Well, I guess I will check out both Sonic demos, no reason not to. The "Misadventures..." seems fun, but otherwise I believe I won't sped any cash on eShop, unluess EDGE is good (and I can't rule out the fact that it is)...
@jayclayx Yes, from what little technical data about Wii U's CPU we know, it is far weaker than the X360 CPU, or the Cell chip used in PS3. Basically it's just three tweaked Wii processors stuck together with clocks boosted two times and some additional cache. That's it. Wii U's GPU, on the other hand, seems at least three to four times more powerful than that used in X360 or PS3, but I think that was a very poor design decision by Nintendo. That way it's very difficult to utilise the full potential of the GPU, because the CPU can't feed it data quickly enough. And if we try to compensate with GPGPU functions (which requires a lot of additional coding) we eat up graphics resources anyway, so it's somewhat a vicious cycle.
Then again - we have Nintendo and Shin'En games keeping a smooth 60 FPS at 720p with some pretty intense action on both screens sometimes, so... I don't know what to think. But it certainly wouln't hurt anyone if Wii U had a little bit mor power CPU-side...
Nintendo and smartphone/tablet market? No, no, NO! As @erv already said, it's probably something about online videos, not mobile games. As for using a tablet for second screen - give me physical buttons and then we'll talk. I personally consider touch controls horrible and suitable only for very specific and simple tasks...
@Dave24 It's not hard to find a WiiU? Really? Because I've visited every single electronics store in Lublin over the past year to see if any carried Wii U's (I bought mine over Internet, but it never hurts to do some reconnisance, does it?) and guess what? None of them did, does or is planning to do. And Lublin is a regional capital (some people here might not know that).
Maybe in Warsaw, sure, but not anywhere else I've seen Nintendo hardware on the shelf. Not only that, I can't find a single piece of software in any of the stores here.
As for "not growing up with Nintendo" - I think he meant the generation of gamers that is most active right now. People aged 15-20 (a wild guess that's the correct range here) don't remember Pegasus at all...
@ikki5 Well I live in Lublin actually, and I know at least 20 PS3 users, a few PSP and DS/DSi owners and three 3DS gamers (there's at least 5 more according to local 3DS tracking page, but never actually managed to SPass them, so...). At the last Deadly Serious Convention (polish community of Nintendo fans, broadly speaking) we had over one hundred 3DS users from accross the country, most of which were not even from our forums. And XBox 360 is massively popular among people I know.
Also there are huge banners for Playstation 3 and 4 in at least one big electronics store here. In Warsaw I noticed that in many places in just under two days of staying there (for the said convention). So I say - the people you know must be living under a rock or in a cave or something, and are not really representative of anything. Poland plays videogames, far more than you think, though I admit that PC gaming is prelevant here and I'm guilty of that pleasure myself.
Also to the author - one sentence, mentioning martial law, is a bit misleading as my friend pointed out. That happened in 1981 to 1983, a decade earlier and Poland was still a communist state back then.
I probably couldn't add anything to the above even if I tried. The situation of Nintendo here in Poland is a combination of negligence, adverse market conditions and local gamer mentality. Though I must say that a few of my friends are slowly becoming convinced that Nintendo is the way to go (despite the difficulties) when they are shown some unique games both 3DS and Wii U have to offer. And Pokemon, you can't forget that.
It just leaves me wondering - why Nintendo was never able to do what I've been doing with at least little success: convince people that gigabytes, teraflops and BluRay aren't everything?
I'm still getting that on PC. Higher resolution, DirectX 11 effects, 60 fps and mouse controls (which I've always preferred to analogue sticks in first person games), plust it will only cost me 4 Euros. I just can't justify paying the full retail price just for Gamepad integration...
Great review though, and it seems that Wii U finally got a solid port.
@WiiUExposed As far as I'm concerned Wii U should automatically update everything you have, provided that you set up appropriate options in the Configuration menu. Standby functions, to be precise. ;]
Honestly? Those look terribly tacky - like GameBoys with oversized and deformed screens. I'd never use a phone looking like that... And those microscopic buttons, my gosh, I imagine how difficult it would be to reliably operate them. No... Just no...
@BanjoThreeie Why is it that each time I write something anywhere on the Internet, somebody comes up and explains some commonly known fact to me? I knew that already, and that does not change what I said about it being not important anymore. :]
This is the right move for Nintendo. Backward compatibility with Gamecube is no longer an important factor for sales, and Wii U can handle all Wii games equally well to original hardware (I think, I've never tested this thoroughly as I still have my Wii hooked up). Removing Wii from the market will strenghten the new system's position and eliminate confusion.
That said, Wii is the console that de facto pulled me into console gaming, and as such will be always fondly remembered. And I still have a few titles that I want to play on the system, so it's certainly not retiring from duty any time soon.
Urban Champion? Really? Of all the NES games this one? Great... Considering Sonic though (preferably retail), but unless I see a demo or a very convincing review I'm not touching it.
And even after Wii U started selling good we will still be getting dirty ports without DLC and sub-par graphics just because it's a Nintendo system. And all Nintendo systems absolutely need to be treated like garbage by third party... That's that for your daily pesimism portion...
Funny thing is - there are still people whining that this is not a "true" Mario game and that we need Galaxy 3 instead. I... uh... really don't understand where is that coming from.
Still this is a 100% day-one disc purchase for me. As much as I preferred to skip Old Reskinned Bros U, the thought of a brand new 3D Mario just gets me excited!
@BATRA There are replacements with larger capacity from third parties available for months now. If one really needs one is debatable (I never managed to discharge my Gamepad during one session, for example), but they are available. And what even would you use the second Gamepad for? There are no games built for that and there won't be for long time since now, maybe never even.
For me this cradle makes little to no sense. First - I wouldn't be able to keep my Wii Motion Plus attached (I have two such remotes), and second - there is a power supply requiring a socket, which means that for all remotes to be always charged I'd need three spare sockets. Thanks, but no thanks - I'll stick to my Energizer Ni-MH rechargeables...
@PerezBro99 Trust me, Deus Ex has NOTHING in common with Arkham games. It's not even technically an action beat-em-up, rather an RPG. It's like comparing Pikmin 3 to The Wonderful 101...
I have considered this game, but in the end I will buy it on Wii U only if:
a) There will be no "upgrade" option for existing PC version owners (I happen to have both the game and the add-on on my Steam), and
b) Wii U version will be graphically on par with PC version (max detail and DX11 features that is)
The latter will probably not happen and it will look significantly worse, not to mention lower framerates. So I'm probably not supporting Wii U with this title anymore - if it were an exclusive, then it might have been another story...
For the small file size the 3DS edition looks remarkably good - that probably can be attributed to clever usage of tiled, paletted and compressed textures thanks to modern GPU the handheld has (note that "modern" does not always mean "powerful"). Both look excellent and I still probably pass both of them - I was always too slow for Sonic. ;P
I am somehow still not sold on this game... It's possibly the general art style that puts me off, same as it did with Phantom Hourglass and Spirit Tracks. I just wish that there were more Zelda games in TP or SS style...
@Ernest_The_Crab I have not got it confused, just made a thought shortcut. Sorry for that.
Assets have nothing to do with framebuffer. Look on the PC - you don't have separate stuff for every resolution possible. You can render everything in any resolution you like without special preparation. Nintendo said, if I'm not mistaken, that they use 720p because it is far easier to attain 60 fps at this resolution. It may be just as you say - that they lack in experience - but certainly has nothing to do with the assets themselves.
And I am pretty sure I've read somewhere that Mario Kart 8 will run at 720p too, but can't find it now...
@Pod There isn't a single Nintendo game out there running at 1080p and 60fps. Heck, not a single one of them actually renders at 1080p - they already said numerous times that they output at 720p. The image is just stretched then to match the set screen resolution. Even the Wii U menu renders in 720p, at least that is what my personal investigation shows, based on pixel size measurement.
As for the console freezes - I had about three in Zombi U, and two in eShop during video playback. The latter was exactly the same as freezes of Nintendo Channel back on Wii, so I'm guessing that someone is making the same mistake over and over again. But honestly - my PS3 froze on me exactly as often, so nothing new for me here...
And I think we just need to wait for what Shin'En has in store - once Jett Rocket 2 is out in glorious 3D and 60fps at the same time (which was once said to be impossible on 3DS), whey can shift resources to the two mysterious Wii U projects. Remember - JR had stuff going on on screen unseen in any other Wii game, so I'm slowly preparing to have my mind blown...
It's funny how everyone has "good relationship" with Nintendo, and yet so many are reluctant to actually do anything about it. I understand that there are reasons behind it, more or less, but can't we just talk openly and straight up say that "we will not support Nintendo unless they sell us 10+ millions of systems to make games for"?
I honestly never even considered them being canon in the first place because of their licensed, "outside" nature. But hey, stranger things happened. And even if Anouma told us that they are fitting into the timeline, I would still not accept.
@KittenKoder They might simply have not enough skill to program the engine so that it handles 3D well in overworld. Not necessarily an excuse - keep in mind how long Pokemon games were stuck in what was essentially a 90's-tech 2D. Not everyone is a coding genius like the guys from Shin'En, who pull free roaming in 3D and 60 fps on us.
I still think it's better to have nicer models without 3D than really poor ones with the effect. It would negate all the benefits of visual depths imo. But then again - it's just me.
If they say that they had to skip 3D to display better graphics, it might well be just the case. That gives them both GPU cores to work on the scene, basically doubling the graphics throughput compared to the 3D mode. And if the effect is not very pronounced (and I universally hate overdone 3D effects) it won't tire your eyes. It's just a matter of putting together a 1000 polygon model instead of just 500 in 3D. That simple.
Besides - Metal Gear Solid 3DS did the switching on the fly already, in case you never noticed. In sections where you had to balance with the console (on tree branches for example) the 3D smootly turned itself off and then back on when you left the area. And I never heard anyone complaining back then.
And no, this is not phasing out 3D. The console has limited power and devs have to work with that. With 3D it would probably look no better than previous 3DS installments.
I don't even understand how WiiSports HD is a good idea. Visuals mean nothing for this game and never did, and it was always about playing in a group in the same room, not online. To me this is the ultimate proof that Nintendo does not know what to do to bolster Wii U sales and that Iwata might need to step down, despite all the sympathy I have for him.
I will certainly NOT buy that - I already have WiiSports and WiiSports Resort, and the sole idea of dumping money on more of the same seems ridiculous to me. Why would anyone want to buy that is also beyond my comperhension, and if someone could explain to me why this remake is a good idea, I'd be much obliged.
@SanderEvers This has nothing to do with "going down the drain". Nintendolife, as a community of fans, has not only to praise Nintendo and it's efforts, but it's also responsible for critique. WiiSports HD definietly deserves the mixed reactions it gets, and whoever does not see that simply displays symptoms of Stokholm Syndrome.
Also - the rule you gave is very good. But does not prevent anyone from criticizing.
@MrSRArter No, it is not being made in Japan, unless WayForward actually moved there. Which they did not do. Collaborations can easily happen remotely, no reason for anyone to travel anywhere.
I'm considering backing up Shantae kickstarter, but I fear that it will not even reach it's goal. The series is simply too niche, with a Nintendo-only past and not very "mass-appeal" attitude of the games. And they certainly have no hopes of getting past any stretch goals.
@ferrers405 I'd imagine that Killzone franchise is not very popular in Japan, so it won't do any good to Vita there.
I'm curious to see where those numbers will go on the Pokemon X/Y launch day... Also the Wii U is really in a poor spot, being still outsold by Vita. Games need to happen soon.
I'm skipping this one either - already have the WiiWare original and don't see any reason to buy it again. This was meant to be played with motion controls, not buttons, so the appeal of the game is lost in translation for me.
I remember watching this on TV when I was young... I'm afraid though that the game will not live up to the nostalgia, and I hope that I'm being proved wrong on this when it finally comes out...
And the fact that there will be Polish subtitles? That actually shocked me, but also shows how popular was the show in my country.
Game looks nice, but I'll wait for a review to see if it offers enough variety not to get boring in half an hour or so (which is a problem with many twin sticks methinks). Still it's good to hear that the developers are not giving us a simple port and work on some Wii U-specific features. ;]
I'm from Poland too, and I managed to buy my 3DS and Wii U (Basic model) around the launch day. But that's it. Aside from maybe one Wii U game and two 3DS cartridges I had to import everything. Still - I wouldn't change my Nintendo hardware for competition. It might be hard to get physical copies of the games or the hardware itself even, but the efforts pay off in games themselves, at least for me. It's a shame that the company can't figure out how to handle "new" markets, because surely they could win a lot new customers if they put some effort into it.
I'd say quite the opposite - none of the AR games actually require two cameras for anything except generating 3D images on screen. Spatial positioning can very well be done with just one camera, and I doubt developers would waste 3DS computational power just to use 3D image analysis.
@Sceptic You are contradicting yourself in saying that by applying same rules to everyone I hold Mario to x-times higher standards than indie games. And you are clearly getting what I'm saying the wrong way.
By "the same rules" I mean that no matter how much I pay for the game, be it 3 euro or 30, I demand one thing at least - that the game is free from any major technical glitches. Major glitches include lack of sound in off-TV mode, performance issues, crashes, freezes, broken controls etc. It does not matter how much effort anyone put in the game - if it does not work on basic technical level, it simply can't be fun. That's it.
I am not saying that I apply the same content/complexity/art quality/whatever-else standards to every game category. That would be idiotic. But I don't think I don't get to demand anything from an independet developer. Putting effort into something is not enough to be praised for it - I have learned that from life the hard way, and I apply that to everything.
Ah, yea, as for Mario - since I bought Wii (my first home console since NES), I have got only two games from the franchise - Super Mario Galaxy and Super Mario 3D Land, because I felst that only those are up to snuff and actually try to bring something fresh to the series. Just in case you were still interested. ;]
@Dipso Come to think of it, you may be right. Guess a "critic full of critical criticism" (thanks, @Will-75, a wonderful phrase ) such as me will always read stuff the way he or she wants them to be... :] And from what I've heard, submitting a patch on Wii U is far easier than on any other platform, and does not cost a cent, so they might fix it sooner than we think.
@unrandomsam Depends on taste, really. Every game benefits from 60FPS mode, but that's not necessarily needed in all cases. Racing games are one example of a genre that simply should never be run at 30, and yet we are constantly bombarded by games which do run at that speed, expecially from the "big" publishers. I remember that the early demo of Giana Sisters ran terribly on my powerful PC, so it might just be bad coding on their part. Still if the game keeps at 30 at all times, it's good, because for example I am quite annoyed by "The Wonderful 101"'s constant framerate fluctuations. But again, a matter of taste.
And I am again gonna say what I've said multiple times already - installing a game on Wii U will not improve loading times unless the game could read from both the optical drive and hard drive/flash at the same time. Nintendo mounted a horribly slow flash inside both Wii U versions (real world reads are equal to external USB 2.0 hard drive, and write is about five times slower from my measuerements).
Besides - the transfers Wii U optical drive achieves are roughly equal to what anything plugged into Wii U's USB 2.0 ports will have. We can't get faster loading times by installing games on Wii U. Full stop. It would only work if the console could utilise both data storage devices at the same time, and that would make spacing the data on the optical disc properly.
Besides - eShop releases have exactly the same loading times as optical versions. That should be a clue enough to tell you that this discussion is a moot point because of, sadly, a bit broken Wii U architecture.
@Sceptic I beg your pardon, "beggars"? You're telling me that I'm supposed to buy every single one indie game regardless of any problems it migh have just because I need to support the platform? Sorry, but you are so horribly wrong that I don't even know how to begin arguing with that stance...
First of all - I earned the money, I decide on what to spend. And I have right to demand something from every developer out there, be it indie or otherwise. I am a gamer, not a charity organisation, and I am certainly not obliged in any way to buy flawed (we get to that in a moment) games just to make developers feel good about any particular console those games are released on. Nobody right in the head does that. Same goes for blindly buying every game out there just to make the console look more attractive sales-wise is equally stupid. People don't have money to spend on flawed products, at least I don't. And that does not make me a "beggar".
I agree that being particularly picky about anything, not just games, is bad and irresponsible. I don't mind the lack of 60 fps all that much in this game, and the controls seemed tight on the old PC beta-demo I've played. However in this particular case we are talking about a bug that breaks key functionality the Wii U is advertised with - off-TV play. It's not just being "rough around the edges", it's a flaw in the key aspect of the game, important to many as evidenced by various comments and forum entries, not just here on Nintendolife and not only regarding this particular game. This is not being "picky", this is demanding that the basics are working well. And they are not. If someone is a major off-TV player, you can't blame them for not buying a game that has this broken.
All that said I'm still interested in Giana Sisters, because it invokes many memories from my childhood and playing the original Giana Sisters on Commodore 64. But if I ever happen to review the game (for a local Nintendo community site I sometimes write something for) I am certainly discuss every problem this game might have and it's weight on the overall experience. Everyone plays by the same rules.
Wait, so the audio in the game works fine on TV, but is not working at all on the Gamepad? I thought that Wii U SDK provided ready-to-use streaming routines that simply dump the stuff onto the device via wireless and that's it. Somebody didn't bother to read the manual or what?
I'm still probably gonna get the game on my Wii U (off-TV mode is pretty much irrelevant to me as I never use it), but it would be good to know more about the issue first...
And... Yeah. "We have released a broken game, and we may or may not patch it. You already paid us, so bleep you, gamers!" -_-'
@mercurio2054 But we are not even talking about two screens. We are talking about data streaming speeds and processing the said data (which is by CPU, not by GPU). Games are a lot more than graphics you see on screen. And even the most powerful GPU will be of no use when coupled with a CPU that can't feed it data quick enough. It's just how things work.
@lbs @Locke_Highwind @Shiryu It's the same probably. Internal flash in both Basic and Premium versions is apparently very slow (Trine 2 loaded two seconds longer from it than from a USB 2.0 pendrive stuck in rear USB port). And any external storage (be it mentioned usb stick or external hard drive) is limited to roughly 22-25 MB/s half-duplex throughput because of USB 2.0. Wii U optical discs have reportedly similar data streaming capability, so we don't have much to work with any way. Bottom line: installing a game on Wii U would give exactly zero improvement here. It's how the system is designed, sadly, and no firmware will ever fix it.
@Shwornage I think that because CPU power is already limited, handling two data sources at once would strain Wii U to the point where we would start loosing framerate, which would nullify all advantages that would provide. I think. I might be wrong.
That loading times issue is quite worrying, because it shows up in many games. WiiU has twice the RAM available to other systems, and yet it apparently struggles to fill it. And three times the loading of competition? That's just bad for Wii U.
@Subie98 Since when The Wonderful 101 and Pikmin 3 are in the same genre?! For crying out loud, do those games even have ANYTHING in common aside from multiple small characters on screen? Geez, people... Also explain to me why does the game "look stupid" and what exactly do you mean by that.
As for the digital promotion - well, after caclulating prices it turned out that if I get both games on discs I'll still pay far less than for both digital, promotion included. Guess the attractivity of that depends on where you live.
I'm still waiting for my game to arrive from Amazon, so can't really speak about it. The sales, however, are entirely in line with my expectations - it's a niche game, and while it can be a great one, it's also too "different" to appeal to your average gamer. Aside from that - not a single Platinum game was a smash sales hit. Not Vanquish, not Bayonetta, certainly not Madworld. The Wonderful 101 will not shift consoles and will not change the situation of the Wii U if that's what anyone's been hoping for.
Well, my relationship with EA is certainly NOT tremendous... What they did with Wii U (essentially trying to pull another Dreamcast on us for no apparent reason) is bad enough, but their Origin poop is another. Randomly loosing licenses for your legally aquired games, disconnects, unhelpful support staff... I could go on, but I won't. Not worth it.
And mark my words - we are gonna see a ton of hasty ports and remakes once Wii U picks up momentum, and they are gona whine and whine that 3-year old games, shoddily made to run on hardware they weren't designed for and probably stripped of all DLC don't sell for full price. You'll see...
There are no Nintendo Zone hotspots in Poland (we don't even have any official dealer of Nintendo products here), so the relay functionality won't give me squat. I'm only getting passes once a year while the community from entire country meets up, and I guess it's gonna remain that way until the end of time. They should focus on account system, not such useless features... ;/
Comments 376
Re: Nintendo Download: 21st November (Europe)
Well, I guess I will check out both Sonic demos, no reason not to. The "Misadventures..." seems fun, but otherwise I believe I won't sped any cash on eShop, unluess EDGE is good (and I can't rule out the fact that it is)...
Re: Performance of Batman: Arkham Origins Wii U Version Compares Unfavourably to 360 and PS3
@jayclayx Yes, from what little technical data about Wii U's CPU we know, it is far weaker than the X360 CPU, or the Cell chip used in PS3. Basically it's just three tweaked Wii processors stuck together with clocks boosted two times and some additional cache. That's it. Wii U's GPU, on the other hand, seems at least three to four times more powerful than that used in X360 or PS3, but I think that was a very poor design decision by Nintendo. That way it's very difficult to utilise the full potential of the GPU, because the CPU can't feed it data quickly enough. And if we try to compensate with GPGPU functions (which requires a lot of additional coding) we eat up graphics resources anyway, so it's somewhat a vicious cycle.
Then again - we have Nintendo and Shin'En games keeping a smooth 60 FPS at 720p with some pretty intense action on both screens sometimes, so... I don't know what to think. But it certainly wouln't hurt anyone if Wii U had a little bit mor power CPU-side...
Re: Nintendo Stock Value Rises After Buying Stake In Mobile Web Company Dwango
Nintendo and smartphone/tablet market? No, no, NO! As @erv already said, it's probably something about online videos, not mobile games. As for using a tablet for second screen - give me physical buttons and then we'll talk. I personally consider touch controls horrible and suitable only for very specific and simple tasks...
Re: Feature: Why Nintendo Isn't Popular in Poland
@Dave24 It's not hard to find a WiiU? Really? Because I've visited every single electronics store in Lublin over the past year to see if any carried Wii U's (I bought mine over Internet, but it never hurts to do some reconnisance, does it?) and guess what? None of them did, does or is planning to do. And Lublin is a regional capital (some people here might not know that).
Maybe in Warsaw, sure, but not anywhere else I've seen Nintendo hardware on the shelf. Not only that, I can't find a single piece of software in any of the stores here.
As for "not growing up with Nintendo" - I think he meant the generation of gamers that is most active right now. People aged 15-20 (a wild guess that's the correct range here) don't remember Pegasus at all...
Re: Feature: Why Nintendo Isn't Popular in Poland
@ikki5 Well I live in Lublin actually, and I know at least 20 PS3 users, a few PSP and DS/DSi owners and three 3DS gamers (there's at least 5 more according to local 3DS tracking page, but never actually managed to SPass them, so...). At the last Deadly Serious Convention (polish community of Nintendo fans, broadly speaking) we had over one hundred 3DS users from accross the country, most of which were not even from our forums. And XBox 360 is massively popular among people I know.
Also there are huge banners for Playstation 3 and 4 in at least one big electronics store here. In Warsaw I noticed that in many places in just under two days of staying there (for the said convention). So I say - the people you know must be living under a rock or in a cave or something, and are not really representative of anything. Poland plays videogames, far more than you think, though I admit that PC gaming is prelevant here and I'm guilty of that pleasure myself.
Also to the author - one sentence, mentioning martial law, is a bit misleading as my friend pointed out. That happened in 1981 to 1983, a decade earlier and Poland was still a communist state back then.
Re: Feature: Why Nintendo Isn't Popular in Poland
I probably couldn't add anything to the above even if I tried. The situation of Nintendo here in Poland is a combination of negligence, adverse market conditions and local gamer mentality. Though I must say that a few of my friends are slowly becoming convinced that Nintendo is the way to go (despite the difficulties) when they are shown some unique games both 3DS and Wii U have to offer. And Pokemon, you can't forget that.
It just leaves me wondering - why Nintendo was never able to do what I've been doing with at least little success: convince people that gigabytes, teraflops and BluRay aren't everything?
Re: Review: Deus Ex: Human Revolution Director's Cut (Wii U)
I'm still getting that on PC. Higher resolution, DirectX 11 effects, 60 fps and mouse controls (which I've always preferred to analogue sticks in first person games), plust it will only cost me 4 Euros. I just can't justify paying the full retail price just for Gamepad integration...
Great review though, and it seems that Wii U finally got a solid port.
Re: The Wonderful 101 Update Now Available To Download
@WiiUExposed As far as I'm concerned Wii U should automatically update everything you have, provided that you set up appropriate options in the Configuration menu. Standby functions, to be precise. ;]
Re: This Is How Much Space Super Mario 3D World Will Gobble Up On Your Wii U
@dumedum And that is exactly what some developers need to learn. :]
Re: If Nintendo Did Make A Smartphone, We'd Want It To Look Like This
Honestly? Those look terribly tacky - like GameBoys with oversized and deformed screens. I'd never use a phone looking like that... And those microscopic buttons, my gosh, I imagine how difficult it would be to reliably operate them. No... Just no...
Re: Nintendo Japan Confirms an End to Wii Production
@BanjoThreeie Why is it that each time I write something anywhere on the Internet, somebody comes up and explains some commonly known fact to me? I knew that already, and that does not change what I said about it being not important anymore. :]
Re: Nintendo Japan Confirms an End to Wii Production
This is the right move for Nintendo. Backward compatibility with Gamecube is no longer an important factor for sales, and Wii U can handle all Wii games equally well to original hardware (I think, I've never tested this thoroughly as I still have my Wii hooked up). Removing Wii from the market will strenghten the new system's position and eliminate confusion.
That said, Wii is the console that de facto pulled me into console gaming, and as such will be always fondly remembered. And I still have a few titles that I want to play on the system, so it's certainly not retiring from duty any time soon.
Re: Nintendo Download: 17th October (Europe)
Urban Champion? Really? Of all the NES games this one? Great...
Considering Sonic though (preferably retail), but unless I see a demo or a very convincing review I'm not touching it.
Re: Zelda: Wind Waker HD Release Triggers 685% Increase In UK Wii U Hardware Sales
And even after Wii U started selling good we will still be getting dirty ports without DLC and sub-par graphics just because it's a Nintendo system. And all Nintendo systems absolutely need to be treated like garbage by third party... That's that for your daily pesimism portion...
Re: If You Liked the Latest Super Mario 3D World Trailer, You'll Love the New Screens
Funny thing is - there are still people whining that this is not a "true" Mario game and that we need Galaxy 3 instead. I... uh... really don't understand where is that coming from.
Still this is a 100% day-one disc purchase for me. As much as I preferred to skip Old Reskinned Bros U, the thought of a brand new 3D Mario just gets me excited!
Re: Nintendo Download: 10th October (Europe)
And absolutely nothing for me. Again. And I'm not interested in Pokemon...
Re: Nintendo of America Selling Wii Remote Rapid Charging Cradle and Rechargeable Battery Set
@BATRA There are replacements with larger capacity from third parties available for months now. If one really needs one is debatable (I never managed to discharge my Gamepad during one session, for example), but they are available. And what even would you use the second Gamepad for? There are no games built for that and there won't be for long time since now, maybe never even.
For me this cradle makes little to no sense. First - I wouldn't be able to keep my Wii Motion Plus attached (I have two such remotes), and second - there is a power supply requiring a socket, which means that for all remotes to be always charged I'd need three spare sockets. Thanks, but no thanks - I'll stick to my Energizer Ni-MH rechargeables...
Re: Deus Ex: Human Revolution Director's Cut Finally Dated for Wii U
@PerezBro99 Trust me, Deus Ex has NOTHING in common with Arkham games. It's not even technically an action beat-em-up, rather an RPG. It's like comparing Pikmin 3 to The Wonderful 101...
Re: Deus Ex: Human Revolution Director's Cut Finally Dated for Wii U
I have considered this game, but in the end I will buy it on Wii U only if:
a) There will be no "upgrade" option for existing PC version owners (I happen to have both the game and the add-on on my Steam), and
b) Wii U version will be graphically on par with PC version (max detail and DX11 features that is)
The latter will probably not happen and it will look significantly worse, not to mention lower framerates. So I'm probably not supporting Wii U with this title anymore - if it were an exclusive, then it might have been another story...
Re: Splinter Cell Creator Tom Clancy Passes Away Aged 66
That was unexpected...
Re: SEGA Unleashes a Plethora of Sonic Lost World Screens
For the small file size the 3DS edition looks remarkably good - that probably can be attributed to clever usage of tiled, paletted and compressed textures thanks to modern GPU the handheld has (note that "modern" does not always mean "powerful"). Both look excellent and I still probably pass both of them - I was always too slow for Sonic. ;P
Re: Video: Epic Launch Trailer Shows Off The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker HD
I am somehow still not sold on this game... It's possibly the general art style that puts me off, same as it did with Phantom Hourglass and Spirit Tracks. I just wish that there were more Zelda games in TP or SS style...
Re: Shin'en: If Developers Can't Make Great Looking Games On Wii U, It's Their Own Fault
@Ernest_The_Crab I have not got it confused, just made a thought shortcut. Sorry for that.
Assets have nothing to do with framebuffer. Look on the PC - you don't have separate stuff for every resolution possible. You can render everything in any resolution you like without special preparation. Nintendo said, if I'm not mistaken, that they use 720p because it is far easier to attain 60 fps at this resolution. It may be just as you say - that they lack in experience - but certainly has nothing to do with the assets themselves.
And I am pretty sure I've read somewhere that Mario Kart 8 will run at 720p too, but can't find it now...
Re: Shin'en: If Developers Can't Make Great Looking Games On Wii U, It's Their Own Fault
@Pod There isn't a single Nintendo game out there running at 1080p and 60fps. Heck, not a single one of them actually renders at 1080p - they already said numerous times that they output at 720p. The image is just stretched then to match the set screen resolution. Even the Wii U menu renders in 720p, at least that is what my personal investigation shows, based on pixel size measurement.
As for the console freezes - I had about three in Zombi U, and two in eShop during video playback. The latter was exactly the same as freezes of Nintendo Channel back on Wii, so I'm guessing that someone is making the same mistake over and over again. But honestly - my PS3 froze on me exactly as often, so nothing new for me here...
And I think we just need to wait for what Shin'En has in store - once Jett Rocket 2 is out in glorious 3D and 60fps at the same time (which was once said to be impossible on 3DS), whey can shift resources to the two mysterious Wii U projects. Remember - JR had stuff going on on screen unseen in any other Wii game, so I'm slowly preparing to have my mind blown...
Re: Panzer Dragoon Creator Yukio Futatsugi Wants To Work With Nintendo Again
It's funny how everyone has "good relationship" with Nintendo, and yet so many are reluctant to actually do anything about it. I understand that there are reasons behind it, more or less, but can't we just talk openly and straight up say that "we will not support Nintendo unless they sell us 10+ millions of systems to make games for"?
Re: Surprise! Aonuma Doesn't Consider The CD-i Zelda Games To Be Canon, Either
@Angelic_Lapras_King +1 for that. ;D
I honestly never even considered them being canon in the first place because of their licensed, "outside" nature. But hey, stranger things happened. And even if Anouma told us that they are fitting into the timeline, I would still not accept.
Re: Junichi Masuda Confirms That the Pokémon X & Y Overworld is 2D Only
@KittenKoder They might simply have not enough skill to program the engine so that it handles 3D well in overworld. Not necessarily an excuse - keep in mind how long Pokemon games were stuck in what was essentially a 90's-tech 2D. Not everyone is a coding genius like the guys from Shin'En, who pull free roaming in 3D and 60 fps on us.
I still think it's better to have nicer models without 3D than really poor ones with the effect. It would negate all the benefits of visual depths imo. But then again - it's just me.
Re: Junichi Masuda Confirms That the Pokémon X & Y Overworld is 2D Only
If they say that they had to skip 3D to display better graphics, it might well be just the case. That gives them both GPU cores to work on the scene, basically doubling the graphics throughput compared to the 3D mode. And if the effect is not very pronounced (and I universally hate overdone 3D effects) it won't tire your eyes. It's just a matter of putting together a 1000 polygon model instead of just 500 in 3D. That simple.
Besides - Metal Gear Solid 3DS did the switching on the fly already, in case you never noticed. In sections where you had to balance with the console (on tree branches for example) the 3D smootly turned itself off and then back on when you left the area. And I never heard anyone complaining back then.
And no, this is not phasing out 3D. The console has limited power and devs have to work with that. With 3D it would probably look no better than previous 3DS installments.
Re: Nintendo's Former President, Hiroshi Yamauchi, Has Passed Away
I'd go as far as to say that this is an end of an era for Nintendo, if not for the entire gaming industry. Sad news indeed... :/
Re: Poll: Would You Buy Grand Theft Auto V On Wii U?
I never really "got it" with any GTA title (or any similar game for that matter), so I'd skip it anyway. Not my kind of game.
Re: Wii Sports Club Takes The Competition Online With HD Visuals And Wii MotionPlus Support
I don't even understand how WiiSports HD is a good idea. Visuals mean nothing for this game and never did, and it was always about playing in a group in the same room, not online. To me this is the ultimate proof that Nintendo does not know what to do to bolster Wii U sales and that Iwata might need to step down, despite all the sympathy I have for him.
I will certainly NOT buy that - I already have WiiSports and WiiSports Resort, and the sole idea of dumping money on more of the same seems ridiculous to me. Why would anyone want to buy that is also beyond my comperhension, and if someone could explain to me why this remake is a good idea, I'd be much obliged.
@SanderEvers This has nothing to do with "going down the drain". Nintendolife, as a community of fans, has not only to praise Nintendo and it's efforts, but it's also responsible for critique. WiiSports HD definietly deserves the mixed reactions it gets, and whoever does not see that simply displays symptoms of Stokholm Syndrome.
Also - the rule you gave is very good. But does not prevent anyone from criticizing.
Re: Inti Creates Revealed to be Working on Shantae: Half-Genie Hero
@MrSRArter No, it is not being made in Japan, unless WayForward actually moved there. Which they did not do. Collaborations can easily happen remotely, no reason for anyone to travel anywhere.
I'm considering backing up Shantae kickstarter, but I fear that it will not even reach it's goal. The series is simply too niche, with a Nintendo-only past and not very "mass-appeal" attitude of the games. And they certainly have no hopes of getting past any stretch goals.
Re: 3DS Hardware Sales Continue to Rise in Japan, Wii U Numbers Drop Again
@ferrers405 I'd imagine that Killzone franchise is not very popular in Japan, so it won't do any good to Vita there.
I'm curious to see where those numbers will go on the Pokemon X/Y launch day... Also the Wii U is really in a poor spot, being still outsold by Vita. Games need to happen soon.
Re: Rage of the Gladiator Battles Onto the 3DS eShop on 19th September
I'm skipping this one either - already have the WiiWare original and don't see any reason to buy it again. This was meant to be played with motion controls, not buttons, so the appeal of the game is lost in translation for me.
Re: Mysterious Cities of Gold: Secret Paths Will Officially Be Made in English
I remember watching this on TV when I was young... I'm afraid though that the game will not live up to the nostalgia, and I hope that I'm being proved wrong on this when it finally comes out...
And the fact that there will be Polish subtitles? That actually shocked me, but also shows how popular was the show in my country.
Re: Assault Android Cactus to Feature Off-TV Play and Wii Remote and Nunchuk Controls
Game looks nice, but I'll wait for a review to see if it offers enough variety not to get boring in half an hour or so (which is a problem with many twin sticks methinks). Still it's good to hear that the developers are not giving us a simple port and work on some Wii U-specific features. ;]
Re: Sometimes Finding a Wii U to Buy Ain't Easy
I'm from Poland too, and I managed to buy my 3DS and Wii U (Basic model) around the launch day. But that's it. Aside from maybe one Wii U game and two 3DS cartridges I had to import everything. Still - I wouldn't change my Nintendo hardware for competition. It might be hard to get physical copies of the games or the hardware itself even, but the efforts pay off in games themselves, at least for me. It's a shame that the company can't figure out how to handle "new" markets, because surely they could win a lot new customers if they put some effort into it.
Oh well, maybe next generation...
Re: Review: Giana Sisters: Twisted Dreams (Wii U eShop)
I am strongly considering getting the game soon, as I really don't care about off-TV mode anyway. And this review only makes me want it earlier.
Also - somehow the screenshots in this review refuse to load. O.o
Re: Nintendo 2DS is Actually Made With Just One Screen
I'd say quite the opposite - none of the AR games actually require two cameras for anything except generating 3D images on screen. Spatial positioning can very well be done with just one camera, and I doubt developers would waste 3DS computational power just to use 3D image analysis.
2DS can very well have just one camera.
Re: Giana Sisters: Twisted Dreams May Get A Patch To Solve GamePad Audio Problems
@Sceptic You are contradicting yourself in saying that by applying same rules to everyone I hold Mario to x-times higher standards than indie games. And you are clearly getting what I'm saying the wrong way.
By "the same rules" I mean that no matter how much I pay for the game, be it 3 euro or 30, I demand one thing at least - that the game is free from any major technical glitches. Major glitches include lack of sound in off-TV mode, performance issues, crashes, freezes, broken controls etc. It does not matter how much effort anyone put in the game - if it does not work on basic technical level, it simply can't be fun. That's it.
I am not saying that I apply the same content/complexity/art quality/whatever-else standards to every game category. That would be idiotic. But I don't think I don't get to demand anything from an independet developer. Putting effort into something is not enough to be praised for it - I have learned that from life the hard way, and I apply that to everything.
Ah, yea, as for Mario - since I bought Wii (my first home console since NES), I have got only two games from the franchise - Super Mario Galaxy and Super Mario 3D Land, because I felst that only those are up to snuff and actually try to bring something fresh to the series. Just in case you were still interested. ;]
@Dipso Come to think of it, you may be right. Guess a "critic full of critical criticism" (thanks, @Will-75, a wonderful phrase ) such as me will always read stuff the way he or she wants them to be... :] And from what I've heard, submitting a patch on Wii U is far easier than on any other platform, and does not cost a cent, so they might fix it sooner than we think.
@unrandomsam Depends on taste, really. Every game benefits from 60FPS mode, but that's not necessarily needed in all cases. Racing games are one example of a genre that simply should never be run at 30, and yet we are constantly bombarded by games which do run at that speed, expecially from the "big" publishers. I remember that the early demo of Giana Sisters ran terribly on my powerful PC, so it might just be bad coding on their part. Still if the game keeps at 30 at all times, it's good, because for example I am quite annoyed by "The Wonderful 101"'s constant framerate fluctuations. But again, a matter of taste.
Re: Talking Point: The Wii U's Limited Hard Drive Space and Future Install Headaches
And I am again gonna say what I've said multiple times already - installing a game on Wii U will not improve loading times unless the game could read from both the optical drive and hard drive/flash at the same time. Nintendo mounted a horribly slow flash inside both Wii U versions (real world reads are equal to external USB 2.0 hard drive, and write is about five times slower from my measuerements).
Besides - the transfers Wii U optical drive achieves are roughly equal to what anything plugged into Wii U's USB 2.0 ports will have. We can't get faster loading times by installing games on Wii U. Full stop. It would only work if the console could utilise both data storage devices at the same time, and that would make spacing the data on the optical disc properly.
Besides - eShop releases have exactly the same loading times as optical versions. That should be a clue enough to tell you that this discussion is a moot point because of, sadly, a bit broken Wii U architecture.
Re: Giana Sisters: Twisted Dreams May Get A Patch To Solve GamePad Audio Problems
@Sceptic I beg your pardon, "beggars"? You're telling me that I'm supposed to buy every single one indie game regardless of any problems it migh have just because I need to support the platform? Sorry, but you are so horribly wrong that I don't even know how to begin arguing with that stance...
First of all - I earned the money, I decide on what to spend. And I have right to demand something from every developer out there, be it indie or otherwise. I am a gamer, not a charity organisation, and I am certainly not obliged in any way to buy flawed (we get to that in a moment) games just to make developers feel good about any particular console those games are released on. Nobody right in the head does that. Same goes for blindly buying every game out there just to make the console look more attractive sales-wise is equally stupid. People don't have money to spend on flawed products, at least I don't. And that does not make me a "beggar".
I agree that being particularly picky about anything, not just games, is bad and irresponsible. I don't mind the lack of 60 fps all that much in this game, and the controls seemed tight on the old PC beta-demo I've played. However in this particular case we are talking about a bug that breaks key functionality the Wii U is advertised with - off-TV play. It's not just being "rough around the edges", it's a flaw in the key aspect of the game, important to many as evidenced by various comments and forum entries, not just here on Nintendolife and not only regarding this particular game. This is not being "picky", this is demanding that the basics are working well. And they are not. If someone is a major off-TV player, you can't blame them for not buying a game that has this broken.
All that said I'm still interested in Giana Sisters, because it invokes many memories from my childhood and playing the original Giana Sisters on Commodore 64. But if I ever happen to review the game (for a local Nintendo community site I sometimes write something for) I am certainly discuss every problem this game might have and it's weight on the overall experience. Everyone plays by the same rules.
Re: Giana Sisters: Twisted Dreams May Get A Patch To Solve GamePad Audio Problems
Wait, so the audio in the game works fine on TV, but is not working at all on the Gamepad? I thought that Wii U SDK provided ready-to-use streaming routines that simply dump the stuff onto the device via wireless and that's it. Somebody didn't bother to read the manual or what?
I'm still probably gonna get the game on my Wii U (off-TV mode is pretty much irrelevant to me as I never use it), but it would be good to know more about the issue first...
And... Yeah. "We have released a broken game, and we may or may not patch it. You already paid us, so bleep you, gamers!" -_-'
Re: Splinter Cell Blacklist Wii U Version's Performance Put Under the Spotlight
@mercurio2054 But we are not even talking about two screens. We are talking about data streaming speeds and processing the said data (which is by CPU, not by GPU). Games are a lot more than graphics you see on screen. And even the most powerful GPU will be of no use when coupled with a CPU that can't feed it data quick enough. It's just how things work.
Re: Splinter Cell Blacklist Wii U Version's Performance Put Under the Spotlight
@mercurio2054 ... English, please? What screens? I'm sorry, I can't understand what are you talking about.
Re: Splinter Cell Blacklist Wii U Version's Performance Put Under the Spotlight
@lbs @Locke_Highwind @Shiryu It's the same probably. Internal flash in both Basic and Premium versions is apparently very slow (Trine 2 loaded two seconds longer from it than from a USB 2.0 pendrive stuck in rear USB port). And any external storage (be it mentioned usb stick or external hard drive) is limited to roughly 22-25 MB/s half-duplex throughput because of USB 2.0. Wii U optical discs have reportedly similar data streaming capability, so we don't have much to work with any way.
Bottom line: installing a game on Wii U would give exactly zero improvement here. It's how the system is designed, sadly, and no firmware will ever fix it.
@Shwornage I think that because CPU power is already limited, handling two data sources at once would strain Wii U to the point where we would start loosing framerate, which would nullify all advantages that would provide. I think. I might be wrong.
That loading times issue is quite worrying, because it shows up in many games. WiiU has twice the RAM available to other systems, and yet it apparently struggles to fill it. And three times the loading of competition? That's just bad for Wii U.
Re: The Wonderful 101 Misses the Top 20 in UK All-Format Charts
@Subie98 Since when The Wonderful 101 and Pikmin 3 are in the same genre?! For crying out loud, do those games even have ANYTHING in common aside from multiple small characters on screen? Geez, people... Also explain to me why does the game "look stupid" and what exactly do you mean by that.
As for the digital promotion - well, after caclulating prices it turned out that if I get both games on discs I'll still pay far less than for both digital, promotion included. Guess the attractivity of that depends on where you live.
Re: The Wonderful 101 Misses the Top 20 in UK All-Format Charts
I'm still waiting for my game to arrive from Amazon, so can't really speak about it.
The sales, however, are entirely in line with my expectations - it's a niche game, and while it can be a great one, it's also too "different" to appeal to your average gamer. Aside from that - not a single Platinum game was a smash sales hit. Not Vanquish, not Bayonetta, certainly not Madworld. The Wonderful 101 will not shift consoles and will not change the situation of the Wii U if that's what anyone's been hoping for.
Re: EA Executive Repeats That The Company is "Platform Agnostic", Cites "Tremendous Relationship" With Nintendo
Well, my relationship with EA is certainly NOT tremendous... What they did with Wii U (essentially trying to pull another Dreamcast on us for no apparent reason) is bad enough, but their Origin poop is another. Randomly loosing licenses for your legally aquired games, disconnects, unhelpful support staff... I could go on, but I won't. Not worth it.
And mark my words - we are gonna see a ton of hasty ports and remakes once Wii U picks up momentum, and they are gona whine and whine that 3-year old games, shoddily made to run on hardware they weren't designed for and probably stripped of all DLC don't sell for full price. You'll see...
Re: New 3DS Update Brings StreetPass Relay Functionality
There are no Nintendo Zone hotspots in Poland (we don't even have any official dealer of Nintendo products here), so the relay functionality won't give me squat. I'm only getting passes once a year while the community from entire country meets up, and I guess it's gonna remain that way until the end of time. They should focus on account system, not such useless features... ;/