WII U is it good enough to get back in the game?

[digiflip]

do you think its powerful and innovative enough to compete with xbox 360 and ps3?

[kedawa]

Sure it is, but the real challenge will be competing with their successors.

[motorollin]

I love the idea of the tablet controller, and I'm dying to see how this will interact with the games. I think this is something we'll be seeing more of on iOS devices soon when iOS 5 is released and we get AirPlay video mirroring.

--
moto

[Speelgoedmannetje]

I love the idea of the tablet controller, and I'm dying to see how this will interact with the games.
--
moto

Makes me think of the good old Dreamcast controllers. The rare occasion a game would actually use the screen for game purposes, it was for split-screen multiplayer games to show each gamer the private information they needed.
I guess Nintendo will make more use of it with their in-house developed games, showing off the possibilities of that controller.

[motorollin]

Makes me think of the good old Dreamcast controllers. The rare occasion a game would actually use the screen for game purposes, it was for split-screen multiplayer games to show each gamer the private information they needed.

I never actually used a Dreamcast, but I remember being impressed by the controllers. It's an awesome idea which hopefully Nintendo will really pull off well.

[Speelgoedmannetje]

I never actually used a Dreamcast, but I remember being impressed by the controllers. It's an awesome idea which hopefully Nintendo will really pull off well.

The controllers of the Dreamcast are nice but after playing for more than an hour with it your hand will be quite cramped. I think Microsoft have perfectioned the DC controllers for their xbox, though they indeed should've put an LCD on it.
I wonder if any of these manufacturers have played with the thought of putting a sensitive touchpad or trackball on a joypad.

Btw. the Dreamcast is awesome for split-screen multiplayer games.

[motorollin]

Might need to get an old Dreamcast off eBay and find out what all the fuss was about! Am I right in thinking that the DC wasn't really very successful?

[commodorejohn]

The tablet controller is going to be a giant pain in the ass to use. Having two screens more or less worked on the DS, where there's a constant spatial relationship between the two, but when you're going to have to keep your eyes on both the screen in your hands and the screen across the room, it's going to get old really fast. It's too big, as well - remember how people hated the original XBox controller? A game controller just should not be that large.

That's not to say it won't be a decent system - the Wii defied expectations by actually having some good games that ignored the stupid gimmick hardware and just focused on being fun to play, and there's no reason that couldn't happen here. But if it is a success, it's not going to be because some stuck an iPad in the middle of an ordinary gamepad.

Might need to get an old Dreamcast off eBay and  find out what all the fuss was about! Am I right in thinking that the  DC wasn't really very successful?

The Dreamcast was quite successful - for the very short period in between its release and the announcement of the PS2. (And like the TurboGrafx/PC-Engine, it was far more popular in Japan, and lasted far longer there than in the international market.) It's not at all a bad system, and has a lot of solid ports and some great exclusives. Definitely worth nabbing one on the cheap.

[Hattig]

Certainly the Wii U will be more powerful than the PS3 and XBox360, although the exact details aren't known.

Rumours:

1300 GFLOPS GPU at ~750MHz, similar to an ATI 4870 (i.e., around 800 shaders). PS3 RSX is at best 400 GFLOPS but isn't as flexible, Cell is 200 GFLOPS. 360 is 500MHz and well under half that figure of SIMDS (again, not as flexible).

CPU... multi-core and PowerPC is known. Maybe based upon Watson technology - i.e., Power 7. Most likely is a dual-core (eight thread) variant of the eight-core Power 7, running at over 3GHz (Power 7 scales to nearly 5GHz), thrashing the PS3 and handily beating the XBox 360. If it is quad-core it will be a BEAST of a console.

[motorollin]

The tablet controller is going to be a giant pain in the ass to use. Having two screens more or less worked on the DS, where there's a constant spatial relationship between the two, but when you're going to have to keep your eyes on both the screen in your hands and the screen across the room, it's going to get old really fast. It's too big, as well - remember how people hated the original XBox controller? A game controller just should not be that large.

I'm not sure about that. I think it depends on the game. It could be made to work in games where you don't need to look at both screens simultaneously, and having to quickly look between screens during action games could add a new element of excitement.

The Dreamcast was quite successful - for the very short period in between its release and the announcement of the PS2. (And like the TurboGrafx/PC-Engine, it was far more popular in Japan, and lasted far longer there than in the international market.) It's not at all a bad system, and has a lot of solid ports and some great exclusives. Definitely worth nabbing one on the cheap.

Ahh yes, I remember the PS2 killing it off now you mention it.

[XDelusion]

I think Nintendo is going to be just fine!

[motorollin]

I think Nintendo is going to be just fine!

I agree. Whereas Sony and Microsoft just seem to go for more and more power with each generation, Nintendo always seem to be quirky and innovative.

[commodorejohn]

I agree. Whereas Sony and Microsoft just seem to go for more and more power with each generation, Nintendo always seem to be quirky and innovative.

Well, they definitely have made the smart move by dropping out of the "biggest baddest hardware" race - but I'm not sure that it's the "quirky and innovative" (read: gimmicky) stuff that's helped them so much as the fact that their consoles have been significantly less expensive than the competition and developers for Wii-exclusive or Wii-targeted games have focused less on aping current-gen graphics trends and more on making fun games.

[Speelgoedmannetje]

I think Nintendo is going to be just fine!

Though I do like the way Nintendo is being innovative and game-focused (and not technology focused like Microsoft and Sony), I always get back to the PC. Games like Disciples, Starcraft and the Total War series will never be 'living room games' (unless you have like me having the PC situated in the living room).

[motorollin]

Well, they definitely have made the smart move by dropping out of the "biggest baddest hardware" race - but I'm not sure that it's the "quirky and innovative" (read: gimmicky) stuff that's helped them so much as the fact that their consoles have been significantly less expensive than the competition and developers for Wii-exclusive or Wii-targeted games have focused less on aping current-gen graphics trends and more on making fun games.

I disagree that Nintendo's inclusion of motion sensors in the Wii and touch screens in the DS are gimmicky. They could have been, but a lot of games make really great use of these controls. I think the way the Wii has been adopted by many people who wouldn't normally play computer games is a testament to Nintendo's innovation in this area (I'm thinking specifically of my boyfriend's 65 year old parents).

Of course, the price difference probably helps