Wii U - The Next Nintendo Console

[ZebesBound]

I think everything is only prototype at this point. One thing I really hope they change is the circle pad. They are fine for handheld, but on a console controller I think its unacceptable to not have dual analog control. I'm pretty sure every console since the N64 has had an analog stick. Circle pads are not nearly as good.

[Infinity's End]

Anyone want a high-res image of the Wii U with the Zelda demo displayed on it?

[Naner]

Thanks, Inf! Though the game itself seems a bit upscaled, and too bright. But it allows us to see the detail much better (especially in the controller screen: those are clearly the items from Twilight Princess).

I think that I'd rather have the heart meter on the TV, not the screen. Seems quicker to check.

[Chris]

Dunno, I think a clear TV screen, eg, no HUD would be quite welcome in some games.

You normally have that alarm sound when low on hearts anyway.

[Naner]

Yeah, but I don't think just the hearts would be too bad. Remember Twilight Princess and Skyward Sword have extremely polluted HUDs.

[kronoridley]

I am hearing that it's actually the early development kits that are 50% more powerful than the PS3/Xbox 360, and that the actual system is much more powerful than that. If so, we can pretty much throw away our worries on how it will look like compaired to Microsoft and Sony's next consoles!

[Naner]

Yeah, I'm pretty sure that's how it'll go. Leaving hardware out-of-house normally generates lots of info leaks (look at how much we knew about the Wii U before E3), so I'm guessing they want to leave the real hardware first-party only for the time being.

[Zeroº]

From what I read today, developers should be expecting to see some Why Youuu!? dev kits closer to the final hardware coming their way either sometime this month or in July. And it is apparently really easy to develop for, so yay on that.

[doc O. Mire]

Only things to really worry about now (for me at least) are the cost of the system and the nintendo launch titles. Considering the fact that we are getting more zelda games than we know what to do with and mario is having two games developed for the 3ds already, I'd say a metroid game at launch (while being perhaps a touch too optimistic) isn't so unlikely.

Otherwise we may get pikmin 3, F-Zero, or some other nintendo franchise that has been forgotten over the years (or if we get really lucky, they might make a new IP that isn't incredibly gimmicky a la wii sports )

As for the price, I'm hoping it will be less than $300 here in the US even with tax, but I think that it's unlikely to happen

[Naner]

I think it'll be either $299 or $249. It has some pretty modern tech and that controller, and Ninty never sells at a loss.

I think that Pikmin 3 is almost certainly a launch - or launch window - title. Afterall, it just hasn't been released yet because they thought it would be a perfect title for Wii U.

[HYRUL3]

I will no doubt buy the Wii U, but whether it happens at launch or not is entirely up to them. I already own an XBOX 360 and a PS3 so if they're mostly putting out 3rd party re-releases at launch (Darksiders II, Batman Arkham City, Assassins Creed) then I'll hold off until some promising exclusive comes along. Because my 360 is already my designated multi-plat console (unless there's a really good reason to get it for another system, like Mortal Kombat.

I think the price point will be around $350+. Unfortunately. However I feel that is reasonable... my 160 GB PS3 cost me $300 new... and that was in February. So a more powerful machine with the controller it has... sounds to me like it should be around the price range I mentioned.

[Naner]

My thoughts on third-party 360/PS3 ports:

Developers like Ubisoft already stated that porting stuff from the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 is considerably easy. If that's the case, I don't see any reason not to do it. However, there is the fact that many of the people who want to play the game will already have played it in another system, and I doubt they'd re-buy it, no matter how much the new controller is used. Still, releasing those games on the Wii U will open them up for the large Nintendo-only market BUT there's the problem that most of the titles considered for porting are sequels (Batman: Arkham City, Assassin's Creed Revelations and Ninja Gaiden III, to name a few) and many players won't bother to pick them up without having played the previous titles first. You know what I mean if you own a PS3 (but not a 360) and doesn't want to play Mass Effect 2 before playing Mass Effect, which wasn't released on the system. If you follow the Assassin's Creed series, you know that Revelations won't mean a thing without playing the previous three titles first. Batman is probably in a similar situation.

Another thing to notice is that many players wait until price drops before purchasing certain titles. I, for one, buy Assassin's Creed games after the sequel comes out, thus saving around $30. I'll only buy Brotherhood after Revelations comes out, and, if Revelations receives a price drop simultaneously on the PS3 and Wii U (around the time of Assassin's Creed III's release, I think), I'll definitely buy it on the Nintendo.

[Dementis]

I think everything is only prototype at this point. One thing I really hope they change is the circle pad. They are fine for handheld, but on a console controller I think its unacceptable to not have dual analog control. I'm pretty sure every console since the N64 has had an analog stick. Circle pads are not nearly as good.

Dear god are people really stupid? Have you seen the controller? It'd be so uncomfortable to have dual analogs. You have to reach up for analogs, while your fingers are mostly lying flat against the controller. It really pisses me off when people don't think thing through.

[LesserChozo]

Dear god are people really stupid? Have you seen the controller? It'd be so uncomfortable to have dual analogs. You have to reach up for analogs, while your fingers are mostly lying flat against the controller. It really pisses me off when people don't think thing through.

I'm sure Nintendo could have worked around the ergonimic issue had they gone with A-sticks. I'm betting it's a financial issue; C-pads are likely cheaper to use. No doubt some 3rd party manufacturer will eventually be able to duplicate the WiiU's controller, with analog, but it will most likely be more expensive. For the vast majority, I don't think it makes much of a difference, and that's who Nintendo is focused on.



Oh, and be nice!

[Zeroº]

The real reason for the circle pad: They are phasing out traditional controls.

Just watch, the Why Youuu!?'s successor will be a pure touch tablet with motion sensors and a camera. There will be no face buttons, there will be no analog stick, there will be no circle pads, only a touch surface and simulated controls. (Insert evil laughter.)