Wii U

Posted on 13 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in 3DS, News, Wii U | 1 Comment

Much to the disappointment of fans, how Wii U handles online gaming is something that Nintendo has yet to truly discuss. We’ve received a few hints, a few teases, and small bits of information. Yet the manner in which the system will work and what Nintendo intends to do to improve upon their past failures with online is still a mystery.

However, Nintendo UK Marketing manager Rob Lowe has provided some insight as to what the company has planned. According to Lowe, Nintendo is striving for an online experience “much closer” to Xbox Live and the PlayStation Network. It sounds like friend codes will be returning once again, but they’ll apparently be “refined.”

Read on below for Lowe’s full comments:

“I think that in a similar way that we waited until HD technology was almost ubiquitous before we went in there with an HD console, it’s similar with the penetration of wi-fi. I think now almost every home has wi-fi or broadband. It’s a universal truth that everybody is connected online and that wasn’t the case when the Wii came out five years ago. If you look at 3DS and the online of that you’ll get an understanding of where we’re going with Wii U and we’re taking that even further. We can’t talk about the details yet as Mr Iwata will announce those slightly later. But with the online of 3DS it’s obviously a massive leap on from where we were with DSi and DSi XL. It’s smooth, robust, it doesn’t drop in and out. The friend code system has also been refined. It still exists but in the same way that you’d need to pair up with friends on PSN or Xbox live. Now it’s much closer to that kind of online gaming experience than what it was before. We always try and strike a balance. Because we do have more younger consumers than any other hardware manufacturer or games brand we need to protect them while also making it as accessible as possible for the more active and hardcore consumers to go online. With Wii U I think that we’ve already hinted that we’re looking at getting people in that know and understand online gaming as it’s something that perhaps we’ve struggled with in the past.”

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Posted on 13 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in 3DS, News, Wii, Wii U | 0 comments

Game of Show

Battlefield 3
BioShock Infinite
Mass Effect 3
Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception
Batman: Arkham City
The Elder Scrolls 5: Skyrim
Tomb Raider

Best Action/Adventure Game

Tomb Raider
Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception
BioShock Infinite
Zelda: Skyward Sword
Assassin’s Creed: Revelations
Batman: Arkham City
Hitman Absolution
Ninja Gaiden 3
Deus Ex: Human Revolution
Dead Island

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Posted on 13 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in Rumors, Wii U | 0 comments

A lot has been said about the Wii U. Then again, there’s still a bunch of areas that we know next to nothing about. For instance, Nintendo has neglected to share more in-depth specs for the console, leading industry insiders and fans alike to wonder how it stacks up to the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360.

While nothing hasn’t been confirmed, Sterne Agee analyst Arvind Bhatia claims to have some insight. After speaking with developers at E3, Agee told IndustryGamers that Wii U will exceed the processing power of Microsoft and Sony’s consoles by 50%

“Some of the developers we spoke to indicated to us that the console will have 50% more processing power compared to the PlayStation 3 or Xbox 360. This is yet to be confirmed by Nintendo.”

Source

Posted on 13 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in News, Wii U | 0 comments

Iwata on the key points Nintendo wanted to address with the Wii U concept…

“We really want to change the structure of home entertainment. As you know, by now, home console video games have been wholly dependent upon home TVs. In other words, without home TV sets, we could not play video games at home. And we thought, “What if we were able to be independent from the TV?”

Then we came to think about the possibility of adding the second screen. And then we started thinking about that kind of possibility, and the mass potential it would provide for us. So far, we have been able to showcase only a glimpse of the total possibility Wii U will be able to provide. This product is slated for next year, not this year. Closer to the timing of the launch, I think we will be able to showcase a lot more.

Another thought behind that is thinking in terms of how busy people’s everyday lives are today. I thought we definitely need this kind of structure of entertainment. Otherwise it’s going to be difficult for our new console and device to be melded into the daily lives of consumers, naturally.”

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Posted on 13 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in 3DS, News, Wii U | 1 Comment

Here’s some commentary from everyone’s favorite game analyst, Wedbush Securities’ Michael Pachter…

“We were once again impressed by this year’s E3, and the show continues to get better and better. The hardware displayed was impressive, and each of the console manufacturers showed many core games for their respective systems. The most impactful ‘reveal’ at the show was the Wii U, which, in our opinion, is arriving two years too late. Depending on pricing, the system will be either a phenomenal success or a phenomenal failure, as competitive bundles for Xbox 360 with Kinect and PS3 with Move are likely to be priced below $300 by the time the Wii U launches.”

“We expect the 3DS to sell well at holiday, due to a phenomenal lineup of content, but think that the PS Vita will capture some share early next year. Solid sales of each device should bode well for GameStop, which will likely receive preferential allocations. Sony also continued to try to integrate its other consumer electronics products into its E3 presentation by announcing a 3DTV PlayStation-branded bundle priced at $499, which we expect to sell exceedingly well.”

“In all, we think that the new hardware introductions have some potential to reinvigorate the video game market, and think that the core games scheduled for release later this year and early next are sufficient to allow the industry to again begin to grow. We expect investors to remain on the sidelines until they see tangible evidence of industry growth, but we are confident that this will occur over the next several months.”

And what does Pachter think of the Wii U name? When discussing the PlayStation Vita name, Pachter said that it’s “the second-dumbest name for a device after Wii U”.

Source

Posted on 13 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in 3DS, News, Wii U | 0 comments

Nintendo has reintroduced 3D gaming in the form of the 3DS. It’s a well-known fact that the company was able to offer such an experience without the need for glasses. One would think that, technically, Nintendo would be able to incorporate similar technology into the Wii U controller.

So why has Nintendo decided not to include 3D screen for the controller? Satoru Iwata told TIME’s Techland:

“We have a separate mission with Wii U and Nintendo 3DS. Of course, there are some TV sets with the capability to show the 3D available today but it’s not dominating yet. Of course, you may want to say now that you have the second screen and you have the 3D technology with Nintendo 3DS, however after all, that kind of experience we can explore over the existing Nintendo 3DS machine. As I said, we are trying to make a new structure of home entertainment and because we are trying to make something unprecedented, we just wanted to focus on something different.”

Another thing worth mentioning is that making the controller 3D-ready would likely increase the cost of the device further. I imagine that it’ll be pretty expensive as it is now – it has a 6.2 inch touch screen, gyroscope, accelerometer, and a camera.

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Posted on 13 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in News, Wii U | 5 Comments

Sony’s Andrew House has provided some thoughts about the Wii U. Although House is aware of the console’s announcement, he doesn’t appear to know much in the way of details. The exchange with GamesIndustry is certainly interesting… I’ll let you read it for yourselves…

Q: What was your reaction to Nintendo’s console announcement at E3 and are you worried that it’s going to encroach on PlayStation 3 growth?

Andrew House: Honestly, the way these conferences work, I’ve had zero exposure to it.

Q: But you know it’s happened, right?

Andrew House: Yes, of course. I’m aware of the announcement but in terms of details I’ve not seen a great deal. It’s intreaging, but I’m interested to hear your reaction as a journalist because I’ve heard varying opinions.

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Posted on 13 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in News, Wii U | 0 comments

The Wii always had an uphill battle going for it since gamers and publishers alike considered the console to be more “kiddy” compared to the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. Fortunately, the situation is much different this time around. Third-parties are preparing high-quality, mature, blockbuster releases in its first year on the market.

One such company providing support is THQ, who is looking to ship Darksiders II for launch. Danny Bilson explained why the company is confident that they can have success with a mature title on the system day one:

“If you look historically, there were a couple of games that were there at launch that did really well on the Wii… Red Steel for instance. But I don’t look at it as a kiddie platform. I look at it as a platform for everybody, and it has the power for everybody. So there’s going to be a lot of core games from other companies as well as us on there, and I think the gamer’s going to go for the best experience, wherever it is. Ultimately, the hardware is a small investment compared to what [gamers] spend on software. If you buy 10 games, that’s $600, and a platform? I don’t know what their price point is, but it’s a smaller investment [than the software]. I have no concern at all that core people are going to say [derisively], “Oh, it’s Nintendo.” Core gamers love Zelda. They love Mario. It’s all part of whatever a great game is.”

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Posted on 13 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in Features, Wii U | 22 Comments

It’s finally done. After months of speculation, Nintendo has unveiled their brand new home console. A good amount of the rumors were surprisingly spot on. The controller does indeed have a 6.2 inch screen, which is a touch sensitive, and it includes a camera as well.

Since a few days have passed since Nintendo’s E3 2011 conference, perhaps it’d be a good time to reflect on the Wii U’s showing. I’ll share my thoughts below and hopefully you guys will as well in the comments area!

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Posted on 13 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in 3DS, News, Wii, Wii U | 1 Comment

Reggie Fils-Aime on the reaction to Wii U…

“Reaction has been very positive, not only to the journalist side. We have spent time with the analysts, the publishers. I make it a point whenever I have a break just to walk the floor and the reaction is extremely strong [among the show attendees]. People are excited, people are waiting to get their hands on it, people are getting into line twice and that’s true whether it’s for Wii U or for Nintendo 3DS as we have had lines back up. So the reaction has been very strong.”

Reggie on how the design thinking evolved/what Nintendo wanted to do with the next console…

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