.

At the same time, a lot of the old stuff isn't available via download (VC, XBLA, PSN). You pretty much have to keep your old systems around if you want to play all the old stuff, whether or not you'd be willing to buy it again. I'm glad I ended up keeping my old DS so I can still play GBA games since Nintendo is dragging ass on the 3DS virtual console.

Yeah, the North American VC offerings were slim at best most of the time, especially compared to the Japanese one (650 Japanese vs 400 North American).

Quotemander Prime said:

At the same time, a lot of the old stuff isn't available via download (VC, XBLA, PSN). You pretty much have to keep your old systems around if you want to play all the old stuff, whether or not you'd be willing to buy it again. I'm glad I ended up keeping my old DS so I can still play GBA games since Nintendo is dragging ass on the 3DS virtual console.

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Ironically, my old school DSes broke (the only reason I really bothered to buy a 3DS last year), but I still have my GBA. Woo.

Yeah, PSN is pretty good about getting games I want, but I don't remember finding much I liked on the VC that I couldn't just boot up on an emulator (or even plug in my SNES and just play).

Ravenpoe said:

Since the new Wii doesn't support virtual console, I'd say probably no.

The real reason is simple. Cost. It's cheaper to not have to include backwards compatibility.

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The WiiU will support Virtual Console and will even allow you to port your purchases from the Wii shop to the WiiU. They are also planning on adding GC games to the Virtual Console as well.

Bowielee said:

The WiiU will support Virtual Console and will even allow you to port your purchases from the Wii shop to the WiiU. They are also planning on adding GC games to the Virtual Console as well.

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I think he meant on the controller screen.

That is something they damn well better patch in. If not, that's a God damn travesty.

Gilgamesh said:

I think he meant on the controller screen.

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I actually meant the Wii mini. I doubt anyone that's going to buy a WiiU will be buying a Wii mini as well.

Oh, yeah, what would the purpose of getting that thing even be?

ZombiU is the most unfortunately named great game. It's creepy, atmospheric, and you don't run through mowing down zombies, you have to be careful, deliberate and smart.

I for one believe that Wii mini does make sense. It's a budget console for families that maybe will play 3-4 games on it. A lot of people don't use the VC and, of course, a lot of people don't have GC games. And if you are going to pay 200$ for the regular Wii you might as well go all the way up to the Wii U (Does the regular Wii cost that? I'm making it up... It costs 160€ here with a game so in this case the Wii mini would make no sense at all)

Yeah, you guys pay so much more for consoles and such than we do. Usually a straight conversion of dollars to Euros.

My beef isn't it's existence, but it's feature stripped replacing of the normal model Wii, which is also already feature stripped apparently.

I have to admit, after watching Game Grumps play Nintendoland it looks like a fun game (with multiple people, of course).

Nintendoland is OK. It's pretty much a toybox for the new features, much like WiiSports.

Just-a leesen to-a your old pal Mario:

Rape jokes. Always so classy.