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Wii U General Discussion


Hero-of-Time

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Give me a massive open world HD Mario, Zelda or Metroid and I would snap up the Wii U in a heartbeat. But they would need to be fresh, new, bold, ambitious etc, and not just rehashes of older games in their series, which seems to be their modus operandi of late.

 

The cynic in me is saying that I won't get any of the above because I'm no longer part of Nintendo's target audience. They seem to be happy that they're no longer at the cutting edge and are content with releasing smaller, easier, simpler games for a more casual audience.

 

Whilst I don't wish to hound Iwata, there is a quote from the Twilight Princess edition of Iwata Asks that I've never forgotten:

 

Firstly, I think the final product really benefited from the decision to extend the development time by an extra year. The sheer scale of this project meant that there wasn't a clear plan from the start, but in spite of this I feel that the Zelda development team achieved their true potential and demonstrated their astonishing ability by bringing all the elements of this game neatly together in one well-rounded package. I haven't had the chance to play the game through in its entirety yet, but I have been able to check all the individual pieces and can confidently say that the wealth of ideas and energy that has been put into this game really shines through. Even with all the resources we have here at Nintendo, we could only make something like this once every few years. In fact, it might not be easy to do something like this again, so I really want everyone to have a wonderful time playing this game.

 

http://iwataasks.nintendo.com/interviews/#/wii/twilight_princess/0/9

 

It set alarm bells ringing even then, as Iwata kept mentioning how much it cost to make. Is this type of big, "explorable" Zelda now "off the cards"? I'm not trying to reimagine Twilight Princess as 10/10 perfect, but it was the last time we got a Zelda that delivered the type of overworld and immersion I used to expect.

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@Grazza, that comment is really eye opening actually and it explains why Nintendo have struggled so much with the HD era, and why the games we've had so far are basically just Wii sequels. I remember that before Skyward Sword launched, they said it was by far the biggest ever game they had made and that's why it took so long, although I never thought that was obvious when I played the game.

 

That 2004 video still brings a smile to my face. It was Nintendo saying 'Look, here are the games that you'll buy a console for. There's something here for everyone, and there's a variety of I.P'; even despite the lack of 3rd party games later in the GC's lifetime, it had some brilliant, brilliant games.

 

The more I think about it, the Nintendo that I know and love died a long time ago. Occasionally they bring some of that old Nintendo magic back (Mario Galaxy 1 and 2) but I'm not sure that they are a company for me right now. I love the Wii U, but if Smash and Bayonetta weren't coming this year, I'm can't say that I'd turn the thing on much (and I'm pretty worried for the quality of Smash as it is).

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Really? That's the last thing I'm worried about, especially with Sakurai in charge.

 

Well I played Project M today and it was literally perfect. The floaty nature of Brawl with a combo system and diverse characters. After Brawl, I am slightly worried BUT given that Namco are co-developing it, I think it could turn out decent. I just hope the online works well :)

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I've always been a big Nintendo fan and have bought every Nintendo console since the SNES. I knew that I would buy a Wii U at some point, but I didn't get a Wii U at launch because a) there weren't any must-have games and b) it was very overpriced. I decided to wait until the price had come down but more importantly I decided to wait until some killer games - fresh new experiences that I couldn't experience anywhere else - came out.

 

And I'm still waiting. I don't doubt that games like NSMBU and SM3DW are good... but they don't exactly justify me spending £200+ to upgrade my hardware. Both of those games could have been released on the Wii or 3DS.

 

When you buy a new console, you expect to be able to play something that couldn't be possible on the old console. This doesn't just apply to Nintendo, there are also zero reasons for me to buy either a Xbone or a PS4 at this point in time.

 

Give me a massive open world HD Mario, Zelda or Metroid and I would snap up the Wii U in a heartbeat. But they would need to be fresh, new, bold, ambitious etc, and not just rehashes of older games in their series, which seems to be their modus operandi of late.

 

The cynic in me is saying that I won't get any of the above because I'm no longer part of Nintendo's target audience. They seem to be happy that they're no longer at the cutting edge and are content with releasing smaller, easier, simpler games for a more casual audience.

 

This is the Nintendo that I loved:

 

 

Ahh, that 2004 conference was something special indeed :)

 

Every generation has that one magic year where all of Nintendo and the rest of the industry's hard work all seems to bear fruit at once.

 

For Gen 5 it was 1998 (Banjo Kazooie, Ocarina of Time, Metal Gear Solid etc...), for Gen 6 it was 2004 (Metroid Prime 2, Metroid Zero Mission , Metal Gear Solid 3, Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door etc...) and for Gen 7 it was 2010 (Super Mario Galaxy 2, Donkey Kong Country Returns, God of War 3, Pokemon Heart Gold/Soul Silver, Kirby's Epic Yarn etc...)

 

This gen will hopefully get its equvilent of that-magic-year, but not for a good long while... (The current pattern suggests that it won't be till 2016 - it always seems to come once every 6 years).

Edited by Dcubed
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I'm on about the content. That the industry needs Nintendo, to innovate and the class it gives.

 

Well yeah, I think if any company wants to enter the gaming market they need to provide some sort of innovation, either through their games or hardware, and Nintendo are one of the best examples of that. I don't think many (if anyone) on here would disagree with that.

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Well yeah, I think if any company wants to enter the gaming market they need to provide some sort of innovation, either through their games or hardware, and Nintendo are one of the best examples of that. I don't think many (if anyone) on here would disagree with that.

 

My only issue with such articles is that they speak as if Nintendo are the only ones that are capable of innovating and delivering fresh experiences. This simply isn't the case.

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Here's some thoughts I had on changing the Plaza COMPLETELY and turning it into something useful :)

 

http://nintendoreview.co.uk/2014/02/nintendo-hey-listen-wara-wara-plaza/

 

When the Wii U was fully announced people were curious about the plaza, Wara Wara Plaza as it was known in Japan (and then subsequently the world over). Game tiles filled the screen and groups of people from all over the world surrounded them, each displaying their latest comment about that game. It was a typically Nintendo way to be social and promote the various titles on the system. It seemed pretty cute, if a little pointless.

 

Am I the only one who now detests the Plaza? It is the biggest waste of space on any OS I can think of, and I mean it’s literally a waste of space. Am I the only who doesn’t care what random people think about Super Mario U? Occasionally you’ll get a funny comment, or an interesting picture, but surely this could be infinitely more interesting, and more importantly, useful?! When the console takes an age to load miiverse, or access messages, or even the friends list, surely the plaza could be a perfect social hub for the things we care about? I propose completely revamping the plaza.

 

Wii-U-WaraWara-Plaza-and-Wii-U-Chat-wiiu-pro-2-1024x572The plaza should be a hub for miiverse and genuine social interaction with the service and the console. That would be much better than the pointless drivel we get fed currently, it just feels so detached which I feel is the opposite of what the aim of the service is.

 

Currently there are 10 game tiles, let’s stick with that design for simplicity but reduce it to 6 so there is room to breathe on the screen. Rather than having random people talking about random games, I would use each section to look at YOUR miiverse. Here is how I imagine the six groups to work.

 

1. Whoever is online at that moment, they could be holding up the game they are playing; if Nintendo introduce the ‘jump in online option’ from the 3DS and it could be an instant way to hop into your friends Mario Kart game for example.

 

2. A group of all the mii’s who have instant messaged me, maybe the last 10 I have received

 

3. A group of all the latest replies I have had on any of my posts (not “yeahs”)

 

4. Presuming they add the TAGS I mentioned in last weeks article, I would have a group of the “achievements” my friends have posted

 

5. Like above, high-scores my friends have tagged

 

6. Game challenges my friends have set

 

With the last two having the ability to hyperlink straight to the challenge.

 

This for me would be incredibly exciting, I would be obsessed with the plaza, and in turn miiverse too. What are my friends playing, what are they achieving, what high scores; what messages and replies do I have? For me, this would be the perfect hub and get me more involved with miiverse, the Wii U and the software in general. One of the ideas of miiverse is to raise awareness of games; what would make you play Nintendoland more, some random person saying “I LOVE IT”, or someone setting a high-score on Donkey Kong’s Crash Course?

 

I realise this is MY ideal plaza, which is why some customisation would be absolutely perfect. Maybe you love Mario 3D world and you want one of your tiles to be that game and random comments. Maybe you want random challenges and not from friends. Maybe you love Miiverse pictures and want a group of just pictures (which have been tagged). Fine. But ultimately, having the plaza SERVE the player would make for a much better service.

 

The plaza should also be more “live”. I’m sick of seeing comments from days ago, and the “Game I’m Playing” being something I haven’t touched for a week. Make it as instant as possible. Pretty much every online-enabled device we have now is instant – our messages are instant, we get notified instantly when someone challenges us on games our smart phones, or has sent us a video on our PS4’s. The Wii U is so archaic in this regard, and waiting 30 seconds to access our friends list is and being unable to do much while we are there is incredibly frustrating.

 

From a technical stand point I don’t know what is and isn’t possible, but I do feel the plaza could be a better window into our Wii U.

 

Here are some smaller things that would also be excellent editions:

 

- Quick post to miiverse from the game tiles/groups

- Instant message friends from the plaza

- If you click on a person, show their message, not their profile (an extra click for this); isn’t the point to see miiverse posts?

- filter who we see in the plaza – friends, regional, world wide. Maybe even “frequency” options

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My only issue with such articles is that they speak as if Nintendo are the only ones that are capable of innovating and delivering fresh experiences. This simply isn't the case.

 

Yeah, totally agree. Sony in particular have certainly provided me with some of the freshest experiences in recent times, much more than Nintendo have tbh. Even it's an experiment like Heavy Rain which was hit and miss, at least they are investing in something new. Nintendo need to take note...Nintendo Land isn't enough!

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Yeah, totally agree. Sony in particular have certainly provided me with some of the freshest experiences in recent times, much more than Nintendo have tbh. Even it's an experiment like Heavy Rain which was hit and miss, at least they are investing in something new. Nintendo need to take note...Nintendo Land isn't enough!

 

Nintendo can do some amazing things but I agree the idea that only they can come up with fresh innovative experiences is a myth.

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A new developer, AE Games have their own message to say, via GoNintendo

 

AE Games is a brand new game developer, based in North Carolina. Our desire is to create great games, specifically designed around Nintendo systems; starting with the Wii U! Instead of treating the Wii U as an afterthought like many developers/publishers have, it is going to be our focus.

 

What has been the picture of third party support on the Wii U? It seems that late DLC, no DLC, missing modes, and selling last year's game as this year's, has been the way to go. Then follow that up with trying to justify poor sales by blaming consumers (or, even Nintendo), and canceling or delaying future titles? There are examples of publisher support that shouldn't be forgotten, wonderfully terrible examples in our opinion. How about a publisher releasing one game from a series on the Wii U for $60, but selling the entire series in a bundle on other consoles for the same price as the Wii U's single game version? And how about one publisher releasing the exact same game on all consoles at the same time, but pricing the Wii U version nearly 70% more than the other versions? Or, now even a more recent example, delaying only the Wii U version of a game that was already previously announced; despite the publisher doing exactly the opposite with a certain Wii U game in 2013?

 

Not only was/is this actively sabotaging sales of those Wii U games by the publishers in our opinion, but it was apparently assuming most Wii U owners in 2012, 2013, and even now in 2014 would be ignorant of those things (we guess?), or not care about them?

 

We are tired of hearing excuses from so many third party developers and publishers in regards to supporting the Wii U. We think it's a shame so many third party developers and publishers have provided excuses for not supporting the system, instead of providing examples. There's really only one way to dice some third party support of Nintendo systems: can't never could, and never will.

 

But, if you own a Wii U, you likely know that there have been some developers that have really taken their time in developing Wii U games, and been able to show some of the system's strengths. We hope to become a part of the developers that have shown how to make games better, on the Wii U with the Wii U GamePad.

 

While the foundation of our company has started in central North Carolina, we will be using talent from around the world to bring great games to the Wii U (and hopefully, other Nintendo systems). We will be revealing our very first game in development for the Wii U, this Friday! Will you be hit by one of Cupid's arrows when you see it, and fall in love with the idea behind it? We hope so!

 

You can follow us on Twitter and Facebook, and feel free to checkout our site, AEGames.net, for more updates and contact information! Join us in celebrating the Wii U this week, and show your appreciation for the Wii U on social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter, using the hashtags #WeLoveWiiU.

 

They are going to reveal their first game on Friday, but who knows what will they deliver. Whatever it is, I admire that they have balls to say things straight as they are.

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My only issue with such articles is that they speak as if Nintendo are the only ones that are capable of innovating and delivering fresh experiences. This simply isn't the case.

 

i have not read the article, but my personal opinion on the innovation debate is that Sony and Microsoft copy Nintendo. There can be little argument that Sony in particular have copied Nintendo, especially their controllers. Kinect is a direct result of trying to take motion gaming and forward it a step further. I may be wrong but I don't recall any instances where Nintendo have copied either Sony or Microsoft, in fact with Wii they seemed to intentionally go the opposite direction and yet what happened there... Sony and Microsoft jumped on the family/casual bandwagon and started churning out Wii esque games.

But that's just my opinion before WW4 breaks out.

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