Posted October 11, 2012 (edited) http://iwataasks.nintendo.com/interviews/#/wiiu/console/0/0 Thought it deserves its own thread. This one seems to be mostly hardware related, but its great that we'll probably start to see more Iwata asks about the Wii U and its software now. Edited October 11, 2012 by Helmsly Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted October 11, 2012 (edited) Iwata Oh! It's clear! Cool! Everyone (laughs) Iwata You've got to sell this to me! (laughs) Everyone (laughs) Even Iwata knows that everyone wants a transparent console! (MAKE IT HAPPEN!!!) Interesting to see them go with an MCM solution. I suppose it's only natural for them to do so (considering their hard-on for reducing latency and power consumption), but it's still a bit weird for a console to go straight to such a solution at launch (usually you wouldn't see something like this until a console gets a redesign - this is the kind of setup that the 360 Slim currently uses with its CPU/GPU) It's a bit sad that the hardware is considered to be just a "stagehand", especially when it's designed so thoroughly and with such careful attention to detail (like the inward flap and the slanted fan holes they talk about. It's those little things that really add character to the console - in much the same way as their software!); but I suppose it's how it should be. Pretty crazy to think that the BD Drive takes up half of the entire console chassis! Really looking forward to the next one and finding out how the hell they pulled off that video streaming voodoo with the Gamepad! Edited October 11, 2012 by Dcubed Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted October 11, 2012 Pretty crazy to think that the BD Drive takes up half of the entire console chassis! BD Drive?! So technically they could create a DD only "Wii U mini" without the disc drive that's half the size?... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted October 11, 2012 BD Drive?! So technically they could create a DD only "Wii U mini" without the disc drive that's half the size?... I smell a Benheck Wii U portable! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted October 11, 2012 BD Drive?! So technically they could create a DD only "Wii U mini" without the disc drive that's half the size?... Well, yes... but you would need at least a 1TB HDD inside instead! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted October 11, 2012 BD Drive?! : Panasonic (who make the discs/drives) have been part of the Blu-ray Disc Association since the very start, and are as much part of Blu-Ray as Sony. The Wii U discs have the exact same specifications as Blu-Rays. They're Blu-Rays in the same way that Wii discs are DVDs - virtually the same but a very slight difference for piracy reasons (although is disc-based piracy even that big now?) and license reasons. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted October 11, 2012 Panasonic (who make the discs/drives) have been part of the Blu-ray Disc Association since the very start, and are as much part of Blu-Ray as Sony. The Wii U discs have the exact same specifications as Blu-Rays. They're Blu-Rays in the same way that Wii discs are DVDs - virtually the same but a very slight difference for piracy reasons (although is disc-based piracy even that big now?) and license reasons. It is also comparable to how two of three configurations of SACDs are physically similar to DVDs. This was redundant. Well, well. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted October 17, 2012 http://iwataasks.nintendo.com/interviews/#/wiiu/gamepad/0/0 New Iwata Asks for the Wii U gamepad Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted October 17, 2012 (edited) Iwata As Nintendo, we say that it will be fine using it within the same living room where the console is in, but a lot of people ask what about through a wall? Yamashita Yeah. The other day, someone in a different department asked if he could use it in his bathroom at his house! (laughs)... Yamashita Using the Wii U GamePad with a television is one of the ways that you can use it, but a good thing about the Wii U is that you can also play without the TV*. Because of the way Wii U is used it becomes easier to forget about the console, so it's possible that some people might wonder why it doesn't work when they're away from the TV. By the way, my living room and bathroom are separated by a single wall and I was able to use it. (laughs) Even they know that playing games on the crapper is what everyone wants Iwata Where else did you expend a lot of energy? Ibuki Making it lighter was also important. The Engineering group took the lead in making it lighter. With Wii U GamePad we put in a lot of effort in reducing its weight. There is a part called a chassis to protect the screen, and at first we were planning on using materials like aluminum and magnesium. But ultimately we decided against those and used what's called a resin chassis to further reduce its weight. In that way, we chipped away one or two grams here and there. Iwata We made it as light as possible without causing durability problems. There may be some that would think 500 grams is heavy for a controller, but the result of pecking away at it like that was something much lighter than at first. Ibuki Yes. Any suggestions for a change in the design had to come with how many grams it would increase the weight. It was like: "I want a design like this." "How many grams will that increase the weight?" "Five grams." "Request denied!!" Everyone (laughs) Ibuki Five grams is about how much a 100-yen coin weighs! (laughs) (Editor's note: A US Nickel weighs five grams) We wanted the Wii U GamePad to weigh about 500 grams, so when we were approaching 500 and some grams, all suggestions that may put more weight on it were refused. 500 grams is heavier than I was hoping for... It's still a fair bit lighter than the iPad (which is between 600-650 grams depending on the model), but I find them to be a bit heavy for my liking - even when holding it horizontally Hopefully, the grips will help alleviate the issue... I'm a bit disappointed that they didn't go more into the actual wireless tech they're using, even though Iwata himself mentioned that "it must not have been any typical wireless technology". They're obviously not using WiFi (and couldn't anyway, since it would prevent the console from going online when the Gamepad is used), so what is it!? UW Band tech? Sigh, I'm gonna have to wait till it launches and gets torn down aren't I? Also no extra prototype pics? I was hoping for another round of ridiculous prototype models ALA the Revolution controller... Edited October 17, 2012 by Dcubed Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted October 17, 2012 Haha the big star button control always makes me laugh. Would love to know more about its funtunality and the ideas they had for it Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted October 17, 2012 Haha the big star button control always makes me laugh. Would love to know more about its funtunality and the ideas they had for it You touch it and SONY HQ blows up. Boom! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted October 17, 2012 The most amazing thing about the Wii U is the game streams via a wireless connection to the pad but it does so with less latency than the TV manages to receive the signal via a wire: When you see this video you'll actually see the gamepad is getting the image in advance of the TV, not the other way around. Basically this a total technological marvel. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted October 17, 2012 Make it clear purple and sold! When you see this video you'll actually see the gamepad is getting the image in advance of the TV, not the other way around. Basically this a total technological marvel. Very impressive. Nintendo should sell this new wireless magic, or something. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted October 17, 2012 (edited) The most amazing thing about the Wii U is the game streams via a wireless connection to the pad but it does so with less latency than the TV manages to receive the signal via a wire: When you see this video you'll actually see the gamepad is getting the image in advance of the TV, not the other way around. Basically this a total technological marvel. The fuck? I knew it was low latency but didn't think it was faster than the TV. Could it be a difference caused by the TV itself though? Edited October 17, 2012 by Mokong Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted October 17, 2012 The fuck? I knew it was low latency but didn't think it was faster than the TV.Could it be a difference caused by the TV itself though? Today's LG HDTVs are notorious for having horrendous input lag, but 7 frames of input lag is sadly not uncommon. The average HDTV has between 50-150ms of input lag (even in the eye seering Game Mode) and that only worsens when you start dealing with legacy upscaling from 480i (don't even think about playing a SNES game on most modern HDTVs, a lot of them render games nigh on unplayable) The best you can get out of a HDTV is >=16ms (1 frame), but that's a rarity that is pretty much relegated to select Panasonic HDTVs (particularily their Plasma sets) or sets that have been largely discontinued. For the record, I'm using a Samsung D5000 that has 16ms input lag and gameplay is flawless with all sources :awesome: Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted October 17, 2012 I'm a bit disappointed that they didn't go more into the actual wireless tech they're using, even though Iwata himself mentioned that "it must not have been any typical wireless technology". They're obviously not using WiFi (and couldn't anyway, since it would prevent the console from going online when the Gamepad is used), so what is it!? UW Band tech? Sigh, I'm gonna have to wait till it launches and gets torn down aren't I? Yeah, I was a hoping for a bit more than what they gave us. I was under the impression it would be using a form of Wi-Fi Direct. The transfer speeds are pretty quick after all and coupled with Nintendo's own custom algos, wouldn't that be enough? Also, I'm kinda curious as to the thing about how Wi-Fi would disable online access. I know PSV remote play prevents internet access from the handheld when connected directly to the PS3 but then I also understand Remote Play to be a bit of a laughing stock all round to the point that no one would judge and limit Nintendo's capabilities based upon Sony's unfinihsed work. Is possible for a device to be connected to a Direct access point and a regular network. It is hardware specific, but it can be done and so I don't see how it can be completely ruled out. I'm no expert mind so fell free to enlighten me here. I'm more of a software kinda guy :p Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted October 17, 2012 (edited) Yeah, I was a hoping for a bit more than what they gave us. I was under the impression it would be using a form of Wi-Fi Direct. The transfer speeds are pretty quick after all and coupled with Nintendo's own custom algos, wouldn't that be enough? Also, I'm kinda curious as to the thing about how Wi-Fi would disable online access. I know PSV remote play prevents internet access from the handheld when connected directly to the PS3 but then I also understand Remote Play to be a bit of a laughing stock all round to the point that no one would judge and limit Nintendo's capabilities based upon Sony's unfinihsed work. Is possible for a device to be connected to a Direct access point and a regular network. It is hardware specific, but it can be done and so I don't see how it can be completely ruled out. I'm no expert mind so fell free to enlighten me here. I'm more of a software kinda guy :p WiFi can't do two way connection. It can only be an access point or a client that connects to an access point (which in of itself must be wired to a DSL line). So it has to choose between one or the other, meaning that if it's being used as an access point for the Upad, it can't connect to your WiFi router to connect online at the same time. It's a fundamental hardware limitation. Also, WiFi latency is generally too high for this kind of low latency video transfer. Nintendo use their own custom wireless protocol for local DS/3DS multiplayer using standard 802.11B/G hardware (nicknamed NiFi in the homebrew community) that uses up less battery life and enables much lower latency than the standard WiFi protocol (sub 16ms latency even!) but the packet size is too small for real time video transfer to work and it would stop the console from being able to connect online to boot. Bluetooth is obviously not up to the task and neither is HSDPA or LTE based tech. There is also a standard Wireless HDMI protocol (wHDMI and wHD), but the latency is terrible so I really doubt that it's based on either of those. Ultra Wide Band tech however seems to tick all the boxes. It's extremely low latency, runs on a completely different frequency band to all other commercial wireless devices (meaning that they wont interfere with the Upad connection!) but only works from a comparatively short range compared to other wireless tech (sound familiar? ) So UWB is what I'd put my money on. Edited October 17, 2012 by Dcubed Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted October 17, 2012 (edited) @Dcubed I guess if direct Wi-Fi speeds are too slow, connecting the Gamepad to the Wii U via a network, which should allow for online if I'm reading you correctly, would be even more out of the question. Also, since I'm asking stupid questions, would there be any benefit in sending button input data via Bluetooth when the Gamepad isn't required viewing and the screen updates not entirely esssential. I guess it's irrelevant really but when it comes to tech and Nintendo, no amount of strange combinations of hardware would surprise me. I seem to recall reading something about UWB when NFC started making a bit of noise a few years ago but one day tech is the next big thing and the day after it's dead and burried again - you can't blame a guy if it slips his mind Edited October 17, 2012 by Captain Falcon Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted October 17, 2012 (edited) @Dcubed I guess if direct Wi-Fi speeds are too slow, connecting the Gamepad to the Wii U via a network, which should allow for online if I'm reading you correctly, would be even more out of the question. Also, since I'm asking stupid questions, would there be any benefit in sending button input data via Bluetooth when the Gamepad isn't required viewing and the screen updates not entirely esssential. I guess it's irrelevant really but when it comes to tech and Nintendo, no amount of strange combinations of hardware would surprise me. I seem to recall reading something about UWB when NFC started making a bit of noise a few years ago but one day tech is the next big thing and the day after it's dead and burried again - you can't blame a guy if it slips his mind Ooh that's an interesting idea! Having the game inputs being sent via Bluetooth and the video sent by UWB is a possibility IMO. It increases the total bandwidth available to the video stream (since it means that the total UWB signal could be dedicated to just the video stream alone) and Bluetooth is capable of accepting 7 unique inputs (meaning that there are just enough Bluetooth slots for 4 remotes, 2 Upads and a Balance Board to be used at the same time!). Plus since they're on completely different frequencies, the two different signals shouldn't interfere with each other either! Of course it does add a bit of extra cost to the Upad, but they may well have gone for that kind of solution. I just wish they actually went into detail about this in the actual Iwata Asks! Edited October 17, 2012 by Dcubed Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted October 18, 2012 The fuck? I knew it was low latency but didn't think it was faster than the TV.Could it be a difference caused by the TV itself though? Yeah, they bring this up in the Asks session. They all laugh about the TV latency being worse than the UPad. If you've got a crap TV then this is clearly going to be an off-putting issue. Hope my TV deals with it OK. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted October 18, 2012 That's really impressive. I just REALLY want them to mention why the fork they removed the analogue triggers. This yet again renders the Wii U a sub par option for race fans. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted October 18, 2012 That's really impressive.I just REALLY want them to mention why the fork they removed the analogue triggers. This yet again renders the Wii U a sub par option for race fans. They may well have already provided an answer... Iwata We made it as light as possible without causing durability problems. There may be some that would think 500 grams is heavy for a controller, but the result of pecking away at it like that was something much lighter than at first. Ibuki Yes. Any suggestions for a change in the design had to come with how many grams it would increase the weight. It was like: "I want a design like this." "How many grams will that increase the weight?" "Five grams." "Request denied!!" Everyone (laughs) I don't know how much weight that analog triggers add to a controller, but it could well be that it would've added too much weight (once adding in durability measures) to fit into a 500 gram device. Just a guess of mine, but it seems plausible enough (especially with how paranoid people are about it being too heavy and bulky to be comfortable ) Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted October 18, 2012 They may well have already provided an answer... I don't know how much weight that analog triggers add to a controller, but it could well be that it would've added too much weight (once adding in durability measures) to fit into a 500 gram device. Just a guess of mine, but it seems plausible enough (especially with how paranoid people are about it being too heavy and bulky to be comfortable ) That had crossed my mind as well, but it's a completely unacceptable solution. It's as smart as a car manufacturer deciding to remove the suspension to make their car lighter. Or a gun maker removing the safety. Or removing the mouse pad from a laptop. Yet again Nintendo have made a mistake which will decimate their reputation among the core. I bet that they'll announce an "analogue trigger plus" peripheral just a few months after launch, as they did with the DS' circle pad. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted October 18, 2012 That had crossed my mind as well, but it's a completely unacceptable solution. It's as smart as a car manufacturer deciding to remove the suspension to make their car lighter. Or a gun maker removing the safety. Or removing the mouse pad from a laptop. Yet again Nintendo have made a mistake which will decimate their reputation among the core. I bet that they'll announce an "analogue trigger plus" peripheral just a few months after launch, as they did with the DS' circle pad. I agree. I have worried about the lack of analogue shoulder buttons since I first saw images of the ScreenPad last June. If it is about the ScreenPad's weight, they should have removed something else instead. I do not know what, but anything to keep the analogue shoulder buttons. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted November 8, 2012 (edited) Wii U: Miiverse: The Producers And Wii U: Miiverse: The Developers This is great: Wii U: Internet Browser: Edited November 9, 2012 by Helmsly Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
