$249.99 Wii Launching November 19th

[Demiurge [deprecated]]

Is it just me or are most companies just getting really bad at releasing products.

I would argue that comsumers are demanding more from a product launch than in the past, but it's a circular argument. My problem with these console war discussions is that at some point I look up from the heated arguments and realize that there are more important things in the world than which multimillion-dollar company will "win." I hit that point yesterday, so my heart's just not in the debate anymore.

I'd like to point out, however, that with the entire Internet debating the issue, this thread at the Escapist is one of the more civil and intelligent discussions. Kudos to you all.

 

[Ajar]

I hit that point yesterday, so my heart's just not in the debate anymore.

It's a slow day at work for me.

 

[Goofonian]

My problem with these console war discussions is that at some point I look up from the heated arguments and realize that there are more important things in the world than which multimillion-dollar company will "win." I hit that point yesterday, so my heart's just not in the debate anymore.

I have no interest in console war debates really. I don't care which console wins, I'm likely to buy all three by the end of their lifespans. What annoys me though is that all three companies have managed to disappoint the consumer base in one way or another. Nintendo is the topic of discussion today because they spent today announcing all their info (that we have been waiting months for!) Perhaps we are demanding more than we did in the past, but I still feel like each company has let us down. They all have gotten our expectations up by claiming great things, only to come out later and miss projections or change their minds about certain details. Gone are the days when blatently lying to the public is a bad idea in the eyes of large corporations. I doubt I will ever trust anything these three companies say ever again.

 

[Lex Darko]

My problem with these console war discussions is that at some point I look up from the heated arguments and realize that there are more important things in the world than which multimillion-dollar company will "win." I hit that point yesterday, so my heart's just not in the debate anymore.

I have no interest in console war debates really. I don't care which console wins, I'm likely to buy all three by the end of their lifespans. What annoys me though is that all three companies have managed to disappoint the consumer base in one way or another. Nintendo is the topic of discussion today because they spent today announcing all their info (that we have been waiting months for!) Perhaps we are demanding more than we did in the past, but I still feel like each company has let us down. They all have gotten our expectations up by claiming great things, only to come out later and miss projections or change their minds about certain details. Gone are the days when blatently lying to the public is a bad idea in the eyes of large corporations. I doubt I will ever trust anything these three companies say ever again.

I don't know, I never expected Sony to release before Nov. 2006 the one thing that really got me about Sony was the massive delay for AUS. and EU, however I don't quite see your point with MS I don't remember them giving a solid number of avialable launch consoles. Also the price of the Wii is disappointing but, I'll probably be getting one in mid to late 2007 or when the price drops which ever comes first.

 

[Psaakyrn [deprecated]]

I just wanted to note that it's quite unlikely for games to have 4-player multiplayer using both remote and nunchuck, on a single machine. The nunchuck instantly increases the complexity of the controls by a significant magnitude (for that matter, not matter how many times you hear about intuitiveness, the remote + nunchuck combo would be the most complex mass-consumer interface device as far as I know, surpassing the keyboard + mouse combo), but the remote itself is an elegant, focused control device.

There's also the consideration of screen space; there's only so much information you can show, and showing all the characters together in one screen would generally mean that the control scheme isn't that complex, due to gameplay-limiting factors (only possibility I can think of is a split screen FPS or Madden, which admittedly I don't really like, since being able to see your enemies all the time kind of ruins the gameplay).

So far, the only games I know which mignt uses 4 controllers with nunchucks at the same time are Madden and Red Steel. Granted you might be interested in Sports or FPSs, but most people may not be. But to get a 4 player entertainment system for the price of 1 (aka XBox 360/PS3) might be worth it.

Additional note: If the remote costs $60, doesn't it mean that the console by itself is only about $150 (assuming that WiiSports is about $40)?

Additional note 2: I find it ironic that large-screen formats is the most suitable for Wii. If it can be played on a projector TV, games would be a LOT more immersive than what you could achieve using almost any other control scheme, barring the lightgun. And to play on an overly small screen would have a larger detrimental effect for Wii than PS3 or XBox 360 as well.

 

[Goofonian]

I don't know, I never expected Sony to release before Nov. 2006 the one thing that really got me about Sony was the massive delay for AUS. and EU, however I don't quite see your point with MS I don't remember them giving a solid number of avialable launch consoles. Also the price of the Wii is disappointing but, I'll probably be getting one in mid to late 2007 or when the price drops which ever comes first.

Being from AUS myself I feel I have quite a lot to be annoyed at both sony and MS about. they both delayed their launched until march the next year. not that i have bought a 360 yet or am planning to buy a ps3 anytime soon, but i still am annoyed that they did that. we always get the sharp end of the stick here and its something that needs to change, pronto. I'm happy that nintendo is releasing here before this christmas, but I still don't want wii sports as a pack in. As I said earlier..........beer coaster.

 

[TomBeraha]

I just wanted to note that it's quite unlikely for games to have 4-player multiplayer using both remote and nunchuck, on a single machine. The nunchuck instantly increases the complexity of the controls by a significant magnitude (for that matter, not matter how many times you hear about intuitiveness, the remote + nunchuck combo would be the most complex mass-consumer interface device as far as I know, surpassing the keyboard + mouse combo), but the remote itself is an elegant, focused control device.

I feel this may be superstitious nonsense. I don't think that in any way is having that many inputs the bottleneck, It's just not an issue. I think you overstate the processing power required for handling the remote/nunchuck combo by quite a bit. A server running a FPS can handle the inputs from 64 different keyboard mouse combos across the internet without issue. The game itself is going to present any bottlenecks that are present, not the controller.

 

[Psaakyrn [deprecated]]

It's not an input/data bottleneck, it's a gameplay design bottleneck. I did mention that split-screen multiplayer for Red Steel is likely, and Madden is presumebly available with the "buzz" tactical feedback...

But you've to consider how much information can be transmitted at one time, AND that the nunchuck + remote control scheme takes up a lot more space than a gamepad by itself. Based on the 2nd point of more space required for the gamers, they're likely not going to be positioned too close to the screen, and thus less able to percieve detail. I'm rather interested in how well percieved the likely splitscreen multiplayer for Red Steel will pan out, more in terms of how cofortable an average user would be with the likely added distance between user and TV.

 

[Lex Darko]

It's not an input/data bottleneck, it's a gameplay design bottleneck. I did mention that split-screen multiplayer for Red Steel is likely, and Madden is presumebly available with the "buzz" tactical feedback...

But you've to consider how much information can be transmitted at one time, AND that the nunchuck + remote control scheme takes up a lot more space than a gamepad by itself. Based on the 2nd point of more space required for the gamers, they're likely not going to be positioned too close to the screen, and thus less able to percieve detail. I'm rather interested in how well percieved the likely splitscreen multiplayer for Red Steel will pan out, more in terms of how cofortable an average user would be with the likely added distance between user and TV.

I don't think that's going to be a real issue alot of the motions seen in the ads are supposedly over-exaggerated so I'm thinking you won't really need 4 feet of room to use the controller.

I'm more wondering if the Wii controller is going to end up just being a fad or if this type of controller is going to become the next step in gaming interfaces.

 

[Psaakyrn [deprecated]]

I wasn't talking about having 4 feet, but elbow space is pretty much a neccesity (aka 3-4 people on a couch isn't going to work out well).

I don't really see the Wii coming out as a fad, simply because quite a few genres (like adventure or environment/world simulation) will simply play better on it, along with certain genres only possible on the Wii, discounting the internet or 3rd-party controllers (examples would include rail-based shooter, physical simulation, point-and-click (usually found in adventure games) ) (some examples might be possible on the PC, but cannot be performed multiplayer there, discounting the internet).

What I do see coming out as a fad though, is the FPS control scheme, or at least the current implementation of it. In it's current implementation, it is responsive, but only for onscreen objects. Anything offscreen is troublesome to interact with.

 

[Lex Darko]

I wasn't talking about having 4 feet, but elbow space is pretty much a neccesity (aka 3-4 people on a couch isn't going to work out well).

I don't really see the Wii coming out as a fad, simply because quite a few genres (like adventure or environment/world simulation) will simply play better on it, along with certain genres only possible on the Wii, discounting the internet or 3rd-party controllers (examples would include rail-based shooter, physical simulation, point-and-click (usually found in adventure games) ) (some examples might be possible on the PC, but cannot be performed multiplayer there, discounting the internet).

What I do see coming out as a fad though, is the FPS control scheme, or at least the current implementation of it. In it's current implementation, it is responsive, but only for onscreen objects. Anything offscreen is troublesome to interact with.

Rail based shooters are great with light guns and adventure games as a genre are dying out, I'm just thinking about what kind of games are going to be release for the Wii a year from now that really put that controller to use.

A thrid person shooter could be interesting but I would have to really see it before I was convinced it's worth buying.

 

[Goofonian]

Rail based shooters are great with light guns and adventure games as a genre are dying out, I'm just thinking about what kind of games are going to be release for the Wii a year from now that really put that controller to use.

I really hope namco get on board with this and put out some time crisis style shooters for use with the gun attachment. house of the dead and virtual cop would be nice too. My G-con gun has been sitting idle next my ps2 ever since I bought my plasma screen. I love those style of games and I wanna play more of them.