Wii U in 'development hell', claims tipster

[TheVileOne]

Geo, you say behind, but I mean I think in 2007 Nintendo surpassed both Sony and Microsoft for videogame hardware and software.

[Soapy]

What metric are you using?

[StrainedEyes]

Originally Posted by TheVileOne

Geo, you say behind, but I mean I think in 2007 Nintendo surpassed both Sony and Microsoft for videogame hardware and software.

Ok, sure the Wii sold an insane amount and Nintendo made a lot of money from it... but it's 2011. A year that saw a huge/early price cut for their new handheld coupled with an actual apology to the owners, and the announcement of a new console that will be on par (possibly slightly ahead) with 7 year old hardware by the time it is released.

I literally have no idea what the last significant 3rd party game for the Wii was.

The idea of a modern console that plays all the best new games and has the new Mario and Zelda sounds fantastic. The problem is, Nintendo is content to target the super casual audience, the ones who bought the Wii in droves and never purchased a game outside of Wii Sports Resort, because they make money on the hardware. Good on them for making money.

As a gamer excited for Skyrim, Uncharted, Battlefield, Arkham City and Zelda, I will be perfectly content to skip the Wii U and wait for the Xbox 3 or the PS4, which is where all the good developers in the industry will focus. I'm not interested in which company is selling more units, I'm interested in the games and owning a system that doesn't collect dust. The Wii has been extremely disappointing to me, and I'm not even close to being alone in that thought.

[terry78]

Nintendo could easily create a console that has graphics on par with MS and Sony, that's obvious. Like I said before, I think they just like to prove a point with their stuff.

[Lead Cenobite]

Originally Posted by terry78

They didn't use to. They're being as innovative as they always were, it's just that audiences have started favoring style over substance.

It's not just style. There are gameplay-based benefits from a more powerful system. How different do you think Super Mario 64 would have been if they instead released it on the SNES and using a Super FX chip as originally planned?

[The Bruce]

Originally Posted by StrainedEyes

They have also made me extremely revision aware. I refuse to buy a 3DS because I know they will release a new/better version in a year with better battery, better form and hell possibly with a second circle pad. Why buy a Wii U when in 1-2 years they will release a Wii U Plus that fixes all the issues with the original? It's a weird mentality they have settled into this generation, and I don't much like it.

This is not just a Nintendo problem. How many 360's have MS released since 2005? How about Sony and their PSPs?

[Lead Cenobite]

Originally Posted by Benstamania

Well... That's why I said "on the next Xbox." What better way for Microsoft to get that exclusive content that people say they need than to buy up Nintendo.

Oh hell no. Going 3rd party's fine, but I'll be damned if Nintendo ever gets eaten alive by some soulless conglomerate and loses its identity.

[Benstamania]

For the record.. I don't think that will ever happen.

[Destructus86]

The Wii had the worst software selection of all three systems.

[Dr. House]

Originally Posted by Destructus86

The Wii had the worst software selection of all three systems.

there are alot of hidden gems in the wii catalog. the wii just doesnt get respect because of the controller and the gimmicks

[Matt Mortem]

Originally Posted by Dr. House

there are alot of hidden gems in the wii catalog. the wii just doesnt get respect because of the controller and the gimmicks

This. I have found games I really enjoy, and that are a lot of fun. Mostly they're the games that don't require the controller gimmick. If the WiiU doesn't have the gimmicky motion control, I'll be happy as can be.

[terry78]

Madworld was THE game back in the day. I know they're bringing it back with Anarchy Reigns.

[craigdbfan]

So when is this gentlemen getting his own video game?

[Léo Ho Tep]

Originally Posted by StrainedEyes

Ok, sure the Wii sold an insane amount and Nintendo made a lot of money from it... but it's 2011. A year that saw a huge/early price cut for their new handheld coupled with an actual apology to the owners, and the announcement of a new console that will be on par (possibly slightly ahead) with 7 year old hardware by the time it is released.

I literally have no idea what the last significant 3rd party game for the Wii was.

The idea of a modern console that plays all the best new games and has the new Mario and Zelda sounds fantastic. The problem is, Nintendo is content to target the super casual audience, the ones who bought the Wii in droves and never purchased a game outside of Wii Sports Resort, because they make money on the hardware. Good on them for making money.

As a gamer excited for Skyrim, Uncharted, Battlefield, Arkham City and Zelda, I will be perfectly content to skip the Wii U and wait for the Xbox 3 or the PS4, which is where all the good developers in the industry will focus. I'm not interested in which company is selling more units, I'm interested in the games and owning a system that doesn't collect dust. The Wii has been extremely disappointing to me, and I'm not even close to being alone in that thought.

agreed.

[8Diagrams(WU)]

I personally dont care that much about actual specs. I think spec dick measuring is to justify high price tags and I do not think the games actually use the hardware to its limits. I want games I can enjoy and that includes casual and core games alike. I can play mario then switch to halo no problem.

The Wii lacked big titles but it has some classics there as well. Its a good system at a decent price and FPS games with the wii remote are excellent. Now Nintendo doesnt play to this arms race that is the specs situation which delivers a good system for the price, but I think right now what I want from them is a system where I can play lots of core titles while still being able to play stuff with my fam when they are around instead of having to buy three consoles for different games.

[AOElements]

As a huge Nintendo fan, i'm really hoping they take the time to develop this console. I dont want any rushed product that needs 100 updates before its ok.
That said, i've been unsure about Wii U since day 1. When the wii came out, i was so excited...but for the first time Nintendo really dissapointed me.
If they manage to pull this off though..it will probably be a huge succsess. But if they have problems..lets just hope they do not release it to early.

But to be honest, i think gaming in general is going a little crazy these days, what happended to the good old times when we only needed a console and a good controller

[Fading]

Originally Posted by Lead Cenobite

Oh hell no. Going 3rd party's fine, but I'll be damned if Nintendo ever gets eaten alive by some soulless conglomerate and loses its identity.

Agreed, Microsoft is the last company Nintendo would want to be bought by. They'd make a Mario Kinect game for shock value, a gritty Zelda, and in 2 years be making avatar clothes. As much as I'd love a Zelda with Move functionality on a PS4, I realize it would need to be made by Nintendo, as a 3rd party, the way they want to make it. Otherwise it would probably lose it's soul and charm.

StrainedEyes and others already hit my feelings on the Wii U perfectly though. I tried to like my Gamecube, but Mario just doesn't do it for me. While I like Nintendo's handhelds, their consoles only have 1 title I care about (Zelda). Touchscreen, while nifty, won't solely sell the console for me. Neither will having PS3 level graphics as Sony and Microsoft ready to jump next gen, and old ports of Arkham City, and Mass Effect 3 definetly won't (considering I own, and have beat both).

This gen proved my assumptions wrong, so I'm not going to count Nintendo out. However, I think they have an up hill battle. Wii sales cut in half these last few years, and while the 3DS is doing good now, it had a very rocky start requiring a large price drop, and a redesign. Touchscreen is on everything now, so might not catch fire with the casual crowd (who have moved back to phones and Apple anyway). Plus the hardware will be a gen behind at launch. However, Nintendo faithful don't buy for graphics, and the casual crowd is wish washy. So who knows. Nintendo has always marched to their own beat, and may surprise us again.

[Thundercrack85]

Two things, Nintendo will never let itself be bought by Microsoft.

And they've made gritty Zelda games. Majora's Mask being the bleakest.

Quite frankly, these days, we could use some more grittiness in Zelda games.

[Fading]

Originally Posted by Thundercrack85

Two things, Nintendo will never let itself be bought by Microsoft.

And they've made gritty Zelda games. Majora's Mask being the bleakest.

Quite frankly, these days, we could use some more grittiness in Zelda games.

When I think gritty in terms of games and movies, I think of a more realistic, dirty, abrasive, mature, world of grey's experience. Majora's mask may have had an undertone of impending doom, and an odd hint of sorrow, but I wouldn't call it gritty. Link was still Link, and the NPC's were still exaggerated, colorful charactitures. I've never played Twillight Princess, so I can't comment on it.

A Microsoft gritty version of Zelda would involve a redesigned "cool" Link who talks, doing slow motion blood splattering combos, and grey area moral choices. The setting would probably be steam punk where Link could net a crude gun instead of a boomerang, and Zelda would dress like a ****. Ghanon would probably become a terrorist whose first introduction in blowing up a chunk of the castle with a bomb.

That's what I meant. I agree it won't happen though. It would take Apple joining the race, and a desperate Microsoft shelling out a LOT of cash.