The Wii 2 Thread (formerly Alex's Wii 2011 Rant Thread)

[alexjlopez]

The question of whether a Blu Ray drive will be included keeps bouncing around the usual circles, which I think is part of the equation when it comes to gauging just how far into the "multimedia" side Nintendo will go. Personally, with those players becoming so relatively inexpensive from a consumer standpoint, I think it's hard for a game system to create value by increasing it's overall costs for something people can buy for $100 these days as a standalone player. But will a standard DVD do the trick in terms of storage for "next gen" games? Even Microsoft (who has officially stated they won't use Blu Ray) is tinkering with new disc formats to get more space and combat piracy.

For me (primarily thinking as a collector) I'd like to see the return of game carts with Project Cafe. Flash memory has gotten cheaper to produce and carts are less prone to damage from scratches, etc. It works for DS/3DS, I don't think it's too far a stretch to think carts could make a comeback in some shape or form.

As far as the multimedia stuff goes, I think Wii's success with Netflix (more people watch Netflix on Wii than any other console) along with 3DS's prospects for Netflix as well as 3D movies kind of shakes things up a bit. But I think they'll always market themselves as a game system first.

[Bill_Loguidice]

Even if Nintendo included a Blu-Ray drive - which I consider extremely unlikely - there's no guarantee they'll enable movie playback. They never bothered with the Wii and never showed any interest in that type of thing in the past. Microsoft has apparently found a way to pack another GB on a regular DVD for the 360, so there's no reason to think that some type of on-the-fly compression wouldn't work on a Wii 2 and/or similar regular DVD data packing. With that said, you would think it would just be easier to go the Blu-Ray route, assuming the drive can be spun fast enough and it doesn't raise associated costs too much (particularly if you don't need to license any of the audio or movie playback stuff).

I don't see "carts" on a console. While say a 16GB high speed SD card would probably make a fine cartridge - and in fact that would eliminate the need for onboard system storage since you could save all your game data on the card - I just wonder how practical that is in comparison to pressing discs (which can't be accidentally written over by users) and what type of piracy issues that might represent.

[alexjlopez]

Even if Nintendo included a Blu-Ray drive - which I consider extremely unlikely - there's no guarantee they'll enable movie playback. They never bothered with the Wii and never showed any interest in that type of thing in the past. Microsoft has apparently found a way to pack another GB on a regular DVD for the 360, so there's no reason to think that some type of on-the-fly compression wouldn't work on a Wii 2 and/or similar regular DVD data packing. With that said, you would think it would just be easier to go the Blu-Ray route, assuming the drive can be spun fast enough and it doesn't raise associated costs too much (particularly if you don't need to license any of the audio or movie playback stuff).

I don't see "carts" on a console. While say a 16GB high speed SD card would probably make a fine cartridge - and in fact that would eliminate the need for onboard system storage since you could save all your game data on the card - I just wonder how practical that is in comparison to pressing discs (which can't be accidentally written over by users) and what type of piracy issues that might represent.

Discs are cheaper without a doubt, but you get what you pay for, right? They don't last over time, and it's my observation that people value them less because they have tons of them laying around (DVD's, music cds, etc.). There's something special about holding a video game cart, and I think to Iwata's point about the devaluation of video games, it would be a (admittedly superficial) gesture that you're getting a piece of tech when you buy a console video game.

I know, it's a stretch, but I really would love to see it, and think it would be a bold move. I didn't even think about your point with regards to the storage implications, but heck yeah--there could be space available on each cart for additional DLC, even game patch data.

As far as piracy issues are concerned, a proprietary cart would require a special interface to dump game images, while standard DVD's and Blu Ray's can be popped into just about any PC and either dumped or duplicated. It's a step in the right direction, but ultimately neither format can stop pirates who easily dump and distribute DS carts every day.

[Shane R. Monroe]

My money is against Nintendo putting a blu ray player in the unit.

Nintendo has ACTIVELY KILLED media playback on the Wii - sure, Netflix is a huge winner - but Nintendo did nothing to foster it except give it permission. Notice no one every came out with a legal "DVD player" addon? Should have been totally easy to do - the only thing stopping it is - right, Nintendo.

They REMOVED MP3 playback from their system software. I think that speaks volumes of Nintendo's "commitment" to supporting media playback.

Blu ray also would create a dependence to Sony (yes, I'm FULLY aware that Sony does not fully own the Blu ray format) - which is apparent to me that neither Microsoft nor Nintendo desire.

IF a BR drive goes in there, they will keep it as low key as possible and you won't be watching movies on it.

Just my predictions.

[alexjlopez]

Rumors gathered by GoNintendo from IGN's latest podcast:

- should be significantly more powerful than the Xbox 360 and PS3
- “surprisingly” powerful rumor was originally out there two months ago, but it was dismissed early on
- information is coming directly from people who are developing games for the system
- they say the system does exist, and the information is not rumor but unverified
- real controller is comparable to “an iPad stuck in the middle of a Dreamcast controller.”
- six-inch touchscreen in-between the dual analog sticks and triggers
- capacitative screen that is unlikely to support multi-touch
- system will supposedly be “announced in some manner before E3”
- upcoming shareholder meeting on April 26th is the most logical date
- not sure they believe the Rockstar/GTAV rumor
- may see release in first or second quarter of 2012, but late 2012 still seems more likely
- “…developers with kits are saying the controller looks like a standard controller but with an LCD and touch screen fused in the middle”
- “…this would be ideal for co-op types of games where the experienced player could be playing on the big screen, while your Dad or little brother who suck, can play co-op with some smaller type of role being played on a separate controller on the little screen.”

[ChairoNoMe]

I really hope these rumors are false. If it's just a controller with a built-in-touch screen that really isn't as paradigm-shifting as the Wii was. Plus that would REALLY be expensive for multiplayer. Even if they got the price for the controller down to $80 each that's still pushing it.

[alexjlopez]

I really hope these rumors are false. If it's just a controller with a built-in-touch screen that really isn't as paradigm-shifting as the Wii was. Plus that would REALLY be expensive for multiplayer. Even if they got the price for the controller down to $80 each that's still pushing it.

I think the precedents are already set: we've had a $60 controller since Wii launched ($40 Wiimote, $20 nunchuck). A complete Move controller is $80 ($50 for lollipop, $30 for nunchuck). I don't see how a controller as it's being described with this touch screen can come in at anything less than $80 and I could see it easily coming in at $100.

People wanted cutting edge...

[WorknMan]

Alright, look... I'm callin' it now; this whole thing about an HD touch screen on the controller is a load of BS. Do you really want a controller where you have to charge the battery every 5 hours? Nintendo ain't that dumb.

And didn't they already consider the idea of a DS-like controller for the Wii and rejected it?

[Chris]

More from IGN....

- should be backwards compatible with Wiimotes
- Project Cafe controller may have some sort of gyroscopic control
- still saying the platform is significantly more powerful than 360/PS3
- Project Cafe controller with built-in screen is indeed the platform's main control scheme
- Nintendo wants to launch in Q1 or Q2 2012 if possible
- controller will most likely not be able to retain any data of its own
- for streaming game content from console to controller, there will most likely be a range for data transfer, and the system will have to be powered on
- controller's internal guts should mostly be related to the buttons and content streaming
- another statement saying that Project Cafe games will be at E3, but will most likely not be playable

[ChairoNoMe]

Alright, look... I'm callin' it now; this whole thing about an HD touch screen on the controller is a load of BS. Do you really want a controller where you have to charge the battery every 5 hours? Nintendo ain't that dumb.

And didn't they already consider the idea of a DS-like controller for the Wii and rejected it?

Yes, I'm going with that.

Whatever it is, I imagine it building on the Wii controller design, not detracting from it. Hopefully they'll add a new thing totally out of left field like Nintendo tends to do.