DKC Atlas Forum

[Tiptup Jr.]

http://www.gamespot.com/news/6308718.html?tag=latestheadlines%3Btitle%3B2

Are these just rumors at the moment? Yes, technically, but they seem credible and we all know this was inevitable. Quite frankly I'm excited as f***. I think Nintendo is really about to redeem themselves with the hardcore gamer.

Discuss?

[Jomingo]

Yeah, I've been saying for two years that Nintendo would unveil their next console at E3 2011, while the other two consoles would wait until E3 2012. That's what looks like is gonna happen.

Anyway, although I wasn't really disappointed with this past generation overall, I'm still glad to see the shift of focus to the hardcore. People are saying that this one will have a normal Gamecube styled controller, but with a touch screen on the controller. Very much like the Dreamcast, so I like the idea. I think that has practical applications to all hardcore games without changing up the control style we're used to.

[Tiptup Jr.]

It was pretty much a given that someone would unveil a new console this year, despite everyone saying that the 7th generation would last longer than the others for whatever reason. But yeah, I'm really looking forward to this. Nintendo always delivers (people seem to forget that when the Wii was unveiled everyone thought motion control was the coolest thing ever. Now that we've seen the effects it has on the willingness of quality third parties to even attempt to develop for it, I think focus is shifting more in the middle of casual and hardcore.) It also seems like motion control will not be a huge part of things now, despite people reporting it will be backwards compatible with Wii games.

[Jomingo]

It will be backwards compatible I assume, but that doesn't mean the new controller will have to support that function. If the new controller is drastically different it won't matter because I'll assume they're still using blutooth which means you can still sync a good old remote to it and pop in a Wii game.

They have two options when it comes to wireless: Blutooth 3.0 supports video and audio wirelessly, but it's incredibly expensive so it's unlikely. Instead they'll have both Blutooth 2.0 (like the Wii) and a seperate wireless connector (2.4 GHz) for the video and audio on the little screen.

Next, there are 2 new rumors from last night. First is that Pikmin 3 has jumped to this console to take advantage of the graphics (I'm ok with it skipping the Wii since I'm picturing a gorgeous game right now) and also that Nintendo is really trying to get Rockstar Games to support the console in a big way. This makes me think that they're trying to rectify the issue the Wii had with 3rd parties, since this console will likely be easier to support for cross platform games (what with having equal graphics and semi-normal controls). That's what they need to do because first party titles can't do everything for them. I had to get the Wii for Brawl (and other games later on), but I also had to get a PS3 for all the other great games that never came out on Wii or were inferior on Wii. If I can get the Cafe and not have to get anything else, I'll be happy.

[Tiptup Jr.]

Yeah, from what I can gather it seems this thing WILL be more powerful than the PS3 and 360. That's good, that's a necessity. But Nintendo is really taking a risk here by being the first to step out in the eighth gen... If they want to be able to compete with the PS4 and 720, this thing is gonna need to have some major graphical horsepower. I know it's Nintendo, but I think this might happen. Also it seems like the big "innovator" this time around (I'm afraid to say gimmick) will be the controller. I still don't know how to picture that thing. But yeah, the rumors about Rockstar have me hopeful.

[Jomingo]

Yeah, when the 360 came out first it was massively beneficial for them... at first. However, it backfired for a couple reasons:
1) Nintendo was able to gain success by trying something new and quickly dwarfed both their competitors.
2) Sony was able to incorporate new technologies like Blutooth and Bluray, and although at the time they were far behind they've essentially caught up in sales basically making it a tie. Also, the PS3 can produce better graphics easier because they waited as well as having the superior disk format that paid off in the long run.

So although it looked great for the 360 for a couple years, it probably wasn't best to rush out first (not to mention any.... hardware issues that this caused). However, Nintendo doesn't really have a choice. The Wii's hardware has aged incredibly fast, and now that both competitors have motion controls they don't have that novelty going for them either. They have to come out first.

The only obvious pitfall that I see in their future is this: If the Cafe has roughly equal/slightly better graphics than the PS3, then it will be great... now. But when the PS4 comes out it might be as big a jump in power as the PS2 to PS3 was, which is not what it seems Nintendo is doing. This will be a huge step up from the Wii, but it will probably still be a good deal behind the PS4.

[Blaziken257]

I'm actually kind of annoyed to hear rumors of a new system coming out. I guess it's not much of a surprise, since consoles generally last about 5 or so years, but every time some new system gets announced, I never look forward to the idea of having to shell out hundreds of dollars just to be able to keep up with the most modern games. And since Nintendo's trend lately is to make each console more expensive than the last, I wouldn't be surprised if this new console cost more than US $300.

I don't understand why they're even doing this (if they are). The Wii seems immensely successful, more so than the NES (which was previously Nintendo's most successful system), so why would they pull the plug now? Unless if there are lots of awesome games for this new system, I'll pass on it for a while.

Also, as an aside, the graphics aren't important to me. I care about the gameplay more. I don't even get impressed by graphics much anymore in any case, partly because games in general don't really take full advantage of it these days, using solid, overly shiny colors for everything, and just lacking detail overall.

Oh well, I guess I should hope for the best.

[Jomingo]

The Wii has had constant drops in sales for months. Now that Kinect and Move are out, Nintendo doesn't have the advantage in motion controls anymore, and it's impacting their sales... a lot. They can't keep up for much longer at they rate they're losing sales.

[teh epicnes]

I predict that the console will be $450, and that games will be $60.