Companies:
Nintendo
Wii U. Nintendo could have come up with a better name if I'm being brutally honest, and the whole branding smacks of a Sega Pico or THQ uDraw. It's not something that immediately screams 'desirable new entertainment device.' More like a peripheral that you'd put to one side after a bit of use. I know there's obviously a base unit that the controller connects to, but still.
Although it doesn't look much like a sexy device that will attract the core gaming elite, there were a lot of surprises that made my jaw drop. The first was the fact that images on the touch screen could be transmitted straight to the TV with (allegedly) no latency issues whatsoever. Being able to 'swipe' a video to a large screen with ease will also be great for casual home viewing.
Much like the Wii, the gaming possibilities are endless. But, bless Nintendo, they tried to extol the blank canvas virtues of the Wii and the third party uptake five years on isn't exactly very inspiring. Shigeru Miyamoto once again said that it will be up to third parties to think of exciting new ways to play, but we all know that's not likely to be the case.
Throw in a surprise partnership with EA Games - the first time John Riccitiello has ever set foot on a Nintendo E3 stage - and you've got to admit that Wii U represents a concerted effort by Nintendo to capture core gamers while maintaining the casual. Riccitiello stopped short of outright announcing Battlefield 3 for the system, which says loads if you ask me.
The opinion expressed in this article is that of the author and does not reflect those of SPOnG.com except when it does.
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Companies:
Nintendo
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Comments
tyrion 8 Jun 2011 12:20
1/1
I don't think Nintendo "won" at all, at least not emphatically.
Microsoft, no doubt, "lost" - they concentrated too much on Kinect and trying to win the casuals from Nintendo and they run the risk of pissing off their core fanbase by doing so. They seemingly have nothing new to offer their core gamers, showing only remakes and sequels with at least the number 3 after them.
Sony did their usual "throw everything at you" type of keynote, but we got new games, actual 3rd party support and a look at what Vita can do. We also got (another) apology for the PSN debacle and a couple of actually funny jokes.
Nintendo gave us fan service and the promise of a new way to play games. They have to deliver on that promise and take 3rd parties along with them at the same time for this E3 keynote to actually mean anything.
Except, is Wii U (or WiiU ?) such a new way to play? What about PSP/PS3 system link games? What about GBA/GameCube linkup games? Hell, what about Dreamcast VU games?
There's nothing, apart from the screen size, about Wii U that can't be done by Sony using Vita and PS3, and Vita will be out at least 6 months before Wii U.
Also, nowhere did we see more than one "new controller" in any of the gameplay suggestions, I'm not sure that Wii U can support more than one remote screen. That limits the "wider and deeper" gameplay options in my opinion.
To my mind, Sony and Nintendo "joint won" E3, but if I had to pick just one of them, I'd take Sony due to Vita coming out earlier and actual, provable 3rd party support, not just more promises.
Of course, it remains to be see and I was wrong about Wii when it launched, but I just can't see Wii U being as big a change as Wii was.
Microsoft, no doubt, "lost" - they concentrated too much on Kinect and trying to win the casuals from Nintendo and they run the risk of pissing off their core fanbase by doing so. They seemingly have nothing new to offer their core gamers, showing only remakes and sequels with at least the number 3 after them.
Sony did their usual "throw everything at you" type of keynote, but we got new games, actual 3rd party support and a look at what Vita can do. We also got (another) apology for the PSN debacle and a couple of actually funny jokes.
Nintendo gave us fan service and the promise of a new way to play games. They have to deliver on that promise and take 3rd parties along with them at the same time for this E3 keynote to actually mean anything.
Except, is Wii U (or WiiU ?) such a new way to play? What about PSP/PS3 system link games? What about GBA/GameCube linkup games? Hell, what about Dreamcast VU games?
There's nothing, apart from the screen size, about Wii U that can't be done by Sony using Vita and PS3, and Vita will be out at least 6 months before Wii U.
Also, nowhere did we see more than one "new controller" in any of the gameplay suggestions, I'm not sure that Wii U can support more than one remote screen. That limits the "wider and deeper" gameplay options in my opinion.
To my mind, Sony and Nintendo "joint won" E3, but if I had to pick just one of them, I'd take Sony due to Vita coming out earlier and actual, provable 3rd party support, not just more promises.
Of course, it remains to be see and I was wrong about Wii when it launched, but I just can't see Wii U being as big a change as Wii was.
