Overall, I thought E3 2011 was the best show I have attended, with a stunning number of must play titles coming in 2011 and beyond. And as much as I try to avoid being a hater, I must admit I was very disappointed by Nintendo's unveiling of the Wii successor, the Wii U. I shall explain...
When rumors of the Wii U started to circulate, they included descriptions of a controller with a built in touch screen. This alone did not really concern me, especially if the touch pad was used for game supplementing information or menus. It was when the word "stream" arose as a possible system name, that I became a bit worried. Stream to me indicated a desire to stream the main display, normally on the TV, to the controller. Understanding the expensive hardware required for a live, lag free HD streaming, I knew this would mean significant compromises in the processing power, build quality, and controller battery life, in order to keep the system price reasonable at launch.
Alas, my fears were confirmed at the show when the system was unveiled. The controller is designed as an alternate display for the system. Tradeoffs to make this affordably happen include only one tablet controller able to connect wit the Wii U at a time, an old school plastic touch screen requiring deflection, as opposed to modern capacitive glass touch screens; not to mention obvious decreases in graphical performance. The system will support HD display, but with the Wii U being described as only slightly more powerful than the 360, its compatibility with "core" games will only last a year or so until the next generation of consoles from Microsoft and Sony launches. At that point, core developers will likely abandon the Nintendo platform rather than downgrade their cutting edge experiences. The system will be backwards compatible with the Wii, but no hint has been given what controllers will come in the box or cost.
It appears that in a quest to remain different, Nintendo rushed to deploy what they could do, without really considering what they should do. I mean, who does the new controller appeal to? Only one person can use it, so the family party games Nintendo has catered to are out. You can't use it for motion control games, as they need a TV with a sensor bar. Hard core gamers will prefer an ergonomic controller vs a tablet with tacked on sticks.
And how powerful could the new Wii have been if they sunk all their money into improved processing and graphics, developed a cheap solid controller (like the 360), and tacked on the motion sensor for backwards compatibility? That system would have appealed to the casual gamers and the core gamers and allowed developers to produce games for it, the XBOX 720, and the PS4. Instead, Nintendo is stuck with an awkward console, without a clear audience, that will be obsolete less than a year from launch.
Despite the strange positive reception at E3, the investor and detached analyst reaction to the Wii U has been very skeptical. In fact, Nintendo's stock has dropped 10% since the unveil. I know reaction to the Wii was similar, but this feels very different. The Wii was clearly and smartly targeted to young and casual gamers. The Wii U doesn't have a clear audience or logic in its design. Make no doubt, after a shaky and expensive 3DS launch and with this questionable step, Nintendo is in trouble. And as much as I'd like to think they will reconsider, I expect the Wii U to launch next year in its current form. It will sell, to fanboys, the curious, and off the Wii name recognition alone, but I don't see it destined for anywhere near the success of its predecessor. Sorry Nintendo, as much as I love Zelda, I'll sit this one out.
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad 3G.
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1 comments:
I hate that Nintendo just can't figure out that it doesn't need ridiculous new gimmicks to sell its system. If it relied on producing a varied and interesting set of original games vs trying to upgrade a controller, it would be a true contender in the market. Rather than being the fun system it used to be, Nintendo has allowed its consoles to be driven by unnecessary tarted up controllers and games whose graphics are so poor that having them on the system is a waste. I'm almost embarrassed that I own a Wii right now, and there is no way I'm going to buy the Wii U. It completely destroys what gaming is to me. The other console systems still rely on a basic controller, and thoses systems do just fine, in fact, even better than the Wii, which has become nothing more than a system for elementary school kids and drunk college students.
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