Wii U release date speculation continues
Posted on 14 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in Rumors, Wii U | 0 comments
There’s been a rumor going around that the Wii U will launch in North America on November 18. I’ve been careful not to post such speculation here as the original source is extremely dubious.
However, IGN believes they’ve obtained a piece of evidence that supports the rumor.
The photo above comes from an email sent by a GameStop Regional Manager. IGN says it “seems to support the notion that the Wii U very well might release on November 18 as speculated.”
Not so fast. If you look at the title of the email, it says, “Wii U North American and Japanese Release Date Leaked?” It appears that this person was merely basing the content of his message off of the original speculation.
I don’t get the impression that he/she has any insider knowledge. What do you guys think?
Funcom talks up MMORPGs on Wii U
Posted on 14 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in News, Wii U | 0 comments
Nintendo systems have never been known for MMORPGs. But Funcom developer Joel Bylos believes the “Wii U could be the first real console on which running an MMORPG without compromise is plausible”.
Bylos complimented the console’s controller, saying that it’s “perfect for lining up those rows of hotbars that are essential in most MMOs.”
He told ONM:
“Wii U could be the first real console on which running an MMORPG without compromise is plausible. The controller is perfect for lining up those rows of hotbars that are essential in most MMOs. A customisable touchscreen interface combined with the 3D spatial movement of a console controller could be a winner.”
Ubisoft has “big plans for Wii U”, interest in being “the number one-third party” on console
Posted on 14 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in General Nintendo, News, Wii, Wii U | 0 comments
Ubisoft has “big plans for Wii U” according to Tony Key, Ubisoft’s SVP of sales and marketing. Key outlined the company’s interest in the console in an interview with Gamasutra.
Key said:
“We have big plans for Wii U. Our intention is to be the number one third-party on Wii U, just like we were on Kinect and just like we were on 3DS.
“We’ve always had a really close relationship with Nintendo, so I’d venture to say that we did have an advantage in getting dev kits earlier than other people. I’m not saying we got them earlier than everyone, but I do think we got them early.
“They came to us and asked us to make Red Steel. The thing is, once these dev kits show up in the building, you’ve got these other teams peeking around the curtain going, ‘Hey, what’s that?’ Before you know it, there’s three projects being developed for the Wii in that one room, and then another guy from another studio just happens to be visiting and brings back some ideas…”
Key also mentioned how Ubisoft was able to prepare a significant amount of titles for the Wii’s launch. This stemmed from developer interest when Red Steel was being made for the system. Eventually Ubisoft ended up with seven launch games for the Wii.
According to Key:
“We do encourage that kind of experimentation, especially if we think the platform is commercially viable. [Ubisoft CEO] Yves Guillemot will say, ‘Let’s put a few guys on it, and let’s try it.’ So if they come up with a great idea, then we’ll roll with it.”
“That’s what happened on the Wii; we were so engaged with it after getting the kits for Red Steel that suddenly Rayman came out of that, and before you knew it we had seven titles in the launch window because the dev studios got so excited about the hardware.”
Warren Spector more concerned with creativity rather than new consoles
Posted on 14 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in General Nintendo, News, Wii U | 0 comments
The next generation of consoles is on the way, but Warren Spector is more concerned with creativity in the gaming industry.
In an interview with EDGE, Spector said, “I think most of the problems we have to solve are creative ones, not technical ones.”
He told the publication:
“If it comes it comes; when it comes, it comes. I’m not a tech guy, particularly. I’m a design, story, character guy. I think most of the problems we have to solve are creative ones, not technical ones.
“Obviously we make software, so there’s always a technical element to what we do, but I will make games that do whatever I want them to do at the end of the day, and I will use whatever technology [is] available.”
Rumor: Unnamed developers say Wii U power not up to PS3/360 level
Posted on 14 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in Rumors, Wii U | 0 comments
The latest report in the Wii U power saga comes from GamesIndustry, who was collected a number of quotes from unnamed developers. Two of these folks are in agreement when they say that the Wii U isn’t as powerful as the PlayStation 3 or Xbox 360.
One developer said:
“No, it’s not up to the same level as the PS3 or the 360. The graphics are just not as powerful.”
A second developer echoed the same thoughts. The person below believes that the console “just can’t quite keep up” even though “some things are better, mostly as a result of it being a more modern design.”
“Yeah, that’s true. It doesn’t produce graphics as well as the PS3 or the 360. There aren’t as many shaders, it’s not as capable. Sure, some things are better, mostly as a result of it being a more modern design. But overall the Wii U just can’t quite keep up.”
A third source has weighed in on the Wii U’s controller, expressing some concern:
“The whole thing about the tablet controller is that you only get one of them, and you can only use one and it’s not completely independent. The base console has to be on, and you have to be in range. Other controllers are just Wiimotes, or other Wii controllers. They may change the form factor or looks a bit, but it’s the same controller.”
I think it’d be best to take this with a grain of salt. We simply don’t know who these developers/sources are, are there have been a number of contradictory statements that conflict with this report.
Famitsu’s most-wanted games – issue 1217
Posted on 14 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in 3DS, DS, News, Wii, Wii U | 0 comments
01/03. [PSV] Persona 4: The Golden (Atlus) – 832 votes
02/01. [PS3] Dragon’s Dogma (Capcom) – 797 votes
03/02. [PS3] Resident Evil 6 (Capcom) – 735 votes
04/04. [Wii] Dragon Quest X: Rise of the Five Tribes Online (Square Enix) – 647 votes
05/05. [3DS] Monster Hunter 4 (Capcom) – 606 votes
06/06. [3DS] Fire Emblem: Awakening (Nintendo) – 559 votes
07/07. [3DS] Animal Crossing (Nintendo) – 403 votes
08/10. [PSP] 2nd Super Robot Wars Z Saisei Volume (Namco Bandai) – 332 votes
09/09. [3DS] Dragon Quest Monsters: Terry’s Wonderland 3D (Square Enix) – 325 votes
10/16. [3DS] Rune Factory 4 (Marvelous AQL) – 270 votes
11/11. [PS3] Lollipop Chiansaw (Kadokawa Games) – 269 votes
12/26. [NDS] Pokemon Black & White 2 (Nintendo) – 265 votes
13/13. [PS3] Final Fantasy Versus XIII (Square Enix) – 251 votes
14/23. [PSP] Conception: Please Give Birth to My Child!! (Spike) – 225 votes
15/20. [PS3] The Witch and the Hundred Soldiers (NIS) – 217 votes
16/21. [3DS] Etrian Odyssey IV (Atlus) – 214 votes
17/18. [PS3] The Last Remnant (Square Enix) – 194 votes
18/15. [PS3] Resident Evil: Operation Raccoon City (Capcom) – 189 votes
19/19. [Wii] Mario Party 9 (Nintendo) – 186 votes
20/12. [3DS] Fantasy Life (Level-5) – 182 votes
21/22. [PSP] God Eater 2 (Namco Bandai) – 162 votes
22/17. [PS3] Persona 4 Arena (Atlus) – 154 votes
23/—. [PS3] 2nd Super Robot Wars OG (Namco Bandai) – 150 votes
24/14. [PS3] Toki to Towa (Namco Bandai) – 141 votes
25/25. [PS3] The Last Guardian (SCEJ) – 127 votes
26/29. [PS3] Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance (Konami) – 124 votes
27/27. [PSV] Surge Concerto: Ciel no Surge (Gust) – 97 votes
28/—. [PS3] Mobile Suit Gundam: Battle Operation (Namco Bandai) – 94 votes
29/—. [3DS] Mario Tennis Open (Nintendo) – 90 votes
30/24. [PS3] Tokyo Jungle (SCEJ) – 89 votes
Ghost Recon Online trailer
Posted on 14 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in Videos, Wii U | 0 comments
Given what we know about Ghost Recon Online and how we’ve heard the PC/Wii U versions will be similar (especially in terms of Ubisoft’s pricing model), I suppose it’s safe to share this with you folks!
Dragon Quest X screenshots
Posted on 14 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in Screenshots, Wii, Wii U | 0 comments
Wii U version of Aliens: Colonial Marines “has so much more to offer”
Posted on 14 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in News, Wii U | 0 comments
Gearbox Software and SEGA haven’t let any details out about the Wii U version of Aliens: Colonial Marines. This has been the case for much all developers/publishers on the console.
However, Gearbox CEO Randy Pitchford recently dished out a new tease about the Wii U edition of the Aliens project. Pitchford told The Verge, “The Wii U version has so much more to offer … no other platform can do what the Wii U can do.” He added, “Nintendo opens up their kimono a little bit more about that platform and where it is going, we will be there right with them talking about how Aliens is using it.”
Pitchford’s comments in full:
“The Wii U version has so much more to offer … no other platform can do what the Wii U can do. If you love [Xbox] 360 games, you are not used to being in a world where you have this new interface. But once you get used to that, you imagine the possibilities; there are some opportunities that are just not possible on any platform that does not have that device.
“I don’t want to give spoilers away on some of things we are thinking of or things we have actually implemented already, but a lot of cool opportunities with that device that are going to make a very unique and compelling experience on that platform. We have given a lot of attention. I think it will not be too long [before] Nintendo opens up their kimono a little bit more about that platform and where it is going, we will be there right with them talking about how Aliens is using it.”
Darksiders II art director: Wii U is a pretty powerful machine
Posted on 14 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in News, Wii U | 0 comments
The story of Wii U’s power is every-changing. One day we hear that it’s twice as powerful as the Xbox 360, whereas tomorrow we may hear that it’s just two N64 systems and an Expansion Pack duck-taped together. That’s obviously an exaggeration, but you get the idea.
There was a recent comment from Darksiders II game director Marvin Donald about Wii U being on par with the current hardware generation. But a quote from art director Han Randhawa has surfaced, and it sort of contradicts what we found out a few days ago. Randhawa said that Wii U “is a pretty powerful machine, which obviously means more resources, and means you can do a lot more.”
Randhawa’s entire quote:
“There is not much I can really talk about right now, but I think that the Wii U is a pretty powerful machine, which obviously means more resources, and means you can do a lot more. So the Wii U team is doing very well, we’ve been working with Nintendo and I think it’s going to be a very exciting version of Darksiders but we want to keep the overall theme relatively consistent.”
Ultimately we probably won’t know how powerful the Wii U is until some really smart people take apart the console after its launch. There’s simply a lot of different contradicting quotes, reports, and other material out there that isn’t consistent. Maybe things will be clearer after E3?
