Re: Nintendo Console Announced at E3 2011 (Wii U)
 

Ouch if that's true..who would want to pay that much for essentially Nintendo's version of the current gen consoles?? Granted I know they have the built in fans who will buy anything and they'll probably market it to the casual gamer/kids again but still Microsoft and Sony are probably not far behind with their next consoles. Not to mention that controller price. Although I would hope Nintendo has a bit more common sense than to price them that high or have the option for a cheaper controller.

Re: Nintendo Console Announced at E3 2011 (Wii U)
 

If the WiiU is more than $249, I'll eat my 3DS. I just do not see Nintendo charging that much.

Re: Nintendo Console Announced at E3 2011 (Wii U)
 

Nintendo has proven many times that it is out of touch with it's fanbase and current technologies. That said, can we get a video of you eating your 3ds if this proves to be true? :P

Re: Nintendo Console Announced at E3 2011 (Wii U)
 

I think it'll debut at $300-$350 range with Nintendoland packed in.

Re: Nintendo Console Announced at E3 2011 (Wii U)
 

$349 no Nintendoland, but something. I want to see a 3DS eaten.

Re: Nintendo Console Announced at E3 2011 (Wii U)
 

I can't believe I'm saying this since I've supported Nintendo as long as I've been alive but the Wii U doesn't interest me. Something just doesn't resonate with me that I need to own it. I've owned all their consoles but for whatever reason this time around, I'm not excited.

The fact that this will most likely be close to $300 doesn't help. I don't see enough there to warrant a high launch price as it is.

Re: Nintendo Console Announced at E3 2011 (Wii U)
 

I have to admit that I guessed wrong on the 3DS, thinking that Nintendo would not charge more than $199 for a handheld. But I was half right, with the quick price drop. With the new controller, perhaps Nintendo can try to justify a higher price on the WiiU, but I believe since they are using current gen hardware to keep costs affordable, and they had tremendous success at the $249 price for the Wii.

Re: Nintendo Console Announced at E3 2011 (Wii U)
 

Same here. I've been a Nintendo fanboy since the NES and I've bought every console they've made on or near launch, but I don't see myself buying this. It just doesn't seem fun.

Re: Nintendo Console Announced at E3 2011 (Wii U)
 

Ah I see, someone doesn't want to eat their 3DS ;)

Re: Nintendo Console Announced at E3 2011 (Wii U)
 

Being that it's a pretty terrible time to release a new console with the assumed specs of the Wii U, I think Wii U has to be attractive both in terms of competitive pricing (under $300, but probably better at $250) and launch AAA 'must play' titles available (like Zelda TP with the Wii). Their E3 showing was kind of alright, but none the titles that they showed really screamed 'first day purchase' to me, so I think they missed the boat on that front. That leaves the price because if it's priced too high and they don't have any tremendous launch games (and I don't count Pikmin 3 as a tremendous title), why would gamers not wait a bit for the next Playstation and/or XBox consoles? That said, I'll be ready to early adopt the system if any new and intriguing info comes out concerning games, price, and truly innovative uses of the tablet gamepad.

Re: Nintendo Console Announced at E3 2011 (Wii U)
 

A site I go to got to play the Arkham city Armored edition at E3 and they said that while the tablet features were cool, the game had a noticeable graphics drop and only UBI was able to make the ps3/360 look just as good on wii with AC3. So that means that AC3 is a bit lower than AC in the graphics department allowing them to do that, or Rocksteady just isn't fully up on how to program for it yet. If it's the former then this doesn't bode well since it can't even handle ps3/360 top of the line graphics well.

Re: Nintendo Console Announced at E3 2011 (Wii U)
 

Here's a good article on why Nintendo has lost it's fucking mind.

And no, it's not a very funny article (someone always has to pipe in and say how a Cracked article isn't funny), but it makes some good points and raises legitimate concerns as to the future of console gaming, which looks to be getting more and more annoying.

Re: Nintendo Console Announced at E3 2011 (Wii U)
 

I've been trying to decide what I think of the WiiU based on what we saw from E3. After some reflection, I'm firmly in the "this looks pretty bad for Nintendo" camp. I had a pretty open mind about the Gamepad after last year's tech demos, but the more I think about it, the more I believe it's a really bad idea. It seems like Nintendo believes this controller somehow serves both the casual party game crowd and the core gamer, but I think it will mostly end up annoying both.

Nintendo really touted the "asymmetric gameplay" that the Gamepad makes possible. While the concept is mildly compelling, it's basically just an enhancement for local multi-player party games. Granted, the Wii made a mint off of the local multi-player party game emphasis and I don't begrudge Nintendo for wanting to continue along that trajectory, but the Gamepad adds unnecessary complexity and cost - two things that don't jive well with the casual crowd. The other uses shown for the Gamepad were "enhancements" to the single-player experience in hardcore games that looked more like clunky gimmicks that would drag the experience down. Maybe they have some really great killer app to demonstrate how useful and innovative the Gamepad can be that just isn't ready to show yet, but if they thought anything they showed at E3 fit that bill, then they're in trouble. The underlying problem with the Gamepad is that it adds unnecessary complexity for the sake of features that range from minor to obnoxious - with none being true selling points.

Re: Nintendo Console Announced at E3 2011 (Wii U)
 

I think the Luigi's Mansion example of "asymmetric gameplay" (I don't think it's possible to write that term without using "" marks) actually sounds pretty fun for both types of controller...but the other ones they laid out seem extremely lame and gimmicky.

Re: Nintendo Console Announced at E3 2011 (Wii U)
 

This system really needed to differentiate it self from the Wii if they're trying to get hardcore gamers back. Calling it the Wii U is silly, because the Wii was revolutionary at the time and appealed to the masses whereas this thing... I don't know who it appeals to. Do hardcore gamers like the pad? Do casual gamers like it?

Looking at more and more footage I'm less and less interested. I guess I'm not in to technology as much as I used to be because I just want a simple controller and good graphics. Batman: Arkham City as a launch title that doesn't even look as good as the PS3 or Xbox 360? How is that even possible? What has Nintendo been working on all this time? They announced the stupid console over a year ago and it doesn't seem like they've done anything to actually start the next generation of consoles.

If the pricing structures are accurate, Nintendo will have a bomb. The GameCube sold poorly when compared to the PS2 and Xbox but this could make or break the company, couldn't it?

Re: Nintendo Console Announced at E3 2011 (Wii U)
 

Wii didn't have mass appeal, Bowling and Tennis had mass appeal.

I hate to think how the Wii would have done at first without bowling.

Re: Nintendo Console Announced at E3 2011 (Wii U)
 

I've never seen it simplified quite that far, but you make a lot of sense. :)

Re: Nintendo Console Announced at E3 2011 (Wii U)
 

I had a chance to go to the Wii-U Experience in Atlanta over the weekend - I took my two kids. If you want a longer detailed write-up, someone else did one here:

http://www.examiner.com/article/wii-...-atlanta-event

My quick thoughts:
- Overall I had a good time, my kids loved it from start to finish, even my oldest boy who likes to put on a "I hate it" front about everything.

- My two favorites were the Luigi's Ghost Mansion part of Nintendo Land (a ton of fun with 5 people) and the new SMB-U - while not particularly groundbreaking, it's still Mario. My kids liked the helper aspect of using the GamePad for that more than I did. Also, I've never been big into Pikmin, but I found Pikmin 3 to be a lot of fun.

- Honestly, I watched my kids play more than play myself, but Project P-100 and Zombie-U looked like a lot of fun as well, games I would get at launch.

- My youngest son probably spent 30 minutes on the new Scribblenauts game, I had to drag him away to try other stuff. So that one was a winner. He's also a Batman Arkham City/Asylum master, and he said the Wii-U edition of City was incredible.

- we did not try Wii-Fit or Just Dance or Sing. Not our cup of tea (in public, at least! ;) )

- Didn't really care for a lot of the mini-games in Nintendo Land or the untitled Wario game. The Wario title was OK I guess, but I couldn't imagine spending more than $15 on it, unless there was a LOT more. Nintendo Land was hit or miss, a lot of the games seemed cute, but didn't seem to lend themselves to any longevity, like the Ninja throwing star game or the Donkey Kong crash course game.

- The new gamepad was very cool and mesmerizing - I often found myself getting "yelled" at by the controller to look up at the TV for my next steps :lol:


- Two gamepad red flags:
1. Often (to an annoying degree) we had to pause the game to recalibrate the controller. Or the game slowly become off-center to where you were actually pointing the controller to the left/right of the TV just to center your cursor/aim. It was much worse than any Wiimote problems I've ever experienced. However, this was possibly because the controller was wired to the console (to prevent theft) so you had to stand close to the console/TV to play. I'm willing to believe that this is less of a problem when you're 8+ feet away on your couch.

2. As i said, i didn't play too many games, yet I found that two of the gamepads I did use were already having screen defects. One controller had a pink splotch on the screen (about the size of a fingerprint), and another one had a fair amount of what looked like dead pixels. i know these controllers are being used at multiple events like this, but still - hopefully they are more resiliant than that, especially since I assume they will be north of $100 to replace

- my only other dissappointment, and this was expected I guess, so many games were simply of the "use the old Wiimote/Nunchuk to play, and here are some HD graphics" variety. A fair amount of been there/done that feeling. It will sell well, no doubt, but IMO like the Wii there's still gonna need to be more to get someone to buy the Wii-U version of a game that is also out for the 360/PS3. My son said Batman Arkham City Armored Edition had enough to make him want to play that version even though he's sunk 100's of hours into the PS3 version, so we'll see.

Re: Nintendo Console Announced at E3 2011 (Wii U)
 

Thanks for the write up. Someone over on CAG gave the <s>360</s>Classic Controller Pro high marks. Did you give that a try as well?

I always forget about this when I do hop into a Wii game. I hadn't even considered that the tablet would have the same problems. Ugh. So after 5 years they didn't advance the Wiimote detection? Definite red flag to me as well.


Since this is a Nintendo console I doubt a retail version will have these issues. My guess is that demo units are built from cheaper materials, not the finalized specs.

Re: Nintendo Console Announced at E3 2011 (Wii U)
 

I only did briefly, my son saw it and he was like "is this an XBox controller?" :lol:
I prefer large controllers because I have large hands, so it seemed right up my alley. It was just like using a 360 controller.

good point. I'm surprised they didn't swap out the one controller - the pink blob was pretty obvious.

Re: Nintendo Console Announced at E3 2011 (Wii U)
 

I'm going to the Austin one next week. How was the crowd?

Re: Nintendo Console Announced at E3 2011 (Wii U)
 

Possible box art leaked by Amazon CA

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/518HNvfNIOL.jpg

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/61HBw5WJ2FL.jpg

Re: Nintendo Console Announced at E3 2011 (Wii U)
 

I can really see next generation (for me) being a 3DS and Wii U with a possibility of a new Xbox whatever. I'm just not into "hardcore" games like I used to be and the Wii U (with tablet) is doing some pretty interesting things. Unlike the Wii, I can't see third parties ignoring it since we have the Pro Controller which is essentially a 360 controller. Should make things easier for a port.

I'm sure I'm the minority, but I just don't have the time like I used to.

Re: Nintendo Console Announced at E3 2011 (Wii U)
 

I think the third party support will depend in part on how powerful the MS and Sony systems are. The Wii had a "classic" controller after all, and that didn't really help. The real problem, IMHO, was that they were making games that pushed the hardware and couldn't be done on the Wii without serious compromises or being redesigned from the ground up. If the Wii U also ends up being technically behind, this scenario could play out all over again.

And of course, it will also depend on how well the games actually sell on the console. As the Gamecube demonstrated, they can have the hardware on par with the competition, but if they don't attract the right market, the third parties won't stay on board.

Re: Nintendo Console Announced at E3 2011 (Wii U)
 

I have no time anymore either, which is why games on the Xbox Store and PSN Stores have won a majority of my gaming time.

I'm interested in this because I'm always a gadget geek, but how to put this without unintentional innuendo...

"I think the Wii left a bad taste in my mouth."