As Microsoft whipped the skirt off its all-new Halo trilogy this morning in L.A, it was just a quiet whisper.
A few hours later, as Jack Tretton offered his sincere apologies to gamers everywhere, a murmur had begun to spread amongst the amassed hordes.
What do you want the fabled Wii 2 controller to do? You might want a big fat touch screen, like an iPad-sized beast come to gaming life. As we suspected, it does that.
(And we might just mean iPad-sized - we've been told it can rival Apple's 10 X 8-inch tablet for clout, but is even lighter.)
But what about dual sticks; a factor that many leading core game developers demand in order to bring their best to a handheld console?
Yep, it does that.
What of shoulder buttons; a staple of modern Xbox and PlayStation controllers, as well as Nintendo's history - but not something that immediately springs to mind when we're in tablet territory?
You've guessed it.
So surely, it stands to reason, there's no motion control; no sophisticated gyroscope or the kind of movement-reading that's fuelled Nintendo's most recent runaway success?
We're afraid there is.
You see, we're told that when Nintendo came to decide on which of these recent hallmarks of the games industry it wanted to throw into its new console, it simply said: "All of them."
Los Angeles is rife this evening with talk of Nintendo's new baby, set to be unveiled in ten hours in Hollywood.
And with some certainty, a picture is beginning to emerge of the intriguing control device that some are saying will change the face of the industry.
It has dual sticks, it has motion control and it has shoulder buttons - and it boasts a big tablet-style touch screen. Much more importantly for Nintendo's fortunes, tiddly industry execs across the district literally can't stop themselves from talking about it.
One development source told us that it would be "outside of current thinking" to create a game where two people could each use one of the controllers at the same time in the same room... which is why Nintendo's newest oddity will work alongside Wiimotes.
Yep - the waggly wands are going nowhere when it comes to Wii 2.
The power of the machine is up for debate. Some say its innards surpass even PlayStation 3, others disagree - but the consensus seems to be that it certainly outpowers Microsoft's 360.
It sounds bizarre. It sounds off the wall. It sounds unworkable.
You'll need two hands and plenty of concentration to use it. But it might just change everything.
We'll have a live stream of Nintendo's conference at 9am PST, 5pm UK time. Brace yourselves.
Comments
75 comments so far...
extracurricular on 7 Jun '11 said:
This is gonna be amazing, enjoyed the other conferences so far (except kinect drivel) but its been same old same old. I think the world will literally stop when GTA 5 gets announced on the nintendo stage
rbt2 on 7 Jun '11 said:
Couldn't give a monkey's if it's more or less powerful than PS3. All I wanna know is when and how much?
Asinine on 7 Jun '11 said:
^^ and will it be a gamers unit, the Wii 1 was commercial tosh for the main part ^^
I do have one and use it in place of bringing out 'Trivial Pursuit' et al, although even then it only lasted about a year of novelty factor really for me, still has joint pride of place in my TV unit though.
rbt2 on 7 Jun '11 said:
I think it's bound to target the casuals as well as us core gamers tbh. Afterall, it was the casual market that put Nintendo back on top of the pile.
They'd be mad to relinquish that lucrative part of the market, wouldn't they?
nologo on 7 Jun '11 said:
i wanna see this bad boy! excited
Weezer on 7 Jun '11 said:
"Some say its innards surpass even PlayStation 3, others disagree - but the consensus seems to be that it certainly outpowers Microsoft's 360."
So it's more powerful than PS3 then? Come on: the GPU in PS3 is crap. I've seen very little that genuinely out-performs the Xbox 360 - by which I mean head-and shoulder looking and playing better. How many Digital Foundry head-to-heads has the PS3 won? Three, four?
I hate it when people regurgitate this Sony bulls**t: yeah PS3 is good; but it ain't great.
boskersrevenge on 7 Jun '11 said:
*sits and waits*
pe-op on 7 Jun '11 said:
Hey CVG. Sony says you're wolcome.
rbt2 on 7 Jun '11 said:
I quickly glanced at your name and I thought it said pre-op!
boskersrevenge on 7 Jun '11 said:
..and now it's not going to say anything else to everyone. Good job!
TOKEN on 7 Jun '11 said:
Gonna be a long wait today and i hope it has the ibm 3.6 cpu,1.5 GB ram rumour or more.
thecresta on 7 Jun '11 said:
http://30.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lj8t3vf7id1qieegco1_500.jpg
le_don on 7 Jun '11 said:
Haha. yeah that's true. If it's more powerful than a 360 it's definitely more powerful than a PS3. I seriously don't understand this image the Cell processor has of being capable of witchcraft, it's all about numbers people! not bulls**t marketing, someone the other day in a CVG forum even said the Cell was more powerful than most Gaming pc's hahahaha, my current rig has an i7 2600k quad core running at 5ghz... not to mention the 8gb of ram and a gtx 580 gpu, all I need is an SSD for it to be more powerful than the gaming consoles of the next 10 years.
Especially going by all the casual gaming coming out of each consoles corner. I'm seriously hoping for gamings sake that Nintendos new console is coming back to the hardcore (as well as catering for the wii-tards, would be stupid losing out that market naturally). I'm hoping the controller is a good sign. Otherwise, one thing this E3 has shown so far, it's a bloody good time to be a PC gamer, want hardcore, want proper next gen, battlefield 3 and the like on a PC is where you want to be.
rbt2 on 7 Jun '11 said:
Never understood this pointless tooing and froing about which spec is better than what.
I've nowt against PC or it's games. There have been some corkers over the years and then some but specs don't come into it when I sit down to play Uncharted or Mario etc;
You can't stick solely to a PC if, like me, you wanna play those games, can you?
krazykunal85 on 7 Jun '11 said:
Can't wait!!!! Will be interesting to see the functionalities offline... and if it will rival the PSP Vita... me thinks not!
El Mag on 7 Jun '11 said:
Exactly. My cousin Lee could be the worlds smartest person and win worlds strongest man every year, wouldn't change the fact he's a massive tool.
le_don on 7 Jun '11 said:
Yeah of course you can't, but then again it is only a very small percentage of core games coming out which are exclusive to a specific console, and actually worth owning said console for. Uncharted is probably the only game I'd own a PS3 for, Mario and Zelda a wii for and the Halo games an Xbox for- and the COD games they may as well be 360 exclusive as that's where they perform best. There are others, like the forzas and gran turismos etc, but those are the main exclusives IMO. Naturally this topic is very subjective.
le_don on 7 Jun '11 said:
Because at the end of the day, the higher the spec, means that developers have less boundaries to worry about. Yes power isn't everything, and creativity is more important, but I highly doubt that there is a developer out there who didn't wish consoles had a little bit more *insert which ever component you choose here*.
thecresta on 7 Jun '11 said:
And once again, another person confusing hardware capability with developer resources.
The PS3 hardware is better, but it's far harder to work with, hence the difference in quality.
El Mag on 7 Jun '11 said:
Developers always want more, greedy buggers that they are. Dunno, i've just always seen Nintendo as the hippies of the industry, a little like "it's all about the gameplay man, don't worry about what's under the hood *smokes* it's all goooood".
I just think we shouldn't expect too much, then that way if we get it it'll be a nice surprise. Rather than expect it and end up disappointed if it's not. Look at the Microsoft and Sony shows, all that build up and excitement for....well not much really.
boskersrevenge on 7 Jun '11 said:
Let's just all be happy with the notion that not a lot of people should be allowed to post on the internet at all
le_don on 7 Jun '11 said:
NARK.
boskersrevenge on 7 Jun '11 said:
Ha ha ha
El Mag on 7 Jun '11 said:
Back in olden days we had to share one t'internet through whole village, and it were powered by coal.
boskersrevenge on 7 Jun '11 said:
We just had shouting in my day.
rbt2 on 7 Jun '11 said:
But you're from Nottingham.
Surely this is still the case?
*titter*
cult on 7 Jun '11 said:
As long as the new nintendo doesn't rely on the the same old rehashes it has great potential.
By now we should have seen the definitive versions of some of there old ip's, and I can only see one and thats OoT on 3DS.
Do some of these ip's even need a current gen to achieve their goals?
Its got to be more than Mario, Metroid and zelda in HD as 1st party ware, innovate the games not just the console.
With all the major multiplatform games now able to go on 3 systems which franchises will get snapped up as exclusives?
Which will be the first to say only with the power of ninty is this available?
Will nintendo eat into the online numbers of sony and microsoft for COD and Battlefield?
Will conduit 3 steal the online shooter market? Golden eye?
Is there room in the 5 year old market for a 3rd current gen console regardless of make?
See you at 5.
El Mag on 7 Jun '11 said:
Too bloody true. You remember that Hovis advert with the lad on his bike? that was actually my dad and it wasn't really an advert, it was a documentary.
t'was like taking bread to the top of the world.
boonattack on 7 Jun '11 said:
I fail to see how a less powerful machine than the ps3 is going to hold out when the inevitable xbox 3 and ps4 arrive in the next few years. Also, with the domination of Xbox Live and the reasonable success of PSN - how are nintendo going to combat the Online with this new console. Lets face it, most of the big games these days support multiplayer and in some cases are the reason they do so well despite average campaigns (COD and Halo im looking at you).
Unless Nintendo change their online policy, this isnt going to happen. Developers arent going to focus on this console anywhere near as much if all it can do is play games with pretty much the same graphics as we are already used to, online support missing/inferior as mentioned, offering only a new gimmick control method that just like the Wii did nothing for core gamers.
Im hoping im wrong, but i dont see this as a good move at all.
LordVonPS3 on 7 Jun '11 said:
I am really looking forward to this announcement of new hardware. I hope it lives up to expectations by being much more powerful than PS3 / X360, but lets understand a couple of things first... Will the hardware be used to its potential by both first and third party games developers or will it simply go to waste? What will the hardware offer that really differentiates it from X360 and PS3?
These days, I don't care "enough" about Zelda, Mario, F-Zero, Pilotwings, StarWing(Fox) or Mario Kart. Nintendo has had years to develop "hard core" versions of these games. Why haven't these games aged with us? I want to see a Mario game where you can see the textured scars on Bowser's oft-defeated face, where Mario is a grown man who doesn't jump so high and where Koopas are alien-like creatures to be crushed underfoot (gore intact). I want to see a Sci-Fi StarFox game where metal glistens, oceans ripple & spray, where grass sways in the wind and where the characters have taken on human, adult form. Why not then deliver this space shooter with graphics rivaling Mass Effect's? I want to see a version of PilotWings with real, authentic world terrain and maps, where clouds are volumetric and flying a plane, helicopter, hang-glider, jet pack or skydiving - is a simulation experience. I want to see a Zelda game with orcs & goblins that aren't just fat cartoon characters but are hideous, horrific incarnations - like something out of the Lord of the Rings movies...
I want to see Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 on this hardware with the best graphics on any console... I want to see a new, hard-core racing *simulation* franchise to take on both Forza Motorsport & Gran Turismo (even if it starts small - say 50 to 100 cars and 10 tracks)... I want to see a GTA V reveal, Battlefield 3, L.A. Noire, Valve titles like the Orange Box - with Steam support... How about some cinematic experiences (why not bring the Mass Effect trilogy for example)? Is this what we should expect? Something tells me - no...
Nintendo's games haven't aged but gaming has moved on for many people and it has moved on with other consoles. "Cartoon games" are still relevant for kids and Nintendo shouldn't give up developing the cartoon versions of these games but Nintendo should also pander to adults and brain training just doesn't cut it... If I want to play Su-doku - I'll buy a newspaper.
I won't care enough to buy a new Nintendo console if Nintendo doesn't deliver experiences for adults that I can't get elsewhere. There simply won't be any point.
I hope today is THE day that Nintendo finally grows up.
rbt2 on 7 Jun '11 said:
Good God, I hope you're wrong!
I wanna see Mario and his enemies look more like Toy Story than Gears of War. You've got the other consoles for that.
I love the look of their games. It's all part of the charm.
And it hasn't done them any harm so far, has it?
gmcb007 on 7 Jun '11 said:
If its better than the Xbox, then it's better than PS3. People (probably fanboys) love to try and crack that the PS3 is some sort of supercompter while the Xbox is a nimble notepad in comparison.
LordVonPS3 on 7 Jun '11 said:
"You've got the other consoles for that" is exactly the problem though. How many set top boxes are people supposed to have in their living rooms? How many motion sensors / cameras?
Shouldn't Nintendo be trying to outsell and usurp the X360 & PS3 this generation with the new hardware? Shouldn't Nintendo be trying to get everyone across to a new online service to compete with XBox Live and PSN? Shouldn't Nintendo be trying to compete with everything these other consoles do or do you think the new hardware is truly "next generation" hardware and will compete with XBox 3 and PS4?
Again, to reiterate... It doesn't mean Nintendo should have to give up the cartoon versions of its games, perhaps indeed Mario should always stay Mario for what it represents to children... but Nintendo could certainly be doing a whole lot more with new hardware and a HD version of "cartoon" Mario is a waste of a new console's processing power (which only leaves 3rd parties to make it sing).
boonattack on 7 Jun '11 said:
Whilst adult versions of all those games may sound appealing, i have to ask if you truly believe gaming revolves around you?
As a kid, mario and his cartoon buddies are the games that got me into gaming. However since mario 64 and zelda ocarina of tme - hell since n64, iv found the games boring and childish. -- Thats not me saying all the new ones are crap, far from it -- i grew up, and with growing up my tastes in games matured. What you're asking of nintendo is to deny millions of children today the chance to get into the gaming as we did with nintendo's lovable cartoon characters. I think its safe to say Nintendo are'nt going to do as you ask lol.
boskersrevenge on 7 Jun '11 said:
Bosker's current reaction face status.
http://i663.photobucket.com/albums/uu357/the_weirdo9/Random/Reaction%20face/coffee.jpg?t=1275881350
LordVonPS3 on 7 Jun '11 said:
Attacking me doesn't serve a purpose and being a knob about it doesn't help you get your point across... Of course gaming doesn't revolve around me - except in my manor - where absolutely it does! Do you truly believe that my opinion about having more grown up games available isn't relevant to mature adults unlike yourself? Where did I say that Nintendo should stop putting out games that appeal to children?
boonattack on 7 Jun '11 said:
I didnt mean an 'attack' and for that i apologise. But you did say mario and the others being adult - not others. On that subject though i completely agree - adult games are sorely missed on the Nintendo - but IMHO i think nintendo have conquered the younger audience and should stick at what they do best. History has shown us that 3 consoles competing doesnt pay and one ends up losing - badly (dreamcast - gamecube), which is why despite my hatred of the Wii, i admire nintendo for their new approach. I can only see bad things for nintendo if they try and change that success now.
rbt2 on 7 Jun '11 said:
Won't you find all this out later on today though?
ricflair on 7 Jun '11 said:
Let Nintendo make their games with all the charm and family friendly presentation, but for the most part still with very 'adult' difficulty and gameplay. And make a decent console so they can leave the adult stuff to the third parties.
The child like/cartoon aspect is a massive part of what makes a Nintendo game special. It doesn't try to be photo realistic or a wannabe film. Just a simple, but perfectly designed game - however they chose to present it!
armbar on 7 Jun '11 said:
Go and play the Uncharted and Killzone series and then you will fully understand the power of the Cell.
In fact, I had the pleasure of playing Crysis 1 all maxed out on my buddy's new pc the other day. Having never played it before I was pretty impressed. However, once he put it through his 42" telly I didn't think it looked that much better than Killzone 3 tbh. Perhaps tis because it was running in 1080p rather than some ridiculous nerd resolution however.
Regarding the new Ninty console I would be very interested if it came out later this year and was more powerful than any of the current offerings. However, if it comes out next year I fear it will be too close to the release of the PS4 - which is what I think good old Mr Camping might have been predicting as the end of the world. A console of truly armageddonous proportions.
LordVonPS3 on 7 Jun '11 said:
We don't know how much this new hardware will cost yet and that's a determining factor.
The Wii controller came out of left field. I've been to a few "Wii parties" where Wii Sports, Rock Band & Guitar Hero were the only games played and only a few of us own(ed) Mario Galaxy. I don't think Mario was responsible for selling the Wii hardware, more like Wii Sports that came with the console and is still sitting in the world wide top 10. Mario Kart, Galaxy no doubt helped of course but it was the controller, sports & fit titles that sold the console - to mums as much as kids I gather.
Why not bring a new "Nintendo HD Sports" title that is more realistic looking and competes with Tiger Woods and Top Spin graphically? Do we really need more Mii based cartoon sports? Is HD really worth the cost of upgrading when it's a cartoon? I think HD graphics are more a factor for adults who want realism and hard-core games over casual. Have HDTV's already made it to kid's bedrooms because I think HDTV is still finding its footing in many living rooms?
A controller with a screen doesn't appeal to me as an adult personally and obviously it will push the price up. I didn't really get anything out of Dreamcast VMUs other than more save slots. I'd like to know why a screen on a controller appeals to you lot and how you see it being useful outside of what could be done on a HDTV. Is it about Augmented Reality or what is it? Oh and what about the 3DS? Won't a screen-based "take it away & be social" controller impact 3DS sales?
For adults who upgraded from Wii to X360 / PS3, what would it take to upgrade again back to Nintendo? HD Mario and HD Zelda doesn't do it for me personally and I still have to finish SMGalaxy and WindWaker (taking my own sweet time there). Will the new hardware be backwards compatible with GC and Wii games (considering it is Power PC based) and VC and WiiWare and how good will the emulation be?
I expect more (underage) kids are playing CoD now rather than Mario, irrespective of PEGI guidelines, Wright & Diamond campaigns and all that jazz. Mario didn't especially save nor sell the GameCube or N64. I fear Nintendo needs to appeal to adults more if not as much to kids this time around. CoD would be a start - but surely not worth an upgrade from a X360 / PS3. Same goes for other 3rd party titles. That's why I think Nintendo needs to do something radical to appeal to the (adult) market this time around.
That's also assuming Nintendo will allow "adult stuff" on the new console. Remember Mortal Kombat on the SNES? Grey sweat instead of red blood!!! Nintendo still needs to "grow up" IMO.
Currychips on 7 Jun '11 said:
Ironyyyyyyy.
chancy319 on 7 Jun '11 said:
GTA has no market in Nintendo's demographic.
gmcb007 on 7 Jun '11 said:
How so? What in my post strikes you as fanboyism? I was just stating how they brag about the PS3 cell like its out of this world.
rbt2 on 7 Jun '11 said:
But in those heady days, Nintendo was ruled with a rod of iron by Yamauchi. A man very much out of touch back then.
Things have changed alot since then. If this console is as or more powerful than PS3 then it's an all round win, isn't it? 3rd parties can carry on making gore-filled games and Nintendo can continue to do what they do best. Everyone's a winner.
We'll find out fo sho shoon enuff.
boskersrevenge on 7 Jun '11 said:
Bosker's current reaction face status... t-minus 2hrs and 52mins.
http://s3.amazonaws.com/kym-assets/photos/images/original/000/122/266/genio%20aladdin%20wat%20WTF%20reaction%20face_original.jpg?1305092042
gmcb007 on 7 Jun '11 said:
Bosker you must be light headed with all the blood going to the 'excitement' in your pants!
I actually never had real intrest in Nintendo's conference but my god am I pumped for this one!
El Mag on 7 Jun '11 said:
Bosker's reaction face status if his net goes down just before it starts
http://researchpot.files.wordpress.com/2011/01/britney_crying.jpg
.....and if he looks anything like Britney Spears.
boskersrevenge on 7 Jun '11 said:
I DON'T KNOW WHAT YOU MEAN.
http://memeshack.com/myfacewhen/MyFaceWhen_1300828798418.jpg
Darkwun on 7 Jun '11 said:
ur kidding me right? we're talking Wii 2 and you bring up snes as rebuttle for ur opinion? "letting" adult games on a nintendo console is a ridiculous notion that i though Resi 4 and Madworld et al (ok the latter isnt THAT great, but im not talking quality of games here) had long since buried. Mario, i admit, im bored with... thats not to say its a childs game... man, the difficulty remains totally oldschool and requires a hell of a lot of skill to get everything. mario is hardcore, but also has a broader appeal that makes kids wanna play. my 5 year old just got mario galaxy for his birthday... he loves the game but still needs dads help to navigate those tricky sections, and i for one love nurturing my son in a gaming environment, just like me when i was playing snes and megadrive back in the day.
but i agree in that ive grown up and wish my games to grow up with me. thats not to say i think mario stomping on goombas and their brains falling out is a good idea, but i got bored because it just doesnt evoke the right emotions from me... why? im an adult, and thusly need a story to engage my mind and invoke emotion. mario needs an actual story-a living breathing mushroom kindom but still remaining EXACTLY what it is. i just need a good ass reason for doing it. and i desperately want a new starfox but this also needs developing. im happy with the characters as they are-just cuz theyre animals doesnt mean they cant be mature. after all, theyre aliens, furry aliens yes, but then so is chewbacca... he could have been made cute, but the right handling can turn anything around.
i have ideas for the screen, but im just waitin for the nintendo conference before blasting theories based on nothing but rumour. the applications are immense if you open your mind to it... i just hope nintendo dont disappoint whats in my head.
LordVonPS3 on 7 Jun '11 said:
Yamauchi - a man very much out of touch back then? Ahem... Wii Music shows he can still be out of touch today.
Capcom is cutting back on the number of Wii & 3DS games being sold to market - including reduced profit forecasts so one assumes they will pledge support for Nintendo's new console with "Street Fighter X Tekken". Perhaps this is the real reason Yoshinori Onu is at E3 rather than SFXT on PS Vita. If SFXT is not listed as a launch title then what will Capcom bring? Capcom's pledge of support for new Nintendo hardware will be a telling sign for me this evening. I expect it, but it is yet to be proven!
Third party support is key and Nintendo must appeal foremost to third parties (especially after the Wii). If Nintendo released a "mature" game themselves this will be a show of good faith. Rolling out the welcome mat so to speak... Specs ARE important but so is the willingness to be flexible. On the flip side, the PS3 and X360 have a 50M+ console head start "this" generation, Nintendo has to pull out all the stops to lure 3rd parties in. Nintendo need something with very detailed textures and high-quality graphics to take advantage of all that VRAM as a launch title. Nintendo has to make me want to upgrade my X360 / PS3 - not just my Wii. Perhaps a new IP - or the reinvention of some old classics.
As you say, lets see.
Queen Skillage on 7 Jun '11 said:
Bosker's after conference excited epic face.
http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_uat2pQVx0ZE/SOaYhPU1YFI/AAAAAAAAAME/vjQXd0yP0V0/s320/excited+face.JPG
ricflair on 7 Jun '11 said:
Yamouchi stepped down about years ago! Nintendo let 'mature' games on the wii, they just didn't do very well. Not sure why, possibly too little too late in terms of 'core' games as most had seemingly abandoned it.
And Capcom are pulling out of the 3DS market?!?!?
LordVonPS3 on 7 Jun '11 said:
With the specifications that are being rumoured, isn't it a bit late to go up against X360 and PS3 now..? These consoles have 5(ish) years under their belts, a catalogue of over 1000 games and 50M+ consoles sold. Gamertags already set up, etc... Online support has been built up with TV, sports, movie and music downloads as well as games... Nintendo shall really need to raise their bar in a big way to be relevant in the entertainment market and not just video games. That's not saying Nintendo has to compete in the other arenas - they could just stick with video games but it does mean less of an offering and initially - paying more money for less. Nintendo makes a profit on all of their hardware lets not forget.
Capcom are reducing the number of titles available on Wii / 3DS (& predicted financial forecasts) on those platforms.
rbt2 on 7 Jun '11 said:
Fark me Lord Von! (statement, not request btw)
You're like the terminator on this thread. You keep on coming.
boskersrevenge on 7 Jun '11 said:
1hr - 6 minutes..
http://s3.amazonaws.com/kym-assets/photos/images/original/000/124/097/1258576999-o-face-40153.jpg?1305607931
LordVonPS3 on 7 Jun '11 said:
You've still made more useless posts than me rbt2 (1564 vs 1555) and you only joined the forum (under that guise) last year too.
rbt2 on 7 Jun '11 said:
Excuse me sir but I think you'll find that everyone of my posts, under this guise or any other, have all been masterful pieces of wit and wisdom.
Post number 857 was a particular corker.
LordVonPS3 on 7 Jun '11 said:
Wit you say....? Ah. Bring me the bore worms!
ricflair on 7 Jun '11 said:
Sorry, for some unknown reason I thought you said pulling it out! God knows why! I totally understand them massively cutting back on the wii, as 'core' stuff doesn't really shift anymore and it's combined DS/3DS, so that would kind of make sense. I think fewer higher quality games is definitely the way to go anyway.
Although I'm not sure what the rest of your post is getting at. I agree that really Nintendo need to pull something out that's noticeably more powerful than the PS3/360 otherwise I expect there only market will be to Nintendo fans. They seem to have lost the 16 - 25 demographic - the one that often seems to think mature means guns, swearing, sex and violence, and that anything that doesn't have that is for kids. And I think the third parties, and hopefully the odd first party game will do that.
Nintendo have a very different ethos and setup from Sony and MS. They're run by people from the industry for starters, not just CEOs but the way they handle their IPs and everything else is very different. We'll see if it carries on working for them.
Welsh Jester on 7 Jun '11 said:
How can they say more powerful than 360 but not more than PS3? everybody should know it's only the CPU that's more powerful in the PS3, the 360's GPU is better than PS3's so they are pretty much even.. ever seen a PS3 game much better than 360 games? thought not. Even bluray is wasted for 90+% of games and only taking up less than half a disc i would guess, unless they are packed with video cutscenes.
Nintendo played catch up, but to be honest it probably would have been cheap for them to make it a good 20% better than it already is going to be.. and why they didn't make it a bit better is beyond me, they will find themselves in the same spot as the Wii in 4-5 years time again.
Balladeer on 7 Jun '11 said:
All these people talking about Nintendo winning over the 16-25 demographic. I just want them to win me over, goddamnit! And I'm 21, and sure as hell don't want to see Nintendo taking a more gun-oriented approach.
Does anybody care what these people think? They're pathetic idiots who haven't grown up properly yet. Liking gun games is fine, but any twit who says that Nintendo games are purely for kids should be forced to play Donkey Kong Country Returns until his fingers bleed.
LordVonPS3 on 7 Jun '11 said:
@ ricflair...
The rest of my post was merely intended to indicate that Ninty have a way to go to compete with PSN and XBox Live as well, but not just from the network perspective... What basic console operating system features will there be? Will there be a party system, cross game chat, etc? Even if "Wii friend codes" are thrown out and replaced with gamertags, it has taken several years just for PSN to grab a presence - with the fortunate position of selling 7 - 8M PS3 consoles a year in direct competition with the XBox 360.
Nowadays we're getting so much more through the PSN & XBL network services. Music, TV, movies, sports... Naturally these things appeal to and are BBFC rated towards older audiences as well. If Nintendo doesn't offer anything in this media space it won't be competing for adult's attention on the same footing as PSN and XBL. I'd say that's relevant when deciding what hardware to buy.
We'll find out in a little over 5 minutes! Exciting stuff.
Each to their own Balladeer, but you cannot deny that Nintendo needs to cater for the "gun-oriented" gamer in order to become successful in the modern games-console space. If you buy said console yourself, you'll want to see it supported and that means you need other gamers to buy into it. The console really needs to be everything to all people to make the numbers when it's fighting directly against the X360 and PS3 which have a hefty head start.
The market has moved on from Donkey Kong and Mario, as enjoyable as those titles and various sequels & styles may be. FPS games (Halo, CoD, etc) and cinematic game experiences (Uncharted, Mass Effect, LA Noire, etc) are selling lots of units. The new hardware needs 3rd party support but for 3rd parties to support it, Nintendo has to drive a big stake in the ground. A stake that'll encourage 3rd parties to shift support from PS3 / X360 and develop on the new hardware.
Here we go!
Balladeer on 7 Jun '11 said:
That'd be great for their business, but as I'm not a fanboy (well, I am, but an intensely apathetic one) it wouldn't be great for me. The day a Mario game gets replaced by Generic Faceless Gun Shooter With Guns 7 is the day I turn off my Nintendo console and walk away.
LordVonPS3 on 7 Jun '11 said:
The problem is that you say "replace". I say supplement.
Nintendo shouldn't only make Mario, MKart, DK, Metroid & Zelda games... Ninty could branch into the older demographic, if not with one of those IPs - then create a new one. The new console should have the grunt to do it. Think about it, no Uncharted, no Halo, no Gears, no God of War, no Gran Turismo or Forza... I think there should be an element of "us too" about mature games in a modern day Nintendo console and as Sony / Microsoft have shown - it shouldn't be left to third parties.
Balladeer on 7 Jun '11 said:
They tried. See Geist. It's just not really their thing.
LordVonPS3 on 7 Jun '11 said:
Then do a Sony / Microsoft and buy / invest in a 3rd party whose thing it is.
armbar on 7 Jun '11 said:
My main gripe is the lack of power in the Wii. When the GC came out it certainly wasn't underpowered!
Putting aside adult games, what would be wrong with a decent HD F-Zero to rival Wipeout HD? Or a proper HD sequel to Metroid Prime/Echoes?
I'm not just Ninty bashing here, I think they need to focus on some graphical fidelity as well as playability because some games really need it IMO!
These constant victories by Sony will begin to lose their sweetness if we become any more over-indulged!
fonjackerjon on 7 Jun '11 said:
Right im no fanboy but show me one xbox 360 game thats better looking than Uncharted 2 and ill sell my ps3 tommorrow.
Windowlicker79 on 7 Jun '11 said:
Only one player at a time can use the new controller? Everyone else has to use WiiMotes? I'm not liking the sound of that
shogunreaper on 7 Jun '11 said:
Uncharted 2 came out in 09 and there still isn't a game on the 360 that looks as good as it, so i don't see how people can say that the 360 is more powerful.
If it was then all games should be looking just as good as uncharted 2, i mean that was 2 years ago and i haven't seen a multiplatform game yet that does.
You can call me and anyone else a fanboy if you want, but being a fanboy doesn't change facts.
armbar on 8 Jun '11 said:
Couldn't have said it better meself!
Asinine on 8 Jun '11 said:
Agreed,
The first party games for the PS3 I think show that the tech is a bit better overall than the XBox, but not a huge gulf, as much as I like the PS3 and I thoroughly approve of it being able to do 'everything' and long may that continue into the next generation of consoles, in a multi-platform environment, cross-platform developers are always going to get the most similar experience across the platforms for the same title, whether that means limiting the PS3 then, or limiting the Wii 2 in the future (if it really is more powerful). Until exclusive titles are the majority (and I would hate to see that happen), the tech will never really be maxed out, and really, the Xbox and PS3 games are pretty damned good, but then I still remember the Speccy games and Nintendo Game & Watch, but thats another matter.
What I think is really happening these days, and probably into the next generation, is there will be a 'fan camp' for Microsoft, one for Sony and one for Nintendo, the majority of games will come out on all platforms, people will moan that their platform has 2 extra colours and 1 extra fps, but it will all really be the same, first party games will be the only thing that pushes the tech to limits and gives us the extra untapped 10 colours and 5 fps.
The only real gripe I have is that Microsoft monetise everything, I hope Nintendo use the free model that they and Sony use a little more, but make it bigger and more stable.
Mine's better than yours, but then I have them all anyway.
agrand on 9 Jun '11 said:
It will probably be an arm and a leg! Can't imagine having to get two of them! Regular controllers are wayyyyy too much!
Welsh Jester on 10 Jun '11 said:
I did say much better, not a bit better.
I don't care as much for consoles either as i am mainly a PC user, just stating my opinion from a technical standpoint and from what i have seen myself.
My point is at least pretty valid with the bluray argument