Nintendo slowing down on the peripherals after WiiMotion+ and finally addressing storage?

[Queasy]

Link

In an earlier post, I asked you guys to help translate/pick apart a Club Nintendo interview with Miyamoto and Reggie. A lot of you tried your hand at a translation, and reader Demian Chrisanti was nice enough to pull the most important parts for us. I?ve posted his snippets below.

The Miyamoto part:

They ask if Wii Motion Plus will be in future Zelda games, he confirms they?re working on Zelda and Pikmin but says nothing about WM+

He talks about all the peripherals (Wheel, Balance Board?) and says there won?t be a lot more, they have enough already.

Oh, they ask him about hard drive solutions and says to expect an announcement in the future since they?re working on possible technologies.

The Reggie part:

Says Animal Crossing is not casual and that they?re gonna have GTA on the DS for the hardcore gamers. They?re not making a ?hard drive? but will come up with a better solution.

They ask him about the Microsoft avatars and says ?copying is a way of flattering, so we?re very flattered.?

Says a console redesign is when the sales go down, not up when asked about a DS redesign.

They also talk about the E3 and whatnot.

For the hard drive part, I don't think the Wii needs a lot of space. Just more than is offered by the 512 MB of onboard storage. Just an affordable flash drive of some sort around 8GB or 16GB or so.

 

[darkswordsman17]

Oh, they ask him about hard drive solutions and says to expect an announcement in the future since they?re working on possible technologies.

This is what tells me that Nintendo is in trouble for the future, and what I find most infuriating about them these days.

Working on possible technologies? There's any number of ways they could address this. They could come up with way to format an SD card so that it only works on the Wii and then open that up and let people store games and other data on there. Or get some cheap external enclosures and slap some older/smaller 2.5 HDD in them. No need to "work on possible technologies".

I just don't understand how they can have so much trouble with things. More and more, I'm starting to feel that Nintendo just does not have the know-how or the personnel to work in modern gaming. They can't figure out how to setup online play well, they can't get their system to output HD resolutions, they take forever to develop games, and the list goes on and on. They try to play it off like they don't think the market is ready (online play, mass storage capability, HD), but I think they just don't know how to do it.

I wish Nintendo would swallow their pride, admit that they need help, and then start looking for it. There are a lot of companies that would be very glad to partner with Nintendo. As ever, I think Nintendo has good ideas, but their execution ends up lacking. If they'd just work with people who are better at dealing with the technological side of things, it'd end up better for both sides. I think they might still be stuck in issues stemming from the Sony deal, what 15 years ago? You can't argue that they still make some good games, but imagine how much better they could be if they got some assistance.

 

[Golgatha]

Originally posted by: darkswordsman17

Oh, they ask him about hard drive solutions and says to expect an announcement in the future since they?re working on possible technologies.

This is what tells me that Nintendo is in trouble for the future, and what I find most infuriating about them these days.

Working on possible technologies? There's any number of ways they could address this. They could come up with way to format an SD card so that it only works on the Wii and then open that up and let people store games and other data on there. Or get some cheap external enclosures and slap some older/smaller 2.5 HDD in them. No need to "work on possible technologies".

I just don't understand how they can have so much trouble with things. More and more, I'm starting to feel that Nintendo just does not have the know-how or the personnel to work in modern gaming. They can't figure out how to setup online play well, they can't get their system to output HD resolutions, they take forever to develop games, and the list goes on and on. They try to play it off like they don't think the market is ready (online play, mass storage capability, HD), but I think they just don't know how to do it.

I wish Nintendo would swallow their pride, admit that they need help, and then start looking for it. There are a lot of companies that would be very glad to partner with Nintendo. As ever, I think Nintendo has good ideas, but their execution ends up lacking. If they'd just work with people who are better at dealing with the technological side of things, it'd end up better for both sides. I think they might still be stuck in issues stemming from the Sony deal, what 15 years ago? You can't argue that they still make some good games, but imagine how much better they could be if they got some assistance.

Allow VC content on SD cards and the storage problem is no longer a problem.

 

[Gonad the Barbarian]

Nintendo doesn't do those things because they don't have to to sell their crap. They had a good console with the GC. Online wsn't there, but at the time it wasn't a big deal and the the console was otherwise as capable as the competition and had a library to match . They took a step back in every way with the Wii, slapped on a gimmick controller, and the mouth-breathing, knuckle-dragging, average Joe and Jane neanderthal consumers have eaten it up.

 

[dguy6789]

Really all they need to do is expand the support on the software end for SD cards. Let more things save to and run from SD cards and the problem is gone.

 

[shingletingle]

Originally posted by: Golgatha

Originally posted by: darkswordsman17

Oh, they ask him about hard drive solutions and says to expect an announcement in the future since they?re working on possible technologies.

This is what tells me that Nintendo is in trouble for the future, and what I find most infuriating about them these days.

Working on possible technologies? There's any number of ways they could address this. They could come up with way to format an SD card so that it only works on the Wii and then open that up and let people store games and other data on there. Or get some cheap external enclosures and slap some older/smaller 2.5 HDD in them. No need to "work on possible technologies".

I just don't understand how they can have so much trouble with things. More and more, I'm starting to feel that Nintendo just does not have the know-how or the personnel to work in modern gaming. They can't figure out how to setup online play well, they can't get their system to output HD resolutions, they take forever to develop games, and the list goes on and on. They try to play it off like they don't think the market is ready (online play, mass storage capability, HD), but I think they just don't know how to do it.

I wish Nintendo would swallow their pride, admit that they need help, and then start looking for it. There are a lot of companies that would be very glad to partner with Nintendo. As ever, I think Nintendo has good ideas, but their execution ends up lacking. If they'd just work with people who are better at dealing with the technological side of things, it'd end up better for both sides. I think they might still be stuck in issues stemming from the Sony deal, what 15 years ago? You can't argue that they still make some good games, but imagine how much better they could be if they got some assistance.

Allow VC content on SD cards and the storage problem is no longer a problem.

Um, not so simple. They don't want people copying the VC content to cards, sharing it with everyone else and copying games from one console to another. I have no doubt this is why we've yet to see any progress on this.

 

[erwos]

Originally posted by: shingletingle
Um, not so simple. They don't want people copying the VC content to cards, sharing it with everyone else and copying games from one console to another. I have no doubt this is why we've yet to see any progress on this.

There are DRM schemes which would prevent this scenario from occurring. In fact, they already use encryption on saved games that are transferred to SD card.

Microsoft allows XBLA games on memory cards. AFAIK, no one's broken the DRM on those yet.

 

[Golgatha]

Originally posted by: erwos

Originally posted by: shingletingle
Um, not so simple. They don't want people copying the VC content to cards, sharing it with everyone else and copying games from one console to another. I have no doubt this is why we've yet to see any progress on this.

There are DRM schemes which would prevent this scenario from occurring. In fact, they already use encryption on saved games that are transferred to SD card.

Microsoft allows XBLA games on memory cards. AFAIK, no one's broken the DRM on those yet.

Yeah, really. Encrypt + tie the file to the wireless card's MAC address and console ID. The DRM is there and easy to implement. This will keep 99.9% of honest users honest.

 

[mxyzptlk]

*****************RUMOR ALERT*******************

I was browsing around wikipedia today, reading up on holographic data storage, when I came across this bit claiming that Nintendo was partnered up with InPhase on a Joint Research Agreement.. Guess their next console (or perhaps an addon to the wii?) will be using Holographic Versatile Discs with up to 3.9 TB of storage..

thats a whole fuckload of pokemon..

 

[BD2003]

Originally posted by: Golgatha

Originally posted by: erwos

Originally posted by: shingletingle
Um, not so simple. They don't want people copying the VC content to cards, sharing it with everyone else and copying games from one console to another. I have no doubt this is why we've yet to see any progress on this.

There are DRM schemes which would prevent this scenario from occurring. In fact, they already use encryption on saved games that are transferred to SD card.

Microsoft allows XBLA games on memory cards. AFAIK, no one's broken the DRM on those yet.

Yeah, really. Encrypt + tie the file to the wireless card's MAC address and console ID. The DRM is there and easy to implement. This will keep 99.9% of honest users honest.

And at this point the wii is so broken wide open that DRM is practically irrelevant.

If they do release a storage drive, I'm almost positive its going to have to be in the form of a flash drive plugged into one of the USB ports in the back. A hard drive would be absolutely retarded in the context of the Wii. And considering how incredibly long it takes to copy stuff to and from the SD card, the SD reader they have in the system is completely not up to the task.

I'm guessing theres a part of them thats toying with the idea of releasing a brand new SKU with more memory, but that shouldnt preclude them from upgrading the storage.

All in all, its absolutely stupid for them not to. Theyre throwing sales away. I've simply stopped buying the VC and Wiiware games, because constantly managing them has become a pain in the ass, not to mention how irritating it is to have to put in my CC info every time I want to buy something.

 

[RandomFool]

AFAIK, The issue with the speed of the SD slot is not because of the hardware but because of the ridiculous amount of encryption. I know Excite Truck supports the playback of mp3s stored on the SD card.

My guess is they're trying to come up with a way of keeping everything locked down without weakening the DRM.

 

[Wellcky]

Interesting article re storage.

 

[ghost recon88]

Geez, the Wii takes SDHC cards (my 4GB card works perfectly fine). I don't see why people don't just get a 4 or 8GB one and call it good. SD cards are much cheaper then any "hard drive" option Nintendo will throw out there. And before they address storage, I wannah see a system update that allows the Wii to output 720p (hey, I heard it WAS possible with just a firmware update).

 

[Oyeve]

Originally posted by: ghost recon88
Geez, the Wii takes SDHC cards (my 4GB card works perfectly fine). I don't see why people don't just get a 4 or 8GB one and call it good. SD cards are much cheaper then any "hard drive" option Nintendo will throw out there. And before they address storage, I wannah see a system update that allows the Wii to output 720p (hey, I heard it WAS possible with just a firmware update).

I agree. Nintendo will probably come out with a ridiculously priced SSD solution. 720p and DVD playback would be such a huge plus IMO. Seems like a simple FW is all that is needed.

 

[BD2003]

Originally posted by: ghost recon88
Geez, the Wii takes SDHC cards (my 4GB card works perfectly fine). I don't see why people don't just get a 4 or 8GB one and call it good. SD cards are much cheaper then any "hard drive" option Nintendo will throw out there. And before they address storage, I wannah see a system update that allows the Wii to output 720p (hey, I heard it WAS possible with just a firmware update).

The only issue with SD cards right now is how irritating it is to have to transfer stuff around manually, and how long it takes. Its incredibly frustrating when they put impediments in the way of your spending money on them.

Thats the really odd thing about nintendo this cycle - theyve really been blindsided by their own success to the point where they cant keep up with demand on several levels, but youd think that two years in, theyd have started to figure some of this stuff out. But its still impossible to find a Wii in stores, and still impossible to do something as simple as have more storage.

I guess thats a position any company would love to be in, but they need to keep up before they get surpassed.

 

[Shadowknight]

Originally posted by: darkswordsman17

Oh, they ask him about hard drive solutions and says to expect an announcement in the future since they?re working on possible technologies.

This is what tells me that Nintendo is in trouble for the future, and what I find most infuriating about them these days.

Working on possible technologies? There's any number of ways they could address this. They could come up with way to format an SD card so that it only works on the Wii and then open that up and let people store games and other data on there. Or get some cheap external enclosures and slap some older/smaller 2.5 HDD in them. No need to "work on possible technologies".

I just don't understand how they can have so much trouble with things. More and more, I'm starting to feel that Nintendo just does not have the know-how or the personnel to work in modern gaming. They can't figure out how to setup online play well, they can't get their system to output HD resolutions, they take forever to develop games, and the list goes on and on. They try to play it off like they don't think the market is ready (online play, mass storage capability, HD), but I think they just don't know how to do it.

I wish Nintendo would swallow their pride, admit that they need help, and then start looking for it. There are a lot of companies that would be very glad to partner with Nintendo. As ever, I think Nintendo has good ideas, but their execution ends up lacking. If they'd just work with people who are better at dealing with the technological side of things, it'd end up better for both sides. I think they might still be stuck in issues stemming from the Sony deal, what 15 years ago? You can't argue that they still make some good games, but imagine how much better they could be if they got some assistance.

Ninetendo's always been a bit wierd with technology. With the NES, it supported composite, but they stripped that out in later versions of the console to save on costs. With the Gamecube, it supported component, but it required a $30 cable that was only available by mail-order from Nintendo itself and wasn't something another manufacturer could easily duplicate due to electronics BUILT INTO THE CABLE ITSELF. They eventually took out the component connection after 2004, citing less than 1% of the GC owners used it. If they had let stores sell the cable, and made it cheaper, sales would have been more than 1% for sure. That same cable now runs for $65 on e-bay and Amazon, used.*

*Got mine for $5, used, from a local Gamestop five weeks ago

 

[randomlinh]

man, this is where nintendo ef'd up big time. At least they could have been less strict on some of the save games so I can move them around. I am very curious how they plan on addressing this.

Also, I don't think the SD card slot is SDHC... there were a number of 4GB cards that were not SDHC before the standard was set.

 

[hans030390]

Originally posted by: Shadowknight
Ninetendo's always been a bit wierd with technology. With the NES, it supported composite, but they stripped that out in later versions of the console to save on costs. With the Gamecube, it supported component, but it required a $30 cable that was only available by mail-order from Nintendo itself and wasn't something another manufacturer could easily duplicate due to electronics BUILT INTO THE CABLE ITSELF. They eventually took out the component connection after 2004, citing less than 1% of the GC owners used it. If they had let stores sell the cable, and made it cheaper, sales would have been more than 1% for sure. That same cable now runs for $65 on e-bay and Amazon, used.*

*Got mine for $5, used, from a local Gamestop five weeks ago

Got mine for free. (aka borrowed it from my cousin and never gave it back)