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PixlBit's Wii U Launch Roundtable

The PixlBit staff got together to talk about their excitement for the Wii U. Join Us!

Julian

You bring up a great point, Daniel. I'm not sold on the GamePad entirely, especially since it's raising the cost of a system that by all accounts should be the same price as current gen consoles (if not cheaper).

I hope it's not a gimmick, and it has some good potential, but as someone that buys systems to play video games, features like TVii *shudder* do nothing for me.

Joaquim

Julian, tell me why the Wii U should cost the same as current systems? The GamePad issue aside, of course.

Julian

I have yet to see anything that says to me that the tech inside the Wii U console is better than what's already on the market. We have Activision exclaiming how Black Ops 2 looks "just as good as the 360 and PS3 versions!"



Well, I would hope so, since those machines are 7 and 6 years old, respectively. If the Wii U is the new hotness I want it to show in the games. What I've seen apart from the GamePad is more of the same, and not worth the $349 for the bundle for me.

Joaquim

So you didn't read the tech specs that were released for quite some time? Do you expect third-parties to right off the bat showcase the console's potential (hell not even Nintendo is showcasing it, no excuse, I know) when only Ubisoft seems to be offering a unique title? And you wholeheartedly believe that Activision's PR would say that the top version of one of their highest grossing series is better than the other version, especially given the Xbox 360's inevitable exclusive DLC releases? Blasphemy.

Julian

Tech specs are meaningless until they are put to use. Do I expect a new console to show off all its potential day one? Of course not. Do I expect a new console to show an improvement over current machines? Absolutely.

Patrick

Visually, you won't be able to see too much of a leap in the coming generation, except if you buy one of the 4K TVs for $25,000. Then there will be more pixels, which will allow for greater depth and scale to larger televisions. As it stands, the refinement will be coming more in hertz and frame rates. Everything should be a standard 60, and in almost all cases, eons above 60. I'm interested to see if any of the new consoles will utilize the 240Hz capabilities of the newer, HD TVs, and for what purpose. (Another gimmick!)

As for the Wii U: really, don't we all have too many games to play already? In contrast to Julian, I feel like there is simply too much for me to do at launch and too much that still has to be done in this generation and too much that should have been played by now (by me) and too much that keeps piling up and too many games that get forgotten.

For this gamer, the launch lineup will be mostly forgotten, at least until a 3D MarioU and ZeldaU get released (hopefully with a limited edition Zelda Wii U) and the launch titles have a price drop. Therefore, around three years from now, I might be able to get to the Nintendo titles that will come out later this year.

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#Wii u  #Launch  #Roundtable 

Comments

Michael117

11/15/2012 at 02:39 PM

Great roundtable. I share sentiments from a few different staff members. Like Julian I would like something shiny and new. Like Patrick I think this next generation will be more about performance, animation, frame rate, and simulations. I don't care much about games looking better, I care most about games playing better. Efficient development, better tools, not having to start from scratch with every game, solid high frame rates, handling more complex simulations and interactions. Getting high quality, and free, development tools into the hands of as many people as possible. The more design-tool-literate people out there who can experiment, the better. Gameplay and simulations need to take more ambitious steps, but have great engines to do it with, and not have you go bankrupt just trying to design a system. Gameplay experimentation gets me very excite!

The Wii U gamepad seems pretty cool. I just need to get my hands on it, because even though it looks cool and has interesting functionality, I'm also skeptical because I'm hoping that it isn't too long or uncomfortable. I'm accustomed to playing games that utilize thumbsticks and triggers, but on the 360 controller the spread between each trigger is 3" and the spread between the thumbsticks is a little less than 3". Will it be weird to play a thumbstick/trigger game on a controller the width, shape, and button layout of the Wii U tablet controller? I'm going to go into the Gamestop by my house to see if they have a display Wii U and if they do I'll check it out. It probably won't be as drastic as I imagine, but I won't know till I try.

After all, I've played on weirder controllers before. The Duke was really wide and trying to press some of those buttons was like packing up for a cross country trip. I really like small, light, traditional controller design like the PS3 and 360 controllers. Fairly ergonomic, not too big or small, and for the most part the buttons are all easy to get to. I wonder how many games will be able to use the Wii U's Xbox 360 imitation controller? I'd probably end up using that a lot if it's available.

Joaquim Mira Media Manager

11/15/2012 at 10:38 PM

I tried the gamepad yesterday. I liked it. I even played a bit of the Rayman Legends demo. It worked fine, and felt fine holding it. You should definitely go to wherever the closest Wii U demo kiosk is and try it.

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