One month, people...just one month! In North America, the Wii U is exactly one month from launch! This is it, gang...the final countdown. Hurry up and get here, November! See you in a few, short hours.
Nintendo is absolutely, positively great at keeping secrets. They can keep most of their big reveals under wraps without anyone knowing what is going on. Just look at two of their most recent surprise reveals. No one heard a single peep about Nintendo TVii and Bayonetta 2 prior to Nintendo's unveiling. I'm still amazed at how good of a job they do.
The thing is, sometimes that secretive nature comes back to bite them in the ass. It's great to learn about surprise products like those mentioned above, but sometimes Nintendo keeps things so quiet that we don't learn about them until we go hands-on with retail versions. Case in point, the online interactions of the Wii U, as well as Miiverse.
To this very day, Nintendo hasn't really explained much of Miiverse. We know, on a basic level, what the service does. We know how to interact with it and what to expect out of it. Besides that, we don't know much of anything else. When will we learn of the finer details like friend limits, how content is filtered, the friend-adding process and more?
Going hand-in-hand with that is the Wii U's online offerings as a whole. Nintendo keeps promising that their online offerings will be bigger and better than ever before. It's great to hear that, but it's nervewracking to think that the system comes out in one month, but we're yet to see how all of that stuff works. What does the Wii U eShop look like? How are we going to access it? What's the friend list setup like? When even third parties admit to being in the dark, you have to wonder what's going on behind the scenes.
What's our hope of learning more details on these topics before launch? I guess we can look towards another Nintendo Direct. I'm sure more are going to come, but will they give us those details? We can also cross our fingers for an Iwata Asks on the topics, since the recent features seem to go quite in-depth on a number of aspects. Let's hope that somehow, all this info is cleared up before launch day.
What Wii U information are you still waiting to find out? Any burning questions that you think should have been answered by now?
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Shouldn't the title be "the mysteries" instead of "the mysterious"?
I too would like to know more about the online but even from the little I have seen, I'm very excited and can't wait to get my hands on it.
Good thing it already has it. SpotPass, Miiverse, probably some leaderboards...
Oh, you mean online multiplayer? Oh, then why didn't you say so? It probably won't have it, because it'll most likely suck, what with the tinest bit of lag fucking up EVERYONE's groove, especially with a game like NSMBU being all precision and patience.
But I digress, I wish people would stop thinking that the Wii is Nintendo's only example of online and it would be "hard to believe" that it would get better. Obviously it will, so stop being so skeptic.
Hell, if the heavily supported (read: believable) rumors are true, the friend code system is like Steam's: everyone has friend codes, but its only to have individuality even with people who share the exact same user name.
"lack some features"
By which you mean, features that are STANDARD in the industry, and have been for years?
It is a VERY rare circumstance for a main disc release, multiplayer focused retail game to NOT have online.
If anything, it's become a non-common occurence for games to offer split screen (which is a whole other issue, really). If NSMBU doesn't have online at launch the only excuse is Nintendo being lazy or not knowledgeable enough, straight up.
Online multiplayer isn't some complex mystery or rare circumstance. It's been the norm for the past 5 years. I honestly don't expect NSMBU will have it, which in and of itself reflects my pessimism toward the company when it comes to keeping up with industry standards.
Now, that said, they DO pretty consistently come up with imaginative games with lots of great level design. I'm sure their launch games won't disappoint. And Nintendo Land, that one makes SOME amount of sense to not have online because its multiplayer is more complex. NMSBU does not have complex multiplayer by comparison. There's just not a good excuse for it if it's not there -- it's straight up either Nintendo not having its crap figured out or them just being too lazy to bother implementing it. Either way, when Nintendo themselves aren't pushing online as a function at launch, that's kind of a problem with the perception of the console at large.
I'm excited for Wii U, but sadly, as of right now, it's kind of more just for my own personal use as of launch, as I am expecting very little from their online presence from the get-go. I hope to be proven wrong, believe me, but I'm keeping my expectations in line with what Nintendo has presented in the past and what they've shown us of the Wii U thus far, which is still BAFFLINGLY little, given that they're expecting tons of people to buy one ASAP.
[quote="D3stiny_Sm4sher"]Mindless jabber[/quote]
I love it when you people's only reason on why NSMBU should have online multiplayer is because "everyone else does it". Amazing.
We do know some stuff (at least that certain online functionality) is possible and while we don't have specifics nailed down, what we've heard runs the gamut from the most basic (leaderboards) to more complex (league play). I'm not really worried. People hoping for parity with other platforms (as in, unless the Wii U has ever feature the 360, PS3, and Steam have it's a failure) are probably going to be disappointed (or pleased in some cases) since Nintendo will likely not try to have every single feature copied from their competitors. What they will have are many new implementations that are unique to what Nintendo can offer and I'm actually more interested in that than having it be exactly what my 360 can do (which I personally care little about). Although from what we've heard, if it was important to 3rd parties, Nintendo tried to make it happen.
If 3DS's online stuff has shown us anything, it's that Nintendo has already improved on their online functionality over the Wii and all signs point to Wii U being better than that as well as introducing new functionality that will improve both (with the Nintendo Network and Miiverse).
It's very unlikely they regress despite all the doom and gloom from naysayers always bringing up how behind Nintendo is.
Besides, they aren't setting aside 1GB of RAM for nothing. Consider that the Xbox 360 OS footprint is 32MB and PS3's is 50MB and you can imagine that Nintendo probably doesn't even need half of 1GB to run everything we know about, I'd hazard a guess that they have big plans for what the system can do outside of gaming.
LittleBigPlanet has 4 player online multiplayer and it works just fine. There is no reason why Nintendo couldn't implement a lag free online multiplayer in NSMBU if they really wanted to.
It should be in there not because everyone else has it but the reality is not everyone has 3 other friends that will all come over and play NSMBU at a drop of a hat. For the older gamer with job and other responsibilities they should be able to pop in the game and get online with some of their gamer buddies or even make some new friends playing with strangers and play a few levels.
The whole point is if Nintendo is trying to win over the core gamer like they've claimed are then a robust online multiplayer needs to be standard in their games that are feasible. I would never expect Zelda to have online multiplayer but I do expect NSMBU and Pikmin 3 to have it.
This.
I am anxious to see how online and Miiverse works. I just don't think something like NSMBU would benefit from online. The game essentially has to be built around online to work well. Having online play in Mario Kart Wii didn't make up for the fact that it was the worst Mario Kart made. I will take split screen Double Dash anyday.
I understand people wanting a great online presence from Nintendo, I get it. Would I want it to be at the expense of local multiplayer though? Never. In fact, they are one of the few developers that still remembers how great local play can be. I am one of those people that gets together alot with my friends. When the Wii launched, I had some friends over and we played Wii Sports nonstop. That day left me with some of the best gaming memories in history. Something online play will NEVER capture.
Nintendo is Nintendo. They won't change overnight. While it is frustrating at times, the pros always outweigh the cons. If they want to focus on more local play, that is fine by me personally. I know that is infuriating to some, but knowing I can have the same experience with a few friends in 10 years and not worry about servers going down or the game not working propperly because it is so online focused ... that is fantastic. The day Nintendo becomes another "big box" console would truly be a sad one.
Mario Kart Wii is hardly the worst mario kart ever made. That game was fantastic. Additionally, no, the game doesn't have to be built around online to work well. My best friend and her husband moved to Texas, and i'm on rotations for school in south florida with the rest of my friends in north florida (6 hours away)... When this game comes out November 18th, I won't be able to play multiplayer until people visit sometime in late December.
Anyways, i just don't see why you feel that adding online multiplayer for a game like NSMBU in this time of technology would be at the expense of local multiplayer? There is absolutely no reason it should be that way, both Local and Online, at this point, should be superb. The other consoles have been doing it for years.
I am first and foremost always a nintendo-boy, and I let the online interactions slide with the Wii because it was 5 years ago, i was younger, and still able to have people over for local gaming. But in all honesty, i'm starting a real career soon, finishing grad school, and local get-togethers just can't happen anymore. This is the case for many a gamer who grew up on nintendo. They should adapt to us, not the other way around.
If LBP can do it as well as they do Nintendo had absolutely no excuse outside of sheer laziness. How they can charge $60 for such a simple 2D platformer is bad enough, but shipping it without basic features is inexcusable e
How anyone is ok buying into that is beyond me....
RMC the reason we havent heard anything is probably because they know its nothing we ill be happy to hear. For instance, expect friend codes to be making a return. "Revamped friend codes (probably just means 1 per system instead of 1 per game) but friendcodes nonetheless. And I wouldn't be counting on an account based system for eshop either...
Do you even know what Steam is? Steam is not like that AT ALL! It is an account based system with usernames. Nowhere is there a friendcode equivalent.
Maybe they're so good at hiding it because there's nothing to hide....
"Besides, they aren't setting aside 1GB of RAM for nothing. Consider that the Xbox 360 OS footprint is 32MB and PS3's is 50MB and you can imagine that Nintendo probably doesn't even need half of 1GB to run everything we know about, I'd hazard a guess that they have big plans for what the system can do outside of gaming."
I dunno man, after reading the Iwata Asks on the Wii U Gamepad, I think 1 GB set aside for OS was a minimal requirement. That thing is doing some serious zero lag processing. The camera on the Gamepad is doing even more work!
The closest recent game to NSMBU, Rayman Origins, which also sports multiplayer co-op does not have online either. I don't think that is a coincidence.
Now, I can't claim to be an expert on multiplayer networking, but I think that you're misunderstanding how 'complexity', as you call it actually figures into smooth multiplayer. It is not about the amount of information flowing about, but the latency and reliability of delivering that data. There are some great articles out there about just how inherently bad the Internet is for this kind of thing, no matter how fast your connection.
There is a huge amount of compensation for this going on in most games, and it works well enough. However, I would imagine when you have something where the controls need to be super tight like Mario (or apparently Rayman) this becomes a huge problem and compensating in the usual way just degrades the experience.
I know someone else mentioned LBP as an example, but from what I played of it, its controls were kinda loose and laggy in comparison (which is fine because it fitted with the feel of the game - the magic of LPB was not tight platforming), so I don't think it was much of a problem.
As I said, apart from reading the occasional technical article on this kind thing, my knowledge on the subject is limited and so I'm more than happy to be corrected
tl;dr:
I believe that there is more to this than Nintendo being lazy, or dumb.
I'm not sure my main "burning question" is strictly for Nintendo, but is more for the 3rd party companies: Will a specific game I purchase for the Wii U be supported in the same way that the same specific game will be supported on Xbox & PS3?
As an example, if I buy Black Op's 2 for the Wii U, will you be giving me all the future map packs and other DLC add-ons that will be given to the Xbox and PS3 versions?
Activision has stated that they want Elite on the Wii U but have not stated that it is positively coming.... only that they are "working" on things. This makes me pause and ponder.
I'm excited for the Wii U and have one pre-ordered. I hope that 3rd party companies like Activision, Gear Box, EA, UBIsoft, etc publish a lot of games for the Wii U.
But if these 3rd parties aren't going to give me the same gaming experience on the Wii U that they give Xbox & PS3 owners, then my $$$$ will be spent on the Xbox-PS3 version of the game.
Sorry man but it really is laziness is a lot more difficult and resource intensive to program a fps online then programming a2d platformer for online play nintendo just being lazy and let's be honest outside of Assassins Creed to ubi soft isn't exactly known for quality themselves. As fir lag issues 2d fighters havent had that problem in years I am sure NSMB would work fine around for several years now
Nintendo's online plans is a joke. The lack of info in my mind means they really are unsure what they want to do. Just look at the new Mario game and Nintendo Land. Both suited for online multi player, but we get nothing. It's sad they haven't figured it out yet.
Then reading something like this just boggles my mind. It's the Wii all over again. Get a clue Nintendo, it's 2012.
http://kotaku.com/5952858/you-can-voice ... es-a-catch
Yeah, pretty much. NUSMB needs online or something in the online space to grab those core gamers. Simply 'being Mario' isn't enough for some core gamers to get a Mario game anymore. NUSMB has 'social features' but that's a far cry from what people really want from NSMB, which is online co-op.
I must say it is very refreshing to see this logic here. I am so used to Nintendo fans defending $50 offline 2D platformers that I was starting to question how blind they can be, especially after the EoD thread full of people talking about preordering NSMBWU. Nintendo is like any other company they wont change until their profits are affected, that is why I wont buy the game until it has a massive price drop
I'm going one further and not buying NSMBU at all. If Nintendo thinks they can release the same game over and over while ignoring industry standards they're dead wrong. A couple of extra pixels in the resolution is not worth the extra $60 price of admission.
I'm excited to see exactly what Miiverse does but I'm guessing the online system for playing actual games will be broken and useless. This is what I've come to expect from Nintendo. They always promise "it'll be different this time" but they have yet to deliver on the promise.
You know this for sure, or are you just guessing? FPS multiplayer is a well known problem space, with work being done there since DOOM. Most, if not all the major engines include networking, and there are other libraries available. I'd assume (could be wrong) that these would be tuned to the kinds of games that are most popular now rather than twitch 2D platformers. Do the techniques that let FPSs compensate for higher latency apply to something like a 2D Mario?
I know that logic would follow that more complex a game, the harder to implement on-line multiplayer would be, but I think in this case, it is not necessarily true.
If we were talking about a FPS Metroid, or even possibly a 3D Mario, then I'd just have nodded at D3stiny_Sm4sher's post and moved on to the next article (I'm not really interested in NSMBU)
Again, I'm more than happy to be corrected by someone who knows the technical details.
I've passed on the 3ds and I see no reason to support the WiiU at this point. Maybe down the road but nothing I see gets me excited. Now if I could play the new Mario game from start to finish with a friend online that would be great, but it all really just looks like a Wii HD. The controller is nice but they need to at least catch up with the competition with online features for me to really care. It's frustrating because most Nintendo games seem they would be perfect to take online.
Right now, the wii u looks like an over priced version of current systems...oh, only with less features. Wii tv looks like it has everything right there and the touch screen should be very helpful, but other than that?!
Do I really need to buy $60 batman to make him all shinny and to cover up Catwomans boobs?! Yeah, sold me right there. $60, ya say?! Whoa!
Could take to 30 mins to post a moderated post?! Where's the Hitler Youth camps when you need em! They might as well send those two Japanese jerkoffs from the old wii commercial to come to my house and waterboard me next! I might have more fun! This isn't daycare, I don't want comments moderated, I want to see what real people are thinking. And will negative comments be moderated too?! Are we only going to be seeing, "Nintendo, your so coolz?!" yeah, I'll pass on that, thanks!
Having to plug anything into the gamepad is antiquated and just dumb! Not having a system wide party/chat mode like 360 is just out of date and lame.
How can the wii u become my dominate system of choice when most of the current features I want are either made dumb, or just not there?! Whoever is designing this stuff, should NOT be doing so any more! I mean, plug your headset into a brick...have the friggin gamepad hanging off your head by a tether?! Really?! And let's not even talk about the lack of a 2nd circle pad on 3DS.
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