Official Wii U Discussion Thread

The Video and Model have been Proven Fake. Apparently it was a French Students project of creating a viral video.

So there you have it, we can go into E3 knowing we won't see that crappy design.

( Edited 22.05.2011 10:21 by Stulaw )

Thank God, that was not something I'd be proud to have sit in my living room. Those students are clever. They nearly fooled me!

Yeah, I'm glad as well, it was a terrible design, but like anything at the moment, if it's related to the N6 the media will lap it up.

T3 (Tech Magazine) hasn't picked up that it's fake yet, they're still going by it.

Notice how they're using old Wii colouration on the notice (Blue & White): This is BS, Nintendo would never attach an old formats colouration hallmarks to a new console.

Cute specs sheet! I should have told my friend who was sitting next to me that those specs are confirmed for some extra lulz.

Btw, I was writing with a friend yesterday and wanted to show her some more of my games after successfully getting her to get Okami but I wasn't satisfied with any trailers of the games and thought:

"Man, it would be really cool if I could just record videos while I'm playing games without needing any additional devices."

That's where I thought of the N6. Imagine a console where everybody could easily do that! How awesome would that be? Now I know that some games have replays that you can record and watch later but I'm talking about making videos of whatever you're doing in the game! I would have done some Let's Plays already if I was able to record the footage in a quality that's doing the games justice but the needed equipment is not exactly cheap.

So yeah, would anybody else like to see that properly implemented in future consoles or is it just some crazy wish by me?

That's an awesome idea, SirLink. I was recently thinking of doing a Let's Play of sorts myself, but yeah, it's a pain in the arse to get the necessary equipment. To be able to freely record everything you're doing using just the console would be damn cool.

The thing that made that fake besides some of the obvious stuff on there was the amount of RAM, since Nintendo have always put more Ram towards their CPU's rather than the GPU's.

Plus, Sirlink, that would be a neat Idea, but judging from Frapps, unless it was really optimised for the console, it would eat quite a lot of the CPU power and RAM, but yeah, it would be good, and I guess it would work since it'll probably be alot more optimised than Frapps.

I stumbled upon a really funny video about the N6. Thought I'd share it with you guys for some laughs!

New Zelda at E3?

Dodgy translation from this one website, so can't take it as fact at all. But interesting all the same. It's Zelda's 25th anniversary so I wouldn't put it past them to announce something. Any guesses as to what we could get with Zelda?

Brand new 3DS game?
Skyward Sword Cafe?
Wind Waker-style Cafe game?
Traditional-style Cafe game?
Link to the Past remake?
Majora's Mask 3D?
The Legend of Paper Zelda? (lulz)

Lots of possibilities. I reckon a brand new 3DS Zelda will be announced, perhaps using the same engine as OOT3D's. But seeing as it's also the 25th anniversary, I can see a couple more announcements being made, such as Majora's Mask 3D, and possibly even a brief teaser for Cafe Zelda. I'm dying for a new console WW-style game, so I would love that. But a 3DS Zelda I can see happening. They might wanna keep a bit more quiet on a Cafe Zelda with Skyward Sword around the corner, but still, it's the anniversary, so anything could happen.



( Edited 01.06.2011 21:35 by Azuardo )

Would love a teaser for a Cafe Zelda, though still want a strong focus for Skyward Sword. Longing to see things we haven't seen before (in terms of game design/environments).

A proper 3D remake of Link to the Past would be orgasmic!

Skyward Sword rumours - probably fake.

1. Skyward Sword is complete, but still needs debugging/testing.
2. There will be a demo at E3 with three different aspects of the game explored: Flying combat, overworld + sky exploration, desert dungeon.
3. Skyward Sword girl's name is "Dorella."
4. Magician from GDC trailer's name is "Nephiburoo," he'll be a part of a group of evil sorcerers who wish to obtain the Triforce.
5. Ganondorf is in the game briefly as a child. Isn't too important to the story.
6. Zelda has a new design, similar to an Egyptian princess with brown hair. She's still recognizable however.
7. Full orchestrated soundtrack by the person responsible for Super Mario Galaxy's soundtrack. (This one is actually true, but I do wonder if the poster only put this one in to make the rumors more believable.)
8. Two overworlds: Skyloft and Hyrule. Contrast is similar to Heaven and Hell.
9. Ten minute live-action prologue that'll be posted on the net a couple of months before release. (Zelda Williams Secret Shoot? Zelda is rumored to have brown hair and take on an Egyptian princess aesthetic. It COULD fit.)
10. After you complete the game, the game goes into a storyless, neverending epilogue. Every dungeon in the game gets another dungeon inside of it utilizing everything you've obtained in the game with new bosses. New areas on the overworld are unlocked in places you wouldn't expect. Similar to the original Zelda.
11. Game will feature horse riding and boat riding. Not as expansive as seen in Twilight Princess and Wind Waker, however, but a boat will be required to complete some dungeons.
12. Coming November 1st, 2011.

According to Quick Jump, they've found the N6's specs.Clicky. (This is just a rumour).

The System:

Uses a custom IBM triple-core CPU running at 3.6GHz per core
The development kit contains 1gb RAM, but Nintendo have hinted that the console will actually have 1.5gb
Nintendo will be releasing games that will run 1080p natively. Sources say that with Nintendo’s art style and the power the system has, the games look ‘stunning’.
The system does run on AMD R700 card, but the architecture is slightly different and the clock speeds are much higher.
The System resembles JPN/EU SNES machines in color only and not in shape
The development kit is about the size of a 360, not the console
Close sources say it’s as if Nintendo is in “damage control” with 3rd party developers.
Nintendo is trying really hard to get 3rd parties on board to develop games and have offered incentives such as not releasing big-title Nintendo games in holiday seasons to compete against 3rd party titles.
Nintendo went to many 3rd party developers on guidance on what they were after with the new console in terms of system specs, controller and online system.

The Controller:

Nintendo have been keeping this really quiet and have only given developers controller prototypes to start designing games. However, the final controller build with all the features have only been given to Nintendo 1st and 2nd party developers for now.
Nintendo had planned on inserting a screen on the controller back when the Gamecube was in development, but opted out due to technology not being advanced enough to be functional
The controller that’s been given to developers has a large 5.7inch hd (960x640pixel) screen, 2 analogue sticks, 4 face buttons, 3 middle buttons (select/home/start in that order), 2 shoulder buttons and 2 triggers.
The triggers aren’t as deep as the 360’s triggers, but have plenty of push
The big thing about the screen is that it’s a multi-touch screen, contains it’s own battery and is detachable from the controller unit
The screen when detached contains its own memory so developers can store data on it, so gamers can play whatever the developer designs for the screen-only use
When the screen is attached to the controller it works by streaming content directly from the console
Nintendo are giving developers ideas other than just having it function as a quick menu screen for games while attached, or as a simple tamagochi-like mini-game when detached
The controller contains a gyroscope, but motion controls isn’t the focus of the controller like it was for the Wii


( Edited 05.06.2011 13:50 by Stulaw )

Sounds extremely promising. If true, I'm excited.

Page 2 of Stulaw link.

Games:
Nintendo will release a Mario platformer as a launch title which hasn’t been done since the N64.
The Mario platformer looks to be the spiritual successor to Mario 64.
Gamefreak and EAD are hard at work developing a Pokemon online RPG.
The Pokemon RPG is not an MMO, but does have a large online emphasis and will be Nintendo’s flagship title when showing off the online capabilities of the console.
There will be at least one new IP Nintendo will reveal at E3.
Nintendo is working on a new Zelda, but didn’t reveal anything to developers.


Other:
Some developers have had the Wii 2 dev kit for going on 2 years now. When the Wii 2 is released in late, that’s 3 years to develop games on.
Because of such generous development time, Nintendo have pushed 3rd parties to develop high quality games to be released at or near launch.
Nintendo have sourced an external company to develop their online network, which the developer has commented, surpasses both the PS3 and 360 in terms of speed and functionality.
Nintendo is pushing for the console to be online 24/7 and have seamless online integration with many of their games
Friend codes are confirmed to be gone
Nintendo has been toying with the idea of a game where the main character is your Mii
Nintendo will be pushing their Pokemon RPG to showcase their online network
Rockstar are supposedly hard at work in bringing on of their “most popular” titles

Almost read that as "Friend codes confirmed", and nearly died inside. Better online than PS360? I don't wanna take these as facts just yet because it sounds too good.

Only thing I am concerned about is Nintendo not releasing their first party games to let 3rd parties have their chance. We've seen how much of a drought the 3DS has already had. Nintendo have enough IPs to be releasing a triple A title every couple of months, but I don't want to be waiting months for the next big game. So long as 3rd parties actually release GOOD games then it might not be too bad of a problem.

Still, wait and see.

Didn't know it had a second page.

Still, the reason I doubt this rumour is the screen, a 5.7" HD touchscreen with it's own battery and everything sounds way too expensive to be part of a controller, I understand it being detachable though, that would make sense. And if it does turn out to be that big I can imagine a lot of RTS' coming to the console.

So apparently it may just be called the Nintendo. Which after thinking about, I really like.

Info:

That's the latest rumor floated by Game Informer, the same outlet that published the first story with rumored details on Nintendo's follow up to the Wii. Instead of Wii 2, Wii HD, Project Cafe or Four GameCubes Duct Taped Together, Nintendo may just go with Nintendo.

It's a bold, but potentially perplexing choice, if true, and not out of the realm of possibility. "Nintendo" is how the NES was colloquially referred when that system was dominant, so maybe that's Nintendo's best shot at broad brand recognition.

We'll known for sure (at least I hope) this Tuesday, when Nintendo.

Link

That sounds like a good idea, although I wouldn't like the next one just to be called the Nintendo 2, maybe it'll be the Super Nintendo (w/o entertainment system at the end).

BUMP TO THE MAX

Renamed the Thread for discussion purposes, changed the front page.

Another Bump

Kotaku have a close up Video for the console, it's slightly longer than the Wii, and has more vents.

You could say they took 'wider and deeper' quite literally

( Edited 09.06.2011 19:41 by Stulaw )

If the final unit is anything close to that, that's pretty neat. Still small and sleek.

Ghost Recon Online will be a digital download
From NintendoWorldReport:

"Ubisoft's Wii U shooter will be available for download online and they are aiming for launch.

Ghost Recon Online for Wii will not be a retail title, revealed a Ubisoft representative. The representative further explained that the final price point for the software is still being considered, but they are thinking about a price near $10. At the Ubisoft presentation tonight,they did not discuss or elaborate on these details at all.

Ghost Recon Online is also coming to the PC, where the title will be free. The PC version will have grenades and other items that can be purchased for your character, and its likely that so will the Wii U game. The rep also said that there will not be cross-platform play with the PC version."

Mass Effect "a really nice fit" for Wii U, says EA

Mass Effect would be a "really nice fit" for Wii U. That's according to EA Games chief Frank Gibeau.

In an interview with GameTrailers, Gibeau was asked if Mass Effect 3 would be coming to the Wii U and although he said that EA hasn't announced anything, he admitted that it would be nice.

"I can't say we are going to do it on the Wii U, but you can imagine what we could do with that controller in the Mass Effect universe. It feels like a really nice fit, but we'll announce that when the time is right."

Right, I'm going to hopefully clear things up about how the online for the U most likely works.

I had to do a bit of research into exactly what's been said by Nintendo up till now regarding online. I don't think I'll do a very good job summarising, so to make it simpler, and to save time, I'm just going to copy/paste some posts made by users at the Wii U board on Gamefaqs and quotes from elsewhere which should hopefully clear things up and hopefully let us breathe a sigh of relief (myself included).

Nintendo says that with the launch of the Wii U the company plans to offer an enhanced online service that will offer online friends tracking, friends lists, achievements, achievement tracking, and perhaps the most interesting offering is online match scheduling via the Wii U touch screen controller.

Nintendo claims that once released, the Wii U will offer an online experience that rivals what is currently being offered by Xbox Live and PSN.

According to the developer, the new console will support friend lists and allow players to arrange online matches with the tablet controller, even when the TV is being used for non-game applications. Each player will have their own personal account, rather than the “friend codes” that each Wii sported.

No more of this...ever

That’s right - friend codes are dead.

Gamefaqs posters from this thread:

lol you guys are misinterpreting what he said...not having a centralized online system doesn't mean its going back to friend codes, it means that its not going to be akin to what PSN and Xbox Live is, in other words, centralized servers that PSN and Xbox Live can control.

Instead, each developer will provide their own servers, like Ubisoft is doing with Ghost Recon (hence why they said "on an account basis") in fact, this is great news...this means that each developer has the freedom to add whatever they want to their servers instead of going through the appropriate channels that PSN and especially Xbox Live require

In fact, its more akin to PC than it is to PSN and Xbox Live

In response to someone saying this: "This means that the service is dependent on the developers and not Nintendo. Not good.", someone replied:

3rd Party Developers disagree with you...they've been numerous complaints and criticisms from them about how Sony and Microsoft handle their online systems, that is why Square Enix eliminated the possibility of FF14 on 360 (whether thats good or bad is subjective btw), that is why Valve did not want to deal with consoles because the Orange Box for PS3 and Xbox 360 were significantly inferior to their PC counterparts due to Microsoft and their egos not letting them update Team Fortress 2 (its just that Sony woke up with the idea of them having Portal 2).

That is why 3rd party devs are excited about the Wii U simply because of that freedom...

Basically:

- Nintendo will have friend lists, messaging, video chat, voice chat, achievements and stats.
- Nintendo will handle servers/online for their own titles.
- Nintendo will have an open online for other companies to have more open, free-reign over their titles, such as EA handling their own infrastructure (as they like to), Ubisoft doing the same, etc.
- Nintendos open online will allow MMO devs a chance to finally give MMO's a chance o a console. Just look at Ghost Recon Online as proof, you think ubisoft would be bringing Ghost Recon Online over if it wasn't happy with nintendos online?

Just as an example for what this means to those who can't grasp it. Blizzard could bring Diablo 3 to Wii U, with it utilizing blizzards own Battle.net and blizzard could update their game at will without having to go through 200 feet of red tape like they would if they tried to do an update to XBL.

That's a good thing.

Reggie himself said that FC's are out, however, he never said that they would have a central network. This, just like the 1 tablet with Wii controller support, is a good thing that is misinterpreted as bad. To uphold an entire network would cost a fair amount of money for Nintendo. That's why MS charges for online, and why Sony is losing money by the minute. This essentially means that you won't have to pay to get a great online experience like with XBL. If done right, this could be great.

Again, no "centralized system" is not necessarily a bad thing. It just depends on if it means like "No centralized online like the Wii", or "No centralized online like Steam, meaning each developer can do their own thing and it will just run off our servers."

Is making an account really that hard? If they did something like this, you'd probably make an account for each game, i.e type in a name. I doubt they would do a password or anything. Also, none of this has been fully confirmed. They may decide to make an entire network. Nobody really knows for sure. I'm just pointing that it could be good if there was no central network. Another possibility is that they have a very lose network, such as that you make an account, and that it is used globally for all games, but it is up to the devs to set up the online with help from Nintendo.

So yeah, these guys explained it better than I ever could. I didn't even realise that this was the case. I was one of those ignorant ones who assumed things and quite simply don't have the knowledge of how online works. So hopefully, this will be perfectly fine and Nintendo will confirm things properly eventually.

( Edited 11.06.2011 02:22 by Azuardo )

I already suspected something like that, an open online network that will give developers much more freedom. That would explain why companies like EA or Ubisoft are so excited. If Nintendo's online would be the about the same or not on par with XBL/PSN there would be no reason for them to go all excited over the Wii U in general. If all of that is true, Nintendo must have heard some complains from developers about the other online services and thought that's the perfect way to 1UP them on that.

Maybe some people see that as a bad thing but more freedom for developers to deliver great online experiences without being held back by restrictions or anything like that is a good thing in my book.

As a massive MMORPG fan, the thought alone of Blizzard bringing Diablo 3 to Wii U is simply mindblowing.

( Edited 11.06.2011 08:44 by SirLink )

I was only complaining because I didn't realise this was the case previously. I don't have the knowledge to understand how it all works but after doing a little bit of research I get it now. It was more the fact that we were getting different information from different sources and most people like myself took it negatively when we heard how Nintendo were doing things.

However, you're completely right; developers wouldn't be excited and throw their support behind it if it was anything like what they have now with Wii, and indeed if it was going to be any worse than XBL/PSN. And let's face it, Nintendo aren't really going to take a step backwards from the 3DS. But with Nintendo's crazy decisions in the past you'd be forgiven for thinking this way.

I do hope there is some sort of network in place that allows us to keep one user ID which can be used across all games though, just to allow for ease of communication and checking up on friends etc, and saving people going through registering accounts all the time.

I just hope Nintendo go one further in their own games and allow voice chat features and solid online play. SF64 uses webcam multiplayer, but that's local play only, so it's hard to judge if they would take it to the next level.

All we can do is wait for a more in-depth response from Nintendo's higher ups, rather than relying on bits and bobs here and there from random reps. Why doesn't Reggie just outright explain how it all works, rather than confusing us? Look how many people all over the place are getting the wrong idea, or don't know who's saying what. I think they've handled it in the wrong way.

Practically it's going to be like steam, which is an entirely good thing, since Steam is better than Xbox live IMO.

Choosing names in games are linked to a centralised account, so practically, you'll always know who your friends are in games so you'll never get confused.

( Edited 11.06.2011 17:06 by Stulaw )