E3 2011: Let It Begin!

[ibdoomed]

We can finally live this dream:

http://www.blackhall.net/pc_vr_game_gun.htm

[Devil]

Holy Shit,  Nintendo just one upped Sony.  The new controller let's you play the game you were just playing on the TV on the go.

Say hello to the $200 controller!! Can't wait to buy 4 of them and then have the kids break one!

[PR_GMR]

Darksiders 2, Ghost Recon Online and Ninja Gaiden 3 all coming to the WiiU.. All looking breathtaking!

[ibdoomed]

Holy Shit,  Nintendo just one upped Sony.  The new controller let's you play the game you were just playing on the TV on the go.

Say hello to the $200 controller!! Can't wait to buy 4 of them and then have the kids break one!

It's definitely time to start having console insurance.

[Bullwinkle]

EA talking up online.

I guess Nintendo gets they've been doing it wrong.

[Bullwinkle]

Holy Shit,  Nintendo just one upped Sony.  The new controller let's you play the game you were just playing on the TV on the go.

Say hello to the $200 controller!! Can't wait to buy 4 of them and then have the kids break one!

It's definitely time to start having console insurance.

It's interesting that they keep only showing one of them in the demos.

[Destructor]

Holy Shit,  Nintendo just one upped Sony.  The new controller let's you play the game you were just playing on the TV on the go.

Say hello to the $200 controller!! Can't wait to buy 4 of them and then have the kids break one!

It's definitely time to start having console insurance.

That screen looks VERY heavily embedded inside the controller. There's a lot of plastic around all sides of the screen. And knowing Nintendo, there's no doubt in that it'll be able to take a beating.

[CeeKay]

I don't have access to the stream and I can already safely say 'Drake who?'

[metallicorphan]

so was the Wii U an ipad for the Wii?...no new actual home console so to speak?

can it function on its own i mean

and no price either?

[Bullwinkle]

Geoff on GameTrailers made a good point that while it's nice to have all of these great 3rd party games coming, it doesn't really differentiate the console from what already exists.

But the point is made: We heard you core gamers and are giving you what you want.

[Bullwinkle]

so was the Wii U an ipad for the Wii?...no actual home console so to speak?

and no price either?

No, it's part of the console and needs the console to use it. 

But, no, no price.

[metallicorphan]

so was the Wii U an ipad for the Wii?...no actual home console so to speak?

and no price either?

No, it's part of the console and needs the console to use it. 

But, no, no price.

ahh okay thx Bull

[PR_GMR]

I don't have access to the stream and I can already safely say 'Drake who?'

I saw the stream. Nintendo pwned everybody. I don't even own a Wii. Sorry to sound like a fanboy, but they did. They shot Microsoft and left the corpse rotting on the road. Shot it again. I think Sony barely got away but with several slugs on its ass.  

[metallicorphan]

6 minute video here of the new Wii U info
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J2X09hX3D8g

includes the trailer

[Roman]

thanks for the video link - that looks very cool and very practical to what they have been evangelizing all the while. Very impressed.

[Ralph-Wiggum]

It looks like it could be interesting, but the only thing that wowed me was the golf game. That was pretty cool.

[Teggy]

The trailer is kind of weird, it makes it look like it is just an add on to the Wii (you even see what looks like a Wii next to the TV) - but this is a whole new console, no?

I'm actually really surprised people are so excited about this. That controller looks kind of uncomfortable to hold, and while it offers some unique gimmicks (like seeing your golf ball on the ground), I'm still in the camp that I'd rather focus my attention on-screen, with any other interaction being completely integrated into the game (like head tracking).

[leo8877]

OUT on Wii U

[Larraque]

Holy Shit,  Nintendo just one upped Sony.  The new controller let's you play the game you were just playing on the TV on the go.

Say hello to the $200 controller!! Can't wait to buy 4 of them and then have the kids break one!

I take it they didn't announce the price for the controllers?
I really like the idea of it but I can't see spending more than $100 for a controller - and even then, it'll take a LOT of really awesome games for me to make the plunge.

[Roman]

The trailer is kind of weird, it makes it look like it is just an add on to the Wii (you even see what looks like a Wii next to the TV) - but this is a whole new console, no?

I'm actually really surprised people are so excited about this. That controller looks kind of uncomfortable to hold, and while it offers some unique gimmicks (like seeing your golf ball on the ground), I'm still in the camp that I'd rather focus my attention on-screen, with any other interaction being completely integrated into the game (like head tracking).

true but..... real golfers understand that you never take your eye off the ball during and post swing. Hence with me playing golf on the Wii it would be more applicable to real life scenario. Currently I am watching the TV screen while I swing = disconnect between what I do vs. what I have to do.
Make sense?  

[Roman]

Holy Shit,  Nintendo just one upped Sony.  The new controller let's you play the game you were just playing on the TV on the go.

Say hello to the $200 controller!! Can't wait to buy 4 of them and then have the kids break one!

I take it they didn't announce the price for the controllers?
I really like the idea of it but I can't see spending more than $100 for a controller - and even then, it'll take a LOT of really awesome games for me to make the plunge.

yup - great point. Never thought of that one.

[metallicorphan]

The trailer is kind of weird, it makes it look like it is just an add on to the Wii (you even see what looks like a Wii next to the TV) - but this is a whole new console, no?

that is exactly my understanding now(after Bull confirming),that this is just an add on for the Wii,to bridge the gap for core gamers to get the titles they want to the Wii

you still need a Wii,and this hasn't been priced,hasn't been given an exact release date except 2012..and by then,i would of already finished Batman Arkham City on the 360 (and Ghost Recon looked pretty rough as well IMO,unless it was my stream)

also,i have a feeling that if i bought into this,like i did with the Wii,the gimmick would get old after 2 weeks,and playing the third party games with that big controller isn't what i really want TBH

but there is no doubting that its all very clever

i still wouldn't of said that its a new console like they were bragging about a few weeks ago if you need the Wii..and so much for those Blu-Ray rumours

[Teggy]

Whoa, really? So that means still no HD and same crappy power as the Wii? If they think core gamers are going to buy into that they are even more out of touch than I thought.

[Raintitan]

I like the idea they are presenting but I have a hard time seeing how it will unify silos of gaming that I play (360 / PC / iOS) and I wonder if the power of the platform and games you can play will be limited to the power of the controller which has more price sensitivity. Or, perhaps some games aren't played remotely. A bunch of great ideas and it is unclear to me how it will come together into something cohesive, simple, and fun.

If they were launching for the holidays it would have been a spectacular coup but the timing seems risky.

Competition is awesome.

[metallicorphan]

some pics here




having your items and hud info on the controller screen while you play on the big screen(that is definitely a wii next to the TV right?,looks different because i used to have mine stood up,and it looks curvey)

[Teggy]

That's not a current Wii - it has curved sides and different buttons. So maybe it is a completely new piece of hardware with more processing power and HDMI out.

[gellar]

That's not a current Wii - it has curved sides and different buttons. So maybe it is a completely new piece of hardware with more processing power and HDMI out.

It's absolutely a new piece of hardware, from what they've stated during the presentation.

[gellar]

Hmm, some good details from Guardian:  http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2011/jun/07/wii-u-nintendo-games-console

The console itself will run in full HD, via HDMI, but the touchscreen isn't HD. The console has internal Flash memory which can be augmented with "SD Card or USB solutions". It will play optical disks and downloadable content, and will be backwards-compatible with Wii software. And it will launch some time between 1 April and 31 December 2012.

[El-Producto]

Wii-Wtf?

[metallicorphan]

That's not a current Wii - it has curved sides and different buttons. So maybe it is a completely new piece of hardware with more processing power and HDMI out.

It's absolutely a new piece of hardware, from what they've stated during the presentation.

then their presentation was shit....why did they not even show the new console,and just focused on the controller,they didn't even say a thing about the console itself

[gellar]

That's not a current Wii - it has curved sides and different buttons. So maybe it is a completely new piece of hardware with more processing power and HDMI out.

It's absolutely a new piece of hardware, from what they've stated during the presentation.

then their presentation was shit....why did they not even show the new console,and just focused on the controller,they didn't even say a thing about the console itself

I didn't watch it directly (read the feed from Joystiq) but to me it was pretty obvious it was a new console.

[metallicorphan]

That's not a current Wii - it has curved sides and different buttons. So maybe it is a completely new piece of hardware with more processing power and HDMI out.

It's absolutely a new piece of hardware, from what they've stated during the presentation.

then their presentation was shit....why did they not even show the new console,and just focused on the controller,they didn't even say a thing about the console itself

I didn't watch it directly (read the feed from Joystiq) but to me it was pretty obvious it was a new console.

i thought it was a new console at first,but then they just concentrated on the Controller,and the name made sense if the Wii was a wii and the Wii U was the controller to have on 'U'

that picture i put up,was the only picture we saw of the console,and it was during the trailer,and as said it looked like it was a Wii lay down,i certainly didn't hear him talk about the console or if i did i thought he was talking about the controller

either way,i know now

[ibdoomed]

That's not a current Wii - it has curved sides and different buttons. So maybe it is a completely new piece of hardware with more processing power and HDMI out.

It's absolutely a new piece of hardware, from what they've stated during the presentation.

then their presentation was shit....why did they not even show the new console,and just focused on the controller,they didn't even say a thing about the console itself

I didn't watch it directly (read the feed from Joystiq) but to me it was pretty obvious it was a new console.

I thought it was obvious too. Typical Nintendo, they focus on the important parts: how inventive the new controller is and how great the games look. Most people don't care about the box in the background that does it all. And unless I'm mistaken, they never focus on "it's got this cpu and this gpu and this much ram and this much video ram", that's what M$ and $ony do.

[kronovan]

I can't say I'm sold on the Wii U, and that's coming from someone who's bought their 3 last consoles day 1. I'm also not impressed with Nintendo's flip-flop on 3rd party core developers. Last gen they said we don't need them, we're revolutionary and we'll embrace the casual gamer and dev, now its a different story - hmm, guess they don't like sudden drops in sales. What that inconistency says to me as a consumer is that they still don't have their act together with their 3rd party partners. Sure it sounds good prior to launch and they have a some high profile devs lined up, but what the reality is 2 years down the road is a whole other question. They pooched their 3rd party relations back with N64 and this is a step in the right direction, but I'm still not convinced it will solidify. The Wii U will definitely not be a day 1 for me this time around.

One thing I'm sold on for the U is its 100% software backward compatibility with the Wii -it won't upscale, but its compatible - hope MS and Sony are watching that, time for them to get their shit together for next gen. I also love the hardware backward compatibility for Wiimote controllers - here's looking at you again MS and Sony.

[gellar]

My single concern with the U right now... how often is that battery going to need to be charged on the controller?  I hope that thing is packing iPad-like battery capacity otherwise it could be quite annoying.

[Jumangi]

Well its Nintendo thats for sure. As someone who never got into the Wii I don't see how this gets me back into the Nintendo fold. Holding that controller while playing some hardcore FPS, action type games? Why would I want to be looking at a small screen on the controller and not my big HDTV? Eh whatever...

[metallicorphan]

Kotaku just put this picture up of the console

[PR_GMR]

That's not a current Wii - it has curved sides and different buttons. So maybe it is a completely new piece of hardware with more processing power and HDMI out.

It's absolutely a new piece of hardware, from what they've stated during the presentation.

then their presentation was shit....why did they not even show the new console,and just focused on the controller,they didn't even say a thing about the console itself

I didn't watch it directly (read the feed from Joystiq) but to me it was pretty obvious it was a new console.

I thought it was obvious too. Typical Nintendo, they focus on the important parts: how inventive the new controller is and how great the games look. Most people don't care about the box in the background that does it all. And unless I'm mistaken, they never focus on "it's got this cpu and this gpu and this much ram and this much video ram", that's what M$ and $ony do.

Exactly. I like that Nintendo is literally thinking 'outside the box'. The console isn't important when you think about it. Its size doesn't matter. In fact, that's great that they're veering away from making a larger console box (the first PS3 was just too big, imo). I like it that the WiiU itself is just a small box sitting next to the TV and you've a controller with more functionality. It's a novel concept. You gotta give it to them for thinking it up!

[TiLT]

Well its Nintendo thats for sure. As someone who never got into the Wii I don't see how this gets me back into the Nintendo fold. Holding that controller while playing some hardcore FPS, action type games? Why would I want to be looking at a small screen on the controller and not my big HDTV? Eh whatever...

I can imagine a lot of applications for it. Imagine playing an Aliens game and having the controller screen be your radar, or any RPG where it can be the map. Since it's a touch screen, how about better FPS controls than what dual sticks are able to give us? The screen could show your ammo, health and other vital information in an FPS, leaving the TV completely free of UI clutter and thus improving immersion. I think developers will end up with some crazy and cool ideas for it that are much more useful and realistic than what, say, Microsoft is doing with Kinect (the most hyped and least useful peripheral in ages).

[kronovan]

The irony of the U is that we would have had something somewhat similar with the Wii if Big N had followed through on their highly rumored DS-Wii connectivity project. Remember, a controller with a screen isn't exactly new for them, as they had it with their Gamecube-GBA conectivity. It wasn't wireless, but I remember being able to do some cool things like view maps of Splinter Cell levels on my GBA and even detect hidden surveilance cameras. There was also a very cool Pacman game  where a hidden/ghosted pacman could only be seen on a connected GBA screen. Ninty was supposed to continue their connectivity efforts with the DS and Wii, but strangely, other than DS demos and DSi games, never did. Guess we now know why.