Official Nintendo E3 Press Conference Thread

[Macamus Prime]

Zelda HD looks amazing. i am sold

http://www.ign.com/videos/2011/06/07/e3-2011-wii-u-zelda-hd-demo

That was a target rendering.

We have yet to see anything legitimate. I am not doubting it, but I'll get all wet when there is something of substance to get excited over.

 

[smartpatrol]

I can only hope they recognize their mistake this time and are already prepping the wii 3 to compete with the xbox 3 and ps4, and treating the wii u as a stopgap like the GBA.

If anything, I think the Nintendo DS was the stopgap. The true successor to the Gameboy Advance was supposed to come later, but Nintendo cancelled it because the DS was so successful.

At any rate, Nintendo is now a company that sells products based on gimmicks. They have been amazingly hard-headed over years, and basically have the attitude that you either make games with their hardware's unique limitations & controls in mind, or take your development elsewhere. I don't see this changing anytime soon.

When PS4 and the next Xbox come out, WiiU will be in the exact same position the Wii is in now. It'll be getting watered down ports of games from these more advanced systems. It'll probably end up being the system that you buy for first-party Nintendo games and nothing else.

The question is, how many remakes of Smash Brothers, Ocarina of Time, Mario Kart 64, Metroid Prime, Donkey Kong Country, Starfox 64, and Kirby will it take before people get sick of them?

 

[dpodblood]

Those staple Nintendo IP's have been selling for years and will continue to do so. If you aren't into them then I guess the Wii U isn't the system for you.

 

[Dankk]

Those staple Nintendo IP's have been selling for years and will continue to do so. If you aren't into them then I guess the Wii U isn't the system for you.

 

[Beev]

When PS4 and the next Xbox come out, WiiU will be in the exact same position the Wii is in now. It'll be getting watered down ports of games from these more advanced systems. It'll probably end up being the system that you buy for first-party Nintendo games and nothing else.

This. This. This.

 

[dpodblood]

This. This. This.

I would agree as well, but that won't stop them from making a ton of money. After the success of the Wii even with underpowered hardware it's hard to doubt Nintendo.

 

[purbeast0]

hah that is true. the only different is that there is online multiplayer w/the COD series so the longevity of them is basically limitless.

i'd still like to play DKCR but i doubt i will ever buy another wii.

 

[BD2003]

I would agree as well, but that won't stop them from making a ton of money. After the success of the Wii even with underpowered hardware it's hard to doubt Nintendo.

Theyre not invincible. No one is going to buy the system just for third party ports, and the relatively lackluster sales for the truly core nintendo games (smg, metroid) are not in their favor.

Just like Microsoft had halo, the wii had wii sports (and fit). Without it the wii would have been DOA. If they're not vying to compete for best overall platform, they better have a real killer app like sports, and I just don't see it coming this time.

 

[finbarqs]

any new mario is gonna be their killer app.... but none has made such an impact as SM3, or M64.

 

[darkewaffle]

The question is, how many remakes of Smash Brothers, Ocarina of Time, Mario Kart 64, Metroid Prime, Donkey Kong Country, Starfox 64, and Kirby will it take before people get sick of them?

These games are infinitely more different and fresh generation to generation than nearly every other big game series.

Not to mention, even though third party titles on the 64/GCN/Wii tend to take a back seat to the first party games, it doesn't mean there aren't great third party games on those systems. Sadly they just get less attention and sell less.

 

[Beev]

Smash Brothers hasn't changed enough for me to care about it anymore, but I'm not much of a fighter fan, so I think that's more my problem than Nintendos, same for Mario Kart and racing games in general. I love every Nintendo-made Zelda. All of them. If I were wealthy enough I would get a WiiU just for whatever Zelda games they put on it, but I can't justify owning a system that I have less than five games for...

 

[BD2003]

These games are infinitely more different and fresh generation to generation than nearly every other big game series.

Not to mention, even though third party titles on the 64/GCN/Wii tend to take a back seat to the first party games, it doesn't mean there aren't great third party games on those systems. Sadly they just get less attention and sell less.

The only one that comes to mind as being truly special on the wii is boom blox. As great as it was though, it'd be infinitely better on the ps3 and move.

 

[Axon]

I would agree as well, but that won't stop them from making a ton of money. After the success of the Wii even with underpowered hardware it's hard to doubt Nintendo.

Exactly right. I mean, the "hardcore" gaming community mocked the Wii endlessly when it was first announced, and it turned out to become the best selling console this generation. The DS was thought to be a joke when screenshots leaked, and look how that turned out.

I mean, if you come to a forum like this, of course the sentiment is going to be negative; Nintendo simply does not cater to the hardcore gaming community's every whim as Sony and MS do. Ironically, the PS3 and Xbox 360 were nothing more than souped up versions of their predecessors, and that was just fine with everyone.

I'm interested to see what the controller can do. If it could, say, stream Netflix on the screen, it would be a pretty sweet little unit to use in the kitchen or whatever. All of these consoles are just becoming HTPCs anyway, so I'm all for functionality on that level.

 

[endlessmike]

I would agree as well, but that won't stop them from making a ton of money. After the success of the Wii even with underpowered hardware it's hard to doubt Nintendo.

The Wii was successful despite its underpowered hardware because your Uncle Joe, your secretary, the neighbors across the street and the parents with young kids saw that you could just swing your arm around and go bowling or play tennis. The lower cost (at least as perceived initially with the basic set) compared to the other systems surely didn't hurt either.

The problem is that the new controller, which certainly has some initial "wow" novelty factor, doesn't provide the same revolutionary simplicity that the Wiimote does. I have serious doubts that it will attract the casual (by which I mean otherwise non-game playing) audience in anywhere near the same amount that the Wii did. Additionally, those people who inflated the Wii sales numbers rarely bought more than Wii Sports, maybe Wii Play, maybe another game or two; if they realize they ended up barely playing the Wii, I have a hard time imagining they would lay down the cash for another system.

As has been discussed in this thread already, the leap in power isn't going to be enough to drive a PS3 or 360 owner to the Wii U, especially when more details of the next iterations of those systems are likely not too far off.

Nintendo is attempting to appeal to a wider demographic this time, but it's going to be too complicated for the casual players, and too short-lived on technical parity for the more avid gamer.

 

[BD2003]

Exactly right. I mean, the "hardcore" gaming community mocked the Wii endlessly when it was first announced, and it turned out to become the best selling console this generation. The DS was thought to be a joke when screenshots leaked, and look how that turned out.

I mean, if you come to a forum like this, of course the sentiment is going to be negative; Nintendo simply does not cater to the hardcore gaming community's every whim as Sony and MS do. Ironically, the PS3 and Xbox 360 were nothing more than souped up versions of their predecessors, and that was just fine with everyone.

I'm interested to see what the controller can do. If it could, say, stream Netflix on the screen, it would be a pretty sweet little unit to use in the kitchen or whatever. All of these consoles are just becoming HTPCs anyway, so I'm all for functionality on that level.

The hardcore did not mock the wii...it only really started to get negative after a few months.

The initial reaction was mixed, ranging from "omg awesome look at all the possibilities" to "I just don't know yet".

The reaction to the wii u is also mixed, but it seems to range from "I just don't know yet" to "this ain't gonna cut it."

It's decidedly different this go round.

 

[zerocool84]

Some of you are acting like this is totally different than the Wii and it's not. It's just a more powerful Wii with a new controller. It's still going to be the same experience. Only one person is getting the new controller so everyone else is still going to have to use the Wiimote to control stuff. So what if they're going to have stuff like Ghost Recon or Madden, it's still going to have to be different than what's on other systems. It's still going to be for the average consumer contrary to what they're saying. They're just saying that to get gamers on the PS3/360 to talk about the WiiU and they're succeeding. It's not much different than the current Wii at all and first party games are always going to be the #1 driver for Nintendo consoles. If you currently don't like the Wii, you're not going to like the WiiU because it's more of the same. Also just because you don't like it does not mean that it sucks. I haven't turned on my Wii in years but just because I don't like it doesn't mean it sucks.

 

[darkewaffle]

The hardcore did not mock the wii...it only really started to get negative after a few months.

The initial reaction was mixed, ranging from "omg awesome look at all the possibilities" to "I just don't know yet".

The reaction to the wii u is also mixed, but it seems to range from "I just don't know yet" to "this ain't gonna cut it."

It's decidedly different this go round.

It probably depends on who you know/where you go, but I have a pretty different recollection. I remember the Wii and the DS both having fairly negative word of mouth press at least, hell my friends just called the DS the Nintendo DumbShit and they pretty much looked at the Wii as a little kids toy. Both ridiculed as 'last ditch efforts' to sell gimmicks more or less.

I think the positive press was mostly from actual E3-goers and the members of the press who actually got to experience the new systems, much like the reaction to the WiiU that I've seen. Without giving it a try, people are skeptical and cynical, but the hands on pieces I've read are largely laudatory, unsurprisingly.

 

[Axon]

The hardcore did not mock the wii...it only really started to get negative after a few months.

The initial reaction was mixed, ranging from "omg awesome look at all the possibilities" to "I just don't know yet".

The reaction to the wii u is also mixed, but it seems to range from "I just don't know yet" to "this ain't gonna cut it."

It's decidedly different this go round.

To my recollection, it was brutally mocked from its inception, but perhaps we read different forums. I remember the posts becoming more positive as more content was revealed. Of course, on the internet, all reviews are mixed.

That said, I'm not sure the Wii U will catch on with casual gamers as much as the Wii did - I expect people who were into the Wii for Wii Sports or Wii fit will just consider Wii U more of the same.

 

[finbarqs]

the original Wii became relevant when nerds/geeks started getting laid with chicks who loved playing with the "Wiimote"

 

[0roo0roo]

Sure the original wii sold despite not making a good case for hardcore gaming, or even a good case for most motion gaming. but really, how many of those wii's sold to the casual are now gathering dust? once bitten twice shy maybe.
i just see a lot of gimmick without any killer app so far, just like the wii, you gotta do motion..because it has it, not because it is better.

 

[darkewaffle]

Sure the original wii sold despite not making a good case for hardcore gaming, or even a good case for most motion gaming. but really, how many of those wii's sold to the casual are now gathering dust? once bitten twice shy maybe.
i just see a lot of gimmick without any killer app so far, just like the wii, you gotta do motion..because it has it, not because it is better.

Anecdotally, it was substantially easier for me to find a second hand 360 and a PS3 than a Wii when combing the forums here and at OCN.

 

[finbarqs]

well the Wii was (rumored) a overclocked gamecube... Wonder what this Wii U would be?

 

[0roo0roo]

Anecdotally, it was substantially easier for me to find a second hand 360 and a PS3 than a Wii when combing the forums here and at OCN.

doesn't mean they aren't gathering dust, if you buy one for giggles you have disposable income, and perhaps less likely to bother. else all those casual gamer sales would equal epic continued software sales, but i doubt that is happening.

 

[darkewaffle]

doesn't mean they aren't gathering dust, if you buy one for giggles you have disposable income, and perhaps less likely to bother. else all those casual gamer sales would equal epic continued software sales, but i doubt that is happening.

Well why not look?

3/5 of the best selling games so far in 2011 have been Wii titles, and Nintendo hold 4/5 spots with motion controls also holding at least 4/5 spots. I have no idea how Pokemon B&W plays though, so could be 5/5 for motion.

 

[0roo0roo]

Well why not look?

3/5 of the best selling games so far in 2011 have been Wii titles, and Nintendo hold 4/5 spots with motion controls also holding at least 4/5 spots. I have no idea how Pokemon B&W plays though, so could be 5/5 for motion.

does it match up to the units sold though.
it isn't all that hard for nintendo to mop up with parents buying child safe toys for their children, but I seriously have doubts about those who bought it as casual gamers.