Metroid Prime Dev: Wii U is a Powerhouse, We're Making a New Game For it

[Steven Bogos]

Metroid Prime Dev: Wii U is a Powerhouse, We're Making a New Game For it

Retro Studios says the perception that the Wii U is not a powerful console is "just not true."

While the constant bickering of framerates and resolution [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/132275-MGSV-Ground-Zeroes-to-Run-at-1080p-on-PS4-Only-720p-on-Xbox-One] is a hot point of contention between the Xbox One and PS4, a lot of people seem to be neglecting that other next-gen console when discussing the next-gen console's computing power. Retro Studios, the developers behind Metroid Prime and Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze, says that the Wii U is an underestimated powerhouse that can easily hold its own with its next-gen brothers.

"Unfortunately, the perception is that [the Wii U is] not a very powerful machine," said Retro Studios president and CEO Michael Kelbaugh. "That's just not true. It's a powerhouse. It's more than adequate to make great games on." He added that his team had to overcome a steep learning curve that came with transitioning from Wii to Wii U, but, was happy to see his artists become "uncorked" and free from the "traditional limitations" they'd been under for so long with the original Wii.

Furthermore, Kelbaugh said that his studio is hard at work developing a new game for the system, now that they are finished with Tropical Freeze. Although he neglected to give any more information on the nature of the new game, last year, Nintendo designer Shigeru Miyamoto singled out Retro as a "high-priority" studio to make a new Metroid game. He also claimed that it "could be possible" for Retro to make a new Zelda title.

"We love working with Donkey Kong. It's a great character. It's a lot of fun. We love working with Metroid Prime, with Mario Kart; those are fun, fun games to work on. So, you know, you can't lose," added Kelbaugh. "Every one of those IPs have been a lot of fun to play with and work on and [we'd] love to come back to them sometime."

Source: Gamespot [http://www.gamespot.com/articles/donkey-kong-metroid-prime-dev-calls-wii-u-a-powerhouse-confirms-new-game/1100-6418032/]

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[AntiChri5]

"more then adequate to make great games on"

What console or PC in the last 20 years hasn't been? If current gen hardware were required to make a great game, the entire industry would have died off long ago. We would never have gotten to this point.

Actually, ARE there any great games on the Wii U so far? Shit that will be talked about in ten years time.

 

[Brian Tams]

It seems like Nintendo is finally ready to open the floodgates and start pumping out the first party games.

Its about damn time!

 

[Sean951]

"more then adequate to make great games on"

What console or PC in the last 20 years hasn't been? If current gen hardware were required to make a great game, the entire industry would have died off long ago. We would never have gotten to this point.

Actually, ARE there any great games on the Wii U so far? Shit that will be talked about in ten years time.

Depends. I enjoy Mario 3D World, but it's more like a Mario Sunshine than 64 or Galaxies. A lot of fun, but not quite the same nostalgia trip. That said, it's only just over a year old, so I'm gonna give them more time before expecting a classic that will last throughout the ages. Hopefully the next Zelda will be, as that is my true love in gaming.

 

[oldtaku]

Oh come on. Of course you can make great games with it. You could (and did) make great games on the SNES. And you can make great games on the Wii U. But it is in no way a 'powerhouse' and it is not a powerful console unless you compare it to a Gamecube. That's the wrong tack to take in defending it.

 

[Skeleon]

It would certainly be good for Retro to take the reins of Metroid again, especially after Other M, eh? As for Wii U, I doubt it's a powerhouse, but I one could certainly make great games for it. Performance and graphical fidelity never made games great on their own and many of the greatest games suuucked graphically.

 

[Smooth Operator]

Well I imagine it is quite mind blowing processing power for a Wii dev, but on the general market they are yet again far behind.

 

[008Zulu_v1legacy]

It might help if they made games targeted at a demographic besides the 6 to 12 year olds.

 

[RA92]

Well, considering that all game devs have managed to do so far with the new generation hardware is make whatever they've already been making last generation just with prettier particle effects, I guess I can't argue...

 

[Guffe]

Yes!!
A new Metroid. This is great news
I really enjoyed the Prime trilogy, and didn't actually think OtherM was that bad... *activate flameshield*
So yes, waiting for this one!

 

[Andy Shandy]

Well I suppose it may well seem like a powerhouse when the only hardware you've worked on before is other previous Nintendo consoles.

So yeah, excuse me if I don't take the "Nintendo-owned company compliments Nintendo hardware" seriously. Still, I'd love a new Metroid if that's what they are working on. They've been wasted on Donkey Kong, in my opinion.

 

[AzrealMaximillion]

Of course great games will be made on the Wii U. Question is, will they follow the formula of previous Nintendo IPs and change very little?

 

[Scars Unseen]

Well Retro possibly making the next Metroid game is definitely news that could nudge me towards a WiiU purchase.

 

[Quellist]

Anything that keeps the system viable until 'X' arrives is good in my book, the fact that it might be a new Metroid game on the way makes it a win-win!

 

[Colt47]

It might help if they made games targeted at a demographic besides the 6 to 12 year olds.

This is definitely a problem on their part more than anything else. The younger generations of gamers are playing games on smart phones and tablet computers more than on the 3ds despite what Nintendo's statistics board wants people to think. The generation that really loved Nintendo is now probably in the teen demographic at the very youngest.

Also... really wishing nintendo had an official trade up program for going from a 3ds to a 3ds XL.

 

[Kingjackl]

'More than adequate to make games on' is something that could be said for any console post-Playstation 2 era. It really goes to show that constant strives to big up graphics with each passing console generation (and the concurrent increase in system requirements in PC games) have been more trouble than they're worth. Props to these guys for giving the less powerful but by no means useless console a go.

 

[Atmos Duality]

Announced a year too late, I'm afraid.

Power isn't everything and i think the Wii-U could be a good system... if it wasn't most likely already dead.

Oh wait. "His team had to overcome a steep learning curve that came with transitioning from Wii to Wii U" Well if they are comparing it to the Gamecu- i mean Wii, then a potato powered computer would offer more grunt. It's only 'a steep learning curve' if you have only ever worked on Nintendo consoles for the past decade and have missed every single graphical advancement since Half Life 2. Most studios had to make this transition back in 2005/6 so i have no idea how they could be unprepared to enter the HD generation.

There's more to it than that, sadly.
From what I've read, that tablet controller is intimately tied to the main processing handlers as part of the system's streaming function, and not just a peripheral output thing like the Gamecube to GBA connectors.

And that's a big part of why developers don't like the WiiU in the first place: Nintendo mandates that they program around the stupid gimmick instead of doing what they want, and it necessitates additional training because the tablet programming is just bizarre compared to anything else on the market.

 

[Xman490]

Depends. I enjoy Mario 3D World, but it's more like a Mario Sunshine than 64 or Galaxies. A lot of fun, but not quite the same nostalgia trip.

I think you're mistaken. With its odd new enemies and more-realistic-than-ever locales, Sunshine was not nearly a nostalgia trip. 64 and Galaxies were over twice as based on nostalgia than Sunshine was.
3D World is a nostalgia trip through and through, with almost every enemy (the fish in Plessie's way and vine-like piranha plants being the few exceptions) and some mechanics/themes plucked from every single Mario game before it, except for Sunshine.

 

[Sean951]

Depends. I enjoy Mario 3D World, but it's more like a Mario Sunshine than 64 or Galaxies. A lot of fun, but not quite the same nostalgia trip.

I think you're mistaken. With its odd new enemies and more-realistic-than-ever locales, Sunshine was not nearly a nostalgia trip. 64 and Galaxies were over twice as based on nostalgia than Sunshine was.
3D World is a nostalgia trip through and through, with almost every enemy (the fish in Plessie's way and vine-like piranha plants being the few exceptions) and some mechanics/themes plucked from every single Mario game before it, except for Sunshine.

I meant that playing it in the future won't be a nostalgia trip. I play Mario 64 and I'm transported back to getting the N64 and plugging it in for the first time. I play Sunshine and I have fun, because the GC was a pretty solid little machine, but it isn't nearly the same. I also feel that Galaxy will do the same thing in 10 years, but 3D World will not.

 

[Atmos Duality]

Well yes i didn't even touch on that. Having the second screen not be an autonomous device is also a drain on core resources i imagine. I'm not familiar with the architecture but i would assume that the tablet would need at least it's own thread if not logical core.

There has also been grumblings about Nintendo's online systems being developed effectively in a vacuum and therefore being a struggle to utilize. In terms of online play Nintendo has only just left the dark ages.

Based on what I've seen, that would be very, very accurate.
("Friend Codes" were an outdated concept when they were new. And their online matchmaking system was archaic even by 2005 standards.)