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Wii U News
by Published on May 17th, 2012 00:51- Categories:
- Wii U News
Free-to-play could be the go-to business model for next generation console software on PS4, Next Xbox and Wii U.
That’s the impression given by Ubisoft in its post financials conference call.
A surprising amount of focus was put on the next-generation consoles in the presentation.
It’s interesting to think that publishers may be the ones to force platform holder’s hands this time. Traditionally publishers have been hesitant about the transition to a new wave of machines and, specifically, all the costs associated with that.
But with the console market in free-fall we’re witnessing an unprecedented turning of the tide – now publishers are the ones who want fresh hardware, and their enthusiasm might be the final push needed to finally get Sony and Microsoft to play their secretive decks.
Ubisoft management suggested that next-gen development is now well underway at the company. Indeed, seven launch tiles are planned for Wii U – and so far dev costs on each have been roughly in line with Xbox 360 and PS3 costs. That will be as big a relief as anything.
As well as noting the next-gen’s power increase, Ubisoft also revealed that the internet and connected services will be a bigger feature than ever. The company also noted that both full game digital downloads and – maybe more surprisingly – free-to-play titles will form a central focus of the generation ahead.
Traditional retail and distribution methods will not die out, however, but merely be supplemented by these new options.
“We believe that F2P versions of Wii-U titles are in UbiSoft's plans for the coming year,” Baird Equity Research’s Colin Sebastian noted. “It appears that new consoles from Microsoft and Sony will also allow more integration of item-based transactions within games, including a free-to-play option similar to the model used in social and mobile games.
“UbiSoft expects this to drive better monetization than what is commonly available in the current generation. We believe the F2P model on consoles, as part of a broad multi-platform strategy (phones, tablets, connected TVs) could drive a higher level of profitability per franchise.
“In addition, developers of Facebook and Mobile/Tablet games may discover a new platform opportunity for their titles in the next console generation.”
http://www.mcvuk.com/news/read/ubiso...le-race/096124 ...by Published on May 17th, 2012 00:33- Categories:
- Wii U News
The freshly unleashed Peter Molyneux has done what we'd all knew he'd do – stir the hornets' nest.
In an announcement that the famed developer will be offering analysis of next month's E3 on Spike TV, the Lionhead founder and former Microsoft Game Studios Europe boss described Nintendo's upcoming Wii U as “slightly lack lustre”.
Furthermore, he describes both Microsoft and Sony as “holding their breath” regarding next-gen, supporting MCV's belief that both had once planned to present new hardware at E3 only to havechanged their minds.
“Sony and Microsoft are holding their breath on next gen - interesting to see how they pad out another year. Price cuts, form factors?” he said in an email exchange published on Kotaku.
“Nintendo's slightly lack lustre Wii U is going to have to blow us away with better specs and great 1st party line up.”
And as if that weren't enough, he went on to question the very worth of E3 itself.
“Is the biggest news that E3 itself runs the risk of being outdated, or perhaps it already is?” he added. “The real challenge is how the players are going to adapt to the mounting pressure of Facebook, Apple, Social, Cloud, Multi-Gaming.”
http://www.mcvuk.com/news/read/molyn...-breath/096147 ...by Published on May 14th, 2012 00:27- Categories:
- Wii U News
The new Marvel film is taking the box office by storm, and Ubisoft is giving gamers the chance to wield their favourite heroes' superpowers.
Marvel Avengers: Battle For Earth is currently in development for Wii U and Kinect and is due for release this Autumn.
However, it will not be based on the smash hit blockbuster movie. Instead, it will follow the events of the Secret Invasion storyline from the comics. Fans will battle an shape-shifting alien race known as the Skrulls, who have invaded Earth and disguised themselves as Marvel's most iconic heroes.
Ubisoft has promised more than 20 different characters will be featured, including Iron Man, Hulk, Captain America and Thor.
The game is being developed by Ubisoft Quebec, the team behind Kinect's superpowered beat 'em up Powerup Heroes. Expect similar gameplay with more than a smattering of Hulk Smash.
http://www.mcvuk.com/news/read/aveng...-kinect/095914 ...by Published on May 9th, 2012 00:29- Categories:
- Wii U News
Images snapped supposedly from Blockbuster UK have surfaced showing what appears to be a third-party title list for Nintendo’s upcoming Wii U console.
Go Nintendo (via Shacknews) reports the list includes several games currently slated for PS3 and Xbox 360, such as Metro: Last Light and Aliens: Colonial Marines.
It’s not just confirmed titles though, unannounced projects including Marvel Super Heroes, Just Dance 4, and Rabbids Party Land; along with ‘Shield Pose’ and ‘Zombie’ (your guess is as good as ours on the last two) are listed as well.
The list seems real, but without Nintendo’s confirmation the info has been stamped with the rumour label. An E3 announcement is a definite possibility, considering that’s where the first word on Wii U’s third party line-up was mentioned nearly a year ago.
http://www.mcvuk.com/news/read/rumou...-titles/095660 ...by Published on May 7th, 2012 00:28- Categories:
- Wii U News
Ubisoft and Nintendo would doubtless prefer that one of the biggest news stories of the week never happened. The release of gameplay video showing off the forthcoming Rayman Legends apparently running on Wii U revealed some great stuff: superbly animated 2D visuals spliced expertly with polygon 3D elements, topped off nicely with beautiful cartoon animation and some lovely dynamic lighting. Not only that but we also were treated to a preview of one of Wii U's new features: the tablet controller's Near Field Communication (NFC) wireless tech.Some say that it was a canny move by Ubi in generating terrific buzz for a title which performed badly last time around - despite Rayman Origins being an excellent release. Others saw the exciting video as a strategically leaked hors d'oeuvre for the Wii U loveliness to come next month at the E3 games convention. In reality, the combination of pre-production controllers and music lifted from the Back to the Future and How to Train Your Dragon movie soundtracks all but confirms that it was indeed an internal Ubisoft presentation that was never meant to see the light of day.And unfortunately, the gameplay footage we did see gives away very well little about the Wii U's hotly contested "next-gen" credentials, which have dominated headlines recently. Does the Wii U's graphics tech disappoint compared to the Xbox 360? Or, as developers likeGearbox have suggested, does the new hardware allow for improved versions of multi-platform titles?On the face of it, Wii U's capabilities are fairly self-evident. We've seen Nintendo's game demos, we've seen their tech presentations - from a graphics perspective, this is PS3/360 stuff. Perhaps more obviously, it is telling that company has made no effort whatsoever to suggest that Wii U offers next-generation rendering in any of its marketing - something that would surely be a major selling point that the company would want to get across to the core audience. Yet rumours appear suggesting that Wii U will be twice as powerful as Xbox 360.The existing body of evidence suggests it won't be (though this particular claim is somewhat lacking in context - 2x what, exactly?) but there's a strong possibility that individual components could see an impressive boost over what is found in current-gen consoles. Similarly, other elements may fall a little short. There's no reason why both the anonymous briefings on the machine's deficiencies and the on-the-record statements can't be equally true. So what exactly should we expect from this year's next-gen entrant?..."Does Wii U graphic tech fall short of the Xbox 360 as rumours have stated? Or can the console exceed current gen performance? In different applications, both situations could be true."
Nintendo doesn't typically talk specs, but the combination of official information released thus far plus a basic knowledge of existing hardware production infrastructure can give us a pretty good idea. Consoles are not built in a vacuum - their parts are fabricated by companies whose facilities and outputs are a matter of public record.Processing power is driven by Moore's Law, which is typically a factor of the amount of transistors you can cram onto a piece of silicon. The current-gen consoles launched at 90nm (a state-of-the-art fabrication process at the time) and have gradually transitioned to 45nm, being refitted into smaller cases in the process. Nintendo has already revealed that its IBM Power7-derived CPU runs at the same fabrication process as the current PS3 and Xbox 360, and the worldwide shortages in "next-gen" 28nm production suggest that the Wii U's AMD Radeon graphics chip will also be produced at 40nm/45nm - it's the only way to create millions of viable chips in time for a 2012 release, and also opens the opportunity for a die-shrunk cheaper unit to be put into production sooner rather than later.Combine the realities of chip production with the miniscule dimensions of the Wii U casing (172mm x 45mm x 267mm according to Nintendo's E3 PR - a bit bigger than a current Wii) and we're looking very much at current gen ballpark power - a true "next-gen" upgrade over the current Xbox would be extremely challenging to cool in a box that's so tiny compared even to the slim versions of the PS3 and 360.Efficiencies in design can make a difference, of course. The Xbox 360 CPU is clocked at 3.2GHz for example, but by Microsoft's own estimates, most games only process around 0.2 instructions per clock - suggesting it's a somewhat poor design that can be improved. GPU design is set to change somewhat going forward with more efficiency in mind (something we've seen with NVIDIA's Kepler tech) but to date, graphics power has been driven very much by Moore's Law, which combined with the rest of the available information suggests that Wii U GPU processing will be very much in the ballpark of the Xbox 360 and PS3.Some have interpreted the "re-introduction" of the Wii U at this year's E3 as a showcase for a revised spec, withby Published on May 3rd, 2012 15:23- Categories:
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by Published on May 1st, 2012 01:44- Categories:
- Wii U News
Iwata talks regional sales, Wii U predictions, selling hardware at a loss and digital downloads
Nintendo
www.nintendo-europe.com
Nintendo revealed its first full-year loss in company history yesterday, with the business $531 million in the red after a poor launch for the 3DS, declining Wii sales, a weak Christmas period and tough exchange rates due to the strong Yen.
Speaking in an investor presentation following the results, president Satoru Iwata offered his analysis of the current home and handheld video game market from Nintendo's perspective, looking at the key markets of Japan, the US and Europe, as well as addressing future strategies for 3DS, Wii U and digital growth.
Chart analysis
2012 Hardware Units Sales in Japan
Japan is Nintendo's strongest market. Hardware units sales for the first quarter of the year have been impressive for the 3DS with only the PlayStation 3 a noticeable competitor. Sony's PS Vita by comparison looks in poor shape, being outsold in the handheld market by its predecessor the PSP.
"We believe this is a sign that the Nintendo 3DS has a strong presence in the market," noted Iwata. "On the other hand, since this year started, we have seen the Wii sales quickly losing momentum. In the home console market this year, Sony's PlayStation 3 remains in good shape," he added.
Of the top 20 software titles in Japan so far this year, 15 are for Nintendo systems, 13 of which are 3DS games and five of those first-party releases.
Over in the US the story is quite different, with Iwata acknowledging that Microsoft's Xbox 360 has maintained hardware sales momentum in 2012, although it does not seem to be due to sales of the Kinect peripheral.
"Some Kinect titles fared well in the chart towards the end of last year, but it seems that this momentum did not continue, so Kinect is probably not responsible for the Xbox 360's current sales growth," he said.
Kinect is probably not responsible for the Xbox 360's current sales growth
Satoru Iwata, Nintendo
There were eight Xbox 360 games in the top 20 best-sellers for 2012 according to NPD, compared to six from Sony and six from Nintendo. Iwata added that sales of the 3DS in the region are below expectations.
"Considering that the U.S. market is two or three times the size of its Japanese equivalent, I believe that the sales of the Nintendo 3DS in the U.S. are far below the level that it could potentially reach." There's also still a decent market for the original DS, according to Nintendo.
UK software sales Jan-March 2012, highlighting the dominance of Xbox 360 games.
In Europe it's all change again, with Sony showing the strongest in terms of hardware sales according to Nintendo estimates. "Although the Nintendo 3DS has recently increased its weekly sales, it is far from a satisfactory level," he offered.
Breaking down European regions, Nintendo noted that of the top 20 best-selling titles in 2012, Nintendo claims ten hits in Germany, and nine each in Spain and France. There are six Nintendo titles in the UK charts, but "the UK market is virtually the only market in Europe where the Xbox 360 has a strong presence," according to Iwata. "In fact, it dominates the PlayStation 3, and it is in stark contrast to the other European markets."
Sales forecasts for 2012
Sales forecasts for Nintendo hardware/software. Forecasts for Wii U and original Wii are combined.
Nintendo has said it expects to return to a profit in the current financial year, but disappointingly isn't yet breaking out sales of the original Wii and Wii U, due for sale before Christmas 2012. Instead it has combined sales in its forecasts, expecting 10.5 million combined Wii unit sales and 70 million combined Wii software sales.
"We think that the software sales of the Nintendo DS and the Wii will rather significantly decrease due to the small number of games scheduled in this fiscal year," said Iwata.
"We don't anticipate that the software sales of the Wii U can compensate for the decrease in those of the Wii because the Wii U will be launched as late as in the holiday season and then the total unit sales of the Wii U will be limited in this fiscal year. This is one of the reasons our business performance inevitably fluctuates when we change platforms."
Software sales forecasts for the Wii U and the 3DS include those to be downloaded via digital distribution but exclude Virtual Console software and download-only software.
Sales of the 3DS are expected to climb to 18.5 million with game sales of 73 million.
Selling at a loss
Speaking of the 3DS, Iwata quite simply stated that in the first half of the financial year Nintendo intends to "get out of the situation that we sell the hardware below cost," following last year's poor results. Software must remain evergreen said Iwata, rolling out a well-worn list of Nintendo franchises, before admitting that last year suffered with a large gap between 3DS releases "which delayed the beginning of the year-end sales season and we eventually missed our goal of the sales forecast."
Expanding the digital ...by Published on April 30th, 2012 01:11- Categories:
- Wii U News
New evidence has indicated that the Wii U tablet controller may be struggling to live up to its original billing as a fully wireless peripheral.
The tablet was announced as a fully wireless controller capable of streaming a game's video and audio from Wii U and displaying it on the controller, but a leaked Ubisoft Wii U videosuggests the system may need to be wired to the console, in some instances at least.As you can see from the Ubisoft video (and the image on this page), the Wii U controller is clearly shown with a trailing wire, which appears to include a removable connector for a non-wired mode.
It's understood that development consoles currently feature wired controllers but let's face it, if Nintendo wanted to remove the wire from this official promo video, it wouldn't give the special effects team too much of a headache. Or, if as it looks, the wire is able to be unplugged, why not remove it?
[UPDATE: CVG reader Dean Jones points out that Ubisoft . Add that to the list of possible explanations.]
It's all speculation of course, but there have been reports before that Nintendo might be struggling with the streaming of data from the HD console to the tablet controller's LCD touchscreen.
A report last September claimed that Nintendo had rushed the final Wii U architecture through the door "with undesirable consequences" including "inadequate streaming and wireless functionality".
"So far, the wireless functions simply do not work at all," a source told 01.net, a usually reliable site for leaks. As a result, they went on to claim, developers are working with a tethered controller which apparently "still does not work properly".
Nintendo's current official line is that Wii U will only support one controller. According to a Developsource, Nintendo engineers are working hard to upgrade Wii U so that it can simultaneously support two tablet controllers.
"Nintendo now know they absolutely need to support two tablets," the site was told. "At E3 they didn't commit to this, but they know how important it is to make it technically feasible to support two screens. Even if that affects framerate, as a developer and player, I don't care. It needs to work. Developers will design appropriate games for this. If you're building a quiz game you're not going to give a shit about the framerate."
http://www.computerandvideogames.com...suggests-leak/ ...by Published on April 29th, 2012 22:59- Categories:
- Wii U News
Nintendo is going to sell its 3DS and Wii U games through the eShop as well as on the high street. Concerned about the money wasted in "inventory," the company will let consumers choose where they get their fix from. The first two games to get the treatment will be New Super Mario Bros 2 and Onitore Brain Training (working title) for the handheld, with more expected in the future. As consumers transition to downloads, the company will keep its brick-and-mortar partners on-side by allowing them to sell "activation codes" to the digital titles -- although that does mean you'll have to drive down toGamestop and back.
http://www.engadget.com/2012/04/27/nintendo-e-shop/ ...by Published on April 28th, 2012 22:03- Categories:
- Wii U News
A leaked Rayman Legends trailer (that is sure to be shortly removed) has revealed not only a Wii U version of the game, but also a host of platform-specific functionality.
As spotted by GoNintendo, players will be able to place certain objects on the new Nintendo controller which open up new perks and features in the game.
Seen in the short is a Raving Rabbids figure and, rather mysteriously right at the end of the video, Ezio from Assassin’s Creed.
Also seen are touch-screen controls and various multiplayer options.
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