Wii U, will you?

[T'hain Esh Kelch]

Wii Mini to be released? Did not see that one coming... O_o

[MacRumorUser]

Originally Posted by T'hain Esh Kelch

Wii Mini to be released? Did not see that one coming... O_o

Well in fairness the wii takes up soooo much space

Not sure it's a wise move, given that they should be trying to sell people on the merits of the new system and incentivising them to purchase the Wii U rather than opting for the cheaper Wii mini, which in the eyes of most developers is already dead. It's hardly going to convince jaded third parties that Nintendo is pulling out all the stops for the Wii U is they are already muddying the waters.



Edit... nevermind seems to be a Canadian exclusive

That was quick. Scarcely two hours after Best Buy spoiled the party, Nintendo is launching the Wii Mini. The crimson console is billed as a Canada-exclusive for now -- we're reaching out to confirm if and when it might go elsewhere -- and is clearly meant to catch those families that find the Wii U (or even a regular Wii) too pricey. To get there, though, they'll have to make some big sacrifices. The Wii Mini cuts out both GameCube compatibility (seen in some regular Wii variants) and, more importantly, internet access; unfortunately, this won't be your budget Netflix box. Still, when gamers in the Great White North can pick one up on December 7th for $100, it might be the ideal fit for that TV in the basement or the occasional party.

[T'hain Esh Kelch]

Price is great, but I would really like to see some pictures of another angle than the top..

Offical Link

[Dagless]

That's so mad. It's like when they released the Gameboy Micro as the DS was being launched, and the PSP-E1000 model as the Vita showed up. (which also had no internet and a mono speaker)

You have to wonder why they remove such important components. Surely a $2 chip will be made up through eShop sales, or, just take a hit on that $2 chip!

[peskaa]

Originally Posted by MacRumorUser

Well in fairness the wii takes up soooo much space

Not sure it's a wise move, given that they should be trying to sell people on the merits of the new system and incentivising them to purchase the Wii U rather than opting for the cheaper Wii mini, which in the eyes of most developers is already dead. It's hardly going to convince jaded third parties that Nintendo is pulling out all the stops for the Wii U is they are already muddying the waters.



Edit... nevermind seems to be a Canadian exclusive

It's a Canadian exclusive for now - but you can bet your boots it will go worldwide. Why bother spending all the money on developing a smaller console for such a restricted market? To be honest, it's typical Nintendo to not just launch in all regions, or at least announce dates.


I'm also not convinced on the timing. Little Johnny asks for a "new Wii" for Christmas, and his parents buy a Mini Wii, not a WiiU, because they don't know better, and both are new. We've already had a version of the Wii that strips GCN function, do we really need another that strips internet multiplayer? (Bearing in mind how bad the Wii is at this anyway). No eStore either?



Ugh that thing is UGLY from the sides. Looks like a toy from the 80s, and it is yet another top-loader like the PS3 Super Slim.

[MacRumorUser]

Originally Posted by peskaa

It's a Canadian exclusive for now - but you can bet your boots it will go worldwide. Why bother spending all the money on developing a smaller console for such a restricted market? To be honest, it's typical Nintendo to not just launch in all regions, or at least announce dates.


I'm also not convinced on the timing. Little Johnny asks for a "new Wii" for Christmas, and his parents buy a Mini Wii, not a WiiU, because they don't know better, and both are new. We've already had a version of the Wii that strips GCN function, do we really need another that strips internet multiplayer? (Bearing in mind how bad the Wii is at this anyway). No eStore either?

Exactly, given the pi55 poor advertising campaign they are running for Wii U (it looks like they are advertising an expensive peripheral to the wii rather than a new console) and with this 'new wii' with a cheaper price when parents are still reeling from the economic downturn the last few years all it really does is cause confusion and mess. Typical Nintendo...

----------

Originally Posted by peskaa

Image
Ugh that thing is UGLY from the sides. Looks like a toy from the 80s, and it is yet another top-loader like the PS3 Super Slim.

I do like the Matte black though, I wish they had used that for the Wii U.

It looks like an external HDD more than a console

[TedM]

I didn't see that wii mini thing coming either. Not sure why they thought that was a good idea. Sure its a Canadian exclusive, but how long will that last when nintendo's possible ship is sinking.

[T'hain Esh Kelch]

That is one darn ugly console. I wonder how they came up with such an awful design?

Couldn't care less about internet access on the Wii, except for system updates, so I wouldn't miss it. Internet gaming on the Wii was awful.

[shigzeo]

Originally Posted by MacRumorUser

Exactly, given the pi55 poor advertising campaign they are running for Wii U (it looks like they are advertising an expensive peripheral to the wii rather than a new console) and with this 'new wii' with a cheaper price when parents are still reeling from the economic downturn the last few years all it really does is cause confusion and mess. Typical Nintendo...

----------



I do like the Matte black though, I wish they had used that for the Wii U.

It looks like an external HDD more than a console

Image

That badboy is my iTunes hard disk. I've got the 500GB flavour. The Wii U I've seen all over, but not had a chance to see what it really is. I'll admit to not understanding what it is.

Is it a separate console? A portable? A tag along?

[peskaa]

The WiiU is a new console, not an accessory.

[MacRumorUser]

Originally Posted by shigzeo

The Wii U I've seen all over, but not had a chance to see what it really is. I'll admit to not understanding what it is.

Is it a separate console? A portable? A tag along?

Originally Posted by peskaa

The WiiU is a new console, not an accessory.

And here in is the proof that I was right that Nintendo's advertising and marketing of the Wii U is totally messed up. Even the TV commercials here make it look like an accessory rather than a new console, with the advert telling customers to go to a website address for more information ? I'm sorry but WhoTF does that when watching a commercial ?

Adding another wii into the mix just adds to the confusion. Nintendo need a slap on the wrist.

[Liquorpuki]

Originally Posted by MacRumorUser

And here in is the proof that I was right that Nintendo's advertising and marketing of the Wii U is totally messed up. Even the TV commercials here make it look like an accessory rather than a new console, with the advert telling customers to go to a website address for more information ? I'm sorry but WhoTF does that when watching a commercial ?

Adding another wii into the mix just adds to the confusion. Nintendo need a slap on the wrist.

Yeah their marketing department is asleep. One of my coworkers was trying to sell Super Mario Bros U yesterday because he bought it for his kid thinking it was a regular Wii game. I was trying to explain to a friend what the Wii U was last week. He thought it was the same thing as the Wii and after I told him it was a new console with a tablet controller, he didn't care. It's only after he tried playing it at the mall because he was bored while his gf was shopping that he's now excited about it and wants to get one for his nephew.

Doesn't help that the Wii U logo reuses the Wii logo. Or that they rebranded Wii controller boxart to have the Wii U logo on it.

Somebody in marketing needs to get fired.

[e²Studios]

Originally Posted by Liquorpuki

Somebody in marketing needs to get fired.

Maybe they hired the marketing folks that Sony fired after their PS3 launch

I find it extremely amusing how bad the media is talking about the Wii U after gushing over the Wii 6 years ago. Consoles are so cyclical when it comes to popularity and attention.

[neoelectronaut]

The reason the Wii Mini exists is because I'm sure by this point it's pure profit for Nintendo.

I mean, Sony kept the PS2 around long after the PS3 launched, but I don't remember them getting particularly **** on about it.

[peskaa]

Originally Posted by neoelectronaut

The reason the Wii Mini exists is because I'm sure by this point it's pure profit for Nintendo.

I mean, Sony kept the PS2 around long after the PS3 launched, but I don't remember them getting particularly **** on about it.

Possibly because they didn't launch the PS2 Slim at exactly the same time as the PS3, but a whole 3 years previously...

[LagunaSol]

I loved the original Wii at the time but couldn't believe Nintendo thought they could milk it for as long as they did. I really expected an HD Nintendo console a couple of years ago. Lame.

The thing that makes the Wii U an absolute no-go for me is the GamePad controller, only one of which is supported at this time (and additional GamePads down the road are sure to be expensive). My kids fight enough about who gets controller #1. With the Wii U they'd always be fighting over who gets the GamePad. Unlike the original Wii, the Wii U doesn't appear to be designed for groups or multiple players.

Sorry Nintendo, but this console is a no-buy for me.

[e²Studios]

Originally Posted by LagunaSol

I loved the original Wii at the time but couldn't believe Nintendo thought they could milk it for as long as they did. I really expected an HD Nintendo console a couple of years ago. Lame.

The thing that makes the Wii U an absolute no-go for me is the GamePad controller, only one of which is supported at this time (and additional GamePads down the road are sure to be expensive). My kids fight enough about who gets controller #1. With the Wii U they'd always be fighting over who gets the GamePad. Unlike the original Wii, the Wii U doesn't appear to be designed for groups or multiple players.

Sorry Nintendo, but this console is a no-buy for me.

Who knows what they will cost for an extra controller, its all speculation at this point.

The other issue sounds more like a parenting issue than a issue with the system.

The Wii U is fun with multiplayer, I've had a blast playing SMBU with 2 players and a 3rd player using the controller in blast mode. I'm sure as the system matures more developers will take advantage of it.

[LagunaSol]

Originally Posted by e²Studios

The other issue sounds more like a parenting issue than a issue with the system.

Do you have kids? If so, you should realize that one kid holding the touchscreen controller while the rest have Wiimotes is simply not going to fly. Parenting has nothing to do with it.

[e²Studios]

Originally Posted by LagunaSol

Do you have kids? If so, you should realize that one kid holding the touchscreen controller while the rest have Wiimotes is simply not going to fly. Parenting has nothing to do with it.

I do have kids and they know how to share rather than fight over things. It is a parenting issue, its not the console's fault you can't teach your kids good manners.

[Liquorpuki]

Originally Posted by LagunaSol

The thing that makes the Wii U an absolute no-go for me is the GamePad controller, only one of which is supported at this time (and additional GamePads down the road are sure to be expensive). My kids fight enough about who gets controller #1. With the Wii U they'd always be fighting over who gets the GamePad. Unlike the original Wii, the Wii U doesn't appear to be designed for groups or multiple players.

It really depends on the game. Brought the Wii U over to my gf's last weekend. Her nieces and nephews (age 3 to 12) were playing it and taking turns with the adults - 4 Wii controllers plus the Gamepad

On Super Mario Bros U multiplayer, only people will Wii controllers can actually control the characters. The person with the Gamepad just taps the screen to mess with the environment. I ended up giving the Gamepad to the 3 year old so she could participate by poking the screen while the older kids used the Wii Controllers because that's where the real game was at.

On Nintendoland, they played the chase games. There's one game where the guy with the Gamepad is Mario and hides from everyone. Everyone else has to find him. They ended up giving the Gamepad to me or one of the other adults because it was more fun for the kids to run around looking for Mario than it was to run away from 4 other people. The Luigi's Mansion game was similar. All the kids would rather gang up and look for the ghost than be the ghost. So they gave the Gamepad to an adult.

Sonic Racing multiplayer - the person with the Gamepad races on the smaller screen while the person with the Pro Controller races on the TV. Racing on the TV is better for obvious reasons.

Whoever has the bigger controller doesn't matter as much as how the game is using them.

[T'hain Esh Kelch]

Something is definitely wrong if having the Pad actually decreases enjoyment of a game...

[Dagless]

Mine was shipped today, it'll be here tomorrow! It's already in my local depot. They should just let me pick it up already .

[MacRumorUser]

So CPU is finally confirmed (i'm not surprised really)

1.25 GHz Triple Core Broadway Chip



Let the damnation commence I can understand developers concerns. No matter of shifting to GPU lead development can over compensate for a bottleneck in the CPU going forward. Remember GPU is great for graphics, but that CPU is needed to drive the game engine and the physics systems and AI etc..

Not sure why they couldn't have at least pushed it to 2ghz tbh.

[Liquorpuki]

Originally Posted by T'hain Esh Kelch

Something is definitely wrong if having the Pad actually decreases enjoyment of a game...

Not really accurate. My point was there are 2 different experiences for a lot of these multiplayer games depending on if you have the Gamepad or the controller and it's a mistake to assume kids are gonna always want the Gamepad experience.

For Sonic, using the Gamepad during 2 player multiplayer was a way to avoid a TV split screen.

Originally Posted by MacRumorUser

So CPU is finally confirmed (i'm not surprised really)

1.25 GHz Triple Core Broadway Chip

Let the damnation commence I can understand developers concerns. No matter of shifting to GPU lead development can over compensate for a bottleneck in the CPU going forward. Remember GPU is great for graphics, but that CPU is needed to drive the game engine and the physics systems and AI etc..

Not sure why they couldn't have at least pushed it to 2ghz tbh.

1.25 GHz is horrible but I'm wondering if it's negated by the GPGPU capabilities of the system. GPGPU computing can actually outperform CPU computing in areas like physics and AI if there's a large amount of parallelism. Might explain why Nintendo's been quiet on their specs - most people don't know what GPGPU computing is and aren't aware of its potential. Then again I wouldn't be surprised if Nintendo was arrogant enough to not care about CPU clock speeds as much as they should so who knows.

Waiting for more info

[Dagless]

Originally Posted by Liquorpuki

1.25 GHz is horrible but I'm wondering if it's negated by the GPGPU capabilities of the system. GPGPU computing can actually outperform CPU computing in areas like physics and AI if there's a large amount of parallelism.

That's what I was thinking. Granted the WiiU GPU isn't amazinglywowincredible, but a lot of what people here are complaining about, in regards to physics, can be offloaded very efficiently to the GPU. It's still the preferred option with the likes of PhysX.