News: Iwata on Wii U Nintendo Direct, Price Cuts, Miiverse, Paid DLC and more Page 1

Iwata on Wii U Nintendo Direct, Price Cuts, Miiverse, Paid DLC and more

28.10.2012

Iwata on Wii U Nintendo Direct, Price Cuts, Miiverse, Paid DLC and more on Nintendo gaming news, videos and discussion

As we creep ever closer to the Wii U launch, Nintendo president Satoru Iwata answered questions from investors.

The company reported losses this week, and amidst all the financials, the lack of clear details on the Wii U system itself has caused concerns with the folk who pump money into the Japanese game maker.

Iwata acknowledged that the company have learnt lessons since the launch of the 3DS and hopes to assure consumers that there isn't a need to worry about price cuts. This had an influence on how the console was priced together with the two distinct hardware bundles.

If we can't provide overwhelming fun not possible with free or 85-yen games, Nintendo and consoles have no value.

Speaking about 3rd parties and the launch line-up, he feels that there is a solid balance of titles from day one right until the end of the launch period. The days of quiet post-launch periods are over, he feels, thanks to Western developers.

He also spoke briefly about Miiverse, with "increasing the number of friends to play with" as the biggest goal. The need for mutual friend code exchange is still a little ambiguous though, and Iwata hopes to explain more about Miiverse before the Wii U launch.

He also expects the proportion third party sales on the Wii U to increase earlier than the DS and Wii.

As for promoting consoles and software, he feels that the regular Nintendo Direct broadcasts and social coverage has helped had a "positive effect on hardware sell through", and increased the numbers on people downloading demos/3D footage. These presentations are now watched by between 600,000 and 1 million people around the globe.

I don't know when our fans will get bored with seeing a regular guy in his 50s talking about games over and over, but I'd like to continue doing it for as long as they enjoy watching and paying attention to Nintendo Directs.

Iwata also touched on DLC and how it won't be available for all game and really depends on the nature of the project - for example Animal Crossing: New Leaf won't received paid DLC as Nintendo feel it would make the experience too costly.

Via GoNintendo, Cheesemeister.

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bornforthis43 28.10.2012#1

Do Nintendo Directs come at a specific time or are they random? If it was scheduled then it'd be awesome.

jb 28.10.2012#2

bornforthis43 said:
Do Nintendo Directs come at a specific time or are they random? If it was scheduled then it'd be awesome.

That's a good point actually - seems pretty random to me (though I could be wrong)! I too would like to anticipate the next airing, though on the flipside the "oh there's a Nintendo direct tomorrow!" also provides a nice surprise.

In any case, more of these are welcome! It's good to feel that bit more connected to Nintendo Smilie

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Phoenom 28.10.2012#3

Directs are usually Wednesdays/Thursdays, roughly a month or so separate by my reckoning. The Wii U one should be in the next couple of weeks, considering that the machine itself will be out in the US on Nov 18th.

Darkflame 28.10.2012#4

I watch the Nintendo directs mostly in the hope of seeing Iwata doing more serialist humour.
Him just staring at that banana for a few seconds without saying anything still cracks me up.

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JayUK 28.10.2012#5

32GB console for £299.99 still seems steep considering you can get a 320GB PS3 for £259.99. Granted the wii u controller probably costs a bit to manufacture but nintendo haven't really highlighted the benefits the new controller brings. When the original wii launched, it had twilight princess and we'd seen glimpses at metroid prime 3 and no more heroes. I've not seen that one game that screams 'buy me' yet.

Mush 28.10.2012#6

JayUK said:
32GB console for £299.99 still seems steep considering you can get a 320GB PS3 for £259.99. Granted the wii u controller probably costs a bit to manufacture but nintendo haven't really highlighted the benefits the new controller brings. When the original wii launched, it had twilight princess and we'd seen glimpses at metroid prime 3 and no more heroes. I've not seen that one game that screams 'buy me' yet.

The PS3 has been out for almost 6 years, obviously it's going to be cheaper than a brand new console...
I hate to be so stern, but when the PS3 first released, it was £425 for a 60GB model, if I remember correctly. No one seems to acknowledge this fact and they only ever bitch about Nintendo overpricing things. Obviously you'll be able to get a 360 and a PS3 for cheaper than a Wii U, they've been on the market for years...

I really don't understand gamers sometimes, they complain that things are too overpriced, then Nintendo confirms that they're selling their products at a loss, but oh no. Apparently they're still too expensive. You making comparisons with how the PS3 is priced makes no sense whatsoever.

If I was to buy an outdated graphics card or something for the PC, obviously it will be cheaper than the latest and greatest tech. The Wii U will get a price drop, but not for a long time. I personally have no complaints with the pricing. It's really reasonably priced in the US and I would even go to say that £270+ for a 32GB model is reasonable, considering Nintendo can't actually set the retail price in the UK.

No one is forcing you to buy the Wii U, if you have any problems with the price, just wait a few years. I'm sure the price will drop quite a bit by then and it'll have a great backlog of games for you to play. Complaining and moaning about such a situation isn't going to get you anywhere.

Once again, I apologise for what may seem to you as stern words.

Edit this post:

[quote][b]JayUK said:[/b]<br/>32GB console for £299.99 still seems steep considering you can get a 320GB PS3 for £259.99. Granted the wii u controller probably costs a bit to manufacture but nintendo haven't really highlighted the benefits the new controller brings. When the original wii launched, it had twilight princess and we'd seen glimpses at metroid prime 3 and no more heroes. I've not seen that one game that screams 'buy me' yet.[/quote]The PS3 has been out for almost 6 years, obviously it's going to be cheaper than a brand new console...
I hate to be so stern, but when the PS3 first released, it was £425 for a 60GB model, if I remember correctly. No one seems to acknowledge this fact and they only ever bitch about Nintendo overpricing things. Obviously you'll be able to get a 360 and a PS3 for cheaper than a Wii U, they've been on the market for years...

Once again, I apologise for what may seem to you as stern words.

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Guest (guest) 29.10.2012#7

Those 32GB are flash storage and not hard drive though so obviously it costs more than the hard drive equivalent, so the 32GB Wii U and 320GB PS3, they're not so far in price those two options of storage. And the fact you'll be able to plug any hard drive in anyway means that you can get a 1TB + 32GB flash storage Wii U for 399$. It's a newer console with better hardware, a better GPU, obviously it's more powerful than the PS3 and 360, just give developpers time. It's going to probably be the weaker of the next three the next generation ago, but the difference won't be as big as it was this generation.

WP-Final 29.10.2012#8

The need for mutual friend code exchange is still a little ambiguous though, and Iwata hopes to explain more about Miiverse before the Wii U launch.

This is the problem with Nintendo, they take so long to explain things. The damn thing launches in less than a month and we still know very little about the online capabilities with Miiverse etc. It's like they're scared of putting people off by opening up about certain features.

meeto_0 29.10.2012#9

Has any else played on the gamepad? I find the right analog stick to be too high up. I keep pressing up instead of left/right. I already had poor dexterity where the right stick is confirmed I think I will struggle with any FPS.

Azuardo 29.10.2012#10

meeto_0 said:
Has any else played on the gamepad? I find the right analog stick to be too high up. I keep pressing up instead of left/right. I already had poor dexterity where the right stick is confirmed I think I will struggle with any FPS.

It will take some getting used to. Especially the classic controller. You naturally move your right thumb down to use the stick, but always mess up because it's at the top. Naturally trying to tap the Y button was also problematic since it feels too far towards the centre of the controller. It's something people will get used to, but having played with PS, Xbox and GC controllers for 15 years, there is bound to be a learning curve.

Stulaw 29.10.2012#11

meeto_0 said:
Has any else played on the gamepad? I find the right analog stick to be too high up. I keep pressing up instead of left/right. I already had poor dexterity where the right stick is confirmed I think I will struggle with any FPS.

I found no problems with it what so-ever, , then again I seem to be the type of person that's like that when it comes to gaming, before I ever played a PC fps, I read loads of complaints by console gamers who tried KeyBoard and Mouse controls and couldn't get used to them, but I did within like a minute, same goes with the Wii remote etc.

Although to be honest, I doubt a lot of those people who complained even tried.

( Edited 29.10.2012 23:02 by Stulaw )

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Azuardo 29.10.2012#12

Stulaw said:
meeto_0 said:
Has any else played on the gamepad? I find the right analog stick to be too high up. I keep pressing up instead of left/right. I already had poor dexterity where the right stick is confirmed I think I will struggle with any FPS.
I found no problems with it what so-ever, , then again I seem to be the type of person that's like that when it comes to gaming, before I ever played a PC fps, I read loads of complaints by console gamers who tried KeyBoard and Mouse controls and couldn't get used to them, but I did within like a minute, same goes with the Wii remote etc.

Did you try the classic controller? I had no problems with the GamePad since the buttons are spaced out well enough. But the classic controller is smaller with less room. It is comfy, definitely, but the alternate face button and right stick layout can mess with your head in quick situations. It won't be a problem after a few sessions with it, but just curious if I was the only one that it felt unnatural to!

jb 30.10.2012#13

I had the same feeling as Az with button placement - was fine on the GamePad, but the classic controller didn't feel quite right - not just button placement, but the overall finish felt like cheap plastic (I'm hoping this has improved for mass production) - no way near the level of the GameCube, N64 etc.

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meeto_0 30.10.2012#14

My problem with the wii u gamepad had nothing to do with spacing but simply placement. For example on a PS3 controller my right thumb sits on the stick so its directly in line with my forearm almost. on the gamepad it has to angle higher up which throws of a position my brain has adopted for over a decade.

I wasnt the only one having this problem at euorgamer. I noticed the girl infront at the zombi U kept dragging the camera upwards. I thought nothing of it until I took over. Something I will have to practice.

Stulaw 30.10.2012#15

Azuardo said:
Did you try the classic controller? I had no problems with the GamePad since the buttons are spaced out well enough. But the classic controller is smaller with less room. It is comfy, definitely, but the alternate face button and right stick layout can mess with your head in quick situations. It won't be a problem after a few sessions with it, but just curious if I was the only one that it felt unnatural to!

Didn't try the original although I did have a feel of it so I can't really comment on playing games with it.