Wii U / Nintendo general news and discussion

CiDeRmAn

I really don't enjoy the third person sandbox type game, I think they are hard to get right and all to easy to turn into a sprawling mess and a poor reflection of better games.
That said Nintendo have never attempted to build one, so they might have a different spin on it.
A new Okami or Viewtiful Joe game would also be sweet, see Nintendo, these are the sorts of 3rd party releases I need to see!

Star Lord

CiDeRmAn wrote: »

I mean, as awful as it might sound, replace Luigi with a different lead with no Ninty connections and would it suddenly become a valid game?

This is a very valid point I think, especially with a game like Luigi's Mansion, which is very different to most games I can think of. Swapping out the characters, while keeping the characteristics that make that game so charming and funny, it would be just as enjoyable, and wouldn't suffer for it. As it's Mario 'verse', it obviously utilises known characters, but it doesn't really depend on them. Would it have sold as much without Luigi and co? Possibly not. Would it still have been worth playing? Most definitely.

CiDeRmAn

Some people seem to see the character and identify the game then as another Mario platformer rather than something new each time.
At the very least there are franchise strands within the Mario platforming genre that bear very little resemblance to each other, beyond the aesthetic and elements of the moveset. New Super Mario Bros, Galaxy series, Mario vs DK and now the 3D land/world titles are all quite distinct games while individual games in each family share certainly more than being updates of each other, playing them reveals variations and reinvention but , again, there are those who take the lazy way and just daub the lot as Mario games and just repeats.

petes

CiDeRmAn wrote: »

P
If DKC Tropical Freeze featured a comically drawn stoat would it gain some sort

I'd play a game with a stoat in it!!

kunst nugget

I think in the west, gaming has an innate desire to seen as grown-up and to be taken seriously as a medium with games aimed at kids or a general audience seen as a niche market and viewed as throwaway. The DS seemed to be able to skirt around these prejudices successfully, the WiiU hasn't I don't think. Also, the marketing has been terrible for it. Like a lot of people here, I didn't even realise that it was a whole new console when I first saw it in the shop.

I have the Wii at home and my kids use it nearly everyday whether playing Mariokart or Mario Galaxy or using it for Netflix. It's worth it's wait in gold but I could never see myself picking up a WiiU because I can't see what extra benefit it would have for them.

Also, I've enjoyed playing Mariokart and Mario Galaxy but it's been about 20 years since I've felt the desire to finish a Mario game. They are undeniably good fun but I always find myself losing interest halfway through. Probably more of a reflection on me tbh.

kunst nugget

CiDeRmAn wrote: »

Some people seem to see the character and identify the game then as another Mario platformer rather than something new each time.
At the very least there are franchise strands within the Mario platforming genre that bear very little resemblance to each other, beyond the aesthetic and elements of the moveset. New Super Mario Bros, Galaxy series, Mario vs DK and now the 3D land/world titles are all quite distinct games while individual games in each family share certainly more than being updates of each other, playing them reveals variations and reinvention but , again, there are those who take the lazy way and just daub the lot as Mario games and just repeats.

Do you not think that spreading the same aesthetics across so many games, no matter how varied they are, creates player fatigue? I definitely like a bit of visual variety in the different games I play.

CiDeRmAn

I see your point, but no, that would only be an issue if I owned the Wii and WiiU in isolation, which I don't and I suspect very few people who love videogames ever owned just a Wii, or WiiU for that matter.

kunst nugget

CiDeRmAn wrote: »

I see your point, but no, that would only be an issue if I owned the Wii and WiiU in isolation, which I don't and I suspect very few people who love videogames ever owned just a Wii, or WiiU for that matter.

So would you say that the Wii or Wii U is really a second fiddle console then?

Pushtrak

kunst nugget wrote: »

So would you say that the Wii or Wii U is really a second fiddle console then?

I don't think looking at consoles in such terms is helpful. The three consoles are going to have brilliant games that'll be a lot of fun to play. I don't see how thinking in terms like you suggest has any point, honestly.

Grayditch

With many gamers I know, the Wii was second or third used console. And it wasn't used much outside of Nintendo exclusives, and then powered off for another few months.

Maybe taken out when there was a party, or after Christmas when they wanted to try lose a few pounds

kunst nugget

Pushtrak wrote: »

I don't think looking at consoles in such terms is helpful. The three consoles are going to have brilliant games that'll be a lot of fun to play. I don't see how thinking in terms like you suggest has any point, honestly.

Why not? If someone had €300 to spend on a console, would you think a WiiU represents good value for money over an XBox 360 or a PS3 or would you tell them to hold off and get one of the others first?

Allyall

I'm working very local this week, and I have been able to get back to my house easily enough for lengthy periods, but it also means I'm working late into the night.

Anyway, Every time I come home, this forum thead pops up in my notifications. Within 2 minutes I have Wii U controller in hand and I am playing (today) Deus Ex..

I'll never get any work done..

Pushtrak

kunst nugget wrote: »

Why not?

Why not what? Why don't I think it helpful? I answered that. I only have a Wii U currently of the current gen, the One/PS4 don't have the games to justify a purchase, but am definitely getting at least one of them this year. So, instead of using current gen, I'll use last gen. I don't think of second fiddle or some nonsense in terms of Wii/360/PS3. I just think of systems I got a lot of great games on.

If someone had €300 to spend on a console, would you think a WiiU represents good value for money over an XBox 360 or a PS3 or would you tell them to hold and get one of the others first?

I think at this point, most people would have one of those. So, if it was the Wii U VS the one they don't have, well, it'd be a matter of looking at the exclusive games on that platform VS what is out on the Wii U and compare it that way. They'd already have access to the multiplat in most cases from whichever one they own.

If someone hadn't gotten either the PS3 or 360 then they're crazy to not have done so and they have 9 years worth of titles they'd need to catch up on. I mean, are you being for real there? That Wii U doesn't compare favourably to 9 years of games? I'd equally suggest 360/PS3 over the One or PS4 and I expect that would be so for another year and a half from how it looks currently.

Use the same challenge against the Wii U against the PS4/One. Obviously they haven't been out so long, so feel free to extrapolate based on what we know for this year.

CiDeRmAn

kunst nugget wrote: »

So would you say that the Wii or Wii U is really a second fiddle console then?

That's an unpleasant thing to say, nice one to try and drag this back to juvenile bull.
Let yourself down there mate

CiDeRmAn

kunst nugget wrote: »

Why not? If someone had €300 to spend on a console, would you think a WiiU represents good value for money over an XBox 360 or a PS3 or would you tell them to hold off and get one of the others first?

And if you at what I said I simply indicated that the WiiU would seldom be part of a gaming setup as the only console in the home, just as the Wii was before it, in the normal gaming demographic.
And if you had the now needed 250 euro to spend and already have a PS3 or 360 I'd say it was an excellent purchase.

Radiosonde

CiDeRmAn wrote: »

.
Or perhaps a proper Starfox title.

Here's a longish article on why a new Star Fox will probably not happen (It's by Emily Rogers, who writes a lot of excellent stuff about Nintendo):
http://www.dromble.com/2014/03/15/why-rebooting-star-fox-isnt-easy-for-nintendo/

SF64 is one of my faves, but I find it hard to disagree much! (she overstates the "gimmick" aspect, but rail shooters are v. niche now)

kunst nugget

CiDeRmAn wrote: »

That's an unpleasant thing to say, nice one to try and drag this back to juvenile bull.
Let yourself down there mate

It's not trying to be juvenile, honestly. I was curious about what way you viewed the Wii U. You admitted that you didn't just have it by itself but it was one of many consoles. I was wondering if it was your primary console or not.

I'm just curious if its lack of success is down to the fact that maybe many would view it as something that they would hold off on buying until after picking up one of the other consoles first.

kunst nugget

Pushtrak wrote: »

Why not what? Why don't I think it helpful? I answered that. I only have a Wii U currently of the current gen, the One/PS4 don't have the games to justify a purchase, but am definitely getting at least one of them this year. So, instead of using current gen, I'll use last gen. I don't think of second fiddle or some nonsense in terms of Wii/360/PS3. I just think of systems I got a lot of great games on.

I think at this point, most people would have one of those. So, if it was the Wii U VS the one they don't have, well, it'd be a matter of looking at the exclusive games on that platform VS what is out on the Wii U and compare it that way. They'd already have access to the multiplat in most cases from whichever one they own.

If someone hadn't gotten either the PS3 or 360 then they're crazy to not have done so and they have 9 years worth of titles they'd need to catch up on. I mean, are you being for real there? That Wii U doesn't compare favourably to 9 years of games? I'd equally suggest 360/PS3 over the One or PS4 and I expect that would be so for another year and a half from how it looks currently.

Use the same challenge against the Wii U against the PS4/One. Obviously they haven't been out so long, so feel free to extrapolate based on what we know for this year.

€250-€300 would set you up well in terms of an xbox 360, PS3 or WiiU - it wouldn't in terms of an xbox one or PS4. I suppose I was really asking whether there was enough to distinguish from the last gen consoles to make it an essential purchase over one of those. I'm genuinely not looking to cause offence here.

Genghiz Cohen

kunst nugget wrote: »

Why not? If someone had €300 to spend on a console, would you think a WiiU represents good value for money over an XBox 360 or a PS3 or would you tell them to hold off and get one of the others first?

Heh, if someone has €300 to spend then it would have to be a WiiU or a last gen console as the XBone and PS4 start at €400 :P

ionapaul

kunst nugget wrote: »

€250-€300 would set you up well in terms of an xbox 360, PS3 or WiiU - it wouldn't in terms of an xbox one or PS4. I suppose I was really asking whether there was enough to distinguish from the last gen consoles to make it an essential purchase over one of those. I'm genuinely not looking to cause offence here.

I own a Wii U (picked it up recently) and don't own any other consoles, and am not likely to own any more - if I won one of the other consoles I'd just sell it without opening it. The Wii U will definitely play second-fiddle to my PC in terms of my total gaming time, but as the joys and breadth of PC gaming are available to me I don't think any console would suit as well as a Wii U does (don't want to get into an argument about it and I know there are quality console-only exclusives but I can't see any reason for someone with a decent gaming PC to buy a Sony or Microsoft console! I can live without playing every top game, there isn't enough hours in the day as it is )

Grayditch

CiDeRmAn wrote: »

That's an unpleasant thing to say, nice one to try and drag this back to juvenile bull.
Let yourself down there mate

It really wasn't as bad as all that.

Shiminay

This may be a moot point, but I think comparing the Wii U to an XBone or PS4 is silly. It's last gen hardware and whilst everyone talks about how lovely Nintendo's stuff is and how great it looks, the simple fact of the matter is their hardware lacks the power necessary to be seen as an equal to the current offerings which is yet another reason for 3rd party to stay away from it, they'd have to divert how many internal resources to strip features and/or re-do artwork/models etc if they want a cross platform release. If you're in charge of a big AAA brand, you do not want to be deliberately offering an inferior product to a very small market-share. It makes absolutely no sense at all.

However, if you were an indie dev interested in trying something cool with the Nintendo hardware, don't you think they should be welcoming you with open arms?

tok9

Wait.. calling the wii or wiiU the secondary console is an insult?

I would have assumed that was pretty much universally accepted.

kunst nugget

Shiminay wrote: »

This may be a moot point, but I think comparing the Wii U to an XBone or PS4 is silly. It's last gen hardware and whilst everyone talks about how lovely Nintendo's stuff is and how great it looks, the simple fact of the matter is their hardware lacks the power necessary to be seen as an equal to the current offerings which is yet another reason for 3rd party to stay away from it, they'd have to divert how many internal resources to strip features and/or re-do artwork/models etc if they want a cross platform release. If you're in charge of a big AAA brand, you do not want to be deliberately offering an inferior product to a very small market-share. It makes absolutely no sense at all.

However, if you were an indie dev interested in trying something cool with the Nintendo hardware, don't you think they should be welcoming you with open arms?

It seems that they are. It looks like they are going to take a similar approach to Sony:

http://www.techradar.com/news/gaming/nintendo-makes-it-easier-for-indie-developers-to-create-games-1235797

richymcdermott

tok9 wrote: »

Wait.. calling the wii or wiiU the secondary console is an insult?

I would have assumed that was pretty much universally accepted.

There was a point where I cant remember but I think it was iwata who said we are not competing with the Playstation 4 or the xbox one , we are just doing our own thing which there is nothing wrong with but to be completely different just like life you are made fun off just for being that.

mayordenis

AS thing stands I have 1 console (current gen, which is the Wii U) and a PC, I can't make a decent argument to own a PS4 or Xbone. I say this as someone who played more PS3 and 360 than I did any previous generation.

You know what I miss? When a console was a console. When I originally got a 360 it had a interface that was gamey with the slides and ****, now it just looks like everything else, sony have kind of persevered with the XMB but I wasn't ever too wild on that.

Overall I'm happy to have a proper gaming PC for proper games and a Wii U to just enjoy playing, there is literally 1 game which is currently causing me any issue, just 1, and that's Madden, they don't make it for the PC any more and EA are being little bitches about the Wii U. You know what I'll do? I'll not bother with Madden.

CiDeRmAn

kunst nugget wrote: »

It's not trying to be juvenile, honestly. I was curious about what way you viewed the Wii U. You admitted that you didn't just have it by itself but it was one of many consoles. I was wondering if it was your primary console or not.

I'm just curious if its lack of success is down to the fact that maybe many would view it as something that they would hold off on buying until after picking up one of the other consoles first.

K, perhaps I overreacted a tad, apologies

kunst nugget

mayordenis wrote: »

You know what I miss? When a console was a console. When I originally got a 360 it had a interface that was gamey with the slides and ****, now it just looks like everything else, sony have kind of persevered with the XMB but I wasn't ever too wild on that.

Whatever about the XMB interface on the PS3, the bubbles interface on the Vita is absolute gick. It is truly terrible.

CiDeRmAn

kunst nugget wrote: »

Whatever about the XMB interface on the PS3, the bubbles interface on the Vita is absolute gick. It is truly terrible.

It's about as attractive as a hippos ass, and I'm not including how it looks to other hippos here.
I don't know why they didn't just use the same menu as the PS3 and PSP, it was sharp and efficient.
The biggest problem with the Vita is the damn memory card format.

kunst nugget

CiDeRmAn wrote: »

It's about as attractive as a hippos ass, and I'm not including how it looks to other hippos here.
I don't know why they didn't just use the same menu as the PS3 and PSP, it was sharp and efficient.
The biggest problem with the Vita is the damn memory card format.

Yeah, I only have a 16GB at the moment which is a total pain in the behind in terms of deleting and adding games and it has kind of put me off buying more games for it at the moment, which considering the perilous state of my finances is probably a good thing.