Dcubed

I'm pretty sure that some of the details in that article are wrong. For starters, Gyration was a patent holding company for 1, 2 and 3 axis gyroscopes, but the Wii Remote and Nunchuck never actually used a gyroscope (that's what motionplus added) The actual interview with Gyration that CVG referenced in their article mentions that the patent was used for Kirby's Tilt N' Tumble in the US (which used a basic two axis ADXL202 Accellerometer - completely different from the one used in the Wii Remote or Nunchuck, but it was intended for use in future GBA titles as well like Diddy Kong Pilot and the cancelled Kirby's Tilt N' Tumble GCN/GBA connectivity sequel) It's also likely that they licensed their RF tech for use in the Wavebird controller. Also, the Wii remote prototypes are not all based on motion controls... So I don't think Nintendo necesarily had a long-term plan to build a controller around motion controls per-say, but rather it was just that the tech fitted with what they wanted to do at the time (to simplify game controls, open up new gameplay/control possibilities and make gaming more accessible - after all, the IR pointer makes up half of the Wii Remote and that would have nothing to do with Gyration at all!) Though they are right about some prototypes featuring an analog stick... http://www.siliconera.com/2009/04/23/prototypes-of-the-wii-remote-nunchuk-and-classic-controller/ And the Wii Remote accelerometer (and later motionplus gyroscope) are hardly technology that is exclusive to Nintendo. Anyone can buy them from Analog Devices (that's who manufacture the accellerometers and gyroscopes that Nintendo use) and pretty much everybody uses them. It's the design of the controller that is unique (and what would be patented to high heaven) I'd also like them to name a source for this... How the hell could they have gotten that info? (Especially suspicious when it doesn't specify whether or not that's just the BOM, or if it takes the manufacturing, distribution, marketing costs and the retailer cut into account. Could be just taking info from one of those BS teardown figures from some two-bit analyst group like iSupply, who are known for pulling figures completely from out of their arse...)

Going by a recent interview with NintendoLife... http://www.nintendolife.com/news/2012/11/interview_the_team_behind_paper_mario_sticker_star It seems that Vanpool were involved in making Paper Mario Sticker Star! There's also a new DSiWare game that has come out for Japanese Club Nintendo members only called Nintendouji - so I'm putting that one down as unknown developer for now. Also I've heard off a friend that Monolith Kyoto helped out in making Animal Crossing New Leaf, so I've updated the list accordingly

Wouldn't USB 2 be slower than the maximum read speed of a 5200rpm drive? Or would there be an appreciatable difference with a 7200rpm one over USB 2?

You know that we're all kids at heart when we're bragging about being the oldest around here

That's not the same thing and you know it :p (3DS is hardly the successor to the Wii now is it?) They're pretty good when it comes to accommodating early adoptors in general. From the Internet Channel 500 point refunds, to the N64 cash back scheme when they did that quick price drop, it's their style to accommodate those who've been early to support them.

32GB wont last you long if you're planning on buying retail games from the eShop and a 2TB drive isn't much more expensive than a 1TB or even 500GB drive really. Might as well go the whole hog

With the Wii U though, surely it's completely pointless paying a premium for a USB 3 HDD, considering that it has to be formatted by the Wii U before use? (Making it useless on a PC)

Update! USB Flash drives WILL work after all. They just don't recommend using them because they typically have a low number of Read/Write operations that they can perform and that they can wear down reletively quickly.

They may still allow saving of screenshots to SD Card at a later point though; don't give up hope just yet!

I do hope that they'll eventually allow larger HDDs or allow two at a time. 2TB will probably last me the whole generation (even with 25GB+ games), but it would be nice to know that if the unthinkable happened, it would still be possible to upgrade my storage still. Edit: Nevermind, looks like Iwata has already addressed that and that the next update WILL allow you to use multiple USB HDD devices at the same time And you can freely swap data between the two to boot! (As if it wasn't obvious that I wasn't just updating my previous post with new translations as they came in... )

They've been good in regards to upgrading from past consoles and with the Ambassador programme. I'm pretty confident that they'll at the very least offer a discount to those who've bought the games previously via the Wii Shopping Channel.

Just finished watching it (hence why Serebii beat me to it this time :p) Wii U Virtual Console confirmed. Wii U VC titles to be playable on Gamepad!!! (details to be announced in the future) They also show off the Parental Control and System Settings menu; as well as how Miiverse can be deactivated using the parental controls OR through the games themselves (NSMBU lets you turn off Miiverse messaging completely if you choose so in-game) Also they confirm that games stored on a USB HDD can run directly off it (quashing that stupid report from the other day) and that games appear on the menu alongside internally stored titles. Seems to be limited to 2TB over USB though and you have to format the HDD especially for Wii U (seemingly making it unsuable on a PC - probably for security purposes). You can also transfer titles from one USB HDD to another using the Wii U itself. - Cannot disconnect the external drive while plugged into the Wii U and receiving power. - You can use general drives. - In terms of powering the HDD while connecting to the Wii U, if you do not use a Y Cable Type drive (2 USB cables), then Nintendo cannot guarantee it will work properly. - Nintendo can guarantee functionality if the HDD plugs into a power outlet - You can move data from internal Wii U storage to external USB media in Data Management and vice versa. Data on both internal and external media will appear in the menu. - At launch, only 1 USB hard drive can be connected, but through a future update, more than 1 will be possible and you will be able to move data between them freely. - SD Cards can hold PC data, Wii Virtual Console, Wii Ware, and Wii save data, but cannot be used to save Wii U game save data. They also hilariously explain how PC storage works, using flasks and crystal meth The Nintendo Network Premium programme seems to have an accompanying website. When you redeem your points for credit, you get a code that works on the Wii U AND 3DS eShops, as well as the Wii Shopping Channel and the DSi Shop. This makes the programme much more awesome now Also eShop games that you purchase via Download Card also count towards the NNPremium programme You also get 29GB of usable system storage with the Premium model and 7.2GB with the Basic model (after formatting and internal OS/Wii partition usage). The Wii U uses around 4.2GB when using it for the first time though, so you'll only have 24.8GB and 3GB respectively when you first power on the console (presumably there's some sort of intro video that takes up space that can be deleted) Wii U keyboard input can save user input habits and predictive input in a specific database that depends on the game and user. Wii U does not save input data that you don't want other users to know into the database. So there's no need to fear about your wife/GF discovering your porn searches when she uses the Wii U keyboard

I can't help but look at the industry landscape and feel nothing but doom, gloom and doritos/mountain dew fueled depression, but then when I see something like this come out of Ubisoft... http://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2012-11-04-aaa-not-the-future-says-splinter-cell-blacklist-director And in light of seeing what they're doing with ZombiU, it feels so bloody good; it feels like there's actually a goddamn ray of hope! Whether or not it turns out to be vepid words and false hope, the Wii U (like the Wii before it) at least represents the possibility of seeing the industry saved from its current death spiral of relying on ever-rising production values and skinner box techniques to cover up shitty and rote design. That's why the console is bloody exciting! (that and of course titles from Nintendo and certain indie developers which will no doubt continue to break new ground )

Goddamn this looks so good. PLEASE DON'T HAVE FUCKED UP UBISOFT, PLEASE DON'T HAVE FUCKED UP UBISOFT, PLEASE DON'T HAVE FUCKED UP UBISOFT, PLEASE DON'T HAVE FUCKED UP UBISOFT, PLEASE DON'T HAVE FUCKED UP UBISOFT, PLEASE DON'T HAVE FUCKED UP UBISOFT, PLEASE DON'T HAVE FUCKED UP UBISOFT, PLEASE DON'T HAVE FUCKED UP UBISOFT, PLEASE DON'T HAVE FUCKED UP UBISOFT, PLEASE DON'T HAVE FUCKED UP UBISOFT, PLEASE DON'T HAVE FUCKED UP UBISOFT, PLEASE DON'T HAVE FUCKED UP UBISOFT, PLEASE DON'T HAVE FUCKED UP UBISOFT, PLEASE DON'T HAVE FUCKED UP UBISOFT, PLEASE DON'T HAVE FUCKED UP UBISOFT, PLEASE DON'T HAVE FUCKED UP UBISOFT. The genre (and possibly the Wii U's future 3rd party support in general) is riding on this one!

I've lived through the last 4 console generations (and experienced 2 of the previous ones posthumously) and I'm sick and tired of waiting for this thing to come out! (It's at least as exciting as the GCN launch for me, if not more so for the reason listed below...) This has been the worst console generation ever, by far (ignoring handhelds). While the Wii thankfully brought us tons of amazing 1st party titles and some nice niche 3rd party titles, the HD twins are the two most rote and boring consoles ever (in terms of the games that are on offer that is - the OS/business side of it has been very interesting at least) and are unfortunately the dominant force when it comes to development; with basically every single major title now being either a dudebro shooter, a skinner box or a quasi-interactive movie. Tried, tested, stale. While the industry isn't what it once was, with good developers gone bad (Konami, Capcpom, Rare etc), and creativity has been stamped out by soap salesmen, the Wii U at least finally gives the developers who work under these pricks a legitimate chance to inject something interesting into their games; even if it's just something like off TV play, or being able to post info/screenshots about the game on Miiverse (not even actual integration, but just the generic support you get), that in of itself is new and exciting! There are so very few interesting games at retail on the horizon; and while the download sector is still promising, it too runs the risk of being taken over by F2P and mobile phone garbage. I can only hope and pray that ZombiU is a success (both from a quality and sales standpoint). A lot of the industry's future could well be riding off that game, if it does end up heralding a new era of experimentation (plus the revival of the survival horror genre - how sweet would that be to see, especially after RE6 turned out to be a failure in terms of sales and quality!) Either way, it's finally going to inject something fucking interesting into consoles outside of Nintendo's own titles! How can that not be exciting!? HURRY THE FUCK UP AND MAKE IT NOVEMBER 30TH ALREADY!!!

I like the idea of asking players to put their NSMBU thoughts into rhyme Hope they have other stuff as well like Haikus (and they actually force you to fit the proper format!)

More Pixel goodness Guxt is coming to the eShop! (courtesy of Nicalis - cue the 2015 jokes...) Details are scarce, but it will be cheaper than Cave Story eShop since it's a shorter game (it is a shmup after all!), will also come with a vertical display mode (not sure if that's referring to the 3DS' sideways "book mode" or if it'll actually spread the action across both screens) Here's a video of the original Freeware game

Isn't that basically F-Zero X's Death Race mode?

To be fair, we have no idea as to what capacity they were actually involved in. Could be something as simple as providing support with implementing the libraries for the Gamepad (something like that is far more likely than actual game design collaboration) From the looks of things, it seems that it's at least not the complete disaster that the vanilla version was; so from that angle, they've succeeded (even if the final version is still a mediocre game, at least it can be said that they managed to unleash the game's full potential!) I get that distinct feeling that it's probably still mediocre at best, but a lot of reviewers aren't giving it a fair chance (the IGN guy going out of his way to discredit the Gamepad in favour of the Pro Controller is pretty telling of that) At the very least, it looks like the core combat is actually fun now, and that it's the rest of the game (I.E level design, boss design, non combat mechanics etc) that continue to let it down; but those are things that would really necessitate a whole new game from scratch.

Heh, for once, the US get the better end of the PSPlus deal when it comes to Vita http://blog.eu.playstation.com/2012/11/13/playstation-plus-for-ps-vita-launch-details-confirmed/ We get Uncharted GA, Gravity Rush, Chronovolt and Mutant Blobs Tales From Space. I wanted free JSR while my free month trial was still valid

It was being made by a completely different team (EAD Tokyo and Hatena, while Swapnote was made by Denuysha and Nintendo BSD) I'm guessing that it was probably put on hold when Hatena were asked to help develop Miiverse, but I'm leaving it on the list for EAD Tokyo 1 for now because we don't know if they're working on anything else right now (so it's the latest project that we can assume they were involved in) Don't expect Flipnote Memo to come out any time soon though (if at all). Edit: Monolith Kyoto's 3DS project added. Cheers Tamazoid!

Nope. Still waiting on that one myself (didn't they say that they were going to release some info last week?)

Cheers! Surprised that I forgot about that one Edit: Man it has been a while! Fixed up a bunch of other outdated info as well and added some other announcements we forgot to add (Like Harmo Knight and Monolith's new IP for Wii U) Also I've removed Project Sora from Nintendo's list of 1st party developers now that the studio has been shuttered.

Been a while since we updated the list, but the latest couple of Iwata Asks brought about some revelations regarding a few studios, so here's an updated list (New additions in Bold)

Pretty hilarious when you consider the fact that they consider ZombiU to be a low budget title