Wii U Controller Limitations to Save on Costs, Says Nintendo

[zerobudgetgamer]

Not having to buy 4 controllers at what will probably be $100+ price point each and eat through battery life more than any controller to date?
Cutting the cost of a console by not letting it render and broadcast 4+ wireless video streams while doing everything else a high-end console is supposed to do?
Nintendo wants to deliver a next-gen gaming console at a reasonable price?
Nintendo wants to make a marginal profit off of technology that costs an absurd amount of money to develop, distribute, and support so that they can continue to do business in the future?

I really don't see a problem with any of this.
At all.

^100% this

Eventually the controllers will go down in price anyway, meaning that in the future they will probably sell the console with the standard 2 controllers.

Seriously guys, they are saving us money, why should we complain? Just ask your friends to bring their controllers over, problem solved. (Assuming they have the WiiU...)

One controller per console, period. That is one of the reasons a lot of people are mad.

And considering 90% of all things that have a power outlet or battery to them in this day and age can connect to the Internet obviously means that the WiiU will NEVER see some sort of update to allow support for multiple controllers??

Now, I, for one, am rather curious as to why Iwata said that multiple WiiU controllers would increase the price of the system. Proteus mentioned the rendering/broadcasting that would undoubtedly require a rather bulky bit of hardware, but what of software? I can't imagine the WiiU would be doing all the work, and the controller would obviously have to have some considerable hardware inside of it to do all the things that it's been said to do in the E3 presentation.

All I'm saying is that if their issue is that the cost of multiple controller is what will drive the price up, then while it is a rather strange decision, it's one that can be quickly overturned with a simple system update down the line. If it has more to do with software within the system not being able to multi-task around multiple controllers, then again, system update. BUT, if it's truly a hardware problem, and that the cost to support multiple controllers all goes into increasing the bulk of the machine, not the 0s and 1s within it, then its at least a semi-valid decision to try to keep costs down, and just like they did with the WiiMotion Plus, they'll sell an update a couple years down the line that will provide the necessary support.

 

[ZeZZZZevy]

Well that sounds...boring

There was potential to do some awesome stuff with those controllers, but limiting it to one only allows for asymmetrical gameplay. Oh well, wasn't getting this anyway.

But wow, didn't expect Nintendo to do so much just to cut costs. They must be really desperate to compete with the other consoles.

 

[shaboinkin]

It they wanted to stream high resolution graphics to 4 different controllers, the amount of horsepower needed would raise the cost of the console considerable I think. It's like AMD Eyefinity stuff. It would take more GPU power to render and output to 6 different monitors than to just one.

From how I understand it, it's the same thing with the WiiU.

 

[walrusaurus]

Wait... what?

The multiplayer implications of the new controller was probably the thing I was most excited about.

My interest in buying a Wii U just tanked.

EDIT: I understood all along the level of processing power that would be required to support 4 simultaneous Wii U controllers, but i assumed that the whole point of a 'next-gen' console was to leverage current hardware to accomplish new things. Nintendo, I am disappoint.

 

[Stuntkid]

well, as long as you can put the games on bluray disks. I'm ok

 

[walrusaurus]

Just because the Gameboy and it's subsequent generations were a hit doesn't mean that all of the things Xanthious said aren't relevant. Nintendo has a history of failed gimmicks and silly notions that can't be ignored.

His point was that the Wii wasn't their first successful 'gimmick.' Sure they've had a lot of failures but their successes have been huge.

Gameboy invented mobile gaming and they have dominated that market for 15 years because of it.

Wii, love or hate motion controls they've been massively successful.

Rumble Pack, been standard on every system since they introduced it on N64. The one time that it wasn't (PS3) there was such and uproar they quickly added it back in.

They even came up with the iPhones gyroscopic tilt controls. Anyone remember Super Mario tennis on the Gameboy Color?

 

[Treblaine]

More I find out about the WiiU controller the less I like it:

http://golgotron.com/2011/06/nintendo-wii-u-tablet-screen-resolution-revealed/

480p screen? Not only will we get a compressed video-stream but it will only be SD resolution. I suppose another reason is HD wireless streaming tech is pretty expensive but SD-video streaming much less so. Especially if they limit it to a mere 30hz refresh rate.

Single touch? This clearly tries to emulate tablet form-factor yet goes for such a simple interface that may save money but cripples it too much, no "pinch to zoom" will be pretty annoying for the screen's possible use as a map-screen.

You know a 480p uni-touch screen doesn't seem worth it if it means giving up:
-proper analogue sticks (them nub sliders)
-good ergonomics (size/shape)
-analogue triggers
-ability to reach d-pad with right thumb.

 

[Baresark]

It just doesn't make much sense. I am a tech savvy guy and all, but I don't know much about software/hardware design... but there is no reason that I can think of that it couldn't support more than one of those controllers. And it will only complicate game making. How is a company supposed to design a locale multiplayer game around only one person having access to the touch screen. We may just see the most advanced form of Trivial Pursuit EVAR!... which is really lame for a game console.

 

[WanderingFool]

gave this some thought since I was last in this thread, and I decided that if they were to drop the Touch-screentroller, I probably would have cared. It would have been a super Wii, which does sound awesome. But owning a Wii already, and having a 360 and soon to own a PS3, I cant for the life of me think of a reason to buy a WiiU. If I want a 3rd party game that multiplatform, ill just buy it for the 360 or PS3. I feel the WiiU is several years too late.

Also, Off-topic, im going to post this in thread about the WiiU I leave a substancial post in:


now im going to rent Kung Pow again...

 

[Baresark]

Just because the Gameboy and it's subsequent generations were a hit doesn't mean that all of the things Xanthious said aren't relevant. Nintendo has a history of failed gimmicks and silly notions that can't be ignored.

His point was that the Wii wasn't their first successful 'gimmick.' Sure they've had a lot of failures but their successes have been huge.

Gameboy invented mobile gaming and they have dominated that market for 15 years because of it.

Wii, love or hate motion controls they've been massively successful.

Rumble Pack, been standard on every system since they introduced it on N64. The one time that it wasn't (PS3) there was such and uproar they quickly added it back in.

They even came up with the iPhones gyroscopic tilt controls. Anyone remember Super Mario tennis on the Gameboy Color?

All of these things are true. When it comes down to it, there are really only two things that matter. One is library of available games, and it's nice they won't be lagging behind graphically anymore. The other is price point. Is it going to be cheap enough where people are willing to take a risk in buying it. While the Wii is the console king of the current generation, fiscally speaking, many people are not happy with the games that were available for it. The good games were completely fantastic and worth playing completely, the bad games were not remotely worth anyone's time. The ratio of bad to good games was probably 20:1.... which is not good at all.

 

[Guitarmasterx7]

The only thing that had me interested in this console was the potential for a new zelda 4 swords. So uh...

 

[walrusaurus]

All of these things are true. When it comes down to it, there are really only two things that matter. One is library of available games, and it's nice they won't be lagging behind graphically anymore. The other is price point. Is it going to be cheap enough where people are willing to take a risk in buying it. While the Wii is the console king of the current generation, fiscally speaking, many people are not happy with the games that were available for it. The good games were completely fantastic and worth playing completely, the bad games were not remotely worth anyone's time. The ratio of bad to good games was probably 20:1.... which is not good at all.

Agreed. Deep down I'm just a Nintendo fanboy desperate for them to give me a reason to love them again.

 

[PureChaos]

are we going to have loads of threads about what the Wii U won't do? first no DVD player now this?

 

[WanderingFool]

All of these things are true. When it comes down to it, there are really only two things that matter. One is library of available games, and it's nice they won't be lagging behind graphically anymore. The other is price point. Is it going to be cheap enough where people are willing to take a risk in buying it. While the Wii is the console king of the current generation, fiscally speaking, many people are not happy with the games that were available for it. The good games were completely fantastic and worth playing completely, the bad games were not remotely worth anyone's time. The ratio of bad to good games was probably 20:1.... which is not good at all.

Agreed. Deep down I'm just a Nintendo fanboy desperate for them to give me a reason to love them again.

Really I think a good deal of us are Nintendo fans just waiting for a chance to love them again...

 

[Black Watch]

Eh.. I play with my friends over the internet so this isn't a loss for me. Besides, even in the name they are telling you that the system is made for you. Hence Wii U and not Wii Us.

 

[Lucky Chainsaw]

I probably wouldn't have ever bought a second controller, but I can imagine this will be a problem for a lot of other consumers.

 

[Kenjitsuka]

Old news, there has been at least one good forum thread here on this a long while back. :S

 

[shrekfan246]

Eh.. I play with my friends over the internet so this isn't a loss for me. Besides, even in the name they are telling you that the system is made for you. Hence Wii U and not Wii Us.

Or rather the...Wii We? C'mon, why wouldn't they want to confuse the French and make the Americans laugh even more than they already are?

Anyway, I've already said what I think about this console. It's basically a Wii with hardware capabilities like the PS360, so if you wanted a Hi-Def Zelda/Kirby/Metroid/Mario/Donkey Kong, then here you go, because lord knows those will be the biggest sellers for it no matter how much 3rd-Party support they get (at first). /opinion

 

[Treblaine]

Rumble Pack, been standard on every system since they introduced it on N64. The one time that it wasn't (PS3) there was such and uproar they quickly added it back in.

Rumble is popular, it's easy for companies to integrate it in the controller but really how much is it actually appreciated?

What game would just not be the same without rumble?

I've always been disappointed by how after all these years rumble is still used for nothing more than being a poor simulation of gun recoil. It may not be in itself a gimmick but it is only used in gimmicky ways, why can't it do something that sound and camera movement cannot replicate?

I always turn rumble off in every game I can because it adds nothing to the game, and IMO distracts from the immersion reminding me I am holding a controller, not a gun.


Little fact about the history of the analogue thumbstick: Nintendo didn't invent it.

No, I'm not talking semantics of prior art, I'm talking the thumbstick as we know it today did NOT first appear on the N64 controller. That controller had just as Digital control stick with many but discrete inputs for each direction and magnitude.

Now the Playstation Dual Analogue Controller in 1997, that invented the thumbstick that is essentially unchanged even today. In fact that controller design is essentially unchaged today with the 360 controller. Key feature with the thumbstick is that it only has a single moving part, the stick itself, and can detect true analogue input: a continuous magnitude of around a continuous radius. But most importantly I think was the click-down that is absolutely pivotal with todays games where you fingers "home position" is on thumbsticks and the shoulder buttons, those extra 2 buttons mean so much.

I can't imagine playing CoD without RS/R3 to melee. It's such a useful function.

Nintendo is still yet to make a controller with thumbstick that you can click-down.

The Wii U has only nub-slider for inputs rather than true analogue stick, better than D-pad but no where near as good as a stick. And of course a game like CoD on the WiiU, the melee and sprint functions would have to be moved to the touchscreen. Not good.

 

[rickthetrick]

AM I the only one who hears Nintendo whistling as it comes down in flames?