THQ's uDraw Studio created quite a buzz at Gamescom, but had Nintendo not stepped in the reaction could have been quite different.
Director Luis Gigliotti of THQ spoke to Joystiq about how the original board earned the nickname "Frankenstein" among the team before Nintendo got involved:
[The prototype] was a like bunch of lasers and mirrors and loose parts, it was wood and it had brass on it.
Realising the tablet would be far too costly to manufacture, THQ reached out to Nintendo for assistance, and the Big N used its design and manufacturing expertise to bring the current tablet to light. Nintendo was so keen on the idea it also lifted its normally strict rules on allowing games to save directly to SD card, making uDraw Studio one of the few third-party titles to support the feature.
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It's almost amazing that no one ever thought of this before. It reminds me of the little tablets that teachers can use with Smartboards and Promethean boards.
I was wondering how they managed to come up with this type of peripheral (ie.in terms of cost, logistics and resources) and NL just came up with the anbswer (lol). I'm surprised Nintendo themselves haven't come up with this and developed their own software with it.
Good to see ninty giving 3rd parties some luv.
Wow, a lot of uDraw news, lately.
Anyhoo, That's really nice of Nintendo.
I'm exited about this, But I can't help but wonder just how it works?
I really want this to come out, just so I can draw anything I want. I suck at pen and paper, so this will be much better for me I hope.
Mario Paint Wii now, please.
Are THQ based in Yorkshire? Their prototype sounds like it was built by a Yorkshireman
"Don't wanna be arsin' around wi' plastic tat. Bit o' wood, bit o' brass, be grand. Shut doeur lad, thersa reet draft comin' in, then come 'n 'ave a butchers at this pro'otype fer a Wii Wheel, med it out t'shed doeur. "
--Raylax, proud Yorkshire tyke
Bloody Northeners.
This is great news! One step closer to not being on the Useless Wii Peripheral Pile :3
Hm...interesting, I didn't know Nintendo was involved in the design.
On another note, it would explain why I haven't seen more games using the SD cards for saving. Anyone actually know the reason why? Perhaps someone from Nintendo Life could shed some light on this?
Well, the lack of SD support is Nintendo's fault. Now I know who to send angry letters to.
I sure would like to see that prototype, though.
I would probably rather get myself a tablet for my Mac instead for some more serious art making. But I could see how it would be fun to use the Wii. Ive always wanted a tablet, but one for my Mac seems like the better option since I dont need "family friendly" art lessons.
So why is this contraption called uDraw and not WiiDraw? Not that it bothers me or anything. Really, it doesn't. Not a bit.
I would actually like to have this.
@5 I would guess that like most graphics tablet, it is pressure sensitive, meaning that it senses various pressures applied with the pen, and applies it to the width of the drawing.
mariopaintmariopaintmariopaintmariopaintmariopaintmariopaintmariopaintmariopaintmariopaint
@retrox - Nintendo owns the copyright on Wii and only games published by them can be called "Wii (whatever)".
@TheSolarKnight - Nintendo's really strict on uses of the SD card on Wii, less so on DSi. The interview cited in this article claims two projects had to be canned after years of development because Nintendo wouldn't allow the team to use SD card. Obviously this is one side of the story, but still, it appears Nintendo limits who can use the SD card and how.
Amazon US has it listed for $69.99 and the 2 games $29.99 each with a Nov. 21 release date. I'm guessing they keep the price down with a WiiMote in the table.
I feel their video is a bit deceiving showing the 2 games sold separately and buyers may feel remorseful after realizing this is just a drawing tablet with no motion or gameplay (if I'm viewing it right) and the children's excitement soon fades. They need to package it with something that moves to hold peoples attention.
Drawn To Life 2?
I'm super excited about a drawing tablet for the wii. The cartoonish look of the interface is kind of a turn-off. it looks more art alive than mario paint. i mean less charming, more crappy.i would also like to see mario paint or something even more professional if the tablet actually works well. wouldn't be surprised if the homebrew scene comes through in that regard.
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