Miyamoto says Nintendo looking to balance Wii U power with price
Posted on 12 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in News, Wii U | 0 comments
For Nintendo, releasing their systems with the most powerful technology available has never been their intention. Instead the company has focused on creating entertaining experiences while pricing their consoles reasonably.
So it comes as no surprise that Nintendo is considering this approach once again for Wii U. Shigeru Miyamoto understands the need to incorporate technology that has progressed over the years, but also realizes that Nintendo still needs to have the console come in as a reasonable price “because people have generally only a certain amount of their spending that they’ll devote to entertainment.” In the end, Nintendo will be looking to balance the price of Wii U with what can be included in the hardware.
Nintendo is an entertainment company. We’re very sensitive to pricing because people have generally only a certain amount of their spending that they’ll devote to entertainment. And if you’re talking about parents buying something for kids, there are certain price points where parents may be willing to or not willing to purchase a certain product.
But at the same time, you have these technological advances, and you have the needs of being able to take advantage of that technology, and those result in increasing costs and things like that. And so I think that in terms of companies that really look very carefully at what is the best balance between price and possibility in terms of the hardware, Nintendo is the company that’s going to probably pay the most attention to striking that right balance.
So when you look at what we’re trying to do this time, which is I think maybe to a certain degree somewhat reckless, because we’re trying to include this somewhat kind of tablet-like device–this controller with the screen. We’re trying to do that by finding the right balance between the CPU and the GPU, the graphics processor, and bringing all of that together with the ability to take advantage of the HD capabilities of the system, and wanting to do the most that we can on that front as well.
We’re very sensitive, of course, to trying to do all of this at an appropriate price. So I don’t know that we would be able to sit here and say that it’s going to necessarily dramatically outperform the systems that are out now. It’s part of the balance that we strike in terms of trying to find entertainment that is new and unique.
Sony’s Yoshida comments on Wii U – surprised, interesting, somewhat confused
Posted on 12 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in News, Wii U | 0 comments
It looks like Shuhei Yoshida, president of Sony Computer Entertainment’s Worldwide Studios, has been keeping track of some of the Wii U rumors over the past few months. Yoshida told IGN that he was “surprised” by the console and that the system was “pretty close to what was being rumored.” One of his expectations is that Nintendo might consider making “a giant DS”, though that obviously didn’t happen!
“I was surprised to see the final product for what Nintendo was showing. It’s pretty close to what was being rumored. Lots of media had different interpretations of the rumors, and something I thought Nintendo might be doing was like a giant DS in your house. I was expecting them to do some demos, like Nintendogs coming from the big screen to the small screen where you can then pet the dog on the tablet controller. And finally they are going to HD graphics, which must please third-party publishers judging from what they were saying at the press conference. It’s interesting.”
Yoshida also responded to a statement made by IGN in which the publication said that “Nintendo seems to be blurring that by having a tablet controller where you can play console games both on a TV and portably.”
“We still don’t know much about the Wii U. It seems like the controller can only work with one console. When they show multiplayer they are using the Wii remotes. How games will be developed for that console we still don’t know. As I understand, the Wii U remote has to be in proximity of the console so it’s not a true portable device in a sense that you can bring it with you outside the room or house. I still can’t get my head around what it is.”
Miyamoto interview: Wii U, rejected ideas, Zelda concerts, Four Swords DSi, Skyward Sword, and tons more
Posted on 12 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in 3DS, DS, News, Wii, Wii U | 0 comments
To make that title less than 500 words, I had to make it a bit more vague than I had wanted. But I highly suggest reading the interview that Game Informer conducted with Shigeru Miyamoto below, since there’s a significant amount of information. Miyamoto discusses topics including the Wii U, why the time is right for Zelda concerts and Four Swords on DSiWare, some initial concerns about Skyward Sword and how it’s a “very open world”, and a whole lot more.
Miyamoto: You’ll get used to the Wii U’s circle pads, more advanced than 3DS one
Posted on 12 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in 3DS, News, Wii U | 0 comments
One aspect of the Wii U controller that has been a concern for some fans is its analog nubs. It almost seemed as though Nintendo took a step backward by implementing sticks that are more comparable to the 3DS rather than what we’ve seen on the GameCube and Wii.
However, Shigeru Miyamoto is confident that consumers will get used to the circle pads. He says that they “are of a more advanced state than the one we created for Nintendo 3DS” and that they might be slightly more precise.
“The circle pads that we’re using for the Wii U controllers are of a more advanced state than the one we created for Nintendo 3DS. They will perhaps have a bit more precision. The mechanism that allows those circle pads to work is still very different from, for example, the mechanism we used for the control stick on the Gamecube controller. In that sense it’s very tough to compare the precision or how the circle pads will work in that sense, but personally I feel that we’ve gotten them to a point that when you sit down and play with them you get used to them very quickly and they feel very nice.”
Off-screen Ghost Recon Online footage
Posted on 12 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in Videos, Wii U | 0 comments
Reggie comments on what to expect with Wii U price, says right value is critical
Posted on 12 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in News, Wii U | 0 comments
The Wii launched at a fairly reasonable price. Users received a new console, Wii Sports, and a Wii Remote controller. The price did seem right for the company, as the system sold remarkably well in its first few years on the market.
Nintendo is hoping to see a repeat success story with the Wii U. Nintendo of America president Reggie Fils-Aime said that the company is looking to sell the console at a price point where they can sell a significant amount of units while maintaining the price for “an extended period of time.”
Fils-Aime said in a recent interview:
“So, I’ll use real numbers from this current generation with Wii. We sold over 25 million units at a price point at $200 or above. Never been done before in our industry. Typically, systems might launch at $300 and then very quickly start falling off. Our philosophy is to launch a system at a price point that we want to maintain for an extended period of time. And so when we launch Wii U, what we’ll do is we’ll identity a price point that we think we can get 25, 30 million units sold. And ideally look to stay at that for quite some time. We think that gives the consumer the best value, that helps consumers understand that ‘Boy, I outta buy in today’ versus wait for the future when the price might drop. And from our perspective, it really helps us manage our production, manage our inventory situation, manage our suppliers.”
Also, when asked if price is one of the most critical decisions Nintendo can make with the introduction of the console, Fils-Aime said:
“Well again, I would modify your statement to say it’s critical that we set the right value. When we look back at the Wii, yes, a $250 price point was key. But also the pack-in of Wii Sports was a critical decision. It gave the consumer something to play right out of the box. It gave the consumer a fantastic range of experiences. So for the launch of Wii U, similarly, yes, we’ll look at price, but we’ll also look at what are the experiences, what is it that the consumer will get when they buy, and make sure that’s really compelling.”
Reggie: PSN intrusion not affecting Nintendo’s online approach
Posted on 12 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in General Nintendo, News, Wii U | 0 comments
Just a couple of months ago, Sony was forced to deal with a significant intrusion on the PlayStation Network. The network was shut off for many weeks before services gradually returned. But despite the attack on PSN, Nintendo’s future plans for online gaming will not be affected.
Nintendo of America president Reggie Fils-Aime reiterated to the Wall Street Journal that the company plans on offering a “flexible” and “robust” online system for the Wii U and will be working with third-parties to bring their interests to the platform.
Regarding the PSN intrusion specifically, Fils-Aime said that they will not change their approach as a result of Sony’s security breach. Nintendo will continue to stress testing and monitoring while still trying to offer a robust experience.
“It hasn’t [changed our approach] in that from a Nintendo perspective, we greatly value the trust that consumers give us in sharing their personal information. We hold that very dear. We constantly test ourselves, we are always looking to make sure that the information is safe. The experience by our competitors really just highlights that we have to be ever vigilant. And we have to be constantly thinking about how do we make our systems as robust as possible from a security standpoint… We don’t see it as a tradeoff. We will continue to push the envelope in terms of features, but what we’ll also do is invest heavily in testing ourselves, monitoring ourselves, making sure that our systems are secure as possible.”
SEGA: New Wii U dev hardware in June/July, good platform to develop for, more
Posted on 12 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in News, Wii U | 0 comments
This information comes from Sega Europe MD of development Gary Dunn…
“It’s still a little early. There’s another generation of prototype hardware coming out in June or July that’s going to give us more information.”
Dunn also noted that he “better not say” how old SEGA’s current Wii U hardware is. What does the company think of the console right now? SEGA’s “very early doors” reaction to Wii U is that “we’re finding it to be quite powerful”. However, Dunn isn’t sure how Wii U compares to the PS3/360, explaining that “It’s too early to call. It’s different.” But it is encouraging that Dunn said that the Wii U will be “a good platform to develop for”.
Dunn on developing for Wii U:
“We’ve certainly found it easier to get prototypes up and running on next-gen definition visuals, so we’re quite pleased with it. Given the fact that one of our graphics engineers ported something across very quickly I would say the answer to [having easily understandable architecture] has got to be yes.”
Dunn repeated that bringing Aliens: Colonial Marines to Wii U is the company’s “intent”, so it sounds like it’s not 100% confirmed that we’ll eventually see the title on Nintendo’s console. It is very likely, however.
Dunn on bringing PS3/360 games to Wii U as well…
“We would certainly consider Wii U in the mix, but every single game is green lit on an individual platform by platform consideration. No, no we wouldn’t [do that] (release a standard, basic port). Clearly the new control mechanic allows some asymmetrical gameplay which we’re quite excited about – to leverage that when we’re looking to put any game on that system.”
Another look at the Wii U Japanese garden demo
Posted on 12 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in Videos, Wii U | 0 comments
Yoshiaki Koizumi talks Super Mario 3D
Posted on 12 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in 3DS, News, Wii U | 0 comments
During E3 week, GameSpot Australia sat down with Nintendo’s Yoshiaki Koizumi to discuss Super Mario 3D. Koizumi commented on a number of topics, including hint systems, fan input, mobile games, and even the Wii U briefly. Read on below for all of the details.
Yoshiaki Koizumi on Super Mario 3D playing a lot with perspective/3D…
“The effect of things coming from the background to the foreground was definitely something we wanted to use specifically because we could present it in 3D. When you’re presenting someone with a fictional world, and you’re trying to help him grasp how to move objects around inside of it, it was always very difficult, particularly on 2D displays, to show something coming from the background toward you. But now, we’ve gotten away from that taboo in development, and we now feel like we can use that effect more easily.
“As for other effects, we’re thinking of how objects will move in a 3D game and how they will move within a 3D display. We’re thinking about several of them, but I’m afraid I can’t reveal anything at this time.”
