Posted November 14, 2012 I've just read an exceptional article on CVG about the Wii - how it began as Revolution, how Microsoft and Sony rejected the technology and how there never really was a motion control attachment for the GameCube. This article is just fascinating and well worth a read! http://www.computerandvideogames.com/378029/features/revolution-the-story-of-wii/ Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted November 14, 2012 Seems like a good article, but I only read the first page. When an article does not show its publishing date, it lacks context and is therefore of little interest to me. I did not bother reading the whole article when they withheld such important data. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted November 15, 2012 Yeah loved that article. The whole thing is a great read. Can't believe Ken at SONY just shut his eyes the whole time. What an absolute crank and it shows a total lack of respect. Just shows how egotistical he was about the Playstation legacy/direction. What was also interesting was that Microsoft paid around 31million for that Israeli company to get the camera tech for Kinect. Wonder if it made the money back... I'm sure it was just posted yesterday in regards to the date. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted November 15, 2012 That was a fantastic read and an interesting insight in to just how stubborn and arrogant companies can be. I can't believe Sony's Kenny actually closed his eyes during the presentation! That's so disrespectful and arrogant, although that douche has always been like that. Whether you are a fan of the Wii or not there is no denying the success and just how savvy Nintendo were when it came to the Wii. They knew it wouldn't work creating a machine more powerful or on par with the other consoles, as seen with the N64 and Cube. They had also seen the success that the DS had with capturing a whole new audience, so they knew that there was a market there. I enjoyed many offerings on the Wii. Monster Hunter and the 1st party efforts alone made the admission price worth it. Sure, I would have loved it to be HD and have a better online system, but I would rather Nintendo took the Wii route and stayed in the business than attempted to match the HD twins and suffer great losses. This next gen is going to be very interesting because once again Nintendo won't be pumping out a machine that is a beast in terms of power. Some say it's a gamble while I have to say it's once again a savvy move by Nintendo. The rise of production costs this generation alone has forced many developers to shutdown or merge, if the industry continues to be focused on visuals/power in this coming generation, then more will suffer the same fate and games will increase in price. Will the WiiU be able to have the same success that the Wii had? I really can't see it, but I would love to be proved wrong. What we do know is that with the WiiU, Nintendo will once again deliver unique experiences, fantastic 1st party games and bring a smile to gamers faces worldwide. Also, welcome back @tapedeck! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted November 15, 2012 Wow, that was a great read, and a lovely little trip down memory lane. What I liked about that article is it reminded me how I felt at the time of these announcements and the excitement that I had the days before, during and after those events (e3, TGS etc) I'll always remember that E3 in which Sony sank and Nintendo smashed it. Lovely memories. Unbelievable how ignorant people can be. Few thing's I was unaware of like Donkey Konga & Mario Party being more so research release games. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted November 15, 2012 Great read that was.... how come I never heard of this Tom Quinn guy and his story until now? I always thought Nintendo came up with the Wiimote tech on their own, haha. Man I'd love to interview some of the Xbox execs that turned their noses up at Quinn....and Ken Kutaragi, always knew he had his head up his own ass.... never realised how far it was up there though. To disrespect someone making a presentation so much as to close your eyes for the whole thing and then ask if it could be made for 50 cents. Wonder if he regrets that day now? It was like the tech was destined for Nintendo, how lucky were they that both MS and Sony were both so full of themselves that they ended up giving Nintendo the goose that laid the golden egg. It's insane. I would love it if there was a video recorded of the presentation Quinn made to Nintendo, I'd be interested in seeing Miyamoto's reaction to it for the first time, bet you would be able to see his eyes light up with ideas of the potential of the tech. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted November 15, 2012 (edited) 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... By January 31st, 2010, the Wii became the best-selling home games console ever produced by Nintendo, with sales of over 67 million units. On launch day, each console sold at a profit, starting at $13 in Japan, $49 in the United States and $79 in Europe. Those margins continually crept upwards. 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...) Edited November 15, 2012 by Dcubed Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted November 15, 2012 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...) It's probably data from a company that looks at the parts and finds out what they cost and completely ignores other costs (R&D, Staff, Advertising, etc). Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted November 15, 2012 This was a great read! The best bit was this: I love this video, even now! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted November 15, 2012 (edited) It's probably data from a company that looks at the parts and finds out what they cost and completely ignores other costs (R&D, Staff, Advertising, etc). Yeah, but which one? A lot of these sites are known for just outright guessing and making up figures out of thin air (like iSupply - where their 3DS BOM estimate wasn't even close to accurate) It's pretty poor form of CVG to not disclose anything about where they source this info, especially where there seems to be some glaring contradictions (compared to what we've previously known) throughout their article... Edited November 15, 2012 by Dcubed Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted November 15, 2012 Seems like a good article, but I only read the first page. When an article does not show its publishing date, it lacks context and is therefore of little interest to me. I did not bother reading the whole article when they withheld such important data. Your loss, great article Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted November 15, 2012 Whether you are a fan of the Wii or not there is no denying the success and just how savvy Nintendo were when it came to the Wii. They knew it wouldn't work creating a machine more powerful or on par with the other consoles, as seen with the N64 and Cube. They had also seen the success that the DS had with capturing a whole new audience, so they knew that there was a market there. Same here. It's just so hard not to cheer for Nintendo as they are the only company out of the three I'm fond of. It's nice to see Nintendo got an opportunity to fight back, but it's also reassuring to know not everyone at Nintendo was all that keen on the idea... I won't deny I found this a "challenging" generation, but I think we're out of the woods now. Analogue triggers (and Z-button) aside, the Wii U has a good controller. It's also much more powerful than the Wii, even for the time (more RAM and a better GPU than any existing console is very positive). It doesn't matter all that much to me this time whether it's weaker than the others. The important thing is for Nintendo to stay in profit and in business. Perhaps the most important thing (and I can't stress this enough) is that it's a true generational leap above both the GameCube and Wii, in my opinion. When I got my GameCube I loved seeing how much better it could make my favourite series. Amazing draw-distances, camera control, huge worlds... Wind Waker was so good I was baffled as to when and if Nintendo would ever better it. With the technology in the Wii U, they have the technology to do so. Of course, this aspect of the Wii U (ie. the really big games) is the biggest mystery. Can Nintendo better their GameCube games? The kid in me still believes they can. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted November 15, 2012 Great post Grazza. I fully agree with your sentiments. Nintendo blew me away with Wii Sports and in certain games motion control was a great freshness. When you've gamed for over 20 years and heard about better graphics for so long you do mature of it and tire of that party line. I am ready for some HD Nintendo though! So here's to more fresh Nintendo experiences in crispy-vision. At least we won't see many brown hues :-) Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted November 15, 2012 Thanks tapedeck. So here's to more fresh Nintendo experiences in crispy-vision. At least we won't see many brown hues :-) I can see it now... "Ah, so that's what you're meant to do with HD?!!" Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
