I could not possibly be more excited for video gaming than I am today; Nintendo hit every single chord: tugged on the nostalgia strings with the orchestra, Miyamoto-san and his heartfelt and genuine joy at 25 years of Zelda, the confidence that Reggie Fils-Aime radiated when he knew he was about to announce what is sure to be the darling of the show, and the rock-solid lineup from third-party developers.
It was a truly wonderful experience to be there in person.
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KwitkoSheriff of Banning (Retired)By the thing near the stuffIcrontian
edited June 2011
Wow. Kudos to Nintendo. Never before have I had a desire to purchase a gaming console until now.
Managing your HUD on a touchscreen is genius. I know there are not allot of sports gamers on Icrontic, but can you imagine what playing an American Football game is going to be like? Picking your plays, calling hots, changing personnel on the fly.
Also, this will be the first console to really feel like a true home media solution out of the box. Lets face it, using the 360, PS3 or original Wii controllers as media remote controls was cumbersome. Having a keyboard on screen, Yes Please! I'm gonna watch so much HD Netflix on this thing. Point typing with the Wii mote sucks. We so needed this to make consoles a great option as a living room media streamer.
When can I preorder? Hell, I might sell my gaming PC for this.
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colapart legend, part devil... all manBalls deepIcrontian
I know there are not allot of sports gamers on Icrontic, but can you imagine what playing an American Football game is going to be like? Picking your plays, calling hots, changing personnel on the fly.
Of course not, but the Dreamcast was so awesome it was basically doing this same thing with the technology that existed nearly 15 years ago...
We agree the Dreamcast was awesome, and the VMU was a cool idea, but its implementation was lousy. I'm not sure we can make comparisons to the VMU and the Wii U controller in terms of functionality.
Also, fanboy moment, the Wii U has Radeon Graphics! So, you pretty much know I'll be there on launch day. :bigggrin:
I'm pretty much blown away. I was hoping for Nintendo finally getting a "next-gen"-feeling platform and attracting AAA titles, but this is more than I had ever expected. Here's some of my own thoughts on Nintendo's presentation.
The Presentation
Nintendo did this right. Sony and Microsoft kind of put people to sleep. Not Nintendo. They start with a blast, by raining nostalgia everywhere with the opening symphony. From there, it was high-energy from start to finish. A lot of romanticized and highly visionary language was used, but it seems that Nintendo can back its lofty ideals of gaming.
The Hardware
The controller/tablet and console pairing is just genius. It's kind of like a lovechild between an iPad and the NG--er, Vita. It doesn't look all that comfortable, so that verdict's still out, but having an extra screen (and switching to it when the TV is off) is amazing. Plus, the graphical demos and its capabilities really did seem to be at least on par with the PS3/360... if not surpassing it.
The Games
They've got a pretty killer lineup. More nostalgic (and probably going to be good) 1st-party games to look forward to. Luigi's Mansion, new Smash Bros, Zelda, Kid Icarus, Star Fox (DO A BARREL ROLL), and more. And, the final appearance of AAA titles really seals the deal. Nintendo is finally a runner in today's modern games world.
The Future
My only reservation/concern is if Nintendo's timing is right. Sooner or later, there will a "PlayStation 4" and/or "Xbox 720" that will take another leap, possibly (and most likely) surpassing the Wii U. Granted, at this stage in the history of gaming consoles, the difference may no longer be nearly the issue. Considering how long the PS3 & 360 have lasted already, I'm not sure there will be much more a new PS4/720 console could bring that couldn't easily be slightly downscaled for a Wii U while still looking/playing great. Time will tell, here.
Overall
2012 isn't here fast enough, is it? In the meantime, I'm sure the internet will hold itself over with "Deeper and Wider" jokes. Giggity.
I am SO, so excited for Luigi's Mansion 2. I agree: Luigi's Mansion was so underappreciated. People saw it as a Gamecube launch title that wasn't a Mario game. I remember the gripes and groans: "Oh, they don't have Mario 128, so Luigi's Mansion is a cheap and half-ass replacement."
It was an awesome game. Poor Luigi is always in his brother's shadow.
As excited as I am about Luigi's Mansion 2 I'm worried that in the next iteration of SSB they're gonna try and give him a vacuum like they gave Mario that stupid water gun in SSBB.
The Future
My only reservation/concern is if Nintendo's timing is right. Sooner or later, there will a "PlayStation 4" and/or "Xbox 720" that will take another leap, possibly (and most likely) surpassing the Wii U.
Honestly, I don't think Microsoft or Sony have anything new in terms home console hardware. Sony is desperately working to be competitive in the portable gaming market, both with the PSP and Xperia phone, and Microsoft has extended the longevity and profitability of their platform with Kinnect. Analysts have noted that Microsoft just started making money after huge losses due to all the Red Ring QA problems early on, and Sony is trying to figure out how to keep their network up for more than a couple weeks at a time,,, I imagine there are some investors that are really jaded about the console divisions not being nearly as profitable as imagined.
My bet, is by time they decide to go with something new, its going to be about streaming games without significant hardware on the client side. In fact, back when the PS3 launched they proclaimed it was a ten year solution, maybe more.
My bet, the Wii U will be the last significant console system to accept optical media for playing games.
Nintendo gets a 2 year jump on Xbox and PS. Then the cycle continues. What we'll see from Xbox or PS in 2 years is hard to say. But It will be powerful and probably nothing like just their current systems double the power. The current Xbox and PS wouldn't benefit all that much from more power.
It'll be about integration with other media and device integration. I would imagine they'll have a setup where you can start playing a game on your TV, transition it to your mobile device, play until you get to work - pause it. Pick it up and then start playing it again when you get home all seamlessly.
primesuspect
Beepin n' BoopinDetroit, MI Icrontian
Comments
Blown.
It was a truly wonderful experience to be there in person.
Also, this will be the first console to really feel like a true home media solution out of the box. Lets face it, using the 360, PS3 or original Wii controllers as media remote controls was cumbersome. Having a keyboard on screen, Yes Please! I'm gonna watch so much HD Netflix on this thing. Point typing with the Wii mote sucks. We so needed this to make consoles a great option as a living room media streamer.
When can I preorder? Hell, I might sell my gaming PC for this.
Luigi's Mansion is the scariest game I've ever played, can't wait for 2.
Kinda like what the Dreamcast did in 1998?
Your troll will not work here....
The VMU was nowhere near as cool as that and you know it.
Of course not, but the Dreamcast was so awesome it was basically doing this same thing with the technology that existed nearly 15 years ago...
We agree the Dreamcast was awesome, and the VMU was a cool idea, but its implementation was lousy. I'm not sure we can make comparisons to the VMU and the Wii U controller in terms of functionality.
Also, fanboy moment, the Wii U has Radeon Graphics! So, you pretty much know I'll be there on launch day. :bigggrin:
The Presentation
Nintendo did this right. Sony and Microsoft kind of put people to sleep. Not Nintendo. They start with a blast, by raining nostalgia everywhere with the opening symphony. From there, it was high-energy from start to finish. A lot of romanticized and highly visionary language was used, but it seems that Nintendo can back its lofty ideals of gaming.
The Hardware
The controller/tablet and console pairing is just genius. It's kind of like a lovechild between an iPad and the NG--er, Vita. It doesn't look all that comfortable, so that verdict's still out, but having an extra screen (and switching to it when the TV is off) is amazing. Plus, the graphical demos and its capabilities really did seem to be at least on par with the PS3/360... if not surpassing it.
The Games
They've got a pretty killer lineup. More nostalgic (and probably going to be good) 1st-party games to look forward to. Luigi's Mansion, new Smash Bros, Zelda, Kid Icarus, Star Fox (DO A BARREL ROLL), and more. And, the final appearance of AAA titles really seals the deal. Nintendo is finally a runner in today's modern games world.
The Future
My only reservation/concern is if Nintendo's timing is right. Sooner or later, there will a "PlayStation 4" and/or "Xbox 720" that will take another leap, possibly (and most likely) surpassing the Wii U. Granted, at this stage in the history of gaming consoles, the difference may no longer be nearly the issue. Considering how long the PS3 & 360 have lasted already, I'm not sure there will be much more a new PS4/720 console could bring that couldn't easily be slightly downscaled for a Wii U while still looking/playing great. Time will tell, here.
Overall
2012 isn't here fast enough, is it? In the meantime, I'm sure the internet will hold itself over with "Deeper and Wider" jokes. Giggity.
It was an awesome game. Poor Luigi is always in his brother's shadow.
Honestly, I don't think Microsoft or Sony have anything new in terms home console hardware. Sony is desperately working to be competitive in the portable gaming market, both with the PSP and Xperia phone, and Microsoft has extended the longevity and profitability of their platform with Kinnect. Analysts have noted that Microsoft just started making money after huge losses due to all the Red Ring QA problems early on, and Sony is trying to figure out how to keep their network up for more than a couple weeks at a time,,, I imagine there are some investors that are really jaded about the console divisions not being nearly as profitable as imagined.
My bet, is by time they decide to go with something new, its going to be about streaming games without significant hardware on the client side. In fact, back when the PS3 launched they proclaimed it was a ten year solution, maybe more.
My bet, the Wii U will be the last significant console system to accept optical media for playing games.
It'll be about integration with other media and device integration. I would imagine they'll have a setup where you can start playing a game on your TV, transition it to your mobile device, play until you get to work - pause it. Pick it up and then start playing it again when you get home all seamlessly.