Nintendo: Project Cafe - Wii U

[Pulsar_t]

The funny thing is, the people who complain about the new Wii U controller will change their tune when Sony and Microsoft release their own versions of it.

Kinect and Move = yuck, so there.

[ZenErik]

I doubt my tune will change. Am willing to give it a chance. I had a PS3 and Wii that I didn't enjoy. Thats what got me into retro gaming. that and nostalgia. But most of the retro games I'm enjoying now i never had as a child. So my newest console is a PS2 that I hardly use. The newest one I thoroughly enjoy is my Dreamcast.

[wip3outguy7]

The funny thing is, the people who complain about the new Wii U controller will change their tune when Sony and Microsoft release their own versions of it.

It appears the PSVita will have many of the same capabilities the Wii U tablet controller has.

add: And the PS3 is available now. The PSV will be available before the Wii U.

[elmagicochrisg]

The funny thing is, the people who complain about the new Wii U controller will change their tune when Sony and Microsoft release their own versions of it.

It appears the PSVita will have many of the same capabilities the Wii U tablet controller has.

add: And the PS3 is available now. The PSV will be available before the Wii U.

PSVita connected to your PS3?... Did I understand that well?...

If so, I got what I wanted. A small Wii U controller on a nice gaming platform...

[Xeogred]

@ Ack, JT, etc:

Imagine how tedious and uncomfortable it could get having to constantly look up and down at the TV and then the controller after awhile though. That could be a bad point here. I've got a bad neck myself after some bad whiplash from a car wreck several years ago and so since then I can barely stand to play any handhelds for very long, and this controller could personally be just as bad in my case. That kind of just hit me.

[dsheinem]

I am not dismissing it at all, but all those screens are basically using the Wii U to replace an on screen map or HUD, which seems much more cumbersome than just having an on screen map or HUD. I want to see some innovative and interesting things done with the Wii U, and so far I haven't seen anything that isn't smoother when done on screen or more interesting with a multitouch pad.

Several ideas that just pop off the top of my head easily:

-First person combat on TV screen, overhead map tactical strategy on the tablet. A game like Sanctum would be great on this because I could set my towers on the tablet while I defend from a first person perspective on the TV.

-Any game that utilizes taking pictures. Fatal Frame and Pokemon Snap have already been mentioned, but you can even get more creative with this concept with games like the upcoming indie game Snapshot.

-Multiplayer games where one person has access to secret information on the tablet that other players on the TV don't see. Perhaps a game like Spy Party where the spy needs to keep their identity secret and work their way through a room of NPCs while the other players on the TV try to find clues and ultimately hunt down the spy. It would even be good for a trivia game where one person has the answers in front of them and the other is blind to what's on the tablet, like $10,000 pyramid or something.

-Any game with a scope, secret decoder, x-ray specs, night vision, heat vision, etc. For example, Batman Arkham Asylum could have benefitted from a separate screen for some of the visual changes because it always bothered me that I could not longer appreciate the graphics of the main game because I was at a disadvantage if I didn't run around with night vision on all the time, which made the game uglier.

-Any game that uses drawing will be better with a stylus. Crayon Physics, Arx Fatalis, Okami, Mario Paint, Max and the Magic Marker all could have benefitted from a controller like this and the use of drawing as a means of controlling the game can be further expanded with this larger pad and a stylus.

-And yes, separate screens for HUDS, maps, character info, dialogue decision trees would all be nice. I've never liked having a cluttered screen when I don't need one. You're right that this doesn't add new functionality though, just better organization and utility.

I can get on board with most of these ideas, and if I start to see them implemented I will probably get on board with the Wii U. However, from the little we have been shown so far, I don't see very much if any of these things being implemented.

[Flake]

@ Ack, JT, etc:

Imagine how tedious and uncomfortable it could get having to constantly look up and down at the TV and then the controller after awhile though. That could be a bad point here. I've got a bad neck myself after some bad whiplash from a car wreck several years ago and so since then I can barely stand to play any handhelds for very long, and this controller could personally be just as bad in my case. That kind of just hit me.

It could be tedious but this is where smart game design will have to come into play. Zelda Four Swords Adventure was anything BUT tedious and that was essentially a prototype of this WiiU whoozawhatsit.

Of course 'smart design' can sometimes be easier said than obtained.

[Ack]

@ Ack, JT, etc:

Imagine how tedious and uncomfortable it could get having to constantly look up and down at the TV and then the controller after awhile though. That could be a bad point here. I've got a bad neck myself after some bad whiplash from a car wreck several years ago and so since then I can barely stand to play any handhelds for very long, and this controller could personally be just as bad in my case. That kind of just hit me.

That's an interesting issue to think about. But considering some of the options they showed, with it switching between television and screen when you need to, it appears like some of this could be entirely optional methods of usage with many games. Is there any way you could position it in your lap so you could look at both at the same time?

As for looking at the screen with it, technically you'd be holding it up, so you'd be looking at both at the same time. That's why I mentioned the weight earlier, because holding it up to look at both would be cumbersome. As it is we'll probably get tired holding it up for a long time.

...then again, technically its better for us to play games in short bursts anyway, so Nintendo may not have considered marathon sessions when designing the machine.

[Bradtemple87]

I'll say it, I'm completely tired of motion gaming.

[Xeogred]

It could be tedious but this is where smart game design will have to come into play. Zelda Four Swords Adventure was anything BUT tedious and that was essentially a prototype of this WiiU whoozawhatsit.

Of course 'smart design' can sometimes be easier said than obtained.

That and Crystal Chronicles I'll admit utilized the idea pretty well. It's just not something I'd like to do for most games though. It really is funny to think this is basically just Nintendo completely going with that connectivity idea though... didn't really like it back then either since I never had the money for a GBA and the cables, but I had some friends and we did link up for some Four Swords / Crystal Chronicles action and it was fun.

That's an interesting issue to think about. But considering some of the options they showed, with it switching between television and screen when you need to, it appears like some of this could be entirely optional methods of usage with many games. Is there any way you could position it in your lap so you could look at both at the same time?

As for looking at the screen with it, technically you'd be holding it up, so you'd be looking at both at the same time. That's why I mentioned the weight earlier, because holding it up to look at both would be cumbersome. As it is we'll probably get tired holding it up for a long time.

Well that just brings me to the other issue I kind of mentioned earlier... lol, this could make me dizzy. Multiple screens moving around at the same time within the same plain of field (or however you'd explain it) is like one of the only things that can make me a little motion sick. This wasn't really true for the GBA / GC thing or anything before since the screens were so small, but with how big the screen/controller is I could see this maybe being another issue for me. Having it sit in my lap with a fairly decent sized and brightly lit screen with stuff going on and moving around, while there's other things moving around on the TV ahead of me, that might kind of get to me. I dunno.

Again guys I'm not trying to dismiss this, but I'm just not too optimistic about it for now.