Will Nintendo do another bait and switch with the Wii U?

[disgruntledgamer]

After listening to the Wii Us launch line up I'm actually sort of impressed, well not as disappointed, but if we all recall the Wiis launch line up was just as impressive if not more so, and after that all we got was a Mario or Zelda game every other year. Their support of the Wii was almost nonexistent and 3rd party support descended into a bad joke.

So do you think Nintendo will do another bait and switch, once they get the console in our homes they'll just lay back and do %&*# all again?

 

[Kimozabi]

I think - if that happens - it's going to be because the next Xbox/Playstation are just much more interesting for developers and publishers to make games for.
The hype around the Wii U pad isn't nearly the level of what the Wiimote was, and I highly doubt gaming in general will view the Wii U favorably, when MS and Sony present their next consoles next year.

But who knows - there might be some genius applications of the touch screen, and maybe it will be an awesome way of handling inventories, maps etc in games without having to pause gameplay, so it might succeed.

As for Nintendo, they still seem convinced that all they need to do is to remake Mario, Zelda and their few other brands, and then fans will be happy. They're well on their way to driving the New Super Mario brand into the ground, and almost nothing they showed as E3 was particularly interesting, so they might very well do what you fear.

 

[Epona]

After playing New Super Mario Bros 2 I can honestly say that I have had enough of the franchise. Call me when they have a 3D Mario and new, traditionally controlled Zelda game.

 

[Mr.Mattress]

I hope not, that would be terribly depressing. That's why we gotta get enough people who care about Hardcore games to buy this system with Hardcore Games. Markets will only respond to what the fans want, and if the fans aren't buying games like ZombiU, then more games like ZombiU won't be made.

 

[Dendio]

Im not buying a wiiU until the price drop, and only if they make that console pokemon game we've been wanting or something equally amazing. I'll be spending the next gen, buying a cheap ps3 and going through all of sony's exclusive single player games.

 

[Dr. Cakey]

Wasn't the most exciting Wii launch game Twilight Princess, and the second-most exciting f***ing ExciteTruck?

That's not to say the Wii U launch is particularly smooth, either...most of them are remakes of this year's 360 and PS3 games, which makes me virtually the only person in the world who would have any reason to buy them. I don't think I'm very interested in the new stuff, either (except Pikmin 3, naturally).

 

[disgruntledgamer]

Wasn't the most exciting Wii launch game Twilight Princess, and the second-most exciting f***ing ExciteTruck?

That's not to say the Wii U launch is particularly smooth, either...most of them are remakes of this year's 360 and PS3 games, which makes me virtually the only person in the world who would have any reason to buy them. I don't think I'm very interested in the new stuff, either (except Pikmin 3, naturally).

Technically Twilight Princess was a Game-cube launch.

The Wii launch wasn't half bad it even had Call of Duty.

 

[Dangit2019]

It's a bit more streamlined, but my problem with it is that Nintendo has created yet another thing that needs to be forcefully integrated (the touch screen) into the game, creating a bit of a roadblock for smaller developers who want to create a regular gamepad game and also making ports from other consoles a hassle.

 

[Gormech]

I'm just gonna say this. I've worked retail.

I have seen what happens to a touch screen when left with a young child.

Nintendo's target audience is gonna be buying spare controller more than they are games.

The hardware alone will keep them in the cashflow.

 

[Innegativeion]

It's a bit more streamlined, but my problem with it is that Nintendo has created yet another thing that needs to be forcefully integrated (the touch screen) into the game, creating a bit of a roadblock for smaller developers who want to create a regular gamepad game and also making ports from other consoles a hassle.

I disagree. Developers always have the option to just... not use the motion/touchscreen controls.

Hell, in the second half of the Wii's lifecycle it seemed half the 1st party titles were doing it! They just had to figure out how to make the wii remote feel like a regular controller (IE, turning it sideways).

Even then, it should be easier now with the touchscreen, since it holds like a regular controller... or alternatively they could just use the gamepad pro aka 360 controller with nintendo buttons.

 

[Dangit2019]

It's a bit more streamlined, but my problem with it is that Nintendo has created yet another thing that needs to be forcefully integrated (the touch screen) into the game, creating a bit of a roadblock for smaller developers who want to create a regular gamepad game and also making ports from other consoles a hassle.

I disagree. Developers always have the option to just... not use the motion/touchscreen controls.

Hell, in the second half of the Wii's lifecycle it seemed half the 1st party titles were doing it! They just had to figure out how to make the wii remote feel like a regular controller (IE, turning it sideways).

Even then, it should be easier now with the touchscreen, since it holds like a regular controller... or alternatively they could just use the gamepad pro aka 360 controller with nintendo buttons.

Yes, but therein lies the problem: the main feature of the console being completely ignored in favor of the playing style gamers already know. To me, they might as well had not even made it a mini-iPad, at least gameplay wise. I do like the perks it brings in the non-game stuff (netflix, etc.), but at in the middle of a game that doesn't involve it, it just sort of weighs the controller down rather than bring any real innovation.

 

[Innegativeion]

It's a bit more streamlined, but my problem with it is that Nintendo has created yet another thing that needs to be forcefully integrated (the touch screen) into the game, creating a bit of a roadblock for smaller developers who want to create a regular gamepad game and also making ports from other consoles a hassle.

I disagree. Developers always have the option to just... not use the motion/touchscreen controls.

Hell, in the second half of the Wii's lifecycle it seemed half the 1st party titles were doing it! They just had to figure out how to make the wii remote feel like a regular controller (IE, turning it sideways).

Even then, it should be easier now with the touchscreen, since it holds like a regular controller... or alternatively they could just use the gamepad pro aka 360 controller with nintendo buttons.

Yes, but therein lies the problem: the main feature of the console being completely ignored in favor of the playing style gamers already know. To me, they might as well had not even made it a mini-iPad, at least gameplay wise. I do like the perks it brings in the non-game stuff (netflix, etc.), but at in the middle of a game that doesn't involve it, it just sort of weighs the controller down rather than bring any real innovation.

Well, that's what the pro controller is for.

Of course, it should've come packaged with the premium version and heavily promoted. Then again, Nintendo's marketing department has never been the most charismatic in the world (wii is still a seriously stupid name).

But anyway, I think the gamepad pro will see plenty of use. I honestly don't know why the classic controller didn't see more use on the wii. The only game I can remember that really wanted its players to use a classic controller was monster hunter tri.

 

[j1015]

if we all recall the Wiis launch line up was just as impressive if not more so, and after that all we got was a Mario or Zelda game every other year. Their support of the Wii was almost nonexistent and 3rd party support descended into a bad joke.

Sorry but your memory is short term. There are plenty of great 3rd party games for the Wii.

Muramasa,
The "Tales of" games
A Boy and His Blob,
Rune Factory
Baroque
Xenoblade Chonicles
Last Story
Monster Hunter Tri
Pandora's Tower
2 Spyro's
Skylanders
Rayman Origins
The LEGO series
Guitar Hero series
Rock Band series
Fatal Frame 4
Project Zero 2
Resident Evil Series
House of the Dead Overkill
de Blob 1 & 2
Naruto Shippuden Dragon Blade Chronicles
Overlord
Pitfall - The Big Adventure
Sengoku Basara - Samurai Heroes
Scarface,
Godfather
Tatsunoku vs Capcom
Spectobes Origins
Shiren The Wanderer
Arc Rise Fantasia
Batman - The Brave and the Bold
Bit.Trip
COD Black Ops
COD 3
COD MW series
Dragon Blade
Data East Arcade
Epic Mickey
Disaster
Driver SF
FIFA 12
FF Crystal Chronicles Series
Golden Eye
KOF Orochi
Klonoa
Little Kings Story
Lost in Shadow
MadWorld
Res Steel 2
No More Heroes 1 & 2
Metal Slug Anthology
Marvel Ultimate Alliance 1 & 2
Need For Speed Series
Star Wars Force Unleashed 1& 2
The Conduit 1 & 2
Tomb Raider Anniversary

There's more. That's not including Wiiware, 1st Party other than Mario and Zelda. or virtual console.

I will concede the best games weren't marketed well and that falls on Nintendo but the Wii has a great catalog for any REAL gamer.

 

[Scrustle]

I don't recall the Wii having a great launch lineup, and a look at the Wikipedia page [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wii_launch] seems to support that. The only interesting things there is Twilight Princess (which is, as was mentioned, just a GC game with waggle controls tacked on), and possibly Red Steel and WarioWare. Someone could argue that CoD and NFS Carbon weren't useless shovelware, but they're both vastly inferior versions of games on more powerful platforms. I don't think there was any bait and switch. It looks like it started up pretty much how it finished. Almost no support for anything that isn't crappy shovelware waggle-fests that isn't a Nintendo 1st party IP.

The WiiU launch lineup is much better, and much more gamer-focused. That said, I'm not personally interested in anything that they've shown, but if we ignore TP then it's far superior to the Wii launch games. It's too early to tell if this good 3rd party core support will continue, but there are plenty of studios saying they are working on upcoming and un-announced WiiU games. Only time will tell.

 

[Dangit2019]

It's a bit more streamlined, but my problem with it is that Nintendo has created yet another thing that needs to be forcefully integrated (the touch screen) into the game, creating a bit of a roadblock for smaller developers who want to create a regular gamepad game and also making ports from other consoles a hassle.

I disagree. Developers always have the option to just... not use the motion/touchscreen controls.

Hell, in the second half of the Wii's lifecycle it seemed half the 1st party titles were doing it! They just had to figure out how to make the wii remote feel like a regular controller (IE, turning it sideways).

Even then, it should be easier now with the touchscreen, since it holds like a regular controller... or alternatively they could just use the gamepad pro aka 360 controller with nintendo buttons.

Yes, but therein lies the problem: the main feature of the console being completely ignored in favor of the playing style gamers already know. To me, they might as well had not even made it a mini-iPad, at least gameplay wise. I do like the perks it brings in the non-game stuff (netflix, etc.), but at in the middle of a game that doesn't involve it, it just sort of weighs the controller down rather than bring any real innovation.

Well, that's what the pro controller is for.

Of course, it should've come packaged with the premium version and heavily promoted. Then again, Nintendo's marketing department has never been the most charismatic in the world (wii is still a seriously stupid name).

But anyway, I think the gamepad pro will see plenty of use. I honestly don't know why the classic controller didn't see more use on the wii. The only game I can remember that really wanted its players to use a classic controller was monster hunter tri.

Fair enough, but I still hate how the sticks are above the buttons (why would you do that to us?).

 

[Pebkio]

Yeah, I'm failing to see a bait-and-switch here. I thought the quote at the launch of the Wii was

"We're going to continue to make good games from the same series we've had for over a decade and the rest will suck. We here at Nintendo aren't planning to innovate at all, it's just our console has motion control now."

I may be misremembering the press release...

 

[Twilight_guy]

How is it a bait and switch. They promised some titles, you got those titles. They made no future promises, you only assumed the market would continue with similar titles. Your assumptions do not constitute an obligation on their part.

Also, I dunno what there titles will look like, depends on who Nintendo is marketing to this time.

 

[zelda2fanboy]

I actually have a conspiracy theory about this, but it's also possible that Nintendo is not thinking how I'm thinking. Right now, the WiiU has 1 gigabyte of RAM for games and 1 gigabyte for "system operations." I read one article that suggested that the second chunk of RAM was for streaming games to the gamepad. But, games theoretically don't "need" to utilize the gamepad (though I'm sure Nintendo is pushing for developers to utilize the gimmick in their games), since they are releasing a version of the controller minus the screen. 2 gigs of RAM is fairly substantial compared to 360 and PS3, so if Nintendo or a third party really wanted a multiplatform release on the system, it probably wouldn't be as difficult with that much hardware available. Suddenly, utilizing the screen on the controller might become optional for developers, thus freeing up that extra memory. They might have system installs in mind for games (far down the line), and might expand the amount of on board flash memory available and/or require a hard drive.

This is all conjecture and hinges on how powerful Sony and MS decide to make their next gen systems. I just remember the days of the N64 Expansion Pak and reading stories of how Factor 5 got ahold of the CPU code and overclocked the system for a game like Rogue Squadron and Battle for Naboo. It's not like Nintendo made an intentionally technically inferior system this time like they did with the Wii (which was a stroke of genius on their part, I might add) and I think it will have longer legs than what was once called "two gamecubes taped together." It also seems ripe for hardware expansions in the future.

 

[OldNewNewOld]

-snip-

I stopped listing great games the Wii has because it won't change a thing. People just chose to ignore those posts and keep hating.

Look at any Wii/Nintendo thread. When someone lists all the great games, that post is ignored, but when someone says something bad about the Wii, or the mandatory "lol no games" response, it gets quoted to hell and back with people agreeing.

I just occasionally drop this link to show people who aren't ignorant that they are wrong. Ignorant people won't open it, but they wouldn't read the post even if I listed the games, so it doesn't change a thing.

/v/s recommended Wii games:
http://vsrecommendedgames.wikia.com/wiki/Wii

More on topic:
Nintendo never did "bait and switch" with the Wii. Nintendo kept supporing the Wii and creating great games. I would rather say that the western developer and gamer decided to ditch the Wii.

When a great game came out, people simply didn't buy it. Game after game... developer realized that gamer won't buy the game on the Wii, so they stopped developing "core" games.

Nintendo did nothing wrong. They could have advertised some games more, but in the end, it's the publishers job to advertise it. Nintendo did advertise the games they published. (I still think that the falling swords from the sky advertisement for Zelda is the best advertisement of this generation).

In the end, the Wii didn't have those so called core games because gamer decided not to buy them. Because of them, developer stopped making them and there is nothing Nintendo could do.

 

[j1015]

-snip-

I stopped listing great games the Wii has because it won't change a thing. People just chose to ignore those posts and keep hating.

Look at any Wii/Nintendo thread. When someone lists all the great games, that post is ignored, but when someone says something bad about the Wii, or the mandatory "lol no games" response, it gets quoted to hell and back with people agreeing.

I just occasionally drop this link to show people who aren't ignorant that they are wrong. Ignorant people won't open it, but they wouldn't read the post even if I listed the games, so it doesn't change a thing.

Lol, thanks. I'm new to posting on escapist. When did it become so fashionable to hate Nintendo and love companies that screw you over?