Topic: The "Project Cafe" (Wii Successor) Rumor Topic

[Wario Bros]

EDIT:  Now the Wii Successor is codenamed by IGN as "Project Cafe."  Sound pretty weird to me

I've been surfing the web and I'm seeing rumors of the Wii 2 everywhere.  I've been collecting all rumors since the rumors just don't seem to stop all.  So take a truck load of salt and here are all the rumors (No particular order):

- console is significantly more powerful than the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360
- Nintendo is looking to recapture the hardcore market
- 1080p resolutions
- Nintendo will release a pre-announcement this month
- full reveal expected at E3
- backwards compatible with current Wii software
- publishers who got to see it are very interested working on it
- Nintendo insists to show stronger partnerships with 3rd party developers
- anonymous source: says it is not a gimmick like the Wii
- the rumors that the Wii's price is getting cut again hints the end of the Wii
- official E3 twitter hints this
- late 2012 launch
- when Nintendo was approached with this information, they were told that Nintendo won't comment on their E3 plans, but "stay tuned"
- launch titles from third-party developers are in the works right now
- all-new controller
- controller features a built-in HD screen
- Blu-ray as the main optical drive
- some are saying 2012 would be too late for the console to be released since the Wii's sales are sinking
- dual analog sticks on the controller
- can stream game content from the console (no word if content is full games, mini-games, or apps)
- there are rumors that the company AMD could be involved
- new Nintendo controller allows players to stream entire games to the device from the console - like a miniature television
- reason why Sony and Microsoft haven't said any new system is because they want Kinect and Move longer so they're stalling
- the screen size on the controller is also confirmed to be six inches in size
- the controller mirrors a GameCube controller in general function but not in specific form

What do you think of all this?  Note that these rumors have come multiple places and doesn't mean it's "all or nothing."

Places the rumors are coming from: IGN, Game Informer, NeoGaf and GoNintendo.com

Great site for the Rumors: http://wiihdrumors.com/

[Peardian]

I'm not putting any faith in rumors and want to hear it straight from Nintendo themselves. Besides, some of this sounds like the same kind of speculation and wishing that we heard before the Wii. Blu-ray? HD screens in the 6-inch controller? More powerful than the PS3? Capture the hardcore market? I'll believe it when Nintendo says it.

[DarkWolf]

From the rumors, it sounds like they are trying to make a Playstation.  Not really the type of machine that fits their current demographic.

[TerraEsperZ]

Also, Nintendo has *always* made money on their hardware, which is why they've never really been state-of-the-art. I think to have a console significantly more powerful than both the PS3 and Xbox 360 would mean a lot of money spent on R&D and selling the system at a loss, which they never do. Personally, I'd settle for significantly more than the Wii while still being backward compatible with Wii and GameCube game. Let us hope...

[bustin98]

From a software sales point of view, capturing the gaming enthusiast crowd is a desirable ambition. The 18 - 34 demographic has the disposable income to generate a relatively predictable sales trend. Whereas software sales on the Wii have been anything but predictable. Reggie has commented on the disabppointing sales of Metroid Other M, for example. (Though I believe story content and inconsistent waggle control had a LOT to do with that).

I don't believe for a second a blu-ray drive. Nintendo will do anything to keep from paying additional royalties.

[JonLeung]

There is no doubt that Nintendo's always looking for the next big thing...but I don't know that any of what's currently rumoured has truth to it.  But one way or another, I'm sure we'll be speculating a lot in the next little while...some of my most exciting times as a Nintendo fan and Internet user is anticipating and reading about all the GameCube and Wii news over a year before they came out, and by the usual timeline, it is about time for the next Nintendo console.

I recall hearing that Nintendo was, at least a year or two or so ago, researching the production of HVDs (holographic versatile discs) that hold a terabyte or more - which holds considerably more than a Blu-Ray.  It would be cool if they could come up with their own proprietary format that had more capacity than industry standards (unlike the GameCube discs which had a third of the capacity of already-common single-layer DVDs).  Having more capacity or power or speed has never been a determining factor in the console wars - in fact, in most generations of game consoles, the "weakest" in processing power ends up selling the most or being the "winner" (NES, PSX, PS2, Wii - and the Super NES, too, if you consider the Genesis's add-ons) - but it would be nice if there was one less thing to bash Nintendo about, and one less thing for developers to feel restricted by.  But in any case, I do believe it will be comparable to the Xbox 360 or PS3 or even more powerful - has the "weakest" console ever had less processing power than the most powerful one from the previous generation?  The way technology advances, it really shouldn't be that hard to at least catch up to five-year-old technology and to do so inexpensively.

I had a paragraph here about my disliking of the term "hardcore" and how I believe the definition is wrong - but regardless of what I think, I guess there is a user base who don't revere Mario, Zelda, and Metroid games with the same intensity as they might have in the past.  (It doesn't help that Metroid: Other M doesn't quite compare to Super Metroid...)  I don't know what the rumours of Nintendo courting Rockstar Games might mean.  Getting Capcom to make some exclusive Resident Evil games didn't change the image of the GameCube much, so unless Rockstar Games were to become a Nintendo second-party, or at least definitely exclusive, anything they make will just be another GTA: Chinatown Wars on the DS - critically acclaimed but not a killer app for a new crowd.

[Peardian]

To me, it's not the size of the screen or the power of the processor that matters, but how you use it. Nintendo may not have always had the best technology, but they knew exactly what they wanted it to do and it excelled at it. Plus, when you have constraints like this, it forces you to focus. You have to chop out the unnecessary bits and refine it to the best it can be. This is why sometimes the most simple games are the most fun, because they were limited to putting in what mattered. I'd rather play SMB3 than Generic Photorealistic Grit-And-Bloom Action Game 2 any day.

This is why I doubt Nintendo would simply "try to capture the 'hardcore' market" by putting in ridiculously powerful processors and super-HD screens on everything. If they really did try to capture a more serious market, they'd have a better strategy and a central reason. Throwing in more power to push more polygons is just pandering to the shallow people who think graphics are all that matter. When Nintendo made the Gamecube, they realized that they were merely keeping up with the competition instead of truly making something great. Sure, the Gamecube had a fantastic controller and had some amazing games, but it didn't stand out. Just like all the other systems out there, it was just adding more buttons and more polygons. That's why they went in such a radically new direction with the Wii. That's why I find it even less likely that they'd do the same thing again.


I hope that was coherent enough. And don't get me wrong, I appreciate consoles like the Xbox 360, but not because of how many polygons it can put on the screen.

[bustin98]

I had a paragraph here about my disliking of the term "hardcore" and how I believe the definition is wrong - but regardless of what I think, I guess there is a user base who don't revere Mario, Zelda, and Metroid games with the same intensity as they might have in the past.  (It doesn't help that Metroid: Other M doesn't quite compare to Super Metroid...)  I don't know what the rumours of Nintendo courting Rockstar Games might mean.  Getting Capcom to make some exclusive Resident Evil games didn't change the image of the GameCube much, so unless Rockstar Games were to become a Nintendo second-party, or at least definitely exclusive, anything they make will just be another GTA: Chinatown Wars on the DS - critically acclaimed but not a killer app for a new crowd.

Nintendo doesn't like the term 'hardcore' either. And I refuse to use it as a way to describe a gamer or a game. It describes an approach to playing a game. You can play Tetris hardcore. You can play Halo casually. But Tetris does not require you to be a big fan of gaming in order to get the most out of it, while it certainly helps with Halo.

As far as Nintendo goes and their history, they actually have a pattern of releasing a console with an idea, then refining that idea. The NES, then the SNES, with mode7 and improved controller (which is pretty much the standard even today), but still retaining the core idea behind the NES. Then the N64 with 3D worlds, followed by the Gamecube which was pretty decent but the core idea didn't make it stand out from the crowd. So, if motion control was the core behind the Wii, then the next system should take the idea and refine it. Though now that all systems have motion, Nintendo needs to offer a service or something (non-gimmicky) that makes it stand out from the crowd.

[Peardian]

I didn't fully realize the pattern there, but you're right. One of the things I imagine they'll do is have the Motion+ type of functionality built into the controller instead of an attachment like the Wii has it. I don't imagine they'll have too much trouble standing out from the crowd in terms of motion controls, considering the competition. Both the 360's Kinect and PS3's Lollipop both use motion control as a gimmicky attachment that replaces a traditional controller, whereas Nintendo has the entire system built around the concept. A feature where the Wii is rather lacking is the friend code issue, as well as the lack of a super-overlaying OS, which they've fixed in 3DS. I have no doubt that the next console they produce will have the same improvements.

[JonLeung]

The latest rumours about being able to stream gameplay video reminds me of OnLive...does anyone actually use OnLive, BTW?

Also, though expected, an emphasis on a stronger online infrastructure.  Nintendo doesn't seem to like to follow what everyone else does but I guess it's unavoidable in this case.

Speaking of which, I've had my Wii online since day one and have NEVER played online against any of my friends, only random opponents.  WTF.

[bustin98]

Got Goldeneye or Monster Hunter or Conduit 1? We'll have to schedule a time to play online.