Wii U Power Unlikely to Amaze, Says Miyamoto

[hyzaku]

And I have a 2 foot snake in my pants, really I do.

Until we get some hard specs on this WiiU or some proper benchmarks I believe nothing anymore.
And that single controller limit is still dumb, you crippled the console for it's entire lifespan with that.

I have to agree. Any console should support at least two controllers and no fewer. Limiting to a single controller prevents any form of local multiplayer and that just seems the wrong direction for Nintendo of companies to take. Kind of hard to be family friendly when only one person can play at a time no matter what game you play.

Apparently a second player can still play, but they have to use a regular wii-mote rather than a touchscreen controller.

Not quite as bad, but still not great. It would be like if you could only use one wii-mote at a time on the Wii. It is really killing the unique "gimmick" of the console.

 

[josemlopes]

"He explained that cost was especially important with regard to parents buying things for their children, as there was a price threshold that they were reluctant to cross.

Nintendo's efforts to cut costs has already seen DVD and Blu-Ray playback nixed"

I think thats the problem, they see it as a kids toy, and they want the price to be right for a kids toy. Microsoft and Sony arent making toys so they are selling more expensive things for adults, like DVD and Blu-Ray players, the media centers and all the other crap.

 

[WanderingFool]

My problem with the WiiU is the fact its a HD Wii. The only reason I would think to buy a WiiU is for first-party titles and Wii exclusives. Why would anybody want to buy the new COD (for example) on the WiiU when they already have a PS360? I would only think of buying the WiiU for First-party Nintendo games, as I already own a 360 and plan on buying the PS3 for its exclusives. I probably would buy the WiiU for Nintendo games, but I just dont care for them now, they all suffer from a same-ness problem (save Mario, but you could make a COD clone with Mario, and it would probably sell like hotcakes).

In short, Nintendo making the Wii HD now is 6 years too late, IMO, as whatever the Wii had going for it probably wont be going for the WiiU.

Oh! and before I forget!

 

[The Lugz]

After all the cost-cutting they are doing, I'm going to be pissed if this thing sells for more than $250.

It'll probably be 300-400 so prepared to be 'pissed'.

400? no way, i could build a htpc size gaming rig for that much straight from any online retailer

'quick google later'

In another interview this week, Iwata signalled Wii U will likely be priced at more than 20,000 yen ($250) in Japan when it launches next year.

Nintendo of America president Reggie Fils-Aime said earlier this week that the newly announced console will offer consumers "fantastic value" for money and be "competitively" priced with PS3 and Xbox 360.

so yah, probly around $300 which makes an amazingly cheap £180 on launch

seeing as i can pick up a ps3 or xbox for between 150 and 200 depending on accessories that sounds about right if the wii-u is going to be similarly capable

bare in mind you're just trading bluray / dvd playback for a mobile screen device

 

[SlayerN]

The reason Nintendo is limiting the number of WiiU controllers is to stop games (Mario cart, Super Smash bros, etc) from requiring the use of controllers that if sold separately could cost near 100$.If you wanted to do this with the Wii buying 3 controllers and 3 nun-chucks would be about that.

I do wish there was an option to support more but I think o the design end it doesn't make sense. (I do think from a technological standpoint it CAN support more, it just wont to stop an additional 300$-400$ added to the price for whoever wanted to do
local co-op.

 

[rembrandtqeinstein]

With the exception of the one tablet controller limit they are doing the right thing.

With the ubiquity of mobile computing I suspect the next gen of consoles will be the last one. The amount of computing power all around us is increasing so fast that there is no longer a need for a dedicated gaming appliance. New TVs will come with OnLive and other such services and the price of tablets is continuing to drop. I see kids these days playing free flash games or iphone games. They can get these anywhere so why would they tie themselves to particular spot in the house or even to the house at all?

I think Nintendo knows that in the future it will be much harder to push proprietary hardware and they are dropping this console at the exact correct time in the cycle to get the most return out of it. Maybe MS and Sony will release new consoles in a few years but by then the market will have moved past them. Why pay 4-500 for another black box near the TV and also pay $5 a month to play multipler when you can pay 10-20 a month and have all the gaming you want right from your TV?

 

[BrotherRool]

This will basically work either if the controller actually is an amazing way to play games or if it's a lot cheaper than a slim PS3 at the moment. Otherwise there won't be any reason to switch to a console which is basically what's already been available for 5 years, with far far less games.

Also Nintendo need to prove they can do internet right. It's important to people and friend codes just won't cut it

As has been said multiple times by Nintendo, and even showed at their E3 conference, the WiiU will support multiple Wiimotes/Classic controllers, as well as the WiiU controller. Meaning local multiplayer will still be an option for anyone who wishes to play HD Super Smash Bros.

Only if HD Super Smash Bros has been designed to NOT work with the one unique thing about the Wii U. This also requires you to go out and buy Wii remotes just to be even able to play the game properly

 

[Madmanonfire]

In terms of graphics, they did amazingly well with the Wii's level of graphics, and the same situation would probably apply if the Ps4 and XboxNext were to be released, except there will be less of a difference visually. If the same thing happens all over again, Nintendo will be fine.

 

[Rect Pola]

"significant step up in technology..." Why?

We all know most of said technology goes to graphics, and this point, we should really start asking why do they need to go further. Outside looking good on paper, the graphics power PS3 and 360 have aren't being used well enough today. If it's not dark and dingy, it's brown and surprisingly more dingy.

 

[Thundero13]

To be honest I see no need to worry, Nintendo's not gonna stop making money anytime soon, they know their fans well, that's why they're so successful

 

[Mister Benoit]

The more I hear about WiiU the more I question its existence. It really feels like Nintendo realized the Wii gold mine was completely depleted, and now it's just scrambling at ways to justify this slapdashed monstrosity of a console.

By weakening the power, you are removing a major reason for purchase. We own 360s and PS3s. You can't make a current gen competing product SIX YEARS INTO THE CYCLE unless you want to make it <$200, and even then, you're pushing it.

Instead of a $400-500(?) powerhouse that the hardcore gamer will jump on like a puma, you're delivering a $200-300(?) hardware redundancy.... with one ipad knockoff for everyone to fight over. Yay.

And since Nintendo hates $1 apps, I'm sure they won't sell anything for less than $30.

I will lose ALL faith in this industry if this PoS sells. At all. It has "bad idea" scribbled on it in crayon, scrawled upon it with a rusty nail, and finally dripped upon it in BLOOOOOOOOOOOOD.

You do realize Nintendo never cared for power in ANY of their consoles or handhelds, yet have generally either destroyed the competition or at least survived (GC).

400-500$ is a ton of money to invest in a console for a fairly high amount of the market and Nintendo knows this. Just look how the PS3 has fared, it only started selling in decent amounts years after it was released and after price cuts that amount up to 500$(Highest cost launch PS3 bundle in Canada was 799.99)

Nintendo is going to do perfectly fine without you, tons of people will once again enjoy their games for what they are and the unique gaming experience they provide.

 

[BrotherRool]

"significant step up in technology..." Why?

We all know most of said technology goes to graphics, and this point, we should really start asking why do they need to go further. Outside looking good on paper, the graphics power PS3 and 360 have aren't being used well enough today. If it's not dark and dingy, it's brown and surprisingly more dingy.

There have been other uses too. If you play a PS2 game is not just about graphics, it's about the number of enemies on a screen at a time, big open world environments, not having long long game crushing loading screens etc.

But I do agree that I don't particularly feel the need for a graphics improvement.

But it is possible that an upgrade could actually cut development costs. If they've got a lot of power and it's been proven that no-one cares about better graphics, then they don't need to waste time optimising crud

 

[ziggy161]

I'll have to agree, better to have a balance between power and price tag then have another incident of "599 US dollars"

I agree with this. I'd rather have a cheaper less powerful system than a beasting powerhouse which costs me an arm n' a leg...

 

[harvz]

damn, nintendo has figured out how to make the big money, just say "HD" 100 times in each interview and it appears.

i think the console may be interesting (like the wii or the kinect...until you realise its just an expensive eyetoy)

 

[ph0b0s123]

So all these 'wow look how powerful the Wii U is going to be' articles were just as I said, rather pre-emptive....

http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/110999-Crytek-Bringing-CryEngine-to-Wii-U

http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/110866-Nintendo-Wii-Us-HD-Graphics-Will-Bridge-the-Casual-Core-Gap

As was obvious when they confirmed it would only have a AMD Radeon 4000 derived card on board. Man, did I get shouted down for those comments that.

So I say again if one of their aims with this console is to attract 'hardcore' gamers to the console (as stated in one of the articles above), why are they already hamstringing it with rather old hardware at launch. They will for a small amount of time have the most graphically powerful console, but again rather old looking when Microsoft and Sony launch. So they will be in the same boat again as with the wii where 'hardcore gamers will go elsewhere.....

Now I am not saying their approach of being cheaper is wrong. They did well with the Wii, it just does not tally with some of the publicised aims of this console.

 

[ryai458]

I'll have to agree, better to have a balance between power and price tag then have another incident of "599 US dollars"

Someone isn't a PC gamer.

 

[The Lugz]

damn, nintendo has figured out how to make the big money, just say "HD" 100 times in each interview and it appears.

i think the console may be interesting (like the wii or the kinect...until you realise its just an expensive eyetoy)

yah.. and it's funny because it's true! the real rofl here is that 'hd' starts at 720p and if your console only has that you can still call it hd..

 

[therandombear]

I'll have to agree, better to have a balance between power and price tag then have another incident of "599 US dollars"

Someone isn't a PC gamer.

*Checks Steam account* Totally >.>

I'll be honest on that, I've never built a PC, I do know it gets expencive though
Trying to save money though, so I can build a good PC...then again I would need help from my dad, he's the PC builder in the family xD

 

[Ritalynn]

Having good graphics would mean something....if nintendo actually had good titles.....

It doesn't take much in the graphics department to make a cartoony mario game...

I forsee the Wii-U being a huge un-needed flop.