CodeWalrus

I don't know how accurate Nikkei newspaper is, but Gamespot just relayed a rumor saying that Nintendo will cease producing the Wii U game console by the end of 2016, even though no details have been given about when the NX console is expected to launch. If this rumor ends up being a reality, then this will mean that the console will have survived just 4 years. Apparently it sold about 13 million units and 70+ million games, which is far lower than the Wii and even though the Gamecube also sold poorly, it still sold more than the Wii U so far.

I think what didn't help the Wii U is that Nintendo insisted to keep the console over $250 years after its release, when they previously discounted consoles heavily shortly after release before. They could have done like the GCN, N64 and Wii U and drop the price under $200 (unless it sells at a loss under that?) and I bet sales would have skyrocketed, especially with Super Smash Bros 4, Mario maker, Mario Kart 8 and stuff.

If it gets discontinued in 2016 then I bet this means the Wii U will never get a new Zelda game that is actually Zelda :(. In any case, I am happy I got that console, though, because I enjoyed all games I got for it and I don't regret my purchase. I wonder if the NX console will have backwards compatibility with Wii and Wii U titles? That's unless that console gets scrapped in favor of porting their Wii U titles to the Xbox One, PS4 or something.

Source: http://www.nikkei.com/article/DGXLZO98745680T20C16A3TI5000/?dg=1 via http://www.gamespot.com/articles/nintendo-to-end-wii-u-production-this-year-report-/1100-6435915/

Yeah, that's a rumor. I read, I don't remember where, that Nintendo will not discontinue the Wii U anytime soon. Of course, sales are not that great for them, and the new NX is apparently going to release soon, so they probably would once it's out. Anyway, the article didn't really said anything about a timeframe they would do so, and of course they will discontinue that console one day or another, but when? I'm not sure they would end production that soon, unless they overproduced and they have enough Wii U to sell for the next 5 years at the current rate.

Where did you read the info about Nintendo not discontinuing it anytime soon? The date is important. The rumor about its discontinuation is from today it seems, or at least yesterday.

In late 2014, Target showed their commitment to keep Canadian stores running and improving sales, only to change their mind a few months later and then they announced the closing of all 133 stores. I definitively hope that the rumor is false and that they're only considering it if sales are poor in 2016 (I would totally understand).

Nintendo has denied whatever Nikkei said about them, apparently.

Source: http://nlab.itmedia.co.jp/nl/articles/1603/23/news081.html via http://nintendoinquirer.com/blog/2016/03/22/nintendo-cease-production-wii-u-within-2016/

A lot of people had been predicting that the NX would be out this year, but that really doesn't seem to be the case. I'd just add this as another rumor in the huge pile that's growing. While I don't regret buying my Wii, I will say there haven't been as many titles released that really grabbed me. Honestly, with Zelda being pushed back I do kind of have to wonder if maybe it'll come out next year and will be on the new system instead. It really wouldn't bother me that much to be honest. They kind of ended up doing that with Twilight Princess, although in that case it got a dual release.

So will this be 2 of the last 3 consoles where a zelda game has rolled over to the next console instead of it's original platform?

Also the NX must, I repeat ***MUST*** be significantly more graphically capable than current options otherwise it WILL BE Nintendo's last home console.

Some people take gameplay over graphics.
Some people take graphics over gameplay.

But Nintendo have ALWAYS already had the gameplay so they need to have the graphics as well.

My fear however is that they will try to 'not compete by going their own direction' which will be there undoing ... it's too soon to pull another 'Wii' and even then after the MASSIVE lead the Wii had early on, the lack of mainstream games enabled both competitors to finish up within 85% of their sales anyway.

Nintendo are the greatest but they must adapt. The Wii U is a great console but everything from its specs to it's release window tell you that Nintendo don't want to compete with sony/ms and would rather be seen as a complete alternative. I do however believe that naming it the 'Wii U' is what ultimately caused it's commercial failure as even members of my own family thought the 'Wii U' was nothing more than a new controller for the Wii.

That being said, I am excited to see what the future holds!

Yeah, one thing that didn't help the Wii U is that it was still behind in technical specs. The Wii got away with it because of the Wiimote gimmick that many people loved and the large amount of new game types that were generated as a result. But also, the Wii U suffered from a poor lineup of launch titles. Nintendo should have released a brand new Zelda or Mario Kart game much earlier.

The poor system capabilities compared to the Xbox One/PS4 also caused some third-party developers to stop bothering.

They really need to either revise down their Wii U console price to attract a new batch of customers. I mean, cut the price enough just to break even, then make a crapload of money off the third-party titles and accessories. Also, they should release more special editions of their games. Sure, the sales would still be sub-par compared to the PS4 and XBone, but they would at least rival the Nintendo 64. That's unless they are already selling the console under production costs level, which could be a problem. If that's the case, then they probably won't have much choice but to either switch to an higher end console with no special gimmicks (other than software-based ones and accessories) or simply release their games on other consoles.

Or perhaps they need to switch entirely to handheld consoles that can also be used as home console on a big TV?

And yeah the name might not have helped. I often heard people saying that they didn't know the Wii U was a new console. It looks similar and people thought it was just an updated version of the Wii.

I agree that the Wii U needed a stronger launch lineup. I probably would've gotten one if Zelda U came out even around the time Smash Bros Wii U did, or even later. But the fact that these big releases are so spaced out kinda destroys confidence in the release of new games.
I also heard this same news on r/smashbros, and that it was denied by Nintendo officially.

I kind of wish they (Nintendo) would discontinue the Wii U because it is horrible.

That CPU is just way too low clocked and it needs special attention to get even decent performence,
something most developers just can't do and they would rather just ignore this console than spending money
on development on a console that is only bought by Nintendo fanatics anyway.

One developer said that at meeting with Nintendo before the release, he complained about the CPU,
only to be quickly rejeted because they wanted the console to be silent...

The software is not really better either : for example, Nintendo blocks audio codecs in its browser
because they are really paranoid about browser games competing with them.
They also don't have a video player, because they say that it's a console so it's not suited for multimedia.

They don't get anything and Microsoft/Sony knew from the start that their consoles should handle multimedia as well.

I personally have used for a long time my Xbox 360 as a video player for our TV and if it wasn't for that,
i may have not used it all that much.

Thus the Wii U is doomed to be played solely for Nintendo's first (and second) party games.
I don't know anyone who bought a Wii U because they liked some non-nintendo games on it.

If it wasn't for their huge (religious) fans base, Wii U would have sold even less.
The Wii gimmick was even a concidence i dare to say and almost all of their home consoles were failures since the N64.

And honestly, 90% of the 80 millions people who bought the Wii are old people who wanted to play
Wii Sports on it.

I think Nintendo went with lower hardware simply because the games they make don't require high-end specs. For example, Mario only requires lightning and shading for the most part, because it's a bit cartoon-ish. But the problem is that they severely limit the range of games that are possible on the console. Most early Wii U games were ports of older PS3/Xbox 360 titles.

The hardware is perfect for games like Super Mario 3D World, Mario Kart 8, Windwaker HD and even Super Smash Bros, but it's sub-par for games like Assassin's Creed, Mortal Kombat, sports games and first persoon shooters.

Also, the gamepad is too big. It should be at least twice smaller or at least the same size as a 3DS XL. That way we can keep our hands on both sides while still being able to reach the touchscreen. That would be interesting for first person shooters and the like.


Also I kinda agree that consoles since the Nintendo 64 did not succeed as much as the older ones. I think what is to blame is how Nintendo stuck with cartridges then switched to a proprietary mini-CD format. They lost a lot of third-party support with that move, and they never got it back. The last Final Fantasy, Dragon Quest, Star Ocean and Tales games that came out on a Nintendo home console that weren't spinoffs nor remakes were back in the mid 90's. They never got all their third-party support back. Imagine what could have been if they did not pull off those dumb moves back in the days. Plus N64 games had troubles selling compared to PS1 ones because they were usually $20 more expensive.


That said, I still like playing on their newer consoles because of the games. Their games are amazing, even if they don't always add anything new. The question now is should Nintendo just release their games on the Xbox One? I bet they would sell considerably, especially now that Microsoft bought Rare, and the Xbox One would sell like crazy. I'm thinking three consoles is too much now. Back then it was fine because they were cheaper as years went by, but now they remain over $200 years after launch.

I think Nintendo should continue making handhelds for now, though. Not everyone likes to use a touchscreen-based virtual d-pad to play Mario. Sony should probably ditch portable consoles, though, because the Vita is selling even less than the Wii U.

http://kotaku.com/nintendo-new-nx-console-will-be-out-march-2017-1773312629

So it looks like the NX will come out in March 2017. Rumors says it will features industry-leading chips and compete with the Xbox One and PS4 and that Zelda will come out on both the Wii U and NX simultabeously, just like Twilight Princess with the Gamecube and Wii.

I hope that with the NX, Nintendo will be focusing more on design, ergonomy and so on than on brute power like the PS4 & the XBOX One. The fact is that nobody needs that, especially with Mario and Zelda games. The 4K argument is also pretty dumb, since even on PS4/XB1 it is only present in the home menu  9_9 while games run in Full-HD. Wii U's power is like completely enough for the games it runs, and if you're not convinced, just look at GCN Baby Park and GBA Ribbon Road in MK8 DLCs. Including more power is a nonsense : it's like putting a Core i7 in a calculator !

Quote from: DJ Omnimaga on April 27, 2016, 03:31:30 PM
http://kotaku.com/nintendo-new-nx-console-will-be-out-march-2017-1773312629
So it looks like the NX will come out in March 2017.

LOL, and they were deying the rumors the Wii U was to be discontinued in 2016.
They will probably discontinue in 2017 or 2018 though, if we look at the Wii.

QuoteRumors says it will features industry-leading chips and compete with the Xbox One and PS4 and that Zelda will come out on both the Wii U and NX simultabeously, just like Twilight Princess with the Gamecube and Wii.

compete ? Not surpassing them ? Imma disappoint.

And even if it is as much powerful as the PS4, they need to be more open too and stop dropping the balls.
For example, the Wii U is not using Blu-rays but a disc similar to blu-rays.
They need to handle Multimedia properly on their console or else they will fail.
Miiverse is a disaster : they censor a lot of discussions, to the point it has become a political gestapo.
Why do they feel the need to create their own crappy proprietary solutions ?

And gamers are falling for it !

At least, i heard they made some efforts toward indie developers but it still is not as easy as
let's say, publishing an app on Google Play.

@STV the problem is that by not focusing on power, many developers stopped developing games for the Nintendo consoles, because the hardware was simply not powerful enough to run their games. So the Wii U audience is pretty much just people who wants Mario and Zelda games, not Call of Duty, Need for Speed and sports games (as questionable quality/originality those games might be, they sell a lot of copies, which could have been extra sales Nintendo could have enjoyed). So Nintendo has two options there:

-Increase sales by keeping the console price down, at the cost of performance, and focus on selling titles.
OR
-Increase sales by expanding their software library by increasing the console performance, at the cost of having a much higher console launch price and potentially turning away people who have less money.

IMHO 4K is not that useful. Many people I know still have 720p TVs, such as myself, and I don't know anybody who got a 4K TV. However, perhaps the NX could use more power so that it's easier for third-party developers to port games for it.

@gameblabla what would be funny is if the Wii U was discontinued before the Wii. AFAIK the Wii Mini is still in production and they are still releasing budget games for the console. They even re-released older titles as Nintendo Selects in North America. But I remember the Atari 5200 got discontinued several years before the 2600. However, I think it will depend of sales. If people still buys enough copies of Zelda 2017 for the Wii U then the console will probably still be produced for a while then when sales will have gone down enough, they'll end production and sell what's left of their inventory. Or who knows? Maybe they'll update the Wii U software to not require the big game pad then release a new Wii U bundle with a classic gamepad or wiimote for cheaper.

But yeah I wouldn't be surprised if the new console performance was the same as the Xbox One/PS4, minus 4K support. They can get away with it if it takes 3-4 years before the Xbox Two/720/whatever and PS5 comes out, but if Sony and MS have planned to release a new console very soon then the NX will be doomed from the start.


And yeah they should really switch to something more standard. It will be cheaper for them, people will still buy games and it will be easier to develop third-party stuff for it.

Quote from: STV on April 27, 2016, 04:05:08 PMWii U's power is like completely enough for the games it runs, and if you're not convinced, just look at GCN Baby Park and GBA Ribbon Road in MK8 DLCs. Including more power is a nonsense : it's like putting a Core i7 in a calculator !

I have to agree with dj here, Wii U needed more power to handle modern frameworks.
So yeah, you can make a game specific to the Wii U that would run "decently" but what about those who use big "middleware" ?
Some developers even explained this, saying that Rebirth may not come out on Wii U (which it eventually did) due to the weak CPU slowing down the game.
(Yeah, his game isn't very impressive graphically but i imagine he's using a game engine with lots of overhead that the Wii U struggles to handle)

And some others (like Avalache Studios), do not even bother to release titles for the Wii U, even though they bought the devkit.
In the case of Avalache Studios, already in 2012, they said that their devkit was getting dust...

QuoteI hope that with the NX, Nintendo will be focusing more on design, ergonomy and so on than on brute power like the PS4 & the XBOX One.

I don't think they can come up with something new, especially for its home consoles.
Design and Ergonomy ? Of course, that's important but its not something they can't do.

Honestly, Nintendo should just become a software developer and stop making video game consoles.
I'm sorry but nobody is buying their consoles because their hardware is actually good.
People buy their games solely because they know how to make games.

Unfortunely, they will never understand, you only need to see how much lawsuits they filed against
their fans to understand what i mean.

I think one of the issue about the hardware demands is the Wii U gamepad, right? I mean, doesn't displaying images on two large screens require twice as much resources as displaying images on one?

And yeah the issue is people might be willing to buy Nintendo games, but at which cost? If they have to shell $300-400 on a console only to play 2-3 games, then they might just sacrify graphics and go for an older hardware, like the Wii, which already has Mario kart Wii (although no online gameplay anymore), Mario Galaxy for their 3D Mario needs, Mario Galaxy 2 for their high difficulty Mario needs, NSMBWii for their classic but cool looking Mario needs, various Zelda games including new ones, etc. If the NX fails then I think they should switch to a game developer mode and release their games on competing consoles. They'll make more money by doing that.

Once again, I think the success of the NX launch will depend of the launch title lineup. Also I hope the new gamepad will not have touchscreen buttons like the fake round gamepad that were showcased as an hoax. Touchscreen virtual gamepads is the only reason why I avoid most mobile games like the plague. It's so hard to control anything in a platform or action game without physical buttons.

The reason the Wii U has struggled is because the mainstream thought that it was nothing more than a new controller for the Wii, instead of a new console entirely.

Virtually all of my non-gamer friends+family thought this.

The other reason is that it is not powerful enough when compared to the ps4/xb1. In this day and age developers need to maximise resources and guaranteed returns. Devoting time and staff for the sole purpose of trying to optimise the heck out of something just so it is 'runnable' on one of 3 potential platforms. As mentioned this turned the majority of middle-ware reliant developers away - automatically killing the console as the game lineup is baron and void of most AAA 3rd party titles. This is a shame as the gamepad really does aid gameplay and could do so for potentially all games had the console been attractive enough to developers.

IT HAS BEEN RUMORED that the NX will be 'comparable' to the ps4/xb1 in terms of performance which means that Nintendo have gone on the cheap again regarding the hardware; choosing to compete with consoles that were released in 2013 ... It is likely that instead of the necessary power to future-proof the console they are putting their eggs in a different basket for the 3rd console in a row. Once again, for the 3rd console in a row, Nintendo will have no games aside from their own.

Yeah true, but if the Wii U had more power then perhaps it would have gotten many more games. Hardcore gamers were turned away by the console because it lacked the latest Call of Duty, Borderlands and such titles. Also the gamepad was expensive to produce. If they had used a standard gamepad they could have released the console at a cheaper price to increase software sales or put the extra money not used for the gamepad into better hardware.

That said, a lot of the third-party franchises for the PS4/Xbox One tend to be rushed and if they are ports of PC games they tend to be even lower quality, so sometimes it's really the developers not making enough effort to make their games run on the Wii U.

That said, the gamepad was pretty nice for certain games such as FIFA 13. I just wish that newer games used it more. RIght now the gamepad mostly serves as an alternative to the TV screen when you don't want to play games on the big screen.


I'm thinking, however, that with better marketing and a better console name, they could turn things around. They really need to make sure that their marketing won't make the console sound like it's just another upgrade to the Wii and it needs to look different than the Wii. They need to create lots of hype, especially about the Zelda game, and perhaps have various exclusive features that the Wii U version lacks.


As for hardware being current gen instead of next gen, they could probably get a pass if Sony and Microsoft have no plan to release new consoles in the next three years or so. Sony is supposedly about to release a PS4.5, which is an enhanced PS4, but the hardware issue with the Wii U was exacerbated by the fact the PS4 and Xbox One came out just one year after the Nintendo console.

To me, it's not just about marketing and power, it's about games. I can't name more than two games (Smash and Splatoon) I'd like to have if I had a Wii U. And two games isn't enough for me to pay for a Wii U and a TV (especially since Smash is also available on the 3DS, though not exactly the same). And if a lot of people are in my case, then obviously there isn't any kind of auto-marketing (where people tell others that they love their Wii U).

And about power, obviously the fact it is not so important doesn't mean they shouldn't make it powerful. If their console isn't more powerful than a PS4, people will be like wtf, it's not a next-gen, it's not even a current-gen, lolwat I'll buy something else. Especially if they keep not doing games for it.

(Though, when I say I'm only interested in two games for the Wii U, that's still two more than for both the PS4 and XB1).

What about NSMBu, Mario 3D World amd Mario Kart 8? O.O

To me, nintendo consoles haven't really been about power, but about innovation. Sure, the wii u might not have gotten that many games, but the games that they made are pretty cool imo. Still sad that there's no new mainline Zelda game for the U. :/

Quote from: DJ Omnimaga on April 28, 2016, 07:05:23 AM
What about NSMBu, Mario 3D World amd Mario Kart 8? O.O

Not interested. The only Mario game I have on my 3DS is 3D Land, and I only have it because I got it for free when buying Pokemon X. And I never liked Mario Kart, especially since they introduced the blue shell (which, unlike other items that are balanced, is intrinsically negative since, when you have it you don't care (you're like 6th in the race and bothering the 1st will not change anything to you), and when others have it you're annoyed (when you're first or second), while for other items you're still annoyed when others have them but you like having them). Still waiting for F-Zero though (and saying that Fast Racing Neo fills the gap is like saying Brawl replaces Melee (but for Smash, you can at least say that Smash 4 fills the gap)).

The blue shell is really a gag element they threw in for parties. It's fun screwing over someone you know, but for competitive play it's a bit meh indeed.

It's not that I prefer the most graphically capable console, it's that if the Wii U were closer to the ps4/xb1 then it takes away that advantage AND makes it a lot easier on developers who use popular middleware to support the console. This is the main reason why 3rd party support died on the Wii U. I bought the clearance priced ACIV:Black Flag and it runs just OK on Wii U, but with the gamepad integration it is much more enjoyable to play vs the other consoles.

That said I still think what killed the console is its name.

Yeah, definitely the name. I was not that much into console gaming back then and I also thought it was an accessory, and a rather dorked one at that (especially for that price!!!). I remember saying to streetwalrus what a weird thing that was, then he made me realize it was an entirely new console.. :P

@Hayleia In Mario Kart 8, the blue shell is no longer flying, so by throwing one you basically knock out half of the other players on the road (a giant shell which knocks everithing in the middle "third" of the road's width) :P

@DJ Omnimaga Perhaps... But who wants these games on the Wii U, since it's anything but the people targeted by Nintendo who like these games. And be as powerful as a PS4/XB1 for the NX would be already awesome, ujst in terms of 3D/HD possibilities... Imagine Super Mario Galaxy 3 with a console ten times as powerful as the Wii  O.O I basically hate FPS games and GTA-like ones.
If you want examples of overpower'd hardware in devices, just look at Samsung GS6E+ which was so powerful that Samsung went backtrack with the GS7. Or the surface Book in its max config, which is as powerful as a gamer PC and can almost run all the Adobe software collection at once :P Or even iPad Pro 9.7' which is more powerful than the 12' MacBook...   :crazy: Seriously, would such a power be useful in the NX ?

Quote from: STV on April 28, 2016, 01:11:03 PM
@Hayleia In Mario Kart 8, the blue shell is no longer flying, so by throwing one you basically knock out half of the other players on the road (a giant shell which knocks everithing in the middle "third" of the road's width) :P

I did play Mario Kart 8, and I know that. But it's not one third of the road's width at all for most roads. So except if you're always in the middle of the road or except of the one with the blue shell throws it very close to you, you don't have a lot of chance to get hit. It's obviously still better than the flying blue shell, but far from being as balanced as the red or green shells.

There is more unfair things than the blue shell in MK8, for example, the item distribution is no longer only based on place but also on distance, so when second-place get a triple red, you get very annoyed. In some races, I've also seen 7th to 2nds getting Bullet Bills when the 1st was far :P

Wait, were you trying to convince me that the game was good or not ? Because if the latter, I was already convinced :P

Also lol, gbatemp reporting that the latest firmware to date is probably going to get hacks. Which brings the number of interesting games from 2 to 5 (Splatoon, Sm4sh, Melee, Project M (yeah, 3 Smash games, I don't see the problem :P), F-Zero GX)...
Now truly hesitating to get one, considering I still don't have a TV...

edit Wait, it seems like the 3 retro games were already playable without the upcoming hacks, so it kind of has always been 5 games -.-

@Hayleia sadly I thunk F-Zero is dead. Nintendo will never make another F-Zero game. When they made GX sales got so poor that they gave up on the franchise and it's now used only to add characters to SSB and such games. Also, MK8 introduces many F-Zero elements such as rollercoaster style loops and actual F-Zero tracks, which tells me they have no intention to release a new standalone F-Zero game, which is sad. :(

As for the blue shell, they could just add options to MK9 when they make it so that people can disable the blue shell, bullet bill and rank/distance-based item distribution in custom games. Having such options would be nice for people who wants to compete.

Quote from: DJ Omnimaga on April 28, 2016, 03:01:52 PM
As for the blue shell, they could just add options to MK9 when they make it so that people can disable the blue shell, bullet bill and rank/distance-based item distribution in custom games. Having such options would be nice for people who wants to compete.

ROFL, don't even make that kind of suggestion, it's "un-nintendo".

Of course guys i agree with you but i think you are getting a wrong idea of what Nintendo really is.
Almost everyone except Miyamoto who used to work at Nintendo in 80s are slowly disappearing.
When Miyamoto will die (or quit Nintendo), Nintendo will be a mere shadow of its past.

Hell, i should even change my avatar.

Anyways, i do not have high hopes for the NX.

Yeah I can understand the feeling.

On the other hand, I would say I prefer my Wii U much more than my Xbox One and PS4.

1) It doesn't take 8 hours to install a game nor 4 to update it like on the One. Even the 1 hour install times on the PS3 and 4 are long when you buy a game and expect to play immediately.

2) the console didn't cost $500 on launch

3) On the PS4, almost games were just ports or remakes of PS3 games until recently. That said, this is becoming a trend with Nintendo games too, sadly. For example, all Zelda games the Wii U got are remakes or spinoffs.

And 90 % of games on PS4/XB1 are non-exclusive games which are also disponible on PC and the other console, which is pretty dumb.

Quote from: DJ Omnimaga on April 28, 2016, 03:01:52 PM
@Hayleia sadly I thunk F-Zero is dead. Nintendo will never make another F-Zero game. When they made GX sales got so poor that they gave up on the franchise and it's now used only to add characters to SSB and such games. Also, MK8 introduces many F-Zero elements such as rollercoaster style loops and actual F-Zero tracks, which tells me they have no intention to release a new standalone F-Zero game, which is sad. :(

As for the blue shell, they could just add options to MK9 when they make it so that people can disable the blue shell, bullet bill and rank/distance-based item distribution in custom games. Having such options would be nice for people who wants to compete.

Yeah, F-Zero is dead, but it should be playable on a Wii U using the vWii mode. So I still count it as an argument for the Wii U :P

Quote from: STV on April 28, 2016, 04:01:30 PM
And 90 % of games on PS4/XB1 are non-exclusive games which are also disponible on PC and the other console, which is pretty dumb.

Not sure if it's 90%, but whatever since the remaining % is just games that are not on PC but that look like PC games so you can just get something else on PC and have the same experience.

Quote from: STV on April 28, 2016, 04:01:30 PM
And 90 % of games on PS4/XB1 are non-exclusive games which are also disponible on PC and the other console, which is pretty dumb.

About PC, however, most new games probably require a $1200 PC in order to even look as good and smooth as on consoles, while the console is $400-450 (including a game). If you already have a PC that works just well enough to browse Internet and can't afford an high-end PC, then buying a console might be the better solution.

Quote from: DJ Omnimaga on April 28, 2016, 04:29:19 PM
About PC, however, most new games probably require a $1200 PC in order to even look as good and smooth as on consoles

Nah, that's an exaggeration.
I personally tried to see if i could have a better PC for the same price as a PS4, and having console-quality with a PC is like 350$.
Pay 500$ and you'll have something that runs games in 1080p at 60 FPS.
The main drawback however is that games are getting bigger and bigger on PC over the time, so you might need to catch up with perfs up a bit every 2 years.
(and shell 200$ for a better card)

I see you guys complaining about the lack of exclusivity but if the competing consoles are technically capable of running the exclusive games,
then why just restrict it to one platform ?
A game being exclusive does not make it better, it's no longer the 80-90s guys where each console was very different.

The truth is, we will all end up with 3 video consoles with the same processor and APU from one manufacturer,
talk about competivity. (even the Wii U uses a Radeon)

Plus like DJ said, they now cost more than 200$, that's insane.
In 2004, i bought a Gamecube for 99$. Why is it now higher ?

Also, i don't know if that's just me but most games released now lack... soul ?
Maybe it is the time but to me, they don't even feel something like i want to play.

Perhaps the death of the Wii U could be the death to video games as we knew them.

The reason why the GC was $99 is because it sold so poorly that Nintendo cut the price shortly after launch. The reason they didn't do it with tue Wii U is because Wii U hardware is more expensive.

Also I mentioned $1200 because many PC ports of console games are rushed so they end up rewuiring more resources than they should. When they aren't butchered, yes a lower end computer can be used. Even with PC originals this happens, such as Crysis maxed out. But sometimes it's a matter of graphic card.

As for games lacking soul, I disagree with Nintendo games, but agree with JRPGs and less known franchises. Many old 2D games had some charm that their newer counterparts lack.

Quote from: gameblabla on April 28, 2016, 07:22:16 PM
I see you guys complaining about the lack of exclusivity but if the competing consoles are technically capable of running the exclusive games,
then why just restrict it to one platform ?
A game being exclusive does not make it better, it's no longer the 80-90s guys where each console was very different.

The truth is, we will all end up with 3 video consoles with the same processor and APU from one manufacturer,
talk about competivity. (even the Wii U uses a Radeon)

Not sure about the others but I wasn't "complaining" about the lack of exclusives. I was just saying that it was completely incoherent to build a PC, put a "non PC" OS on it, still try to compete against PC and not have that many exclusives that are not on PC... Wtf, at which moment is it supposed to convince me to buy one ?
Meanwhile, the Wii U costs less than a PC and most of its library is exclusives so at least they are not doing something completely incoherent. They just don't know how to sell it afterwards.

Talking about the NX, I found this possible description of NX:
[spoiler=It's pretty long]
Omg I seriously can't take any more of these bullc ass rumors and or questions regarding the power and or performance of the upcoming Nintendo NX CONSOLE where every single so called rumor and or leak that's been put onto the internet talks about the ridiculous notion that the Power and or performance of the NINTENDO NX is going to be either on par with the Xbox One and or somewhere between the Xbox One & the PlayStation 4 and or the few rumors such as this one which suggest at the absolute very best the NINTENDO NX is gonna be either equal too and or just slightly more powerful than the PlayStation 4 where basically every single leak and or rumor has suggested that the POWER AND OR THE PERFORMANCE OF THE NINTENDO NX is gonna basically be somewhere close to the current generation Xbox One and or PlayStation 4 console's and that's the most ridiculous and downright laughable bunch of bullc that's ever been discussed in the history of gaming because it's an absolute joke for anyone to suggest and or so much as entertain these bullc rumors as the truth is there nowhere near the reality of the situation and it's gotten to the point where it's just sad that 99.9% of all the gamers out there who have commented on the Nintendo Nx could be so foolish and so downright childish and immature that they have absolutely no clue of what to expect from the power and performance of NINTENDO'S UPCOMING BRAND NEW 9TH GENERATION NINTENDO NX CONSOLE

I'VE ALREADY PERSONALLY SPENT ROUGHLY 45 MINUTES WITH THE NINTENDO NX DEV KIT BACK IN EARLY OCTOBER OF 2015 WHERE I WAS GRANTED A BEHIND CLOSED DOORS LOOK AT THE HARDWARE WHERE I WAS ABLE TO OBTAIN SIGNIFICANT INFORMATION REGARDING THE SYSTEM SPECS OF THE NINTENDO NX CONSOLE AND THE OVERALL POWER N PERFORMANCE LEVELS OF THE DEV KIT AND I HAVE ALREADY LEAKED THIS INFORMATION ON 100s of websites as I've told everyone a very detailed analysis of everything that I've saw including the most important aspect which is the power and performance of the system and also the way in which it's gonna work and yet everyone has chosen to ignore what I've said calling me a liar and a bullc story teller while believing everyone else who has tried to convince everyone the Nintendo Nx is gonna be on par and or slightly better than current generation console's Which is absolute bullc because THE TRUTH IS THE NINTENDO NX CONSOLE ISNT ANYWHERE NEAR THE POWER N PERFORMANCE LEVELS OF THE XBOX ONE OR THE PLAYSTATION 4 AS THE TRUTH IS THE NINTENDO NX CONSOLE ABSOLUTELY BLOWS THE DOORS CLEAN OFF THE XBOX ONE AND PLAYSTATION 4 AS THOSE CONSOLES ARE ABSOLUTELY pathetic as far as todays gaming consoles are concerned as both the Xbox one and PlayStation 4 are drastically underpowered and extremely outdated and they've been that way since the day they launched back in 2013 as they were outdated and underpowered back then when they first launched and their even more pathetically outdated and underpowered now in 2016 as both console's have struggled to maintain even the most basic 1080p standard resolution with reasonable framerates in nearly every single 3rd party multiplatform AAA game title's that have been released as almost all 3rd party games on both console's run at a sub par 1080p resolution combined with sub par nearly unplayable and completely unacceptable framerates and it's so bad it's downright laughable that anyone would even remotely consider either CONSOLE as being powerful at all and that includes the weak ass PlayStation 4 as well ok sony fan boys that's the truth because just because your PlayStation 4 is significantly faster than the Xbox One the reality is that not saying much as your PlayStation b4 console is still a weak piece of technology when compared to the current standards of what's considered an entry level gaming experience as far as power and performance are considered and that's the truth whether you wanna admit that or not OKAY SO YEA ENOUGH TALKING LET ME GO AHEAD ONCE AGAIN AND TELL SOME TRUTH FOR THAT ASS

NINTENDO NX DEV KIT CONSISTED OF A CUSTOM APU DESIGNED BY AMD

THE CUSTOM APU CONSISTS OF THE FOLLOWING TECHNOLOGY

quad core 2.7ghz AMD EXCAVATOR BASED cpu, with a custom AMD Tonga based 930mhz 370x gpu with a total power of 2.8 tflops, and 8 gigabytes of DDR4 MEMORY 2400MHZ

That's the Nintendo NX DEV KIT as it's extremely powerful and extremely efficient as the DDR4 MEMORY, AMD 2.7ghz quad core excavator based cpu, and the custom 930mhz Tonga based 370x gpu combination is really something special as the graphics processor alone has a total power of 2.8 tflops which is a full 1 tflop more powerful than the PlayStation 4 total system power which is only 1.83 tflops so yea THE NINTENDO NX APU IS LITERALLY GOING TO BURY THE PLAYSTATION 4 AND XBOX ONE AS NINTENDO HAS LEARNED FROM THEIR CATASTROPHIC FAILURE OF THE UNDERPOWERED CRIPPLED WII U and it's lack of power and PERFORMANCE NECESSARY TO OBTAIN the support of all major 3rd party developers and Nintendo won't make that mistake again as the NINTENDO NX SOFTWARE DEMO INCLUDED IN THE NX SOFTWARE DEV KIT IS SO COMPLEX AND CRUNCHES SO MANY POLYGONS THAT DURING INTERNAL TESTING the pc equivalent HARDWARE needed to run the NINTENDO NX SOFTWARE DEMO AT 1080P AND AVERAGE 60FPS WAS AN I7-4790k and a stock gtx 970 graphics card and that processor and nvidia gpu combination isn't anything to laugh about as that's extremely powerful hardware that nearly top of the line as far as gaming computers are concerned as it's not quite a i7-5930k and gtx 980ti but still having said that people an i7-4790k and gtx 970 graphics card ain't no joke as thats a lot of power and yet that's exactly what was needed to run the NINTENDO NX SOFTWARE DEMO AT 1080P RESOLUTION WITH A 60FPS AVERAGE and just to give people an idea of just how powerful and efficient the NINTENDO NX custom APU truly is guess what the NINTENDO NX DEV KIT RUNS the same software DEMO which Nintendo included with the NX DEV KIT and its running at a LOCKED 1080P 60FPS where the pc equivalent HARDWARE needed to do that was as I've said the NVIDIA GTX 970 GRAPHICS CARD AND INTEL I7-4790k processor
[/spoiler]
Found it on the comment sections in this page (http://www.designntrend.com/articles/73664/20160409/nintendo-nx-specs-better-ps4-games-wii-u-ports-rumor.htm)
And I hope it's true...

Darn, I just skimmed through that comment and that's some angry Nintendo fan(boy) there. Anyway I hope he is right. THe reason why there are so many rumors about the NX power being on-par with the PS4/One is because the last two Nintendo consoles had the power of the previous generation. For example, the Wii was on-par with the Xbox, PS2 and Gamecube, while the Wii U was more in line with the 360 and PS3. So now everyone thinks Nintendo will do the same thing with the NX. Many people feel this would be a mistake from Nintendo, but that they'll repeat the same mistake a 3rd time anyway. I think it's perfectly understandable, given their history.

I really hope the console is more powerful, though. On the other hand, I hope that more power doesn't mean it will cost $600-800. I think by getting rid of those proprietary things and switching to a more standard format such as blu-ray would help reducing costs. And using a much cheaper gamepad would help too. Why not switching back to a standard gamepad, but with a small touchscreen?

if you checked the gaming news those days, you'll see codename NX is supposed to be out for March 2017 (not for the holidays? They want to make sure there's good launch titles in time for the release). The transition will be kinda fast, too, the Wii U will probably be discontinued by 2018. Otherwise, we still know nothing other than the NX is something entierely new, even a successor to both the Wii U and 3DS, maybe?

Can't wait to see this, but that would be after the E3, we probably won't see anything NX there, except a new Zelda for 2017 that will probably be ported on it.

What would be funny is if FIFA 17 came out on the Wii and NX, but not the Wii U.

Wasn't there a FIFA that came out for the ps2 but not the WiiU?

Yeah... but the last FIFA on a Nintendo home console was FIFA 14, after that they stopped releasing FIFA on the Wii U, I don't know why.

The last Wii U FIFA is 13 actually. 14 and 15 only came on the Wii.

What the heck ? They came on the Wii ? ...
/me headbangs

Yeah. The Wii U version sold so poorly that they didn't even bother making a new version, and the Wii version runs on the Wii U anyway.

Wow... so now there are rumors about the Nintendo NX switching back to cartridges O.O

http://www.digitaltrends.com/gaming/nintendo-nx-no-optical-drive/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nssZLxRpBuw

I guess that if the cartridges are like the 3DS and PSVita rather than the expensive-to-produce carts that had extra chips and stuff in them like the NES/SNES/N64 had, then that might not be as bad, since such carts can now have much higher capacity than back in the days, but I am curious about if it will really be cheaper to produce both cartridges and the hardware that can read them than blu-ray/proprietary discs and the reader for them?

Nonetheless, it would definitively be akward if they went for larger cartridges that looked like NES ones and probably be more durable against scratches and stuff.

Yeah, having cartridges would be really awkward to people used to discs, but then cartridges are more durable than discs anyway. And you could probably fit the same amount of data considering that micro sd cards can fit so much data for the cost (http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss_2?url=search-alias%3Delectronics&field-keywords=micro+sd+card)

Maybe it will become mainstream and everybody uses cartridges :P

I just hope the NX will have some fun games. What gameblabla said about many games having no soul is true to me. One big example to me is the many open world style games that have been coming out lately. Many of those have very little in terms of story and resolve solely about some half odd online world. Many recent racing games come to mind... The same goes for sandbox games; KSP and Minecraft are pretty cool games (ksp more than MC but that's personal opinion) but they have zero goals. I know I'm supposed to set my own goals but... I dunno, I'm not that kind of gamer?

I also noticed how JRPGs seems to try to behave like MMORPGs sometimes too, not just open world games. For example, Star Ocean for PS3/360 and Borderlands. Nintendo recent games have soul, but often offers very little new features compared to predecessors.

Well, assuming the most recent rumors are true and that Nintendo still has no plans to replace the 3DS, it seems like they still have not learned from the Wii U failure and loss of third-party support:

http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2016-07-26-nx-is-a-portable-console-with-detachable-controllers
http://www.mcvuk.com/news/read/nintendo-nx-the-pros-and-cons-of-a-transforming-portable/0170297

As a 3DS successor, I think this could be very successful, because it's portable and will most likely have better hardware than the New 3DS, and I doubt Sony will release a new portable console again in the future. However, if their plans is solely to compete against the PS5 and the successor of the Xbox One, then the NX is doomed to failure just like the Wii U was. That said, if their marketing is better than the Wii U then it might help them a lot, but it would probably not sell much more than the Gamecube.

Personally, I like the portable console idea that can be hooked to a TV, because I often use my Wii U gamepad without a TV and wish it could be used without the console, but it should be smaller than the Wii U gamepad IMHO.


I also suspect that this will replace the Wii U gamepad and that Nintendo will release a Wii U OS update and bundle that uses the classic controller or a Wiimote instead. If they get rid of the gamepad then they could sell the Wii U for much cheaper and justify the purchase of both consoles. But I hope that they don't rely on the Sega 32X strategy of making games that requires both the Wii U and NX, like with those Sega CD 32X  games.



On an off-topic note, while the Xbox One is doing well, I noticed that its game library is much smaller than the PS4. At first, all PS4 games were ports of PS3 games or sequels to PS3 games, but their library is starting to expand like the PS2 and PS3 did later on. Meanwhile, the One has a lot of quality titles but the library is much smaller and it has a poorer range of game genres. I'm thinking the PS4 will dominate this console generation.

Quote from: DJ Omnimaga on July 28, 2016, 02:05:38 AM
Well, assuming the most recent rumors are true and that Nintendo still has no plans to replace the 3DS, it seems like they still have not learned from the Wii U failure and loss of third-party support

I'm not surprised their not touching the 3DS.  Between the fact that it's backwards compatible with regular DS cartriges & DSi digital games, the fact that Pokemon Sun & Moon are going to be released for it (which will sell even more units, especially since the release of Pokemon GO, everyone has been infected with Pokemon fever). and the fact that they've been recently pushing their line of SNES games for the NEW3DS, I don't see the 3DS going away any time soon.  Third party support aside, the main issues with both the Wii & WiiU were that they were gimmicky as hell.  They got lucky with the Wii and brought in a cload of casual players with the motion control, but after a while it got annoying and to the point where gamers just want to play their games without having to do other stupid c ontop of it.  Granted, the 3DS has that whole "Gyroscope" c, but i can only think of like a handful games that actually use that (2 of them are part of the built-in software in the console itself), plus the 3D isn't forced... you can turn it off completely and it won't affect the gaming experience.

Quote from: ::CMG (UTOPIA):: on July 28, 2016, 01:49:48 PM
...  Granted, the 3DS has that whole "Gyroscope" s***, but i can only think of like a handful games that actually use that (2 of them are part of the built-in software in the console itself), plus the 3D isn't forced... you can turn it off completely and it won't affect the gaming experience.

Majora's mask uses the gyroscope to aid aiming. The analog stick is good for fast aiming in the general direction, and the gyroscope provides additional accuracy. With that system, you can aim almost as accuratly as with a mouse, so I think that the gyroscope is actually a good addition.

Yeah the Wii U was successful due to the novelty factor of the wiimote. The Wii U failed due to the bad name, marketing and the gimmick not being attractive enough.But sometimes I don't feel like playing with a Wiimote and a nuchuck.

I just hope that the NX won't just compete head-on with the 3DS or the PS5 and Xbox 4 or whatever those will be called. Otherwise when will Nintendo learn?

Quote from: DJ Omnimaga on July 28, 2016, 10:00:57 PM
I just hope that the NX won't just compete head-on with the 3DS or the PS5 and Xbox 4 or whatever those will be called. Otherwise when will Nintendo learn?

Yeah, I think it would be best for Nintendo to distance the launch of the NX as much as possible from the next version of the competitors' consoles, to make it clear they are not in for a specs race of yet-another-PC-in-a-console-shell. The problem is that the media and many users will always try to forcibly catalog things into generations, so even if the NX was released tomorrow it'd still be called the first console of the 9th generation, and once Sony and Microsoft released theirs, welp, there goes the Nintendo product into the "low specs" bin again.

It's unclear about when the next consoles will come out, though. I know that Sony is planning a PS4.5, so the PS5 is probably still a few years off, but if they plan the PS5 for 2018 then it might not give Nintendo much room for NX. That said, there is still danger that people balk at the NX because they want to see a Mario and Zelda game running Unreal Engine 4 maxed out so that Mario meets realistic.

Guys, the NX will have an Nvidia Tegra X2. So it may be the most powerful console on the market for some weeks until the PS4 Neo is released :P

Intersting. I hope it offers something that stands out, such as good portable console capabilities. But I'm still disappointed that it will be last-gen just a short while after its release. That said, a low price could play in their favor.

CPU-wise, the Tegra X2 is much superior to the Wii U's PowerPC cpu.
However, GPU-wise, the Wii U has a pretty strong Radeon 4600-based GPU and Tegra X2's GPU should just a hair better if not worse.
I'm not sure if a game like Xenoblade Chronicles X can be ported easily to it...

The new Tegra X2 should solve the issues developpers had the Wii U's CPU.
But...
It is still less powerful than even an Xbox One and i predict that even some multiplatforms games will pass on the NX
because getting a decent framerate on it might be too difficult. (or they will be severely hampered)

It seems like Nintendo are no longer wants to make home consoles...
I think people should have lower expectation for the NX.

Well, the NX is still supposed to get 4K and 60 fps, as it is confirmed it will receive Sonic Project 2017 and Dragon Quest X/XI. I wonder why people still complain about the NX being in the average of 8th gen gaming consoles. (The PS4 Neo and the Scorpio, or whatever are still mid-8th gen consoles)

Quote from: STV on August 21, 2016, 07:32:34 PM
Well, the NX is still supposed to get 4K and 60 fps, as it is confirmed it will receive Sonic Project 2017 and Dragon Quest X/XI. I wonder why people still complain about the NX being in the average of 8th gen gaming consoles. (The PS4 Neo and the Scorpio, or whatever are still mid-8th gen consoles)

Perhaps the Tegra can output 4k at 60 FPS (afterall, some sockets from Qualcomm can do it as well) but i doubt it is actually for AAA games.
The PS4 and XBONE even struggle to have decent visuals at 1080p and the NX being a mobile socket, it's doubtful it will be a major improvement over the PS4...
Sony misled people at E3 2013 by saying it supports 4k but they later backtracked saying it's only for videos.
At this point, 4k at 60 FPS is only a marketing stunt.

Oh talking about performance struggles, I don't understand on new consoles why developers try to push consoles beyond their limits, knowing the frame rate will suffer. When I played older console games, such as on the 360, the frame rate was always constant except maybe a minor lag when an enemy despawns after being killed (which might be a special effect anyway). But I played WWE 2K16 Friday evening and goddamnit the frame rate kept dropping and Star Ocean 5 has the same issue. They should lower the frame rate cap to 30 FPS if they know they're not always gonna make it to 60, or reduce some graphics/effects for far away elements.

Quote from: DJ Omnimaga on March 23, 2016, 04:31:10 AM
I don't know how accurate Nikkei newspaper is, but Gamespot just relayed a rumor saying that Nintendo will cease producing the Wii U game console by the end of 2016, even though no details have been given about when the NX console is expected to launch. If this rumor ends up being a reality, then this will mean that the console will have survived just 4 years. Apparently it sold about 13 million units and 70+ million games, which is far lower than the Wii and even though the Gamecube also sold poorly, it still sold more than the Wii U so far.

I think what didn't help the Wii U is that Nintendo insisted to keep the console over $250 years after its release, when they previously discounted consoles heavily shortly after release before. They could have done like the GCN, N64 and Wii U and drop the price under $200 (unless it sells at a loss under that?) and I bet sales would have skyrocketed, especially with Super Smash Bros 4, Mario maker, Mario Kart 8 and stuff.

If it gets discontinued in 2016 then I bet this means the Wii U will never get a new Zelda game that is actually Zelda :(. In any case, I am happy I got that console, though, because I enjoyed all games I got for it and I don't regret my purchase. I wonder if the NX console will have backwards compatibility with Wii and Wii U titles? That's unless that console gets scrapped in favor of porting their Wii U titles to the Xbox One, PS4 or something.

Source: http://www.nikkei.com/article/DGXLZO98745680T20C16A3TI5000/?dg=1 via http://www.gamespot.com/articles/nintendo-to-end-wii-u-production-this-year-report-/1100-6435915/

Update on this: http://kotaku.com/wii-u-production-has-officially-ended-for-japan-1791813878

In other words, the Wii U has been discontinued for over 1 month worldwide already. It's over. The final 1st-party title is Zelda: Breath of the Wild, so if any new Wii U game ever comes out, then it will be third-party titles.

There is a list of potential Wii U releases if it's up to date: http://ca.ign.com/games/upcoming/wii-u?filter=latest

Most of those are virtual console re-releases. If any of the rest receive a physical release, I think they will be released under the radar, as in, most stores won't even carry them, so they might be extremely rare late-gen titles.

Damn, it's almost scary how fast it was discontinued compared due to the 360.
The titles coming after the Wii U's release is also really small.... Even the PS Vita has more titles announced ! (not counting Limited Run games)

Even the Wii got more games after Nintendo stopped making Wii consoles but the Wii U will not...

Yeah, well, you haven't seen how fast the original Xbox was taken down O.O. I think it got discontinued seconds after the 360 came out. Not only that, but it only took 3 years before Xbox Live 1.0 shut down. The Gamecube was discontinued quite fast when the Wii came out too. Both GC and Xbox got new games after being discontinued, but only for about 2 years and all of them were sports games. Since sports games didn't sell on the Wii U, I doubt it will get many.