General Nintendo sales/business discussion topic (previously: The Wii U Thread)

[Conando]

You would think people would automatically dismiss the specs as BS as soon as they saw Holographic Discs. The drives for those cost about 16,000 dollars. No doubt they've already got R&D brainstorming the next console, though. That's just what happens, plans for Wii U started around the time Wii was released. Similar periods for Sony and MS too.

[Solkia]

I didn't even know what a holographic disc was until I looked it up just now.

 

There will never be a point in this industry where companies will need 6 fucking terrabytes of disc space for a game. It will be dead long before then.

[Candescence]

Speaking of Steam Controllers, will that be able to be purchased separately or do you have to buy one of their shitboxes with it?

I'd be very surprised if you can't buy them seperately, I think Valve have said you can buy them online and at retail.

[Chronozoah]

In the case of the Rift, I have seen almost nothing but praise for the thing, especially with the newest revisions that iron out the kinks, the latest revision shown, Crystal Cove, is apparently amazing (and Valve's own demo prototype is apparently even better). Developers all over the PC scene are eager to get their hands on the Rift and develop for it (and there are already games being developed entirely around the Rift, such as EVE Valkyrie), and plenty of other stuff is being designed around usage with the Rift, such as omnidirectional treadmills, the Sixsense STEM motion sensing tech (which puts any other motion controller to shame), and other neat pieces of kit. It's not the holodeck yet, but it's interesting to see these people trying to create the best VR experiences at an affordable price. Once the second dev kit is available, I'll get around to ordering one when I have the money, as long as the quality is close to what we're gonna get in the consumer version.

1. How many PC developers are using the Rift to develop anything noteworthy in terms of games?

2. What games will meaningfully take advantage of it in future?

3. How many games are being developed entirely around the Rift?

4. Define 'all over the PC scene'. Be more specific, and provide examples.

5. How much will the Rift cost the average consumer?

 

I'm not trying to be a dick here - the Oculus Rift tech is certainly impressive and has potential. That being said, you seem to be majorly fanboying over it, and I want to establish with regards to your post, what is actually true (and to what extent), and what is pure hyperbole. 

 

 

[Candescence]

In terms of the Rift, I should clarify that the tech is still in beta, and what implementations that are already in existing games are obviously optional. For the most part, it's mainly a whole bunch of people fiddling around with it, but there quite a few games with native support, such as a few notable first-person horror titles, Valve's Source Engine titles, and Surgeon Simulator 2013, among others.

 

1. I can't really give you a certain number, but there are a lot of people fiddling around with the dev kits, which are meant for developers, not consumers. That being said, Wikipedia does provide a rather lengthy list of titles supporting the Rift, including a few "AAA" titles like Titanfall.

2. Depends on the type of game - obviously, first-person titles are the most obvious choice, but there are experiments with third person cameras with the Rift. We're barely tapping the iceberg.

3. Considering the age of the tech, not many at all, but EVE Valkyrie is the most obvious contender. I also see Valve's next big title supporting VR natively.

4. I'm talking mainly indies, though the biggest push is coming from Valve, who made VR a big part of their recent Steam Dev Days event (attended by at least 2000 people), and is integrating VR right into Steam. Considering Valve is one of the biggest players in the PC scene, the fact that they're encouraging PC devs to use VR in a meaningful way is rather telling. The Wikipedia page even provides a list of well-known developers who have endorsed the Rift, and as previously mentioned, there are a lot of games that have either added support for it or planning to. Oh, and the Crystal Cove revision got a ton of attention at CES and won best in show from multiple publications, which is a big deal for exposure.

5. The dev kit is $300, and we don't know what the price for the second dev kit or the consumer version will be, but the consumer version is rumored to be below $300. It is essentially a pair of portable HD screens, with a whole bunch of other bits of hardware fitted into the small frame, to be fair. Pretty much every other 'VR' tech that's come before would cost you at least a thousand, the fact that the Rift is aiming to be affordable is a huge deal.

[Tornado]

Hey guys! Today, I bought a Wii U game!

for my sister

[Conando]

Mother of God. What game?

[Patticus]

Hey guys! Today, I bought a Wii U game!

for my sister

 

The Wii U is saved! Good thing we don't need China to save it any more.

 

 

There are only like 4 iQue U games out there anyway.

[Tornado]

Mother of God. What game?

That shitty Mario knockoff with Sonic in it.

[KrazyBean]

That shitty Mario knockoff with Sonic in it.

 

Sonic Lost World is probably more divisive than Sonic Unleashed now.

[Milo]

Sonic Lost World is probably more divisive than Sonic Unleashed now.

 

Critics (and some fans) were able to at least agree that the Werehog sucked but the day stages were great for Unleashed.

 

Critics don't know what to make of Lost World as a whole.

[Jovahexeon Jax Joranvexeon]

Critics (and some fans) were able to at least agree that the Werehog sucked but the day stages were great for Unleashed.

 

Critics don't know what to make of Lost World as a whole.

Quite frankly, the game itself couldn't decide what it wanted to be. Not that it's not enjoyable.

[Autosaver]

Sonic Lost World is probably more divisive than Sonic Unleashed now.

Most people whining about Lost World haven't even played it. The game sold like 5 copies? 4 were by me and Tornado bought one.

[Mando-Whirl-Wind]

Most people whining about Lost World haven't even played it. The game sold like 5 copies? 4 were by me and Tornado bought one.

Hey I have a copy and I enjoy, have played, much harder, much more frustrating game

[Marcello]

Most people whining about Lost World haven't even played it. The game sold like 5 copies? 4 were by me and Tornado bought one.

 

Why would you say this? All it does is make you look like a fanboy.

[azoo]

It actually distresses me that Lost World is one of the only games I have to play for Wii U. I'll drink my dang ol' whine and enjoy it! :v

[Autosaver]

Why would you say this? All it does is make you look like a fanboy.

I like how you focus on the first part and completely skip the second part where I jokingly said the game sold 5 copies. There's no way you were supposed to take it seriously. Context is key.

[Mando-Whirl-Wind]

actualy, I have about 8 wii-U games, and 3 wii games(although I can only really play one since I dont have a nunchuck I still really want to play my copy of LOZSS), so I have a bit of this and that, but I really cant wait for SSB4, X, and Hyrule warriors this year, really hope one comes out this spring, although I may still end up getting an unnounced title or two iff they interest me XD

[Jovahexeon Jax Joranvexeon]

I get the notion that Lost World's reputation will tilt even more towards the positive, provided the later games improve on the formula. Like Unleashed.

[azoo]

Well, to be fair, there wasn't a drastic change between Unleashed and Colors/Generations. They changed the button mapping and removed quicktime events, but besides that that was it (the physics changes didn't seem noticable enough to count).

 

But yeah, Wii U.

[Mando-Whirl-Wind]

The reason why the Wii-U is trending again:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BE6wCAXfp2o

 

Ya, it didnt mention Hyrule Warriors, or X, however its not the best, but hey it works

[Teoskaven]

Well, with all those titles coming this year i'm very tempted to buy a WiiU myself (while before i wasn't convinced properly), so indeed there is an incoming motivation booster. As i said before, the only thing i'm sad about that system is that it doesn't have an equivalent of PSN trophies or XboxLive achievements, but hopefully that will arrive soon too.

[Mando-Whirl-Wind]

Well, whit all those titles coming this year i'm very tempted to buy a WiiU myself (while before i wasn't convinced properly), so indeed there is an incoming motivation booster. As i said before, the only thing i'm sad about that system is that it doesn't have an equivalent of PSN trophies or XboxLive achievements, but hopefully that will arrive soon too.

Hey go for it

Also, it is possible for them to add acheivements, but Nintendo just has it made so that its done on a game to game basis, as they believe the satisfaction of beating a tough challenge is enough

[Autosaver]

The Wii U actually does have an equivalent to trophies now.

 

They're called "stamps." They were first seen in Wii Sports Resort (I think) and didn't do much. However, on the Wii U, they're used for making Miiverse posts. So far I haven't seen many third parties using them, but Nintendo has several games that use them. Hopefully we'll see more and more games have optional stamps.

[MegasonicZX]

I've never really understood the point of trophies/achievements much, they don't really get you anything and most of the time it just doesn't really feel worth it to get all of them after all is said and done.