New Nintendo console to be announced at E3.

Better AI would be great, just don't fool yourselves into thinking it's a hardware limitation.

One thing that could happen out of this theoretical 'N6' console on an even footing is not only 'more hardc0res' for the new console, but also Wii developers being able to spread their titles over to the 360 (+kinect) and PS3 (+move). Larger potential audiences means more budgets, more games, more games that don't just use a gamepad and experiment with new control methods. That seems interesting to me.

I say they take all the data that's been captured from the CoD games over the past few years and use that as the model for AI development.

We'd soon realize that rand(15) actually is about as well as a guessing procedure as they could mimic a human, although I think we'd hit infinite right quick if they had to come up with a way to randomize slurs and trash talking.

@Mannish

Some of those ragdoll reactions from the explosions were awesome. The twitchy glitchy stuff, not so much.

I don't mind if the Wii will be a little underpowered compared to the PS4 and xbox 720 as I will likely have one (or both) of those consoles for the "hardcore" type games. If it is a 360 1.5x that requires 1080p I think that would be enough for me.

So this probably means that we will be seeing this console in the holiday season 2011?

I'm probably out on a Wii 2, honestly. I've had very little love for the Wii. Mostly a couple of callbacks like Kirby and Punch Out. Otherwise I largely don't like waggle nor care for the current iterations of existing Nintendo franchises. Nintendo is doing okay in the handheld space. A new 2D Metroid and more 2D Mario games would make me happy, but at this point I'd rather they were portable games.

EvilDead wrote:

So this probably means that we will be seeing this console in the holiday season 2011?

Nope, it's already been said that the target is late 2012.

2012 will probably see a new MS console

Wow, now IGN is also saying it has a 6 inch HD touchscreen on the controller. What if this thing is like some crazy hybrid system. Like what if the system is sort of a base/server that can be played like a regular console but can also stream games entirely to the controller which can be used like an iPad. I can't even begin to picture this controller I mean dual analog sticks, pointer controls and a touchscreen? What if the 3DS IS the controller. What if it solves all of humanities problems! I MEAN WHAT'S GOING ON HERE!?

Maybe Nintendo has gone insane with success and are about to release the most insane system of all time. Like how much is this thing going to cost of it has HD touch screens and the rumored ATI cards?

IMAGE(http://www.racketboy.com/store/media/catalog/product/cache/1/image/5e06319eda06f020e43594a9c230972d/d/r/dreamcast-vmu-boxed-grey.jpg)

So it'll be a cross between the Dreamcast and my mother playing Scrabble against my brother-in-law using her iPad and both of their iPhones. In HD.

Naturally.

Oh god, it's going to be waggle + 3D, isn't it?

Janci wrote:

Oh god, it's going to be waggle + 3D, isn't it?

Waggle + 3D + 3 touch screens.

I'll be lazy; I'm sure Reggie said recently, only a month or two ago, that their new console wouldn't revolve around 3D or the necessity of it given 3D TV's current market penetration, glasses, and cost.

cyrax wrote:

I'll be lazy; I'm sure Reggie said recently, only a month or two ago, that their new console wouldn't revolve around 3D or the necessity of it given 3D TV's current market penetration, glasses, and cost.

YEah, especially considering their take on HD last gen.

Quintin_Stone wrote:

Better AI would be great, just don't fool yourselves into thinking it's a hardware limitation.

Same with better physics. The only thing that more hardware power gets you at this point is the ability to print more pixels to the screen.

I don't care what Nintendo do, but I hope the input devices won't cost over 80bucks a pop and hope there won't be 5 different ones with upgrades. One thing I really hate is buying new controllers.

Graphical capability, all I want is 720p with 4xAA and decent framerate, but I guess that's proven to be extremely hard judging from ps360

I could actually sign up for a Nintendo controller/console relationship like this.

BNice wrote:

Wow, now IGN is also saying it has a 6 inch HD touchscreen on the controller. What if this thing is like some crazy hybrid system. Like what if the system is sort of a base/server that can be played like a regular console but can also stream games entirely to the controller which can be used like an iPad. I can't even begin to picture this controller I mean dual analog sticks, pointer controls and a touchscreen? What if the 3DS IS the controller. What if it solves all of humanities problems! I MEAN WHAT'S GOING ON HERE!?

Maybe Nintendo has gone insane with success and are about to release the most insane system of all time. Like how much is this thing going to cost of it has HD touch screens and the rumored ATI cards?

I sort of doubt that a touchscreen controller would sport HD resolution. Even the 3DS only does 400×240 on the top screen (technically 800X240 since it has to output one image per eye in 3D mode) and 320X240 on the bottom, and the screens are only about 3.5" and 3" respectively.

Here's a wacky out-there theory: what if you could use any DS-line handheld as a controller, or buy a dedicated controller with a single 4", 256×192 pixels screen (the same as a DSi XL), a D-pad, four face buttons, and two shoulder buttons for about $50-70? Yeah, that's a little more expensive than the current standard for controllers, but who doesn't already have a DS or two of one model or another lying around anyway?

hbi2k wrote:
BNice wrote:

Wow, now IGN is also saying it has a 6 inch HD touchscreen on the controller. What if this thing is like some crazy hybrid system. Like what if the system is sort of a base/server that can be played like a regular console but can also stream games entirely to the controller which can be used like an iPad. I can't even begin to picture this controller I mean dual analog sticks, pointer controls and a touchscreen? What if the 3DS IS the controller. What if it solves all of humanities problems! I MEAN WHAT'S GOING ON HERE!?

Maybe Nintendo has gone insane with success and are about to release the most insane system of all time. Like how much is this thing going to cost of it has HD touch screens and the rumored ATI cards?

I sort of doubt that a touchscreen controller would sport HD resolution. Even the 3DS only does 400×240 on the top screen (technically 800X240 since it has to output one image per eye in 3D mode) and 320X240 on the bottom, and the screens are only about 3.5" and 3" respectively.

Here's a wacky out-there theory: what if you could use any DS-line handheld as a controller, or buy a dedicated controller with a single 4", 256×192 pixels screen (the same as a DSi XL), a D-pad, four face buttons, and two shoulder buttons for about $50-70? Yeah, that's a little more expensive than the current standard for controllers, but who doesn't already have a DS or two of one model or another lying around anyway?

I was thinking something similar earlier. If they did that, I would hope they at least supported back to DS Lite, mostly because we have 2 around the house.

I think that they'll largely allow you to just use your current Wiimote, WM+ bundles for the new console and release something standard-ish in the manner of dual analog pads. Traditional gamers have shown a remarkable inability to evolve away from dual analog gaming so if Nintendo wants to get that market, they have to compete in that space.

I remain unconvinced that Nintendo cares to compete in that market in any serious fashion, and in a sense it's hard to blame them: it would involve investing a lot of resources and effort for relatively little effective gain. If there are some "traditional" gamers (as good a term as any) who will buy a Nintendo system to play the occasional bone that Ninty throws them every other year or so, the Mario Galaxies and such, they'll hardly turn that money away, but it simply isn't their core focus and hasn't been for a long time.

Nintendo doesn't make products for me any more. It's a bummer, because the NES is what got me into gaming in the first place, but it's the truth. We can sit here and discuss whether this move or that move that Nintendo makes might appeal to us ("us" being the type of person who discusses video games on message boards and listens to gaming podcasts), but let's not confuse "appealing to us" with "success" in the sense of "making metric f*cktons of money."

Whatever Nintendo does next, I firmly believe that it will succeed with or without us. I'd prefer with us, but I have no illusions about where we stand on the Corporate Priority Totem Pole at this point.

I discuss video games on message boards and listen to multiple gaming podcasts. I love my Wii and have over 70 titles for it. I fully believe that Nintendo will continue to make products that I can appreciate.

I've scanned through this thread, and cannot find any mention of the rumored feature that folks were guessing before the Wii was announced: holographic projection. Obviously they've spent the past 6 years perfecting the technology. Someone must have seen an early prototype, and that's where the rumor originally came from.

Oh, and 256-bit friend codes. You know you want them.

But who am I kidding? I have a 7 and 4 year old. Whatever the WiiToo has, I'll have in my living room.

LarryC wrote:

I discuss video games on message boards.

How do we know that's true?

sheared wrote:

I've scanned through this thread, and cannot find any mention of the rumored feature that folks were guessing before the Wii was announced: holographic projection. Obviously they've spent the past 6 years perfecting the technology. Someone must have seen an early prototype, and that's where the rumor originally came from.

Oh, and 256-bit friend codes. You know you want them.

But who am I kidding? I have a 7 and 4 year old. Whatever the WiiToo has, I'll have in my living room.

While they had a holographic projection unit on display at a recent conference, they noted it was not anything they would be producing to put on the market any time in the forseeable future.

The thing with holograms is that I see them more like watching a theatre performance (as in, people on a stage), rather than watching something projected on a screen. You're looking into something.

LarryC wrote:

I discuss video games on message boards and listen to multiple gaming podcasts. I love my Wii and have over 70 titles for it. I fully believe that Nintendo will continue to make products that I can appreciate.

Given your oft-professed and obviously-sincere love for the Wii, I have absolutely no doubt that that is true. I think it can safely be said at this point that you're in the minority, however, at least when it comes to dudes on message boards. Heck, even when it comes to the population at large; I seriously doubt the typical Wii gamer has an attach rate of over 70 games. In any case, whatever thread runs through those 70 titles of yours that makes you love them, it doesn't seem to do much for me or for most (as you put it) "traditional" gamers.

My point is that Nintendo has already got your dollar. Whatever they're doing, it works for you. To get my dollar as well, they'd need to invest in a full generational leap over the current HD systems (as opposed to just matching or 1.5ing them), at least one full year before Sony and Microsoft do the same thing, and without driving the price beyond what people are willing to pay. Any less and I'll almost certainly continue to be perfectly happy with the competition, and anyway, why would they bother when they're sure to make money hand over fist without trying to tackle that particular insane balancing act?

I will watch what Nintendo does next with considerable interest, because what they do has a huge effect on this hobby as a whole. I wish them all the success in the world with it. I just have no illusions that it'll be something that will appeal to me personally enough to make me open my wallet, and when they make noises about getting online right or courting third parties or appealing to the hardcore-- promises they've been making, in some cases, for the past two or three console cycles-- well, they can put up or shut up, but I'm done getting excited about promises.

hbi2k wrote:

To get my dollar as well, they'd need to invest in a full generational leap over the current HD systems (as opposed to just matching or 1.5ing them), at least one full year before Sony and Microsoft do the same thing, and without driving the price beyond what people are willing to pay.

To get my dollar, all they really need to do is make a new Smash Brothers game with good online play. I'm such a chump.

Looks like I have 21 Wii titles. Some that I dearly love, wouldn't give up for anything, and am glad I have the system to play. Boom Blox 2, Mario Kart, Metroid Prime Trilogy, Muramasa, RE4, NSMB, SMG1, SMG2, SSBB, Tiger Woods 10, and both Wii Sports titles. Of course only 4 of those are 3rd party, so yeah, there's the issue that's been mentioned already, 3rd party support. And while Mario and Smash might have some casual crossover, they have their core appeal and difficulty to really dig in and beat the hell out of them. So BB2 and Wii Sports are the only "casual" titles I love on the Wii, while the amount of casual titles on the system is well up in the hundreds...

That really brings up one of the strengths of Nintendo's design and conflicts with a lot of other companies designs though. Games are generally either casual or core, and it's pretty clear which. But anyone can pick up Mario, Zelda, or most Nintendo titles, and play and have fun. Yet the same titles can be brutally difficult to complete to 100%, thus rewarding both audiences. Guitar Hero/Rock Band seem to get that right, where almost anyone can screw around on Easy guitar or vocals and finish songs and have fun. But Hard/Expert are brutal challenges that take lots of practice and skill. Somehow Nintendo generally manages to do it without difficulty levels though.

hbi2k:

I don't think it's right to put the onus on Nintendo about courting third parties. They've even gone so far as to whore their first party IPs to third parties willing to work with them, and they've given EA hand in hand support on the release of WM+ with Tiger Woods. Third parties also don't cite a reluctance by Nintendo to support their efforts. Generally, they give non-reasons like lack of an audience or some such malarkey to justify the sandbagging of the Wii console. For my part, I just think they don't want Nintendo to dominate the industry.

Whatever the reason, it's not because Nintendo is throwing walls up the market. Heck, Apple's a lot more abusive and they got devs flooding into their App store.