Nintendo at E3 2011 - Page 6

magus113 · 06-15-2011, 02:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by thatmariolover

Well, historically I would agree. With each passing generation Nintendo has crippled the system in some fashion that makes 3rd party devs jump ship. With the N64 it was expensive cartridges and complex programming requirements. With the Gamecube it was 1.5 GB discs, lack of storage, Friend codes, and a purple case. The Wii didn't go HD and never had a high quality, dedicated core controller.

I can't say it will be different this time. But the bottom line is that Nintendo has addressed most of the key problem areas. Friend Codes are going away for a new Online service more in line with Live. The graphics are HD, though we have yet to see specs. Supposedly it's heavy on the RAM, which is something devs will love.

My biggest concern at this point is the lack of a core dedicated controller. I'm looking for something wireless, in between the Gamecube and classic controller.

Supposedly it's rocking the last gen Radeon card for the GPU, which can mean anything really if it's supposedly better than the PS3 or Xbox 360 (although I don't think we've found out for sure by how much).

I'm also concerned that it seems to have only the proprietary video out and HDMI out, but what about people like me that don't have HDMI receivers and they need a fiber optic cable for surround sound?

thatmariolover · 06-15-2011, 02:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Angrist

Why would you want another controller? You're afraid the U Pad will be too heavy or something?

I just think it's cumbersome. Even though it will probably be fine for a lot of games, I just don't see myself wanting to use it all of the time.

The other issue is that we don't know how many of the tablet controllers can be simultaneously connected to the WiiU. I'm not willing to put up with dongling a classic controller to a Wiimote every time I want to play a multiplayer game. And that will be your only choice, since you don't even have the option of using a Gamecube controller.

Vampyr · 06-15-2011, 03:17 PM

If you can only use one at once, I imagine the "standard" controller will be one you can purchase that is the same except without the screen in the middle.

Developers will need to develop around the Wii U controller's layout because that's what comes with the system.

BreakABone · 06-15-2011, 03:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by thatmariolover

I just think it's cumbersome. Even though it will probably be fine for a lot of games, I just don't see myself wanting to use it all of the time.

The other issue is that we don't know how many of the tablet controllers can be simultaneously connected to the WiiU. I'm not willing to put up with dongling a classic controller to a Wiimote every time I want to play a multiplayer game. And that will be your only choice, since you don't even have the option of using a Gamecube controller.

Right now the streaming to a single controller is my biggest pet peeve with the console really.

I'm curious though if gamers are willing to take a hit in graphics to achieve 4 player streaming content.

That said, it seems currently Nintendo is positioning this as a one Wii U tab, 4 Wii-Mote controller set-up. Which has potential, but really I think 4 Wii Us has to be done at some point.

thatmariolover · 06-15-2011, 03:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Vampyr

If you can only use one at once, I imagine the "standard" controller will be one you can purchase that is the same except without the screen in the middle.

Developers will need to develop around the Wii U controller's layout because that's what comes with the system.

That's what I'm envisioning as well. But Nintendo's been mum on the topic, so I think it's worth a mention as a potential problem.

Vampyr · 06-15-2011, 04:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BreakABone

That said, it seems currently Nintendo is positioning this as a one Wii U tab, 4 Wii-Mote controller set-up. Which has potential, but really I think 4 Wii Us has to be done at some point.

This seems like a really bad idea. There needs to be consistency with the controller setup. If you can't have 4 wii u's, you need 1 Wii U + 3 just without the screen. Make the Wii Mote setup optional.

Angrist · 06-15-2011, 05:45 PM

I remember reading talks about possibly 2 U Pads at once and that Nintendo just didn't know if people would want it.

So like they added motion control to the Nunchuck, I hope they'll add the option for multiple U Pads.

Blix · 06-15-2011, 11:29 PM

Quote:

Nintendo of America president Reggie Fils-Aime has also confirmed that the Wii U will feature no backward compatibility with GameCube games or accessories. Considering the proprietary connector on GameCube controllers, that's not surprising. However, he did announce during Nintendo's press conference that the console will support all Wii games and accessories, including the Wii Remote and Classic Controller.

Does that put your mind at ease, Gecko? I don't remember exactly what you were saying about this and I've got no time to read atm.
source:

http://www.destructoid.com/nintendo-...t-203333.phtml

magus113 · 06-15-2011, 11:43 PM

I kinda figured the Gamecube would get phased out soon at some point. It was nice having the compatibility with the Wii.

This really only sucks for people that trade in their consoles for new ones. I keep all of mine, or find replacement ones if mine are broken.

gekko · 06-16-2011, 02:16 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by thatmariolover

Well, historically I would agree. With each passing generation Nintendo has crippled the system in some fashion that makes 3rd party devs jump ship. With the N64 it was expensive cartridges and complex programming requirements. With the Gamecube it was 1.5 GB discs, lack of storage, Friend codes, and a purple case. The Wii didn't go HD and never had a high quality, dedicated core controller.

There's a lot more to consider than the consumer side. Developer tools, costs, developer support, etc. CodeWarrior alone is reason enough to not want to develop for Wii. On the opposite side, Microsoft's developer support and tools for Xbox are simply fantastic.

thatmariolover · 06-16-2011, 09:13 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by gekko

There's a lot more to consider than the consumer side. Developer tools, costs, developer support, etc. CodeWarrior alone is reason enough to not want to develop for Wii. On the opposite side, Microsoft's developer support and tools for Xbox are simply fantastic.

Well, you're using DirectX on Xbox so you've got a whole different toolbox to work with.

Blix · 06-16-2011, 08:34 PM

Now that I've got a bit of free time from studying...

I'm thinking we're getting software emulation which is nice by me if that's the case. Backwards compatibility is a nice thing to have but if it comes at the price of holding the hardware back, then it's not worth it. I haven't gone back to playing many of the GCN games or PS2 games and for the handful of games that I come back, it's not worth it. I'll just keep my old consoles. =)

Blix · 06-16-2011, 09:02 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Angrist

So apparently developers are saying the Wii U is 50% stronger than PS360.

Your thoughts?

I almost forgot to reply to this. The question wasn't directed at me but...

My thoughts on this is that games are still going to be developed for the lowest common denominator and then ported to the other ones. Take for example Skyrim, it was developed on consoles and then ported to PC. If it was created for PCs and then ported to consoles the PC version would be so much better. But developers want to make sure that they give everyone the same thing. I suppose some developers will make their games for the PS3 first (since it's the hardest console to work with) and then port it to everywhere else. So the games wil look and run better on the Wii U but not by much.

BreakABone · 06-16-2011, 09:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Blix

I almost forgot to reply to this. The question wasn't directed at me but...

My thoughts on this is that games are still going to be developed for the lowest common denominator and then ported to the other ones. Take for example Skyrim, it was developed on consoles and then ported to PC. If it was created for PCs and then ported to consoles the PC version would be so much better. But developers want to make sure that they give everyone the same thing. I suppose some developers will make their games for the PS3 first (since it's the hardest console to work with) and then port it to everywhere else. So the games wil look and run better on the Wii U but not by much.

Yeah, this is how its always worked to be honest. There are still games that run and look better on the 360, and really most developers don't care/take the time to optimize it.

Also 50% is such an odd figure in general, since it doesn't tell us anything on its own.

50% more RAM, 50% faster clock speed, a lot of different aspects go into the console.

And then you have to figure that part of its power will be eaten on rendering stuff on the controller.

or in some cases rendering something completely different.

thatmariolover · 06-17-2011, 09:26 AM

Crytek had stated Wednesday that the dev kits are currently underclocked to a PS3/360 level.

Today, Sega's MD for development Gary Dunn has stated that an upgraded set of dev kits will be sent out to developers in the next month or so.

While that doesn't really tell us a whole lot, it's at least something to keep in mind.

http://bit.ly/kgW6Sz