What started out as a dream for gamers may be slowly turning into a nightmare for Nintendo. Ostensibly Nintendo’s stab at making a thoroughly modern, graphically competitive console, the Wii U received a mixed reception at E3 2011, with particular scrutiny focused on its unusual tablet controller. Though Nintendo is keen to emphasize the range of gameplay possibilities inherent in the controller’s design, a new report claims that the tech is not working as planned.
Rumored to be at fault is the tablet controller’s primary chipset. Likely a result of Nintendo’s proclivity for using dated, low-cost technology, the chipset apparently lacks the necessary muscle to power the device’s streaming and wireless functions. As a result, developers working on Wii U titles are left using tethered controllers — though those too apparently fail to function properly.
This news comes from French site 01net, source of many of the earliest Wii U rumors. The source is identified only as “A Nintendo Insider,” and while this news should be taken with the requisite serving of table salt, 01net’s record on Wii U rumors thus far counts more hits than misses.
The report goes on to state that Nintendo had been eying a June 2012 release for the Wii U, though the ongoing difficulties with getting the tablet controllers working properly may force them to hold the unit until September. Could that be why Nintendo refuses to put any public timetable on the system’s release date or price until 2012?
This is only the latest in an increasingly long string of issues surrounding the Wii U’s still nameless controller. A number of questions about the hardware sprung up after Nintendo’s E3 2011 press conference, and the answers have been resolutely disappointing. Will the Wii U support multiple tablet controllers? No (and if today’s news is accurate, supporting even one is tricky). Can the controller be played in a separate room from the console? No. Even Nintendo appear to be backing away from some of the unit’s features, suggesting that third parties won’t be required to use the touch screen.
While the Wii U still has public support from such industry luminaries as EA’s Peter Moore, today’s news (if true) makes it ever harder to discount the claim that the system is just a stopgap measure. Particularly in light of the panicked 3DS price drop and the just-announced, borderline embarrassing 3DS Circle Pad attachment, Nintendo appears uncharacteristically erratic. The company is visibly struggling to compensate for its own hardware’s shortcomings.
It would be a shame if the Wii U, once believed to signify Nintendo’s readiness to take the battle directly to Sony and Microsoft, instead became the company’s hardware swan song. Time, and ample good will on the part of gamers, remains for Nintendo to turn this situation around. More than ever, the question has become: can Nintendo deliver?
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Source: 01net
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I think Nintendo has already failed to deliver a 360/PS3 competitor.
Come on… If they release in 2012, it’s a bit late to be boasting about HD graphics, they’re already 6 years late to the party.
Gaming isn’t about graphics, but if the controller is the only thing separating the WiiU from the current 6 year old consoles, then they’re falling short. Even when they release the damn thing, I’m not so sure they’ll be able to deliver a proper online platform, look at the mess 3DS is.
Apart from gimmicks, Nintendo is still stuck a decade in the past. And they do it with confidence and an arrogance way bigger than their competitors. It would not surprise me one bit if this thing bombed.
Nintendo’s only selling point is the promise of a new Zelda and Mario, because we know how Nintendo supports the 3rd party devs.
So THIS, flawed technology, is nothing new, and not their biggest problem. Nintendo, even though they have done so much right, it’s amazing how much they can screw up.
+1
Amazing… Simply amazing.
I could not have put it any better than that.
Outstanding.
Game cube killed nintendo for me. I loved mario and zelda when I was a kid, but now I see nintendo as kids only.
Wait a sec… if one can’t have “multiple tablet controllers” how are you going to play 2-player (i.e. with a friend)?
Surely two people can’t share a controller? That would be so lame…
I have a Nintendo Wii and hardly ever use it (I won it in a contest so it’s not like “wasted money”). I just think that the Wii games and the Wii controllers are over prices (considering PS3/X-Box’s games are of much better quality).
I’m definitely not getting this new Wii-U even if it turns out be a success.
I’l stick with PS3 for now (it all depends if they screw up again). I’ve decided that if Sony comes out with a PS4 in the next three years (i.e. if they break their “10 year” promise)… then I’ll just have to move back to X-Box (sorry Little Big Planet, but one can only endure so much disappointment)
It wouldn’t surprise me at all to see Nintendo (like Sega) leave the console market and release their games on other systems 10 years from now.
I honestly hope this is what happens. Not that I’m wishing ill will on Nintendo, but I don’t trust them enough to justify spending any money on their BS anymore. If they switched to 3rd party developer status, I’d be much more likely to pick up their games and enjoy them instead of feeling ripped off by the whole experience.
It’s not like you to be so direct…
I agree. Nintendo has left those of us who grew up with them ‘back in the day’ out in the cold. Anything that came after the Gamecube pretty much ruined their disposition with me. (Except for the Nintendo DS Lite. I do like quite a few games on that thing. They’re good for when you don’t feel like being tied to the wall.)
I wonder at the definition of “3rd part developer”, though. If you’re suggesting a status where they are developing and then publishing through another company… I just couldn’t see Nintendo giving up any kind of creative control over their titles. (Especially any future iterations of their classic trademark games like Mario, Zelda, etc.) That could prove to be a rather interesting struggle were it to arise.
haha I do have moments of clarity from time to time. By 3rd party developer I just meant they’d be producing their titles for all systems because they’d be out of the console market. They would still be Nintendo producing Nintendo games, just no more systems. Much like Sega, as Mike has said.
Sega did not sell the amount of hardware Nintendo did (and still does) when they made that decision. Even with the Game Cube falling short of Nintendo’s expectations, they were still very profitable. And after that “failed” generation from Nintendo, they went on to create two of the most popular consoles of all time (Wii and DS) which blew the door right open for the casual market. Sega’s hardware wasn’t popular for a long time, which made their decision easier to make.
Nintendo would have to fail hard for 2-3 hardware generations for them to leave the hardware market. Unlike Sony and Microsoft, they sell hardware at a profit, and they’re not going to let that go.
That or be bought by Apple, which make a lot of sense for both companies.
Haters gonna hate. Btw, this “news” is like a couple weeks old, you’re just trying to stir things up. Also, development issues are common. I’d like to direct you to an article on IGN that is sensible, unlike most other articles.
http://wii.ign.com/articles/119/1193291p1.html
Things do look rocky for Nintendo as of late, but let’s not write off the Wii U before its release. The good news is they’re experiencing these troubles during development, instead of after release, as has happened with the 3DS. Of course, with the 3DS I think the biggest problem was that Nintendo greatly overestimated the appeal of the dumbass 3D gimmick, whereas the second independent screen/touch screen gimmick is genuinely cool and opens the door to a lot of neat gameplay possibilities.
But this system is clearly going to lead to an identity crisis for Nintendo, being that the technology pretty much demands that its production be expensive. I think Nintendo’s gonna have to bite the bullet and abandon their whole “withered technology” philosophy this time. This would take them back to the N64 ideology of using superior tech, but also merge that with the Wii philosophy of innovative controls (although I guess the 64′s controls were pretty innovative too, at the time). I still really like the possibilities of the U, but I think Nintendo can’t be afraid to spend big on this thing, even if the thing ends up being unusually expensive at launch. That’s not necessarily damning. After all, the PS3 launched at $600, but it’s ended up doing pretty well. Don’t be too afraid of a high price point, N.
And what I would most like to see happen is for them to have a solid, large launch lineup for once. No more of this “one great game and five crappy ones” malarky!
Sorry for this but I think this is great news because I can’t see myself using that tablet controller. Nintendo should go back to the drawing board and come up with regular controller in this way I think it will easy to port/develop games for the Wii u.
Nintendo should just save their money and keep marketing to house wives children and japanese. They cannot compete anymore in the west with microsoft and sony anymore. Its sad to say but the days of the n64 are over and they have been over for a long time. Farewell nintendo its been fun
It would have been really cool if Nintendo had done something like OnLive where you can stream games instantly to your TV via a micro-console. That way, it could support third party devs as well as their first party games like Mario and Zelda. Make the console support HD graphics and thats money well spent! idk just my opinion
Nintendo has suffered from too many self-inflected wounds. The only thing they had to do with the Wii was make it HD compatible if not right out of the box at least with hardware upgrades at some point in the future. The only thing they had to do with the 64 was to get rid of the cartridge format which made games difficult to to develop for. The game cube needed better 3 party support but never received it because of their stubbornness to support online play.
In short what kills Nintendo every time is some hardware limitation that ends up making 3 party development difficult which long term leaves the system impossible to develop on, thus leaving the console barren. And your seeing Nintendo make the same mistakes this time around. Hardware limitations that will result in low 3rd party support.
The best thing Nintendo can do at this point is hold off on the tablet feature of the Wii U. Market the Wii U as just a Wii dedicated to hardcore games, so they can get ports from 3 party developers (hopefully they will support the num chuck feature) and bring the tablet controller later on when the technology is more feasible. Introduce the next Nintendo console around the same time as the other two gaming companies. Maybe by then 3D will be much more mainstream and Nintendo can innovate a system around that new feature.