Nintendo at E3 2011

[gekko]

Originally Posted by Angrist

So apparently developers are saying the Wii U is 50% stronger than PS360.

Which developers? I haven't seen this news.

Originally Posted by Bube

BTW, correct me if I'm wrong but, hasn't Nintendo been saying that they have "strong 3rd party support" in every new console announcement since the N64 lost it's 3rd party support?

Yes they have. People also tend to forget that while Gamecube had many 3rd party titles, many of those games were simply better on other platforms. PS3 had memory cards big enough to hold your Madden save, Xbox had a hard drive, better online, and the best graphics. It's the same thing with the Wii, are you really happy getting a COD4 port when everyone else is getting the sequel? Xbox owners are getting all COD DLC first, and they are playing on Live. The Wii may have it on paper, but you're using friend codes. Is that still considered "strong" 3rd party support?

[BreakABone]

Originally Posted by gekko

Which developers? I haven't seen this news.



Yes they have. People also tend to forget that while Gamecube had many 3rd party titles, many of those games were simply better on other platforms. PS3 had memory cards big enough to hold your Madden save, Xbox had a hard drive, better online, and the best graphics. It's the same thing with the Wii, are you really happy getting a COD4 port when everyone else is getting the sequel? Xbox owners are getting all COD DLC first, and they are playing on Live. The Wii may have it on paper, but you're using friend codes. Is that still considered "strong" 3rd party support?

I think the difference between the Wii and Wii U (can't speak of the Cube yet since we don't know the PS4/Xbox 3 stance) is that Nintendo is showing it up front.

Granted, all we got so far are a handful of ports, but they are getting titles that have never graced a Nintendo console like Tekken, Assassin's Creed, they are getting an enhanced version of Ninja Gaiden 3.

Then there is the middleware, we already know that the console will be supported by Unreal Engine 3, Crytek CryEngine 3, whatever Ubisoft calls their Assassin's Creed engine, and all signs point to it being supported by the Frostbite 3 engine.

So even when the PS4/xbox 3 comes out, developers will have the tools in place to continue supporting it even if just with down ports.

[thatmariolover]

Originally Posted by gekko

Which developers? I haven't seen this news.



Yes they have. People also tend to forget that while Gamecube had many 3rd party titles, many of those games were simply better on other platforms. PS3 had memory cards big enough to hold your Madden save, Xbox had a hard drive, better online, and the best graphics. It's the same thing with the Wii, are you really happy getting a COD4 port when everyone else is getting the sequel? Xbox owners are getting all COD DLC first, and they are playing on Live. The Wii may have it on paper, but you're using friend codes. Is that still considered "strong" 3rd party support?

Well, historically I would agree. With each passing generation Nintendo has crippled the system in some fashion that makes 3rd party devs jump ship. With the N64 it was expensive cartridges and complex programming requirements. With the Gamecube it was 1.5 GB discs, lack of storage, Friend codes, and a purple case. The Wii didn't go HD and never had a high quality, dedicated core controller.

I can't say it will be different this time. But the bottom line is that Nintendo has addressed most of the key problem areas. Friend Codes are going away for a new Online service more in line with Live. The graphics are HD, though we have yet to see specs. Supposedly it's heavy on the RAM, which is something devs will love.

My biggest concern at this point is the lack of a core dedicated controller. I'm looking for something wireless, in between the Gamecube and classic controller.

[magus113]

Originally Posted by thatmariolover

Well, historically I would agree. With each passing generation Nintendo has crippled the system in some fashion that makes 3rd party devs jump ship. With the N64 it was expensive cartridges and complex programming requirements. With the Gamecube it was 1.5 GB discs, lack of storage, Friend codes, and a purple case. The Wii didn't go HD and never had a high quality, dedicated core controller.

I can't say it will be different this time. But the bottom line is that Nintendo has addressed most of the key problem areas. Friend Codes are going away for a new Online service more in line with Live. The graphics are HD, though we have yet to see specs. Supposedly it's heavy on the RAM, which is something devs will love.

My biggest concern at this point is the lack of a core dedicated controller. I'm looking for something wireless, in between the Gamecube and classic controller.

Supposedly it's rocking the last gen Radeon card for the GPU, which can mean anything really if it's supposedly better than the PS3 or Xbox 360 (although I don't think we've found out for sure by how much).

I'm also concerned that it seems to have only the proprietary video out and HDMI out, but what about people like me that don't have HDMI receivers and they need a fiber optic cable for surround sound?

[gekko]

Originally Posted by thatmariolover

Well, historically I would agree. With each passing generation Nintendo has crippled the system in some fashion that makes 3rd party devs jump ship. With the N64 it was expensive cartridges and complex programming requirements. With the Gamecube it was 1.5 GB discs, lack of storage, Friend codes, and a purple case. The Wii didn't go HD and never had a high quality, dedicated core controller.

There's a lot more to consider than the consumer side. Developer tools, costs, developer support, etc. CodeWarrior alone is reason enough to not want to develop for Wii. On the opposite side, Microsoft's developer support and tools for Xbox are simply fantastic.

[thatmariolover]

Originally Posted by gekko

There's a lot more to consider than the consumer side. Developer tools, costs, developer support, etc. CodeWarrior alone is reason enough to not want to develop for Wii. On the opposite side, Microsoft's developer support and tools for Xbox are simply fantastic.

Well, you're using DirectX on Xbox so you've got a whole different toolbox to work with.

[Blix]

Now that I've got a bit of free time from studying...


I'm thinking we're getting software emulation which is nice by me if that's the case. Backwards compatibility is a nice thing to have but if it comes at the price of holding the hardware back, then it's not worth it. I haven't gone back to playing many of the GCN games or PS2 games and for the handful of games that I come back, it's not worth it. I'll just keep my old consoles. =)