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Post by 1[ZS]Stenaven on Jun 7, 2011 16:27:05 GMT -6
wii.ign.com/articles/117/1173582p1.html
reviews.cnet.com/8301-21539_7-20069783-10391702.html
The articles in the links above are posted below, go to the site if you want the "full" experience of the articles.
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It's the dawn of a new Nintendo generation. After five years of pursuing a "blue ocean strategy," the Big N is shifting to a new console, one that rivals (and potentially exceeds) consoles currently in stores. After months of having IGN's Nintendo team tracking down sources and bringing you a comprehensive picture of Wii's successor, I've finally had the chance to use the new controller and play demos on the system.
In short, Nintendo's gamble works. The controller is the best of both worlds, mixing traditional button inputs with the advantage of having an interface unlike anything we've seen from a home console.
THE CONTROLLER BASICS
What we've been reporting and suspected is true. The primary controller for Nintendo's next console is tablet based, featuring a 6.2 inch touch screen. This new device also features a very standard array of buttons, including a d-pad, four face buttons, four shoulder triggers, a power button and a camera.
One of the more interesting alterations to conventional design is the system features two analog sliders at the top of the controller rather than traditional sticks. Don't make the mistake of thinking these sliders are like the 3DS "circle pad." The texture and top shape of the sliders are much more akin to Wii's nunchuk, meaning the grip and precision of movement are much better.
The tablet itself appears large, but is actually quite comfortable to grip. The two sliders both being located at the top of the tablet make holding it considerably easier. A staggered configuration would only have worked with a much smaller design. Nintendo was also smart in making the new controller extremely light for its size, resulting in something that might look strange but is not as burdensome as it would seem.
The other major design element is a horizontal "grip" that runs underneath the tablet. The grip, however, is mostly there to house two of the system's triggers, with the remaining two being on the shoulder of the main body of the device.
More important is the fact that the new console is backwards compatible with Wii controllers. Nintendo's demos suggested it is very intent on utilizing its current generation remotes - without alteration - alongside the new tablet. In fact while the number of Wii remotes changed between mini-games, I only ever used one tablet controller.
THE TECH DEMOS
In addition to a few mini-games and one major franchise cinematic, Nintendo's presentation to me included a couple sequences designed to show off the power of the system and the innovative applications of the controller. The first, simply called "HD Experience," featured a hawk soaring through a traditional Japanese setting including cherry blossom trees and a temple. Graphically the scene was far better than Wii, of course, but I wasn't impressed at all with the quality of the textures or aesthetic design. For something that was supposed to demonstrate the power of the system, this particular sequence failed to impress. One noteworthy element was that the tablet controller was replicating the visuals on the TV on its smaller screen, and moving the tablet would cause the camera behind the hawk to move, allowing the player to see more of the landscape.
The rough shape of this demo is no cause for concern, however. At the end of my time with the new system, Nintendo played an interactive cinematic that put all my fears to rest. The difference in quality between that sequence and this was light years apart, making me wonder why I watched the hawk video in the first place.
The second major tech demonstration featured live footage of Japan, with a camera moving down a crowded street, hovering above vehicles. Like the hawk demo, the tablet was also featuring the footage shown on the television. But as I moved the new controller, I was able to see more of the city around me, without altering what was being shown on the larger screen. I could move the tablet upward to see the sky, or downward to see the street moving under me. Even more impressive, I could start to rotate the controller or "aim" it behind me to see where I had been. Pressing a button would also flip the portable display behind me, allowing me to see backwards similar to a rearview mirror. The potential for racing games with this sort of technology is truly impressive.
CHASING AND BATTLING MIIS
I played two Mii mini-games on the new console. In a word, they are both fantastic. In concept, execution, scope and entertainment, they are leaps and bounds beyond what you experienced on Wii. I realize we all had fun with tennis and sword fighting, but Chase Mii and Battle Mii are very, very much capable of selling people on the capabilities of the new system. Most important of all, the concepts are easy to learn, but with some added settings and levels down the line, I'd very much like to see these as some sort of final product.
FIGHTING PIRATES WITH RHYTHM
It's no secret that I have absolutely no rhythm. I can't get one step right in Dance Dance Revolution. When Nintendo told me I'd be trying a music-based game, I cringed. Yet blocking airborne plungers with my shield in sync with a beat in the background turned out to be a rather painless experience. By far the most quirky demo I saw, Pirate Horde was fairly addicting, and the developers of the demo weren't afraid to step up the difficulty in relatively short order. This wasn't my favorite game, but it was strong.
THE NEXT GENERATION OF ZELDA
To be honest, I didn't think Nintendo would be daring enough to show off any sort of Zelda HD demo, despite the fact that the franchise is clearly the one that would benefit the most from a vastly more powerful system. This was based off of the Twilight Princess era Zelda characters, not Skyward Sword, so those of you expecting Wii's last major game to jump ship, this demo wasn't proof of that.
I wasn't able to control Link, but the battle between him and Gohma that I saw was breathtaking nonetheless. Between changing the lighting, camera controls and even the tablet's display, this demo above all the others proved how Nintendo franchises might benefit from increased power. This was gorgeous stuff.
That covers everything I had a chance to see during Nintendo's hands-on tour of the new system. At the time of my meeting, no details were given for much else about the system's capabilities. I didn't even see the design of the new console. Still, my time with the new controller opened my eyes to a new way of gaming. It's remarkable that simply adding an extra screen can truly change how games are played. It will be utterly fascinating to see how Nintendo and other developers take advantage of this innovative twist.
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LOS ANGELES--The Wii U, Nintendo's 2012 reinvention of the Wii hardware and of home console gaming, is still a device clouded in mystery. Its controls are intriguing, its capabilities seemingly vast. We had the opportunity to play with the Wii U after Nintendo's morning press conference. To gain more perspective, we had a one-on-one conversation with Nintendo's Shigeru Miyamoto, game design legend and creative executive behind Nintendo's first-party games.
Time was limited, but I certainly had plenty of questions: about the Wii U, the future evolution of console and handheld gaming, and most importantly, how this all relates to Apple.
Q: What were the influences for the creation of Wii U?
A: There was nothing external that influenced us. What really brought about the idea for it stemmed from our original concept for the Wii. We talked about it as the system that would never sleep, using something like Wii Connect 24--meaning, people would be able to access the system very quickly at any time. But, what we found was that as people started getting larger TVs, turning on the TV began to take more and more time than it used to. It was no longer instantaneous. So that became a barrier for people, and people who were watching TV would essentially make the system unavailable for somebody who wanted to play a game or see what was new with the system that day.
And so, with those challenges in mind, we started to look at what we wanted to do for the next system, and started to think that if we can't continue to always rely on the TV, we need to create a dedicated screen just for the system so people can quickly and instantly interact with it, regardless of what was happening on the TV.
Q: Is this a true synthesis of the Nintendo DS and the Wii--a point you see gaming evolving toward?
A: I think so. I think that what's going to be unique is it creates a new structure, in that you have your own screen, but you also have your TV screen, and those two can interact with one another. And that's going to create a lot of new things that you can do, not only just with games--obviously, it will create new gameplay--but it also creates new ways to interact with things like Web services, or even, as a simple example, photo viewing: how you can view photos on the small screen and transfer them up to the big screen. This new structure, in my mind, is not just a new structure for gameplay, it's a new structure for TV in the living room, to the point where people will look at this device as something they want to have alongside their TV because of what it brings to home entertainment, perhaps even to the point where they'll think, "Why didn't TV manufacturers come up with this?"
Q: Speaking of that, could the Wii U potentially act as a second screen not just for Wii games, but for TV as well?
A: Well, yes, I think it would be possible for television manufacturers in the future to think about what might be possible knowing that this structure exists, and even building functionality into the TVs that might take advantage of them.
Q: Are there any games you've been excited about making on the Wii U?
A: The experiences we have on the show floor demonstrate some of these ideas. The multiplayer games are quite fun; there's also another experience called Panorama View. There's a video running on the TV of a car driving down the street, and with the new controller you're able to view the same video but 360 degrees around you in that same video. The combination of the controller with the screen, and particularly with the gyro sensor, is very fun.
Q: Speaking of which, it looked like the Wii U offers augmented reality where one screen interacts with the second screen in a way we've never seen before.
A: I'm actually very excited to see how all the talented game designers around the world are going to look at that with the same eyes that you did and how they're going to take advantage of it.
Q: How do you see the Wii U as compared with what Apple's doing with the iPad?
A: I have to be honest, I don't really know everything that Apple is planning right now, so it's hard to say. When I look at things, I feel that Nintendo is looking at video games, and how we make the most compelling and fun video game experience. And then, within that framework, how can we use that to create new and fun entertainment within the living room setting? So we're really looking at it strictly from an entertainment perspective, and when I think about the things that Apple is talking about in terms of cloud computing and things like that, I'd say that they're just two very different areas that we're both looking at.
Q: Is this device something that would ever leave the home, or does it stay in the living room?
A: That's a good question. I think obviously less so for outside the home, but more so people will start to ask, "Oh, can I take it to my bedroom and sit in bed and play games?" Regardless of what the technical possibilities are in terms of how far you can take it from the system, for me it really is a matter of it's a device you'll want to have sitting on the cradle in the living room so you can access it there at any point and interact with the system that's in the living room at any point, and that system is connected to the TV. So, for me, my feeling is it really is a device that, if it's not there in the living room, people are going to have a hard time interacting with the system.
Q: So that's where the 3DS takes over?
A: Yes.
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