One thing that constantly amazes me is how much people say they dislike the Wii U without having played it, and then when I bring my console over and play it with them, they can’t stop talking about how much fun it is and how cool the second screen is. It really illustrates a stark contrast between U and the original Wii, which is that you can understand the Wii simply by seeing it: Everyone knows motion, after all. It’s intuitive, so when you watch someone turning a fake wheel to turn the wheel of a car in a game, or swinging a fake bat to swing a bat in a game, it just makes sense. With the Wii U that intuition isn’t as clear, and Ubisoft managing director Xavier Poix seems to think so too:
“The depth of what you can do with that console is really hard to get across unless you play with it. It’s different from the Wii, where seeing was believing. With the Wii U, people really need to experience it.” – Ubisoft managing director Xavier Poix
“The whole idea of the asymmetrical gameplay and using two screens to do two very different things is not simple to explain to people. ZombiU was designed to be a game for core players launching with a new Nintendo console. We should have communicated better in this respect to let people know what kind of experience to expect. It wasn’t obvious enough that there would be a new controller and new gameplay and a new skill set to develop.” – Ubisoft managing director Xavier Poix
Have any of you had a similar experience to this? Or do you think the Wii U just isn’t as inherently cool as the Wii was?
Ghosts’n Goblins will be hitting the Japanese eShop as a Famicom download on February 12 for 500 yen. Screenshots of the game can be found above.
This week’s Japanese eShop update is as follows:
3DS
Downloadable Titles
Magi Hajimari no Meiky? (Demo) – FREE
Layton Kyouju Ky?jyu: Kiseki no Kamen Plus (Professor Layton and the Miracle Mask Plus, retail game) – 3,000 yen
Dragon Quest VII – Eden no Senshitachi (retail title) – 6,090 yen
Virtual Console
Double Dragon (Famicom) – 500 yen
Ariel Crystal Densetsu (Crystal Warriors, Game Gear) – 300 yen
Video Content
Animal Crossing: New Leaf Nintendo Direct
Short Chotto Nintendo Direct (referred to as Nintendo eShop News) on the Wii U eShop about special prizes for Wii U games being registered on Club Nintendo here in Japan
Fantasy Life videos
New Super Mario Bros. U skills video
Animal Crossing: New Leaf commercials
Tank! Tank! Tank! videos
Professor Layton and the Miracle Mask video
Magi Hajimari no Meiky? video
Zombie Slayer video
Johnny Kung Fu video
Nyokenshi Akane video
This week’s GameStop deals are as follows:
Wouldn’t you say that Trine 2: Director’s Cut looks quite amazing on Wii U? Developer Frozenbyte was even able to enhance the game’s visuals. But those graphics come with a (small) price. Frozenbyte won’t have Director’s Cut running at 60 FPS in the future.
Frozenbyte vice president Joel Kinnunen explained:
“As much as we praise the Wii U, there’s no chance for 60 fps. It’s just too much for the consoles with the graphics we’re throwing at it. The game runs at a rather steady 30 fps but there’s just not much room left. Sorry!”
Mutant Mudds Deluxe was originally planned for release this quarter on the Wii U eShop. That tentative window has now shifted, according to Renegade Kid.
Co-founder Jools Watsham tweeted that Deluxe will now arrive during Q2 2013. Watsham did not confirm a more specific date for the game’s release.
@gamingpixelshow Yes, I expect March for ATV 3D. Mudds Deluxe will be Q2 unfortunately.
— Jools Watsham (@JoolsWatsham) February 5, 2013
