Wii U / Nintendo general news and discussion

johnny_ultimate

So Nintendo took a long, hard look at the PS4 and Xbox One controllers. With Smash Bros and other controller intensive games on the way, they needed something robust and adaptable to hardcore play. They spent millions on R&D to develop a bigger, better, stronger alternative to their competitors.

What did they come up with? A Gamecube controller adapter for the Wii U:
https://twitter.com/NintendoAmerica/status/472076848382607361

Frankly, I can't fault the solution (yes, I am of the opinion that the GC controller is basically perfect).

Sir Digby Chicken Caesar

wayne040576

johnny_ultimate wrote: »

So Nintendo took a long, hard look at the PS4 and Xbox One controllers. With Smash Bros and other controller intensive games on the way, they needed something robust and adaptable to hardcore play. They spent millions on R&D to develop a bigger, better, stronger alternative to their competitors.

What did they come up with? A Gamecube controller adapter for the Wii U:
https://twitter.com/NintendoAmerica/status/472076848382607361

Frankly, I can't fault the solution (yes, I am of the opinion that the GC controller is basically perfect).

When I saw that in my facebook feed this morning I thought it was a joke.

tok9

While I'm sure the core are happy, it's things like this that annoy me when people say Nintendo as a hardware company are innovative.

They've just gone back to their old controller and in the process undermined the major feature of the wii U.

Retr0gamer

tok9 wrote: »

While I'm sure the core are happy, it's things like this that annoy me when people say Nintendo as a hardware company are innovative.

They've just gone back to their old controller and in the process undermined the major feature of the wii U.

So Nintendo aren't innovative because they provide another input mode for the WiiU based on old hardware and they aren't innovative?

Firstly the Gamecube pad is one of the best ever made and secondly they are doing this because the GC pad is the preferred controller for Smash Bros players. I don't see how you can take anything negative back from giving players another method of input? And they aren't really undermining the Gamepad with it either since it's probably only going to be used in a select few titles.

Anyway I'm off to buy Mazza Kart.

Rossin

would they not just release a new controller similar to the gamecube controller?

kunst nugget

Why not just come up with a wireless controller like the Wavebird that works directly with the WiiU. Would that not make more sense?

kunst nugget

Rossin wrote: »

would they not just release a new controller similar to the gamecube controller?

Ha, beat me to it…

Grayditch

Retr0gamer wrote: »

Anyway I'm off to buy Mazza Kart.

Sounds better than Mozzkart, which as everyone knows is just Morrissey driving around a track on his own, in black and white, crying to himself.

kunst nugget

Grayditch wrote: »

Sounds better than Mozzkart, which as everyone knows is just Morrissey driving around a track on his own, in black and white, crying to himself.

That's weird. When I tried to play it I couldn't even get him to leave the house. Apparently, he hadn't got a stitch to wear…

Retr0gamer

kunst nugget wrote: »

Why not just come up with a wireless controller like the Wavebird that works directly with the WiiU. Would that not make more sense?

Because it will work with the wave bird anyway and I doubt releasing a new controller for the wiiu will make them much money since the install base is so small and it will more than likely only be supported by smash bros anyway.

What would you rather, buying 4 new wireless controllers that cost about 50 each just to play one game or a cheap adapter? Even if you don't have gc controllers they are a hell of a lot cheaper than a new one to get.

sweetie

Does this also mean that GC games are coming the the wii u virtual console?

tok9

Retr0gamer wrote: »

So Nintendo aren't innovative because they provide another input mode for the WiiU based on old hardware and they aren't innovative?

Yes

Retr0gamer wrote: »

Firstly the Gamecube pad is one of the best ever made and secondly they are doing this because the GC pad is the preferred controller for Smash Bros players. I don't see how you can take anything negative back from giving players another method of input?

I'm not denying it's great. But again.. why bother having a wii pro controller and then adding back the gamecube controller. Was it shortsighted so not to include this functionality from the beginning considering they were always going to release smash bros and the GC controller was the preferred choice

How many controllers does one console need?

Retr0gamer wrote: »

And they aren't really undermining the Gamepad with it either since it's probably only going to be used in a select few titles.

Surely before the console was launched you would be thinking the majority of games would use the gamepad.

kunst nugget

tok9 wrote: »

Surely before the console was launched you would be thinking the majority of games would use the gamepad.

I misread this at first as well but I think what he meant is that the Gamecube controller would only be used with a select few games and not the WiiU gamepad.

Retr0gamer

The wiiu game pad is a perfectly good controller though to use for anything.

I see this as Nintendo catering to the hardcore smash bros community. They really screwed them over the last few years but are trying to make amends. I don't see how this can be construed as anything but a good thing. It's only going to be used in smash as far as I can see and the wiiu already has controller options that are perfectly fine. It's the smash bros equivalent of a fightstick for street fighter.

I also don't see how this just totally negates nintendo's innovations either.

CastorTroy

When it was recently reported there was a gamecube style controller in the works for Wii U, it was said to plug into a Wiimote. But then the complaints made about that wasn't the fact it need the Wiimote but rather the fact that apparently in the Smash community they want a wired controller as they're supposedly more responsive. Maybe someone from the fighters forum can be more specifc, but when I was reading was on about frame countng and all that.

A couple positive points were brought up about this adapter:
1. It'll hopefully lead to GC releases on the VC
2. Someone will probably find a way to use this on PC

tok9

Retr0gamer wrote: »

I also don't see how this just totally negates nintendo's innovations either.

It doesn't negate their innovations, I just personally think as a hardware manufacturer they get far too much credit for being innovative.

C14N

tok9 wrote: »

They've just gone back to their old controller and in the process undermined the major feature of the wii U.

It seems to be only for Smash Bros though, and it means that hardcore fans can use the same way they've always done it. They allowed Brawl to work with GC controllers too, it didn't mean that Wii games stopped using the remotes. Making Smash without a GC controller would be like making Street Fighter 5 and not letting people use arcade sticks.

Rossin wrote: »

would they not just release a new controller similar to the gamecube controller?

They did, it's the Pro controller and you can use that too. This, however, is nice for those of us who still have our GC controllers and don't want to spend ~€200 on new ones just to play the 4-player game we've had for years.

sweetie wrote: »

Does this also mean that GC games are coming the the wii u virtual console?

They always were, weren't they? I thought this was the reason for no backward compatibility.

Retr0gamer wrote: »

I see this as Nintendo catering to the hardcore smash bros community. They really screwed them over the last few years but are trying to make amends.

Did they? I mean I'm not tournament-level "hardcore" but I'm probably as much of a hardcore Smash player as I've come across outside of that, and I wasn't aware. Do you mean because of some unpopular Brawl mechanics like slipping and floatier physics?

wes

Retr0gamer wrote: »

The wiiu game pad is a perfectly good controller though to use for anything.

I see this as Nintendo catering to the hardcore smash bros community. They really screwed them over the last few years but are trying to make amends. I don't see how this can be construed as anything but a good thing. It's only going to be used in smash as far as I can see and the wiiu already has controller options that are perfectly fine. It's the smash bros equivalent of a fightstick for street fighter.

I also don't see how this just totally negates nintendo's innovations either.

Good news for those us who still have some Gamecube controllers about. Will be able to play 4 player smash brothers now, and I just have to buy the converter .

NTMK

CastorTroy wrote: »

When it was recently reported there was a gamecube style controller in the works for Wii U, it was said to plug into a Wiimote. But then the complaints made about that wasn't the fact it need the Wiimote but rather the fact that apparently in the Smash community they want a wired controller as they're supposedly more responsive. Maybe someone from the fighters forum can be more specifc, but when I was reading was on about frame countng and all that.

Wireless introduces 8-20milliseconds of lag compared to wired
A frame is 16/17mill @60Fps

so theres is the chance to create windows for the opponent and miss windows with wireless

As for the finer details of frame counting i have got to much of a clue. it revolves around how many frames animations take and invincibility frames and stuff

Generic Dreadhead

tok9 wrote: »

How many controllers does one console need?

3 types.

But I reckon they bank a lot on the fact that everyone who was a hardcore Nintendo owner/player/fanboy still has their 4 GC controllers and 4 Wii Controllers

Maximus Alexander

NTMK wrote: »

Wireless introduces 8-20milliseconds of lag compared to wired

Does anyone know why this is? I mean the signal travels at light speed either way, so I don't get where the lag comes from. Is it just due to electromagnetic interference?

Retr0gamer

C14N wrote: »

Did they? I mean I'm not tournament-level "hardcore" but I'm probably as much of a hardcore Smash player as I've come across outside of that, and I wasn't aware. Do you mean because of some unpopular Brawl mechanics like slipping and floatier physics?

Well Brawl didn't go down well but it was more to do with Nintendo being very backwards about having their game content streamed or shown online. It resulted in copyright infringement notices and therefore Smash tournaments couldn't be streamed.

CastorTroy wrote: »

When it was recently reported there was a gamecube style controller in the works for Wii U, it was said to plug into a Wiimote. But then the complaints made about that wasn't the fact it need the Wiimote but rather the fact that apparently in the Smash community they want a wired controller as they're supposedly more responsive. Maybe someone from the fighters forum can be more specifc, but when I was reading was on about frame countng and all that.

Wireless controllers are more responsive and in fighting games were every frame of animation counts it can put you at a big disadvantage. Another problem is if your controller disconnects for any reason you automatically forfeit and lose the match. Then there's logistics problems at tournaments

CiDeRmAn

Didn't take long for someone to refer to GC controller owners as "fanboys" :rolleyes:

Innovative this step is not but it is listening to some fans and providing an extra control method on top of using the Gamepad, using a Wii Remote and using a Pro controller.

Why try and turn it into a negative?

As I posted elsewhere there is already an adapter that allows one to use the GC controller on the WiiU, with it showing as a Pro controller.
This will allow those playing SMB for the Wii on their WiiU to use a GC controller right now.
No lag issues either.

I means that the GC controller will be compatible with every game that uses the Pro, so MK8 will play with it, which is good for Mario Kart DD and Wii edition players.

Generic Dreadhead

CiDeRmAn wrote: »

Didn't take long for someone to refer to GC controller owners as "fanboys" :roll eyes:

I wasn't in a derisory way, I've owned all the consoles since the SNES and the have more nintendo controllers than I have had sunny weekends :pac:

kunst nugget

CiDeRmAn wrote: »

Didn't take long for someone to refer to GC controller owners as "fanboys" :rolleyes:

Innovative this step is not but it is listening to some fans and providing an extra control method on top of using the Gamepad, using a Wii Remote and using a Pro controller.

Why try and turn it into a negative?

He was calling himself a fanboy. That's acceptable isn't it? From now on, console fans will all be sitting around on porches, drinking juice and saying 'He aiight! He's my fanboy!'

CiDeRmAn

I get your drift now (pun intended!)
I'd like to try the adapter myself for MK8, it plays nicely with the Gamepad, not the motion controls though, and I use a GC2 Wii/WiiU controller instead of the Pro and it plays much better, though it is modelled after the 360 controller.

Gunmonkey

Picked up MK8 (so gorgeous ) and saw Minish Cap was on the Virtual Console, was talking to a friend about it so grabbed it to show him how the WiiU emulators run and the off screen capability.

Star Lord

tok9 wrote: »

It doesn't negate their innovations, I just personally think as a hardware manufacturer they get far too much credit for being innovative.

Sure just give them back your D-pads and analogue sticks, wouldn't want to be using their innovations like... :pac:

Mal-Adjusted

I don't see what the big deal is. This is clearly something for the super hardcore/tournament players. the average Wii U owner will probably be happy with the Classic controller or Pro Controller anyway. It's hardly Nintendo's magic bullet but shouldn't be used as a stick to beat them with either.