The many unanswered questions about the Wii U system.
1. Can the system handle streaming to more than one Wii U tablet controller at once?
This has me worried the most. All the images we've seen show one Wii U controller and three or four Wii Remotes for additional players. Not only would this make most of our Project Café predictions impossible, but it would heavily restrict same-room multiplayer games. For FPS's, the other three guys would have to use Wii Remotes and/or Classic Controllers. Same goes for Mario Kart U, Animal Crossing U, Smash Bros U, and any other multiplayer game. Is it even technically possible to stream HD images to more than one device? Maybe just basic elements like menus and touch screen buttons? We can't be sure yet, but it looks likely. I'm not saying I want to buy two $70+ controllers, but it would be nice if my friends could bring theirs over for a game of Goldeneye U from time to time. Miyamoto has gone on record in saying they are 'looking into the possibility' but I really hope they can at the very least manage two players.
WiIl four player New Super Mario Bros Mii even be possible?2. Will there be one SKU for the system?
If Nintendo really want to appeal to the hardcore, a system with one controller, 8GBs of internal memory, and possibly a 16GB SD card included for additional storage will not cut it. Iwata stated that the Wii U is likely to be more expensive than the Wii currently is, so I hope that means Nintendo would do the following; release a basic white system with basic features for not much more than $249.99, but possibly create another SKU for the hardcore. I'd imagine a black system, black tablet controller, and a sleek 250GB USB hard drive for $299.99 would definitely be more appealing to the hardcore, but I guess it all depends on how much the controller costs to make. If it's more expensive, it could add $50+ to those prices I just quoted, making it more expensive than the current six year-old systems on the market, which would be a shame and quite a hurdle to start off it's life with.
3. How backwards-compatible will the Wii U be?
Nintendo's mantra is often to allow full compatibility with the previous iteration/generation, but not usually two generations back. See how they took out original GameBoy support on the DS, GBA support on the DSi, and now GameCube support on the Wii U. However, some Wii games have GameCube controller compatibility and people may prefer it for games like Smash Bros Brawl. Will there be support via perhaps, a USB GameCube attachment? If not, would they block a 3rd party from doing so?
Next is backwards compatibility with the Virtual Console and WiiWare. We've recently seen the 3DS eShop go live with the (almost) entire DSiWare library available, plus the ability to transfer from your DSi. Will Nintendo do this with Wii downloads or will this be a fresh start, our copies of World of Goo and Chrono Trigger forever stuck on our old Wii's? Then there's the question of region encoding, although I think I can guess the answer to that one seeing as even the 3DS is region locked now.
4. Will Nintendo continue or improve the Virtual Console?
Leading on from the previous question, will Nintendo either continue the V.C from where they leave off from the Wii, or (gulp) start from scratch again. If they do that, would it be with a new service which allows online play and updated graphics of old games (like Xbox Live Arcade)? Personally, I hope they do both. I want all my old V.C games and the original library available to me from the get go, but I also hope they do something like the 3DS 3D classics and update the old games. Nintendo love reselling us games we've bought five-plus times before, I'd give them $15 for a high-res Super Mario World any day of the week.
Nintendo, let me give you my money. (again)
5. Will Nintendo try to acquire exclusive content for 3rd party titles?
While it was great to see games like Batman: Arkham City in the works for the Wii U, by the time the system comes out it will be six months old, at best. Other than the obvious unique controls, what will the Wii U version offer that the other systems don't? If the graphics look the same and the content is basically the same, why would anyone wait half a year to play a game they could play now, on a system they already own? If Nintendo are serious about third parties, they need to push for exclusive modes and other content that only the Wii U can provide. To use Batman as an example, if it had an awesome detective vision mode using the controller, improved graphics, exclusive levels and other content, you might see some people either wait or re-buy the game on Wii U just to try out the new stuff. A mini-map and the same content won't convince anyone.
Worthwhile exclusive content, or the same game 6 months late?6. Will games be on par with Wii prices?
The fact Wii games were $10 or $20 cheaper than the current HD systems is often overlooked by most people. There isn't a single standard $60 game on Wii and it's something I've grown to appreciate in this era of increasingly expensive gaming. Of course it could be argued it's because Wii games are cheaper to make, and that is true and part of Nintendo's success with the Wii. So what happens with the Wii U? Now games are going HD, will Super Mario Galaxy 3 and Zelda HD still be $50? How about Ninja Gaiden 3 or Battlefield? If Nintendo were to keep their lower price point on games, this could help sway some gamers to migrate to Nintendo's system knowing they'll be getting the same content for less. Of course, this all depends on the online structure. If Nintendo screw up DLC or online play, the hardcore would happily pay $10 more for that on the other systems. I hope Nintendo are up for the challenge.
7. How big and how powerful is the Wii U system?
Our intrepid NWR reporters recently discovered that the Wii U prototype system was not as small and sleek as we all first thought. From the front it looked like the size of a Wii, but from the side it looked like a Xbox 360, if not longer. Having the horsepower of the current systems in a small beautiful box would be a great selling point, are Nintendo aiming to reduce the size significantly? I certainly hope so, I don't even think that prototype would fit in my TV cabinet.
Secondly, just how powerful is the Wii U? The Zelda demo was impressive, but not really beyond what the current systems can do. Take a look at a 3rd generation PlayStation 3 title like Uncharted 3 and you'll see the benchmark Nintendo need to aim for. Nintendo are usually coy about technical specifications, which is fine as long as the system is easy to develop for. Thankfully we now know the Wii U is capable of running the current and upcoming middle-ware graphic engines and such, let's hope the devlopers can use this fully and make some great looking Wii U games. A big advantage Nintendo could have is if the system runs all games in true 720p/1080p. It's not usually spoken about, but big titles like the Modern Warfare games actually run in slightly lower resolutions to keep the frame-rate smooth. If the Wii U can spit out a triple-A 3rd party game in true HD, that could convince the graphic nuts to migrate. The other worry is related to the controller, how much CPU power does it use to display on the controller screen? Can the system pump out data to two or even four controllers at once? Like i said before, I hope they can at minimum do two simultaneously.
8. Will the hardcore games and casual games be marketed separately?
The Wii was marketed amazingly to the casual market, people saw families in white shirts swinging the remotes like tennis rackets and turning steering wheels and thought, "I want to play that". However, the Wii was not marketed well (or at all) to the hardcore, as Nintendo often mistakenly reused the same style for games like Metroid Prime 3, and failed as a result. Now it seems the types of games they are trying to sell are even more divisive, which makes me very cautious with how they will handle marketing. What I'd hope is that they would box the hardcore games in the black boxes we've seen in Japan for M-rated games and keep the casual titles in the traditional white boxes. I'd also apply the same thing to the advertising, during a commercial break of a late night TV show show the black system, have a black logo, show the game box in black and keep the corny white-robes out.
9. Are Nintendo really going to do online properly this time?
Other than the EA executive mentioning online gaming in passing, a video chat and a web browser playing YouTube, Nintendo confirmed that they are working on an online strategy but didn't really give any specifics. During the GameCube era they said no one wanted to play online, during the Wii era they thought online gaming was too dangerous and wrapped everyone in a Friend Code bubble, are they finally going to get it right? (Third time lucky?)
What makes it difficult for them is that they are trying to appeal to casual markets still, meaning the online structure and interface can't be too baffling. On the other hand it can't be so simplistic that hardcore players don't even consider playing multiplatform games online on Wii U. Will Nintendo get round it by having an "advanced" menu option in the settings? What they need is something that everyone is comfortable using like Facebook, heck, why not just have Facebook as part of the menu? They did say that social networking cannot be ignored, after all. Another question to consider is will online still be free? Will they have cross game voice/video chat using the controller? They are apparently having an account based system this time, so will they integrate Club Nintendo at a system level? So many questions, so many possibilities, so many worries.
If Nintendo gets online right, it could be very exciting.10. Will the same Miis be part of the system again?
