Rumor: Cheap Components Hurting Wii U Development

[MissAshley]

Oh, Nintendo. Why can't you just make consoles like you did before, all we want is a basic controller and a bunch of kickass games, nothing more.

Yeah, they did that not too long ago. It was called Gamecube, and it came in third that generation because it did nothing more than have "a basic controller and a bunch of kickass games."

Reading this rumor, I have to ask myself: How often has stuff like this happened in game/console development throughout video game history? I can't help but think normal occurrences are being regarded as catastrophe's simply because our connected world is removing veils all over.

 

[pelao_larc]

Oh, Nintendo. Why can't you just make consoles like you did before, all we want is a basic controller and a bunch of kickass games, nothing more.

Remember the last time Nintendo made a console with a normal controller and no gimmicks?It was called the GameCube and very few people actually bothered to buy the damn thing

And that you just said doesn't make people realise about something? That maybe Nintendo has been living on gimmicks only, rather than making good games. I mean, sure, Sony and Microsoft have their long time franchises, but they also make sure to have new IPs that end up being really good. Nintendo only survives thanks to the same games in every damn generation. Nostalgia really hurts the industry. Thats why we have crappy remakes of good old games when a new console arrives (That last applying to all consoles, not just Nintendo's)

 

[McMullen]

See, all these people are running around shouting about how piracy is theft. I don't think it should be called theft, but I agree it's similar to theft, and should be a crime. However, it seems that many of these same people have no problem with knowingly manufacturing and selling consoles with serious hardware failures. Now, these hardware failures do quite a bit more damage to an unwitting customer's finances than an act of piracy could ever do to the finances of these corporations. However, only one of these acts of pseudo-theft is illegal.

This needs to be fixed. Let's make the willful sale of faulty hardware a felony. Let's make the financial penalty the same ratio of dollars "stolen" to dollars fined that piracy has (for a redringed xbox that probably works out to about $3 million for every ruined console sold). Let's split that fine between the company itself and the execs who gave the go-ahead, with the execs being fined for an amount that is triple their net worth. Then, let's send those execs to prison for stealing hundreds and hundreds of dollars from hundreds of thousands of people.

If we do that, then maybe being a software/hardware consumer will be a little less like being constantly screwed in every single endeavor you undertake.

 

[Worgen]

hopefully they get this working or just suck it up and use better components, I know they are a bit gun shy of high prices since the 3ds crashed and burned a bit because of charging too much but, this is a console, hopefully the era of consoles isnt quite over yet

Well remember.. the DS originally sold for about 2x what it cost to make. I believe the production cost was $139, and it sold for $300. Even now it still selling at a profit.

Although I've totally ignored the Wii (First generation ever that I've skipped the Nintendo console, and I've had NES through Cube), and as strange at this console looked.. I had a little hope for it, but this is not encouraging. As someone said above.. just go back to a controller attached to a box that plays amazing Nintendo games. The motion control fad is over, the music game fad got bloated and died (Thanks EA and Activision.. had to release a new game every 3 months huh?), the 3D fad is basically DOA, return to what made them great.

nintendo has always been in the habit of making a profit from its hardware, unlike sony and ea which go with just a cheap but more powerful parts, so they cost more. But really nintendo tends to be awesome at the reliability thing, while motion gaming is mostly dead I still think that the wiiU could be a really cool thing, besides, I want to see twilight princess remade like that lil trailer thing they had for it

 

[The.Bard]

Oh, Nintendo. You make me love to hate you.

Also, sucks to WiiU!!     *BADOOM TISH!*

 

[ryo02]

well I fully intended to use the controller wired up constantly wireless just isnt important to me.

that said Id much MUCH prefer a normal controller maybe like a better version of the classic pro controller.

 

[mjc0961]

If these rumors are true - and 01net has a very good track [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/109303-Rumored-Tech-Specs-Give-Wii-2-More-Power-Than-Xbox-360] record [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/110438-Rumor-Sony-Downgrading-NGP-Tech-to-Compete-with-3DS-Pricing] in that department

Not really. Hell, one of the articles you linked to prove that they have a "good" track record is actually not true at all. Vita did not have its memory cut.

http://www.ps3trophies.org/news/news-4423-Sony-haven-t-halved-the-Vita-s-RAM.html

Ah, facts. So much better than bullshit rumors from bullshit sites like 01net.

 

[Logan Westbrook]

If these rumors are true - and 01net has a very good track [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/109303-Rumored-Tech-Specs-Give-Wii-2-More-Power-Than-Xbox-360] record [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/110438-Rumor-Sony-Downgrading-NGP-Tech-to-Compete-with-3DS-Pricing] in that department

Not really. Hell, one of the articles you linked to prove that they have a "good" track record is actually not true at all. Vita did not have its memory cut.

http://www.ps3trophies.org/news/news-4423-Sony-haven-t-halved-the-Vita-s-RAM.html

Ah, facts. So much better than bullshit rumors from bullshit sites like 01net.

Ah, my mistake. Apologies for any confusion caused; I've removed the link from the article.

 

[chaosyoshimage]

If these rumors are true - and 01net has a good track record [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/109303-Rumored-Tech-Specs-Give-Wii-2-More-Power-Than-Xbox-360] in that department - it sounds like someone at Nintendo has made a really, really big mistake. Nintendo has hardly been secretive about the fact that it wants to keep manufacturing costs down for the Wii U, but it sounds like it might have to go back to the drawing board - literally - if it can't get the current hardware to work.

Source: via Nintendo World Report [http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/rumor/27583]


Permalink

01net really? We're taking these rumors seriously again. The "Wii 2 is more powerful than the 360" rumor was an easy guess and the "Vita cuts its RAM to cut down costs" didn't happen. Oh, there was that totally B.S. sounding 3DS rumor from a few days ago. Yeah, I'm taking this with less than a grain of salt.

 

[chaosyoshimage]

I'm really starting thing 01net is just setting these rumors up as flame bait, check out the latest. [link]http://www.gonintendo.com/?mode=viewstory&id=159802[/link]

 

[internetzealot1]

Keyword prototype. Nothing special here.

 

[Ziadaine_v1legacy]

Oh for God's sakes people, have a little perspective. The damn thing is still a year away from release. A year.

"Ha! Oh look, it crashed. What a surprise. Just give it up Wright and Wright! Powered flight is never going to take off. We've already got hot air balloons for that. You guys are just offering a gimmick that has no real value. I hope you both go bust and your wives divorce you!"

Exactly. If its a year away, they should already have a fully functioning prototype to test with, enhance etc.

And please dont compare them to the Wright Bros. They spent YEARS designing the first flying aircraft, not 2 years trying to make an electronic device and cutting more corners then a circle.

 

[McNinja]

Ah yes. Software updates to make the faulty hardware work better... wait that doens't make any sense. How's about Nintendo stops cutting corners on one of the two things that has to work perfectly?

 

[fozzy360]

Oh for God's sakes people, have a little perspective. The damn thing is still a year away from release. A year.

"Ha! Oh look, it crashed. What a surprise. Just give it up Wright and Wright! Powered flight is never going to take off. We've already got hot air balloons for that. You guys are just offering a gimmick that has no real value. I hope you both go bust and your wives divorce you!"

That's exactly it. The Wright Brothers (if we're going to start with this stupid analogy, then we'll roll with it) weren't intentionally trying to keep costs down to produce something they'll make a profit on, and they also weren't in the business of creating something that can be sold immediately. We can all understand that folks like Nintendo want to keep things relatively inexpensive so as to make a bigger profit later on, but if it's going to come at the expense of reliable (or even working) hardware,then they start to come off cheap bastards. Plus, a year sounds like a long time now, but that year is going to sneak up on them real quick, and the fact that they're on their third broken prototype...well, it doesn't spell doom, but it doesn't sound good, either.

And to compare what the Wright Brothers did to a consumer good created by an entertainment seller is far from being an apt comparison.

 

[Towowo2]

Please people since when has Nintendo's build quality have ever been bad?
When is the last time you've seen any of their hardware breakdown?

 

[Imp_Emissary]

Sounds like the best way to avoid a mass RROD like issue at launch is to wait till the version that inevitably comes after the launch version.
In short, avoid being a beta tester that had to pay full price by waiting till the impatiant ones have 'helped' Nintendo fix the launch models issues.

Hang on though, I thought console manufacturers got thier income from sales of the software on thier platform and not so much from the actual console sales itself ?
Whats the point of risking a bad launch with potential failures on cheap components, and thus diminishing the playerbase who will buy software, which in turn diminishes the number of developers willing to invest in developing a title on a platform with a diminished playerbase.

Maybe Nintendo forgot that. They made all their money mostly selling Wii systems, but not Wii games.

 

[Atheist.]

I haven't really considered Nintendo a serious console maker since the N64 and early Gamecube era. They've defined their hardware as cheap. It's no surprise they came into the current generation and discovered you need to finally spend money to make a competitive product. Tools. They made enough money on their PS2 quality hardware with motion gimmicks. Time to dissolve into a strictly software company, Nintendo.

Although maybe another generation of gamers want to be fooled into spending hundreds of dollars on pieces of plastic to play their motion control games.