BigJKO

The Nintendo Wii U is Great Thread

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I like the concept, but they haven't really shown any software for it yet, so I'm not that interested in it yet. I learned my lesson with the Wii and will not buy it until it has a decent amount of games out for it.

The WiiU is basically a non-portable DS, init?

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So....a stylus with screen mirroring doesn't do it for you?

Not really. Obviously I can see how it'd emulate the pointing, but then how would you simultaneously hold the pad, aim with the stylus, and press buttons to do things like shoot, jump, etc? Unless the stylus actually has buttons built into it I can't envision how it'd work for a lot of games that the Wii and Move are excellent for.

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In a strike of obvious planned obsolescence, Gamecube support will not be available on the Wii U. I'm pretty miffed about this, because I had planned to use the Wii U as a complete replacement for the Wii, which I had used as a complete replacement for the Gamecube.

Now I'm thinking: fuck Nintendo consoles in their entirety. Maybe I'll stick to their excellent handhelds and leave the consoles to companies who cater much better to my specific needs.

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You say it like the 360 and PS3 have any kind of reasonable degree of backwards-compatibility. :eek:

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Look on the bright side! Now you'll be able to buy your Gamecube games again, when they inevitably put them up in their store! :tup:

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There's only GameCube I want re-released and that's MGS: Twin Snakes. Still can't believe that's not included in the upcoming Metal Gear Solid HD pack. :tdown:

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Look on the bright side! Now you'll be able to buy your Gamecube games again, when they inevitably put them up in their store! :tup:

Heh, I'd just emulate them. Dolphin does some really nice upscaling, you can jailbreak your wii to make roms of your games too.

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I think even making reference to the Nintendo DS with regards to this console is jumping the gun. NDS was lightning in a bottle (as was Wii for that matter, in the first two years of its life cycle). You can't put out some wacky shit and have a reasonable expectation that it'll turn into a miracle.

Also, use of a stylus makes me think that the screen on the controller is resistive. Am I the only one who is tired of this crappy old tech? If Nintendo was trying to be as forward thinking as they seem to suggest, they'd use capacitive with a stylus similar to the HTC Flyer that still has the fidelity for small stylus tips and responds well to fingertips.

Addendum: Speaking of low-tech, Joystiq just published a story saying that the Wii U's controller has a WVGA/854x480 screen resolution. Really, Nintendo? There are 4.5 inch Android phones coming out right now with qHD displays (one-quarter HD, 960x540). Garbage.

Edited by JonCole

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I think even making reference to the Nintendo DS with regards to this console is jumping the gun. NDS was lightning in a bottle (as was Wii for that matter, in the first two years of its life cycle). You can't put out some wacky shit and have a reasonable expectation that it'll turn into a miracle.

And the Wii Balance Board? Another miracle? I'm not convinced Nintendo's strategy is to "put out some wacky shit and [expect it to] turn into a miracle". I think they put much more thought into their usability design than they let on. They're just being vague about the possibilities to spark the imagination of consumers and developers.

The Wii and DS, for all their faults, are actually remarkably well designed consoles. Once the initial "wacky" factor wore off, I really came to appreciate the subtle, thoughtful design decisions that went into them. (If you're not sure what I mean, I could elaborate)

Also, use of a stylus makes me think that the screen on the controller is resistive. Am I the only one who is tired of this crappy old tech? If Nintendo was trying to be as forward thinking as they seem to suggest, they'd use capacitive with a stylus similar to the HTC Flyer that still has the fidelity for small stylus tips and responds well to fingertips.

This is my biggest concern. I think they should definitely use a capacitive screen, just because of the game mechanic implications it brings. Multitouch and finger friendliness opens up a lot of possibilities.

However, while it sounds like a good idea, a capacitive stylus is a not a solution. I have one (for my iPad) and the problem is that you can't draw because the screen picks up on your wrist resting on the screen. Honestly, I don't think a stylus is that important. They should just scrap the drawing/sketching aspects of the Wii U.

Addendum: Speaking of low-tech, Joystiq just published a story saying that the Wii U's controller has a WVGA/854x480 screen resolution. Really, Nintendo? There are 4.5 inch Android phones coming out right now with qHD displays (one-quarter HD, 960x540). Garbage.

Can't agree with this though. Why does it matter? With the capacitive screen, there are clear benefits to the game itself. A higher res screen just adds extra cost, lower battery life, and more bandwidth overhead for the Wii U console. 480p is a good resolution for a screen that small, I think.

Also: how much does that smartphone cost, non-subsidized? Exactly.

Cheers,

Mo

[edit] Reading that over, I hope I didn't come off a a complete douche, JonCole. It's nothing personal, but you just happen to bring up all the points I've been hearing around the internets that I really wanted to discuss! :)

[/edit]

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Frankly I'm surprised that the screen is so high-res. at 6.2", it's pretty much the same pixel density as the original iphone (~160ppi). Chances are you won't even see the pixels if they're rendering properly anti-aliased and/or filtered.

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Wait. The bit where the hand model "flicked" the video of the parrot at the TV screen.

1: I foresee a lot of pictures of dongs being sent to televisions via Wii U

2: No stylus.

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In a strike of obvious planned obsolescence, Gamecube support will not be available on the Wii U. I'm pretty miffed about this, because I had planned to use the Wii U as a complete replacement for the Wii, which I had used as a complete replacement for the Gamecube.

I'm thinking what I'm going to do is just get rid of the Wii when I get a WiiU in three or four years and buy another Gamecube, since I had traded my old one in when getting the Wii.

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Frankly I'm surprised that the screen is so high-res. at 6.2", it's pretty much the same pixel density as the original iphone (~160ppi).

Yeah, I was too lazy to do the dpi path, but it seems surprisingly high res to me too. :)

2: No stylus.

The New Controller definitely comes with a stylus. Now, it is possible to use a resistive screen with your finger, it's just not a great experience compared to a capacitive screen. You can try this today by comparing finger use on an iPhone versus a DS. I think the difference is significant enough for even casual players to notice, especially since they'll approach the New Controller with iPad/iPhone-esque expectations.

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Oh I forgot to ask. Do I get a new four swords adventures on this thing? If yes then I'm very very happy. This could well be the next step from the GC/ GBA connectivity, which I really liked.

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And the Wii Balance Board? Another miracle? I'm not convinced Nintendo's strategy is to "put out some wacky shit and [expect it to] turn into a miracle". I think they put much more thought into their usability design than they let on. They're just being vague about the possibilities to spark the imagination of consumers and developers.

The Wii and DS, for all their faults, are actually remarkably well designed consoles. Once the initial "wacky" factor wore off, I really came to appreciate the subtle, thoughtful design decisions that went into them. (If you're not sure what I mean, I could elaborate)

I think I didn't explain myself well enough on this point. I have no doubt that Nintendo is pretty deliberate in what they put out on the market. They deliberately design something fairly well from a basic usability standpoint that also has something (I referred to this something as "wacky") that'll capture the public's attention because it's so disparate from other things on the market. The only problem is, I think the public is assuming that Nintendo is some alchemist that is able to crank out success at will. I don't think it's a given that the wacky extra something is guarenteed to be good just because it's well designed, which I think is fairly well evidenced in the motion controls in the Wii which never really got fully utilized in a widespread, intuitive way.

This is my biggest concern. I think they should definitely use a capacitive screen, just because of the game mechanic implications it brings. Multitouch and finger friendliness opens up a lot of possibilities.

However, while it sounds like a good idea, a capacitive stylus is a not a solution. I have one (for my iPad) and the problem is that you can't draw because the screen picks up on your wrist resting on the screen. Honestly, I don't think a stylus is that important. They should just scrap the drawing/sketching aspects of the Wii U.

I think you're totally right about the capacitive stylus experience with the iPad. But the reason why this experience isn't a good one is because Apple never designed it with that in mind. With a much smaller screen, Nintendo could much better utilize a capacitive stylus without the problem you spoke of (and with higher responsiveness as per my Flyer reference). I also agree that the sketching stuff should probably just stick with the (3)DS.

Can't agree with this though. Why does it matter? With the capacitive screen, there are clear benefits to the game itself. A higher res screen just adds extra cost, lower battery life, and more bandwidth overhead for the Wii U console. 480p is a good resolution for a screen that small, I think.

Also: how much does that smartphone cost, non-subsidized? Exactly.

Cheers,

Mo

You bring up a fair point that I do need to address further. I'm not saying that Nintendo needs to put out a $1000 console in the interest of the best hardware on the market. I'm just saying that their ambition might be getting in the way of a clean, well executed experience (though I obviously can't say this with certainty). They are clearly trying to position this device as a competitor to the much higher tech offerings on the market, so I don't think a middling resolution on a huge screen is going to do them any favors (especially in conjunction with the resistive thing). My solution wouldn't be to put out a 300 dpi screen on the thing, I would just opt for a smaller screen with better pixel density at the same resolution. If they're going to attempt to make this a multimedia device, it needs to be solid on all fronts including the screen quality.

[edit] Reading that over, I hope I didn't come off a a complete douche, JonCole. It's nothing personal, but you just happen to bring up all the points I've been hearing around the internets that I really wanted to discuss! :)

[/edit]

Don't worry about it, I realize that I'm kinda on the side of the pedantic, tech-spec grinding masses on this one. I don't want this thing to be bad, but I just can't help but see these small weaknesses piling up a little bit at a time.

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I would just opt for a smaller screen with better pixel density at the same resolution. If they're going to attempt to make this a multimedia device, it needs to be solid on all fronts including the screen quality.

Perhaps, but there are ergonomics to consider - I don't know if that's what Nintendo had in mind (for all i know they chose to go with 6.2" screen because it's cheaper) but I find using a tablet way more comfortable than using a phone for gaming/web browsing because I can hold it at arm's length instead of slouching over the screen or holding it up to my face.

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Perhaps, but there are ergonomics to consider - I don't know if that's what Nintendo had in mind (for all i know they chose to go with 6.2" screen because it's cheaper) but I find using a tablet way more comfortable than using a phone for gaming/web browsing because I can hold it at arm's length instead of slouching over the screen or holding it up to my face.

Yeah, it's hard to know what their intentions are exactly and I don't know all of the facts about the cost of tech and whatnot. I also know what you mean about gaming on a phone, but are you talking about an iPhone screen or an Android phone's screen? Because I've used some of the 4.5" Android phones and you really don't have to hunch over them to see what's going on all over the screen. Not only that, but wouldn't a larger screen intuitively require more power and thus necessitate a larger battery or come at the expense of battery life?

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Wait. The bit where the hand model "flicked" the video of the parrot at the TV screen.

1: I foresee a lot of pictures of dongs being sent to televisions via Wii U

2: No stylus.

Maybe it is the way my mind works, but this statement reads to me like I am going to have the misfortune of seeing a lot of pictures of real penises on people's Wii Us.

It is like XBLA Uno all over again (the original Chat Roullette).

The Terror.

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Yeah, I was too lazy to do the dpi path, but it seems surprisingly high res to me too. :)

The New Controller definitely comes with a stylus. Now, it is possible to use a resistive screen with your finger, it's just not a great experience compared to a capacitive screen. You can try this today by comparing finger use on an iPhone versus a DS. I think the difference is significant enough for even casual players to notice, especially since they'll approach the New Controller with iPad/iPhone-esque expectations.

I think this really depends on the software design. There's plenty of iPhone software where I've wished I had a stylus because the UI elements were just too small or too close together for my sausage fingers (this is a problem even in the built-in ipod and contact list apps). Nintendo has been pretty good about keeping this in mind (e.g. the giant buttons in Pokemon), so I would imagine that in cases where you're expected to use your bare hand, it would be limited mostly to broad gestures.

Certainly a capacitive, higher-res screen would be nice, but this thing's going to be expensive enough as it is. I'd be concerned that throwing in luxuries like that would bump it into PS3-at-launch levels of decadence.

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I think this really depends on the software design. There's plenty of iPhone software where I've wished I had a stylus because the UI elements were just too small or too close together for my sausage fingers (this is a problem even in the built-in ipod and contact list apps). Nintendo has been pretty good about keeping this in mind (e.g. the giant buttons in Pokemon), so I would imagine that in cases where you're expected to use your bare hand, it would be limited mostly to broad gestures.

Certainly a capacitive, higher-res screen would be nice, but this thing's going to be expensive enough as it is. I'd be concerned that throwing in luxuries like that would bump it into PS3-at-launch levels of decadence.

Maybe this is a dumb assumption, but I can't help but think that capacitive technology isn't this super-expensive, futuristic tech anymore given the multiple supply chains in existence for them at this point.

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Maybe it is the way my mind works, but this statement reads to me like I am going to have the misfortune of seeing a lot of pictures of real penises on people's Wii Us.

No, that's exactly how I meant it.

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Yeah, it's hard to know what their intentions are exactly and I don't know all of the facts about the cost of tech and whatnot. I also know what you mean about gaming on a phone, but are you talking about an iPhone screen or an Android phone's screen? Because I've used some of the 4.5" Android phones and you really don't have to hunch over them to see what's going on all over the screen. Not only that, but wouldn't a larger screen intuitively require more power and thus necessitate a larger battery or come at the expense of battery life?

It's iphone(3.5"?) vs 10.1" tablet which has almost ten times the screen area estate. It wouldn't bother me much using a slightly smaller screen at closer distance, except I'm suffering from RSI and keeping my elbows bent is painful as all hell.

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It's iphone(3.5"?) vs 10.1" tablet which has almost ten times the screen area estate. It wouldn't bother me much using a slightly smaller screen at closer distance, except I'm suffering from RSI and keeping my elbows bent is painful as all hell.

Forgive me, but I don't know what you're talking about at all.

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Forgive me, but I don't know what you're talking about at all.

I'm just saying that smaller screen with much higher screen density displays text and pictures that are too tiny, which requires me to physically bring the phone closer to my eyes, and it's is stressful to my arms. The same content on much bigger screen lets me keep my arms straight.

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I'm just saying that smaller screen with much higher screen density displays text and pictures that are too tiny, which requires me to physically bring the phone closer to my eyes, and it's is stressful to my arms. The same content on much bigger screen lets me keep my arms straight.

That's only true if the operating system doesn't scale to the resolution. There's no reason to assume that the gaming controls or interface elements would be any smaller given a higher resolution. Also, I said a 4.5" screen, which is realistically a fair bit bigger than the iPhone's relatively small screen to which you're comparing the Wii U's touchpad.

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