Wii U - Page 2  

Bundle it with a killer app and they can sell it for more. Wii Sports was the Wii killer app, made that $50 higher price (vs past Nintendo systems) easy to swallow.

We don't even know the exact specs for the console. Anything you've read about the production cost for it is complete speculation at this point.

And then there are other factors beyond a console, hybrid gamepad/tablet, and AV and power cables to consider. If they include another pack-in (And why wouldn't they? It served them well throughout the Wii years), you have to factor that into the equation. Just because it's a pack-in doesn't mean development was free.

And if they want motion gaming to continue to thrive on their newest platform (And they speak about wanting just that to happen), it's going to have to include a Wiimote and nunchuck right out of the box. You can hardly expect developers to be routinely releasing motion dependent software that isn't even playable with the controller that came with the console.

So I don't see how they can get away from including a Wiimote/nunchuck with the console. So there is a few more dollars in cost to account for.

I'd be shocked if it was more than $249.99. At $249.99, I "might" buy one, but at $299 or more, no chance at all. Nintendo has to know there are millions of people like me that won't budge past $249.99. Realistically, considering how underpowered it is, and that it doesn't play Blu Ray's, I'd actually expect $199.99 to be a more logical price, but I could see Nintendo wanting to "start" at $249.99, and be able to lower the price later if need be.


Also, I believe it was announced recently that Nintendo is NOT going to reveal the price of the system at e3. Supposedly, the price would be revealed at a later date. At first, this makes almost zero sense, but I think I know why they are doing it. I think they want to wait as long as they can before revealing the price, because they want to see how much the 360 and PS3 are going to cost this Xmas, and have their price be competitive. If they announce a high price early, and then there are some Xbox and PS3 price drops more towards August, then the system could end up costing $100 more than a PS3, which would be a mistake in my opinion.

Not to mention the news that MS may be offering the 4GB 360 + Kinect + a new $15/mo Live option for $99.

http://www.cnn.com/2012/05/03/tech/g...dle/index.html

"The $15 monthly subscription would reportedly include all the online game play features of a current Xbox Live Gold subscription, alongside unspecified additional content from cable or live sports video providers."

Is that a deal though? From what I saw the other day, you're paying more in the long run than you would just to buy everything the normal way.

One look at rent to own stores should tell you how the public would take to that pricing model.

I don't mean to suggest that people wouldn't take advantage of the offer if they're allowed to pay a little more in the long run in small increments with less initial cost.

What I was getting at is I don't think the existence of this deal, if true, would do much to damage Nintendo's chances of selling the WiiU for a high price point come this Fall. Only takes basic math skills to realize when you start calculating the monthly fee over two years that you're going to be paying well past $400 in the end for that 360 deal (Even though buying the regular bundle up front and two years of subscriptions is over $40 less than the "deal"; and that's with two years of Xbox Live at MSRP...).

It's not a deal at all, it's a payment plan with interest for what will be a 7 year old console come this Fall. So I don't think Nintendo has much to worry about in regards to this particular rumor. Something like dropping the arcade model to $100 (Without $360 in additional fees hiding in the fine print), pricing the Kinect bundle at $200, and perhaps tossing in Kinect into the current 250 gig Elite SKU to justify it remaining at $300 on the other hand might put a crimp on Nintendo's plans if they're considering a high price point. .

But not this rumor. Hard to imagine this having any influence on Nintendo's pricing decisions if you ask me.

Exactly....but I still think this was the best plan MS thought to come up with to both combat the big "casual console" update coming w/ WIi U, as well as an apparent belief that it would somehow sell more consoles to those that may not have traditionally bought them (like Ninty did w/ the Wii)....with said customers perhaps unaware of the overall cost over time.

I think many will see XBOX360 + Kinect = $99 & jump in w/o doing the math upfront. I'm sure that is MS's hope, too.

It may also be some sort of shot @ Ninty by MS, but agree that it will surely have little to no effect on the former's Wii U pricing.

I think that the price drops on the base PS3 and HDD 360 will have more effect on the Wii U pricing compared to anything else. Nintendo will do their own show around TGS and the world wide pricing will be announced there.

It's an interesting idea at least. Perhaps they're testing the waters to see if they can get away with not subsidizing a lot the cost of the nextbox up front. People have shown they're cost conscious on the initial fee but also willing to pay an ongoing cost in terms of Xbox live sub. Its the same model cell phones have used for the better part of a decade, and no one really balks. Paying an ongoing fee makes sense when youre receiving ongoing service. It's hard to make that argument for an offline console, but it makes a lot of sense for a connected one.

Its a win for them on many fronts - they can release the nextbox for comparatively much less and/or make it much more powerful than they otherwise could have with the traditional model. Not only will they get ongoing income, but they'll also be tying consumers in to their ecosystem.

It's not a crazy idea at all as long as they use it to make the overall experience better. If they're just using it solely as a strategy to extract as much money as possible from people who can't do the math, it'll backfire.

In a recent podcast I was listening to, the people were talking about how developers have been complaining about the power of the Wii U, behind the scenes. Saying that they thought it would be a bit beyond the 360 and PS3, yet finding out that it isn't even quite up to the level of those older systems.

If any of that is even remotely accurate, then I don't believe that Nintendo could afford to be $100 more than the PS3. PS3 will likely drop to $199.99 this Xmas, and if Nintendo has any sense at all, they will know that they shouldn't be a full $100 more than that. I fully expect $249.99, but some of that is going to depend on what Microsoft and Sony ultimately decide to pricing wise... It puts Nintendo in a difficult position, because they really are going to have to wait as long as they can before announcing a price, which is kinda strange.

Everybody knows it won't be any lower than $199, and any more than $299, but they just don't know which extreme Nintendo is going to pick, or if they will be right in the middle.

Which rumors are true though? I've heard that the Wii U is weaker than the PS3 and 360 and I've heard that it blows them away. We need to just wait until E3 to learn more because the rumors are just too varried atm.

Post #4,000!

Wii U release titles leaked from Blockbuster UK database:

Just Dance 4
Killer Freaks From Outer Space
Marvel Super Heroes
Metro Last Light
Monsters Party
New Super Mario Brothers Mii
Ninja Gaiden 3
Pikmin
Rabbids Party Land
Raving Rabbids
Rayman Legends
Shield Pose
Splinter Cell 6
Sports Connection
Tekken
Your Shape 2013
Zombie
Aliens: Colonial Marines
Assassin's Creed
Batman Arkham City
Darksiders II
Dirt 3
Formula 1 All Stars
Game Party
Ghost Recon Online

My Plan for the Wii U, and what I hope that Nintendo will attempt to do with the launch of their new system.

Launch Price $299.99
Included Pack in's
The Wind Waker HD
Updated Classic Controller

I've been thinking about various ways that Nintendo could avoid the mistakes that the Wii made, namely lack of core games and good games being held back by their unique controller. The Updated Classic Controller would be for core games, making it slightly more comfortable to hold and adding clicking analog sticks to bring it up to the same level of control options as the other two consoles. Making it work independent of any other controller (unlike the current classic controller) and completely wireless. This way games like CoD could be played without a massive tablet with buttons. With it being included with each console games could be ported from the other consoles and PC without having to adjust the controls, devs are happy. Packing in a game like The Wind Waker would help make the $300 cost easier to swallow. (and net Nintendo a tidy profit)

Games.
Let Devs do straight ports of console and PC titles however they want. No adding extra content, no needing complicated touch screen additions, just let the devs port their games to your Hardware. An Ideal launch window and first year would include stuff like Skyrim, Resident Evil 6, Black Ops 2, Crysis 3, Battlefield 3, Arkham City, Borderlands 2, Devil May Cry, Bioshock Infinite, basically any major release from the last 2 years plus any upcoming releases. Flood the market with high profile games early on and keep them coming during that first year leading up to the next Holiday. This would convince most core gamers that the Wii U will have the games they want PLUS Nintendo's All Star lineup of games, a win win for everyone.

Aggressively building Marketshare during that first year is what Nintendo needs to do, even if Sony And MS rush their next gen plans forward it would take them a while to get it ready to ship, and Nintendo can easily take full advantage of it if they want to. Getting big Core Core franchises on the hardware (especially Black Ops 2) without relying on the tablet controller with upgraded graphics and better framerates and a proper network, they could pull off another Wii rush this holiday season and maintain it through at least the first year. Then when Sony and MS release their next systems, drop the Wind Waker from the bundle and cut the price to $249.99 and release it as a separate game for $20 and keep the momentum going.

They're doing just that. A traditional gamepad is being packed in with shoulder buttons, triggers, 4 face buttons, dual analog sticks (Unsure if they will click for an additional button, but I doubt that's considered very important), and a d-pad. It just also will have a touch screen in the center.

I'd expect to see the Classic Controller remain on basically unchanged but with Wii U branding for them to sell individually. Particularly with all the talk last year that the system would be limited to a single hybrid controller, there's going to be a need for existing Wii controllers including gamepads to fill out multiplayer lineups.

But I don't see them including one when the standard controller already has everything a Classic Controller does and more.

Then drop the Wind Waker and sell it for $249.99 with less of a price drop option down the road.

I'm just trying to find an option that apeases the casual CoD playing masses and a easier to hold (and throw) controller would go a long way to make them happy.

Plus by including both as a pack in the price can be raised $50 and people wouldn't complain because of the added value. And within a year the cost to make the hardware will have dropped and they can drop Wind Waker and drop the price to toss a wrench in the plans of Sony and Microsoft when they launch.

I think controllers and pack ins are ultimately going to take a back seat to the only thing that matters. Exclusive software.

Its not powerful enough to buy on specs alone, online not refined enough to drag people away from PSN and XBL. The screen gimmick just isn't compelling enough. The only thing that's going to move this thing is must have games. They can't just have luigi's mansion or 10 year old ports.

Exactly this. They aren't going to sell the thing based on having year-old ports of stuff like Arkham City available, or HD remakes of first-party classics. That was essentially what they tried with the 3DS. As for a pack-in, I'd bet on it, if only because they already have all those proof-of-concept demos they showed at trade shows back when the Wii U was first unveiled. Those aren't going to be fleshed out much more, so may as well bundle them in as a Wii-Sports-type compilation.

People always act like specs are a huge deal, the defining factor that will make or break a system, but that's been true how many times exactly? Close to zero. Give people the games they want, and specs don't matter.

I wrote a 32-paragraph rant on how Nintendo is doing nearly nothing right with WiiU, but I've decided to abbreviate that rather chastising posting (translation: my browser crashed)... anyway, you guys are spot on: it needs games. And there doesn't appear to be any.

I'll be shocked if Nintendo doesn't come out of E3 with LESS excitement than after last year. There's not a system selling game even being rumored right now; Super Mario Mii would have to come out of the screen and give players a handy to be a day-one system seller - we've seen this game already. If Ninty is counting on mad profits and recapturing the hardcore by launching with PS360 ports, aerobi-dance games, useless figurines that'll get used one time and online & HDD loading basically just for (likely overpriced) re-re-releases of GC games, they're going to be disappointed.

I assume online will be shiny and redesigned, 3DS has made some improvements from DSi and Wii, but until it's as easy to use and view/add friends as say, facebook, just adding DLC and re-wallpapering the store won't sell consoles. Neither will the screen in the controller, it's not cool or novel enough to draw distance between WiiU and the PS360, and certainly not PS4/NeXtbox.

One tablet per system, the (rumored) dated hardware, launch games pool sounding shallow at best... Iwata would need to have been holding back megatons for this console launch to wow me. And probably most Nintendo fans.

I'm somewhat withholding judgement for a month because they could always surprise....but Nintendo has disappointed me so many times for the past 3-4 years that my expectations are so low.

There's already no chance that this is going to compete with the "real" next gen. So it's value really only remains in first party franchises and great casual games. But their first party games have cratered in quality over the past few years...so I don't even want to get my hopes up.

I like the tablet controller. They aren't going to blow away MS or Sony with powerful tech so they need to do something different. I'm not expecting it to be my xbox. It will be for a different experience. I don't need the console to be the best way to play COD 27. If they can hit the 250 mark, I'll buy one without thinking twice about it.

Third party support seems decent. Ubisoft is all over the Wii U. If the Wii U is on par graphics wise, they really need the 3rd party developers to use the tablet in a way to make it the must have version and not just for crap like maps and inventory. I can picture playing a game like Aliens on my projector and moving the smaller screen over it to scan the area for Aliens. Ways to further immerse yourself in the gamplay.

The launch line up isn't amazing but they never are. I'd rather have a 3d Mario game, but I think it would be worse if they didn't have a Mario game at all. My wife doesn't play games, but if I throw on some 2d Mario I can't get the controller back. I liked Pikmin on the Gamecube and I'm sure they have all the classic franchises in the pipeline. What I think they really need is a killer pack-in game like Wii Sports to move systems.

I'd like to see what good devs can do with the tablet, but I'm expecting a lot more growing pains before games get it right, more pains than even the Wii had- which was a lot. Games like Elebits, Red Steel, Samba De Amigo and most of the 2006-2008 games were trying too hard to tack on motion controls, and the frustrations turned a lot of people off motion controls for good.

A lot of gamers still hate Metroid Prime 3 because using the Wiimote was "too much, no fun"... they're absolutely dead wrong, of course, but asking those (aka hardcore) gamers to scan, observe, interact or do anything north of "do what you do on DS" has a high probability of becoming an instant no-go. Plus only one tablet? I realize the console has some really heavy processing to do to make things happen on two screens and without noticeable lag, but no kids are gonna share that thing nicely... guaranteeing right now that YouTube will be filled with videos of people stepping on, dropping, and otherwise introducing their tablet to an early, unfortunate ending ala the 'wiimote breaks plasma screen" videos we had for Wii.

I think. Could be wrong. Donno

What I'd really like Nintendo to do is pull Retro Studios off Donkey Kong or Metroid or whatever and have them focus on creating a brand new teen-to-mature, multiplayer-centric IP designed to appeal to the dorm-room crowd. That demographic can practically prop up a fledgling system by themselves if given a Halo or Goldeneye. This kind of property has been a big hole in Nintendo's lineup basically since the N64 days. Zelda and Metroid do have some crossover appeal but even those have a bit of a "kiddie" stigma with CoD nuts, etc. A single such title could keep them going for years, and launching with it would be a big signal that they're serious about going after the hardcore crowd as well as their usual fans.

I dont think anything got played more in our dorm than super monkey ball. Monkey target!

The problem is, are these hardcore gamers going to care about the console either way? Best case scenario is, the Wii U is tech wise between last gen and the next gen. If they solely try to capture this hardcore crowd, wouldn't they be left with out an audience at all?

The hardcore isn't going to buy the uglier version with a weaker online infrastructure just to have a map on the controller and the other crowd won't care because it doesn't do anything fresh.

I really disliked the motion controls in MP3, they just felt tacked on and even by the final areas I was still struggling with the controls. Yesterday I started up Metroid Prime 1 on the GCN for the first time in 7 years, it took me 5 minutes to get right back into it. I think that speaks for something.

On a side note, it is surprising at how good MP1 still looks even compared to modern games.

I was the exact opposite - loved the Wiimote/'chuk combo for MP3 & was stoked when they added those controls to the 2 previous GCN titles for the Trilogy set. But then I always chalked this up to my preferring PC shooters w/ mouse & keyboard over dual sticks. But with the increase in Wii titles using Classic Controllers (Goldeneye, the more recent CODs, MH3, etc), I would think they will feature that option quite a bit with the new system.

You've had the opportunity to hold a Wii U controller? Not out of the realm of possibility I suppose if you attended last year's E3.

For me, I haven't and certainly won't until demo units start appearing shortly before launch time. So I'm going to hold off judging how comfortable the controller is, particularly when most reports seemed to express surprise last year at just how light and comfortable it was.

I suspect that common sense gives you your answer. Including an additional controller with the console when the standard controller already has every feature it would have and then some (And with those additional features likely being required for a decent number of games giving this packed in Classic Controller limited utility), is just about zip.

I suspect the Classic Controller will live on. But I think it will be the domain of backwards compatibility, the Virtual Console, and for filling out multiplayer lineups. My money is on few (If any) retail and downloadable Wii U games supporting it for player #1.

+1
Count me as another person who vastly prefers the Wiimote pointer controls for playing shooters like Metroid Prime and CoD. The thought of having to use thumbsticks strikes me as about as appealing as trying to play guitar wearing gloves.

Yup. The Wiimote forever ruined dual analog aiming controls for me. Once you learn to keep your arm steady and centered there's simply no going back. Aiming via dual analog when I play PS3 games feels being on tranquilizers while wearing oversized oven mitts filled with bricks.