Wii U Live Announcement Thread

[DaveMMR]

In case anyone is interested, at 10am EDT on 9/13, they are streaming live the official announcement of Wii U. Figure there's not much more to learn about the new console other than the point and street date. Here's the link: http://www.nintendo.com/wiiu/

I'm not really the Nintendo fanboy I once was, but I may be interested in the new console if only to replace my current Wii (disk drive is wonky) and maybe play New Super Mario Wii U. And despite its weakness, the original Wii did, and continues to get, a lot of mileage in our household.

[ChadTower]

The Wii gets huge mileage in my house with the kids.  I'm interested in this announcement because it might be the easiest thing to get them for Xmas.   

[Well Fed Games]

This is no fun without predictions. $299, 11/18/12. 

I am a late adopter anyway, but I will be watching with interest as I think this is a major crossroads for the big N and thus the industry.

[ChadTower]

$349.  I don't think they can bundle that big controller at $299. 


Did they ever say whether or not existing Wiimotes will work with it or will we have to buy ALL new controllers?

[versapak]

$349.  I don't think they can bundle that big controller at $299. 


Did they ever say whether or not existing Wiimotes will work with it or will we have to buy ALL new controllers?

Already announced for $340 in Japan, so yeah... Could go either way in the $300-400 range, but I would expect them to announce it higher, and I also would see that as a mistake, because there is no way I will be buying one for that much, and I know I won't be alone.

[DaveMMR]

Did they ever say whether or not existing Wiimotes will work with it or will we have to buy ALL new controllers?

It's already been said that all the old Wii Hardware/Software will work with the WiiU. I imagine for the new games, they'd use the touchscreen and Wii MotionPlus controllers but I'm not 100%.

They announced two configurations in Japan (I forgot if that $340 price point, as versapak mentioned, is the "higher" 32Gb model with charging stand and other goodies or the lower end with just 8Gb). Also, surprised to see some reports stating that the Wii U will actually come with an HDMI cable. (Don't know how big of a deal it is to some people but not having to place an unncessary $25 Amazon order strictly to get that cable with free shipping.) For some reason, Sony/Microsoft not providing one seemed really weak.

(P.S. - That above info was just off the top of my head - can't really go into checking information right now. Forgive me if grossly inaccurate.)

[Howard_Casto]

I'm going to watch only because I need a price and a release date.  I don't want to be waiting in the cold at 3am in some strip mall like I did for the wii because I assumed they wouldn't sell out and waited. 

There's a 24hr walmart 20 min from the house now.  I'll be taking a lawn chair and a DS and sitting inside a nice warm store thank you very much.

[ChadTower]

Oh crap, HDMI.  Sigh.  I only just recently moved our living room TV to real HD via a WDTV.  The TV only has one HDMI port.


 

[Howard_Casto]

Oh crap, HDMI.  Sigh.  I only just recently moved our living room TV to real HD via a WDTV.  The TV only has one HDMI port.


 

There are hubs for that.  It's not a big deal.

[pinballjim]

If it's $300 and I can pre-order it from New Egg or the like, I'll go ahead and get one.  I was dismissive of the Wii and then wasted several weekends trying to hunt one down.  If that system hadn't gotten the NetFlix app I'd have nothing but scorn for it now.

That being said, there's absolutely nothing else coming out this fall that interests me.  Already got an iPhone 4 and Kindle Fire and don't feel compelled to upgrade either.  I think my 7 year old PC's about to croak but the last thing I want to do is sit around on a computer on my own dime.

[Hoopz]

I'm interested in seeing what it can do but I doubt that I watch the announcement.  I still play the Wii but only with the kids.  At $300, I doubt I'd get the new one yet. 

[Howard_Casto]

BAH! 

Yeah they have a 300 dollar model, but it's the crappy 8gb version. 

If you actually want a game and 32gb (which might actually be enough to store some games) you'll be forking over 350 bucks!

[pinballjim]

[DaveMMR]

BAH! 

Yeah they have a 300 dollar model, but it's the crappy 8gb version. 

If you actually want a game and 32gb (which might actually be enough to store some games) you'll be forking over 350 bucks!

I was figuring the higher end was going to be $350 so it's on par with expectations for me.
Any news of pack-ins, game-wise?

[ChadTower]

There are hubs for that.  It's not a big deal.

We already have a switchbox there for the older game systems.  It does not have HDMI.  I would prefer not to have two switchboxes.  We also have an AV receiver there (not HD video capable) that all of the audio plugs into so that needs selecting too. 


Might be time to consider upgrading the AV receiver to one that can handle all of our sources by itself.

[Howard_Casto]

I never thought I would say this, because I HATE this all "interconnected living room" crap, but Wii TVii looks lightyears cooler than any smart tv experience I've ever seen!

They sold me on the non-gaming features?

[ChadTower]

I couldn't get to nintendo.com because of a proxy.  I'm hoping they have the presentation streamable soon.  Right now it appears they are playing it on a loop, which is stupid, because you have no indication of where the start point is.

[pinballjim]

They're live blogging it here...

http://live.kotaku.com/

[Howard_Casto]

You didn't miss much.  After the price point and the Wii Tvii announcment they just demoed a bunch of games we already knew were coming for the system. 

The only "suprise" announcment was bayonetta 2 is going to be a wii U exclusive and there's a new COD coming out for the Wii U.

[Vigo]

Read somewhere that they will be trying to push the system to be the system of choice for MMO's. I can see the usefulness of their layout, but kinda wonder if that would really take off with Nintendo.

[Well Fed Games]

This is no fun without predictions. $299, 11/18/12. 

What do I win?

[ChadTower]

You didn't miss much.  After the price point and the Wii Tvii announcment they just demoed a bunch of games we already knew were coming for the system. 

The Wii Tvii stuff is what interests me most.  I just got rid of DirecTV and went to a full LAN streaming setup for our house.  I'd like to see what the Wii U can offer us there that the WDTV cannot.

[pinballjim]

Oh sweet, another Call of Duty game.  Wonder if it'll feature white men holding machine guns and yelling GO, GO, GO! every 2 minutes.

Scribblenauts, meh... anyone else hate those games as much as I did? 

Arkham and Mass Effect 3 are embarrassing.

Whoever keeps programming Ray Man games should be shot in the face.

Those tablet controllers aren't cabled, are they? 

[DaveMMR]

What do I win?

I have an extra copy of Super Mario/Duck Hunt here if you want it. 

And I answered my own question: the higher-end model comes with a game called Nintendo Land or something. Will see if it's anywhere near as fun as Wii Sports.

And I find myself agreeing with pinballjim about the games - except that Rayman demo looked really, really cool towards the end. I love eye/ear candy like that.

I'll reserve further throughts until I can sit down and read/watch everything.

[Howard_Casto]

This is no fun without predictions. $299, 11/18/12. 

What do I win?

Well it's actually 349, so you don't win anything.  Also I beat you on the prediciton by about 3 months. 

The wiiU is going to use a SSD.... it's 299 for the 8gb one with no game and no free digital downloads or 350 for a game, a 32gb hdd and a digitial rewards system.  You'd have to be really cheap (cheaper than me cheap) not to buy the $350 version.

[ChadTower]

Their marketing must have told them that $300 is the break point for a lot of the casual market.  They appear to have stripped out everything they could there to keep a version under that price.

[Howard_Casto]

You didn't miss much.  After the price point and the Wii Tvii announcment they just demoed a bunch of games we already knew were coming for the system. 

The Wii Tvii stuff is what interests me most.  I just got rid of DirecTV and went to a full LAN streaming setup for our house.  I'd like to see what the Wii U can offer us there that the WDTV cannot.

Pretty sure nothing.  It's Wii Tvii, not "wii streaming pirated tv off the net". 

Seriously though they've announced Hulu and Amazon tv support and integration so I suppose that might be useful to you.

It looks like full cable/sat box integration as well as tivo integration is also supported.  I'm guessing stuff like hbo go and ect will be supported as well, but to be honest those services are crappy.  Yeah I'll pay a buttload of cash to get hbo in hd only to have them give me a service that only supports sd?

What was cool wasn't the individual services, but the integration of all of your services as well as tv interaction.  For you sports guys it looks like you'll be able to see the player position on the wiiU tablet while the game is being played.  I'm sure nascar and your other redneck sports will follow suit. 

A summary of the live tv show in progress was cool as well.  So if you have to take a leak you don't miss anything.

[Howard_Casto]

Their marketing must have told them that $300 is the break point for a lot of the casual market.  They appear to have stripped out everything they could there to keep a version under that price.

Yeah and I agree with that.  If they had left the drive alone I would say it's a fair deal for the 299 version, but I made that mistake with the 360 "arcade" edition years ago.  If they offer you a larger hdd take it, because the smaller one isn't going to be enough.

[ChadTower]

Pretty sure nothing.  It's Wii Tvii, not "wii streaming pirated tv off the net". 

All of our streaming is local.  Nothing streamed off the internet at this point.  Content does come from the net but it's downloaded and stored locally.  It streams from a NAS device to the WDTVs.  We might add something like Hulu Plus eventually but I'm trying to avoid that because we don't really watch much of what is available there.  We tried Netflix for a month and didn't see a reason to stick with it.


I guess if the Wii U can be used to play a video file off the local network that would be what we'd need to take that WDTV out of service in that one room.  That would at least save us the hassle of more than one HDMI device for now.  It's not a question of if well end up with a Wii U but when.

[pinballjim]

The difference in colors is kinda vexing.  I don't want my imaginary friends to think I'm poor so I'll have to get the black one anyway.  Used to always get the cheap systems and buy the upgrades later but that won't work this time.

Touche, Nintendo.

[Le Chuck]

The difference in colors is kinda vexing.  I don't want my imaginary friends to think I'm poor so I'll have to get the black one anyway.  Used to always get the cheap systems and buy the upgrades later but that won't work this time.

Touche, Nintendo.

Last thing you need is random kids in the garage looking down their noses at you.  Gotta spend big to play big. 

[Howard_Casto]

The difference in colors is kinda vexing.  I don't want my imaginary friends to think I'm poor so I'll have to get the black one anyway.  Used to always get the cheap systems and buy the upgrades later but that won't work this time.

Touche, Nintendo.

LOL

I was thinking the same thing actually.... I'm pretty sure it's a sign of the apocalypse when we agree on something. 

[Well Fed Games]

I know the success of the WiiU will be based on what a lot of non-core game type people do, but at $300/$350 they are going to have to prove to me that what they have to offer is better than the end-of-cycle offerings on the 360 and PS3, which could theoretically get another price cut before the holiday shopping season. I've got doubts that the WiiU offers enough different to compete with the current systems, including the Wii. Even the connectivity between the pad and system are a little meh when you see where tablets or even the PS3/Vita are going.

Maybe we'll see Mario & Sonic & Master Chief at the 2016 Olympics on whatever the next Microsoft console is.

[Necro]

Hrm...I like the Wii but...not sure I'm getting one of these yet.  I think I'll just wait and see...nothing about it 'grabs' me right now.  The WiiTV comes off as another attempt at the 'smart tv' that my HTPC already beats the pants off of and the games, while interesting, don't justify the $300 price point to me at this time.  The Wii had something 'new' - the motion controls.  The screen/controller for the WiiU just...flops for  me. 

[Howard_Casto]

Even the connectivity between the pad and system are a little meh when you see where tablets or even the PS3/Vita are going.

Not really.  Those solutions offer a bunch of cludged together hypothetical solutions that are cumbersome and not fully integrated with each other.  Wii TVii has actual partners I've heard of and actual applications instead of theoretical ones.  There is a reason this portion of the conference excited me. 

Maybe we'll see Mario & Sonic & Master Chief at the 2016 Olympics on whatever the next Microsoft console is.

You better hope not.  Nintendo software is completely linked with it's hardware.... it is IMPOSSIBLE to seperate the two.  The end of nintendo consoles is the end of Nintendo.  Unless you count sad, pitifull attempts to keep an already dead brand afloat.  (See what SEGA is today.)

[pinballjim]

(See what SEGA is today.)

Profitable?

[ChadTower]

So, that does look interesting, but no indication if you can add your own video sources to that list.  I could watch Netflix/Hulu on my TV already through several sources, I could watch it on my PC, I could watch it on my phone.  Having this on the Wii U gives us nothing we don't already have.


The Tivo integration is cool on the surface.  If you have a Tivo, though, you already have all of those features in the Tivo.  Maybe this could be used to add another client to your Tivo.  Odds are, though, if you laid out the cash for a Tivo you have it on the same primary TV that you'll want the Wii U on.  And the fact that DirecTV always cripples their integrated Tivos means this probably won't work fully with DirecTivos.


That sports stuff looks interesting but we can do that now with any tablet.  Watch the game live and load something like ESPN Gametracker on a tablet and you get the same thing.  It also flies in the face of the DVR sports watcher because there is no way this thing is going to support streaming of that data in sync with the playback of a recorded game.  Most dedicated football guys I know use a DVR in some way.  DirecTV has a ton of "extra data" features with Sunday Ticket but everybody I know with Sunday Ticket is bouncing between games with a DVR so the extra features don't work. 


It feels like another box with a million TV options but most of them will never get used in a typical household.  Why would I want to use the Wii to watch ABC rather than the normal cable box?  What did the Wii add there other than a portal pass through?

[Hoopz]

So, that does look interesting, but no indication if you can add your own video sources to that list.  I could watch Netflix/Hulu on my TV already through several sources, I could watch it on my PC, I could watch it on my phone.  Having this on the Wii U gives us nothing we don't already have.

Generalization or did you actually get a cell phone?

[Hoopz]

I just saw this:

The Nintendo Wii U may only have 8 to 32GB of internal memory, but the company's taking a decidedly open approach to expanding that memory: add your own. "You can plug in a full-on three terabyte hard drive if you want. I'll love you as a digital consumer," Nintendo America CEO and president Reggie Fils-Aime told us during a post-press conference investor Q&A. Much like Sony's PlayStation 3, the Wii U allows for expansion of memory via USB, whether that memory be Flash or otherwise. Fils-Aime explained that, with the continuously dropping price of memory, there was little reason to offer pricing for the Wii U -- available in $300 and $350 -- tied to an evolving hardware model.

"The reason we did it that way is that the cost of that type of storage memory is plummeting. What we didn't want to do is tie a profit model to something that's gonna rapidly decline over time. We'll let the consumer buy as much as they want, as cheaply as they want," Fils-Aime said.

Fils-Aime also confirmed that the Wii U doesn't have TiVO hardware built into it -- functionality will require an existing TiVO box. The same goes for DVR functionality, which Fils-Aime said Nintendo doesn't want consumers to bear the expense of.

[Howard_Casto]

I had forgot about the mention of HDD support earlier in the year.  I'm wondering if it'll be actual support or "half support" like the wii was.  It was a full 3 years before you could actually store games on a sd card on the wii even though they billed it as having expandable storage via the sd slot right from launch.

[ChadTower]

So, that does look interesting, but no indication if you can add your own video sources to that list.  I could watch Netflix/Hulu on my TV already through several sources, I could watch it on my PC, I could watch it on my phone.  Having this on the Wii U gives us nothing we don't already have.

Generalization or did you actually get a cell phone?

I had to finally get one a few months ago for business reasons.   




There was no technical reason for the wii to not support external storage via USB, too.  Once people had found their way into the OS it didn't take much effort at all to get external hard drives working.  Did they ever officially use those two USB slots for anything other than networking?

[Vigo]

Technically though, wiiware games will still not play on the SD card (officially). Any game you have on your SD card gets temporarily copied over to the wii and then booted. AFAIK, it was just for security reasons, not speed reasons. Pretty dumb they couldn't think of that solution from the beginning.

Did they ever officially use those two USB slots for anything other than networking?

Officially, the Wii microphone is all I can think of. Other than that, endless 3rd party chargers, fans etc.

[pinballjim]

Always the hackers that drive the innovation, it feels like.  Half the features on the new iPhone 5 are things I can do already on my jailbroken 3GS.

 

[Howard_Casto]

Technically though, wiiware games will still not play on the SD card (officially). Any game you have on your SD card gets temporarily copied over to the wii and then booted. AFAIK, it was just for security reasons, not speed reasons. Pretty dumb they couldn't think of that solution from the beginning.

Did they ever officially use those two USB slots for anything other than networking?

Officially, the Wii microphone is all I can think of. Other than that, endless 3rd party chargers, fans etc.

Some of the rock band/guitar hero controllers are usb as well.  Not the guitars obviously but I think the drumsets ect...

[ChadTower]

Always the hackers that drive the innovation, it feels like.  Half the features on the new iPhone 5 are things I can do already on my jailbroken 3GS.

And most of the time it's nothing new.  It's just unlocking features that are already in there but disabled.

[ChadTower]

Hahaha.  The official Wii U page on Facebook JUST posted:

Did you know you can expand your Wii U storage memory through external USB devices?

[Necro]

...so there's zero point in getting the 32gb version...unless the packin game is >$35-40 or so since you can EASILY get memory/storage of 32gb or greater for $10 or so.

[ChadTower]

There has to be some sort of reason.  Something like the Wii U only supports first party devices that are $5/gb.

[pinballjim]

...so there's zero point in getting the 32gb version...unless the packin game is >$35-40 or so since you can EASILY get memory/storage of 32gb or greater for $10 or so.

If you don't care about the shame of owning the white Pauper Edition, then nah.

[Well Fed Games]

Maybe we'll see Mario & Sonic & Master Chief at the 2016 Olympics on whatever the next Microsoft console is.

You better hope not.  Nintendo software is completely linked with it's hardware.... it is IMPOSSIBLE to seperate the two.  The end of nintendo consoles is the end of Nintendo.  Unless you count sad, pitifull attempts to keep an already dead brand afloat.  (See what SEGA is today.)

Now I've gotten myself excited. Maybe I can get a port of SMBWii where I don't have to shake the  controller to long jump.

[DaveMMR]

...so there's zero point in getting the 32gb version...unless the packin game is >$35-40 or so since you can EASILY get memory/storage of 32gb or greater for $10 or so.

You also get the game as you mentioned, the stand and dock, and premium access to the Nintendo Network store (whatever they call it) until 2014 with promises of 10% off digital downloads. So it seems the extra $50 may pay for itself depending on your download habits.

And as Chad suggested, I am guessing there could be some catch to using external storage - like limitations to what you can use it for.

[Howard_Casto]

Here's the thing.  Nintendoland comes packed with the deluxe version.  Unless they decide to sell it seperately (they might, but it's unlikely given their previous history) the only way to get Nintendo land is to buy the deluxe version.  So you buy the deluxe version.  I mean yeah it isn't going to be a deep game by any means, but like Wii Sports (and later wii sports resort was) it will be a must-have title and they might not actually sell the thing seperately until years later. 

And the storage thing seems sketchy..... there would be no reason to have a 8 and 32 mb ssd option if external drives really worked as well as the internal storage.

So we are going to have to sit and wait for more info most likely. 

[ChadTower]

Or like with any other pack in title you get it at Gamestop cheap a month after launch.  A whole ton of people sell their new system to Gamestop immediately to get some quick cash.

[DaveMMR]

Unless they decide to sell it seperately (they might, but it's unlikely given their previous history) the only way to get Nintendo land is to buy the deluxe version. 

Not counting used, of course.
-You could buy Super Mario Bros. NES separately.
-Not sure about Duck Hunt for the NES - that was the perennial pack-in. The Deluxe set with R.O.B., the pack-in came complete in cardboard box. I'm going to guess "yes" but not terribly common in stores.
-Guessing "no" on Gyromite for the NES since it required R.O.B. (in theory) and that was quickly forgotten.
-You could eventually buy Super Mario World for the SNES (when they released the "Control Deck Only" option).
-N64 and Gamcube, no initial pack-in.
-You could buy Tetris for Gameboy separately.
-It appears you CAN get Wii Sports standalone for Wii, as part of the "Nintendo Select" re-release series.

So NintendoLand will probably be available standalone (a) since they are selling a "console only" configuration and (b) as a rerelease years later.

And here's a bonus "pack-in" tidbit:
- You were actually able to buy Donkey Kong standalone for the Colecovision even though it always came packed-in with the console (before when Gemeni released a Colecovision clone without it years later.)

[Howard_Casto]

heh.. maybe I should have been more specific... by "previous history" I meant the wii, which was the first console to have a pack-in since the snes.  Yes you can buy wii sports seperately now, but that only came out earlier last year... at which point the console was 5 years old. 

[DaveMMR]

heh.. maybe I should have been more specific... by "previous history" I meant the wii, which was the first console to have a pack-in since the snes.  Yes you can buy wii sports seperately now, but that only came out earlier last year... at which point the console was 5 years old.

One thing to keep in mine though is that the original Wii only launched (and sold for some time) with that single configuration. You basically couldn't buy a Wii and not have Wii Sports. For the Wii U, you can buy the console - new, at launch - without the pack-in. So there's definitely a market to sell the game by itself.

But I think we're just splitting hairs here. For the extra $50, you getting a bit more than just a game and four times the (internal) storage. A charging station is something I'd buy eventually anyhow and digital downloads are often on my shopping list and I won't turn down 10% off for them for a year. And black is so much sexier. The extra money is a no-brainer in my mind.

What I'm concerned about is how I'll be able to take all my WiiWare and VC purchases and move them to the Wii U. Will the online capabilities of some games still work (e.g. Dr. Mario Rx)? Can those downloads travel over to the tablet like the Wii U games to free up the TV? A really good FAQ would be nice - hopefully one will pop-up soon.

[shmokes]

I haven't really watched or read anything about it yet. What's the deal with Wii TiiV? Do you actually get TV over the internet, or does it just integrate with your current TV provider? I ask because I have no interest in obtaining a TV provider, but I do miss the ability to watch sports. Also, I have Amazon Prime (awesome service, btw, worth every cent) and I assume the Amazon TV thing includes Amazon Prime video streaming. That'd be pretty cool because currently we use the web interface which is pretty clunky on a TV in the living room.

[Howard_Casto]

heh.. maybe I should have been more specific... by "previous history" I meant the wii, which was the first console to have a pack-in since the snes.  Yes you can buy wii sports seperately now, but that only came out earlier last year... at which point the console was 5 years old.

One thing to keep in mine though is that the original Wii only launched (and sold for some time) with that single configuration. You basically couldn't buy a Wii and not have Wii Sports. For the Wii U, you can buy the console - new, at launch - without the pack-in. So there's definitely a market to sell the game by itself.

But I think we're just splitting hairs here. For the extra $50, you getting a bit more than just a game and four times the (internal) storage. A charging station is something I'd buy eventually anyhow and digital downloads are often on my shopping list and I won't turn down 10% off for them for a year. And black is so much sexier. The extra money is a no-brainer in my mind.

What I'm concerned about is how I'll be able to take all my WiiWare and VC purchases and move them to the Wii U. Will the online capabilities of some games still work (e.g. Dr. Mario Rx)? Can those downloads travel over to the tablet like the Wii U games to free up the TV? A really good FAQ would be nice - hopefully one will pop-up soon.

Agreed.... I don't want to turn this into an argument thread.

Yeah you can.  That info was released over at kotaku.com.  It'll work somewhat like this:   You turn on both your wii and wii U.  Your wii U will communicate with your wii to detect which games you've purchased and make a note of it.  Now you can go back to your wii, pull all your games (and saves) off to a sd card and install them onto the wii u.  The wii's shop channel doesn't have a centralized database, so this is the only way to prove you own a title.  Of course the irony is I can install pretty much any VC title on my wii right now for free, so I wonder if piracy is going to be rampant from day one. 

[Howard_Casto]

I haven't really watched or read anything about it yet. What's the deal with Wii TiiV? Do you actually get TV over the internet, or does it just integrate with your current TV provider? I ask because I have no interest in obtaining a TV provider, but I do miss the ability to watch sports. Also, I have Amazon Prime (awesome service, btw, worth every cent) and I assume the Amazon TV thing includes Amazon Prime video streaming. That'd be pretty cool because currently we use the web interface which is pretty clunky on a TV in the living room.

Wii TVii works with what you've got and gives you options.  It's like the smartest smart remote ever.  Let's say you search for Firefly and want to watch episode 4...... If you have cable/sat it will tell you the next time it'll be on in your area and make a reminder.  If you have a tivo it will set a recording time or pull it up if you already have recorded it.  If you have a hulu account it will start streaming it immediately.  If you have amazon.video or a similar service you can buy the episode and watch it.  Regardless of the method, you'll get streaming info regarding the show as you watch it.  And of course there will be the usual slew of big commercial support as well...... netflix, hbogo, ect...

So what it does is actually brings all of these rather clunky internet, live and marketplace services into a unified interface.  That's the part that really excited me because as you said, most of the options to interface these services on your actual tv are really clunky. 

I've got a really nice web tv with hulu and amazon video support, but the menus given is so slow and hard to navigate that I rarely use those services. 

[ChadTower]

Let's say you search for Firefly and want to watch episode 4...... If you have cable/sat it will tell you the next time it'll be on in your area and make a reminder. 

I can only speak to DirecTV here.  DirecTV only makes two weeks' scheduling available.  You can't search any further into the future than that, not with a standard receiver, a DVR, a Tivo, or the website.

[sharpfork]

I picked up the Wii and DS on launch day but think I'm going to wait a bit on this one.
I want to see a few things first:

• how easy will my kids dropping it kill the tablet controller thing?
• am I going to have to shell out a bunch more $ so everyone playing has their own tablet controller thing to have a "full" experience?
• just how good are those graphics compared to my 360?
• is the media playing part of it fully baked or the typical weird, almost OK stuff I've see from Nintendo like their news reader and browser on the wii?

I'll likely end up with one sooner or later.

[pinballjim]

Watched some of the press conference on the news last night.  I dunno, guys, this looks an awful like My First Tablet Playset.  Interface and features seem awfully kiddie.

Went ahead and pre-ordered one at Best Buy, though.  WTF YOLO

[Well Fed Games]

Went ahead and pre-ordered one at Best Buy, though.  WTF YOLO

September 14th, 2012. The day YOLO reached the arcade controls forums. While some took it as an ironic use of a popular acronym, others saw the occurrence for what it was: the first sign of the coming apocalypse.

[ChadTower]

• how easy will my kids dropping it kill the tablet controller thing?

That's a very good question.  I hadn't thought of that yet.  Nintendo does have a history of making things that stand up to kids being rough with it... but this is a tablet...

[Mysterioii]

...so there's zero point in getting the 32gb version...unless the packin game is >$35-40 or so since you can EASILY get memory/storage of 32gb or greater for $10 or so.

You also get the game as you mentioned, the stand and dock, and premium access to the Nintendo Network store (whatever they call it) until 2014 with promises of 10% off digital downloads. So it seems the extra $50 may pay for itself depending on your download habits.

And as Chad suggested, I am guessing there could be some catch to using external storage - like limitations to what you can use it for.

It doesn't say that you can use ANY external USB device, does it?  The implication is there, but maybe it only works with 16GB Nintendo-branded thumb drives for $80....

[Howard_Casto]

• how easy will my kids dropping it kill the tablet controller thing?

That's a very good question.  I hadn't thought of that yet.  Nintendo does have a history of making things that stand up to kids being rough with it... but this is a tablet...

Well those cost analysis guys (you lknow how off they can be) as well as a price point set by the stand-alone controller being offered in Japan suggests that the controller is 150 dollars of the 300 dollar price tag.  I'm hoping at least that the thing would be durable considering the cost. 

This is also the reason, btw, that Nintendo won't sell a stand alone controller  in NA yet.  They are hoping to get the cost down to something more reasonable.  And right now ZERO launch titles can use multiple tablet controllers, so it would be a waste of money to get one anyway.

[ChadTower]

This is also the reason, btw, that Nintendo won't sell a stand alone controller  in NA yet.  They are hoping to get the cost down to something more reasonable.  And right now ZERO launch titles can use multiple tablet controllers, so it would be a waste of money to get one anyway.

It would be an awful bummer for your tablet to get broken and end up unable to play any of the Wii U games.  Or to lose access to all of your multimedia stuff because you went all in on Wii TVii.

[Howard_Casto]

Well Nintendo usually gives a 1-2 year warranty on their consoles, so I don't think that would be an issue until they actually do start selling the tablet controllers.

[pinballjim]

Less moaning, more pre-ordering.

 

[hypernova]

I'm hoping I can hold out on this one until at least one price drop.  I don't see any other major franchises like Zelda, Metroid, or Smash Bros scheduled for release any time soon.

And CoD Black Ops II is the same as the ones being released for the other systems, so it's nothing special.

[DaveMMR]

Interface and features seem awfully kiddie.

Jim meet Nintendo.   

In all seriousness, it would actually seem very alien of Nintendo if their hardware WASN'T "family-friendly" (read: kiddie.) I don't it mind it terribly.

[Well Fed Games]

Interface and features seem awfully kiddie.

Jim meet Nintendo.   

In all seriousness, it would actually seem very alien of Nintendo if their hardware WASN'T "family-friendly" (read: kiddie.) I don't it mind it terribly.

This is why touting Bayonetta 2 as an exclusive seems kind of off pitch for them.

[Howard_Casto]

Don't confuse kiddie with clean and easy to use. 

I know that the wii "channel" menu is, to this date, still the best interface on all of the consoles and it has remained virtually unchanged for 6 years. 

I can remember my first experince with the microsoft "blade" interface back in the day thinking "yup microsoft designed this pos alright" Umpteen revisions later and the dash is now *almost* as good as the wii's.  It's still cumbersome and convoluted though.... one or two settings are buried so deep I have to check online to figure out how to set them and it's a good thing they added bing search, because you sure can't find anything in the marketplace via navigation. 

As for bayonetta... I don't think anybody cares either way.  It's kind of a cult game that nobody liked, so getting a sequel as an exclusive isn't much of a feature. 

I'm seriously disturbed by the lack of capcom support myself.  The Wii U should be more than capable of handling RE6 and yet they haven't made an announcment for the game yet.  I mean look at UbiSoft.... all of their games will be released on the Wii U that were originally going to be ps3/360 titles. 

[shmokes]

As for bayonetta... I don't think anybody cares either way.  It's kind of a cult game that nobody liked, so getting a sequel as an exclusive isn't much of a feature. 

Actually critics near-universally loved it. I tried to get into it, though, and thought it was dreadful. I really wanted to like it, too. The main character is an impossibly proportioned angel slaughtering naked chick who covers up her naughty parts with nothing but her long hair. Amazing. Unfortunately, the game was just the same thing over and over and over, ad nauseum.

[shmokes]

Wii TVii works with what you've got and gives you options.  It's like the smartest smart remote ever. 

Hmm . . . that doesn't appeal to me at all. Anyway, isn't that already what the poorly received Google TV does? Regardless . . . even if it's amazing for lots of people, it's not for me. I don't have any TV service. Everything I watch is streamed or downloaded. And I already use XBMC. I understand that XBMC is not a reasonable solution for the average person. But it's a far better solution for me than what you described, i think.

[SithMaster]

Chad I'm pretty sure PBJ had a topic awhiles back on using hdmi Y cables to have multiple things connected to one port.  The only higgle I remember was if two devices using the same port were turned on so that might be an issue for you.

Someone commented that they shouldn't be releasing extra tablet controllers for a while since that would impair supply of complete units available for sale for something no one can use immediately.  That and they could bundle an extra tablet with a game to increase perceived value.  To bad people can't use a DS/3DS as a controller.

Its interesting how after the price announcement Walmart bumped the price of the kinect bundle by around $50.  The price for the WiiU probably reflects how nintendo could have made more money if they priced the wii higher at launch since supply allegedly lost to demand.

As far as capcom goes I wouldn't be surprised if they announce res6 in the new year to at least see how well the system does in sales.

[ahofle]

I really don't want to buy one of these, but a Metroid game in HD will be too much for me to resist.  For that matter, it's amazing to think that as of late 2012 Mario has never been rendered in higher than 640x480 resolution.

[pinballjim]

I've googled the hell out of this but no love yet.

Can anyone confirm whether or not the New Super Marios Bros Wii-U (or whatever) is new levels?  It looks like exactly the same game in the screenshots.  I'll likely cancel my pre-order if it's just the same game again.

[Howard_Casto]

I've googled the hell out of this but no love yet.

Can anyone confirm whether or not the New Super Marios Bros Wii-U (or whatever) is new levels?  It looks like exactly the same game in the screenshots.  I'll likely cancel my pre-order if it's just the same game again.

It's a brand new game.... they have new machanics like the flying squirrel suit as well.  Now it's obviously going to look a lot like NSMBWii and NSMBDS ect... because they are all essentially running on the same engine.  That series is notorious for revisiting a level or two from previous titles though, so don't be suprised if you've played a few of the levels before. 

[pinballjim]

Pre-orders are sold out... maybe I'll just flip this thing on Craig's List.   

[ChadTower]

Last I checked Amazon hadn't even opened preorders up yet.

[Vigo]

Amazon doesn't sell Nintendo systems anymore.

[ChadTower]

Amazon doesn't sell Nintendo systems anymore.

I did not know that.  Why?

[Vigo]

Yeah, I didn't know either until a few weeks ago. It started with the 3DS. Long story short, Amazon doesn't get the big retailer discount that places like Walmart and Best Buy get. Amazon got pissed because from their point of view, they are just of a legit retailer and anyone else. Nintendo wants to give the pricing that they give online retailers, which I guess is quite a difference in price. From Nintendo's point of view, they take a bigger hit from selling to retailers since there is a higher rate of returned items they get back. Amazon's view is that they sell so much for Nintendo, it is crazy to throw them in a lower discount bracket.

Amazon stopped selling the 3DS, then stopped stocking the Wii. They sold only a couple hundred 3DS XLs as a test batch, and they didn't do a presale. same thing will be happening with the Wii U. Any systems from Nintendo on Amazon are from a 3rd party.

[pinballjim]

Ah well, if anyone wants one, for $500 I'll change the shipping address to your house.

 

[Mysterioii]

The gameplay demo from E3 for Rayman just looked so awkward and un-fun to me...  Not knocking the graphics or anything, that looked fine, I just didn't think the use of the new controller looked fun at all.  Not that it couldn't be fun for OTHER things, but in that game it seemed that things were moving so fast you could only either look at the TV or your touchscreen, but if you were watching the TV then you wouldn't know where to touch, and if you were watching the touchscreen then, well, your hands/fingers were in the way half the time.

I also don't know what's so fun about that sorta gameplay, where you essentially just click on "targets".  There's an enemy, you don't have to aim, just touch it.  Bam.  There's a bunch of enemies...  "swipe!"  Hey you got all of them...   Not that touchscreens can't be fun for some games but to me they're usually gonna be slower-paced puzzle games and such.  Or maybe I'm just too old-school...      I actually liked the Wii though, I just wish the absolute positioning was more precise...  I was unimpressed by the motion plus add-ons or whatever they were called, they didn't seem like they fully addressed the issues to me, I had to constantly recalibrate.



And the dude doing the presentation just seems WAY to enthusiastic to me.  WOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!! 

[Vigo]

In my book, I don't think anyone has summed it up better than PBJ did earlier in this thread:

Whoever keeps programming Ray Man games should be shot in the face.

[DaveMMR]

In my book, I don't think anyone has summed it up better than PBJ did earlier in this thread:

Whoever keeps programming Ray Man games should be shot in the face.

Heh. Yeah, he kind of did.

But I want to pull for poor little Rayman. He's that mascot character that should have been buried alongside Aero the Acrobat and Bubsy the Bobcat but must have some small but vocal fanbase that keeps him hanging on. I guess it helps that his games are typically solid (better than average*) and are nice to have around when you're done plowing threw the latest Mario or Donkey Kong or Kirby title. But he's nowhere near recognizable.

I commented earlier that that sequence linked above looked cool. But I'll admit that it may one of those "okay, this is getting old" type of thing after the umpteenth time of the rhythm game genre shift. Looking and playing are two different things - we'll see.

(*NOTE: Based on professional reviews; I haven't really played much Rayman.)

[Howard_Casto]

It looks like the last Rayman on the Wii.  It was pretty good actually.  Not great, but similar to NSMBW, only stupidly hard towards the end.  Ironically this new version looks an awful lot like the last, just like NSMBU looks a lot like NSMBW.  I mean yeah they aren't masterpieces, but then again they are still better than Sonic games, and he's way more famous. 


On an unrelated note I hate myself for trying to wait until after TGS to pre-order.  I'll be making the rounds at the local stores tomorrow.... many stores (Toys R US, ect..) offer in-store pre-orders as well as online ones.  I could get the White one now, but I'd never hear the end of it from my pretend friends.  Or I could go the Walmart route and buy 150 bucks worth of extra crap for the privelage of a pre-order. 

[pinballjim]

No excuses, Howard.  Should have chunked in the pre-order and made a decision later.

This thing will be impossible to get at Christmas.  Nothing new this holiday season to compete with it.  I imagine if I hate it I can dump it on Craig's List for break even.

[Howard_Casto]

Well I wasn't sure if I wanted the white version or not because I was still unsure about nintendo land.... until ironically yesterday evening, when everybody finally sold out. 

I'll get one, it will be a non-issue.  Stood in line at 4am to get the Wii, and I didn't even attempt a pre-order for it.  I've still got two months before launch time. 

[marioxb]

Oh crap, HDMI.  Sigh.  I only just recently moved our living room TV to real HD via a WDTV.  The TV only has one HDMI port.


 

You can use the old Wii AV or component cable too.

[pinballjim]

#firstworldproblems

[Le Chuck]

#firstworldproblems

That should be the unofficial motto of this site... and let's be honest, those aren't terrible problems to be having.

I for one am happy I'm not overly concerned about where my next meal is coming from.