E3 Update: Nintendo Launches Next Wii: 'Wii U'

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  • admin
    Administrator
    • Nov 2001
    • 8954

    E3 Update: Nintendo Launches Next Wii: 'Wii U'

    So by now, you should have heard about the Wii's successor. And no, it isn't simply called "Nintendo" (with no prefixes or suffixes), nor is it called Wii Stream (a stream of "Wii", really?), but it will be called "Wii U' (as in "We, You").

    So what exactly is the Wii U? It's hard to say (and this may or may not be a good thing).

    Let's get through the simple things first. So yes, a lot of the rumours were actually true. It will be HD, and from the early demos, it does seem to have it in the graphics department, something you could not say about the original Wii. With the meaty processing power present, plenty of 'hardcore' games were also touted, games like 'Aliens Colonial Marines', 'Tekken', with rumours suggesting games like 'Assassin's Creed', 'Batman Arkham City' will also be heading to the Wii U.



    The console itself looks like a more rounded version of the current white Wii.



    But then you get to the wireless controller, and it's more of a WTF moment.



    The controller has large 6.2 inch touchscreen, that makes it more tablet than smartphone (and suggests Nintendo intends to compete in the smartphone/tablet gaming market). The controller, if you can still call it that, has all the features in the original Wii remote as well, including accelerometer, gyroscope, rumble, as well as a microphone and a front facing camera.

    The controller screen can dub as a second screen to the action on TV, much like how the two displays work on a DS/3DS, or it can be used to play the entire game. It can also be used to interact with the game, for example, acting as a catcher's mitt to catch a ball on the TV. The screen can even act as a game board, a demo showed two people playing Othello on it. Nintendo promises that there will be zero latency between what's on the TV and what's on the controller screen.

    The in-built camera allows augmented reality interaction, with one demo placing the controller flat on the floor in a golf game, and the golf ball is displayed on the screen as you try and swing and hit the ball.

    The Wii U will also be backwards compatible with all existing Wii games and Wii peripherals, including the Wii remote, Nunchuck, and even Wii Fit (allowing you to weight yourself on a Wii Fit without a TV being present, using the Wii U controller as the display in this case). You can also use the controller for video chatting and to control your web browsing experience.

    Despite the all powerful controller that's more DS than Wii, Nintendo insists it's not a replacement for Nintendo's portable consoles, as the Wii U controller must be tethered to the Wii U console. So no "on the go" gaming, as one recent rumour suggested.

    The Wii U will be in stores sometime in 2012.

    Here's the Nintendo Wii U announcement trailer:



    (Story Source)
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  • admin
    Administrator
    • Nov 2001
    • 8954

    #2
    Apparently, the Wii U will use single layer 25GB discs, but despite the specs sounding similar to Blu-ray, it will be a proprietary format. This also means the Wii U probably won't be able to play Blu-ray movies.
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    • drfsupercenter
      NOT an online superstore
      • Oct 2005
      • 4424

      #3
      LOL, like how "Wii optical discs" are basically DVDs? They just renamed them to avoid having to pay licensing fees.
      CYA Later:

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      • admin
        Administrator
        • Nov 2001
        • 8954

        #4
        Nintendo's primary aim is probably to prevent piracy, since it makes it just that little bit harder (but not a lot) to copy games. They could use a format that's totally different, eg. different disc size or laser technology, but that would mean making the drives in the console, as well as pressing the game discs, would be more expensive as it will be the only hardware to use the unique disc format, so instead, they just make some small modifications to an existing form factor.

        They will still have to pay royalties for various patents and technologies used by the discs, although probably less than if it was a genuine DVD/Blu-ray.
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        • Budreaux
          Super Member
          Super Member
          • Jan 2006
          • 278

          #5
          Originally Posted by admin
          Nintendo's primary aim is probably to prevent piracy, since it makes it just that little bit harder (but not a lot) to copy games. They could use a format that's totally different, eg. different disc size or laser technology, but that would mean making the drives in the console, as well as pressing the game discs, would be more expensive as it will be the only hardware to use the unique disc format, so instead, they just make some small modifications to an existing form factor.

          They will still have to pay royalties for various patents and technologies used by the discs, although probably less than if it was a genuine DVD/Blu-ray.
          They tried something like that with teh GameCube. The disc turned backwards from normal pc drives. Didn't take long to create an adapter that just read straight from the console

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          • dr_ml422
            Lord of Digital Video
            Lord of Digital Video
            • May 2007
            • 1903

            #6
            I'm not a Gamer at all yet, and w/the freaking PS3 getting hacked all over the place still might be some time until I learn. Though this is kind of lame/bulky/idk wtf like you said. They're best bet is to go all out w/something really new. I personally wouldn't bother w/this, and Idgaf how family oriented Nintendo is suppose to be.

            I'm not sending my PS3 back or trying to because it can play the Blu-ray/DVds. If it was solely a Gaming console w/all this mess I would definitely try and get my money back!
            SAMSUNG SH-S203B, SAMSUNG SH-S223F,

            Take the suggestions and follow the directions. The results will speak for themselves.



            Google is definitely our friend.

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            • drfsupercenter
              NOT an online superstore
              • Oct 2005
              • 4424

              #7
              Yeah, not even that, with Wii homebrew there are applications that can use the Wii's DVD drive to dump ISO files of your discs, I do it all the time to back up my games. Anti-piracy is stupid, just about every video game console ever released has been hacked in at least one way, so I wish the system devs would stop trying to prevent piracy and focus on making actually good hardware instead.
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              • Budreaux
                Super Member
                Super Member
                • Jan 2006
                • 278

                #8
                Hardware, good or bad, is useless if they can not generate enough revenue to turn a real profit in the industry. Piracy will always be an issue and they will always have to combat it. The trick is how they combat it... the best argument I have heard to fight the piracy is the pricing.

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                • drfsupercenter
                  NOT an online superstore
                  • Oct 2005
                  • 4424

                  #9
                  Lowering prices is not "anti-piracy". That's my point.
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                  • Budreaux
                    Super Member
                    Super Member
                    • Jan 2006
                    • 278

                    #10
                    Any move that deters piracy is anti-piracy......

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                    • admin
                      Administrator
                      • Nov 2001
                      • 8954

                      #11
                      I agree that pricing is the best weapon against piracy, but I think also the quality of the game itself, and now particularly the quality of the online multiplayer experience, will all help to ensure people pay for a copy (or at least the game will sell in such a great number, that some piracy won't matter much). If quality isn't great, than really really low pricing will do the same trick.

                      Taking Steam for PCs (and Macs) as an example, it has relatively easy to break DRM that's not very intrusive at all (unless one doesn't like the Steam client, despite its community and add-on features), but they're doing great business thanks to frequent sales and even at normal price, some games are cheaper than buying a box set in stores. But for quality games, people seem to buy in great numbers regardless of the price (although I bet revenue would be even higher if they lowered pricing a tiny bit). For older and lower quality games, setting a price of say $5-$10 will drive sales and get people who normally might have pirated the game to buy up (or to "legitimize" their pirated copies).
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                      • Budreaux
                        Super Member
                        Super Member
                        • Jan 2006
                        • 278

                        #12
                        Originally Posted by admin
                        i agree that pricing is the best weapon against piracy, but i think also the quality of the game itself, and now particularly the quality of the online multiplayer experience, will all help to ensure people pay for a copy (or at least the game will sell in such a great number, that some piracy won't matter much). If quality isn't great, than really really low pricing will do the same trick.

                        Taking steam for pcs (and macs) as an example, it has relatively easy to break drm that's not very intrusive at all (unless one doesn't like the steam client, despite its community and add-on features), but they're doing great business thanks to frequent sales and even at normal price, some games are cheaper than buying a box set in stores. But for quality games, people seem to buy in great numbers regardless of the price (although i bet revenue would be even higher if they lowered pricing a tiny bit). For older and lower quality games, setting a price of say $5-$10 will drive sales and get people who normally might have pirated the game to buy up (or to "legitimize" their pirated copies).
                        x2

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                        • drfsupercenter
                          NOT an online superstore
                          • Oct 2005
                          • 4424

                          #13
                          Agreed, but what I consider anti-piracy is "We are going to brick your console if we find homebrew channel installed" etc.
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                          • Budreaux
                            Super Member
                            Super Member
                            • Jan 2006
                            • 278

                            #14
                            Then you should consider widening your scope on piracy. Having such a narrow vision of any subject will negate your ability to effectively argue for or against it.

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