The 'Other' Wii U Thread

[Jonnas]

I'd love to see a more 'retro' Zelda game on handheld like Link's Awakening or Oracle of Seasons/Ages. I loved those and would spend so much time just exploring. I guess we aren't going to get Zelda games like that anymore. Maybe a 4 Swords, but it's not really the same thing.

 

Like Minish Cap? The closest thing I can think of is this game, which reminds me of the Mana series.

 

Also, there have been rumours of a new 3DS Zelda of which we know nothing about. Could be 2D, unlikely, but who knows?

[Lens of Truth]

I'd love to see a more 'retro' Zelda game on handheld like Link's Awakening or Oracle of Seasons/Ages. I loved those and would spend so much time just exploring. I guess we aren't going to get Zelda games like that anymore. Maybe a 4 Swords, but it's not really the same thing.

There's a stronger chance for this on the 3DS. Miyamoto has been toying with the idea of a 3D Link to the Past (I assume layered like the 3D Classics range) or even a sequel iirc. I'd love a direct sequel done in the same style with modern bells and whistles.

 

Either that or a proper Wind Waker follow up, discovering the New Hyrule, and we're sorted.

[Shorty]

Either that or a proper Wind Waker follow up, discovering the New Hyrule, and we're sorted.

 

 

[Sheikah]

Not to mention the infinite world of Minecraft becoming 128x128 blocks and the PS3 not having enough RAM to have any Skyrim DLC...

 

Also, and this is just my impatient side, I'd like to see consoles that are just a little bit faster, in the menu, in the options, in the log in and the install etc..

 

Definitely. Having an SSD inside the console would be a great boon (speedy and very quiet). The interface use in consoles could be a lot quicker. Games could do with running at a higher FPS. The current difference between PC and consoles is pretty big now, I'd be ready for change.

[Ashley]

Yeah this is by far the worst thing I've heard about the console so far. If a downloadable game comes out and I'm off work, and I really want to play it, with the choice being wait 11pm on the Wii U or grab it immediately on 360/PS3, I know where I'm going to go.

 

Isn't there a parental lock system in place in the Wii's software? 360 has a PIN system (can't remember if the PS3 does). I imagine it's easy to disable downloads and display any message so this has been their solution until they come up with something solid which will involve a system update. I'm very surprised there was nothing in place from the start.

 

It's apparently to do with NOE being based in Germany and having to abide by German laws, even if the system is being accessed from elsewhere.

 

Some are saying it shouldn't be implemented like this and the law is for other media (tv) and if this is the case I assume Nintendo is looking into it. But who knows, this could be half-baked notions batted around as facts. Internet and all that.

 

And for what it's worth, I'd love to see a Rhythm Heaven tv show. Someone should get on that.

Edited December 18, 2012 by Ashley

[Daft]

Like Minish Cap? The closest thing I can think of is this game, which reminds me of the Mana series.

 

Also, there have been rumours of a new 3DS Zelda of which we know nothing about. Could be 2D, unlikely, but who knows?

 

Yes! I absolutely loved Minish Cap. Never did manage to kill the final boss. Maybe I'll play it again. I love my Gameboy Micro.

[dwarf]

My doubts over Nintendo were initially raised by Galaxy and Corruption, both of which received critical acclaim but were pretty disappointing in my view. Then my respect for the company took a dive after I saw they'd implemented this messaging system in New Super Mario Bros. U:

 

 

I don't care if you can turn it off, it shouldn't be in the game. It's distasteful. The game is bereft of passion and thought. They don't care about pushing the envelope anymore. They're couched in tradition and they need to snap out of it.

 

Edit: And what the fuck is Nintendo Land? Seriously, what is it?

Edited December 19, 2012 by dwarf

[Jonnas]

You know, I actually tried a Wii U for the first time today. Other than the fact that Rayman Legends looks amazing in every way, Nintendo Land must be a ton of fun with the right people nearby. That, and there's Tekken Tag 2 to get.

 

I'm so excited at the prospect of having this at some point in an unspecified future (on a related note, fuck the economy I live in).

 

I don't care if you can turn it off, it shouldn't be in the game. It's distasteful. The game is bereft of passion and thought. They don't care about pushing the envelope anymore. They're couched in tradition and they need to snap out of it.

 

Edit: And what the fuck is Nintendo Land? Seriously, what is it?

 

See, if you have concerns or criticism to make, you should be clear. Because right now, I have no idea what you're talking about. Honest.

 

Or is this a thing where you're acting the part of a strawman detractor? I have no idea.

[Oxigen_Waste]

In no way, shape or form is Pikmin more of a "real" Nintendo game than Rhythm Heaven. That's complete bollocks.

 

Since this is incredibly subjective, I think we can agree to disagree.

 

Also that's the way Nintendo generally work in terms of coming up with game concepts. They create completely disparate prototypes and slap on the character that they feel best fits it.

 

Which is a terrible idea. It's great from a marketing POV, but insulting from a consumer's POV. Nowadays it's become impossible to own just one console and not miss out on something incredible anyway, so there'll always be great games to play unless you enforce strict platform restrictions upon yourself.

 

Either way it really doesn't matter, personally. I was more than content with the Wii, and I expect by the time I do end up buying the WiiU it should have more than enough good games to keep me interested.

[Ashley]

My doubts over Nintendo were initially raised by Galaxy and Corruption, both of which received critical acclaim but were pretty disappointing in my view. Then my respect for the company took a dive after I saw they'd implemented this messaging system in New Super Mario Bros. U:

 

 

I don't care if you can turn it off, it shouldn't be in the game. It's distasteful. The game is bereft of passion and thought. They don't care about pushing the envelope anymore. They're couched in tradition and they need to snap out of it.

 

Edit: And what the fuck is Nintendo Land? Seriously, what is it?

 

It's not really a messenging system. It's more like a twitter stream for each game seperate from the game itself (I.e. you post within the Miiverse app, not in the game) and if you have friends who have posted it (optionally) displays on the overworld map. As you can switch from game to app, it remembers the location (like geotagging, if you will).

 

It's a fairly neat little feature, particularly for an online shy company like Nintendo.

[Captain Falcon]

Nope. Just like that other guy before, you're thinking of Disaster DOC. Nintendo bought the company in April 2007. Xenoblade's development started that very same month...

 

http://www.nintendo.co.uk/Iwata-Asks/Iwata-Asks-Xenoblade-Chronicles/Vol-3-The-Development-Process/2-From-Caution-to-Trust/2-From-Caution-to-Trust-208861.html

 

Well me, aka the "other guy", was referring to fact that the concept and the original models and artwork and story dated back to June 2006 when the idea for the game first took root as stated in that Iwata Asks. That they hadn't come up with a concrete direction for the gameplay to move forward with for a proper demo/prototype until 2007 doesn't mean the game wasn't in the planning stages. So the fundamanetal idea does predate the acquisition and it likely would have got made with or without Nintendo - the IP in the sense of the world and the characters that populate it were not of Nintendo's doing.

 

That said, clearly Nintendo's involvement from a gameplay perspective was of great benefit but then Monolith have helped with Nintendo's own internal games too like Brawl and Zelda. It certainly still feels like a Nintendo game to me other than the fact that Nintendo don't do RPGs - much like Golden Sun has enough qualities of an internally designed game even if the type of game would never be made in house.

 

 

 

 

 

 

My real concern with the Wii U isn't anything to do with the specs (though it does seem a bit lacking, especially for the price), or the gamepad (perhaps they should fully exploit their last controller before designing a whole new more expensive one), or even the question marks over the online (the Wii, DS and 3DS aren't good so it's no shock people have issues here too). It's really down to the games.

 

And in some respects, it doesn't even matter that they haven't been announced yet - though seeing a demo real would certainly generate some interest.

 

Pikmin seens to have been in development for ages and is now coming some undisclosed time in Q2 next year. But from what I've seen, the gameplay has barely moved on from the others and graphically it's not much beyond Wii HD - athestically it's pretty nice (more down to being unique rather than the strength of the actual design) but it's hardly a technical tour-de-force and it always staggers me when people hold it up of proof of the Wii U's power. But it's taken this long to get it out and it just raises questions in my head about Nintendo's development times and the types of games coming. Nintendo Land would have had good chunks of it's dev time taken with the original Wii U tests before they wrapped the sugar coated bow around it and whilst Mario U claims to have been 3 years, that's not 3 hard years of slogging away at it. The change from E3 2011 to E3 2012 was staggering from both a visual and gameplay perspective (even if it's not much of a departure in the grand scheme of things) and the final version looks even better - so that first year and half must have been fairly relaxed.

 

Third parties have been knee deep in high end development for the past 8 years and Nintendo are only just starting to get to grips - they may be the masters of game design but they're stepping foot into a different technological world. So whilst there is the argument that they need time to get familiar with things, by the same extension, it's their own fault - same deal with online problems (they've had the same amount of time but chosen not to focus despite knowing it's a big thing in the industry). The reason the Wii U has so many great looking games with high review scores is because of all the hardwork done by the companies on other platforms already - a luxury Nintendo don't have. People moan about the other HD machines but if they hadn't have existed, the launch lineup would have been incredibly different (read: much worse).

 

And I look at their 3DS output and frankly, it's been a bit lacking. Their first games were Nintendogs ( a game that had barely moved on from the DS version), Steel Diver (a port of DSiWare game) and Pilotwings (made externally). There were no big games until the port of Zelda 3 months down the line (again done external) and followed up another 3 months by Star Fox (another external effort though it looked like it had more work done on it than OoT). They rushed out Mario Kart and Mario Land and I don't think this year has been a whole lot better. KI: Uprising lost all it's appeal after I played the demo - it felt like a bad Sin and Punishment though credit to Sakurai and his team for trying something different on such a scale. Then Mario Tennis didn't review too well compared to previous sports games (another external game here). Mario 2 is Mario 2. And once again, it seems the pressure is on IS to keep up the portable side of things though Paper Mario has been very polarizing critically.

 

It's good they've been pushing out some smaller niche games for download but they typically serve to fill the small down time between blockbusters but the gaps are getting bigger and coupled with a lack of third party games, it makes my purchase of a 3DS often feel regretable. Their one big game this christmas was announced back in 2010 - Nintendo's E3 3DS spotlight for their own games was the same as at E3 2011 just minus the couple of games that had been released so little new content they had they felt being worthy of showing off.

 

So if the Wii U loses that third party support, and history doesn't exactly favour it sticking around for too long, I'm unsure of Nintendo's ability to keep up a sufficient level of output possible to sustain a console. And it's not just the amount but the quality too as I've not been blown away since Xenoblade back last year and that was after 9 months of very little following the end of 2010 which had been the best year in the Wii's history.

 

Sometimes I wonder it is Nintendo that have changed or whether it is me but all I can say is that I've never felt so disenfranchised with the company and though it started with the 3DS, the Wii U just keeps the ball rolling when I don't see a reversal in the trend that worry me most - that their games either don't excite me, or they do but when they finally turn up, they let me down.

Edited December 19, 2012 by Captain Falcon
Automerged Doublepost

[darkjak]

Nintendo have messed up on a level that just seems incomprehensible.

What games are officially announced?

 

Mario Bros U

Nintendoland

Wii Fit U

Animal Crossing

 

Pikmin 3

 

Of all those games, Pikmin is the only one worth a damn. The WHOLE rest can and should get canned for all I care.

The rest are cheap and graphically unimpressive. What did we get when the Wii was announced? An official promise of Mario, Zelda, Smash Bros and Metroid within 18 months of release. Plus that Nintendo showed off Project Hammer and Disaster: Day of Crisis. Didn't they also show Endless Ocean while they were at it?

[Jonnas]

Of all those games, Pikmin is the only one worth a damn. The WHOLE rest can and should get canned for all I care.

 

Speak for yourself. Nintendo Land and Pikmin 3 are the only ones on that list that interest me, too, but the world can't conform to our narrow-minded views, can it?

 

The rest are cheap and graphically unimpressive. What did we get when the Wii was announced? An official promise of Mario, Zelda, Smash Bros and Metroid within 18 months of release. Plus that Nintendo showed off Project Hammer and Disaster: Day of Crisis. Didn't they also show Endless Ocean while they were at it?

 

Yes, Project Hammer was game of the year, wasn't it?

 

On all seriousness, many of those promises didn't pan out. Twilight Princess wasn't a Wii game (though was elaborately masked as such) and Skyward Sword came much later, Disaster was not released in North America, Project Hammer was canceled, and the hype around Smash Bros and Twilight Princess was what encouraged Nintendo to adopt their current policy in the first place.

 

I do hope you understand the example you gave is actually a great example of why things are different, now.

 

And I'm pretty sure the official promise of Zelda and Smash Bros on the U already exists. Just saying.

[Lens of Truth]

Is Animal Crossing officially announced? News to me.

 

Nintendo Land is anything but "cheap and graphically unimpressive", but if those are priorities (and mean what I assume you mean) then you'd be better served by blockbusting games on other machines surely.

 

Anyone who thinks Zelda, Metroid and Smash Bros aren't coming for Wii U is frankly bonkers.

[Dcubed]

Of all those games, Pikmin is the only one worth a damn. The WHOLE rest can and should get canned for all I care.

The rest are cheap and graphically unimpressive. What did we get when the Wii was announced? An official promise of Mario, Zelda, Smash Bros and Metroid within 18 months of release. Plus that Nintendo showed off Project Hammer and Disaster: Day of Crisis. Didn't they also show Endless Ocean while they were at it?

 

Yes, they did show a lot more of the Wii's future lineup upon its unveiling (as they did for every previous console and handheld).

 

However, that is a deliberate decision with the Wii U. Like it or loathe it, Nintendo have embarked on a strategy of not announcing any games outside of the launch window (up until March, with the exceptions of the early announcements of SSB4 and Bayonetta 2) and also seem to be preventing 3rd parties from discussing their games as well (if out-of-nowhere unveils like F1 Racing Allstars are anything to go by...)

 

While I think that it's a terrible strategy, the lack of currently announced future titles doesn't mean that nothing's coming. They could have a monster lineup for the 2nd half of 2013 and we'd be none the wiser.

Edited December 23, 2012 by Dcubed

[darkjak]

While I think that it's a terrible strategy, the lack of currently announced future titles doesn't mean that nothing's coming. They could have a monster lineup for the 2nd half of 2013 and we'd be none the wiser.

 

Yes, I'm aware that there COULD be anything coming out next year.

But the fact of the matter is that the casuals have migrated to Facebook and Smartphones. Most of the core already own PS3's and Xbox360's, formats which in all probability will get high-powered successors announced next year.

 

But what I and the general gaming community know is that Nintendo have announced a bunch of games noone cares about: a waste of talent. A bunch of games to cater for the part of the gamer community that has abandoned gaming consoles: non-gamers. For the loyal gamers, there's but ONE game announced so far.

 

They are also aware of what the lineup looked like for the original Wii.

 

Stopping third parties from announcing stuff is even worse, if they in fact are doing so. What everyone knows, or at least believes to know is that the Wii U won't receive Grand Theft Auto 5, which is going to be an earth shatteringly important game next year.

[Jonnas]

But what I and the general gaming community know is that Nintendo have announced a bunch of games noone cares about: a waste of talent. A bunch of games to cater for the part of the gamer community that has abandoned gaming consoles: non-gamers. For the loyal gamers, there's but ONE game announced so far.

 

Dude, seriously, stop putting words in our mouths. Have you even played Nintendo Land?

 

A big store I usually go to had Nintendo Land on display. I can honestly say I've never seen that videogame section so busy, and it was all because of Nintendo Land.

 

Also, you should count Bayonetta 2 as one of the games that are catered for you (I mean, the "loyal gamers"), Nintendo's publishing it, with that specific intent.

[Daft]

I think Kotaku sum up a lot of my worries here. Nintendo seems not to have talked to third parties soon enough so they couldn't factor in the Wii U into development. On top of that, by the time third parties are caught up the Wii U will be left in the dust by new consoles (not to mention with both consoles having time to react to the Wii U, something neither had with the Wii...you know, beyond the whole SIXAXIS hilarity - not that I'm going to complain since Flower is one of the best games I've played this generation), and new consoles aren't going to take as long to get into their stride as previous generations because PC games are there right now.

 

Also, on a side note, the love for Beyonetta is beyond me.

[Ganepark32]

The one thing that will be interesting to see, at least I think so anyway, is how Microsoft and Sony react to Nintendo having apparently set up a much more indie friendly environment for downloadable games on the Wii U.

 

As I haven't had a working PS3 for sometime, I'm not really aware of what the 'indie' situation is like on that front beyond a smattering of titles and I know that Microsoft has their XBLIG but does little to nothing to promote the games. I suspect, however, out of Sony and Microsoft that it will be the former who will be more giving with regards to indie devs if the actions of the latter this generation are any indicator to go by.

 

Admittedly, it'll never match PC levels for indie devs to get their stuff out their on any of the consoles, unless the PS4/Xbox 720 really are more PC like, because of the likes of Steam, GOG, and what have you but will be interesting to see who is willing to extend the biggest olive branch to bring more of that content to consoles.

[Grazza]

Whilst I instinctively agree with @darkjak's point here (and basically think he is right), I have to agree with @Jonnas that the Wii U's launch line-up is actually better than the Wii's. Nintendo Land is pretty much the equivalent of Wii Sports, whether it ever becomes as popular or not. Twilight Princess was a GameCube game we had been waiting ages for. The only reason it sold so well on the Wii and became known as a Wii game was because the GC version was held back one week (wonder why they did that...? )

 

So to my mind at least, that leaves New Super Mario Bros U, which I want to play more than any of the Wii launch titles, even if it doesn't have me all that excited!

 

The area where I agree with darkjak all the way is regarding the awareness we had of Super Mario Galaxy, Smash Bros Brawl and Metroid Prime 3. Yes, there will surely be a 3D Mario and a Zelda (I'm not 100% sure about Metroid, although of course it's likely), but I just feel I need a little bit more confirmation of what they'll be like this time. Nintendo still makes good games, but I'm not quite as sure what their software will be like as much as I was in 2006.

[Rummy]

Like others, it's a shame to see, but I do like the idea of this thread. Also, like others, I'm apprehensive about the WiiU to answer the original question. Maybe feeling burned by Nintendo in the past, coupled with increase of costs and bad economy - also...I don't know where the future of gaming can/will/is going to head next. I DO want a WiiU, but why don't I have one yet? Because nothing particularly appeals. ZombiU is a very good idea, I like the idea of it, I don't think its supposed difficulty level is for me though, I'm impatient these days. NSMBU? Well, there's a fresh game. I don't want it, I didn't have NSMB on Wii, or NSMB2 on 3DS - I've played lots of marios in my time and the 'new' series are just too frequent and not doing enough new for me to pay the price for it. It feels lazy to me. It's something I'd get IF I had a WiiU, possibly just because it's the lesser of two+ evils.

 

As for the 3rd party titles on Wii U, I'd love to get them - admittedly the only one that appeals to me is DarkSidersII, but...again it just isn't worth it. I've spotted its counterparts on PS3 or 360(both of which I have) recently for sub £15 - price on Wii U? £35 is the lowest I've seen. Even at £30 and its extra content, it isn't worth double the price for the few control features and content it'll bring.

 

Pikmin and Lego City though...they appeal to me. Because they're system exclusive essentially and appeal to me, it makes the Wii U then appeal to me. I think two of the biggest problems with current gamings and its impact on systems is almost everything big being cross-platform, and everything big having countless sequels. Not enough newness, or uniqueness.

 

 

As for the new IP issue, they did come up with the fantastic Prince Fluff of Yar-oh wait no, they took a fresh IP and put Kirby all over it; doing a disservice to both in the process in my opinion. (slightly bitter)

Edited December 24, 2012 by Rummy

[darkjak]

Dude, seriously, stop putting words in our mouths. Have you even played Nintendo Land?

 

A big store I usually go to had Nintendo Land on display. I can honestly say I've never seen that videogame section so busy, and it was all because of Nintendo Land.

 

Also, you should count Bayonetta 2 as one of the games that are catered for you (I mean, the "loyal gamers"), Nintendo's publishing it, with that specific intent.

 

Let me ask you: have you at all seen a non-Nintendo community? Like Youtube or Gametrailers? The general consensus, even among my Nintendo loving friends is that the lineup is dirt poor. I have a friend who got every single Nintendo console since the SNES on launch day and he's not sure he'll get a Wii U at all.

 

Where I live, noone's displaying the Wii U. A friend of mine works at Gamestop and he told me that his store isn't making a big fuss about the Wii U because they sold out all EIGHT Wii U's they were sent. I was there the day after launch and they displayed NOTHING! A lonely poster in the back of the store and a tiny, tiny anonymous shelf and that was it. All I know is that, despite having hundreds of gamer colleagues, not a single soul cares about the Wii U lineup, bar Bayonetta and Pikmin.

 

Bayonetta is deffo a step in the right direction. However, it remains a game we know way too little about. It's a game that caters excellently towards luring people over from Microsoft and Sony over to Nintendo. However, I do hope that they'll port B1 as well.

[Daft]

Looks like Wii U GamePads are region-locked as well

 

I don't know if this is well known but I only just found out about it. This is pretty dumb, imo. I absolutely hate region locking. I think it's archaic and absurd (although with global releases being a lot more common now it's never too big an issue).

[Dcubed]

Looks like Wii U GamePads are region-locked as well

 

I don't know if this is well known but I only just found out about it. This is pretty dumb, imo. I absolutely hate region locking. I think it's archaic and absurd (although with global releases being a lot more common now it's never too big an issue).

 

That was misreported. They're not actually region locked, it's just that you can't use a US Gamepad to do a system update on a JPN Wii U. In all other circumstances, foreign Gamepad's supposedly work just fine.

 

Makes sense since the Gamepad has its own internal firmware. Using a US Gamepad on a JPN system during a system update would result in the US Gamepad's firmware being overwritten with the JPN Gamepad firmware (meaning that it will no longer work with US TVs with the remote function, possible incompatibility with games that store data on the Gamepad itself etc)

[Daft]

That makes sense. Annoying, though.