No More GameCube, Wii 2.0 On the Far Horizon 153
The little purple machine that could is no longer being manufactured. Hardware revisions are in store for the Nintendo Wii eventually. These announcements aren't terribly shocking, but they're still interesting admissions from Perin Kaplan, Vice President of Marketing & Corporate Affairs for Nintendo of America. GameDaily has the interview, which also discusses Wii sales, the lull in games, new IPs, and some details on plans online. Don't worry, you won't have to buy a new Wii anytime soon. Kaplan is immediately talking about the planned Japanese version with DVD Playback capability, but does say 'Sure, absolutely' to the question of whether we'll eventually see hardware changes on the order of the DS/DS Lite.
Wii 2.0 will need a new name (Score:5, Funny)
Re:Wii 2.0 will need a new name (Score:5, Funny)
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Re:Wii 2.0 will need a new name (Score:5, Funny)
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Wait a minute... (Score:4, Funny)
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For those in the Calgary who are Wii hunting, redflagdeals.com has a very usefull thread tracking Wii deliveries. clicky [redflagdeals.com]
Where's My Zapper??!!! (Score:5, Insightful)
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Why are you even reading / posting to a thread like this then?
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Wii-tf (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:Wii-tf (Score:5, Insightful)
What tactics? They brought out hardware, saw what people liked and what they didn't like, and brought out new software. This continued over time. GB was a winner, but they eventually made it smaller, and we got pocket. 100% compatibility. GB Color had a flat design so GBA got one. Both units have incredible back-compatibility. People bitched about the screen being exposed, so they made a flip unit. Then they made the DS, it was still flip. Then later they did a shrink of the DS and we got a DS Lite. And still, backwards compatible.
In other words, what we got was a sort of hardware version of release early, release often. And at no time did anyone from Nintendo come to your head and hold a gun to your head and force you to buy it, nor did they ever invalidate your software library. The game I play most often on my GBA SP is Tetris... the cart that I used to stick into my original paperback-book-sized Game Boy.
Who cares if they bring out new consoles with new functionality? No one made you buy a Wii. I still don't have one - of course, many people have trouble just finding them, but I haven't actually even tried because I like to wait and see what games are coming out before I buy anything and there's not a lot available right now.
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Goomba Color (Score:2)
Is there a flash cart + emulator solution for [GBC games on GBA platform]?
Yes, you can emulate single-player Game Boy games on a Game Boy Advance or on a Nintendo DS in GBA mode using the Goomba Color [pocketheaven.com] emulator.
I don't even know where to look for that kind of stuff anymore since the evil bastards at Sony summoned Satan all over Lik-Sang.
Froogle perhaps [google.com]? What about gbadev.org's list of retailers [gbadev.org]?
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That the DS plays GBA games is just icing on the cake apparently.
Although we can probably expect at some point support for original Gameboy/GBC carts drops off even from the direct Gameboy line.
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Re:Wii-tf (Score:4, Insightful)
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Would you like some cheese with your whine?
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Now if they release an updated platform every 3-6 months then it is a different story
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Re:Wii-tf (Score:5, Informative)
If they do that, then less people buy the system up front, the developers defect to other platforms, and the platform fails.
They are treating consumers the way they want to be treated. Consumers demonstrate the way they want to be treated by spending money (or failing to) in response to stimulus.
In particular the Dreamcast debacle really proves that words can kill. Of course, those words didn't harm Sony, even though they were provably fraudulent and uttered by a Sony Exec.
The simple fact is that revisions are the norm, not the exception. There's three versions of Atari 2600 (VCS, 2600, 2600 revision 2, the slim one) that I recall. There's two NESes. There's two SNESes. There's two Genesis systems, and even two Sega CD addons. Two Playstations. Two PS2s. Two fucking colecovision systems. Two TurboGrafx16 systems, not counting TurboXpress, and two different TurboCD addons. Really, anyone who doesn't expect a system to be redesigned should have their head examined.
I gotta ask? (Score:2)
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If you're going to be pedantic about the Genesis, then the 2600 had six Atari-branded hardware versions:
6-switch
4-switch (with woodgrain and black case color variations)
5200 adapter (plays 2600 games on a 2-port 5200 and on the last revision of the 4-port 5200)
2600 Jr.
Atari 7800 (included the 2600 chipset for backwards compatibility)
Flashback 2 (2600 on an ASIC)
...and maybe a couple more if you don't count Atari-branded gear (I think Jakks came out with a joystick and a paddle unit with a real 2600-o
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It's not hard to figure out that if you wait 6 months, you can get a better computer at the same price from Dell/Apple/HP. People don't go whining nearly as much about that and computers can cost up to $3,000.
Meanwhile, you're slagging Nintendo for upgrading their $200 or less hardware every 2 years?
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You do realize every single one of those games and controllers will work with the future version. So at most you might have to rebuy the $250 base console, which by the time the new version is out could cost $200 or less.
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I would have wished that it got more powerful, but I doubt that will happen since Nintendo isn't likely to leave the old units without new titles == therefor they can't rely on better hardware == no hw upgrades.
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Like Sega Genesis upgrades? (Score:2)
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Whiny! (Score:2)
Settle down - that means you've still got a while to wait.
But it's not like they "tricked" you.
Any early adopter to any platform of anything has got to realize that there will be later, greater versions that come out, for even less money. You buy the console now, because you want it now. Not because they promise to stop innovating for your specified amount of time.
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Yes ... but traditionally console early adopters have had to deal with possible bugs in the hardware (early 360s bricking for instance), not early obsolescence of the hardware (which has traditionally lasted about 5 years... ~7-10 if you lo
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You're absolutely right. The Wii doesn't become obsolete until games come out that require a feature it doesn't have.
Kinda like how the XBox360 Core (sans hard-drive) isn't obsolete until most games that come out require a Hard-Drive.
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What has this got to do with Nintendo? No Nintendo hardware revision has ever broken backwards compatibility. In fact, NIntendo even maintains some forward compatibility between console generations - Lots of GameBoy Color games also worked on the GameBoy.
Please tell me one example where a Nintendo console became obsolete because a revision of that console contained a feature which was req
Re:Wii-tf (Score:5, Insightful)
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So basically, people are getting screwed over because Nintendo releases a better version in less than 2 years, and they have no way to anticipate it.
Thank GOD I read this post. Otherwise I would have been completely off guard with no means of anticipating any
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someone needs to read their history [wikipedia.org].
Re:Wii-tf (Score:4, Insightful)
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Re:Wii-tf (Score:5, Insightful)
Um, are you completely ignoring that the usual 5 years between consoles is for completely new consoles, like PS1 -> PS2 or N64 -> Gamecube, right? DS -> DS Lite is nothing like that, because it's the same platform. Any game that plays on the DS Lite also plays on the DS just as well. Games are no different for the GBA SP than the GBA.
The only thing in your list that is even comparable to a new console release is the Game Boy Color, because games were written differently to take advantage of it. Of course people were complaining that the gameboy platform hadn't changed in about a decade, and it's true it was overdue for some change. A lot of people welcomed it, but apparently some people don't like progress.
I mean each of these minor revisions fixed problems with the previous one. Why is that "screwing" you, again? Because Nintendo should have had the better screens and the smaller form-factors to begin with? As if they strategically held back these advances to "force" you to upgrade again... In reality, they did it because at the time they launched the consoles, that was what they could afford to have. Releasing the "better" version of the console two years earlier would have meant that it cost much more, and then I'm certain you would be bitching about that.
Actually, that's a good question... Do you bitch about price drops in consoles, because you got "screwed over" when they didn't tell you in advance that they'd be dropping the price on such and such day by such and such amount? Or do you instead take the approach that the console was worth what you paid for it when you got it? In which case, why is that not true with your DS/GBA/Wii? Your console didn't get worse when the newer version came out.
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When they release upgraded systems they make them compatible with the original system, so you're stil
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It's not like you have to buy every version that comes out. You can buy a Wii now, and when Wii 1.5 comes out, you can upgrade if it's worth t
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How is that getting screwed over? You still have the hardware you bought. It still works with the games you bought, as well as new games being produced. You obviously thought the hardware was worth $XXX when you bought it, with that particular set of specs in that particular year - it doesn't retroactively lose value (as in, it was still worth the same when y
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Noone forces you to upgrade and why shouldn't they get rid of any bugs and annoyencies later noticed?
Who knows, maybe even xbox360 will get hd-dvd builtin and hdmi, or ps3 will get hd-dvd support if bluray fails, or whatever.
Maybe even Microsoft releases a better OS, OHNO, I HAVE TO PAY FOR THAT!?! (Ok, it sucks for OS X since the updates are so small.)
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I suspect Nintendo will be changing the system dramatically to lower-cost (65nm process in 2007, 45nm process in 2008), minor upgrades (2/4 GB built in flash), and make it more pleasant looking.
huh? (Score:2)
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It's not _that_ bad! (Score:2)
Failing that they make good hand me downs... err.. presents for siblings or fiends. (I hope my bros isn't reading this. He got my old DS as a prezzy!).
Also, a lot of people enjoy collecting. I know people who have collected several (or all) variants of a machine just to build a collection and hardware updates especially useful, as Drinkypoo said, is when your SW catalogue isn't mad
Good. (Score:2)
DVD Playback + Wii 2.0 (Score:5, Insightful)
I am sure any Wii 2.0 will be much like the Playstation2/Plastation 2 Slim, or the Playstation/PS One type of upgrade. You know, CPU and GPU manufactured with a 60nm of 45nm technolgy resulting in lower power consumption and lower heat dissipation resulting in smaller headt sinks etc. I doubt the feature spec will be much, if at all different.
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Duh? The Wii has a DVD drive. It can read DVDs. It can also play movies (which you can do right now if you load them up in the right format on an SD card). Thus I would say it's pretty obvious that everything is in place to be able to play DVDs. I'd guess the only thing missing is MPEG2 decoder software and a nice interface. The former requires licensing fees that could increase the price of
Re:DVD Playback + Wii 2.0 (Score:5, Informative)
The drive is basically a DVD drive with custom firmware that reads disks encoded at Constant Angular Velocity rather than Constant Linear Velocity. (Basically, the disc always spins at the same speed in the Wii/Gamecube while regular DVDs slow down as the laser approaches the edge of the disc.) A simple firmware update would probably "fix" the drive to be able to read both types of discs. Unfortunately, drives that aren't rated for movie use are more likely to burn out early. (Something that happened to a lot of PS2s.) So Nintendo will probably release a different console with a sturdier drive. Something for which they'll pass the cost along to the consumer.
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From what I've heard the rumours about the disc spinning constantly or backwards compared to normal drives were myths from the GameCube discs, which turned out to be regular DVDs with a slightly different encoder or something.
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The backwards spin *is* a myth. However, the Constant Angular Velocity is the encoding of which you're thinking about. When you write a disc with CAV, the data spaces out differently than the more tightly packed CLV technology. However, it's easier on the motor because the motor doesn
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Wii through (first party) component looks great. Just FYI...
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But HDCP does not change the picture. Beside that, DVI supports HDCP as well, and HDMI works without HDCP. There's simply no difference (provided that your monitor supports HDCP at all, and the implementation doesn't have any bugs).
Ad-whoring jerkfaces... (Score:2, Informative)
GameDaily BIZ: The Wii did quite well this holiday season. At last count Nintendo sold over 3.19 million units worldwide. Did you expect to sell that many or did that level of success surprise you a bit?
Perrin Kaplan: We actually projected really strong numbers like that before our launch, because any public company needs to do that... But again it was a really high risk to bring out something that innovative and different and we are really kind of in awe that consumers are so high on the product. I mean
::sigh:: oh you silly console fanboys... (Score:2)
I myself have been playing video games both on consoles and on the PC since the commodore 64. If there is one thing I have learned as an avid PC gamer, it's this:
Never expect your top of the line system to be top of the line the day after you buy it.
Technology advances. Things change. New releases are let out, and people buy them because they are better. See, Nintendo released their product, heard what the public did and did not like about it, and are going to change it
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I'm not saying it is going to happen tomorow, but I suspect that if you bought a top of the line system [alienware.com] that it would take several years before you could no longer meet the minimum requirements of new games. Another thing I noticed is that there are Millions of people who are playing World of Warcraft, which is a 2 year old game that wasn't that (graphically) impressiv
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Sure, people will buy better hardware when the time and money asks for it. It's not like I should upgrade my graphics card every 6 months just because the manufacturer put out new stuff that is capable of a few more million polygons per second...
I find the usual 5 year console cycle for hardware technology just right. There's actual effort from software makers to get optimizations out of the aging h
Consoles over, but not the games (Score:5, Informative)
Only last year was the last Dreamcast game released (in Japan), and the system has been out of production for at least four years. Every once in a while a PS1 game is still released, because it can work on the PS2. Since the Gamecube will be cheaper to produce for than the Wii, and there's a fairly good chance that many of the consumers will have the 'Cube controllers or easily get them.
The PS3 will also see a lot of this with PS2 games, especially with the massive increase of PS3 production costs.
Gamecube controllers will probably also see continued production by third parties, seeing as how they can be used with VC games and are generally cheaper than the Classic controller.
It does look like Nintendo is ditching the Gamecube internally, though.
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I heard it received rave reviews from both Dreamcast owners.
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Well, I have to hit it a bit first.
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I did RTFA, and it ends with this:
There will be no more 1st-party games for the gamecube. There *may* be 3
Wii DVD player in US (Score:2)
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There are 2 USB ports if I am not mistaken, so if one is reserved for the network, there is still space for an HD.
Wii Colors. (Score:2)
Yeah, who wants to bet that will be one of the 'upgrades'? Every Nintendo thing has come in multiple colors, I don't see them stopping that now.
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That would actually make sence from Nintendo's 'Keep it simple' philosophy. A Single cable for video and sound as well as auto enable progressive scan (as I have yet to see a SDTV support HDMI).
Re:nice (Score:5, Informative)
I don't think they need a new hardware revision for that. The Wii (like the early Gamecubes) uses a custom cable connector. That connector sends the data in its own format that can then be translated into Composite or Component. (Depending on which "cables" you use.) I imagine that an HDMI "cable" for the existing hardware is not out of the question. Just not very useful at the moment.
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The connector has signal wires for the various parts of component signals. There's no signal wires for digital. Thus, there's no way to do digital out (say, HDMI) without a new connector.
Re:Fine Line For Nintendo (Score:5, Insightful)
The Wii launch lineup is far better than the DS, or the PS2 for that matter... anyone who disagrees can have my copy of Fantavision.
You're obviously not a puzzle game fan (Score:2)
There was absolutely nothing to play except for a barely playable port of Mario 64. I thought I had wasted my money for over a YEAR.
You didn't like matching the panels. I did. I knew I would like it because I liked Tetris Attack.
The Wii launch lineup is far better than the DS, or the PS2 for that matter... anyone who disagrees can have my copy of Fantavision.
<sarcasm>You mean the Apple IIGS precursor to Flash [wikipedia.org]?</sarcasm> Still, you didn't like matching the fireworks. I did.
Point: I agree that it takes a while for any console to build up a variety of titles that everyone can relate to. This is as true for Wii as it is for any other system. I myself am waiting for Animal Crossing Thwii because I beat the GameCube version yesterday.
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How do you "beat" Animal Crossing?
Re: Beating Animal Crossing... (Score:5, Funny)
How do you "beat" Animal Crossing?
You build the biggest house possible, buy at least 1 of every item including all NES games, and owe nothing. At that point the only thing Tom Nook can sell you is time with his wife effectively making Tom your bitch for a change.
What is a side quest? (Score:2)
You build the biggest house possible, buy at least 1 of every item including all NES games, and owe nothing.
The biggest house and owe nothing part is easy and can be accomplished in 60 days. But isn't filling the catalog a side quest? The dialogue in the first hour of ACPG makes it clear that paying off your house (1,413,600 Bells) and getting the statue is at least part of the game's main mission but does not mention any other missions comparable to beating Sephiroth in FF7. (Ignore Uncyclopedia.) Besides, a lot of items just aren't available in your town. In fact, there are four NES games that neither Nook nor
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Then you STEAL THEM! Anyway, I was joking. I have no idea how you would beat Animal Crossing. I figure it's kinda like Nintendogs (another game I don't own) where it really is a big sandbox game with no real point of closure. You just play to play.
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In fact, it was Meteos which made me feel like the DS might have something going for it after all
Dog Hunt (Score:2)
I too am waiting for a Mii-enabled Animal Crossing Three
I thought Mii clothing could be only one color. Even ACPG allowed up to 15 colors in a 32x32 pixel texture for clothing. I wonder how Nintendo plans to reconcile these, and how it plans to reconcile charging for haircuts in ACWW with the predefined haircuts of Mii Channel.
that uses Wii Sims houses.
If you want The Sims Thwii, you know where to find it.
And will there be a sequel to Duck Hunt for the Wii
Wii Play.
involving small miniature dogs?
Can't say. I tried Dog Hunt [i-mockery.com] in Internet Channel, but it was too laggy.
Re:Dog Hunt, Mii in Wii games (Score:2)
I think as I read the plans, it sounds like you can Import your Mii into Animal Crossing for the Wii and Sims for the Wii (which I will call Wii Animal Crossing and Wii Sims) - once they are imported, you can modify their clothing (using p
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But it's possible the other characters - lion, eagle, bear, etc - might not be eligible, even though I've seen a number of people do really lame Sims 2: Pets versions of bears and l
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