Nintendo at E3 2011

Storm Eagle · 06-08-2011, 12:05 AM

So the new Nintendo system will be called the Wii U. I'll have to agree that it's not the best name in the world, but of course, as long as it has games that I'd want, I won't mind having one. Though I must say, that controller is a behemoth. The lack of backwards compatibility for GameCube games isn't really a problem for me though (if it does lack that kind of backwards compatibility), since I still have my GameCube hooked up, and that's all because I have a Game Boy Player.

I have to admit though, that I'm a bit concerned about Nintendo jumping right into the next generation before their competitors. I think this is more or less a first for them. They usually wait for their competitors to make the first move, and then put out a new system later that's somewhat of an improvement over its predecessor(s). They might end up pushing back the release of the Wii U from 2012, and I think I'd actually be okay with that.

The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword is now being pushed towards a holiday release for this year. Fine with me. The less I punish my wallet, the better. Though I hope it doesn't get pushed back farther than that, or just saved for a Wii U release.

So, one of the big surprises for the 25th anniversary of The Legend of Zelda is a free soundtrack CD that I can only get by registering a copy of Ocarina of Time 3D, but I can just pass on that. I've already imported the Ocarina of Time (N64 of course) soundtrack from Japan, and it's a complete soundtrack, which I'm concerned the free one probably won't be. Plus I still don't have a 3DS, nor do I see myself having one any time this year. Though I am interested in that CD based on the Zelda 25th Anniversary symphony concerts which was said to be released in conjunction with Skyward Sword. At least I've got the system to play that (I think, I hope).

gekko · 06-08-2011, 12:39 AM

I'd actually be surprised if there isn't backwards compatibility with the Gamecube. The Wii basically is the Gamecube in a new box, which is why it could do backwards compatibility on hardware. If the Wii U is backwards compatible with the Wii, I see no reason why it shouldn't support the Gamecube as well, unless they do software emulation.

In all honesty, the backwards compatibility concerns me that the hardware in this thing really is pretty lackluster. Also not announcing the specs makes me think they are hiding something, and I fully expect they are.

Overall, not impressed at all with the Wii U at the moment.

Vampyr · 06-08-2011, 10:34 AM

The gameplay that's being shown looks good enough for me. If I can play Zelda, Mario, etc, and have it look like that, I'll be satisfied. As long as it's hitting that HD resolution.

I imagine the next generation of consoles is going to be much like this one for me: get the Wii U and the next Xbox. Only this time I think I'm actually going to play the Wii.

edit: It looks like the Wii U will not have upscaling. Damn.

Blix · 06-08-2011, 11:19 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Vampyr

The gameplay that's being shown looks good enough for me. If I can play Zelda, Mario, etc, and have it look like that, I'll be satisfied. As long as it's hitting that HD resolution.

I imagine the next generation of consoles is going to be much like this one for me: get the Wii U and the next Xbox. Only this time I think I'm actually going to play the Wii.

edit: It looks like the Wii U will not have upscaling. Damn.

Yeah, that was disappointing. I was really looking forward to that as I wanted to see some of the current games running in 1080. I hope they change that before it comes out.